25. Twilight Sparkle
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Confucius
Spitfire cursed, hitting the nearest enemy with the butt of her empty gun. Another bat pony tackled her, falling with her to the ground. She kicked him and reached for her knife, stabbing the opponent between the plates of his armour.
The bat pony screeched, rolling on his back. Spitfire stood up, panting, and saw Soarin firing at two others. He was also grounded – one of his wings was hanging limply.
“I’m out of ammo!” he exclaimed. “How about you?”
“Me too,” Spitfire replied, looking around. Among the bodies of dead enemies, she saw Blaze and Fire Streak – both of them fought to the end. Spitfire approached them, thinking of a different day, almost ten years before, in the Badlands. The day when she and Fleetfoot had to leave their dead friends behind.
And now, Fleetfoot was dead too. Killed when they retook Ponyville, which they had to leave just few days later.
Spitfire sighed. Blaze and Fire Streak only had two clips of ammo left with them. She took one and gave the other to Soarin. “Seems that we lost the rest,” she muttered, looking at the sky. Even the bat mare she’d saved back in Ponyville disappeared somewhere.
“Watch out!” Soarin exclaimed. Spitfire turned immediately, firing at the incoming bat ponies. She took off, gritting her teeth and cursing her injured wing. The first bat pony didn’t see it coming; she tried to dodge Spitfire, but the bullet, fired and point-blank range, pierced her wing, and a powerful kick to the face sent her to the ground, unconscious.
The next bat pony was ready. The shot deafened Spitfire, who felt something like a powerful kick to the helmet. She dived under the opponent, stabbing him with her knife.
Her vision was blurry. She dodged another bat pony, but suddenly, a pile of debris appeared right in front of her. She crashed into it and rolled on the street, losing her damaged helmet and her gun.
“Soarin? Where are you?” she muttered, getting up. Bat ponies were circling above her. She reached for her gun, but suddenly, a bullet hit her hoof. Spitfire screamed and collapsed again, her vision getting red. Her foreleg went numb. She pushed her other hoof to it to stop the bleeding. Cursing, she looked at the sky and saw a brown pegasus among the bat ponies, holding a sniper rifle.
“C’mon...” Spitfire panted, holding her wounded hoof. “Finish me, fucker...”
The bat ponies probably wanted the sniper to do the same, as they were pointing at her, talking with the sniper. Spitfire saw him looking at her and shaking his head.
“Come on!” she shouted, trying to get up. “You can’t shoot me?”
The pegasus flew higher. Bat ponies, however, landed on the street and the pile of debris, surrounding Spitfire. They raised their guns and knives, barring their fangs and smirking at her. Spitfire grabbed her knife with her good hoof, licking her lips and staring back at her enemies.
Suddenly, a screech tore the air. Spitfire looked at the top of the pile of debris and saw a young bat mare she’d saved in Ponyville. Since then, the bat mare was following her everywhere, never saying a word.
Now, she was talking to the bat ponies, pointing at Spitfire, who sat in the middle of the circle, wondering what was going on. Two bat ponies approached her. Their guns were hanging harmlessly from their necks, but Spitfire was still observing them carefully.
“She told us you saved her, even though she killed lots of your friends,” the closest bat pony said. “So she wants to save you too.”
Spitfire stood up, wincing, and looked at the mare. “Thank you...” she said. “I still don’t know your name...”
“Nachtmahr,” the mare replied.
The brown pegasus landed in front of Spitfire, taking the first aid kit from his saddlebags. “Sorry for that,” he muttered to Spitfire, pointing at her hoof. “We’d better go and find some doctor, ya know... I’m Roo, by the way...”
“Am I a POW?” Spitfire asked, hissing when one of the bat ponies disinfected her wound.
“Prisoner of war? What war?” Roo asked. “I’ve seen Twilight Sparkle walkin’ to Luna. Screw war. Let them talk about it themselves.”
***
Luna walked down the empty street, surrounded by ruined houses. Bat ponies and pegasi were fighting above her, but she didn’t care. Stray bullets were whistling past her, ricocheting off her shield.
