Celestia sat at the narrow end of a ledge, just outside a mountain cave. The calm waves splashed against the rocks below, a gentle breeze coming from the ocean running through her fur.
However, she paid it little mind.
Her horn dimmed as the sun had now fully risen, and was now visible over the horizon.
She breathed out, leaning back. I forgot how hard it can be... without...
Her gaze fell at the bitter reminder.
Luna... I promise I—
Her ears perked up, and her brow slowly raised, before standing tall and spinning around to face whatever it was attempting to sneak up behind her.
A long couple of moments passed as she stood unflinching, with nothing more than the crashing sounds of the waves to fill the eerie silence.
She tched, staring deeper into the darkness of the cave.
"I know you are there!" She readied her stance, aiming her horn into the darkness. "I would recognize that magical signature anywhere... Nightmare Moon!"
A callous laughter came from within the darkness, as a dark figure, that of a pony's, stepped a little more clearly into view.
"Bra-vo... Celestia," the shadowy figure patronized.
"You..." Celestia's eyes widened, staring puzzled at the intruder. "You're not my sister..."
"Mm?" The figure looked off in thought, brining a hoof to their chin. "No, no, I... left her to die. One less princess to screw things up, you know?"
Celestia grit her teeth, igniting her horn's aura. "What did you say!?"
"If it's any consolation—" Her words were cut off as her body was shot with an intense beam of sunlight, knocking her into the back wall of the cave, and smashing open the back of her crystal armor.
She fell limp to the cave floor, her crystalline body purged of most of the darkness that had surrounded it.
As Celestia stepped deeper like a predator nearing in on its prey... she suddenly froze, noticing half of her attacker's face was unveiled from the darkness.
Her heart ached at the sight of her student's eye peering back at her.
"Your sister was... already dying..."
"Twilight?"
"Not anymore," Twilight's shadow shot back, weakly getting to her hooves. "You see... Nightmare Moon tried taking her over... but she only ended up awakening me instead. Twilight Sparkle's superior self!"
"Her superior...? So Nightmare Moon tempted the darkness within you..." Celestia's gaze solemnly fell. "I never would have guessed she'd go after you."
"And that's the problem with you princesses... You're never able to see what's right in front of you!"
Celestia conjured a shield just as Twilight unleashed a flurry of shots, each one pummeling her barrier.
"You princesses are the problem with this world! All you ever did... was use me, mistrust me... and when I needed you most... you abandoned me!"
Celestia winced, enduring the brunt of her student's barrage. Her hooves skidded back little by little across the cave floor with each blow to her shield.
"I was... searching for my sister!" she desperately tried to explain, however her words did little to quell her student's fiery rage.
"And it never occurred to you that she might come after me!?"
Twilight's darkness seethed, her horn's aura erupting. She wound her head back, before bowing forward, and unleashing a magnificent beam at her old mentor's shield, shattering it completely.
Hundreds of gleaming light particles fizzled out as her shield dissipated, Celestia skidding briefly across the cave floor before collapsing onto a single forearm.
She winced, looking up at the younger mare regretfully.
"I'm... so sorry, Twilight—"
"That isn't my name!" screamed her darkness, unleashing a second beam of energy, and sending Celestia reeling backwards.
The alicorn princess fell onto her side, defeated... and for a long moment, everything was still.
Twilight's shadow snorted, gazing down coldly at the once-proud ruler.
"You failed me, Celestia...," she continued, stepping closer, "but I see things clearly now... and with this newfound power...!" She held up a hoof, displaying the base of it flat. From its surface rose two black, intertwining tendrils, like a corkscrew with a piercing tip.
She smirked down at her fallen idol. "I know what needs to be done."
"You think taking my power will make things better?"
"In my hooves, yes. I will reshape this world into one a little less complicated, where everything goes according to... to..." Her words trailed off, feeling the ground beneath her hooves begin to rumble, and looked towards the cave opening in confusion.
"Is that a—?"
A rainbow blur sped into her, grabbing her by her torso, and slamming her with such force into the back wall of the cave, that it exploded outwards into the scenic forest on the other side.
The rainbow curved into the ground, plowing her through the grass and dirt before coming to a swift halt.
The impact stripped away her shadowy exterior, and shredded her armor as pieces of crystal body chipped away, littering the ditch their bodies had dug.
Rainbow glared down at her friend's face as she grimaced, though amazingly, seemed more peeved than in pain.
"How are you still alive!?" Twilight's darkness demanded, scowling up at her.
"Remember that magic you didn't want?"
"You...!" Her horn ignited, sending a beam of magic into Rainbow's chest. The beam repelled her long enough for her to regain her own footing.
Her crystal armor already repairing itself, she popped the kinks in her neck, before glaring daggers at the newly-crowned alicorn hovering in the skies before her. "So, Luna made you an alicorn, did she? Hmph, no matter..." She smirked, crouching forward. "You're just another princess on my list."
Rainbow grimaced from the residual sting of her friend's magic. Smoke simmered from her tinged fur as she grit her teeth, pushing through the pain. "Give Twilight back her body!"
Twilight's darkness stared back at her, her expression unrelenting. "No," she insisted. "I must be the one... to use these powers."
Rainbow cocked her head, remaining no less wary. "To do what?" she tentatively asked.
"Reshape reality," she replied. "Do not try to stop me."
Rainbow's brow slowly raised in disbelief. "Reshape...? You mean like... rewrite history?" A cold shiver ran down her spine at the notion.
"No, I meant make the Earth flat," came her condescending response. "Yes rewrite history! This world is too far gone for its own good, but I could make everything right again, Dash! Make it so that there's no war, no strife, no causalities! I could bring back all the ones we've lost!"
Rainbow swallowed down a courageous lump in her throat. "There's no way I'm about to let that happen!" she exclaimed, diving at her.
Twilight's body manifested a crystal blade, countering Rainbow's hoof with its blunt edge.
The two glowered at one another, neither budging an inch.
"Your parents died, right? I can make it so that that never happened... Don't you want to see them again—?"
"Of course I do... but not like this! You threatened to kill my friends, you... you're trying to kill Celestia! You... you may not be Twilight... but you still care for Spike, right? What would he say if he knew you were doing this!?"
