//------------------------------// // Alternate Chapter 12: Twilight Sparkle + Alternate Epilogue // Story: Unfriendship 2 // by littleman001 //------------------------------// Celestia immediately tried to make short work of her former student by firing the depowerment spell at her, but she was interrupted when Rainbow Dash slammed into her and knocked her on her back, making her blast miss. Rainbow was about to continue the assault, but as she raised her hoof to strike the alicorn again, she found herself being held back. She turned around to see Fluttershy holding her foreleg in her hooves, looking at her with a pleading expression. ”Rainbow, please! It's not too late to stop!” Rainbow looked down almost remorsefully before looking back up at Fluttershy with determination. ”It is to me, Flutters.” Rainbow then used her backlegs to buck Fluttershy off of herself and the poor pegasus flew across the room and crashed against the wall. ”Fluttershy!” Applejack cried out upon seeing her friend being brutalized in such a fashion. She then turned back towards Rainbow with a fiery glare and threw herself at the blue pegasus in rage. ”Dat's it, ye no good varmint! Ah'm gonna buck the tar outta ye until ye won' fly ever again!” Applejack pounced, but Rainbow flew out of the way just in time to avoid the raging hooves of her former friend. She then dropped down from above to crash the spine of the earth pony, but Applejack jumped out of the way just in time to avoid her. Rainbow crashed into the floor behind her, giving Applejack the perfect opportunity to give her a good buck, sending her crashing through the window of the airship. She was about to run after her and finish her off, but she found herself being lifted into the air by a purple aura of magic. She needn't be a genius to figure out who was responsible for it. ”That's enough now, Applejack!” Twilight chided. ”Calm down and listen to reason!” But Applejack wouldn't be listening to Twilight. Never again. ”Ugh...” Applejack groaned as she managed to muster up all of her willpower to resist Twilight's telekinesis and raise her backlegs for another kick. ”Listen to this!” Applejack shouted, bucking Twilight in the face and sending her flying right after Rainbow Dash. She fell out of Twilight's magical grip and quickly pulled herself together before hurrying after the two ponies she just sent flying. Twilight landed in front of the Storm King's airship and groaned in agony before she slowly got herself on her legs. Once she finally got herself together, she saw Applejack standing in front of her, staring her down with a look of determination. Twilight was confused beyond belief. The Storm King took the magic of earth ponies which pretty mjuch destroyed Applejack's and her whole family's way of life. And she was fighting her when she tried to avenge it all? "How could you be against me on this? He destroyed the magic of not only you and your family, but your race as well!" 'She's right, you know.' A voice inside Applejack's head whispered. 'Are you just gonna let him get away with that?' 'No! Not you again!' Applejack grabbed her head in a futile attempt to chase the source of the voice away. 'Not now!' And Twilight's didn't make her struggle easier. "Think about it, AJ! The Storm King has to pay!" Applejack had to admit that the thought of bucking the life out of the Storm King was tempting. But despite the temptation, she was well aware of where giving in to her dark urges took her the last time. Her stubbornness eventually won out and she managed to block out the voice of the Nightmare and glared back at Twilight. "No, Twilight! Revenge won't bring back our magic back! Just like it didn't bring back your family!" Twilight saw that she won't be able to convince her former friend to support her again. But as much as it pained her, she couldn't allow her feelings to prevent her from carrying out her duty. She will have to destroy the Storm King to protect Equestria. And if Applejack stood in her way, then she was her enemy. The earth pony pulled out her lasso and threw it around a piece of debris. She then hurled the debris towards Twilight, but the alicorn simply blasted it to pieces before it could hit her. Applejack tried the same thing again with another piece of debris, only to get the same result, but this time, she managed to throw the lasso again and wrap it around Twilight's neck. Applejack then yanked the lasso down towards the ground and banged Twilight's head into it. Applejack then yanked the lasso again and started pulling Twilight towards herself. Twilight tried to resist, but she was no match to Applejack