//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Life // Story: The Choice // by derpyland //------------------------------// A vast and ragged army, more than a million strong, had finally reached the plains outside Canterlot. It was by far the largest army that Equestria had ever seen – and, perhaps, the poorest equipped. Only a few of its members were professional soldiers. The rest came from all walks of life. Some of its members were young, and others were far too old. A few of the ponies were trained in combat, but most had never lifted a hoof in war – well, not before this year, anyway. Not before the Nightmare came. The army was composed of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, who had willingly come from all across the nation. Every city and village had sent as many as they could spare, leaving behind only the children, the wounded, and the dying. The stakes were much too great. Anyone who was able to fight had come, for this was the moment when the war would finally end. Equestria had at last been reunited, after the worst period it had ever seen. There was only one city left to retake. Under normal circumstances Princess Luna would never have permitted so many civilians to join the force. Although she admired their willing spirit, war was dangerous; it was best left to the professionals. The ponies of Equestria were not a warlike race, and few had what it took to survive a brutal and bloody conflict. Ponies, after all, valued harmony and peace; they avoided war whenever possible. But this time things were different. Every pony who had made their way to the plain had lost someone to the Nightmare. They had all been affected, and they were all determined to put an end to the needless suffering that Nightmare Star had caused. Luna could not turn them away. They all had a reason to be there – and the truth was she needed them. After six months of fighting there were almost no professional soldiers left. If she sent the civilians away, she would not have the strength she needed to storm the city that had once been her home. But it was not just the ponies of Equestria who had gathered. The few surviving griffons had come as well, and were eager to lend their talents to the assault on Canterlot. Pony divisions had come from a dozen foreign nations. There were zebras and buffalo, and even some deer had joined the mix. The whole world had been affected by the terrible events of the past year, and they would no longer stand idly by while the Nightmare, who recognized no boundaries or jurisdictions, burned their cities to the ground. Today was the day that the war would end – one way or another. High above the besieged city of Canterlot, the sun shone with spectacular, blinding brilliance. A massive column of white energy streamed down from the sun and touched the city below. The sun heated the air around the city, making the plain almost unbearable. The pony army was drenched in sweat and there was no breeze to offer relief. The Nightmare had somehow amplified the star's output far beyond normal, and used its endless rays to power a defensive shield – one that was too strong for any army to penetrate. But they had to penetrate it, somehow, and their time was short. Every moment that they waited allowed the Nightmare to grow stronger. It was up to the leaders of the army to decide on a course of action. Its three commanders – a griffon, the Princess of the Night, and the Princess of Friendship – had to make a difficult choice. The group was at the top of a small hill that overlooked the plain. The army was spread out below, divided into units of a thousand, and the city was a few miles beyond. A small tent had been erected for the leadership, but it was far too hot to be indoors. There was nothing they could do but suffer through the stifling heat. “So what would you have us do?” Balaak, the commander of the griffon legion, asked. The tough griffon had a deep scar across his face, and his right eye was missing. “With that shield in place, Nightmare Star is impregnable. Even you, Luna, cannot bring it down.” “It is a coward's tactic,” Balaak's chief general remarked. “Since we have pushed her out of the cities, she has hidden herself away in her lair. She is afraid of us.” “My sister is a cunning foe,” Luna replied wearily. She was deeply tired, and in more pain than she wanted to admit. She had an ugly wound along her left flank that made it difficult to move – an injury she had acquired during last week's battle over the ruins of Ponyville. It would heal eventually, but the scar would remain as a lifelong reminder of the war. “As long as she is protected behind that magical wall, she will gain power and strength. Her dark magic is now fueled by the sun itself, and her resources are beyond comprehension. If we are to defeat her then we must wrest its control away from her. We have no other choice.” “You still refer to that monster as your sister?” Balaak asked incredulously. “How