The sky above Equestria was an ominous black the night of the fateful confrontation. Storm clouds were blocking out the light of the Moon as thunder boomed across the sky and lightning struck the trees. Strong and powerful winds howled throughout the realm with enough strength to knock any unassuming bystander off their hooves.
Strong waves from the ocean crashed against nearby beaches, creating small tsunamis that ended up flooding local areas. Heavy rain fell onto the ground from the clouds and boulders fell off the hills in terrible landslides. Avalanches of snow fell from the top of the mountains buried any form of civilization within more than several miles.
It was as if nature itself was unleashing its fury that night.
The city of Canterlot was in a state of total paranoia. In the midst of the biblical storm, the ponies stayed shut inside their houses in fear of Opaline’s wrath. Not a single individual was in a peaceful state of mind. It was after this night that their fates would be decided and everyone knew this.
The news began airing a 24-hour broadcast of the impending confrontation, which didn’t help soothe public anxiety in the slightest. Some reports indicated that Opaline was going to win and take over while others suggested that Twilight was going to win against her former pupil and remain on the throne.
Public perception was indeed divided on the matter. Some wanted Twilight to stay in power while others supported Opaline and believed that she was in the right. No one could come to an agreement and families were beginning to be split up because of it. The unrest in Equestria had become so dire that only a confrontation like this would be able to decide its ultimate fate.
Through the howling wind and heavy rain, Opaline flew towards Canterlot with a grim expression on her face. This was the moment she had been waiting for. She had been training for the battle all throughout the week and wanted to take what she believed was hers. She vowed that if she were to somehow fail, then she was going to bring down the entire land with her.
Her wings flapped against the current, pushing her forward with each beat as the capital city began to come into view. The rain flew right past her eyes and the wind blew through her long mane.
This was it.
She touched down near the castle entrance and began menacingly walking towards it, a smile of pure malice growing wider and wider with each passing step. Her horn lit up a purple hue and she prepared to destroy the palace entrance and kill her former mentor in the process.
Right as she was about to strike, however, the doors to the castle suddenly burst open and out walked Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. She was clad with silver battle armor that protected her entire body. She wore a knight’s helmet on her head and her mane had been neatly combed back. Her face was one of calm and collected anger as she walked towards the pony she had formerly called her own.
Her horseshoes made clip clop noises on the ground as she got closer. There was no fear present in the older alicorn’s facial features nor body, only determined resolution.
Lightning struck the ground beside where the two of them were destined to battle it out. They slowly walked towards each other until they each stopped in front of the other. Opaline’s expression was one of pure hatred while Twilight’s was calm and collected, yet masking a mother’s pain.
“I have come home, master.” Opaline declared darkly.
“This is no longer your home,” Twilight told her firmly. “And I am no longer your master.”
“Ah yes,” Opaline sneered. “You chose your precious idol over me and wouldn’t let me explain myself when I needed to. Tell me. Where are those…Pillars of yours? Perhaps I might’ve put them out of commission on the way here?”
“This battle is between you and me.”
Opaline frowned in disappointment. “So…that is how it’s going to be.”
Twilight nodded, getting into a defensive stance. “That is how it must be. I will cleanse Equestria of your wrath, even if I must die in the process.”
Opaline growled. Without any hesitation, she launched herself at full speed towards Twilight, who countered by kicking her away with all the strength she had. Opaline retaliated by shooting a blast of magic at Twilight, and she countered it with her own.
The battle was now in full force. When Twilight was momentarily distracted, Opaline launched herself at her again and pounced, sending the Princess of Friendship barreling into one of the castle walls. The wall crumbled upon impact and fell on top of Twilight, who barely had any time to put up a magic shield before the rubble completely buried her.
Opaline stopped, momentarily thinking that she had won. Just when she let her guard down, an enraged Twilight launched herself from the rubble and knocked her off her hooves. She was sent flying across the area and into one of the houses. Twilight then flew straight towards her and picked her up by the neck, pummeling her in mid-air through walls and furniture as the house’s occupants ran out in fear.