Twilight's body eased up momentarily, her eyes widening at the chilling reminder. "Spike...?"
"I mean, you want to make things right in the world, right? Undo all the hurt... Well, you're made up of Twilight's pain, and anger at those in charge... but also at the heartbreak she felt when her family died... You want them back too, don't you?" beseeched Rainbow. "That's really why you're doing this... isn't it?"
Twilight's gaze wavered, her voice softening. "I... I just want those... those who betrayed me... to pay! If you understand that, then join with me!" She stared back yearningly into Rainbow's eyes, her blade dematerializing as she instead extended her hoof.
"Lend me your hoof, and we can forge a more perfect world with our powers!"
Rainbow remained steadfast, staring back at her sternly. "Celestia never betrayed you... and neither did Luna, me, or any of the girls! You only think they did because that's what you felt at the time! No world can ever be perfect; we just... learn to make the best of what we're given."
Twilight's brow furled in anger. "I am saying that I can make—!"
Rainbow looked away, softly shaking her head. "I don't want any blood on my hooves... not anymore than I already have."
Twilight stared back into her eyes, feeling her own heart pang at her old friend's resolve. The betrayal she felt right then, morphed swiftly into anger once more as the hurt vanished from her eyes. "Then you will be erased like the rest!"
Rainbow leapt into the air and fired a shot of her own in retaliation, to which Twilight's body conjured up a crystal shield to block the blast.
She winced, feeling her hooves dig into the ground as her body waned and forelegs buckled under the enormous pressure.
Ngh... S-such magical prowess... Her eyes sparked to life as she cracked an excited grin. I can't wait... until it's all mine!
The magic hitting her shield and flittering around it—splitting into several fragmented beams of light—soon subsided, letting up on Twilight's body... the darkness controlling it letting out a solitary sigh of relief.
Then her eyes widened, as a hoof punched through her barrier, grinding across the side of her face.
She stumbled a bit as her head cocked to one side, staring wide-eyed at the pony who had attacked her. Pinkie Pie...?
She regained her balance, smirking back at the pink earth pony as her shield dematerialized. "I never took you for a fighter... Then again... you did grow up on a rock farm."
"Give Twilight back her body... you meanie!"
Twilight's body glowered back at her. She manifested a blade along the side of her foreleg before readying herself to strike. "How about instead I—!"
She lunged forward, only to find her foreleg frozen in place, as if something had suddenly grabbed a tight hold of it.
She grunted, struggling against its grip on her as she looked back to locate its source.
Her gaze immediately narrowed.
Rarity...
A glowing blue thread had wrapped itself tightly around her foreleg, and as she followed the source of the thread, it lead her directly to Rarity's horn.
"Rarity..." Twilight's darkness cracked a cocky smirk. "If you think you can hold me back..."
Rarity let out a grunt, as she continued to bare the strain being placed upon her horn. She squeezed her eyes tight. "I'm certainly willing... to try!"
She glared at the unicorn in over her head, gritting her teeth at the indignant response as she snapped the connection and prepared to charge at her... when something else caused her to trip and fall.
She looked back bewildered at her hind legs, only to discover a second magical thread tying them together.
Growling out in frustration, she quickly severed the thread with a quick burst of magic, then struggled to her hooves, smiling warily.
"You will all... have to try way harder than that if you want to—to...?"
The ground under her gave way suddenly, and she found herself taken aback as she fell into a deep pit.
"Thank you all for your help, little ones," Fluttershy said with a kind smile to the moles who had helped her, before ushering them to move along. "It's not safe here. Please... scurry on over to someplace else for the time being."
She blinked her eyes, giving her head a shake.
Moles...? she silently pondered, when another voice captured her attention.
"Move out of the way, ya'll!"
A low rumbling that swiftly grew ever louder followed the exclamation.
Applejack...? What is—?
The rumbling quickly grew into what could have been mistaken as a stampeding herd of buffalo as rocks came barreling down the cliffside... filtering directly into the hole where Twilight's body still lay.
Twilight's darkness could only gasp breathlessly, her eyes widening before squeezing shut, her body bracing itself.
The dust soon cleared as Rainbow came down beside her four friends, and for a moment, everything was still.
Together, the five of them stepped cautiously towards the sealed-up hole.
"I... I do hope we didn't overdo it," Rarity was the first to remark, gazing down worriedly at the pit of debris.
"Twilight would have wanted us to give it our all," replied Rainbow, her sorrowful gaze remaining transfixed on the hole. She sighed, giving her shoulders a shrug. "Besides... I know that wasn't enough to seriously wound her. Twilight's tougher than that."
"Rainbow, Ah..." Applejack spoke up nervously, starting to reach out to comfort her. "Ah know this can't be easy for you..."
Rainbow shook her head softly, reaffirming her friend's suspicion. "It's not, Applejack... but I'm a princess now." Her voice grew quieter, her eyes growing heavier. "This is a burden that I must bare."
Her friends all looked at one another, exchanging apprehensive looks.
Rainbow jumped in startlement, her eyes widening as Pinkie Pie threw her forelegs around her shoulders suddenly.
"No way, Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed, grinning reassuringly. "We'll shoulder it together, because Twilight's our friend too."
Rainbow stared back into her friend's eyes at a loss for words. She glanced back at her other friends who all nodded their heads in agreement.
"G-guys..."
Rainbow smiled warmly, gazing back on ahead. Thank you.
"Well said," remarked Celestia, as she walked up from behind them... the five of them looking up at her in surprise.
"Princess!"
"You're okay!"
"Why, I never thought we'd see you again!"
Celestia smiled at their kind words, softly ushering them to quiet down. "Yes, I am alright, thanks to you all showing up when you did. Unfortunately..." Her expression turned dour, looking past them, to the pile of rubble they had created. "I only wish it were under different circumstances."
Rainbow looked up at her, tilting her head in confusion. "Princess?"
"I must ask that the five of you leave this area, and get as far from here as you can. It's me she wants... and I won't have any of you putting yourselves in harm's way."
"What!?" the five friends nearly all exclaimed at once.
"You can't be serious!" Pinkie argued. "After we came all this way?"
