Path of Damnation

by Lucidenn

Act I Chp. 5: Happy Birthday

It was the perfect day, Celestia's sun beamed merrily down upon them in the cool air of this fine spring afternoon. They lay together beneath the sparse shade of an oak tree, watching the gentle wind guide the verdant branches in the steps of a gentle dance. Shining turned his eyes to the pink blessing in his embrace. She was so perfect, so loving, so...everything. Even the most mundane tasks brought happiness to his life when he shared it with her, she simply completed him in a way he hadn't known possible. The nostalgia of the days of his youth struck him, a time where a scraggly colt dressed in a wrinkled white collar shirt and blue tie loosely hanging upon his neck. What Cadence had seen in Twilight's disheveled big brother he would never know, but now each day was a miracle of love, for which he could not be more thankful for.

"Sweetie why are you looking at me like that?"

Shining chuckled, bashful at having been caught red-hoofed. "Oh it's nothing dear, just counting my blessings."

"Oh indeed? And how many do you have?" Cadence teased back.

"Well so far I'm up to 913, and counting. One for each day together since our first date."

Cadence was completely unprepared for that response. It was hard to tell on a pink alicorn, but anytime Shining could clearly see that his wife was flustered and blushing, he knew he'd done a good job. She lifted her forelegs halfway to her head in a subconscious attempt to hide her face as she tried to stammer out a response. "I uh, well... I mean, yo-you kept track?"

Shining's answer was to crane his neck down to give his wife a long, adoring kiss. When finally they broke the embrace of their lips it took Cadence a few moments to remember how to breathe, their hearts fluttering in unison. "I love you dearest."

"I love you too Shining" her eyes glimmering with tears of joy, "never forget that."

"I would never forget"

Cadence suddenly seemed urgent and pleading, reaching a hoof up to cup her beloved husband's face with its touch. "Please Shining, promise me, promise that you'll never forget."

Concerned, he rushed to assuage her, "of course my darling, I promise with my life never to forget our love."

The tears that had once welled with joy and love overflowed their container, running red with the liquid of life as all color drained from her eyes. Her body spasmed violently and Shining felt something warm splatter his pristine white coat. Looking down he found a gushing stab wound in his beloved that led straight to her heart. Hyperventilating, he tried desperately to plug the hole with his hoof to stop the bleeding, but it wouldn't stop, it was too late. Spring was gone, as was the grass and the beautiful blue sky. All around him were the snow banks of the mountains north of Canterlot, and the sky was blotted out by a menacing redish-black cloud that sparked with purple lightning.

No, no this couldn't be happening it couldn't be real. Shining tried to back up from the corpse of his wife, only to lose balance and fall backwards into the near-lifeless oak tree, unable to move properly now that his body was suddenly missing a leg. Sharp bark stabbed into his flesh, but he could care less; the tree itself looked completely dead, yet it leaked sap worse than a pine tree, dark crimson sap that dripped from the branches and the trunk and tasted of iron. His eyes remained fixed upon the corpse of Cadence, already aged and decomposing, lips shrunken tight against gums and teeth, and eyes rotted away to leave hollow pits of darkness.

With a ghostly rustling sound, it slowly brought its head up off the ground to look accusingly straight through him with those horrifying eyes, or lack there-of. "But you promised Shining, you promised." It spoke with her voice through a tongue half rotted away, and the sound was somehow delayed by half a second so that as its jaws moved it took a moment for the rustling voice to appear on the wind. Peeling itself off the ground, the corpse slowly approached him, hoof desperately outstretched.

"Never forget.....You promised."

In blind panic Shining scrambled, shoving himself harder against the trunk of the blood-tree, until the rotten wood crumbled away and he fell from a rocky ledge, screaming the entire way down as the corpse of his wife watched him with eye sockets emptier than the chasm itself.
****

Shining woke to find himself on a lumpy train-car seat, screaming the word "NOOOO" and hoarse from the stress it put upon his vocals. Cowering across from the aisle was a brown earth pony dressed in a navy blue jacket and well-polished brass buttons. A similar navy blue hat sat upon his head embellished by the addition of a large bronze insignia. "I-I'm sorry sir, all I wanted was to see your ticket. B-but its ok! I won't tell my boss, it can be our secret I'll just say that I stamped it don't worry. I understand, loud and clear, a great big NO to showing your ticket. You obviously feel quite strongly about not wanting to show your ticket. I...I'll just be going now, you won't be disturbed again I promise!"

