Sunrise

by Black Kyurem

Chapter 7: Boundless Nightmare

"Twilight?!" said a stunned Discord. "You're... the traitor?!"

"Yes," said Nightmare Twilight with glee. "This was all my doing! I instigated everything! I gave the Princess dark magic to raise the sun to ensure she would contract the Shadow of the Dark Sun!"

"But why, Twilight?" said Applejack. "Why did you do it?"

"Simple. The Princess taught me everything she knew and introduced me to the power of friendship. But then I realized something. Friendship couldn't possibly be all that valuable, not after the many holes I suffered from, before and after I became the Princess of Friendship. What kind of title is that for somepony who can't get friendship in return?"

"What are you saying?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"The magic of friendship... just doesn't exist!" answered Nightmare Twilight. "How can friendship possibly be magic... when it means nothing?"

"Listen to me, Twi!" said Applejack. "A wise pony said to us that our friendships would be tested. That pony was you. And you know it!"

"I did say that, yes. But as of now, I've had enough! Our friendship ends here!" Nightmare Twilight's horn began to glow a deep crimson red.

"No you don't!" said Discord. "I'll stop you!" He clicked his finger, intending to stop Twilight from activating her magic, but her horn was still glowing. "What?!" Nightmare Twilight then fired a beam of crimson red energy, hitting Discord square in the chest. Discord went flying and was slammed against the Tree of Harmony.

"DISCORD!!" Fluttershy cried in horror, as he fell to the ground, sprawled out. He tried to get up, but couldn't.

"How is this... possible?" he stammered, as Fluttershy tended to him.

"I possess a magic far greater than your chaos," answered Nightmare Twilight. "It is a magic that is not good, evil, or chaotic. It is a magic that is only... power! And it is far greater than any magic! And that power flows through me! A simple snap of your petty fingers won't work on me!"

"You can't do this, Twilight Sparkle!" shouted Luna. "Princess Celestia was your teacher! Why have you done this to her?"

"She said it herself," sneered Nightmare Twilight. "Remember?"

"What?" And then Luna remembered.

"Promise me, Twilight... Promise me... you will acknowledge that I have made... my foolish mistakes..."

"The reign of Princess Celestia is about to end," declared Nightmare Twilight. "I was trained to become her successor! Now, I'll take the throne of Equestria for myself and fulfill my destiny! And you, my so-called friends, you can be my slaves!"

"Please, Twi!" begged Applejack. "Whatever it is, we're sorry!"

"Don't make me laugh!" said Nightmare Twilight. "It's far too late for that! And now, you will all suffer from your deepest, darkest dreads... once I'm through with you! It's obvious I've gone down a road you can't follow, and those who refuse... will drown in the fear of their own darkness!" A crimson red shockwave emitted from Twilight's horn, sweeping over the others and the Tree of Harmony. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then, the tree itself began to grow in size, its root spiraling everywhere. Princess Luna got Spike on her back and flew to safety and Shadowstealth levitated himself away with his magic, but Twilight's friends and Discord were not so fortunate. They tried to escape, but one by one, they were ensnared by the possessed tree's roots and pulled towards the growing tree. And right where five of the elements used to be, their former bearers were planted on those spots on a tree as if they were stuck like glue. And then came a horrifying sight. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Discord were somehow becoming a part of the Tree of Harmony itself. Roots spread across their bodies as they were steadily being swallowed by the tree, still growing to enormous heights and crushing the Everfree Forest. And watching her friends succumbing to their newfound fate was Nightmare Twilight, smirking with sadistic glee. "How do you like this?" she hissed. "You may feel excruciating pain now, but soon you will feel nothing. And once you become one with the Tree of Harmony, your minds will be lost in your own darkness! It is over, my little ponies. You're fodder!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" wailed Spike, as Luna and Shadowstealth escaped to safety with the baby dragon in tow. With the tree growing to astronomical proportions, Luna feared that her sister Celestia was not safe and led Shadowstealth to Canterlot in order to regroup.

---

The denizens in Ponyville were watching in horror as the Tree of Harmony grew towards the sky and soon the whole town was becoming ensnared in tree roots. Eventually, every single pony in town was caught and buried in roots, ready to become the tree's next meal. By the time Luna, Shadowstealth, and Spike arrived at Canterlot, several towns, villages, and cities had fallen to the monstrous tree. The denizens in Canterlot had taken notice of the Tree of Harmony just about to touch the magenta and crimson sky.

"Princess Luna, what do we do?" cried Spike.

"I don't know, Spike," answered Luna. "Our only hope is to... defeat Twilight Sparkle."

