Darkest Before the Dawn
Crystal shards clinked against the stone pavement like bits of broken glass, as a heavy silence fell over the group of friends.
"S-so..." Their foe's words trembled with excitement as she gazed through her partially-shattered hole in her armor, up at the five ponies brave enough—or perhaps foolhardy enough—to oppose her. "It's come to this then, has it!"
The sinister look in her eye, as well as her words took them all aback, but what truly sent a chill down their spines... was the face of their enemy.
"Twi," Rainbow murmured quietly, not believing her own eyes. "It... i-it's you."
She glanced out of the corner of her eye to her right, over at her girlfriend for her own perspective.
Twilight herself, stared ahead in denial, shaken to the core.
Then she snorted in amusement.
Rainbow cocked her head, her expression swiftly turning worried. "Twi...?"
"Yeah," she scoffed. "It's me alright... If I were looking into a broken mirror, maybe with a few screws missing." Her doppelganger raised an eyebrow as Twilight herself proceeded to shake her head in denial. "No, it... h-has to be a trick! It just looks like me because of the magic it stole!"
"Twi..." Rainbow murmured, brow furrowing in concern. "That was when it was cloaked in that... shadowy veil... But that right there is their actual body—"
"It can't be!"
Her outburst startled everypony, most of all Rainbow... her ears flattening and gaze softening. She picked up on the desperation in her girlfriend's voice, and the desire to prove that what she was witnessing... wasn't really there.
That she somehow wasn't responsible for any of this.
"I... I was attacked, b-by rogue m-magic in the Everfree! My magic gave it shape, i-identity... purpose—!"
"Is that what your friends told you?" the other her spoke, her words carrying with them a mocking tone.
Twilight's brow raised, directing her attention back at her doppelganger. "Wha—?"
Her double grinned maliciously. "Go ahead, Rainbow Dash. Tell her what really happened."
Rainbow stepped back, at a loss for words as she all of a sudden found herself the center of attention. "I..."
"Rainbow...?"
Rainbow turned to see Twilight, hints of betrayal in her eyes, and at that, her heart broke.
"Twi, I—"
"I asked her not to tell you, Twilight."
"P-Princess...?"
Twilight looked up at her mentor, bearing a look of bewilderment.
"The real reason I sent you and Rainbow to my old castle... was because I feared Nightmare Moon's impending return. When the object from the sky landed there, I... thought perhaps she was somehow attempting to interfere with the Elements. In actuality, it was to lure you there... so that she could manipulate my sister's lingering spirit into providing her a way back to earth."
"Your sister's lingering will... Wait, s-so... y-you mean..."
"Yes, Twilight. That wasn't dark magic that possessed you... it was Luna—"
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
Celestia reeled slightly at her student's outburst, taking a step back but continuing to stand her ground.
"Because I did not want the way you view her to be forever tarnished by this fact. To know that she had become Nightmare Moon, or that... she would risk unleashing such a great evil upon Equestria..."
"Tch..." Twilight tore her gaze away, falling into silence as she stewed over everything she had just been told.
Twilight...
"Luna's... a-alive...?"
Celestia's ears perked up, alert to her niece's voice, and the question she had poised.
And immediately a pang of guilt ran across her heart.
A realization that Twilight wasn't the only one affected by this turn of events.
She looked off, her voice lowering to that of a murmur. "I told you earlier, didn't I, Cadance? There is so much that I have neglected to tell you, and I truly am sorry... but right now, we must stay focused—"
"I understand..." Cadance nodded before her aunt could say another word, murmuring, "but, if you were truly sorry... then you never would have lied in the first place."
Celestia peered back at her sorrowfully, wishing there were something more she could say. Her chest grew tighter at the words her niece spoke.
Cadance...
"What about you, Rainbow?" Twilight turned towards her fiancée accusingly, Rainbow looking back at her, dumbfounded.
"Wha—?"
"Celestia said you kept this from me... but you were lying to me the moment I regained my senses inside the castle."
"Twi, I..." Her ears flopped as she lowered her gaze ashamedly. "I-it's like Celestia said... I didn't want you knowing that some pony you idolize had attacked you. Even if it was out of desperation..." she murmured in an afterthought.
All the while, their enemy smirked... watching as they fought among themselves.
The seeds of doubt have been sown... Now it is only a matter of time before their hearts blacken with—
Twilight let out a sigh of defeat. "Oh, Featherbrain... I love you too much to be mad with you."
What!? The doppelganger's eyes widened, and she grit her teeth in anger.
"And at least now I understand why you were so hesitant to want to try and save Luna... I know you were only trying to protect me, Rainbow... Still, I... wish you'd have just been honest with me."
Rainbow formed a lopsided smile, as she took one of Twilight's hooves in hers. "I know, Twi... and, if we survive this whole ordeal, I... promise I'll never keep anything from you ever again."
Twilight returned the smile. "That's all I needed to know."
The earth shook beneath their foe's hooves, as hairline cracks began forming in her armor.
"And although it may be difficult for me to forgive you..." Cadance continued with a sigh, turning to face her aunt. "You're still my aunt, Celestia. You gave me a life I never would have imagined... and I won't let myself forget that just because of a few lies."
Cadance... Celestia's surprised gaze softened into a tearful look. "Thank you."
"I may not understand much of what's going on, or why our enemy looks like my sis," Shined chimed in; "but... Celestia's right. The Pony of Shadows is clearly trying to mess with our heads, and turn us all against one another... but we just need to remind ourselves that we're all better friends than tha—!"
"Enough!"
Their foe's voice bellowed out, followed by the crystal armor shattering completely... its pieces flying out in all directions. At the same time, a powerful storm began brewing around her, stirring up heavy winds that kept them all at bay... but through their squinted gazes, saw what she truly looked like.
She indeed bore a striking resemblance to Twilight herself, save for her darker, plum-colored coat, and maroon-shaded mane and tail. Wicked smog flickered from the edges of her eyes that burned a bright white, and a curved red crystal sat attached to the stump of her missing horn.
Oh, Twilight... I know not from which world you hail, but... Celestia's gaze saddened at the sight before her. What happened to you...?
The other Twilight crouched forward, donning a challenging smirk. "Is that what you're calling me? Don't make me laugh! No... I've met the Pony of Shadows—the real Pony of Shadows..."
What? thought the five of them in stunned silence.
"...and let me tell you: he and I... are nothing alike."
He? wondered Celestia.
Twilight's double peered down at her own right hoof contemplatively.
"What's the matter?" Stygian cocked his head, maintaining his friendly grin while his brow crinkled in concern. "Don't you trust me?"
"I don't know you." Twilight continued eyeing the stranger warily. "You said this wasn't a place for heroes—"
"That's conjecture, Twilight. Please, let me—"
She took a step back defensively, powering up her horn. "Then who the hay are you?!"
Stygian remained stunned for a moment before finally responding.
"Wrongfully imprisoned... is who I am."
"What...?"
Stygian let out a sigh, starting over. "You see, Twilight... I was once a well-meaning pony—one with noble intentions, who only wanted to... play their part in shaping Equestria for the better. There were those though who just didn't... trust me. They didn't see the good I was trying to accomplish, and instead of trying to understand it, they... banished me to this place! The... the Pillars, the... hierarchy of Equestria... Its heroes... cast me out, all so that they could remain Equestria's rightful protectors without ever having to acknowledge... the one who brought them all together. After all, history is written by its victors... and they wrote themselves as the heroes."
Stygian... Twilight hesitated, wanting to reach out to him. "Stygian... I know what it's like to have the best of intentions, only for ponies to end up fearing you, or even doubting you... Tell me, who were these heroes?"
"I know not how much time has passed in the outside world, so these names may be of little consequence to you... but I will tell you that their leader was a pony by the name of... Star Swirl the Bear—"
"—ded..." A cold chill ran down her spine as she finished his sentence in a low murmur.
"You've heard of him?" Stygian asked, intrigued.
"H-he's... he's famous..."
"I see..." Stygian's eyes dimmed as he brought a hoof to his chin. "How unexpected..."
"I... I don't..." Twilight stood shaking. "Star S-Swirl would... would never—!"
"You sure about that?"
Twilight's gaze snapped up to meet his.
"It's like I said, Twilight: history is written by the victors, and Star Swirl wrote me out of the picture."
"W-why would he...?"
"My guess would be his massive ego." He lifted a foreleg indecisively while giving his shoulder a shrug. "He couldn't handle somepony else overshadowing him."
Twilight stared down at the dark abyss beneath her hooves, utterly distraught.
"You said you... you k-knew him?"
Stygian smiled. "It was I who made him famous. Now then, may I ask a question, Twilight?"
"Su... s-sure—"
"How exactly did you end up here, in Limbo of all places?"
"O-oh... well..." Twilight gave a halfhearted shrug. "I-I'm not entirely sure..."
"You don't remember?" he pried.
"The Earth was dying... moments away from... f-from being engulfed by the sun..."
Stygian stared back at her, raising his brow in disbelief. "G-go on," he urged.
"My remaining friends devised a plan to send me back in time before everything first went awry. W-when I entered the portal however..."
"You woke up here... I see. Fascinating..."
"Aren't you concerned, Stygian!? This was your home too, and... and n-now, it might very well be—!"
"I'm not so sure it was," he replied, his face bearing a sudden look of skepticism.
"Excuse me?"
"I find it dubious to believe that such a fate would befall my world."
"Your...? What are you...? W-we all come from the same—!"
Stygian chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, Twilight... You poor, naive child... It appears you still have so much to learn..."
"I..." She tilted her head, furrowing her brow. So much left... t-to learn...?
Stygian scoffed, giving his eyes a roll. "For somepony so enamored with Star Swirl, you sure know so little about him. For starters, did you know about his studies into other dimensions, and how he tethered my world to others through the use of portals? 'Magic mirrors' he would call them... Indeed, it seemed my world was the epicenter for all parallel worlds."
"Parallel worlds... exist?"
"Yes... and with you not knowing about them—" His eyebrow raised, as he donned a sinister smirk. "—makes me think that you hail from one of them."
"Stygian..." Twilight took a cautious step backwards, taking on a slightly defensive stance. "I'm beginning to think that Starswirl was right to banish you here."
"Star Swirl was never right about anything!" he roared, voice deepening and eyes turning white. "But what do you know?" He continued peering at her through his now cold gaze. "You're nothing more than a pony who was seconds too late to save their reality from obliteration, and wound up here instead. A failure... with nowhere left to—" His eyes widened, then squinted as fragmented light radiated forth from Twilight... shimmering like dozens of stars. "What?!"
