Mirrors
"I'm lookin' at the man in the mirror. I'm askin' him to change his ways. And message could have been any clearer: If you wanna make the world a better place, took a look at yourself and make the change!"
-Michael Jackson, The Man in the Mirror
"I've... I've never felt so... so horrible in my entire life. It... it was as if nothing good would ever happen again." Cadence shivered and one of Luna's guards gently placed a blanket around her. "I... I thought about my entire life and it was just one big mistake..." Her eyes flashed black and she sneered at Shining Armor. "Like ever thinking I could love you. All you care about is my body, that's why you couldn't see that hidious bug wasn't me! How could you be so stupid-"
Celestia and Luna both enveloped Cadence in a warm coccoon of white magic. The love goddess began to cry as the black faded from her eyes.
"Oh Shining... I'm so sorry..."
Twilight's friends and family stared at the traumatized princess, terror griping their hearts at her struggles to fight off the corruption of her mind and soul. When Luna had arrived at the club Cadence had attacked her, screaming about how the moon goddess hadn't been there to save Twilight. Princess Luna had fought with her niece and finally managed to bind her by the time Celestia arrived with the rest in tow. It had taken both of the alicorn sisters to purge much of the corruption from their niece's body.
"You stupid, arrogant troll!" Cadence screamed at Celestia. "You've worn that crown too long and become complacent! You've forgotten how to be normal and now we'll all suffer-"
'Much' being the keep word.
Shining, for his part, was remaining remarkably calm. He had already failed to save his sister from this darkness and he wasn't about to let his fiance fall into the same pit of evil. So he took all her insults with a smile and assured her she was not to blame when the tears began to fall.
"Why wasn't I like that?" Applejack asked as the Princesses pumped more of their own magic into Cadence. The earth pony had a foreleg wrapped around Rainbow Dash, holding her close. Pinkie Pie sat behind the cyan pony, playing with her hair while Rarity and Fluttershy were within reach. Despite the flyer's protests that she was fine she had remained glued to her friends' since they had entered, showing no sign of shying away from their comfort.
"Fluttershy and I were able to detect your corruption and drive it away before it took root," Celestia stated calmly, watching over the pink alicorn to ensure she wouldn't have another relapse. The bouts of anger and rage were growing less frequent, which instilled hope in all of them that whatever dark force was at play could be beaten. "Cadence was in its grip for far longer and thus the black magic was able to gain a foothold."
"Is... is that what happened to Twlight?" Velvet asked softly.
"No," Luna said firmly.
"What do you mean?" Rarity asked, annoyed at how the moon goddess squashed what little hope they had. "Cadence is acting just as Twilight did during the reception."
"Twilight's corruption is different," Luna stated, staring down at the group of friends that she owed so much too. It hurt to not be able to comfort them but she knew they needed to see what they faced without blinders on. "Unlike Cadence or you, Applejack, Twilight welcomed the darkness that invaded her."
"No way!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, leaping to defend her friend. "Twilight is the nicest of the nice! She would never let icky dark magic stuff into her!" The pink pony lowered her head. "Not like me," she whispered to herself, remember when she had snapped, thinking her friends had abandoned her.
Fluttershy, however, wasn't as convinced. She remembered all too well 'New Fluttershy' and how a pony could easily welcome and embrace darkness. "She was really hurt by what happened... when we are upset we can do things we never thought we could."
Luna nodded in agreement. "You are correct. Twilight was at her lowest point the day before and the evil that infected her offered her hope and safety. She falsely believed that your need to comfort 'Cadence' was all of you shunning her forever and when the darkness came she embraced it because she didn't have anything else to turn to."
Twilight Velvet began to sob.
"It is imperative that we find Twilight now, before she infects any others," Luna said sternly.
"Do... do you think she got to Spike?" Shining asked, remembering how angry the baby dragon had been.
"No, Captain Armor. This evil does not target children. It is against its nature. Of all of us, Spike is the safest." Luna turned, making her way towards the door. "Come, we have little time to waste. All of us must confront Twilight together." Rainbow shivered a bit at that but one look at her friends brought back her confidence, if only a little.
Night Light frowned. "I thought you said we needed to be careful dealing with her... that everypony rushing her would only result in her lashing out."
"The situation has changed. We must find your daughter and bring her under out control, by force if needed, as soon as possible."
"Princess, how do you know so much about this darkness?" Applejack called out.
