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...
She swiftly placed her feelings of nostalgia aside, focusing her sights instead on the herculean task in front of her.
"Do not attempt to interfere," she warned, brow furrowing. "What I do is for the good of everypony... even you."
Nightmare Moon stared back at the struggling princess, insulted by her words.
"I know," she replied simply, after a moment in silence.
"Wait." Celestia's eyes widened as she did a quick double-take. "You... do?"
"Hmph. Do not take me for a fool, Sister," came her arrogant reply. "What, did you seriously think I did not feel the moon shift from its resting spot, or that I cannot see it currently descending upon your precious capital?"
Celestia glared back at her, choosing to remain quiet.
"Or should I say my capital—once I dispose of you, that is. For now, however, that time will have to wait." She sighed, turning her head away while bearing a doleful expression. "After all, as much as it pains me to admit it... I alone cannot prevent the moon's descent. Neigh, rather, it will require both our efforts."
Her own horn sparked to life, and as she focused her magic on the moon, she too soon felt the enormous weight of it working against her, fighting her.
She gritted her teeth, standing her ground despite the sudden pull of her magic. "Nnngh... This is nothing though... compared to the pain of... being imprisoned for—rrgh—nearly one thousand years. The... isolation, and, feelings of torment over... feeling so powerless...!"
Celestia listened quietly, and for a moment, her heart swelled, swearing it was Luna she was truly, genuinely hearing.
Sister...
Nightmare Moon snorted. "It's no wonder she double-crossed me... Unlike me, a young mare like that—"
Celestia's eyes opened wide. D-does she mean...?
"—after everything she lost," continued the villain, "lacked the fortitude to patiently wait—"
"Spare me the self-indulgence, Sister," Celestia cut her off, before then asking, "What do you mean a young mare?"
Nightmare Moon paused, looking back at her fellow alicorn with a look of skepticism.
"Really, 'Tia?" She raised an eyebrow. "You think now is the ideal time for a chat—?"
"Please, Sister..." Celestia beseeched. "This is important! Don't tell me... that you really did have something to do with the pony my friends and I currently face? The pony responsible... for the predicament we're currently in?"
Nightmare Moon stared back at her for a long moment, unwilling to budge before reluctantly relenting. She breathed out a sigh, peering off.
"Crystal armor?" she asked in a stubborn murmur.
Celestia's brow raised in slight amazement, as she lifted her gaze to look at the alicorn stood opposite her.
Nightmare Moon snorted, forming a bitter smile. "My servants and I discovered her. She arrived some time ago, out of the blue and covered from horn to hoof in dark magic. She was... spouting some nonsense about a Pony of Shadows, and how... she was going to take over this, and all worlds. Naturally I rolled my eyes, coming to realize that her mind was under the influence of this magic, and so I promptly stripped said magic from her body, hurdling it into the cold vacuum of space. After that, she seemingly regained her sense of who she was—"
That makes one of you, mused Celestia.
"—and do you know what I learned?" Through her strained expression, she cracked an evil grin. "That this pony was an otherworldly doppelganger of one of your pupils. How fortunate for me! A pony so close to you, whom I have no doubt you trust completely."
"So that's it then. You manipulated her, molded her into a tool to use against me."
"Oh, the thought crossed my mind, make no mistake... but she ended up being more trouble than she was worth... so I let her be. After all, the little foal wanted to travel down to Earth to see if you could offer her the assistance she sought, and another reminder of you was the last thing I needed."
Nightmare Moon's words gave Celestia pause.
Me...? she thought.
"I gave her access to my dream portals. I'm... urgh... sure I don't have to explain their purpose. The plan was to trick this Earth into believing she belonged by fooling it into thinking that she was this reality's version of her."
"Trick... this reality?"
Nightmare Moon cocked her head back at her, bearing a patronizing look. "Yes, Celestia. Keep up, won't you? This doppelganger would merge her subconscious with your pupil's dreams, similarly to how I can enter ponies' dreams of my own volition, sprinkle a little fear, and grow more powerful with every waking nightmare I sow..."
She laughed softly to herself as Celestia all the while remained straight-faced, less than amused.
"Dreams themselves are a powerful source of magic," Nightmare Moon continued. "The plan was simple. She would siphon off some of her doppelganger's magic from within her dreams, and would then replace the stolen magic with some of her own. It should have been a simple give and take, the only downside for her being that of the occasional nightmare, or headache."
Headache? Celestia's ears perked up in remembrance. Then, that time... she wondered. Was it a side effect of their plot to tear down the walls that divide our worlds, and prevent travel between them? All this time, and I hadn't a clue what she was scheming... manipulating not just one, but two realities' Twilights... And to think that my world's Twilight was at the epicenter of it all, being taken advantage of for the better part of a year, and I was none the wiser...
The moon's descent grew ever nearer, despite the two sisters' best efforts... and although it continued to slow, Celestia feared it would ultimately end up colliding with Canterlot's castle were they to not stop it in time.
Most everypony in Canterlot is in that castle! If I don't stop it...!
She forced the thought aside, tapping into her magical reserves. The rippling aura encasing her horn doubled in size, as her eyes turned pure white.
She gritted her teeth, holding her forelegs out before the moon itself, feeling its enormous weight fighting against her still.
She squeezed her eyelids tight, forcing the large sphere back with all her might.
She could feel its weight lessen considerably, and yet... it still continued to fall.
I... mustn't give up—!
"Hey, did you forget you're not the only one here trying to save the city below from obliteration?"
Nightmare Moon's mocking tone snapped her back to reality, as she peered up at her bemused.
"This isn't a contest—" she started.
"I beg to differ, Celestia. Everything I've ever done was done to prove my superiority!" Her horn's aura flared further, igniting even more powerfully than before. She focused it down at the moon, feeling its resistance start to lessen. She breathed out a slight sigh of relief, turning warily towards Celestia.
"Hmph, you might have a point though... Say, what say I continue my story? It surely must have been better than this starch, dead air currently rifling between us."
Celestia looked up at the other alicorn in surprise, sweat trickling through her fur.
Story? she thought. Is she serious?
She was about to object, when another thought crossed her mind.
There's not much we can do other than wait this out... No doubt she only wishes to hear herself speak, but I do still have a question for her, and I suppose there is more I should learn about this other Twilight...
With a sigh of defeat, she relented.
"Alright, you may tell the remainder of your tale, but skip the trivial bits. Tell me more about the foe we face, and what spurred this change in her."
"I knew you couldn't resist." Nightmare Moon formed a delighted sneer.
Celestia rolled her eyes.
"Very well. As stated, I had given her access to my dream portals, to absorb enough of her counterpart's magic, and use it to break through the dimensional barrier. However it seemed it proved too much for her, and she appeared to become enamored by the dreams of others. One night, when I came to check on her progress... she instead came running to me, going on about something called a... memory stone..."
Memory stone? Celestia repeated over in her head. Now why does that ring familiar...
"She pleaded with me to help her retrieve it, because according to her, it contained the memories of somepony very dear to her. Naturally I scoffed. How could somepony from this Earth be dear to her, I thought. Unless of course, it was another otherworldly counterpart of somepony she—urgh—cared for from her Earth."
Contained the memories...? wondered Celestia. Could she be referring to Rainbow Dash?
"I gave in, reluctantly. The sooner I got this mare out of my mane, I supposed, the better. I commanded several of my minions to sneak down to Earth, and steal it right out from under the mare's muzzle who housed it... leaving a convincing enough fake in its place. Whence they returned, your pupil's doppelganger was seemingly overjoyed, though even now I couldn't tell you as to why..."
Of course you wouldn't, Sister, lamented Celestia in thought, but I'd be willing to bet that Rainbow Dash means a lot to Twilight in any universe...
"So later, as she retired to the chamber that I had permitted her, I had the most wonderful idea." A sinister grin spread across her face as she reminiscenced. "Creep into her dreams, uncover whatever secrets she had been withholding, and perhaps even learn of her true identity so that I may in turn alter my own fate."
Alter my own...? Celestia looked back at Nightmare Moon bewilderingly, giving her own head a slight tilt.
"But..." Nightmare Moon peered off, growing quieter. "Things didn't go exactly as I had planned..."
Nightmare Moon opened her eyes, coming to within a strange, black void.
Where—? Surely this cannot be her dreamscape? she wondered aloud, glancing about at the blank emptiness. What little pony dreams of nothing? Usually their dreams are so full of... sunshine and rainbows, gumdrops and, eurgh... the magic of friendship, blech. As she continued taking a few steps forward, she mused, This must be her subconscious, but the question remains as to which part—
She froze mid-step, her ears becoming fully attuned to the faint sounds of... Voices, she concluded, but whose...?
"...cannot— me here... ever."
As she proceeded, the voice became clearer.
"I can sense it... your frustration over being trapped here, unable to help your friends from our Earth, and now even on this one. You're helpless, and growing increasingly hopeless, I can feel it."
Nightmare Moon rounded the corridor, finding herself once more in darkness that seemed to stretch on forever, and yet, she could sense that the area had widened, becoming more spacious.
In the center of the abyss, sat a pony with her back towards her, barely visible save for the dim light that shone weakly from her horn.
She sat seemingly in anguish, clutching her head with both her hooves. "Stop it," she pleaded under her breath. "Stop it, stop it, stop it..."
The other voice spoke back up, continuing to taunt her. "Your repeated attempts to suppress me have only prolonged the inevitable. So why fight it? You gave rise to me, after all, like a body fighting back against an illness."
A loud clang followed suit as what sounded like a pair of hooves pounded against cell bars.
"Our world was sick, but still I had the cure! Had you only not interfered... neither of us would be in this predicament!"
Nightmare Moon watched as the pony on the floor sniffled, bringing a foreleg to wipe her eyes before weakly getting to her hooves.
"I've m-made a l-lot of mistakes... Giving rise to you w-was no doubt m-my biggest... B-but despite everything I did wrong... l-letting you run things would have been a hundred times worse! I m-may not have relied on my friends n-nearly enough, and yeah, m-maybe I w-was even quick to fall in love." She grew silent, bringing a hoof to her heart. "Maybe I was only trying to fill a hole... b-but in the end, I was loved and had friends—friends who are still counting on me to bring them back from the brink."
As Nightmare Moon came cautiously closer, it became apparent to whom this pony was talking to.
Herself... she solemnly realized.
There, opposite the younger mare, dimly illuminated by her horn's aura... stood a second pony—an apparent mare—reared up on her hind legs with her front hooves pressed up against the caged bars of which she had seemingly been confined behind.
A black sludge-like substance coated the cell bars, pooling at the bottoms. The faint magenta light helped to better illuminate some of the trapped pony's features for Nightmare Moon to see.
Black eye sockets, devoid of the faintest hints of light, stark-white coat, and jet black mane with evenly cut bangs that hung just slightly over her eyes.
What is...? Nightmare Moon thought. Such malice... Hmph, reminds me a little of myself. Who would have thought such a little thing could house such malevolence...
"I know that I won't be able to stave you off forever... and that, if the state of this place is any indication, you're growing stronger with every feeling of helplessness and despair-ridden thought that passes through my head. But make no mistake... I will fight off your influence for as long as—"
"Hm?"
The imprisoned pony's ears perked up as she shifted her focus, looking directly towards the faint outline of Nightmare Moon, standing silently in the darkness.
"Nightmare Moon?"
Nightmare Moon blinked, staring dumbfounded back at the caged pony.
The other pony meanwhile, jumped in startlement, stifling her gasp as she shied what little of her face was visible further away.
Nightmare Moon barely gave it a thought however, keeping her gaze fixated on the black and white caged pony.
"You know my name?"
"I know... a you," the shadow pony replied. "My other self should have known you'd try and slither your way in here, but she never has been quite as perceptive."
"And where is... this place?" questioned Nightmare Moon.
"Our deepest subconscious," she replied. "The other me," she denoted with a nod in her other self's direction, "doesn't dream of much these days. She instead comes here, finding her resolve weakening."
"Resolve?"
The mystery pony snorted. "Why else do you think I'm caged in here? She and her friends tried sealing me away, in a place I'd never be able to reach her. I'm her quote, un-quote negative emotions. Her rage, frustration, contempt, loathing... towards all the ponies who offer promises of false hope, and who ruin our worlds under the guise of faith and trust in one another."
Nightmare Moon listened, staring silently back towards the other pony.
"You understand what that's like, don't you? Fighting back against an unjust world... being neglected, played for a fool... But if you help free me... then this me will become the dominating consciousness within this here body, and I will work with you... to overthrow Celestia, and all the others who think themselves just."
She cocked her head, cracking a coy grin as she extended her right hoof through the bars of the cell... it dripping with droplets of the same black substance. "So, what do you say?" she asked. "Won't you help me?"
Her other self's ears perked up, and keeping her head down, beseeched, "Nightmare Moon, p-please! D-don't—!"
"Silence, you sniveling foal," Nightmare Moon snapped, causing her to flinch. "I do not take orders from you. You hold no power over me here, and from what I understand... your own strength is dwindling."
"It m-may be true that I'm growing weaker... b-but if you set her free... t-then she'll absorb you—just l-like she did with our own Nightmare Moon—!"
"Shut it!"
Nightmare Moon meanwhile, stared back at her speechless.
Our own...?
She turned swiftly towards the caged pony with an accusing glare.
"Is what she speaks of true?"
The caged pony huffed out irritably, staying quiet for a moment as she simmered down.
"...Yes," she confessed in a murmur.
At that, Nightmare Moon took a few steps back, taking on a defensive stance as her own horn swiftly ignited.
"The other you was attempting to seize control of our body, our mind... but needed the other me to open herself up to darkness," she continued. "So she released me, in order to make her over there more susceptible to possession."
"So she wanted to make you her new vessel, and you fought back..." Nightmare Moon remained on the defensive, though her guard began to lessen.
The caged mare lowered her gaze. "I was... tired of being used... but if we were to forge an alliance, and agree to work as a team, then..." She looked back at her directly, bearing a look of resolve. "You have my word that I will work with you, to help you overthrow Celestia, and reclaim this world as your own."
"Hmph, and why pray tell, should I trust your sincerity? You yourself professed your sheer loathing of concepts such as faith and trust mere moments ago!"
The caged mare in question, simply shrugged, falling back onto all fours before turning away. "I loathe a world dictated by such false notions. No, what I seek out of this alliance, I think... will benefit us both."
Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow. "That being...?"
"Why, the Elements of Harmony of course." She peered back at the alicorn with a mischievous grin.
Nightmare Moon let out an immediate groan in detest. "Those tacky old things? Why am I not surprised..."
"You said you wanted me gone, but in order for me to leave this world, the Elements are vital. What's more, you said your world has been splintered into two concurrent realities: one set in the future, and one in the past. This second reality no doubt has its own Elements too—duplicates, which were never meant to be."
"...Where are you going with this?"
"Removing the Elements from the future reality—much less any reality—could end up resulting in irreparable damage to that world, possibly even sending unforeseen consequences rippling throughout the multiverse... and I'm not about to let that happen. But, were we to remove the Elements from a budding new reality, before the future of said reality could have the chance to be written, and permanently paved..."
"Ergo," Nightmare Moon concluded, "you're referring to my world..." She scoffed, bearing a skeptical look. "Do you seriously expect me to believe that you are okay with me ruling over this world, when you just talked about not wishing to do harm to other realities? You... do realize that I am a tyrant, do you not?"
The caged mare nodded thoughtfully. "I may not be as forgiving, or nice as my begotten other self... but I am by no means a bad pony. I just don't want ponies to have false hope, or idyllic delusions... but rather, to see the world as it really is so that they may never experience the heartache of being let down. So perhaps a world ruled by darkness is precisely what they need, rather than letting them be dictated by false light."
"So you'd rather ponies live in hopelessness, and be ruled over by fear..." Nightmare Moon cracked a slight grin. "I like the sound of that."
The mare in response, snorted. "Ponies will always fear those with power, no matter how benevolent they might appear to be on the surface. So as long as you keep this new Earth devoid of outside threats to everyday life, and you aren't afraid to do what needs to be done... then you're already a better fit for ruler than Celestia. Indeed, I would rather just ponies live hopelessly, then live in a world full of false hope. That's all."
"Hm, well... that's all fine and good... but your world is gone now, is it not? How do you plan on returning home when your world no longer exists?"
"That's precisely why I desire the Elements. They, along with Starswirl the Bearded's time travel spell, were how I ended up here... so naturally, they must also be the key to sending me back. This time before my Earth's untimely demise, and from there..." She gazed up through the bars of her prison with a determined look. "I'll rule it right."
"Starswirl's time travel spell?" questioned Nightmare Moon. "Hmph. Who would've thought that old coot would have devised a way to traverse time itself..." She put the thought aside, finding herself with more pressing concerns. "If such a spell does indeed exist... that fool Celestia is no doubt keeping it under lock and key somewhere deep within her castle."
"In the magic archives' restricted section. If we were to work together however, then gaining access to that forbidden wing would be foal's play. From there, you perform the spell on me, and I'll take the Elements themselves with me, erasing them from this reality and all but assuring your rise to power. At least with me they'll be put to good use, whereas you'd probably just smash them." She cocked her head at the alicorn, all while bearing a snide look. "So whaddya say? Partners?"
