The Unicorn stood from her workdesk and stretched. She lifted an envelope in her magical grip and smiled to herself.
“Well, Dunwich,” she said, looking to a raven perched by the desk, “it’s taken us years of preparation, but it’s finally finished. We’re ready.”
The ebony bird let out a caw, almost sounding pleased himself.
She took a slow, sweeping glance at the room. A round study chamber at the top of a tower at the Castle of the Two Sisters, which had been gifted to her by Princess Celestia herself when she took her on as a student. Memories flowed through her head.
She looked back down at the envelope and took a breath. There was no turning back.
“If the worst happens,” she whispered, almost to herself, “I’ll truly miss this place.”
She pushed the window open and looked down at the grassy plains surrounding the castle, the greens dulled by the full moon’s glow. It was a cool, quiet night. Definitely one of Princess Luna’s finer works, in her own opinion.
Her ears pricked up as she heard voices from the castle. The distance made it hard for her to make out what was being said. Dunwich let out a sharp caw, flapping his wings in alarm.
“I know,” she muttered, her heart beginning to race. “We need to act now.”
She trotted over to Dunwich and held the envelope up to him. He took it in his beak.
“Do you remember what you have to do?” she asked. Dunwich blinked, his eyes focused on her. “Good boy. Don’t stop for anything. And if things don’t work out how I planned, I’ll miss you. You were truly the best companion I could ever ask for.”
The raven nuzzled her cheek, and she stroked his breast.
A thud sounded below. More voices. The thundering of hooves slowly climbing the tower.
The Unicorn stood away from Dunwich. “Go, Dunwich! Fly!” she hissed. The raven shot from the perch, swooping out the window and becoming a shrinking silhouette in the night sky.
She took another deep breath as the hooves stopped their stampede right outside her door.
Whether this works or not, she thought, I may as well try to enjoy my last few moments being in this room.
The door was kicked in, and a group of white ponies clad in gold armour rushed in, forming a semi-circle around the Unicorn. She didn’t flinch, not even when spears were pointed at her.
“Strange, you all aren’t meant to be on duty now,” she said, and turned her head to see a swarm of dark-coated bat ponies fly through the window, completing the circle. “Ah, there you are. Can I help you?”
A flash of magical light made her blink, and between her and the golden guards was Princess Celestia herself. Another flash from behind, and she looked over her shoulder to see her sister, Princess Luna. Both looked rather displeased.
“Night Spark,” Celestia began, her voice cold, “we’d like a word with you.”
“Why certainly, Princess,” the Unicorn said in her best ‘innocent’ voice. “But why all the guards? Is something the matter?”
“Something definitely is the matter,” Luna answered, and pointed a hoof toward the workdesk. “Why is that here and not where it should be?”
Night Spark followed the point. On the desktop was a thick book, its bindings black and sporting what almost looked like a distorted pony’s face. A bookmark was set within its yellowed pages.
“I wanted some light reading before bed,” she said, “and it looked rather interesting, so--”
“Do not lie to us,” Luna snapped.
“Why would I lie?”
“You would not destroy the protective seals around the library’s restricted section and knock multiple guards unconscious for just ‘a little light reading’.”
Celestia took a step forward. “Night Spark, you know why books on dark magic are protected. We can’t have them--”
“Falling into the wrong hooves,” Night Spark finished and waved a hoof. “Fine, take it back. I don’t need it anymore anyway.”
“‘Don’t need it anymore’?” the taller Alicorn repeated, taking the book in her magical grip and opening it at the bookmarked page. She stifled a gasp in her hoof.
“Night Spark,” she whispered, “what have you done?”
“Sister, what is it?” Luna asked. Celestia showed her the page, and her eyes widened with terror. Any guards who caught glimpses of it glanced at each other.
The Unicorn narrowed her eyes, a smirk misshaping her muzzle.
“I’ve proven you wrong, Celestia. I’ve succeeded.”
“No,” Celestia murmured, “no, you couldn’t have. I knew you were desperate to learn about dark magic, but to actually do this…”
“Of course, I had to run some tests before I used it on myself,” Night Spark continued, nonchalantly checking her hoof. “I’m glad I did, I don’t mind telling you. Some nasty results the first few times. But I’m sure you would have done something for those homeless beggars had you even known they ever existed, yes?”
Celestia’s pupils dilated, and she felt nauseous. “Night Spark, why…?”
