Twilight's Pupil

Twilight's Pupil Chapter 6

by Crystal Secret

Many weeks had passed since the incident in the central streets of Canterlot. Princess Twilight had become worried that time was running out, but a glimmer of hope appeared with the Summer Sun Celebration in a few weeks time. She just hoped that her pupil Starlight could defeat the evil threat that was about to descend upon them, was her pupil even ready for such a feat? The unicorn had a lot of potential and as powerful as she already was, she was going to be taking on one of the greatest sorcerers of all time and she wasn't sure if Starlight was ready to take it all on board.

With the glimmering marvel of the sea of stars above her, Twilight sighed in defeat. She hadn't slept a wink in days and nothing worried her more than what was to come. She had always worried of the future, regardless of how near that future might be. Nor was she utterly prepared to take on such a great challenge of mysterious boundaries that seemed to lie out before her like the glorious sky above her. Tears began to run their course down her pale cheeks of lavender, she cried in desperation for the answer to her seemingly ever growing problem.

"Oh why can't I prepare her for the challenges that are ahead of her?" She cried out to the stars as they twinkled in their own colossal mansion. "I just want her to be ready."

Twilight dragged her Alicorn form back inside her royal chambers, nothing could prepare Starlight for the rain of truth that was about to shower upon her like the thunderous sound of a dying heartbeat. She climbed onto her bed, and slowly drifted off into a deep slumber.

Meanwhile, in one of Canterlot castle's many impressive libraries, lying on the floor was none other than the very unicorn whom the fate of Equestria now rests upon. Books tower around her as she studies by candlelight. Starlight was intrigued by the never ending amount of books that held such secrets of wonders that led her to believe that she was just another unicorn in this ever changing world.

With her head stuck in the history of astronomy, she was oblivious to the unnerving sounds that came from down the passage; she couldn't even feel the presence of something quite peculiar. The sound of creeping hoof steps filled the halls. But she simply chose to ignore it as she continued to read. It went quiet for a moment; a moment of silence was what disturbed her. She raised her head in curiosity and decided to investigate.

Starlight quietly crept down the hall, her horn glowing with brilliant light. A muffled shriek called out to her in the dark, and she was sure something was up. She raced down the halls towards the direction of the noise. Suddenly, she could feel the warmth of another body as she bumped into some-pony, resulting in her falling onto her backside. When she returned to four hoofs she was meant with a cloaked figure that seemed rather surprised by the incident. The cloaked figure's eyes were wide with surprise and her mouth was agape. Something about the unicorn seemed oddly familiar.

"You're the princess's pupil? Why you're nothing but a pathetic commoner!" snickered the unicorn in disdain. "Besides, you won't stand a chance against me. You see, I am the former pupil of Princess Celestia and have been trained to be one of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria!" announced the cloaked figure, whose eyes haunted her as she cackled with delight.

Frightened and confused Starlight froze in her spot, her body trembled in fear. Her eyes were wide with shock and her mouth shook with the words she couldn't seem to form. After a few moments of terror, she finally spoke up.

"Then...what are you here for?" She asked, confused.

"Why to exact revenge of course, I will take out any of those who stand in my way. I shall force Princess Celestia to make me an Alicorn and then I will overthrow the throne and become the new sole ruler of Equestria! But for now, I must go and in three days time I'll be back and you so better be ready, because if you're not Equestria will be mine!" She cackled with delight as she turned and ran into the night

Frightened and shocked to the bone, Starlight stood frozen in the dark, dim lighted hallway for a moment longer. Her body simply trembled in utter terror as she took in what she had just witnessed. Now she understood her purpose for being here, she was to defeat the evil unicorn sorceress and prevent her from taking over Equestria. So, was that the only reason why she was the princess's pupil? Just to be some weapon for the princesses to use against evil? No, it couldn't be true! Surely her purpose in Canterlot was far greater than what anypony could imagine?

With those thoughts in mind, she turned and walked back down the cold, ominous halls of the castle. A cool, whispering wind waved over her making her body shiver in response. She suddenly missed the warmth and familiarity of the library in which she had spent countless nights studying all of which she found most fascinating.