can you still claim her as family after all she has done? The Nightmare has laid waste to cities all over the world. Thousands are dead, and she has tried to kill thousands more. My entire nation has been reduced to ash. She is evil, your highness. She stopped being your sister long ago.” “I do not agree,” Luna said coldly. “All I know is that something terrible has happened to her. I do not know what turned my loving, caring sister into an evil monster. None of us have been able to talk to her since the war began. At best we have seen her from a great distance, but that has told us nothing about how she became a pony of fire and darkness. I still believe she can be saved.” “We all know what happened,” Balaak said angrily. “Celestia became jealous of Twilight's popularity and power, just as you once became jealous of Celestia. The Princess of the Sun was determined to destroy Twilight and eliminate the pony she had come to see as her rival. She made a deal with Death and acquired unspeakable dark magic. Now, I will grant you this. It may be that she only intended to kill Twilight, but then the dark magic of death corrupted her soul and made her hate all life. Perhaps she did not intend at first to launch the final war. But it is clear that she is beyond saving. No one can come back from what she has done.” Twilight Sparkle struggled to stand up. She was battered and scarred, and her neck was still freshly bandaged, but she refused to give in – and she refused to give up hope. “We don't know that. All of that is just rumor and speculation. No one has gotten anywhere near Canterlot since Nightmare launched the war, and we have no idea what has been going on in the city. For all we know Celestia may have been poisoned in some way by some unseen foe. Perhaps a spell went wrong and damaged her mind. But the fact is it just doesn't matter right now. We can decide what to do with Nightmare Star once we have her. But we don't have her yet – and if we can't break the source of her power then she will remain unbeatable.” “You speak wisdom,” Balaak agreed. “So are you ready to make the attempt?” Twilight Sparkle looked up at the sun. “I am ready to try, but it's hard to believe this will work. I know that Luna and I are alicorns, but we are much weaker than our adversary. She has gained enormous strength. I don't know if we can wrest the sun away from her.” “She has only darkness on her side,” Luna pointed out. “We have harmony and light. We can do this, Twilight.” Twilight frowned. “But I don't have my friends! Don't you see? If my friends were here I'm sure we could win. Nightmare Star would be no match for the Elements of Harmony. But my friends aren't here. That's why this has all been so hard. I haven't seen them since the start of the war.” “It was a clever tactic,” Balaak agreed. “On the day before the war began, Celestia invited all of you to Canterlot. It was fortunate you were delayed and not able to go. Had you joined them, you would be in her dungeon as well. It was brilliant of her to separate you from your friends before she launched her attacks. She put you in a weakened position.” Twilight grew visibly angry. “Nightmare Star has had my friends imprisoned for months. She has done terrible things to them – but today it ends. Today we are going to save them from her and set them free.” “And justice will be done upon her,” Balaak added. “I want to bring her head back as a prize. She has destroyed the griffon race.” Luna frowned. Despite everything that Celestia had done, she had no intention of allowing anyone to kill her. She still had hope that Celestia could be saved. But she knew it was not wise to mention that to Balaak. The whole world wanted to kill her sister. That was why they had gathered on the plain below. “There are many nations that share that same desire. My sister has used the sun to do terrible things, and has made many enemies. But the future is uncertain. I do not think she will allow herself to be captured.” “She will not have a choice,” Twilight said coldly. The purple alicorn looked up at the sun again. “This would be so much easier if Starlight Glimmer were here. She was a powerful magical user. She could have helped.” Balaak nodded. “Glimmer was indeed a valuable soldier. Her spirited defense of Manehattan saved it from being completely obliterated by the Nightmare. No one else could have accomplished what she did. Her sacrifice saved many lives and forced our foe to retreat. Her name will not be forgotten.” “She would still be alive if it hadn't been for Trixie,” Twilight said angrily. “That was not Trixie's fault,” Luna said gently. “Nightmare Star has gained the ability to overpower ponies' minds. Trixie was not in control over herself.” “Besides, Trixie is dead,” Balaak said. “She is no longer a threat. She will never betray anyone again. Her days of being a pawn are over.” Twilight closed her eyes and tried to focus on the task at hoof. She knew what had to