In a Dark Equestria, Once upon a time

Chapters

Chapter 1: Falling into a Black Scar
Chapter 2: A Very Strange Report
Chapter 3: Questions and Confusion
Chapter 4: Escaping With Great Haste!
Chapter 5: Different and Confusing Pasts
Chapter 6: Warming up a Cold War
Chapter 7: A Lesson in Alternate History
Chapter 8: Personal Powers
Chapter 9: Starlight's Twisted Torture
Chapter 10: Shining Armor Arrives

Chapter 1: Falling into a Black Scar

Starlight Glimmer burst into Spikes room with a huge smile. The door swung open and crashed against the wall with a loud thud. Spike was minding his own business reading his latest comic book when the door crashed open and startled him. He jumped and tried to turn while protecting his comic and ended up falling right to the floor. The comic book gingerly draped over his head and he quickly tilted it up to see who had entered his room so rudely.

"Spike! Spike! I think I did it! I did it! I did, I did, surely I did," Starlight sang out repeatedly.

Spike frowned at his Unicorn friend and lifted himself to his feet. Removing the comic book from his head and setting it on the bed behind him Spike pondered what Starlight could be talking about. Knowing her is was likely a spell or new food.

"Uh, you did what?" asked Spike with a raised eyebrow.

"The time spell, I figured it out!" replied Starlight.

"You mean the one you said wouldn't change time if you used it?" asked Spike.

"Yup," said Starlight as she held her head up with pride. "You can go watch events in the past or in the future and no one will be able to see you and you won't be able to change anything!"

Spike's eyes grew wide and his frown had changed into a smile. He was excited that she had completed her work. As he thought about it though he started to wonder.

"H-how do you know it works?" asked Spike.

"Well, I don't really, until I test it. But the math checks out! I have checked it several times," explained Starlight.

"So what's next?" asked Spike.

"I am going to try it of course," said Starlight as she turned to leave. "I just really wanted to tell someone, and I figured I should let you know where I am going."

"Maybe you should wait for Twilight," said Spike as she followed her out of the room.

"Twilight is going to be in Canterlot for another week, I don't want to wait that long," said Starlight with a small huff.

Spike followed Starlight quietly to her workshop. His concerned expression did not escape the mare, who upon seeing it scowled. Starlight was confident that she had figured this spell out. This spell would allow them to study any and every event in history, there was no limit to the knowledge they could gain with it. Starlight was determined to make this work.

Once they were in the workshop, Starlight got to work clearing a space. She grabbed a small pouch with a type of crystal in it and tied it around her forearm. Next, she grabbed two scrolls she had copied from her original and placed one in the cleared area and the other in the strap of the gem pouch on her arm. She started to position herself in the cleared space when she suddenly looked up and then trotted to her table. On the table was a large metal box which she put the original scroll in and then locked.

Spike curiously pointed to the pouch on Starlights forearm. "What are those crystals for?" he asked her.

"Hmm? Oh these, charm quartz, they help to focus the spell, but it takes three of them at this size and the spell will destroy them so I need several," explained Starlight in a hurry.

"Why?" asked Spike.

Starlight stopped what she was doing to look the little Dragon in the face. "Because this spell has to be re-cast each time you move, even to come back," she told him.

Starlight signaled for Spike to step back behind a marked line on the floor. "Oh," he said as he stood where indicated and nervously watched her.

Starlight noticed Spike's nervousness. She smiled at him and talked to him in a reassuring tone. "Don't worry, this will work, if anypony knows how to make a time spell it's me, right?" she said arrogantly.

"I suppose so," said Spike still unsure.

Starlights smile turned to a frown as she got prepared to cast her spell. Slowly her horn began to flicker and glow. Her hair began to flow as though being blown in the wind from the energy building around her. Her frown quickly turned back into a huge smile. Three crystals she had placed on the floor in front of her connected to her magic and began to float in the air. Spike had to cover his face with his claws to see. The crystals and Starlight's horn began to radiate bright light all over the room. Then suddenly several sparks began to spontaneously pop in the air around the room. Terrible cracking sounds shuddered the castle walls and before they knew it a massive purple and black scar tore open between them.

"Somethings wrong, run!" Starlight tried to yell to Spike. Her words were instantly drowned out by the violently loud sound of suction that filled the air.

Starlight and Spike watched each other helplessly as they were both flung into the scar, sucked in with such great force there was no time to react. The light of the room quickly faded as they fell further inside the scar until they were enveloped in darkness. Neither could see the other for a long time. Eventually, all sounds ceased. Spike and Starlight hung in total darkness, with no sound. Even when they tried to call out to one another, there was nothing to be heard against the void. It was as though their voices had disappeared. Then suddenly, in a terrifying surge of lights and sounds, they found themselves rocketing forward towards the opening of a scar similar to the one they had been drawn into.

"Ahhhhhhh!" both of them could suddenly be heard shrieking as the plummeted towards the opening with increasing speed.

Spike was not sure how long he had been unconscious when he came to. It was a strange feeling. In his mind, he was waking up from bed, but as he tried to stand like normal and open his eyes he found he was lying face down on the ground. As his mind shifted from dream to its awake state, he sluggishly climbed to his feet at tried to figure out where he was. The area was covered in long wet grass, and the ground was squishy under his feet. Rubbing his head with his right hand Spike looked about the place. Something seemed familiar about it. Before he could give it further thought something caught his eye. It was Starlight, not far away from him. She wasn't moving but he could make out breathing. She was unconscious on the ground as he had been.

"Starlight!" exclaimed Spike as he tried to dash through the sloshing mud and slippery grass.

By the time Spike got to Starlight's side, she had begun to stir putting his mind more at ease. Spike helped her stand and waited for her to get her barrings. Starlight groaned as she rubbed her head and tried to look around through blurry eyes. After a few seconds, she noticed Spike helping her.

"Ugh, where are we Spike?" asked Starlight.

Spike looked around a good deal before responding. "I think this is where Twilight's castle should be? But there nothing here but a marsh," he answered with a shrug.

Starlight's head was clearing up now, she took a few steps forward and scanned the area. Spike was right, it did look like the right place. But there were no buildings from Ponyville anywhere, and the landscape was dingy and wet. Starlight turned back to Spike with a worried look.

"I don't know where, or when we are Spike! This could be ancient Equestria," Starlight tried to make sense of their surroundings.

"Maybe this is the future?" said Spike as he pointed to an old sign.

Starlight looked in amazement. The object was obviously a sign and not a tree, a few letters were left visible on the lower right half. The entire sign from post to the board was covered in vines and moss. Then Starlight ran as fast as she could to where sugar cube corner should have been. Spike struggled to keep up but stay on her hoove trail. Sure enough, Starlight found several old ruins where the houses and stores of Ponyville once stood. She desperately searched for signs of Ponies, with tears welling in her eyes.

"Starlight, calm down," said Spike as he watched her dash from ruin to ruin. "There is nopony around."

"Don't you get it, Spike! There is nopony! Why? Why is there nopony anywhere?" barked Starlight in frustration. "What happened here? did I cause it? Maybe my spell destroyed Ponyville in our time and... and... and..." she began to cry. "I did it again!"

"Starlight get ahold of yourself!" said Spike as he came up beside her. "How could your spell turn Ponyville into a swamp? I think something else happened here," he continued.

"But what?" muttered Starlight.

"I don't know, but I do know you still have your scroll and the crystals, so if we can find out, maybe we can go back and stop it," explained Spike.

Starlight wiped her eyes and composed herself. She nodded at Spike and grinned a bit to reassure him. She and Spike walked around the Ponyville ruins examining them. There wasn't much left behind to give them any hints. Most of the buildings looked as though they had simply fallen apart from lack of use over the years. But that didn't explain Twilight's castle, which was nowhere to be seen, no even ruins.

Spike looked at each ruin with sorrow. Where there once stood a bright thriving town now stood only rotten wood, piles of stone, modling furnature and other debris, all tangled up in mud, grass, and vines.

"Maybe we should move on, surly not all of Equestria is like this," said Starlight.

"Yea, we could head to Canterlot," replied Spike. "Maybe Celestia will be there."

Before Starlight could respond a sudden magical explosion struck them both. Starlight and Spike were both thrown high into the air but they did not fall. When they looked down they saw an unbelievable sight. Twilight and Trixie were both below them holding them in the air with their magic. Around them stood several Ponies wearing grey ragged clothing. Their expressions were full of hate and rage.

