//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 The Last Step Into Darkness // Story: In The Twilight of Harmony’s End // by Leonofsweden //------------------------------// In the Twilight of Harmony’s End Chapter 11 The Last Step Into Darkness **** Twilight opened her eyes, but didn't move an inch. Her mind was reeling from having witnessed Scootaloo laughing and giggling while the clearly emotionally traumatized filly hunted down all of her friends. But Twilight had just witnessed how she and her friends had treated Scootaloo; thoughtlessly implying that she deserved no less than the horrible life she’d been burdened with. Therefore, try as she might, the purple alicorn just couldn't blame Scootaloo for lashing out like she had… Rainbow! Oh dear Celestia! Twilight thought in panic. Has she been stuck reliving every time she abandoned Scootaloo from Scootaloo’s point of view since that night? “Void…” Twilight croaked out while she staggered up on her hooves. “Void! Please! You need to release Rainbow right now!” she called desperately. “She could… Rainbow could lose herself in your memories! Please, I'm begging you Void! Wake her up!” Nothing answered Twilight’s pleading but the echo of her own calls. “Void?!” Twilight called again. “Please, Void! She could die! Her mind could die if this carries on too long. It might already have been too long!” Twilight called out again as she stood paralyzed in plays, looking at Rainbow where she hung suspended in the shadow chains. Only now did she realize something that ought to have been obvious. She was free; she wasn't strapped to the floor or chained down. Even her wings were free. The only thing remaining of her restraints was her crystal-covered horn. Looking around herself, obviously suspecting a trap or cruel joke,Twilight slowly and carefully flew up to her unconscious friend. “Rainbow?” She shook her friend gently, trying to get any response out of her. “Rainbow, you have to wake up.” “She will…” the echoing voice of Void sounded. “As soon as you free your magic, this will all be over, and you can wake her up.” “What?” Twilight said in disbelief. “You… you want me to free my magic?” “Truly princess… You're supposed to be intelligent,” Void scoffed while she walked in with a nonchalant trot. “Why do you think I have not turned you into a Dread like your friends, hmm?” “Like my…” It wasn't until now that Twilight realized she had woken up alone, except for Rainbow. “Where are Rarity and Applejack!?” “Twilight, Twilight, Twilight,” Void teased while the purple alicorn dropped down in front of her black counterpart, glaring daggers at her antagonist. “That has always been your problem, hasn't it princess? You stare yourself blind on one thing, like Rainbow now when you woke up, and you completely forget about everything else, like your two other absent friends.” Void walked in a circle around the now uncertain-looking princess. “No wonder you never noticed anything beyond the page of whatever book you were reading at any given time. Now, I'll give you a clue so you can work out the problem, Sombra.” “Sombra? You mean dark magic?” Twilight said with disdain. “Bingo! Now, be a good little princess and free yourself from those crystals,” Void said with a menacing smile. “Why? Why do you want me to use… Wait!” Twilight narrowed her eyes at Void. “You need me to do this in order to change me into a Dread!” “Bravo, Twilight!” Void snickered while slowly clapping her hooves together. “You're making connections both left and right now. I need you to use black magic in order for me to gain enough of a hoofhold in your heart to start the transformation. Because of your new alicorn status, you are simply too harmonious in your magical wellspring for me to do what needs to be done. But while you're using black magic…” “Dark feelings would be present in my heart, allowing you to gain the leverage you need…” Twilight finished with wide eyes before narrowing them aggressively. “Never! I will never let you in to my heart Void!” “Oh… That's too bad for Rainbow,” Void said sadly as she looked up at the suspended Pegasus. “I guess her mind is destined to slowly fade away while you just sit here with the power to stop it at any moment you so wish.” “For crying out loud, Twilight!” the very agitated voice of Applejack suddenly shouted. “Ya can't honestly be thinking of letting Rainbow just hang up there while you sit on your flank and watch her suffer!” Out of the darkness behind Void, a pitch black Applejack trotted, her orange tail swishing behind her in agitation while her cold, blue, slit-pupiled eyes glared at Twilight reproachfully. Applejack