Twilight too, looked down at herself in astonishment. "What is...?"
I see... so that's it. Stygian's demeanor cooled quickly as a small, excited smile tugged at his lips. "You're being teleported out of here, Twilight. Presumably by the same powers that brought you here."
"I'm... returning to my past!"
"More like a past. No, your past is most certainly gone. It would seem these forces simply needed time to locate a new world... and stored you here for the time being."
"N-no, I..." Twilight shook her head desperately. "I refuse to believe tha—!"
"Believe what you want," Stygian said. "It makes no difference to me... I didn't tell you, did I? I once journeyed into one of Starswirl's portals. At first glance, it seemed to have been a nightmarish landscape, ruled over by monstrous creatures... with the worst of them being their king. A being that called himself the Pony of Shadows."
The... Pony of Shadows...? Twilight repeated over in her head. B-but... they're just a... a legend...
"The Pony of Shadows had a goal," continued Stygian; "to overrun every reality... and make it as empty and corrupted as his own. I didn't realize it at the time, but... he and I... were the same pony."
Twilight stumbled backwards just as Stygian himself grinned. Two long, crooked arms with sharp claws at the ends expelled forth from his back, and he lunged at her, Twilight letting out a breathless gasp.
As if acting on its own, the Shield of Wisdom manifested itself, strapping itself upon her left foreleg. She glanced down for a quick second in wonder, but had little time to be amazed as she had no choice but to block his main assault. His shadowy arms prevailed however, clasping the crystal around her head between his palms.
She somehow managed to... build an immunity to darkness, Stygian was quick to realize, as he began mulling over his options. With no bitterness or contempt to infuse my shadow magic into... there's no corrupting her. However there's still a chance that I can instill into her... my will!
The armor around her head began to crack as his hands clasped tighter, and through those cracks, his magic began to seep like tendrils... drilling into her mind, and bringing with them a flood of evil intentions and horrid images.
Tears quickly welled in her eyes as the pain became too much to bear, and she screamed out in agony... falling back onto her hind legs... her whole body trembling.
"St... Stygi-ian... Wuh-w-why...?" she sputtered out, her body growing translucent. "You d... don't n-need to do this!"
"Yes, I do," he replied, matter-of-factly. As his body was steadily enveloped by the surrounding shadows, his emotionless gaze looked down on her as she wept. So pitiful... he thought. But I'll need somepony to carry on in my name since I'm trapped here...
"Thee-these images... All this... d-death a-and... destruction..."
"A necessary sacrifice," he replied. "In order to mold worlds without false heroes or hope."
A... necessary...?
Through the pain, memories of her life came rushing to the forefront of her mind... as well as the spiteful words spoken by her own shadow.
Maybe he and I... aren't so different...
The sparkles growing around her intensified as Stygian's influence forced a dark veil to sprout around her crystalline body. Her forelegs fell limp at her sides, her conscious thoughts blinking out one by one.
No, she reassured herself, he's... what I used to be...
"Everyone you ever considered to be an ally... will come to betray you eventually. That's simply the way of things. If you weren't about to become me... I'd say you would have come to realize this yourself, about your own so-called friends..."
Rainbow Dash... It isn't true, is it? You didn't send me here on... on purpose... d-did—?
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as her body disappeared in a flash... leaving only an air of silence in her absence.
Hmph. Stygian stared at the spot she had been for another moment before closing his eyes, solemnly thinking, Now we wait...
"Stygian!"
His gaze narrowed as he turned to confront the voice. There, stepping out from the shadows, was his former ally. The legend of magic, and bearded scholar... Star Swirl himself.
Three more stood, while two others who bore wings, hovered around him.
"At last we have found you, Stygian," he spoke, his horn brimming with magic. "You shall not escape us again!"
Stygian grit his teeth. Such indignance... he thought, swiftly becoming one with the shadows.
"I told you," he growled in a voice much deeper and imposing, reemerging from the shadows in a black, featureless form and piercing white eyes that loomed over the six, "that isn't my name!"
Twilight reappeared midair, falling onto the face of a cold, rocky surface.
She landed roughly, letting out a slight groan in pain as she lay there, her head throbbing with an awful, congested feeling...
As she warily got to her hooves, she wobbled, finding it hard to balance herself, and nearly fell forward... only narrowly catching herself.
"What do you suppose they are?" a frail, wispy voice questioned from within earshot.
Twilight's shadowy ears twitched at the sound.
"An intruder? An assailant perhaps...? Oh... Mistress Mare on the Moon will not pleased to hear about this..."
I... Twilight glanced about slowly, taking in the harsh environment, and the small, ashen creatures that looked up at her. What is... this place—?
"Well?" The creatures all gasped and backed away, scurrying behind a pony that now loomed over her. She was tall, with a coat as black as the night, and hair that flickered like blue flames.
"Are you just going to stand there, or do you intend on answering my subjects' inquiries?"
"I... am the Pony of Shadows," she declared after a long moment, her mind at last clearing.
The pony blinked, confounded, as she and her subjects stared back at her.
Then, the tall, dark pony bellowed out in laughter... Twilight, with her pure, white eyes glowered back at her, unamused.
"No, but seriously..." the tall pony continued, taking on a more serious tone. "Who are you?"
"The Pony of Shadows," Twilight repeated firmly, standing her ground. "I've come to conquer this land you call your own."
"Uh-huh..." The tall mare looked down at her with a deadpan look, quickly growing annoyed with the charade this unknown pony was putting on. "I do not know where it is from which you came, but you are not the Pony of Shadows. They are nothing more than a ghost story, centered around my host's lingering presence."
Twilight readied herself into an offensive position, igniting her horn in a blaze of white aura. "Do not take me lightly, cretin. I am very much real, and I have every intention of—!"
The tall mare rolled her eyes, and powered up her own horn... grabbing hold of, and stripping the dark layer off of Twilight in one fell swoop. She herself stumbled back as the shadowy substance was ripped from her body, and rolled into a sphere before being flicked off carelessly into the cold vacuum of space.
Twilight remained lightheaded, her mind aching as the heavy fog placed by the Pony of Shadows painstakingly cleared... allowing for her memories to reemerge. She winced as her head throbbed from the sharp pain of their reemergence, reminding her little by little, of her true identity.
As the pain quelled, and the fog cleared completely... her memories once again shone at the forefront of her mind. I'm... Twilight Sparkle, she remembered, opening her eyes to find her vision blurred. Is this... home?
She looked around in hope, but all she could make out in that moment, was a tall, dark figure , wearing some sort of pale, blue armor as they stood before her.
"Luna...?"
The taller pony cracked a grin at the remark. "Oh, on the contrary..."
T-that voice...! Twilight's eyes widened, her vision beginning to focus. "You, it... it c-can't be...!" She stepped back in denial of who she was really seeing. "N-Nightm-mare M-moon...!"
"Well well well..." she quietly mused. "You certainly are unique... You seem so young, and yet you not only know about me, but my other half..."
Twilight unwittingly tuned out the villain's words, finding herself too wrapped in her own thoughts to focus on anything else.
Did it work? Am I... in the past? If I am... then why am I talking to Nightmare Moon... and not Luna? She was then struck with a horrid realization. Did I somehow... alter the past...?
"Tell me." Nightmare Moon's sudden, demanding tone snapped Twilight from her thoughts. "Who are you? How did you end up here?"
"H-here...?" the young mare stammered.
The villain rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Look around you," she said. "You're on the moon."
"The...?" Twilight looked around dumbstruck, observing the starry sky, and the pale, rocky surface that went on for as far as she could see, but hadn't once considered... "The moon?"
"Indeed. Why, just look over there, if you need even more proof."
Twilight did as she was instructed, turning her head apprehensively in the direction Nightmare Moon had pointed. There, as clear as day, was the Earth, exactly the way she remembered it.
She dropped to her hind legs, unable to help but smile... finding herself overjoyed, and overcome with relief. "I don't believe it..."
Nightmare Moon peered down at her curiously, pursing her lips before shrugging it off and turning back to the Earth. "So how did you end up here?" she asked again.
"I was sent here," she murmured out, still in awe. "I need to get down there..."
"Well that'll be easier said than done. You were sent here by the Elements of Harmony... weren't you?"
Twilight turned her head swiftly. "How did you—?"
Nightmare Moon let out a condescending laugh. "How else does one get sent to the moon?"
"I... hadn't considered..." Twilight looked back ahead in solemn thought, contemplating the rhetoric. What if... the Elements succeeded in sending me to the past, but banished me here due to me still having Nightmare Moon's strength deep within me... Still, so many questions remain, like... She peered in suspicion out of the corner of her eye, at Nightmare Moon. What is she doing here, on the moon no less...?
"This is so strange," one of Nightmare Moon's ashy minions remarked.
"You've got to admit though... that crystal sheen of hers is remarkably stunning."
"Shh!" Nightmare Moon hissed, kneeling down between them. "Both of you!" She exhaled a snort, turning her attention back towards her enigmatic guest. They're not entirely wrong though; this is unusually strange... She was supposedly sent here by those accursed Elements and yet... that fool Celestia has yet to find somepony suitable to wield them... Could it be that she's the cause behind the...?
Her pondering was cut short as her newcomer got to her hooves, turning to face her.
Nightmare Moon's minions jumped at her approach, scurrying to hide behind their master's hind legs.
Twilight glared at the villain from her behind her crystal armor. "I have a few questions for you... Nightmare Moon."
"That makes two of us, my little pony."
"Why are you here, a-and why are you still in control of Princess Luna's body?!" At that, Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow. "My friends and I defeated you moons ago!"
"I see..." she murmured in thought. "So you're the one who ends up defeating me..."
Twilight tilted her head, having had just about enough of this.
"That would explain how it is that you know my true identity..."
"What are you talking about?" Twilight cut her off, shaking her head in frustration. She stomped her hoof as her voice rose. "Tell me what's going on—!"
Nightmare Moon's eyes all of a sudden burned brightly, her horn brimming with magic. "Do not threaten me!"
Twilight had but a second to react, conjuring her shield to cancel out her attack, resulting in a crater between them that billowed out smoke.
Unbelievable... Nightmare Moon thought in disbelief, staring into the cloud of smoke. That was alicorn magic, and still she managed to...! I knew this one had to be special, seeing as she bested even me... but even still. Whoever this is... certainly isn't just any old pony...