"Starlight Glimmer! We finally caught you!" shouted Twilight furiously. "It was a mistake to leave Canterlot without your army or your amulet!"

"You'r going to pay for what you did to Equestria!" shouted Trixie.

Starlight and Spike looked at each other cringing. What in the world was going on? Twilight and Trixie both looked so angry, and each had scar's all over their bodies, long slash-like scars. Starlight called out to the Ponies that should be her friends.

"What are you talking about?" asked Starlight.

"Yea Twilight what's going on here?" asked Spike not half a second later.

Twilight angrily shifted her attention to Spike whereupon she instantly softened her expression and dropped Starlight from her magical hold. "Spike! Is that really you!?" she yelled.

"Princess!" the gatherd Ponies shouted as they rushed in with clubs and chains and circled Starlight where she fell.

Twilight snapped her attention back to Starlight. She stared the Unicorn down hard and as she did she noticed a few things odd about the mare. She quickly returned her attention to Spike who Trixie was setting down nearby.

"It's me Twilight!" Spike pleaded. "What is the matter? Why are they all scared of Starlight?"

"You mean you don't remember?" asked Twilight as she came up to him slowly. She approached the Dragon cautiously.

"This could all be some sort of trick," hissed Trixie.

"I agree, I'll get to the bottom of it though," Twilight nodded to the Pony mob.

"Twi-," a startled Spike tried to call out before she grabbed him up with her magic. "-liahhhh!"

Quickly the mob attacked Starlight, knocking her unconscious with their clubs, and restraining her with the chains. Twilight easily subdued Spike, tied him up, and the both of them were loaded onto the back of a rickity cart. Twilight stared at the now unconcious pair in puzzlement. She could not trust that he was the real Spike, and she could not explain the oddities surrounding Starlight. Her only choice was to take them like this. With incredible speed Twilight, Trixie, and the group of Ponies disappeared into the swamp with their new prisoners. Only minutes later a thick fog rolled in and heavy warm rain began to fall, washing away all traces of them in the Ponyville ruins.

Author's Note

This story does not have the 'Gore' tag or the 'Porn' tag despite the other associated tags. This is because I am not trying to write a gorey smut ridden piece. There will be sexual acts ect, and there will be violence and death among the tagged and side/background characters. But you will have to read to see what happens to who, when, where, why, and how.
I hope you all enjoy reading this story as much, or at least close to, as I will writing it.

Chapter 2: A Very Strange Report

Scootaloo turned sharps around her desk and put her face so close to the private rank Earth-Pony he could feel her breath on his cheek. This Ponys report was very sketchy. She waited for a second before barking out a question.

"What do you mean Spike has returned!" yelled Scootaloo.

"I saw him with my own eyes. We were viewing the Ponyville marsh for signs of activity from Twilight's camp, suddenly Spike and Starlight Glimmer were there in the ruins," replied the private.

"Suddenly they were just there?" asked Scootaloo as she circled the stallion.

"I can't explain it, they must have a way to sneak around," said the private.

"Sneak around? With Spike's size?" asked Scootaloo with a doubtful tone.

Scootaloo stopped and leaned in close again. Her behavior was intended to make the private uncomfortable, to throw him off his game. If he was lying, it would increase the chances of his slipping up. Scootaloo was sure he was lying, she just wasn't sure why.

"H-he was smaller like he was back before the war," replied the private.

"Then what happened after you saw them?" asked Scootaloo.

Scootaloo returned to the chair behind her desk and hopped into the seat while she listened. She did not believe this Ponys story. She couldn't figure out what he could gain by lying about it though. Everything the Pony said made her think he was a bad double agent.

"Twilight and Trixie showed up, they came in with rolling fog and they captured Starlight and Spike," the private explained. He could tell his Lieutenant did not believe him.

"They captured Starlight and Spike-" Scootaloo clapped her forehooves together. "-just like that? No fight?"

"Yes ma'am, they captured them and then disappeared into the everfree swamp using the fog," replied the private. "I swear it ma'am I saw it myself."

Scootaloo looked at the private straight in the eyes. The last thing she had time for was a liar or spy. She also knew a development in the scales of power such as this could not go unchecked; if it was all true she needed to know the details. It was difficult enough for them to keep Starlight and Twilight in check, their magic was incredible, the last thing they needed was Twilight with the power of the amulet or Spike on their hands.

"You may leave, but you are confined to your quarters," Scootaloo told the private before shifting her focus to the military police guard behind the private. "See to it," she told him.

The two officers left the room and Scootaloo sat back in her char. She had many questions that needed to be answered. Why was Spike small again? Why would Starlight be out without her army or amulet, and how could they get captured so easily even without those things. What was Spike doing with Starlight, to begin with? Was any of this even true? The last question was the only one she felt fairly sure of the answer too. No. How could it be true? In the end, she decided to send out a team to get more information; they simply could not afford to not know for sure.

Scootaloo walked into the briefing chamber with her head held high. The team of Ponies she had formed for the mission immediately quieted down. Despite her age and flying handicap, Scootaloo had proven herself to be a capable and formidable officer. Her base knew better than to disrespect her.

The team consisted of two Earth-Ponies and a Unicorn. Both Earth-Ponies, Brick and Sandy, were dark brown with tan manes and tails; they were twins with matching cutiesmarks, one had a shovel and the other had a pickaxe. Before the war they had been archeologists, now they were private first-class intelligence-gathering specialists. The Unicorn, Vivid Shine had a grey coat and a darker grey mane and tail. He was younger than the others, accept Scootaloo. His cutiemark displayed a stage light; before the war, he had been a special effects coordinator.

"Listen up gamma team," Scootaloo barked at them. They immediately took their seats and gave her their full attention.

"We received a very strange report from our scout in the Ponyville marsh tonight. According to this report Starlight and Spike have been captured by Twilight and Trixie. Your task is to infiltrate Twilight's camp and find out of this is true. Regardless of the circumstances, you are not to attempt anything other than gathering intel." she explained.

"Ma'am, wouldn't we have known if Twilight, Starlight, Spike, and Trixie were fighting? The last time those four were in the same location Manehattan was transformed into a wasteland," replied Vivid Shine.

"According to this report there was no fight, Starlight did not have her army or her amulet, and Spike was small again," said Scootaloo.

"Spike? Small!" laughed Brick.

"This report sounds very sketchy ma'am," Sandy added.

"I agree, but even if the scout misunderstood what he saw, or it's turn out to be a lie, we still need to investigate. If it is true... it will complicate things even more," replied Scootaloo.

"Yes ma'am!" the squad shouted together.

"Everything else is at the intel station, good luck," said Scootalooo.

The team stood back up and saluted Scootaloo. She walked with a strong and stern form, her expression was solid and serious. She needed to be this way. The war had taken a lot from everypony, but it had taken everything from her. Her friends and loved ones were gone, some dead, some lost; the last Pony she had seen was Rainbow Dash before she led the Wonderbolt charge in the Great Last Stand. Nopony had heard from or seen Rainbow Dash since. She hadn't seen Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle since Ponyville was destroyed, years before the Great Last Stand.

When Scootaloo got to her quarters she quickly stripped herself of her uniform and climbed into the shower. She turned on the water and lifted her face into the stream feeling the mixture of cool and hot water stream down her face and neck, then down along her body and small feathered wings. As the water combined to a comfortable tempurature she sat and thought hard about the Ponies she missed. The shower was the only place she allowed herself to do this; the hot water masked her tears.

Author's Note

This story got held up a bit, I meant to have this chapter out on the 3rd.

I hope to have Chapter 3 out tomorrow, to put me back on my intended schedule.

Chapter 3: Questions and Confusion

"Where is your amulet Starlight?" asked Twilight calmly.

"I'm telling you the truth, I don't know what you're talking about. I used a time spell and ended up here, I don't understand what happened to this future," replied Starlight.

Twilight looked at Starlight unconvinced. "You expect me to believe you time traveled? I've looked into time travel, you could only have gone back in time and only for about ten seconds, it's useless. You will tell me where you hid your amulet," she said with a sinister look in her eyes.

"What? You and I worked on this spell together, you don't remember?" asked Starlight.

Starlight struggled against the chains keeping her suspended off the ground. The chains were digging into her forearms and her movements were of little use; her hind legs were chained to solid balls of metal on the floor below and both sets were so tight there was no leeway with wiggle with.

Twilight laughed at her captive. "You and I work together? Maybe those Ponies hit you too hard in the head," she giggled.