"N-Nightmare M-Moon..." came a sudden frail and weak voice from beside her, a voice she quickly recognized as the imprisoned pony's other self.
"I am b-begging you... D-don't—!"
"Beg me? Do not make me laugh! Since when do I bend to your whim, coward? You, who shy your own face away, think that you can command me? Need I remind you of whom you are speaking to!?"
The mare in turn gasped, conjuring her shield and bringing it up in front of her face, bracing herself for impact just as a flurry of strong winds emitted forth from the taller pony's body.
The winds forced her body back, her hooves sloshing through the black sludge that coated the ground. She winced, gritting her teeth... feeling as though both her fore, and hind legs were about to give out.
Her breaths quivered, peering up warily into the interior of her shield as she pleaded under her breath, "P-please..."
Nightmare Moon looked away with an indignant turn of her head, facing the shadowy doppelganger that stood just opposite of the prison bars, she herself bearing a delighted sneer.
"Looks like you made the right choice."
Nightmare Moon narrowed her gaze. "Spare me the condescension. Need I remind you of where you stand? I've yet to actually free you."
The caged pony's smile fell in response, and she let out a buff, rolling her eyes. "Very well..."
"Good. Now then," began Nightmare Moon, "what must I do?"
"Why, extrapolate the darkness of course. You did it before in the other reality, when you extracted me from my other self."
Extrapolate the darkness, huh? Silently and without hesitation, she raised her foreleg out before her. She closed her eyes, and concentrated... slowly willing the bars to bend, forcing them apart.
A series of frantic hoofsteps drew nearer, quickly approaching from her right side before she was thrust to the watery floor with a impactful splash.
Nightmare Moon recoiled, wincing at the brunt of the impact... and partially blinded by a particularly strong light emanating from what she could only assume was that blasted pony's accursed shield.
Before she could gather her bearings, the brunt of the shield connected with the side of her face, sending her head reeling back into the muck.
And again, and over again, the assumed pony bashed her repeatedly with the shield.
"No!" she screamed, tears welling up in her eyes as her whole body trembled, seemingly moving all on its own. "No, no, no, no, no, n—!"
She had only just wound her foreleg back one final time, before a voice addressed her, causing her to freeze up, her blood going cold.
"Hello, other me."
Her eyes slowly widened, a lump forming in the back of her throat as she rigidly turned to face the other her... stepping out towards her from between the bars.
"N-no..."
"Ah, it's good to be free..."
Her shadowy doppelganger stepped forward, cocking her head while bearing a smarmy grin. "Looks like you were just seconds too late, as usual."
The other her scrambled backwards off of Nightmare Moon, terrified.
"Mmm..." Her shadowy self knelt forward, giving her forelegs and back a quick stretch. "I told you that you couldn't keep me locked up forever... and now that I'm free..."
She stood up swiftly, sneering as she pointed a foreleg of hers directly at her double.
From behind her, black, rag-like tendrils shot past her, one after the other, targeting her double's limbs and body.
Her shielded self gasped, her pupils shrinking in fear at what she could describe as ink-soaked rags strapped themselves firmly around her free foreleg, before then targeting her shield-cladded one.
"N-no...!"
Her heart beat faster and faster, a sickening feeling growing in the pit of her stomach as her very mind raced to keep up with what was happening.
A couple more tendrils wrapped around her hind legs, pulling them out from under her, and knocking her onto her back with a heavy splash.
Another tendril wrapped itself around her barrel, and, as it and the ones around her forelegs drew back, she found herself thrust forward onto her stomach.
As her face lay partially in the muck, she couldn't stop herself from sniffling, or her body from trembling unwittingly... and as she lay terrified and helpless... a single thought passed through her mind.
R-Rainbow... I... S-sorry, I... wasn't able to return your—
The tendrils yanked her forth once more, and she was promptly thrust into the air with a startled cry, disappearing in a flash over her counterpart's head, and into the darkness that awaited her on the other side of the cell bars.
The bars realigned themselves, bending back to the way they were.
And from that moment, everything went quiet.
The shadowy doppelganger stretched forward, letting out a content little sigh. "Well... that was a fun staycay... but now it's back to business."
She turned to look at Nightmare Moon, who was only just sitting up, rubbing her jaw.
"So much for the fearsome Nightmare Moon..."
Nightmare Moon glared back at the mare. "I've endured far worse punishment than this..."
"Then pull yourself together." The black and white pony looked on ahead with a serious expression.
"We have work to do..."
"...And that was that."
The memory concluded within Nightmare Moon's subconscious.
"When I awoke, I found her awaiting me within her chambers. As she claimed, she had indeed seized control of your pupil's body, cloaking it within a veil of darkness. She had professed that doing so gave her the ability to move freely, without being weighed down. We spent the following days... months... Time passes differently on the moon... as I'm sure you were unaware." Nightmare Moon smirked snidely at Celestia, who maintained straight-faced.
"I spent most of my time training her, teaching her to master her powers, and utilize those she didn't even know she had. I taught her how to give rise to beings we deemed our knights, from a substance she believes to have been cursed with. I—urgh—even taught her how to channel her hatred and rage, and through it all, she never let that stone out of her sight, always keeping it close... I hadn't the faintest idea as to why. She told me she was waiting for the precise moment, when the memories' owner would suffer most... and even compared it to my utter loathing of you, questioning whether or not I would do the same." Nightmare Moon snorted, looking off pensively. "I suppose I sympathized... Regardless, the time at last came to launch a preemptive attack on this pitiful nation. You see, Sister... This doppelganger had revealed to me that if we waited for the stars to free us, you would have assembled a team to stop us by then. So we instead devised a plan to manipulate my host's lingering spirit that I had long since abandoned..."
Celestia's chest swelled upon hearing her speak those words.
Luna...
"We sent a message by way of the stars, knowing full well that you'd take notice. A calling card, addressed directly to Luna's renegade spirit... giving her the false pretense of becoming whole again. I knew she longed to be whole again, even if under my control; and your pupil's doppelganger all the while, just knew that you'd send the other her to investigate. We would fool Luna into thinking that this pupil of yours was one of the stars sent to free me, and from there our whole plan hinged on Luna's desire to be whole. Her magic, combined with your little pony's would have opened a gateway for the both of us! Unfortunately..."
"...Things don't always go the way you plan, do they?" Celestia surmised.
Nightmare Moon nodded softly, growing quieter as a new memory began to surface.
She let out a pained yell as a beam of magic struck her in the side, sending her into a nearby moon rock.
Her body cracked the rock as she collided with it, before then falling limply to the moon's surface.
"Nngh..." She warily propped herself up with a foreleg, directing her angered gaze at the doppelganger. "What do you think you are doing!?"
"Change of plans!" the other pony declared, grinning menacingly. "Turns out I've grown somewhat attached to this new Earth. It's true I promised myself that I'd find a way to restore my Earth, and I will... but I cannot allow you to rule over this one."
Nightmare Moon winced, gritting her teeth in anger. "You dare... betray—?"
Another beam of magic cut her off, sending her reeling back to the ground.
"I've been doing some thinking during my time stuck on this rock, and something occurred to me. This world was split into two, but what allows them to co-exist? Then the answer became clear. A pony from the future world must be existing in this world set in the past... and an anomaly with the power to sustain and even create multiple realities could be exactly what I need."
Nightmare Moon merely stared back at her incredulously. "Create realities...?" She put the thought aside, lashing out at her angrily. "Y-you treacherous—!"
"Bye for now."
The other pony smirked, lifting her hoof as if to wave goodbye before turning and diving headfirst into the swirling vortex of colors.
The portal closed behind her, leaving an air of silence in her wake as Nightmare Moon herself lay on the frigid moon's surface, stewing in seething anger over what had just transpired.
"I felt it, you know," she professed to Celestia once more as her memory came to an end. "Luna's soul, rushing back to me the moment she leapt through that portal to Earth. I had become complete once more, but... here I was, still relegated to that forsaken rock..."
She pushed the thought aside, addressing Celestia in a serious tone.
"I cannot believe I am asking this, but... once we are done here... you must put a stop to this foe of ours. I was so overcome with anger that I didn't even realize it at the time, but her words... unnerved even myself..."
Celestia's brow raised in awe of her words.
Sister...
"That talk about wishing to... create and rewrite realities, and restore what had been lost... will no doubt result in catastrophes across this, and countless other universes..."
Celestia remained quiet, though unnerved by her plea.
"I understand," she replied after a moment; "and... I will do what must be—"
"What in the world!?"
Celestia's gaze shot up suddenly at the sound of Nightmare Moon's voice, startled by the outburst.
She turned her head to see what had shocked her sister, and was quickly taken aback herself as her eyes were met with a pallet of greens and purple. As her own gaze widened in disbelief, she came face-to-face with a mighty, and fierce-looking dragon, poised just a little ways behind them and the moon, the claws of its feet firmly embedded the castle's roof... and tail snaked around one of its many spires.
"A dragon?" Nightmare Moon cried out incredulously.
Celestia all the while, stared back speechless at the ferocious beast stood before them.
Spike...?
Earlier, before the moon began its dreadful descent upon the capital city, another war waged on within the recesses of the city against another less threatening, yet devastating force of destruction...
"Rrgh... Don't give up girls! Come on, give it everything you've got!"
Moon Dancer grunted, the thrusters in her hind hooves kicking into overdrive as she pressed her forehooves hard against Spike's chest... doing her best to hold him in place.
The other three, all the while, worked at keeping his arms restrained out at his sides, and fighting desperately to keep them from breaking loose.
Spike bellowed out a mighty roar in frustration, thrashing his tail back and forth, damaging more buildings below in his rampage.
This isn't going the way I had hoped, dreaded Moon Dancer in worry. If we don't find a more permanent way to subdue him, then... all of Canterlot...!
A sudden rumbling, growing steadily louder interrupted her thought as the noise filled the sky above them.
What...?
She turned wearily towards the sky, where her eyes proceeded to widen... her heart sinking at the sight.
You have got to be kidding me...
The moon above them loomed closer, seemingly growing larger with each passing moment, and showed no signs of slowing down.
The others noticed as well, inadvertently easing their grip on Spike's arms... and unwittingly giving him the opportunity he needed.
Tearing his arms away, he swatted them away, the three of them returning to their senses and narrowly dodging the multiple swipes aimed at them.
The commotion also happened to snap Moon Dancer back to the present moment... just in time to feel the brunt of Spike's hand collide with her directly.
Though her armor absorbed the brunt of the hit, the shock of the impact was almost too much for her mind to process as it knocked her right out of the sky, and spiraling towards the street below.
And before she could even process where she was, the face of her armor grazed the corner of a rooftop before the rest of her body impacted with the street... sparks igniting as her armor scraped the pavement before coming to an eventual halt.
Spike huffed, feeling himself begin to simmer down. He glared down at the flying nuisance as it laid there defeated, unmoving... its body seemingly torn to pieces, and... wait...
He veered his head closer, curious... noticing what looked to be a pony... underneath the strange, reflective skin.
Her cream-colored coat, and disheveled, red bangs... and crooked glasses drooping lightly from her muzzle struck an all-too familiar chord with him.
He found himself entranced by this pony, almost as if... he knew her from somewhere... but from where—?
"Spu-s-spike..."
Her breaths were little more than shallow wafts, and despite her stuttering... he understood.
His eyes widened ever so slightly, his ears becoming alert at the pony's weak utterance before her eyes fell shut, and her head fell to one side.
Spike? Had he heard her correctly?
...Is me, he thought, in whatever scraps of coherent thought his mind retained. Spike... is me. Pony... knows Spike...
His heart skipped, not entirely knowing why, but only that... he had to help her somehow, someway...
He knelt closer, attempting to scoop her gingerly up in his hands and take her someplace safe, when more voices grabbed his attention.
"Stay away from her, you monster!"
He froze, and went to turn his head in the direction of the voice, when a blast of magic was fired directly into his snout, causing him to recoil... his eyes snapping shut.
"Moon Dancer should have known better than to befriend a dragon!"
Moon... Dan... cer...?
The name resonated with him on some level, giving him pause.
Moon Dancer... Moon Dancer, Spike friend!
Coming to his senses, and absolved of his lust for greed, he looked ahead with a determined look, letting loose a stream of fire at his attackers.
"Whoa!"
"Watch out, Girls!"
Minuette, Lemon, and Twinkleshine narrowly swerved out of the oncoming fire blast, and out of Spike's trajectory.
He smirked warily, feeling quite proud of himself as he began to turn back around, when his eyes caught sight of something big in the skies above, and growing ever closer.
He paused, looking up towards the huge, shining orb in wonder.
'Moon' was the first word to come to mind... the word seemingly popping into his head at that precise moment.
He forced his gaze away, instead to his friend who still lay unconscious.
Moon Dancer... He frowned, peering away sorrowfully, back towards the sky. Moon... will... hurt... Moon Dancer!
With a sense of resolve, he knew exactly what he needed to do.
He took off down the road, tearing past the ponies hovering around him, and on route for the castle itself.
Minuette looked after him with a bewildered expression.
"Now he's headed towards the castle?"
"Whatever for?" Lemon wondered.
"I don't know... but right now..." Twinkleshine motioned to their downed friend. "Somepony else could really use our attention more."
Their eyes widened upon being reminded of their other friend, both exclaiming "Moon Dancer!" before leaping into action.
They flew down to the ground in a hurry, crowding around her, and unsure of what to do...
"W-well..." Lemon was the first to propose. "Do any of you know what to do?"
"I'm a dentist practitioner; I don't have a clue!" Minuette shot back.
"Well... I think we need to check if she still has a pulse," suggested Twinkleshine.
Lemon cocked her head in response. "Okay, and how are we supposed to do that when she's wearing all that heavy armor?"
Twinkleshine and Minuette went to respond, only for their mouths to snap shut a moment later, the two of them pursing their lips in thought.
"Girls... please..."
Their ears all perked up, looking at one another questionably, before turning back towards Moon Dancer... and instantly their faces all lit up.
"Moon Dancer!" they exclaimed all at once.
Moon Dancer winced at the outburst, as she slowly propped herself up with a foreleg.
Her brow scrunched up as she brought her other hoof to gently massage her temple. "You're kind of giving me an even worse headache than I currently already—"
She let out a startled breath upon feeling all three of her friends hug her at once, effectively shutting her up.
"You're okay!" they exclaimed joyously, before remembering the state their friend was currently in, and promptly stepped back, giving her room to breath.
"Er, um... s-sorry," they each apologized simultaneously.
Moon Dancer sighed, shaking her head. "It's... i-it's fine, just... Where's Spike?"
Spike?
The reminder caused her friends' eyes to widen slightly, and for each of them to turn towards the castle in the distance.
"He's..." Twinkleshine began to explain, only to find herself at a loss for words. "Oh my Celestia..."
"He's scaling Canterlot Castle... but..." Minuette's brow furrowed. "But why?"
Oh, Spike... Moon Dancer's gaze saddened. You finally regained your senses, and now... "He's trying to save me... us!" She cleared her throat. "He's trying to save us."
She glanced inconspicuously between her three friends, sporting a faint, embarrassed blush, though their minds seemed too preoccupied to notice.
"Save us?" Twinkleshine stared back at her with an auspicious look. "Five minutes ago he was trying to kill us, and now you're telling us he's had a change of heart? Man, Moon... I'll never understand what you see in that monster."
Monster? The word resonated negatively with Moon Dancer as her expression soured, before turning her gaze back towards Twinkleshine and the others.
"He is not a monster. Why, he's so gentle, he practically is a pony, just... decked out in dragon scales, is all."
"You call what he did to you gentle?"
"T-that's only because he didn't know it was me, and the greed that's affecting his size must have been affecting his mind as well, along with his ability to think clearly. But now he's doing something selfless, at the risk of his own life! How does that make him a monster?"
"He could be trying to save himself," Twinkleshine murmured in response, before noticing the unamused look on her friend's face.
"Er..." Her resolve quickly weakened. "I'm... sorry, Moon. I suppose it doesn't." She rubbed a hoof along the back of her neck regretfully. "I just... Seeing him turn into that, I... suppose it got us all a little rattled, a-and weary of what dragons are truly capable of."
Moon Dancer sighed, nodding her head slightly. "I suppose I understand. Dragons are indeed capable of a lot, but... that doesn't mean they're all the same. It's who they are on the inside, and the nature of their actions that determine who they are, not how they look."
"Well... you're a lot more trusting than any of us, Moon; that's for sure." Twinkleshine flashed a sheepish smile in her direction.
"Please. I still have a lot to learn about friendship... but being friends with Spike, and Twilight, and Rainbow—" She went to stand up, feeling her fore and hind legs start to wobble as she did so. "—h-has really helped—!"
She stumbled forward, catching herself before tumbling too far, her friends holding out their hooves in worry.
"Easy, Moon, easy! You're seriously in no condition to be moving right now!"
"But if I don't, then Spike... h-he'll shrink back to his normal size! S-somepony needs to be there to catch him—!"