They emerged from the house, which crumbled to the ground in a massive explosion. Twilight’s horn lit up a pink aura and she blasted a beam of magic at Opaline, who dodged it using her own magic shield. The beam bounced off of the surface and then back at Twilight, who was sent flying 20 feet across the city, landing in a large bush.
Twilight recovered, spitting out some leaves and branches in the process. Before she had time to process her situation, Opaline was diving straight towards her. She flew up, sending her former apprentice crashing through another building, which collapsed in another explosion.
Opaline emerged from the rubble, cuts and bruises all across her face. She threw herself at Twilight, who returned the gesture by launching herself at her. The two duked it out across the city, punching each other with tremendous strength into many houses and town centers.
Ponies were running out screaming as the houses caught fire and erupted in a blaze. They all watched together with horror as the two titans battled it out for supremacy. It was a brutal battle and neither side was giving up their strategical advantages.
With a loud thud, the ruler of Equestria landed near the Canterlot Library, only to see a massive blast from Opaline heading straight to where she was. She initially was able to block the impact using her magic shield, but the pressure eventually became so intense that she gave in and was hit by the blast. She was sent falling headfirst into the main lobby in a smoldering heap of smoke. She landed on her back and she immediately stood up again as Opaline appeared in a flash, conjuring several magic arrows with her horn.
Twilight cursed. This was the result of the archery lessons she had taught her and she was paying the price for it. Using her own magic, she conjured two magic lances that she used to block and parry the barrage of arrows thrown at her. She was able to deflect them back at her former apprentice, who blasted them all to nothing before they could hit her.
Twilight then faced the bookshelves and began levitating as many books and novels into the air using her magic. She threw them in quick succession at the stunned Opaline, who could barely manage to dodge each impact.
Enraged, Opaline conjured a massive beam of magic that she threw at her. Anticipating this, Twilight conjured her own and the two beams collided in a massive shockwave that sent furniture flying in a flaming heap. The two were now locked in a powerful magic duel. Sweat appeared on Opaline’s forehead as she screamed with rage, trying to keep the magic blast active and consistently firing. Twilight’s eyes narrowed with fury and with a loud yell of her own, overpowered the younger alicorn and sent her falling into a bookshelf.
With no time to waste, Twilight began blasting at Opaline, who countered with her own blasts, and the cycle repeated. The two alicorns threw magic at each other as they battled it out through the library and back to the outside, where a crowd of ponies were now watching them.
As they fought in the stormy skies, Opaline snarled. “Give it up, Twilight!! You can’t win against me!!!”
“I trained you, Opaline!!” Twilight shot back. “Everything you know now is something I taught you in our sessions!!”
“THAT DOESN’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT YOU COULD’VE AVOIDED THIS!!!” Opaline roared. “I ONLY WANTED TO HELP YOU FIND AN ANSWER SO THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ME!!! I WAS DOING WHAT EVERY GOOD DAUGHTER DOES FOR THEIR MOTHER!!!!!!” With that, she blasted Twilight through the roof of the School For Gifted Unicorns with a blinding beam of purple light.
She crashed through multiple levels and floors, each impact hurting more than the last until she landed at the bottom level. She coughed out blood, forcing herself to stand up once more despite bleeding all over the exposed areas of her body. Opaline crashed through the roof as well and the two resumed blasting each other.
“You hurt those guards who did nothing to you!!” Twilight yelled. “They were only upholding the duty I assigned them and you nearly killed them!!!”
“WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR OWN STUDENT AWAY FROM FURTHER KNOWLEDGE?!!” Opaline demanded. “I COULD’VE HELPED YOU!!! WE COULD’VE SOLVED THIS TOGETHER!!!”
“NO WE WOULDN’T’VE!!!!!!!!” Twilight bellowed, throwing herself at Opaline again. They both exchanged punches, kicks, and throws as they fought through one of the main hallways of the School.