"Twilight please listen to me, something is wrong here and we need to figure out what it is, maybe then I can go back and stop it." pleaded Starlight.

Starlight tried to use her magic to get free, but an odd metal cap over her horn was preventing her from casting spells. She looked at Twilight in desperation.

"It's no use, can't use your magic with that suppressor on. Better get used to it, once I have your amulet I will have what I need to finally rid the world of magic once and for all," said Twilight with a grin.

"Rid the world of magic! How could you think to do such a thing, Twilight?" asked Starlight in complete shock.

"You know damn well why! Without magic things would be equal, that's what you always wanted right? Equality for all? Well, I will do it right! Magic has caused the world too many hardships and I will make it stop!" shouted Twilight.

"You know that's not true, magic helps make this world beautiful, you and your friends..." Starlight tried to explain but was cut off.

"You bitch!" shrieked Twilight.

Starlight's eyes grew wide with surprise as Twilight charged up in front of her with her horn glowing and sparking. Twilight grit her teeth and looked at her with rage and tears in her eyes. Before anything could be said Twilight jabbed her horn into Starlight's stomach. A surge of electrical energy shot through Starlight's body.

"Uh, gahhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhh!" screamed Starlight at the top of her lungs.

Starlight jerked around as her body tightened and convulsed. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she begged for Twilight to stop in her head unable to speak the words out loud.

Twilight let up and yelled at Starlight. "If it weren't for you I might still have friends!" The shout was immediately followed by another shock.

"Gi, gi, gahhh, ahhhhhhh!" Starlight stammered as she screamed.

Twilight let up again to yell. "Spike might not have left me! Celestia would still be alive!" she sobbed.

"T-twi-l-l-l-l, shtaaaaahhhhh!" Screamed Starlight as Twilight jabbed her with the electric spell again.

Twilight held the spell to Starlight for a good while. Starlight tensed up and jerked around uncontrollably. Her muscles were so stiff the cuffs and chain were cutting into her flesh from pulling on them. She could not breathe or scream anymore, just tremble and jerk as the electricity coursed through her. She was sure she was going to die but Twilight finally backed off.

"Huugh, huugh! gachk, hugh," Starlight coughed and wheezed trying to catch her breath.

Twilight glared at Starlight with seething hatred. She had noticed the scar covered mare now appeared pristine. it was as though the years of battles and war had been washed away from Starlight's body while hers remained a bruised, torn, and dirty reminder of her hardships. She hated seeing her enemy looking so healthy, so clean.

"I don't know how you healed your scars, but if I have to carry mine, I'll be damned if you don't have to carry yours. Even if I have to give you new ones, over, and over again," said Twilight coldly.

Starlight looked at her friend with tears streaming down her face. She wasn't sure how her mentor could ever have ended up like this. It hurt her more than the torture to see Twilight in this way, willing to do these things. She continued to cry for her friend as Twilight left the cell, locking the door tightly behind her.

----------------------------------------------------------------MEANWHILE----------------------------------------------------------------

"Let me talk to Twilight!" yelled Spike.

Trixie chuckled as she watched the little Dragon struggle against the collar around his neck. The chain connecting the collar to the wall was short, and he was only able to move around in a small space of about one foot.

"She doesn't want to talk to you. You're a traitor," said Trixie smugly.

"Traitor? I-I'm not a traitor," said Spike.

"Whatever, I don't really care. I'm just here for information about Starlight. We really wanna know why you are so small again, and why you were with Starlight Glimmer," explained Trixie.

"I have always been small, and Starlight is my friend. She's your friend," replied Spike angrily.

"Haha! My friend! Your gonna have to do better than that," said Trixie.

Spike frowned and stared at the floor. When he looked back up Trixie was still standing in the same place, the same superior smile on her face. Spike couldn't place the feeling he was getting; it was as though the Pony before him was a completely different Pony from the one he knew. Nothing felt right to him, almost like it was an extremely intricate dream. Too real of a dream.

Suddenly he heard screams coming from a cell nearby. Terrible screams that convinced him that this was no dream. He knew he needed to escape and find Starlight, he hoped she was alright. He decided to try something to get Trixie to leave.

"Fine! We were trying to find you. Starlight used a spell on me, thats why I am small, it was a trick, but you caught us before it worked," Spike lied.

"Hahaha! I knew it was something like that. Twilight is going... to... be... mad," replied Trixie in such a smug tone it made Spike want to gag.

"So what?" said Spike.

"Oh you just wait, she'll probably kill you," giggled Trixie.

Spike simply scowled at her as she left the chamber laughing forgetting to lock the cell behind her. His plan had worked better than he hoped. Giving her the kind of information she seemed to want had both satisfied and distracted her for the time being. Now he needed to try and escape. Spike looked around for anything that might have been useful but he found nothing but an empty floor and blank walls. He tugged at the collar with all his might and then tried to breathe fire on it. Nothing he did had any effect it at all. The collar was solid and hard to grip with how tight it was, and the bolt in the wall was solid as well.

Perplexed about what to do Spike leaned against the stone wall. The screams from the cell nearby died down and Spike became aware of the tapping sound he was making with his claws. While tapping one stone he heard a certain tone, but when his last claw hit the stone above it the sound changed. It was subtle but noticeable. Quickly Spike turned to examine the stones. As he fidgeted with the stones he found that one was loose. Excitement filled his body as he began to dig the stone out of the cell wall. He had found his way out.

As soon as Spike had the stone removed he replaced it and waited for nightfall. He had woken up in the cell not long after being captured and had already learned that the guard did not pass by often at night. It was a gamble, but he was hoping this would be because they were far away, making rounds or something. He hoped they were far enough away to not hear noises in his cell very well.

When Spike felt the time was right he removed the stone once more. The stone was slightly larger than his hand but he was able to grip it well enough. Next, he lined the chain on his collar tight against the wall and began to heat it with his fire breath. After several seconds the chain was so hot he could feel the heat transferring into the collar. Spike then began to strike the chain as hard as he can with the stone. He was surprised to see the chain break after only a few strikes.

"I'm coming to save you Starlight," Spike muttered as he slipped out of his cell. "We're gonna fix all this and get our friends back."

Chapter 4: Escaping With Great Haste!

Starlight could hear the sounds of fighting coming from down the hall. Shouts, the clashing of metal, and explosions echoed through the stone caverns. It went on for a long time. When the noise died down Starlight was happy to see a familiar face before the door of her cell. Spike had found her, and he wasn't alone, with him was a pair of twin Ponies with dark brown coats and tan manes and tails.

"Spike!" exclaimed Starlight gleefully.

"Starlight!" exclaimed Spike in response.

Spike unlocked the cell door and entered the room quickly. He rushed to the levers linked to the chains holding Starlight in place and released them. Starlight collapsed to the floor as the chains loosened and allowed her to wiggle free.

"Hurry up in there!" shouted the female Pony guarding the door.

"I'm trying," replied Spike anxiously.

While Spike unlocked the shackles on Starlights hind legs Starlight tried to remove the metal cap on her horn. The metal cap would not come off despite the effort she put forth. Spike watched her for a second before stressing the urgency of their situation.

"Starlight we need to go before Twilight gets free," said Spike nervously.

"Free?" asked Starlight as she lifted Spike onto her back and ran to the door.

"It's a long story, let's just focus on getting out of here," replied Spike.

When Starlight entered the hallway with the twins she saw a third Pony laying injured on the floor. This one was a Unicorn with a mixture of grey shades making up his coat, mane, and tail. Without a word, the male Earth-Pony helped the Unicorn to his feet and they started down the hall. Starlight looked back to Spike with a frown before following them with the female Earth-Pony taking the rear of the line.

For quite awhile they wandered through the stone halls. Starlight was amazed at the size of the dungeon. Many cells they passed contained Ponies and other creatures of Equestria but they did not have time to stop for any of them. The severity of the Unicorns injuries proved to be too much for him as they wondered.

"S-stop, stop," said the Unicron, Vivid Shine. "I can't keep going."

The group stopped. Each of them glanced to the other with worry. They had few options left. They were moving much too slowly, and the sounds of pursuers were growing louder by the second.

"Brick let him down," said the Earth-Pony, Sandy to her twin brother.

Brick reluctantly set Vivid Shine down into a seated position. Vivid Shine looked at his friends and nodded at them with a grin before resting his head against the wall.

"Go! I will hold them off," said Vivid Shine.

"Vivid..." Sandy started to say.

"No Sandy, you have to get these two to Shining Armor. This is more important," Vivid Shine interrupted Sandy.

