//------------------------------// // The Twilight, the final challenge // Story: The Legend of Celestia: Twilight Princess // by Kaliann25 //------------------------------// The Twilight, the final challenge The group bravely galloped around Ponyville. The town looked almost the same as always, only, with a shade of gray that gave it a depressing tone. Also, it looked a bit smaller. But only because their new steed forms. Luckily, it would be only temporary. “Seeing all this gray makes me sick!” complained Rarity. “Even my beautiful fur seems depressing. I feel sad by just looking at it!” “Hey, this is my home, Missis.” scolded Sweet Fog. “Also, you should be grateful to keep a form to begin with.” said Epona. “Most of those who enter the Twilight, turn into helpless spirits.” “So, why it haven’t happened to us?” asked Pinkie Pie. “Because you have the power of Light inside you.” explained Epona. “Same for Link, he didn’t lose his form, he only transformed into a blue-eyed beast. You know, the wolf.” The Mane 6 nodded, and continue their way until they reached the limit of the Everfree Forest. Link looked down to Epona, and said something. She nodded. “What did he say?” asked Twilight. “He says you should guide us. We don’t know where this Tree of Harmony is.” explained the mare. “Of course. Come on girls, let’s do this!” agreed Twilight. She and Rainbow Dash walked in the front, followed by Epona, Link, Sweet Fog and Midna; and finally, the group was closed by Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “So dark. More than usual.” mumbled Twilight. “I wish I have my horn to light our way.” Epona looked at Link, and neighed. Link nodded, and pulled out his lantern. “What about now?” asked Epona. “Huh, you two really have a good communication.” admitted Rainbow. “We share a strong bond, that’s it.” smiled the Hylian mare. With the help of the lantern (on Link’s left hand), it was easier to wander around the forest. But, as a precaution, Link held the Master Sword in his right hand. He couldn’t grab his bridles, but luckily Epona was more than capable to guide him on her own. Suddenly, the fell how the ground underneath them started crumbling. “Not this again!” complained Twilight. They fell from a cliff, and without with their especial features, this could be potentially lethal. But Midna took care of the situation by using her power to slow down their fall. “We started well…” sighed Applejack. “Look at the bright side, at least there isn’t a hungry manticore this time.” said Pinkie Pie. A roar right behind them proved her wrong. “I spoke too soon!” said Pinkie. They all turned to see the three horrible manticores. They weren’t the normal type they were used to. Now their bodies were black, covered in a series of strange symbols. Their fangs and eyes were larger than before, looking more threating. And the same went for their tails. The monsters tried to stab the group with their horrid stings, only to be blocked by Midna’s magic, Fi’s hard-as-steel legs, and Link’s Hylian Shield. The manticores roared in frustration, and split to surround their pray. Link grinned. “Luckily, there’s one for each!” The other two nodded, and ran to the creatures. The manticores tried to attack them again, this time by actually shooting their strings, and make new ones grow immediately after. Link smiled, as he changed from covering himself with the shield, and cut the projectiles simultaneously. When he was close enough, he slashed its neck, making sure the thing would never be able to attack him again. By her way Fi elegantly danced around her attacker, making it dizzy and tired; until she reached him and turned herself into a sword, and cut it in half. And, finally, Midna smashed hers with the stone hands. Easy enough. “Oh no…” cried Fluttershy. “Hey, what’s going on?” asked Sweet Fog. “They killed them! Killed them!” said the shy pegasus. “They’ve been killing monsters from the very beginning…” argued Sweet Fog. But, before Fluttershy could reply, a fourth manticore appeared from behind the bushes, and roared. The three dead manticores got up, and roared as well. Midna face-palmed. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Twilight!” Link raised his shield and made a step forward, as he firmly held the Master Sword in his right hand. The hylian closed his eyes as he focused on two manticores. The one behind him, and the other at his right. Midna smiled, and aimed her Mirror of Shadows to a third manticore, and Fi stared at the newcomer. “At the count of three!” commanded Link. “One… Two… THREE!!” Midna and Fi destroyed their opponents simultaneously, as Link made a powerful spin-attack, finishing the two manticores at once. This time, they have won. There wasn’t a fifth manticore who could reanimate the others. “Okay, ladies, the show is over. Where to?” asked Midna. Five of the Mane 6 looked at their friend. Fluttershy was still crying at the back of the group. “What?” asked Midna, annoyed. Even if she didn’t understand Midna in her Twily form, Fluttershy glared at her. “HOW DARE YOU? They were just hungry! You shouldn’t kill an innocent creature.” “Leave Lady Midna alone!” protested Sweet Fog. “What’s the difference between these things and the ones we fought at the dungeons?” “This is kill or get killed.” said Epona, joining the Twily steed. “What’s wrong with you?” “They shouldn’t do this on the first place!” scolded Twilight. “The ones inside the dungeons were fake. Creations made by the Titan’s Power.” “Yes, Rare-Rare just told us that.” said Rarity. “Back at the something deep inside me told me that the monsters weren’t real beings!” continued Fluttershy. “But this was different, this was an actual living being.” “This was just brutal.” joined Applejak. Epona glared at her new marefriend. “Oh, come on! This is the Twilight, not Equestria. I’ve killed some monsters in the past too, you know? That’s how we do things here in our worlds.” Applejack sighed. “You know ya’ll have to change your ways if ya’ want to stay in Equestria with me, right?” “Sure thing. But until this ends, we’ll continue do things our own way.” They continued their way, but now the six colorful steeds were visibly angry at their allies. “You do realize we’ll still have to work together for a while, right?” asked Sweet Fog, uncomfortable with the situation. Twilight sighed. “I guess so.” The others had to admit it as well, so, they agreed to make things up with the warriors. Then, after a while, Twilight realized something. “We’re following the same route we took the first time we got inside the forest. If I’m not mistaken, we’ll about to get into the darkest area of this forest.” “Is that so?” asked Epona. Twilight nodded. “Last time we were there, we got a little scared, but, in the end, there was nothing to fear. Now, I’m not so sure.” They arrived to the ‘Dark Spot’, as the girls called it, and looked inside. Link raised his lantern, but it didn’t work at long distances. And, to make things worse, they heard an unpleasant sound from the trees. “Shall we giggle at the ghostly again?” suggested Pinkie Pie. “Master?” asked Fi. Link raised his bow, and shot an arrow to the darkness. One second later, a swarm of dark bugs came to attack them. “Gross, gross!” said Rarity. Epona ducked, just as Sweet Fog and the Bearers, as the warriors took care of the swarm. Link simply threw them the Gale Boomerang to send them away. “Is this okay with you?” asked the young hylian, looking at Fluttershy. “The Master is asking you if you find this method alright.” translated Fi. “Yes… I think this won’t’ hurt them.” They got into the dark spot, feeling safer now that they knew what the source of the strange sound was. They went through it without a problem. Finally, they reached the river where the purple serpent, Steven Magnet, lived. But the creature was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was only a lonely light, floating in the river. “What’s that?” asked Pinkie. “That’s a helpless spirit. This is what happens to beings of light get trapped inside the Twilight.” explained Sweet Fog. “This thing is feeling desperate and sad. And, to make things worse, it doesn’t know what it happened. It haven’t realized it have turned into this.” Twilight gulped, and touched the light. Suddenly, she could perceive the spirit as its previous self. No other than Steven Magnet. And he was crying. He didn’t know why he felt so bad, he only was. And the feeling was horrible. “Oh no…” mumbled Twilight, as she separated from the spirit with a shiver. “The only thing we can do for this thing, is to get rid of the invading Twilight.” said Sweet Fog. “Let’s hurry then!” said Twilight. Epona used her Spinner to chop down a tree, and used it as a bridge to get to the other side. Finally, they arrived to the Castle, and used the stairs to get to the Tree of Harmony. “I can hear it calling us.” mumbled Rarity. “Yeah, me too.” said Rainbow Dash. “Me three…” whispered Fluttershy. “But how are we supposed to use this stairs in our current forms?” asked Pinkie Pie. Guessing what the problem was, Midna helped them with her magic once more. “Are you ready?” asked Midna. The colorful steeds nodded in silence, and began to advance. It was odd, at