Many miles away, the unicorn capital was dealing with its own chaos as Nightmare Moon threw Hollow Prince through several skyscrapers, destroying each one instantly before bashing him into the ground at high velocity, sending out many massive shock waves through the grounds within and outside the city.
Hollow Prince crashed into the filthy underground city below the capital. Nightmare Moon wasn't done as she crashed herself down through the same rubble, sending him further down into the ruins of the naga kingdom. Only for Hollow Prince to catch her by the leg and spin her around in the air, using her as a dampening pad against the final surface.
Nightmare Moon flipped around and threw another punch only for Hollow Prince to catch it. "What are you?!" She struggled out more power, pushing him back down.
"I am the King of the Mindscape. Just as you rule dreams. I command thought!!" He matched her power and reversed her efforts into failures.
The evil alicorn traced her eyes over the surrounding pillars. With a flick of her horn, they flew into the thought being. However, he was quicker, turning the pillars on her with but a thought. Forcing Nightmare Moon to fly out of the way allowed him to gain the advantage.
Moving faster than she could predict, he punched her so hard in the gut, yet prevented her from bouncing away. He didn't even give her time to recover from the bile rising before bashing her into a building above ground. Tearing her face across the walls and flinging her into the Castle of Princess Platinum.
Luna landed at the foot of the previous ruler's statue. She tried to calm her flames, but Nightmare Moon refused to fall to this insult of power. "What are you?!" She screamed again as Hollow Prince reappeared.
He punched her in the face; she bashed her wing into his shoulder and uppercut him. He spun in the air and slammed both his legs into her shoulder, breaking the collarbone instantly. The evil alicorn screamed in agony as her arm fell, limp and unmoving. Her howls were stopped as Hollow Prince grabbed her by the throat.
It was strange; he lacked a horn or even a powerful body. There wasn't even a magical glow emanating from him as he used his power. He made no sense to her as if he was a complete mockery of her power. She had little to no control inside Luna's body and yet; he walked around effortlessly.
"Please, stop this!" Golden Williams rushed in.
"Cassandra was the one who started this," Hollow Prince posed. He squeezed tighter until magic flowed over his arm.
"Put my sister down!" Celestia roared with rage, aiming her magic to tear his arm off.
"You think a mere spell can stop me." He turned his sight to her.
Celestia's eyes went wide as pain filled her head. She pushed through and squeezed his arm into breaking yet his bout on her didn't halt her head filled with so much pain that she could barely stand.
"If you must know, I am simply tethered to this body. I cannot feel pain or agony. However, I will not let you torture my Blood Diamond!" He narrowed his eyes on her as the pain knocked her out completely.
"I said stop!!" Golden Williams pressed a blade to the back of Hollow Prince's neck.
"Do you wish to kill your brother's body?" Hollow Prince frowned at Golden Williams's resolve. "He was right to despise you all."
"What?" the pink alicorn was shocked by his words. "You can't mean that?! Blood Diamond is the most loyal of all alicorns."
"Yes, but Blood Diamond hates every single alicorn in existence. This includes you and his father." Hollow Prince quickened with more rage.
Golden Williams felt his breath hit his stomach in horror. "I said, stop!!" He rushed his blade forward as powerful light magic formed in Hollow Prince's mouth.
A single move ended the battle. "Forbidden Spell! Roar of a God!!" A massive soundwave tore through the capital, ripping apart the massive walls around it. The center of unicorn society was freed and at the same time, a massive hole lay through the lands.
Luna fell to the ground, damaged but alive. Nightmare Moon hid deep within the mare, leaving her out cold. Golden Williams stopped his blade as Hollow Prince fell to the ground out cold too.
Blood Diamond flipped back into reality only to reply with. "That took the last of his power. Time is running out. Only Nightmare can stop the oncoming storm..." He was soon out too, leaving Golden Williams completely in the dark as to what to do next.
******
Deep within the mindscape, Clover and Rex still had yet to leave the scene from before. The two watched it on replay over and over. Clover still hadn't figured out what made him so scared, but the showing of her emotions had finally calmed him. They watched the scene as much as possible, unsure where to go next or even if they wanted to leave.
While Rex remained silent, Clover's mind was racing. She had made a proclamation in that kiss. Yet she found it funny that promise was around Twilight Sparkle of all ponies. When she first met her, it was hard to admit, but the unicorn was jealous of the alicorn. Such a powerful mare, showing up with far more knowledge of Rex than she ever had. She never considered Twilight was his daughter, nor did she ever consider herself a possibility in making such a thing happen in the first place.
She had been with Rex for a few years now. Never once did she consider a future... involving children. Wait, she thought to herself, what if Twilight wasn't the only one awaiting her? The thought made her mind run madly with happiness. She had many siblings of her own and to give them plenty of nieces and nephews sounded all the more fun. She had been an aunt plenty of times herself, but never the other way around.
Of course, what kind of future would the children have? She barely considered her own future half the time. Could she really put thought into the future of children she didn't even have yet? Would they be powerful alicorns like Twilight? Would they inherit her acrobatic experience? Or her father's desire for knowledge? She laughed at that comment, realizing Twilight already had an expansive desire for knowledge that easily matched Stygian. What about Rex? Would they inherit anything from him?
Without Clover realizing it the scene had finally reached a change in the format. The younger version of Rex fell backward and his eyes widened. He immediately rubbed them intensely. Without warning, he jumped back up and rushed over to his mother, holding onto her leg tightly.
"Huh, I didn't know you were a mommy's boy?!" Clover leaned her head on Rex's shoulder and hummed with delight. "Do you think Twilight is the same--"
"No, there's something else." He noted the strange noise echoing outside of the room. "It sounds like..." His eyes widened and his face seemed to match the same fear his younger self had, only it was getting more intense by the minute. "No, no!!" He backed away from the sight of his younger self.
