//------------------------------// // Clash of the Gods // Story: Beyond the Dark // by Ashrunel //------------------------------// Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, allowing the sweet morning air to fill her lungs. Her sun shone down upon Canterlot Castle, basking the royal city in its warmth and light. Celestia exhaled and opened her eyes, surveying all that she ruled. Far below her, she could see ponies milling about in the city, going about their daily business. She smiled. It truly was a peaceful morning.  The quiet of the morning was suddenly shattered by a blinding flash of light and a thunderous boom. Startled, Celestia looked skyward, and saw a massive circle of rainbow energy traveling out from a single point high up in the sky. Whatever had caused the blast was long gone, and all she could see beyond the rainbow energy was the clear blue sky. Before she could process exactly what had happened, her thoughts were torn away from the heavens as another noise caught her attention. It was a burst of magical energy, and suddenly, the roof of the tower to her left was torn apart as a massive dragon head burst through it. She took a few moments to process what was happening before teleporting into the tower. The instant she came out of her teleport, she could tell something was seriously wrong.  In the center of the room, a small purple filly floated in an aura of purple magic, her eyes glowing white. She seemed to not be in control of what she was doing, as she was struggling around in the air. Celestia also noticed that four other ponies--the judges for the entrance exam to her prestigious school of learning--were floating in another aura of magic created by this filly. To her side, two plants stood motionless--a cactus and a fern. Celestia assumed that these were once ponies and they had accidentally been transformed by this young filly’s magic. On top of all of this, the lower body of the massive dragon was engulfing most of the room. She stepped forward and reached out a hoof, placing it on the young filly’s shoulder. The filly instantly turned around to look at her, and after a few moments of eye contact with the princess, the white glow faded from her eyes, reverting them to their normal purple. Moments later, all of the magic in the room dissipated. The four floating ponies fell to the ground in a heap. The two plants reverted to a mare and a stallion--Celestia assumed these were the young filly’s parents. Finally, the dragon shrunk down to a baby. Now that everything was under control, Celestia recognized the young filly.  “Twilight Sparkle,” she said.  The young filly winced, clearly believing that Celestia was upset with her. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean--” Celestia cut her off. “You have a very special gift. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a unicorn with your raw abilities.” “Huh?” Was all the confused filly managed to say. “But you need to learn to tame these abilities through focused study,” Celestia continued.  “Huh?” Twilight uttered again, more confused than before. Celestia would soon make everything clear. “Twilight Sparkle,” she declared, “I’d like to make you my own personal protege here at the school.”  “Huh?!” Twilight uttered for the last time, completely dumbfounded. Celestia leaned down to her. “Well?” Twilight glanced back at her parents apprehensively, who nodded eagerly in encouragement. That was all Twilight needed, it seemed. She shot into the air, ecstatic. “Yes!” She exclaimed. “One other thing, Twilight,” Celestia said. “More?” Twilight asked, falling to the ground. Celestia approached her and merely pointed a hoof at the filly’s flank, where a pink star surrounded by smaller white stars had appeared. Twilight turned her head back to look, and her eyes widened. “My cutie mark! Yes yes yes yes yes!” Twilight bounced around Celestia in a fit of joy. Celestia watched the filly, smiling. She hadn’t been lying when she had praised Twilight’s abilities. The raw power this unicorn had was astounding. Being able to do all this while still just a filly…Celestia predicted that if Twilight reached full magical potential, she might even be able to come close to rivaling a lesser alicorn in power. The thought was a bit frightening, yes, but she knew that Twilight Sparkle would wield her power for the good of Equestria and all its inhabitants. All she needed was time and guidance, and Celestia would be sure to give her both. And when her work was complete, anypony who sought to make Twilight Sparkle an enemy would be met with a fate graver than death. …  “Hello, princess,” Twilight sneered. “Did you miss me?”  Celestia gaped at her protege, a part of her still refusing to accept what she was seeing. She had known that her student had become corrupted by the Dark Beyond, but actually physically seeing that corruption, and what it had done to her protege, was still incredibly shocking and horrifying, even for the most powerful being in Equestria.  