"Then let us," Twinkleshine assured her. "We'll be there to catch him. You can count on it."
Moon Dancer stared back, wanting to argue, before reluctantly backing down.
"I'm counting on you girls."
"Mhm. Now then, Minuette, Lemon!" Twinkleshine spun around, motioning them forward. "Let's go save a friend in need!"
Spike's hand gripped the castle wall, his claws leaving indentations with each move he made upwards, bits of drywall crumbling loose with every section of wall his claws anchored themselves to.
Must... keep moving... for—rrgh—Moon's... sake!
He went to grab the section of wall above him, only for something to stand out to him as odd.
His claws weren't making as big of a dent.
I'm... shrinking, he solemnly concluded, before shaking the thought from his head, and pressing onwards.
Then... I must... hurry!
His hand eventually came to rest over the castle's roof, and with it, he managed to pull the rest of himself up and over.
He had but a moment to rest, before standing tall, and letting out a fierce and determined roar. His tail snaked around the tower behind him, as he held his hands out before him.
What I do... I do... for... friendship!
Celestia stared back speechless at the ferocious beast stood before both herself and her sister.
Spike...?
She shook out of her stupor, just in time to hear her sister snidely remark, "I should have known a fool like yourself would allow dragons to run amok."
"Run amok—?" Celestia rolled her eyes. "That dragon is—er, was—a friend of mine." Her voice lowered as she looked back ahead in contemplation. "He just normally isn't so big," she mused.
Nightmare Moon snorted. "You always were a poor judge of character," she scoffed, before directing her attention back to the matter at hoof. "What do you suppose he's doing?"
Spike extended his arms, his palms outstretched towards the moon itself.
They connected with the moon's surface, and immediately the base of the tower behind him cracked, and began to shift out of place.
He winced under the enormous pressure, his feet pressing into the castle's roof, leaving indentations where he stood, and his arms already beginning to feel like wet noodles.
"He's trying to protect them," Celestia murmured in realization, Nightmare Moon peering over at her dubiously.
"Clearly," she snarked.
Spike fought through the pain, gritting his teeth, before bellowing out a mighty roar, a light emanating from deep within his throat.
A burst of fire shot forth, the moon's surface parting the green flames as the two forces collided.
Whoa! Celestia swerved out of the incoming flames' trajectory, both her and Nightmare Moon instinctively raising a foreleg to shield themselves from both the intensity, and wafting embers.
He's attempting to slow the moon's descent using fire... Even still, that will only do so much... No, Celestia concluded, I must use this opportunity to stop this now, once and for all!
The aura surrounding her horn increased tenfold, and closing her eyes and focusing, she breathed in before pouring the last of her strength into stopping the moon's descent.
She wound her head back, fighting it with all her might, feeling it pull at her horn, threatening to rip it from its base when, all at once... the feeling subsided entirely.
She blinked her eyes open, looking around in puzzlement.
What?
She turned swiftly towards Nightmare Moon, who shared the same look of befuddlement.
The moon was on a set course, Celestia slowly realized as it dawned on her... a slow, sickening feeling building in the pit of her stomach. This whole time... we were never truly in any danger...
Nightmare Moon all the while, came to her own realization.
"We were played for fools..."
Sister? Celestia snapped out of her thoughts, looking back at her worriedly.
"The moon was never 'ripped' from the sky—it was enchanted, with a spell to move on its own. All this time we were attempting to slow its descent... when we should have been working on dispelling the spell she cast." She snorted, shaking her head. "She needed you out of the proverbial picture, exhausted of your magic... Looks like she succeeded."
Celestia turned desperately towards the horizon, and the forest that lay just beyond the cityscape.
Twilight!
Her ear twitched, picking up on a low rumbling, and a reminder of something from the corner of her eye.
"Spike!"
Before her, Spike continued to decrease in size at an alarming rate, spurring her to leap into action.
Hmph. Nightmare Moon watched as her 'sister' flew off in a hurry, without a second thought regarding the moon, or its residents. Not a second later, the moon began moving, once more of its own accord, back to its proper place in the sky.
She continued to watch even as Celestia, and the city of Canterlot grew further and further out of view, forming a gleeful smirk in anticipation.
Be seeing you... Sister...
Celestia sped towards Spike, just as he assumed his regular size—before his Hearth's Warming growth spurt—and promptly caught him, holding him in her forelegs both against her chest and her own hammering heartbeat before he fully realized where he was, or was cognitive of what was happening around him.
"Princess...?" He gazed up at her through wary eyes. He remained quiet, his brow crinkling as he struggled to gather his bearings. "I remember... being lost, and... becoming entranced by nngh... something... glittering in the darkness. Next thing I know, Moon's lying below me injured... a-and the actual moon's—!"
"Rest, Spike. It's all okay now."
"It is...? Man," he lamented, "my mind's so hazy right now..."
Which I suppose, is for the best, Celestia silently supposed, just as three other mares cautiously flew up beside both herself and Spike.
"Princess?" Twinkleshine tentatively spoke up first.
"Oh, hello Twinkleshine," she greeted, before turning to acknowledge the others. "Hello to you too, Minuette, Lemon Hearts."
Minuette and Lemon, in turn, shied back, while Twinkleshine remained still, hovering in place. She blinked, stupefied. "You aren't surprised by our appearances?"
"Tonight has been anything but normal, Twinkleshine, and I'm afraid now is not the time. Here," she said, reaching Spike out to them. "Take him, get someplace safe."
"O-oh! Uhm, o-okay."
She took hold of Spike, only to hear him murmur weakly, "Is that really you, Twinkle...? You look awesome..."
Twinkleshine stared back at him, at a loss for a second, before forming a lukewarm smile.
She turned back around to face the others. "Let's return to Moon Dancer. She'll know what to do next."
Minuette and Lemon nodded in agreement, before turning and descending back towards the Earth. Twinkleshine was about to follow after them, when she stopped, reminded of something important.
She glanced back over her shoulder. "What about you, Princess? What are you going to do?"
Hm? Princess Celestia looked back at her, taken aback for a second, before looking past the younger pony—towards the woods in the far distance with a wistful expression.
"Whatever I must," she replied.
Throughout the forest and over the sounds of rushing winds, the sound of callous laughter rang out.
"Oh, how predictable!" the gleeful voice of Twilight's doppelganger exclaimed as she looked behind her, up towards the sky. "You princesses make things just... too easy!"
She grinned, doing a carefree spin through the air, all the while Twilight and Rainbow, together with Cadance and Shining, galloped through the trees and bramble of the forest as they gave chase after her.
"Whatever we do, we can't let her reach the edge of the mountain!"
"Rrgh... I hear ya, Twi, but nothing we do is having any effect!"
"Well," Twilight retorted back at Rainbow, "there's gotta be something other than tackles and magic that'll stop her in her tracks for g—!"
Rainbow's eyes widened.
"Wait. Twi, that's it!" She swerved in front of her, grabbing her by the shoulders and staring into her eyes directly.
Twilight let out a startled breath, stuttering out in bewilderment, "W-what is?"
"I don't know why I didn't think of this before... b-but Twi! You and her are basically the same, yeah?"
Twilight's surprised look softened up, and she peered away, lips forming a slight frown. "Physically," she supposed, with a sigh. "I guess we are." She shouldered the disparaging reminder for the time being, and asked the more pressing question. "Why?"
"Because, Twi! That basically means you and her have the same—!"
Twilight's eyes all of a sudden widened in realization.
"Weaknesses..." she uttered under her breath.
"Exactly," Rainbow reaffirmed. "Now, think Twi. Can you remember a time when something made you feel weak, frozen in place, er... I don't know... immobili—"
"My entrance exam," she whispered shakily, as it dawned on her. "T-that day," she went on to explain, "a-a boom went off outside that seemed to, I-I dunno... ignite all my senses. I-it made my mind go blank—"
"Y-yeah, I remember now, Twi, thanks. But, ah... would you say that explosion you heard was more akin to say... a sonic boom?"
Twilight's ears perked up, and she stared back at her girlfriend funnily, giving her head a tilt. "Sonic...? Er, well... thinking back on it, I... suppose—"
Rainbow cut her off with a swift kiss. "Thanks, Twi," she said as she pulled away, "that's all I needed to know."
She took off, Twilight extending a hoof out after her desperately.
"H-hey, wait a second, Rainbow! What are you planning on doing?"
"What I do best, Twi," she replied with a wink, as she looked back over her shoulder. "Can I count on you to stall her for the time being?"
"Stall her?" Twilight repeated incredulously. "How on Earth am I supposed to—?"
"By doing what you do best, Twi, that's all."
"What I...?" Her brow furrowed. "You mean studying, o-or organizing?"
"The other thing, Twi. You know... Shake your tail?"
Twilight watched as her girlfriend smiled at her before turning and flying out of sight. Then, not a moment later, she let out a silent 'Oh' as it dawned on her, and she turned, with a newfound air of determination.
At least, she hoped this is what Rainbow had been hinting at.
With a nervous gulp, she yelled out, "Hey! Other me!"
Her voice carried throughout the trees, startling Cadance and Shining, and even causing her doppelganger to turn and look at her with an indignant scoff.
Hmph, her doppelganger snorted. If she thinks she can talk me down...!
"Just think." Twilight struck a pose, pointing a foreleg accusingly out at her other self.
Her brother and Cadance all the while, stared back at her dumbfounded.
Twilight...?
"While you've been getting down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world—"
Her doppelganger blinked, her lips slowly parting.
What...?
"You could've been getting down to this—"
Cadance cocked her head in puzzlement. "Is she...?"
"—sick—"
Shining deadpanned immediately. "She is."
"—beat-tuh."
Not a second after, she began dancing, flailing her forelegs up and down clumsily, standing up on her hind hooves and swaying her body to the beat that she half sung, half murmured.
Cadance blinked, stupefied. "T-this has to be part of some plan of hers, I mean... this is Twilight we're talking about."
"I mean..." Shining raised an eyebrow. "Maybe in her own way, she's stalling? I don't see Rainbow anywhere."
"So Twilight's keeping her doppelganger stationary long enough then for Rainbow to attack..." Cadance softly nodded, musing to herself as she peered up, taking note of the leaves as many of them began rustling. "I suppose it's a good plan, seeing how it's kept us distracted..." Her words trailed off as her eyes narrowed in on something through the rustling leaves before widening in realization. She instinctively let out a gasp, alerting Shining to what had startled her.
Through the waning leaves and branches he saw it, and without hesitation, threw a foreleg around Cadance, pulling her along with him as he dove to the ground, eliciting a barrier around them both... all the while going unnoticed by Twilight's doppelganger.
"Eeeenough!"
Her voice bellowed out past the growing winds and rustling noises—drowning it all out, gritting her teeth as she stared angrily at her other self.
Twilight herself froze mid-step, staring back at her other self with a sheepish smile.
"If you think for one second that you can distract me with this foolish song and dance..."
Twilight tuned out her doppelganger's words, her eyes drifting to the space above her. Her eyes widened for a moment before returning to normal, the smile falling from her face in an instant.
She turned without a word, and ran in the opposite direction, igniting her horn and readying a spell as she fled the scene.
Her doppelganger's words meanwhile, drifted off as she watched he other self run in the opposite direction. Where is she—?
Her thought was interrupted by the sudden realization of her surroundings—blustery, loud... like the very Earth was rumbling... And then it occurred to her.
Rainbow...
Swiftly, she turned her attention upwards, and that was when time seemed to slow to a halt.
Her heart thumped sickeningly and pupils shrunk as she came face to face with the rainbow-maned pegasus, mere inches from her.
Her shoulders drooped almost instantly.
"Oh sh—"
The two collided, and what followed caused the surrounding trees to nearly fold as torrential winds tore through the forest, while in the center of it all rose a mushroom-shaped cloud of hot, buoyant air, and Rainbow's own trademark colors. The cloud rose high above the trees, grabbing the attention of Celestia as she flew towards the forest.
Her brow lifted at the sight, her heart dropping into the pit of her stomach.
She swallowed hard, putting her worrying thoughts aside as she picked up the pace, en route to the sight of the explosion.
Twilight continued running towards the spot she had calculated that Rainbow would land. If she was right, then Rainbow would be tossed from the explosion and the trajectory would land her right about...
Here!
She conjured up a catcher's mitt large enough to catch even a pony, and looked behind her as her steps slowed to a canter.
I've never been physically inclined... but this is one catch I can't afford to—!
Through the dense cloud of smoke came the silhouette of a pony, her body seemingly thrown from the center of the explosion.
Twilight's heart skipped as she cried out Rainbow's name, narrowly catching her in the palm of her construct... and still her own body was flung backwards from the sheer force of the impact.
The two hit the forest floor, landing on their sides and laying side by side.
Twilight was the first to regain her composure, giving her head a shake before bringing a hoof to it... letting out a wary groan before remembering Rainbow, and snapping back to reality.
"Urgh..." Rainbow let out a few weak coughs as she lay before her, before gazing up at her and cracking a slight smile.
"That seriously hurt..."
She let out a chuckle, but Twilight remained serious, with more pressing concerns on her mind.
"Can you walk?" she asked. "Does anything feel broken, o-or dislodged?"
"Mm..." Rainbow sat up slowly, giving herself a moment to think before answering. "I don't think so..."
"H-how about your vision? Erm..." She sat back up on haunches, holding up both her forelegs. "H-how many hooves am I holding up?"
Rainbow narrowed her eyes back at her girlfriend.
Twilight remained adamant however, forcing her to deadpan.
"Two," she replied dryly.
"Whew... alright, okay." Twilight's nerves eased up in relief, letting out a breath as she leaned back on both her forelegs. "We really did it..."
"I hope so. I mean, I hit her with everything I could muster, and I think it worke—ow!"
Rainbow winced, recoiling a bit the moment Twilight leaned forward, shoving her suddenly with a hoof.
"Hey! I'm still sore y'know," she muttered sourly.
"You didn't have to go so far, featherbrain! We talked about doing a sonic boom, not dive bombing her!"
"H-hey, well... I'm spontaneous, Twi; you know that! An', well..." Rainbow shied away, murmuring under her breath, "I thought unleashing one the moment I dove into her would be more effect—!" Twilight effectively shut her up, taking her by surprise as she leaned forward, hugging her tightly. "Ive..."
"Don't ever do that again..." she murmured into her shoulder.
A playful smile tugged at Rainbow's lips. "I knew you'd catch me," she teased.
"Not the point," Twilight grumbled.
Rainbow's smile fell from her face, feeling a pang of guilt over her girlfriend's tone of voice.
"I'm sorry, Twi... I shouldn't have scared you like that." She grew quiet, taking a moment to nuzzle her gingerly. "B-but hey!" she continued suddenly, pulling back with an elated smile. "On the plus side, I shouldn't have to do that ever again, because I think what I did back there, really did a number on her! I mean, we've been talking this whole time and nothing's happened, right?"
Twilight turned her attention towards the clouded area of the forest in thought. "Things have been awfully quiet, I'll agree with you there."
"Wanna find out together?"
Twilight sighed, shaking her head. "Not really, but... I suppose we have to, don't we?" She looked off pensively into the forest. "We have to make sure your recklessness didn't get Shining and or Cadance injured."
"Oh shoot, you're right!" Rainbow sucked in a deep breath. "Guy—!"
"What do you think you're doing, Rainbow?" hissed Twilight, turning back towards her urgently. "Suppose the other me made it out unscathed... you'd be giving away our positions. Ours and theirs," she added in clarification.
"Er, right... " Rainbow averted her eyes. "Point taken. So... ah..." She rubbed a hoof along the back of her neck anxiously as she worked up the nerve to ask, "How's your magic doing anyway? I've been meaning to ask. I-I mean, I couldn't help but notice t-that your eyes have been sorta flickering... a-and your horn—!"
"They're fine, Rainbow," Twilight replied with a slight huff. "We both knew this would happen, and it was a risk we were both willing to take."
"Yeah, I know, but..." She peered off somberly, shrugging her shoulders. "I just... can't help but worry about you, y'know?"
Twilight snorted, turning to face her with a warm smile. "I know. All too well in fact, because that's exactly how I felt a little while ago."
"Oh, ah... r-right." Rainbow garnished an embarrassed smile, to which Twilight softly laughed before leaning in to nuzzle her.
"But it's like you told me a couple nights ago, after surviving that attack against the hydra... Focus on those you love, and mold your power into a tool to defend them, rather than hurt them."
The two remained silent for a single moment before Twilight then added, "I... may be paraphrasing a little." She grinned sheepishly as she drew back from her girlfriend, Rainbow herself raising an eyebrow as she smiled in good humor.
The two tentatively carried on, through the thinning smoke, until at last they came upon the lip to the crater that the explosion had resulted in. Before they could look any further however, a pair of voices grabbed their attention.
"There you guys are!"
"Warn us next time, won't you?"
Twilight's ears alerted herself to her brother's presence, and she turned quickly, brandishing an embarrassed look.
"D-don't look at me, Big Brother. I wasn't warned aware of her plan either!" she insisted.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Okay, guys, yeesh, I get it; I messed up. B-but you can't argue with results!" She ushered towards the crater. "I mean just look at—!"