"Yeah, and, uh, hel-lo?" Rainbow interjected, pointing to the tip of her horn.
Celestia paused, staring back at her, a bit taken aback.
"Yes, I... noticed you had undergone a change, Rainbow Dash." She hesitated a moment more before asking, "Tell me... m-my sister... I can sense her magic. I-is she...?"
"Her magic, her... her will... lives on in me, Princess." ears lowered. "It was when Nightmare Moon severed their connection." "I'm sorry, Celestia..."
Celestia paled as she stared back through her, unblinking... Rainbow's words like a tough pill to swallow, it was almost too much to accept.
I suppose, deep down, I already knew the truth the moment I saw her as an alicorn... Her breaths turned rugged, cold chills running throughout her body. Maybe that's why I didn't acknowledge her transformation right away... I just couldn't bear to hear what my heart already feared.
"Princess?"
Celestia exited her thoughts at the sound of Rainbow's inquisitive tone, to find the five of them looking up at her in concern.
She hurriedly dried her tears, gathering her composure, and throwing on a brave face for the five of them.
"I have no one to blame but myself, Rainbow Dash," she replied, her voice breaking a little. "The Nightmare has always burdened my sister, and even when it brought out the worst in her... I did nothing but retaliate, banishing her to the moon for a millennia. And when she returned, I... made it your responsibilities."
She bowed her head in disgrace, the others looking around at one another, unsure of what to say.
"Oh, we didn't mind," Pinkie replied, braking the silence as she pronked upwards. "It was a fun little adventure!" she added cheerfully, the others chiming in in agreement.
"That may be... but I put Twilight in direct contact with her, and now... history is repeating itself. All I've ever done is count on others to save the day..." She sighed, averting her gaze further. "Perhaps Twili—this foe of ours—is right about me..."
Her pitiful words caused the smiles and hopeful faces of the group of friends to be replaced with uncertain looks of anxiousness.
Well, all except for one.
"Urgh... What is it with you and Luna, a-and Twilight... being so hard on yourselves, a-and shouldering everything all the time?" Rainbow blurted out in frustration. She huffed, drawing surprised looks from the others.
"So you made some mistakes... We all have. The important thing is that we learn from them in order to avoid the mistakes of the past!"
"Darn tootin'!" Applejack chimed in, smiling proudly over at her.
"Unlike the five of you, though... there isn't much more I have to lose, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing you all too! S-so please... leave, w-while you still have the chance!" Her tone swiftly turned urgent, as she picked up on slight vibrations within the ground, as the surrounding earth begin to quake under her hooves.
Rainbow shook her head, remaining firm. "Not a chance. See, Luna told me that I was the key to ending this cycle of hatred... and if anypony could reach Twilight, it was me."
Rainbow... Celestia bit her bottom lip, the anxiousness she felt starting to swell. Now really isn't the time for your stubbornness…
She sighed, stating pleadingly, "Yes, but Luna wouldn't have wanted you to throw yourself in harm's way either. Please, Rainbow... Friends lie down their lives for one another, so please let me put my life on the line to try and save her!"
"But what about when Twilight returns to us? She'll need the five of—!"
A pillar of light exploded upwards from deep within the hole, completely incinerating the rocks that covered it.
Rainbow and the others shielded themselves from the powerful magic, lifting a foreleg to their eyes, only lowering it once the pillar started to fade.
In its place, hovering above the pit, was Twilight's body, seething in and out. A veil of darkness once more adorned her crystalline body, though already the others could see the sunlight burning holes through it, exposing the crystal layer beneath.
"We're not... finished yet!"
The six readied themselves just as a couple bolts of lightning were unleashed, forcing Rainbow and Celestia back into a couple of trees.
The others gasped, looking after them and crying out their names. They started after them when Twilight's voice boomed out once more.
"Stop right there!"
The remaining four becoming frozen in place, a shimmering glow encompassing their bodies.
"Now..." She smirked, lifting her foreleg above her head, and with it, dragged the four terrified friends off their hooves and into the air. "Celestia said that she couldn't bear to lose the four of you..." Her horn's aura grew in intensity, causing the four of them to writhe in agony.
Rainbow and Celestia's eyes both widened at the sight, with Rainbow scrambling to her hooves, wincing from the residing, stinging pain she still felt.
"Ngh... d-don't!" she pleaded, reaching out her hoof. "Twilight, you... you've got to fight her!"
Twilight's gaze narrowed, and turned to face her.
"You loudmouth... Why don't you learn how to shut your mouth? Or rather..." She cracked a smirk. "Why don't I do it for you?"
Rainbow's brow raised in wonder at the sudden, empty feeling below her muzzle and inside her. She tried to speak, to part her lips and make a sound... but to her dismay, her lips felt like they had been sealed shut.
She turned shakily towards Celestia, whose own expression seemed to confirm her fear.
"Rainbow, d-don't worry," stammered Celestia in assurance. "I-I'll have the spell undone in no time. J-just stay calm, breath through your muzzle—!"
"Ah-hem!"
Celestia and Rainbow turned fearfully back towards Twilight's darkness as she herself bore a bored expression.
"Now... let me show you how it feels to watch helplessly while everypony you care for gets ripped away from you before your very eyes!"
Don't! Twilight's voice—her true voice rang out pleadingly within her head. Please... whatever you do, just don't do this! They—they're your friends too, they... Everything you ever did was to keep them safe!
Her darkness remained still for a moment, in pensive silence.
And looks where that's gotten us, she remarked coldly, charging her horn and looking back to the world outside her eyes.
The four let out anguished screams as their bodies began being torn apart, molecule by molecule as if slowly being erased... their bodies vanishing completely from reality itself.
Rainbow's eyes immediately grew heavy with tears, screaming out only for a muffled squeak to be heard in its place.
No...
Twilight's inner gaze fell, her voice breaking.
Tch... Celestia forced her gaze away, tears of her own falling from her eyes. She ignited her horn and in a flash, restored Rainbow's mouth to her face, then unfurled her wings as her heart beat sickeningly.
She breathed out before directing her now scornful gaze towards Twilight.
She indented the ground beneath her hooves as she took off, leaving blustery winds in her wake.
