Deep within the bowels of Tartarus, there was a lair where no righteous pony would ever dare go. It was a place where only the most black-hearted would call their home: the Pit of Hate. The entrance to the cave was shaped very much like a dragon’s head, with glowing embers for eyes and two rows of jagged, sharp crystals for teeth. If a pony got too close to the crystals, it would result in grievous injury or even death. However, even the outside of the Pit paled in comparison to what was inside of it.
Whereas the atmosphere hanging over Tartarus was deathly cold, the Pit of Hate was practically sweltering. The suffocating heat and the smoky fog came from a field of lava pits that laid below a cliff. The field was known as “The End of the Line”, for that was where the walls of Tartarus ended and the most hateful criminals were thrown in to suffer in the lava for eternity. The bubbling of the lava sometimes let loose a yell of terror or a moan of despair from the souls trapped within. Though it made the Pit of Hate more haunting, it was not the lair’s only horrifying aspect.
The walls of the Pit of Hate were lined with red crystals that jutted out and threatened to stab a pony. Legend says that if one gazed into one of those crystals, an unearthly demon would stare right back at them or even pull them into the crystal with them. If the legend was true, then Discord most definitely didn’t want to find out. Besides, he couldn’t since he was bound by black goo to a large purple stalagmite. He was surrounded by other purple crystals that protruded from the ground.
Just then, a black mist rolled in and sinister laughter filled the air. The mist then bunched together to create the fiendish Pony of Shadows.
The villain taunted Discord, “Well, well, well. Look how the mighty have fallen.”
Discord smirked in retaliation, “Funny. I was going to say the same thing about you.”
The Pony of Shadow chortled, “Oh, you are a feisty one! Makes me wonder why the ponies don’t turn to you as the deus ex machina.”
Discord could practically smell the scent of manipulation from a mile or two away. He wasn’t going to let himself be used as a puppet for the villain’s whims.
“The way I see it, they rely on their precious alicorns more than they do you or your sister.”
Discord quipped, “Well, I can’t be their babysitter 24/7, now can I?”
The shadow pony said coyly, “No, I suppose not. Besides, you’d do a very bad job at it, considering how I corrupted Celestia and Luna.”
The draconequus asked in mock-curiosity, “Yeah, how did you do it, anyway? What’s your secret to corrupting two powerful ponies?”
The Pony of Shadows chuckled, “You’re not getting secrets out of me so easily. But…I can get secrets out of you. I know that even powerful beings like you have a weak spot for something. Or rather, someone.”
Discord’s mind immediately flashed to Fluttershy, even though he kept a straight and stoic face.
“Discord?”
His heart skipped a beat when he heard his wife’s sweet voice. He darted his head until he saw an image of her in one of the purple crystals.
He shut his eyes and turned his head away as he snapped, “Stop it! You’re not going to break me with your nasty tricks!”
The Pony of Shadows responded slyly, “Oh, I’m not doing this, Discord. You are. These crystals can sense what you fear most and project it as a mirage. Right now, you fear for the safety of your dear, precious wife. But there’s more. There’s also your daughter…”
His heart caved again and an image of Screwball appeared on another crystal.
“Daddy?”
“…and your grandson.”
An image of Oddball then appeared on the face of a third crystal.
“Grandpa?”
When “Oddball” vanished, the Pony of Shadows continued, “You never really cared about Celestia and Luna. You were only doing what you were obliged to do. The only three ponies you’d move heaven and earth for are your wife, your child, and…”
To his surprise, another image appeared on a crystal. This time, it was of a faceless swaddled foal.
The villain said in realization, “Baby...So…you have a baby on the way.” He then smiled wickedly at Discord, “Your heart betrays you once more, Discord. Now you’ve put everyone you’ve ever loved in grave danger.”
The draconequus felt a mix of emotion: fear for his loved ones, shame that he let his heart reveal itself, and anger that the Pony of Shadows would dare hurt them.
“But…they can be saved, if you are to join me.”
Discord knew it was a hollow promise, but he loved his family dearly and wanted to protect them very much.
He spoke in a low voice, “I’m listening.”