physically and due to hitting her head in the ground, her vision was all blurry so she couldn't cast a spell at her. Then only thing Twilight could do was fly up into the air. Applejack still managed to hold onto her, but it was becoming harder to pull her in. Especially since Twilight briefly managed to lift her off of the ground a few times. And Twilight managed to remain in the air long enough for her vision to clear. She was ready to go on the offensive. She blasted Applejack from the air with a magical beam and it made her let go of the lasso. With her main weapon gone, Applejack had no other option than to make a tactical retreat. Twilight took off after her, but after a few moments, she lost sight of her among all the rubble. Frustrated, Twilight circled around the ruined city for a few more minutes before landing in front of the castle. She started looking around for any movement, but she could see nothing. She did however hear something from behind herself, a grunt delivered by a familiar voice. It was the voice of an apple farmer preparing to buck a tree. Fast as lightning, Twilight turned around just in time to catch both of Applejack's backlegs in her magical hold. Applejack struggled to get free, but it was useless. Twilight tightened her grip on Applejack's legs more and more until she heard a sickening crack and the painful screams of Applejack. The earth pony collapsed on the ground, weeping as both of her backlegs were broken. "Applejack!" Twilight quickly spun around when she heard the startled scream and saw Fluttershy speeding towards her with a look of pure rage. Fluttershy crashed into Twilight, but the alicorn held on. Slowly the strength of Fluttershy's charge ran out and Twilight managed to push her away easily. "This is on you, Fluttershy!" Twilight yelled at the yellow pegasus accusingly. "When you defected, the Regime fell! You left us vulnerable to the Storm King! You shouldn't have lost your nerve!" Fluttershy usually lost her nerve when she was yelled at, but this time, her glare didn't even falter. "I lost my nerve when I didn't stand up to you the first time, Twilight! Never again!" Fluttershy threw herself at Twilight in an enraged state and struck her several times across the muzzle. Twilight took the hits easily, before lifting her own foreleg to hit Fluttershy in the stomach and pushed her away. Twilight then tried to blast the pegasus with her magic, but she easily avoided them by taking off into the air. Twilight took off after her and kept firing at her with magic, but Fluttershy, while she was no Rainbow Dash, was agile enough to dodge the blasts. Twilight growled in frustration. Magic won't do her any good in this fight. She'll have to outmaneuver her opponent. Twilight flew under Fluttershy and attempted to hit her from below by flying up. Fluttershy noticed this and managed to react in time. She stopped herself mid-air by stretching out her wings, but this was exactly what Twilight was expecting. She spun around in the air at breakneck speed and shot down towards Fluttershy, catching the pegasus off guard and slamming her into the ground. Twilight then raised both of her forelegs over her head and brought them down on Fluttershy's outstretched wings, earning another sickening crack and agonised shriek from her current opponent. "Stand up to that." Twilight spat at her cruelly. "Twilight!" Twilight turned around upon hearing a voice calling her name in anger. She saw none other than Luster Dawn glaring up at her from the bottom of the castle's staircase. Twilight shot her a firm look. "You have made up your mind, Luster and you have picked your side. Now live with the consequences!" Twilight spoke as she fired a spell at Luster. Luster managed to block the blast with a magical shield before matching the princess' intense stare. "You have turned into a monster, Twilight! And I'm going to stop you!" Twilight firm expression remained unchanged. "I've been called worse throughout my years of leading the Regime. I used to think that way too Luster. And don't believe for a moment that the thought hasn't crossed my mind. But if becoming a monster is what I have to do to defend Equestria, then so be it! When I followed Celestia's harmony, it lead me to the loss of my family and devastation Equestria had never seen before. If I don't use all my power, the ones I want to defend will pay the price. And that is why I don't hold back anymore! No matter who gets in my way!" Twilight fired another blast at Luster. the unicorn jumped out of the way and started running away. Twilight raised an eyebrow in curiosity at this. "Running away? I