With that, the terrified colt dashed out the car door and slammed it behind him. Uncaring, Shining tightened the knots in his rag wrappings, and settled back into his seat, refusing to let his mind reflect on the nightmare that had woken him. Outside the window the outskirts of Equestria whisked by in a blur of sparse vegetation. The grey rock and empty, featureless landscape seemed somehow appealing. It was an environment that matched him completely. Perhaps this place, after a month of searching, would be the place he could finally live his life, away from everything and everypony. Away from the reflections of happiness that tortured him so much every time he entered a pony town. He lay his head down once more, hoping for rest to come with his sleep this time, failing to notice the large cloud stretching across the horizon; a redish-black storm that sparked with purple lightning.
****

Rainbow Dash tossed and turned on a mattress lumpier than a toad and harder than rock. She was absolutely exhausted, but the pain the bed inflicted on her already sore body had kept her just on the edge of consciousness. Now a whole new level of discomfort was thrown into the mix, the hair on the back of her neck standing up straight like she was being watched. Maybe it would go away if she kept her eyes squeezed shut and refused to acknowledge its existence. Turning over onto her other side, a booming voice jolted her awake, having come face to face with the culprit.

"PRIVATE DASH, WHAT IN HAY DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING STILL IN BED! REVEILLE SOUNDED FIVE MINUTES AGO!"

Poor Rainbow massaged a brand new bump on her head from hitting the support boards of the bunk above her, while simultaneously trying rub the ringing out of her ears. "Well maybe I would have heard it if somepony didn't inflict hearing loss with each word." She mutinously grumbled under her breath.

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU SAID PRIVATE?"

"I said I'm glad to be up and ready for the new day sir!"

"WELL, I'M GLAD TO HEAR IT THEN. IN FACT YOU CAN HELP ME OUT BY SPREADING YOUR ENTHUSIASM TO THE OTHER MEMBERS OF YOUR TROOP. GO LEAD EVERYPONY IN DOUBLE THE MORNING EXERCISES!"

Rainbow groaned, her troop would not be happy that she'd gotten them ladled with double the early morning workout. Aghast, she asked pleadingly, hoping for mercy. "Double?"

"YOU'RE QUITE RIGHT PRIVATE, DOUBLE JUST DOESN'T CUT IT. VERY WELL, TRIPLE IT IS! WHAT AN EXCELLENT IDEA PRIVATE, NOW GO TELL YOUR TROOP THE GREAT NEWS!"

Rainbow quickly exited the barracks before anything else could be levied against her. Just outside the tent flap she ran into Applejack, wearing a scowl that was quickly becoming all to regular on her face. Behind her stood the rest of Rainbow's troop, giving the one-winged pegasus glares that would have set her aflame had they been any more intense. It seems she wouldn't need to reiterate their punishment after all, everypony had already overheard Staff Sergeant Thunder Lung.

"Gosh darnit Rainbow, why couldn't you just get up on time like the rest of us?

"Hey! It's not like I wanted to get everypony punished. If you want to blame somebody blame Thunder Lung for giving my punishment to everpony instead of just me!"

"You just don't get it do you Rainbow? We all got punished because punishing us for your mistakes is supposed to motivate you more than just dealing with your own punishment. You're part of a team, so why don't you start acting like it and get your act together?"

"And that, Private Applejack, is precisely why you've just earned your troop an extra 40 pounds on the ten-mile hike." Staff Sergeant Thunder Lung was legendary amongst the recruits for his bellowing voice, and zero-tolerance attitude. Occasionally hushed whispers would circulate the boot camp, rumors of the fate of the unfortunate few who had earned his ire. In these times it was said he would speak with barely more than a hushed whisper; a dangerous whisper that would stop any recruit in their tracks instantly.

