//------------------------------// // The Dark Beyond // Story: Beyond the Dark // by Ashrunel //------------------------------// The last remnants of daylight fell below the horizon as they were extinguished by the darkness of Luna’s night. One by one, countless tiny pinpricks of light began to appear in the darkened sky, sparkling against the blackness. A shooting star passed by overhead.  Celestia had to admit it was beautiful.  Even though she was daylight incarnate, the physical manifestation of the sun, she could still appreciate the beauty and wonder of her sister’s domain. It had a certain magic to it that the daytime lacked. Something about the vast darkness broken only by minuscule pinpoints of light…it was almost humbling, in a way. And more than a little ethereal. “Admiring my night sky, sister?” Luna’s voice sounded from behind Celestia, just inside the doorway to the balcony she was sitting on. Celestia smiled, not turning around.  “You could say that, sister,” she replied warmly. Luna walked onto the balcony of the royal palace overlooking Canterlot, taking a seat beside Celestia and joining her in gazing up at the night sky, now in all its glory and brimming with stars. They sat in silence for a while, before Luna spoke up. “Are you ready for tomorrow?” Celestia sighed, turning away from the night sky for the first time to look at her sister. “I should think so. It will be strange, of course, but I know that Equestria will rejoice in the newfound purpose of our Summer Sun Celebration. It will no longer celebrate the defeat of Nightmare Moon, but rather, for the first time, the celebration of the return of my sister and the reunion of Equestria’s princesses.” She paused, sighing again. “How are you faring in regards to the Celebration?” Luna shrugged. “Like you said, it will be strange indeed. I just hope that ponykind will finally accept me as they accept you. I know most ponies still haven’t forgiven me for the atrocities I committed as Nightmare Moon.” Luna turned to her sister, shifting her body. “Sister, I should know better than anyone: you are not Nightmare Moon. She is not who you are in your soul.” Luna turned as well. “I know that you know that, sister, as do I, but what about the rest of ponykind? Whenever they look at me, all I can see in their eyes is fear. Since my return, not a single pony has spoken to me more than a simple greeting, and even then they acknowledge me just because I’m a princess and it’s their royal duty!” She huffed, slightly exasperated.  Celestia reached out, placing her hoof on Luna’s shoulder. “Tomorrow, sister, they will see. Their eyes will be opened, and they will all see you as I see you: as a loving sister and a kind ruler, not something to be feared in the slightest, but rather respected and adored.” Luna averted her gaze from her sister. “I hope you are right, sister." “We shall see what tomorrow brings,” Celestia assured her. “Until then, all we can do is have hope for the future.” “I suppose you are right, as always, sister,” Luna agreed. Celestia smiled and returned to gazing up at the night sky. After a few moments, Luna did the same. Celestia has always been a master with words, and she had to admit that her sister’s reassurance had indeed helped her feel better, even if just a little. She sighed. She was very lucky to have Celestia as a sister, friend and fellow ruler indeed.  Suddenly, there was a strange hissing and crackling noise, and a green luminescence appeared in Luna's peripheral vision. It went up in smoke, dissipating to reveal a letter. Celestia immediately grabbed it with her magic, bringing it before her and quickly unraveling it. “Sister?” Luna asked, curious. “What is it?” Celestia didn’t respond, instead focusing on the letter. Her eyes widened as she read it. She finished the letter and wound it back up, glancing at Luna in alarm. “Sister?” Luna said again, slightly panicked. Celestia took a deep breath before responding.  “That letter was from Twilight Sparkle. Something has happened. Something…awful.” Luna was confused. “Twilight? Your student who resides in Ponyville? What has happened, pray tell?” “Ponyville is under attack,” Celestia said. “Quickly, sister, with me. We must make for Ponyville with all haste if we are to save its residents.” Luna didn’t bother to ask more, instead following her sister as she spread her wings and shot into the air at an unbelievable speed. The two sisters quickly accelerated through the sound barrier, and were well on their way to Ponyville within a matter of seconds. Zooming over the Equestrian countryside, the faint lights of Ponyville came into view. The two sisters angled downwards, and in a matter of moments they had landed in Ponyville’s town square. All around them, Ponies who were walking about and minding their