//------------------------------//
// The Rainbow of Darkness (Midseason Finale) 
// Story: Time is Forever 
// by MysteryMelt 
//------------------------------//





The Rainbow of Darkness
  Midseason Finale


   “Wherever there is light... there is also a shadow.”
~ Star Swirl the Bearded









‘Please! If you’re reading this, you must flee. Equestria isn’t safe anymore. Just run, please, just get out of here. The gate opened... and out poured the darkness. We never stood a chance; we should’ve heeded the signs! From Fillydelphia to Las Pegasus, the sun is dim.

It was because of me that all my friends met, and now it’s because of me that they’re all gone. My friends, my best friends, even the princesses. I know it’s all my fault, I brought it here... the darkness came here through me!

This may be the last thing I ever write down. I’m going to die soon, I just know I am... I wanted to write down my last thoughts. So just know that I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry.

Goodbye.’

Signed,

~ Rainbow Dash.


One Day Earlier...

Surrounded by black clouds that flashed with lightning and rumbled with thunder what roared through the air. Twilight Sparkle stood at the centre of this dark world. Her enemies had gathered around her: Nightmare Moon and the Shadowbolts, Discord and even their Mannequin opposites were there, most of the villains she’d defeated. They all stood silently and stared at her every movement, their various different coloured eyes alight in the dimness. It unnerved her that they were all here, that they all knew something she didn’t. All the villains stepped aside and behind them a shadowed figure of a pony chuckled lowly...

The pony wore a cloak and said with a rumble of thunder, “today Twilight Sparkle, you learn about your greatest lesson: that friendship does not last forever!” 

Crackle!

Twilight suddenly awakened with a jolt and a scream in the Library. She breathed heavily and wiped the cold sweat from her brow. Spike the baby dragon spike sat at the end of her bed. 

“You had that dream didn’t you?” Spike said. 

“Spike? What are you doing here? I thought you were—” Twilight muttered. Something tugged on her body before she could finish her words, she levitated out of bed. The library oozed with purple ooze which splattered down the walls, the ooze had eyes and groaned with death... 

There was another in the room with them, the Greymare, Dark Plague. Dark Plague’s back faced them; she had several hundred strings that were stitched into her skin. Her tail ruffled from the unease she felt. 

Twilight could see her own face through the mirror in her room, she was crying. Her tears were green like acid and as they trickled down her face they burnt scars into her skin—

Twilight’s eyes opened again. The second she realized she was still dreaming, she was dragged from the dream and back into reality. It was a dream within a dream. She tossed and turned in her bed and used her hooves to check if she was really here this time. She breathed a paranoid sigh of relief, this was real, she was awake. It was only a dream... 

“It felt so real this time...” Twilight sat up in her bed, but nopony wasn’t there, not even Spike. It took a few seconds before it all flooded back to her and she remembered that Spike was still entombed in stone. She could only talk to herself now that the mornings Spike would usually be there to greet her were gone. 

The library had never felt so empty... she had never felt so empty. 

“Wait a minute, what time is it?!” Twilight bounced herself off the bed and stared out of the window, the sun was already shining in. Her heart sank. “Oh no, I overslept!” Twilight jumped out of bed and charged to the window to see the confetti and the crowds of ponies that cheered outside.





Confetti fell around Ponyville, party balloons swayed in the air attached to every cottage roof. A huge banner was erected and read across: ‘Welcome Princess Celestia’. It hung proudly between two cottages near the entrance to the town. Ponies of all age and type gathered at either side of the pathways, they cheered and hooted. 

Twilight was flustered, she quickly brushed her mane and then burst through the library door with little care for the hinges. Outside in the warm sunshine, everything was fine. Ponies cheered in the light and cheered along a parade down Ponyville's streets. Where her dreams wrong? Twilight galloped to join her friends.

“Good to see you finally made it, we thought you weren’t coming.” Rarity said with a pinch of doubt. Her friends were always pleased to see her. Everypony was there apart from Rainbow Dash and Applejack who were absent as they were still out racing in the all-important Equestrian Five-Hundred. 

“Sorry I’m late girls.” Twilight stood with them. 

Various floats with displays of flowers around them rolled through the town. The parade had arrived, some of the parade floats even had machines which shot out bubbles from tiny cannons for the crowd to enjoy. Loud music played from all the new noisemaker sirens that were installed by the mayor of Ponyville. Princess Celestia arrived on the largest float of all which had an undersized model of Canterlot on the back of it; cannons on either side shot confetti in the air, golden horseshoes encircled the rim of the float. It was filled with guards and their large pointy spears affixed tightly in their hooves. Princess Celestia stood not on ceremony and waved gracefully to the crowd.

The parade float paused for a brief moment as it reached the crossroads at the Library. Princess Celestia flew off her magnificent float to greet the crowd and meet her Twilight and her friend. Celestia approached her student with a carefree smile.

“There is an important date coming soon, it is called the presentation of the trident. Namely the Princess Cadance will be coming to return the ‘Trident of the Ocean’ to Canterlot. I would like you to be there. I would like us all to be there.”

“Why wouldn’t we be there?” Twilight asked in confusion.

Princess Celestia didn’t reply, instead she levitated to Twilight seven pink envelopes, the extra invitation was for the absent Spike. 

“Consider this a personal invitation for you all. I did have a mail carrier pony send you some but she had crashed into a tree.” Celestia explained.

“Enjoy the celebrations,” Twilight Sparkle said back. 

Just as Celestia was to depart she stopped herself to address them again, about something much more serious.

“There is another reason why I am here, I came to collect you.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Pinkie Pie inquired and thought, did Princess Celestia collect ponies or something?  She shrugged her shoulders and blew up a yellow balloon.

“Twilight, you did not tell your friends...” Princess Celestia stepped back as Twilight’s friends stood with party cone hats on and party blowers in their mouths. She didn’t want to tell them, here of all places, while everypony was in high spirits. Twilight sighed and finally revealed to them the truth...

“Today is my last day here. I’m being recalled from Ponyville...”

“What?!” Everypony shouted in unison. Pinkie Pie’s yellow balloon deflated with a sordid fart.

“No... y-you can’t leave.” Fluttershy said and stood in disbelief, tears swelled up in her eyes.

“It can’t be!” Rarity outburst and turned to the princess, “Princess Celestia please reconsider! Twilight Sparkle is a valued member of the community.”

“You’ll manage without me. I mean, you did manage without me before, right?” Twilight said and shrugged her shoulders.

“Not really... Ponyville was destroyed every other day with disasters before you came along.” Pinkie Pie explained.

“But Princess Celestia, If it wasn’t for Twilight Ponyville would’ve been destroyed years ago,” Rarity begged at Celestia.

It was clear her best friends loved her too much to just see her walk away.

“I’m sorry girls, I should’ve told you earlier, my time here was only meant to be temporary anyway,” Twilight spoke with teary eyes; she looked up at Celestia. “Can I at least stay until Applejack and Rainbow Dash return from the Equestrian Five-Hundred?” Twilight’s had puppy-dog eyes. Celestia simple nodded in agreement with a heavy heart.

“When the time comes, you must flee. All of you.” Celestia parted with a final warning before she hovered back onto the parade float.

The parade rolled onwards...





Hours later the flustered Applejack and Rainbow Dash returned to Ponyville. They rushed to the library to see that it was already half-empty. Several wooden boxes littered the halls, all piled up to the roof. Twilight sat on one of the biggest suitcase, her head hung low; she couldn’t bear to even look at her friends. Her complexion was flushed and she needed to stop herself from having a full breakdown.

Rarity explained everything to their two remaining friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. She explained that Twilight had to leave them behind... she was going to leave Ponyville. It hit them hard.

“It’s not really goodbye though; I mean... we’ll come visit you right? Then we can have parties in Canterlot! Like at the Gala!” Pinkie Pie said first, ever the hopeful that things will work out in the end. 

“We’ll miss you...” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Twilight dearest, I’m so sorry,” Rarity hugged Twilight warmly.

They all looked around at the library, this was the final time they would see their friend living here. Twilight had a single saddlebag, it was small but yet it was stuffed to accommodate so many things.

“At least let us help you pack,” Rarity picked up a book, ‘Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties But Were Afraid to Ask’. It reminded her of the time she and Applejack had a slumber party in the library. Rarity couldn’t help but smile at that old adventure.

Rainbow Dash picked up several copies of Daring-Do’s adventures including 'Daring Do and the Left Hand of Hades'. She remembered all the times she called Twilight an egghead for always having her head in a book, but really it turned out reading was awesome. 

Pinkie Pie, dressed in a black and white maid outfit, used a pegasi-feather duster to clean the shelves in the library basement. All of the computers which once whirred with life were now gone. Pinkie Pie remembered the time when Twilight experimented on her with the computers, in a bid to scientifically explain her Pinkie sense. Her nose twitched... 

A... A... ACHOO!

Applejack picked up a costume with stars and swirls on it; it was Twilight’s nightmare night costume, Star Swirl the Bearded. Applejack remembered when nopony recognized the costume Twilight direct them to the book, ‘Obscure Unicorn History’. When Princess Luna arrived to Ponyville, clueless to how the real world worked. Twilight, despite knowing Luna’s past as Nightmare Moon, gave her a chance and helped her to be accepted within the community. 

“Thank you everypony,” Twilight replied. But even with her friends to help her, it still didn’t feel right. Even when she smiled it was accompanied with a disappointed grunt. She had so much history in this place, all those wonderful adventures she had in Ponyville. All from that very first moment she entered the library to an accord of voices that all shouted: ‘Surprise!’

When the chariot arrived everyponies eyes filled with tears. When they cried, so did Twilight. It was same light chariot which first brought Twilight to Ponyville. Two pegasus guards clad in golden armour, and devoid of any expression than a frown, were ready to ferry her into the clouds.

Twilight shuffled her saddlebag up on her shoulders and turned to face her friends. She remembered the first time she met then all, she thought they were all crazy but in time she came to love them as her friends. They opened up her heart and showed her the true magic of friendship.

“I suppose a goodbye is in order,” Rarity said and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.

“G’bye Twi, we’re sure gonna’ miss ye,” Applejack tipped her hat as a sign of respect.

“Come visit us soon, ‘kay?” Pinkie Pie said with a tearful pout.

“It’ll be alright, we’ll see you again,” Rainbow Dash finished.

Fluttershy remained silent, she held it in more and more until the tears streamed down her cheeks.

Twilight wanted to say something, something meaningful and honest. She was so empty of all emotion but sadness that the only thing that fit the moment was...

"Goodbye." 

Twilight entered the vehicle and the golden chariot lifted off the ground and journeyed up into the clouds. She waved a hoof goodbye and left her friends behind who all waved back at her. The chariot disappeared into a whit of clouds.

The library was gentle and quiet. The sad little windows stared like eyes. The once colourful shelves were empty and devoid of all books, destined now to only gather dust. The photos once filled with treasured memories were now empty frames that sat on the cupboards bare. The halls were cold and the floorboards groaned. Only old memories were kept tightly within its hallowed walls now...





Rainbow Dash’s house rested and floated atop the clouds. It was a conglomerate of clouds, pillars made from stone and rainbows which weaved among the clouds. Inside her bedroom, her bedclothes looked more like a cloud and matched that of her rainbow-coloured mane. Rainbow Dash laid back in her bed in disbelief that her best friend had to depart without a word of warning. It wasn’t really goodbye, even though they were miles apart they could still visit each other, but it still hurt. 

A tear splashed letter floated through the Equestrian air. The winds of change echoed across the sky and pushed the letter to spin through the wind and was directed through the clouds until reaching the bedroom in the sky. It rested by her bedside unbeknown to Rainbow Dash who sulked underneath a purple pillow. When she laid her head down upon the pillow she caught a glimpse of the piece of parchment which wasn’t there before. 

It was a letter... a letter to Princess Celestia. It was torn slightly but the pony who wrote it could be seen. Rainbow Dash knew not to read it, Ms. Hollow had already told her that in Appleloosa. Well... maybe just a peek, she thought. She took the note and noticed she is the one who wrote it. Her eyebrows lower, her eyes squint in deep thought. A mysterious letter she had forgotten about? How did she write something that she doesn’t even remember writing? She immediately looked away, and then glanced back to skim-read.

‘dead...’

...

‘my foal sis...’

...

‘she looked afte—’

“Nooooo!” A scream pierced the silence, Rainbow Dash was so startled she dropped the letter and jumped up onto her bed in a defensive position.

“You mustn’t... read it!” The voice said again out of breath, it sounded familiar. Through her window and infront of a dazzling ray of light that emanating behind him, Doctor Whooves emerged.

“Doctor?!” Rainbow Dash turned to see the time lord. She let her guard down and hovered to the floor.

“’Ello Skittles... I’m back.” He entered the abode with a worried look and a slight swagger.

“How did you get up here?” Rainbow Dash questioned and tilted her head in confusion. Then another entered her home: a perplexed grey pegasus spun upside-down through the air...

Crash!

Derpy crashed through the open window and smashed into a cupboard, obliterating it to shreds.

“I brought him here.” Derpy replied while upside down, everything looked funny the wrong way up. She plonked herself on all four hooves. Rainbow Dash gave Derpy a stern stare.

“Whaaat? He was yelling at me...” she twiddled her hooves shyly.

“Twilight was right, she said I needed somepony, turns out that somepony was Derpy.” The Doctor said and turned his neck down to look at the letter on the floor, he snatched it off the floor. “Did you read it?”

“Yes, no, well, a little bit.” Rainbow Dash stammered.

“That could be all it needs...” The Doctor looked at her extremely seriously, “what have you done?”





Screams cried out from within Ponyville, panicked ponies rushed outside to see a strange purple mist that emanated from underground. The celebrations were still underway but the mist had put an end to all the fun. The four best friends, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie hastened into action and gathered together infront of the vacant library. The mist had covered most of the town in a permanent haze. Applejack checked the ground she stabbed it with the toe of her hoof.

“The source of the mist is coming from underground.” Applejack concluded, the mist rose up through the soil itself.

“We need a tunnel which heads to the source of the mist, and without Twi, yer’re the spell caster now Rarity.” Applejack said and turned to her. Rarity took the lead and investigated. Magic flashed from her horn, her eyes tightly shut with concentration. With great effort she used her magic to upturn part of the ground. That formed a perfectly long, dark passageway; it was surprisingly neat for a tunnel. A billow of purple mist rose from the tunnel. They decided to go investigate and headed inside...