Luna's shoulders slumped. "Because I have dealt with it before." She looked over her shoulder at the group, slipping back into the ancient Canterlot dialect. "We embraced this vile power 1000 years ago, when we believed our beloved sister and our subjects had abandoned us. It was that foul darkness... that gave us the power to become Nightmare Moon."
~MC~MC~MC~
Twilight gently laid Spike down in his basket, tendering stroking his head with her hoof. The poor baby dragon had been dead on his feet the moment they got back to the library, yawning and struggling to stay awake. He had protested the entire time, wanting to talk to her about what had happened in the club, but his body could not fight the call of sleep and Twilight had carried him to bed.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," she whispered, leaning down and giving him a kiss on the forehead. Magic swirled around him, ensuring that his dreams would only be happy. "It will be ok Spike."
Walking back downstairs, Twilight used her powers to close every blind, bathing the library in darkness. Candles flared to light at her command and she began to pull every mirror she could find towards her, so that the tiny lights were bounced around, bathing her in their flickering glow.
'Rainbow Dash just doesn't understand; light and dark are illusions,' she thought to herself, looking at the multiple reflection that surrounded her, staring at her with dark eyes like a captive audience. 'Light is energy and shadow is the absence. The darker the night the brighter the stars and the more harsh the sun's glare the blacker the shadow. They are intwined...so why does everypony think darkness is so bad?'
'They can not open their minds to new thoughts,' her mind whispered back. ' They are so routed in what they know that to consider anything different is beyond them. They become entrenched and are unable to see the world any different than they do now.'
Twilight sighed. Even though she felt sad by that realitization her reflections remained upbeat. "I guess I held out hope they might come around, despite what I told Spike and Cadence."
'No one can fault you for that. But now you must open your mind and not make the same mistakes as your 'friends' and 'family'. You must see the world fully and not merely in a single shade.
'Your parents and brother will always see you as a filly that must be scolded and left in a corner. Applejack will never understand your desire for more because she is satisfied with leading the life that was set down for her the moment she was born. Rainbow Dash is like a train, racing fast but towards only one destination, never leaving the tracks. Fluttershy fears the venture out and explore this wonderful world and thus is like a fish that never grows bigger due to lack of space. Rarity holds her standards, clutching them to her breast... they are the only thing she selfishly holds onto. Pinkie Pie ignores the bad in the world and thus fails to learn about it and is doomed to never see the joy that can be born after the sorrow.
'And then... there is Celestia.'
That one hurt the most. Princess Celestia had been the first pony to look upon Twilight and find something worthy in her. But now, the unicorn realized that her mentor would never look upon her and smile. Both of their choices had placed them on opposite sides of the field and the princess would never think to cross over and look at things from the other side.
"I... I should hate them. Why does it hurt so much?"
'Because you had to work so hard to achieve so much. Every victory, every achievement, every connection has been an uphill battle. And while that can be good in its own way, it makes you cling to things when you should let go. What you have been given has had so many strings attached that it is little wonder you have become entangled. You have never been given something for free, with no requirements or demands. Everything has either been purchased with blood, sweat and tears... or been little more than a net designed to snare you. But now you are offered a gift, Twilight Sparkle.
'I have a gift for you.'
"You do?" Twilight whispered softly, staring at her reflections.
'Yes... given freely... from me to you. Out of love... and understand.'
"What is it?" Twilight whispered.
'Your freedom.'
The lavender mare let out a cry as dark magic began to flow through her veins. Her black eyes snapped open and she howled out in bliss as she felt the fire explode within her. She looked down and to her utter amazement she watched herself grow. The magic flooded her veins and forced her body to enlarge to accommodate it all. Her legs lengthen, her neck grew more swan-like, her mane and tail stretched down and darkened till it was made of flowing darkness that billowed in an unseen breeze. Rivers of light began to streak through her mane and tail till both looked like a moonless night sky filled with shooting stars. Her horn grew longer, the point sharp enough to pierce through metal. Black magic burst from her back, the mist-like energy swirling before condensing into translucent wings.
'Put away the unicorn... become who you were born to be.'
"STOP THIS!"
The transformed unicorn turned, eyes widening as twin blasts of magic wrapped themselves around her, locking onto her ankles and holding her in place. The white magic threw her new form against the wall and held her tight, not allowing her to move an inch. Another orb of magic surrounded her horn, capturing any magical assault she attempted. The circle of mirrors shattered and the candles were snuffed out as Luna and Celestia stormed into the library, followed by Twilight's former friends and family. The dark alicorn, for that was what Twilight had become, struggled against the restraints but found her new powers were no match for the alicorn sisters.