"What's wrong?" Clover questioned as he pulled away from her.
"This day... not this day."
"What about this day?" She shook Rex for answers.
"This was the day... we all envisioned..." He dropped to his knees at the sounds of his younger self crying.
"What does it mean, mother?" The younger Rex questioned. "Why won't these images stop?!"
"I don't know..."
It was at this point Clover noticed the same face of fear on the mother as well. In fact, the other siblings finally came into focus, each one screaming with the same horror. They were all matching the same sounds outside.
"No..." Clover came to the same realization. "All your species had the same vision..."
"This was very different." Rex turned his sight to the door. "Not a vision of escape, but needed acceptance..."
With that word the door burst open and a stallion ran in with the same amount of fear. "It's happening. It's happening now!!"
"Honey, what do you mean?" The mother was in a mix of emotions at the sight of her beloved but the worst was yet to come as the screams outside intensified.
"The deaths... are happening--" The father was violently stopped as blood splattered from his mouth.
The mother shrieked at the sight of a spear tearing through his chest. One sibling tried to catch the father but he pushed them out of the way as another spear flew in, barely missing the child. It mattered not like the wall behind the child collapsed. Clover's eyes widened at the snapping sounds of one of Rex's siblings being crushed before her eyes.
The unicorn turned to her Rex only to see him staring down in defeat. His younger self could only cry louder at the sight. Clover wanted a closer look at the chaos beyond the rumble of the wall, but since this was Rex's memories she was forced to see things from his perspective.
"King Heavonos..." The father gave words through the blood pouring from his mouth.
"What?" The mother covered her children only for bony hands to rip out of the wall behind her and grabbed her by the throat."
"The King of the alicorns..." The father was bleeding too much to process his wife being snuffed out of her life. All he could do was reach out to the younger Rex. "He's... he's..."
"He had been murdered and blame has been cast upon dark kind..." Words echoed around the memory as everything fasted forward once more.
Clover backed away in horror as the truth of the outside came into the room. Bodies, just like what they had witnessed in reality. Only they were moving. Running into the room and ripping apart Rex's siblings before the younger one's very eyes.
"The umbrum were forced to defend themselves from the oncoming attack and visions of their own deaths." The words returned, seeming the mock the events as they continued.
The colt could only watch, hidden under the body of his now-dead mother. The undead simply beat the mother's skull in and never once noticed him at all. Instead, once finished they continued their rampage outside.
"Such a glorious and beautiful spell. The temptation was too strong at the sight of invading forces at their doorstep."
Clover was forced to watch the younger Rex pull himself out from under the rotting corpse of his own mother. The mother's bones cracked loudly before she moved too.
"A spell, made for defense," the voice laughed at them. "Giving them the ability to never stop fighting, even after death." The younger Rex jumped away as the flesh of his mother reached out to him with the same rage as the rest. "No matter who the target is."
The younger Rex was freed again as the undead corpse of his father bit down on the arm of his mother. Seeing his chance he ran away. Time moved faster and faster as the younger Rex spent days, months, and years dodging the jaws of his own people.
"There was only one way to end their misery!!"
Flames spread over every house, bringing a now older Rex out of hiding. He was barely under the age of a teen and yet there was such brokenness on his face.
Clover tried to stop the younger Rex, wanting to wrap her arms around him. Her attempts to bring happiness were not as he walked through her and toward an all too familiar church.
"Yes, step closer, umbrum. Show the place where the spell was cast!!" The voice became clearer and clearer within the minutes.
Clover's eyes slowly widened as the voice took the form of a filly. She raced over to the modern Rex and shook him up. "Wake up. Don't let him see that memory!!" She screamed at him, but he wouldn't respond.
"Yes, give me what I desire?!" The voice laughed louder.
"No, Rex. This voice matches the siren sisters! Which means this is the alicorn that Starswirl warned us about?!" Clover screamed away in vain.
"Let me see the spell in its fullest form!" The voice called to the darkness within the church. Such a pit of blackness that nothing could be seen beyond it. Clover's eyes widened as Rex vanished into the mass and she didn't hesitate to follow him. Everything around her fading into the darkness. Everything but that voice, cackling in victory.
******
On the other side of the mindscape, Cold Blue and Twilight wandered the room of pictures. Both were thinking through Hollow Prince's last words to them. He had yet to return since then and the place had been going through random moments of shaking. The two knew they were running out of time. But his words made no sense.
"Connections and anomalies?'" Cold Blue repeated as he constantly watched the picture of Crisis Blue and Indigo Frost.
Twilight, on the other hand, kept moving her sight between the pictures of Twilily, Mira, and Rainbow Dartz. "Each one of these pictures... They all hold a connection?" She couldn't figure out what he meant, so she noted her thoughts aloud. "They're trapped in the mindscape, right? Just like us."
"Yes, but that can't be the only connection he's referring to..."
"No..." Twilight's eyes slowly widened. "No, it's not just that!" She looked to the only picture she spent the entire time ignoring. Much to her fear, the sight of Elisus still brought sickness to her mind. "This one isn't trapped here, so what's its connection?"
"I... I don't know." Cold Blue kept his mind and the picture of the siren and wendigo.
"And this picture?" Twilight rushed over to the same picture he was staring at. "Why show off this piece? It's barely connected to you at all?"
"It was always just a legend to my species."
"Exactly, they are all pieces of the past, and yet..." Twilight thought about it more. "There is another connection..." She traced her eyes over each picture slowly once more, stopping on the picture of Mira. "Their connections to me... Me and past itself!" Her eyes widened. "For example, Rarity and Spike?" She raced to their image and placed her hand upon it.
