//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: Twiception 
// Story: Fires of Friendship and Ice of Hatred 
// by Super Ponyman 
//------------------------------//

(The Badlands, Edge of the Forest)

After the whole mental battle with Sombra and finding out Burning Star had went north, Twilight felt unwell and needed to head back to her castle to get the last remaining member who had chosen to stay behind for some reason, Quickfire.

She may have overestimated her own abilities to lock Sombra in her mind, cause he was kicking and screaming fiercely!

Twilight had heard through the telepathic game of mind telephone that Quickfire had gotten into a fight with Sombra earlier. She once thought that somepony armed with just a sword and some ranged weapons couldn't possibly take him down. 

And from the reactions of her mental prisoner, it was clear that that theory was blown right out of the water!

She thought to herself, and in turn talked to Sombra, "Ha! Quickfire beat you?! You had every advantage against him, and he still won? I would have never had guessed that the once "Fearsome King Sombra" would be beaten by somepony I haven't even met properly."

Sombra' consciousness cursed and spat back, "Oh shut the f--- up you purple furred pain in my flank! He would have beaten you as well, Twilight Sparkle. He knows both of our Magic styles like the back of his hoof.

Twilight Sparkle shrugged, "You're just upset cause you lost. I thought being king meant you have to be a fair loser?"

Sombra, spoke in a more sarcastic tone, "Twilight, I am the ULTIMATE SORE LOSER! I condemned my empire to be imprisoned when I fell in battle. Also, do you really think that I, the master of dark magic, would play fair? You are just as blind as that Wind Walker!"

Twilight Sparkle fumed, Sombra was not being a good prisoner, she thought that he should be grateful that he is still alive and not blasted to bits along with his soul.

Sombra continued to speak in his sarcastic voice "So, what sort of master plan does the brilliant Twilight Sparkle have to fix this? Since you have Me... Stuck deep inside you?"

Twilight shuddered at the words Sombra used, and said, "Don't say it like that, Sombra! It sounds... dirty."

King Sombra chuckled, "Well too bad, Twilight, because you will be hearing it from me for as long as you live! I figure if I cannot make other ponies miserable, I'll settle for their lovely princess of friendship! Gra-hahah-haha!"

Trying to block out Sombra's mockery, Twilight thought about her next mission... helping Burning Star.

(Twilight's Castle, Burning Star's Room)

Twilight had teleported to Burning Star's room, as it was the main HQ for his friends, even though only one was still there was the worlds greatest assassin and mercenary, Quickfire. 

That said pony was standing at the windowsill, his reddish orange and black mask covering his face, which the real Twilight had yet to see...

Quickfire turned towards the sound of Twilight's teleport and said, "Took you long enough, I was starting to think that you wouldn't show up, Twilight Sparkle."

He drew his sword and rushed forwards, knocking Twilight to the floor and putting the blade against her neck.

He said in his emotionless tone, "Saves me the trouble of tracking you down to kill you, goodbye Empress Midnight Sparkle."

Twilight Sparkle blocked the downward swing of his blade and slid underneath his legs. She attempted to landed a roundhouse to his head, he blocked it and threw Twilight across the room and into the crystal wall, leaving a large crack in it.

Sombra' voice echoed in her head, "You aren't doing so well, Twilight."

Twilight Sparkle screamed internally, "Shut it, King Sombra! Unless you have a solution to beat this stallion, I don't need you backseat commentary!"

Quickfire rushed Twilight again, sword drawn and single eye glowing bright blue. 

Quickfire snorted, "You're not too shabby, Midnight. But you're outmatched by my skill, I am able to defeat even the strongest foes, even Tirek, taking his mane as a souvenir, after scalping him of course..."

Twilight turned invisible to try and strike Quickfire unseen, it didn't work and she received a spinning kick from Quickfire's armored hooves. 

She snarled out, "Hey! Would you cut it out! I'm not Midnight Sparkle, I'm Twilight Sparkle, Representative of Friendship! I gave up the whole royalty thing so ponies wouldn't grovel constantly as I walked by! It got really annoying."

Quickfire shook his head, "Liar! You never gave up the Royalty! You made me do horrible things, You even made me kill your mentors Celestia and Luna!" 