expected more from you." She then flapped her wings and flew up into the air, where she could trail Luster's every move easily. Especially when Rainbow Dash joined her. The two followed Luster from the air, but she managed to keep her distance. Twilight couldn't capture or attack her with her magic. "Catch her!" She ordered the pegasus who nodded and descended towards the Unicorn. Luster looked back and saw Rainbow hot on her trail. "Give it up, kid! You know I'm faster than you!" Luster's only response was a magical bolt into Rainbow's face, which sent the pegasus back, crashing into a piece of debris. Luster then kept running, trying to put as much distance between her and Rainbow as possible before she came to. But before she could run on, something crashed into the ground in front of her. After the dust settled, Luster looked up to see Twilight Sparkle towering over her. "Give up, Luster! You cannot get past me." Luster glared at her. "Like Tartarus!" Her horn lit up and Twilight was surprised to feel that the ground was raising under her. And it was because Luster just enchanted a piece of the concrete and flipped it over, slamming it upon Twilight, before running on. The concrete was then blasted apart from beneath by Twilight before she flew up and continued the chase. Luster looked back again. No matter what she did, she just couldn't throw them off. But she had to keep running. She was almost at the place she needed to lure them to. They started closing in on her and Twilight's horn lit up, but so did Luster's. She was almost there. Luster kept running towards a fallen building and gathered magic into her horn just as Twilight and Rainbow closed in on her and jumped forward. The next thing the three ponies knew, they crashed through a piece of concrete and landed in a dark tunnel. Luster stood up first and smirked at the two other ponies looking around in confusion. "Where are we?" Rainbow Dash asked. As if on cue, a bunch of screens lit up around them in the room, displaying several locations in Equestria. Rainbow was still confused about this, but Twilight's eyes slowly widened in understanding. "So this is the..." "The Eye of the Sun." Came another voice. Rainbow and Twilight turned to see Celestia slowly emerging from the darkness. "I see your skills of observation have not left you along with your sanity, Twilight." Rainbow's eyes widened, then she turned to glare at Luster. "You ungrateful shrew! You lead us right too her!" Celestia nodded. "Correct." She then used her magic to seal the hole the three ponies crashed through, as well as every other exit. "She knew well enough how to avoid further damage to the city by leading you right to me. It is over, Twilight." Twilight matched her former teacher's fierce glare. "For the first time in a very long while, Celestia, we actually agree or something." Celestia charged her horn to attack Twilight, but Rainbow Dash beat her to it and flew at her at breakneck speed, tackling her to the ground. This left only Luster Dawn to take on Twilight. Just like with Applejack, Twilight had trouble understanding why Luster would stand against her. "You should want the Storm King better than anypony, Luster. You told me what happened. He destroyed your village, killed your parents and everypony you've ever known and cares about. How can you defend him?" "I'm not defending him. I'm defending Equestria!" Luster responded. "How can you not see what you have become?! You have killed your own subjects and friends along with your enemies, enslaved Equestria and reverted Princess Luna into Nightmare Moon! You freed her from the Nightmare's corruption with the magic of friendship and now you're destroying everything you created with it! Is this what Celestia taught you?!" Twilight just about had enough of this brat. "Well, maybe if Celestia was more like Nightmare Moon, she could have saved my family!" Luster didn't even have time to be shocked by that exclamation as Twilight immediately attacked her. She barely had time to jump back to avoid the furious strikes of Twilight's hooves. Luster then fired a magical beam at Twilight's chest. It didn't do much damage but it did manage to push the alicorn back, if only a little. Luster maintained the beam and started slowly advancing toward Twilight, but Twilight fired a magical beam of her own at the one Luster shot at her, creating a small explosion that sent the two ponies apart. Luster then tried using a different spell. She fired another beam at Twilight and Twilight was shocked to discover that a layer of ice was forming across her chest, which was slowly spreading. And as Luster