Her words died on her tongue as she stared into the pit of the crater, as did the others. As more of the smoke cleared away, Twilight's doppelganger laid there visibly, for all of them to see. She lay there with her eyes closed, seemingly unconscious... her breaths coming in and out in crooked wafts.
The four peered on in silence, too unnerved to say anything, or even what to say in the first place.
And then, before any of them realized it, a huge grin spread across Rainbow's face, and she leaped into the air, fluttering her wings as she pumped her hoof into the air.
"Aw, yea—!"
"Rainbow!"
Rainbow blinked, her smile dropping and ecstatic behavior fading in an instant.
She lowered herself back to the forest floor, rubbing a hoof behind her head sheepishly.
"Heh, sorry."
Twilight rolled her eyes, letting out a small huff as she turned back to her other self. Her expression softened up the more she stared at her other self, before letting out a halfhearted snort in amusement.
"Never thought I'd be stood over myself, watching as I slept..."
"This has been a strange night for all of us, Twilight," Cadance assured her, as she came up beside her. "I think we're all more than a little unnerved..."
"So, what do you suppose we do now?" Shining asked.
"I... don't really know," replied Twilight, bowing her head hopelessly. She sighed, peering back over her shoulder, up towards the sky. "It... looks as though the moon has retreated to its resting place in the sky, confirming the whole thing was a ruse like I had initially thought..." she murmured glumly. "Celestia will no doubt be joining us shortly. She should know what to do, or... do what we don't have the strength to do."
"You're talking about turning her to stone... aren't you, Twi?" Rainbow softly asked, after spending a moment in hesitation.
"Well, do any of you have any better ideas?" fumed Twilight, her voice raising suddenly in frustration. Then, not a moment later, her anger quelled, and her head dipped once more in dismay. "Celestia was right... She's a monster, and far too dangerous to be locked up, or even rehabilitated..."
Rainbow's ears flopped, her gaze turning sorrowful as she watched her. "Twi..."
"My goal for tonight was to stop her," Twilight continued. "At the time, I didn't know who she was or what she wanted other than... than to hurt all of you! I want to keep you all safe, and this is the only thing I can think of without resorting to something a million times more drastic, that would haunt any one of us for the rest of our lives."
"I think whatever we end up doing will haunt me," Cadance remarked in a soft murmur, lowering her gaze.
"Regardless..." Twilight bit her lip, before shaking her head, putting the thought aside for the time being. "We have bigger things we should be focusing on. This other me was conspiring with Nightmare Moon, whose impending return undoubtedly requires our attention now more than ever, and—"
"Twi," Rainbow spoke up in concern, sensing how nervous her girlfriend was becoming.
"—not to mention the revelation that our world is part of an entire network of parallel realities, filled to the brim with alternate versions o-of you, and you, a-and you too!" she rattled on, motioning to each of her friends.
"Twilight," Rainbow merely repeated, this time a bit more assertively, and were Twilight just any old pony, her words would have no doubt reached her.
However, her girlfriend remained lost in her recent surge of revelations as she turned back towards the crater.
"This opens up an entire realm of possibilities. We should be devoting time, a-and resources to studying this discovery, pouring all of our time and resources into—!"
"Twilight," Rainbow nearly shouted; "hey!"
Twilight stiffened immediately just as Rainbow raised her voice, before then slumping forward as if defeated.
"Twi, we aren't forgetting about any of that stuff. But, Twi..." Rainbow eased up, her voice taking on a softer tone. "Your doppelganger is important. She's connected to all of what you just said, and plus, there's... still so much about her that we don't know."
Twilight remained silent for a long moment, prompting Rainbow to take a cautious step towards her, her own brow furrowing in worry.
At the same time, Twilight at long last lifted her head, turning in Rainbow's direction.
"How many times must I tell you..."
"Twi—?"
Rainbow's words died in her throat as Twilight's horn plunged deep into her shoulder. The pegasus's alarmed gaze stared on ahead, unblinking... too stunned for words, slowly becoming less cognitive of the world around her... Cadance's and Shining's voices became garbled, becoming impossible to make out.
A single, black wing sprouted forth from Twilight's body, acting as a curtain between the two of them, and herself and Rainbow.
"My name isn't Twilight."
She pushed against Rainbow's body with a single thrust of her hoof, and with it, tore her horn free from Rainbow's body, drawing with it several specks of blood.
Rainbow made a pained expression as she stumbled back clumsily, immediately clutching the gaping hole on her body as she gazed through squinted eyes at the mare she had thought to be Twilight... and then she saw it.
A subtle, dark smog encompassed half of her girlfriend's features, splitting herself right down the middle.
H-her... doppelganger...? But... h-how is she controlling Twilight?
Twilight smirked for a second, before that arrogance quickly turned to anguish as she reeled backwards, bringing a hoof to her head and letting out muffled grunts, before screaming out in agony.
Twi!
The smoke encircling her leapt from her body, taking on a life all its own as it manifested into a looming presence, nothing short of terrifying. Its vaguely equine form consisted of billowing smoke, and piercing white orb-like eyes, a monstrous maw with razer-sharp teeth, and an emaciated, almost skeletal-looking frame.
Twilight all the while, regained her consciousness, coming face-to-face with what she had involuntarily done, and at that moment, was instantly overcome with emotion.
Her own eyes grew heavy at the sight of the mare she loved, now trembling, sickly and pale, with a hole in her chest and blood-soaked fur that... that she had caused!
Oh, Rainbow...
"Fools!" the monster's voice roared out, reminding them all, even Twilight, of its presence there. "You seriously thought that flying faster than the sound barrier itself would be enough to stop me!?"
The others all stood looking up at the shadowy presence, unblinking... too shaken to say a word.
S-so that's our true foe... Twilight nervously peered away for a second, down instead towards the crater where her doppelganger's body lay. This other me... She was never the enemy. Rather she was being puppeteered by this... t-this thing.
Cadance tore her gaze away, squeezing her eyes shut. as the horrible feelings she felt caused her whole body to shudder.
"Cady?" Shining asked worriedly. "What—w-what's wrong?"
"It's just..." She reopened her eyes warily. "I can feel all t-this... negativity, a-and hatred stemming from that thing. I-it's unbearable, the... the aura it's giving off..."
"I don't doubt it. From the way it just stabbed Rainbow, and used my little sis to do it... But, Cady... I'd be worried less about that, and more about what that thing's capable of."
Cadance nodded less-than-enthusiastically, swallowing the nervous lump in the back of her throat. "R... R-right."
Twilight all the while, winced, feeling her consciousness slowly start to fade once more. Her magic intensified, causing her thoughts to grow hazy.
At that rate, I... I-I don't know how much longer I can keep this u—
The startled cry of her girlfriend snapped her back to the present moment just in time to see their foe snatch Rainbow up in its clutches. The smoky appendage stretched forward in one fell swoop before ensnaring the pegasus within its sinister grasp.
The arm then retracted, blowing past Twilight, and carrying her fiancée along with it... its sharp, spindly fingers curled securely around the pegasus's torso and forelegs. Only her head remained visible, as she came eye to eye with the gruesome entity.
"You..." its voice finally came, in a low, guttural growl, "you just don't know when to quit."
"Nngh... well, I... wouldn't be me if I didn't."
The entity snorted.
"You're lucky I need you alive... Well, unfortunately for you, Dash... there's no longer a thing you can do now that I have you in my gr—"
"Maybe not!" Twilight shouted at the fiend, crouching forward as her horn brimmed with powerful magic. "But we can still try!"
The monster stared back at her, dumbfounded for a moment before bellowing out in laughter.
"You foal! Physical magic cannot harm raw, visceral emotion!"
E...e-emotion?
Twilight had but a second to ponder what the entity meant before Rainbow unwittingly let out a cry of pain as their foe tightened its grasp around her.
"Let this be a warning to all of you..." the entity's voice lowered, taking on a far more threatening tone, "to stand in my way no further!"
Shining peered over, noticing Cadance's own horn slowly beginning to brim with magic.
"Cadance..." he began. "You're not seriously considering..."
"If that thing is made up of emotions, then..." Her own eyes burned bright white. "Then maybe there's something that I can do."
"Cady..." His voice took on a worried tone, as he reached out, setting a hoof over her foreleg. Her body immediately stiffened upon feeling his touch, letting out a startled breath. "You heard what that thing said. If we try attacking it... we'd be risking Rainbow's life..."
Cadance grit her teeth, feeling her whole body tense up in anger. Darn it! She tore her gaze away, turning woefully towards the ground, her magic dispersing. He's right...
Tch... Twilight stepped back, racking her brain for a way out of their current predicament, as her feelings of hopelessness only worsened.
Her eyes began to grow brighter as she slowly slipped into contemplation.
I could unleash it... this power I've been holding back... She closed her eyes, letting out a single, shaky breath. If I do though... there could be no going back. If I accidently end up hurting Rainbow in the process, then... t-then this power could end up changing me forev—!
Her thoughts were interrupted by the muffled grunts resonating from the monster poised before her.
Her own eyes proceeded to widen, staring in disbelief as the entity began flickering in and out of sight, as if fading from reality itself before her very eyes.
It doubled over, setting a palm on the ground to perch itself up while continuing to clutch Rainbow in its other.
"Curse this wretched form... It would seem that... I just c-cannot exist freely in this world without a— nngh... s-suitable host!"
Host?
Twilight turned her attention swiftly, her heart beating ever faster, towards the lip of the crater where the body of doppelganger presumably still lay defeated.
S-so that's the key! Her horn's aura brimmed to life. I just need to cut her off from the other me before it's too—!
Another distortion wracked the monstrous entity's form, forcing it to let out an ear-splitting scream, and in its agony... unknowingly dig its claws into Rainbow's side.
Rainbow reacted immediately, reeling her head back and letting out a cry of pain. A cry that, unfortunately for Twilight, fell on deaf ears as she herself stood unblinking, too unnerved to process what was happening right in front of her.
Her whole body froze, feeling her heart sink sickeningly as she stood watching, helpless. Even with her own eyes squinted in pain, she still noticed when Rainbow was carelessly dropped to the ground in a heap, specks of her blood seemingly slowing in midair before her very own eyes.
Shining and Cadance stood frozen in shock as well, with Cadance letting out a breathless gasp at the sight, bringing a hoof to her mouth in horror.
The entity all the while slithered back to its host body, albeit begrudgingly, as if not of its own accord, but rather as if it were being reeled backwards.
It rejoined with Twilight's doppelganger... and after a long moment of silence, her eyes blinked open.
Twilight came to her senses, screaming out her beloved's name as she scrambled to her hooves, her eyes switching between their familiar purple irises and a blinding white glow. Her horn continued to pulsate, sending a throbbing pain through her head, bringing her to her hooves.
Still, she continued to bear it, dragging herself closer and closer until she lay by her girlfriend's side, overlooking her.
Her doppelganger meanwhile, got to her own hooves, several of her joints enticing a cracking noise as many of her bones snapped back into place. She stood tall at last, popping the kinks in her neck before glaring on ahead with an air of determination.
She took her first step on the slope of the crater, when a sudden, nauseating pain struck her head, causing her to nearly fall. A sickening, dizzying pain that gave her pause for several long seconds as it seemed to be sending her magic glands into overdrive... and blurring her conscious thoughts one by one.
She groaned, warily shaking her head, before pressing on up the slope, through the ever growing haze.
Tears dripped from the tip of Twilight's muzzle onto Rainbow's chest, leaving damp little splotches as she proceeded to cry openly, and freely.
"R-rainbow, come o-on," Twilight taking Rainbow's hoof into her own forelegs, trembling almost uncontrollably. "Th-this really isn't funny, Rainbow..."
"I'd never forgive myself if I let something bad happen—to the princesses or you."
"Twi... Haven't I told you to quit being so hard on yourself? To stop beating yourself up? I mean, this Pony of Shadows isn't your fault."
"Isn't she though? She used me like a blueprint, Rainbow, using me to give herself form—!"
"Which wasn't your fault, Twilight!"
"I... Y-you're right, Rainbow, I just.. I just feel like... everypony is really counting on me to be a hero like you, Rainbow. You know, somepony worthy of being an element bearer..."
From what she could tell through her tear-stained vision, Rainbow seemed to be barely holding on... her eyes shut and breaths coming in and out in weak, shallow wafts. Below her chin sat the still-gaping wound on her shoulder, inflicted by her very own horn... and below that... Twilight's eyes reluctantly drifted downwards. to the series of deep lacerations on her side, and the once green grass now stained red with her girlfriend's blood.
"Aren't you worried though, Twi? I mean, you heard what the princess said. Cadance, your brother, and who knows how many other ponies are all going to be there. Doesn't that make you worried?"
"Of course it does, Rainbow. But, with you at my side... I'm not afraid, because the two of us? We can do anything, so long as we're together. It's like Princess Celestia said, Rainbow—we're chosen, which means that our strength comes from the bond that we share."
Swallowing down a tough lump in her throat, and draping a foreleg across her eyes, she mustered up the strength to ask, "W-what? Is… is this all that's bothering you? I t-thought a pony like you could h-handle a-anything..."
"Can you promise me though, that... if tonight does go poorly... not a single one of us will... you know."
"I can't promise that, Twilight... but if we wear these suits, we can try our darnedest to prevent that."
She sat up on her haunches, before pressing both her hooves deep against the series of puncture wounds. "T-there, see?" She forced a smile to her lips. "Problem solved."
She remained still for a moment, holding out hope that she'd see a change in her girlfriend's demeanor, however small... Her smile fell, watching as Rainbow's expression remained unchanged. Her breaths grew uneven, and more panicked as she shakily withdrew her hooves to see that blood now soaked the front of her own hooves.
Twilight's pupils shrunk, feeling utterly sick to her stomach.
Her heart continued to beat faster and faster.
Twilight...
Cadance could no longer bare to watch, and took a step forward when Shining's questioning tone grabbed her attention.
"Cady? What are you...?"
"Saving her life, that's what." She looked back on ahead. "Please don't try and stop me, Shiny. I... may not be as proficient at healing magic as others, but... I am also the Princess of Love, and right now there's a love that needs saving."
"I won't stand in your way then. I'm just worried about—"
As if on cue, Twilight's doppelganger came into view, emerging at last from the crater.
"Her..." finished Shining, his heart sinking.
"You... accursed... pegasus!"
The doppelganger squeezed her eyelids shut, gritting her teeth as she brought a hoof to her head, her horn giving off immense sparks. "What have you done!?"
Her eyes began to burn a bright white. "My horn... feels like it's on fire!"
Twilight paid the voice little mind however, too wrapped up in her own grief and denial to even care. She squeezed her eyelids shut, shutting out the blinding light that burned powerfully behind them, and in her frustration, raking her bloodied hoof against her cheek and up through her mane. She sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down her cheeks as her entire body trembled. Drops of blood dripped from the hairs of her mane, and the tip of her muzzle...
That was all it took for Twilight's mind to go blank, her thoughts to cease… her heartbeat to slow to a crawl… with only the memory of a pegasus's limp, cold body lying there. A pegasus that brought about a warm feeling to the magic within her.
And whatever strand of Twilight's memories remained, remembered who was the cause.
I need to get Rainbow out of there while I have the chance! fretted Cadance in realization of what was no doubt about to unfold, and with the two Twilight's distracted, acted fast. She teleported Rainbow away from Twilight, and the moment she reappeared, knelt down beside her, igniting her horn.
Whew... Now, she thought, with a determined look, time to do whatever I can!
Twilight turned her head on a dime, and met her doppelganger's gaze. Their bodies both froze, staring unblinking into each other's eyes, and that was when everything went dark for the young mare. The sounds of her surroundings and woes of reality melted away as her consciousness was enveloped by a thickening haze, finding her consciousness rapidly slipping away...
She awoke some time later in an empty, and spacious black void, devoid of any light.
As her eyes slowly blinked open, Twilight found herself laying on her side, her face partially submerged in what she thought to be black water.
She sat up in an instant, sucking in a much-needed breath, taking a moment to gather her bearings.
Where—?
A horrible reminder racked her thoughts, sending cold shivers down throughout her entire body.
Rainbow!
She stood up on all fours, yelling out into the dark abyss.
"Raaaaaiiiiinnnnbooowwwww!"
Her voice echoed throughout the chasm as she waited, holding her breath for several long seconds in anticipation... only to ultimately be met with nothing more than silence.
Rainbow...
She collapsed onto her haunches, staring disheartened at the murky, rippling surface beneath her.
As she stared into her distorted reflection, she sniffled, overcome with the same feeling of sadness as before... to when Rainbow lay before her injured, only...
This time was different.
This time she felt alone.
N-no... she thought, clutching her foreleg. No, I... I'm stronger than this, thanks to my friends... thanks to Rainbow... and being alone is not a life I care to return to. Rainbow wouldn't want me to sit here and cry... she'd want me to keep my chin up, and... and keep moving forward! So I can't give up! She took her first step, feeling a little wobbly at the sensation of walking on the slick surface. She might still be here somewhere... a-and if not, then... then I'll find a way back to her, and fight to keep our relationship alive!