As the smoke cleared, her crystal-clad intruder stood on her guard, her shimmering shield strapped to her left foreleg and at the ready.
Hmph. Nightmare straightened up, gathering her composure. "Settle down. I shall answer your inquiries, one at a time."
Twilight's brow raised, taken aback, though remaining on her guard. Huh... "A-alright," she replied, dismissing her shield. That was quick... Also, who is she, telling me to settle down...?
"I have dominion over this one's body because it was she who gave me control," Nightmare Moon went on to explain. "As for what I am doing here... it was Luna's insufferable sister, Celestia who banished me here..."
"Banished...?" Twilight wondered aloud. "Erm... How long h-has it been since...?"
"Longer than I care to remember. All I know is that I haven't been able to leave for a very, very long time. Although..." She cracked a wicked grin, turning her malice-filled gaze towards the Earth. "I feel I won't be waiting much longer. I know Celestia is scrambling to find candidates worthy of inheriting the Elements... but it's futile. There'll be no stopping me this time once I destroy them for good."
"T-then..." A sickening revelation washed over the younger mare, as she paled in realization. "That means... we're one year away from the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration..."
Nightmare Moon made a sudden grunt in detest. "Do not mention that over glorified—wait." She turned back to Twilight in shock. "One thousand years you say...? So it truly has been that long... No doubt everypony has already forgotten me..."
I don't understand... Rainbow really must've sent me back further than she meant to... but I can still fix this! All I need is to somehow make my way down to Earth, find Princess Celestia, and convince her I'm really who I say I—!
"Hey!" Nightmare Moon snapped, startling her out of her reverie. "Are you listening? Because I have a question for you, my little pony... and it has to do with what you said earlier."
"With what I—?"
"Recently, I've been receiving visions of my own defeat, at the hooves of six ponies— These ponies I now know to be you and your friends."
"And you're going to try and kill me... is that it?"
"No," Nightmare Moon simply said. "I know when I'm outmatched. Rather, I wish to know how you did it. Tell me," she demanded; "it was the Elements, wasn't it? You six were chosen by them, weren't you?"
Twilight stared back at her, remaining silent for a moment before answering. "You want the truth?" She formed a smile from behind her armor. "It was the power of friendship that defeated you."
Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes back at her.
"Do not be coy with me, little one. Hmph, no matter. Be it your friends, or the Elements... I've glimpsed my future, and this time... things will be different."
Twilight fell silent as she watched the villain, thinking back on what she had said.
"Nightmare Moon... How exactly did you see into the future anyway?"
"I figured it had to do with you."
"Me?"
"You came here from a future where you and your friends bested me, and you did so with the aid of the Elements of Harmony, so... it only stands to reason that your time still exists concurrently."
Twilight blinked, dumbfounded. Concurrently...? N-no, that can't... She hung her head, murmuring in admittance, "I'm its sole survivor..."
"Then explain that." Nightmare Moon pointed past her.
"E-explain whu—?"
"The Earth," she hissed. "Take another look, and this time... look closely."
Still a little distraught, Twilight turned and looked at the Earth for a good several seconds. Nothing, she thought, feeling her frustration start to build. "Nothing looks any different."
"Look harder," came Nightmare Moon's response.
Twilight huffed and rolled her eyes before continuing to look for... whatever it was the villain wanted her to see. All I see is my vision becoming a little blurry, she grumbled internally, blinking her eyelids a few times to no avail.
The Earth remained looking like a venn diagram, with one of them partially-transparent and hard to make out.
"N-no..." Her voice trembled as her eyes slowly widened. "There's no way..."
Nightmare Moon's eyebrow piqued, sensing her shudder.
"Do you see it now?" she asked, walking up beside her. "My world has been splintered into two realities—one where my reign was interrupted by you and your meddlesome friends... and one where I'm still here, trapped in this prison. How else could this be unless the pony responsible was banished from their time only to now end up in this one, sustaining them both?"
"And you... y-you think that pony is me?" Twilight shook her head desperately. "N-no... no, it... it couldn't be! I told you! My... my world, it... it no longer exists..."
"I see..." mused Nightmare Moon. "But, if that were true, then..."
It was then that Twilight recalled Stygian's words, and paled at the realization, her pupils shrinking.
"That isn't my world..."
"Well, isn't that a shame," came Nightmare Moon's apathetic response. "Unfortunately, that only raises more questions... If you're not responsible for this deviation in the timeline and the birth of this new reality, then... who—?"
"I don't know," Twilight sputtered out, shaking her head... her chest growing heavy and eyes reddening. "I don't know, I don't know, I don't..." She let out a trembling breath "I..." Her eyes blinked open and her ears stood fully alert from within their crystal casing. "The Elements..."
"Hm?" Nightmare Moon glanced back down at her. "What about them?"
"I'll find Celestia, a-and convince her to lend me the Elements!" Twilight stood tall, determined. "And then... and then the Elements will guide me home to my reality, and help me to rewrite my past!"
"Oh? And how do you plan on wielding them?"
Twilight smirked. "With my friends, of course."
"Your friends?" Nightmare Moon repeated dryly. "I thought your friends were dead?"
"They are—er, were! They were... but I know now..." She peered up towards the stars with a look of confidence. "That they aren't... because the souls of the element bearers exist within the Elements of Harmony, and that'll never change... because while the magic may be different, the magic of friendship is unanimous throughout all reali...ties...?"
Her thought fizzled out, interrupted by Nightmare Moon's laughter.
"Oh you cannot be serious. What poetic drivel," she said, wiping a non-existent tear from her eye.
"It is not!"
Twilight stomped her hoof before huffing, turning away bitterly. "But it's not like a pony like you would understand..."
"And what of it?" Nightmare Moon fired back. "These Elements... They're a sham, a fake—not truly a part of this reality."
"Well... that makes two of us," Twilight mused, igniting her horn and focusing in on the patch of green earth that was Equestria.
Her horn sparkled and zapped as her magic enveloped her body, igniting along with it thoughts of her home, friends and loved ones... I've never attempted to teleport such a long distance before, but for you, Rainbow... my friends... I will make this leap of faith—!
An invisible force repelled her, and sent her reeling back through the air with a frightened shriek, landing on her back with a thud.
"Oof. That went well," Nightmare Moon remarked snidely, her vitriolic sarcasm still ringing in the younger mare's ears.
Twilight winced, propping herself up with her foreleg. "What was...?"
"It appears as though something doesn't want you to leave."
Still reeling, Twilight got to her hooves, her heart sinking slowly in dismay. "N-no..." she whimpered. "Whu... W-what happened?!" An exasperated look swiftly dawned upon her face, as she turned to face the villain. "Did you do that?"
Nightmare Moon in turn, bought a hoof to her chest, letting out a mocking gasp. "Perish the thought. Why would I ever try to prevent you from leaving?"
Tch... Twilight tore her gaze away, peering down at her hooves at a loss.
"I... I-I don't know!" she at last retorted hopelessly, a twinge of anger boiling beneath the surface. She slammed her right hoof down, creating a few fractures in her armor. "Darn it..."
"Hmm... It's as though this reality knows you're not a part of it, and like an antibody, is rejecting you."
"Ridiculous," Twilight scoffed. "The universe isn't some living, breathing thing. It has no mind of its own... so then how—?"
Nightmare Moon brought a hoof up to her own horn, making it plainly obvious to the other pony.
"My magic...?" Twilight mulled over the idea, giving some credence to the idea. "Well, I... suppose magic could operate differently in each reality... Maybe mine doesn't have the same frequency, or operate on the same wavelength as this universe's..." She held out her left foreleg, thinking to herself, My shield sure seems to work though... Then again, the Shield of Wisdom isn't any old magic...
"So what will you do?"
Nightmare Moon's question captured her attention.
"What will I...?"
Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes, having expected as much.
"As I thought." She turned partway, motioning for her to follow. "Come with me."
"C-come with—?" Twilight hurried after the villain before slowing her steps and trotting alongside her. "Come where?" she asked, looking up at the taller mare in interest.
"Seriously?" the villain replied in an irritated tone, before stopping to point towards a palace of sorts with tall, spindly spirals that sat at the end of a winding set of stairs.
Twilight blinked, stupefied.
"How'd I not see that...?" she murmured, before snapping back to reality and hurrying after Nightmare Moon, who had already resumed her pace, proceeding up the stairs that lead to her palace. "So, uhm... w-what is this place exactly?" she asked, joining back up by her side.
"The place where dreams are made... or were, I should say," came Nightmare Moon's vague response.
"Dreams? Surely you're speaking figuratively."
The taller mare, however, shook her head.
"Literally."
"B-but I've had plenty of dreams, and I'm pretty sure no creatures were responsible for them. Also, I thought Luna—?"
"My host has the power to traverse one's dreams, but holds no actual power over them. This place, and these creatures however... create dreams for ponies without any dreams."
"Without any...?" Twilight grew quiet, lowering her gaze in thought. "How horrible..."
"More like wonderful. Their minds are like a blank canvas. Without anything to look forward to... they become susceptible to nightmares..."
The two entered through the arched doorway, into a wide, open chamber with marble flooring and blue, star-embossed columns. Patterns of a crescent moon dotted the walls, and in the center of the chamber itself were several ethereal-like pools, mist swirling around them.
Twilight looked around in awe of her surroundings, and at the little creatures hard at work for a long couple of moments before a question began to arise in the back of her mind.
"Nightmare Moon... Why are you showing me all this?"
"Because, little one. You wish for a way down to Earth, and truthfully? I just want you gone."
"Okay...?" remarked Twilight, remaining no less confused. "But... what do dreams have to do with...?"
Her words were interrupted the moment she felt something tug on her foreleg, and looked to see it was one of Nightmare Moon's soot-coated minions.
"Um, this way please," the creature said. "I'll explain the rest on the behest of our mistress."
"Er..." Twilight glanced back at Nightmare Moon for a second in uncertainty, before looking back on ahead as she was lead over to one of the many various pools of liquid.
"Now then," the creature went on to explain matter-of-factly, "the first thing we must do is get you acquainted with your other self."
Twilight remained silent for a moment, cocking her head in confusion. "My other...?"
"The you from our reality, to put it more simply."
Oh... Twilight made a look of realization as it dawned on her right then, but the revelation did little to ease her nerves.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? W-what about the space-time continuum? The very fabric of—!"
