At Twilight's End

by Shrouded_Legacy

He Who Fights Monsters

She awoke with a start.

Adrenaline coursed through her as though she was going to fight. She whipped her head around, attempting to figure out where she was and whether she was safe. After examining her surroundings, she allowed herself to relax and the adrenaline began to fade then. “A hospital...” she said aloud. “Particularly, Canterlot Medical Laboratories.” She continued to herself, noticing a few smaller details.

“Indeed.” A masculine voice startled her just before he emerged from behind a curtain for another patient. “You've been here a lot then?” He asked as he drew nearer.

Twilight shook her head as she realized he was a nurse. “Only twice. I just recognize the emblem on that Doctorate posted by the door.” She allowed herself a moment to relax. “Few ponies would step down from such a prestigious position. This is the foremost research facility in Equestria.”

“Correct yet again. And you've got good eyes, especially for what you've been through.” The stallion smiled as he checked her charts. “That's good. It means you're recovering well. This is the first time you've been fully conscious for a couple of moons now. Celestia will want to speak with you, if you feel up to visitors.”

“Celestia wants to speak to me?” The battle for the Crystal Kingdom played through her head in an instant and she cringed visibly. “She's going to be angry with me. I played right into the enemies hands. What if she banishes me? Not even her sister did this much damage and she got sent to the moon! What if she wants to kill me for treason? I-- will never be alone again!” She felt a surge of warmth as she felt power rushing into her. She noticed the nurse backing away from her slowly, and he had a look of terror on his face. “Have you never looked upon the visage of power, lowly stallion?” Her voice had an ethereal echo to it that reminded her of-

“N-n-n-night--AAHH!” the nurse yelled and took off running.

Twilight tried to calm herself down, regaining control of her mind, but not quite her body, which was magically suspended over the hospital cot. “This isn't right! I never gave myself to you!” Twilight raged, literally trapped inside her own head.

“We are not just a creature of shadows. We were called by your fear to protect you from the world; We wish you to not feel the hatred, fear, and loneliness of being an outcast. We don't want you to hurt, Twilight Sparkle, and so we have given you the choice of escape.” The Voice answered smoothly and softly. “We have done nothing more than to revitalize your body, and awaken you in your time of need. We would never leave you to such a painful path. Come with us, Twilight Sparkle, and drink of our Harmony!”

Surely enough, she slowly felt herself regaining control of her body, and, true to its word, she felt stronger than ever. Thinking back, she realized that the 'Nightmare' actually broke her out of the nightmare she had been having. The door must have been a trap laid by Sombra. “Only those who have complete control of their emotions would have access to the chamber the Crystal Heart was in. It required dark magic to open the tunnel and love magic to dispell the enchanted door, then gravity manipulation to reach the Heart itself.” She thought, landing on top of the cot. “I'll be damned to Tartarus if Sombra isn't actually an intellectual and a decent tactician. I wasn't prepared for a fight last time and those spells were too much, too quickly. I didn't have the knowledge to stand against him. Next time,” She thought, a grim smile on her face, “Next time, I'll be ready.”

“Twilight Sparkle, my trusted and most faithful student.” Twilight heard from the doorway. “I am glad to see that you are well.” Though she still took measured steps, Celestia beamed brightly. “I confess, I was worried that you may not recover, but you seem well now that you have awakened.”

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight, who was at this point standing on the cot, promptly fell prostrate to the floor with the grace of a minotaur. She rose from her blunder to give her princess a proper bow.

Stifling a chuckle, Celestia continued, “It is well that you have regained a full measure of health. You have been unconscious for several moons, there is much you have missed.” Her tone grew gradually dour until she asked, equal parts trepidation and misery carried through her regal voice. “But I fear I must ask... what happened at the kingdom?”

Twilight's blood chilled, and she knew that, while telling the truth was her only option, it was also going to bring about her worst fear. Slowly, she began,

After arriving at the stop, Shining, my friends, and I were all beset upon by shadow, the last remnants of raw power that tethered Sombra to our world. We managed to escape into the Crystal Kingdom, and Shining, now maimed by Sombra's dark magic, took us to the palace, where we met a beleaguered Cadence. They told us that they have been so busy trying to protect the kingdom themselves that they haven't had the time to look into a more permanent solution. My friends and I took it upon ourselves to do some research into the history of the Crystal Empire. After doing some asking around, and finding out that the ponies had no memory of what transpired before the land was cursed, we found ourselves at the library. There we found a book that spoke of the Crystal Faire, which concluded with a ceremony that echoed your warning from before I left. We knew then that this was our way to defeat Sombra.