Finally, a reaction happened. The room shook far more violently, but this time it felt more centralized. "Wait a minute?" Cold Blue tried to stop her, only to accidentally place his hand on the picture as well.
With no more warning, the picture shifted its image. The picture of Mira changed to show a young unicorn with an egg. Both were left perplexed.
"What's happening now?!"
"This was the day... It was when I hatched Spike." She pointed out to the alicorn watching the unicorn from the picture. "It was a secret test from Celestia. None of the teachers thought I could do it... but I did!" The egg in the image hatched in response to her words.
"Incredible!"
Twilight found herself continuing to tell the past as it was shown in the picture. "Spike had a crush on Rarity from the moment we arrived in Ponyville. Though their relationship came into view for the first time after he told her during his birthday." The images changed to form a giant dragon carrying Rarity around.
"Rare sight to see a dragon fully embrace his inner monster..." Cold Blue's words confused Twilight greatly, but she continued the story, anyway.
"It had been the first time he let his greed take control, and it was too much for him. Luckily, with Rarity's help, he regained his composure." The dragon shrank, and the two fell from the sky. "Spike confessed everything to her... but she was too scared to accept such an offer, yet."
"It didn't end there?"
Time in the image moved again revealing Rarity in her own taller form with black fur and a flowing mane. "It wasn't over until our second battle with Nightmare. Cassandra no longer had Luna as a body so she took Rarity. Spike was forced to face her alone... and attempt to free Rarity from her control." Another change revealed a giant Spike fighting a giant Rarity and freeing the mare, then sharing a short kiss.
"Sounds like those two have a complicated relationship in any timeline."
"Yes, you could say that." The image changed, showing the two walking down a sunset-lit road before quickly fading. "I've met multiple versions of them throughout my journeys and each pair has its good and bad days." The image changed and revealed an alternate timeline of them, showing Spike as a giant Chinese dragon and Rarity as a skinless assassin. "All of them have faced unspeakable horror, and each pair has found a way to love each other. My timeline's version of Spike and Rarity's relationship has never gotten intense, but the two will always find time to at least go out on the town." The final image is that of them enjoying a loving smile.
Twilight pulled away as the picture returned to its original form. Both seemed drained from this move, yet the alicorn was far from done. She pulled Cold Blue over to the picture of Rainbow Dartz. "We need more details."
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yes... we'll be fine." She pressed her hand on Rainbow Dartz's image. Just like before, it changed too. "Then, there was Rainbow Dash..." She stopped at the image of the three siblings. She didn't recognize them at all or what they meant. However, soon it changed into an image of Rainbow Dash and three smaller very familiar fillies. Twilight smiled and continued as the room shook in response. "Rainbow Dash had no siblings in my time, but she always found time to take care of the youngest of fillies like they were her sisters, the CMC being the biggest example. That was true in every timeline, like one where I saw her run an orphanage... and even nearly die protecting it."
The image changed to show Rainbow Dash fighting a batpony with metal arms. He was beating her so easily, yet she never faltered once. "She was the greatest symbol of loyalty I ever knew..." Bright light filled the picture at Rainbow Dash's defeat.
"I get she was part of your friends, but what was her connection to the other pictures."
"She wasn't always my friend..." Twilight turned away but kept her hand on the picture as it changed again. "I remember, once she was more for me."
"I... I see." Cold Blue lowered his head to a new image. This was of Twilight and Rainbow Dash sharing a kiss.
His reaction brought Twilight back to reality, and she quickly corrected him. "It was very, very short-lived. Rainbow Dash was the most loyal of friends but a wildflower when it came to love."
The image flipped through multiple scenes, showing Rainbow Dash with somepony else each time. "Cheating on me with Applejack, then later cheated on her with the mailmare, Derpy. Left both of them for Derpy's brother... until Discord trapped the stallion in his chaos dimension. Which led to her starting a small fling with Fluttershy while attempting to sway Spike away from Rarity and failing horribly on both fronts. Before I was trapped on these travels, she had just started things with Soarin of the Wonderbolts and it looked like it might be serious..." Twilight gave a small chuckle, "But I doubt that one will last either."
It was rather an amusing play of images going in fast forward with Rainbow Dash kissing each of the suitors then she got to Spike. Rarity slapped her and walked off with her little dragon. Rainbow Dash gave little care and chased after Soarin as he walked by.
"If she was so random, then why include her."
"No, Pinkie Pie was a thousand times more random..." The image flipped by far faster to Pinkie Pie swinging with millions of stallions and mares alike before stopping in front of a yellow pony with a brown mane as crazy as hers. Twilight's eyes drifted down, and she twisted her foot on the ground. "Rainbow Dash... she was my first..." Her face went red as the image flipped back to Rainbow Dash pushing Twilight down onto a bed. "Okay, we've seen enough!" She pulled her hand free, making it fade as Rainbow Dash crawled over her.
"Oh... I see. So that's the connection... their all connected to you in some form or another... From friend to family to love and foes..."
"And now..." Twilight turned from the picture of Twilily. She found herself hesitating until Cold Blue joined her. Placing their hands on it, the image changed to show Twilight sitting at a table. "I originally told myself no relationships while time traveling. I've read too many books where that goes horribly wrong... But then there was..."
"Crimson," Cold Blue answered. The images flowed out revealing an all too familiar stallion sitting at the table with Twilight.
"Yes..." She winced away with all her might as the image flipped by faster and faster. It showed them meeting every day and the past Twilight never making a move forward. Soon they witnessed the crystal announcements, followed by her fight with Starlight, her encounter with the wendigo, and finally... Twilight fell to her knees upon hearing the splashing of Crimson's blood all over the altar.
Cold Blue helped her up and apologized, "I'm sorry I couldn't stop it."