The creature held up its stubby paw. "If you ask me, you've already damaged the fabric of reality, what with you being here."
Twilight paused, then chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, I... guess you're right."
"Hey, don't feel sad. My friends and I are here to help!"
"But... aren't you all servants of Nightmare Moon?"
"Oh sure we serve her, but we don't like causing nightmares. She sort of just... forces us into it." The little creature peered down in somber thought. "We didn't always look like this you know..."
Twilight stared back at the creature curiously, feeling a twinge of sympathy for the little thing right then. She parted her lips, about to inquire more when the creature perked back up, bearing a cheery disposition once more.
"But enough about us! What's your name, Dear?"
"O-oh, uhm! Twilight," she answered in a hushed voice, leaning forward. "Twilight Sparkle."
"Twilight, is it? That's a pretty name. I... suppose it doesn't really matter, but my name's Doran." Doran paused, looking up at Twilight funnily. "You know you needn't whisper."
"For the sake of my other self's future," Twilight replied. "Nightmare Moon mustn't know anything more about me than she already does."
"Oh, alright; I understand. Alright, well... let's see. Twilight Sparkle... Twilight Spar— oh my."
Twilight perked up instantly, lifting her head in worry. "What is it?" She scurried over to the pool, narrowly bumping into Doran in the process. "Tell me, what do you see?"
Her eyes darted back and forth yearningly, looking into the rippling pool... only to see nothing.
"The other you seems to be in the midst of a terrible nightmare," Doran replied.
"What?" Twilight turned desperately towards the smaller creature. "S-snap her out of it!"
"O-oh, t-this one isn't our doing," Doran stammered in response, leaning back a bit. "This is something she must work out on her own."
Twilight remained still, glaring at her for a moment more before letting out a huff, straightening up. "W-well... do you know what caused it?"
Doran merely shook her head, turning back to the pool. "Her mind must be heavily burdened."
"By... what?" pried Twilight.
"I wish I knew."
Doran went back to work, leaving Twilight to fidget in place, anxiously chewing her lip
"Well... now that we've found her, we must focus on forging a connection with her."
Twilight snapped back to reality, looking back at Doran in intrigue. "Forging... a connection?"
"Mhm. These reflective pools do more than give us nyx a glimpse into the dreams and nightmares of every pony on Earth. We can also alter them by adding a touch of magic."
"And you want to... what? Add my magic?"
"Oh, only a little. We wouldn't want to overload her."
Twilight's eyes widened. "O-overl-load?"
"Oh, you know... Dizziness, nausea, splitting headaches... and in worst case scenarios, muzzlebleeds, fainting, aneurysms..."
"What!?"
The other creatures all flinched at her outburst, turning to look at her.
"T-that's why this time we're being extra careful!" Doran assured, holding her hands out. "All you need to do is add a little of your magic by way of her dreams, and siphon out some of her magic in turn."
"I... thought my magic had no effect in this reality?"
"It has no effect on this Earth, but these are dreams. They exist outside the boundaries of reality."
"Hmm... If you say so. So then, how exactly is this going to let me enter your Earth?"
"Well, by filtering in and out enough of your magic with hers, you should be able to fool this reality—"
"—into believing that I'm really her..." Twilight held a hoof to her chin as she thought it over.
"You know, that actually might work..." Her face lit up as she exclaimed, "You're a genius, Doran!"
"Oh, I wouldn't go that far... In either case, this will take a while."
"Er... How long are we talking?"
"Oh... a good several days, give or take."
"S-several days?" Twilight remarked, incredulous. She then shrunk back, lowering her voice upon noticing the stunned look on Doran's face. "Oh-okay... That, that isn't unreasonable..." As long as I don't keep everypony waiting too long...
"So then—"Doran clapped her hands together. "—shall we get started?"
"Oh, uhm... y-yes! Please tell me what I must do!"
Doran nodded, motioning towards the pool. "Just submerge your head in this here water—or rather, the gateway into the other you's subconscious. Your mind will meld with hers, and your magic signatures will overlap, with hers flowing into you, and yours into her."
"Um..." Twilight lifted her hoof to her head, giving it a few taps with her hoof. "My mind's sort of encased within a crystal shell."
"Oh, that won't matter. Mental magic like this isn't hindered by any sort of blockages. Simply give it a minute and the magic will seep its way through on its own."
"Like, an actual whole minute, or...?"
"Come now." Doran beckoned her closer. "Don't hesitate."
Twilight dipped her head in dismay, letting out a muffled groan. "Fine..." she grumbled. Whatever it takes...
She stepped closer, inspecting the rippling pool with uncertainty before squeezing her eyelids shut, and dunking her head beneath the watery surface. Murky, was her first thought as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Okay," she heard Doran say. "Now just relax your thoughts, and open up your mind. Give yourself over to the magic... allow it to rejuvenate your senses—"
Twilight deadpanned. This is beginning to sound like a load of—
An image flashed before her eyes, sparking her curiosity. What was...?
Another scene played out before her, proceeded by another, then another.
These are her memories... So then... why is Rainbow Dash...? I never met her until I came to Ponyville... What is she doing in my Ivory Tower, a-and why does she look so... s-so hurt?
Twilight's expression softened, her heart aching at the imagery, and voices that accompanied them. My poor Rainbow Dash... Why is the other me not rushing you to the hospital? Why... am I not helping her!?
Doran grew concerned, watching as the surface water began to bubble and sizzle with hot steam.
"Um... Twilight dear? R-remember what I said! Relax your thoughts and keep your mind clear. Don't allow yourself to become distrac—"
Twilight tossed her head back, sending water flying as she recoiled from the water's edge, seething as water droplets dripped from her head. She stood shaking, her shallow breaths trembling as she stared down the pool, her horn sparking with residual magic.
Is this... the deviation Nightmare Moon spoke of? And was I... a-always so... s-so—!
Before she could contemplate any further, a sigh came from beside her.
"Well, that went about as well as expected," Doran remarked, shaking her head disappointingly.
Twilight's expression took on a dumbfounded look.
"Honestly, I can't say that I wasn't expecting that sort of result. I was remaining hopeful for the sake of our mistress, but... ah, well—"
She was yanked from the ground, and brought face to face with Twilight, her own nose pushed up against the crystal encasing the pony's muzzle.
"You knew something would go wrong!?"
Doran swiftly threw on a panicked grin. "N-not necessarily, Twilight... Something like t-this has just... n-never been tested before! The effects of magic melding with another pony, much less your very own doppelganger are unprecedented, why... I told you something like this would take days!"
Twilight's eyes shut suddenly as she winced, her mind flooded by a barrage of unfamiliar memories. She dropped Doran to the floor as she fell to her haunches, grasping at her head with her hooves. "W-why... why am I seeing these?"
"Suh—s-seeing w-what?"
"Her memories! They're playing out inside my head, I... can't shake them!"
She screamed out in frustration, slamming her hoof down against the floor, creating several small fractures... and startling not only the other nyx, but Doran most of all.
Twilight fumed, gazing back ahead of herself, and immediately seeing the startled nyx, fallen backwards and with a frightened look in her eyes, was enough to bring her back to her senses.
"Oh my Celestia," she uttered, her anger dissipating. She sunk back onto her haunches in a defeated motion, shaken to the core. Her eyes began to grow heavy. "I'm so sorry—"
A sudden voice bellowed out into the room, causing all of the other nyx to jump from their skin. "What is the meaning of all this commotion?!"
Nightmare Moon stood at the edge of the stairs with an angry glare as she surveyed the room. As her gaze came to rest upon Twilight and a terrified-looking Doran, she let out a snort... narrowing her eyes. Why am I not surprised...
She approached the two, hopelessly shaking her head. "I retire to my chambers for but a mere few minutes, and already there is the sound of somepony yelling. Must I do everything around here...? I expected you to be able to handle this on your own, Doran... for you know I hate being disturbed..."
Doran scrambled to her liege's hooves. "I-it's actually all under control now, My Queen. Our friend here had a bit of an overreaction, b-but it's all over now."
Nightmare Moon peered past Doran, and raised an eyebrow as she stared down upon the crystal-clad pony who sat sobbing, clutching her splintered hoof against her chest. She seems at war with herself... as though she's afraid of letting her anger loose... Yes... A pupil of Celestia, with a dark side it would seem...
She sneered at the prospect.
I could use this to my advantage... because I too, know a part of me that's dying—not to be let out... but in.
Doran cocked her head. "M-mistress Moon?"
"Escort our guest to one of our spare bedrooms," Nightmare Moon commanded, "and make sure her needs are taken care of."
"Y-yes! Of course ,of course." Doran bowed her head before hurrying back on over to where Twilight sat. "Come along, Dear." She rested a hand on Twilight's side. "Deary?"
Twilight however, remained lost in a world of her own.
Rainbow... she silently wept. I wish you were here, I... could ruh-really u-use you right now... I-I...
Twilight's doppelganger turned back towards the five who stood opposite her with an intense glare, setting her hoof down as the long memory fizzled to a close. The swirling vortex of wind died down around her, with residual lightning rippling across the divide between them.
She took in the looks of uneasiness on her foes' faces, and sneered, crouching into a striking position. "I can't wait to destroy you all!"
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa, hey, h-hold up a sec!" Rainbow stepped before the others, holding her hoof out pleadingly. "If you really are Twilight, then... can't we talk this out—?"
"I already told you, Dash. That isn't my name—"
"Okay, fine, whatever! Just... just talk to me! Maybe we can work this out."
Twilight looked at her with wide, curious eyes, and parted lips. Rainbow...? What're you...?
Twilight's doppelganger scoffed at her words. "Funny, seeing as how you were so intent on knocking my lights out earlier. Now you... what? Want to settle things civilly because I look like the pony you love?"
"Because if you were really once Twilight... then I know there's good in you."
The other Twilight narrowed her eyes back at her.
Rainbow...
"You really are loyal to a fault, aren't you?"
Rainbow's feathers rustled just as Twilight came up beside her, setting a hoof over her foreleg.
"Twi—?"
"Forget it, Rainbow. This isn't somepony you can reason with, because this pony..." She turned away from her girlfriend to glare at her dark reflection. "Isn't me."
"Twilight..."
"She... she can't be!" she stressed. "I'd never fall to the darkness—!"
"Mm, no... you would."
Twilight blinked, her heart skipping a beat. "What—?"
