The Brightest Light Casts the Darkest Shadow

Twilight Sparkle surveyed her surroundings, an endless expanse of black void dotted with celestial objects, and turned to Star Swirl. She asked him, "Can you remember where you last saw anypony here?"

Star Swirl shook his head. "I'm afraid not," he said. "After you've been here as long as I, time tends to blend together. When did you get here, by the way?"

"A few minutes ago? Hours ago? I guess I don't know, I was unconscious," Twilight said. "Well, it doesn't matter. I don't particularly feel like getting lost in here, how do you navigate this place?"

Star Swirl shrugged. "When Celestia is here, I can track her down with a locate person spell. When she observes you, I watch her. When she departs, I merely let my body drift to where he desires."

"Can you use your spell to track the other victims? You said she did it to Sombra's daughter, can you help us find her?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, I believe so," Star Swirl said. He began channeling his spell. "Yes! No... No! Peppers!"

A pair of red bell peppers shimmered into existence and the old wizard tore them apart with his magic and noisily gulped them down. Twilight raised her eyebrow. "So, your spell didn't work?"

Star Swirl shook his head. "It appears not."

"We'll do it the hard way then and find them the same way I found you. We'll use this Unicorn Nebula as our starting point. My studies about you said you were a master of conjuration, could you summon items to mark our trail, please?" Twilight asked.

"Of course! Lead on, Twilight Sparkle. lead on," Star Swirl said.

Hours passed by as the pair scoured the astral plane with no sight of any other ponies. Twilight was beginning to lose hope. If Star Swirl was correct about Celestia, she had been stealing ponies' destinies for over a thousand years there should be hundreds of victims. As she was about to voice her concerns to the old wizard, Twilight spotted a tumbling object in the distance.

"Look, Star Swirl!" Twilight cried as she sprinted forwards. As they neared, they could see that the object was indeed a pony. A pegasus to be exact, with a pink coat and a scarlet mane and tail. Twilight channeled a spell and caught the tumbling mare in a telekinetic field.

Twilight eagerly turned the mare's body so she could examine the flank. The pegasus' cutie mark was of two gusts of wind forming an X pattern. The pegasus appeared to be in a deep sleep, as she was breathing but her eyes remained shut, despite Twilight's attempts to awaken her.

"I have the strangest feeling I know this pony, but I can't place her. Do you know who she is?" Twilight asked.

"It is unlikely you know her. Personally, I should say. I couldn't help but watch you as Celestia did as well, you know. I don't recall anypony like this in your life," Star Swirl said.

"Somepony I've never met... An Applewood starlet? She looks pretty enough," Twilight mused. "Oh, I don't think so, I don't watch that many movies. It must be in a book... Was she somepony Daring Do assisted?  No... Wait!"

Twilight pulled the mare's face up and brushed her hair to the side. Twilight giggled. "It is her! Star Swirl, hand me one of those bowls you've been leaving in our wake."

Star Swirl moved the bowl towards Twilight and she zapped it with her apple to orange spell. Twilight used her magic to peel the orange-bowl, then squeezed juice into the mare's mouth. The mare coughed and weakly opened her eyes. Twilight grinned. "Hello, your highness! I am Twilight Sparkle, that is Star Swirl the Bearded, and you are Princess Crosswind, the inspiration for Hearts and Hooves Day!"

Once upon a time, Prince Sopwith, a pegasus prince, became infatuated with Princess Crosswind. Unfortunately, Crosswind did not share those feelings. Sopwith was not one to give up, and so he summoned his royal alchemist. The alchemist prescribed a love potion, and so Sopwith gathered the ingredients, invited Crosswind's kingdom to attend a royal ball, and slipped her the potion. The result was nearly catastrophic.

The alchemist had mistakenly offered his prince the recipe for a love poison. The prince and princess were magically compelled to stare into each others eyes, becoming unable to perform their royal duties. Things quickly escalated after an attack by a conquering dragon. Their kingdoms fell into chaos, and eventually fell to the dragon. An antidote to the poison was eventually found - as simple as keeping the two victims from staring into each others eyes for one hour. After a Pyrhhic victory against the dragon, their kingdoms were reclaimed.