They crashed through an abandoned classroom and Twilight began throwing all the desks and chairs at Opaline, who deflected them all with a magic javelin and sent them hurtling back at the former. Twilight blasted them to nothing before both of them crashed through a window, sending glass flying everywhere in every direction.
Lightning crashed upon the ground as the two alicorns were once again in the air trading blows with each other. Thunder boomed as Opaline attempted to grab Twilight by the neck and strangle her. Fortunately, the older alicorn was able to anticipate this and dodge, retaliating with her own kick to the face. As lightning struck near them, they returned to near ground, where they flew straight through Twilight’s house and out the other side while still locked in bloody physical combat.
Twilight then used her magic to summon a tsunami of water and send it crashing down on Opaline, who was swept away straight through a restaurant. The water flooded the entire area, causing tables and eating utensils to float. Twilight then dove straight at Opaline and the two dueled it out across the water using knives and forks.
At about halfway into the fight, she managed to slice Opaline’s cheek with her knife. The evil alicorn cried out in pain and Twilight used the opportunity to deliver a second barrage of hits as the water level rapidly rose higher and higher.
Meanwhile outside, Spike and Luster Dawn had escaped the falling Canterlot Castle and were now helping the frightened ponies escape to the train station. They ran in droves, tripping over each other in a mad rush for survival.
The city was on fire on every corner. The destruction caused in the wake of the two alicorns battling had set several houses and work offices ablaze. There was no hope left to salvage the city. The only thing the other ponies could do was watch their beloved home slowly crumble to dust as they fled for their own protection.
The mares and their foals were led by Luster while the stallions were led by Spike in two separate groups. As the two of them stopped and watched their fellow ponies stampede for their lives for the train station, they saw Opaline and Twilight emerge in full flight from a collapsing restaurant, leaving it to collide with another and cause a massive explosion behind them.
Falling debris and rubble flew in every direction as Twilight used her magic to grab some of them and throw them at Opaline in mid-air. She barely managed to dodge the debris thrown at her and one of them hit her squarely in the jaw, causing her to lose her concentration and fall into a nearby structure.
Twilight immediately dove in after her, horn blazing with a powerful beam of magic. The top of the building exploded from the impact of the both of them and they emerged on the other side. Opaline was being held down in the air by Twilight, who was throwing punch after punch, blast after blast. Opaline tried to fly away, but Twilight was faster. She caught up to her escaping apprentice quicker than a millisecond and punched her across the city.
Both Luster and Spike watched all this go down in complete and utter horror. Luster in particular didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t intervene as she no longer had wings to fly, and she didn’t have the courage to jump in and help from the ground.
All she could do was watch as her former mentor turned into a ruthless killing machine bent on revenge.
She turned towards Spike. “We have to help her!”
“We can’t!” Spike responded, shaking his head. “It’s far too risky to attempt such a thing. We’ll be blown to smithereens in an instant!!”
“But she won’t last forever!” Luster protested.
“I know,” replied Spike solemnly. “But we must be strong, Luster. This is a fight that she may not survive…”
“You can’t be serious!!!” Luster shrieked. “She’s your adoptive mother!!! She raised you and you’re about to leave her to die?!!”
“Listen to me!!” Spike argued. “Somepony has to pick up the pieces when she inevitably falls to her death from exhaustion!! If we all go in there and help her, then we will both die and no one will be able to take over ruling Equestria!! This is a fight between her and Opaline only!! There’s nothing we can do!!”
“But-“
CRASH!!
The sound of another building exploding caused Luster to look to her left as her eyes bore witness to Twilight’s old library collapsing in on itself, slowly becoming nothing but a pile of rubble. Right at that moment, Twilight flew out of it faster than a speeding bullet, dragging the now bloody Opaline into the sky. The two of them continued their fighting in the clouds, taking turns giving the other blow after blow, kick after kick, and punch after punch.
Opaline was panting from exhaustion, but she still remained strong. Spotting an opening, she opened her mouth and bit into one of Twilight’s exposed hooves. She screamed and the two fell out of the sky, crashing onto the ground where they continued to fight.