“Urg, such grimy surroundings,” Rarity whined as the darkness crept in around them.

“I think ah got mud on my hooves.” Applejack said.   

“Ewwww.” Rarity replied in utter disgust.

“Ahhhh!” Fluttershy suddenly screamed at something which touched her wing.

“Hehe, silly, relax!” Pinkie Pie giggled, “it’s just an unlit torch.”

“A torch? If they’re torches here then that means someone was here before us,”  there was no doubt in Rarity’s voice after she saw the torches. There was no way she could’ve formed a tunnel like that unless the ground had already been disturbed.

Rarity had been here before; during Dark Plague’s attack the Diamond Dogs had dug a tunnel underneath Ponyville. Thankfully the Diamond Dogs hadn’t dug all the way to the Gate and unleashed the darkness behind it as they were distracted by the crystals cavern beneath Ponyville.

Magic caused the torches to flick into life, in groups of two they lit up the passageway infront of them. Everypony followed it down into an tall open cavern directly beneath Ponyville. They waited until the torches lit up around the room.

The grotto had a small river running through it with stalactites which perturbed out of the walls. The torched illuminated something at the far side of the grotto... something none of them had ever seen before.

“What exactly is this monstrosity?” Rarity questioned and looked up at the giant object.

“Why it looks like...” Applejack paused to gawp.

“A gate...” Fluttershy squealed quietly, but even her quiet voice echoed in this cavern.

“I don’t believe it. Y’all telling me it was hidden under Ponyville all along?” Applejack and everypony else stared up at the gate.

The gate stood taller than anypony and was made mainly of metal. It had two iron doors that parted down the middle; both were bathed red in colour to match the colour of blood. Both doors had iron chains that overlapped them. The tops of the gate had dangerously sharp spikes. The black mist was emitting from the tiniest gap between the doors. Written above the red doors, carved into the iron were words of warning... 


'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.' 


Applejack stared at those words, frozen from fear.

“I knew it wasn’t just a dream,” she said. She lowered her head to try and hide the fear.

To the right of the cavern were a giant pile of bones. It was the remains of a dog with three heads, the beast once known as Cerberus.

“Who would hurt such a majestic and rare beast...” Fluttershy murmured with a tear in her eye, she stroked the collarbone of the bones of Cerberus.

“But if that’s Cerberus... that means... this is the Gate to Tartarus.” Rarity said and looked up at the gate and got a chill down her spine.

“Didn’t Twi’ bring Cerberus here that one time?” Applejack questioned. Twilight couldn’t have killed Cerberus, could she?

“I don’t like it... not one bit. It’s like it’s staring at me. Staring right into my soul...” Pinkie Pie’s eyes went funny.

“Uh... Pinkie Pie, dear. You’re looking at the wall.” Rarity replied and rolled her eyes.

“Oh. Right. Sorry.” Pinkie Pie turned on the spot to look at the gate instead. “I don’t like it... not one bit. It’s like it’s staring at— Ah forget it!”

“Well,” Applejack paused and gulped, “who was the one who told us about the gate?”

“Dark Plague. She told us it would open.” Pinkie Pie said.

“Precisely.” Rarity confirmed nervously.

“Uh-Huh,” Applejack nodded, “I was told it was opening as well, after the Equestrian Five-Hundred.”

“So, Dark Plague’s the one behind all this? Or... her master?” Pinkie Pie looked to the other ponies. They all shrugged.

“Then dare I ask, what’s behind it?” Rarity questioned as all the girls stared at the monumental iron gate. All of them feared it and feared what lurked behind it even more. Even their worst nightmares couldn’t comprehend.

“Maybe her master’s the one behind the gate...” Fluttershy hid behind the rib cage bones of Cerberus.

“I do so wish Twilight was here, she’d know what to do. She brought Cerberus here once... she’s the only one who know’s about this gate...” Rarity said.  

“We need Twilight...” everyponies voices echoed from the grotto...





Twilight walked down Gemini Avenue in Canterlot. The last time she walked down this street was with the Myst Borealis that rhymed her every movement. Gemini Avenue was main and most popular route of Canterlot filled with cheerful foals that played in the sun and ponies who chatted happily amongst themselves. If only she could be so happy. She had her small worn saddle bag over her flank. She turned off the street and entered a small café on her trot through the city. She sat glumly on the bar stool and sighed to herself.

“Twilight Sparkle as I live and breathe... haven’t seen you here in awhile.” The owner of the shop smiled sympathetically. He wore an apron and a chef’s hat and cleaned a empty milkshake glass with a cloth. “You look glum kiddo, what’s on your mind?”

“Sorry Pony Joe. I’m just worried for everypony. Celestia recalled me from Ponyville... for reasons I’m still trying to figure out.” Twilight wallowed.

“Here,” Pony Joe put down a large drink with its own straw and tiny striped umbrella in it, “it’s on the house.” He said and walked down to serve another customer.

Twilight took a large swig of the milkshake and continued to wallow in self-pity.

She couldn’t stall any longer. After her journey to the café, she arrived at her old home. Horologium Street, there stood the large tower she lived in back before she was sent to Ponyville, before even the events of Nightmare Moon. Her old home was a large magical tower with a golden roof shaped like a flaming dome. While it stood more magnificent that the library back in Ponyville, it just didn’t seem like home anymore. She walked up the curved stairs and nudged open the door, it creaked open...

“Home sweet home,” Twilight half-heartedly said, there in the centre room of the room stood all her suitcases and boxes from the library, ready to be unpacked.

The only object inside the dusty old house was a large ashen hourglass that was filled with sand to record time itself. After all these years it still worked. Each time it emptied, it rotated around to record the next hour.

A single staircase led upstairs where a large window covered the far wall, and up upon some old white ladders was her telescope, from which the heavens could be observed. They were many large shelves upstairs where Twilight once kept all her books. The wall were etched with carvings of unicorns and the roof was dome-shaped. In grief Twilight walked in sorrowfully and looked around. Night had almost fallen and she decided not to unpack her things but instead just rest in the middle of the empty room without a bed...

Twilight stood in the plane of darkness, surrounded by another circle of clouds. This time the clouds were deep purple, and mist covered the edge of the dreamscene, it spun around her slowly and blocked the majority of her vision. Each purple cloud of mist flashed brightly with distant lightning. She could hear something, something that echoed through the darkness. It was the sound of ticking. She turned around to see a wooden metronome with a thin pendulum that ticked from right to left. Her enemies were there again, Discord and the Mannequins, Nightmare Moon and the Shadowbolts, even Dark Plague with the strings her back. They stared at her with their cold lifeless eyes, staring at her, the pony that defeated them.

“What do you want? What are you trying to tell me?” Twilight thought, he mouth did not move even though she spoke, her subconscious thoughts had transcended into words within the dreamscene. Dark Plague pointed first, then Discord, then Nightmare Moon. Twilight followed the length of their hooves and her eyes were led to the metronome. Behind the timekeeping device, the large pony approached Twilight. This time she saw more of it. The pony had cold icy blue eyes which looked like crystals, it had a beard and also a unicorn horn. A horn which suddenly flashed with silvery magic, a bolt of lightning magic was shot and hit her straight in the chest, her body went into shock—

Twilight awakened with a violent jolt. The sound of the ticking metronome was actually somepony knocking at her door. “That same nightmare...” Twilight groaned and got up; she was in another cold sweat. For a moment seconds she thought she was in the library, back home in Ponyville. Then it all flooded back when she realised she was alone here. She wished she would’ve never had to wake up. She shook her head in dismay of the nightmare and opened her door see the pony she least expected to see.

“Have I arrived at the wrong moment?” Princess Luna boomed loudly and towered over Twilight. The princess invited herself inside the empty house; it was still filled with cobwebs.

“Princess Luna,” Twilight bowed in awe, “I... I’m surprised to see you.”

“I have arrived because of the nightmares you are having, I have seen them, watched them from afar. They are unlike anything I have ever seen.” Princess Luna explained, “you need answers, how may I help?”

Twilight took a very deep breath before explaining: “Well I was having a great time in Ponyville until Princess Celestia your older sister told me it was time to leave and I know I shouldn’t because all of my friends are there we’ve so much more to learn and do and I didn’t know what the gate was in the end.” Twilight gasped for breath, she had neglected to pause correctly in that whole sentence.

Luna looked over her shoulder and raised a hoof in the air as she spoke, “I know of this gate...”

Twilight’s ears pricked upward and she smiled for the first time in hours, “tell me everything.”

Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle huddled around, together they cast an ancient spell which created a mirror image of moving pictures... they watched together.

“During the time of great disarray and disharmony, when Discord ruled over Equestria and put it in a state of unhappiness. There was a single gate which stood at the heart of the world. The gate unleashed spirits of chaos and darkened all the elements. It was called the Gate of Tartarus, a hell’s mouth that spat out deadly creatures like the Cockatrice, Hippalectryon and Timberwolves. The gate stood as monument to great evil.

Seven comets fell from the sky, like a shining beacon of hope they fell. The Elements of Harmony. Discord was defeated by using six of the elements. My sister and I used three elements each and turned Discord to stone. But even with Discord entombed, Tartarus still remained open. My sister and I challenged Tartarus and battled the creatures inside it. Tartarus was eventually sealed; it trapped most of the evil creatures in the world inside it. But each time the gate is sealed, it magically teleports across Equestria to another location.

The hell’s mouth was slowly buried under the sand and years of time, forgotten and powerless, until one town disturbed the rocks above the burial place. The town of Ponyville was built apex a gaping well of darkness. Reformed and disturbed the gate was soon to reopen. It is said in ancient prophecy untold that the only thing that can unlock the gate is if part of another time makes its way into Equestria...”

Princess Luna finished.  

Time is Forever, Twilight instantly thought. She thought of the book that had fallen through time, the book from the future that spoke of things to come. Luna had found it and both princesses had hidden the book away. They enchanted the book so neither of the princesses would remember its contents. Now Twilight knew why they feared it so, the princesses knew that ‘Time is Forever’ was something from another time and that it would unlock the Gate to Tartarus. The enchantment didn’t work on Twilight, because she was outside the room and only overheard the princesses conversation...

“I once brought Cerberus to Tartarus when he escaped into Ponyville. I didn’t open Tartarus back then and the gate wasn’t even underneath Ponyville back then either, it was closer to Saddle Arabia. I only left Cerberus to guard the outside of it.” Twilight said and gawked up at Princess Luna.

“What was it... that made you become Nightmare Moon?” Twilight said and turned her mind to other things.

Luna walked to the large window of the abode and gazed down at Canterlot below. She reluctantly explained her story...

“T’was the Nightmare Forces. They were initially three leaders known as the Prime Nightmares. Only two we know of: Shadowfright... and something we now name the Voidspark. The Voidspark is the one I feared the most...”

“Why?” Twilight asked intrigued.

“Because the Voidspark is the one that created Nightmare Moon,” she replied bluntly. “Shadowfright could warp any earth pony, pegasi or unicorn with it's darkness, but only the Voidspark could corrupt the princesses. The Voidspark was more of a ‘thing’ than actually something sentient... so consumed in shadow it could not utter a single word. It just stared at me, stared right into me. It fed on my jealousy for my sister’s glorious light... that brought forth the darkness of the night that was Nightmare Moon.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve... never heard the story like that before.” Twilight said.

“No need to apologize. The darkness inside me lasted for one-thousand years; my big sister had no choice but to put me on the moon for that amount of time.” Luna said, she had come to terms with the past enough to talk about it.

“Could it be that the time you battled the creatures of Tartarus that part of you was locked inside the Gate with them? The battle was around the same time you became Nightmare Moon, right?”

“Possibly. Part of my psyche could be given a life of its own with powerful enough magic. Some do believe the Nightmare Forces were sealed in Tartarus and were trapped behind the current location of the Gate to Tartarus. But when the gate was sealed last time, it moved to directly beneath Ponyville. Others believed another even more powerful darkness brewed behind it. You think Nightmare Moon was locked away inside the Gate of Tartarus, or at least part of her? If so, she would never be released, never be seen again.”

“But I was told the gate would open...” Twilight paced up and down the room worryingly. Dark Plague had told her the future; Dark Plague had warned them all.

“It appears my sister has kept secrets from you.” Luna replied with thoughtful eyes. Luna knew about the prophecy of Tartarus reopening, even Dark Plague knew, but Celestia hadn’t told Twilight...

“Whatever is behind the gate, it reopening is not good news.” Luna said sorrowfully.

Twilight joined Luna to gaze out of the large window her home, the shining city of Ponyville could be seen on the horizon. It’s at that moment Twilight noticed the purple mist that emanated from the town. It curled up in the sky and poisoned the air.

“The gate is opening, right now!” Twilight suddenly outburst, “this is what Celestia warned me about. Oh I wish she would’ve been more specific rather than just giving me clues. But this means...” Twilight looked at Luna worried. “You sealed the Gate of Tartarus a thousand years ago and now the gate is opening again...” Twilight gasped.  

Could it be that the darkness behind the gate was really the Nightmare Forces? Whatever it was, it was about to unleashed on Ponyville from the inside and nopony knew the truth. This must be why Celestia told everypony to flee when the time came. Twilight thought and suddenly brushed past the princess. 

“I have to go back, the gate will open... the gate will open! Everypony is in danger. Thank you Luna, for telling me everything,” Twilight said and smiled before she slammed the door shut. 

Luna stood there in the empty house, she watched Twilight leave and felt her heart sink in her chest... that will be the last time I ever see you, Luna thought.





“How long have you known!” Rainbow Dash snarled in her bedroom. Doctor Whooves had just told her that he had kept this letter from her...

“Rainbow Dash... I was only trying to prote—”

“How long have you known!” She cut off the Doctor and stomped down her hoof.

“Two months... I’ve had the letter for nearly two months, okay? I didn’t mean to thought, I had to hide it from you.”

“I want some answers. I wrote this letter! But how did I write something down I don’t even remember writing?” Rainbow Dash jabbed the letter with her hoof as she shouted.

A standoff ensued, the Doctor gulped but then in a moment of madness, he torn up the letter with his hooves.

“Nooooo!” Rainbow Dash bolted forward and pounced upon the Doctor, she smashed his head against a wooden table; the force of the fall broke the table in half. Clearly disgusted Rainbow Dash and the Doctor snarled in each other faces. During their spout, Derpy simply bounced on the clouds outside and enjoyed how fluffy they were.

“I can’t tell you!” He retorted, pinned under Rainbow Dash.

“Why not?!” She held the Doctor by the neck, and pressed her hoof down onto it.