Years later, their story was used as the basis for Hearts and Hooves Day, a holiday for ponies to show how much they love and care for each other.

Crosswind stared hungrily at the orange. "I am.. I was.. Princess Crosswind," she said. "Might I have that orange, please?"

"Of course, princess," Twilight said, guiding the orange into Crosswind's grasp.

Crosswind finished the orange and wiped at her mouth. "Thank you, um, Twilight Sparkle, was it?"

"You're welcome," Twilight said. "Do you recall how you got here?"

Crosswind shook her head. "I do not even know where 'here' is."

"Princess Celestia must have brought you here, can you remember?" Star Swirl asked.

"I've been dreaming so long, I don't know what is real," Crosswind said. She closed her eyes as she struggled to remember. "I... I did... something... and Princess Celestia was so proud of me. I think I was happy... I remember floating in this... place. Marveling at the celestial wonders, which soon became terror. I curled up and went to sleep....." She shuddered and opened her eyes.

Twilight put her hoof on Crosswind's shoulder. "Don't worry, your highness. We'll find a way out and get to the bottom of this, I promise."

Crosswind smiled. "Thank you. Where are we, though?"

"Some sort of astral plane," Star Swirl said. "Celestia's secret dungeon for special ponies."

Crosswind frowned. "Dungeon? Why would Princess Celestia throw me in a dungeon?"

"I've been trying to figure it out myself, it just doesn't make sense," Twilight said. "But Star Swirl told me that Celestia does this to steal ponies destinies, so that she can live forever."

Crosswind stretched out her wings. "I thought Celestia was my friend."

"We all did," Twilight said. "Are you feeling well enough to travel? We should try to find some more ponies that are lost in here. I mean, if we have to confront Celestia, her sister will be helping too. I don't know if the three of us could stop Celestia, let alone her and Luna."

Crosswind sighed. "I sincerely hope neither of you know what you are talking about. I loved Princess Celestia like a sister."

Star Swirl rapidly conjured a swarm of scissors and sent them spiraling off towards a star. "Oh, my. There will time to love Celestia later. Now, come along, girls, we need to find the others!"

As they continued onwards, Twilight tried to bring Crosswind up to date on how the world had advanced since Crosswind had last seen Equestria. Twilight began to notice that Star Swirl stared at her strangely when he thought she was distracted. It troubled her, but Twilight had idolized the old stallion, and shrugged it off as a side effect of his being trapped in the astral plane for so long.

The trio grew near a heart-shaped quasar and Crosswind came to a halt to admire it. She thrust her left wing upwards. "Look at that! It's beautiful!"

As he looked to where Crosswind was pointing, Star Swirl slammed into the back of her and the pair went spiraling forwards as Twilight held back laughter. Twilight turned to look towards the quasar and felt her blood run cold as she made out the form of a pony in the distance. Twilight knew exactly who this pony was - her brother Shining Armor's wife, Mi Amore Cadenza.  Cadence, as she preferred to be called, had a light pink coat, hair in streaks of violet, fuchsia, and a golden yellow, and a cutie mark of the Crystal Heart, which was a powerful artifact from the Crystal Empire that was Cadence's home.

As Twilight dashed towards Cadence, she became even more alarmed. Twilight had seen Cadence only days prior when her old friend had requested that Twilight and her friends help her welcome the Equestria Games inspector. The Cadence she saw before her was not only several years younger than the Cadence Twilight knew, but also was lacking her unicorn horn. Fear began to fill Twilight's thoughts, but she was comforted by the fact she had not only found somepony, but somepony that she knew well.

Twilight gently shook Cadence. "Cadence? It's me, Twilight!"

Cadence turned and embraced Twilight, tears began to stream down her cheeks. "Thank goodness! I was so scared. I thought I was going to die, all alone out here..."