"If this was a battlefield right now, and Private Dash had not woken in time with the others to respond to a hostile enemy, the trenches would be her own grave. She would die, and it would be on all of your heads for not waking her yourselves to make sure the entire troop got out alive." he whispered. "Do not speak of teamwork when you so clearly do not understand the meaning of your words."

The resulting silence hung like lead upon them all. Head drooped in shame, Applejack slowly nodded her head. "Yes sir."

"GOOD, NOW GET DOWN TO THE PARADE GROUNDS AND GET RUNNING, YOU'VE GOT TRIPLE TO DO AND I EXPECT YOU TO STILL BE DONE BEFORE LUNCH IN THE MESS HALL! DISMISSED."

Together the troop trotted off to get started on the arduous tasks before them. Before she could go too far, Rainbow Dash quickly stopped her friend for a moment. "Hey listen AJ....I'm sorry, this whole mess was my fault, I'm sorry for getting everpony in trouble, and for getting you yelled at. Thunder Lung doesn't know you, but I know you'd never leave anypony in danger behind, so don't take it too hard. I'll do my best not to hold you guys back anymore."

"I appreciate the apology Sugarcube, but the Staff Sergeant was right. I thought to lecture you on what it meant to be a team without acting like it myself, and for that I'm sorry."

"Yeah yeah, so we both bucked up and promise not to do it again. Now if we're done with all that, bet ya I can beat you and the rest of the troop down to the parade grounds, 123GO!"

Applejack watched with a smile as her friend lived up to her namesake by turning into a multi-colored blur of speed. Thunder Lung's admonishment had hurt a lot more than she'd care to admit, and had it not been for Rainbow and her aversion to "being sappy" she might have just ended up wallowing about in the doldrums all day. There was just something about that scamp that could lift her mood again, and believe in herself the way Rainbow did in her.

Awh horseapples, RD had a huge lead now, she'd have to kick it into high gear to try and catch up. Putting on a burst of speed, Applejack gave chase to her best friend as the sky above her was darkened by a nasty storm advancing from the north; clouds a redish-black in color and sparking with purple lightning.
****

"Princesses! Urgent report from Colonel Iron Wing! A massive storm is coming from the Crystal Empire, blowing due south! It has already passed Stalliongrad, and reports from the Northwind boot camp indicate the storm is about to overtake them as well!"

From their throne both Princess Luna and Celestia looked up from the first drafts of Equestria's missive to the gryphon kingdom. Luna was the first to respond, short and to the point as usual. "Damage report?"

"Well, none so far. Not even a drop of rain as of yet. Weather captains have been ordered extreme caution and to not attempt to disperse the storm however, due to the large amount of unnatural lightning contained within the clouds."

"Unnatural how?" Spoke Celestia, eyes narrowing in both concern and suspicion.

"That is difficult to explain Princess, perhaps it is something you have to see for yourselves. If you please, the storm should be visible to Canterlot's north by now."

Sparing but a glance at each other, the princesses all but ran to the nearest window to look out upon the northern horizon. In the distance was clearly visible a massive wall of clouds, a nasty color like a smoky fire, and when they magically enhanced their eyesight, they could see the sparks of magenta electricity.

"What thinkest thee dear sister? Storm spells are certainly within their reach, but for the damage they are capable of the energy required is incredibly wasteful. It does not seem like them."

"Agreed, but see Luna, how the magic is sparking wildly there? I do not think the clouds the medium for the spell, more likely a symptom. The atmospheric disturbance of that much raw magic seems to be gathering the water to it of its own accord."

"But to what end Tia? Intentional waste of this much energy to no more effect than foreboding cumulonimbus would be downright foolish."

"Quite right, which leaves only the option that this effect is involuntary, and something truly troublesome is happening within the empire that is creating this storm simply as a side-effect."

Luna's eyes widened at the thought. "What monstrosity could do this?"