Or maybe the second-most-powerful now. “What’s the matter?” Twilight taunted. “Cat got your tongue?” Celestia regained some of her composure and managed to speak. “Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight did a little bow and flourish in midair. “In the flesh.” Celestia gestured with a hoof down at the city, the eastern half of which was beginning to break out in flames. “You don’t have to do this. Call off your minions. We can work together to find a way to rid you of the Dark Beyond’s corruption.” All the while she was saying this, Celestia knew that Twilight would never accept these terms. But she had to buy as much time as possible. She could only hope that Luna was helping the Guardians of Friendship to become weapons of war, using the power of their Elements. She knew it would take a while. Still, every second she could give them mattered. The more Twilight was focused on her, the less she would be concerned about Luna and the Elements. Celestia assumed that Twilight’s goal was to obtain the latter. With all of the Elements under her control, as well as her status as an alicorn on top of the power boost from the Dark Beyond, Twilight Sparkle would become a god incarnate. Celestia had to stop her before that happened--while she still had the chance to rival Twilight’s power. Twilight threw her head back and laughed derisively. “When did you get so funny, Princess Celestia? You of all ponies should know that I’ll never give in, not when I have the Elements of Harmony within my grasp.”  Celestia’s gaze steeled. So Twilight was after the Elements. She would ensure that Twilight never reached them. The fate of Equestria--no, of the entire world--depended on it. “I mean, seriously, Princess, what in the name of--” Twilight didn’t get to finish her sentence. Celestia had accelerated through the sound barrier in a fraction of a second, and had tackled her former pupil in midair. Celestia’s goal wasn’t to kill Twilight, just render her unable to fight. But she knew that since her protege was now an alicorn as well, it would take a serious amount of power to do so.  The two alicorns careened through the air, trading blows with one another, the shockwaves from their punches and kicks reverberating throughout the entire city. Just one of those blows would be enough to flatten a building. To each alicorn, however, they were merely brushed off. The pair hit the ground, demolishing multiple buildings as they landed. In an instant, they were both on their feet again, sizing each other up. They had created a massive crater in the ground, destroying at least three city blocks when they had landed.  “Twilight, stop this!” Celestia pleaded. “All of Canterlot will be laid to ruin before either of us begins to tire even remotely!” Twilight sneered again. “Well that’s too bad, Princess. See, I don’t care about collateral damage. In fact, the more that’s destroyed, the better!” She grinned wickedly, eyes gleaming with a chaotic malevolence. Celestia glared back at her. By this time, Canterlot was likely completely evacuated, save for her soldiers, Luna, and the Guardians of Friendship. And then there was Twilight and her Darkflames. The city could be rebuilt, even if it took years. Right now, her only priority was stopping Twilight--could she even call her that anymore?--here and now. Once again, she accelerated through the sound barrier towards Twilight, but this time her faithful student was ready. She dodged the impossibly fast attack and threw out her leg, kicking Celestia square in the gut. Celestia gagged, all the wind instantly knocked out of her, and was sent flying across the crater and through several nearby buildings. Just like that, she was back on her feet again in an instant, however, and threw up a bright golden shield to deflect Twilight’s next attack, a massive ranged attack of dark purple energy that completely vaporized the ruins of the building she was in. Celestia lowered the shield and threw out her own ranged attack, charging up her horn and shooting out a beam of pure sunlight towards Twilight. The younger alicorn dodged it, shooting upwards into the air. Celestia followed her with the beam, attempting to strike Twilight, but the alicorn dodged this way and that at an unthinkable speed, zig-zagging through the air in wild yet graceful maneuvers that easily avoided the harsh beam of magical sunlight. Seeing that she was getting nowhere, Celestia killed the beam and shot towards her student once again. She can’t dodge an attack in midair, the princess thought to herself, conjuring a magical blade of sunlight. As she did so, Twilight’s wicked grin grew impossibly even wider as she herself conjured a blade of dark purple energy. Meeting Celestia’s attack head-on, a massive shockwave of both golden and dark purple energy exploded out from where their two swords met, instantly dissipating any clouds that were over the city. The two glared at each other, swords locked in midair, each struggling to gain the upper hand and push the other one away. “What’s the matter, princess?” Twilight taunted. “None of your attacks seem to be working. How long until you run out of options to try and kill me with?” “I am not trying to kill you, Twilight,” Celestia responded, and for a brief moment something shifted in Twilight’s eyes. “I am merely trying to stop you. There is a difference.” At these last words, she summoned all of her alicorn strength while Twilight was slightly off-guard and pushed her student away from her. In an instant, she moved to the air above her faithful student and brought her sword down as hard as she could. Twilight threw up her sword to try and block the attack, but it was too little too late. The force of Celestia’s attack sent Twilight careening straight towards the ground at breakneck speed. She crashed head-first back down into the crater that their landing had created earlier, making it even bigger than it was before. Celestia teleported down to the ground where Twilight had landed.  “Surrender, Twilight. We may be evenly matched, but you can never hope to best me in combat.”  On the ground, Twilight’s body started convulsing oddly, shaking rhythmically. Celestia was confused at this until she heard it. The laughter. Not happy laughter that would be uttered at a joke or during good times with friends. This laughter was completely devoid of any warmth, and it sent chills down Celestia’s spine. This laughter was cold, and dark, sadistic, evil, and…wrong. Twilight continued to laugh as she slowly got to her feet. She slowly turned towards Celestia, who had to fight the urge to take a step back. When Twilight spoke, it was not her voice, but deep, dark. and monstrous.  “Your taunts are hollow, Princess of the Sun. This vessel I have acquired will become more powerful than you could ever hope to be. And once I have the Elements of Harmony, I will be truly free, broken out of my dark and timeless prison. Then, this world--no, this universe--shall be mine.”  Celestia blinked, stunned, rooted to the spot in an unnatural fear. What was that? What was speaking through her faithful student?  Her thoughts had distracted her. She felt a strange sensation in her chest and looked down to see the hilt of Twilight’s dark sword protruding from it. She gagged, coughing up a mouthful of blood. She shuddered, collapsing to the ground, blood pooling around her. Her faithful student had run her through completely. And this was no ordinary sword. It sapped both her magic and her life, slowly but surely. In a daze, she looked up at Twilight, who was grinning down at her.  “You shouldn’t have let your guard down, Princess,” Twilight taunted. “Now, that mistake has cost you everything. To think, the almighty Princess of the Sun, the Ruler of Equestria, felled because she was merely distracted. You’re honestly pathetic, you know that? You could never have beaten me. Not now. Not in a million years. Goodbye, Princess.” At this last sneer, Twilight raised her sword, prepared to deliver the finishing blow. Celestia closed her eyes. Luna, she thought. I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…I failed, I-- The entire world went silent. In a fraction of a second, Celestia blinked, trying to figure out what had happened. Then, the heavens exploded in a massive ring of vibrance. In an instant, Twilight had been sent flying by a glowing rainbow blur so fast that Celestia barely saw it pass by. The sun princess struggled to get to her feet, but was too weak. Suddenly, there were ponies by her side. Applejack. Pinkie Pie. Rarity. Fluttershy. Luna. And… “Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Please tell me you guys saw that Sonic Rainboom! That was so epic!” She laughed giddily.  Rarity rolled her eyes. “Honestly darling, how could anypony miss a spectacle such as that?” Luna had rushed to Celestia’s side. “Sister, are you alright?” “No,” Celestia said truthfully. “Twilight bested me in combat. I was…foolish and let my guard down.” “Nay, sister,” Luna reassured her. “Do not admonish yourself. Your actions bought us enough time for the Guardians to merge with their Elements.” Celestia looked around, really taking in the Guardians of Friendship for the first time. They were each glowing the color of their Element, and each wore divine-looking spectral armor, in which was encased their Element. “They are each now as powerful as an alicorn,” Luna said. “Together, we can defeat Twilight Sparkle.”  “Are you so sure about that?” The group whirled around, instantly on guard. Twilight had approached them, and was flanked by a massive army of Darkflames. The Guardians of Friendship and even Luna stiffened visibly as they laid eyes on this dark Twilight for the first time. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called out. “What in the hay happened to you? Why are you doing this?!” “I wouldn’t expect someone of your mental fortitude to even begin to understand, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight mocked. “I have found a new purpose in this life: to bring the Dark Beyond into this world.” “Well we aren’t gonna let that happen!” Pinkie shouted, taking a step forward. “She’s right, you know, darling,” Rarity agreed. “We will stop you, here and now, whatever it takes!” “Because we have something you don’t,” Applejack chimed in. Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Oh, and what might that be?” Fluttershy spoke up for the first time.  “We have harmony.”