"I'll make sure they escape," Brick told Vivid Shine.

"Thank you Vivid Shine," said Spike with a sorrowful tone.

Starlight and Spike frowned at one another. There was nothing they could do and it frustrated them greatly. Spike fought hard to keep tears from streaming down his face. Starlight wasn't sure who these Ponies were but she could tell there was a strong bond of friendship between them. Starlight could tell Spike had gotten to know them well too.

"We can't just leave..." Starlight started to argue.

"Starlight we can't do anything else," explained Spike. His frustration was obvious to everypony. "This world is a lot worse off than our's, we can't afford to get caught again. We have to fix things."

Starlight looked Spike in the eyes. She had never seen the little Dragon so serious before. She knew he was right though. Every sense she had was telling her the world around them was dangerous. The negativity felt almost like a tangible sheet covering them all.

'What happened here?' Starlight thought to herself again.

"Let's go!" barked Sandy.

Forcing back her natural instincts Starlight trudged on with Spike and the Earth-Ponies. It seemed like they walked forever but eventually, the dungeon walls became the walls of a cave, smooth and natural instead of carved stones. Their journey lasted a long time after that too. Starlights legs were killing her by the time they came to an exit.

The group emerged from the cave by means of a hole in the ground. Outside it was night and it was pitch black. A faint glow from a full moon behind layers of clouds was the only source of natural light. Starlight strained to see the Earth-Ponies as they led her and Spike into the swamp.

After what seemed to Starlight like hours of walking they finally stopped.

"My hooves are killing me," complained Starlight as she laid down on the driest patch of grass she could find.

"Ha, ha! You definitely not our worlds Starlight," Brick laughed at her.

"Brick, I am going to run ahead and report to Lieutenant Scootaloo, she is going to need to know what's going on before we just show up with Spike and Starlight Glimmer," said Sandy.

Brick looked at his sister in the eye for a long time before speaking. "Be careful," he said finally.

Sandy nodded and then quickly slipped off into the darkness alone. Spike frowned and looked at Starlight who looked from him to Brick.

"Thank you for your help... umm, Brick?" said Starlight.

Brick turned to her and grinned. "I believe Spike, and I believe you are both from a different place... one where things are better," replied Brick. "It's my duty to do whatever I can to bring peace to Equestria, I will help you with this goal."

Starlight turned to Spike and sighed. "So what happened to you back there? How did you meet these Ponies Spike?" she asked.

Spike sat down and looked up in the sky. He stared at the glowing clouds imagining the moon behind them. Finally, he spoke.

"It all started when Trixie came to question me..." Spike began.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 5

Author's Note

Chapter five is almost done as well but it got late here, I will post it in the morning.

Chapter 5: Different and Confusing Pasts

"It all started when Trixie came to question me..." Spike began. "She wouldn't listen to anything I had to say. All she cared about was why I was small, and why you didn't have some amulet."

"That's all Twilight wanted to know from me," Starlight replied with her ears lowered.

"I was able to escape because I told Trixie you and I had a plan that didn't work, I didn't know what else to say," said Spike.
"What? So you told her we were the Starlight and Spike from this time?" asked Starlight annoyed. "How is that going to help us?"

"I-I'm not sure this is another time, Starlight," said Spike.

"What makes you say that?" asked Starlight.

"It's what this worlds Twilight said," explained Spike. "After I escaped my cell I almost ran into her."

------------------------------------------------FLASHBACK-----------------------------------------------------

Spike tip-toed through the winding stone hallways. He examined each cell he came across, most were occupied but none had Starlight in them. Even if he found her he wasn't sure he'd be able to get her out of her cell, he had tried with a few cells already with no success. He needed to find a key. Spike had passed a few staircases he hadn't gone up; hoping he'd find a key up there he backtracked to the last set and climbed them.

Spike could hear voices at the top of the stairs so he approached very cautiously. When he came to the top he found a barrel he was able to duck behind without being seen. He heard Twilight speaking with Trixie.

"That's exactly what he said," explained Trixie.

"Oh is it? Nice and simple right? Do you really believe Starlight cast a spell on Spike and then the two of them came all the way here just to be taken by surprise as they did?" snapped Twilight. "Spike probably just wanted you to leave, so he told you what he thought you wanted to hear."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Trixie.

"Because. I have been thinking about it. The power surge we detected was immense, yet Starlight didn't have her amulet.

How could she produce such magical energy without it? I can't even do that," Twilight responded with an irritated groan.

"Plus both Starlight and Spike claim we are all supposed to be friends..."

"Yeah that is really weird," said Trixie.

"Starlight said she came from a different time, but it sounded like she meant the past. I wonder if it's possible..." muttered Twilight.

"Possibly what?" asked Trixie.

"It's far fetched but not entirely impossible. I studied time spells, with enough power they could work but only for a short time. But what if you tried and messed up? Especially with Windous Gearous, and if they were trying to increase the time the can travel; in that case, it might be possible that the resulting spell could transport you to another dimension, instead of time," said Twilight as she thought out loud.

"Windyus gear what?" asked Trixie.

"Shut up Trixie I'm thinking. I'll be in the library," replied Twilight.

Spike watched as best as he could as Twilight disappeared up another flight of stairs, while Trixie headed down an adjacent hallway. When he thought things were clear Spike stepped out from behind the barrel. As soon as he did, however, a silver-colored Unicorn suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Uh-oh," gulped Spike.

"Shit! Where did you come from? W-wait a minute! Spike?" asked the Unicorn in shock.

"D-do I know you?" asked Spike with a confused look.

"I know you," said the Unicorn.

Suddenly the Unicorn's horn began to glow as he charged an attack.

"Woah! W-wait! I'm not the Spike from this world," pleaded Spike.

"You expect me to believe that stuff Twilight was saying?" replied the Unicorn. "That Pony is crazy!"

"It's not crazy, my Starlight and I tried to use a time spell and ended up in this world," explained Spike.

"Tell me the truth!" growled the Unicorn.

Spike could feel the energy from the Unicorns horn from three feet away. He was scared but this Pony was the first to consider his story and not attack him or discount his words right away.

"It's true. We thought we were in the future, but what Twilight said makes sense. That's why they look the same age, and why none of them believe we were all friends," replied Spike.

"What?" asked the Unicorn with a confused expression.

"I mean, think about it. Everyone wants to know why I am small, but unless I started hoarding treasure and aging quickly there is no way for me to get larger and then smaller again," Spike explained further.

"Unless what you told Trixie is true, and you're trying to confuse me now," added the Unicorn.

"Gah! Why is everypony so paranoid in this world!" groaned Spike in frustration.

The Unicorn frowned at Spike for a few seconds before powering down his attack.

"Twilight thinks she all-powerful but she didn't even notice I was right next to her. I believe you, Spike. The Spike I saw would never be so calm in this situation," replied the Unicorn as he briefly made himself invisible and then visible again.

"Oh, nice trick. But what happened with this worlds... me?" asked Spike.

"Talk and walk," replied the Unicorn. "My name is Vivid Shine."

"Where are we going?" asked Spike as the headed down the hall Trixie had gone down.

"The other's in my squad got captured. I am here to save them," explained Vivid Shine.

They walked for a while before Vivid spoke again. Spike was so nervous he simply followed in silence. He wasn't sure what to think about any of this.

"During the Great War, you returned to the Dragon lands to stop Starlight from acquiring the Lava Relic. Twilight wasn't able to help you, but you became Dragon Lord and successfully halted Stralight's advance. No one knows how but at the end of that battle you had grown to the size of a mountain, most believe it had to do with your becoming Dragon Lord," Vivid started to explain. "A year later in the Great Last Stand, you came to Manehattan. You fought against Twilight and Starlight, the result was the complete destruction of Manehattan and the surrounding land."

"Great War? Lava Relic? Amulet, Dragon Lord, I just don't understand how all this could have happened?," said Spike with remorse.

"You really don't know any of this do you?" asked Vivid Shine.

"None of this happened in my world," replied Spike.

-----------------------------------------------END FLASHBACK------------------------------------------------

Starlight listened to Spike's story as they walked through the darkness. She hadn't considered that they had been transported to a different dimension. She had never given much merit to the theories of alternate dimensions. What bothered her was that this worlds Twilight had known about the time travel spells yet claimed it was impossible. It bothered her, even more, to think that Twilight had been considering she was from another dimension but was still willing to torture her as of she was this worlds Starlight.

"Did you learn what caused all this?" asked Starlight.

