Those Who Seek Death

Solar Guard Captain Twilight Sparkle looked down at the mare wearing her face, observing every facet of her familiar features with a calm and critical eye. Each Solar Guard in the room had both her doppelgänger and the as yet unknown mare pinned to the ground with hoofblades pressed against their throats. Was it an excessive show of force considering the targeted anti-magic ward surrounding the room?

Probably, but the Captain had never been one to take half measures—not when it came to her job, and especially not in this situation. The Twilight in front of her may have had her magic blocked, but that didn't mean she didn't have other tricks up her proverbial sleeve. She was an alicorn, after all—a real alicorn, not whatever that thing was. The Captain could “see” it plain as day. Though it didn't burn nearly as bright, this Twilight had the same divine aura as the Queen.

But then, why would that beast appear as an alicorn? Perhaps she might've actually been one in the past? And if both of my counterparts were alicorns, what does that say about me? About my future? Or about my past? How did they do it? And could I have accomplished the same?

Would I even be allowed the right after what I've done?

The Captain shook away the useless thoughts. Equestria already Queen Daybreaker, and that was enough. Maybe that monster might've been an alicorn once, but even if that'd been the case once, it certainly wasn't anymore. Now it was a freak of nature that she couldn't afford to let roam the lands of Equestria. Just like the self-proclaimed Lord of Chaos. Just thinking about the encounter with that abominable copy in the Everfree made the Captain grind her teeth. Its final words were still bouncing around in the back of her mind, despite her best efforts to shove them aside.

She didn't want to believe that thing. She didn't trust it. Of course, she didn't. But the words it spoke—the declaration it made—the Captain found she couldn't ignore them. There was something irrefutable in its voice. The Captain met its powerful gaze and knew the monster had told no lies. Not only had it known about her brother, not only had it known he'd been murdered, but it had somehow deduced that the killer was somewhere close by. The Captain nearly snarled at the thought.

If it knew where that wretched insect was, it could have just told me instead of speaking in vague proclamations, she thought bitterly, then allowed herself a small but vicious smile, but it doesn't really matter. I'll get the full story out of that loathsome thing in the end, one way or another. And if I can't do it, the Queen certainly will.

Of that, the Captain of the Solar Guard had no doubt. That thought eased some of the Captain Sparkle's growing frustrations and allowed her to refocus her mind on the matter at hoof. The Captain had set up some temporary “accommodations” for the witnesses here in town while she finished preparations for their trip back to Canterlot. At least, that had been the original plan, at any rate.

But then the Captain had gotten a sudden communication from the Queen upon reaching Ponyville about a matter that needed immediate attending to, and the whole operation was placed in the Solar Guard Captain's hooves. The ponies that had summoned her in the Everfree Forest weren't technically prisoners or accused of any crimes. Yet. The same couldn't be said for the baby dragon, but that was a separate political matter that could be handled once more immediate concerns were resolved.

The Captain couldn't have the group wandering off while she was attending to other business—especially the dragon. No, the ponies weren't accused of any crimes per se, but that didn't mean they couldn't be questioned. She hadn't finished investigating the events that led up to the confrontation in the Everfree yet. Unfortunately, that business had been put on something of a hold when she received word from the Ponyville surveillance team about two suspicious individuals approaching town from the south.

Specifically, from the direction of the Everfree Forest.

Needless to say, that had grabbed the Guard Captain's attention. When one of the team members shared a thaumic vision of what they'd seen, the Captain had completely set her work aside. Evidently, the two strangers had been going around asking some very pointed questions about individuals they had no business knowing about. Sweetie Drops failed to convince them to accompany her to Town Hall, but that hadn't mattered ultimately.

The Captain simply had Ashen Skies track them from above to make sure they didn't stray from their objective, and that had been enough. Now they were in her custody, and Captain Sparkle had been given the okay to act with impunity by the Queen. This was her show now, and the Captain intended to take full advantage of the circumstances. Of course, she'd had no idea who this Bright Spark really was until she'd dragged the mare into the room.

Her thaumic sight—her ability to sense and see a creature's unique thaumic aura—didn't work unless the creature in question was within close proximity. That, and she actually needed to see them with her own eyes. Had the anti-magic ward not stripped away the mare's disguise, the Captain would have recognized her own thaumic aura immediately. The aura of the monster she'd captured in the Everfree was a wild and alien thing for the most part, but as much as she hated to admit it, the Captain could sense a trace of herself within that aura.

It was faint, but it was there, and she couldn't deny what her own eyes were telling her. Then again, that thing was a complete mystery. For all she knew, it could have warped her senses to suit its own needs. All the more reason to get what they could out of it and, if possible, dispose of it. This mare, on the other hoof, was, undoubtedly, Twilight Sparkle. There was some strangeness in her aura—in both the mare's auras—that she'd seen in the monster and the baby dragon, but the Captain was convinced it was her counterpart for sure.