She saw a small, violet silhouette on the other end of the street and stopped.
“Twilight Sparkle!” she exclaimed. “Does my sister fear to look into my eyes? She doesn’t want to see me, so she sent you?”
Twilight said nothing, instead walking to Luna slowly.
“Twilight Sparkle!” Luna shouted. “We need to end this. Lead me to my sister.”
“You started it and you want me to end this?” Twilight asked. “After the deaths of Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and so many others?”
Luna lowered her head. “I made a mistake, I know...” she said. “But we can still fix this. Just tell Celestia to come here and talk with me!”
“Oh, you will see her soon,” Twilight replied with a smirk. “Sooner than you think...” Her eye twitched.
“What do you mean?” Luna asked, shuddering. There was something off about Twilight. Her mane was dishevelled and she was staring at Luna with her eyes motionless. At first, Luna thought that it was a result of walking through the battlefield, but she could sense something else. It was strangely familiar.
“Oh, don’t you know already?” Twilight asked. “I thought you’d sense this. You see, I killed her.”
Luna’s eyes widened when she looked at Twilight, who smiled at her. Suddenly, a vision appeared in her mind.
“Fight will only lead to more suffering…” Celestia said. “You still have Pinkie and Rarity…”
“But what about Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash? What about all the soldiers? Their sacrifice means nothing to you? And how about the foals who died? No one will pay for that?” Twilight didn’t care that she was shouting at the Princess of the Sun herself. All the feelings that welled in her now found a way to get out of her system.
“I am the one responsible for their death,” said Celestia calmly. “And if somepony needs to be punished for that, then it should be me.”
Twilight sighed, looking at the floor beneath her hooves. “You did nothing wrong, Princess,” she finally spoke. “It’s Luna who started the war…”
“But she started it because of my own stubbornness. I thought that after thousands of years of ruling Equestria I knew everything… I was wrong. Now these images keep haunting me...”
“It’s Luna who causes it!” Twilight shouted. She was now inches from Celestia’s face, shivering slightly. “She wants you to think that!”
“No, Twilight…” Celestia shook her head. “I can’t stand it anymore. Luna showed me how bad ruler I became recently… I need to give up…”
She rested her head on the pillow, looking so weak and vulnerable that for a moment Twilight wanted to admit that she was right. Right, as she always was, for thousands of years.
A strange spark appeared in Twilight’s eyes. She licked her lips slowly, and spoke, “You are right… You need to give up…”
A knife appeared in her hoof. Celestia closed her eyes. She didn’t make a slightest move when the knife, guided by Twilight’s magic, pierced her throat. Twilight retreated it, watching as Celestia’s body twitched on the bed.
“I’ll tell them that you gave me the full command over the army,” Twilight said to the princess, who was choking on her own blood. “I’ll make Luna pay...”
Celestia’s body went limp. An orb of golden magic shot from her horn. Twilight automatically caught it with her magic and stood, surprised, as the orb dissolved in the purple ray. She looked down at her hooves. Her coat got slightly darker, but she also felt a new strength entering her body. Everything in the room got smaller – or maybe it was her who grew bigger?
Twilight smirked and aimed her horn at the nightstand, lighting it on fire. Another spell, and the nightstand was intact, as if it had never been touched by flames. Twilight smiled.
“Thanks for that,” she muttered. She levitated a blanket and covered Celestia’s body with it. “Rest, Princess. You’re too sick to rule, after all. And now, I need to talk to Rarity...
“No!” Luna exclaimed, shaking her head.
“I have your sister’s magic now,” Twilight said, conjuring a magical shield around herself. “Give up, Luna. I’ll give you mercy... maybe. Go with me to the palace and–” She was interrupted by a powerful ray of Luna’s magic that pierced her shield as if it was made of thin air, and threw her backwards. Her body pierced the wall of the nearby building and disappeared inside.