"No, we came to the cell with Brick and Sandy in it. As soon as he unlocked the cell Trixie appeared," explained Spike. "We fought our way past her and then ran into Twilight."

------------------------------------------------FLASHBACK-----------------------------------------------------

Spike, Brick, and Sandy crashed into the stone wall falling on top of one another as the fell to the floor. Vivid Shine and Twilight held their magical energy beams against each other. Sparks and streams of energy shot forth from the collision of the magics. Vivid was slowly starting to cave into Twilight's strength. The force of their attacks made it hard for anypony to stand in the area. Brick held onto Sandy and Spike so they didn't get lifted into the air by the forces.

"Give it up! Your no match for me!" shrieked Twilight in rage.

"Your not the only one who learned some neat tricks," yelled Vivid Shine.

Vivid Shine suddenly let out a burst of magic that canceled out Twilights attack. In shock Twilight paused and Vivid Shine used this opportunity without delay. Vivid Shine quickly charged and struck Twilight with a blue light that engulfed her whole body.

"What is this!" yelled Twilight.

Within seconds the room was calm and Twilight stood encased in a solid block of ice. Vivid Shine stumbled over to his friends and smiled. Brick and Sandy immediately got up and rushed to his side. Vivid Shine hadn't gotten out of the fight scratch-free. The last burst of energy had torn through his ribs leaving a large bleeding gash. Sandy and Brick tried to patch him as best they could with their torn uniforms.

Spike wandered over to where Twilight was frozen in place and stared at her through the ice. It pained him to see her this way. As he stood there he began to wonder if there was anything they could really do to help her or the other Ponies in this world.

"Things did not go as planned," joked Vivid Shine.

"Dammit! We have to get him out of here!" complained Sandy.

"I have to find Starlight," said Spike.

"Then you're on your own!" yelled Sandy.

"No!" snapped Vivid Shine. "They are not from this world, they are our best chance at fixing things."

"There is no way to know that for sure Vivid," argued Brick.

"You two trust me?" asked Vivid Shine.

"Of course," "Yes," replied Sandy and Brick at the same time.

"Then trust me on this. I know it sounds strange. I can feel it though, when I look at him, I can feel it. He is good," said Vivid Shine.

Spike blushed at the compliment. Sandy frowned at Vivid and at Spike.

Brick helped Vivid Shine to his feet. "Alright then let's move," he said.

-----------------------------------------------END FLASHBACK------------------------------------------------

Spike, Starlight, and Brick slid down a hill in complete darkness. The dim blue haze provided by the moon was cut off by the hill and the three were left to holding each other's tails to not be separated until they could see again. Once they could more easily traverse the forest path they continued to talk.

"Twilight was frozen by Vivid Shine?" asked Starlight shocked to hear her mentor was beaten by a seemingly normal Unicorn.

"He is strong Starlight, but Twilight didn't seem like she was going all out," replied Spike with a shrug.

"Ever since Starlight stole Twilight's element and destroyed it she hasn't been as powerful. That happened in the Great Last Stand," explained Brick.

"So if Twilight is so weak why has this worlds Starlight not taken her down?" asked Starlight.

"I don't know but Twilight has the Alicorn Amulet. With that, she and Starlight are on equal ground, and without either amulet, they are on equal ground. Shining Armor is stronger than both of them without their amulets," explained Brick. "Or so that's how Lieutenant Scootaloo explained it to us once."

"Lieutenant Scootaloo?" asked Spike.

"Yea, she is a Lieutenant in the Ponies Republic of Equestria Army. Scootaloo is the fourth in command behind Captains Lyra and Commander Vynl Scratch then, of course, King Shining Armor," replied Brick.

Spike and Starlight looked at one another confused and shocked. They were confused and bewildered by the never-ending flow of information on this strange world. But everything they learned only brought up more questions.

"This whole time I thought the Alicorn Amulet was what everypony was talking about if Twilight has it, then what does Starlight have?" asked Spike.

Brick stopped and looked back at Spike. "It's just called Starlight's amulet. She made it using the Elements of Harmony," said Brick. "Though I have never really understood what that meant."

"I do," replied Starlight. She looked down and rubbed her left arm with her right forehoof. Spike looked at her confused and she looked back at him. "I once fiddled with a similar idea when I wanted revenge on Twilight."

Brick's eyebrows rose high. "I thought in your world you were friends?" he asked.

"We didn't start out that way. But we forgave each other, and then learned from one another. Together we have accomplished great things," explained Starlight.

"You did in this world too, as enemies," replied Brick.

Spike frowned at Brick and looked too Starlight; she said nothing. For the rest of their journey, they remained quiet. The night passed by slowly and silently. By the time they came to the entrance of a large wooden gate, the sun was rising and the clouds were clearing the skies.

Author's Note

This story keeps getting delayed, I apologize to those of you following and enjoying it. I am doing my best to catch up.

Chapter 6: Warming up a Cold War

Starlight read the latest reports brought to her by her most trusted watchers. They had been following some interesting events. Reports held that there were some new players in her game, and they seemed to be the exact resource she needed. Twilight and Shining Armor had been working against one another for long enough that Starlight had been able to withdraw and build on her plans. All she needed to initiate the next stage in her world domination was to capture one of the rival rulers; but with nieve duplicate Starlight in the realm, things would be so much simpler.

Starlight held up three photographs. Each displayed fairly clear images of a small Spike and an unscarred Starlight Glimmer. For a brief time, she mourned her appearance to that of her younger self. Her scars had made her ugly to her own mind, and she could not stand it. Starlight now wore a dark grey mask and covered herself in a black cloak. The Starlight in the picture appeared to be the same age but was unharmed, and still walked around in full view of the world.

'These Ponies think they are so sneaky. They all think I am a fool, but they have no idea what they are in for,' thought Starlight as she set the reports and photos ablaze with a simple flash of magic from her horn.

Starlight Stood up from her throne and stretched. She headed down the stairs and crossed the long carpet to the other end of the room. Each stained glass window she passed displayed an achievement in her life. The first displayed her discovery of the equalizing spell. The second displayed her bringing the liberation of cutiemarks to her first town. The third displayed her rising to succession over Twilight in Ponyville. The fourth displayed the day she overthrew the celestial sisters and brought equalization to Canterlot. Each window proceeding those until the end displayed her triumphs in her campaign across Equestria.

Starlight threw open the doors leading to the balcony and stepped out into the cool night air. She looked out over her reconstructed Canterlot -no longer a pampered city containing the wealthy minority, but instead a solid fortress dedicated to research, industry, and military superiority. She took in a deep break and the smell of smoke, sulfur, and metal hit her nose and pleased her senses as though it were the scents of fresh-baked cinnamon rolls.

After several minutes Starlight looked into the sky and began to draw energy into her horn. A burst of light came forth from her horn and with it, light on the horizon. Starlight concentrated and held her spell in place long enough to draw the sun into the sky bringing the morning and setting the sun into motion for the day.

No sooner had she completed her task did the soldiers of her military appear in the courtyard before her. "Hail Queen Starlight Glimmer! Hail Queen Starlight Glimmer!" they all chanted in unison.

Starlight's General bowed before her and then climbed onto the podium before the gathered soldiers. Starlight grinned at her minions and nodded to her General. Her empire functioned like clockwork.

"Sweetie Drops!" barked Starlight. Her General saluted and turned to look at her immediately. "We are marching on Shining Armor in one day. Make the preparations. Call in the special forces and Glimmerbolts from the Crystal Metropolis."

"With haste my Queen," replied Sweetie Drops.

Starlight did not acknowledge Moondancer, she simply smiled and withdrew back into her castle.

Through a well-memorized maze of hallways and staircases, Starlight made her way through the castle to her personal labs underground. She walked past her own door and proceeded to her weapons department. When she opened the doors she found her staff hard at work as she expected. Starlight examined the five armored carts they were building she moved towards the designer's table where she found her head builder, Moondancer.

"Are the designs complete?" asked Starlight.

"They are," replied Moondancer. She walked over to a large board with an inside view of the tank sketched out on a large piece of paper. "You place the element and the slumber crystal here," she explained while pointing to the center of the device. "Then the energy is channeled through these to the cannon."

"Seems too simple, will it work?" asked Starlight with a look os skepticism.

"Yes, would you like to test it?" asked Moondancer.

"Show me," demanded Starlight.