Her horn ignited, lighting up the small space in front of her.
I swear I'll make it out of this place, and back to you, Rainbow—a-and you too, Spike! Mom, Dad, Cadance, Shining... Celestia, Moon Dancer... I have a wedding to look forward to, with an awesome, awe-inspiring bride to marry!
She took another determined step forward as a slight smile tugged at her lips.
After coming this far, she mused, there's not a chance in Tarturus we're gonna let this stop us!
Cadance and Shining stood in silence, watching as Twilight remained completely still, not budging an inch. Her gaze staring straight ahead, never once averting itself from her doppelganger's, who stood at the lip of the crater, frozen in place.
Large, white auras, like those of flickering flames, grew around the two mares, seemingly in sync with one another. As the magic grew in intensity, so did its ferocity, igniting sparks that fired off in random directions, setting the surrounding grass and trees ablaze.
It wasn't long before the putrid scent of smoke began to fill the forest air.
"We can't stay here..." Cadance murmured, as she remained crouched by Rainbow's side, attending to her wounds.
"Yeah, and neither can Twilight," remarked Shining, about to step forward. "We have to snap her out of it before—!"
"Wait!" came a familiar voice. The two turned to see Celestia descend swiftly beside them.
"Do not approach her," she warned. "Allow me to transport you both a safe distance first!"
Before either could get a word in edgewise, Celestia's horn ignited in a quick instant, teleporting the four of them a short distance away, to an area that the flames had yet to consume.
"Princess!" Shining beseeched, once the three of them had rematerialized. "Please, do you have any idea what's happening to—?"
"I do," she replied hastily. "I've seen it once before, in fact."
"Y-you have? Wait, so... does that mean you can help, or...?"
"Do not fret, Shining Armor. I can restore Twilight to her senses."
He blinked, taken aback. "You can...?"
He shook his head, snapping out of his momentary stupor.
"Er, good..." He smiled uneasily, momentarily overcome with relief. "That's good to hear. S-so, ah..." He cleared his throat, directing his attention back towards the smoldering woods. "W-what's happening to her exactly?"
"Her mind is being overrun with magic, forcing her conscious back into the furthest recesses of her mind," explained Celestia. "Normally, I'd have to link with her conscious, and bring her back to the forefront of her own mind."
"Normally...?" Cadance chimed in, inquisitively.
"This time however, it would seem things are different. I'm... not so sure that I can bring Twilight back of my own accord."
"What do you mean?" Shining demanded. "I-I thought you said you could restore—!"
"I said she could be restored to her senses. The problem is that there are now two of her, who were both struck by the same affliction; and judging by the fact that neither of them are moving..." Her tone softened, turning to look sorrowfully towards the two mares. "I fear they have both been removed from their bodies."
"...Removed from their bodies?" Cadance questioned.
Celestia nodded solemnly. "My theory is that being of the same mind and body, and experiencing the same, sudden surge of magic... caused their consciousnesses to converge with one another."
"Meaning... what exactly?" Shining reluctantly asked, a dreadful feeling worsening in the pit of his stomach.
Celestia grew silent.
"That if Twilight is to return to us... she'll have to find her way back... all on her own."
Shining paled, as both his and Cadance's hearts sunk at the revelation.
Celestia's heart all the while, ached at the realization, as she could do nothing more than watch, and believe in her pupil.
Those magical auras would tear us limb from body if we were to attempt to remove them forcefully... I'm sorry, Twilight. Her gaze grew a little teary as she silently berated her inability to help even those closest to her. It would seem I failed you yet again...
This place... seems to stretch on forever. It feels like I've been walking for ages already, and I've only barely scratched the surface...
Twilight trudged forward, one step at a time through the never-ending darkness. Her hooves began to grow tired, but her mind never wavered, pressing onward, past the aching pain until she found her way either to an exit, or to Rainbow.
Either one would be a blessing.
"I'd never forgive myself if I let something bad happen—to the princesses or you."
Her voice played out suddenly within her head, the memory giving her pause.
Another reminder... Twilight shook the nagging memory from her thoughts, carrying on further into the dark abyss.
Whatever this place is... seems to have a hold over my memories... and is seemingly trying to weigh me down. It's almost as if this place hopes to guilt me into staying here... but that just isn't an option! C'mon, Twilight... Rainbow wouldn't want you to be beating yourself up like this... Even if...
Her body grew ever more sluggish, her steps growing heavier as the muck below her seemed to grow more and more difficult to trudge through.
Even if stopping to rest... sounds pretty good right about now...
She went to take another step forward, only for her hoof to become stuck—the realization doing wonders to snap her from her reverie.
W-What is—? She yanked her hoof back, only for a stubborn trail of black sludge to remain attached. "G-Get off!"
She stumbled backwards, yanking her hoof even further than before, and this time managing to break its hold on her.
Whatever it was.
She let out a few calming breaths, holding her hoof near her chest apprehensively, as she observed the spot where her hoof had first become stuck, before tilting her head upwards, to the endless void above her in wonder.
"What is this place...?"
"He... H-Hello...?"
Twilight paused, confusing the voice, for a moment, for her own.
"Great," she grumbled, "now this place really is playing tricks on me..."
"This isn't a trick," the voice spoke again, before falling silent, as if contemplating what to say next.
Twilight tilted her head, squinting her eyes as she struggled to peer through the darkness. Even with the light from her horn, she could only make out the faint outlines of what looked like... bars?
"Y-you're her, aren't you!" the voice asked suddenly, out of the blue. "T-this world's me?"
"Er..." Twilight put the thought aside, instead deciding to ask, "Who're...?"
"Why are you here? Y-you shouldn't be here. Y-you need to leave before your conscious self gets trapped here too!"
"Conscious self?" Twilight repeated in puzzlement. "What're you talking about—? Er, where is here?"
"Here?" To Twilight, the voice sounded genuinely surprised, as if it were taken aback for a moment. "Don't you know?"
"Know what?" Twilight pressed, pensively taking several steps closer.
"You're inside my head, Twilight." A pale, sickly-looking face became visible from behind the bars, belonging to a mare who sat slumped over, and bore an all too striking semblance to herself.
"The darkest recesses of my mind."
"Y-you!" Twilight blurted accusingly, stumbling backwards. "Y-you're her! You're...! You're my doppelganger..."
The other her bore a look of confusion, tilting her head.
"I'm sorry," she nervously asked. "Have we... met?"
Before Twilight could respond, her other self began panicking.
"Er, wait. No no no no no no no no, no! This can only mean that you've seen me—t-the real me, not hidden behind some crystal, or... or dark veil... which means that she did it... She invaded your world and went after you and this world's other Elements bearers—!"
"What are you talking about?" Twilight shot back, causing her other self to flinch at the sudden outburst. "Real you? Aren't you the one behind these attacks? A-aren't you the one puppeteering...!"
Her accusatory tone died down as she fell back into thought.
This other me... She was never the enemy. Rather she was being puppeteered by this... t-this thing.
Twilight stared back at her other self as the memory concluded. That's right... I completely forgot...
"That's right," she murmured. "That thing was possessing you." Her other self's head lifted, looking back at her curiously. "Which means..."
"T-thing...?" Then it dawned on the other Twilight. "Y-you mean the manifestation of my negative emotions..."
Twilight froze.
"You foal! Physical magic cannot harm raw, visceral emotion!"
"You're the reason for everything that's happened..."
Twilight's doppelganger raised her brow in surprise, falling silent in response.
"The attacks against my friends and family, the heartache, the worry, the stress..." Twilight's temper flared. "Rainbow Dash... deathly injured, and... a-and lying at my hooves!"
Her horn's aura exploded in anger, illuminating the nearby darkness. Her doppelganger recoiled, wincing from the bright light, but still she was able to see the furious scowl on her double's face.
"I... I-I—!" her doppelganger stammered, then fell backwards in fear as the other her lunged towards her, slamming her forehooves against the bars of the cell. Her horn's aura grinded against one of them, resulting in residual sparks of magic.
"I-I'm sorry!" she blurted out, shielding her face with her hooves. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
The mare muttered off apologies, growing quieter until trailing off completely. She fell silent but still she wept, as she continued to cower under the dark silhouette of her other self.
The sight gave Twilight pause, as her own anger slowly dispersed, and she found herself more bemused than upset.
What am I doing...? thought Twilight, taking a moment to look at her surroundings. She's behind bars that seem to stretch on forever... and if what she said about this being her mind's interior, then... she's a prisoner here.
She stepped back onto all fours as her own expression saddened, her ears flopping. For some time too, judging from the looks of things... and from the state she's in... Even if this other me is technically responsible for everything that's happened to both Rainbow and myself... She appears to be no less of a victim...
Twilight pursed her lips in contemplation.
"Hey," she called out tentatively to her doppelganger, hoping to grab her attention, only for her words to go unheard.
She huffed, growing irritated, before pounding her hoof against one of the bars, eliciting a startled jump from her other self.
"Hey," Twilight repeated, this time in a sterner tone of voice. "Pull yourself together. I... I'm sorry about just now, okay? I'm not going to hurt you, I just..." She sighed, peering off. "I just... feel so lost right now, and... and I need to make it out of here and back to Rainbow before...!" She slowly trailed off, drawing her doppelganger's curiosity. "Before..."
"Rainbow?" The other her sat up intently, brow raising. "Wait... I remember now. The dream portals..." Her tone angered suddenly, turning accusatory, causing her other self to furrow her brow. "You were so mean to her..."
"I..." Twilight blinked, taken aback. "When was I...? Wait... you know about that? Which means... you've been with us this whole time, spying on us..."
"N-not this whole time," the other her corrected. "But long enough. Long enough to see into your memories of neglecting her... verbally berating her...!"
Memories...? Twilight pondered. How could she have looked into my memories? She mentioned 'dream portals'... Maybe while I was dreaming...? But when did I—?
And then it occurred to her.
That evening in the hospital... I dosed off... she solemnly realized. Of all the luck... This other me had to witness me at my worst...
"Well?" her other self's voice demanded.
"T-that was a mistake on my behalf!" Twilight stammered, scrambling to explain. "I'm sorry, other me! I was a different pony back then... but it's because of Rainbow that I was able to change!"
Her confession gave her other self pause.
"What...?"
"She taught me how to forgive myself, and... and how to make amends with those closest to me. She taught me how to be strong, and to place my trust in others! To give friendship a shot, and to be the best possible version of myself... That's why she's more than a friend to me," she confessed, smiling fondly as she reminisced. "That's why I love her."
Her doppelganger's interest peaked. Love...? She eased back, her mind in disbelief. Looks like I wasn't the only one Rainbow worked her magic on...
"I'm sorry you saw what you did..." continued Twilight. "But that isn't who I am anymore! I would lay down my life for that mare, so please! Help me find my way out of here, and back to reality before it's late to save her!"
Her other self's eyes widened. "...S-save?"
Twilight bowed her head, peering down hopelessly at the murky ground beneath her. "I fear she's still hanging by a thread... even as we speak."
"I-I don't understand," replied the other her. "I thought my shadow merely wanted the Elements? It doesn't make sense she would gravely wound Rainbow Dash."
"Urgh, we don't have time to be talking like this," Twilight grumbled. "There's just... too much that either of us don't know about the current situation—hay, I still can't wrap my head around the fact I'm currently talking to another me within my own head," she mused in a low murmur. "Time is of the essence though, and—"
"Actually..." her other self spoke, a little anxiously. "I'm not so sure. Er, h-how long has it been? S-since the day I witnessed you and her?"
Twilight's ears perked up. "How long...?" she repeated, giving it some thought. "Uhm, well... A-almost a year now, give or take."
"A year?"
She blinked, stupefied at first, before growing silent. She smiled slightly, letting out a halfhearted chuckle.
"For me it's felt like an eternity..."
An eternity...? Twilight experienced a cold shiver upon hearing her doppelganger's words.
"We're cognitive beings, after all. Manifestations of our physical selves, consisting of our spirits. Time for us hold no meaning, technically."
"I suppose... That doesn't mean I intend to stay trapped here any longer than need be."
"N-no, of course not," her other self agreed. "I just... know how high-strung I can be." Her lips formed a knowing smile. "Somepony needs to tell you to slow down, and take things one step at a time every now and then."
Huh? Twilight stared back at her in surprise, at a loss of words for a moment, cocking her head.
Take things slow, huh? She smiled slightly at the notion. Well, I guess if anypony understands what's best for me, it would be myself...
"Very well," she replied, leaving her thoughts. "I have time, so I'll stay calm... and devise a way out of here!"
Twilight took a deep breath, closing her eyes, as she mulled over everything she had learned about her doppelganger, and the void she currently found herself trapped within.
"But, if this is your mind," she continued after a few moments, drawing her doppelganger's curiosity. "Then I'm going to require your assistance."
"M-my assistance?" Her other self questioned, frenzied. "W-why—?"
"Because I'm gonna need you free so that when the time comes, you can take back your body," replied Twilight. "Not to mention that this is your mind, yes? So you should know this place better than anypony, and how to escape its confines."
"I-I'm not s-so sure it'll be q-quite so simple," her other self started to explain, only to fall on deaf ears.
"Let's see now... How to free you..." Twilight pondered, bringing a hoof to her chin. "It should take nothing more than a simple dispel spell," she concluded after a moment, igniting her horn.
Her other self's eyes widened. "W-wait!" she began.
Her voice was cut off by the blinding light caused by her double's horn, and not a moment later, the cell bars began rattling before beginning to dissipate into hundreds of glimmering fragments.
They soon faded completely from view, leaving nothing but darkness in their wake.
"There," informed Twilight, breathing out a sigh of relief as she turned to face her doppelganger, "now you're free—"
"Y-you idiot!"
Twilight froze, staring back dumbfounded at her other self, who all of a sudden looked very distressed.
"I can't help you, okay?" she stressed, throwing her forelegs down at her sides. "Because if what I think happened, then... it's already too late. It won't matter what either of us do at this point."
"Too late...?"
"Tell me, Twilight. What's the last thing you remember before you wound up here?"
"Last...? Er, w-well... m-my thoughts are somewhat hazy, but... I remember being s-so... distraught, and... blinking in and out of consciousness... and that was when I locked eyes with you! Er, y-your body, I-I mean."
"Then it's exactly as I thought..."
Hm?
"When you locked eyes with my body, our minds must have formed a mental link somehow—be it our outpour of magic, or similarities in biology—and when we both fell unconscious, you woke up not in my mind... but in a sort of shared mindscape." She shook her head hopelessly. "I don't entirely understand it myself... yet here we are."
"Yeah, I... suppose after tonight, nothing is off the table in terms of believability..." mused Twilight in agreement. "But, even if our minds are linked, there has to be a way to break that connection! So, what did you mean then, when you said nothing we do will matter—?"
"Don't you see, other me? If you fought the one possessing my body, then... shouldn't this inky substance ring familiar?"
Inky? Twilight's brow raised before she directed her gaze towards the watery surface beneath her hooves, and gasped breathlessly as she put two and two together.
"It's the substance my other half was cursed with when... the Shield of Wisdom was cast upon me... to protect my memories."
"It's called inknorance," murmured Twilight, still reeling from the revelation.
"So it has a name..." her doppelganger mused. "All I knew was that it blots out everything it touches... which brings me to my point. Twilight, now that our minds are connected, this darkness—the 'inknorance' as you called it... is already seeping into your mind."
Twilight's heart sank at her doppelganger's words.
"I-it's... already..."
She swallowed hard, finding it hard to maintain her balance.
"This inknorance blots out even one's headspace, creating a blank canvas of sorts... Perfect for my other self to inhabit."
Twilight shuddered, glancing around at her surroundings, at the endless stretch of darkness that encircled her.
This darkness... i-is inknorance? Her chest grew heavy with a sickening feeling. E-even so... "If you take back your body, then that other you should disappear without a host to cling to, right? S-so..."
Her doppelganger shook her head softly.
"If only it were that simple," she murmured, Twilight's own brow furrowing in concern. "Even when she's losing, she still finds a way to win. If I did somehow regain control of my body, and managed to expel the other me from my mind... she would simply take refuge within yours instead... thanks in part to the inknorance."
"Then let's figure out a way to purge it from our minds!"
Her other self stared back at her incredulously. "W-wha...?"
Beneath her, the inknorance began rippling.
"I mean... if we could just seal it away somehow..." continued Twilight, "then this other you would no longer have a safe haven to hide away in... right?"
"Twilight... the inknorance stems from the other me, and it has another purpose other than simply rendering my mind hospitable. Twilight, if... we try to leave...!"
She let out a sudden, breathless gasp at the feeling of her body being pulled under, the inknorance acting like quicksand, and swiftly swallowing her up.
Twilight stood frozen in place, too unnerved to make a move as she watched her doppelganger continue struggling to break free.
"Nngh... Y-you see, Twilight?" Twilight jumped at the sound of her doppelganger's strained voice, snapping her out of the state she was in. "This darkness's... other purpose... is to make sure I don't try to reclaim this body!"
