Hold Your Color
by Quillery

Suggestions, Editing and Pre-Reading by :
Siyray, Willsons, Izraill Z, BabySkittleMonster, Legion222, Dreamshadow, edensbane, amacita

Chapter Twenty-Four
The Twilight Zone

Twilight couldn’t keep herself from trembling as she watched her love give in willingly to the Nightmare’s madness. As Sombra’s horn was placed upon Rainbow Dash’s forehead, the Nightmare’s dark miasma overtook her in an instant. Her greyed mane turned black before Twilight’s eyes, and her coat darkened into a blue like the depths of the universe.

She was screaming in agony. The chamber echoed with her cries as the dark magic absorbed into her body, and Twilight could only watch in horror as one of her best friends, her marefriend being taken away from her.

She poured everything she could into casting a spell; a cleansing spell, a counter-spell, anything to stop this process before it was too late and Rainbow Dash was lost forever. It made no difference. Her horn sputtered uselessly. Her magic was drained, her body weak. Her wing hung crookedly from her side and it was most likely only due to the shock of the situation that kept the pain from knocking her unconscious once more.

Her breathing was panicked while her mind raced for a solution, but it grasped at blank thoughts and dead ends. All she felt like doing was collapsing and breaking down into tears, but she shook those thoughts away. She couldn’t give up. Not on Dash. Dash would never give up on her, and she would do the same for Dash.

A faint groan broke her thoughts and she turned to Aurora, who was beginning to stir. Ditzy had passed out again beside her and was whimpering quietly in her horrid sleep. Twilight limped over to Aurora.

Twilight bit her lip. “We need to get out of here. Dash—” Tears threatened to burst forth again just at the utterance of Dash’s name. “She’s sacrificed herself to give us a chance to escape…”

Her eyes finally fell on Dash. Aurora brought a hoof to her mouth as horror overtook her face. She mouthed a quiet ‘no’, and turned back to Twilight. “What has happened? Where is Khroma!? Why is he not stopping this madness?”

Twilight winced. Aurora’s eyes bored into her with rage as she tried to avoid eye contact. Aurora’s eyes drifted away for just a moment, and her face fell as she found Khroma, several meters away, laying still on the sandy earth.

Aurora reached out a hoof towards her brother as she scrambled to her hooves and rushed to his side. She skidded to a stop beside him and propped up his head. There was an unbearable pain in her face as she held Khroma’s head in her lap, examining the wounds. Blood marred her silky coat, but she showed no thought for it.

Twilight’s grasp of Trotsky was limited at best, even with Dash trying to teach her, but it didn’t take a master to understand the pain in Aurora’s voice. “No,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. “Not like this, brother... Don’t you dare leave me alone, Khroma". Her cries turned into wails as she collapsed into Khroma’s chest and wept.

Twilight felt like every part of her was in a well of despair. On one side, a sister mourned for her brother, and on the other, she herself mourned for the loss of her best friend and more. Again, she called up her reserves of magic, but could barely manage even a simple light.

Dash’s screams grew louder, and showed no signs of stopping soon. Her eyes were beginning to glow with The Nightmare’s shimmering darkness. The shadows that enveloped her began to twist and reshape her body as it and Sombra’s horn became one. Dash’s legs and wings stretched and were remolded before Twilight’s eyes as she slowly grew to the proportions of Celestia, or even Luna.

Even Luna’s armor was perverted by the Nightmare’s essence. What was poorly molded and thinly spread became hardened like platinum. Much like Sombra’s own attire, the transformation the Nightmare inflicted on Dash bent the otherworldly metals into an ensemble of heavy metal and resplendent regalia.

Twilight broke her gaze from Dash. The pain was too great to witness, and even still was the pain she felt in her own heart. She limped over to Aurora, who was still tearfully weeping over top Khroma’s body.

“Aurora…” Twilight said. “We have to get out of here. There’s nothing we can do.”

Aurora’s cries slowed. She slowly rose her head from Khroma’s chest. Twilight jerked back at the absolute glare of hatred and rage dripping from Aurora’s face. Her lips trembled, fighting back from outright sneering as her eyes were squarely trained on Dash.

“I will not run…” Aurora whispered. “Not now. It would be an insult to my brother, to my family!”

“What can we do!?” Twilight said. “Ditzy is still unconscious, and I can’t even cast a spell. What chance do we have against that?!” Twilight said, pointing at Dash. “Especially without hurting her?”

Aurora twisted her head to Twilight. “Are you deaf, child?! Can you not hear the agony in her screams? She is already in pain, I doubt we can inflict worse than what that monster Koshmar is doing to her.”

Aurora scoffed and clicked her tongue. “Perhaps I was wrong about you. My darling Prizma deserves somepony who can call to action just as she can. But if you are too afraid to give anything to save her, just as she is doing for you right now, then you were never any good for her.”

