As Rainbow Dash came to, she couldn’t help but notice a slight pain in her midsection. Reaching a shaky, cautious hand to her stomach, she gently places two fingers on it slightly and feels a bandage wrapped around it. When she tries to sit up to look, the pain intensifies and she almost falls back down to the bed but manages to stop herself. She does let out a groan of pain though. She slowly lays back down and as soon as she does, she takes a look at her surroundings, seeing that she was in a hospital.
Before she can try sitting up again, a purple flash comes from the middle of the room and Twilight appears in it's stead. “Rainbow! You’re awake!” She says excitedly before hugging Dash, causing her to groan in pain, just now realizing how sore her whole body actually is.
“Ow… Twi…I’m glad to see you but…think you can ease up a little?” She asks and Twilight lessens her grip one the pegasus, making her sigh in relief and hug her back. “What happened…?” She asks and she feels Twilight tense up before she pulls back and looks at her, sighing, which only worries Rainbow. “Is Sky Blazer alright…?” She asks and Twilight frowns and shakes her head and Rainbow pales at that. “Twi…what happened?”
“I…I didn’t get there until after Lightning Dust had left and probably taken Sky Blazer with her… I was waiting for one of you to wake up and tell me what happened, but since you don’t know…we’ll have to ask Solaris.” Twilight says and Rainbow nods before Twilight decides to help her up and they both make their way to Solaris's room. Once they get there though, they’re greeted by doctors and nurses who tell them that she’s awake and has been acting strange since she woke up. Twilight and Rainbow look at each other with worried looks before Twilight dismisses them and helps Rainbow into the room.
They walk in to find Solaris sitting up, looking at the floor and mumbling ti herself. They can see her shaking slightly and when they see her face, her gaze seems…distant. A thousand yard stare… “Oh Solaris…” Twilight says with a tone barely above a whisper. She goes to hug Solaris but Solaris just moves away slightly from the hug, starting to shake a bit more. Whatever happened at that tomb clearly did a number on her… “Solaris… What happened in there? What happened to Sky Blazer?” Twilight asks and Solaris doesn’t answer for a bit but suddenly, her voice caused Twilight and Rainbow's ears to perk up.
“She was just like her…and I didn’t see it until it was too late…” She says, confusing the two even more. Noticing their confusion, she continues. “Midnight…Sky Blazer was just like her…just like ME. A kid with a hidden darkness inside her that wants to do nothing but kill and destroy! A kid who can’t be saved…one who only causes problems wherever she goes.” Solaris says and Twilight tries to comfort her but she pushes her away. “Don’t…! Just…don’t… Don’t coddle me…don’t try to comfort me… I don’t deserve it… this…! This is all! My! Fault! …It was a mistake for you to save me… Might as well just lock me up in some other nightmarish prison… Obviously I’m not helping anyone by being here.”
“Solaris, that’s enough… I’ve allowed you to rant and vent all your emotions out but… these thoughts… none of them are true. You’re not responsible for any of Midnight's actions… the world pushed you ever since you first went to that school… I’m not saying that those who oppressed you deserved what happened to them…but they didn’t have to treat you how they did just because of what you are. You deserve so much better than that…,the life you never got. …A life that was stolen and ruined by Midnight.” Twilight says and Rainbow agrees before continuing for her.
“She’s right kid… You and Midnight are two different ponies…or…whatever she is. You shouldn’t take responsibility for her actions and no one blames you for them… I know Sky wouldn’t and she wouldn’t want you to blame yourself either.” Rainbow says and Solaris thinks about it before looking at Twilight who puts a reassuring hand under her chin, making her look up at her before putting her hand on her shoulder.
“Whether Sky was like Midnight or not, I could see and feel that your friendship… your bond… it was real. You cared about her… and she cared about you. Truly. So maybe…maybe there is still a good part of Sky that’s worth saving…and we won’t rest until we find it.” Twilight says and Solaris finally lets the tears she was holding fall from her eyes as she hugs Twilight, prompting her to smile and hug her back.
“Thank you Twilight…” She says and Twilight smiles more and nods, continuing to hug her before pulling Dash into the hug. They stay like that for a while until Solaris gasps as she seems to remember something. “No…no no no, Twilight! Everyone is in danger, and I mean everyone.” Solaris says and Twilight looks confused, telling her to slow down, breathe, and explain. “Midnight…she swore to come back and get revenge on you. On everyone that you know…that includes your family. As long as they’re here, they’ll never be safe! Midnight will keep hunting them down until she finds them and…and…” Solaris says, seeming to shudder at the idea of what Midnight would do to everyone’s families and any other innocent ponies along the way-actually warpath is more like it.
This baffles Twilight and scares her, putting a worried look on her face. She looks at Dash to see that she has the same look on hers. “Ok, then we need to warn everyone before they can-“ Twilight tries to say but Solaris groans in pain and holds her head, almost falling over and fainting but Twilight catches her.