Even without having asked any of the questions she'd been dying to ask since the mares were brought to her, the Captain had already been able to come to a few conclusions just based on their auras. If that anomalous factor in their aura was any indication, the two mares here and the monster and dragon were connected somehow. It also might've stood to reason that, based on that same anomalous factor, the monster's tale about coming from another timeline might not be a complete fabrication.

That had some very interesting implications, ones that Captain Sparkle planned to investigate the moment she had the opportunity. She might've been the Captain of the Solar Guard now, but the mare was still an academic at heart. She didn't often show her scholarly proclivities outwardly anymore, but the Captain never once denied them. If her intellectual interests were piqued, she'd pursue the source without hesitation.

And these four creatures who'd fallen into her hooves certainly were interesting specimens. If the Captain was being honest with herself, she found the presence of her two lookalikes as unsettling as it was fascinating. But there was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be had here. She just had to figure out exactly what it was and how to capitalize on it. And if she was going to get anywhere, she needed some answers.

“You know...” Captain Sparkle began casually. She traced a hoof idly across her desk as she spoke, though her eyes never left the other Twilight forcefully prostrated before her, “...that other counterpart of mine told me some very interesting things when we met out in the Everfree.”

Her alternate didn't answer right away, but the grimace of bemusement and consternation said volumes. The Captain just smiled and waited another few seconds to see if she said anything. Eventually, she did, though it sounded like she was struggling to push the words out.

“Where is she?” the mare asked, her voice strong but clearly lacking in intimidation, “what did you do with her? And the others?”

“Others?” the Captain furrowed her brow in confusion, “I'm not sure I follow. What 'others' are you talking about?”

“You know who I mean,” the alternate ground out, “I'm not going to play this game with you—with myself. I don't understand how or why you turned out this way, but what I do know is that we've done nothing except ask a few questions. Or is that alone enough to condemn us?” As the other Twilight spoke, her tone and expression grew more challenging. “Is this Equestria really so far gone that the Royal Guard is willing to threaten me with violence just for asking the wrong questions?”

The Captain raised an eyebrow at the mare's accusatory tone. She would've been impressed by her alternate self's courage in such a volatile situation, if not for the slight quake in her voice and the anxiety bubbling just behind her fierce amethyst irises. The alicorn was bluffing, and not very well by Captain Sparkle's estimation. That she was just as terrified as she was confused was plain as the boiling sun in the sky.

She has some experience with this kind of situation, but not much, I'd wager. Just what kind of Equestria did you come from, alternate?

The Captain didn't completely buy the story that abomination was selling, but given the growing evidence and increasingly absurd circumstances, she was beginning to come to grips with the notion that the creature's words warranted at least some manner of consideration. Rather than make her thoughts known, the Captain chose to answer her counterpart's question with an amused grin.

“The Royal Guard? No,” she replied, “no, my unfortunate lookalike, that's what the Solar Guard is for. We do the threatening, and we very much have the right to detain and interrogate you for asking the wrong questions.” The Captain's mocking smirk fell away, “and if we don't like what those questions imply, then yes, we just might resort to violence, as is our right and potential duty.”

The alicorn opened her mouth, but disbelief rendered her mute. Rather than wait for her to collect her thoughts, the Captain turned to address the other mare instead. She hadn't said a word since the two were dragged into the room. Captain Sparkle figured it was about time that changed.

“What say you... Starlight Glimmer, was it?” the Captain gave the unicorn a curious look, “you've been awfully quiet over there. Surely, you have something to say on the matter? Come on, speak up,” she gave the mare a toothy smile, “I don't bite. Really.”

Starlight Glimmer flinched at the sudden attention. She glanced sidelong at her alicorn companion, then back to the Captain. After a moment, she licked her dry lips and opened her mouth to speak.

“How... does this spell work, exactly?”

The seemingly impertinent question actually gave the Captain some pause. She gave Starlight a slow, measured blink, then gradually leaned forward over the desk as if to get a better look at the unicorn. After an excruciating few seconds of complete silence, the Captain finally spoke. Her tone was calm and patient, but the look in her eyes was anything but.

“Do you think I'm an idiot?” she asked.

The Captain let the question hang in the air, as if that was all that needed to be said to get her point across. Starlight, having heard well the threat beneath her collected response, gave a wry, shaky smile in turn.

“Well, it was worth a try, right?”

