//------------------------------//
// The Future 
// Story: Strange Bedfellows 
// by BRBrony9 
//------------------------------//

The other five Elements were left bewildered. Twilight had gone, disappeared, leaving them in the street without their necklaces. At least they were all still in friendly hooves- weren't they?

Twilight's actions had unnerved her friends, because it hadn't seemed like her. At least for the last couple of minutes before she disappeared, she hadn't spoken to them, hadn't even turned to face them or greet them with happiness. She didn't revel in her victory over the human Sorcerer Lord. Instead, she had simply gone, taking the Elements with her, all six of them. Why? Where had she gone? None of them knew the answer to that question. Nor did they know what to do next. Without their Elements, they were helpless in the fight, especially against the Daemon. They were unarmed, naked out on the streets, which was exactly the fear that had made some of them so reluctant to head outside of the shield in the first place.

Applejack took charge, telling the others in a stern voice that Twilight had obviously got some other plan in mind, and that the only thing they could do now was to head back inside the shield, back to the safety of the palace walls and Cadence's protective bubble. They couldn't hope to achieve anything useful without the Elements or without Twilight, the only one among them who possessed proper offensive magic. Rarity knew a few spells that might help, but none that were really fit for any kind of combat. Twilight would return, hopefully with the Elements, whenever her task was complete. That was what they all assumed and had to believe. After all, it wouldn't be the first time one of their group had gone off on their own scheme without filling in the rest of them on the details- Pinkie Pie with her Parasprite remedy, for example- and they had no reason to doubt Twilight. But it seemed most strange that she would take all of the Elements herself. The others had assumed she had taken hold of them just while she fought the Sorcerer, for just such a reason as that which she ultimately used them for- to defeat him. But why would she keep hold of them once he was done away with?

They began to trot back to the spot in the palace shield where they had exited onto the streets. They would take shelter inside and await whatever developments may arise. But Rainbow spotted something, and called out. She pointed over the rooftops. None of the others could see at first, but within moments they could observe what had got Rainbow so startled. It was Twilight, and she was flying.

Not technically flying, but rather levitating, using her magic to lift her higher and higher into the sky. She was surrounded by crackling energy, wreathed in magic, and a closer inspection would have shown that her eyes no longer had pupils or irises. Instead, they were both glowing white, gleaming like beacons as she ascended. The Daemon, Malaranth, who had faded away after the defeat of Chrysalis, now appeared once more, and Twilight was heading right for it.

Her friends gasped. Twilight was heading straight into danger, the same danger, they presumed, that she had wanted the rest of them to avoid. That was why she had taken the Elements from them, wasn't it? She had them in her possession, around her neck and on her head. She had used them against the Sorcerer, but, from what was known about the Daemon, it was in a different league entirely to any mere human, no matter how powerful they may have been. The Elements had been enough to defeat Chrysalis, but they had been wielded by all six of their bearers, which was how they were meant to be used to maximise their effectiveness. Even if Twilight could launch an attack upon the creature, there was no guarantee the weakened Elements would be enough to defeat it.

'What the hay is she doin...?' Applejack muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. 'Why didn't we just attack it from the ground? With all of us? This ain't  the day for bein' the hero and goin' off by herself!'

'She must have some kind of plan, darling,' Rarity replied. 'She wouldn't risk herself like that unless she knew something that we don't. Perhaps she knows about some weakness this thing might have?'

'If she knew about a weakness, then Princess Celestia would've taken advantage of it when she was fighting it!' Rainbow pointed out. 'Twilight wouldn't keep it to herself.'

'Unless the weakness involves the Elements,' Rarity replied. 'Princess Celestia didn't have the Elements available to her. We've only just got them back all together again. Maybe she read something in the palace library...'

'Or maybe she's just bein' too damn brave!' Applejack snapped angrily. 'She's gonna get herself killed goin' up against that thing by herself!'

'What can we do?' Rarity asked. 'Only Rainbow and Fluttershy can fly. We can't help her up there.'

'No, but we can go and get Princess Cadence,' Applejack replied. 'She can help. She's the only Alicorn left...if anypony can defeat that thing, it's her. And if the Elements don't work, then...she's our only hope anyway.'

'Wait, girls!' Rainbow called. 'Look! What's she doing?' She pointed up at Twilight again. The purple unicorn was now level with the Daemon, facing it, floating high in the sky above the city. Yet she showed no signs of attacking it. The Elements did not glow; only her eyes did that.

'Ah dunno...ya think she's trying to reason with it?' Applejack suggested. 'Cause if she is, then she's gone nuts! That thing won't listen ta anythin' we have to say to it. Why doesn't she just attack it? Ain't that why she's gone up there?'

It wasn't.