She slammed into Twilight, tackling her body to the ground, before coming to stand over her fiercely. "You monster..."
Twilight's face winced, all the while cracking a callous smirk. "Oh, is the pot calling the kettle black, now? You created me, Princess... or did you already forget that?"
Celestia relented for a second. "I..."
Her foe sneered as black tendrils rose up from her chest suddenly, puncturing Celestia's.
The princess herself let out a gasp, feeling the tendrils begin to suck away her energy, lapping away at her very essence.
"Celestia!"
Rainbow wrapped her forelegs over and around the princess's torso, then drew back, flying them both a safe distance away.
"Rainbow Dash!" Celestia looked to her, bewildered to see her back in the fray so soon. "Y-you...?"
Her eyes were still teary and red, but she managed to display a brave face, remaining determined.
"You've got to stay focused, Celestia!" she chided her, voice strained from her crying.
Celestia only stared back at her, a bit too unnerved to speak.
"R-right..." she managed to let out after a moment.
The two turned their focus back to Twilight's darkness, who cocked her head irritably at them.
"Why do the two of you insist on putting up a fight? You've both lost so much..." She stomped her hoof down in anger. "Just allow me to create my perfect world, and your minds will be at ease. Your sacrifices will not be in vain!"
"I told you already," Rainbow said. "No world can be perfect... especially one lead by you."
Their foe scoffed. "And pray tell, how would I be a worse leader than Celestia?"
She sneered, watching as Rainbow hovered opposite her, remaining silent for a long moment before she at last gave her response.
"Celestia... Twilight... even Luna..." she began. "They all understood something that you never will."
"Which is...?" Twilight gazed up at her humorously, raising an eyebrow.
Rainbow's expression remained serious, as she glared down at her bravely.
"Friendship... will always be magic."
Before their foe could get a word in edgewise, Rainbow took off at blazing speeds, circling around her, and kicking up a flurry of winds, quickly tunneling around her. "Celestia!" she exclaimed, flying back towards her. "Now!"
"N-now?" she repeated, dumbfounded. "Do what?"
"We need to soften up that crystal shell of hers, then shatter it completely before it regenerates! Quick!" She pointed to the waning tunnel of wind. "Cast a fire spell on that tornado of mine before it's too late!"
"A fire spell?" Celestia repeated, incredulously. She peered back anxiously at the winds that ensnared her pupil's body. Looking further, she made out the silhouette of Twilight, struggling to maintain her ground.
You'd better be right about this, Rainbow...
Tentatively, she fired up her horn, firing a beam directly at the base of the winds that lit the swirling vortex ablaze.
Rainbow and Celestia watched as the tunnel of fire rose high into the sky.
Come on, Twilight... Rainbow bit her bottom lip in anticipation. Fight back—!
"What in the world?"
Rainbow's attention snapped back to Celestia, who noticed the silhouette of a dome crop up within the vortex.
"Shatter," Twilight's darkness whispered, and the dome burst into hundreds of shards, suspended and each catching fire like hundreds of flaming arrows.
She took a step forward, and the impact quelled the whirlwind in an instant before she then grinned up at them.
"Is all that all you've got!?"
The flaming shards turned towards the two alicorns all at once.
"Now it's my turn."
Following her command, the shards were launched like daggers through the air.
"They're telepathically linked," Celestia noted nervously, as Twilight thrust her foreleg forward. "Even if we move out of the way, they'll no doubt stay locked onto us."
"Then we won't run," remarked Rainbow, conjuring a couple spears in her hooves, and readying herself.
Celestia nodded wearily, conjuring up a staff of her own, and deflecting the first shot in one swift swing.
Rainbow twirled her spears like propellers, slicing apart dozens of shards with Celestia by her side, moving at the speed of light.
The last shard was made quick work of, and winding her foreleg back as Rainbow wound her body up, spun all the way around before hurdling the spear at her foe.
Twilight's darkness widened her eyes, swerving her body just in time to dodge the incoming throw.
It embedded itself deep in the ground beside her, and she nervously smiled, turning back to the duo.
A second blade soared past her vision, slicing through the slide of her face before she could even blink.
She breathed out ruggedly, the crystals already repairing themselves. She chuckled under her breath, forming a gleeful grin. "It's going to take more than that if you both want to defeat—!"
She was cut off by the sound of something sizzling, and found that the source of the noise, where the ethereal spears had embedded themselves, were now steaming and bubbling.
Her expression immediately deadpanned.
"Oh, for—"
The ground around her hooves exploded, causing dirt to fly in all directions as smoke and dust filled the air
When the air cleared, Twilight's darkness stood in the center of it all, seething in and out... most of the crystal torn asunder, leaving her darkened, malleable body exposed to the elements.
Twilight...
Rainbow's heart ached at the sight of her friend's body—her true body—for the first time in weeks.
She and Celestia exchanged sorrowful looks. Is this really what dark magic does to a pony?
Twilight's hoof stomped down, snapping her from her thoughts.
"Alright..." she growled out, crouching forward. Slight smoke simmered from her darkened fur as her protective layer of crystal slowly reconstituted itself. "You wanna dance?"
She cracked a maniacal grin. "Alright, Dash! One last dance then... you and me!"
Smoke billowed out from craters that dotted the once-lush and green forest. The tall trees that once stood proudly over the grassy field, now lay on their sides, or splintered in half, loosely hanging on to their trunk.
And through the smoke and disarray, the sounds of combat still prevailed, cutting through the otherwise eerie silence.
Rainbow clashed with Twilight's darkness on the ground, glaring into one another's eyes. Sweat trickled down Rainbow's brow as her hoof pushed into a shield Twilight materialized out of dark magic.
Celestia knelt forward onto her foreleg a little ways away, singed spots of fur across her body. She breathed out, her fore and hind legs feeling as though they were about to give out any second...
She peered up at the two longtime friends through tired eyes. Her horn's aura ignited briefly before fizzling back out... a few sparks falling as a result.
And, as she continued to watch, her body too weak to move any further, her eyes could do nothing more than well up tearfully in regret.
Twilight's darkness snorted. "You're one heck of a dance partner, Dash." She sneered warily, wincing as a crooked, clawed appendage rose up out of her back. "But I think it's time this little dance of ours came to a close."
