The light began to intensify and the magic flew faster and faster. Twilight shut her eyes. She knew she should be afraid, this was all so surreal, but she trusted Celestia, knew she had Twilight's best interests at heart. However, Twilight knew, deep down, something was not right. She should have been terrified when Celestia had revealed that she had been observing Twilight for years and years, but all she had felt was joy. Joy at knowing how important she was to Celestia.
The light and the surge of magic culminated in a brilliant flash as they coalesced into a brilliant image of Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark. Then, there was nothing. Twilight felt herself falling, faster and faster. Stars, planets, galaxies streaked by at lightning speed, blending into beautiful, if terrifying, columns of light. She screamed for help, for Celestia, her friends, her family, the only answer was the pounding of her own heart. Suddenly, the celestial bodies seemed to decrease in speed, and finally came to a stop. Twilight blacked out.
When Twilight awoke she found herself drifting slowly through the astral plane. "Hello?" she yelled. "Princess Celestia? Where are you!"
There was no response. Twilight lay down and began sobbing into her hooves. Princess Celestia wouldn't leave her in this crazy place, would she? Twilight wiped at her tears and stood, "No, the princess loves me, this must be another test."
Twilight began to explore the astral plane. She didn't know what it was that Celestia must want her to find, but she wouldn't, she couldn't, let her teacher down. Twilight found she could use her anti-gravity spell to great effect and began swiftly navigating the endless plane.
Twilight had a sense that some great amount of time had passed, but she had no idea. Twilight paused as she was passing the Unicorn Nebula and sat to admire the view. Twilight used her magic to conjure up a door, then followed up with her apples to oranges spell, creating an edible door. Twilight merrily munched at her magical treat, "Thank you Princess Celestia and Pinkie Pie!"
As she finished up her orange-door, Twilight wiped at her mouth and began to look around her. She gasped as she saw what appeared to be a figure in the distance. Twilight jumped to her feet and began galloping towards it, casting her reverse gravity spell as she ran. Twilight flew towards the figure and began to smile. As she neared, Twilight gleefully cried, "I'm here, Princess Celestia! Did I pass?"
Twilight frowned as the figure came into view - a bedraggled old stallion. He turned towards her, a great sadness on his face, "Twilight Sparkle!? No..."
Twilight tilted her head, "How do you know my name? Who are you? What is going on here? Where is Princess Celestia?"
The old stallion sadly shook his head, "Slow down, Twilight Sparkle. We have plenty of time to discuss things, I'm afraid, for you see, you are dead."
Twilight sat down heavily, she looked down at her hooves, "Dead? B-but how? Wh-why? What?"
The old stallion sighed. "Perhaps 'dead' is a bit too harsh a term, but you might as well be." He paused and stared up into the void, "You'll wish you were, believe me."
Tears began to well up in Twilight's eyes. "I don't understand," she said. "Please, tell me what is happening."
The old stallion pointed towards her flank. "Do you remember that spell that Celestia sent to you?"
Twilight nodded. The old stallion looked away as a tear fell down his cheek, "And did Celestia tell you that it was unfinished, that only you could understand it?"
"Yes, she did. I did understand it, I re-wrote it too," Twilight proudly said.
The old stallion lay down, facing away from Twilight. "I'm so sorry, Twilight Sparkle. It was a lie. It all has been. That spell wasn't unfinished, it did exactly what it was supposed to. I should know, I was the one who created it for Celestia. And now, you are cursed. Just like me. Darkness imprisons us. We cannot live, cannot die. Time does not progress here. Celestia has left you with life in hell, trapped for eternity."
Twilight's ears flopped down as she tried to comprehend what she had just been told. "Your spell... You, you're Star Swirl the Bearded? Celestia did this? Celestia?! Wha... Why? No. No. No! Celestia loves me..."
As Twilight tried to imagine why in the world Celestia would have done something so horrible, she stared at Star Swirl's cutie mark, the same symbol that had been on the book Celestia had sent her, and something in her snapped. "You! You did this to me!" Twilight yelled as she lunged forwards, her horn sparking with magic.
Star Swirl rolled to the side and quickly cast a protective shielding spell, struggling to maintain the barrier as Twilight flailed against it. Twilight continued to mercilessly attack the magical forcefield until her strength began to ebb and she sunk to the floor in tears.
Star Swirl cautiously approached and began to gently stroke her mane. She looked up at him, her vision blurred by tears, "Why?"
Star Swirl gave her a weak smile, "It all began when Discord ruled Equestria. Celestia and Luna, they were but fillies then, rose up against him and recovered the Elements of Harmony, smiting that chaotic goon. The ponies loved them and elected them to lead us. If only we had known what they would become."