"I know not for certain, but I fear that Twilight's time of weakness is about to pass."

"You don't mean..."

"She was barely a month away when first she returned Luna, and that time has passed. From here on out, her power can only grow."
****

Throughout the Crystal Empire the crystal ponies experienced a rare day where all they had to do, was nothing. Barracks were locked tight, and ponies played games of crystal dice between the bunk beds, waiting out the storm swirling around the Black Castle that violently rained destruction just outside the city limits. Inside the Imperial Academy the next generation waited out the storm in their training pods, abhorrent to let a single moment of programming go to waste, their Queen would be so proud. Only one crystal pony faced this time with true displeasure, if not fear, and that would be the royal midwife.

"Why has my wife's fever not yet broken slave?" Demanded King Sombra.

"My apologies master, all I can do is ease her discomfort. I've seen this only once before, when I helped birth a unicorn in Equestria, the magical field of the mother and the foal are becoming separate now that she's gone into labor so that the foal can properly be born. I've never seen a separation cause such turmoil before, it must be a sign of just how powerful both mother and child are."

Displeased that his wife was in such discomfort, but mollified by the compliment to his family's might, Sombra left the midwife with one final warning before resuming his vigil by his wife's side. "Very well, but know this slave, the health of my wife and foal are intertwined with your own fate, and if either by the end of your services here are anything less than perfectly healthy, you and yours shall suffer the same."

"Yes my lord." The midwife bowed as low as her midriff would allow, she herself heavy with foal, as was most every mare in the Crystal Empire these days. With fear she glanced back at her patient, whose body was dripping with sweat, and mumbling to herself as she relived some memory or other in the height of her fever. Another contraction wracked the purple alicorn's body, and outside the storm responded with another tornado touching the ground; this one with enough ferocity that the rocks it touched sparked the dry vegetation into flame, becoming a cyclone of screaming hell that lit the sky as the pillar of fire danced across the mountains. Sure it was normal for ponies of extra-ordinary power to cause small pockets of strange gravity or heat when in labor, but this was on a level unheard of. The midwife shook her head and wished silently that this would resolve itself when the aura of mother and foal fully separated just like every other magically-charged birth, for if it didn't then she could kiss her existence goodbye.

"I'm here my beloved, my Queen of Darkness." Sombra took her hoof in his as he watched her unconscious struggle. "Feel my strength, know that it won't be long now before you can hold our foal for the first time." With a grip that would crush iron, he felt her respond to his words, and smiled encouragingly. She was more magnificent with every day, and if the magical disruptions to the Aether were anything to judge by, their foal would be no less amazing. His Queen grimaced once more, but behind the pain he could see a grim satisfaction; whatever memory she lived once more through this fever must be at least a pleasant one.
****

Arcane energy warped the wood around her with its power. With a mighty roar, Twilight unleashed everything she had in shards of magenta destruction upon the other Twilight. Infuriatingly, her other self lazily sidestepped the bolts of death, and even turned her coat into a silvery mirror-like substance that reflected Twilight's attacks right back at her. "That's so unlike you dearest, or should I say its so very much like me?" the other Twilight chuckled at her own joke. "Really now I thought we'd be stuck here through a droll eon of conversation while we tried to work our differences out like 'civilized ponies.' "For those last two words, Twilight made an elongated face that was obviously a mock of the self-important Canterlot nobles, monocle and all. "Ho hum, yes indeed good lady, I say!" With a snort, she couldn't hold the face any longer and cackled to herself. "I'm quite glad you decided to at least make things a fair bit more interesting for the merger."

Twilight simply stood where she was on the opposite side of the room, surround by the scorch marks of her own attacks and panting heavily from her exertion. "It doesn't make any sense, YOU don't make any sense! How can I be this tired already when you're still prancing around like Pinkie Pie on coffee!? I don't understa..."

"YES, EXACTLLY!" Other Twilight interrupted. "You don't understand me, but from what you think you know you're definitely bent on destroying me for it. But I understand you Twilight, I understand you all too well, and that is why you could never hope to beat me."