this point, they hadn’t seen the Tree’s glow. And, finally, they saw it. It was gray, like dead. “It is…?” asked Epona. “No, but is in agony.” explained Applejack. “We don’t have much time.” The girls smiled to each other, and took a step forward. However, before they could get close to the Tree of Harmony, the ground began to shake, and a horrible monster emerged. It was a giant four-headed carnivore plant, covered with a protective layer of silver leaves, hard as steel; that used its roots as tentacles threatening to take the ponies to one of its four menacing mouths. But the creature didn’t move. “What’s going on?” asked Midna. “It’s waiting for something…” mumbled Link. Epona nodded, she have noticed it too. “Hey, get closer to the tree!” “Are ya’ crazy?” asked Applejack. “We’ll cover your backs, just do it!!” The girls reluctantly advanced, followed closely by the Hyrule Warriors. Finally, when they reached the Tree, a white light covered them, and turned back to their original forms. Epona and Sweet Fog were also affected, turning into their equestrian selves. And, as soon as the group transformed, the plant tried to grab Applejack with one of its roots, but it was blocked by Epona’s Spinner. Simultaneously, it tried to grab Rainbow Dash with another tentacle, but it was diverted by a stroke of the Master Sword. “Oh no, you won’t touch them!” said the Hylian. Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Hey, I can understand you again!” “The Power of your Tree. NOW FOCUS!” Rainbow looked at her friends, who looked at Twilight, like asking. “I don’t know! Focus your power as we’re using the Elements of the Rainbow Power!” suggested Twilight. The girls nodded, and closed their eyes, sending waves of light toward the Tree. It suddenly trembled, as it began to reanimate by restoring its lost power. The plant-monster, Mandala, roared in anger and tried to attack the girls; but Midna’s summoned stone-hands held it back, and threw it away from the group. “Your battle is here.” The monster roared with its four mouths, and began to shot a bunch of seeds as they were bullets, once again, toward the Mane 6. Epona and Sweet Fog jumped before the attack, to protect their new friends. They received a lot of damage, but it was worth it. Taking the chance that all the mouths were open, Link threw the Gale Boomerang. When the boomerang hit it on its open mouth, the plant shrieked in pain; and the mouth went limp. The creature shook its remaining three heads, and began to spin around the warriors, trying to destroy them with either its body, or the tentacles. Link barely manage to threw a bottle with red potion to Epona and Fog, and charged to the creature. “We must make it switch to that attack again!” said Link. Epona nodded. “Alright. Give me the Spinner!!” Link threw the requested weapon to his trusty friend, and she jumped on. The weapon’s spikes hit the creature on its very center, making it to move backwards. Midna then summoned a giant stone cannon with the Mirror of Shadows, and forced back the creature with three powerful shots. Frustrated, the monster tried to reach its true targets with the seed attack, only to be hit on one of its open mouths again. It screamed in pain, and started to try to the spin movement again. Link looked at himself, all covered in bruises, and cuts. “This thing is a challenge.” “I thought the tests were over!” complained Epona. Suddenly, the image of the six Titans of Harmony appeared on the sky. “Care to explain why are you trying to kill us at the very last minute?!” yelled Sweet Fog. The image of Sparkler shook its head. “This is not our doing, this monster emerged from the seeds that were once planted by the God of Chaos and Disharmony. The remaining of a plot intended to destroy the Tree.” She was focusing on restoring the Tree’s Power, but Twilight couldn’t help but listen. Just as the rest of the Mane 6. They had to use all of their willpower to not to face-hoof. This was just great. “So, oh, Hyrule Warriors…” continued Dasher. “We have a last request for you…” “As we have any choice.” said Midna. “Great.” The horrible plant extended its two remaining heads again, and it shoot seeds to the greater threats, the Hyrule Warriors. Link threw the boomerang again, and this time, it hit the creature in the two remaining mouths. The creature shook, and suddenly it froze and went completely limp, revealing a red flower on its center. “The weak spot is there!” announced Midna. Soon enough, Link, Fi, Epona, Sweet Fog and her attacked the flower’s center. In the meantime, the Princesses were watching the whole thing through