Road to Twilight

by ShadowBrony

Now I'm Awoken...

Twilight staggered through the darkness. Her head felt hazy and her hooves felt heavy. The floor was covered in some sticky residue that smelled almost metallic. The room was completely black and despite her best efforts, Twilight was unable to properly light her horn, only giving off a very faint glow. As Twilight stumbled forward, she tried to piece together everything that had happened. She was stuck in the Rainbow Factory. Rainbow Dash was somewhere in here and Twilight had done everything she could to try and find her.

But she had been captured not once but twice. The second time she was caught, this worlds Rainbow decided it would be best to simply rip out her essence and turn it into a rainbow just like the rest of the ponies trapped here. Just as she was about to be taken, she had unleashed her fiery form only for something to go wrong. After that, her mind was filled with images of nothing but rage and one creature that reminded her of herself yet strangely different, dragging her into a dark abyss.

Twilight blinked as her head made contact with a wooden surface. “Oh, a door,” Twilight mumbled. Twilight raised a hoof and pushed against it. Light spilled onto her as she stepped into an office hallway. Twilight rubbed her eyes with her hoof, trying to get used to the light. The hallway was well lit with four doors on both sides and a spiral staircase at the end. Twilight blinked again as her eyes were finally able to properly focus. She glanced left and saw that one of the doors led to a bathroom. Twilight groggily went through the door that read “Mares.”

It was another well-lit room. A mirror stretched across the room. There were 3 stalls and three sinks. Twilight went over to the first sink, turned it on with her hoof and began to splash cold water on her face. As Twilight looked up and really gave herself a good look over, her heart stopped and her eyes grew wide at what she saw. From head to hoof, she was covered in spots of blood. Even more horrifying to Twilight, she quickly realized it was not her own. “What did I… What happened to me?!”

Twilight felt a drop of sweat run down her cheek as her heart began to beat faster than ever before. Twilight glanced up at her reflection and saw her eye’s had turned yellow. Twilight blinked and they turned back to normal. But her fears were still there. "What was that?"

Twilight suddenly began to notice a small whimpering behind her. It was soft so it did not get picked up by her ears right away. Twilight turned to stall behind her and could just make out a pair of hooves underneath. Twilight cautiously raised a hoof and pushed open the door to the stall. A small Pegasus stallion was huddled up in the corner with his eyes closed, shaking as he put his forehooves in front of him. “Please, I don’t want to die.”

Twilight took a step back in surprise. “Listen, I am not going to kill you. I do however despise what you do. But I promise you, I won’t kill you.”

The Pegasus opened his eyes and relaxed slightly, “Oh thank Celestia..." The Pegasus stared up at Twilight, "I was never a big fan of this place myself. I just really needed the money and this was the only job I could get that would allow me to keep a living.”

Twilight sat down, “So uh, are there any other workers here who might not have liked their job?”

The Pegasus quickly nodded, “Not very many but there were a few who felt awful but had no choice and that this was only a last resort. Some may revel in the ideas of what they do here but for some us, it is a job that pays decently well, so long as you are willing to forgive yourself for taking any part in what goes on here. Very few actually know the true horrors of this place until after they take this job. Most just simply accept it while others, like me, just try to ignore it and hope we are able get out and find a better job soon.”

Twilight nodded, “I see, I am sorry for judging it’s just, this place is insane. You are killing foals for crying out loud!”

The Pegasus looked away, “It’s not something everypony is proud off but corruption runs high and any who try to speak of it don’t last long.”

Twilight grimaced at the thought, “I am assuming that Princess Celestia and Luna know nothing about what actually goes on here.”

The Pegasus nodded, now refusing to look at Twilight. “The higher ups of this place have been doing well to keep what really goes on in here away from their ears. But it is becoming increasingly difficult. Especially since Luna returned.”

Twilight blinked in surprise at that. “Why would…?” Suddenly the gears began to turn as a Luna’s abilities entered her mind. “The nightmares. The ponies being held here must have horrific nightmares.”