Twilight blinked as more tears, this time not of sadness, but of anger clouded her vision. “How… how dare you say that! I would do anything for Dash.”

“Then why do you stand there like a filly and tell me that it hopeless? There is always hope. Love by definition is hope for a tomorrow together. Why don’t you prove it to me, like she did for you back in Stalliongrad?”

“I…” Twilight stammered. “I just… I don’t know how we can stop this.” Her face fell. “This is my fault… I pushed her away. If we had been together, we could have fought against this together. I was so stupid to think I could solve this on my own. That hasn’t worked for me in years, not since I met her.”

Aurora nodded. “That very well may be, but we can worry about who is to blame later. Now, we must end this insanity. I will not let my brother’s sacrifice be in vain.”

Twilight glanced back to Dash, what was left of her, anyways. The Nightmare was getting closer to corrupting her entirely. The air raged and hummed with magic as it threatened to burst.

The Prism itself seemed to be glowing in agony. The clear crystal was now awash in black and a dark, faded red. Trixie continued to pour her magic into it, but Twilight could see the signs of strain on her face.

“We have to stop Trixie. Her magic is empowering the ritual. We might be able to slow it down if we stop her from corrupting the Prism any further.”

Aurora nodded. She gently laid Khroma down, kissing him on the forehead as she did. “Rest well, brother,” she said in a solemn tone. “Bring peace with you to mama and papa in Elysium. I may join you soon.”

Twilight felt guilt wrench at her heart as Aurora said her vows. As grim as they may be, they brought Aurora a new resolve as she got back to her hooves and charged towards the Prism with Twilight right behind.

Trixie’s attention was fixed on her task and did not notice them approach. Sweat streamed from her face and her breaths were getting shallower by the second. Sparks flew from her horn and mixed with the waves of dark magic that flowed from her. Twilight blinked, however, as in the spell work Trixie was putting forth, she could see the core flickering.

“It’s killing you! You don’t have that much power! You’re going to run out!”

“I have power.” Trixie’s voice was monotone, devoid of spirit or soul of its own. Just a slave, lifeless and subservient. “My Mistress would not have chosen me for this great task if I was weak.”

“If you keep pushing, you’re going to Null yourself! What would the Great and Powerful Trixie be without her ability to use magic?! Fight her control! I know you can!”

Trixie blinked and tilted her head slightly. She stared straight into Twilight’s eyes. Twilight trembled as all she saw was vacant and empty deep within. Tears trickled in the corner of Trixie’s eyes. “I… can’t stop…”

Twilight bit her lip and turned to Aurora. “You have to stop her! Just please don’t hurt her!”

Aurora ground her teeth. “I make no promises.” Her wings snapped open and she bolted into a sudden charge towards Trixie.

Trixie was still staring at Twilight, but her magic reacted as if it had a life of its own. Coils of dark magic broke off from her original spell and spun like ribbons towards Aurora. She cackled as she spun in tight circles, weaving past the length’s of dark magic with practiced, fluid ease. Much like her skills as a dancer, she flowed through the air in unprecedented grace. Aurora wasn’t simply just a dancer. She was a pioneer of her art. She was like water, and Trixie’s attacks like rocks in a raging river. Aurora coursed like a stream, beating across the rocks in an endless storm, but never taking a strike in retaliation.

Meters turned into inches as Aurora gained ground on Trixie. Every strike the enthralled unicorn sent at the Stalliongrad agent was only another game to be played, one that Trixie was most assuredly losing.

The great swirling mass of dark magic erupted and snapped out of existence as Aurora pushed for one massive dive and tackled Trixie off her hooves. The spell interrupted, the Prism almost heaved a sigh of relief as the air of the chamber suddenly calmed.

Dash’s screaming suddenly halted. Twilight turned to her. The Nightmare's taint had halted, but much of the damage had already been done. She was barely recognizable, standing easily as tall as Celestia, but radiating with unimaginable evil. Her body twitched in the power that crackled all around her as her head slumped low, her eyes closed.

“No!” Trixie shouted. “I must fulfil my mistress’ wish!” Aurora held her her down by the head, pressing her horn into the dirt with her hooves. Trixie struggled and wriggled, trying to stand, but she had no strength to compare to the practiced Aurora. Tears of anguish fell from her eyes as she howled, reaching out for the Prism.

Aurora suddenly lifted her hoof, and bashed it into Trixie’s temple. She let out a small, pained whimper before her body went still. Twilight winced at the savagery, but steeled herself for the necessity of it.

Aurora looked to Twilight. “I have her. She won’t be tainting the Prism any longer.” She shrugged her head to Dash. “See what you can do for her. It might not be too late.”