be done; she just did not believe that she could do it. But she had to do it. Her friends were counting on her, and she had to free them. She could not allow her former mentor to torment them for one more day. It was time to set them free. She would do this – or she would die trying. It was time. Twilight looked at Luna. “I'm ready.” “Very well. Then let us begin.” * * * * * On the highest tower of Canterlot Castle, Nightmare Star stood on the balcony and overlooked her city. The heat was stifling, but Nightmare was immune to it. The dark magic that now flowed through her veins had completely transformed her. Her white coat was gone, replaced with a black coat that was laced with fire and rage. Her eyes glowed a brilliant purple color and her white horn was blood red. Her mane burned with intense fire. There was only one thing that she wanted – and she was going to have it. Down below, the entire city prepared for combat. Her control over her subject's minds was complete. All of them would fight for her and die for her. That they did this unwillingly did not bother her in the slightest. She was in charge. They were simply pawns, to be sacrificed as she thought best. Outside the city, beyond her protective barrier, she could see that a mighty army had gathered. The army did not frighten her. What idiots! They will throw themselves uselessly against my solar barrier and will perish. Once they are dead I will lower the barrier and attack. Twilight and Luna will be easy prey – and once I have defeated them, there will be no one left to defend Equestria. It will at last be mine. She laughed at their stupidity. Attacking Canterlot was the height of foolishness! She thought Luna was wiser than that. Surely she must know– Nightmare Star gasped. A magical force had grabbed her sun and was trying to drag it out of the sky. Her sun! The source of her power, and the unending heat that fueled her rage. She could not lose it. She must not lose it. Nightmare immediately lit up her horn and grabbed the sun. She pulled back against the force that was desperately trying to move it. The fiery pony gasped when the sun began to go dark. “No!” she screamed in rage. She could not allow her sister to darken the sun. But how could her sister have such strength? Twilight! It had to be Twilight. Luna was not doing this alone. She had help. “It will not be enough!” Nightmare screamed. “I will not let you take my sun from me. Do you hear me, sister?” * * * * * Twilight strained at the sun. Sweat poured off her brow, and the muscles in her face and neck were taut. She was pouring every ounce of magical energy that she had into her spell, and still the sun would not move. “It's not working,” she painted. “Don't stop,” Luna gasped. “The sun is darkening. We are blocking its rays and cutting off Nightmare's power. She is losing her grip on it. We just have to outlast her.” The two alicorns fought Nightmare Star with every ounce of mana that they had. The rest of the army could only remain still and wait. This particular battle was beyond them. Balaak and his griffons watched the princesses in quiet amazement. They were astonished that any living creature had the power to control the heavenly bodies – although they would never admit that to the two princesses. This level of warfare was beyond their understanding. The griffons were glad that Luna was on their side. Without the help of the pony race, Nightmare Star would have completely eradicated them. The army on the plain watched the struggle with quiet hope. They saw that the sun was still fixed over Canterlot, but they did not doubt their princesses. They knew that they would win. Nightmare Star had been pushed out of the ruins of Ponyville and forced to relinquish her prize. Her army had been pushed back, again and again, until it was now pinned in the capitol. And now the last city would fall. Twilight and Luna strained against the sun that was anchored above Canterlot. They knew they could not hold out much longer. With growing desperation they pulled the flaming star. They pulled, and pulled, and then – The sun vanished. In an instant Nightmare Star lost her grasp on it, and it disappeared over the horizon. It was immediately replaced by the moon and the starry hosts of heaven. Night had come to Equestria – for the first time in more than a week. The effect was immediate. The ground trembled beneath their hooves, and the protective shield that guarded Canterlot collapsed. Luna thought she heard a faint scream of rage, but it could have been her imagination. If my sister is not screaming now then she is about to, Luna thought grimly. Justice is coming. “Well done!” Balaak shouted. “The invasion can now commence. Canterlot will fall!” “Wait!” Luna gasped. She was drained of magic and panting heavily. “There is still one more thing that must be done. I need to release the city from the spell that my sister cast on it. If I do that, its citizens will not fight against us. Then