“Because it will, ack—” The Doctor choked on his words. Rainbow Dash soon let go and then stepped back from the stallion.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” Rainbow Dash looked at her own hooves. Doctor Whooves got up and straightened his green tie.

“Fine... I’ll tell you, it shouldn’t hurt. That letter is from the future, it’s from another time entirely. It slipped through into Equestria during the Edge of Forever incident, remember? That’s why you can’t remember writing it, because you haven’t written it yet. But you found it anyway after a certain pony thought it was mail...” The Doctor glared at Derpy outside.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to...” Derpy apologized and shrugged her shoulders.

“...and it wound up here when she got it mixed up with some invitations. I think the worst of it is over.”

“You had no right to hide it from me. But... the thing is. I did read it. All of it!”

“No Rainbow Dash, no! You’re making that link, you’re connecting two things which should have never of touched! You can’t remember, you just can’t, just let it go, forget about it or you'll put everypony in danger!”

“The letter said I had a sister,” Rainbow Dash remembered the note, it was a letter to Princess Celestia written by her and one other... but she remembered the letter was torn slightly so the other pony who wrote it with her is unknown. But the words it said, they sounded impossible...

“Brothers yes... but I’ve never had a sister!” Rainbow Dash sulked and closed her eyes to try and stop the tears. Emotions rushed through her head, the future? How is that even possible? 

Doctor Whooves had tried to hide that letter from her, and now she had read it, she remembered it.

Something from another time had made its way into Equestria. The link had being made... 





Slam! Slam! Slam!

“Ahhhh!” Fluttershy screamed and quivered behind the other ponies as they all backed away. Three massive slams had knocked on the other side of the gate. Something or somepony had banged on the door... from the inside. They wanted to escape. 

Tick... Tick... Tick...

The sound of cogs working and several mechanisms unlocking called from the metal monstrosity. Particles of dust fell from the top spikes as the gate screeched open slowly...

“Revenge!” A deep and powerful voice cackled from inside Tartarus. The darkness was trying to escape and called for... revenge?! All the ponies looked at one another, was the thing behind the gate a villain they’d already defeated? Nightmare Moon? Discord? King Sombra? All of their current whereabouts were unknown.

Abruptly and with a heavy jolt the gate stopped. It hadn’t opened enough for anypony to go in or out, but just enough for a huge torrent of mist to stream out and flood the cavern with a bountiful haze.

“Princess Celestia was right... we need to get out of heeerrree!” Rarity squealed and waved a hoof to displace the mist from her face.

“Perhaps y’all should... evacuate?” Applejack suggested and tried to hold her breath. Everypony galloped for the exit, and rushed back up the tunnel.

Ponyville had been placed in a perpetual twilight, neither sunlight nor starlight pierced the mist. Everypony tried their utmost not to inhale it. Everypony galloped in every direction. The mayor of Ponyville stood alongside the mysterious Ms. Hollow stood in the distance and tried to calm the situation, but even the mayor didn’t know what was happening.

“Madam Mayor, y’all need to evacuate Ponyville. Somethin’ really, really wrong is happenin’ in that there tunnel.” Applejack wryly explained to the mayor and pointed to the tunnel. The mayor wasted no time with a reply, instead Ms. Hollow passed the mayor a megaphone so she could shout across the town.

“Everypony listen, everypony gather round and listen. Do not panic! A state of emergency has been declared and we are evacuating Ponyville. You know the drill by now, please stay with your group and make your way calmly to Canterlot in an orderly fashion.” As the mayor spoke everypony got into their assigned groups and ran for the hills. 

“Cheerilee, take the fillies.” The mayor shouted through the megaphone and pointed to her.

“Of course.” Miss Cheerilee replied.

“Applejack!” Apple Bloom shouted as she and the Cutie Mark Crusaders rush to them.

“What’s goin’ on?” Apple Bloom looked up to her big sister, her eyes filled with fear.

“Apple Bloom, I need you to be really brave now and go with the mayor and Miss Cheerilee to Canterlot. Y’all be safe there.” Applejack ordered.

“But I don’t wanna go.” She protested.

“Apple Bloom this is serious, this ain’t a game no more.” Applejack said sternly.

“You too Sweetie Belle. Go with them and for goodness sake look after one another.” Rarity said to Sweetie Belle, they shared in a hug before splitting up.

“We won’t be far behind...” Fluttershy nudged them gently onwards.

Everypony headed for the exit, they closed the windows of their homes before leaving them and all their belongings behind. Everypony fled Ponyville: Lyra, Bon-Bon, Big Macintosh and Ms. Hollow. Even Sunny ‘Sky’ Rain the news reporter fled, she didn’t have time to make a news report this time, instead she just ran. All of them fled... to Canterlot!

Within minutes some of the school foals had gotten lost in the thick haze and the mass evacuation.

“We have to stay with the group.” Snips said as the fillies from the school pushed through the mist.

“Don’t be such a baby.” Diamond Tiara replied in slight detest.

“I can’t see a thing.” Pipsqueak grumbled next to Featherweight.

“Twist, watch out!” Silver Spoon shouted, a small part to a building collapsed right near her.  

“I can’t hold it.” Snails replied as both he and Snips combined their magic to try and hold up the wooden debris. Sweetie Belle grabbed Twist and dragged her out of the way, just in time.

Crash!

“Thanks Sweetie Belle,” Twist snorted.

“The mist... it’s eating the wood?!” Apple Bloom looked at the building, whatever the mist touched slowly rotted away and dissolve.

“C’mon lets go.” Scootaloo lead all the foals away, back to Cheerilee and the other groups.

“Come along now fillies. Stay together.” Cheerilee gathered all the foals together. Apple Bloom could hear the sputtering fear in her teacher’s voice... this was really bad.

During the evacuation, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie checked every home. They checked in trees and behind buildings, they had to make sure that Ponyville was fully evacuated.

“Clear.” Rarity cried out first.

“Um... clear.” Fluttershy’s reply was barely audible.

“Clear as a whistle... or is that clean as a whistle?” Pinkie Pie confused herself.

“Alrighty then, everypony is out.” Applejack confirmed.

“Everyponies gone. It’s kinda creepy though... and sad too...” Pinkie Pie said as she gazed at the empty town.

“We’ll make our final stand at Canterlot... if it comes to that.” Rarity commanded.

The four friends galloped out of the town.

Ponyville was abandoned.





Celestia and Luna stood in the royal palace. They were surrounded with guards, including Drone, who assisted the princesses in putting on their reinforced armour. Celestia armour was golden and shone like the sun while Luna’s armour was silvery and darker.

“We were prepared for this day... dear sister,” Celestia said as a golden helmet was placed over her head. “I have ruled for nine-hundred and ninety-nine years. But this is the day Equestria will change forever.”

“Did it have to happen so soon?” Luna replied with worry as a silver plated breast piece was placed clipped around her front.

“We both fear it... and we both knew there was no stopping it.” Celestia regretted.

As the guards charged away. Celestia stopped the portly one...

“Drone was it?” Celestia stopped the royal guard.

“Y-yes, your highness. Did I not place the armour as instructed?” Drone gave a paranoid glance.

“No formalities, not tonight. Do you have a family Drone?” Celestia looked directly at him.

“Yes... but... why do you ask?” He said nervously.

“Do not be here tonight... when it happens. Take your family away to somewhere peaceful. A holiday perhaps, far away from the capital city. You have my permission.”

“Tonight... what’s going to happen? Why are you preparing for battle?!” Drone said with a profound fear.

“The gate will open.” Celestia answered, turned to Luna and gave a look of worry for her in particular.

Drone galloped off to his family and left the two sisters alone...

Luna wrapped her wings around her sister, “what if it gets me... gets us?”

Celestia held her sister in a tight hug.

“Then it will be up to them.”





Crackle!

It was a sad sight indeed to see Ponyville deserted like a ghost town. Only the purple mist remained, eating away at the cottages which rotted to the touch. It was moments after the evacuation that the intrepid Twilight entered the ghost town.

“Hellooo?” Twilight shouted, her voice echoed in the town.

“Annnyyppooonnyy?!” Twilight decided to explore the source of the mist. There was single tunnel leading underground. Through the torch-lit passageway she arrived in the grotto.

“No... I’m too late...” She gulped. There the evil gate to Tartarus towered over her. It’s metal-red doors made her feel uneasy and reminded her of the fire that is said to hide behind them. It stood taller than any gate she had ever seen.

Tick... Tick... Tick...

The gate unlocked. Huge metal locks churned from with the iron, the magical mechanics inside the gate, cogs and various metal rods could be heard moving within from top to bottom... It was opening, right now. Twilight held her breath...

‘There is a vast well of darkness hidden underneath Ponyville.’
‘The gate will open... for you.’
‘These words in sombre colour I beheld, written upon the summit of a gate...’
‘In the future I can see the blackest of darkness’s... one born from the moon, one ponies have faced before; returning to vanquish all past sins.’
‘Indeed, the oldest adversary of all ponies... is returning.’

...ZZZRRRRRGGGG!

A loud screech followed as the gate opened. The chains that covered the front of the gate suddenly snapped in half and crashed to the ground. Sparks exploded from the metal. Twilight had to move back as the two red iron doors swung outward. They opened fully this time. Hell had opened and Twilight saw a glance into the underworld itself...

It sounded like anvils were been smashed against each other, fire and lava covered most the interior and various screams of the monstrous creatures inside rang loud in her ears. The purple mist covered most of the hellish view. Red clouds swirled with fire in a maelstrom of burning rage. Twilight stood frozen; she heard the sound... of hooves. It was followed closely by the faint beating of a heart could be heard, was it her own heart? No, it is coming from within...

Then something emerged. Something from hell itself...

That was emerged from the gate was a creature, the creature from beyond her own nightmares. It was a half-horse centaur. His upper body was that of a demon that had red skin. Black hair surrounded his face and accumulated to a long beard that hung down from his chin. Two devil horns sprung from the top of his head, he wore spiked metal armour on its wrists and across its chest. His eyes were completely black; they had no pupils, no irises.  The centaur marched out into the grotto and inhaled the purple mist. Two muscular arms outstretched from his body, five clawed fingers were on each. He stood nearly twice the height of Twilight Sparkle and towered over her with a low growl. It stopped infront of the swirling hell of the underworld as the gate remained open... 

“Raaaawwwrraaaahhhhhhh!” He bellowed from the bottom of its lungs and absorbed his newly-found freedom. 

“W-w-who are you... what are you?” Twilight glared up at the large centaur, she was too fearful to even prepare her magic...

“I... am Tirek.” The demon bellowed, his voice was old and mournful. He snorted purple mist from his nose like a dragon would. As Twilight backed away she noticed a black satchel around Tirek’s neck. The satchel pumped like a beating heart would, something was alive inside it.

“W-well, I’m not going to let you hurt my friends, or Ponyville, or Equestria!” Twilight stood in a defensive position, powerful magic surrounded her horn. Tirek darkened eyes stared down at Twilight before, he suddenly burst into fits of laughter.

“Equestria?! So that’s that you call it now. Interesting. Gone then are the days of Ponyland.”

“P-Ponyland... but that’s just an old p-ponies’ tale. To scare bad fillies.” Twilight replied.

“No, it is not.” Tirek said with a grin and presented himself.

Ponyland was said to be a world unlike Equestria which stood in its place nearly two-thousand years ago. Twilight never believed such a place existed.

“Did you not follow the signs; did you not have the nightmares? Oh little ponies, your nightmares have barely begun,” Tirek stepped his massive black hoof forward. Twilight's horn glittered with arcane energies and gathered power, she was going to strike!

“This world shall bow down to a new sovereign... behold the rainbow of darkness!” Tirek bellowed and opened the heart-beating satchel around his neck.

All Twilight saw next was the emptiness of the dark. Something pushed on her from all sides and crushed her body, it made her very bones creak. Her hooves were off the ground, she knew that much, she flailed all four of them but only sank lower. Her body shook violently in pain and the more she struggled the more disorientated she felt. It was pure darkness... it was the rainbow of darkness; it had gotten her before she even had time to think. Nothing made sense anymore.

WRROOOOSSSHHH!

She couldn’t fight it anymore... she gave in.

“Ahhhhhhh!” Twilight roared in pain. The roar wasn’t her own voice; it was that of a beast. Two ivory horns stretched out from her lower lip. Her fur changed colour and peeled back magically to reveal purple scales. Two torn wings perturbed out of her back and a long dragon-tail twisted out from her flank. Her whole body burnt with pain...

Her cutie mark had inverted colours; it was like the darkness had poisoned her true purpose. She had transformed in a beast known only as a Dragonmare. She couldn’t even speak anymore, only beastly roars of pain emitted from her maw. Any sign of the old steadfast Twilight was dead, her actions were no longer her own.

“You belong to the darkness now.” Tirek said. The rainbow of darkness departed from the Dragonmare’s scaly body and streamed through the grotto. It headed straight for the ceiling of the grotto. 

Boom!

The rainbow of darkness crashed through the roof of the grotto and created an enormous crater into Ponyville above. The rainbow of darkness twisted wildly in the hazy sky above, it had a life of its own. It was a sentient darkness; it could see where it was and move out of the way of buildings, it could detect any life other than that of darkness.

Tirek mounted his newly-created Dragonmare, the monster that used to be the enigmatic Twilight. He detached a spiked whip which was attached to the plates of onyx armour around his front. It was a whip made from the tails of his enemies. The Dragonmare took flight, it flapped it massive bat-like wings and ascended up through the crater and into the sky above Ponyville. Flying up into the world above the canopy of purple mist. Tirek got his first look at the new world below him.

“This world...” he said with a hint of confusion and looked all around him. Everything had changed, the world had change. Many cities sparkled with life in them, grasslands filled the horizon and the golden city of Canterlot was sprawled out in the sky. It was a world unlike his; this was a brighter world, filled of values and friendship. However it was a land still filled with the creatures Tirek hated the most... ponies. The hatred that filled the core of Tirek’s heart had never existed in Equestria until now.

The rainbow of darkness twisted through the air and streamed back into the satchel around Tirek’s neck. Once inside, the satchel pumped like a heart.

“This world of boiling life and false hope... this world will be mine.” Tirek said to himself and held both his arms up into the air. He grinned with greed. He brought his whip down to strike the Dragonmare. He rode upon the beasts back towards Canterlot, with great hatred in his eyes.





Canterlot was under siege...