"Then why aren't you fighting back, where's this power you boast?

"Because I don't need to, you've spent so much time with Sombra now but you haven't learned a thing! You've struck blindly like a lost foal, and now it's lost you your friends, your princess, and your home." Other Twilight grinned with a demented wickedness. "And now, as you exhaust yourself uselessly trying to overcome me, you'll lose Sombra as well, to me."

Twilight's eyes flashed with anger, irises churning with sickly green as enough dark magic leaked from her eyes that it created thick ropes of purple smoke. She didn't cast a spell, she didn't wish for any special attack or item to come forth to her aid. She knew, she simply knew that at that moment her horn was plunged straight through the heart of the other Twilight. Within a moment her knowing that reality in her mind, the universe around her corrected itself, and the other Twilight looked down with pain and surprise at the bloody horn that slowly slipped back out from the new hole in her chest.

She slipped to her knees and coughed up a puddle of blood out of her lungs before smiling back up at the enraged alicorn. "Perhaps you've learned something after all."
****

The midwife scampered about for towels and warm water. Nearly 18 hours of labor! The Queen must be setting some kind of record, and as each minute crawled by the retribution promised by her King's glare only increased ten-fold. She'd all but given up on hope when she checked on her patient one last time to find her dilation almost complete. It would not be much longer before the foal would be delivered, and if there was any luck left in the universe, any at all, then the Queen would awake to the world as her foal did and her life would be spared the King's wrath.
****

Other Twilight was incapable of nimbly prancing about her opponent's attacks any longer. Now she stood with dozens of wounds tinting the oak to a lovely shade of cherry, a full half of her face sheared off, and yet she still managed that infuriating smile of hers. "So, is this your plan then? Quickly, best finish me off so that you'll never have to worry about me again, then you can go back to your life all happy as can be like nothing had ever happened. Isn't that right?"

Twilight let her anger slip away, falling exhausted to the floor. Nothing made sense, everything was just so wrong now. "I know what you're doing, you can drop the act. In the act of destroying you, I would become you, I would become something I despise."

Other Twilight harrumphed as the wounds that ailed her magically disappeared as if they had never been. "You wound me Twilight, how would you know I'm something to despise?"

Twilight sighed and buried her face in her hooves. Trying to defeat her other self had been an utter waste of time, no...she had to be honest with herself. She'd tried to DESTROY other Twilight completely and utterly. What was wrong with her?

"What's wrong is that you can't make up your silly mind still. You keep thinking too much."

Twilight gave her other self a frosty glare, "I hadn't said that out loud."

"Like that matters in here? Now that you seem at least willing to listen, consider this. The reason you're so confused and conflicted is because you have a whole life of experiences that told you what to expect in life, and laid out for you in nice neat gold-plated letters what was good and what was bad. Now you've seen the lies of the system, the shadows that lurk behind our precious Princess, and even our friends. Didn't you tell them, didn't you scream for all the world to hear that Sombra was your love, true as can be?"

Twilight simply nodded, not liking where this was going.

"And then they showed their true colors didn't they? They decided for themselves that you were delusional, and obviously wrong. They were going to KILL him. Just like you were so bent on killing me, you know that the same shadow inside of you lies within all of those hypocrites as well. The difference, is that while you are here to face the truth, they live their lives in self-righteous hypocrisy! You can pretend all you like, but the shadows don't recede just because you refuse to notice them. You've seen it yourself in Sombra's memories. Those village ponies that turned him away when he was a mere colt, enslaved and desperate. How much has really changed Twilight, how much has really changed?"

It was hard to listen to her own deepest musings to be aired for her to face directly, instead of hiding them away from notice, but that only made Twilight's words ring with greater truth. "Then, what can I do?"

Other Twilight got down and stared fiercely into her eyes. There was no mirth or madness reflected in those magenta orbs, just a determination and will screaming to be communicated and understood. "You do what Sombra has been saying all along you dolt....