own business jumped in fear at the concussive sound that the two sisters made as they touched down to earth. Celestia looked around frantically, trying to spot any sign of the attackers. Wait—ponies walking about and minding their own business? What kind of ponies with any common sense would be doing that when their town was supposedly under attack? Celestia scanned the town even more closely, looking for anything out of the ordinary. But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find a single thing out of place. Not a single stone overturned, not a single thing broken or ruined. And definitely no sign of an attack. “Sister, what is the meaning of this?” Luna asked angrily. “I thought you said Ponyville was under attack!” “I am unsure, sister,” Celestia replied, dumbfounded. “Twilight Sparkle’s letter clearly stated that Ponyville was under attack by an unknown force. But yet, I can see or sense nothing out of the ordinary here.” Her musings were interrupted by a voice. “Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! Golly gee, what in tarnation are you doin’ here?” The sisters turned to look at the source of the voice, and spotted a bright orange earth pony galloping towards them. She reached them, slightly out of breath, before falling to her knees and bowing. “Uh, I mean, respectfully, your highnesses.” “Applejack,” Celestia said urgently, not even bothering to tell her to rise. “What happened? Where is Twilight Sparkle?” Applejack got to her hooves and cocked her head in confusion. “Uh, what?” Luna stepped in. “We received a letter from Twilight Sparkle not two minutes ago informing us that Ponyville was under attack! And yet we find nothing out of the ordinary here. What is the meaning of this?” Applejack looked dumbfounded. “I, uh, I’m not sure, your highnesses. Nothing’s been out of the ordinary here, and I should know--I’ve been in the town all day selling apples." “Very well,” Celestia said. “Can you at least tell us where we might find Twilight? Hopefully she has an explanation for all of this.” “Oh, well, that would be the library, of course, your highnesses,” Applejack replied. “But I haven’t seen her all day. Then again, that’s not out of the ordinary for our Twilight. Figured she was just cooped up in the library tryin’ to learn a new spell or research some obscure topic or something. You know how she is.” Celestia nodded. “Indeed, Applejack. Would you mind accompanying us to the library?” “It would be my honor, your highnesses,” Applejack responded, tipping her hat.  A minute or so later, the three of them were standing outside the door to the library. Applejack knocked. “Twilight? Twi! You in there?” She waited a few moments for a response, but none came. She knocked again. “Twi? Twi, I’m comin’ in.”  Applejack pushed open the door to the library and walked inside, followed by Celestia and Luna. It was immediately clear to them that nothing was as it should be. While the library had looked as it always did from the outside, the inside was a different story. To say the library was a wreck would be an understatement. Every single book had been thrown off the shelves by some unknown force, and every piece of furniture was overturned. Some of the upper windows not visible from the front were shattered, with broken shards of glass lying everywhere. But what really made the scene chilling was not the destruction; it was the black fire that burned in small patches all over and yet gave off no heat, light or sound. “What in tarnation…” Applejack breathed. She turned to look at Celestia and Luna, who were staring at the scene in horror. “Your highnesses? Any idea what happened here?” Celestia seemed to snap out of a slight trance and regain some of her composure. “Yes, Applejack, but more than an idea. Black fire is not natural. It is wholly evil. And it only originates from one place: the Dark Beyond." Applejack gulped, the mere mention of those words sending shivers down her spine despite her not knowing anything about what they referred to. “The, uh…the Dark Beyond?” Celestia nodded. “It is the void that surrounds the plane of existence we reside upon. It is unreachable by anything except alicorns. And to do so, one must succumb to the darkness in their heart. In exchange, they are granted immense power at the cost of losing who they used to be. And it looks like my faithful student has fallen into that great darkness." “Wait just a second,” Applejack interjected. “You’re sayin’ Twilight did this?” She gestured to the state of the library and the black flames with a hoof.  