Blackest Twilight

by Zanem-Ji

To Snuff Out The Sun

“The war for respect will never end. When a champion of power rises to the top…there will always be another power that wishes to challenge it…”

Celestia mechanically walked to her balcony to begin her daily ritual of raising her Sun high into the sky. She gazed up at the red and purple star-dotted sky with quiet disdain. She would never learn to accept Eventide…to accept this abomination. However, Celestia had no choice, but to let Twilight rule during this timeframe.

It had started with only two hours…but Twilight was growing very powerful quickly. If she wanted Eventide to remain for more time, she would get it.

She raised her Sun up, her anger rising as it rose from the horizon, and the sun’s rays bounced off the various lavender and rich purple crystals that now jutted out from the earth throughout Canterlot.

“Your Kingdom of the Sun has been around for a very long time. Its time for a new power to take control of Equestria…”

Twilight created these crystals to give artificial heat and light, but they could also be used as communication devices for the lavender Alicorn. Celestia did not approve of that particular feature, but Twilight couldn’t have cared less.

She was the once mighty Sun Warrior, defeating the King Chaos alongside her sister, and bringing order to Equestria. She had fought off Nightmare Moon, and twisted amalgamation that was Eternal Slumber. She would be damned before Twilight would simply change things around and treat the kingdom like it was some sort of experiment or a child’s plaything.

“Keep hold of your precious kingdom for as long as you can…”

This wasn’t about keeping the kingdom to herself. She just wanted to keep it safe. She needed to put a stop to Twilight and set her boundaries, before things spiraled out of control.

-MLP-

Twilight was flipping through the pages in one of the many novels she had in her bedroom. There was a stern rapping on the door. Her ear flicked in annoyance,

“Who is it?”

“Twilight, its me.” Celestia’s strong voice replied from the other side.

A dark smile formed on Twilight’s face, “Come in.”

The door clicked open and Celestia trotted inside. She knew she couldn’t charge in, raging and frothing at the mouth. Twilight was no longer the gentle Unicornian pupil that she had taken in long ago. She had grown into a headstrong and dangerously fierce Alicorn. Her attitude was borderline aggressive in some situations, and any sign of aggression from Celestia would trigger Twilight into attacking her. She knew she couldn’t win in a show of force against her, and Twilight knew that. So…she’d have to go about this carefully.

“Twilight, there’s something important that I need to talk to you about.” Celestia stated.

“I would assume so. We haven’t spoken of the weather or had any other type of light conversation in a while.” Twilight replied flippantly..

“Its about New Sky.”

“Eventide.”

“Ah yes, I do recall you saying that you had renamed your…creation.” Celestia responded with tact. “I wish to make a proposal with you.”

“A proposal?” one of Twilight’s brows arched with intrigue. “Go on…”

Celestia magically pulled a pillow close to her and sat on it, “I still think that ‘Eventide’ is not a fantastic idea. It has the potential to be something great, but I wouldn’t say its ready yet.” She looked out the window. “Day and Night have always been separate. There was no blend, no confusion, no…gray area. It was a representation of my sister and I. Eventide is something you threw onto the citizens. Perhaps you should pull back a bit…start with taking care of Night, and all the duties that come with it.”

Twilight almost immediately shook her head. “I can’t do that.”

“And why not?”

Twilight closed her novel, “The citizens love it. You are the only one who doesn’t. Our job is to look out for our subjects, not sit here and pamper ourselves and make sure the kingdom is exactly as we like it.”

“Oh really now? If I recall, you made Eventide to your own liking. I implored you not to bring forth this new sky, not just because it’s a constant reminder of the horror I had done in murdering my only sister…but because…”

Twilight remained silent as Celestia took a second to calm her breathing.

“There have been whispers amongst the staff, Twilight.” Celestia focused her gaze on her, “Rumors that Luna wasn’t sick…but murdered. They know, but they just can’t prove it…but, what if they do?”

“What does that have to do with Eventide?”

Celestia rubbed her forehead, “Do you not remember my teaching in Politics?” she got up to sit a bit closer to Twilight, attempting to emit a friendlier aura. “Your excitedness to create this new time will give off the energy that not only were you in support of Luna’s murder…but that you may have been a part of it!”

Twilight scoffed, “That’s absurd. As much as I wanted to kill Eternal Slumber-”

“SHE WASN’T ETERNAL SLUMBER, SHE WAS LUNA!!” Celestia snarled as she jumped to her hooves. “And she was my sister! How can you be so callous when it comes to someone you once had so much respect for?!”