Rainbow's ears flopped, her heart sinking as her furrowed gaze peered up at the clawed hand looming over her menacingly.
She let out a frightened cry as it snatched her up off the ground, clenching around her, squeezing her.
"Ngh... Tw-Twi..."
Rainbow...
Twilight's inner light looked up woefully from the inside of her mind, Rainbow's voice reaching her.
She brought this upon herself, her darkness remarked, glaring back unsympathetically at the young alicorn pony.
She smirked before drawing the shadowy appendage back, then whipping it forward, letting Rainbow out of her grasp as she threw her.
Celestia's eyes widened. "Rainbow!"
Rainbow's side slammed into a tree, the alicorn pony sucking in a sharp breath through gritted teeth as her body fell limply to the grass below.
Celestia's breath caught, watching in worry before becoming alert to Twilight's presence once more. Her pupil's body walked up behind her, almost going unnoticed.
Celestia turned to face her, Twilight's body almost encased entirely again in crystal. Her horn bubbled, giving off an eerie green and black aura; and what parts of her face remained unencased, glared down coldly at the older alicorn. Celestia's heart sunk, her horn attempting once again to charge in one final, daring act before the wind was knocked out of her... her eyes slowly widening.
Twilight's magic had beaten her to the punch... shooting her in the chest, and sending her reeling back into the mountain. Celestia slammed into the base of the mountain, lurching forward from the initial shock, before a second beam proceeded the first. Twilight's darkness lowered her head, wincing as she poured all of her anger and frustration into this second attack.
The beam increased in both size and ferocity, tunneling deep into the mountainside for a few, long moments before eventually fizzling out.
Twilight dropped her head for a moment, panting softly as she allowed herself a moment's reprieve before once again lifting her gaze, and smirking at the utter devastation she had caused.
Rainbow lay collapsed on her side to her left, and Celestia...
Celestia lay limply against the back of the hole she had dug, her figure becoming clearer as more of the smoke billowed out. Her head hung down, her once-pristine coat was now singed black in several places, with dirt and bits of rubble strewn over her body.
She snorted at the sight.
I'm so strong... I bet I don't even need their powers.
She winced as something gnawed suddenly at the back of her head, pressing onward to the edge of the forest.
She grinned, turning her attention up towards the sun.
I bet I could even move the sun!
Her horn flared, aiming her magic at the large, spherical star, slowly but surely feeling her magic encompass it in its entirety. Hmph. This is easier than I could have hoped—
Twilight's true self managed to free one of her forelegs, tearing it free from the darkness.
Her outside body stumbled as though she just received a blow to the head.
Her darkness fumed, sitting up straight from her mind's throne, staring angrily towards her other self.
How... how are you still fighting back?!
Anger may be strong... It may push us, a-and motivate us... Twilight ripped her left foreleg loose, again sending a shockwave through her head that rocked her shadow. But you know what...? Her teary gaze lifted, glaring bitterly at her other self. Grief... is an even bigger motivator!
With a fierce scream, she forced her hind legs free, falling to the depths of her mind. The floor rippled like a puddle as she landed in it, and sloshed around as she pulled herself to her hooves.
Her shadow backed up, for a moment overcome with a twinge of fear. N-no... she stammered, that fear quickly being replaced once more with rage. Why... why am I feeling so afraid?! You're nothing compared to me! You're everything I'm not! You're weak, you're vulnerable, you...! She tched, backing up further. T-this is my mind!
Twilight stopped, staring back at her dark reflection for a moment, taken aback... before shaking her head, and igniting her horn. The walls of her mind began to shake, and the darkness that had muddied the floor of her mind now rocked back and forth with mounting intensity like that of roaring ocean waves.
Her shadow found it hard to stand, her legs buckling... and she found herself kneeling forward as one of her forelegs came out from under her. Then, before she could react, a shimmering hoof came down from above, belonging to a faceless, ethereal alicorn giant... that now lingered over her other half—as if it were a manifestation of all her pain and grief that had been conjured up right then and there.
It pinned her into the darkness, and immediately she was hit with the feeling of warmth, of... tear-stricken sadness, and of guilt. Is this, she wondered, the true strength of...? Is anger really not enough...? No... she was being assimilated back into...
Her eyes widened in fear of the revelation.
N-no...! I... I-I'm not about to go back! I... I'm not about to be defeated so easily!
Twilight all the while, in a moment of reprieve, eased up... while the feeling in her chest however, continued to mount... her heart growing all the heavier. She tore her gaze away from her dark shadow as tears began to form. She blinked several times, before shutting her eyelids tight... her entire body beginning to tremble.
Over the hate-filled screams of her shadow, she let it all come out: the pain, the sadness... Imaginary tears ran down her cheeks, representative of the tears her real body cried on the outside. She sniffled, her crying outright becoming choke-filled sobs... Gritting her teeth as her jaw quivered, she slowly lifted a hoof to her chest, clutching the spot where it ached the most.
"Twilight?"
Twilight's ears perked up at the sound of her girlfriend's voice calling her name. She brought a foreleg to her eyes, rubbing away her tears swiftly before composing herself completely.
R-Rainbow?
"Twilight?" the voice repeated. "Can you hear me? Did... did you do it? Did you take back control?"
The question had forced the slightest of smiles to her lips. My physical body has probably been standing completely still ever since I wrangled back control...
She ran on over to the center of her mindscape where she proceeded to take back control of her eyes, and look into the face of her dearest friend.
She cleared her throat before replying, "Yes, yes Rainbow, I... I did."
The look on her face saddened once again, seeing the sorry state her girlfriend was in. Her matted, dirty fur, messy mane and bruises, cuts...
"G-good." Rainbow's lips curved into a smile for a brief second. "That's great, Twilight."
Things became quiet between the two of them as Twilight's own voice softened
"I... I just wish that... it'd hadn't taken the, the d-deaths of our..." Her voice broke as more tears began to well in her eyes.
"I know, Twilight, I know..." Rainbow garnished a sympathetic smile, resting her hoof on the other mare's shoulder. "I think it'll be okay though because... Celestia told me there's still something we can do."