"What do you mean?" Her eyes widened upon turning back to the image and saw past Cold Blue facing the Pale Mare. "You... that's right. You saved me..." Twilight found herself falling into his arms. "You were there when I... When I lost everything!"
"Yes, I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her. The image stopped and gave no more answers. This left three more pieces, but Twilight was getting close to putting it all together. She only needed a bit more details.
Slowly they moved to the image of the pony engulfed in black flames and the dark alicorn amulet below it. This one was the most confusing of all as the amulet shined brightly with a blue gem instead of a red one. Twilight couldn't figure out its meaning but maybe she could turn her attention to the background.
Cold Blue followed her sight. "The Crystal Empire?"
"Yes..." She smiled with a small tension of fear. "The Crystal Empire was my very first test to becoming an alicorn. Though, I didn't know it at the time." The image changed before they could even touch it. Everything about it, except the alicorn amulet, changed to show Twilight arriving at a familiar stairway.
"I see," Cold Blue confirmed.
"In this battle, I fought and outwitted the legendary King Sombra." The image showed a giant shadow towering over the Crystal Empire with the head of a pony. "Or at least, I considered him legendary at the time... according to the words of my mentors, the Princesses."
"What do you mean?"
"Shortly after beginning my travels, I did research to ensure I wouldn't run into certain things I knew existed in the past." The image changed to her in several libraries throughout multiple timelines. "Despite the princesses claiming his existence, I have found no record of any crystal pony or classic unicorn with the name Sombra."
"How do you know he was one of these species?"
"I don't know what he was as I only encountered him through his traps and spells. His real form was only on the battlefield for a few minutes and even then, I wasn't the one who fought him directly." The image showed another alicorn facing him down.
"So, there are other alicorns in your future."
"Yeah, Cadance... She's a descendant of Golden Williams..." Twilight remembered him too. "She even looks like him some."
"Anything else?"
"I've encountered alternate timeline versions of this Sombra." The image changed to show off several versions, each more monstrous than the last. "Those, while depicted stronger, were not around long enough for me to scale to species. He could match two alicorns rather easily. Heck, in one alternate timeline he fought both an alicorn Sunset Shimmer, Discord, and a reality corrupting being like F. All three at the same time."
Soon enough the images stopped and returned to the original picture. Twilight never gave it the chance to show Rex, Clover, or anyone else. Instead, she was left more in confusion by the questions around Sombra. What were his connections to her? What were his connections to Rex? And above all, what was the connection to the dark alicorn amulet?
This made no sense to Twilight. She hoped to look through the images and find the connections. She thought it was her, but that last picture seemed to conflict with her theories, showing only a connection to Sombra and nothing for her.
With nothing left, Twilight turned her attention to her greatest fear, the picture of Elisus. Much like the original two, it gave no response to simply looking at it, forcing her to make the next move. Hesitation was so strong and her fear was even stronger as she pushed herself to the image. She didn't know what the piece had in store for her, but time was running out.
"Is this a piece of me...?" Twilight questioned, turning her attention to the shattered remains of the elements of harmony under the monstrous alicorn. She dreaded to finish her words, "A piece of my fate, my death..."
"Your death..." Cold Blue repeated.
"I am a wielder of the element to Magic." Her head dropped at her own confirmation. "If the shatter remains of my former power lie at her feet, then that means only one thing."
"Elisus is your killer." Cold Blue narrowed his eyes on each of the elements of harmony. "Killer of all the gems..."
"Yes... gems..." Twilight's eyes slowly widened at that word, repeating it several times, louder and louder.
"What? What do you mean?"
"Gem!!" She screamed at her loudest, racing back over to the picture of the alicorn amulet surrounded by black flames and she pointed. "We were so distracted by what we didn't see that we completely ignored what we saw." She narrowed her eyes on the blue gem.
"The Dark Alicorn Amulet? What about it?"
"Before my travels through time I fought somepony wielding an alicorn amulet." The image changed from the burning pony to showing a blue mare with a wizard's hat. "She was an arrogant and prideful unicorn who knew very little about power." The image changed to Twilight fighting Trixie. "Despite my knowledge, I had to concede in our battle and fight her a different way. I knew just as little too when it came to this power. So, I studied it and found there were three variations." The image showed three alicorn amulets. "I assumed the one I fought was normal at first. However, as I traveled through timelines I found myself wrong, it was the Dark Alicorn Amulet and not the base for it all. This one, I encountered again, two more times."
The image changed to show Twilight standing in the ruins of a city with a crater beyond it. The size and power shocked Cold Blue. "Such danger..."
Twilight gave little care to the crater and turned her attention to the one standing above it, on a throne of red and blue crystals. "The next time I encountered it was an alternate timeline version of Trixie. This is where I witnessed its hydra-like limits." The image changed to that of a giant dragon and a speedy pegasus warrior fighting Trixie and her thousands of arms.
"And?" Cold Blue was getting curious by the second.
"The last time before reaching this timeline was that overpowered version of Sombra who seemed to be its current master of that time." The image showed a version of Sombra with massive wings and pipes going through his body, keeping him alive.
"What makes you think that?" Cold Blue questioned.
"Because much like Rex, I saw Sombra talking to the spirit within the Dark Alicorn Amulet." The image showed him talking to the amulet. "Both referred to it as 'old goat'." Twilight stopped her explanation and walked closer, wanting to place her hand not just over the picture, but in a certain spot. "No matter the user, whether it spoke to them or not, or even the distance of time between each encounter, the Dark Alicorn Amulet was always red, not blue!"
"And? It could have changed."
"Yes, but the source of it being red was always a strange choice since dark magic itself is also a form of red, maroon red."
"So the gem's color is chosen by the power source." Cold Blue's eyes widened.
"Exactly, and what magic do we know takes the form of blue."
"Light magic! That would make it impossible for Rex to touch it."