Twilight nuzzled Cadence's neck. "It's okay, Cadence. We're here, and we're going to get you out." Twilight glanced up at Cadence's forehead. "Did Celestia steal your horn and cast some kind of age spell on you?"

Cadence glanced upwards and frowned. "My.. my horn? Um, I don't mean to offend you, missy, but I'm a pegasus. Sorry. How did you know my nickname, by the way?"

Twilight took a step backwards and blasted Cadence with a dispel polymorph spell. Cadence whimpered and tried to flee, but Twilight pulled her back with her magic. Cadence began to quiver in fear. "D-don't hurt me, please..."

Twilight let go of Cadence and entered a sitting position. "I'm sorry. It's just, the last time you didn't know who I was, you were a changeling. I just thought maybe that was what this all is. Some kind of trick Queen Chrysalis was pulling."

Cadence nervously flew closer to Twilight. "I'm sorry, Twilight, right? I have no idea what you are talking about."

Twilight looked at Cadence and frowned. "So, you really don't remember me? Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake?"

Cadence slowly shook her head. "No. I'm sorry."

Twilight pouted. "Well, do you remember how you got here?"

"I vaguely remember an evil pony with a magical amulet, a bright light, and then nothingness," Cadence said.

As Twilight looked at Cadence, the wheels began to turn in her head. If Cadence was here, then Celestia had done something to Cadence. This Cadence was much younger than the one she knew, which could mean whatever Celestia had done, she had done to Cadence years prior. Therefore, the Cadence Twilight knew must be some kind of imposter, which meant her brother had married some sort of doppelganger.

The thought of Celestia possibly harming her brother ignited a fury within Twilight. Shining Armor was her BBBFF, Big Brother, Best Friend Forever. Twilight cared deeply for her brother, and if Celestia had involved him in some twisted project, Twilight was going to put a stop to it. She stood and clapped her hooves. "I will not let anything happen to Shining Armor. Come on, Cadence. We need to go catch Star Swirl and Crosswind, then find a way out of here, pronto!"

Twilight and Cadence headed towards Star Swirl and Crosswind, Twilight lassoed them with her magic . Crosswind held a hoof to her head and tried to regain her composure. She glared at Star Swirl, then smiled at Twilight. "Thank you, Twilight."

Star Swirl laughed then tilted his head, staring at Cadence. "Whirl! Twirl! Star Swirl! And you would be Twilight's beloved foalsitter, Princess Cadence."

Cadence raised her eyebrow. "It's just Cadence."

Twilight looked amongst them and sighed. "Star Swirl! We're the only ones with magic. You're one of the greatest unicorns there has ever been, surely you must know a way to get out of here?"

Star Swirl sunk deep into thought. "I've tried all sorts of spells over the years... Has it been years? There may be one thing that could work, but it is a tad dangerous."

"If Celestia is hurting ponies, maybe even hurting my friends and my brother, then we need to stop her if we can," Twilight said. "What's this spell you're thinking of?"

"Several spells, actually, and is just crazy enough to at best get us all killed, at worst, trap us in someplace more horrid than this miserable land. Or, if we are really, really lucky, we'll get out of here," Star Swirl said. "It may be the only way, so I say we do it."

"We need to try," Twilight said. "I'm game, is everypony with me? Raise your hooves!"

Crosswind stared at the heart-shaped quasar for a bit before raising her hoof. Cadence looked around into the astral plane, shivered, and raised her hoof. Twilight grinned. "Alright, let's get out of here!"

Star Swirl's horn began to glow brighter and brighter as he cast a spell to conjure a magical mansion. The mansion, a luxurious 3-storied building complete with a wrap around porch, emerged out of the void. Star Swirl kicked open the doors and stepped back, "Ladies first."

The mares headed inside and were amazed at what they found. The tiles of the flooring was engraved with mystical symbols. Tapestries hung from the walls, an enormous chandelier sparkled overhead, and scents of delicious food wafted in from the dining room.