"You've just yet to be betrayed by those you look up to most."
The ones I...? Does she mean...? She glanced back at Celestia for a quick second before refusing to entertain the idea. No... you... "You don't know me, you... y-you are not me! T-there can't be two of me! That's—!"
"Scientifically impossible?"
Twilight collapsed onto her hind legs, staring blankly, unblinking... Her pupils shrunk, and her body went numb,
"What? Did I take the words right out of your mouth? Or maybe they never left. Oh, but that's right—you still believe that time travel isn't a thing that exists," her doppelganger mocked with a roll of her eyes, then smirked. "I forgot how... close-minded I used to be."
So I was right... mused Celestia, shaken to her core as she silently watched from alongside her niece and Shining Armor.
"I'm everything Twilight isn't! I have what it takes to do what's needed! I'm not distracted by some ridiculous notions of... friendship or love, I...! I see things for how they really are..." She glared straight ahead, her back hoof denting the pavement. "The only pony you can ever count on is yourself!"
She charged towards Rainbow, her horn brimming with powerful magic. Rainbow froze, too shaken to even brace herself as she stood unnerved by the killer intent in her otherworldly friend's eyes.
Celestia and Cadance shared a quick, knowing look, and igniting their horns, erecting a magical barrier that encircled the five of them.
Twilight's doppelganger glowered at them all as she continued to charge, ultimately rearing up upon reaching the barrier. "You think this will stop me?!" she screamed, slamming her front hooves down and sending waves rippling across its surface.
The jolt snapped Rainbow out of her astonishment, and she stumbled back, staring sorrowfully into Twilight's seething expression.
Twilight... What... what h-happened to—?
"Do not be afraid, Rainbow Dash. This barrier was made using both my own, and Cadance's magic. This spell is composed of our love and hope, and was designed specifically to stave off shadow ponies..."
"Shadow... ponies..." Rainbow turned back to her girlfriend's other self. Her hooves fizzled into black smoke as they pressed into the barrier. Her left eye winced, her teeth clenched... and through her pained expression, kept a scornful eye fixated on the rainbow-maned mare.
A look that made her feel all the more guilty.
Did I... do this to you?
"I can't believe that... thing was once my sister..." murmured Shining, heartbroken by the sight.
Cadance rested a hoof upon his shoulder. "Your sister is right in front of you, Shiny. Don't forget that, okay?"
"I-I know, but... even so..."
Cadance bit her lip before reluctantly nodding her head. "Twilight or not... she intends on... enslaving our home, our friends." She stared ahead in determination. "We cannot allow that."
"Then we must come up with a plan, and quickly," agreed Celestia. "We're safe for the time being, but we cannot remain here forever."
"W-well, what do you propose?"
"If she were another shadow pony, then I'd say we banish her back from whence she came. Since she isn't however, nor does she hail from this world... I don't see us having any other option but to fight her with everything we've got."
"I was afraid of that..." Cadance gulped, looking back on ahead pensively. "If that's what it'll take..."
All the while, Twilight sat with a thousand yard stare, oblivious to all else around her.
"A-another me...?"
Rainbow forced her gaze away, turning pleadingly towards her Twilight.
"Twilight!" she begged, taking hold of, and giving her shoulders a shake, only to no avail. "Twilight, you've got to snap out of it!"
Twilight remained unflinching, lost within a world of her own thoughts.
Darn it, Twi...!
"Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow looked up attentively at the sound of Celestia's voice, and saw the other Twilight's hooves creating a gap in their shield. She herself grimaced as the magic burned her hooves, but she prevailed through the pain, continuing to split their dome apart.
With a fierce scream, the magic dispersed, forcing Cadance, Shining, and Celestia to retreat back several steps, and for Rainbow to grab hold of, and lurch Twilight out of her doppelganger's trajectory.
The force caused her earring to slip from her ear, the gemstones of which clacking against the pavement briefly, before an unmistakable and gut-churning crack filled the air.
The two fell back harshly on their sides, inches from where their foe fell forward onto one foreleg... onto the fallen earpiece, and shattering the gems that bound the symbol of their unity into pieces.
Rainbow weakly opened her eyes in time to see the familiar hue of one of her feathers be carried off by the residual gust, and it didn't take her long to realize what had just happened. A feeling of sadness gripped her chest for but a moment before snapping back to the present moment, and the mare she currently held in her hooves.
Hay, she decided. It was only a symbol.
No sense in beating herself up over it.
Twilight's doppelganger grit her teeth, bearing the pain as areas of their coat simmered like smoke... before glaring up bitterly towards the two of them.
She stood tall, letting out a huff as she came to tower over them both. She raised her right foreleg, and manifested a crystal blade from the bottom of her hoof itself.
Rainbow gulped, her eyes widening. H-her powers... I-I thought they came from t-that shadowy veil, or her crystal armor, b-but... they were inside of her all alon—!
Their foe swung her hoof back down, and Rainbow instinctively shut her eyes tight, throwing one of her wings over Twilight.
A powerful beam of magic deflected the blade, cutting it clean in half before it could strike either of them.
Their foe recoiled at the powerful blast, wincing briefly before turning her angered gaze toward the source of the attack.
Celestia...
She glared back at her former mentor, watching as the older alicorn's horn brimmed with an intense magic, as she herself stood poised and ready to strike.
"I know not what happened to you, Twilight, to make you this way... I can only surmise that your Celestia must have failed you in some way... but if you think for a second, that I am about to stand idly by while you make an attempt on my friends' lives..." Her eyes began to glow, her horn's aura increasing in ferocity. "You have another thing coming."
Twilight's doppelganger snorted at her words, drawing the splintered remains of her blade back into herself. Setting her hoof back on the ground, she turned to face her fully, bearing a devilish smirk. "Very well, Princess... but be warned..."
Crooked, shadowy appendages with claw-like tips rose up out of her body as she knelt forward... her curved red horn rippling with magic of her own.
"Every world has its princess, every world its Guardians of Harmony... and neither shall stand in my way!"
Rainbow looked back at them all, from where she laid beside Twilight. "Guys!"
"We've got this!" Cadance yelled back in response. "Keep talking to Twilight, try and snap her out of—!"
Two of the claw-like, misty extensions grabbed both Shining and herself by their throats, stifling the young mare's gasp and pinning them both to the ground as the other Twilight then proceeded towards Celestia, attempting to kick her to the ground with a whip of her foreleg.
Celestia reacted swiftly, conjuring a shield that connected with her assailant's hoof midair. She winced briefly at the brunt of the impact, before forcing her opponent back, and swiping her horn—magic extending out from it like a blade—to cut through the appendages that pinned both her niece and her beloved to the ground.
Cadance and Shining slowly got to their hooves, gingerly massaging their necks as they regained their breath.
"Are the two of you alright?"
The two of them reassured her with a simple nod.
"We... we are," Cadance replied.
"That's good." Celestia directed her narrowed gaze back towards their foe, just in time to see her gearing up for another attack. "Be on your guard, Cadance, Shining Armor. Here she comes!"
The two readied themselves just as their foe galloped back towards them directly, hooves surging with electricity, and horn brimming with a threatening aura.
All the while, Rainbow kept her attention focused solely on her Twilight.
"Twi? Twilight, can you hear me?" She gave her girlfriend's shoulder a light shake, but she remained still, unblinking.
"How... can there be two of me?" she finally uttered under her breath. "There shouldn't be two of me, or... or anypony for that matter."
Rainbow's heart sunk at her girlfriend's words, just as more sounds of violence rang out behind them. Twilight...
She bit her lip as her own ears flopped, wracking her brain over what to say when a weak laugh passed her girlfriend's lips, leaving her at a loss for words.
"Guess that just goes to show how much I know, huh Rainbow?" She snorted. "Some mare of science I am."
Twi...
Rainbow's gaze saddened, picking up on the slight deprecation in her words.
"All my life," she continued, "I've prided myself on the knowledge I've acquired and put to good use, and yet... I was still so short-sighted..." She sighed, directing her crestfallen gaze away. "A parallel reality," she mused. "I was ignorant to think that one wouldn't, no, couldn't exist outside our own universe, or perhaps even overlapping ours... invisible to the naked eye, and existing within its own magical wavelength."
"Twi, you... you were so sure it wasn't you. What changed your mind?"
"What changed my—?" Her words drifted as she slipped back into thought.
"What?" her doppelganger mocked. "Did I take the words right out of your mouth? Or maybe they never left. Oh, but that's right—you still believe that time travel isn't a thing that exists."
"Those words she said to me, before the princesses formed that barrier... She asked if she had taken the words right out of my mouth, and then proposed that they had never left."
"Yeah, and? Twi, I... think she was just egging you on."
"I'm not so sure, Rainbow," she argued, growing contemplative. "Because, when she spoke them, they struck a cord with me—like I had heard them before. I... remembered speaking them in a similar situation, wherein I was again facing myself..."
"Somehow, I... have a feeling it wasn't. I'm not sure how, but... I'm confident she and I are the same."
"Hold up. You and her are not the same, Twi. I mean, she's like, totally evil and stuff, and you're, well... you're not."
Twilight's expression remained unchanged, instead peering down at the empty space between them. "How can you be so certain?"
"Twilight..."
"I mean it, Rainbow." Twilight drew her desperate gaze back to hers. "What if it's like she said, and I end up being betrayed by those closest to me! How can you be so certain that that isn't my future?"
"Isn't it obvious, Twi?"
Twilight tilted her head, furrowing her brow in confusion. "Obvious...?"
"Sure, I mean... I'll be with you every step of the way to make sure that doesn't happen, won't I?"
She blinked her eyes. "You'll..." Her gaze proceeded to falter as a slight smile crept upon her lips. "I know you're loyal to me, Rainbow... and that, if we work as a team, we're unbeatable, but..."
"But what, Twi? Come on, I mean... what else is there?"
Twilight winced before shying her gaze away, forcing her girlfriend to try a different approach, as she took on a softer tone.
"Look, Twi... I don't understand what's going on here anymore than you do, but, Twi... what's something you and me both know you struggle with?"
Twilight thought it over, before shaking her head hopelessly. "I-I don't know. T-There's... just so much—!"
"Doubt, Twilight. Your ability to blow everything way out of proportion."
Twilight averted her gaze away ashamedly.
"All this time you've doubted whether or not ponies would betray your trust, or whether or not you'd let them down."
"B-but I've changed, Rainbow. I learned not to think that way—!"