maintained the beam, it was spreading faster and faster. Twilight couldn't let this go on. "Ugh... You're good." Twilight moaned as the cold was taking over her. "For all his faults, Blueblood taught me well." Luster replied proudly. Twilight fired a blast at Luster, making her jump back and break the connection between them and Twilight took this opportunity to break the ice that was forming on her chest, before leaping at Luster. "You're good with magic. But are you fast too?" Twilight asked as she tried to hit Luster from above. But to her surprise, the unicorn leaped forward under her and managed to dodge the attack, before bucking Twilight away from behind. "I am. Courtesy of Rainbow Dash." Twilight was impressed. With each movement the young unicorn made, she was regretting that she wasn't her student. She had the chance, but she threw it away by siding with Celestia. And Twilight was going to give her a harsh reminder of that. Twilight cast a spell that surrounded Luster on all sides. The panicked unicorn had no idea what to do as the purple magical energy formed a cage around her. The cage then started decreasing in size and the sides closed in on Luster, before slamming down on her. The unicorn screamed in pain as the magic shocked her body and created a small explosion, sending her on the ground. Twilight stood over the fallen unicorn with a hard expression that was both disappointed and sad. "Such wasted potential." "It's over, Twilight." Twilight turned around to see Celestia staring at her with a look that was just as hard as hers. A pity that her suspicion that she was too much for Rainbow Dash were confirmed. Twilight sighed. "Fighting on the same side... It felt like old times again." Twilight said solemnly. "But I guess we both knew it would end this way." The two alicorns stared at each other for a few moments, neither knowing just what their next move should be. Some part of Celestia believed that perhaps she could try one last time to break through to the old Twilight inside. "Do you remember that day? When you came over to Canterlot and asked me to help set up the anniversary for your parents?" Twilight actually smiled at the memory. "Pinkie Pie already had a to-do list written for both of us. Even before I visited." The two mares chuckled. "And Luna proposed to raise the moon earlier for a romantic setting." Celestia added, earning another chuckle. "A good memory." Twilight said before her smile turned sad. "Maybe one of the last." Celestia's smile faded as well. "What happened to us, Twilight?" She asked sadly. "They were such happier times. I would give anything to go back to them. Twilight closed her eyes and let loose a few tears. "So would I." Celestia was about to approach her former pupil and offer her the comfort she couldn't through all these years. But she came to a startled halt when she saw Twilight's eyes snapping open and radiating with purple magical energy. "But we can't." Twilight then shot forward with lightning speed and attempted to smash Celestia into the ground, but Celestia cast a shield just in time to use Twilight's own power against her and push her back into her starting position. Twilight dusted herself off and glared at the other alicorn. "Would there be any sense in asking you to give up?" Celestia narrowed her eyes in response. "Twilight, I spent years fighting you. I gave up everything to protect Equestria's freedom from you. I watched my friends, loved ones and husband die to stop you. Do you honestly believe that I would give up now?" Twilight spread out her wings and lit up her horn. "For old time's sake, I gave you a chance." Celestia lit up her own horn in response and the two mares charged at each other in one final battle that would decide Equestria's fate. Twilight made the first move. She leaped into the air and jumped on top of Celestia, tackling her to the ground and attempted to pierce her heart with her horn. Celestia deflected the strike and kicked Twilight off of herself. She then flew up and grabbed Twilight with her forelegs and crashed her into the ceiling before striking her across the muzzle. She then allowed her to fall on the ground, charged herself with magic and flew straight down at Twilight at brekneck speed. Twilight managed to teleport out of the way just in time to avoid the falling strike, before appearing behind Celestia and blasting her across the room. Twilight then flew up into the air and fired an magic bolt at Celestia. The white alicorn saw that the bolt was huge and very bright so raising a barrier this time was out of the question. So instead, Celestia ran out of the way and