Celestia will be our only foe.” “But you're too tired,” Twilight pointed out. “You can't possibly cast that spell on the entire city in your current condition, and there isn't time for you to rest. Besides, if we wait then she might try to raise the sun again. We need to act now. If we rush her while she is weak–” “The loss of life would be horrifying,” Luna protested. “I do not wish to see Canterlot burned to the ground. We have to at least try.” “We're wasting time,” Balaak said. “What is your decision?” Before the leaders of the freed Equestria could respond, Nightmare Star made the choice for them. A noise like a thunderbolt echoed from the city. It sounded like the world had been torn in two. Twilight turned to look at the city. She gasped. Canterlot Castle was now at the center of an enormous, glowing red sphere. “No!” Twilight shrieked. “She wouldn't. She can't! How could she do that?” Luna's eyes filled with tears. “We have her cornered. I told you she would not let us take her alive.” Balaak looked at the city. He saw the sphere, but it meant nothing to him. “I do not understand. What has she done?” “I've got to save my friends,” Twilight said urgently. “There may still be time!” “You cannot stop her,” Luna replied. “She has already begun to cast the spell. It is too late.” “But it is not too late to save my friends. I know I can do this. Please, let me try. I can't just let her kill them!” Luna hesitated, for just a moment. She knew there was little chance that Twilight would succeed, but she could not deny her the opportunity to try. “Then go. I will command the army to retreat to a safe distance. We will await your safe return.” The purple alicorn vanished. * * * * * A year ago, Starlight Glimmer had altered the past in an attempt to destroy Twilight's future. To the surprise of everyone, Twilight was not only able to stop her, but became Glimmer's friend. The two ponies were both powerful magic users and had a great deal in common. It turned out that Glimmer was especially skilled at time-related spells. Before she was killed in the war, she taught Twilight a spell that could alter the speed at which time passed. When a pony cast that spell, the world around them seemed to stop. As long as they held the spell, they could travel wherever they wished and time would not pass. When they released the spell it was as if they had been magically teleported somewhere else. Twilight knew that she had very little time. The red sphere was just the first phase of the weapon. There were four more – and the phases were only a few seconds apart. She had to hurry. As soon as Luna gave her leave she cast the spell, leaped into the sky, and flew toward Canterlot as fast as her wings could carry her. Below her was the army, filled with hundreds of thousands of armed ponies. She desperately hoped that they would get far enough away from the city to survive the blast – but she could not afford to worry about that right now. She had to find her friends. She knew exactly where they were going to be. There was only one possibility. Beneath Celestia's palace was a dungeon, where the worst prisoners of Equestria were kept. That was where she would find her friends. All she had to do was reach them, set them free, and then bring them out of the city – all while maintaining the incredibly difficult time spell. Once she found her friends, her task would grow even harder because she would have to widen the spell to encompass all six of them. She had never even attempted that before – but there was no time to practice. Their lives hung in the balance. She had to succeed. As Twilight streaked across the sky she desperately hoped that her friends could still walk. And that they were alive. The reign of Nightmare Star had been unbelievably brutal. There is no telling what she had put her friends through. What happened to Celestia? Twilight wondered. I don't understand. For a thousand years she reigned with truth and justice. She was a loving mentor and a devoted friend. What could have poisoned her? Who did this? Twilight realized she would never know. When the doomsday spell reached its final stage, it would erupt with the savage fire of the sun itself. The city of Canterlot, and all the ponies it contained, would be instantly turned to ash. Nightmare Star would be killed and would take her terrible secret to the grave. That was not how Twilight wanted the war to end, but the choice was not in her hooves. When Twilight reached the wall of the city she realized with horror that the guards could see her. As she flew by she saw that they ever-so-slowly began to turn their heads to watch her. My spell is slipping! Twilight thought with panic. Time isn't stopped; it's still passing. I'm losing my grip! Twilight desperately tried to strengthen the spell, but she was too tired. Ripping the sun out of the sky had taken too much out of her, and she had very little mana left. She closed her eyes and made one last effort to