//------------------------------// // Dive into the Heart // Story: Road to Twilight // by ShadowBrony //------------------------------// Twilight opened her eyes. Just moments ago she had gone to bed. She could remember laying her head on the pillow and covering herself in warm covers. What she did not remember was how she ended up falling surrounded by nothing but darkness. She soon began flailing her body in a vain attempt to grab a hold of anything. She tried to slow her decent using magic, but it failed her. Twilight looked in every direction before finally looking down and noticing that she was about to land on some kind of platform. It was made almost entirely of glass and bared an image of her surrounded by little images of her friends. The image itself reminded her of windows seen in sanctuary’s and the windows in Celestia’s palace. Twilight closed her eyes as she waited for the inevitable impact. But none came. Instead Twilight opened her eyes and found herself being slowly lowered safely onto the platform. She took a few careful steps forward unsure of what to do next. So much to do, so little time. Take your time Twilight jumped as a voice appeared to have come from her head, but it was not her own. “Who’s there?” she said out loud, “Where am I and what do you want?” The Door still remains shut. “What door?" Twilight asked, "I don’t understand.” Twilight then jumped as three small platforms appeared out of nowhere. One held a shield with the Equestrian symbol on it. (Two Alicorns, one black and the other white, circling the world.) Another held a staff with what looked like the outline of Luna’s head. The last one held a broadsword with the Elements of Harmony appearing all over the hilt. Chose one. Twilight remained where she was. She was unsure of why it was necessary for her to need such weapons when she could easily use her magic. But she also realized that she probably wasn’t going anywhere until she made her decision. She began to walk around examining each weapon, unsure which one to take. She stopped walking and turned toward the shield. She reached out and touched it with her hoof. The power of the guardian. The ability to protect your friends. Is this the power you seek? “Are you asking me if I am willing and able to protect my friends? Of course I am. I would do anything for them.” The shield vanished. Twilight then turned toward the last two small platforms. What will you sacrifice in return? Twilight was unsure she wanted to sacrifice anything but looking back at the sword, something told her to give it another look. She stepped toward it and touched it with her hoof. The power of ultimate destruction. Will you sacrifice this? “I'm not sure. I don’t want to be destructive, at least not on purpose. So I guess I will.” The sword disappeared. The remaining platforms and staff disappeared as well. The window-floor soon became empty aside from Twilight. Then a bright light appeared just in front of Twilight. She felt blinded and covered her eyes with her hoof. When Twilight could see again, a door had appeared in front of her. It was wooden and reminded her of a smaller version of the door to Celestia’s throne room. In fact it looked exactly like it except it was about the size of her front door to her library. Twilight lit up her horn to try and open the door. But before she could open it beyond just a crack, the voice appeared again. Beyond this door lies more danger then you could ever imagine. Are you sure you are ready to face it? Twilight stopped trying to move the door at that. Twilight thought for a moment before realizing that again she had little choice but to move forward. She gripped the door with her telekinesis and swung it open. Instantly she was blinded yet again by a flash of light. When she could see again, she looked down and noticed the window-floor had changed and now showed a picture of Luna. She appeared to be dancing on the moon on top, while Nightmare Moon appeared to be dancing on the bottom. Small pictures of Twilight and Celestia circled the image. Sometimes you will have to fight. A black shadow appeared just below Twilight. Twilight jumped back in surprise as a black creature sprung up from the floor. It had pure yellow eyes that glowed against its dark body. It had little arms and legs. It also appeared to have two antennae as well. More of them soon appeared and surrounded Twilight. Twilight knew she was in danger. These creature's aura seeped of evil. She tried to cast a spell but found that aside from her horn glowing and her telekinesis, she was unable to cast any. Soon one of the creatures jumped and attacked Twilight. She could now see that they had claws as the creature cut into her flesh. Twilight yelled out in pain. She tried desperately to fend them of with just her hooves but soon became difficult as the more and more creatures attacked her. Power sleeps within you. If you give it form, it will give you strength. Twilight was unsure as to what it meant but whatever power the voice had mentioned, she knew that she needed it now more than ever. She closed her eyes and reached deep within herself looking for anything. Darkness was all that met her. Twilight closed her eyes tighter in concentration. Then a bright flash appeared in front of her. Twilight opened her eyes in surprise to find a strange weapon being help in her telekinetic grasp. It appeared to be some kind of sword like weapon. It was white, had a heart with a pointed star on the end of it. At the bottom there was a angelic look for the guard. It appeared to be some kind of giant key. Keyblade… “Keyblade?” Twilight echoed out loud. Just then, another one of the creatures decided to attack. Twilight swung at it. As