“Oh come on, Princess,” Night Spark scoffed, guards backing toward the wall as she paced in front of the Alicorns. “You really didn’t see this coming? I mastered magic beam attacks and protective shields in my first month. I wanted a challenge. I wanted something I could actually use. When you told me dark magic existed, I wanted to learn the signs. I wanted to develop counter-spells. I wanted to change the world, and you knew it.
“And what did you do? You kept holding me back. Every single time I asked, or tried to show you I could handle stronger magic, it was ‘You’re not ready’ this or ‘It’s much too dangerous’ that.”
“Because I wanted to protect you,” Celestia said.
“From what? I feel fantastic.”
Luna stepped forward. “Only Celestia and I can handle such power.”
“Let me guess,” Night Spark spat, “because you’re Alicorn Princesses? Is that what Star Swirl was putting in your heads?”
“You will not speak ill of Star Swirl the Bearded,” Luna warned, her voice just a few decibels below that ‘Royal Canterlot Voice’ she liked to throw around.
“What, because he taught you everything you know? Because he sacrificed himself to stop a threat that could have easily been taken care of another way? Or is it because the almighty Royal Sisters of Equestria are nothing but teacher’s pets?”
“ENOUGH!” Celestia bellowed, using the Voice herself and causing everypony but Night Spark and Luna to step back.
If anything, Night Spark was a little amused. She had never seen Celestia angry before.
The white Alicorn took a deep breath, and spoke with a level tone. “Night Spark, I’m sorry that my restricting you has left you frustrated, but you must understand that I was doing it to protect you. Dark magic can take over you if you’re careless. The Pony of Shadows, King Sombra… those are what you could have become, and I didn’t want that for you.
“But, it’s also my fault. Had I paid more attention and seen what your frustration was turning you into, I could have helped you onto a different path. My pride of finally becoming a teacher blinded me. I’m so sorry, Night Spark.”
She lowered her head. “There is a way to reverse what you’ve done, if you’ll let us help you.”
Night Spark stared at her mentor. She remembered how she had impressed her by showing off strong magic as a filly. The tough lessons and even tougher tests she had set her.
The frustration that she couldn’t show her her full potential.
“Princess,” she finally said, “there… actually is a way you could help me, if you would.”
Celestia looked at her student, eyes wide with hope. “Of course, anything.”
Night Spark’s muzzle contorted into a wide smile. Her eyes turned a sickly green, pupils vanishing. Her horn glowed purple with flickers of black lightning.
“Let me show you what I’ve learned.”
Black tendrils shot from her horn. Celestia and Luna flew into the air and watched as they wrapped around the necks of the guard ponies, who tried to break free or cut them off with their spears, to no avail. Light trailed along the tendrils toward Night Spark and flowed into her horn. One by one the guards collapsed, eyes dulled and their cutie marks missing from their flanks.
Night Spark laughed as dark magic sparked across her body. She looked up at Celestia. “As dull as your lessons got sometimes, your story about Lord Tirek was quite interesting. So I did a little reading up on magic sapping.”
A blast of purple fired toward Celestia, who threw up a protective bubble. The force of the attack sent her slamming into the wall. She turned toward Luna, who charged and fired her own magic blast. Night Spark’s horn gained a purple aura, and Luna’s magic bent in midair, sent back toward her in a blast that had her reeling.
“So, am I ready now, Celestia?” Night Spark snarled. “I’d say I am. Or, if I really need some precious Alicorn magic, how about you both sit still and let me help myself to some. Maybe then I’ll be ready!”
Luna swooped over to help her sister to her hooves. “She’s truly grown more powerful than we expected, sister! We may have to use… them.”
“I wasn’t expecting her to actually do this,” Celestia murmured. “You may be right, she’s too far gone. But if we leave her alone, who knows what she will do?”
“Go and prepare them, sister,” the darker Alicorn said, “I will draw her attention. She will not resist the chance to defeat an Alicorn Princess.”
“Luna, are you sure? We don’t know how powerful she’s become, you might get hurt. Or worse”
“It is a risk I can take. Go.”
“What are you two muttering about?” Night Spark growled, skulking toward the sisters. With a flash of light, Celestia was gone, and Luna turned to face her. “Where is Celestia? Did I scare her off?”
“Do not worry about her,” Luna said, her horn glowing blue. “Worry about me. I shall be your opponent.”