"Not only that, there are three light magic users we know. Golden Williams, Blood Diamond, and above all, the one controlling this spell, Aitym!" Twilight smiled as Cold Blue stood beside her and motion him to follow her actions. She placed both her hands over the image of the alicorn amulet and the room shook far more violently than ever before, cracking the corners with its force. She winced as pain traveled down her hand. "I was right, it's afraid of me."
The alicorn amulet seemed to move back in the picture. At the same time, the rest of the picture twisted and wrinkled with its movement. Twilight raced over and ignored the pain, slamming her hand upon the image.
A loud hiss echoed out. The shrill of a filly's pain bounce throughout the room. Twilight smiled and didn't let it escape this time, slamming her other hand in the direction it fled. It hit her hand and the room's walls twisted and peeled.
"There is only one way to handle such power," Twilight turned her full sight and took a stance. "That is if you trust me."
Cold Blue raised an eyebrow as the alicorn, lined up his hands with hers. "I... I do." The siren stallion had his chest right against her back. Straightening his position to her position.
"Match my output!" Twilight's horn filled with so much dark magic and his frills did the same. It traced down to their eyes, flowing maroon liquid out of their tears. The power reached their shoulders and then their hands. Once both had as much dark magic as they could muster into their hands, the power twisted together. Space itself bent around them as the alicorn amulet had nowhere to go. "Not yet..." Twilight winced as she felt the maroon blood rising in her throat. Her fear grew as she felt the same warmth of maroon blood rise in Cold Blue's throat too. "Damn it, Pale Mare... Please, work with me." Her eyepatch burned just as intensely as the pale form spread over her face. "Ha, Starlight better not find out I used such a reckless spell..." Maroon red flowed out of their eyes like fire. "Repeated after me."
The two spoke in unison. "Forbidden Spell, Dual Black Hand of Darkness!!" Space around their hands crackled loudly in such a way that pain-filled every pour in their limbs. At the same time, a massive beam of pure dark magic blasted outward, burning through the picture.
The alicorn amulet image shook as if in fear. The power sheered the image away and the roars of agony from the filly trapping them in there became more intense. As the last bits faded so did the realm around them in a beam of black light.
******
Outside of the mindscape, the church was shaking violently as the room did. The place could barely stand under such pressure. The source was the egg sitting in the center of the altar.
The ifrits ran into the room only to fall in pain. "What is happening?" Sage winced in agony.
"It's our connection to the darkness," Vanity confirmed. "Somepony is draining it."
"No!" Aitym spat up blue blood, "Those two are using too much dark magic." The body he was using struggled to stand as the power became too much. Even now, his pull over his siren host was weakening.
The ifrits looked on in confusion as tears flowed from the eyes of the siren filly. "Please. let me go?!"
"No, I'm so close to finishing!!" Aitym roared back at the host. "Damn it, the Heart of Darkness was so close to finishing. That damn mare and her siren!!" He turned his sight of the ifrits. "Maybe I could use others." His eyes widened at Rex and Clover's bodies. "Yes, I need a new host--
Everything was stopped as a massive blast of dark magic tore through the egg holding Twilight and Cold Blue. It shot upward and tore a giant hole in the church before flying higher and higher, only being stopped by the walls of the hourglass several miles up. The blast continued to pour out until a massive seer was left as it faded.
The egg gave a loud cackling before breaking completely. Twilight and Cold Blue softly rolled out of it and to safety. Aitym backed away in horror but kept his eyes on the others, Rex, Clover, Princess Platinum, and Rainbow Dartz. Giving no more thoughts on the matter he rushed over to them. It didn't matter which one he used and could do.
"Sound Spell Number 5, Spring Song?!" A sound wave crackled through the air and sliced the filly's hand open.
Aitym couldn't fight the agony flowing through his host as she fell backward away from the bodies. He turned his eyes to see Cold Blue readying his falcata for another strike, filling it with sound magic. "No, you wouldn't dare kill a child--" He was stopped as the filly was lifted into the air by maroon magic.
"He won't need to..." an eyepatch rolled over as Twilight walked out with a single hand aimed at the filly. Her face was slowly being consumed by the Pale Mare. It took all her might to keep it contained and used its power for what she needed.
"You can't control your darkness forever." Aitym leered over to the siren stallion. "He knows that as well as you."
"Aitym!!" Twilight screamed with the Pale Mare's voice as half her face twisted into an insane smile. "That was never your true name, just the name the other alicorns imprisoned upon you."
He roared out. "I need no other name!!"
"When I blasted the false image, I saw a piece of your true self." The Pale Mare laughed with an all too familiar venomous cackle. "Show your true self."
Cold Blue didn't want his fear to be known, but he had to agree. The more Twilight used this power now, the harder it would be to control. She needed more time and more training. His eyes fell upon Rex and Clover. "Why haven't they awoken yet?"
Space crackled just as loud as her laughter. The wood under the filly twisted upward as a maroon crystal hand stretched out of the ground, growing bigger by the second. Twilight's voice mixed perfectly with the Pale Mare as she repeated her proclamation in two voices flowing as one. "Show your true self, abandoned alicorn!!"
******
Rex and Clover awoke in the church quite violently. Only instead of themselves being at the altar, they were at the front. Clover was the last one to see where they were, yet she found Rex somehow dumbfounded at the surrounding sights. She wanted to smile, finding herself back in reality but something was telling her to look at what he was staring at.
It was somehow slower for her, but she realized the church was on fire. The entire building was burning to the ground all around them. She mentally slapped herself for not noting sooner. However, when she tried to pull Rex away, his body refused to move. He wasn't like a statue of shock, but rather something else was holding him in place.
"Rex, please. Get up!" She screamed as the flames drew closer.
"This place..." It seemed to be the only answer he could give.