was quickly followed by Rarity, who seemed to be gliding forward so sensually even Fleur Dis Lee would have been hard-pressed to match it. The unicorn’s purple mane had new white highlights which framed her delicate features perfectly. But despite her deep, glacier-blue eyes, what was ultimately most chilling about Rarity was her expression: the small smirk donning her features gave her a look of cold confidence, making her seem far more dangerous than any of the other Dreads. “Oh please, not you two as well,” Twilight whispered. She looked on in grief as she took in the changes her two friends had gone through. “Now, don't be like that darling. Not everything is doom and gloom with this transformation. You will see it for yourself when you join us,” Rarity said reproachfully. “All you have to do is a teensy-weensy bit of black magic, and this will all be over. Then we can get started on the truly important work.” “What?” wondered Twilight, her curiosity piqued at the mention of important work. “What important work?” “Well ah’ll be…” Applejack smirked while slowly shaking her head. “One mention of important work and she manages to almost completely forget about the situation she's in.” “You have no right to say anything like that, young Dread,” Void spat at Applejack, who immediately shrunk away fearfully from her new master. “or do I need to remind you of what you did to earn your place of suffering here yourself?” “No master!” a deeply bowing Applejack answered in fear. “I… I… I just-” “Oh do shut up!” Void snapped harshly making Applejack's jaws clack together so fast that the sound of her teeth reverberated through the chamber. “If I had my way, you would be spending at least another two months in here as my plaything. Unfortunately, a ruler cannot always have it her own way. Things are moving forward, and I need your services elsewhere.” Applejack's only answer was to bow even lower in submission. “Good, now you will follow Rarity’s lead. She knows what the two of you are supposed to do,” Void said shortly while she picked up Applejack in her telekinesis and flung her back into the darkness. A dull thud, followed by a grown, was the only indication that Applejack had not simply disappeared in the inky black void beyond Twilight’s vision. “Master, I know you’re still… upset with Applejack,” Rarity said coyly while presenting herself from the most advantageous angle possible. “surely, if we are to carry out your commands efficiently, we would better do so without physical injuries, no?” Void turned her attention completely upon Rarity who immediately shied back, understanding that she might have made a mistake in voicing her opinion. “You are treading on thin ice, Lady Rarity.” Void scowled down at the prim fashionista. “I only gave you authority over Applejack because I knew she would hate it, not because I value you more.” “Of course, Master. Please forgive my outburst,” a chastised Rarity responded, trying to placate Void, who in turn gave a snort of amusement at the display. “Learn your place, Rarity; of the six of you here, only Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are somewhat in my good graces. Both of them are mostly here because they had the misfortune of being Elements of Harmony.” Void’s expressions then softened, “I would not have hunted them down if it wasn't for that little detail… The two of them never truly hurt me the way the rest of you girls did.” Void’s face suddenly shifted into a cruel smirk. “Although I would still have killed Angel.” “I… I understand master,” Rarity said, carefully standing up straight again. “Good, now leave us; you two have work to do.” Void dismissed Rarity with a wave of her hoof. The young Dread gave another short bow and trotted off, leaving the dark Alicorn alone with Twilight and the unconscious Rainbow Dash. It was now that Twilight noticed Void was completely black—nothing of Scootaloo’s orange coat remained. With a shuddering sob, the purple Alicorn sank down on the floor and let her pent up feelings flow freely. “So, she's completely gone, dead, and immediately you start showing your true face, Void.” Twilight murmured while thinking about how she and her friends so utterly failed to save Scootaloo from the horrible fate of being consumed alive by Nightmare’s essence. “Don't be so melodramatic, Princess; you didn't really care for me until you were forcefully made to see what you willfully ignored,” Void spat coldly as she walked up to stand directly in front of Twilight. “But we didn't know Scoot-” “And that's supposed to make it alright?” Void bellowed down at the cringing princess. “It would have