“It takes more than my sister’s magic to defeat me...” Luna muttered. She fired another bolt at the building, which staggered and collapsed into a pile of debris. “War is over, Twilight Sparkle. You were its last victim.”
“Nice try, Luna...” Twilight hissed, emerging from the ruins. Luna shuddered, seeing her. Her broken bones were regenerating quickly, crushed muscles growing back and getting covered in fresh skin. “It takes much more than that to defeat me...”
“Let’s see...” Luna muttered. She levitated a large piece of debris and threw it at Twilight, who grabbed it with her magic and threw it aside, smashing it against the wall of the nearby building. She then disappeared in a flash of light.
Luna turned around, just in time to see Twilight appearing in front of her and firing a spell. It hit Luna’s shield and erupted into sparks.
“Teleportation?” Luna asked. “You tried the same thing with Nightmare Moon, Twilight.” Another Twilight’s spell bounced off her shield. “You need to learn new tricks.” She fired a spell at Twilight. The air around them grew hotter when a ray of blue magic exploded on Twilight’s shield. The windows of nearby houses exploded, littering the street with shards of glass.
“New tricks? How do you like this?!” Twilight exclaimed, firing another spell at Luna. It was struck in mid-air by another bolt of the princess’ magic. Thrown off-course, it hit an abandoned cart.
The cart didn’t explode, nor it was set on fire. The spell caused the wood to evaporate, changing the vehicle into a vapour of steam. Twilight looked at it, surprised, and barely managed to dodge an avalanche of debris Luna threw at her. Some of the bricks, however, bounced of her shield, which cracked and blinked.
“Something I learned from Rarity,” Twilight muttered through gritted teeth, levitating the bricks and throwing them back at Luna. “A good shield must deflect solid objects...”
“Deflect this!” Luna shouted, levitating several guns she’d picked from fallen soldiers around her. Most of the bullets bounced off Twilight’s shield, but some of them pierced it. Twilight screamed, when one of them struck her leg, changing the fetlock into a bloody mess of broken bones and torn muscles. Twilight collapsed when two other bullets hit her chest.
“Don’t think I’ll let you regenerate...” Luna muttered, levitating a large piece of roof of the destroyed building and dropping it on cowering Twilight. The ground shook when the roof broke in two. Luna raised the bigger part and threw it at the ground again, turning it a few times for a good measure.
A flash of Twilight’s magic exploded under the roof. Luna looked around unsurely. Suddenly, a large boulder hit her side, knocking the wind out of her lungs. Without thinking what happened, she teleported a few feet away, avoiding getting hit by another, much larger stone.
Luna took off, seeing a lavender, vaguely pony-shaped silhouette standing on the roof. “Why don’t you just die?!” she exclaimed.
“Equestria needs me,” Twilight replied. Her body was still regenerating and it didn’t look quite right. Luna noticed that her legs were bent in unnatural ways and her spine seemed broken.
“You killed my sister,” Luna said. “Why do you think Equestria needs you?”
“You both failed,” Twilight replied. “Look at this.” She waved her hoof, pointing at the desolated town. “Why would I let you rule after this?”
“And, thanks to you, it only got worse!” Luna exclaimed. “You killed my sister... and you think you can rule?” She noticed that Twilight’s regeneration was progressing slowly and saw her chance. If Twilight’s magic was running low...
The bolt of Luna’s magic collided in mid-air with a stream of lavender energy coming from Twilight’s horn. Sparks shot from the place where they connected, forming an orb, snapping and smelling of ozone.
“Give up and I’ll let you live...” Twilight spat through gritted teeth, trying to maintain the connection.
“Never!” Luna shouted, lowering her head. The orb, propelled by Twilight’s magic, flew past her and hit the building behind them.
An explosion caused the sky to darken. Luna screamed when several brick hit her. She dived, turning sharply to avoid Twilight’s another spell.
No spell struck her. Luna turned her head and saw that Twilight was still at the roof, shielding herself from flying debris. Dodging a charred board, Luna aimed her horn at the building Twilight was standing on, closed her eyes, and fired a spell.