We went about getting everything set up, and as the ponies took part in the revelry, they started regaining their memory. Here we found out the truth about a relic known as the Crystal Heart, which was the center-piece of not only the faire, but the defensive magic that protects Equestria. I took this to be the true portion of my test, and as you said I must be the one to protect the empire, I had all of my friends keep the faire going while I searched. After several tribulations, I found Sombra already at the Heart, and engaged him in open combat in an attempt to wrest the relic from him. He overpowered me quickly, and so I used shadow magic to strike back at him. During our fight, a stray spell hit the heart and corrupted it. I was, at this point, drained of all energy, and so Sombra kicked me over the edge, where I fell down the side of the palace onto the terrace where I landed next to Cadence and Shining.

The room became silent for a time. Twilight's mind started whirling, but she knew that if she lost control of her emotions, the 'Nightmare' would return. She had to hide her “tribulations” from Celestia, else her true nightmare should come to life. “Celestia can never know. She might banish me to the moon to keep Equestria safe.” And then it struck her like a bell. She was a hazard to Equestrian society. The 'nightmare' inside her would destroy all she held dear if it were to be set loose. She started to wonder if maybe being sentanced to the moon would be a good idea, but she couldn't come forward due to her fear of losing Celestia's – or her friends – favor.

“I see.” Celestia nodded sadly. “You engaged a master of shadows in open combat, and attempted to use his own magic against him. A magic you have never trained in.” She knelt next to Twilight and looked directly into her eyes. She searched them for a while before stating, “You were the one that powered the heart.”

Twilight panicked. Had Celestia seen through her slight falsehoods? “Y-yes...” She choked out involuntarily, tears starting to stream down her face. “I missed what should have been a fatal shot. I was trying to save the Crystal Empire! I wanted to pass your test! I swear I didn't mean to hit the Heart! I -I-I-- I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this!” She started bawling and begging for forgiveness.

Celestia stood up and Twilight lunged for her foreleg, pleading for her forgiveness. Celestia steeled herself against the pleas, knowing that what she had to say next would break both her and Twilight's heart. “I'm-” She looked away, pulling out of Twilight's half-hearted grip. “I'm disappointed in you, Twilight. I thought you'd grown, but using hatred and anger to fight... You made yourself no better than the beast you sought to defeat.” Celestia wanted to start crying, but hid it from her tormented student by turning fully away and facing the door. Without looking over her back, she finished with a barely audible warble to her voice, “You have a lot to think about. Until you understand just how grave of an error it was to fight evil with evil, there is nothing more I can teach you.”

And with that final phrase, she walked out of the room.

Twilight was stricken with grief. So melancholic was her sorrow that she couldn't even cry. Celestia's words cut into her as she realized that she was right. She examined her thoughts and feelings, and she knew that all of this was just wrong. Her seeking revenge, her using shadow magic – magic she hadn't ever truly studied – to defeat King Sombra, her actually considering the offer posed by the Nightmare, all of this wasn't just foolish; these were things that she had actually already shown to be ineffective, at best.

So many times she and her friends had shown friendship, had shown love, to be the penultimate of magic in power and versatility, just to succumb to her baser nature and seek destruction as a means of attaining a personal goal? What had become of her?

“The Elements are powerful, but they aren't without fault.” The Voice called gently to her. “The six elements require each other to work. Without even one of them present, they all lose their power. You must realize that true strength comes from within, and relying on others weakens the individual.”

“No. Friends help each other grow. A true friend helps a friend in need. These bonds we form strengthen us and allow us to take on the world --”

“Together, yes, however you won't have them forever, and what shall you do then? If they find out you've endangered their way of life, how likely are they to help you, really? How loyal are your friends to you? If they had to choose between you and Celestia, who would follow you willingly into the dark?” The Voice posed a good question, and Twilight took a moment to consider it. How many of her friends would truly stand with her, no matter what? “This is to say nothing of how you truly feel right now. The lonliness and lack of direction gnaws at your heart, though you can't yet feel it. Would you truly prolong such agony?” She started to doubt her friends, but caught a single thread of logic that the Voice didn't take into account.