'So, Twilight Sparkle,' Malaranth spoke in an even tone, its voice silky smooth. 'It seems that you have finally made a choice, made a decision. Tell me, is this the case?' it asked her.

'Yes,' she replied simply. 'That is the case.'

'That is pleasing to hear,' Malaranth nodded. 'Regardless of which outcome you have picked, change will be the result, and that is what my Lord and I are seeking. I trust you understand that now.'

'I do,' Twilight answered. 'It makes some amount of sense to me now.'

'Wonderful,' the Daemon smiled, an unnerving expression on the face of so monstrous a creature. 'So please, tell me Twilight Sparkle. What have you decided to do?' it asked her. 'Will you stand against me? Or have you seen the light and seen your true potential?'

'My potential is limitless,' Twilight replied, parroting one of the subtle phrases which had been spoon-fed to her for weeks, since before Malaranth arrived on the planet, even before the invasion fleet had entered the system and done battle with the Imperial Crusade. She hadn't even realised it was happening most of the time, because it was so subtle. Just her own mind making noises; that must be it. That was all it could be. Just her own brain telling her what she secretly knew deep down, the kind of things she would never admit to others, not to her friends and certainly not to Celestia. But it had been laid bare before her now. Inside herself, she must have always felt that way.

That was why Celestia had chosen her, at least in part. Theoretically any other pony could have been chosen to be an Element. They did not need innate magical power; after all, only two of the current bearers were unicorns. They simply needed to have a connection with each other, as friends or, potentially, family could also share the same bonds that would enable them to use the Elements effectively. Twilight did not know enough about the Elements, even after exhaustive study in the palace library over the last few years, as to whether the Elements could be wielded by all-earth pony or all-Pegasi teams, or if at least one unicorn was a definitive requirement, for that had never been tested before. 

Princess Celestia could have picked any pony to carry the Element of Magic, or at least any unicorn, but she had picked Twilight, through the long process of the return of Nightmare Moon and her own apparent absence from the scene. It went all the way back to when she had chosen Twilight to attend her magic school and then to become her personal student. Ponies were not chosen willy-nilly for such positions, and Twilight had always known she had been chosen because she was special, because of the magical potential she had displayed to Celestia when she had come to visit the magic school and Twilight had been attempting to hatch Spike's egg as part of her exam. The power she had shown was much greater than would be expected from anypony else of her young age, and that had to be why Celestia had chosen her. Such potential could easily come in useful in the future, as indeed it had, and that, combined with her new-fround friends, had enabled Luna to be saved from her exile. Celestia could have defeated Nightmare Moon, of that Twilight was certain. But without the Elements operating at full power, she could not have purified her sister, returned her to her true self and reunited with her. But the Princess must have had a greater vision for Twilight's future, too. Perhaps not quite along this track, but nopony ever said that Twilight had to obey Celestia's every word. Not even Celestia had actually said that. Only Twilight had believed it without question, until now. Now, she knew that she could forge her own path. She didn't need to rely on Celestia to give her guidance and direction, not any longer. 

'You are correct, Twilight Sparkle,' Malaranth chuckled. 'Your potential can indeed be limitless, depending on the answer to my question. Do you stand with me, or against me?' it asked her.

'I am with you...' Twilight replied, her eyes aglow, her brain fogged with deceit and trickery, steadily building and building inside her until it chose the perfect time to strike at her young and vulnerable mind- just the kind of mind that made a perfect target for the insidious whispers of Chaos. A brain filled with much power and potential, but still young and malleable, able to be influenced despite the great respect and affection she held for her mentor, Princess Celestia. Even the strongest ties could be broken with enough persuasion, however, and Lord Tzeentch was not a force that cared for wasted time. No time was ever wasted when letting it pass by would create change, influencing events far in the future. Sometimes the best course of action could take centuries to come to fruition, and consisted of simply doing nothing, of sitting back and waiting, perhaps with a few subtle whispers here and there. A few months of persuasion being poured gently and steadily into the mind of a young unicorn, shaken and rattled by the damage to her world and to her own outlook on life itself? Well, that was nothing at all, a mere infinitesimal effort by the minions of Change. Compared to the longer game of setting things in motion for the fleets to clash overhead, for Chrysalis to gain her foothold among the Imperial ships, and for this ultimate endgame to come to pass, it would barely even warrant a conscious thought for the Changer of Ways, and yet it could have just as dramatic an effect on the outcome of the battle for Kuda Prime, for Equestria, and perhaps for much more than that.

'You are with me? I am most pleased to hear that...' Malaranth chuckled, spreading its arms out wide as if in greeting to its new-found ally. 'Together, we shall end this battle, and then you shall received the grace and favour of my Lord Tzeentch. Or rather, I should say...our Lord Tzeentch.'