stop the flow of time – – and crashed right into a building. Twilight screamed as her body smashed through a stone wall, and then tumbled into a room and plowed through the wall on the other side. The time spell broke and Twilight fell onto the street. Her vision was blurry and her entire body ached. An intense, blinding pain told her that her right wing was broken – probably in several places. And then she heard voices, and hoofsteps rushing toward her. The alicorn blinked rapidly, to clear her vision. She tried to cast the time spell – and failed. She couldn't focus. There was too much pain. The hoofsteps were getting much closer now. There were shouts of anger. Her vision cleared enough to see that the red sphere had turned yellow. The weapon was already in the second stage. Ahead, down the street, an armed band of ten soldiers was galloping toward her as fast as their hooves could carry them. They were all heavily armed, and they looked intensely angry. Twilight struggled to stand up, and tried one more time to cast the time spell. If she failed, she knew she was dead. Flying was simply not an option – not anymore. The pain from her wing made it almost impossible to focus. But she had to do it. She had to save her friends. She could not let them down. The alicorn lit up her horn and cast the spell. She filled her mind with thoughts of her friends. She thought of Applejack, and the times she helped her harvest apples at her farm. She thought of having tea with Fluttershy. She thought of learning to fly with Rainbow Dash, and modeling a dress for Rarity. And Pinkie – she had so many fond memories of her. Those ponies had been there when she needed them, and now it was her turn. The spell wavered and then stabilized. Time slowed – but it did not stop. The soldiers were now moving toward her in incredibly slow motion. But they were still moving. A wave of intense pain almost caused Twilight to drop the spell. She looked at her right wing and gasped in horror. It was not just broken; it was mangled. There was blood everywhere. Her wing had taken the brunt of the force when she crashed through the building, and it was shattered. She knew she could not heal that injury with a spell. If she received immediate medical attention she might be able to save the wing, but there was no time for that. She couldn't even cast a spell to relieve the pain, for doing that would mean letting go of the time spell – and if she let go the soldiers would kill her. She had to press on – on hoof this time. Instead of flying through the city she would have to gallop through it. That would take more time, and there was very little time left. It can't be helped, Twilight thought grimly. I can't believe I was that stupid! How could I run into a building? Rainbow Dash will never let me hear the end of it. She'll tease me about that for the rest of her days. Twilight began running. She was tired and in agony, and her magical reserves were dangerously low. She didn't know how much longer she could hold out, but she had to try. She was going to give everything she had no matter what it cost her. The alicorn raced through street after street, getting ever closer to Canterlot Castle. She knew the guards she passed could see her, but they would never be able to catch her. She had the edge – for now. But she knew she was in trouble. She was leaving behind a trail of blood from her broken wing. It desperately needed attention. Even binding it with bandages to stop the flow of blood would help – but if she stopped and tended to it, the blast would kill her. As Twilight reached the castle, the glowing sphere turned green. Twilight raced even harder. That was the third stage. There were only two more left – and Twilight still had to find her friends and get them out of the city. If they were still inside the city when the spell ignited, they would all die. The door to Canterlot Castle was open, and guards were streaming out of it. Twilight raced around them, then galloped down the hallway in a desperate attempt to reach the dungeon. As she ran by, the guards stopped their march and began turning to chase her. Her time spell was slipping even further – but she couldn't afford to think about that. She had to find her friends. It took only moments to reach the lowest level of the castle and open the door to the dungeon level. She knew it had taken far too long to get there, but she had done it. She had reached them at last. The joy that shot through her as she saw the dungeon's door was almost enough to overwhelm the pain from her shattered wing. The alicorn stormed inside the dungeon – and found that it was empty, save for one guard. There was not a single prisoner inside any of the cells. Twilight was shocked. What has she done? Twilight thought in a panic. They have to be here! Nightmare Star is holding them as her prisoners, and this is where she keeps her prisoners. There's no other place they could possibly be! The alicorn was