The Pony of Shadows scoffed, “Ha! As if you would join me that easily! You are a creature of chaos! You have the powers of reality at your will! You would turn on me the moment you’re free! Since I know you will not join me, then perhaps your unborn child will.”
That did it for Discord. His anger snapped to life and he broke free of his bonds as he shouted, “NOOOOO!”
Before Discord could aim his magic at the fiend, the Pony of Shadows proved to be quicker by shooting Discord straight at his heart.
After the draconequus slumped to the ground, the dark shadow pony said, “I’m always one step ahead, Discord. Now you will do more damage than you’ve ever done good.”
Discord writhed, groaned, and gagged for several moments before he retched out a small part of his chaos magic. It was now dark purple with zigzags and spiky balls. It also emitted many strange and abnormal sounds that could send a shiver down anyone’s spine. Discord kept vomiting out his magic until the last of it left his lips and joined the rest as a sort of cloud hanging over the crystals. The Pony of Shadows – though stunned by this sudden development – conjured up a clear crystal and used it to absorb the chaos magic.
The villain said while looking at the magic contained within the crystal, “Hmm…His chaos magic seems to have taken the brunt of my corruption spell.” He then smiled, “Well…I suppose this means I have no more use for its wielder.”
The Pony of Shadows shot black tendrils at Discord’s unconscious body and swung him around like a slingshot. He then flung the draconequus towards the End of the Line to be trapped in the lava forever.
Sunset constantly wiped tears from her eyes as she continued on her trek through the lonely and barren plains of Tartarus.
She thought to herself, No! Twilight didn’t mean it! I’m just as much a part of her family as her sisters are! Ugh, I meant our sisters! Maybe I…don’t belong after all.
Before she could weep again, sinister laughter rang all around her. She took a defensive pose and lit up her horn.
One female voice mocked, “Aww…Is the pony princess crying because she wants attention?”
Sunset snarled, “You don’t know me.”
Another female voice spoke up, “We don’t, but do they?”
“Who?”
A male voice then said, “The royal family, of course. Do they know you’re a fraud?”
“SHUT UP!!!”
The moderate amaranth magic that burst from her horn hit a few crystals in front of her, leading to a small explosion. As the dust settled, the evil laughter could be heard again and Sunset looked all around until she saw a silhouette appear in the dust cloud.
The mare-shaped silhouette sang as she appeared, “Rot…”
Another mare-shaped silhouette then appeared. “Rot…”
A stallion-shaped silhouette emerged and sang, “Rot…”
All three shadows sang, “Rot…”
The first silhouette then parted the dust to reveal herself as a moderate amaranth unicorn with a light arctic bluish gray mane. “It’s a plot…”
The next silhouette revealed herself as a unicorn with a brilliant amber coat and a brilliant vermilion mane. “Plot…”
The stallion silhouette parted the dust and shown himself as a unicorn with a grayish azure coat and a black and pale, light grayish cerulean mane. “Plot…”
All three unicorns sang together, “Plot…”
They then shot their magic at Sunset’s horn, creating a small multi-colored web that prevented her from casting spells. The princess could do nothing but hear what they had to sing.
“We’re the Pseudocorn Trio…We’re onto your plot…Pretending you’re something that you’re really not…It’s a poor and, frankly, real pathetic plot…Pretending you’re something that you’re…really not…”
The two mares sang, “We’re the Pseudocorn Trio…”
All three then sang together, “We’re vigilant spotters…Hot-shot spotters of rotters and plotters…and we’re going to take your princess persona from you…”
Sunset couldn’t take any more of this and ran away from them.
Despite this, the trio ran after her and continued to sing, “You’re a dastardly, ghastardly, shnastardly schnook…trying to brainwash their brains…with this gobbledygook…”
When Sunset was a good distance away from the unicorns, she looked in every direction to make sure she was safe. Just after the princess sighed in relief, the red unicorn teleported in front of her!
The blue-haired mare sang, “We know what you’re up to, pal…”
Sunset ran from her adversary, only to almost collide with the amber unicorn.