Twilight shouted, tears in her eyes, "NO! I would never do that! What makes you think that would do that?! Who are you?!

Quickfire smirked behind his mask and said, "huh, you're still just as naive as ever, Twily..."

Twilight Sparkle stopped, hearing the name that her brother called her...

Twilight Sparkle asked, "Wait... Twily? The only pony that has ever called me that is..."

Twilight Sparkle approached Quickfire and grabbed his mask and removed it, what she saw was jaw dropping.

Under the mask was the face of her brother, Shining Armor, but he was missing an eye and covered in scars...

Quickfire looked down on Twilight and sighed, "Well... you know who I am now, no freak outs? No ohmygosh my brother is an one pony army? No melodramatic outbursts? Nothing?"

Twilight Sparkle stood stunned for a little while, then fainted.

Quickfire sighed, "Oh Twily, what am I going to do with you?"

(Twilight's Castle, Twilight's Room)

Quickfire lifted Twilight into his hooves and placed her down on her bed, a single blue eye staring down upon her... with a look of loneliness and pity.

He may not have been as magically adept as Twilight, but he sensed King Sombra's influence upon her. 

He didn't want to chance it, he drew his sword and stepped forwards, but paused before he could slash Twilight to ribbons.

He said to himself, "Come on, do it Quickfire, no... Shining... you need to save the future, you can sacrifice one life for hundreds. Maybe even thousands... do it!"

Something inside Future Shining made him put his sword away and say, "Damn it to Tartarus! You still can't do it... not to her. You need save the world, but how? How?!"

His sudden shout woke Twilight from her sleep and say in a weary voice, "Wow, I had the weirdest dream. I absorbed King Sombra into my body and I met with my brother, even though he's in the Crystal Empire..."

She looked to her side and saw that her dream wasn't a dream, there was her brother staring at her with one single blue eye, and she heard the voice of King Sombra in her head.

He said in a snarky voice, "Took you long enough, Twilight! I was starting to get bored from not tormenting you..."

Quickfire swallowed hard and said, "Twily? You ok? I sense King Sombra's presence on you, yet there is no evidence of Dark Magic on the outside... care to explain?"

Twilight Sparkle said in a tired voice, "Wait, you are real?! Did everything that I experienced actually happen?"

Quickfire shrugged and said, "Yeah. But the big question is... where is King Sombra? Did you kill him? Did he corrupt you?"

Twilight shook her head, "I... absorbed his essence into my mind. So, he is up in my brain, rambling and making snarky comments about me and my friends being weak... typical stuff."

Quickfire's eye went wide, "What?! Twily, that is the worst possible thing you could have done! We have to go into your mind and kill him! Like, right now!"

Twilight had barely any time to react as her brother touched his horn to his sisters and entered her mind.

(Twilight's Mind, Subconscious Realm)

Twilight and Quickfire awoke in a oddly hazy version of Twilight's Bedroom. Some sort of fog surrounded them, making it hard to see anything.

Quickfire drew his sword and ignited it with a bright light, sending the fog away, he said to his sister, "C'mon, Twilight. Let's go find Sombra, he is not in here. He must be somewhere else in your mind..."

Twilight looked around and had a confused look on her face, "So... this is what my brain is like... weird."

Quickfire saw a door to the hallway and said, "Listen, Twily. This is your mind, where do you think Sombra would be found?"

Twilight thought for a minute, "Oh! The Throne Room! I never really go there, and his huge regal ego must be there as well. I'll open up another door, let's go."

(Twilight's Dream Layer 2, Discord's Maze)

Quickfire stepped through the door and said, "Well... isn't this a surprise. Why in Equestria would you dream of this place? Discord is reformed, are you paranoid he will turn evil again?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Shining, he is a spirit of chaos and disharmony, there is always a chance he will revert back to his evil ways, right?"

Quickfire drew his sword and ignited it with fire, pointing at one of the maze walls and saying in a loud voice, "Fire Sword Beam!!"

Quickfire swung his sword down and launched a large crescent of fire that tore the maze, revealing another doorway into the dream realm.

He opened it and stepped through, pulling Twilight into it.