"I know you did, Twi. She on the other hoof..."
"Must've fallen victim to her fears and doubts..."
Rainbow nodded solemnly, turning to look back at the ensuing fight in thought.
"I don't know what she's gone through, what she's lost, but..."
"I do," Twilight spoke up, drawing her girlfriend's attention. "During that night in the hospital, when she blanketed out my memory with inknorance... I tried attacking her, only to pass right through her instead... and, although I could not see what she had experienced... I could certainly feel it. M-my own subconscious was wracked with so much pain and agony that I could barely even move... only lay there and submit to the growing darkness..."
"Twi... Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't find it to be pertinent, Rainbow, I'm sorry."
"Well... one thing's for certain."
"Rainbow?"
"She's not the only who has suffered, but whereas I found solace in you, and made peace with my past... this other you seems unable to let go of the past." Rainbow stood up defiantly, Twilight staring up at her, speechless. "I don't know why this other you wants our Elements of Harmony, but I just know deep down that nothing good will come of her having them under her control."
Rainbow...
"Our friends could really use our help..." Rainbow looked back down at Twilight, bearing a comforting smile. "What do you think, Twi?"
A teary smile slowly adorned the young unicorn's lips. "I think I'm sorry for taking so long to come to my senses. Thank you, Rainbow." She blinked her eyes, taking her girlfriend's hoof. "I guess finding out that you have a doppelganger from a parallel Earth sorta rattled my nerves."
Rainbow cracked a slight grin. "You don't say?"
Twilight smiled, holding a hoof out before her.
"After you, Rainbow."
"Heh... alright." Rainbow leaped into the air. "Follow my lead, Twilight!"
Beams of magic assaulted Twilight's doppelganger, as Celestia, Cadance and Shining all continued bearing down on her. She herself winced, gritting her teeth as her physical body began to smolder.
"Keep it up, you two! Don't give her a moment's reprieve."
"But, if we do," Cadance spoke up, voicing her concern, "won't we end up fatally wounding her?"
"Cady's right, Princess. Even if she's not my Twily... I'm not sure I'm willing to kill her."
"Hmph." Through the pain, his sister's doppelganger narrowed her eyes, bearing somewhat of a smirk. "You always were too soft, Brother!"
"Wha—?"
Her body morphed into a cloud of black smoke before their very eyes, their magic passing effortlessly through her incorporeal form as she swam toward them in an instant, wringing herself around all three of their necks.
Their magic faded, the magic in their horns flickering away as her grip on them affected their concentration.
"Now then..." her voice growled. "Succumb to oblivion—!"
"Hey! Windbag!"
The doppelganger froze. What—?!
Her other self's voice followed the raspy insult, and seemed to be drawing ever closer.
"Think fast!"
A sudden rush of magic hit her, swiftly chilling her to the core.
W-what... is...?
Before she could even process what had hit her, a deafening crack, akin to that of ice splintering sounded loudly as Rainbow and Twilight flew straight through her, shattering her shackling form into hundreds of tiny shards, falling onto, and littering the pavement.
Twilight's hooves touched down beside her brother and the other princesses, while Rainbow skidded to a halt a ways down the road, before turning to face the others.
"Twi!" she shouted. "Are they alright?"
Twilight nodded, reaffirming that they were all okay. "They are!"
"Good..." She breathed out in relief. "Good... Then, that just leaves..."
She turned her gaze to the shards littering the street, noticing as the frost all seemed to thaw away, and the individual pieces of their foe seemed to saunter back to life, culminating into a small cloud that wasted no time in dashing towards her.
Rainbow instinctively took a step back herself as the upper body of her foe materialized up out from the ashen-black smoke, crystal blade raised high above her head, about to swipe it forward.
Rainbow stifled a gasp, and had but a moment to react before swerving her body out of the blade's incoming trajectory... the blade itself still managing to draw blood as it grazed her left foreleg.
Twilight's doppelganger manifested fully from the cloud of smoke, holding the sword out at her side as she walked towards the wounded pegasus.
"You've interfered with my plans one too many times, Dash!"
"Tch..." Rainbow looked up at her sorrowfully. Twi...
"Twilight, wait!"
Twilight froze mid-step, turning to look back at her mentor questioningly, distress in her eyes.
"What do you mean wait, Princess? I have to do something!"
"I agree, but what do you propose? That we freeze her again?" Celestia shook her head, coming to stand beside her. "Think again, my student. Her body will only proceed to reconstitute, and a frontal assault would merely buy us seconds. No, we need a more permanent solution, Twilight. Something to seal away her dark powers once and for all... or otherwise she'll just keep phasing through our attacks."
Twilight tore her gaze away in frustration. Darn it! I hate to admit it... but she's right. We do need something to... Her eyes widened as she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye, gleaming a short ways away. "Eureka..."
Celestia picked up on her pupil's hushed murmur, and looked down to see what had captured her attention.
"Twilight?"
A slight, hopeful smile adorned Twilight's lips as she teleported the object, levitating it before both herself and Celestia.
"Your doppelganger's blade, Twilight?" Celestia inquired.
"Yes. Specifically the one you cleaved in half. Since it's a part of the other me, I was thinking that you could enchant this with a containment spell. That way, if we could just impale her with it—"
"It would realign with her unique physiology, and the spell would then nullify her powers from the inside out... Twilight, that's brilliant!"
She dipped her head as she ignited her horn, pointing it towards the broken blade, and for a couple agonizingly long moments, Twilight stood anxiously, chewing her lip.
"There," Celestia said at last, with a sigh of relief, "that should do it." Twilight snapped out of her worried state of mind, turning to look curiously towards the weapon. "An enchantment strong enough to seal away even the strongest of shadow ponies."
Twilight formed a grateful smile. "Thank you, Princess. Now then, all that's left is to—"
Her ears perked up at the sound of her doppelganger's threatening voice.
"You've interfered with my plans one too many times, Dash!"
Oh no.
She turned, and her heart immediately sunk at the sight of her doppelganger directing her sword directly at Rainbow... Rainbow herself looking worse for wear.
She wasted no time in grabbing the blade from her mentor, and teleporting away in the blink of an eye.
"Twilight!" Celestia yelled out after her, "wait!"
She reappeared before her beloved, circumventing her doppelganger's sword strike as she glowered down at her.
"Keep your hooves... off of her!"
Rainbow's brow raised in awe. "Twi?"
"Nngh..." Her doppelganger staggered, nearly losing her balance from the blow. A shadowy appendage extended forth from her side, planting its palm firmly upon the ground.
Twilight herself wasted no time in enacting the next part of her improvisational plan, mustering her strength before swiping her own sword through her doppelganger's body.
Her eyes widened. No good! It.. passed right through her!
The other her sneered as she straightened back up. "Were you seriously expecting that to work?"
The shadowy hand then lunged at her, grabbing her in its clutches as she let out a startled shriek.
"Twilight!" Rainbow yelled.
"Dash!"
The hand hoisted her up high into the air, causing the sword to slip from her magical grasp, clanking against the ground.
Celestia, Shining and Cadance meanwhile, watched from afar, readying themselves to take action.
"On my signal, we'll all teleport," Celestia said. "I'll buy you both some time, while you go and free Twilig..."
Celestia's voice trailed off as she noticed the ground they stood on all of a sudden turn black.
What—?
"As if I'd forget about the three of you," the doppelganger murmured.
Three more large hands rose up out of the shadows, ensnaring the three of them within their claws as they gripped them tightly.
Nngh... what is...? Celestia peered down warily at the hand itself, feeling as though her own strength was fading, and fading quickly. Her eyelids fell heavy, as she found herself struggling to keep her eyes open.
These hands... a-are they absorbing our magic?
Celestia gave her head a quick shake, blinking her eyes. No... Whatever this magic is, it... feels like it's sapping more than simply our strength. This isn't good... If I can already feel its effects, then what does that mean for...
She reluctantly peered over at her niece and... Shining... Her heart sunk, seeing his eyelids had already betrayed him, and his body slouched forward in a seemingly withered state.
She tore her gaze away, turning instead to face her niece.
"Cadance."
"I know," she said, seemingly sharing her thoughts as she ignited her horn. She winced, focusing her magic on her beloved. "I'm already on it. Can... c-can I count on you to keep Twilight—?"
Celestia's horn flared without a moment's hesitation as she turned in Twilight's direction.
"You needn't ask."
"Guys!" Rainbow reached out after them, then mentally cursed, glaring back at her girlfriend's doppelganger.
"Let them go!"
"And if I don't?" she questioned with a growing sneer. "You cannot touch me, Dash, and any contact with these shadowy arms will only ensnare you too."
Darn it... she's right... She bit her lip, her ears flopping as she wracked her brain. It seems like she's only vulnerable whenever she tries attacking one of us, and... even if I did manage to get in close enough... all I could land would be a quick punch or a kick before one of those shadowy arms grabbed me too... Man...! She peered hopelessly up at Twilight. What do I...?
"R... Rainbow..."
Twilight? Her eyes widened, and ears perked at the weak, strained sound of her girlfriend's voice uttering her name.
"The... sword..."
Sword? Rainbow blinked, drawing her puzzled gaze back to the gleaming crystal blade. That's right... Twi tried attacking her other self with it. At first I thought it had just been to protect me, but now I'm wondering... Without hesitation, she leaped into the air, and dove toward the blade, scooping it up between her hooves before dashing back to where she had been before.
The sword had barely been in her hooves for a second before she was hit with a familiar feeling—that being, the familiar sensation of magic. It was feint, but she could feel it lingering.
Just as I thought... Twi must've enchanted this with some kind of spell—maybe even one to nullify her doppelganger's powers!
"Hmph, and what exactly do you plan on doing with that old thing?" the other Twilight scoffed. "If you try attacking me with it, I'll just phase right on through it!"
"Ngh... Don't l-listen to her, Dash!"
Twi? Rainbow directed her attention back to her girlfriend.
"She h-has to be... has to be bluffing! T-these constructs, they... t-they stem from her! It n-no doubt takes immense concentrate to retain their physicality! S-so, if she r-really is incorporeal, then... then they should be also—!"
"Silence!" her doppelganger growled, tightening her grip on the young unicorn's body.
"Twi!" Rainbow cried out, then gasped as, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several more shadowy tendrils sprouting forth from her foe's body, the claws of which enlarged once fully emerged. They loomed over her, now big enough to snatch her up if she wasn't careful.