Night Spark bared her teeth. “So Equestria’s Princess of the Sun is afraid of the dark, is she? No matter, it sounds almost fun to defeat her with her own sister’s magic anyway.”
A sudden blast from Luna’s horn sent Night Spark crashing through the wall. She caught herself and hovered in the air, watching as the Princess flew after her and fired another blast. Night Spark countered with her own.
Blasts of purple and blue shot across the sky as Alicorn and Unicorn swooped around each other. Night Spark cackled as she fired, her missed attacks taking chunks from the castle roofs and walls or causing small fires in the grass fields and trees.
Luna swooped down toward the ground, firing spells to put out the flames while defending herself against Night Spark’s onslaught. Both swooped up, Luna pursuing Night Spark around the castle spires.
“I must admit,” the Unicorn said, “I wasn’t expecting such a fight from the lesser sister!”
Luna’s eyes narrowed. “Your taunts will not phase me!”
Night Spark smirked. “You’ve never thought about how everypony sleeps when you bring a beautiful night like this, yet frolics through Celestia’s days? It’s quite obvious she’s the more popular one.”
“You will not defeat me with your petty insults!” Luna barked, firing another blast of magic that Night Spark easily dodged.
“And you will never defeat me by having a tantrum like the spoiled filly you are.”
“I am not trying to defeat you, Night Spark. I am stalling you.”
A sharp burning struck Night Spark in the back, sending her hurtling through the castle roof and crashing through multiple floors, finally landing on some carpet with a thud.
She got up and shook herself. Her horn’s purple aura returned, and dark splotches covered her wounds, making her injuries fade within seconds. She looked up and saw a pair of thrones with a banner above each, one blue and showing the moon, the other yellow with the sun.
“The colours were always so gaudy,” she commented to Celestia and Luna lowering through the hole in the ceiling. “I’ll have to do some renovations when I take over. Black is the new blue and yellow, you know.”
“You won’t get the chance, Night Spark,” Celestia called. “Look ahead of you.”
She did, and saw a large statue, shaped like a staff with an orb at the top and curved podiums sticking out, each holding a brilliant gem. She recognised what this was right away.
“Wow, using the Elements of Harmony on me?” she laughed, tendrils wriggling from the tip of her horn. “I’m almost flattered.”
The tendrils crept toward each gem, wrapping around them. The gems gave a single shimmer and the tendrils broke off, retracting back to her.
“So, magic sapping doesn’t work on them,” she muttered, and the Royal Sisters landed between her and the statue. “Shame, I wouldn’t mind being known as the wizard who defeated the Elements. So, what’s it to be then? Turned into a garden ornament? Moving to the Frozen Wastes? Ooh, maybe a vacation to Tartarus? I’m sure Tirek could use a friend.”
“You won’t be known as a wizard,” Celestia declared, “or at all. You will be plunged into the deepest, darkest depths where you will never be graced by my sun or Luna’s moon. History will forget you, Night Spark.”
The Unicorn snickered. “So dramatic, Celestia. It’s usually your sister who has to take refuge in audacity.”
The Elements began to glow, a rainbow streak joining them together and then moving to circle the two sisters. They pointed their horns at Night Spark and their magical blasts collided with the rainbow light to create a large, powerful blast that shot toward Night Spark. Celestia stared at her, seeing past the monster and seeing the filly she had taken in so many years ago. It caused an ache in her chest, but she had to bring her down.
The Unicorn didn’t move as the attack struck her. She knew she couldn’t fight the power of the Elements of Harmony, and the only way to make sure her plan had worked was to resign to her fate. She became a shimmering shadow amongst the rainbow energy engulfing her.
“I’m sorry, Night Spark,” she heard Celestia say, “but you left us with no choice.”
All Night Spark hoped for now was for the sisters to still hear her.
“Don’t apologise, I’m sure the old fool would be proud.”
Star Shade walked down the Canterlot street, trying her best not to look shady. She was a young Unicorn mare, top of her class at the School for Gifted Unicorns, and possessed quite a love for magic in return for a not-so-stellar social life.
But she didn’t mind not having many friends. Especially on that day. It meant less ponies to tell where she was going.
She stopped at a sidestreet and, after making sure nopony was paying attention, ducked into it. It was hidden from the sun and nopony was walking through it but her, which was just how she preferred it.