Moondancer signaled her staff and the lab began to buzz with activity. A firing range was brought into view as they removed a nearby wall. One of the tanks was then turned and positioned to fire within the range. Starlight watched with anticipation as a large crystal, holding inside itself a permanently slumbering pink Pony, was placed inside the tank.

When the preparations were complete Starlight went to the safe stored in the back of the lab and unlocked it. She retrieved the needed Element of Harmony and examined it. The element still showed signs of damage caused by the creation of her amulet but she could feel that the artifact still contained great energy. Starlight brought the element to the tank and fixed it into place.

With everything set the staff and Moondancer all dispersed and remained behind a set of safety lines. Starlight confidently remained in place and then took control of the tank with her magic. It took a few moments for her to gain complete control of the massive object but once she had hold it became easy. She used her magic to activate the energy flow of the element and just as Moondancer had predicted the cannon began to glow with power. Only a second later a massive surge of magical powers spilled forth from the cannon and beamed across the firing range colliding with the wall on the other side and collapsing it instantly. The shockwave cracked the walls, ceiling, and floor of the range and could be felt by those on the surface.

With an evil smile, Starlight turned to Moondancer and her team. "Perfect," she said sinisterly.

The Queen's approval was met with a chorus of cheers, congratulations, and clapping hooves.

Author's Note

Glimmerbolts: Obviously re-named the Wonderbolt's after herself.

the Crystal Metropolis: After she conquered the Crystal Empire she renamed it and refuses to acknowledge any independent sovereignty including that of Shining Armor.

Chapter 7: A Lesson in Alternate History

Scootaloo entered the lobby of her base and found her soldiers guarding two figures she never expected to see under such conditions. Spike looked to her as he had before the war just like the reports, and Starlight was pretty and had a soft expression rather than the evil stare Scootaloo was used to seeing.

Scootaloo looked them over and then turned to Brick. "I told you to gather information. Not to push your luck, get captured, and then bring Starlight and SPike back here," she snapped at him.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Brick with a salute.

"Dismissed," hissed Scootaloo.

Starlight watched the filly she knew as a fun-loving and adventures young one enter the room with a level of command and respect she hadn't seen anywhere but the Wonderbolts before. She listened to the way Scootaloo spoke and noticed the strong and consistent tone and mannerisms she used. This was certainly not the filly she knew.

"You two!" said Scootaloo as she turned to Spike and Starlight. "Welcome to Fort Dawn Watch, but until I know for sure what's going on here your stay will be in our brig."

"What?" asked Starlight.

"Scootaloo we..." Spike started to say.

"Lieutenant! Not Scootaloo, only my soldiers and superiors can use my name!" Scootaloo screamed in Spike's face.

Spike was speechless, he simply stood still and stared at the filly with a mixture of fear and uncertainty inside his mind. Starlight frowned but said nothing. Scootaloo nodded to a group of guards and the Ponies escorted Starlight and Spike away to the brig.

Spike and Starlight waited for hours in the brig. The fort was constructed of wood and brick and the brig was much nicer than Twilights dungeon but it was still cramped, dark, and uncomfortable. Only a small window at the top of the cell revealed the passage of time to them; through it they could watch the sunlight as it traveled across the sky. Starlight noticed something odd about how the sun traveled but she assumed it was due to the limited view she had.

Scootaloo eventually came by and pulled each of them away to talk alone.

The process of questioning repeated for several more hours. Scootaloo constantly came up with new questions and tests. No matter what they did the filly remained skeptical. Finally during one talk Starlight brought up the Cutiemark Crusaders. The conversation became heated right away but in time Scootaloo saw that Starlight was not lying. Starlight managed to convince Scootaloo that she was not from her world and that in the world she came from her friends were alive and well, and the three of them still played every day.

-------------------------------------------------ONE DAY LATER-----------------------------------------------

Through their conversations, Scootaloo, Starlight, and Spike had come to trust one another enough that Spike and Starlight were able to move around the fort without an escort. Together Starlight and Scootaloo had been educating each other on their respective worlds and for the first time since arriving Starlight had a clear idea of what was going on.

Spike and Starlight were in their room sitting on their cots and talking. Starlight was explaining the differences in the history of their worlds.

"So instead of working on the time spell, she stole the Alicorn Amulet from Zecora?" asked Spike.

"Yea, the Starlight in this world used the Amulet to steal Celestia and Luna's cutiemarks and powers," explained Starlight.

"Twilight fought her not long after that trying to stop her from going after her brother and Cadence."

"What happened?" asked Spike.

"The me in this world tricked Twilight into believing she was open to change and was able to steal her Element of Harmony," replied Starlight.

Spike's eyes grew wide. "Really? Where were the others?" she asked in shock.

"Dealing with the creatures of Tartarus. Starlight broke the seal and unleashed them on Ponyville before she headed for the Crystal Empire," explained Starlight. "In the end, Twilight got the Alicorn Amulet from her but lost her Element. In this world, I used something called the Frost Relic to make a ring that gave me the power to take down the Crystal Empire."

Spike rose his eyebrow in confusion. "I thought she made an amulet?" he replied.

"She did. Just before the Great Last Stand. First, she was trying to collect a set of artifacts. She had the Frost Relic, and then she acquired one called the Growth Relic. She tried to get the Lava Relic but you stopped her," explained Starlight.

"Yea how did that happen?" asked Spike with great interest.

"When Twilight learne about the relics she sent you and Rainbow Dash to the Dragon lands where you ended up having to claim the title of Dragonlord. The history these Ponies have doesn't say how that happened though. Whatever happened you had enough power to stop me in this world," said Starlight.

"That's amazing. I must have been awesome!" exclaimed Spike.

"Ha, ha," laughed Starlight. It was nice to see Spike's youthful excitement surface again.

"So what about the Great Last Stand?" asked Spike a few minutes later.

Starlight frowned and looked at the floor. This was the part of the history in which things went from bad to awful for this world. After a few seconds, Starlight looked at Spike again and spoke.

"When she was stopped in the Dragon lands she returned to Canterlot. She used the relics in a massive spell one day and caused the fields and plants in Ponyville to freeze. She ambushed Applejack and Fluttershy and froze them too," explained Starlight. "Stricken with grief and panic Twilight and the others tried to rescue them but failed. In the process, they lost all their elements to Starlight and her new army in Canterlot. This worlds Starlight was able to freeze and capture Pinkie Pie and Rarity that day too," she continued.

"What! Rarity is frozen in Canterlot?" yelled Spike with a worried tone.

"Spike that was a long time ago, no one knows where they are now," said Starlight remorsefully.

"I guess your right. There is nothing I can do now anyway, but I have to find out what happened," complained Spike as he jumped off his cot and paced the room.

"After that day Starlight and Twilight ruled separate halves of Equestria and waged battle after battle. Eventually, in this world, I learned how to do what in our world I determined to be impossible. She created the amulet using the Elements of Harmony. I thought the spell would result in the likely destruction of hundreds of miles at the least, but she pulled it off," said Starlight continuing where she left off.

"I don't get it, shouldn't she be like... unstoppable? She has a ring, and an amulet, these relic things, then Celestia and Luna's magic, plus her own!" exclaimed Spike.

"It doesn't work like that Spike. Things like artifacts and relics can interfere with each others magic, it can be disastrous. And I don't know if a Unicorn can really control Celestia and Luna's magic. I suspect that the amulet helps her maintain control over the magic she has, which means her power is probably unstable," explained Starlight.

"Ok so what about Twilight?" replied Spike.

"Twilight slowly changed as she lost her friends. According to Scootaloo who claims Shining Armor told her this himself; Twilight built and kind of machine with focusing stones that she uses to enhance her power with the Alicorn Amulet. Shining Armor and Scootaloo believe this is what caused her spiral into madness," said Starlight.

"Spiral into madness?" replied Spike.

"That's how Scootaloo put it," explained Starlight.

"Ok but why does she want to rid the world of magic?" asked Spike.

"Well..." started Starlight.

Suddenly a large explosion cut off their conversation. Spike rushed to the door and opened it. Outside they could hear the sounds of fighting and more explosions.

"What now!" yelled Starlight as she rushed out the door.

Then a massive explosion sounded and the building shook violently. Starlight and Spike hurried to the door of the barracks but were unable to open it for some time. As they desperately tried simple magic, fire, and several other means to get the door open they could hear the obvious sounds of fighting all throughout the fort.

"Gahhh!" roared Starlight as she blasted the door open with a strong spell finally.