Twilight's ears perked up. "Celestia? S-she's still...?" She blinked away her tears, clearing her eyes. "You mean there's still hope? Oh, Rainbow..." A look of relief washed over her as she took Rainbow's hoof into her own. "Take me to her!"
She nodded, glancing up towards the sky for a second, before turning back to Twilight.
"She's over this way, come on!" She motioned with her head for Twilight to follow her, before turning, and running back to the base of the mountain, Twilight trailing closely behind her.
Celestia sat where she had seen her last: in the indentation within the mountainside... areas of her body and forelegs singed completely black.
Twilight approached her ashamedly, her eyes full of sorrow as Celestia lifted her head to greet her.
She smiled softly. "It's good to see you... Twilight."
Celestia... Her mentor's weakened state caused her chest to once again swell up with sadness. She brought her foreleg up to her mouth in horror of what she had done.
Rainbow bit her bottom lip, looking between the two, brushing a hoof up along her foreleg.
"Don't be sad, Twilight... I will... be alright." She winced as she slowly sat up straight. "We shall all be."
"We... w-we shall all be?" Twilight stared back at her mentor inquisitively, in stunned silence.
Celestia nodded, Rainbow helping her to her hooves. "For now, we must focus on what truly matters... which is saving our world."
"Saving our...? Whatever do you mean?" She looked between the two with a bewildered expression. "What is—?"
Celestia ignited her horn, and within seconds the earth began to rumble. Twilight looked all around her hooves in startlement, and from beside her, to her surprise, came forth a pale-blue tree with spindly branches and luminescence decorations hung from them. A star-like insignia adorned the center of the tree.
The Tree of Harmony, Twilight realized, looking up at it in awe of its magnificence. At the end of its branches... were the Elements of Harmony, no different now than when she and the girls had given them up weeks prior.
As they gleamed and shined brilliantly in the morning sun... one question still remained, nestled in the back of her mind.
Why had Celestia summoned the tree, and the Elements... to their location?
She looked up at Celestia, confusion written all over her face as she longed desperately for an answer.
"What's going on?" she tentatively asked.
Celestia averted her eyes, unable to meet her student's. She instead remained quiet, much to her pupil's growing frustration.
Twilight's brow furrowed. "Why won't you...?" She looked around for some kind of clue, but the only thing that stood out to her was the sun's light that bathed the area in a harsh, golden glow.
She turned to Rainbow, distressed. "Rainbow?" she asked. "Rainbow, you've been quiet this whole time." Her voice softened, as she reached a hoof out in concern. "Do you know what this is all about?"
"I..." Rainbow struggled to find the right words. "I, u-um..."
She scratched the back of her head, peering back at her woefully. "There's... really no easy way to answer that, Twilight."
"Why not, Dash?" Twilight pressed, before noticing something peculiar. Beads of sweat were now trickling through her girlfriend's fur, and down her face.
She titled her head in confusion, before asking, "Rainbow, why are you sweating?"
Rainbow simply smiled back at her halfheartedly, sadness in her eyes.
She nodded past her, up at the sky, and as Twilight turned to look, that's when she saw it.
The sky was ablaze with fire, with erupting solar flares and smoldering, red-hot flames looming over their heads.
Twilight paled at the sight. Her pupils turned to pinpricks as her heart sunk sickeningly from within her chest, and she stood frozen, paralyzed with fear at the overwhelming sight.
From behind them both, Celestia let out a sigh, turning her attention away from the sun, and instead back to the Tree of Harmony. One by one, she reclaimed the Elements, and passed them to Rainbow. "We must make haste," she commanded, grabbing her pupil's curiosity.
"To do what?" she demanded, growing exasperated as the ever-increasing temperature only worsened her frustration. She stomped her hoof into the cracking earth. "You still haven't told me what's going on!"
"When you suppressed your other half..." Celestia explained, not wasting a moment, "they were in the middle of moving the sun. So when you took back control... the spell was interrupted before it could be properly locked in place... and now it's falling right towards us."
"N-no..." Twilight stepped back, shaking her head in denial. "No, that... that can't... I-I didn't..." Her breathing hastened, growing more erratic. "S-surely the three of us t-together could—!"
Celestia solemnly shook her head before Twilight could finish her thought.
"I'm sorry to say that Rainbow and I exhausted most of our strength during our fight with your other half... and even if we had time to recover... it wouldn't be enough." Her voice lowered, the words she was about to speak just not feeling real to her. "The sun will envelop the Earth within minutes... or less."
Twilight stumbled back, feeling herself quickly becoming lightheaded.
I can't believe... I-I don't...?
She felt sick. She felt like crying.
More than that... she felt angry.
Deep within her subconscious, her dark side screamed, Well, isn't this great? Looks like we're all going to burn to death!
Twilight grit her teeth, squeezing her eyelids shut. Shut up...
"Twilight?" Rainbow asked, cocking her head at her. "Twilight, listen to me. Celestia knows a spell to send you back in time, alright? We're gonna try and send you back, before all of this!"
Rainbow's plea however, fell mostly on deaf ears as her darkness continued to berate her.
Poor Twilight Sparkle, her darkness mocked. It's like I said before: you're a failure. Everything you do, no matter how well-meaning... ends in disaster; and everything you touch... ends in destruction!
Her entire body trembled with rage. I s-said...!
"Twilight?" Rainbow's voice echoed. "What's going on?"
Her darkness smirked, turning her gaze away to peer up at the giant pouring its grief into her. Her skin literally began to bubble, before then bursting into a black goo—darkness that seeped over her own body and up the foreleg of Twilight's conscious.
She grinned, watching as the giant writhed and recoiled at the negative emotions, even as the ensuing darkness washed over her, submerging her completely in its murky depths.
You princesses are all so quick to give up, she mused, amidst the growing darkness; but not me. I swear I will find a way to survive this cataclysm no matter the cost...
She surprised her other self as she sprang up out from the darkness from right behind her, grabbing her around her withers while bearing a crazed grin. And it is your anger... your own self-deprecation... that will provide me the strength to do just that!
Twilight gasped at the feeling of her darkness's hold around her, and before she could do anything about it, was thrown backwards into the dark depths.