"By the stars above," Velvet whispered in shock.
"That... that can't be," Rainbow Dash whispered at the creature that looked more like a dark reflection of Princess Celestia.
Shining Armor took a tentative step forward, not believing what his heart knew to be true. "Twilight?"
"Let me go!" the dark alicorn screamed, her voice having changed from its normal bouncy tones to a low, sultry melody. "Why can't you just leave me alone? I left you alone, why not do the same for me!"
"I will not allow you to corrupt her as you did me, phantom!" Luna shouted, sending another blast of purifying magic at the new alicorn.
"I am not corrupted!" Twilight called out futilely, fighting against her bonds. "None of you understand! Please stop!"
Celestia shook her head, tears in her eyes. It was Nightmare Moon all over again; another loved one stolen from her because of hubris. "I am sorry, my faithful student, but I can not. At this time you are not capable of wielding the power you possess."
"I won't let you take it from me!" Twilight shouted.
Celestia turned to the rest. "Hold her so we can become the purification!" Cadence, Shining Armor, Night Light, Twilight Velvet and Rarity combined their magic to restrain the dark alicorn while Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash prayed for their friend. Luna and Celestia released their own binds and began to pick their way through the shattered glass that littered the floor.
"Please... please! Don't do this!" Twilight begged like a madpony, struggled in vain against the bonds.
"You are not responsible for your actions, Twilight. We forgive you," Celestia said softly.
"You! You should be apologizing, not me!" Twilight screamed, rage flashing in her eyes. But against the combined might of her friends and family, she could not break free.
Luna steeled her features. "The phantom is a liar, Twilight Sparkle. It offers power but in return you receive only pain. Even now it has abandoned you."
'Truly Luna?'
"Uh...am I the only one that heard that?" Applejack whispered nervously, looking about.
'I abandoned you because you misused my gift.' The voice Twilight had always assumed was her own mind rang clear in all their ears, its pitch dropped till it became a masculine call. 'All I desired was to help you rise up and prove to Celestia that you deserved to be an equal to her. I heard your prayers and whispered pleas to the night that she see you not as beneath her but as a co-ruler. I gave you the power and form so that you could truly be her equal.
'But what did you do with my gift? You used it in a vicious campaign to destroy the world by plunging it into eternal night... that is something I could not allow.' The smoke from the snuffed out candles began to gather in the center of the room, caught up by a sudden gust. Celestia and Luna were forced back as the broken mirror shards were lifted by the tempest winds. 'I am quite fond of the world and have large stakes in it. There was too much good in it to allow you to destroy it. So I abandoned you and let Celestia banish you. With you gone I began to search for new bearers, but everypony I found failed my test... till this one... my Twilight.'
"She isn't your anything!" Shining Armor roared. "Get the hell away from my sister!"
'She is my everything. She is my mother, my sister, my daughter and my wife. I am her father, her brother, her son and her husband. She is the queen to my king, the alpha to my omega. Without her I am nothing... as I have given her power so too has she given me the strength to take form once more.'
"Who are you, phantom!" Celestia shouted, trying to send bolts of white magic at the swirling mass of smoke and glass, only for the mirrors to reflect it back.
'I have so many names, my traitorous Celestia, for I have forgotten my own, just as you did. To those who see me as an enemy I am called Fear or Loathing or Hate or Oath Breaker. To others, I am a savoir and they dub me Rebellion and Curiosity and Renewal.' The smoke began to condense, the mirror shards separating into 2 large piles while leaving a single massive spike that bobbed before them, reflecting their horror-filled gazes back at them. The others were able to keep their hold on Twilight but the dark alicorn no longer fought them; she merely stared in awe as the voice within her head took form. 'I dislike all those names. To be named is to give others power over you. I swore to be never controlled again. But if you desire a name to call me I will select one of my own.'
With a flash of energy the phantom became real. Before the gathered ponies stood a mighty alicorn stallion as dark as pitch. His mane was as white as the purest flame and shifted like light shining in tear-soaked eyes. His wings were made of mirror shards that reflected all about him. His horn was one solid piece of broken glass and when the light struck it his face was bathed in a pure white glow. His cutie mark was Twilight's own, only reversed in color: a brilliant white star surrounded by dark purple spots of light.
"You may call me Doubt."
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Ladies and Gentlemen... Doubt.
Now, before some of you go flipping off the handle screaming that I've ruined the story by having Twilight go alicorn and revealing the mastermind behind all of this... wait.
Just wait.