The rainbow of darkness swarmed through the crowded city streets like flowing water; it found every nook and cranny, every hiding filly and foal. It flowed down the streets until there was nothing left but fire. It covered Gemini Street and spun around slowly as it coursed through the enclosed city streets. All the lanterns went out and eventually exploded when it flew past. It blasted through windows and invaded houses.

The royal guards were the first to be transformed in Dragonmare’s. Their petty attempts to stop it were futile; their golden spears flew straight through the darkness and got wedged into the buildings at the other side. All the inhabitants of Ponyville gathered together in a group, scared and cornered as the rainbow spun around them.

Tirek descended from above. The Dragonmare landed with a heavy thud and indented the pathway with its claws.

“We can take em’” Lyra Heartstrings shouted out.

“Let’s do this!” Another raged.  

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh replied.

“Stay together fillies,” Miss Cheerilee huddle together the school foals and hugged them tightly.

The inhabitants of Ponyville charged forward with battle cries, and rose up against the Dragonmare’s.

“Stand back!” Applejack kicked on the Dragonmare’s in the jaw with her back hooves. The Dragonmare roared in pain but then used it’s long tail to sweep under Applejack and knock her over.

Rarity used her magic to attack, and cast as she as she could. The Dragonmare’s scales were tough, but not impenetrable.

Pinkie Pie used the party cannon and blasted a bunch of confetti into the Dragonmare’s face. It didn’t even flinch.

“Alright, time for plan b!” Pinkie Pie said to its face and turned around to run.

Canterlot had turned into a battlefield.

Tirek ignored the disturbance rebellion and walked through the explosion around him. He walked up the stairs to the royal palace. Drone, the loyal guard stood with a spear despite the princesses warnings. Tirek grabbed Drone by the head and the guard flailed his hooves around until Tirek flung him away with like a rag doll. Tirek jolted both his hands forward.

Crash!

He tore through the wooden gate with his bare hands. It smashed into pieces as Tirek broke his way into the royal palace. As the sounds of battle raged outside, the centaur calmly trotted to the museum. It was devoid of all life but they were many glass displays of artifacts, one was labelled: ‘The Krosis Stone’ but had nothing displayed on the stone plinth, another taller display was also empty and was labelled for: ‘The Trident of the Ocean’. Tirek headed straight for the gauntlet at the back of the museum.

“Hello, old friend.” Tirek smashed his fist through the display glass and took the Left Hand of Hades. Made from hardened onyx, the Left Hand of Hades had five fingers and a magical eye etched onto the palm. The alarms of the museum rang loud and white smoke filled the museum. Tirek placed the Left Hand of Hades upon his hand like a glove; it fit perfectly, his clawed fingers fit into the five slots. The eye etched onto the palm of the gauntlet magically opened and glowed with purple arcane energy. The Left Hand of Hades belonged to Tirek all along.





It was quiet inside the royal chamber. Celestia and Luna were stood and concentrated together. They were channeling all their magical ability and had prepared themselves for the fight ahead. They blocked-out the explosions and faraway sounds of the battle outside. Celestia breathed calmly. The alarm of the museum suddenly rang loud beneath their hooves. He was here.

“When he arrives sister, do not hesitate to kill him.” Celestia said calmly and took a deep sigh. Such words did not suit Celestia and she knew it. Princess Luna looked more distressed then her sister and felt physically unnerved. Was such a villain so powerful that Celestia was killing to take its life without hesitation? Luna opened her eyes and stared at the doors to the royal chamber. Anything could smash through them, and she would have to fight it. Luna prayed as they waited.  

Crash!

The royal doors exploded into wood chippings and smoke filled one half of the royal chamber. As the smoke cleared, Tirek was stood with the Left Hand of Hades outstretched. It had been fired several times and smoke rose from the palm of the relic. 

Tirek emerged out in the royal chamber.

Celestia suddenly broke her calm aura and jolted forward to attack. Several sharp bolts of magic shot at Tirek. He lifted up the Left Hand of Hades and the bolts of magic exploded on the palm of the gauntlet. The onyx nullified the magic, but the force of the attack caused Tirek to slide back a few paces.

The eye on the center of the palm opened to retaliate It was deflected in the side-wall by Celestia without any hassle.

Luna ran forward and sent several spinning menial neon disks at Tirek. The centaur swiveled his body from side to side to avoid them, one the disks spun past his face and chopped part of his long beard off. The disks that missed him exploded on the far wall with a hail of debris and rubble.

Boom!

Rubble exploded in the royal chamber, Tirek lifted his arms into the air and with them all the stones did too. He rotated them around himself before shooting them forward like missile.

As the stones flew past Luna formed a lasso from her horn. Several of the stones hit Celestia in the face exploding into dust as they did. One of the larger stones hit with such power it caused Celestia to stumble back, her golden helmet was flung from her head and clattered against the floor. Blood coursed down her cheek.

Luna’s lasso formed around Tirek’s wrist, with two flicks of her horn Tirek was sent flying into the wall and then into the ceiling. Tirek bit down on the magic lasso which flared up in his mouth. The magic snapped like a rope and many Tirek’s teeth caps exploded from his mouth. His teeth looked like daggers now.

Celestia got up and shot a constant yellow beam at Tirek. The magic streamed through his body and burnt much of his face and skin. He squinted his eyes from the brightness of Celestia’s magic.

“Ahhh-rrraaawwwhh!” He roared in pain. The magic pushed back against his arms and his skin slowly dissolved. He used all his strength to push against the beam and raise the gauntlet. Magic gathered in the Left Hand of Hades, the flames burnt so powerful it melted the onyx metal around it. With a final jolt, the magic was shot.

“Sister!” Luna jumped in front of the magic, it hit with such power that her body changed course midair. Luna crashed through the throne and rolled down the steps to the chamber floor.

Tirek then fell to his knees and had to use all his strength to stop himself from collapsing. He hung his head low and took several beastly breaths.

“Tirek. Stop this at once! You cannot stop the light.” Celestia stood forward bravely. he approached the demon. Her voice croaked with a sprinkle of fear. Her horn shone with yellow magic and she pointed her horn down at Tirek.

“Then why can I can see the fear in your eyes?” Tirek had to spit out blood he spoke.

Luna lay defeated in the rubble of the throne. She groaned, her body had given up. She could only watch from the far side of the chamber.

Celestia was about to deal the killing blow. Her eyes closed, her horn bubbled with purple and black dark magic. Streams of purple burnt out of the corners of her eyes. Her eyes dilated to a neon green colour. It was a spell to kill. She lowered her horn to strike, but Tirek grabbed her horn with the Left Hand of Hand. Soon after both of them shook violently from the sheer amount of power flowing through their powers. A surge of dark magic coursed through both their veins. They both shared equal pain.

“You have to let it go or it will... kill us both. Gah!” Tirek tensed his body up from the pain.

“A sacrifice... I am willing... to make.” Celestia replied and used all her power to hold the spell. She knew she had to either redirect the magic or kill them both. Her body shook against her will, it was being invaded by dark magic, it used her veins to travel through her magic and slowly took her over.

“Then allow me,” Tirek said and raised both his head and right arm, his long clawed finger pointed outward. He was going to redirect the darkness himself. Celestia’s eyes followed the length of his arm. All the magic surged to his fingertip as the entire dark spell shot out of both their bodies...

It headed straight for Luna.

“Nooooo!” Celestia shouted and swivelled round; she intercepted the stream of dark magic halfway and took the full brunt of her own killing spell.

White feathers filled the royal chamber. Celestia’s lifeless and limp body collapsed across the floor...

“Get up... please get back up,” Luna whimpered to herself and watched Celestia. She didn’t move, every second felt like a hour. Celestia’s soft body tensed up as it flashed with a final flair of dark lightning.

Celestia grunted in pain, on the edge of life...

Tirek was injured also. He limped forward, one of his hooves was cracked, his teeth were now like daggers from the lasso spell and his red skin was burnt in several places.

“Urg... your love for eachother was your own undoing. Heh-haha...” Tirek laughed the pain off.

“W-what do you want from us?!” Princess Luna snarled at Tirek from rubble.

“Tirek!” Celestia suddenly shouted from the floor, “everything you did and everything you saw, the world has changed... everything has changed since those days. Why can’t you?!” Celestia screamed. 

“Your time here is at an end, for I have something you both fear: the stormbow of darkness, the rainbow opposite to that of your light.” Tirek said, despite all this fighting he had still yet to use his ultimate power, the rainbow of darkness.

“No... no... NO! It was destroyed!” Celestia grunted, “it was destroyed in the war.”

“No, it survived,” Tirek grinned. “Does it frighten you to know I hold the only power of darkness capable of making you both mortal.”

“But that’s impossible isn’t it, sister?” Luna looked at Celestia with a look of pure fear. Celestia knew the gate would open and she knew he was behind it. Did she know this demon?

Celestia refused to reply and gathered her energy to stand. Her hooves wobbled as she stood.

“But enough of these cheap tricks.” Tirek growled. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

“The rainbow of darkness the darkness sends, now begin the night... that never ends!”  

The ground shook, the entire royal palace shook... it was here.

When Tirek opened his eyes again, he was ginning. 

WRROOOOSSSHHH!

The rainbow of darkness sped through the royal doors. It caused turbulence as it exploded through the chamber. It headed for the two princesses with unmatched speed.

Celestia teleported to Luna and put up a magical dome around them both. The rainbow of darkness crashed into the barrier with such power and velocity. The beast didn’t let up; it kept pushing against the barrier with the same speed and power.

Celestia couldn’t hold it, her magic flickered. The barrier cracked like glass and through the seams the rainbow seeped through. Like fingers the darkness they clawed at Celestia’s face. It drew blood, but Celestia tried with all her magical ability to hold her concentration. She had nothing left.

They had lost.

Tirek pouted, but he felt nothing. “Vale Luna. Vale Sol,” he chanted under his breath.

Knowing all hope was lost, Princess Luna gazed up at her big sister with saddened eyes. What do say when all hope is lost? What would your final words be?

“I love you, big sister.” Luna said with a tear and looked at her sister for possibly the last time...

The barrier shattered. The chamber exploded into flame. Tirek shielded his eyes.

The sheer shock wave of the attack caused all the stained-glass windows in the royal palace to shatter. Thousands of colourful shards of glass exploded outward. All of the windows of Twilight and her friends stopping Nightmare Moon, defeated Discord and Dark Plague. All those memories were gone... shattered.

When the smoke cleared, both princesses were gone, only two dark ash piles in the shape of their cutie marks remained where they once stood.

Out in the black cosmos of space: Equestria was pulled out of orbit and rotation. The sun and the moon orbited into a perfect alignment. In the sky of Equestria, the sun and moon unnaturally aligned into a lunar eclipse. A wave of dark night cast it way across Equestria, from every town to Fillydelphia to Las Pegasus. The moon turned blood-red and the sky quaked. It was a lunar eclipse, something that only happened when both princesses were trapped in their celestial bodies. They had been banished, and because of their absence the sun and moon were free.

Equestria shook with earthquakes from the unnatural alignment. It felt as if the entire world groaned in pain.

Tirek frowned without remorse, he gazed out of the empty window frame to see the darkness cast across the world.

“Tempus tuum finitum est. My revenge on your ancestors is nearing completion. The reign of darkness can begin.” Tirek limped up the stairs, he crunched the stained-glass under hoof as he approached the throne. He turned and with a deep breath sat in the ruined throne. His throne. He laughed at the top of his lungs...

“Now, nothing can stop me. Nothing... and no ppooonnyy! Aaaa-hahahaha!”





Rainbow Dash marched over a mound, a single ray of remaining light that emanated behind her. Perhaps now the only saviour to all of Equestria. Stood behind her were Doctor Whooves and Derpy. The wind blew through their manes as they stood united on the hilltop and could only watch the devastation below with courageous faces. The light behind them faded as the wave of darkness from the lunar eclipse encircled Equestria. 

Kkzzz — Clash!

Blood-red tornadoes formed and enraged all along the horizon line. One such tornado formed within the borders of Ponyville. The schoolhouse was torn to pieces; the walls and all the wooden desks shattered by the force of the wind. Wooden slabs and splinters were shot in every direction out of the torrent of wind. The school bell rang it’s last as it was flung through the air and smashed through a series of cottages as a missile dropped from above.

The beastly Dragonmare’s spun through the air like vultures, their long dragon-tails curled like snakes as they flew. They used to be ponies that were happy and free; now they were warped into monsters and destroyed the world they once loved.

The ground quaked again; Rainbow Dash bent her knees to remain standing. She watched as the lunar eclipse formed in the sky right before her eyes. As the moon moved into the alignment, the silhouette of the mare in the moon appeared on it, while a different silhouette appeared within the solar flares of sun. As the alignment completed, the sun and moon froze in the sky and were locked within the blackness of space.

It felt like Equestria mourned, like the planet itself was alive and felt the pain of what had happened.

Through the destruction Rainbow Dash looked to see a single sheet of brown paper that fluttered through the wind... a remainder of the schoolhouse perhaps? It was plain and thus, in the moment, Rainbow Dash decided to write her thoughts:








‘Please! If you’re reading this, you must flee. Equestria isn’t safe anymore. Just run, please, just get out of here. The gate opened... and out poured the darkness. We never stood a chance; we should’ve heeded the signs! From Fillydelphia to Las Pegasus, the sun is dim.

It was because of me that all my friends met, and now it’s because of me that they’re all gone. My friends, my best friends, even the princesses. I know it’s all my fault, I brought it here... the darkness came here through me!

This may be the last thing I ever write down. I’m going to die soon, I just know I am... I wanted to write down my last thoughts. So just know that I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry.

Goodbye.’

Signed,

~ Rainbow Dash.


Celestia and Luna were gone, her friends would surely be turned into Dragonmare’s and the Elements of Harmony were useless without them. Canterlot was in flames from top to bottom. It had all gone so wrong.

Rainbow Dash clutched the note as if all her determination was poised in that one grasp. It is her fault; she read the letter, the letter she had forgotten. She made that link, she read something from another time and opened the gate.

“It’s my fault...” She wept. Her tears splashed again the brown parchment.

Doctor Whooves and Derpy marched up the hilltop overlooking Ponyville, now scorched ruins; they stand either side of Rainbow Dash to consult her.

Vrrroooaaaaaa...

A deafening groan called out across Equestria, it sounded like a deep horn. It came from everywhere, the sea, sky and even from the land, it surrounded them with inescapable sound.