Starlight and Spike hurried down the hall to the lobby of the fort. When they entered they found the font of the building had bee completely blown away. Dozens of Ponies lay crushed in the rubble. Starlight charged out the door with a desire to help but immediately stopped in her tracks at the sight she beheld.

In the courtyard of the fort, she found darkly armored Ponies rounding up the forts compliment and two large metal monstrosities parked in the center. Starlight saw a figure standing on one them. The figure was a Pony wearing a dark cloak and a grey mask that covered her muzzle and cheeks. When the Pony noticed her and turned Starlight gasped. She realized it was herself she was looking at.

Author's Note

Those of you hoping for a fight in this story be sure to read the next chapter!

The conversations between Scootaloo and Starlight will be revealed in another chapter.
Gamma team being captured by Twilight will be detailed as well.

Chapter 8: Personal Powers

Starlight stared at her double in shock. She had never believed herself capable of such things, she had only ever wanted equality and companionship. The cloaked Starlight stared her down with a fierce look in her eyes. Starlight wasn't sure how but she could tell her double was about to attack. With a preemptive move, Starlight charged a defensive spell and created a bubble of energy around herself.

Queen Starlight charged an energy beam spell and shot it at her otherworldly double. Her intention was only to wear down and wound, not to kill. She had too much to learn from her copy, and much power to gain from her capture. To her surprise, her double seemingly instinctively defended herself from the attack. Queen Starlight immediately followed her energy beam assault with a high-speed tackle, propelling herself with a magical burst of energy. This her double was not prepared for.

Starlight dropped her barrier hoping to have words with her double in this world but was instantly met with a hard tackle. The attack sent her flying several feet across the courtyard. Starlight rubbed her head and then quickly jumped to her hooves trying to find her double.

Queen Starlight charged in an arc to flank her downed double following the tackle. The move worked, and she had the advantage again in her next assault. She charged an impact spell and struck her double hard.

Starlight felt the energy of a spell on the back of her neck but had no time to react to it.

"Gahhh!" Starlight cried out as the energy exploded on her back and sent her sliding through the rubble of the lobby room.

'Wherever she is from it is clear they don't do much fighting,' thought Queen Starlight as she stepped up to the rubble.

Suddenly a bright light began to shine from under the rubble. Queen Starlight threw up an energy shield to protect herself but the following burst of energy tore straight through it and sent her flying back against one of her machines. When she looked up she saw her double standing atop the rubble with a stressed-out expression on her face.

"Listen! We don't have to fight, none of us do," Starlight pleaded to the Queen.

"Grrraah!" roared Queen Starlight furiously.

Queen Starlight's horn began to glow again and she let forth a powerful energy beam spell. Starlight responded in kind this time and their energy clashed together with enough force to cause blots of energy to fly out in random directions. The bolts of energy tore through the ground and rubble as it traveled around the courtyard.

"Please listen to me!" cried Starlight.

Queen Starlight gave no response. She was in shock that she was in a stalemate with her double. She had thought from the start of their fight that she was more powerful, but this Starlight was matching her, and as far as she could tell, without any enhancements as she had. It infuriated her.

Starlight knew they couldn't hold their spell-like that much longer. She let loose and allowed her full power to come forth. The resulting beam of energy doubled the size of the Queens and forced her double to begin moving backward. Starlight expected a massively charged response but was surprised to not receive any. The Queen seemed to be losing the power struggle, which confused Starlight. She hadn't expected that she was stronger than her evil double in this world.

Just as Starlight had the advantage and the Queen's spell was about to break, Queen Starlight suddenly shifted her magic to one of the tanks. Starlights energy beam struck her double and sent her crashing through what was left of the front lobby wall. Nearly simultaneously the tank the Queen had activated shook and then shot forth an extremely strong beam of energy. The beam struck Starlight and sent her crashing deeper into the rubble she had landed in before.

Spike stood in the doorway watching the fight in awe. He had never expected to see a Pony fighting herself. Spike wanted to help but as he looked around the fort turned battlefield he didn't see any way for him to do so. The soldiers of the fort were having it out with the Queen's troops, and the Starlight's were firing off energy beams that could kill him in one stroke.

Spike desperately looked for Scootaloo. It was still strange to think of her as she was on this world but he knew that she was a rough and tumble filly in this world. He hoped she would have a plan. Finally, he saw her. Scootaloo was in the courtyard pulling up in a metal machine similar to the ones Queen Starlight had shouting orders. Scootaloo was in the top hatch with a mounted gun in her hooves.

Scootaloo wasted no time in firing at her foes. Spike watched dumbfounded as the filly mowed down a squadron of the Queen's troops and then rolled over their bodies in the machine to get to the next group. Instead of a beam of energy, a huge object shot from the cannon and exploded on impact; launching the bodes of both the Queen's troops as well as the bodies of already dead Ponies from both sides into the air. Uniforms, rubble, and body parts rained down from the sky. The sight made Spike fall to his knees with tears in his eyes. He had never seen such violence.

"No! Brick! Brick!" a voice familiar to Spike's ears could be heard nearby.

Spike turned to look for the voice and found Sandy leaning over Bricks motionless body about fifty yards from him. Sandy was in a panic, crying for a medic with tears in her eyes. Spike recognized the Ponies that responded. Rose, Lily, and Daisy all appeared from the side of the fort and leaned over Brick too. All three were dressed in uniforms and had medical gear with them. Rose dug through her bags while the other two looked over Brick.

To Spike's horror, several of Starlights troops emerged from the woods behind them. He wanted to shout out a warning but as he tried to form words all that came froth was a pathetic whimper. Spike watched with wide eyes and cupped his hands over his mouth as one f the troops hurled a spear that struck Rose in the back of the head. As quickly as the spear had hit her Rose fell over Brick dead.

"Sweet Celestia No!" cried Lily.

Spikes view of it all was cut off when Scootaloo's tank rolled in front of him. Spike could see Scootaloo shaking violently as she fired the mounted gun in rapid bursts. When the tank moved again Spike could see only Rose and Brick's lifeless bodies on the ground, now surrounded by ten or so of the Queen's troops. Spike fell over to his hands and knees and began to throw up.

A series of explosions nearby made Spike return his attention to the Starlight battle. When he looked up the Queen was atop one of her machines. The side's of the machine opened up small vents and a barrier of energy formed from the machine around itself and the Queen.

"Damn it, how can I be so ruthless and stubborn!" yelled Starlight. "Don't you see this isn't right? What happened to equality and better lives for everypony?"

"I am bringing equality to the world! It's not my fault the fools resist," replied Queen Starlight.

"But why all this? What happened to befriending everypony?" asked Starlight.

"If your life ever mirrored mine then you know how that goes. The Pony's of Our Town turned on me!" sneered Queen Starlight.

"Your wrong! It took me a while to see it too, but things would never have worked that way. How can you expect everypony to accept you're being the only one with a cutiemark?" explained Starlight.

"How could I bring equality without it!" roared Queen Starlight.

"Don't you see that in the end it would not work? Ponies being born would still get their Cutiemarks, you could never use the spell on yourself, or you would have to give up the ability to use it on those Ponies, and your efforts would have only affect on a small period of time," explained Starlight.

"You don't know that," replied Queen Starlight.

"How would you know what I know. Our lives clearly wnet in different directions after Our Town. Trust me, there is a better way though," said Starlight.

Queen Starlight's eyes narrowed in an evil glare. "I know there is, now that I have you," she said as she charged the other machine to fire.

Before the Queen could fire her weapon the machine was struck by an explosion caused by Scootaloo's cannon. Spike turned to see the filly rolling up behind Queen Starlight's machines. Scootaloo fired a second shot, this time causing a small amount of visible damage. Starlight immediately shot a beam of energy at the Queen's forcefield to keep her distracted with holding it up.

Starlight could see the strain taking it's toll on her double as she tried to hold the force field up and figure out what to do. It was obvious she was using a relic or artifact of some sort but it was draining her quickly to do so. That was when Starlight finally saw her doubles famous amulet.

Queen Starlight reached back under her cloak and pulled out a strong steel chain with a glowing white orb hanging from it. The orb shined different colors periodically and its energy was visible in the form of a soft silver aura around the necklace. She pulled back her hood revealing a tangled, messy, braided mane and a half missing right ear. Queen Starlight quickly slipped on the amulet; and as soon as the amulet was around her neck the energy of her forcefield nearly tripled in strength.