YOU...
MAKE...
A...
CHOICE!
****

The mightiest thunderclap the world had ever known rang out from the storm as the magical-lightning infused thunderstorm erupted in a burst of electrical energy and Twilight awoke from her fever with a mighty gasp for breath. From the Queen's nethers a tiny horn appeared, soon followed by a tiny head, fore-limbs, and then finally the rest of the new-born colt. Right on his heels came a surprise; a second horn, and a second newborn, this one a filly, as a second thunderclap shook the pillars of the world. The midwife quickly finished her work, removing the umbilical chords with practiced precision and cleaning the twins of the remaining placenta.

Wordlessly, Sombra took his children from her, and brought them over to meet their mother as they cried from the unpleasant sensation of being out in the open. Twilight gazed upon them with adoration as the storm dissipated outside her chamber windows. Eagerly, she took her daughter from Sombra, and scooted over to allow him room to lie down with her whilst holding his son. "It would seem the universe has sought fit to bless us my dearest, now we get to use both the name we selected for if it was a filly, and the name for if it were a colt." If it were possible, Twilight would have smiled wider at her husband's comment. Gently cooing, she soothed her children, and with a happy yawn they stopped crying and nuzzled their parents. The midwife took this opportunity to quickly excuse herself, just to be sure the King had no chance to decide to punish her after all.

"Happy birthday beloved Amethyst Marrow. Happy birthday my Emerald Fletcher."

"Welcome to the family."

Author's Note:

I've edited the story so now the large sections in italics represent flashbacks. Hopefully this will help prevent confusion between past and present events as I reveal more of what happened back in the shadow-realm for you guys.

Comments

[dakatmew]

Words cannot express how much I love this story. Continue, by any means necessary. Soon. PLEASE?

[icypen]

Twins! YAY!

[Moongaze14]

I love this chapter. It introduces the Innner conflicts of AJ, RD, Shining, and Twilight. Plus, its shows the love between Sombra and Twilight and their joy of having twins. This is the most heartwarming chapter in this story.

[dawn seeker]

awesome

[PinkieLunaShy]

Here we go YEAH!!!

First: D'awwwwwwwww twins! Hia cutie pies! Welcome to hell! Cause of your really retarded and love blind mother!

Second: TWILIGHT!!!!!!! Make a choice! And then STOP THE MOTHERBUCKING STORM!

Third: Oh shut up Sombra just shut up please! Leave the poor midwife alone and let her do her job! Aww that's nice she knows your there. I hope she breaks your hoof off

Fourth: Electric fingers reaching (I forgot some words) Stopping Waaaaaaaiting LIGHTENING! (Its a song I sang when I was like 10. Its amazing I remember that much.)

Fifth: Rainbow look what you done did. I'm angry. Don't talk to me just no. And AJ don't scold or eat mold. Yo your out in the cold. Are you feeling old?

I'm done oh wait!

Finally: Faust dammit Nappa! Breathe Armor breathe. Your gonna Be fine. We were screaming nooooo together. Oh whatever you do don't go to the crystal empire to killa creepy a** child molester wannabe or his wife, your ex-sister. It ain't worth it.

Now I'm done.

[Lucidenn]

4784192
4785585

There seems to be some slight confusion, so jut to make sure things are clear, Twilight was simply reliving the memory of her time in the shadowland, the choice that was made has already been made, and that was the choice of her dark path. That was just my way of letting you guys take a peek at what happened all those months ago. You can probably expect to see more of that time revealed through exposition and more flashbacks in the future.

[PinkieLunaShy]

4786121

Oh phew I thought there was another choice I was about to ask what is it and look like an idiot! HA! Either way... I'm still angsty with her. (Yup I said angsty. Don't judge)

Edit: OH THATS A WORD OH! dang Im so stupid... Geez. Ignore my stupidity. Just Ignore it... you'll get used to it! *Sigh* I need a life....

[Super Ponyman]

Shining, after what happened... you must know that this will not end well for any of you, especially you.

It's time you make a choice as well.

Get in to the empire and kill your sister?
Or continue to run?