In truth, Starlight Glimmer hadn't expected her plan to work, but getting Twilight's militaristic double to spill the beans on how the anti-magic ward worked wasn't the plan anyway. Not exactly. No, the question itself was the plan—a prompt, really. It wasn't meant for the Captain of the Solar Guard, but rather for the Princess of Friendship. Starlight glanced at Twilight again and had to bite back a sigh of relief as a look of realization crossed the alicorn's face.

If she was being honest, Starlight was afraid the mare wouldn't catch on, but it seems when it came to magic, Twilight didn't disappoint. Starlight Glimmer herself was adept at spellcrafting—it was her talent, after all. She'd used that talent to modify Star Swirl's original time spell and had even improved upon it, or at least she'd like to think so. But the thing was, spellcrafting took time and resources. Time and resources Starlight didn't have on hoof right now.

Twilight Sparkle didn't have those restrictions. Starlight had done her research. She knew about Twilight's ability. She knew that the mare was a magical wunderkind that could analyze and reverse engineer a spell through simple understanding of the underlying principles. Starlight had no doubt that Twilight knew a few things about magic-restricting spells and wards. The unicorn just needed to get Twilight's mind back on track... and keep her double preoccupied while she thought up a way out of this mess.

“Alright, alright, real question then!” Starlight squeaked in terror as one of the guards pressed their hoofblade closer to the back of her neck. Clearly none of were amused by her wit. Starlight made a mental note of that and let out a shaky breath as the blade retracted ever so slightly, then continued in a more contrite tone.

“Okay, so obviously we were being watched this whole time, so I won't beat around the bush anymore.” She resisted the urge to give Twilight another look and held the Captain's gaze as best she could. “Yes, we were asking questions about the other Twilight and the others in the Everfree. We're worried about them. All of them. We're just trying to make sure nopony was hurt in whatever went down in that place. With all that out in the open, what do you actually want from us?”

It was a gamble, but the Captain of this Solar Guard hadn't had them killed on the spot, which meant she had a use for them. Whether it was just for questioning or something else, Starlight didn't know and didn't particularly care, so long as Twilight found a way around the anti-magic ward and got them out of here. She just needed to buy time.

Starlight wasn't sure if it was the admittance of their actions or the actual question, but either way, her words seemed to mollify the Captain somewhat. The mare leaned back against her chair and gave Starlight Glimmer an assessing look. All levity and mockery, false or not, disappeared from her face. When she finally started talking again, it was clear to the captured duo that the time for banter had passed.

"What I want—what the Queen wants—is answers. Proper answers,” the Captain replied seriously, “if the two of you and that drakeling really are accomplices to that abomination like I suspect you are, then that makes you all a potential threat to Equestria. My job is to find out what you know, your motivations, what you plan to do, how involved with the abomination,” her eyes narrowed, “if I don't like the answers... well... I'm sure I don't need to say it.”

“Fair enough,” Starlight conceded with a jerky nod, “ask away, and I'll be happy to answer as best I can—though, I have to warn you that our story is kind of out there, and I was, ah... sort of indisposed during part of what happened.”

“And what did happen exactly?” the Captain asked.

Captain Sparkle leaned forward in her seat again, eager to hear what the mare had to say. She'd gotten some details about what happened in the Everfree Forest from the crippled pegasus and her companions, but she hadn't heard anything of real substance yet. The baby dragon, on the other hoof, had spun her a much more interesting tale—nonsensical and impossible to believe, but interesting nonetheless.

Of the four evident outsiders she'd detained, the Solar Guard Captain had gotten a full account from one and a brief account from another. So far, both stories from the dragon and the abomination had matched up, but as they were together at the time, that didn't mean much to the Captain. A corroborating account from these two could change that, depending on what was said. And just maybe she could also get some details on the other magical anomaly the surveillance team found deeper into the Everfree.

All that ice, and the residual distortions in the thaumic field... it has to be related to that thing somehow...

She just needed more. More answers. More time. More opportunities. She needed to know, to understand, to sate the hidden beast that was her curiosity. Captain Twilight Sparkle told herself time and again that it was all for Queen and country, but that wasn't true. Not really. No, in reality, this was personal. There was clearly something going on here that the Queen wasn't telling her about—something much bigger than it seemed, the Captain was sure of it.

And despite herself and her dedication to the Queen and professionalism, she couldn't help her own desires. Still, she allowed those feelings to sink deep into the abyss of her mind, just as she always did. Just as she'd done for years. She'd have her chance to find out the truth of the matter, but not now. Not yet. Now she had to listen to this mare's story, and what a ridiculous story it was.

She listened intently as Starlight Glimmer told her of another Equestria across time and space—one where peace reigned, and Princess Celestia still ruled the land with patient grace and boundless benevolence. She reluctantly told of how she'd modified and used Star Swirl's time spell to unravel their timeline out of some misguided bid for revenge against the Princess of Friendship. The Captain found she couldn't bring herself to rebuke the mare for her rash and foolish actions.