She continued sinking, the inknorance reaching up to her neck in no time.
Anxiety swirled within Twilight, biting her lip as she hesitated, mulling over what to do.
Until she could bear it no longer.
"No!" she cried out, scrambling clumsily through the ink. M-my body... just reacted on its own... I know it's reckless of me... but she's my best bet at helping me make it out of this place!
Her body sloshed through the ink as she leapt forward, narrowly grabbing hold of her other self's hoof. And... plus, I...
She gritted her teeth, her gaze squinting as she struggled to hold onto her doppelganger's hoof, and through her squinted gaze, saw the bewildered look on her other self's face, looking up at her from below the surface of the ink.
"W-why are you being so reckless for my sake?"
Twilight's eyes widened, her ears standing tall. She can still talk, she realized, staring down at her double in surprise. Well, now that I'm looking at it, the inknorance doesn't seem to extend down beyond this layer into whatever void lies below...
She returned to the questioning look on her doppelganger's face, her lips forming a lukewarm smile.
"I don't think I could bear to see myself die," she professed.
Her other self's eyes opened wide in disbelief, feeling her chest swell with emotion before swiftly forcing her gaze away.
"I won't die, Twilight," she murmured, shaking her head. "I'll just be dragged further down, into the recesses of this place."
"If that happens," argued Twilight, "then you may as well be dead!"
Her doppelganger remained silent for a moment before scoffing under her breath.
"I may well have been for some time now..." she lamented.
Twilight rolled her eyes and grunted, her face pressing further into the inknorance as her body sunk deeper, little by little.
Her other self peered up at her from behind her bangs, before falling back into contemplation. You're not very strong, Twilight... We both know that.
She felt Twilight's hoof begin to slip, dropping her further into the abyss.
Below the inky surface, she looked back up... seeing Twilight's cheek pressed firmly against the layer of inknorance. Despite the forces pulling her own body deeper, she hung on to her hoof the best she could.
She couldn't help but find the whole situation infuriating.
"Just let go of me, you stupid mare," she grumbled, lowering her gaze. "Don't drag yourself down along with me. Just leave me to sink into the darkness where I—"
Her words were cut off and her ears perked suddenly upon hearing her counterpart shout another desperate "No," muffled by the layer of inknorance.
Her gaze shot up in astonishment, staring back at Twilight as she clenched her teeth, squeezing her eyelids tightly together.
"W-what are you doing?!"
"Saving your hide," came Twilight's strained response. She grunted, her horn fizzling, and firing off random sparks of magic. "I'll never leave you hanging..."
The words resonated with her doppelganger, giving her pause.
"Those are the words Rainbow Dash abides by," continued Twilight. "If I aspire to be heroic like her... then above all else, I cannot forsake myself!"
Her other self's chest grew heavy, her gaze saddening. A hero... huh?
Twilight grimaced, and with a fierce scream, thrust her doppelganger upwards, until she breached the inknorance barrier.
Her other self bore a look of shock, even after her upper body breached the surface... and as she lay motionless, she couldn't help but slip into thought.
It's been so long that I guess I've forgotten... All I've done while imprisoned here, is fear the worst... but Dash would never lay around moping! She sniffled, gritting her teeth and leaning forward, doing her best to pull her hind legs free. She would fight, and never give up! Even in the face of overwhelming adversity... she'd face it head-on, 'cause that's what a brave pony does!
She breathed out warily, looking ahead in determination. The odds may be stacked against us... but I'm free now, thanks to her... If I could reclaim my body, then... I could complete my mission here! I... I've got to at least try!
She looked to her left, to Twilight as she lay on her side, exhausted. Their eyes met, and for a moment, they shared a look of understanding.
"W-we can't stay here long, otherwise we risk this inknorance stuff pulling both of us down into the abyss this time."
Twilight silently agreed, as she slowly picked herself up off the layer of ink. She shook her head, mulling over their options.
Maybe I could utilize the cloud-walking spell... It should function more or less the same... For now, however...
Her horn's aura ignited, and with it, an ethereal, orchid platform, like that of a disk, formed under their hooves. Their bodies jutted slightly as it began moving, raising them both high up off the layer of ink.
Whoa... Her other self gazed down in awe, before turning to look over her shoulder, an impressed look on her face. "Nice thinking, other me—!"
She squinted her eyes, taken aback by the light illuminating from her other self's horn.
Er... Think you could maybe dim your horn a little?"
"Why?" Twilight asked. "Does it bother you?"
Her doppelganger snorted.
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "My eyes just need a little time to adjust."
Twilight smiled, nodding before turning back ahead. As she looked on ahead, her smile all of a sudden fell, and she let out a startled gasp as several long, spindly tendrils shot up out from the sea of ink below, one after the other. They towered over them, each of them bearing three, claw-like appendages that loomed overhead, as if ready to strike at any moment.
Twilight gulped at the sight, her pupils shrinking in fear. She unwittingly stepped back, only to brush her tail against her doppelganger's, the sensation snapping her back to reality, and reminding her of where she currently stood.
Neither of us can focus on evading, thought Twilight. Right now, we really need to prioritize defense!
With that in mind, she ignited her horn once more, this time extending their platform out and upwards, folding around them into a sturdy dome.
She breathed out, then jolted at the sudden thunk created by the palm of the clawed tendril pounding against the exterior of their shield.
Another tendril pounded the opposite side of the barrier, this time eliciting an "Eep!" from her doppelganger.
She shrunk back, quivering as the looming tendrils continued mindlessly attacking the dome.
Twilight looked back at her with a fretful expression. "G-get a hold of yourself! You were acting courageous a moment ago!"
"I-I know, b-but..." Her doppelganger gulped nervously, mustering her courage. Be brave, she reminded herself, taking a calming breath.
"Never mind," she replied, stealing her nerves. She glared up at the monstrous tendril looming just outside the dome. "I'm good now."
Twilight smiled, nodding as she turned back on ahead.
"Can you still use your magic?" she asked, giving her other self pause.
"I-I..." her double murmured in uncertainty.
"There's creepy, black tentacle-claw monsters right outside!" stressed Twilight, wincing as one of the attacks from the tendrils left their dome cracked.
She's right... her other self thought. It's been so long... I almost forgot how to cast a spell... But I can't afford to hesitate!
"Yes," she assured, with a confident nod. She fired up her horn. "I'm ready. Lower the barrier and I'll deal with them all at once!"
She'll...? Is she serious? Twilight thought, incredulous. Before she could question her doppelganger's words any further, more cracks formed in the dome, causing her to wince, and let out a muffled groan.
Oh what the hay, she decided, and with a shaky breath, reduced their bubble to a midair platform.
"Okay..." Twilight's counterpart breathed out, closing her eyes and focusing on her magic. at the same time, the clawed tentacles reared back, before diving towards them.
Twilight bit her lip, instinctively squeezing her eyelids shut. "Whatever you're about to do, do it now please!"
"Time to take my body back," her doppelganger whispered, her eyes turning white.
A wave of magic rode out from the shores of their platform, washing over the monsters, and swiftly drowning them in its midst.
The wave retracted, leaving no trace or sign of the monsters having ever been there.
Twilight blinked, then looked all around her, utterly astonished.
"Whoa..."
"Years of practice," her other replied. She glanced over her shoulder, adding in a teasing manner, "You'll reach this level someday."
Twilight rolled her eyes, sporting a slight smile.
"Does that include wings?"
Her other self turned to look at her surprised.
Twilight continued. "I... thought you might be an alicorn from the real world, but this was also after you had absorbed some of Cadance and Celestia's magic; and due to your shapeshifting abilities, I... couldn't be certain. Looking at you now though..."
She peered down at her other self's wings in admiration.
"Truth be told, I'm a little envious of them. What I wouldn't give to be able to actually fly alongside Rainbow..."
Her doppelganger snorted, sporting a halfhearted smile. "Yeah, I... guess I sort of took them for granted myself... I... still don't feel like I'm entirely worthy of them, but... Celestia, a-and Rainbow thought I was, so..." She fell silent for a moment as she continued to reminisce. "I-it's not like I ascended without a reason, after all."
Ascended?
The word sparked Twilight's curiosity.
Huh. Well, now that I think about it, Cadance did the same thing... Hm... makes me wonder... "Do you think, um... maybe someday..." she began, before trailing off, her expression turning sheepish.
"What?" her doppelganger pressed, looking over teasingly. "That you'll ascend someday?"
The question caused Twilight to shy her gaze away, her cheeks blushing.
Her other self laughed softly, as she looked back on ahead.
"Hm, well... I come from another reality, Twilight, not this one." She gave her shoulders a shrug. "Who knows what your future has in..."
Her own words gave her pause, as the word 'future' reminded her of something Nightmare Moon had told 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?"
Her brow creased in worry at the stark reminder. "Um, Twilight," she murmured, a little apprehensively as she averted her eyes. "I... A-about your reality—"
"Hey," Twilight spoke up suddenly. She bit her lip, clutching her foreleg as she peered down in the dark abyss below. "S-so, uhm... Do you think more of those tentacle things will show?"
Her counterpart blinked, taken aback. She must've been steeped in her own thoughts too, because she didn't even hear me right now... I suppose she's right though. Now's not the time, nor the place to discuss such things...
"I dunno," she solemnly replied. "This stuff... the inknorance, it... it's magic... a-and we all know how unpredictable magic can be."
"Right..." Twilight nervously agreed. "H-hey, uh... you know... That was a... pret-ty nifty spell you used back there, other me," she remarked, looking over at her other self with a slight grin.
Her other self, in turn, snorted at the remark.
"If I had to hazard a guess... it's only because the Shield of Wisdom was cast on me, and, as a result... the evil me was stricken with the inknorance curse. So, because it stems from the Shield of Wisdom, and the shield is now a part of me... that just means my magic has what it takes to counteract it, I... think."
"W-well, hey!" exclaimed Twilight. "That's great news for us then, isn't it? I-I mean, I assume you can use it to clean away all of this gunk as well?" she asked, motioning to the inknorance beneath them.
Her doppelganger shook her head. "In order to do that, Twilight... I need to scrub away at the source."
Hm?
Twilight cocked her head, but before she could question what her other self meant, she added, "Lower us back to the surface."
"N-not without a failsafe, I won't!" Twilight refused fretfully. "Allow me to at least cast a cloud-walking spell on us both a-as a precaution!"
Her other self's ears perked up, her brow raising. Cloud-walking spell...? That brings back memories... That's a clever workaround to the risk of the inknorance dragging either of us down too. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though. We Twilights are innovators, regardless of our backgrounds...
She took incentive, turning to face Twilight directly. "Allow me to cast the spell, Twilight," she volunteered. "After all, my magic counteracts the inknorance."
She knows it? Twilight looked back at her counterpart in surprise. "By all means then," she relented, her expression easing up into a look of trust.
Her other self nodded, igniting her horn and enchanting their hooves, resulting in a light magenta aura shimmering around them.
At the same time, Twilight lowered their platform back down onto the surface of the inknorance.
With baited breath, the two of them stepped out onto its surface, their platform dissipating behind them.
Her doppelganger looked out into the endless darkness, remaining silent for a long moment before yelling out, "Show yourself, other me!"
Twilight jumped, startled by her other self's sudden outburst. O-other her? she wondered. She must mean the evil her... but then, does that mean...?
The walls of their collective mind began to rumble, the ground beginning to shake.
"Well well well..." a voice, distorted and echoey... and all-too familiar, spoke up from the shadows, seemingly coming from all around them. "Looks like I got caught red-hoofed."
Twilight's double took on a defensive stance, conjuring a shining, crest-like object to her foreleg.
Twilight squinted briefly from the bright light her other self's shield-like construct emitted. I-is that the Shield of Wisdom? Her eyes slowly reopened as she continued staring in awe. I guess the inknorance isn't the only thing that can manifest itself in a literal sense...
Rrgh... Twilight's doppelganger grit her teeth, raising her shield as her horn flared.
"I-I don't understand," remarked Twilight, shaking her head. "The evil you is here with us? W-when did that happen?"
"I suspected as much once I realized that our minds had converged, and you found yourself here. If you were here, then surely the one in control of my body was also here. Furthermore," her other self went on to explain, "I felt something was off the moment the inknorance tried attacking us directly. It was only a hunch, but... I've only ever known it to restrain, or blot things out... not attack."
She fell silent, recalling the moment Nightmare Moon had freed her evil self.
The same thing happened back then too, though the tendrils at the time were different, like they had yet to fully materialize...
"But wait," Twilight replied, no less confused. "If she's here, manipulating the inknorance, then... why do it from the shadows? I-I mean, if she's so confident... why not face us head-on—l-like in the real world?"
"Isn't it obvious, Twilight?"
Hm? Twilight cocked her head at her other self.
"It's because she isn't confident," her counterpart declared. "She can't utilize her dark magic if she's not in control of my physical body. In here, she's no more powerful than I am, the difference between us being that I have the Shield of Wisdom, and we just proved how powerless the inknorance is against it!"
She stomped her hoof down, creating a circle of light that swiftly expanded, absolving the dark abyss in the blink of an eye.
As the darkness dissipated, Twilight's eyes slowly widened at the sight of something beneath the darkness.
Floorboards, she realized, then turned her attention to the surroundings, to the darkness melting away, and the burgeoning bookshelves that appeared in its place. This is what the interior of her mind really looks like...
In the far distance, she could see what looked like the interior of her tower coming into view, and as more of the inknorance dissipated, something else became apparent to Twilight.
This place... reminds me of the library Rainbow showed me, that night in Ponyville...
Rainbow breathed out deeply. "I was wondering if..." She looked, her voice becoming that of low murmur. "I-if, you know... you'd like to move here."
"...Move here?"
Rainbow nodded slightly, keeping her gaze fixated away from her as a faint blush formed in her cheeks.
"Y-yeah, y-you know..." she stammered, then reiterated, "w-with me."
The faint, embarrassed blush on her face deepened as she swallowed hard. Mustering her courage, she turned to face her girlfriend directly. "I was thinking maybe the two of us could make this place our new home."
Could it be, wondered Twilight, as the memory faded, that I moved to Ponyville in this other me's reality?
With a muffled grunt, their foe materialized a short distance away before their very eyes. She stumbled forward, slipping free from the darkness as the last of the inknorance faded away completely.
Her villainous self glared up at them, wincing from the residual pain that continued wracking her body.
Twilight's attention was drawn to the black and white pony, her lips slowly parting in astonishment at the sight of her.
That's what her cognitive self truly looks like, she realized. "Stark white fur, and jet black mane and eyes..." She gulped nervously, observing as what she could only assume was inknorance dripped from her bangs, and stained her cheeks as the same droplets formed in her eyes, slowly trailing down her cheeks.
"Don't be unnerved, Twilight." Twilight jumped at the sound of her other, nobler self's voice calling out to her. "What you see before you is nothing more that rogue emotions, nothing more."
Their foe's anger flared.
"For the longest time, I let my fears get the better of me... and even when we met, I felt like I didn't deserve to be freed, nor did I even want to be freed because of how... frightening the task ahead seemed. I... also knew that the inknorance would try and prevent me from reclaiming my body the moment I broke free..."
Twilight's ears flopped as she peered away guiltily.
"But then you saved me," her doppelganger continued. "You... reminded me of what Dash would say. So I'm not going to let fear, or... any other negative emotion rule my life anymore! That includes you... rogue emotions."
"Hmph." Twilight smiled, turning back towards her double with an amazed look. "No wonder she locked you up."
The two shared a laugh, much to their foe's annoyance.
"I am trying to rid this, and all worlds of the pain of loss and misfortune! Why can't you understand that?"
"Oh, we do." Twilight replied. "We just don't agree that you're the one who should do it."
"Your mind's distorted because of the emotions you embody," her doppelganger added in. "You were created during a time of great strife and war, and when all else failed, you saw yourself as the only sensible one. The one who could fix everyponies' problems... But no matter how noble your ideals may seem, you're only acting on them out of spite for those in power!"
"Instead," said Twilight, placing a hoof over her heart, "we'll rely on, and put our trust in our friends to help make our worlds a better place. Sure, bad things may happen, and sure, some catastrophes may even be unavoidable, but... that's precisely one of the many reasons why we need friends in the first place. To help us grieve in our darkest hour, and be there to help us move on, and make the most out of life!"
Their foe rolled her eyes. "Oh please... Stop with the whole 'friendship is magic' drivel. What, are you already forgetting what you called me? I'm nothing more than rogue emotions, remember? So why even talk me into changing my ways? And who even are you to lecture me, when... when you don't know the first thing about loss!"
Twilight's eyes widened ever so slightly at her foe's words, her accusation hitting her hard.
"What do you know about loss?" Rainbow growled out accusingly, her girlfriend's voice playing out within her thoughts. "About losing a family member? One that... that you can't even remember!"
"Yeah, and you don't know the first thing about having friends," Twilight's other self retorted. "I know because... because you killed ours without a second thought."
Twilight peered over at her other self with a look of surprise.
Her doppelganger sighed, shaking her head and turning around.
"Enough of this. It's time I took my body back—" She glanced back over her shoulder, at her evil half. "—and expel you from it for the last time."