“The Groan.” Doctor Whooves named it. “I’ve only ever heard it three times... this being the fourth. It only happens when something cataclysmic has happened, something so disastrous that the world itself feels its own pain. The Groan... it’s like the entire world is suffering and the only way it can portray that suffering is by groaning. This is what I saw during the incident when the Edge of Forever healed. This was the future.” Doctor Whooves said with a defeated sigh, “I can’t believe we couldn’t change it... we just made it happen even more...”

"It's Tirek, isn't it?" Rainbow Dash said. 

"Yes, last time he was just a scavenger, feeding on pony magic to power himself... this time I fear he has some other source, this is Tirek at his fullest power," the Doctor retorted. "Listen, Tirek hasn't just escaped from Tartarus, he's taken over Tartarus. He's banded together an army of creatures and they're heading straight for Equestria, right now,  if they escape via the Gate and cross over into our realm... it's all over."

“What now, Rainbow Dash?” Derpy looked at her... her voice croaked up as she spoke, she had been crying as well.

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen now.” Rainbow Dash replied, “the Gate... we have to stop it. But I don’t know where to start... how can we stop all this? I don’t know what to do!” Rainbow Dash shouted under a flow of tears. 

“Scootaloo.” Derpy spoke simple, but with great importance.

Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes... then it hit her.

“Of course!” Rainbow Dash's face lit-up. “Derpy you’re a genius! Rainbow Dash flew and swooped up Derpy to hold her in the air. The tears were all gone.

“I remember the riddle! Discord told us all about this in his riddle.” Rainbow Dash remembered back:


‘When darkness falls and dragons rise,
that day will be Equestria’s demise.
Unless your friends are recovered,
from a castle yet to be discovered.’ 


“It’s the castle, the castle Scootaloo discovered on the edge of the Everfree Forest! She told me about it, well... she told everypony about it: ‘the dark castle with an actual ghost’. The dragons, the darkness. It’s all happening right now and it all leads to that castle. We have to go there.”

Rainbow Dash remembered back to when the Cutie Mark Crusaders split up. Scootaloo found a dark and pointed castle. Discord had helped them afterall... Rainbow Dash had to save her friends, and now she knew they were in the castle.

Rainbow Dash’s gave a look of pure determination. With her unlikely company, Doctor Whooves and Derpy, she set off on a journey like no other in Equestria, to save the entire world and stop the dark centaur from the past.





Tirek sat in his newly-claimed kingdom of dust and darkness...

“Bring them in!” Tirek said and waved a hand. Suddenly two Dragonmare’s lead in Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy who covered behind the rest. Pinkie Pie merrily bounced up and down as she entered.

As everypony entered they saw that the royal chamber had faced the brunt of a great battle. Stained-glass pieces of the windows covered the floor and only holes remained where the windows once were. The banners and flags which hung high in the room were torn at the ends, they blew in the gentle wind. They were several cracks in the cobblestone and several more dents in the ceiling.

“Now... you will bow, BOW!” Tirek waved his The Left Hand of Hades and suddenly everypony was surrounded with black magic and compelled to bow against their will. They all struggled against it, but they had no choice, they both bowed to the centaur.

“So, you’re the ones who are resisting.” Tirek stroked his beard as he spoke.

“An’ we’ll keep doing so until yer gone!” Applejack replied and struggled in the grip of magic.

“Don’t you see little ponies? Pony-ruled Equestria ends today.”

“Little purdy?” Applejack misheard him.

“Purdy?!” Rarity repeated confusingly.

“Purdy!” Pinkie Pie jumped, she liked sound of it.

“Yay?” Fluttershy finished.

“NO! Siiiilence!” Tirek stomped his forehoof and smashed the stone floor. All the ponies stood silently. “I said pony. Not purdy.”

“Ohhh...” they all gawp.

Tirek rubbed his forehead from a migraine.

“Hole on a second... that’s the Left Hand of Hades!” Pinkie Pie said dramatically and pointed a hoof out.

Tirek held it up to display, “with this gauntlet I have control of every feral creature this world has to offer.”

“What?!” Everypony shouted in accord.

“As we speak, an army of creatures once sealed in the gate are about to be released from Tartarus. The gate remains open and all those creatures trapped inside will soon break out into Equestria. They’ll destroy the ponies that placed them there in the first place. The underworld army will rise, and your world will fall.” Tirek laughed heartlessly. “Not even your princesses can come along to save you now.”

That’s when everypony noticed the princesses were strangely absent.

“What have you dun’ with the Princesses?!” Applejack suddenly shouted, steadfast as always and very, very angry. She stepped forward to face the demon.

“Oh they’re still here. Even I don’t have enough power to kill them. They’re just sealed in the sun and the moon. Sealed... forever.” Tirek said and admired the Left Hand of Hades.

“Foreeever?!” Pinkie Pie eyed up the centaur. His whole aura spelt ‘evil’.

“Ahh, the funny one, there’s always one in every generation. So full of life are you not?!” Tirek said at Pinkie with sarcasm, his smile then turned into a frown.

“Turn them all into Dragonmare’s!” He demanded and pushed forward the Left Hand of Hades. Re chains magically formed around their hooves. Everyponies eyes widened, the Dragonmare’s grabbed them again and dragged them away.

“You monster! Leave, them, alone!” Fluttershy suddenly outburst, not just to the surprise of Tirek, but to the surprise of her friends as well. Her voice echoed through the royal palace. “Heh-heh... please?” Fluttershy suddenly meek again and regretted speaking out. Her outburst had bought them more time, but hadn't changed their fate.

“Ah... you! Strange, you remind me of a pony who looks exactly like you. I can see her in your eyes. Her name was Rosedust. You’re yet to know who she really is; I can read that much from your expression. You’ll find one day that exists in all the generations. One day you will know.” He warned them and looked around at the ruined royal chambers...

“This world is so different. Oh, centuries past... when Ponyland—”

“Ponyland?! Oh no, now come now, Ponyland was just a myth...” Rarity soon interrupted his rant with self-assurance.

“Oh really?” Tirek waved the Left Hand of Hades and a misty portal formed the royal chamber, it showed images of the distant past.

“I was there...” Tirek explained...

As the mirror image shows a large beautiful valley. But the valley was on fire, trees burnt alive, birds and animals scurried away. Thick black smoke hurled into the sky as many ponies ran in all direction in a blind panic. A pegasus with a pink body and a light-blue mane and a cutie mark of two streaks of lightning looked at the sky with a saddened face as the Dragonmare’s descended around her. The pony in the image stood firm and ready to fight. Multiple flames quickly covered the mirror image...

“ ...when Ponyland fell.”





A thunderclap rumbled the sky in a violent quake. The climate had gone haywire now Equestria was out of orbit. Without the pegasi to clear and control the clouds, storms ran rampant across the world.

Derpy hung onto a thick tree trunk as a heavy wind blew past. Rainbow Dash flew up alongside her.

“Derpy...” Rainbow Dash looked at her with a frown and crossed hooves.

“Wheeee,” Derpy swung in the tree enjoying herself, she only pretended to be blown in the wind, which actually wasn’t that strong considering the climate.

“She clueless,” Doctor Whooves joked.

The trio had stopped at the edge of the Everfree Forest.

On a normal day the forest was spooky, but now the forest was darker than it’s ever been before. The dead trees created a canopy which blocked out any remaining light. The trees whispered and had twisted and deformed faces etched on their trunks. Even a red haze now covered the undergrowth like a pool of blood. It was the forest turned into hell...

Doctor Whooves and Derpy formed a line and Rainbow Dash paced up and down across them.

“Alright. We’re about to face unparalleled danger. There could be monsters behind every rock, threats around every corner.” Rainbow Dash said. The trio would have to work together to stay alive and find their friends. Rainbow Dash turned back see what she had to work with, “we have a Time Lord, the last of his kind, one of the fastest pegasus’ in Equestria. Aaaand... Derpy.”  

“Sir. Derp reporting for duty.” Derpy saluted and hit herself in the face as she did. “Hey! Waaaiiit a minute... I have special talents too you know?” Derpy said and snorted a bubble out of her nose.

Pop!

“Ewwww... Derpy, c’mon! The fate of all Equestria is at stake here. So not cool.” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. Rainbow Dash turned to face the Everfree Forest and gulped. She flew forward first, then Doctor Whooves who followed, Derpy was last as she cowered from the terrifying trees. 

Usually a forest would be chirping with the cries of life from insects and the occasional hoot of an owl. But no today, now the forest was silent, only a whisper could be heard as the wind that bristled through the trees.

A rattlesnake scurried through the undergrowth. Rainbow Dash cut through the bushes and trees until she reached a field of thorns. Huge thorns which curled up to hide in sunlight. Everypony carefully transcended through the field, they were remarkably flexible and easily outmanoeuvred the thorns.

They passed through the rambling rock ridge and emerged to the sound of waves. They arrived on a beach of grey sand. They had arrived in an enormous circular valley cut off by mountains on all sides. A huge lake filled with salt-water covered the middle. The lake had its own tide and the wave’s crashed upon the pointed rocks which surrounded the castle.

“Midnight Castle, as I live and breathe.” The Doctor said. “Sometimes called the castle of twelve, home to the dark centaur who warped it into existence from a baobab tree with the stormbow of darkness. They say the castle was forged from the blackest nightmares of ponies collected by the rainbow itself. The stormbow of darkness... the corrupt monster that turned a tree into a castle, a king into a beast and it turned butterflies into dragons. I fear it even now.”

Midnight Castle was made of dark onyx which never reflected the light. Each tower of the castle was pointed and looked like changelings horns, most of them were distorted. A thunderstorm crackled in a maelstrom around the tallest tower.

“It must have remained undiscovered for so long being surrounded by ridges on all sides. Still, here it is... lurking in the blackest wells of midnight, lost to time.” Doctor Whooves explained.

Rainbow Dash gave a concerned look, he certainly knew a lot about this castle, considering it was only discovered around a week ago. He knew too much, he must have seen it before somewhere.

Rainbow Dash took flight and Derpy grabbed Doctor Whooves to fly him over the lake. The Doctor frowned and folded his hooves as he was carried upside down.

The trio landed on a large pair of steps that descended into the water. The steps had sunk into the water after so many years of rejection.

Derpy shook her fur off of the water and it splashed everywhere.

The entrance was a tall gate; everypony had to stretch their necks to see the top of it. It had a doorknob of a roaring Manticore head. The onyx gate had a message etched above it:





The message was upside down, the letters were backwards and the words were in reverse order. Rainbow Dash worked out that it read ‘Midnight Castle’.

Doctor Whooves pushed against the doors, they opened with a clash.

“Whoa...” Rainbow Dash commented as her voice echoed across the entrance halls.

Impressive and decorative pillars held up the structure, they were several green and purple stained-glass windows with images of demons.

The doors slammed behind them and startled all but Rainbow Dash who strode forward. She had to find her friends; she had to save the world. Nothing could stop her resolve now.

“This onyx was hewn from the abyssal darkness of Tartarus itself...” the Doctor analysed the wall and ran his hoof along it, the onyx was smooth to the touch.

But before the trio could enter the castle proper, Derpy stepped on something, a tiny trigger button which rose out of the floor. Derpy gazed down...

Click!

“Aahhhhh!” A trapdoor swung open at their hooves. The fall was short and both Rainbow Dash and Doctor Whooves fell onto a soft bed of hay and Derpy fell on top of them.

“Uff! Derpy... you’re sat on my... face!” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“Oops. Sowwie.” Derpy tittered and hovered upwards. The trap door in the ceiling closed behind them, sealing them in the lower dungeons. There was no turning back...  

The Doctor scanned the dungeon and ran a hoof through his mane before he spoke. “Oh no... the lower levels. This place must be full of traps and puzzles, especially down here in the dungeons. Rainbow Dash look out!”

Slice!

“Agghhh!” Rainbow Dash fell to the floor in pain. She stepped on a golden amulet which latched itself onto her hoof, it was inlay with several needles which now pierced inside her skin. She tried desperately to shake the amulet off and even broke a sweat. She smashed it against the onyx floor with all her strength, it didn’t even dent. “What is this thing?!” She shouted.

“Let me have a look... stop... stop, stop squirming,” the Doctor tried to get her to stop. Eventually she stopped and he took a look at it. It was covered in hieroglyphs. The amulet had several pumps inside it which were working and pumping some sort of red liquid.

“Oh Rainbow Dash... I’m so sorry... you’ve stumbled upon the worst trap of them all.” The Doctor said. Rainbow Dash knew she was in trouble, his face said it all...

“It’s a Scarab. They were used in the war. It’s deadly. It latches on to ones hoof and gradually converts their blood into water. Those pumps you see inside the layers of the amulet, they’re working already. It’s immovable. There’s no way of taking it off... other than to lose the limb.”

“Convert my blood to water? What?! Damn it! No! Not like this!” Rainbow Dash shouted in remorse and continued to smash it against the wall in a blind rage. She achieved more in smashing the wall than the amulet itself. She looked more contempt than ever before in her tear-filled rage.

“How long?” She shouted to the Doctor.

“Before you die? I’d say less than an hour.” He responded bluntly.

“I knew it, I knew I was gonna die, I just knew it.” Rainbow Dash tried to show no emotion, but really she could feel the needles inside her skin... she could feel her blood being sucked from her body, it felt horrible. She didn’t cry, this was no time for self-pity, she thought. She didn’t want to fail; especially now the stake couldn’t be higher. This was her fault, she couldn’t let everypony down.  

“Nopony is going to die today, I promise you that.” The Doctor said like he had control of life and death itself.

“You’ll be okay, Rainbow Dash! I’ve been in worse... like this one time I ate a poisonous muffin–”

“Not now, Derpy.” Rainbow Dash interrupted her and walked off down a corridor of darkness.

Doctor Whooves came up alongside Derpy.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine... I hope.” The Doctor said to her as they watched Rainbow Dash walk off.

“Wait for us, Rainbow Dash!” Derpy’s voice echoed through the tall halls. 





A dozen pendulums swung from the high ceiling, on the end of edge, a wide blade which could cut through bone. They were six blades in total and they all swung in time to a rhythm of twelve. Growing along the metal poles that sustained them they were thorns which stopped anypony from flying above the blades. They were large drainpipes in the sides of the walls.

“As long as we time it right, we should avoid them,” Rainbow Dash said and watched the swinging guillotine for a pattern in their movement. She jolted forward and fit perfectly in a safe area between the gap of the first two blades. She wobbled slightly as she tried to stand perfectly upright. The guillotines swung at both sides to her, dangerously close to the tips of her fur.

“Ha! Easy enough.”  She boasted with a slight wobble.