“To answer your doubt, we must first actually speak to them. I have five very dear friends who hold me dear as well, so I would hypothesize that they will be supportive of me.” Twilight hoped it would be true, but even she couldn't dispell the niggling doubt in the corner of her mind.

“Very well, let us take to the streets.” The presence in her mind faded for the first time since she woke up from Sombra's 'fear trap.' “Your friends cannot understand, but you will see... and hurt.” It whispered darkly into the back of her mind, while the strength of the presence faded steadily.

Only then did Twilight realize just how comforting the dark truly was. All of her anxieties came slowly to the forefront of her mind as the shadows cleared. Celestia, who was like a second mother to Twilight, was both angered and saddened by her, and she began to worry about how the others would take the news that she, in her desire to prove herself, had weakened the nation she attempted to save.

“How much does intent really matter when put against the action taken? Does the end justify the means?” Philosophy was a topic Twilight normally left to others, but science couldn't answer everything. She half expected the voice to answer her, but when it didn't, she, against all reason, felt even more lonely.

She finally stood up, her body feeling weak from her recent incapacitation, thankful for the second wind she received from the beast now residing inside her.

As she hobbled out into the hall and down the hallway towards the elevator, she wondered where she was supposed to go. She wanted to beg forgiveness from Celestia, she wanted to ask Luna for help in regaining herself, she wanted to run to Rarity and talk about her experience, and maybe have the other five gather around her to disspell the nightmare before things started to spiral out of control. She wanted despeately for someone to guide her.

“Normally I'm much more independent than than this...” She ruminated aloud, trying to sort out her thoughts. All at once she felt both foolish and joyous that she so needed her friends; that she had traded a measure of self-reliance for a desire of companionship. The more emotional part of her entreated her to find that nopony is an island, and the we grow into better ponies thorugh our interactions with one another. It spoke of community, and learning from one another's triumphs and failures. Concurrently, however, the more logical side of her reminded her of many books that spoke of being a master of your own fate, and that you didn't need anypony else to excel. Many more preached liberation and freedom for those who didn't seek the approval of others; that societal expectations limited individual greatness for those too afraid to stand against the grain. Ponies have accomplished great feats of art, research, and magic while in solitude. The practice of Zen even promised happiness and peace to those who denied society in favor of balance and one-ness with nature itself.

Before she realized it, she was out in the middle of the plaza between the castle and the railway of the “Friendship Express”, the train that led from Canterlot to the west and south. The plaza itself was a magnificent sight, cobblestone paths, encircled by well trimmed trees and grandoise architecture, leading to a set of marble tiles that bore upon them a statue of an unnamed alicorn, rearing triumphantly. “This is... difficult to deal with.” Twilight thought as she looked back to the castle, eyes taking in the sight as if it would be the last she'd see of her old home. Her gaze floated fondly over the main hall, remembering all of the court sessions she would attend as Celelstia's “Faithful Student.” It slowly then, and with a sense of melancholy, drifted up to the Ivory Tower, her and Celestia's old domicile. There were so many memories within the walls of the castle, so much warmth and comfort.

“And yet, as with all good things, it must come to an end.” She heard an echo of her thoughts in the dark corners of her mind.

“If my day in the sun has set, then where shall I go?” Twilight asked herself. “My studies were as much to impress my mentor as they were to satiate my own curiosity.” Her eyes trailed the silhouette of the castle to Luna's tower, the Eclipse Spire. “Luna will have heard from Celestia of my... faux pas. I wonder if she too will be angry with me for betraying the light, or if maybe she will find kinship in me for embracing the darkness?”

Knowing that the dark force that woke her from Sombra's trap still resided within her, Twilight wondered if this was something Luna as well dealt with. A voice that is both hers and not, a personification of her own dark thoughts. Twilight couldn't deny that the voice spoke of the doubts already floating about her mind, and hearing them uttered validated them moreso. She worried against historical evidence that the Elements– and those who bore them –were weak because of co-dependancy. When together, they could overcome any odds, but apart... She was powerless to stop Chrysalis because she couldn't unite her friends. By the time that she could, it was already too late, and the Relics they needed were stolen away by a masterful tactician.