"E-expel...?" Her villainous half stared back at her incredulously. "Y-you're kidding. If you do that, it'd doom us both!"
Twilight's eyes widened, and she looked after her doppelganger as she walked away. "Is she serious...?"
"No, Twilight, she isn't. She wouldn't know because this has never been tested before... and besides, she tries to instill fear and doubt in ponies like us, remember?"
Twilight averted her eyes, her voice softening. "R-right..."
"Run back to your mind now, Twilight. If you're still here when I come to, you'll be trapped here in this place."
Twilight perked up instantly.
"Oh! Um... r-right," she stammered. "S-see you in the real world!"
Twilight's doppelganger and her evil duplicate watched as she ran off towards the safety of her mindscape.
"I wasn't lying this time, you know," her evil duplicate chided. "But do whatever you feel is right. After all, you've done nothing but make the right choices, time after time after time."
Twilight ignored her evil duplicate's taunts, proceeding to open her body's eyes wide open, delivering the shock to her system her body needed to regain control.
The light radiating from her body's eyes dimmed as they returned to their original state.
"You..." her rogue emotions growled out. "I can't believe you're seriously going ahead with this..." She stomped her hoof, exclaiming, "I'm the cure for this, and all worlds! I know what needs to be done, and I have the strength to do it! I'm your strength! Without me, you'll be—!"
"Expel," Twilight's doppelganger murmured under her breath, her horn's aura igniting. The word left her lips, rendering her rogue emotions immobile. She was lifted up off the ground, feeling strong, gale winds pulling at her.
She grunted, floating helplessly in the air as her body was reduced to smoke, little by little. Her forelegs struggled hopelessly against the fierce force of the spell until at last her entire body was reduced to a black cloud of smoke, and exorcised from her mind completely.
She reappeared in the real world, exiting out of her body's right ear, and remaining in her true, shadow pony form.
Tsk... She looked around at her surroundings, briefly taken aback by the fire and smoke that ate away at her surroundings, before redirecting her attention elsewhere.
She smirked, and without hesitating, quickly flew out of sight.
At the same time, her other self regained full control of her senses, blinking her eyes as her vision slowly came into focus... and she silently gasped, appalled by what she saw.
N-no... Her gaze saddened, as a cold chill ran down her spine... as her nostrils were met with the unmistakable odor of smoldering ash, and her vision met with the bright hues of ravaging flames. This isn't real... T-this... can't be happening again!
Her pulse quickened, making her feel sick to her stomach. Her breaths turned rugged, uneven... as she struggled to stay cognitive of her surroundings.
N-no... She shuddered, clutching her foreleg. No... no, this is just a forest fire, she told herself, over and over. It's just a forest fire, it's just a forest fire, it's just a...!
She came to her senses, looking around herself, fully alert. A forest fire! But, how...? Her ears flopped in puzzlement, her brow furrowing in contemplation. It must have been when the other me, and the evil me both lost consciousness. The outpour of magic must have set the surrounding trees aflame—!
Her eyes flew open. Twilight! she remembered, looking around frantically. Where is—?
Her worries were put to rest as she caught a glimpse of her other self's hazy silhouette, partially visible through the thick smoke.
Her face lit up, and she went to lift a foreleg, ready to run on over to her... when her body all of a sudden froze up.
A searing pain struck her heart, causing her to wince and suck in a sharp breath, as she was left motionless for a long moment... unable to do anything but contemplate the strange, new sensation.
She breathed in slowly, and ruggedly, struggling to keep her balance as she felt as though her forelegs were about to give out from under her at any moment.
It... feels like my heart's been torn wide open... But... why is this...?
Her eyes slowly reopened, as the dreary reminder of something her duplicate self had said dawned on her.
"I wasn't lying this time, you know," her evil duplicate had chided. "But do whatever you feel is right. After all, you've done nothing but make the right choices, time after time after time."
She swallowed hard, sudden chills traveling throughout her body as her mind reluctantly feared the worst.
W-was she seriously… telling the truth...?
Her eyes welled up with tears as she faced the cruel reality of the situation, and let out a choked sob as she bowed her head, squeezing her eyelids tight and clenching her teeth as her jaw unwittingly trembled.
I'm such a stupid mare... I let her mess with my head, even when I knew that was what she was trying to do! I bet even her anger over me banishing her was fake too... Her lips formed a bitter smile. I'm such a screwup... Maybe... this is what I...
"Hello, other me."
Her eyelids flew open at the hauntingly familiar voice, and craned her neck up to come face-to-face with her other self's body, leering down at her as a grin parted Twilight's features.
"What was that about your little theory having never been tested before?"
Cadance's ear twitched, picking up on what sounded like voices coming from deeper within the forest.
She remained crouched by Rainbow's side, nursing her wounds and monitoring her pulse. Shining stood watch over her, while Celestia flew around overhead, doing her best to prevent the flames from spreading.
"Um, guys?" she called out, grabbing both her aunt's, and Shining's attention. She nodded in the direction of the tree line. "Do you hear that?"
"Voices?" Shining questioned, squinting in the general direction. "You sure, Cady?"
"I mean... I suppose I could have imagined it..."
"No, I believe Cadance is right, Shining Armor," Celestia remarked as she spoke up, peering past the leaves of the trees, into the smoldering forest grounds beneath her.
I can't make out their magic auras anymore. I can't sense them either... Could it be..?
Without hesitation, Celestia's horn flared, and she teleported, disappearing before both Cadance and Shining's eyes.
"Auntie, wait!" Cadance called out after her.
Celestia reappeared within a bright flash, standing on the forest floor. Despite the crackling flames and sweltering heat, she was able to pick up on the voices a little more clearly, as well as a pair of silhouettes on the other side of some bramble.
"...little theory having never been tested before?"
There's no mistaking it... That's Twilight's voice. But, as for which one, I...
She stepped a little closer, when her presence seemed to elicit a gasp in her direction, followed by a desperate cry of her name.
"Celestia!"
Celestia had but a moment to react before the figure nearest to her, turned to face her... horn brimming with magic.
"Well... look who decided to show up."
The alicorn princess's heart skipped, as she took an instinctive step back... her student's face leering back at her.
"P-princess!" the other figure cried out. "T-that isn't Twilight! T-the foe you've been fighting, i-it's her!"
Twilight's expression smirked, peering back at her other half.
"Thanks to you, other me." She looked back ahead, addressing Celestia directly. "She expelled me from her mind... but forgot that I harbor Nightmare Moon's spirit, her powers, her memories... and I saw what happened when she severed her link with my world's Luna."
Celestia's brow raised, her lips parting.
Her world's Luna...?
"She was left for dead, dying in the snow. The body cannot survive after losing such a vital part of your very being. But my other self thought she knew better, and look at her now! She's struggling to stay alive, and I have a fresh, new body to inhabit! Of course," the villain grumbled as she continued, "this body has not ascended to alicornhood... but it'll do."
"But... Twilight's mind was purged of the inknorance!" Twilight's doppelganger exclaimed, exasperated. "Our minds were even unlinked! So... how—?"
"What," her villainous self boasted, "you seriously haven't figured it out?" She hopelessly shook her head, grinning at her other self's nativity. "I simply ensnared her cognitive self before she could regain her senses! Even now... this body's former resident remains trapped, suspended within a swirling vortex of my making!"
Twilight's doppelganger stared back disbelievingly at her other self. Was she really fast enough to—?
"Face it, other me!" her rogue self continued, mocking her. "You're just a screwup. No matter what you try, and no matter what you do... it always backfires in your face!"
Backfires...?
"Enough of this!" Celestia yelled out over the sounds of crackling flames. "Relinquish control of Twilight Sparkle's body at once!"
Twilight's rogue emotions turned towards the alicorn princess, eyebrow piqued. "And if I say no...? What will you do? Attack me? Or perhaps enter my mind, and force me out?" She sneered in delight. "Face it, Cely... you've used up a heckuva lot of magic tonight... and even if you hadn't... you'd never risk harming your precious Element of Magic..."
Celestia glared back at the villain, all the while wracking her brain for a solution.
"You see, I need a new body, and it just so happens that this one is perfect. Young, primed, susceptible... This other Twilight has run her course. She's... no longer the obedient little pony she once was, she... can't be broken any further." Twilight's villainous self glanced over her shoulder, and with a swift kick, thrust her former host backwards, her body tumbling into the crater with a cry.
She landed in a heap, among the dirt and debris. She breathed in sharply and squinted her eyes tightly in pain, her whole body searing with fiery pain.
Tears welled in her eyes as she lay there, helpless... powerless to do a thing, with nothing more than her evil self's words echoing in her thoughts.
"You're just a screwup. No matter what you try, and no matter what you do... it always backfires in your face!"
She clenched her jaw to stop herself from sobbing aloud, as she lay silently crying face down in the dirt.
Twilight's rogue emotions turned back ahead, bearing a smirk.
"She burnt out on me. But this Twilight! Oh, this Twilight is full of hurt, of pain! She's suffering the loss of her friends, of her home; and that, Princess, is when they're at their most manipulable! Only this time, there will be no mistakes. I'll make it that she'll have no memory of her friends, her consciousness will be drowned in darkness... She'll... have nothing left to keep her going! Oh, and don't even think of trying anything," she added. "One move, and I'll snuff out her cognitive self in an instant."
Celestia's heart skipped, her eyes slowly widening at her foe's threat.
She's right... Even if I were to enter her mind, she could so easily smother Twilight's consciousness like a candlelight...
"Oh, but why stop there? My curse spreads far and wide... This inky substance... it blots out more than just our surroundings... Hay, I may just command it to blot out the memories of that wretched pegasus from the minds of all of Canterlot!" She let out a soft, callous laughter. "Forget the Elements! After erasing all traces of what Twilight holds dearest in the minds of this city, it'll be as if none of it ever existed! All of the ponies Rainbow Dash inspired will forget, and my rule will be all but guaranteed! Much more effective than simply killing her, or any of your other little element bearers, don'tcha think?"
Celestia glared at the coy little pony.
"If you think for a second... that I'm going to stand idly by—!"
"Hm? Oh no, no, it's already happening."
What!
"The... inknorance you guys called it? It's dripped from my body all over this city. In the castle... in the streets... in these woods."
Celestia felt her heart sink, as she turned frenzied towards the direction of the city.
"Honey? What time is it...?" asked Twilight Velvet in a tired voice, as she remained seated beside her husband, resting against his shoulder. "It feels like hours since the kids and Rainbow all left to fight that... shadow pony-thing."
She grew pensive as her voice dipped to that of a murmur. "Do... you think...?"
"Our kids are strong, Dear, don't forget that," Night Light assured her, giving her hoof a squeeze. "Heck, even Rainbow, and Cadance are strong too. None of them are quick to give up, okay? You just have to believe in them."
"I know that, but... I don't think I'll be able to relax until I see them again, safe and sound." She fell silent, staring aimlessly into the ballroom.
The once regal and beautiful ballroom now resembled more of a shelter, with families and ponies of varying stature seated wherever there was space available.
"I wonder how much longer they plan on keeping us here..." Twilight Velvet quietly mused.
"Well, at least the guards regained their senses, and are back on our side," Night Light replied. "They've been holding this place down and standing watch all this time. Let's just be thankful we're someplace that's at least somewhat safe."
"Right now, I couldn't care less about my own safety. Not when my kids, and their loved ones—!"
A startled cry, followed by a few shrieks and yells, startled the couple, alerting them to the commotion, and as they turned to see what the noise was about, paled at the sight.
An oily, black substance spread rapidly across the ballroom floor, tendrils emerging forth from its surface, striking pony by pony between their eyes.
Clamor quickly filled the air, but many had little time to react before the mysterious substance struck them too, leaving them immobilized and staring off into space.
As the ballroom erupted into disarray, and many attempted to flee, Night and Twilight instinctively bolted up from their seats.
"W-what is...? W-where did that stuff come from?" stammered Twilight Velvet.
"I... I-it must have crept in from the garden entrance," replied Night Light in a hurry. "Come on, we need to—! Honey, watch—!"
Night Light's words died on his tongue as one of the eerie, black tendrils struck his head.
Twilight Velvet let out a horrified gasp.
"Nigh—!"
Her husband's name died no sooner than it was uttered as she jolted, startled as she too found herself struck by another one of the mysterious tendrils.
Her shocked gaze slowly returned to normal, feeling her eyelids start to grow heavy as the tension in her limbs melted away.
And despite it all... she felt very much alive, still cognitive of the ballroom, and the ponies around her—as though she were lucid dreaming.
Mnrgh... Twilight... a-and Shining. I... remember them running off because of some danger... but...
As her mind drifted further into slumber... her thoughts began to drift, and she soon found herself struggling to recall what she had been so worried about in the first place.
Did Daring pay me a visit...? I... remember a pegasus, but... Well, it was probably just a meeting about a new book. I swear we've had so many of those, that they practically all blur together!
"I'm telling you girls... I'm fine, seriously."
Moon Dancer shook off her friends' concerns, assuring them she was fine.
Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lemon Hearts all stood around her worriedly. Minuette and Lemon's armor had retracted to their saddles, while per her request, Twinkleshine had given Moon Dancer hers.
"Are you really sure though, Moon?" asked Spike, peering up at her guiltily as she finished suiting up. "My memory's still sort of foggy, but... I know I hurt you pretty bad, and, well..."
"Aw, Spike... I appreciate the concern, but... Rainbow and Twilight are still out there, going through who-only-knows what! As their friend, I cannot let them down!"
Spike nodded softly, averting his eyes.
"I only wish there was a way I could help..." he murmured, clutching his arm. "Instead, I only ended up doing nothing but causing more trouble for you guys..."
Moon Dancer's gaze saddened. "Spike..."
"A-anyway!" He smiled up at her, swiftly placing the thought aside. "Be back soon... okay?"
Moon Dancer smiled back at him warmly.
"I will, don't you..." Her voice drifted off, her eyes widening at the sight of... something approaching, and approaching quickly. "...worry... G-guys! Look out!"
Hm?
Her friends each turned their heads only partway, having but a second to react before being struck in the head by malevolent-looking tendrils. The pointed tips pierced their skulls, however drawing no blood, and leaving Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lemon Hearts immobilized completely.
Spike, who had been the last to turn, gasped in terror, before failing onto his rump and frantically scrambling back, until he brushed up against Moon Dancer's forelegs.
His heart beating wildly, he gulped nervously before peering up shakily towards the mare, only to see her staring straight ahead at her three friends, seemingly too spooked to even move.
"Moon...?"
W-what is...?
"M-Moon!" Spike tried again, giving her foreleg a bit of a forceful shake. "H-hey!"
Moon Dancer jumped, letting out a startled breath, and looking down at Spike, hurriedly crouched down beside him, holding him tightly against her.
The strange, black substance crawled across the ground like a roaming mist, moving quickly across the street, and inching ever nearer towards Spike and herself.
"M-Moon...?" Spike asked, his voice shaking. "What's...?"
"I-I don't know, Spike," she answered breathlessly. She swallowed her nerves, and with gusto, swept Spike up in her right foreleg, and ran in the other direction with her other three.
"Moon!" he exclaimed in startlement. "W-what're you...? Y-you're in no condition—!"
"I don't care, Spike!" came Moon Dancer's hurried response. "I'm not letting that stuff touch you!"
"Moon..."
Spike peered away as his feelings only worsened. There was no way either one of them would be able to outrun whatever that was...
Darn it! Moon Dancer cursed mentally as she continued hobbling forward. I can't fly while holding Spike like this...! But if I stop, then I—! The world around her blurred as she grew more and more lightheaded, and her head throbbed in pain, causing her to stumble.
She collapsed on her side, dropping Spike beside her. She groaned, reeling from the lingering sensation of vertigo. She blinked her eyes several times and shook her head, picking herself up from the ground.
"Moon..."
Moon Dancer's ears perked up, and she turned warily in the direction of the voice, and a pang ran across her heart at the sorrowful state of Spike as he lay beside her... the darkness creeping up on them both.
"You're really the best friend a dragon like me could've asked for."
Moon's eyes immediately grew misty.
Spike...
The darkness crept under their bodies, and before Spike could utter a noise, his head was penetrated by a tendril, as it rose out of the blackness.
Moon Dancer's body went cold, her pupils shrinking.
"Spi—!"
She flinched as a second tendril, twitching as its slithery form rose up from the ground, examining her... before striking the spot between her eyes.
Her eyelids squeezed shut, when she heard a soft tink reverberate off her faceplate, followed by a low fizzling—as if the strain of magic was... hissing.
Moon Dancer blinked her eyes back open, her heart beating wildly in her chest as she stared back at the tendril, her gaze unwavering.
Then, as quickly as it appeared, it submerged back into the darkness... leaving Moon Dancer sitting there in stunned silence, her mind in disbelief of what just took place.
Her eyes darted back to Spike, and her heart once again sunk at the sight of him, frozen in place, his eyes unblinking.
She tentatively reached out, pressing her hoof gingerly against his neck, and to her relief... she could make out his heartbeat.
So, Spike, and everypony else, they're... they're alive... But then... what is...?