The sound of collapsing walls filled her ears. She looked upwards and saw that Twilight had to lower her shield when the roof suddenly disappeared from beneath her hooves. She was now flying a bit above Luna, staring at her menacingly.
“Even now you’re destroying everything!” Twilight exclaimed, firing a spell which exploded on Luna’s shield, blinding her. She blinked and saw the bricks from the collapsed house flying towards her. Her shield snapped, barely able to stop them.
Luna teleported, appearing behind Twilight and firing a spell at her. Twilight blocked it effortlessly, but it was still there – a magical blade pushing at the bubble protecting the younger alicorn.
Twilight’s magic joined Luna’s. The air around them was shining, forming a large orb around them. The ruins and scattered wood started to evaporate, hissing loudly.
The sun turned red and the moon started to shine brighter. The ponies who were still fighting stopped, looking at the place where Twilight and Luna were. Some of them ran away together, getting rid of their weapons and uniforms.
Near the palace, Prince Blueblood stopped, staring at the orb of hot air in the middle of the town. He, Cadance, and Shining Armor managed to get out of the palace, fighting with the bat ponies using nothing but their magic.
“We need to stop them,” Blueblood said, panting. “Soon, they will destroy the whole town...”
“How?” Shining Armor asked. “I barely can protect you and myself from bullets. We’ll fry there...”
“We have another alicorn here, don’t we?” Blueblood turned to Cadance, who was checking if the bat pony she knocked down was alive. “Princess, try to reason with them before they kill one another!”
“I will...” Cadance turned to Blueblood who shuddered seeing her face. She took off and flew towards the sphere of Twilight’s and Luna’s magic, leaving her husband and cousin behind.
The air around her grew hotter. Cadance gritted her teeth, trying to get closer to the fighting alicorns, but it was like flying through the sea of syrup. No matter how hard she was flapping her wings, it seemed that she wasn’t getting any closer.
Cadance stopped and looked around. The sky wore a deep shade of orange. The orb in front of her was sending sparks around, almost hitting her. A few of nearby buildings were staggering, pushed by the force of arcane magic affecting them.
Cadance blinked, trying to see Luna and Twilight standing in the middle of the ruined street. Both of them were sweating, trying to pierce each other’s shields with their magic. The stones around them were melting, hissing loudly.
“Luna!” Cadance shouted. “Twilight!” She aimed her horn at the orb and fired a spell, hoping to pierce it, gaining the fighting alicorns’ attention.
The orb lit brighter, blinding Cadance for a moment. A spark went through her body. Cadance screamed when her wings gave up, and plummeted to the ground.
***
“Give up, Twilight,” Luna hissed. “We can’t fight like that forever...”
“Why not?” Twilight asked. “Why not burn the whole town? That’s what you do best! Just ask Fluttershy.”
“Twilight, stop it!” Luna exclaimed. “I came here to put an end to this, but you...” She fired another spell, hoping to surprise Twilight, but it bounced off her shield, changing a few nearby stones into dust.
“It went too far,” Twilight said in an emotionless voice. “Someone needs to be punished!” She aimed her horn at Luna and fired a spell.
Luna laughed when the spell hit her shield. She thought that Twilight was getting weaker – her previous spells were almost making Luna pass out anytime one of them hit her shield, but this one only scratched it. Suddenly, her eyes met with Twilight’s and, seeing her smirk, Luna realised something.
The spell wasn’t supposed to disable her shield. Its purpose was to check Luna’s magic signature and find the way to jam her magical protection. As Luna realised it, another spell hit her, throwing her backwards and sending her rolling on the hot ground.
Luna hissed in pain. Am I still alive? she thought, trying to get up. The buildings around her got bigger... So did Twilight, who approached Luna and poked her with her hoof.
“Age spell,” Twilight explained, levitating the blue alicorn foal and staring into her eyes. Luna thrashed and a few sparks shot from her horn. “Guess you’re still somewhere there, trapped in this body...”
Luna tried to fire another spell. A spark left a black mark on Twilight’s chest.