To have that power, to be able to affect change on her own... it was certainly an intriguing, appealing concept. Chrysalis had overpowered Celestia, but she had used Twilight's own brother to do so. It was a diferent kind of magic, one she hadn't been able to study much due to the secrecy of the Changeling race. She had wondered since the wedding, though, just how powerful that magic was. Celestia fought her using a standard combat spell, but now that Twilight had some time to reflect on it, she began to wonder if the outcome would've been changed if she had used dark magic instead.

Does giving way to the shadows result in losing yourself to them? Is that why it wasn't until just before this mission that Celestia showed that she had studied dark magic? Maybe Celestia thought that Twilight didn't have to mental fortitude to guard herself against the lure of power?

Whatever it was, it was now in the past, and she could study how she pleased. The old Palace of the Two Sisters had a library, she remembered, she just had never gotten a chance to explore it. Maybe there would be tomes of lost arcanum, or even supplemental reading on the Changelings or the Nightmare, if maybe Luna kept a tome for memoirs or something to that matter? She started to get excited about what she might find.

She started moving again, heading towards the train to Ponyville. She would find her friends and see whether the magic of friendship was truly powerful enough to overcome betrayal. If her friends could understand, could accept, what she'd done, then maybe the old library might be unnecessary. She first needed to figure out how to right her grave mistake... Celestia was right about one thing at least.

She truly did have a lot to think about.

Comments

[Ladrian]

“You have a lot to think about. Until you understand just how grave of an error it was to fight evil with evil, there is nothing more I can teach you.”

Welp, Twi, you are halfway to obtaining my sanction to descend into insanity.

So many times she and her friends had shown friendship, had shown love, to be the penultimate of magic in power and versatility,

Penultimate? Then what is the ultimate, if I might ask?

friends to you? If they had to choose between you and Celestia, who would follow you willingly into the dark?”

Was the color shift in the middle here intentional?

“To answer your doubt, we must first actually speak to them. I have five very dear friends who hold me dear as well, so I would hypothesize that they will be supportive of me.”

Phew, good catch, Twi. I almost thought the Nightmare was going to cheat for the other half of my sanction. Your friends need to turn their backs on you (or at least appear to) for reals, in person, not in your head.

Her eyes trailed the silhouette of the castle to Luna's tower, the Eclipse Spire.

You named Luna's Tower? Hmm. Hope that means there is much more to see of Luna in the future.

Maybe there would be tomes of lost arcanum, or even supplimental reading on the Changelings or the Nightmare, if maybe Luna kept a tome for memoirs or something to that matter? She started to get excited about what she might find.

Dude, I was excited at "lost arcanum". Also Typo, should be "supplemental".

Fun read! Please don't stop.

[Shrouded_Legacy]

6052590

Penultimate? Then what is the ultimate, if I might ask?

I hope to get into this later on, maybe another chapter or two :)

Phew, good catch, Twi.

Yeah, she's probably smarter than me, to be honest Xp

The color shift was supposed to be after the emphatic you, so I'll go back and fix that :)

Also, thanks for the time vested and the typo catch :) I'm working on the third chapter now, and hopefully it won't disappoint.

[Bloodstone38]

I'm calling it right now.Nightmare Twilight.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Well Celestia, you put her in a nearly no win situation.

1: You and Luna couldn't or didn't destroy Sombra in the past so what makes you think she could succeed?

2: You didn't even send Luna to run interference so Twilight was on the clock.

3: Twilight just experienced her worst fear before facing Sombra and if the hints are correct and the Fall of the Crystal Empire is canon for this story she DAMN wellknows what's that like and she failed of that herself 1000 years ago.

If anyone failed here it was you Celestia by SITTING ON YOUR PLOT AND NOT COVERING TWILIGHT. You gambled a Kingdom on a test.

[ParodiaTheSilent]

6237004 Just about every major villain becomes a major problem because Celestia won't do anything.
Let's be honest; there is no way that the love of one stallion is enough for you to overpower something that raises the sun.