been so easy to stop my and many other foals’ suffering! But no, as long as the happy ponies could continue to be happy, the suffering of a few foals meant NOTHING!” The enraged shout bounced around the chamber for quite a while before silence once again fell. “I'm… I'm sorry we failed you, Scootaloo. Badly at that, I admit… so… so very badly,” Twilight murmured before she raised her head to look back at Void with determination. “But that doesn't make anything you're doing here right! Nothing you say can make it so!” To Twilight’s surprise, Void started laughing uproariously. It took quite a few tries before she could get a hold of herself again. “Do you truly think I'm so deluded as to believe that anything I've done here is right or just?!” a very dangerous-sounding Void asked. “What I've done here has been nothing but sating my own hunger for revenge. Some of you didn't deserve anything: others deserved far more! But not for a second did I think that any of this was for justice! There is no justice for what my life has been!” Twilight was now lying on her back with her forehooves covering her head. She shook violently under the seething rage of Void, who was standing over her breathing heavily as she tried to rein herself back in again. With a final snort down at the Princess, Void stepped away from her captive. “Still… even Applejack’s reactions to what happened that week I can understand, at least once I found out why she did what she did… The only one of you with no excuse is Rainbow Dash. She promised to be my sister, and then just left me to suffer alone.” Void’s sad voice sounded from where she stood, looking out into the darkness around her. “What?” Twilight said, quite shocked. “You understand Applejack? Then why-” “I said I understand her!” Void snapped as she spun around to face Twilight. “That does not mean I forgive her!” “I'm sorry!” Twilight shrieked as she curled up on the floor again, knowing she was powerless to stop Void from doing anything she wanted to her. “Indeed…” Void snorted. “I know why Applejack reacted the way she did… After all, I now know how her parents died.” “It… It has to do with her parents?” Twilight uncurled a bit, curious about this revelation. Applejack had never said a word about her parents, save the rare mentions of how great they were, and Twilight never pushed to find out how they disappeared. Or, more accurately, died—Twilight had been told of their fate by Rarity. Though, once again, the specific circumstances were unknown to her. “Very much so… This was before I was even born as Scootaloo; Applebloom is a few months older than I, after all,” Void said with a sigh as she started walking a slow circle around Twilight. “Applebloom had just been born, she was about three months old when her parents left her for the first time to be Ponyville’s representatives on the maiden voyage of the Hindentrotter airship.” A gasp from Twilight confirmed that she knew exactly where this story was heading. “They were both very respected ponies in the community of Ponyville. So it came as no surprise when the former mayor asked if they wanted to come along to see if Ponyville should invest in a Skyport or just stick to regular old trains. They naturally said yes." The silence that filled the throne room was deafening. “I'm sure you know that the Hindentrotter went down, killing all the passengers in a blazing fireball…” Void said, her voice filled with sorrow. “And then Applejack found out that I supposedly almost killed her little sister in a hot air balloon… To say that she completely lost it would be putting it mildly. The fear and anguish of how she lost her parents surfaced again and, this time around, it was solely focused on me, a target she could lash out against.” “I… I had no idea…” Twilight murmured when she understood Void was done with her story. “It didn't have anything to do with your own happy little world, so I'm not surprised that you didn't,” Void stated with a sneer making Twilight shrink down against the floor again. Void’s horn flashed with magic, and, in the next instant, Rainbow landed heavily right in front of Twilight. “Now then, let's end this charade. As I said earlier, we have a lot to do if we want to save all the fillies and colts of Equestria,” Void said harshly, pushing Rainbow’s limp body into Twilight’s hooves. “Save your friend or you can slowly watch her die while I entomb both of you here alive. Which, of course, will not be too much of a problem for you.” “No! Void, please, I'm begging you! Don't make me do this! You loved her as a sister once, remember?!” Twilight's desperate pleas fell on deaf ears as Void