“O-Ow… It’s… It’s already happening… Midnight was communicating with them from inside my head this entire time! I just saw what she wanted them to do… they’re gonna split up and go after yours and the families of the rest of the Mane 6 first…! Twilight, you have to do something… go save them… and take them out of Equestria…to one of the other nations for the time being… Use…the airship…” Solaris says, her eyes growing heavier and her vision starting to flicker again. “No… Twilight, please… for everyone’s sake, you have to leave me here in Equestria! Don’t…take me…with you…” Solaris just barely manages to finish speaking before finally passing out and Twilight is left with more questions than answers. Of course she was bringing Solaris with them. Where were they gonna put her if they left her?
She looks at Rainbow Dash before gently putting Solaris back on the hospital bed. “Go and warn everyone that the villains are going after their families! Fast! I’ll go help my parents! Have someone work on getting the airship fixed, it needs to be ready to go by the time we get back!” Twilight says and Rainbow nods before zooming off as Twilight starts teleporting to where her parents are. “Hang on Mom and Dad… I’m coming.” She says before finally teleporting to their location.
Night Light and Twilight Velvet's home
As a knock sounded off at the door, Night Light stood up from the dining table to see who it was. He looked through the window and could’ve sworn he saw a shadow of a…tail? “Who is it?” He asks and a deep, gruff voice comes from the other side in response.
“I’m a new friend of your daughter, Twilight Sparkle. She wanted me to pass off a message to you.” The voice says and Night Light looks at Twilight Velvet who just shrugs and nods.
“Let him in.” She says and he nods before opening the door, revealing some kind of dragon-hippogriff hybrid with blue scales, yellow eyes, a spiked tail, and razor sharp teeth. He had massive wings that were folded against his back and he towered over the two ponies…hell, he would’ve towered over Celestia herself if she was standing next to him. He ducks through the doorway, seeing as that’s the only way he could fit through it.
“Sorry for the disturbance, but she wanted me to give you this letter.” He says as he takes out a letter from under his wing and before either of them could ask the obvious question that they were both wondering, he answers as if he was reading their minds. “Oh, her little dragon friend wasn’t feeling too good so I volunteered to get it to you as fast as possible.” He says and they both nod in understanding as Night Light leads the strange creature to sit down with them as he opens the letter only for it to reveal a… strange message.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I regret to inform you that our time together is quickly coming to an end. You see, my new friend here, Ragnar, wanted to show you this message himself before he does whatever he’s about to do next. Whatever it is, I hope you know that it’s nothing personal…but your daughter will always love you and anyone else she calls friends or family…and as long as that’s happening…she will never stop getting in the way of Midnight's reign.
I love you,
Your daughter,
TwilightTwivine Sparkle…P.S.
FOR MIDNIGHT
“I don’t understand…this doesn’t sound like our daughter at all and that’s the wrong name… Is this some kind of jo-“ Night Light starts to ask before suddenly being hit into the wall by Ragnar's tail, his spikes leaving deep gashes across his chest. Twilight Velvet lets out a scream before Ragnar picks her up and pins her by her throat.
“To be honest, that was easier than I thought. I’m almost sorry that I have to kill you now but it’s the only way your daughter will learn her lesson: No good deed goes unpunished.” He says as he raises his claw, preparing to strike. Just as he brings it down, Twilight flys through a wall, blasting him away from her mother before catching her mother when she goes flying. Before Twilight Velvet or Night Light can ask what’s really going on, Twilight looks at them both with a serious look on her face.
“Run! I’ll explain later!” She says before her mask forms on her face. She then turns to Ragnar, only to be picked up, slammed down, swung around, and thrown through another wall by the huge monstrous hybrid. He then notices Twilight’s parents getting away and quickly gives chase, charging right through the door and leaving a massive hole where it once was. He runs on all fours after them, quickly catching up and jumping at the two frightened ponies with his claws and teeth ready. Twilight charges right into his side before he can get too close though, cracking a few ribs and sliding him across the grind, repeatedly slamming him. She then throws him through a tree before picking up another one in her magic and slamming it down on him until there’s nothing left to slam anymore.
When she sees him still moving, she picks up a boulder and slams it onto him, shattering it, but he still continues to try and get up which greatly annoys Twilight. She flys down to him and punches him just as he turns around, chipping a few of his teeth and knocking scales off his face. He slowly turns his head to face her with an angry look, spitting out one of his broken teeth and some blood before growling. Twilight is shocked that he’s still conscious but just as she goes to punch him, he tackles her, slamming her through trees before grabbing her legs with his mouth, his teeth biting into her skin, causing her to scream in pain as he starts swinging her around wildly like an animal with it’s prey.