Twilight simply nodded. She did not know anything about the Chaos God herself, but she would learn. She would learn who it was who had ultimately enabled this scenario to play out, knowingly or unknowingly, by manipulating the threads of fate for millennia, all across the galaxy. Everything would be revealed to her. Malaranth would make sure of it. Chaos was never one to turn down a potentially powerful creature, whatever its species may be. Anything that could harm the Imperium, their one true enemy, and the Eldar, their oldest and most inscrutable foe, would be considered fair game for them to make use of in their never ending quest.

'Twilight!'

'Twilight!'

The call came from down below, ignored by the pony it named. It was repeated, this time by multiple voices, and Twilight looked down, as did the Daemon. It was her friends, the rest of the Elements shouting up to her. They had changed their minds about returning to the palace when they had seen Twilight approaching the Daemon, just in case their help would be needed. Now, it seemed that their whole world view was being twisted. Twilight was not attacking the Daemon like she was supposed to be. So why had she gone up there? It seemed to the rest of them that she was falling into line with the creature, not even arguing with it or trying to persuade it to leave or to stop fighting. She seemed to be content to simply float there with it- and that wasn't right.

Applejack decided something was wrong. She didn't know what, but clearly Twilight's abrupt departure without explanation meant something was amiss. As the de-facto leader of the remaining Element Bearers, Applejack had taken charge and decided that they would stay outside of the shield and keep tabs on the situation. She polled the others to see if any of them wanted to go back inside where it was safe. None of them had done so, even Fluttershy resolutely accepting the potential danger that they would have to endure in order to see what was going on. Now they had to act, not just sit and watch. Twilight was in danger if she didn't see what was going on; either that or she was under some kind of spell, doing what the enemy told her, which was even worse. They had to find out what was happening, and so they now stood in the plaza below, near to the palace shield but unprotected from the enemy, the Daemon- or anything else.

'Twilight!' they called again, and the unicorn gazed down at them from above.

'Twilight! Ya gotta attack that thing!' Applejack shouted. 'Use the Elements! That's your plan, right? So get on with it!'

'Why would I attack?' Twilight questioned, her voice drained of all of its usual vim and vigor, just a monotone drawl. 'It has made me see reality. I finally know what my purpose truly is.'

'What are you talking about, Twi?' Rainbow Dash called. 'Your purpose is the Element of Magic! You belong down here with us! Come on, Twilight! Get down here and give us our Elements so we can fight this thing!'

'But we are not to fight it,' Twilight replied. 'It is not my enemy, and it should not be yours, either. It can help us, all of us. We can rid ourselves of the shackles of oppression, throw these humans out of Equestria for good, and embark on a new journey to true greatness, with myself as leader.'

'With...what?' Applejack blinked. 'Twilight, what are ya talkin' about? Snap out of it! Just take a look at that thing and you'll know it's the enemy! Now get back down here, quick!'

'I will, once we have accomplished the tasks at hoof,' Twilight replied. 'The scourge that is the Imperium of Man must be removed from this place, and replaced by the benevolence of Chaos and of our Lord Tzeentch. Disbelievers will also be purged.'

'What the hell is wrong with you, Twilight? Listen ta me!' Applejack shouted. 'That thing's brainwashin' you! Yer talkin' a whole bunch'a crap. Get your head together, we need ya! Equestria needs ya! This ain't no different to any other time we fought somethin. We fought Chrysalis and Discord and Sombra, and we're gonna fight this thing, too! But we need you. We need the Elements. So get the hell back down here before it's too late!'

'No,' Twilight replied. 'You cannot fight change. I see that clearly now. I see it more clearly than I have ever seen anything before. No matter what you try and do, you cannot stop reality. What I have seen is reality, and that reality will be revealed to all of you very soon.'

Applejack shook her head in disbelief, turning to her friends. 'She's gone mad...she's brainwashed...somehow that thing got to her. Ah don't know how, but...we gotta get her back. We gotta make her see that she's bein' used! If she ain't gonna listen to us, then...then ah dunno...her brother! We gotta get Shinin' Armour out here.'

'But he's busy!' Rainbow pointed out. 'He's in charge of the defence of this whole city.'

'He can leave it with the human officer, whatever his name is,' Applejack replied. 'Somepony's gotta make Twilight see what's really goin' on. Does anypony have any better ideas? She won't listen to us, and Princess Celestia is...gone...'

'Applejack is right,' Rarity nodded quickly. 'We have to try anything we can to make her snap out of it. We need her! And we need the Elements, too, and right now we don't have either.'

'Why did she take them off of us?' Rainbow questioned. 'We could have fought that human all together. She didn't need to shoulder all of that burden herself. What else was she thinking? Maybe she has some plan. Maybe she's trying to trick the Daemon into thinking she's on its side!'

'If that's her plan then she's had plenty of time ta attack it when it's guard is down!' Applejack pointed out. 'Naw, somethin's wrong with her mind. We gotta...'

