Unlikely Hero

I finally get a break from homework to right a detailed critique on what is an absolute piece of art, and story in of itself. As you know by now Jay, I am a huge fan of your work, and literally cannot help but fangirl over most of your artwork.
So you ought to prepare for major ass fangirling because you've completely outdone yourself here!

Vision: This is clearly more than just a basic drawing of some random idea. This whole picture does something that most artwork really fails to actually present. It has a STORY. Twilight obviously falling to corruption, besting the two most powerful beings in her world and ruling like a Tyrant. And then comes her formal rival to fight against the tyrannical ruler.
This picture displays that completely and without any confusion. Excellent job in your vision for the piece.

Originality: Of course the idea of Twilight going dark is not something new to us, and we've undoubtedly seen a version in which Trixie stands against the new tyrant. However that's not what I'm going by here, the piece itself is brand spanking new. I've never seen a piece for MLP that used this scenery, this style or the point of view we're seeing here.
I'm not marking off points for the idea behind the picture, and for that you get a solid five for making a new original art piece

Technique: In full honesty, this is what I've been waiting to talk about. Where do I even begin?! Well, let's start with the light and shadows, which you are undoubtedly a master of. The light coming off Trixie's staff really illuminates the darkness of the room and shows off the "Light coming to Vanquish the Dark" theme. The shadows of Trixie's cape and hat, shadows and lights off the rest of the characters forms, including Twi's dress, and even in the background or all expertly done, and make it feel realistic and smooth.
Speaking of smooth, the ripples in the cape and hat are nicely balanced. Trixie's cape has very smooth and sleek curves, while her hat is more jagged and straight. Twilights dress also looks very smooth thanks to lighting. It gives it that kinda rubber like look to it.
As for Twilight herself, she looks really menacing, her expression showing pure villainess material. The amulet is also well done and raises the question: "Why does she have it? Why did she need it? Where did she find it?" As always, you're basically a master of human anatomy, however I did notice that her neck is rather long. That part kinda reminds me of Sansa Stark from GOT. That's not a bad thing though, and it is actually done well. One thing that kinda bugs me is that her (rather large breasts) look like they're being supported very well despite it looking that she has no bra under that dress... either that dress is strong or she's using some form of magic there. Aside from that though, she's amazing, looks real menacing and is detailed perfectly. You even got her nails perfectly.
Moving on from Twilight, let me give my two cents on the Sisters. Luna looks stunning, especially on the hair. I don't know how you pulled it off, but her hair looks amazing and really stands out. Also, the lighting on her hair brings out its figure. As for her being completely naked? I don't think that was just you randomly testing out a nude study, but rather Twilight forcing her to be like that as a sign of humiliation. I mean, what better way to humiliate your enemy than make them serve you completely naked? (Also I take it the chocolate milk is a sign that Discord may have a part in this. She's not drinking chocolate milk, she's drinking glass! ... God that sounds brutal in words.) Anyways, while she does look beautiful being naked and all, her expression is perfect, and supports the idea that she's being humiliated. She just seems like she's in so much pain and disrespect. Something she felt before.
Unfortunately, while Luna looks stunning, I feel you could have done a bit more with Tia. Not to say she looks bad, you did great work there too, having her under Twi's foot shows her defeat. But I still think that we're not seeing enough. I felt that her head could have been turned towards Trixie, with her hair (which is also again, beautifully made) covering over her face slightly, but not enough to hide her expression. As for her apparel? This part confuses me. If Luna is completely naked, how come Tia is just in her underwear? Now I'm not saying this just to get a nude Tia, but I feel that you either have both your enemies nude to be humiliated or just leave them in their last attire (something like broken battle armor would have made sense too). If you have a reason I'm not seeing, feel free to explain.
And then the star herself comes Trixie! Like I said before, her cape and hat are outstanding. But her pose, confronting Twilight with a pose of determination, and with her staff high really shows that she's not afraid to do what's right. Her hair is nice, especially when it has that blurry look at the ends. She looks stunning. I guess she could have had something on her arms such as gauntlets or magical robe sleeves, but then again, you may not have found that suiting compared to what the other characters were wearing.
The background itself is unfortunately just a tad bit bland compared to the characters, the light does bounce off well with the stairs, but I still feel that there could have been just a bit more done. But then again, the background isn't the focus, the characters are, so it makes sense that you chose not to give an overwhelming background. Still, one or two things on the wall behind Twi would have been a nice touch.

Now after all that ranting in the Technique, let me sum up. The characters look fantastic, the light is beautifully done, the choice for attires make sense, and the background is easily acceptable. I only wish that we could see Tia's expression and maybe have her in a different pose (like her being on her side, maybe gripping her side in pain). But regardless, this artpiece is fantastically done.

Impact: case the last 1062 words didn't describe it well enough, this piece has a massive impact on me. I love your artwork, and this piece definitely deserves attention and multiple critiques. You've simply outdone yourself.

In conclusion, this is fantastic. It presents a story with perfection, is completely original, is beautifully done and has a great impact on me as a fan. Even with the few minor things here and there that I personally thought could have been executed differently, this is a absolute MASTERPIECE. Well done Jay, and please don't stop!!!
Okay, I'm done fangirling after 1169 words.