desperate. She looked at the guard and decided that there was only one thing she could do. While she held onto the time spell, Twilight ran up to the guard and whacked him on the head. He collapsed onto the ground, stunned and in great pain. Twilight expanded the time sphere around him, took his sword, and held it against his neck. “I will only ask this once,” Twilight said through gritted teeth. “Where are my friends? Answer me, if you want to live!” The guard laughed. His eyes glowed bright green from Nightmare's mind control. “What, did you think the Elements would be here? Why would Nightmare Star do that? Oh no. My Queen had very different plans for them. She used her vast powers to turn them to her side. Your five friends are stationed at five different points in the city and are preparing to defend their Queen with their lives. They are not here.” Twilight gasped. I've been so stupid, she thought angrily. Of course she would use her mind spell on them! What was I thinking? She would want the Elements to be on her side. And all this time I thought – At that moment, the faint green haze that filled the air turned blue. Twilight panicked. She knew it was over. The princess had no doubt that she could cure her friends of the spell that Nightmare Star had cast on them. Luna had been very successful at doing that in the past, and she could doubtless do it again. But Twilight had five friends, and they were scattered at unknown points throughout the city. There was no way to reach even one of them in time, let alone all five. Twilight had lost. Her spell was slipping and time was passing despite her best efforts. She was weak, tired, in great pain, and beaten. But there was one last thing she could do. If this was where she was going to die then she could at least face her former mentor in that last moment. She would not die here, in the dungeon – but there, fighting the Nightmare. Twilight shrunk the time sphere so it no longer included the guard, and dropped his sword to the ground. With the last of her strength Twilight raced up the steps and galloped down the hallway. Time was creeping along more rapidly now, but it no longer mattered. Her bid to save her friends had failed. There were not going to be any survivors. At least I tried, she thought. Maybe I can apologize to them in the afterlife. I gave everything I had. Twilight reached the doors to the throne room. As she stretched up a hoof to throw them open, the sphere turned purple – the weapon's final phase. The princess opened the doors. Inside she saw Nightmare Star hovering in the air above her black throne. She was surrounded by an intense purple glow and had a look of great satisfaction on her face. The Nightmare knew that she was about to win. As Twilight walked into the room, Nightmare Star ever-so-slowly turned her head to look at her. A strange look crossed her face. Was that panic? Fear? Was the Nightmare afraid? But it didn't matter. Twilight had no more cards to play. There was nothing that she could do, for the doomsday spell could not be countered. Once it was cast the fight was over. Twilight looked Nightmare Star in the eye and let go of her time spell. She could hold out no longer. It was time for the war to end. But then something unexpected happened. The blast that Twilight expected never came. Instead, the world turned gray and everything stopped. Nothing moved – nothing at all. Twilight took a cautious step forward. She could still move, but everything else was frozen. All of the color was gone out of the world – and yet, strangely, she was still her normal purple self. The room was gray, Nightmare Star was gray, and even the doomsday sphere was gray – but Twilight was not. Whatever just happened had somehow left her alone. That's when she noticed that the pain in her wing was gone. She glanced at it and gasped. Her wing was completely healed. Even the bandages on her neck were gone. She felt fine – for the first time in weeks. “What's going on?” she said aloud. From the shadows behind Celestia's dark throne, a voice called out – a deep, unnerving voice. It sounded like chains being dragged across broken glass. It was a voice that chilled her very soul. “That is an excellent question,” the voice said. “An excellent question indeed.” Twilight watched in terror as a shadow emerged from behind throne. The shadow coalesced into the shape of a pony – but Twilight somehow knew that there was no actual pony there. Two red, fiery, hateful eyes appeared in the dark pony's head. In a world of grays they stood out as points of pure fear. It was a dreadful sight. The pony of darkness was the most terrifying thing that Twilight had ever seen. She desperately wanted to run and hide, but she forced herself to stand her ground. “Who are you?” Twilight asked, straining to keep her voice steady. “I am Death,” the pony replied. Twilight's heart skipped a beat. “Why are you here?” “To make a deal with you,” Death replied. “Come, let's talk.”