On the outside, darkness once more began forming around her crystalline body, burning from the sunlight, yet managing to prevail... coating her body in the same, dark veil as before. Celestia and Rainbow both stepped back, startled.
"Her anger must be getting the better of her. This isn't good... We cannot send her through time like this!"
Twilight... Rainbow bit her lip hesitantly, before grabbing her by the shoulders, desperate to get through to her. "Twilight, listen to my voice. She tried to move the sun, okay? All you did was try to take back your body. Twilight... you did a good thing, and... Celestia and I both believe... that you can set everything right, because... because you're you, Twilight."
Deep below the surface of the darkness... a pale light began to shine.
"You're different. Unique and special, talented... gifted... Why else would I have fallen in love with you? You're not a failure, Twilight. That voice in the back of your head is wrong, and you've got to stop listening to every word it says! Okay, Twilight? You've got to stop beating yourself up!"
She... s-she's right... Twilight breached the darkness's surface with a renewed sense of self. I'm not about to let my own anger suffocate me!
As Twilight pulled herself loose and got to her hooves, she heard her shadow's voice speak up mockingly from all around her.
It's futile, she laughed. We both know you lack the resolve to overpower me!
Maybe so... but... with the aid of my friends—!
Your friends are dead, Sparkle.
Not all of them...
She swiftly turned back ahead, shouting to the outside world, "Rainbow Dash, Celestia! Do it! S-send me back!"
"We cannot risk it while your other half still resists!" Celestia's voice replied. "Twilight, if your darkness overpowers you, we'd only be dooming our past selves!"
Tch...
Hear that? her darkness taunted.
"So then..." Rainbow spoke up. "What are we supposed—?"
"Seal away my memories and emotions," Twilight solemnly told them both. "Lock them away, deep within the furthest confines of my mind."
Are you insane? That'd leave us both not knowing who we are!
Rainbow shook her head incredulously. "Twilight... you can't be serious... We can't send you into the past without your memories!"
Exactly! her darkness cried.
"That's just it though, Dash!" Twilight went on to add, "You'll only be locking away the bad, because... you'll be casting a spell on me."
"Spell?"
"The Shield of Wisdom."
"The Shield of...?" Rainbow cocked her head. "What?"
"Wisdom. It protects the knowledge one wishes to keep safe."
"It's also never been properly tested on something tangible, like a pony or their memories, but rather, the words in books," Celestia added in, uncertainty in her voice. "Furthermore, the spell can only be completed on the Autumnal Equine-nox. Twilight, I don't know if..."
Celestia looked down at her most faithful student, urging her to reconsider.
"With all due respect, Princess..." Twilight looked back into her old mentor's eyes sincerely, bearing a saddened smile. "What other choice do we really have?"
"Twilight..." Rainbow spoke up worriedly. "Are you sure about this?"
Twilight just smiled warmly back at her, shaking her head.
"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."
Rainbow smiled back at her warmly.
"The time spell will send you back to the moment things took a turn for the worse."
"In this case, the morning I came to the library, and found you asleep," Rainbow clarified.
"But, Twilight... you should know that, when you change the course of history, the current you... will cease to exist."
Twilight fell into silence, her mentor's words taking her aback.
"Then I guess... this is goodbye." She shrugged her shoulders, gazing at the two of them tearfully.
Rainbow's ears flopped. "Twilight..."
She sniffled unwittingly, putting on a brave face. "I wouldn't want to live in a world without all of you anyway."
"We may not recognize one another, or even remember what happened here... but this isn't goodbye, Twilight. This isn't the end, it's... just the beginning of something new."
"Sure, Dash..." Twilight nodded softly. "Sure..."
"I'll ready the spells then," Celestia said. "Rainbow, you begin harnessing the power of the Elements and imagining the time and place you'll be sending her."
Rainbow snapped to attention.
"R-right!"
Celestia breathed out, calming her mind as she recited the age-old incantation under her breath, altering the words ever so slightly. As she spoke, a white aura began to outline her body.
Twilight's darkness widened her eyes as she witnessed the same magic begin to encompass her other self's incorporeal body from within their shared mind, and scrambled to her hooves in a fit of desperation.
No!
She lunged at Twilight, only for a wind to stir around her, whipping through her mane and elevating her off the murky surface of her mind.
She winced. I'm not about to let—!
Twilight's eyes opened to reveal a blindingly white light just as her other self was close to tackling her out of the air, and from within her, expelled a force that rocked her shadow's body, sending her flying backwards.
She skidded the surface of the darkness, writhing in agony.
What did... you hit me with!? She peering down with gritted teeth at her body, darkness wafting from her chest. What did you curse me with!?
Twilight stared back at her befuddled, her eyes flickering back to normal as she was lowered back down. The luminous glow remained, morphing into a radiant suit of armor that formed fittingly around her body. A crest, in the shape of her cutie mark, manifested in the center of her chest.
Twilight looked down at herself in awe, taking in her new appearance.
Whoa...
"Twilight? Twilight, did it work?"
Celestia's concern voice snapped her out of her amazement, and she turned hurriedly back to the outside world. "Y-yes! Yes, I... think it did!"
"Good. That's... that's a relief."
"Twilight?" Rainbow spoke up, grabbing her attention. "Celestia's going to cast the sealing spell now... Are you ready?"
"I... I t-think so!"
"Okay. Then..." She looked to Celestia, who nodded, igniting her horn.
Twilight's darkness meanwhile, glowered at her as she warily stumbled to her hooves.
Don't you—!
A swirling vortex formed in the center of the darkness, with a powerful vacuum draining it all down, deeper into the pit of her subconscious. It pulled the dark sludge from the walls and floor of her mind, returning it to its once humble interior.
Twilight's darkness froze in place, feeling the enormous weight of the spell on her back, dragging her back. She fought to no avail against the tremendous strain, feeling like she was caught in some sort of telekinetic grip—she felt weightless.
N-no...! She pawed desperately at the floor for something to grab hold of as the feeling of fear crept over her for the second time since her other half had seized back control of her body.
And just like before, that momentary fear morphed back into unbridled anger.
D-don't think you've won! Anger and hate, she screamed, are absolute! She scowled, glaring daggers into her counterpart even as the incredible force of the vortex pulled her to the ground... her hind legs slipping in.