Twilight nodded and spun towards Dash, running as fast as she could. “Dash! Wake up! We’ve stopped Trixie! You can fight back!”

Dash’s face twitched. Her eyelids flexed and she grunted, letting out short, angered breaths.

Dash’s eyes snapped open. Twilight gasped as a dark, cosmic glow flowed from the edges of Dash’s eyes. It was like staring deep into the abyss of space and beyond. Her mouth slowly pulled into a grin, evil and malicious.

Nocturne threw her head back and laughed. “Yes!” She stomped the earth and sent powerful tremors through the cave. The crystals hummed and sang their song as dust and rock trickled from the vast ceiling above.

Twilight stepped back, her face awash in terror as Nocturne exhibited her control of her newfound powers in Dash’s body. She send lances of dark magic into the fields of crystal, eradicating them hundreds at a time. She cackled with unrestrained glee. “A new goddess has risen in this pathetic world! And not even the blessed sisters of solstice will stop me!”

She looked down at Twilight. Her eyes, glowing with her starry glimmer, twisted in psychotic joy. “And especially not the tiny princess of friendship!”

Nocturne laughed maniacally as her horn began to blaze with darkness. Twilight’s eyes widened as she tried to move, but her legs were frozen in fear. The roar of Nocturne’s madness came to bare before her, but she could not flee.

Nocturne dipped her head to deliver the final strike, when a blood curdling roar broke her attention. She turned just in time to meet with Aurora’s hoof smashing into her face and sending her to the sand.

Aurora landed beside Twilight, glaring at Nocturne while she shook her head and tried to stand. “Do not think I have forgotten about you, сука! I have a great score to settle with you.”

Nocturne’s face trembled with fury. “You dare strike a queen!? There will be an endless abyss for you!”

“I strike no queen!” Aurora screamed. “Only a monster who pretends! I pay homage to no queen, no princess, no lord! I only pay homage to my family, one you have broken! You murder my brother and steal his daughter from me! I will see you dead at my hooves before this day is over!”

Aurora lept into the sky once more, charging for Nocturne. She brought forth her magic, but, just as Aurora had danced through Trixie’s attempts at stopping her, the fury-borne pegasus cleaved through the black magic with violent precision. Aurora screamed as she approached like a golden comet through the sky, despite the Prism having fallen dark. Her rage glowed like a star that cut out the shadows.

Nocturne’s eyes widened as her attempts to stop Aurora were failing. She send out tremors that quaked the earth, legions of her dark spines and waves of chilling shadows, but Aurora burned through them all. The might of Celestia’s sun blazed through her armor, poised to stamp out Nocturne like the frail silhouette she was.

Panic quickly raced through Twilight once more when Aurora sailed through Nocturne’s shadow as if she were not there. Her towering shape faded into the ground, her laughter echoing in the air as she vanished from sight.

Aurora shrugged when her blow did not strike true and pulled herself up with a painful grunt. Her blazing trail faded as she slowed to a hover, scanning for the false queen. “Face me you coward! Or is the so called queen of darkness afraid of a single pegasus dancer!?”

“I am fear,” Nocturne’s voice quaked. “Your arrogance will be your undoing, foalish girl.”

As Aurora buzzed in the air, her senses at their peak to locate Nocturne, there was a ripple in the darkness behind her. A faint, umbral glow etched out Nocturne’s eyes in the shadows. Twilight’s eyes widened as she found them first, and screamed out, “Aurora! Behind you!”

Aurora spun, but it was too late. A burst of magic exploded in the air around her and struck her in the sides. It was a painful sounding grunt that rocked the cave as Aurora fell to the ground. Twilight bolted, running for the place Aurora would land to try and catch her.

It would not be enough, though. As hard as she pushed her legs, she would not reach Aurora in time. She bit back tears as she cried out in desperation that she was about to lose another ally, another friend to Nocturne’s insanity. A surge of will flowed from her in a torrent as her horn finally ignited. She felt herself wink out of existence for a single breath, skidding to a halt underneath Aurora.

Gravity carried Aurora onto Twilight’s back. She grunted under the sudden weight, but she held herself upright. Aurora groaned as she tried to right herself. “Run, child,” she whispered. “We need more time.”

Twilight didn’t need to be told twice and took off immediately. She raced back towards the Prism and any cover the crystal forest could give. Nocturne cackled with glee from above as she sent down more blasts that shook the ground under Twilight’s hoofs. It was a chore to keep steady as the stumbled to balance Aurora on her back and her hooves on the soft ground.

Twilight made it to the Prism and dug her hooves in the sand for a sharp turn. She ducked behind it, spinning in place to wait for Nocturne’s next assault. Worry pricked at her senses when it never came, and it boiled to panic as the ground began to swell underneath her.