a magic mirror they prepared for the occasion. “Discord… this time you overdid.” Said Celestia, frowning. The being appeared in a flash. “You were talking about me?” “Yes, about that time you tried to use seeds to get rid of the Tree of Harmony.” said Luna angrily. “Oh, come on! “Wasn’t that like, thousands of years ago?” “Look, your seeds still cause a lot of trouble.” said Celestia, pointing a hoof to the mirror. Discord looked through it, and frowned. That thing didn’t supposed to emerge. Something have mutated his creation, but what was that? Suddenly, the plant monster took advantage that its primary opponents were busy trying to destroy its core, so it aimed its roots to one of the Bearers. “Fluttershy!” cried Discord. Back on the mirror, Sweet Fog reacted quickly, and cut off the root with his dagger. Discord sighed relieved. “What’s going on?” “Your actions from the past still have consequences in the present.” said Celestia. “Luckily, this time the Magic of Friendship have expanded to other Realms.” Discord turned his attention back to the mirror. Back inside the Twilight, the Hyrule Warriors continued their efforts to contain the plant. After being hit at its core for a few minutes, the entire thing shook, and the Warriors had to jump backwards. “If I met this God of Chaos, I swear I’ll put the Master Sword through his skull.” Said Link angrily. “And I’ll hold him for you.” added Midna. Back at the Castle of Canterlot, Discord chuckled. “Yeah, right. Good luck harming me with a sword.” Celestia sighed. “I have news for you: that’s the weapon that killed Sombra. Sombra, who had Umbrum blood running through his veins.” “WHAT?” Luna nodded. “Oh, yeah. And, apparently, they’ve faced worse foes than you, so you better stay out of their sight.” Discord gulped, and continued watching. The Mandala continued spinning around, as the Hyrule Warriors did their best to keep it away from them. Link then turned to Epona, and gave her the Gale Boomerang. “You use this when it tries to shoot us seeds again! In the meantime, push it with the Spinner. Minda, prepare your canon.” “Understood!” said the two in unison. Link then switched to bow and arrow, and began to shoot bomb-arrows to the creature. Carefully evading Epona, of course. The plant roared in anger, and aimed its mouths again. “Now!” said Link, shooting an arrow to one of the mouths. Epona followed by throwing the Gale Boomerang; and Midna finished another with the cannon. Finally, Fi gracefully turned herself into a sword, and stabbed another open mouth. The flower core appeared again. “NOW!” The group of heroes went to destroy the core once and for all. Finally, Epona left a bomb and grinned. “Kaboom, my friend!” They all jumped backwards, and waited. The bomb exploded, destroying the monster for good. “Is it over?” asked Midna. “Almost.” said Link, looking at the group of Harmony, as they recharged the Tree. Now, without the incoming menace of a monster, the girls could fully charge the Tree of Harmony, and it glowed again, in all its glory. A Mirror appeared, covered with the symbols in both ancient Equestrian, and the language of Twilight. The Mirror glowed, and absorbed the entire grayness of the Twilight inside of it. “What’s this?” asked Twilight. “The Mirror of Twilight. A version of it.” explained Midna. “Our worlds have been finally separated. But, now they’re linked. Break it if you want, but at least let us return first.” The six Bearers of Harmony sighed in relief. “So, what now?” “It is time for us to go home.” said Link. “And, for some of us to say our final goodbyes.” added Epona, hugging Applejack. “Hey, but this gate is only for the Twilight, right?” asked Sweet Fog. “It’ll take you straight to Hyrule. We’ll make sure of that!” assured the Titans, still projected on the sky. Hyrule; Lost Woods: It was late night, on the very center of the Lost Woods, in the ruins Temple of Time. Princess Zelda of Hyrule was watching at the now empty pedestal of the Master Sword, the legendary weapon that sealed Evil. She felt how it was removed almost like a week ago, and immediately, she began looking for Link. He was the only one who could take it off. Then, when she was unable to locate the Hero, she began to look for the danger. But her efforts were equally unfruitful. So there she was, camping aside the pedestal of the Master Sword. “What bothers me the most, is how long I would have to be stuck here, doing nothing.” said Zelda, annoyed. “You were saying, your Highness?” asked a farm girl, aside her. “Nothing, young Illa. Sorry.” said the Princess, smiling at the peasant girl. “I got