simply turned around and started heading off into the darkness. “Such a pity… goodbye Twilight,” Void spoke over her shoulder as she walked away. “Wait!” the now-panicking Twilight screamed. “Oh, how silly of me,” the teasing voice of the black Alicorn suddenly sounded out from the darkness. “You should at least know what you're forcing your friend to live through.” With that, a bolt of dark magic shot out and struck the prismatic Pegasus on the forehead. Instantly, the still sleeping Rainbow started to wail and sob frantically in Twilight’s grasp. “Come back! Please, Rainbow! Wait! I don't want… I don't want to go back there… please…” the frantic calls of Rainbow sounded through the chambers, all the while her limbs were flailing about like she was trying to catch up to somepony. Completely shocked and stunned, Twilight looked in horror down at Rainbow, who continued to wail and sniffle. After a few minutes, a new scene seemed to start up, and this time it was apparent she was being beaten by Miss Bad Winnie… for forgetting to polish all the shoes in the shoe rack to shining perfection, at least if Rainbow’s sobs and wails were anything to go by. It didn't take many more minutes of listening to Rainbow before Twilight finally caved. “Curse you, Void! I will banish you to the sun if it's the last thing I do!” Twilight shrieked as black magic filled her eyes and started bubbling out from her horn. The black crystals that had so far been blocking all of her attempts at magic now suddenly reacted like boosters, fueling her magic even further, making the act of breaking Void’s memory spell an easy task. Rainbow hadn't even fallen unconscious in Twilight’s grasp, the Pegasus’ mind finally allowed to completely rest after so long, before a sharp pain shot through Twilight’s back. Slowly turning, she let her now green and red eyes linger upon the sight of Void as dark purple mist seeped out of the corners from her own eyes, mingling with her lighter purple coat. Void, on the other hoof, simply stood there; grinning in victory, her savage-looking shadow blade buried to the hilt in the princess’ purple-coated back. Tears were streaming down Twilight’s cheeks as coldness started to spread from her heart into the rest of her body. Pain started to roll through her in waves, making her grit her teeth and turn away from Void. Twilight felt the blade of darkness being pulled from her, sending another spike of pain through her as she grunted. Looking down at her hooves, she could see that she was holding on to Rainbow so fiercely that the Pegasus had turned an even deeper shade of blue than usual. With a gasp at the realization of what she was doing, Twilight tenderly laid Rainbow to rest on the floor in front of her, before collapsing next to her friend herself. Just as the pain was about to become overwhelming, the purple Alicorn felt how her lungs were suddenly flooded, the substance burning like it was black tar she was breathing. She tried to scream but couldn't. From the wound on her back, black tendrils of dark magic lashed out and started to spread over her. She had seen this process from the outside; it had not prepared her in the slightest for what it was to truly go through the experience herself. Void now trotted into her view. All Twilight could do was follow the black demon with her pinprick eyes as she stopped beside Rainbow. Looking down at the unconscious Pegasus, she snorted. Void raised her shadow blade for the final strike. But then she hesitated, the hoof with the shadow blade extended from it slowly lowered from its striking position. Void was clearly aggravated, clenching her teeth as she looked down at the rainbow-maned Pegasus, rage and confusion etched on her face. “Why! Why can't I hate you more?!” Void screamed down at the unconscious mare. “You hurt me the most! And still… and still…” the dark Alicorn muttered while she let her head slowly fall, a single tear rolling down her left cheek. “And still I had to keep you asleep this whole time… a single word from you, a single plea for mercy from your lips... and I would have most certainly let you all go free…” With a final shudder, Void dried her eyes and took a deep breath, steeling herself for what had to be done. She stood up straight, raised her hoof and let the shadow blade form again, hovering above Rainbow’s unprotected chest. The last thing Twilight saw before the cocoon of darkness enveloped her was how Void drove her black blade straight down into Rainbow. **** Thanks to Mikemeiers - pre-reader/editor Thanks to Evanescyan - pre-reader/editor Thanks to Captain Syvvak, the Pirate Judge - pre-reader/editor/ninja