She took an instinctive step back, but deep down she knew she wasn't deterred. Rather, a fire ignited within her eyes, as she found herself overcome with a sudden surge of confidence, and determination.
She placed the blade between her teeth—knowing she'd need her hooves—and leaped back just as the claws impacted the spot where she had been standing.
I just need to get in close enough, she assured herself, using her hooves to push off into the sky.
"Oh no you don't!" the other Twilight shouted after her, commanding her clawed tendrils to give chase after the pegasus, Rainbow herself narrowly swerving in and around their individual strikes. They moved wildly, and with disregard for their surroundings, as they grazed the front of buildings and collided with the street in vain attempts to grab her, sending stone and debris scattering.
"All this time," Twilight's doppelganger's continued, "I've been allowing myself to get swept up in the heat of battle, like a predator... toying with its prey!" She conducted the tendrils with ease, sending them relentlessly after Rainbow. "I've been allowing myself to become so easily distracted by the sight of you all, that perhaps, deep down, I was merely aiming to prolong your suffering... but no longer. If you and your little friends continue to oppose me, and refuse to give up the location of the others... then I'll have to resort to more drastic measures, Dash."
Drastic—? Rainbow's worrying thought only worsened the second a sharp cry of pain hit her ears. Twilight's voice.
"How about it, Dash? I could break her legs, maybe cripple her spine, or even snap off her horn." One of her shadowy claws stroked itself along the side of Twilight's horn tantalizingly. "So long as you and her still draw breath, it doesn't really matter what I do. I'll do what I must to get the two of you to quit resisting."
Rainbow's heart pounded, paling at the sheer thought. She wouldn't... She peered wistfully down at her left foreleg, at the small cut that hammered home the severity of her threat. Oh who am I kidding? She's insane enough to at least try!
She turned swiftly, flying up and over a series of rooftops to her left, her pulse racing ever faster as she looped back around.
"But why stop there?" her foe taunted with a wicked expression. "When I could so easily absorb your princesses and their precious knight's energies and intellect into my own consciousness. Knowledge is power after all, and surely one of them knows of the chosen's whereabouts?"
Rainbow gulped at the taunts as she neared the spot Twilight was being held. Winding her head back, she then whipped it and the sword forward, hoping to sever the tendril that held her girlfriend hostage in the air.
"Nuh uh uh, Dash!"
Rainbow's ears perked up just as her own eyes widened, and she narrowly jumped back as one of the clawed tendrils made a move for her, appearing suddenly between the divide that separated herself from Twilight.
No good! she fretted. Figures that Twi's doppelganger wouldn't make it easy for me. Still, I have to do something... but what can I...?
She looked back at Twilight, and saw her gazing back at her weakly, her body appearing somewhat wrinkled, as if slowly withering away... but what grabbed her attention more than that, was the still-determined look in her eyes. Her horn sparked to life, telling Rainbow that she still had one last trick up her sleeve.
With a nod of understanding, Rainbow turned tail as she once again took to the skies, feeling the familiar sensation of her finacée's magic start to encompass her entire body.
Twilight's doppelganger all the while, commanded the tendrils to give chase, little by little merging into a singular claw that proceeded to eclipse her completely.
As Rainbow spun back around, she paled at the enormous clawed hand that now loomed over, sending a cold chill down her spine. She looked down anxiously at her own body, as it continued to shimmer and glow. Please hurry, Twi... for both our sakes...
She tensed, her eyelids instinctively squeezing shut as the hand at last clasped tightly around her, engulfing her entirely within darkness.
Her foe smirked. "It was inevitable," she mused aloud. "You never stood a chanc—"
Her words died on her tongue, her eyes slowly widening.
Rainbow reappeared before her in a flash of light, plunging the sword directly into her chest.
And for a single, long moment, everything was still.
"Oh, Dash..."
Rainbow peered up inquisitively at her girlfriend's doppelganger as she let out a few, soft chuckles. She let go of the broken blade, just as the weapon itself slowly absorbed into her foe's body.
"Did you really think that'd work? I applaud your ingenuity, Dash... but I'm afraid that this is the end for you."
Rainbow stumbled back as her foe sneered, pointing a foreleg at her directly, as if to command her tendrils to snatch her up.
She shut her eyes instinctively, tensing up... only for nothing to happen.
She tentatively reopened them, her brow raising at the sight of her foe giving her foreleg a puzzled flick.
"What is happening?" she grumbled, before glaring back at Rainbow directly. "What did you do?!"
Heh... So it did work after all...
Rainbow straightened up defiantly, bearing a slight smirk. "Me and my friends just used your own strength against you, that's all."
Rrgh... They must've enchanted that blade... No wonder they were so intent on using it against me...
All around her, her shadowy arms dissipated one by one into the air around them, leaving the four of them suspended midair for but a second or two, before they themselves began falling back to Earth. As Celestia glided down, and Cadance caught Shining in her aura, bringing them both down safely... Rainbow's heart dropped at the sight of Twilight, falling limply from the sky.
"Twi!"
Rainbow wasted no time in dashing up to her, catching her swiftly within her forelegs.
"Twi?" she asked, gazing down at her worriedly. "Are you alright?"
Her breathing was shallow, and her appearance still remained somewhat withered, but she nonetheless managed a nod.
"I will be," she replied assuredly. She mustered a thankful smile, gazing up at her weakly, her head resting against Rainbow's shoulder,. "We really did it... huh, Rainbow?"
"Heh, we sure did, Twi." She returned the smile, before leaning down to nuzzle the top of her girlfriend's head. "You were really great, you know that? You really saved me out there."
Twilight snorted at that. "Thank you... but it's Celestia that you should be thanking, Rainbow, not me." Rainbow looked down at her puzzled, and before she could question what she meant, Twilight elaborated. "Without her magic, I wouldn't have had enough to teleport you, much less hold out for as long as I did..."
"Er, hold on." Rainbow cocked her head, her brow furrowing. "Her magic?"
Twilight nodded. "Mhm. I... could feel it sustaining me. I think because alicorns naturally have more magic... she was using hers to keep me alive."
"Huh..." As the two neared the ground, Rainbow looked off thoughtfully towards the other three. I'll have to thank her then, when I get the chance.
Her hind hooves gently touched down against the pavement, and she carefully allowed Twilight down, before setting down on all fours herself. Together, they turned their gazes toward their foe, who directed her own icy glare back at them.
"If you think... that you've won..." She shut her eyes suddenly in a wince, letting a few muffled grunts slip as her body began to writhe.
A pained scream followed suit as a pair of broad, feathered wings emerged from her sides.
"What—?"
"She's an alicorn?!" exclaimed Twilight in bewilderment. H-here I thought she had been using her dark magic to merely take the shape of one...
"Whoa, h-hang on a sec, Twi! She did just drain some of Celestia and Cadance's magic. Maybe her body is transforming because of it?"
"Maybe..." agreed Twilight, in solemn thought. "E-either way, we mustn't lose heart! After coming this far, there's nothing that... that our friendships can't accomplish, when we work together!"
"Heh..." Rainbow smiled over at her fondly.
"Well put, Twilight," remarked Celestia, teleporting beside the two of them. To Rainbow's right, Shining and Cadance galloped up alongside them as well. "But I'm afraid that I've put all of your lives at risk now one too many times. Allow me—" Her horn began to glow, and in the blink of an eye, shot forth a beam of light into their enemy, knocking her the remainder of the way across the street and directly into a storefront. "—to put an end to this."
Twilight's doppelganger lurched forward from the sudden shock of being thrust into the building, squeezing her eyelids shut, clenching her teeth. Before her body even had the opportunity to slump forward... golden chains, endowed with a magical aura, wrapped around her horn, limbs and body, chaining her tightly to the wall.
There... Celestia straightened up, letting out a sigh of relief. "That should hold her, and hopefully keep her powers negated for the time being." She breathed out in relief when Twilight's voice—her Twilight—caught her attention.
"...Princess?"
Hm? She looked down beside her, to see Twilight peering back at her with a look of uncertainty.
"What do... we do with her now? A part of me feels like... she's beyond saving, and yet... s-she's still me... you know? Isn't there anyway we could... I don't know..." Her words drifted off, unsure of how to voice what she was thinking.
"What? Redeem her? Save her from the darkness that controls her?" Celestia looked off wistfully, remaining silent for a long moment, before giving her head a shake.
Twilight's ears flopped at her mentor's answer.
"I don't think there is, my student. Otherwise, I would have done so to free my own sister, long, long ago."
"I see..."
Twilight turned away, disheartened, back to the sight of her doppelganger pinned to the wall opposite them, and letting out several grunts and cries of frustration as she struggled to break free of Celestia's chains.
Twilight's gaze softened up at the sight.
"I know she's not a nice pony," she said. "I know that... she's made threats against us, a-and threatened each of our lives no less!"
"Twi..." Rainbow spoke up reluctantly, as she began to ask, "What are you saying?"
Twilight sighed. "I still see myself in her, and seeing her struggle like this... I can't help but wonder what led her to be this way... To be so... filled with hate, a-and anger!" She averted her eyes, biting her lip before adding with a slight shrug, "I just can't help but feel a little bad for her, despite all she's done..."
Her brow raised curiously as she felt a hoof on her shoulder, and lifted her gaze to meet her girlfriend's, who smiled warmly back at her.
"That's because you're a good pony, Twi; never forget that."
"I second that," Cadance chimed in. "You were certainly the sweetest filly that I've ever known. Even if you did end up closing yourself off from the outside world for years—"
"A-and!" Shining cut in swiftly, smiling nervously, "not to mention that you're definitely the best little sister a guy like me could ever ask for!"
Everypony... Twilight shied away bashfully, a slight smile adorning her face.
"Though, she has a point, Princess," continued Shining, turning towards Celestia. "If that really is Twilight from some other world, then... she's still my sister in some capacity. Is there seriously nothing we can do?"
"I hear your concerns, everypony... but I'm afraid there is not. She sealed her fate when she chose to try and usurp me, manipulate my sister, threaten to end your lives, and lay waste to our home." She knelt her body forward, her horn rippling with magic.
Celestia... Twilight looked up at her mentor with a crestfallen expression.
"What's more, I fear, is that she may very well have seen inside our thoughts, our memories, like she threatened she would. She wants the locations of the Elements, and now. If she did indeed look inside my mind... may very well know the locations of the other chosen."
Rainbow perked up worriedly. "W-wait, does that mean...!"