The Pegasus turned to Twilight, “Hit the nail right on the head. Not just the prisoners but some of the workers too. Luna suspects more about this place than even Celestia. If so much as one filly got out and managed to tell the princess of the night herself, I’d say she would be breaking down doors to find out the truth for herself.”

Twilight smiled, “You may not have to wait long then. I helped a filly escape from here recently. She is going to tell my friends and they in turn are bound to pass this on to the princesses. It is only a matter of time.”

The Pegasus looked more relieved than ever before. “Good, then perhaps its best I get out of here and find a new job; maybe some therapy on the side.”

Twilight got up and moved back, allowing the Pegasus to get up and move out of the stall.

A thought suddenly went through Twilight’s mind. “Hey, before when I found you, you looked so terrified when you found me, why is that?”

The Pegasus laughed nervously, “I thought you were the black and purple pony that has been taking out workers left and right. Almost all the workers in the Pegasus Device room perished. But I can tell you aren’t her though obviously.”

Twilight stared back silently as the Pegasus made his way out. “Judging by your look I’d say you must have just barely made it past her. Better stay clear of her. Good luck getting out of here.” The Pegasus gave her a quick nod before quickly making his way out. The door shut behind him and Twilight could only sit were she was. “Oh...”

Twilight glanced back at the mirror, “Is my darkness really that powerful? A whole giant room of ponies gone so easily. I could not stand up to even a fourth of that and yet when I transformed into that thing I was unstoppable.” Twilight did a quick check of her body again, “They didn’t even manage to put a scratch on me.” Twilight lowered her head, “But I lost control. I let that creature inside me completely take over. I can’t even remember half of things it did… That I did.”

Twilight took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, “When I get back to my Equestria, Luna and I are going to need to have a long talk about this darkness inside me.”

Twilight put a hoof to her heart. “But for now, I need to put that all aside. Rainbow Dash, my Rainbow Dash needs me. I have to get her out of here.” Twilight got up and went over the door. She carefully opened it and looked outside. The coast was clear.

Twilight slipped out but almost lost her footing upon doing so as a spike of emotion hit her. Putting a hoof to her heart, Twilight felt a strange feeling come over her; her connection with Rainbow was telling her something, her friend was in danger. "Oh no..." She bolted without a second thought. She raced down the hall, up the spiral staircase and into a long corridor with a steal door at the end of it. The Rainbow of this world stood in her path.

Twilight stopped at Rainbow Dash turned to her. This worlds Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at Twilight, “You, I don’t know what you are but stay back.” Rainbow was holding a steal pipe in her wing, the end of it was wedged against the handle of the door. “One false move and I break the handle. She’ll be trapped if I do this. No over powered unlocking tool will be able to get her out. It would take some special blow torch to even have a chance at cutting your way through after that.”

Twilight’s mind raced. The distress that Rainbow was feeling was like a wall pressing down on her own heart. What was worst was that the distress did not seem to be directed at this worlds Rainbow but something else. She was going to have to act fast. “Move it Dash, I have to help my friend.” Twilight said it was as much force as she dared. She hoped that she could maybe threaten her way past. Under normal situations she would have tried to talk this out but time did not feel on her side and her Rainbow’s distress was growing by the minute.

Twilight gritted her teeth, summoned Aigam and pointed it at Rainbow. “I won’t ask again.”

This worlds Rainbow Dash stared back in rage. “Fine then!” Rainbow pushed with all her might and yanked the door handle free.

Twilight’s eyes went wide as panic filled her body. “NO!”

With no other option and the panic in that her Rainbow felt pressing down like never before, Twilight knew she was out of time. She was going to have to do something reckless. Something she might regret later but at this point, she felt she was out of options. Tapping deep into her emotions, Twilight felt her panic wash away as a new feeling emerged; rage.

This worlds Rainbow Dash stared wide eyed as Twilight began to change again. But she was not turning black, she was turning a whitish yellow. Her mane and tail were starting to flicker as it they were made of fire. No scratch that, Rainbow blinked as she realized that they were actually on fire. No, they were made of fire.