“No...” Twilight smiled even wider, showing broken teeth. “My magic ensures that you’ll stay that way...” She twisted Luna’s wing with her magic. Something snapped loudly and the filly started to cry.
“I’ve heard you’re concerned with dead fillies...” Twilight muttered, lifting Luna by her wing and staring into her eyes. “Time to think a bit about yourself.”
Luna thrashed again, freeing herself from Twilight’s grasp. She spread her wings, but it didn’t help – she hit the ground and rolled on her back, staring at Twilight, who approached her and raised her hoof.
“Goodbye, Luna,” Twilight said. “Soon, you’ll talk to your sister...” She lowered her hoof rapidly, smashing Luna’s skull. She shuddered, feeling the fur on her leg getting wet, and wiped it against the ground. An aura of blue magic lifted from Luna’s body and entered Twilight.
Twilight took a deep breath and looked around. “War is over...” she muttered to herself, feeling that she was getting bigger. “Time to clean it up...”
“No!”
Twilight looked around and saw Cadance running towards her. Her fur was dirty and one of her wings was hanging limply.
“You killed her...” Cadance panted, tears flowing down her face.
“I did,” Twilight replied. “Look, Cadance, I ended the war!” She laughed. “We can heal Equestria together...”
Cadance backpedalled. “Twilight... You... What happened to you? I’m not going to–”
“Do I have to kill you too?” Twilight asked, approaching Cadance. “I... I don’t want to do that, but... Are you still supporting the pony who wanted to destroy Equestria and who I just defeated? Do you want to waste everything my friends died for?”
Cadance shuddered, looking into Twilight’s eyes. “No,” she replied. “Their deaths were unneeded, just like killing Luna and Celestia.” Cadance sighed. “I’m sorry Twilight, but this war could have been ended much earlier... I... I have a feeling that it was you who kept it going...”
“What?” Twilight exclaimed, lighting her horn. Her body was surrounded by a flash of light, forming an armour and helmet. “I’d never keep the war going! I just wanted to end it! And you...” Her eyes started to glow white. “You want to kill me and rule Equestria by yourself!”
Cadance teleported just in time to avoid the spell that hit the ground behind her, changing it into steam. When she appeared again, she saw that Twilight was standing next to her, aiming her horn at her.
“It’s even easier than Luna...” Twilight muttered, panting. She charged her horn.
“Stop it!”
“What the...” Cadance muttered. They both looked at the empty street and saw six small silhouettes approaching them.
“Stop it?” Twilight smirked. “Like you could really do that...”
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No! Bad Author! go in timeout for that pun with Woona!
Damn, Twilight...I don't think this was supposed to be your destiny...
I have a feeling this next chapter will be the last. I will be sad to see this story go, unless there is more to it for a sequel... Speaking of which, what exactly HAPPENED to Applejack?I highly doubt she burned on that farm.
Well then....
5529368 She left to the Everfree Forest to an uncertain fate.
I have a bad feeling that Cadence is going to die next. I hope I'm wrong.
5529685 Yes exactly, but I could of sworn I remember something about them finding her hat which made Twilight assume she was dead. That is probably my imagination though. But either way this brings up a plothole unless she is dead. When fluttershy died her element turned to stone. So the same happened to the others right? But we never heard anything about Applejacks.
5529368
There are actually three more chapters to go, of which one is already written (but it's the last of them).
5529685
5529760
Applejack's Element turned to stone after she went insane (Celestia refers to it as "descent into madness" in chapter 16). Her fate will be revealed by the end of the story, I think.
5529685
5529760
From back in chapter 11:
Quote: What?” Twilight exclaimed, lighting her horn. Her body was surrounded by a flash of light, forming an armour and helmet. “I’d never keep the war going! I just wanted to end it! And you...” Her eyes started to glow white. “You want to kill me and rule Equestria by yourself!"
Damn....Insane Twilight has gone mad with power and turn into a new version of Nightmare Moon or something! Well once thing for sure she just turned herself into a monster after killing both Alicorn sisters.