Twilight was beating Opaline senseless while the latter kept trying to land a chokehold on her former master. They skidded across the ground and spiraled into many structures, causing multiple explosions around them in the nearby vicinity.
Eventually, the sheer amount of exhaustion got to Twilight and she paused to catch her breath, allowing Opaline to kick her into the wall of another restaurant, smashing it.
Twilight punched the rubble off of her, taking a moment to catch her breath. Her armor had been badly singed and was close to falling off. She took off her helmet and wiped the blood off her face. She didn’t know if she could continue this much longer.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to rest as right at that exact moment, she saw Opaline swoop down and snatch Luster Dawn, carrying her high into the sky. Luster screamed and fought, but she was too afraid to break free and jump down at that height.
Instantly, Twilight was back in action. She stood up and rocketed after the two of them as fast as she could. She followed close behind them and watched as Opaline carried Luster towards a small restaurant in the back of an alleyway.
It was the Tasty Treat.
Opaline crashed through the ceiling and threw Luster onto the floor. She groaned and tried to sit up, only to feel Opaline’s hoof violently press down on her. She kicked and struggled, but she was no match for the strength of the alicorn.
She looked up at her captor with wide, pleading eyes that silently begged Opaline not to hurt her. Opaline didn’t listen as her horn began to light up a harsh purple aura.
“YOU WANT A PIECE OF THIS?!!!” Opaline threatened her, raising her hoof into the air. “HUH?!!”
“No! No!!!” Luster begged fearfully. She covered herself with her hooves, bracing for what was about to happen to her.
Just then, there was a loud boom and Twilight smashed through the roof of the Tasty Treat with an expression of pure rage, tears streaming down her face and horn blazing bright pink as she prepared to bring down the restaurant on top of her former student.
“STOP!!!!” Opaline shrieked, realizing what was about to happen. “IF YOU DESTROY THIS RESTAURANT, YOU KILL YOUR OWN DAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!!!”
Twilight was having none of it. Her eyes filled with further hatred as her heart went ice cold. She didn’t care if she died as a result of this. The nerve that Opaline had to still harken back to the good times they had together after everything she had done did nothing but sour her mood further. It wasn’t going to do any good.
Nopony hurt Luster Dawn and got away with it.
“SHE’S ALREADY DEAD!!!!” With a loud scream, Twilight blasted several holes in the ceiling of the cafe, sending pieces of the roof crashing down onto the floor. Opaline was knocked off her hooves as she tried desperately to dodge the rubble falling on her.
Twilight then grabbed Luster in her hooves and flew out of the collapsing restaurant as it suddenly exploded into a million pieces of debris, causing them both to spiral out of the sky and crash onto the ground below them.
Right as they thought they were safe, however, Opaline emerged from the smoking wreck that was once the Tasty Treat, violently pushing the fallen planks of wood off her charred body. With an animalistic growl, she got into a defensive stance and made a beeline towards a bewildered Spike.
Instantly, Twilight jumped in the way and tackled her to the ground. The two fought in an all-out physical brawl as Spike ran for his life, taking Luster with him. Once she was sure that her friends were safe, Twilight conjured a massive blast of magic and smashed it onto the ground, which cracked underneath the impact.
Opaline did the same and they began throwing chunks of ground at each other for several minutes. Each time that she would throw one, Twilight would blast it to dust and then throw another. The cycle repeated until Opaline flew up into the air once more and began charging up another Magic blast.
Twilight looked up and her eyes widened in terror. She knew what Opaline was about to do. She could see it in her eyes and it filled her heart with absolute dread.
Opaline was about to nuke Canterlot.
The blast continued to build up in intensity, getting bigger and bigger until it was the size of a massive supernova.
“NO!!” Twilight screamed.
Opaline smiled maliciously. “DIE!!!!!!!”
She then unleashed the blast upon the city. It spread for miles, toppling houses and buildings, and burying everything in its path for but a moment in a blinding white light.