While cadence, Nightmare Moon, and Luna were in an epic contest with the evil Twilight Shroud. Twilight had lost the mental struggle with Sombra, he had proved too powerful to contest; she had all but lost control. Until Celestia came to her in a spirit form halting everything around her. “My dear Twilight it's not your time yet. I can but only give you one more chance to defeat him. I know you can Twilight. Make your old mentor proud.” After Celestia faded away, Twilight was magicked away into a spirit realm, which Twilight figured was her mind.
Twilight looked around this new dimension, and she noticed a white tree planted in the middle of the courtyard she was standing in. She also noticed that her mind was twisted. She could hear Sombras voice in her mind, echoing on the wind. Twilight returned her sight to the tree, and she noticed it was darkening with each passing second.
She figured that this tree resembled the core of her mind. Twilight knew what she had to do to stop this from happening, she had to find the roots of corruption that Sombra had planted in her mind, and she had to remove them to save herself from Sombras will.
Twilight knew it was not going to be easy. She entered the north entrance to the Labyrinth that her mind had been twisted into. She did not have much time, her minds condition had been gradually worsening, turning into a shrouded landscape desolate of life, with nothing but rooted evil. The sky had been growing darker by the minute, and her inner world was gradually losing its light.
She had noticed 3 beams of red light shooting into the darkening sky. Twilight had deduced that these red beams served as beacons to the roots of corruption that Sombra had planted into her mind.
Twilight began to sprint through the twists and turns as fast as her hooves could carry her, she eventually found a dark crystal surrounded by a wall of red magic. Twilight figured that she had found one of Sombras' seeds of Corruption.
Twilight hesitantly passed through the ring of magic, unsure what to expect from this type of magic. She soon found out when she entered through its threshold. Twilight was suddenly hit by a wave of dark magic, it had been intoxicating, she found it hard to breath, she began to feel heavy, then suddenly Sombra appeared before her. “Twilight why fight? Give into your fear, let it flow, embrace your true potential, let me guide you, embrace the darkness.” Sombra stated with a seducing tone. “N-No, I-I wont give in-in-to you...” Twilight Struggled to say under the oppressing dark energy, before passing out. “So be it Twilight, Contest me all you want. You will fall to my influence, Just like your pathetic brother, and soon, all of Equestria.”
Twilight could not remember passing out, or that she was in her mind, nor could she remember the past. She was in Ponyville again, and life was the same as it always was.
Pinkie was going about her random business, doing something with a trumpet and a party cannon. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were doing the duties as the council of friendship, helping, Lyra and Bon-Bon solve a dispute, Rainbow Dash had been going about her awesome way of handling the weather, Apple Jack was selling cider in the market. Fluttershy was gingerly helping a pair of ducks to a pond, Rarity was in her shop making dresses, Spike was gawking at Rarity.
Twilight approached spike to say hi, but to her surprise, the ponies looked at her with fear, as she walked through Ponyville. Some ran inside, shutting the door, and locking the windows. When Twilight noticed this it peaked Twilights' curiosity. Twilight made it to spike and said “Hello Spike what’s going on, why is everypony hiding?” Spike turned around and had an expression of fear, as he cringed. “ahh-um Empress Sparkle I-I was doing um... nothing at all, I'm just um... standing around, please don't execute me.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Ah Spike? are you feeling alright?”
Spike began to sweat in her presence, the ponies around the area began to all become fearful some trembling in her presence. “I–I am if you want me to be” Twilight replied perplexed. “Why are you acting like this?” Rarity came rushing out of her shop, before speaking with as much fearlessness she could muster. “Twilight I cant let you hurt spikey wikey, if you want to hurt spikey wikey, you will have to go through me!” Rarity began to charge her horn with shaky legs.
Rarity new if she were to fight an alicorn she would lose without Twilight breaking a sweat she had feared for her life. “WHAT'S GOING ON WHY WOULD I HURT MY FRIENDS?!” Twilight replied as she through her hooves in the air, and as she did a nearby Twilight guard said, “That's the sign.” and soon after he said that, two pegasai guards dived from a nearby cloud 1 pouncing on Spike, tackling him to the ground, the other tackling Rarity before saying. “You are under arrest, from order of Empress Sparkle. Empress we have them, we will take them immediately to the dungeon for punishment!” As the guard said this they took off faster then Twilight could speak.