The second pony sang, “You’re covering your shattered morale…”
When Sunset tried to flee again, she ran into the blue stallion, who sang, “You’re trying to hide your discontent…”
The trio sang as they pursued and taunted Sunset, “That what she said was what she meant…You’re trying to throw sand in your eyes…You’re trying to feed yourself these lies…You’re just a fraud worthy of hate…and that will be your ultimate fate…You are a fool…not meant for jewels…You’ve never even followed rules…Once they know the truth, then you’ll be the object of ridicule…We’re not like you ‘cause we’re no fools…”
They had Sunset cornered. Behind her was a shallow ravine that was a yard deep and a few yards wide. She had no magic, no bridge, and no family to help her now. She was practically defeated.
The villainous unicorns continued to taunt her through song, “We’re the Pseudocorn Trio…We know your type…and we’re putting a stop to this trickulous tripe…We’re the Pseudocorn Trio…We’re squashing your plot…”
When the trio edged closer to Sunset, the princess instinctively stepped back and fell into the ravine.
As Sunset recovered from her fall, the Pseudocorn Trio sang, “There’ll be no more trying to be who you’re not…”
The stallion sang as he shot a tendril of light raspberry magic at Sunset’s heart, “There’ll be no more trying to be who you’re not…”
The amber unicorn sang as she did the same thing with her yellow magic, “There’ll be no more trying to be who you’re not…”
The red unicorn shot her tendril of blue magic at Sunset’s chest as she sang, “There’ll be no more trying to be…”
The stallion sang as he and his comrades lifted Sunset into the air with a multi-colored aura enveloping her, “No more trying to be…who you’re not…”
As Sunset struggled and writhed, the Pseudocorn Trio recited a spell. “Wither and decay. End this destiny. Break these earthly chains and set the darkness free.”
At that moment, a black substance crawled up their magic tendrils and reached Sunset’s chest. Her eyes became encased in black and the aura surrounding her soon turned black as well. A layer of darkness then folded over Sunset and formed a sphere with white flares emanating from it. After a few seconds had passed, the sphere compressed into a cocoon. A demonic figure then slid out from the bottom of the cocoon and landed on the ground. After the cocoon disappeared, Sunset looked at her hooves, which were now brilliant crimson claws.
She gasped and asked in horror, “What did you do to me?!”
The amber unicorn responded with a wicked smile, “You have been corrupted into a hideous beast.”
The blue stallion then said, “And we’re taking you back to our master.”
Sunset shouted in retaliation, “As if!”
Suddenly, she stretched out her hands and magic that looked like fire shot out towards the Pseudocorns. Sunset’s stomach dropped when she saw their unconscious bodies and realized how powerful and dangerous her magic had become. Quickly, she fled along the side of the ravine and vanished from view.
In a grove of crystals, Twilight wept as she tried to process what she was told.
She sniffled, “No…It has to be a lie! It has to! My father…*sob* My father would never be a vile monster.”
She then realized that when Sombra was “cursed”, she never saw him for ten years. He claimed to have been hiding at the Everfree Castle during that time, but was that the whole truth?
She slapped herself as she fought the doubt within her heart and thought, No! Stop it! Just…stop it.
Suddenly, otherworldly laughter filled the air. She looked everywhere for the source of the sound until her eyes fell upon a crystal. From this crystal, hellish eyes appeared. The irises were brilliant scarlet with light brilliant green sclera; vivid violet smoke emanated from the sides of the eyes. Twilight’s heart skipped a beat as she recognized those eyes from her past.
She breathed, “No…No…No, you’re not real! You’re a specter of evil!”
Sombra’s voice taunted, “Come now. Is that any way to greet your dear, old dad?”
“You are not my father! You’re just a hallucination conjured up to torture me!”
“He” replied in a mock-hurt tone, “That stings, Twily. It really does.”
The use of Sombra’s nickname for her struck a nerve. “Stop it!”
“Oh, but you can’t stop it, Twilight. You can’t stop the evil within your heart from taking over. You can’t escape your darkness. It’s a part of me, and now it’s a part of you.”