(Twilight's Dream layer 3, Throne Room Entrance)

Quickfire finally arrived at the throne room door and said to his sister, "Third times the charm, eh Twilight?"

Twilight Sparkle heard the faint sound of screaming... it was coming from the other side of the door!

it sounded like Celestia and Luna and Sombra!

Twilight Sparkle, without warning, blasted down the door and saw a gruesome sight that made even Quickfire gag...

Celestia, Luna, Eclipsio, Cadence, and Sombra were chained to the floor. They were beaten and bloody, Sombra was talking to a Alicorn on the throne.

It was Twilight Sparkle's dark form, Midnight Sparkle!

Midnight Sparkle smirked as Sombra said in a raspy voice, "Please Twilight! Let us go! I've already told you about Diamanda! She was my wife, why do you want to kill us all?! Answer me!"

Midnight Sparkle smiled and slapped Sombra, saying "Yes, and now you have outlived your usefulness, Shadow King! Goodbye and good riddance!"

Twilight could only watch as Sombra's body was wracked with agony as Midnight's horn erupted with dark magic, before he collapsed in a pool of dark red blood.

Celestia roared in fear, "Why are you doing this Twilight?! Why kill us?"

Midnight simply said, "Why, Celestia? I'll tell you why...

She countinued, "For the longest time I have only learned light magic from you, Celestia. As the Element of Magic I should learn both sides! Do you know why you have fallen before me rulers of light, darkness, love, and eclipses?

She paced around them, a green light in her eyes. "Do you know why, even as we speak, my darkness and perfection consumes all you hold dear in Equestria?

"Do you know why The light of friendship, justice, harmony, and life now fades?

Midnight broke into a mad laugh, sending chills down Quickfire and Twilight's back,  "Of course you don't! because you are "good" and good is dumb! You are so dumb that you never even TRIED to understand the darkness within.
I have not fallen to darkness, nor have I been consumed by it, I have conquered it! It is mine to rule!" 

She finished off with a roar in the Royal Canterlot Voice, "I AM DARKNESS INCARNATE! I AM POWER MADE FLESH! I AM ETERNAL! I AM MIDNIGHT SPARKLE! 
And I have won, for the darkness I now. control has something that the light can never match! Now you will all DIE!"

Twilight watched in utter horror as Midnight Sparkle disintegrated everypony in front of her, laughing like King Sombra would!

Twilight Sparkle turned to Quickfire and said, "Is this the future of my reign? To become an agent of darkness?"

Midnight looked to the door and smiled, "Ah, there you are my brother and my other half. Enjoy the show, or should I say... your future?"

Quickfire snarled, "No! I won't let this happen, Twily will never become you! She knows that she has friends, and that she is loved and cared for!"

Midnight Sparkle said in a truly bone chilling voice,  "Hmph, Friends are nothing more than a illusion, who want to take everything you give and never return just as much. You can only count on yourself! Celestia relied too much on the goodness in ponies hearts, How unbearably ignorant to the true nature of ponies. All they really are are ants to crush under my hooves should they ever step out of Line, for I am their Empress, I am their GODDESS!"

Twilight Sparkle stepped forwards and said, "No! You aren't real, your just another one of my nightmares, nothing more!"

Midnight Sparkle smirked and grasped Twilight with her magic and said into her ear,  "Don't you see? Once I gave my former friends immortality, they simply left me for their families and friends, how selfish of them..."

Quickfire snorted, "That is only a possible future, your highness. Twilight may still conquer the darkness within her, you are nothing more than a projection of Twilight's dark side, and I made a promise to the dying Celestia and Luna that I would stop you!"

Midnight Sparkle snickered,  "Well I would love to see you try, Shining... but you will fail. You lack killer instinct."

Twilight Sparkle stomped her hoof down and said, "ENOUGH! I'm sick of this nightmare! I don't have to become a monster to be strong! Now, I'm going to leave you to your misery and loneliness without friends to help you... You coming Shiny?"

Quickfire nodded and stepped through a portal to the real world.

Once they were gone, Midnight said to herself, a grin on her face.

"Its too late to change your destiny, Twilight. You will become me, no matter how hard you try to change that... not even Burning Star can save you now... heheee-heehe-he."