She turned her attention to the expanding, ink-like substance, examining it for a couple moments in pensive silence.
Rainbow, or Twilight... heck, even the princesses may know something...
She turned back to Spike, and smiled softly, running a hoof across the spikes atop his head.
"I'll be back for you soon, buddy..." she promised, before turning back on ahead.
She peered up towards the sky, recalling what Twinkleshine had told her, after she had returned from the sky with Spike.
"Yeah, the uh, princess... She, uh... flew off towards the outer woods. Said something about... doing whatever she must."
With that in mind, she got to her hooves, and took off towards the woods.
"Shining!" exclaimed Cadance, as her attention was drawn back towards the woods as a gooey, black substance began oozing out from the tree line.
Shining heard her, and turned to see what had caused her to scream his name.
"It's more of that stuff," he murmured, taking on a more defensive stance, and igniting his horn. "Keep Rainbow close, and stay behind me, Cady."
He ignited a blue, magical barrier around himself, Cadance and Rainbow, as the inknorance crept ever closer.
"Tch..." Shining took a nervous step back while Cadance looked on worriedly, wrapping her hooves a little more tightly around Rainbow's body.
"Shining...?" Cadance bit the corner of her lip before hesitantly asking, "Do you think Celestia is...?"
Her question drifted off, but Shining was able to connect the dots.
"I'm sure she's fine."
He smiled down at her, but Cadance could see the uncertainty hidden behind it.
"I mean, your aunt's the Princess of the Sun, remember?"
She looked back ahead in contemplation.
"Yeah," she replied softly, "I know..."
Shining held his ground as the inknorance continued to advance, but unbeknownst to him, his dome-like barrier extended only to the grassy plain... and the inknorance worming its way through the loose soil and shorter grass went unnoticed by the couple.
The anxiety Moon Dancer felt swelled as she found herself approaching the outer edges of the city.
Please don't be too late, please don't be too late, please don't be...!
She chewed her bottom lip, doing her best to suppress her nagging, worrying thoughts, and instead focus on a more positive outcome.
That all changed the moment she caught sight of some ponies huddled together within a magical barrier.
She paled at the sight, her chest tightening. Without wasting a moment, she descended quickly towards the ground.
"Guys!" Moon Dancer cried out towards the three of them, landing in the grassy field a short distance away.
Shining turned in her direction, and his face swiftly changed to a look of shock.
"You again?!"
"You need to get away from there, ASAP!" continued Moon Dancer, as she began running to them, her heart beating faster. "The ground isn't safe! y-you need to just run, a-and don't stop! Now—!"
Her brow raised, and she gasped suddenly, watching as more tendrils from before rose up out of the ground behind both himself and Princess Cadance.
"Behind you!" she yelled.
Confused, Cadance was the first to turn her head, and gasped before being struck right above her muzzle by one of the tendrils.
Shining turned in time to see the tendril piece the skull of the pony he loved, and his heart sunk.
"Cadance!" he cried out desperately, before he too fell silent, his body going limp... the dome around them dissipating into the air.
Moon Dancer's eyes slowly widened, her run slowing to a canter.
"No..." she uttered under her breath, falling quiet as she once more grew a little teary.
She mentally cursed, staring sorrowfully at the couple... when her attention caught a glimpse of several bright colors, poking out from behind Cadance.
She instantly perked up, a glimmer of hope igniting in her eyes.
Rainbow? she wondered, before realizing the tendrils still lingered, seemingly looming over... something.
Her hopeful smile fell.
"No..."
She began running again, disregarding her safety, and throwing caution to the wind.
Her armor seemed to protect her anyway, from... whatever this stuff was.
"No...!" she repeated under her breath. "No, no, no, no, no...!"
As she got closer, she could confirm that it was indeed Rainbow, nestled in Cadance's lap; and as she rounded the couple... her heart sunk in dismay.
A tendril loomed over Rainbow's body... embedding itself right between her eyes.
Her blood went cold at the sight.
Her eyes drifted further as her breaths grew a little uneven, and she saw a series of small, furless patches along her side, with slight blood trails stemming from them.
A-are those wounds...? They look mostly healed, but... Was Cadance healing them?
She grit her teeth, her anger flaring.
What the hay happened here?!
She redirected her attention to the tendril once more, before raising a hoof, and firing.
One after the other, she unloaded magical blasts into the tendril, only for them to pass harmlessly through.
She huffed out, glaring warily at the tendril for a moment longer, before shutting her eyes tight and stomping her hoof down against the black substance that now coated the grass.
"Darn it!"
She sniffled, lowering her head as a couple tears unwittingly trickled down her cheeks.
"Nngh..."
The sound of a sudden groan broke through the silence. Moon Dancer's eyes flew open, and she turned attentively towards the source, where she saw Rainbow wincing... groaning under her breath.
Rainbow? Moon Dancer wondered.
"Twi..." Rainbow mumbled.
Twi? Moon Dancer thought, staring in confusion at the pegasus, before switching her gaze over to Cadance and Shining. So why aren't they moving? W-why's Rainbow resisting whatever's happening to her, but not everypony else?
She veered closer in astonishment, kneeling down beside Rainbow.
If it were a nightmare, then... everypony would no doubt be acting similarly... If these tendrils are attacking their brains, then... Her eyes slowly grew larger as it dawned on her. It's targeting their memories... It... wants Equestria to forget...
She stood up, stumbling away from the three as she recalled the words she had exchanged with Twilight the day before...
"The Elements are not ponies, Moon Dancer. They're some kind of... artifacts, and they're inherited by a select few, okay? Believe me... The princess wanted me to research them."
"Y-yeah? W-well... y'know what some artifacts are? Lost. Destroyed. Forgotten. Hay, there's no proof these things even still exist."
"I believe they do, because as unbelievable as it sounds... Celestia believes Rainbow and me... have already been chosen by them."
With a growing sense of urgency, she turned hurriedly towards the forest.
More of that inky stuff emerged from these woods... So that can only mean...
She ignited the thrusters in her armor's boots, and swallowing her nerves, lifted into the air, before taking off into the forest.
"...Already I can feel it. Their memories are slowly being blotted out, and the best part is, even if you did somehow manage to beat me," Twilight's rogue emotions boasted, "only the inknorance in the real world would vanish!"
Celestia's mind raced, feeling as though she had been backed into a corner as she hovered in the air... a magic, bubble-like barrier encompassing her.
"Now come down here so that I may erase your memories as well! Or better yet..." She grinned maliciously. "So that I may absorb your power into me as well! It'll be in better hooves, I assure you."
Celestia glared back at her.
What do I do? She's holding Twilight captive within her own mind, and I make a move...! Her gaze turned regretful as she thought to herself, If only I could still wield the Elements... Then, maybe I...
"Princess!"
Celestia's ears perked up at the strange, filtered-sounding voice as it called out her name, followed by the sounds of rustling winds and... propulsion?
A pony emerged by her side suddenly from out of the thicket, suspended in the air by miniature flames shooting out from her boots.
"You again...?" their foe remarked aloud in a deadpan voice, drawing Moon Dancer's attention.
Her thoughts ceased suddenly, her lips slowly parting in disbelief.
"Twilight...?"
"No, not quite," Celestia replied, shaking her head. "It's a long story. I'll fill you later once we're out of this mess, but all you need right now is that the one we've been fighting is currently in control of Twilight Sparkle's body."
"No kidding..." murmured Moon Dancer, unnerved. Her gaze slowly saddened the more she continued to peer down at her friend's body. Twilight...
"By the way, um..." Celestia hesitated, before turning to the armored pony beside her with a curious expression. "Who are you, exactly?"
"O-oh, um...!" Moon Dancer blushed, snapping out of her thoughts, and turning attentively towards the princess. "I-it's me, Your Highness! Moon Dancer."
"It's really you under there, Moon Dancer? You mean to tell me you built this armor yourself?"
Moon Dancer snorted, turning back on ahead. "I knew you'd be impressed."
"Are you two done?" Twilight's villainous self stared up at the two of them dryly, then turned her focus towards Moon Dancer in particular. "Moon Dancer, huh? I've heard that name before. Never cared enough to come visit her though," she added with a sneer. "What makes you think your Twilight will be any different?"
"I..."
Moon Dancer fell silent, her enemy's words giving her pause.
"Don't let it get to you," Celestia spoke up, getting through to her, and snapping her from her thoughts.
Moon Dancer perked up, turning to face her curiously.
"Princess?"
"She's just trying to get inside your head, so don't listen to a word she says." Celestia smiled down at her assuredly. "Twilight would never abandon a friend of hers."
"Not if she forgets all of you first!" their foe retorted threateningly, drawing their attention.
"...She's not kidding," Moon Dancer mumbled, before turning to Celestia worriedly. "Princess...? W-what are we going to do?"
"Honestly, I... I-I don't know," came Celestia's solemn response.
"Oh, I'll tell you what you're both going to do..." Twilight's eyes went white as her body knelt forward. "You're both going to die... and surrender this world to me!"
"You're just a screwup."
The words echoed over and over again within the head of Twilight's doppelganger.
"I'm just a screwup..." she murmured into the dirt. "I couldn't save my world, I couldn't save this one..." She sniffled as she continued to wallow. "I don't deserve to be a Princess of Friendship, much less a princess of anything..."
You're wrong.
Twilight let out a startled breath, her teary eyes opening wide.
W-whu...?
If you can hear my voice, then that only means that you are indeed worthy.
...Who are you?
This world is on the precipice of disaster. Harmony itself is at risk of being disrupted, and whenever such a threat arises, a champion must rise to combat it.
Champion? Yeah right, Twilight's doppelganger scoffed. Listen, whoever you are, I'm no champion.
But you must! The voice insisted. You're the only one close enough who can wield the Elements of which my branches bore, to stop this threat before it is too late!
Wait...! Her brow raised. A-are you...?
But be weary. The voice continued. As the Bearer of Magic, you embody aspects of the other five Elements. However, they are not meant to be wielded by one pony alone. If you do decide to wield them, it will no doubt have irreparable side effects. You... may never again be able to wield them.
I'm as good as dead anyways, she replied halfheartedly after a moment, softly shaking her head as she began to pull herself together.
She lifted a hoof, and immediately winced as the unbearable pain flared, like her very nerves were on fire.
She grit her teeth as tears started to well, and slammed the base of her hoof into the dirt. She held back a scream, feeling as though her muscles were tearing as she lifted her other hoof.
Is this... the pain Luna felt... when she...
"She was left for dead, dying in the snow. The body cannot survive after losing such a vital part of your very being. But my other self thought she knew better, and look at her now! She's struggling to stay alive, and I have a fresh, new body to inhabit!
She seethed out, glowering ahead of her as beads of sweat trickled down her face.
No matter the hardships... No matter if it kills me... A spark ignited in her eyes. I will save this world!
Step after step, memories began playing out in her head, keeping her going.
"You have a very special gift. I don't think I've ever come across a unicorn with your raw abilities, but you need to learn to tame these abilities through focused study. Twilight Sparkle, I'd like to make you my own personal protégé here at the school."
"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!"
"I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville."
"Ever since I became a princess, I took the weight of the world on my shoulders, and tried to do everything so that the five of you wouldn't have to. After I lost Spike, I... wanted to protect what little I had left; and after my parents died, I... thought I'd never be able to rely on anypony ever again... But I forgot... that it was my friends who helped me whenever I needed it most. So I think it's time I put my trust in all of you again."
"I'll never leave you hanging... Those are the words Rainbow Dash abides by. If I aspire to be heroic like her... then above all else, I cannot forsake myself!"
She reached the lip of the crater, and through her blurred vision, saw her other self, knelt down in front of her.
"Oh, I'll tell you what you're both going to do... You're both going to die... and surrender this world to me!"
A fierce gust of wind began circulating, whipping furiously around herself, as six, brightly-colored gems circled her, forming a ring of light.
Her own eyes turned stark white.
Twilight? wondered Celestia, watching as she stepped out from the crater, encompassed by the ring of light. Are those...?
Is that another Twilight? thought Moon Dancer in awe. I'm so lost right now. D-does this mean the multiverse really does exist...?
Hm? Twilight's body turned around, only then to stumble back, exclaiming in disbelief, "Y-you!"
She winced from the rainbow aura stemming from her counterpart. "Don't come any closer, or else I swear I'll snuff out her consciousness! I—!"
A rainbow blast shot forth, entangling her evil self in a vortex of swirling colors that rose high into the sky, and causing bits of the terrain to rip away as strong gusts ravaged the mountainside.
"Moon Dancer!" exclaimed Celestia, widening her shield to include the smaller pony, and swiftly moving both her and herself to safety.
Twilight's villainous self groaned as she slowly regained consciousness... finding herself floating in a white void, opposite her other half.
Her eyes immediately narrowed, unamused.
You just don't know when to quit, she growled out, glowering at her other half.
Well... it's like you said, other me. I'm a screwup.
So... what? You're going to seal me away again, is that it? This time inside an innocent mare's head? She let out a scoff. Some friend.
I don't have many options left, her other self admitted, shaking her head solemnly. You're bounded to Twilight, and there's nothing I can think of that would separate the two of you without causing irreversible damage. However... I can seal you away so deep inside that she won't be able to sense you, or hear you, or even feel your influence. Like you did with me for all these months.
Oh, Feeling bitter? I had no idea the Element of Magic could hold a grudge.
Twilight glowered back at her other self, paying her words no mind.
You'll be forced to watch as this mare you so loathsomely despise builds herself back up again, makes new friends, befriends her old ones... and shows what meaning there really is in friendship.
Her counterpart merely glared back at her, eyes burning with contempt.
It's time we both stopped meddling in this world's affairs, and entrusted them to not make the same mistakes we did. It's... time for us to rest.
The empty void around them began to fade, once more resembling the reds, greens, browns and greys of their burning woodland surroundings.
Her villainous self snorted.
If you think I'm going to listen to a princess like yourself... If you think I'm ever to going to rest... Heed my words, other me...
They locked eyes, staring at one another sternly... as their bodies began to fade along with the void.
I... am never going to stop.
The white void vanished, and with it, so did Twilight's evil counterpart.
Her other self's eyes snapped open as she returned to reality... and immediately collapsed, her forelegs and hind legs giving out from under her.
She coughed harshly as more and more smoke billowed around her, and fire continued to spread. Her entire coat felt clammy and drenched in sweat, and every inch of body stung as her muscles and joints remained in searing pain.
And yet, for the first time in forever... she felt at peace.
Not bad, she thought. For a screwup, at least...
The elements encircling her slowly morphed into magical sparkles, flittering into the air before disappearing completely.
And as they left, she heard a voice. It was feint, but the words were unmistakable.
Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. I knew I was right to reach out to you. I... only wish I could somehow return the favor...
Twilight's doppelganger smiled warmly as she sniffled, salty tears rolling down her cheeks.
Any chance you could restore a world from the brink of destruction? The voice remained quiet, cuing her to let out a snort. I'm only kidding. Don't be sorry, it... i-it's fine.
She felt the ground underneath her shift a little as a pair of different, yet familiar voices cried out to her.
"Twilight!"
Celestia and Moon Dancer emerged through the blanket of smoke, hovering above both herself, and their world's Twilight.
They flew nearer, when the earth shifted again, as deep cracks began forming in the nearby ground.
"Guys!" she cried urgently, unwittingly coughing some more. "G-get Twilight out of here! T-this a-area isn't safe!"
"But what about the other you?" Celestia asked. "I-is she...?"
"I sealed her away, u-using the power of the E-elements... Don't worry." She smiled up at her weakly. "S-she won't bother you guys e-ever again..."
Burning branches above them fell, forcing Celestia and Moon Dancer to swerve out of the way. They landed by and around the other Twilight's hooves, the fur of her right foreleg catching fire.
"Twilight!"
"It's okay, Princess." She shook her head assuredly, with whatever strength she had left. "My fate's already sealed. There is no saving me."
"Princess!" Moon Dancer cried out, hovering urgently beside their Twilight as she lay collapsed. "We seriously can't stay here! We need to grab our Twilight and go!"
Celestia bit her lip, looking fretfully back towards Moon Dancer as the ground around them began to give way.
"You heard her," continued Twilight's doppelganger. "Take her and get away from here. Oh... a-and Princess?" Celestia whipped her back around with a tearful expression, Twilight's other self staring back at her with a soft smile. "Tell her to stop reading those... dusty old books..."
Celestia stared back at her, taken aback, before nodding, blinking the tears in her eyes away, and sweeping Twilight's body up in her hooves.
The forest floor crumbled and gave way, and as she began to fall, Twilight's doppelganger gaze softened up as a saddened smile adorned her lips.
I'm sorry, Rainbow, she thought, peering up weakly towards the eclipsed sun. It looks like... I won't be saving our world after all...
Her eyes began to close, when she caught sight of something, at first mistaking it for a trick of the eye.
A dark, winged shape, flying closer and closer towards her. An angel...? she wondered.
Her eyes slowly widened, as more of the figure's features came into view, and she smiled, weakly reaching out to her with her left hoof.
Rainbow Dash...