Tears sprung to her eyes and raced down her cheeks as she ran down the dark hallways. She cried out loudly to the walls that only stood solemnly before her in reply. Suddenly, she felt all alone in this big, wide world. A world where she was nothing but a militaristic weapon to defend those more important than her, she suddenly wished to be back home with the parents who so dearly loved her but due to unfortunate circumstances perished with all the other beautiful, precious things her life. She considered herself to be one of these things and hoped she too, would perish.

Not knowing of where she was going, Starlight soon became lost. Lost beyond ever being found, fear began to creep up her neck like some unwanted to illness. She had stopped crying and when she took a good look around she soon realized where she was.

All around her were large, clear stained glass windows that told of grand adventures and important events in Equestrian history. The most previous one being the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle, light shone through the windows and created a row of dark shadows on either side.

Three large, colossal thrones sat before her. She stared at awe at the very place of which the rulers of Equestria sat. It seemed that ponies had a tendency to want their superiors to sit somewhere they’ll be noticed as being rather important.

It was dark, cold and rather foreboding. The room gave her a strange feeling that this was not the last time she would be here. Suddenly, her eyes went totally white and everything became dark for a few short moments.

She soon found herself in the same throne room that she was in just a few moments ago, except this time it was late afternoon and everything was much clearer. Not only that, she wasn't alone. She turned around only to be faced with the very unicorn of whom she now had to defeat; Sunset Shimmer. Fear raced through her veins and she then realized where she was.

It would seem that standing in the throne room had triggered her to have a vision, into the future. She was comforted by the fact that none of this was real and it would all eventually end but for now, she was faced with a dark force of powerful magic that was only growing stronger by the second.

"This is the end Starlight, not only for you, but for the rest of Equestria! Defeating you is going to be a piece of cake, especially in a world of which I control. Come on, try to defeat me. Give it your all and at least I'll have a small challenge if any at all." She said before cackling with ruthless laughter. Her words tormented Starlight, forcing her into a corner of which you could not move herself out of.

Not knowing of how to react or what to do next. Starlight stood frozen in fear as Sunset Shimmer came running towards her with her horn glowing with some kind of dark substance. The sound of her hooves grew louder and she braced herself for the impact but then, her eyes opened and she returned to the world she had just departed from.

What had just happened? She was standing in the throne room again and it would seem that she had not moved an inch and that none of what had just transpired had actually happened. It was all just some kind of vision that allowed her to see into the near future.

Lost and insecure she cried into the night, standing there as she shook with terror. Tears streamed down her face and she fell to the ground resting on her hooves. The events of the evening had made little sense to her and now she didn’t even know how to return to the comfort and safety of library.

The ever familiar and repeated sound of hoof steps drew her attention to the figure slowly walking towards her; the darkness shadowed the figure making it hard to decipher an accurate shape. Instead of running in fear or standing there in terror she simply gave up on all hope of ever being safe in the company of another.

“Starlight.” Said a familiar voice comfortingly,’ “Are you alright?”

A muffled cry was the only sound the filly made in response.

A warm, comforting wing wrapped its way around the small of her back and that’s when she realized who she was in the embrace of. She turned to look at the pony who had come to her rescue on this dark, frightening evening. A warm, kind smile lit up the pony’s face and suddenly, Starlight felt safe again.

“Twilight? But, how did you know where I was?”

“I could hear your cries and I followed them. Are you alright my student?” she asked.

“Well…”

“Look at you! You’re all covered in scratches and bruises! Come; let’s get you cleaned up and into bed. It would appear that you have had quite an eventful evening.”

“Yes, it has been.” Was all she could say in reply for after what had happened she was simply too traumatized to begin to explain even the briefs of her most thrilling tale.

Later that night, in her deepest slumber, Starlight had a dream. A dream where she was not a filly but rather a fully grown mare, not only that but she had wings and a crown too. She dreamt of being a princess, or had she envisioned it? She couldn’t be sure, whatever the case it seemed to settle her mind about one thing.

That her destiny truly was beyond anypony’s comprehension and that she would someday be somepony of great significance, somepony whose decisions actually mattered and would ultimately affect the fate of the rest of Equestria.

But first…she had to somehow defeat Sunset Shimmer and return harmony to Equestria once more…but there was just one question that left utterly dumbfounded.

How would she go about doing such an act?