Near the middle of the dark street was a curios shop, with a logo resembling the one on the letter. She pushed the door open and slunk inside. Boxes of knick knacks littered the floor, the shelves lined with things like books, pottery, and some skulls that part of her hoped were fake.
The stallion behind the counter looked up with reawakened attention as she neared. “Welcome to my shop, young lady,” he said with a smile. “If I may say so, I never expected such a young pony to be interested in a place like this.”
“I’m looking for something,” Star Shade explained. “An amulet with a black fire inside it.”
The shopkeeper furrowed his brows and lowered behind the counter, coming back up with the very amulet in his magical grip. Inside the jewel, a black flame flickered with life.
“A very specific thing to look for,” he said. “Any particular reason you’re after it? Even I’m not so sure what it is, it’s been around since before my time and nopony has ever shown any interest in it.”
“Oh, it’s just some really rare jewellery,” Star Shade explained. “I’ve been looking all over town for one.”
“Well even so, I’m not sure if I should sell it. Something about it doesn’t seem right to me.”
The mare hovered a fat sack in the air, jingling the many bits inside.
“You make a very compelling argument, young lady. We have a deal.”
She exchanged the bits for the amulet, thanked the shopkeeper and left.
Star Shade looked up and down the street. Still nopony around. She looked at the amulet, staring at the black fire inside. This was what she was instructed to do, and it scared her a bit. She wasn’t sure what would happen once she went through with the final, easiest part, but she had come too far.
She slipped the amulet’s chain around her neck. A sudden, dull ache in her horn, and she fought the urge to scream as it grew into a sharp, burning pain. Her eyes clenched shut and teared up as she silently begged for it to stop.
And by some mercy, the agony vanished as quickly as it came. She breathed a sigh and sat on the ground, trying to pull her thoughts together.
“There you go. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Star Shade’s eyes shot open at the new voice. A mare’s, older and mature. But she had made sure nopony else was with her, so where…?
She looked ahead, and gasped at the figure before her. A black, ghostly Unicorn around Princess Luna’s height.
“So it’s really you?” she asked.
The new Unicorn nodded. “It is. I’m your great, great, great, great aunt… wait, how many ‘greats’ would a thousand years be? Ugh, you know what? Just call me your distant aunt.”
The smaller mare got to her hooves and took a breath. “I’m Star Shade.”
“I know you are, I’ve been keeping an eye on my family for centuries, but it’s nice to properly meet you. You certainly got my sister’s looks.”
“So that means… it worked?”
“It did. I managed to transfer my soul into that amulet’s gem before my body was destroyed. Though I don’t mind telling you it was still rather unpleasant. Who knew light magic could still really hurt? Maybe it’s all that dark magic I’ve got. I’ll need to do some experiments when I get my body back.”
“How will you get your body back?”
“Oh, that’s a long and rather complicated process. Nothing for you to worry about right now. But let’s just say that until we’re both ready for what that entails--which isn’t dangerous, so don’t give me that look--we’ll be sharing a body and mind. Yours, to be exact. We can’t read each other’s minds thanks to the barrier I put up in here. That was why your horn was hurting earlier, apologies for not warning you first.”
Star Shade glowered. “A warning would have been appreciated, yes.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” the Unicorn chuckled. “Well, my half of it. Anyway, whenever the situation calls for it and you need me to, I can take over your body for a bit and use my own magic.”
“Take over?!”
“With your permission,” the figure insisted. “Part of the soul transfer spell says that I can’t do it without consent. Besides, I wouldn’t do anything to put my own flesh and blood in danger. I may be what you would class as a witch, but I’m not heartless. Well, I don’t have a physical heart right now but you know what I mean.”
“Right,” Star Shade muttered, her own heart starting to slow down. “Can anypony else see you?”
“Only you can see and hear me while you have the amulet, so I’d advise you be careful where and when we talk. Mainly so you don’t look like you’ve lost your mind.”
The younger Unicorn started a slow walk to the main street, planning to blend in with the crowd. “What now then?”
“How about we take a stroll?” the Unicorn said, her form fading into Star Shade’s body. “I haven’t been out on the town in a while, and spending the past thousand years on a shelf has left me rather bored.”
“Fair enough,” she said, and stopped at the exit to the bustling street. A pitch black raven had perched on top of a box and regarded her with a soft caw. She ran her hoof down its breast.
“Hello, Dunwich.”