While she herself wouldn't have done so just for some petty revenge, the Solar Guard Captain would have happily used that power to change the course of her own history. Assuming countless thaumatologists had been wrong and that the future could, in fact, be changed permanently. Maybe Nightmare Moon's attack on Vanhoover could've been prevented. Maybe the tragedy of Cloudsdale could've been avoided. Maybe Twilight could have saved her brother somehow. Maybe... maybe, if what this mare said was true, then maybe she still could.

Maybe this was the opportunity she'd been waiting for.

This mare, without realizing it, had suddenly become far more important in the Captain's eyes, even more so than the abomination or her royal doppelgänger. To think, the potential answer to all of her and the rest of Equestria's problems would come not from her alicorn counterpart, but from this single, no-name unicorn. The Captain wanted to laugh at the irony, but bit it back, along with her growing excitement. There was yet more to the story that was being told.

Starlight, oblivious to the hunger in the Captain's eyes, went on to talk about how she'd dragged Twilight into a temporal game of cat and mouse and how they'd wound up reaching a dead world completely devoid of life—save for a horrifying monstrosity made of pure light. According to Starlight, it was there that the Captain's more monstrous counterpart found and attacked them.

Princess Twilight was able to talk her bestial alternate down, though Starlight was still reduced to a vegetative state. What happened next, Starlight only knew from what Twilight had told her. She'd expected the Captain to mention something about the slave traders that'd captured the both of them, but the Captain didn't even acknowledge them. Instead, she finally turned her focus to the other Twilight to ask a different question... and froze.

None of the other Solar Guards could see it, but to the Captain, it was painfully, horribly obvious—or at least, it should've been. Captain Sparkle had been so focused on Starlight, so enamored with her words and the possibilities she presented, that she hadn't even glanced the alicorn's way. That had been a mistake, and a careless one at that. Too late, the Captain of the Solar Guard noticed the fluctuations in her counterpart's aura.

There was no visible glow in the mare's horn, but for somepony as skilled as Twilight, there didn't need to be. The Captain knew that better than anypony. She knew how intelligent and resourceful she could be, so why would this Twilight be any different? If anything, this Twilight likely had much more time and experience to devote to the study of magic than the Captain did. She was a genius. She was powerful. She was an alicorn. And yet, the Captain had somehow still written the mare off.

Despite her resolution to do so, she hadn't given the situation its warranted due, and now she was about to pay the price. To anypony who couldn't “see” Princess Twilight like she could, the mare looked utterly docile, with her eyes closed and her head bowed. Captain Twilight Sparkle knew better. She recognized the rhythm of the alicorn's shifting aura—the subtle ebb and flow, the rhythmic pulses, the thaumic vibrations. Instantly, the Captain knew what the mare was doing, but she was already too late to stop it.

Even as she shot up from her chair, lit her horn, and opened her mouth to shout a warning, Twilight had already finished her preparations. Twilight's eyes snapped open, her amethyst orbs blazing with magenta tinted power. That same magenta light wrapped around her horn, then traveled down her entire frame before erupting outward like a bomb. The shockwave of thaumic energy washed through Starlight harmlessly, but each and every guard was violently thrown backward.

The anti-magic ward, surrounding the room like an invisible bubble, turned opaque as the Princess' magical shockwave reached the walls and ceiling. The moment the two conflicting energies made contact, the new magenta bubble of anti-magic shattered like glass. Captain Twilight Sparkle was a powerful mage—the strongest in Equestria barring the Queen herself—but she was no alicorn. The expertise was there, but the raw thaumic strength to overcome her alternate's magic was not.

She'd thrown up a last second barrier to defend against her counterpart's assault, and while it had allowed her to hold her ground, the barrier itself was also shattered to pieces. The magical backlash the Captain suffered was terrible, but the rage and shame allowed her to cut through the pain—not that it did her any good. All she could do now was grit her teeth and glare at the font of magical power before her. Princess Twilight returned the look, her eyes still ablaze with blinding magenta light, and it was the Captain of Queen Daybreaker's Solar Guard that flinched first.

She knew the mare was an alicorn. She knew just how powerful she personally could be as an alicorn—maybe not as powerful as Queen Daybreaker, but an unstoppable magical powerhouse in her own right. She knew that and had even seen as much from the abomination, but it was only now that she truly understood that she, as an admittedly powerful unicorn, but a unicorn, nonetheless, was utterly out of her depth here.

Her mind railed against the notion, fought against it desperately, but ultimately, all she could do was watch with impotent fury as her royal doppelgänger and the potential key to hers and Equestria's salvation vanished from Town Hall in a blinding flare of magenta light.