She was interrupted by a cry from Rainbow. 'Look out! Move!'

Applejack looked up, and dove to the side, scrambling for cover as Twilight fired a blast of magic down at them. The sudden attack drew horrified gasps from Rarity and Fluttershy as they hurled themselves to safety. Twilight was not only not attacking the Daemon- she was attacking them, her own friends. Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong, and it needed to be put right. But without the Elements of Harmony, what could they do? If Twilight had been corrupted by Chaos magic, in much the same way that Luna had been corrupted by the darkness, the Elements could potentially purify her just as they had purified the Princess. But Twilight held the Elements, and there was no way any of the other bearers could get them off of her. Even Rainbow would be hard-pressed to fly fast enough to prevent Twilight simply teleporting away, intercepting her with magic, or erecting a shield around herself.

But they had to do something, even if it was just distracting Twilight until some other solution could be found. The Imperials could help, perhaps- their aircraft might be able to defeat Twilight. But defeat meant kill, if any weapon was used other than the Elements. Killing their friend was simply not an option, not that any of them had the means to do so anyway. Applejack shouted for Rarity and Fluttershy to retreat back into the palace, alert Princess Cadence and Shining Armour to the new development as quickly as possible. Meanwhile she, Rainbow and Pinkie, the three most agile and fast-moving members of the Elements, would continue to distract Twilight, hoping to keep her busy and prevent her turning her ire upon the palace or teaming up directly with the Daemon to further its maleficent plans for Canterlot. It, and Twilight, had to be stopped, and they had to be stopped here and now.

Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie split up, sprinting and flying in different directions in the hope of confusing Twilight and making her waste time. But she focused on Applejack, homing in on the farmpony and firing off blasts of magic in her direction, evidently perceiving her to be the biggest threat, as she knew that Applejack was the de facto leader of the Elements whenever she herself was absent and would be best placed to organise the others to take the fight to her. Applejack ducked into buildings and alleyways, but Twilight had the advantage of altitude, and could look down from above into hiding spots that would be unknown from the ground. Applejack's best defence was to simply keep moving, dodging from side to side, going through structures and doubling back, coming out of side doors.

Magic blasts leveled several of the buildings she had been running through, Twilight's attacks just a second or two behind her, not leaving her much room for error. One trip or fall or even a simple stumble could prove fatal, as Twilight clearly demonstrated her desired effect by destroying entire buildings. She wasn't trying to capture or subdue her friend. She was trying to kill her.

Applejack continued her desperate flight from danger, drawing Twilight away from the palace as best she could. But her options were limited, for the outer city wall ran to her right, and if she was to stray too far to the east she would run into the frontline, and a different kind of danger. She had to keep running. Just keep running, and everything would work out. Whenever she reached a junction, she would make a turn, either left or right, or sometimes back the way she came. Maybe it was pointless and she was just exhausting herself for no good reason. Maybe she would run into a dead end with no way out, and be slaughtered by her own friend, by one of the ponies she thought that she could count on above all others, one of the most dependable and caring mares who embodied friendship itself. That would not be a fitting end, either for her, for their friendship, or for the Elements as a force for good. She just had to keep going, keep running, until something could be done, some solution could be found.

'Twilight!'

The cry echoed across the rooftops, faint but audible, coming from the direction of the palace. Applejack could barely hear it from ground level, especially with the clattering of her hooves on the cobbles. But it repeated, and then once more, louder this time, and it got Twilight's attention. She looked round with her soulless, white, glowing eyes, all trace of understanding and civility gone from her gaze, a deeply disturbing sight to those who knew her well, which included the one who had called her name.

Princess Cadence rose above the rooftops, the source of the distraction which had drawn Twilight's attention away from Applejack. That allowed the earth pony to slip away, escaping Twilight's gaze unnoticed. The plan she had rapidly drawn up was that, once something had happened to distract Twilight, all of the rest of the Elements would regroup back where they had last stood together, in the plaza near the palace. As she galloped through the streets, Applejack could see that the palace shield was still standing, despite Cadence no longer being the source. It was now protected by a multi-hued dome of magic, presumably being powered by multiple unicorns to give the palace and its command staff at least a modicum of protection. It wasn't Alicorn magic, but it would hopefully hold up against artillery or bombs.

'Twilight!' Cadence called again, her wings flapping gently as she hovered above the city. 'Listen to me, Twilight. You need to listen to me,' she pleaded. 'Give me the Elements, Twilight. I don't know what you think you're doing, but it's wrong. You're not listening to reason. You're listening to evil.'

'I am listening to reality,' Twilight replied in a monotone voice. 'The reality for us all, the single truth.' She kept her empty eyes trained upon Cadence.

'I am the future.'