Twilight slowly rose to her hooves and silently stared Celestia down. This gave time for Celestia to assess Twilight’s form. For being such a young Alicorn, she had grown very quickly already much taller than Luna was at her age as an Alicorn. Too quickly in fact…how had she grown this quickly in such a short timespan? A spell perhaps?”

“I had more respect for her than you did.” Twilight replied calmly. “I respected Luna, even though we were prepared to kill the thing she had become. I respected her, her Moon, her stars…” she started to walk past her, “That’s why I incorporated them into Eventide. And I respected you and everything you were. I respected you and your teachings, your beautiful blue sky, and your Sun…which is also incorporated into Eventide.”

Twilight made it to her bedroom door and closed it with a hoof, an action that definitely did not go unnoticed by a now unnerved Celestia.

“But after our council meeting, when we were trying to figure out exactly who the Guider was…I realized that you were not the Teacher I used to look up to. you were too focused on the way we would be viewed, and not seeing the main issue. You were more concerned that we would be viewed as monstrous murderers, rather than being concerned with the fact that citizens were being killed off nearly every single night…” Twilight turned back to face her, “Your mindset…it is that of a young filly. Childish. Not often, but when it shows, its at the most inopportune and crucial times. I feel that you aren’t fit to rule the kingdom anymore.”

Celestia’s eyes widen and she could barely keep herself from going slack jawed.

“It seems that your break wasn’t long enough. That is understandable, she was your sister…but perhaps a more permanent break is in order. Its time to put the welfare of the kingdom into more capable hooves.” Twilight continued. “My hooves.”

Celestia shook her head, “No. there is a system in place.” she carried on. “I am the Head Ruler. If the time comes that the Head Ruler must step down, the second most senior of Sh royal lineage will take their place. That would be Cadence.”

Twilight chuckled, “She already has a massive kingdom of her own to rule. Far too big for it to be merged with this one. In order to be the ruler of Equestria, she’d have to come here and relinquish her rule of the Crystal Empire. And then who would become the ruler of that kingdom?”

Celestia averted her gaze, and Twilight frowned,

“Shining Armor, since he’s the Prince and all. Which means…you’d be putting such a strain on their marriage.” Twilight let out a grim chuckle, “Ironic for the Princess of Love…anyway, such discourse in their personal affairs would lead to the possibility of making improper judgement calls for both kingdoms. And with two major kingdoms in a weakened state of power, it would give other lands an opportunity to strike us down.” Twilight walked back towards her, stopping directly in front of her,

“You taught me one major rule to never forget, at the beginning of my ascension into Alicornhood. A rule that you yourself have forgotten in your complacency after being in charge for far too long…”

She leaned forward until there were only mere inches of air parting their snouts,

“Always see the bigger picture…”

In a flash, Celestia was on her knees from a pin prick sized wound in her neck. Her eyes screwed shut as a surge of harmful ooze coursed through her blood. She opened one eye to look up at Twilight.

“Please don’t try to fight it.” Twilight stated as she placed the syringe she had kept hidden was now placed on a nearby tabletop. “Keeping calm will ensure your survival.”

“What…did you…do to me…” Celestia questioned through gritted teeth.

“It’s a potion of my creation.” Twilight began. “Remember when we were trying to figure out what species of creature the Guider was? I still haven’t been able to figure out a spell that could do such a thing…morph a creature in such a way it was unrecognizable…but the Everfree Forest is a bounty when it comes to potion making.” She stared Celestia down with a look that the elder Alicorn wasn’t prepared for;

Pity.

“While there is no spell to do that…potions themselves can be enchanted.” Twilight placed a hoof on Celestia’s shoulder. “This will give you the break you need. But you must allow it to happen. If you don’t…the enchantment on the potion will trigger a violent reaction. It will tear away are your organs without replacement and kill you in a matter of minutes.”

“Someone is going to take that and so much more before you know it…”

Celestia did her best to remain calm, and resist every urge to use magic to fight off whatever Twilight had conjured up. Her eyelids started to get heavy, as she let herself slip into the dark embrace of the potion. Twilight lightly shook her shoulder to regain her attention.

“No, not yet.” Twilight lied down, resting her chin on the floor to get eye level with her. “You’re a good pony, Celestia. You really are. You just got…lost in the path of being the sole ruler for so long. But worry not…every enemy that rose against us was slaughtered by the might of Equestria, and the strength of the Elements of Harmony. A power that I possess…” she lightly caressed Celestia’s cheek. “You will no longer be the Princess of the Sun…you will get the chance to ‘start over’ and get your well earned break.” She smiled,

“Be at peace now, and farewell…”

Comments

[Blaxbone]

I realized that I you were not the teacher I used to look up to.