Twilight's Corruption

by vx2254


The Final hours

It made Princess Celestia uneasy, calling for Volunteer Militia on such short notice; but there was nothing else that could be done. She could feel the baleful influence of ancient magics she once thought destroyed spreading, and fast. It was a familiar presence; one she'd felt when Sombra had fallen to the corruption and twisted his Kingdom into a center of oppression and tyranny, save this time it was somepony very close to her, and very powerful; more so than she could deal with alone. Luna marched alongside her sister at the head of the Army; Legions of brave Stallions and Mares having signed up to face what was reportedly a great danger to all of Equestria. They boarded trains bound for the Crystal Empire; where they would confront the evil approaching to determine the fate of ponykind.

Little was said as the Legions poured into the Crystal Empire; normally a land of peace and serenity. The Army approached as guardians, to protect the people from a great evil the Princess' had not yet decided to detail, trying to use what little time they had to prepare, and a panicking population was the last thing they needed. The Crystal Ponies had apparently put together a militia of their own; Prince Shining Armor meeting the Princess' outside the palace with the Crystal Guards; saluting as they approached.

"Cadence and the War Ministry are waiting inside; as instructed." The Prince said, walking alongside Celestia and Luna.

"Good; then we can get started right away." Princess Celestia said, the gates to the Crystal Palace opening; the grand hall filled with vital government and Military officials once thought unnecessary, now present and ready for the Princess' arrival.

Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor all gathered around a table in the center, next to Cadence and opposite an assortment of Generals and the Minister of War, who had not taken an active role in Government affairs for Centuries. The room fell silent, all eyes turning to Princess Celestia; the only one at the table who did not take a seat. She looked around at those who gathered; the Royalty and their loyal vassals and Generals. Taking a deep breath, the Princess prepared to explain the direness of their situation as best as possible.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts; you all know very well by now that I've called you all here today due to an emergency, the magnitude of which calls for such a strong response. Our land and very way of life is under threat by those who have rediscovered Profane magic I once thought purged from our land entirely. I see now I was wrong in assuming so; thus here we sit now, to confront those who have been corrupted by the evil in the hopes our power combined can put an end to this madness before it gets out of hand."

"Pardon." A General said as Celestia finished, drawing attention to her. "Your majesty, if I may; who are we up against? More importantly; where is Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony?"

The Princess stood there silently for a few minutes, knowing this would be brought up eventually, she wasn't expecting it to be so soon, however. She took another deep breath; the truth had to be told at some point. "That is most troubling... Princess Twilight Sparkle, as far as I know, has fallen to the taint of Dark magic, and taken the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony with her."

The room rose into an uproar; panic from the lesser Generals and their subordinates; demands to maintain order from the Knight-Vassals to the Royalty and the Higher-Ranking Generals. It was pure chaos in the room; panic that was only made worse by attempts to calm those who feared the power of a corrupted Alicorn; and with the Elements of Harmony useless now, as far as they knew, this threat was made even more dangerous.

Shining Armor was in disbelief; hearing of his Sister's fate, Cadence doing everything she could to comfort her husband while Luna looked out over the crowd; turning her gaze up to Princess Celestia, who nodded.

Luna stood up and cleared her throat. "Silence!" She shouted in the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice; all attention in the room diverted to the Sister Princess', the room going silent as Luna had ordered.

"This does not help us resolve the issue at hand. Please, control yourselves; remember that we gathered you here so that we may prevent another great disaster, perhaps the greatest we've face in a thousand years." The younger of the two Sisters said, sitting back down after she spoke her peace.

"Well said, sister." Celestia complimented, looking to the others in the room. "It will not be long before our enemies arrive. I do not know what to expect, but we should prepare ourselves for any and all possibilities. Generals; you will have to make due with the forces provided to you; reinforcements are being prepared in Equestria as we speak, though I doubt they will be able to help once the Tainted Elements arrive. Prepare to set up defensive perimeters in rings around the Crystal Palace. No matter what the cost; we must keep them from reaching the Crystal Heart."

A commotion was heard outside, the Princess turning her head to the door, some doing so as well while others left to prepare the defenses, as Princess Celestia ordered. The main doors were opened forcefully, several Royal Guards struggling against a horrifying sight; a yellow-coated Pegasus whose body hard partially converted to a dark crystalline substance. The mare threw the Royal Guards off her; giving everypony in the room a good view of the damage done to her body; a good portion of the Right side of her body, including her right foreleg, had turned to crystal, while her left hindleg had turned as well; the most intimidating feature being her head around her left eye, or what could be considered her eye at least; a dark socket filled by a glowing red orb, which one could only assume served as her eye.

"P-princess..." Fluttershy said, walking slowly towards Princess Celestia, tears streaming from her one remaining normal eye. "H-help me..." She begged.