The push back from the energy of the empowered forcefield canceled out Starlight's attack, knocking the Unicorn to the ground fatigued and dizzy. Before Scootaloo could move her machine out of the way Queen Starlight lifted her own and turned it in the air then fired a massively charged blast at her. The attack tore Scootaloo's tank to ribbons and launched it through several trees and down the hill into the forest.

In terror Spike ducked underneath a chunk of wall nearby, closed his eyes, and covered his head.

As Starlight climbed to her hooves and tried to get her barrings she saw the flaming trail that was once where Scootaloo was in her machine. She saw the machine controled by the Queen turning towards her again. Desperatly she tried to charge a defensive spell, but all she got was a small energy fizzle from the tip of her horn. The next thing she knew her whole body felt like it was on fire and all she could see was white. She could no longer feel the ground for several seconds until she came to a violent crash.

Starlight blinked through partially opened eyes a few times as the world around her came back and the pain set in. Soon the world began to fade away again; this time in darkness as her eyes closed. The last thing she saw before losing conciousness was her evil double approaching and standing over her with a look of satisfaction in her eyes.

Chapter 9: Starlight's Twisted Torture

Author's Note

Warning: This chapter contains non-consensual sex between Starlight and her evil double Queen Starlight.
It is not meant to be complete pornography and so the scene has described only enough to get the point across. .

Chapter 9: Starlight's Twisted Torture

Once again Starlight found herself chained and captured. Her double in this world had her placed in a large castle chamber which at least had nicer walls than Twilight's dungeon had. The room was empty except a set of levers on the wall. Her hooves were locked inside the floor making it so she was unable to do anything but stand. A metal cap had been sealed on her horn again preventing her use of magic.

Queen Starlight entered the room and approached her double. They locked eyes for several seconds.

"What do you want?" snapped Starlight.

"Look at you," replied Queen Starlight. "You're beautiful."

"W-what?" asked Starlight confused.

"Without Twilight and Spike fighting me at every turn, I could have looked like you," said Queen Starlight as she removed her cloak and mask.

Starlight watched her double remove the items with interest; she wanted to know what her double really looked like. The Queen had many scars on her coat; along her arms and body, neck and face. Her hair was still messy and braided and her ear had been cut or torn in half. As Starlight observed her double she felt that she wasn't ugly from her scars -they showed her life was rough but there was a strong beauty about her that was only overshadowed by her evil behaviors, not the scars.

"You're not ugly if that's what you mean," said Starlight.

"Oh? So this version of me must be a liar. That's one thing we don't have in common," sneered Queen Starlight.

"Ugh!" groaned Starlight as she rolled her eyes at the Queen.

Queen Starlight circled her double, using her right hoof to stroke her smooth coat. Starlight didn't have a clue what was going through the Queen's mind but she knew she didn't like it. Queen Starlight stopped behind her double and paused.
Starlight craned her neck to see her double. She saw the Queen's forehoof swinging through the air, making hard contact with her rear.

"Ahhh!" yelled Starlight. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

Queen Starlight struck her double again and watched with pleasure as her head rose and fell into the air while yelping. She walked back around in front of her double and moved in close to her. Starlight watched the Queen scared of her intent.

Queen Starlight grabbed her doubles mane and forced her to meet her lips. The Queen held her double in the forced kiss for a long time with Starlight wide-eyed and trying to pull away.

Starlight could feel her doubles tougne swirling around her's. Kissing her own doppelganger made her sick, almost to the point of throwing up. Starlight gagged and wiggled but the Queen never let up; she thought about biting the Queens's tongue but was afraid of the punishment that might follow. When the Queen let go she backed up and smirked at Starlight.

"Bleh! Sppt, Sthpttt," exclaimed Starlight as she spit on the floor.

"I think I'm having some fun for a change," replied Queen Starlight.

"You're crazy!" shouted Starlight angrily.

"Think of this simply as one of many tortures you will undergo until you tell me everything I want to know," explained Queen Starlight.

"You haven't asked me anything! And what you're doing is wrong," shouted Starlight in frustration

"I don't know about that. I mean, it's more or less masturbation," replied Queen Starlight.

"I mean you..." Starlight tried to say before being cut off by a sudden attack from her double.

Queen Starlight struck her double in the face with her left hoof cutting her off mid-sentence. Starlight looked back at her in shock and went to speak again. Queen Starlight rose her hoof and struck her double again, and again; a wide smile formed on her face as she felt her hoof sink into her doubles face repeatedly.

"Ow, Sto... Ah, Ahh!" Starlight tried to shout between the blows.

When the Queen stopped Starlight was bleeding from her nose and mouth, she had swollen red cheeks, and her right eye was slightly bruised. Queen Starlight delighted in her doubles pain.

Starlight gasped to catch her breath and whimpered while watching her double. The Queen walked over to the levers and pulled two down. Slots in the floor and wall opened up revealing a variety of sex toys and torture tools. There was everything from whips, knives, and rods to dildos and lubes. Starlight could see how the fetishes she herself possessed in a very mild degree had grown into an extreme array of dark and kinky desires in her double.

"S-stop! Stop this please!" begged Starlight.

Queen Starlight grinned and retrieved three objects from the shelves and racks. She returned to her double with a devious look on her face. Starlight tried to plead with her double again but when she opened her mouth the Queen reached up and held it open. Starlight tried to pull away but the Queen pushed hard on her jaw and only seconds later had forced something inside her mouth. Starlight continued trying to struggle as her double clipped a strap around her head catching her mane in the process. When the Queen was done Starlight knew what she had strapped a ring gag in her mouth.

Queen Starlight held up the other two items for her double to see; one was a double-sided strap-on dildo and the other was a short leather whip. Starlight struggled with all her might but she was not able to break free of her holds.

"Mno! Mnoo!" cried Starlight, her words deformed by the gag.

"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Queen Starlight.

Queen Starlight circled her double raising and striking her with her whip repeatedly. The whip strung and cut Starlight causing her to cry out in pain. The Queen laughed again each time her double tried to form words and beg her to stop.

When the Queen came full cricle she stopped and admired her work.

Starlight stood before the Queen with tears streaming down her face. The cuts now covering her body were bleeding slightly, staining the fur around them red. Starlight's legs were shaking from fear; she knew this was not over yet and there was nothing she could do or say to stop it. She wondered where Spike was and hoped in her thoughts that he would save her from this agony soon -even the torture from Twilight was nothing compared to what her double was about to do.

Queen Starlight moved on to her next plan. She smiled at her double as she slid the dildo inside herself and strapped it in place. Next, she walked back around to her doubles rear. Starlight winced and tried to pull away as the Queen began to explore her marehood.

Starlight could feel her doubles tongue on her parts; it grossed her out. It was like having sex with a sister to her mind. She tried desperately to pull away again even though she knew she could not move. The Queen showed no shame in exploring her doubles backside; Starlight could feel her tongue traveling from her marehood to her plot and back.

"Shnop Zush!" pleaded Starlight to the Queen again.

Queen Starlight licked her lips as she moved to mount her double. She had raped many Ponies in this chamber but this was by far the most thrilling experience she had since Twilight was her slave. She positioned herself in Starlight's marehood and thrust herself inside her double violently.

"Gahhh! Ahhh!" screamed Starlight through the ring gag.

Starlight could feel her muscles wanting to give out from the pain her body was receiving. She had never experienced anything like it aside from being electrocuted by the Twilight of this world. She was not used to such misery. Starlight's tears streamed down her face and puddled on the floor in small drops, her saliva was starting to drip from her forced open mouth and she could feel nothing but shame and pain from her doubles thrusts.

'Please Spike! Twilight! Anypony! Help me!' Starlight cried in her thoughts.

In the end, nopony came. For several hours the Queen continued to have her way with her double. She used whatever toy or tool tickled her fancy and held nothing back. By the end Starlight was left bleeding, trembling from the pain, and crying uncontrollably.

"Mno Mur! Ah, ghhh, ah, ha!" sobbed Starlight.

"No, I'm done for now," replied Queen Starlight. "But I promised my Commander and his squad a nice treat for taking down Fort Dawnwatch so easily," she added, clapping her forehooves together.

Starlight watched in terror as seven stallions entered to room and circled her. With wide eyes she examined them all, hoping they would decide they had better things to do than her.

"She's all your boys. Just don't rough her up too much, I need her alive," said Queen Starlight as she headed for the door.

Queen Starlight turned for one last look at her broken double from another world or time. She was completely satisfied.

'She'll be more than willing to talk after this,' thought Queen Starlight as she took her leave. 'Or I will make her life a living hell!'

Chapter 10: Shining Armor Arrives

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