Star Swirl continued, "There are many mysteries to the world, but one thing is certain, everything dies, even the stars will burn out eventually. Celestia and Luna were terrified of death. They delved into forbidden magic, trying to find a way to cheat death. Unfortunately, they did, discovering a dark blood magic ritual that could grant them immortality, for a price. By this time, the ponies had grown leery of the Royal Pony Sisters. Cells of resistance grew across Equestria, but they were too powerful, and the resistance's numbers were too few."
Star Swirl grinned, "Celestia and Luna made one fatal mistake, they used the daughter of a unicorn royal, King Sombra, to fuel their blood magic. Sombra was devastated. He had been a powerful sorcerer, especially talented in crystal magic, and he swore he would get revenge upon Celestia and Luna. He began to research dark magic, and it was in these twisted teachings that he found a way to combat Celestia and Luna."
"Dark magic is fueled by negative emotions," Star Swirl said. "The loss of his daughter and his lust for vengeance enabled Sombra to become an immensely powerful wielder of the dark arts. He wanted them to suffer as he had suffered, but he needed to draw them out. He marched an army upon the Crystal Empire and conquered it, ensuring the Royal Pony Sisters would come to challenge him."
Star Swirl laughed, "It was there that he set his plan into motion. When they came, he sprung his trap. Despite his prowess the sisters were able to defeat him, but that had been his plan all along. As they bound his spirit into the ice he cast his final spell, cursing Luna and the Crystal Empire. Eventually Luna was corrupted and became Nightmare Moon, forcing Celestia's hoof to use the Elements of Harmony against her, and that was truly when Sombra had his last laugh."
"For you see," Star Swirl explained, "Sombra had used his mastery over crystal magic to set a trap on the Elements of Harmony themselves. When Celestia tried to help her sister, she instead banished her to the moon for 1,000 years. A thousand years without her sister, forced to raise and lower her lunar prison every day, to see the mocking image of her corrupted form upon its surface, to have her haunt her nightmares. Sombra had had his revenge. Celestia was distraught, and I'm afraid that is where you come in."
Star Swirl put his hoof under Twilight's chin and held her head up, "For the last thousand years, Celestia has been scheming and plotting to get her sister back. She's manipulated so many ponies, so many events, to ensure that you and your friends all met on that fateful day to save Luna."
Twilight shook her head, "This doesn't make sense... This isn't the Princess Celestia I know..."
Star Swirl chuckled, then exhaled slowly. "Nopony knows who she is really is, those that know have a strange habit of ending up dead." He pointed his hoof around the area, "Or in this damned place. Think, Twilight. Think upon the history of Ponyville. For hundreds of years the region was unsettled..."
Twilight frowned, "Until Celestia granted the land to the Apple family. One of my best friends is Applejack, their great granddaughter."
Star Swirl smirked, "And the rest of your friends, the other Elements, they live in Ponyville as well."
Twilight nodded, "Yes. But why did Celestia do this to me, we saved Luna, I even helped her get rehabilitated to modern society!"
Star Swirl pointed once more to Twilight's flank, "It was your destiny they were after, Twilight. Destinies are what fuels their unholy rituals for immortality, and yours was a powerful destiny indeed. One they could not let come to fruition on its own. Do you remember last year's Hearth's Warming Eve?"
Twilight nodded, "Yes, the princess invited us all to perform in the pageant at Canterlot. It was a honor."
"More like a humor," Star Swirl said. "You were granted that honor solely for the amusement of Celestia and Luna. The roles you and your friends were assigned were those of your ancestors, Twilight. You and your friends are the descendants of the founding mares of Equestria."
Twilight gasped, "But how... Just... Wow... Clover...?"
Star Swirl smiled down at her, "You and your friends are the rightful heirs to the throne, you were destined to rule over Equestria in harmony. Sadly, Celestia has stolen that destiny from you. We were all just pawns. She used you, as she used me."
Twilight stood, something in the old wizard's tale had ignited a spark within her. If her friends were in danger, she had to do something to save them. "What do we do, Star Swirl?" Twilight asked.
Star Swirl shrugged, "There is nothing that can be done. It is too late."
Twilight shook her head, "No, if what you're saying is true, then we can not let this happen! I won't let her harm my friends."
Twilight began to pace, "You said she's been stealing ponies' destinies for quite some time, yes?"
Star Swirl nodded. Twilight smirked, "Okay, so first we'll go track down as many of them as we can. If Celestia targeted them as she did me, they must have amazing destinies as well with the talents to match. Together, I'm sure we can find a way out of here."
Star Swirl grinned, "Very well, Miss Sparkle, I am just a crazy old wizard, but my magic is yours, if you wish."
Twilight smiled, "Thank you, Star Swirl. Now, let's go find the other ponies!"
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