Twilight became confused and began to wonder what was going on? How come they feared her? how come her guard took them away? Twilight thought to herself “what's going on here” Twilight went to her castle and to where the dungeon was, she saw Spike and Rarity in tears, strung up by chains on the wall. “Some Princess of Friendship you turned out to be. I did not know that's what friends do, and you thought my equality was evil.” A voice Twilight remembered all to well, it was Starlight Glimmers' voice. “wait why are you here, aren't we friends?” Twilight asked confused “HA, HA, you are such a comedian. is this one of your strange and sinister ways to torture me, does my sadness make you happy Twilight? As if I could be friends with a tyrant, I prefered Sombra he was a good king. You rule with an iron fist, just like your mentor Celestia. You and your dear mentor killed the only good rulers we had, Queen Luna and King Sombra.” Starlight replied snarkily, before spitting at Twilight.
Twilight could remember faintly, the great battle that unfolded with Luna and Sombra. She could faintly remember driving her pink sword through Sombras chest, and burning down the castle they resided in. “Your lying, Sombra was evil, he was a tyrant.” Starlight glimmer replied with a tone of disbelief “you keep believing that your highness. You have no friends, you will die alone, and when you do, I will dance on your grave. If you're even given one. Still don't believe me, why don't you ask Apple Jack, I'm sure she will be honest.” As she finished her sentence, two guards took her away.
Twilight thought to herself. “I need to find out what's going on, this does not make sense.” Twilight began to go to sweet apple acres wearing a black hood, to avoid being Recognised. Once Twilight made it to Sweet Apple Acres she found Apple Jack bucking apples, and she asked Apple Jack altering her voice with magic. “I'm new in town, and I was wondering is it true, that Twilight is evil, and that she killed her mentor, Luna, and Sombra?” AJ replied to Twilight “Sur'nough Stranger.” Twilight replied “Thank you, I best be going.” After Twilight replied she galloped off, cloak waving in the air. “Strange gal” Apple Jack thought to herself.
After Twilight entered the Everfree with full belief that she was a tyrant, and that she had no friends. She heard a voice that sounded familiar to her “you have no friends, No one to care for you. You killed your mentor, you don't know how to rule justly, I can teach you. Just submit to me, you will have more friends, you will be the best ruler Equestria has ever seen. If you don't believe me let me show you what you could be, if you obey me.” Soon after the voice that Twilight could not remember left her mind, she saw an image of the ponies of Equestria, treating her as they treated Celestia in her mind, with love and friendship, and her friends were her friends again.
Twilight had been feeling alone, and not herself in the current state the ponies viewed her as. She desperately wanted her friends back. “Embrace your fear, close your eyes, goto that place where you feel safe, tell yourself you'll be fine, obey my will and you will receive all that you desire, submit to my voice, let me take your pain away, don't fight any more, go to sleep. Let me look after your problems.” Twilight began to allow herself to be lulled into submission by the voice when another voice entered her mind. “Twilight don't listen, it's a trap” then the first voice sounded again.
“Are you sure you don't want to listen, it's the only way to get your dear friends back, and the respect you deserve, as the only appointed heir to the throne. Isn't that what Celestia wanted for you? She wanted you to be the just ruler, she taught you to be. You don't want to disappoint your mentor right? so why don't you let me take the reigns of mentor, and teach you the way? All you have to do, is close your eyes, trust my words and tell yourself you will be fine, obey my instructions, lower your defences, let me in, follow my voice.” then the second voice entered her mind again “Listen to the voice carefully, remember who it is you must defeat? Who is your real enemy.”
Then first voice echoed in her mind again “why would you listen to a voice you scarcely recognise? maybe its Sombra? maybe he is trying to corrupt you? you should listen to me Twilight. I'm your friend, not your enemy.” then all of her friends started speaking in her mind chanting “follow him, listen to him, obey him.” Twilight collapsed to the ground, reaching to her head in attempt to stop the many voices running in her mind. The second voice echoed again in a motherly tone. “Twilight Listen to my voice, and only mine. Who are you? What are you doing? Who is your enemy? Remember me Twilight, you must!”
Twilight tried to concentrate on the voice that was speaking to her, but it was masked out by the thousands of voices chanting in her mind, then Twilight spoke in a tone unlike her own, it was all most drone like. “I have no name, my enemy is Luna, Nightmare Moon, Cadence, and all who oppose Sombras sovereignty, all hail Sombra, his rule is Eternal.”After Twilight finished speaking she began to develop smoke like wisps in the corners of her eyes. Twilight started to plummet to darkness, the second voice shouted, briefly snapping Twilight out of her trance. “TWILIGHT, TWILIGHT, NO. I'M COMING, HOLD ON.” Twilight struggled to reply in her normal tone. “H-hurry I cant withstand his... his influence any-anymore.”