"We were here before being trapped in the mindscape..." She gritted her teeth and pulled with all her might. "Now, move!!" He slipped free from her hands and she fell into the flames. The lack of pain halted her screams of agony. "What?" She sat up and found the flames were going through her. "No... that means we're still in..."
Clover's words were stopped as the doors opened and revealed an all too familiar child. Seeing the younger Rex made her want to race back to her Rex, but now she was the one unable to move. Rex, on the other hand, finally could stand. Clover called out for him to face her and not turn to the doorway, but nothing came out of her mouth.
Rex turned to see his younger self in the doorway. The child was beaten and broken, covered in the dried blood of his family, friends, and allies. He reached out to his younger self, yet his hands phased through just like the flames did to her.
“Here child,” a voice echoed through the flames. It was a very different voice to the filly controlling this mindscape.
Clover's eyes followed it to see the altar. No flames could touch it at all. It was a safe haven in this hell, but her eyes widened upon seeing what lay upon that altar. "No, Rex stop him!" She called out in vain, unable to accept that Rex couldn't hear her in this nightmare.
The colt moved carefully to the center as the old church began to slowly crumble around him. The modern Rex jumped as his younger self passed him. It wasn't as if neither couldn't hear the collapsing but that the colt was truly broken from everything that had happened. Rex didn't care about that, he didn't want his younger self to accept the true brokenness that was to come.
The circle of safety compelled the colt closer and closer. Rex chased faster and harder, but no matter how far he pushed it felt as if the path was getting longer and longer as if he could never reach his younger self.
It was a strange feeling to describe as the colt's eyes came upon the pedestal in the center. A fresh skeleton of his kind laying under it, unable to make it before death, or simply unworthy to receive it. Its hands clutched tightly to the writing. The writing was so clear to the colt's eyes.
"Only one whose blood is soaked in the deaths of millions can speak the words and hear his incredible voice. Those who wield his magic will bend space to their command and make even the greatest darkness bow to them." The child couldn't stop himself from reading it. "Prove yourself and take power."
Rex reached out with his chains but each one fell, bowing to the sight of the altar and its might.
"Child..." a voice echoed from the object standing on the pedestal. Both Clover and Rex were filled with fear upon seeing the object, knowing full well what it was.
"I'm here as you asked..." the colt's eyes wandered back to the outside world for but a moment. The older Rex standing in the path unseen to his younger self's eyes. "Why was it killing us?"
"It wasn't killing you... It was saving you." The more the voice spoke, the more it sounded like it was forcing itself just to breathe.
"Saving me?"
"You umbrum are so unique... many would give anything for your... body." Hearing the voice Rex had heard a million times had never filled him with so much sickness until now.
"I..." the colt teared up. "I don't want that, not at all. And yet I don't want to die."
“Then step closer to the pedestal, child," the voice called out. "Complete the circle." The voice became louder. "Release us from our prisons!" Despite the rage of the voice, the child felt no fear even as the church crumbled to complete nothingness around the circle. The voice, no, the presence within the circle, was in such stark contrast with the rest of the world. It was as if the outside were the evilest of devils. Right now, the colt felt as if he was standing in the presence of God.
Rex screamed out to his younger self to stop as a shadow only seen to him came into sight. Standing over the altar and the colt was an all too familiar old goat. Its sharp and dripping jaws move closer to the colt.
Doing as the voice commanded, the colt stopped in front of the pedestal and reached out to an amulet floating above it. He felt he could trust this voice, not seeing the jaws latch onto his hand. The amulet glowed brightly as if it was calling to him. He could feel the power of the amulet reaching out to him and enveloping him in red light, wanting him to grab it.
“Reach forth and take what is rightfully yours. Let me save you by saving me!!” The old goat cackled louder and louder with a burst of venomous laughter.
“What is rightfully mine?” the colt questioned as he trembled from the force of the amulet’s great power.
“The right of power, the right of strength, and the right of survival.”
“The right,” the colt’s voice drifted as his hand took hold of the amulet. Unbeknownst to him, upon his touch, the fires were getting darker as the shadow of the old goat grew bigger.
Clover was in a mix of shock, awe, and horror to a mere piece of its power. It was like the flames were suffocating from the darkness that was now pouring out from him. Soon the flames were gone, and all that was left was the smoke as it drifted with the darkness wrapping around the colt and Rex both, slithering up their bodies until it was tightly wrapped around their necks. Both of them felt the grasp of the darkness on them and asked in unison, “What are you?”
“I am the Dark Alicorn Amulet. And who are you?”
Both their eyes glowed as they grasped the amulet now on their chests. “My name is…”
******
Screams of terror and unspeakable pain echoed throughout the church. Such a mix of horrors stopped them all in their place. Twilight didn't stop despite the pain twisting across her body. Her entire left shoulder and hand were consumed by the power of the Pale Mare but she couldn't give up now.
The little blue siren, Sonata Dusk, fell into the platform of the crystal hand as agony filled her body before tracing over her throat and face. She squeezed her throat as the pain became too intense. It was as if a massive object was rising on her body, trembling her with a deadly sweat. "Please stop!!"
"Not until you let go of her." Twilight winced at the pain she was bringing the siren. However, her freedom was far more important.
Sonata screamed over and over until all she could do was cough so hard and dry. Her face twisted with convulsions as she clenched her chest. Drool flowed fourth followed by bits of blood, slowly turning blue.
Rex slowly awoke to the horror of this event. He pulled Clover to safety as the power shattered out of the filly in random directions. Colors of red and blue crackled out like lightning, striking anything that it could reach.
He didn't know how to process this whole scene. The horror coming from the filly was only matched by the crazed face on Twilight. Both of them were cracking under the pressure yet neither gave nor falter. He had never seen Twilight fight so boldy, had she changed this much?