Derpy was understandably reluctant. She couldn’t find the rhythm of the blades, they made her dizzy. Her crossed-eyes scrunched closed as she concentrated. She jumped forward; when she reopened her eyes she saw that she had joint Rainbow Dash in the safe area. Derpy laughed pettily. She had just jumped from the sound alone...

Doctor Whooves jumped next; he landed in the safe area but couldn’t gain his balance. He fell over just as a blade swung toward his side. He dived to the floor, breathed in and sucked in his chest. The blade brushed the upper layer of his fur, and cut in half his green tie. 

“Bloody hell,” the Doctor cursed as he shuffled across the floor to the next safe area. "I liked that tie." He retorted and looked at the shredded green pieces of his tie on the floor. 

Metal cogs spun on the corners of the room and everypony felt the floor shift underhoof. The floor lowered like an elevator. Both the blades and the exit now soured high up above them. Once the floor came to a halt, green liquid poured out of the large drainpipes on the sides of the walls. The green liquid quickly filled the pit.

With the blades no longer a threat, the trio galloped for the exit. Rainbow Dash was about to take flight but something stopped her. He hoof was glued to the floor. The green liquid was changeling goo, secreted by the changelings themselves, it was one of the stickiest substances in Equestria. It covered the entire pit.

“Urg... ah! I’m stuck!” Rainbow Dash tugged her back hoof with all her strength. Each time she tried to tug out a hoof, the goo acted like elastic to pull it back into place. Upon her attempt to release her back hooves she plonked her forehooves into the slime by mistake. She was immobilized. 

Crrrrzzzz... 

“Oh no... no!” Rainbow Dash panicked. The floor seemed to rise back up, towards the blades, but it wasn’t the floor that was moving, it was the ceiling. The ceiling lowered down ready to crush them and the blades upon it now swung lower and lower.

Rainbow Dash turned to her friends for help, but Derpy and Doctor Whooves were both stuck as well. Every time they struggled they only got more stuck the more the pit filled with the goo. Derpy cried, her tears streamed down her face and into the slime. Derpy was stuck on her back and was forced to look up at their impending doom.

“Derpy, Doctor? You guys. I guess this is it...” Rainbow Dash said in hopelessness.

“Bwahahaha!” Derpy burst out laughing from the other side of the room. One minute she was crying, the next she was laughing?

“Derpy, it’s not funny. We’re gonna die.” Rainbow Dash said in anger as she desperately tried to pull herself out.

The goo was up to their necks now; it was futile to waste anymore energy on trying to escape.

“I can’t die here... I saw the fall of Tambelon at the Timeless Hour. I’ve lived through nearly three-thousand years of history and now I’m gonna die in a pit in Midnight Castle.” Doctor Whooves groaned to himself.

“Hahahahaha!” Derpy almost choked from laughing too much.

“Derpy, shut up! It’s not funny!” Rainbow Dash shouted at the filly. “Wait a sec’” Rainbow Dash stopped squirming and looked around. The entire pit was filled with... bubbles?

Derpy flew up alongside Doctor Whooves, she had escaped.

“Of course! Derpy’s tears are bubbles... they must have worked as an ointment to counteract the goo! Aw Derpy, that’s just brilliant.” The Doctor complemented her. As the bubbles rose up from the goo, it was less thick and more like water. Derpy carried the Doctor up to the exit and was about to head back for Rainbow Dash until the guillotines stopped her; they were too low now for her to fly back.

Rainbow Dash struggled as the ceiling got dangerous low, another few metres and the exit would be blocked forever. She managed to pull one hoof free, but by then it was too late, a blade swung toward her side. 

Cling!

Doctor Whooves averted his eyes and used his hoof to cover Derpy’s. But as Derpy peeked from behind the hoof she was overjoyed. Rainbow Dash was still alive! In an act of madness she had placed the golden amulet in the path of the guillotine blade. The blade had stopped still after it hit the stronger alloy of the amulet. All the blades had stopped sill and Rainbow Dash’s hoof was now the only thing stopping the mechanism from fully working.

“Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?! Those blades are sharp enough to cut through bone, and gold is softer than bone! It’ll cut off your limb.” Doctor Whooves shouted down to her.  

Rainbow Dash didn’t move budge, she wanted rid of this thing. She kept her hoof held up with all her might and the mechanism pushed against it with all it was worth. The ceiling had also stopped lowering and the cogs on the corners of the wall sparked and jittered from the stain of pushing against the amulet.

“Awww jeez... I’m never going to get rid of it.” Rainbow Dash growled in anger. Even with all the velocity in the swing of pendulums, the blades weren’t enough to break the amulet. It was made of a stronger alloy than just gold.

When Rainbow Dash was finally out of the goo it was up to her chin but thanks to the bubbles, the goo was watery enough to simply fly out of. As soon as Rainbow Dash moved she rolled across the floor and flew into the high exit before the blades had chance to get back into full motion.

The ceiling lowered past the exit and closed it off forever. The blades eventually collided with the gooey floor of the pit and were bent out of shape as the ceiling and floor crushed them.

Derpy saved them with her special talent afterall.

“That was a close one. Thanks Derpy.” Rainbow Dash said and headed off down the tall hallway to the next puzzle.





They were lost. Each corridor and hallway had exactly the same shape and length. The dungeons were the worst puzzle of them all, an endless twisting labyrinth of black onyx. It felt like an eternity since they saw the sky. There were no windows in the lower levels and no light other than the torches with flickered purple and green flames.

Rainbow Dash stumbled slightly, her head pounded. The amulet made her weak. Even her fur had lost it colour, she was gradually turning into a single shade of grey. The amulet sucked all the strength out of her; she couldn't keep going for much longer....

As they passed through the next corridor the trio tread carefully through the halls. Doctor Whooves stopped a moment passed a reinforced engraving. It read:  



This was the ninth time they had passed this engraving. It was one of several along the corridors, each with a different message. Doctor Whooves had tried to work out their location using these engravings, to create a map inside his head, but they were several copies of each engraving. It was impossible to know which direction to go in, every junction, every dead-end, it was all the same. Doctor Whooves figured Midnight Castle had terraforming abilities, that each corridor and room shifted. A maze of rooms designed with the purpose of keeping ponies trapped in the darkness until the day they died.

Rainbow Dash was tired; every step was a great effort. As she marched forward she stepped on a tile and it immediately crumbled underhoof. She looked to down to see what she had stumbled upon...

“Aww C’mon, we don’t have time for this... I don’t have time for this.”  Rainbow Dash said with a groan.





A huge set of tiles sprawled out before the trio. Each tile in the grid had carved an individual letter. a set of spikes on the ceiling made it impossible to fly over the tiles. Rainbow Dash had stepped on the letter ‘N’ and it had crumbled underhoof and fell into a pit of bloody spikes below.

“Spikes above us... spikes below us. I guess we have to play by the rules of the puzzle if we're going to survive this. All the wrong letters are hollow underneath. Not to worry, I’ll have this solved in a matter of minutes.” The Doctor said cockily. They had followed the rules of the puzzle that were engraved into the onyx wall on the side.

Rainbow Dash and Derpy watched from the sidelines and left the Doctor to it. The stallion sat down gazed down at the grid, he made sure to scan every letter. He tried to form a word, he could make several, but none that stretched all the way to the other end of the grid. Then his eureka moment came, he suddenly jumped on a tile from the bottom row, it supported his weight.

“Foal’s play,” Doctor Whooves boasted with a grin.

Rainbow Dash and Derpy followed his lead. The Doctor moved diagonally and only used one letter on each horizontal line. Eight letters later, at the other end of the grid, Rainbow Dash looked back, what the heck did that spell? She thought to herself. 

“Rrroooaaarrr!” A huge monstrous growl emitted from deep within the castle, it echoed across the halls that amplified the sound. Derpy, scared out of her wits jumped into the Doctor’s hooves, the Doctor buckled under her heavy weight and fell to the floor. What they knew however was that the roar was their saviour. 

“We can follow the sound!” Doctor Whooves said while on the floor. He got up and brushed himself off of the dust. At a junction, the Doctor galloped carefully down a hallway, eyes affixed to the floor for traps, he followed the roars as that emanated and pinpointed the exit. They charged down an identical hallway and followed only the sound as it bounced across the corridors... 





They arrived at a larger room, filled with hay. This room had several wooden stables; Midnight Castle was being used as a storage place for the Dragonmare’s. Five of the dragons were chained via their necks in wooden stations. The beasts were in appalling conditions, they only had hay to eat and absolutely nothing to drink, the tables were dirty and dank, it was clear they hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. The room had many stained-glass windows, but they only shone red light from outside as the Lunar Eclipse still remained in the sky.

The five Dragonmare’s all cried loudly, it was scary to think their beastly roars were once words. They could hardly move, their long snake-like tongues slivered across their maws. Doctor Whooves carefully approached them, knowing full well the ponies they once were could no longer control their own actions. The five dragon's had remarkable restrained, even if they were starving. The Doctor placed his hoof on onto one of their scaly cheeks.

“Oh Skittles. I’m so sorry, it’s them...” Doctor Whooves said.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash looked over to him.

“It’s Twilight and your friends.” The Doctor explained and placed his hoof upon Dragonmare’s face. He gazed at the dragon's rumps, the friends familiar cutie marks had all been inverted in colour, they had being poisoned of their true purpose, now slaves to Tirek.

Rainbow Dash approached them. Her friends, now nothing more than mindless animals.

“I’m so sorry... it’s all my fault.” Rainbow Dash sobbed against the Dragonmare that was once Twilight. The Dragonmare also parted with a salty tear, it had being whipped several times on its back and was bleeding.

“We have to get the Elements of Harmony.” Rainbow Dash said and turned to the Doctor and Derpy.

“Rainbow Dash, we don’t have time for that... It’ll kill you!” Doctor Whooves said sternly. Rainbow Dash was dying slowly and now the process was nearly complete. She had nearly turned a full shade of grey.

“But that’s the thing Doctor; I was never planning on surviving this. This is my choice; I have to decide between the fate of everything I love and the value of my own life. My life doesn’t matter against the sake of Equestria you know that. We can’t stop now. Besides, if there was anypony who was useless today... it was me.”

“Awww, Rainbow Dash. Don’t say things like that.” Derpy replied, always the optimist.

“No, but it’s true! Derpy, you helped when we got stuck in the goo and Doctor, you worked out the tile puzzle... all I did was get connected to this thing,” she lifted up to present the amulet. “It’s my fault this is happening. But it doesn’t matter anymore, because whatever happens after today... Equestria will be different.”

The trio shared in a group hug.

Flash!

Several beams of white light unexpectedly shone out of the five Dragonmare’s bodies. Their tusks perturbed back into their maws, their claws snap off, their scaly skin sheds. They all turned back into their normal selves. Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy, the transformation was painful as each pony collapse on the onyx tiles of the stable with cries of a mixture of rage and pain.

“You... you save us.” Twilight managed to grunt, her body was still wounded from the whipping, the wounds carried over after the transformation. Twilight managed to smile up at Rainbow Dash despite the pain she was in.

“I don’t know what I did,” Rainbow Dash admitted and looked at her own hooves.

“The tears,” The Doctor explained as he helped Fluttershy up onto her hoofs, “love will always triumph over darkness. Care and compassion, that’s what saved them, two emotions which pulled them out of their transformation. Brilliant!”

“Doctor!” Twilight said in jubilation, this was the first time she’d seen him again since the Edge of Forever incident.

“I told you, you’d be seeing you again,” Doctor Whooves said with a cheeky wink. “I just regret it’s in such circumstance.”

Twilight embraced the Doctor in a tight hug, you’d of never known that when Twilight first met him she only had distasteful jealousy for the stallion.

"Everypony, this is the Doctor, he's uh..." 

Doctor Whooves shook his head to show his unwillingness to reveal his true identity as a time lord. 

"...a good friend." Twilight finished. 

“Where exactly... are we?” Applejack questioned dizzily. She cracked her lower jaw from side-to-side and had to get used to walking on hooves again.

“Urg, I cannot possibly believe I was one of those infernal beasts!” Rarity whined and brushed her mane back with her hoof. Everypony couldn’t even remember their time as being a Dragonmare; to her it was just a nightmare.

“Wait a minute... I’ve been here before, when Scootaloo ran away. This is where I saw that Spiritmare that looked like Fluttershy. This is... Midnight Castle.” Twilight said and remembered back to her first time here.

A Spiritmare that looked like me? Fluttershy soon thought.

“You can’t mean... Rosedust?” Fluttershy said shyly. Rosedust was a Spiritmare — a ghost or an echo of a pony that once lived — that looked just like Fluttershy.

Twilight’s ear pricked up when she heard Rosedust’s name.

Fluttershy decided it was time to explain. “He warned us about her, about her true identity. I saw her once too; she was in the ruined castle in the Everfree Forest. It was during our fight with Dark Plague.” Fluttershy shivered, Dark Plague’s name still made a chill travel down her spine.

“I’m sorry Fluttershy, I should’ve told you earlier. Rosedust mentioned you when she was here; she said she wasn’t allowed to speak with you. I don’t know why and I don’t understand it yet... but now is not the time to be working her out.” Twilight replied, it was all coming together in some way shape or form. Rosedust wasn’t here now, that much was certain.

Rainbow Dash, Doctor Whooves and Derpy planned their next move.

“We can’t stop him without the Elements of Harmony.” Rainbow Dash explained. 

“Tirek... that’s his name,” Twilight filled them in. “It appears he is from Ponyland. He was locked away in Tartarus nearly two-thousand years ago and as the world changed, it appeared he did not.”

Twilight had worked out that time must flow differently inside of Tartarus. It was the only explanation as to why Tirek had survived for so long within its unfathomable depths.  

“Tirek’s here, I know he is. I remember every whipping and everything he said as he used me as a beast for transport. Tirek is born of the moon, I mean he was literally born in the shadow of the moon and ever since his birth he had become obsessed with darkness and nightmares. He wants to bring eternal night and end everything to do with light, including us. He’s trying to make us suffer for our ancestors who stopped him thousands of years ago. Now he wants his revenge for the years imprisoned in the purgatory of Tartarus.” Twilight said with a paranoid gulp.

As her friends adjusted back to their normal bodies, Twilight approached to a nearby empty window. She could hear the raging torrent of the sale-water lake below. She looked up at the eclipse and her smile faded. Twilight knew exactly what a Lunar Eclipse was. It meant both Celestia and Luna had being banished and were now trapped on their own celestial bodies. Only the very brightest of the stars shone in the blood-red sky now, soon all light in the world would be gone and the night would be eternal. It was harrowing thought.