Twilight whistled appreciatively. "Geez, Star Swirl. If you could summon this, why were you just living out there?"

Star Swirl glared upwards at the chandelier. "Monsieur de Le Racist-Against-Unicorns here doesn't much like my presence, nor I his. Isn't that right?"

The mares glanced at each other. Star Swirl snorted. "Did you hear that?? The nerve! Why, I outta..."

"Uh, I'm sure you can work out whatever differences you have with that chandelier later. What's the next step of this plan of yours?" Twilight asked.

Star Swirl laughed maniacally at the chandelier. "Yes... Escape! I shall need to fetch something from upstairs. You three may help yourselves in the dining hall." Star Swirl galloped towards a large staircase, then stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "And don't believe a word the butter dish says. That little jerk is a bald-faced liar!"

"Okay..." Twilight said as she watched Star Swirl leap up the stairs. The three mares cautiously headed towards the source for the delicious aromas they were smelling, and their mouths began to water as they saw what was in the dining room. As far as their eyes could see, there was food. Fresh fruits. Fresh vegetables. Stews. Soups. Casseroles. And an enormous selection of desserts. The three mares attacked the feast, happily devouring the food and laughing with delight as the removed dishes magically reappeared moments later.

By the time Star Swirl returned, the three mares had moved exclusively to the dessert section, where they mercilessly ravaged as many sweet treats as they could swallow. Star Swirl watched them for a moment and began to laugh. "Oh, my. Let me know when you girls are through mauling my desserts." Star Swirl used his magic to hold up a large bag made of a shimmering cloth. "Hopefully, we shall be home soon!"

The three mares giggled, wiped at their faces, and trotted before Star Swirl. Cadence asked, "What's in the bag?"

Star Swirl grinned. "Freedom!" He used his magic to open the bag and the mares peered eagerly inside, but saw nothing.

"Is it invisible?" Twilight asked.

Star Swirl shook his head. "No, Twilight Sparkle. There is nothing in the bag. The bag itself is what we require. For you see, this is a bag of holding. A magical container that can hold massive amounts of items inside in some sort of pocket dimension. If my calculations are correct, we can turn this bag inside out, wrap it around us, and walk through the wall of the mansion. The resulting clash of magic should either do something terrible to us, or set us free."

Twilight raised her eyebrow and stared at the bag. "This kind of sounds like a really bad idea."

Star Swirl shrugged. "Magic does as magic wishes. If magic does not wish us to be free, well, we would be stuck here anyway."

Twilight stuck out her hoof. "Well, I don't really like it, but this may be our only hope. Everypony with me?"

Cadence and Crosswind reluctantly thrust out their hooves and touched them to Twilight's. Twilight smiled. "Good! Let's do this, Star Swirl!"

The four ponies huddled together as Star Swirl turned the bag of holding inside out and stretched it over their heads. Twilight used her magic to life the four of them up off the ground, and Star Swirl brought the bag down around them and pulled it tight.

The inside of the bag was illuminated by the gentle glow from Twilight's magic. Star Swirl grinned at Twilight. "Maintain your spell, Miss Sparkle, I shall guide us into the wall."

Star Swirl concentrated and cast a spell that summoned an enormous phantasmal hoof next to their bag. With a cry of "Excelsior!' Star Swirl ordered the hoof to strike. There was a loud boom as the magical hoof collided with the magical bag, the force of the explosion hurtled them towards the wall of the mansion. The air began to crackle with energy and they heard a horrifying groaning sound as the very fabric of space and time was torn asunder. Suddenly, there was a tremendous explosion and everypony blacked out from the concussion..

Star Swirl's crazy idea had paid off - they had actually been detonated back into Equestria from the astral plane. Their savior, the bag of holding, had disintegrated in the blast and absorbed the majority of the magical energy. As the ponies recovered, they found themselves rapidly falling towards a large body of water in a tangle of limbs. The pegasi struggled to flap their wings as Twilight attempted to cast a spell, but they were too late. With a tremendous splash, the four ponies landed in the lake.