As the image said this, Sombra’s full body was revealed. He was now a cruel unicorn, with a pointed crown, a black mane that flowed like fire, and a red, curved horn. It was too much for Twilight.
“NOOO!” she screamed as she shot at the crystal containing the image.
In a big explosion, the crystal chunks flew in all directions. One hit Twilight in the head and she fell to the ground in semi-unconsciousness. Just then, a cloaked gray unicorn with a scar on his muzzle came up to the still alicorn.
He chuckled in menace, “Well, that’s one way to capture the queen.” His horn lit up as he said, “Now it’s time to show me who you really are.”
A tendril of magic shot from his horn and tethered itself to Twilight’s chest, making her writhe for a moment. He then levitated her into the air and sang his spell.
“Wither and decay…End this destiny…Break these goodly chains…and set the darkness free…The darkness free…”
Sunset had heard the explosion moments earlier and saw a bright light as she had neared the source of the sound. She peeked behind a crystal to see a black cocoon descending to the ground and releasing a purple figure with dark wings. Though the figure looked almost human, Sunset recognized the colors in her wild, upright hair anywhere.
Before she could stop herself, she exclaimed, “Twilight!”
In an instant, both the unicorn and Twilight looked up to see Sunset. The now-demon saw that her sister’s eyes now had brilliant mulberry irises with pale, light grayish cyan sclera. A magic that glowed the same cyan color framed her eyes like fiery glasses. Her horn was replaced by a longer one that also glowed cyan and had holes in it.
Twilight was startled by her twin’s demonic form. However, when she looked at her own reflection in a nearby crystal, she gasped in horror and scampered back in fright. Ashamed of her monstrous form, she spread her wings and flew off to parts unknown.
“NO!” Sunset cried out, trying in vain to stop her.
The unicorn then said, “Odd. You have wings, yet you can’t fly.”
Sunset’s anger overtook her again and she lunged at the assailant, pinning him against one of the crystals.
She shouted, “What have you done to her?!”
The unicorn strained defiantly against her chokehold, “I cast a spell on her that allows her true colors to be revealed.”
Sunset growled in retaliation, “Those were not her true colors!”
“It’s her darkness personified. Her most negative emotions come to light. And the same thing has happened to you.”
“Why?! Why are you doing this?!”
“So everyone can see the royals as they truly are, not the perfect image of hope and kindness.”
Sunset threw the unicorn to the ground before attempting to calm herself down. This was the curse speaking, not the real Sunset.
The unicorn continued to speak, “So the spell the Pseudocorns cast on you was imperfect, then?”
Sunset asked in suspicion, “How do you know about that?”
“We were sent to attack you and Twilight Sparkle. You are now a monster, but you still show great care towards your sister, which tells me the spell is incomplete or imperfect.”
Sunset telekinetically pulled the unicorn’s cloak – along with him – into her hand. “You’re either going to take me to your master or help me find my sister.”
The stallion said, not the least bit intimidated by her order, “Now why would I want to do that?”
“You don’t have a choice.”
With that, Sunset levitated him and then pulled his cloak, elongating it so it could cover his body like a burlap bag. As she was tying the ends of the cloak around his neck, he tried to use his magic.
“Oh, no, you don’t.”
Sunset wrapped her claw around his horn and cracked it. It wasn’t enough to break it, but enough to prevent her reluctant companion from attacking her or escaping. She then ripped off the bottom of her new skirt and used the strip to bandage his horn. The unicorn was confused as to why she did that when she just disabled his only means of performing magic.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
She ripped the hood off his cloak, ripped that in two pieces, and then attached them to the “bag” as straps.
As she put the unicorn on her back, she smiled cunningly, “There. Now you’re forced to be in my company until we find my sister or you tell me where your master is.”
He snarled, “I’ll never tell!”
“Okay. Then my sister it is.”
For hours, Cadance and the four Guardians had searched for a trace of either Discord or Twilight. When they had no success, Nova consulted her books about the legends of Tartarus and came across a particular story. It was about an enchanted rose that grew deep within a place called the Hidden Cave. The flower was said to cure corruption spells and purge magically-inflicted darkness from someone. And so the group had a new mission: find the rose and use it to free the royal sisters from their corruption.