soon as it made contact, the creature disappeared into a small explosion of dark energy before disappearing from existence. Twilight stared at the blade in wonder. She soon began swinging the blade again and again as each creature attacked her. As soon as Twilight finished off the last creature, a beam of light shot up from the ground, before turning into a small hovering white ball. It dipped half way into the floor before shooting outward into the darkness creating a bridge to another platform that lit up as the light touched it. Twilight ran forward with confidence. As her hoof touched the bridge, the platform behind her grew dark. Twilight looked back in surprise before glancing ahead and noticing a glimmer of light bearing down on the platform in front of her. Twilight took a cautionary step but found the bridge stable. As Twilight crossed the bridge and onto the next platform, the bridge behind her disappeared. Twilight examined the floor again. This time, the Elements of Harmony were shown to be scattered around the picture but with hers remaining in the middle with a look of pure harmony. “Harmony amongst Chaos,” Twilight whispered. Twilight took a few steps toward the light. She marveled at how bright it was and how nice it was to see in such a dark place. She could almost hear what sounded like a soft melody coming from it. It made her feel safe and warm. The closer you are to light. The bigger your shadow becomes. Twilight turned around and sure enough, her shadow was huge. Then the shadow’s head lifted itself out of the shadow. Its hooves griped the outline of its own shadow as it brought the rest of itself out. It stood up and appeared to be a giant shadow version of Twilight. The Shadow Twilight stared down at the original Twilight with its yellow eyes. Then the Shadow Twilight twitched and convulsed as its form began to change. Its fore-hooves split in different directions as darkness poured from the mangled hooves. Then the mangled fore-hooves grew in size as hands shot out from the inside. It then tore it’s out layer of skin before tearing apart at its remaining hooves. From them, sprouted feet that almost appeared flat yet somehow the creature could still stand on them. Then the chest exploded outward to create an empty heart shaped middle. Black ooze seemed to fall from where the chest had been. Then its mane grew to abnormal lengths cover its face, which was also beginning to change. The snout had disappeared and the neck was now shorter. The hair grew over its face but the yellow eyes could still be seen. With the transformation complete, it glanced back down at Twilight who was currently doing her best to keep her dinner down. But upon seeing the final form of the creature, Twilight yelled out in fear and tried to run, only for her to find the end of the platform waiting for her. Twilight stopped and stared down into the abyss. Realizing she was trapped, she turned around with her weapon ready to fight for her life. But do not be afraid. For you hold the mightiest weapon of all. The creature, the Shadow as Twilight had decided to name it, raised its hand into the air. It then formed a fist and brought it down with all its might. Twilight dodged it just in time as the fist would have smashed her where she was a second ago. It brought its other hand down in a similar manner but Twilight was ready and dodged again but this time, she swung her Keyblade down unto the creatures arm. But it bounced off and seemed to have not even affected the creature. Then the Shadow brought its arms back; its chest area started to glow with dark energy. Twilight started to run to the left as balls of energy shot towards her. She managed to dodge most of them but a few managed to singe her. The creature stared at her silently. It brought its hand up and Twilight readied herself for another punch. Instead of aiming for her though, the creature struck the ground in front of her. Twilight stared at the hole as darkness seeped from the hole. Dark creatures that Twilight had seen before started to appear. Twilight swung at them in surprise. She continued to swing as more and more were summoned. Twilight knew she could not keep this up forever as she soon began to grow tired. The creature only stood there silently as it continued to watch her struggle. Then it lifted its arm and grabbed Twilight who was too busy to notice until it was too late. It brought her up toward its face. Twilight decided this was her best chance to get a good shot if any. She hoped that hitting its face would cause at least some damage. Twilight reared her head back and began spinning the Keyblade with her telekinesis. When she decided it was spinning fast enough, she hurled it as hard as she could at its head. As soon as the Keyblade stuck it continued its passage through the head and out the other end. Both Twilight and the Shadow fell to the floor. Twilight waited and watched, hoping the creature would not get up and attack her again. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as the creature began to sink into the floor. That is, until the floor soon became shrouded in darkness. Twilight could only watch in horror as she too began to sink into the very same darkness. Her weapon had disappeared and again Twilight found she was unable to use her magic. She tried flailing her hooves to stay above the thick sea of darkness as it had already swallowed the lower part of her body. But it was all in vain as she continued to sink. She could feel it now reaching her head as she continued to reach out with her hooves. Before everything went black she could just make out the voice one last time. Remember, you are the one, who will open the door… ...And save your world.