The two pegasi spread their wings and shot out of the water as the two unicorns bobbed to the surface. "We made it!" Twilight screamed with glee.

Star Swirl cast a water walking spell and climbed onto the surface of the lake, then began wringing out his beard.

"I wish I had thought of tha-" Twilight started to say. She felt a rubbery appendage grasp her around the flank and she quickly vanished underwater.

Cadence yelled, "Twilight!"

"It's a kraken! Get back!" Star Swirl cried as he scanned the water below. He saw a stream of air bubbles and could barely make out Twilight struggling in the tentacles of a giant squid, deep underwater. The squid's mottled blue flesh gave it almost perfect camouflage, and it stared hungrily at its prey with a single eye of yellow with a red pupil.

Star Swirl reared back and pointed his front hooves towards the squid, leading the target by a few feet. He cast a spell and a flurry of magical missiles cascaded effortlessly through the water and tore into the squid. As the squid perished, Cadence dove into the water and tore Twilight from the beast's death grip and hauled her to the surface.

Crosswind grabbed onto Twilight and the two pegasi carried her towards shore as Star Swirl merrily skipped along the water's surface. Twilight began to violently cough up water, and when she had recovered she warmly embraced the two pegasi. "Thank you for saving me!"

Cadence grinned. "You're welcome, but I think we should be thanking you two for saving us. We have made it back to Equestria."

Star Swirl caught up to them and began to study a sign on the beach. "Danger! No Swimming, Giant Squid. By order of the Ponyville Safety Council."

Twilight's eyes lit up. "Ponyville? Hey, I know where we are! This lake is right near Ponyville, that's where I live!"

Star Swirl's face paled. "This is bad. Very, very bad."

"What? Why?" Twilight asked.

"Did you forget already? Celestia, my little mare! Celestia has eyes everywhere. It's not safe for you here," Star Swirl said.

Twilight began to cry. "Y-you're right. She was watching everything that happened in my life, wasn't she? I guess we didn't think this through, huh?"

Star Swirl shook out his mane, then smiled at Crosswind. "Thankfully, Celestia thinks all of you otherwise disposed. However, Twilight and Cadence are a bit too well known in this time. We, however, are not, so we shall go into town and procure some disguises for them."

Twilight stood and looked in the direction of Ponyville. "I'm going with you."

Cadence put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "But Twilight-"

Twilight shook her head. "I know, it's dangerous, but I need to know that my friends are safe."

Star Swirl stared at Twilight then smiled. "I can see it in your eyes, even if we disallowed it, you would come. Very well then. Crosswind, please stay here with Cadence. If we get captured, it is up to you two to defeat Celestia. If we aren't back in an hour, know we have failed and make yourselves scare."

The two unicorns said some quick farewells to their pegasi comrades and began trotting towards Ponyville. Twilight was sad to leave them, especially since they had just helped save her life, but she knew Star Swirl's orders had wisdom. If they were all caught, it was highly unlikely that anypony else would confront Celestia for her alleged crimes, and it had been Twilight's brash decision to escape with just the four of them.

"We will need to locate garments and dyes for yourself and Cadence, Twilight. Do you know where we may find them in Ponyville?" Star Swirl asked.

"I know exactly where to go, my friend Rarity's Carousel Boutique!" Twilight joyfully said.

"Excellent. Come on, young one," Star Swirl said as he quickened his pace. 'We're burning daylight!"

Those words rebounded in Twilight's mind. They reminded her of Celestia, and she felt heartache. Bleak thoughts clouded her mind as they made their way towards Ponyville, but the darkness lifted as the town began to emerge over the horizon.

Twilight thought to herself, Applejack! Rarity! Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie! Fluttershy! Please be safe, I'm almost back! as the two unicorns slowed their pace and cautiously approached Ponyville.