"By Celestia!" A General exclaimed, ponies backing away from the unholy sight they were witnessing; some disgusted, others terrified; even Princess Celestia found the extent of the damage done intimidating...

Nevertheless; she approached Fluttershy slowly, her horn beginning to glow as she walked closer to the sobbing mare. Fluttershy found herself bathed in light and struck with indescribable pain, screaming in agony as the Princess purged her of corruption to the best of her abilities. It felt like centuries for poor Fluttershy before it finally ended; the dark, jagged crystalline substitute for flesh smoothed out and altered to fit her coat color; the red orb that served as her left eye changing color to Blue, and most importantly; the spread of the curse had stopped.

Weak from exhaustion, Fluttershy collapsed once the purification had been completed; the room still in shock and awe over the sight they'd witnessed before them. "Take her to the Guest Chambers; watch her closely and summon me once she wakes." She ordered the Royal Guard, who carried out her orders without hesitation. The Princess then turned to the others in the room who continued to stand and stare, unsure of what to do. "Time is precious; please get back to making preparations for the worst." Celestia said, watching the Ponies scramble; leaving to help organize the defenders, set up the defenses, or stay behind to further discuss their plan of actions, as well as backup plans in the event their other plans should fail or change in some way.

The Sovereign of Equestria then motioned for her Sister, Niece, and Nephew-in-Law to follow, walking with them to the much less noisy and crowded Royal Chambers of the palace. Upon arriving she looked to Shining Armor, still taking all this in, despite Cadence's best efforts to console him.

"Do we really stand a chance against them, Sister?" Luna asked, just as worried as everypony else was.

"I doubt we can put an end to this here and now..." Princess Celestia said, it being difficult for her to admit defeat; before their battle could even begin, at that. "Such advanced stages of corruption can only be purged with the Elements, and their bearers have fallen. The Elements won't answer to us anymore, sister, our time using them ended long ago. I've placed them under protection until the new bearers they've chosen are ready; all we can do now is hold out for as long as we can in the hopes those chosen can be brought to safety before the taint spreads to Equestria."

The room fell silent, the Princess' and Prince reflecting on all that was happening, and how hopeless their situation seemed. Celestia was interrupted from her thoughts by a knock on the door, opening it to see a Royal Guard standing in the hallway.

"She's awake, your Majesty." He said, bowing respectfully.

"Thank you, Guardsman." She said, following him to the Guest room Fluttershy had been taken to.

The Half-Crystal Pegasus Mare looked out the window over the Crystal Empire; a storm forming in the distance; a storm she just barely escaped. Hearing the door open and close, she turned to look at the Princess, a storm of emotions surging through Fluttershy. "Th-thank you..." She started, doing everything in her power to avoid an emotional breakdown.

"I apologize, fluttershy... I can't even begin to imagine what the pain must have been like." Celestia said, the screams of the Element of Kindness still fresh in her memory.

"It's okay..." Fluttershy said, tears forming in her eyes. She took a deep breath, staying strong and keeping herself stable, for now.

"I can't undo the Crystallization, I'm afraid... It was all I could do to purge the corruption and stop the spread." She said, feeling guily due to her inability to completely heal Fluttershy.

"It's alright... You did everything you could, Your Majesty. I-I'll learn to cope with it... Somehow." Fluttershy said, looking back out to the storm on the horizon.

The Princess looked out the window as well, then back to Fluttershy; glad to see she hadn't changed one bit, wondering if maybe... "Fluttershy," She said, getting the attention of the Pegasus mare once again. "I have no hopes that we'll win this conflict against the others... The Elements won't serve them anymore because of what's happened, as such I've placed them under the protection until the new bearers are ready to wield them."

Fluttershy listened intently carefully, wondering who these new bearers could possibly be. "A-and who are they? If you don't mind me asking, that is." Fluttershy said, curious.

"I will admit; I don't know. I saw them in a vision... Perhaps you will recognize them." Princess Celestia said, sharing her memory of the event with Fluttershy.

She saw four vaguely familiar fillies; three she recognized as Applebloom, Sweeite Belle, and Scootaloo; with one other she'd never met before personally... Babs Seed, if she remembered the name correctly? Next came a unicorn she was all too familiar with; Trixie Lulamoon, the reformed show-off who caused grief for her, her friends, and ponyville twice in the past; and then herself, fighting alongside the other five in an effort to cast off the shackles of oppression placed on the world.

She didn't even get a moment to take this all in before she noticed a strange tingling sensation; the scenery around her fading. "Wh-what!? Princess, what are you...?" She asked, interrupted by Celestia.

"Find the others, Fluttershy; the fate of Equestria is in your hooves." The Princess said, sending the Element of Kindness to safety, and not a moment too soon either; the alarm bells rang in the distance, the Guards having spotted the corrupted element-bearers approaching. This was it; the final hour...