Clover was just as slow in awakening, yet she had the same amount of fear on her face at seeing what Twilight was doing. She reached out to her screaming like a mother to a daughter, "Twilight Sparkle, stop! The alathar can remove him without this torture!"
"And give him another chance to escape." Cold Blue stood by Twilight's actions, ready to take over should she falter.
"But, she's just a child."
"A slave..." Rex didn't want his words to sound that cold, but it was true. "And sometimes the chains hurt less than the light of freedom." He raised his chain to swarm around the filly. "If you can't understand that, then turn away." He lowered his eyes as she followed his words slowly. Taking in a deep breath, he called upon the dark alicorn amulet's power, "Old goat!" he screamed. "...end this girl's pain... do it quickly."
The dark alicorn amulet glowed with maroon red and softly answered. "I will try my best." Dark magic flowed out and into Rex's chains. The black light glowed symbols over each chain, twisting it into the perfect circle of magic around the filly.
Sonata fell back as the two dark magic sources entered her. Her whole body twisted as small and spiritic light magic fuel transformations pulsed across her face and body, ripping apart her clothing. This revealed a massive bulge moving up her body. Starting from her back then to her arms and around her chest and gut.
Twilight quickly realized it was moving just like the false image was. "There he is!" she screamed as she fell to one knee. Cold Blue caught her and held her in place. "Just a little more."
Clover's mind was in total conflict. She agreed with Rex in ending the filly's pain and even agreed with Cold Blue that this monster would do anything to escape. But here she was, unable to do a thing but spectate at the sight of such power and might. Forced to watch as the stallion she loved, and her possible future daughter fight to free the filly and defeat the all-powerful being that had been torturing them this whole time.
The bulge twisted and swam over every pour of the filly's body, trying its best to escape. However, all spots were quickly being drained away. Time was running out for the light alicorn mass. It had to do the unthinkable, rising up the throat.
The filly stopped screaming and bent backward with a loud cracking sound, echoing through all her bones. Her mouth shrieked open so violently that her cheek tore open. Her jaw dropped down to her chest as the mass flooded out in a spray of blue blood.
"Keep going..."
Things came to a full as a mass of blue blood flew into the air, growing bigger and bigger by the second. The four were shocked by the size but also the power of such a force. The size of it seemed impossible. By the time all of it was out, it stood twenty times the size of the small filly, the church could barely contain such a mass.
"So, this is... this is what is left of your true form..." Twilight fell back into Cold Blue's arms as the Pale Mare faded away and she lost consciousness. Her last words were firmly pressed into their minds as they got ready for the final battle. "This is alicorn of the abandoned... Aitym... King of the Nuckelavee."
On that cue thousands of faces formed upon the mass. They mumbled in different languages, genders, and even tones. It was unclear what they were saying as the words were getting more jumbled together by the second. Anger grew on their faces as if each one of them wanted to be heard more than the others beside them. Slowly they turned to fight with each other for their voices to be known. Devolving into twisted screaming that was unfamiliar to all forms of speech.
The three didn't know how to react to such a sight. Only too ready their stances as something else changed. The transformation had just begun...
Things weren't over as while each face screamed, out of every orifice of those faces millions of hands and broken arms sprouted out of the mass, slowly swarming around into the shape of limbs and body parts for a central controller.
First, giant fleshing wings twisted around with the sounds of broken bones. Dropped down on fours were giant bloody and bony hooves, each joint had another screaming face, hands, and arms spouting out of random spots. As each hoof landed into place things got even stranger. The ground would either grow with the life of decay or rot away.
Shoulders bent and popped into place forming a neck. However, no main face took the center of where the head would be, instead, all that could be gleamed beyond a beaten and shattering of faces crashing together was a single large bloodshot eye with a spiraling horn right above it. Finally, under the eye, the neck bent backward the loudest of breaking sounds and split open revealing a disfigured mouth with randomly assorted jagged teeth and a tongue made of thousand of arms. It roared out more blue blood.
"So this is the real you?" Cold Blue held Twilight tightly in his arms as he dodged the attack. The spray burned through the ground like acid. However, just soon as it dried blue crystal shards spouted out, aiming for Cold Blue. Stopped by Rex pushing him out of the way.
Clover's face went pale as the crystals tore through Rex and impaled him into the wall. She quickly rushed over and smashed her bow staff into them only for the stranger to happen. Parts of her staff grew leaves while other parts rotted to dust.
"This is simply my magic... my body is long gone..." Thousands of voices within the mass of Aitym spoke as one.
Rex pushed her away from her staff. "Stop, it's pure light magic, bending time itself! My immortality is the only thing that can touch him--" He shrieked in agony, feeling each of his organs fluctuate between timelines. The dark alicorn amulet shined bright as possible before breaking the crystals and freeing the umbrum.
"Use distance spells!" Cold Blue answered.
"Clover..." Rex could barely stand but summoned all his chains.
"What is it?" Clover ran over.
"Cold Blue will be the offensive and I'll be the defensive."
"That's a horrible idea!"
"Listen," He pulled her collar. "Cold Blue is pushing his limits too. Which means neither of us can save the rest." He pointed to Princess Platinum, and Sonata Dusk.
"But I'm not good at teleportation or telekinetic magic."
"You'll have to be!" He twisted his chains around her to pull her out of the way of another spray of blue blood. Using all his power to prevent the crystals from forming all around him. "Strike at the right time!"
Clover wanted to scream in defiance but there was a new look in his eyes. A form of trust she had never seen until now. She took it to heart and landed on a roll, dodging whatever attacks she could. Nodding to him as she waited for her move.
The beastly liquid turned his attention to Cold Blue. Rex swung his chains around Aitym's legs, racing over in front of Cold Blue and Twilight. Another blast came out of the twisted mouth and Rex blocked it.