Twilight's attack hit the wall, creating a huge hole in it. Huge pieces of debris flew everywhere and one large piece of metal landed right in front of Celestia, which gave her an idea. She levitated a piece of metal in front of herself and threw it at Twilight. The metal absorbed Twilight's magic and it knocked her out of the air and landed right on top of her. Celestia then went on the offensive. She lifted the matel debris back into the air and brought it down on top of Twilight again. The purple alicorn was still pretty shaken from the first strike and couldn't react in time before it struck again. Celestia attempted to bring it down on her a third time, but Twilight charged up her horn again and blasted the debris to pieces before it hit her. This gave her time to recupirate for another attack. Twilight jumped out of the hole the debris created in the ground and leaped straight at Celestia with her foreleg extended forward and punched Celestia straight into the wall. She then pulled her hoof back and punched her again and again repeatedly. Celestia tried to raise her own hoof and block, but all those years of fighting made Twilight physically stronger than her. So she had to use her own strength against her. When she raised her hoof and pushed it forward again, Celestia raised a backleg and kicked Twilight in the knee of her backleg. Twilight screamed in pain as her knee went out of place and she collapsed on the ground. She reached down to rearrange it, but Celestia was faster. She grabbed Twilight's foreleg and twisted it as well. Twilight gritted her teeth in pain. But she had enough remaining composure to blast Celestia away from herself. She used her magic to rearrange her limbs. She was able to stand up, but her legs still hurt like Tartarus. She could barely get out of the way of Celestia's next attack. The white alicorn realized that she added sore spots to Twilight's body and she could exploit them. She fired more blasts at Twilight's injured limbs, but Twilight managed to avoid them by flying into the air. She then fired another blast at Celestia and Celestia ended up doing the same. The two spells collided in the air and neither was able to overpower the other. The collision of the two blasts formed a magical orb in the middle of the room that grew bigger and bigger until it couldn't handle all the magical energy inside it anymore and exploded. The explosion caused a blinding white and purple flash and stirred up smoke in the whole chamber. Twilight and Celestia both cried out in pain and shock as the smoke blinded them and the explosion sent them back against the wall. Once the smoke cleared there was only one pony left standing in the room. That pony was... Twilight Sparkle. "Now it is over, Celestia." Twilight walked up to Celestia's badly bruised body as the older alicorn coughed on the ground, unable to get up. She looked up at Twilight with a sad, pleading look that seemingly implied she knew she lost. "Twilight..." She coughed. "You don't have to do this..." Twilight narrower her eyes. "Yes, I do! I will not let your soft hearted weakness endanger Equestria again because you lack the will to do what is necessary!" Celestia looked down in defeat. She has given up and resigned herself to her fate. "So you're gonna kill me too?" She asked bitterly. "Go ahead, Twilight! Do it! Show me the villain you have become!" Celestia challenged, but instead of the finishing strike, she was surprised to hear her Twilight laughing darkly. "Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you? If I put you out of your misery and martyred you for generations of ponies to gather around against me? No, Celestia." She then leaned down to Celestia's ear and whispered the same words into it as her old mentor did two years ago after her defeat. "You will not get off that easy." She then knocked her out. As Twilight was looking over the defeated alicorn, Rainbow Dash who had come to in the meantime slowly limped up to her. "You didn't kill her." The pegasus observed. "If she dies she dies a martyr. I want her kept alive." "And what about Luster?" Rainbow asked. "I know she turned against us, but she's still just a kid." Twilight nodded. "Indeed. She is still young. I'm sure if we give her time she'll come around." Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "And if she won't?" "She will." Twilight assured forcefully as she turned around to leave the room, but not before delivering one last, ominous sentence. "This time, everypony will." Luster Dawn woke up with a terrible headache and something cold against her back. It didn't take long to realise that she was laying on a stone floor. She quickly shit up but immediately regretted that decision as her headache worsened. "Wow! Easy now!" A voice reached out, trying to calm her down Ye received quite a beating." Luster looked up to see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sitting in front of her. She then looked around to see that they were in a cell. "Where are we?" "The dungeons of Canterlot Castle." Sweetie Belle answered. "Twilight had us all brought here after we were defeated." "Why?" Before Luster could receive an answer, the door of the dungeon slammed open and their captor, Twilight Sparkle herself entered through it. "Good. You have woken up, Luster. I was hoping all of you would be conscious by the time I arrive." Luster raised an eyebrow in confusion. "All of us?" Twilight lit up her horn and lit up torches around the dungeon, which illuminated the other occupants. In the cell facing their own, were sitting Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. In the one next to them were Daring Do, Flash Sentry and Thorax, then Bon Bon, Flam and Zephyr Breeze. Luster squeezed her head through the bars and in the cell next to them she saw, Big Macintosh and Thunderlane, while in the one at the end of the room we're Lightning Dust, Ember and Gilda. With the room illuminated, the imprisoned creatures got a good look at Twilight and they all gasped in horror. The alicorn was dressed in armor similar to the Storm King's and she was wearing a crown with repaired magic crystal from the Storm King's staff as it's crown jewel. "You... You have absorbed the Storm King's power!" Luster cried out. Twilight narrowed her eyes. "The Storm King is dead. His stolen magic was restored and Equestria is safe and at peace." "More like under yer hoof, Twilight!" Applejack snapped at her. Twilight sighed. "I wish you would come around, AJ. I wish all of you would come around. I have restored the magic not only to Equestria, but to every other land the Storm King has ever drained. And in return, the inhabitants of these lands pledged their allegiance to me. And not just ponies. Dragons, griffons, changelings. With them, I will build an army that will restore peace not only to Equestria, but the lands beyond. And I want you all to lead it with me." "Uh, how about no?" Apple Bloom was the first to refuse. "You killed my sister, you monster!" Sweetie Belle was next. "I would throw myself into the lowest pits of Tartarus before following you!" "Ye said it , sugarcube!" Said Applejack. "Ah will not make de same mistake again! Ah'll never turn mah back on mah home an' kin again!" "Eeyup!" Big Mac agreed. "Nor will I!" Fluttershy joined in. "I am done fearing you, Twilight!" "No more parties for you and your Regime meanies!" Pinkie huffed before turning away her head. "The Royal Guard only answers to Celestia!" Flash Sentry declared. "As do my Wonderbolts!" Thunderlane concurred. "My changelings have made the mistake of following horrible tyrants before." Thorax joined in. "Never again." "My dragons serve no one!" Ember roared. "Least of all you!" "Nor will any griff who has any backbone!" Gilda agreed. "Have you and Rainbow Dash boss me around again?" Lightning Dust snarled. "Forget it!" "I allowed Tempest to blackmail me into following her through Lyra." Bon Bon said. "But now I realise no matter the circumstances, she would never want this!" "I will not spit on my brother's memory by siding with his killer!" Flam declared. "There's nothing you can do to me that you haven't already, Sparkles." Zephyr Breeze said with a voice full of venom. "Go jump off a cliff with your wings tied!" Daring Do's answer was much more blunt. "Buck you." Luster was the last one to give her answer. "Never, Twilight!" Twilight was disappointed by their defiance, but she expected it. "I'm sorry you don't see things my way. But I will no longer allow myself to be held back by such sentiments." The creatures in the cells really didn't like the way she said that. "What's dat supposed to mean?" Applejack asked nervously. "It means Applejack, that if you cannot make the right choice, then I will have to make it for you." Suddenly another figure emerged from the darkness behind Twilight and as the torchlight illuminated her, all creatures in the room recoiled in horror. Standing in front of them was Princess Celestia, dressed in the same armor as Twilight, but what really horrified everycreature were her eyes. They were completely white with no pupils, bland and lifeless, almost as if there was no conscience behind them, just an empty shell of a being. "Now then..." Twilight said. "Any reconsiderations?"