lost in my thoughts.” She have showed up when her best friend, and Epna have vanished. Illa, as loyal as she was to her friends, left everything behind, and waited for them to appear. Suddenly, Zelda raised an eyebrow. “Your Highness?” asked Illa. Zelda frowned. “The energy of the Twilight. I haven’t feel it since that incident… but there’s something else. Something I am not familiar with.” Suddenly, a shadow emerged in the middle of the Temple, and three figures emerged from it. An equine, and two humanoid figures. Epona (in her Equestrian form), Link and Midna. Link bowed to Zelda. “Your Highness!” “Zelda!” greeted Midna with a small nod. Zelda greeted at her as well. “Midna, Twilight Princess. It’s an honor to meet you again. But I have a lot of questions for you, the two of you.” Midna smiled. “I know. Where do I start? Well, to make the story short, we had a few troubles with the Twilight expanding to another realm, and I asked the help of your hero. I hope you don’t mind.” “Oh, of course not!” said Zelda. “But Hyrule is safe, right?” “Hyrule wasn’t affected by this.” explained Epona, joining in the conversation. “But another Realm called Equestria, the land of ponies. Don’t ask, but I assure you, it’s a wonderful world.” Illa tilted her head. “Wait a minute, Epona?” “What’s up Illa?” smiled the mare. “What do you think of my new form? Pretty cool, right?” “But… you look so cute. I cannot believe it… and, you can also talk?” “Hey, all happens for a reason.” said Epona. “Now I’m a pony, and I’ll stay in Equestria. With my new friends.” “What?” Epona nodded sadly. “I came to say goodbye, Illa.” The young girl couldn’t help but hug her old friend. “Oh, Epona, I’m going to miss you so much. “Me too. But, hey, at least we both know we’re going to be okay.” smiled the mare. As for Link, Midna, and Zelda; the young Hylian only bowed to Zelda, and offered her the Master Sword. “Your Highness, I only came to return this to you.” “Oh, I see.” said Zelda, thoughtful. “So, this means you won’t reconsider my offer to joining the Royal Guard.” Link shook his head. “During our little adventure, Midna and I found…” “We found each other.” finished the Twilight Princess. “And I decided to live in the Twilight, with Midna. Excuse me, Princess. I’ll be joining another Guard.” Zelda nodded sadly. “I see. Well, take good care of our chosen hero, Twilight Princess.” “I’ll certainly do. Have a nice life, Princess Zelda.” The two of them then held hands, and disappeared inside the Mirror of Twilight. As for Epona, she looked back at the orange mare with a hat waiting for her. “I must go, Illa. She’s waiting for me.” said Epona. “Your new friend?” “Actually, she’s my girlfriend. A lot of things happened during our adventure.” Illa blinked in surprise, but simply hugged Epona. “Be happy, alright?” Link looked back one last time, only to see Fi appearing one last time, and bowing before her Master and Mistress one last time. Finally, they crossed back to Equestria, to say goodbye to their new friends. On the other side, the others were ready to say goodbye to the Hyrule Warriors. “You’re a bit extreme, but we must thank you for saving our home. We’ll be forever grateful to you.” Link smiled. “It was a pleasure. Whenever you need a hero…” “They’ll have to get along with you.” joked Midna. Link just laughed, and the rest of them joined soon. “I’m so glad this is over.” said Luna, with a smile. “We’re glad too! Hopefully, our worlds would never collide again.” sighed Midna. “But we’ll be in contact.” assured Celestia. “If you want to. I don’t really care.” said Midna. Then, she and Link walked toward the Mirror of Twilight. “So, you two aren’t going with them?” asked Luna to Sweet Fog, and Epona. “Nah, I like it here.” said Epona. “Only if that’s okay with you, of course.” “No, no, of course my little pony! You’re more than welcome to stay with us.” “So, do you have room in your Royal Guard for a pony with a Spinner?” asked Epona. “Sure, but you’ll need a last name if you want to stay with us.” said the Princess. “Okay. Ordon, like the village I was born.” “As for me, I’ll see what I can do.” said Sweet Fog. “Ponyville is a good place to start.” “”A great one.” agreed Epona. She looked sadly at the Mirror of Twilight, when Link emerged, and went to hug her. “Do you really think I would leave without saying goodbye, my friend?” Epona cuddled with him. “Of course not! I’ll miss you pal.” “We’ll keep contact. Be happy, you deserve it.” “Thank you, my friend. You too, even if it’s with Midna.” They chuckled, and hugged one final time, before Link crossed the Mirror of Twilight.