Twilight closed her eyes, even with her eyes closed she could see the image of the eclipse that burnt through her eyelids. Twilight said a silent prayer. With all hope lost, there was nothing else she could do but pray. She prayed up to the stars and asked them for help, for guidance, for anything.

Twilight finished her prayer and turned to face the Doctor. “Doctor you told me once, that there was something wrong with the Elements, you told us not to use them anymore... what exactly did you mean?”

Twilight addressed Doctor Whooves and backed him into a corner so he had to answer.

“It doesn’t matter, whatever I say next you’re going to think is impossible.” He said bluntly.

“Try me.” Twilight replied wryly.

“The Elements. They’re... infested.” Doctor Whooves finally explained.

“Infested?!”

“Rrroooaaarrr!” Another loud cry echoed through the halls. There were other Dragonmare’s here...

'“Enough talk! We’re running out of time.” Rainbow Dash said with annoyance. “If we don’t hurry this
‘Scarab’ is going to kill me. I’ll have no blood left.”

Alright, we may have a chance. Tirek is useless without his objects of power: the Left Hand of Hades and the Rainbow of Darkness. They’re his source of power, if we can somehow capture the satchel around his neck, or take it from him before he unleashed the rainbow then we may just have a chance of stopping him. We must stand up to him.”

“Without the Elements? Are you crazy?!” Pinkie Pie replied.

“We have to, or else Rainbow Dash will... well it goes without saying.” Twilight paused.

“Not to mention there’s an army of beasts now emerging out of Tartarus, filled with bloodlust and ready to march over all in Equestria.” Doctor Whooves added.

“We have to act now. This is our only chance...” 





“Ahhh, home at last.” Tirek’s demon voice echoed throughout the halls. He entered a long hall with one long rotten table and an enormous stained-glass window of Tirek himself. The Lunar Eclipse’s red light burnt through the silhouette of the window and caused twisted shadows across the hall. Midnight Castle was his domain, his castle and it was just how he liked it.

There in the shadows was a black throne; spikes with skulls through them decorated the top. Tirek turned to sit in his dark throne. There was a small table next to the throne; it had red gems around it. Tirek placed the heart-beating satchel from his neck on the table and stroked it like anypony would do to a pet. It beat like a heart along his claws. After all the battles, it was a welcome change for some peace and quiet in the darkness.

“Dance for me, jester!” Tirek chuckled he waved the Left Hand and Hades, it lit up with purplish magic. A dark shadow emerged on the rotten table, created out of pure darkness. It wore a jester’s hat and danced in the red light of the onyx hall.

“You can’t do this...” A calm and collective voice came from the other side of the hall.

“Rosedust, what are you doing here?” Tirek said and turned his neck to look down at the yellow ghost who approached his throne. It was immediately apparent that Rosedust had some sort of relationship with him. It was made clear by the lack of surprise in Tirek’s voice.

“You cannot mess with history like this Tirek, they will be consequences. Even you know you will be defeated this day.” Rosedust looked directly into the beast's eyes; she never raised her voice, not once.

“Oh my dear Rosedust, how you always swooned in and assumed authority over all of those around you. The only reason you’re still here is because I cannot kill what is already dead. You were a thorn in my flank from the very beginning.”   

“They will stop you, just like they did before.” Rosedust replied with whit.

“Is that a threat? Ha! The queen is trying to threaten me. You know, they have a saying in this world... queens always turn out evil. You see I’ve met the ponies of this world and they still have no idea who you are or why you still walk in purgatory. You are the keeper of lies.” Tirek said while he scowled directly in her eyes.

“Despite all your darkness, you still fear me.” Rosedust replied calmly. She jolted forward and Tirek flinched back in his throne. Rosedust smiled.

“When they work out who you are and what you did, they will hunt you down with every life that they will have left.” Tirek looked at something on Rosedust in particular, a single feather she held within her pink mane. He stared at it and knew it’s importance. “But you are forgetting, Rosedust, that they no longer have the power of light to counteract my Stormbow of Darkness.”

Rosedust said nothing in reply, instead she switched her gaze towards the stained-glass window. A wave of light emanated it’s way across the onyx floor, the Lunar Eclipse was ending, the moon was moving out of alignment.

“Impossible!” Tirek spat and jumped out of his throne and pushed the shadow jester off the end the table, the shadow dissolved into a pile of ash upon impact. Tirek held his hoof to block out the sunlight that now crept across the hall.

“TIREK!” Twilight Sparkle’s voice echoed in the hall and forced Tirek to turn. Twilight stood firm with her friends from the doorway. She grunted from her nose and her horn flashed bright. Even the Doctor and Derpy stood in a defensive position behind her. But their standoff is suddenly darkened by the high-pitched laughter of Tirek; he placed his hand to his neck. The satchel was gone. He put it down for just a moment. Tirek turned back to where Rosedust was standing, she was gone, then he turned back to the table, the Rainbow of Darkness was gone as well.  

“Rosedust,” Tirek whispered under his breath and clenched his fist with annoyance. Twilight and her friends couldn’t have seen her.

Suddenly black magic chains formed around Tirek’s arms and hooves and forced the demon to his knees.

Clank!

Tirek’s head fell low, but his grin did not fade. He clenched his fists so tightly that his claws made his palms bleed.

“I did not transcend time and come to conquer this world, just to let you and your pony friends.... TAKE IT ALL AWAY AGAIN!” Tirek spat. Using pure muscle he snapped the black magic chains clean from him and arose above everypony more terrifying than ever. 

He jolted the Left Hand of Hades forward to knock all the ponies back across the hall. Everypony in the room was flung off their hooves and smashed against the wall before landing on the cold, hard floor.

“I will bathe this world in eternal night and damn every pony until they’re none of you left!”

Twilight Sparkle cast magic and tried to subdue the Left Hand of Hades. Her efforts amounted to only holding the onyx artefact in place. Tirek tried to reuse it several times. It wouldn’t work; the gauntlet’s magic flickered without power. Twilight grinned.

“Arawr! You are forgetting, little ponies, that I can summon the Rainbow of Darkness... from here!”  Tirek bellowed. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

Tiny pebbles on the onyx floor bounced along the ground, the walls vibrated with power... it was here.

“Everypony get dowwwwn!”

WRROOOOSSSHHH— Crash!

The rainbow of darkness exploded through the floor and like a pillar of darkness it towered over them. It flickered with red lightning and made beastly sounds.

Twilight immediately shot a spell; she wasn’t letting it get her again. Her spell wrapped itself around the rainbow and tried to enclose it in a bubble, but it was useless to try. Her magic mixed with the beast's form and only made it stronger. The rainbow split into eight separate weaker parts and headed straight of everypony. It spun around them and consumed them in darkness and hurled them around in the never ending abyss within the body of the beast.

“Aaa-hahaha! The power is miiine!” He bellowed with evil laughter and as he watched all the ponies trapped in his darkness. He stood infront of the stain-glass window of himself and pointed the Left Hand of Hades, the red eye on the palm shone bright with dark magic, he was about to finish them off...

Clash!

The enormous stained-glass window shattered in a thousand pieces. Glass showered Tirek and stalled his final attack. Somepony had broke through the window, the pony landed onto the onyx floor with a radiant blue light behind her.

“Princess Luna!” Twilight shouted in jubilation. Not only had Princess Luna returned but she had brought all six of the Elements of Harmony with her. The crown on her head, four more on each of her hooves and one attached around her neck.

Princess Luna burst onto the scene, she blasted several strikes of lightning, the lightning magic exploded on Tirek’s bare chest, it shocked him and knocked him straight back through the wall. His body crashed through the rubble as he fell defeated into the next room. Without Tirek to command it, the rainbow left everyponies bodies and returned to a neutral state and spun in the high-ceiling of the hall.

Luna lassoed a wave of magic around the Left Hand of Hades and disarmed him of the gauntlet. The artefact slid across the floor and the arcane eye etched on the palm animated closed...

“You’re going to have to teach me that some day.” Twilight said up to Luna about the lasso spell.

“How did you escape?!” Tirek bellowed from the bottom of his lungs. He wasn’t gone just yet.

“I had some aid, from the stars.” Princess Luna winked down at Twilight. Twilight’s prayers had been answered, the stars had aided in Luna’s escape from the moon once more. Luna was hovered in the air and threw the Elements of Harmony to their wielders. The friends each caught the artefacts and placed them on themselves, the Elements glowed white.

Tirek lifted himself out of the rubble and slammed his hooves down.  

“It can’t be, unless...” Tirek’s eyes widened, he looked at the Elements of Harmony with fear. A rainbow of colour formed and linked the six jewels together. Tirek’s hands dropped to his side.

“The rainbow of light... as jewels?!” He grunted.

Stroooom!

Tirek’s eyes filled with white light. The Rainbow of Darkness shot in front of Tirek and defended its master from his fate. The two rainbows collided and came to a rest in air.

In that one moment, the two rainbows stared at each other, like two rivals ready to kill. It had been two-thousand years. Now the forces of good and evil had met again. This was the showdown that was always meant to be.

The rainbow’s twisted towards each other, after each attack they bounced off each other forms. The supernatural forces fought with such sheer power that lightning formed from their every collision. The hall exploded into sparks of dark and light lightning as the forces of light and darkness erupted in a battle above them all. Luna quickly landed to join everypony and Tirek stepped back against the far wall.

The two rainbows swirled against each other; they formed into a ball, a twisted mess of light and darkness. They spun faster and faster until the noise was unbearable.

VROOSHCRROOMS! 

The hall erupted into fire. Everypony was flung through a wall and onto a balcony outside. Tirek used the distraction to pick up the Left Hand of Hades and escape through a hole in the wall he was shot through earlier. Twilight and Luna gave chase.

The two rainbows shot out into the open through the opening where the window once was. They swirled up through into the red sky. They twisted and weaved through the various towers of Midnight Castle. The rainbow of light flew through the middle of the darkness and split it into two pieces with a terrible explosion. The two pieces then grabbed the light and flung it through the air. They fought higher and higher until they were in the maelstrom of lightning clouds. They blasted towards each other...

Twilight shot a bolt of magic at the feeling Tirek, it exploded on the wall. Tirek flinched as rubble fell around him. Luna flew beside Twilight and streamlined her body to fly and grab Tirek’s body and smash him into a wall. The Left Hand of Hades erupted with magic which exploded into Luna’s face. Twilight, still with the Element on her head, ran the past the princess as she gave chase.

Everypony on the balcony quickly got back up, the Doctor helped them onto their hooves. They could only watch as the two rainbows battled in the sky above. Suddenly the rainbow of light streamed overhead and forced everypony to duck.

Crackle!

Thunder rumbled in the air around them all.

“Doctor!” Rainbow Dash shouted in distress, suddenly she lost all her strength and fell to the floor. She grabbed the Doctor’s hoof and held it tight, she didn't want to die alone. Even her eyes had lost their colour now. Every breath had become a chore, she laid on her back and stared up at the rainbow’s battling above.

“We’re running out of time.” 

Bang!

Twilight shot Tirek in the back of the head, the attack forced the demon to the floor. He swivelled body around and shot at Twilight, but she deflected it into a wall. They shot at each other in unison...

The resulting explosion caused both Twilight and Tirek to be flung onto the same balcony as everypony else. Luna followed out of the hole in the wall and galloped forward to subdue Tirek.

A stray bolt of lightning surged through the air at blasted the Element of Loyalty off Rainbow Dash's head.

“Argh,” Rainbow Dash shuffled around as pain shot through her head. The Element was whipped clean off her head and tumbled across the floor. As soon the Element parted with its wielder the Rainbow of Light lost all of its power and slowly faded away...

Luna took flight and grabbed the Element before it smashed on the floor; the Rainbow of Darkness swirled down to their level and crashed into Luna. Luna couldn’t fight the rainbow so instead she just stalled it. She took hit after hit and her face bled. It flashed with a torrent of lightning and forced her to drop the Element of Loyalty. Defeated, Luna’s smoking carcass fell through the air...

“Princess Luna!” Applejack shouted as she, Derpy and everypony ran to help the princess.

Tirek ran to grab the Element before it fell, but Pinkie Pie swooped in and took it first.

“Too slow amigo!” Pinkie Pie teased and quickly threw the jewel to Twilight. Twilight dived forward to capture it mid-air and then landed back to the floor with a thud. She held the jewel tight but suddenly more pain shot through her hoof. The Element was whipped clean out of her hoof.

“Not yet!” Tirek bellowed, he had the whip in his right hand, the whip that was attached to his armour.

“I forgot about that,” Twilight deadpanned as she charged forward to attack.

Tirek jolted the gauntlet forward; Twilight dodged the blast of magic by swerving to the right. Tirek clenched the gauntlet and allowed the magic to gather; he jolted it forward and reopened it. Twilight stopped when she was nearly upon him, she stood in a defensive position.

Boom!

The magic hit her but when the smoke cleared, Twilight was protected by a bubble shield. She grinned cockily.

Tirek growled in annoyance. With a demonic roar he swung the gauntlet in an arc and a wave of magic erupted forth. The magic quickly swept under Twilight’s hooves and caused her to crash into the hard onyx floor.
“You know, they say in the last moments before you die, your life flashes before your eyes, that every pain resurfaces, that every regret boils inside your very flesh. Raaaawwwrraaaahhhhhhh!”

He mercilessly whipped Twilight’s body, then again, then a third time. It was a painful sight. Each beating a wave of pain vibrated through her body. The whip came down with a clash, a deafening sound that made her ears ring. She crawled along the floor of the balcony. When the whipping stopped, the ground shook violently. Twilight turned around to see Tirek had slammed The Left Hand of Hades against the wall of Midnight Castle.

Huge deformed cracks snapped through the onyx, they reverberated outwards from the palm of The Left Hand of Hades. The balcony crumbled apart around them. The supports smashed to pieces under the pressure, the entire balcony tilted downward.

“Hold on to something!” Luna commanded. The balcony disconnected from the castles side. Smoke filled the air as everypony desperately tried to hang on to something as their bodies slid down the tilting floor.

A large chunk of the balcony separated from the rest as crumbled to pieces, Rarity was trapped on top of it as it crumbled. Rarity squealed at the top of her lungs. Rarity slid down to the very edge and filtered on the edge of death. Fluttershy swooped in, tears streamed from her eyes from the stress of the battle, she grabbed Rarity and flew her to safety.