Twilight opened her now red eyes. She was no longer looking at Rainbow but instead the door. Twilight summoned a second Keyblade to her side: One-Winged Angel. She crisscrossed the two Keyblade making them into an X. Energy began to pulse around them as a red aura appeared around Twilight. A ball of fire began to form in front of the X. Twilight took a deep breath as she channeled pure magic into her attack. The room began to grow hot as Rainbow began to step back away from the door.

The corridor was small and narrow but there was a small window off to the right. Rainbow glanced at it, feeling like it might be her only option. She was not given much time to think about it as Twilight let out a loud yell. “RAINBOW! GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!”

Unsure if she meant her or the one behind the door, Rainbow hesitated for a moment before realizing it did not matter and bolted for the window, crashing through it just in time to feel the heat pass right behind her. It was searing hot and Rainbow realized that she may not have been quick enough as the fire shot out the window and consumed her. Rainbow cried out and dove downwards. Her wing had caught fire. She fell through the sky for almost half a mile before impacting a cloud below. She hit the cloud so hard it broke apart.

Rainbow quickly resumed her fall. Falling for at least a mile before landing with a loud splash in a small pond below.

Back up at the Rainbow Factory, Twilight stood panting heavily as the door fell inwards in melted mess. The corridor was blackened, severely burned by Twilight’s fire. Twilight took a step forward, her body slowly returning to normal. She was exhausted but knew it was not over yet. Staggering her way in, Twilight tried to call out to Rainbow only for her words to get stuck in her throat.

A black portal was currently in the middle of the room and Rainbow’s head was just now disappearing into it. Twilight lunged forward, unable to grab her before her friend was swallowed whole. Twilight watched in despair as the portal quickly disappeared before her eyes.

Tears began to well up as Twilight stood in shocked silence. After a moment, she sat where she was. She slammed her hoof against the ground. She had failed. The darkness had gotten to her friend first. Void now had Rainbow. Twilight could no longer feel her friend calling out. Twilight slammed her hoof into the ground again harder. “Damn it!”

Her heart hurt and her body felt awful. She went above and beyond and still came up short. “Why, why couldn’t I have gotten here sooner?”

Twilight looked around the room. It was bare for the most part. Just a small barred window to the outside, that was it. “She had been imprisoned here for goddess knows how long. She knew I was coming though. She knew I was coming to get her but I could not make it in time.”

Twilight blinked away her tears as she noticed light coming through a small barred window. It was revealing a small piece of wood on the ground. Twilight quickly went over and picked it up with her hoof. “A piece of the Door. It was here the whole time as well?!” Twilight closed her eyes as she could feel the magic radiate from it. Soon a portal opened behind her. Twilight let out a small sigh. "Sorry Rainbow. I am so very sorry..."

Twilight turned and silently walked through the portal, her heart and will feeling more down than ever before. As soon as she disappeared, a voice could be heard outside. “This way Princess Luna. I have much to show you.” A much more royal voice answered, “I am sure you do miss Scootaloo. I had always known something was wrong about this place. I am glad some filly was finally able to come and enlighten me. It seems that some secrets may finally come to light.” Another voice could be heard just behind her, “I just can’t believe I did not know. I never realized it had gotten this bad.” The voices trailed off as silence returned to the now dark room.

Author's Note:

I am back and writing once more. My life has been crazy since July. So many changes happening all at once. New Job, new room mate, more responsibilities. Just when I think I finally think I have a handle of things, life throws a curve ball at me. Got another one coming up soon too as a job was offered to me with better pay and better hours starting in June, the only downside will be that it is in another state meaning that I will have to deal with moving and not being around friends and family for awhile. But if I do take it, I will have more time to do what I love including writing. Which is something I want to make a career out of. I have already started on something recently but time has just not been my side lately. But with a new season on the way, I feel my inspiration rising so I am going to be hopefully updating more again soon. Wish me luck.

Comments

[Madara1442]

Good Luck.

[Kairee]

Yay it lives

[Kichi]

U.U.... Rainbow Factory song?

Now I'm awoken...

...And taking back control

[Arch22]

I'm sorry it took me so long to read this chapter I'm still here and still a huge fan! I actually forgot this website existed until I posted my own thing maybe someone could come read it hint hint hint....?