After an hour or two of walking, Blaze asked, “Are you sure we’re getting close to finding the Hidden Cave? ‘Cause I feel like we’ve been walking forever.”
Nova Rose scolded him, “Patience, Blaze. Just be glad I brought along my saddlebags to put in the books about the legends of Tartarus.”
Mischief nodded, “Yeah. If you hadn’t, we never would’ve known about the rose that can undo corruption.”
A sinister voice said above and behind them, “A rose, you say?”
Cadance and the four Guardians turned and looked up to see two dark silhouettes emerge from behind two tall crystals and descend upon the group as Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon.
NMM smiled evilly, “Now that’s something we would like to see.”
Cadance whispered to her daughter and the Guardians, “I’ll distract Nightmare Moon.”
Flurry then said, “We’ll take care of Daybreaker.”
Mother and daughter both said to each other, “Be careful.”
While Cadance flew up to engage Nightmare Moon, the Guardians fled from the corrupted sisters.
Daybreaker asked with a menacing grin as she pursued the four, “And where do you think you’re going?”
As the Guardians ran, they deflected Daybreaker’s magic attacks with a giant shield made of their combined magic.
Blaze asked, “How much closer are we to the Hidden Cave?”
Nova explained, “Well, we passed the last landmark leading to the Cave, so we should be about there! The entrance is a door of crystals that lets only the good-hearted pass!”
Flurry’s eyes widened and she pointed to something, “There! I think I can see it!”
The Guardians followed Flurry’s gaze and saw a door of sideways blue crystals interlocking with each other. At that moment, Daybreak shot a huge fireball at the Guardians’ shield and broke it into oblivion. The Guardians fell on the ground from the impact of the attack. Just as they were regaining their senses, Daybreaker swooped in and captured Flurry Heart!
Mischief gasped and then snarled, “Oh, no, you don’t!”
He conjured up a pair of bolas and flung them at Daybreaker’s legs, binding them together. While the villainess was distracted, Flurry made her getaway.
Mischief then summoned a giant slingshot and told his friends, “All right, gang! Let’s send this fireball flying!”
Nova and Blaze used all of their magic to apprehend Daybreaker and put her in the leather pad. Mischief then released the rubber and she soared a long distance until she crashed into a crystal, knocking her into semi-unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, Cadance and Nightmare Moon were caught in a mid-flight war of dodge-or-fire.
Cadance spoke to her, “Mother, this isn’t really who you are! You are Princess Luna, a wonderful, kind, loving –“ She was cut off when a blast of magic grazed her cheek.
Nightmare Moon scowled, “That name no longer has any meaning for me! I am more powerful than she once was!”
Cadance’s heart stung for a moment before determined serenity appeared on her face. “Then my mother truly is dead.”
She steeled her resolve and blasted at Nightmare Moon before striking her over a field of crystals. She dove down and hovered just over the spot where Nightmare Moon struggled to get up.
She whispered, “I’m sorry.”
She then shot her magic at the mare who was once her mother. Suddenly, the ray ran through Nightmare Moon and bounced off a crystal the illusion was blocking. Before Cadance could act, she was hit by her own magic blast and was instantly crystallized. Nightmare Moon, who had hidden behind another crystal, caught Cadance’s statue before it could hit the ground. Suddenly, she felt a twinge of regret in her blackened heart. However, that flash of emotion vanished just as quickly as it had emerged. She took the statue with her as she flew over the field and soon found Daybreaker recuperating from her rough landing.
Nightmare Moon smirked, “Well, well, well. Looks like they got the better of you, haven’t they?”
Daybreaker rose as she snarled, “They did not. This is only a minor setback.”
Her sister scoffed, “Minor?”
Just then, they heard a rapid succession of clacking. Nightmare Moon flew up and looked to see what it was.
She gasped in horror, “No!”
The last of the Guardians ran through the open entrance to the Hidden Cave just as the crystals quickly interlocked back together from top to bottom.