"Never fear, Rainbow Dash, because I'm putting an end to this now. I'll be imprisoning her within stone."
Stone? thought the others.
"Once imprisoned, she will not be able to hurt anypony, nor shall she be dead."
"She'll be in a perpetual state of stasis..." Twilight mused aloud.
Celestia gave a slight nod in response. Because, she supposed in thought, even I lack what it takes... to put an end to her...
Her own eyes fell shut as her magic intensified, and she nearly cast the spell when she heard her niece's voice cry out her name in repulsion of... something.
There, as she reopened her eyes, emerged shambling beings of shadows around her pupil's doppelganger, rising forth from puddles of black goo on the ground.
Black droplets dripped from her chained-up body, like bullets of sweat, and seemed to spread once hitting the street, spawning the beings of darkness.
Celestia grit her teeth. Inknorance?
Twilight gulped, taking a fearful step back. "I-I thought we had seen the last of these things?"
"She calls 'em her Nightmare Knights, Twi," replied Rainbow, readying for a fight; "and no, apparently, we haven't."
The inknorance continued to spread, some of it seeping onto the very chains that bound its host, and little by little, absolving them of their magic.
No! Celestia panicked, preparing her spell. I must act now before—!
Some of the Nightmare Knights hurdled themselves at her, forcing her to fire off the spell in desperation, partially encasing some of the equine-like creatures within stone.
She retreated back into the air, looking down at the scene splayed out before her, and the few Knights stuck frozen in place, half encased in stone as the other halves struggled endlessly to squirm their way free.
She turned in dire panic to her friends, who stood their ground as they found themselves being swarmed by their own onslaught of Nightmare Knights.
Her horn ignited, and aiming it at the horde, unleashed a powerful beam of light that tore through the swarm, tearing up the ground, and sending stone and remnants of ink flying everywhere.
The others all lowered their forelegs from their eyes from the powerful blast of light, looking down in awe of the trench that had seemingly been dug before them, and the now-lifeless puddles of inknorance strewn about everywhere.
Whoa, they all couldn't help but utter in sheer amazement.
Good. Now that they're safe... Celestia redirected her attention to that of Twilight's doppelganger. The once golden hue that had radiated from her chains was now almost entirely covered in darkness.
The links themselves appeared to be corroding, becoming malleable from the affect the ink was having on them.
I must hurry! thought Celestia, as she swiftly charged her horn.
With one final scream of frustration, Twilight's doppelganger tore her right foreleg free, sending bits of blackened chains scattering across the street.
Seething, she turned her attention to her left foreleg, using her unbounded hoof to tear free those chains as well, before using both her hooves to yank free the chains that bound her horn to the wall.
Igniting her horn, she fired a beam down at the chains around her hind legs, severing them in half, before unwittingly falling to the ground in an exhausted heap... her wings lying limply by her sides.
"Finally..." She looked up warily from behind the bangs of her mane, forming a slight smirk. "Even your mightiest restraints cannot... hold—"
Her eyes widened as a blinding beam of light approached her.
"—me..."
As if on instinct, her body began to transform into a more incorporeal state. Her body continued to morph even as the beam engulfed her being completely, passing through her, and not without first grazing her right foreleg that had yet to fully change along with the rest of her.
Pale rock slowly inched its way up her foreleg, only stopping once it reached the rest of her incorporeal body.
And with nothing more to react to, the spell dissipated into its surroundings, after a grueling moment spent in anticipation.
Darn it! fretted Celestia. She circumvented the spell?
Twilight's doppelganger cursed under her breath, allowing her body to become tangible once more. She peered down at her foreleg for a moment more, finding herself with little time to lament, before turning her glowering gaze back instead towards her former mentor.
"So... you've finally decided to treat me like one of your villains... is that it?"
She snorted, clumsily getting to her hooves.
"Well then, Princess... Allow me... to up the ante!"
She turned around, looking towards the eclipsed sun. Raising her good hoof, she aimed it directly at the moon, before pulling it back towards her, as if she were yanking the very moon back towards her.
Rainbow lowered her eyelids, staring ahead with a tired expression. "What now?"
"I-I don't know," Twilight replied, looking around worriedly. "Everything feels the same, but somehow... I-I can't shake this feeling—"
"Everypony," Cadance spoke up suddenly, drawing their attention once more towards the sky. "Look!"
As each of them looked, their hearts collectively sunk at the sight. It was feint, but unmistakable.
The moon had indeed been pulled closer, and showed no signs of slowing... like a shadow looming menacingly above them, inching ever nearer.
A low rumbling soon filled the sky, growing slightly louder with each passing moment.
"You madmare!" Celestia glared back at the other Twilight. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Evening the odds," came her response, her back to the five of them. She smirked confidently up at the sky. "Five of you are more than I care to take on now that I'm like this... So..." She closed her eyes for a brief moment, before cocking her head to the right, peering back at the group with a knowing expression. "Ponyville, huh?"
What...? Celestia's heart beat sickeningly in her chest.
Twilight blinked, momentarily taken aback. "...Ponyville?"
"I had my suspicions, but it wasn't until I peered inside your memories, Princess, that I could confirm my hypothesis." She turned around fully, bearing a delighted sneer. "You understand, don't you? Different world, different set of rules... and what with the whole spacetime continuum being so out of whack," she rattled off with her hoof, "I had to make doubly sure they weren't here. After all, why else do you suppose I decided to survey the castle before making my move?"
Celestia remained quiet, glaring back at her, unamused.
"So chose, Your Majesty! Will you stay and fight me... or will you yet again risk defending your very world from ruin?"
"P-Princess..." Twilight uttered shakily, "s-she has to be bluffing."
Twilight... Celestia's temper simmered down at the worried sound of her student's voice. I...
"S-she has t-to be," Twilight insisted desperately. "You know she's serious about locating the Elements—"
Or perhaps it's part of a larger plan, to help expedite their emergence into this world... Celestia considered, her gaze softening as she looked upon the distraught younger mare. Regardless, I cannot risk it.
"—she'll n-no doubt use this opportunity to flee to Ponyville."
"...Which is why I'm counting on you and your friends to prevent that from happening."
Twilight paused, her brow raising in surprise. "Princess—?"
Celestia spread her wings wide, her mind made up. "Make haste, my little ponies! Whatever you do, do not let her reach Ponyville!"
She took off, leaving a rush of gusty winds in her wake, their manes rustling slightly in the residual breeze.
Twilight's doppelganger watched as Celestia flew off, her gaze lingering for a long, pensive moment, before she at last turned her attention back to the four who opposed her... the rumbling in the sky growing ever nearer.
"Well, this was fun." She raised a hoof, putting on a cheery expression. "Ta ta."
Her wings unfurled, and she raised herself up off the ground with a few mighty flaps.
"Come meet me in Ponyville, where you and the chosen other four will have no other choice but to confront me—a threat to your very existences... thus forcefully calling forth the Elements I seek!"
She wants to incite an incident that'll force the Elements to appear? thought Twilight in dreaded realization. B-but Celestia said—
"Yeah right," Rainbow's voice exclaimed from right beside her; "like we're gonna let that happen!"
Her girlfriend's wings unfurled, the pegasus herself kneeling forward before dashing at their foe, blazing a rainbow trail as she flew.
"We're not gonna allow you to lay a hoof on them!"
Celestia flew towards the approaching moon, igniting her horn.
This'll be different than simply raising or lowering it like all those times before... The moon is descending now on its own trajectory, picking up speed as it remains locked in a one way collision course with the Earth...
She closed her eyes, and breathed in deeply, mustering what magic she had left.
Little by little, her magic crawled over the moon's surface, a pale, radiant light slowly encompassing the moon in its entirety.
Her eyelids winced, her teeth clenching as she felt the enormous weight of the rock push against her.
Nngh... this pressure, it's... almost too much to bear! But, for the sake of the planet, I must—!
"Well, well, well..."
Celestia's eyes blinked open, her heart skipping a beat. That voice!
"This certainly isn't the reunion I had envisioned."
Celestia looked towards the sound of the condescending voice, coming face-to-face with the toothy, sinister sneer of her sister. Or rather...
Nightmare Moon...
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Well, uhh, this sure was a recap chapter.
Hmm. No “Part 2” chapter?
I tease. It was just the first thing I noticed when I went to read this.
Woooo it’s not dead!
10656186
Hey, Anty! Thanks for your uplifting comment! It really made my evening not only because of your kind words, but because I actually do remember you from all those years ago! Yeah, your comments were some of the ones that always stood out to me because of how much you were into it, and saying it was one of your favorites, etc... I'll sometimes read through my old comments, and the last time I did, I noticed your last comment was in 2015, and that you hadn't logged in since... I was sorta worried you had left this site for good, like other users... but it's a relief to hear you're still around and alive and well!
Anyway, I'm glad to hear you still enjoy the story now as much as back then, and I hope you continue to stick around! Also, I'm especially flattered that you actually went through the effort of researching stuff. Hope it wasn't too much of a chore... 
But yeah, I love hearing stuff like that, because my story is chock FULL of references big and small, and it's nice to know that one of my readers actually looked up stuff on the wikia, actively wanting to learn more about them. 
10657147
I can't believe you actually do remember me!
But yeah, even though I stopped watching the show and following the fandom in general in 2015, I still get nostalgic ocasionally, and ever since the beginning of my quarantine (sorry if I mispell that word, english is not my native language
) life I've been visiting this site. I'm really happy you're also alive and well! 
Well, just now I got up to date with this storyand booy has it been a fun ride. I got really surprised with how much lore the MLP universe managed to put out in the span of 2015-present, so thank you for making me discover that too. Heck, I kiiinda want to read the comics now
Hope you're still doing well!
See you on the next chapter,
Anty.
Finally reading the rest of this fic, and while most of it is pretty good I can't help but make a point of criticism.
Some of the conflicts and fights really drag on for far too long. I didn't overly mind some of them in the past several chapters though it did at times encourage me to skim over parts that were too drawn out, but this chapter tipped over into being a bit frustrating to read.
I feel there is a balance to be struck between rushing and having your villain rising from the brink of defeat for the seventh time with a seemingly endless pit of aces up their metaphorical sleeve. It unfortunately lessens the impact of the conflict when it winds down then ramps back up too many times.
As they say, sometimes less is more.
But as i said for the most part the fic is pretty good, and I wouldn't still be reading or care enough to post if I didn't enjoy it.