Cracks also chipped up the sides of Midnight Castle, Tirek was bringing it all down. As well the collapsing balcony, large boulders of onyx fell from above and many the pointed towers fell into the lake below.

“Uargh! Watch out!” Princess Luna acted and cast a spell to hold up the balcony, she forced pillars of stone to stretch out of the castle and hold up the weight of the balcony. Her magic now was now the only thing that protected everypony from falling onto the pointed rocks below.

Rainbow Dash got her Element back just in time, but she was still very weak and couldn’t even raise her hooves. Doctor Whooves connected the jewel around her neck. Suddenly the Rainbow of Darkness changed target, it swirled around Rainbow Dash, it had sensed that she was weak; it stole the Element of Loyalty.

When the darkness held the Element of Harmony, the rainbow of light sparked violently. The lightning-shaped gemstone on the Element turned grey and cracked with red lines. Both rainbow’s had reacted to it and had shown weakness for the first time. The rainbow of darkness wailed in pain like a demon would it smoked with fire. The Rainbow of Darkness fell to the floor and bounced around in pain like a fish out of water... then it spat the Element out through the air.

Laid on the floor, Twilight helplessly watched as the Element of Loyalty descended down...

Clash!

The jewel smashed on the onyx floor of the balcony and sent shards of red glass in all directions. A small explosion of red smoke erupted when it landed. The Element of Harmony had smashed! Twilight watched in devastation as it smashed, she watched all the shards of glass fly off, she watched it darken and become lifeless...

The connection was broken, all the Elements of Harmony suddenly lost their power, the rainbow of light dissipated midair, it exploded above and sent a fiery explosion to rain down upon everypony.

In desperation, Twilight crawled along the floor and picked up the golden crown. The shards of glass fall from the vessel, now it was empty, now the Elements were useless...

Luna held back her agony; she couldn’t sustain the falling balcony and attack Tirek.

It was over... much to the delight of Tirek who bowled into fits of laughter.  

“After generations of forefathers who defeated me. Now history will be written with you as the ponies who failed to stop me. Aaa-ahahaha!” 

“N-no...” Twilight groaned. She got up. The whip marks and lines of blood in her back were still clearly visible...

“I w-won’t let it, end like t-this...” Twilight gritted from betwixt her teeth. In agony she managed to stand, and stared Tirek with disgust. Twilight’s horn flashed with light, she closed her eyes and concentrated. She let the arcane flow of magic flow through her horn. The smashed shards of the Element of Loyalty suddenly spun around her. The pieces fit like a puzzle. From the cracked seams magic wielded them back together. This wasn’t the first time the Elements of Harmony had smashed; Nightmare Moon had crushed them before. The lightning-shaped jewel reformed right before their eyes and connected itself with the golden vessel around Rainbow Dash’s neck.

“I... I will stop you.” Twilight could barely talk, tears streamed from her eyes. She and her five friends rose up into the air, a warm white aura surrounded them. When Twilight opened her eyes again her eyes have dilated white. A gust of wind blows around as the white light gets brighter, and brighter...

Tirek watched in disgust, the Rainbow of Darkness was still weakened and flopped on the floor; it couldn’t save him this time. He raised his gauntlet and several times fired his purple magic from the palm. His magic just deflected from the white light which is far too powerful. With each attack Tirek was more ferocious with his desperation to survive.

Princess Luna and Derpy watched from the sidelines with a grand old smiles. All but Doctor Whooves had a smile, for he knew the truth of the Elements of Harmony, that they were ‘infested’. He knew they shouldn’t be using them but his time, they really had no choice.

“N-no... nooooooo!” Tirek screamed, as they use the Elements, suddenly the rainbow of light shot from the Elements, it was newly regenerated and filled with energy. It shot straight through the Rainbow of Darkness and headed straight for Tirek.

“Damn you, damn all the generations that ever tried to stop me!”

Princess Luna supported herself and got up on all four hooves. She let go of the balcony for just a moment as she cast one final spell. Her horn surrounded with rainbow coloured light, it shot from her horn and hit Tirek square in the chest. It was the final boost the Rainbow of Light needed.

“A-ar-aaaarrrrgggghhhh!” Tirek bellowed at the top of his lungs as the Rainbow of Light spun around him, destroying both him and rainbow of darkness. In a huge explosion of white light, Tirek’s body dissolved from the hoof up, his skin peeled back to dissipate into the air. He faded away with an almighty scream. With a flash of intense light. When the brightness faded a gentle calm breeze blew through the air. Its warmth parted the black clouds over Midnight Castle...

All that remained were small orbs of white light which descended from above.

“H-he’s gone...” Twilight breathed heavily. “It’s really over.”

As everypony celebrated and shared in a group hug, Rainbow Dash grew too weak. Her vision faded first, her eyes were heavy, she just wanted to rest. She groaned weakly and held a hoof on her chest. She didn’t want to close her eyes, she was so scared... scared they wouldn’t reopen.

“Raaaaiinnbboooowww—”

Rainbow Dash looked up to the sky, tears streamed down her eyes.

“Mom?” She said in a vulnerable tone of voice. There was an eerie silence before Rainbow Dash smiled warmly at her friends in the distance.

“It’s being fun... you guys.” She said to herself. Then like a wave a air all the pain in her body stopped and her lifeless body toppled into death’s embrace...

“Rainbow Dash!” Derpy shouted from afar.

Tisss! 

The Scarab disconnected itself from her hoof with a puff of white steam. The process was complete. The stream layered the floor around Rainbow Dash; it made her look like she was resting on a bed of cloud.

Derpy approached her first.

“You gotta get up, Rainbow Dash!” Derpy shouted and she shook her. “We gotta go home.” She shed several tears which formed into bubbles and bounced up into the air, but this one time... they didn’t bring her to smile.

“She... she’s just resting right?” Derpy looked up to the others. Doctor Whooves shook his head. He led Derpy away and wiped away her many tears...

“Rainbow Dash... you were... the loyalist friend anypony could’ve asked for.” Twilight said, her words barely audible from the pain inside her.

“Ah golly, I promised mahself I wouldn’t cry...” Applejack lowered her hat to cover her tears.

“Without Rainbow Dash. Equestria is defenceless, and you cannot use the Elements without her. The link is broken.” Princess Luna said. She turned to look at the Element of Loyalty, the light flickered out. The red gemstone in the shape of a lightning bolt slowly faded to grey, as if its life-force and connection had being broken...

“But who will take control of the Element?” Twilight said.

Derpy wiped away her tears; she slowly trotted up to the Element of Loyalty... She looked down at it. The gemstone sparkled in the lights of her eyes. Derpy placed a hoof on it and was about to pick it up...

“Not... yet...” A blue hoof stopped Derpy in her tracks.

“Huh?” Derpy looked.

“Rainbow Dash! You’re... alive?!” Derpy shouted and immediately hugged her friend. Everypony turned to look.

"Of course she's not gone, Rainbow Dash couldn't write a letter in the future if she died here. Neither could she deliver it to Celestia if she was locked in the sun for all of time. It would break the paradox, something which can't be done." Doctor Whooves said with a wry smile. 

"You knew that letter assured the future all along didn't you, Doctor?" Twilight said with slight annoyance. 

"Weelll... I had an inkling." He replied. 

“B-but how?” Derpy sniffled.

“As soon as I heard you guys were going to replace me... I think I gained the strength to stay alive.” Rainbow Dash lied. She was still extremely weak and without a nurse she would surely die. Rainbow Dash herself did not know the answer to why she was still alive, but something told her that she was being looked after by somepony very close to her heart.





On the grey beach around the lake everypony stood and watched as Midnight Castle crumbled apart, the towers split apart and crashed below the join with the waves. The maelstrom above the castle had disappeared and light now shone on everypony.

“You did it.” Fluttershy said with a smile to everypony.

“We did it.” Twilight Sparkle hugged her friends.

“But I thought the Rainbow of Light wasn’t a force of evil, I thought it couldn’t kill.” Rainbow Dash said as she limped towards everypone else. 

“Perhaps it just made an exception... for someone who was truly evil.” Princess Luna replied. "I don't think Tirek was using the Rainbow of Darkness. It was using him." Luna smiled up to the sun.

“We couldn’t have done it without ye, Rainbow Dash.” Applejack said as all the friends start a group hug.

“And of course you two... Derpy, Doctor.” Twilight nodded and beckoned them with her hoof to join the hug.

“Yaaay!” Derpy shouted loudly.

“That was... um... my line.” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Awww it was nothing... Oh, what the heck.” The Doctor, even he joined in the group hug as Midnight Castle crumbled, it caused an enormous fifty-foot splash to explode into the sky behind them. The splash caused a huge rainbow to cast itself over the friend. its bright colours brought hope...

All the Dragonmare’s were reverted to their ponies-selves when Tirek was defeated. They were all unharmed and very much alive. Everypony all reunited with their families in Canterlot, happy tears were shed and the streets were filled with happy ponies and celebrations. Pony Joe flung confetti was in every direction as colourful fireworks shot into the night sky.

The Lunar Eclipse had ended, the golden sun had returned to the land of Equestria. Both the sun and moon had returned to their respected celestial positions.

Drone the guard opened the royal doors and Princess Luna entered the throne room with a wide smile. The royal chambers was repaired, the stained-glass windows were reinstated and shone brighter than ever before, the banners were replaced and were no longer torn. Even the cobblestone floor sparkled white. All of Equestria was in need of some repair, but together they had the time to help those who were lost.

There stood Princess Celestia, fully radiant and rejuvenated. Celestia turned around to see her younger sister and smiled more warmly than she had in a thousand years. The two princesses galloped towards one and another and embraced in a tight hug, their wings wrapped around one another.

“I thought I’d never see you again...” Luna sobbed.

“I’m so sorry... forgive me.” Celestia replied with a happy tear in her eyes. They were together again. It felt so right.

This journey came to end underneath Ponyville...

The cavern was quiet now, and Tartarus still gaped open. The beast army still tried to march out of the gate but as fate would have it, they were nowhere near close to escaping. There was a still a hole in the cavern ceiling from which the rainbow had shot through.

“Now, not only do we close the Gate to Tartarus, but we pull back every single creature which has ever escape from its bowls. The Manticore, The Hydra, The Timberwolves, every last one which have ever escaped over the years. It’ll pull them all in!” Twilight shouted in the cavern.

“Not a problem!” Rainbow Dash swooped down carefully, she had several bandages tightly wrapped around her hooves. A wing brace covered her left wing. She had regained the majority of her colour and smiled warmly at Twilight.

“You’ll need this,” Doctor Whooves said as he and Derpy entered the cavern. Derpy was nursing Rainbow Dash after they were both true loyal friends.  The Doctor dropped down the heavy Left Hand of Hades on the ground. The gauntlet, taken after the battle at Midnight Castle, the artefact was untouched. The rainbow of light couldn’t have decided it was as much as a threat than Tirek himself. Legends said it was used to control the Gate of Tartarus, and now it was time to use it for greater good...

‘To stop all the evil creatures that roam this rock... use an artefact known as The Left Hand of Hades. It will be used for great evil, but then... it will be used for the greater good.’

“I have a friend, or he’s more of an acquaintance really. In a cavern like this, he told me this artefact would be used for evil and then for great good, I believe now is that time.” Twilight said. It was time to lock the gate, once and for all, and end this most dark chapter of Equestrian history.

“Ready?” Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash, Derpy and the Doctor. Twilight levitated the gauntlet to face the gate to Tartarus. A tornado swirl of magic shot forth from the palm, it shot upwards into the air and through the hole in the cavern ceiling. From far across Equestria, every creature that had ever committed evil suddenly found themselves dragged towards Ponyville. Swept off their paws they got caught up into the tornado. The Sand Wyrms, the Timberwolves, all the Quarry Eels and even some last remaining Kobalos Goblins. all of them get caught and dragged into the tornado as it spun them around. The tornado directed itself down and swirled inside the gate. At the last moment Twilight levitated the Left Hand and Hades and flung it inside. As the tornado disappeared into hell itself, the last spark of magic pushed against the red iron doors with all their might.

...Slam!

This time the cogs worked in reverse the lock the gate once and for all. A white light sparked down the centre of the two doors and welded them together. The legends were true as the Gate to Tartarus disappeared from the bottom upwards. It was about to move location again, someplace far away from Ponyville where it will never bother them again. Everypony smiled at each other, they had done, they had defeated the ultimate evil, saved Equestria and locked The Gate to Tartarus forever.

“Perhaps now you can move back to Ponyville and won’t have those nightmares anymore.” The Doctor said to Twilight.

Twilight couldn’t help but frown. “But Doctor, Tirek didn’t send Dark Plague to try and open Tartarus. He wasn’t her master. Her real master is still out there. My dreams weren’t about Tirek... there is another.”

And as for Tirek... legends would speak that he was destroyed by the Rainbow of Light, but if you were look up at the night sky, you would see his true fate. Let’s just say he was placed somewhere where he could never hurt anypony ever again...

Far, far, away…

An empty place with a strange barren landscape. Tirek groaned and looks around, it was cold, grey, barren and somehow the air was thin, an invisible bubble had being placed around him, it gave him air. It kept him alive? It’s at that moment he realised where he was...

“No... no! Not here! Anywhere but here!” Tirek looked morose, for he had been banished... on the moon. He snarled down at the bright world of Equestria below. He took a deep breath, held his hands up into the air and bellowed into empty space...

“Luuunnnaaaaaaa!”

To Be Continued... 





My Little Pony: Time is Forever™ will return...
After a lengthy hiatus...

With the second part to the first season, episodes 12 – 18.
New adventures, new enemies and a brand new story arc.

‘She will return...’

Foreshadowing & Clues Decoded: Link

Notes: 
 This episode is dedicated to Victor Caroli, not only the original voice of Tirek but also the narrator for the original Transformers series. 
 In this alternate universe, all the streets in Canterlot are named after constellations of stars.  
 Each Midseason and Season Finale will have a special kind of page-break.
 Tirek is left-handed. Sinister is also a word for those who are left-handed.
 I originally planned to return Scorpan as well, Tirek’s underling, until I remembered that Scorpan was only a human king turned into a monster with the Rainbow of Darkness. Scorpan was reformed at the end of ‘Rescue for Midnight Castle’ and wouldn’t partake in evil acts with Tirek again.
 Tirek is known as ‘the devil to all ponies’. That is why he returns via the gate to the underworld and is described frequently as a demon.
 This was only the beginning piece to a much greater puzzle...