Still she continued to curse Twilight out.
You are nothing without me—without the... the clarity to do what's necessary... and you will give in! Sooner or later—! Nngh... I... will return, I... I swear I—!
Her words were cut off as the rest of her body was plunged into the recesses of her mind, along with the remaining darkness. The circling vortex disappeared in an instant, and the floor of her mind stabilized, solidifying under her hooves.
And then everything was still.
Twilight stood, a little shaken as her gaze remained locked on the spot her shadow had been... her voice still echoing through her thoughts.
As the warm glow of the library's overhead light once again illuminated her mind, she, for the first time in her life... felt utterly at peace. A calming serenity came over her as she felt not a single dark thought or impulse... nor could she feel the influence of her shadow. Rather she now felt...
Empty, she slowly realized. Emptiness is what I feel... I knew sealing away a part of myself would have its repercussions, but I never imagined it'd be like this... Well, on the upside—
She stopped mid-thought as she heard Rainbow's voice ring out inside her head.
"Twilight? Twilight, did... did the spell work? Are you still...?"
Twilight smiled softly, turning once more towards the outside world. At least I won't be alive much longer to really notice...
The world outside was ablaze with fire, with the sky a dark orange. Loud rumbles and destruction sounded from all around her as the Earth disintegrated little by little, but Twilight kept her focus on her friends.
"Yes, Dash," she assured her. "It... it's over."
"Then that just leaves one more thing that needs to be done." She looked down with a saddened smile, the Elements encircling her faster and faster until appearing to Twilight like a glowing ring of light. Beside her, Celestia readied her third and final spell: Star Swirl's time spell.
Twilight looked away from the Elements, instead looking to meet Rainbow's gaze... becoming a little teary-eyed. Maybe it was the overwhelming heat playing tricks on her mind, but beside her girlfriend she saw a vision of Spike staring back at her, hopeful longing in his eyes.
Spike...
As the scenery behind Rainbow Dash and the ghostly apparition of Spike was engulfed by an intense white light, four more figures manifested themselves on either side of Rainbow... seemingly from the Elements themselves, as if to wish her good luck.
Pinkie sprung up from the ground joyfully while waving one of her forelegs back at her... all the while grinning cheerfully. Applejack tipped her stetson at her and Rarity knowingly winked at her, entrusting their lives to her... and Fluttershy, with her head bowed and face partially obscured by her mane, peered up at her from the group, and smiled meekly.
That was all Twilight needed for her eyes to start welling up with tears once again.
Everypony...
The Elements generated a rainbow beam that shot into her, enveloping her body. At the same time, a portal to the past opened behind her. Another thunderous crash rang out, that this time shook the very Earth.
Twilight reached out to her friends, the air so thick... only for the images of her friends to fade away... and for Rainbow to turn to ash before her very eyes.
They widened, her pupils darting to Celestia who, too, faded into nothingness; and before she could even react, found herself being thrust backwards... the portal closing once in an instant the moment she fell through into a twisting, winding passageway.
Rainbow colors bled and swirled together, but she squinted past it all, keeping her eyes and mind focused on her destination... and mission at hand.
The portal reopened, spitting her out into a space devoid of light... just darkness, as far as her eyes could see.
"W... w-what is...?"
She sniffled, the memory of her world's destruction still very much fresh in her mind as she struggled to her hooves. Her forelegs trembled uncontrollably as her body shook with sadness. She made no attempt to mask her loud sobs, or tears... as they flowed freely, dripping into the crooks of her crystal faceplate.
"What is this place!?"
Her desperate cry was met with silence for several long moments, until...
"This is Limbo."
What?
Twilight lifted her tear-stricken gaze to the sound of the mysterious voice. Her lips slowly parted in bewilderment. W-who—?
Her breath caught, and she immediately fell back onto her haunches at the growing presence of... something.
Its steps shook the empty void, giving her a sense of its enormous size... feeling it growing closer and closer when, to her surprise... a young male unicorn walked out from the shadows. As he drew closer, she noted that was he was even slightly shorter than she was, and that he bore a grey coat, and deep blue-stripped mane, cut similarly to her own.
The image of him reminded her of herself in a lot of ways, but she quickly placed those thoughts aside, scrambling back cautiously as the unknown pony continued near her.
"You needn't be afraid," he assured, his voice sounding different than before. He spoke softly, if not a little nervously. "I-it's not often ponies get sent here—if ever. Tell me, how'd a crystal-clad warrior such as yourself... end up here?"
"Warrior...?" Twilight repeated breathlessly, a bit dumbfounded. "O-oh no, you... you misunderstand. I-I'm not...!"
The mysterious unicorn raised a hoof. "Ah ah, say no more. I understand; you wouldn't be here otherwise."
Twilight simply stared back at him, puzzled.
"So tell me..." he inquired. "What's your name?"
"O-oh! Um..." Twilight froze for a moment as she found herself taken aback by the simple question. "T-Twilight," she answered.
"Nice to meet you, Twilight." He grinned, holding out his hoof for her to shake.
"I'm Stygian."
The sun sat in place of the Earth, in the empty, silent void of space. All was still, that was until an area of space began to ripple and distort, overlooking the once vibrant and lively planet.
A tear emerged suddenly in the spacetime continuum, before being parted by a paw, and a talon as a strange, mismatched creature stepped out grumpily from another dimension.
"What is with all the racket?" The bearded draconequus stormed out fuming, walking out into the empty void of space. "I know it's ironic for a lover of all things chaotic, to complain about a little noise... but for crying out loud—!"
He stopped mid-sentence, all of a sudden realizing how hot it was as he himself began to sweat. He reached up and pulled out a cloth out from his ear, dabbing it across his forehead as the sight of the sun captured his attention.
"I say..." he murmured aloud. Was the sun always in this spot? I could have sworn... He whipped out a spyglass, turning to look in the empty, black patch of space where the sun used to reside before shakily lowering the spyglass from his line of sight, fear beginning to swell in the pit of stomach. It can't be...
He turned back towards the sun as a slow realization began to set in, and his face turned deathly pale.
"Fluttershy...?"