"We can't!" protested Spike. "Twilight's being controlled by Nightmare Moon!"

"Yes," agreed Shadowstealth. "However, as of now, it's impossible for me to transfer the dark magic from Celestia's body to her. Twilight's kind of magic is some kind of power different from light, darkness, and chaos itself. In order for Nightmare Moon to take the magic back, she has to be exorcised from Twilight somehow."

"I can get through to her!" insisted Spike. "She'll listen to me at least! ...I'm sure."

"Are you really willing to take that chance?" asked Shadowstealth. "It's very risky. And you'd be putting your life on the line."

"Perhaps there's still one more pony who can reach out to her," said Luna. "Her brother, Shining Armor, from the Crystal Empire." Luna was about to take off, but Shadowstealth raised a hoof, gesturing her to stop.

"I think we're already too late," said Shadowstealth. "Shining Armor once broke Twilight's heart too, if memory serves me correctly."

"How do you know?"

"You may not believe me, but I was there."

"You were?"

"Yes. I witnessed that terrible night watching through a window. I had come with every intention to warn the ponies of Canterlot, but eventually, I chose not to, deciding to let them solve their problems. I must admit, as the Changelings overtook Canterlot, I stood idly by, watching from a safe distance, with no pity. I was convinced that Equestria was not the land of peace and harmony as it was believed to be."

"What do you mean?"

"The six bearers of the Elements of Harmony may be good friends," said Shadowstealth. "But deep down, they have traces of pride and ego that causes them to put some things ahead of what really matters. And although they are common flaws, the lessons they learn from them for some reason are rarely taken into account for future reference."

"So do you think Nightmare Moon chose Twilight because she suffered the most?"

"Possibly."

"Poor Twilight," said Spike, shedding tears.

"Well, Spike," said Luna. "I guess you could try to talk some sense into Twilight. I just hope it's not too late for her." She gazed up at the Tree of Harmony, which had now stopped growing, but it was still sucking up ponies like a vacuum cleaner, including the denizens of Canterlot.

---

Meanwhile, at the Crystal Empire, Cadance was already confronting Nightmare Twilight. Her horn glowed a brilliant shade of light blue, as she was trying to cast her strongest love spell on Twilight, which wasn't working. And Shining Armor was already ensnared in a root and slowly being absorbed by the root's massive size.

"Any last words, big brother?" Nightmare Twilight cackled.

"Why, Twilight?" said Shining Armor, in tears. "Why are you doing this? You're doing this to your own brother!"

"Hah!" snorted Twilight. "That's exactly what I thought when you dejected me at the royal wedding! Why did you do that to your own sister?!"

"I thought we made up!" cried Shining Armor, as root vines started to spread across his face. "I thought I never would have to beat myself up over it again!"

"Twilight, please!" begged a crying Cadance, still trying to cast her spell on her sister-in-law. "Please spare my husband! He's your brother!"

"I told you," Twilight huffed. "That's what I thought. Don't make me do this to you too, the one pony I could trust in all this!"

"Twilight!" Shining Armor choked as the root started to bury him alive. "Twilight! No!!" He was then swallowed whole by the root, horrifying Cadance. She broke down and cried, but Twilight showed no remorse. Seeing this, Cadance got angry and fired a blue beam directly at her, which actually stung her.

"How could you... have harmed me?" asked Twilight, stunned.

"It's the power of love, Twilight!" said Cadance, determined to save Twilight. And it can overcome all!" Cadance and Twilight then took to the skies, firing beams at each other.

"Foolish princess!" boasted Twilight. "You have no concept of my power!" Their aerial battle soon led them away from the Crystal Empire and over the city of Canterlot, which had now been emptied of ponies, leaving Luna, Spike, Shadowstealth, Cadance, and the now comatose Princess Celestia as the only survivors remaining in Equestria.

Comments

[femikol]

In Equestria?! Jeez... How fast do these roots spread?!

[Draco Dei]

This needs more explanation for why Twilight is fighting the memory of the three times her friends fell short of the mark, and then, not minutes later turns out to be The Nightmare's main host. Who PRIOR to this stole the Elements. I suspect it was a Jekyll and Hyde type deals with "JeckleJekyll" being unaware of "Hyde"'s existence, but more explanation would be nice...

[Even Evil Has Standards]

7679928 Not to be a nerd, but it's spelt Jekyll

[Draco Dei]

"Hah!" snorted Twilight. "That's exactly what I thought when you dejected me at the royal wedding! Why did you do that to your own sister?!"

small correction: rejected