Celestia nodded grimly. “It would appear so.” “But how’s that even possible? First off, Twilight doesn’t have any darkness in her, we all know that. She’s the Princess of Friendship, for cryin’ out loud! And even if she did, why on earth would she do…whatever it is she did here?” “You are mistaken, Applejack,” Luna said solemnly. “Everypony has the potential for darkness inside of them, whether they know it or not. Take Nightmare Moon for example. It was never something I intended to become, but I became overwhelmed with so many negative emotions that my soul merely…darkened. The same thing could happen to anypony.” “Except the more powerful magic one possesses,” Celestia said, “the darker their corruption will be. Twilight Sparkle is an alicorn, and if she has indeed made contact with the Dark Beyond, for whatever reason…what she has become now will make Nightmare Moon look like a playground bully.” Applejack shuddered at the thought. “What do you mean?” Celestia sighed. “The Dark Beyond corrupts absolutely. It is worse than what happened to my sister. With my sister’s transformation into Nightmare Moon, it was merely her own negative emotions darkening her soul, like she has said. But the Dark Beyond exists to corrupt. And the greater the potential for darkness, the darker they will become.” “Think of it this way,” Luna said. “If somepony like Nightmare Moon were to make contact with the Dark Beyond, they wouldn’t change very much, likely only a slight boost in power. This is because their souls are already so close to darkness and evil just on their own. Now take, for example, Twilight Sparkle, the paragon of good and embodiment of friendship, who always fights for what is right. What the Dark Beyond could…no, likely already has done to her…is almost unthinkable.” “So where is she?” Applejack asked. “And what’s the deal with that letter that she supposedly sent?” “I do not know, Applejack,” Celestia replied grimlly. “My knowledge of this situation is limited at best. The only things we can know for certain are that Twilight Sparkle has been corrupted into something horrendously evil…and that Equestria—no, the very plane of existence upon which we reside—is now in grave danger.” She turned quickly to Applejack. “We must assemble the remaining Elements of Harmony, and quickly. There is no telling when my student may make her move." …  Two hours later, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were assembled in the throne room of Canterlot, facing Celestia and Luna. Each of the remaining five had their respective Element hanging from a gold pendant around their neck. “So…Twilight is…evil now?” Fluttershy spoke up. “What could possibly have caused her to succumb to darkness?” Rarity said softly. “I wonder if she looks scary now!” Pinkie exclaimed. Rainbow Dash scoffed. “I’m not scared. This is Twilight we’re talking about!” “Except it’s not, sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “It’s not Twilight anymore, from the sounds of it. At least, not entirely.” “Applejack is right,” Celestia said. They all turned to look at her. “Of all the threats, from both your past and future…you’ve never faced anything like this.”  Fluttershy gulped. “What do you mean, ‘future?’” Celestia merely regarded her with a mysterious look in her eyes. The silence grew uncomfortable. “You know what this reminds me of?” Rarity spoke up, breaking the silence. Everypony in the room turned to look at her. Rarity glanced around at each of them in turn. “Oh come now, don’t tell me you all don’t remember? This isn’t the first dark threat we’ve faced on the eve of a Summer Sun Celebration.” The room visibly tensed, with Luna stiffening more than the others. Of course they all remembered. How could any of them forget? It was the day they had first met Twilight, the day they had all become friends, the day that they had all wielded the Elements of Harmony for the first time in order to defeat Nightmare Moon. They all let out a collective sigh, clearly thinking the same thing. That day had felt like so long ago. If only they could return to those times, when everything was simple. “First things first,” Celestia said, bringing them all back to reality. “You all need to be prepared in case Twilight attacks.” “What would her motive be for attacking?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Impossible to predict,” Celestia responded. “The corruption of the Dark Beyond affects each individual differently. It takes the purest things in their heart and breaks them, leaving almost nothing of the original self behind.” “Uh, princess,” Applejack spoke up. “Just out of curiosity…how do you know so much about the Dark Beyond?”  Before Celestia could respond, a distant boom sounded, the throne room shaking slightly. A small amount of dust rained down from the ceiling. Fluttershy squealed, diving to the floor beneath Rainbow Dash, shuddering. “W-w-what was that?" Another boom sounded, slightly louder and closer this time. The throne room shook again and Celestia’s gaze steeled. “She is here."