He then slams her down into a large puddle of water and holds her head under it, knowing he can’t kill her no matter what he does to her but just wanting to knock her out long enough to get to her parents. She struggles to get free as she starts to lose consciousness, eventually blasting him in the face with magic, strengthening the beam enough to send him flying. She quickly gets up and flys off in the direction her parents ran in. She soon finds them with her father resting against a tree and her mother helping him try to stop the gashes on his chest from bleeding too much. Twilight runs to them and starts using a healing spell on her father and they both smile at her.
“Thanks sweetie.” Twilight Velvet says to which Night Light agrees, earning a nod from their daughter. Ragnar lands behind them and glares at Twilight who turns and glares back. He then smirks, takes out a gauntlet with a glowing gem inside and roars before sending all the magic it had apparently absorbed from Twilight’s attacks and sends all that magic back at them. Twilight grabs her parents just in time and teleports to safety. Once she’s sure they’re safe, she checks on them and explains everything that’s happening.
They’re shocked by the news but warn Twilight to be careful and hug her after she tells them she has to help her friends since they might need help. She promises them that she will be before teleporting to Rainbow Dash first, and just in time it seems. Rainbow Dash is in a battle with the new alico-…Sky Blazer. She’s in a battle with Sky Blazer. Meanwhile, Lightning Dust is chasing Scootaloo all around the place, terrorizing her as both of them move at the speed of lightning, Scootaloo being slower than Dash and Lightning Dust. Sky Blazer ,on the other hand, was faster than all of them… That’s going to be a problem. Twilight remembers when Twivine had copied Dash’s speed to some degree and tries using that same ability, calling upon the dark magic she could still feel coursing through her.
She moves fast enough to catch Sky Blazer off guard and tackle her away from Dash and kick her into Lightning Dust. Symbols now covered a majority of her body and it was painful to use magic that she wasn’t used to, but desperate times call for desperate measures. “Twilight, you’re here!” Scootaloo yells excitedly and Twilight smiles a bit.
“Looks like I came just in the nick of time… Dash, I can get you, your parents, and Scootaloo to safety but then I need to go help the others.” Twilight says and Dash thinks about it before shaking her head.
“Just get them to safety. I’m going with you.” Rainbow says and Twilight is about to object to this until Rainbow says something that helps her make up her mind. “They’re my friends too egghead, and there’s no way you’re gonna be able to get to all of them in time by yourself. We’ll split up and help each of them.” She says and Twilight sighs and nods, knowing she can’t talk her stubborn marefriend out of this. Rainbow smiles before saying goodbye to her parents and Scootaloo. “Hey, don’t worry, I’ll be ok…” She says when she sees Scootaloo trying to protest more than her parents are. She really cared for her and didn’t want her to get hurt or worse… not again.
“Rainbow Dash… no… what if… what if you-“ Scootaloo struggles to say, trying not to think about how scared and distraught she was when she learned that Rainbow Dash had disappeared. This was after Twilight and the others had started trying to search for a way to bring her back but they eventually told Scootaloo and she had no idea what to think, feel, or do. “Please… you can’t go.” She pleads but Rainbow Dash shakes her head and gently takes both her hands with a soft but firm grip and gets her to look her in the eyes.
“I have to go Scoot… Twilight’s had my back throughout everything, all my friends have… now it’s my turn to have theirs.” She says and Scootaloo seems to think about if it were Applebloom or Sweetie Belle who needed her. She would drop everything and be by their sides in a heartbeat. She looks straight up at Rainbow Dash and gives a firm nod, smiling a bit before hugging Rainbow Dash as tightly as she can, prompting her to hug back which causes Dash’s parents to join in on the hug. “You just need to focus on taking care of them for me. I’ll be ok. I promise.” She says, assuring the worried little filly who had seen her as a hero and so much more than that from day one.
“Of course you will… You’re Rainbow Dash… Nothing’s gonna take you down.” Scootaloo says and Rainbow smirks and nods before the two separate and Rainbow Dash backs up to stand beside Twilight who teleports the three pegasi to safety. Right before she does, Dash's parents have just enough time to say a few more words to their daughter.
“No matter what, you’ve made us the proudest parents ever to have raised such a strong, selfless pony.” Her father, Bow Hothoof, says with a tear filled smile.
“Go save your friends… Save the world.” Her mother, Windy Whistles, says with same kind of smile on her face before Twilight finishes teleporting them to safety. Rainbow Dash breathes in and out before looking at Twilight who asks her the exact question she was preparing for.
“Ready?” She asks and Rainbow smiles a bit and nods.
“Let’s do this.” She says to which Twilight agrees before they both fly to the same location then split up to help their friends faster. Little did they know… that this was only the beginning… and Midnight was watching and waiting now, happy to see that everything was going according to plan.
“And so begins…the end!”