The sand and dirt burst forth, knocking Twilight over. Aurora sailed from her back and landed further away, not far from where Ditzy lay, still unconscious. Twilight could hear Aurora’s ragged breathing as she tried to pick herself up, but trembled and collapsed under her own weight.

Nocturne’s wretched laughter made Twilight’s fur stand on end as she slowly turned back to face her. Her great, shadowy form stood, towering above her with her deviant grin spread wide. “Tut tut, little princess. You stand before a queen. There is no further use for you in this world of mine.”

“I said its not yours! This world belongs to the princesses, to the ponies of Equus! They don’t belong to you! I don’t belong to you. Dash doesn’t belong to you!”

Twilight’s magic began to shape all around her. A bright, shimmering barrier enveloped her. She grit her teeth, pouring all that she had and more into a single, focused spell.

Nocturne laughed again. “Please, child. You may be talented in magic, but you stand before the very darkness itself. Your pathetic magic of friendship holds no power here.”

Twilight offered no response, only action. She grit her teeth as the magic she channeled sparked the very air. The umbral crystals glowed from her aura and cut back the encroaching shadows surrounding her.

She let loose her magic and sent the crackling wave of pure light towards Nocturne. Again, Nocturne blended into the shadows, but as the light passed through her, she let out a loud, scathing hiss of discomfort.

Twilight grinned as she called more magic for another. “You can hide in the shadows all you want, Nocturne! You can’t hide from me!”

Nocturne’s voice echoed as Twilight waited for her to reappear. “Foalish child… Your play of the light will not ssave you…”

“Try me!” Twilight barked. “I’ve studied long enough under Celestia to know how much the sun stings monsters such as you! As long as I’m standing, I will fight you!”

A sudden cold washed over Twilight as Nocturne’s form rose directly in front of her, mere inches away. She almost lost herself in the depths of Nocturne’s eyes as her shadows began to wash over her.

Twilight fired blind from instinct. Her blast flew true straight for Nocturne a point blank range. Twilight expected Nocturn to attempt to fade into shadows again, but this time, her entire body split in two around the pillar of light, passing harmlessly through her.

As Nocturne’s body rejoined, she sauntered closer to Twilight. “Now, what were you saying, dear?”

Twilight blinked as her mouth fell open, trembling. She tried to backpedal out of Nocturne’s reach, but her reach was flowing over her already. She braced herself for what was to come, when a great crackling explosion flashed across the cave.

Nocturne froze and turned around. Twilight took her chance and stepped away, looking behind her to see what had distracted Nocturne. She hadn’t noticed before, but Nocturne had been standing directly in front of the Prism when she reappeared. When she avoided her attack, the lance of pure light had nowhere else to go but the Prism itself.

Twilight’s magic raged within Prism and cast fresh light in the vicinity. The dark influence from Trixie’s spell was being pushed back as the crystal’s hum echoed like a primal roar across the chamber.

Nocturne swung back, fury in her eyes. “How dare you taint my beautiful Prism! You will pay dearly for—”

At that moment, a tremendous arcing explosion escaped from the Prism and flew directly towards Nocturne. She shrieked in agony as the light magic began to tear her apart.

Twilight blinked. She had a way to hurt Nocturne. She called up any and all magic that she could, aiming at the Prism for another blast. If she could keep it up, she might be able to stop her.

A plan short lived, however. As Twilight tried to bolster her mana, Nocturne’s painful screaming stopped. Twilight turned, just as something hooked around her neck and began to pull her into the air. She wheezed from breath as she tried to pull free, as Nocturne held her suspended before her.

“An excellent attempt, little Princess, but I will soon extinguish that hope into darkness. Say goodbye to the light of day… forever.”

Nocturne’s grip tightened, and Twilight lost her ability to breathe. She gasped and kicked in a panic, trying to pull what precious little air she could. Her vision was starting to fade as the life was being wrenched from her. Darkness clouded everything and started to vanish into black. Only Nocturne’s cackling was left for her senses as her consciousness threatened to give in.

In an instant, the grip on her neck ceased. Twilight fell to the ground, gasping heavily for air. She panted while her vision returned. Nocturne stood above her, confusion in her eyes. She was staring at her own hooves with a strange, frightened expression.

Twilight took her chance and brought back her magic, only to freeze at the sight of Nocturne’s eyes. No longer were they glowing with the light of a thousand stars, nor were they glowing at all. The shadowy taint that had twisted her eyes was replaced with a faint, reddish hue. They twitched in panic and fear, and when they fell on Twilight, her entire body trembled.

“T-twilight?” she said. It was not Nocturne’s voice that echoed from her body. It was one Twilight knew, one she remembered, one she loved.