"Sound Spell Number 5, Spring Song!" Cold Blue swung out a wave of sound magic into Aitym, hitting it in the legs that Rex had wrapped.
Aitym dodged by lifting his hooves upward. Rex yanked them back down into the range of the attack. "Use your strong moves."
"I can't while carrying Twilight."
"Obviously!" Rex winced as he was forced to block another attack. His body twisted with agony. "Aim at my shadows!"
"This is going to hurt you too." Cold Blue turned around as Rex pulled on what magic he could.
"Do it, now!" He knew he was running out of time.
The siren stallion placed Twilight down for a moment and took a new stance. His falcata glowed, he and he dropped it into a downward thrust, stabbing Rex's shadow. "Sound Spell, Number 10, Autumn Song."
Rex's body twisted with more agony as he felt every sound wave traveling through. Pulling his chains brought the front hooves down, allowing the blast of sound magic to hit the hind legs, throwing the entire beast forward.
Seeing her chance, Clover raced over and grabbed the filly. Rolling to safety just as the hindlegs fell back down. She sighed until she heard ripping sounds. Turning around her eyes widened in horror to see the edge of her cloak under one of the hooves and the distortions of time were reaching out to her.
Rex charged all his power into the dark alicorn amulet. "Dark Magic Spell... Wrath of Sanity!!" Red maroon blacklight blasted out, taking the shape of a fearsome goat. Charging head on into Aitym, pushing him away from Clover, and crashing him into the doors of the church.
Cold Blue followed suit with two horizontal sound slashes from both his weapons. "Sound Spell Number 25, Dual of Spring!!" This hit the ground around the mass of faces. The combined power was so much that the building could no longer stand at all.
The form smashed to pieces under the weight of the falling rubble and sent out a burst of light magic and blue blood in all directions. The explosion threw everypony around, including the unconscious, flying out in all directions.
******
Outside, the ifrits and Rainbow Dartz's body were thrown. The two rolled several meters before crashing into the armies of zombies on standby outside. Sage came to Vanity's defense upon seeing them, using the pegasus as a shield. The undead showed rage but refused to move.
"Calm down!" Vanity held tightly to her brother's ashes.
"Aitym controls them?!" He screamed back for an answer.
"Yes..." She stopped herself upon realizing what just happened. "Right? Run!!" She bolted toward an opening.
"Fucking brilliant plan!!" Sage threw down Rainbow Dartz and chased after her. He hadn't noticed the blue blood upon the body.
******
Back inside, Clover was the only one to wake up. Fear filled her mind, only for it to fade upon seeing her cloak had ripped away from the time distortion. She and Rex had crashed hard into the altar. Her eyes quickly widened in horror, remembering what she was supposed to do. However, she felt the filly snuggle in her arms. "Everything is fine..." She smiled and scooted closer to Rex as he lay, unconscious. "We won... He has no body left to run to--" Clover was stopped by laughter and a shadow standing over them.
"Who said I need one body?" Aitym laughed from the body of Princess Platinum covered in his blood. Somehow she was unaffected by the light magic. Instead, Aitym was using it to control her. The princess's crystal arms sharpened, and she rushed forward.
Clover tried to stand, only to find the explosion had broken her leg under some rubble, the bone sticking out only the whole problem more intense. "No...No!" She struggled closer to Rex. "You won't take her again!!" She fueled her horn with magic, but all that came out were sparks.
"Still too weak..."
"No..." All she could do was cover Rex and the filly and accept the end. Closing her eyes as the mind-controlled unicorn charged at her.
However, maroon blood spattered over both unicorns. Clover opened her eyes only for her jaw to drop in horror. The Pale Mare had awoken, jumped from Cold Blue's side, and thrusted herself in the way of the attack. Mira's hand was stabbing through Twilight's chest.
"You are the weakest among them..." the Pale Mare mocked Clover's hesitation as if it was waiting for her to take the strike instead.
Blood poured from Mira's mouth as the princess fell to one knee. "Bodies with the wrong magic type were always the most defiant to my power..." On that, the hand ripped out of Twilight, flooding her blood all over the ground and over the princess, breaking his control over her. "So, tell me weak unicorn, can you save the dead?!" Without saying any more words, the body of Mira fell to the ground as Aitym's power vanished from her sight.
******
Outside the church, Rainbow Dartz's hand lifted upward. The broken limb twisted erratically before snapping open with cyan blue blood, which took the shape of a sharpened hoof and several screaming faces, silent to reality. The eyes popped open and the mouth laughed with a mix of Rainbow Dartz's voice and the voice of Aitym.
The pegasus gave no reaction, instead of standing up slowly with a groggy moan. "I've never been so close to death... Not since they ripped off my wings!" Aitym answered while smiling at the undead. They stayed in place. Now he had what he needed. Sure, he failed to take the Heart of Darkness, but now he had a piece of greater knowledge. Holding up his hand, they bowed to him. And with that, he took his leave.
******
The rubble grew deathly silent outside a frantic beating sound and the sheer shock of a single unicorn watching it play out. Clover looked on in horror as the Pale Mare vanished from Twilight's face and she fell to the ground.
The alicorn's chest splayed out with her ribs randomly and crookedly protruding out from a gaping hole. Her heartbeat loudly to the world's cold air. Her body twisted and jolted with every pulse, getting slower as maroon blood spat out like a rabid fire. The only thing battling her heartbeats was the choking of liquid in her throat and her head bouncing back in response.
Clover's eyes raced back to the unconscious Rex, Cold Blue, and Princess Platinum, unable to find a response from any of them. Anything to take away this reality unfolding in front of her.
There she was utterly alone, forced to watch Twilight slowly die...
Well, she wasn't completely alone...
Soon enough, red snowflakes descended over the scene...
******