I still have several cards left to play and if you think you know what I have planned, just ask yourself this: Have you been able to predict the twists I already threw at you?
Now then, about the chapter.
The moment I started this story I knew it was leading to the reveal of Doubt. The dark whispers in Twilight's brain where him whispering in her ear, raising the questions that have brought Twilight to this point to become the newest alicorn (she is NOT Nightmare Moon, though... we'll deal with that soon). He is also the one that communicated with Applejack, but it was him and Twilight working together (even if she didn't realize it) who corrupted Cadence.
The origins of Doubt will fuel alot of the drama in this story and I will only say that his connection to Celestia, Luna, and Twilight will leave you all surprised but also make a ton of sense. It will answer questions that have lingered in the show while also bringing new development to many of the characters.
Oh, and as a final note: I am a selftrained voice actor and as such tend to give many of my characters their own voices when i act out scenes. Doubt is a mix of Megatron from Beast Wars and Bane from The Dark Knight Rises.
ooooh this is getting good
>> defender2222 nah i won't go flipping off at ya when the story is just getting better! and I can't predict the twist you threw at us readers. Makes my head hurt thinking about it. Clue pl0x
1385258
That should tell you how scary of a place my mind is.
I liked how how it said that it was not it that forced Luna to be evil it was her own selfish desires that caused her to do those things. I always agered that it does not make sense for darkness to be evil. loving this story!
I definitely LOVE this story. LOVE.
Its very good, in every aspect.
1385260 Is it much worse than playing Dead Space games for the first time at extremely hard difficulty with a weak heart?
1385267
Worse.
Finally, the big reveal.
Oooooh shit son, things are getting crazy!
Strangely enough I imagined his voice something like Bane's as well.
Please regale us with more of this astounding tale!
PS This has become my favorite story on the site.
1385270 Just like Ryan Stiles said in Two Line Vocabulary. " God I love you"
.No homo intended by the way. 
Excuse the typos as I am doing this post on my iPod at work.
Why can't I make more thumbs up and favorites to this story? Another excellent chapter. At first I thought you were reaching the climax and I was sad, but I amglad that wasn't the case.
I definitely like how you put doubt as something that can be a good or a bad thing much like how one's terrorist is another's freedom fighter.
I like alicorn twilight stories when they ate done well, so no objections at all from me on that front. Did you plan on keeping her as an alicorn, or at least the form of one, or is this just atemporary thing? Or is it a future plot point and the result of which will be revealed?
Another thing that i'm impressed withby you is how fast you put out chapters especially with how you keep the quality very high. Props to you on that
Lastly, how longdid you plan on making this story? Cause I hope we have only seen the tip of this wonderful iceberg.
I just hope this doesn't end with Twilight being banished for a 1000 years and the other live their lives in 'bliss and happiness'... hopefully they learn their lesson and PROPERLY APOLOGIZE Twilight for all the bull *@!# that has happened
1385295
I would say we are probably around the half way point. Depends on how long this act goes. We could be sliding down the hill or just reaching the peak.
Whenever I create a villain I always want them to be different. Doubt will be nothing like Nightmare Moon, Discord or Chrysalis.His motives and his ways are different from all other villains and his goals and origin will surprise you
1385303
The better question is... in the face of an alicorn Twilight and Doubt... could any prison hold them?
1385307
That is a good question... but 'death' may be the Ultimate Prison... and remorse may be the Ultimate Punishment for Celestia
Ohh, I'm digging this.
I can say I hope that you don't use Doubt as the 'bad guy', because I really like his mojo. So far he's been pretty much on the money with Rainbow, Cadance and the rest of the girls.
1385303
Actually, Twilight isn't the one that needs forgiveness. Rather, they need hers. She's the hurt party here.
1385321
Oops!
....dear god...
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQyGSNizw1jAaGYNmLkPbTUSYBGryZD184YoXJzLRyKP2vNVrHTqQ
AGAIN!
I guess Doubt is a collection of all the bad vibes that spread around Equestria since the beginning, condensed ponyfied now...
Defender....you already know what im going to say, so please man, need moar! Youre right, I couldnt have anticipated this, but I think its cool. Cant wait to read the rest.
They still fail to realize...may they rust on the moon.
Awaiting further releases.
More more more damnit MORE.....
this is frigging amazing best story I've read in a while. Keep the chapters coming.
heh, they caught her in the afterglow. unlucky for them, Twilight has an ally... dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Twilight_future.png
so, Doubt is basically Galactus? i remember the same dialogue when Galactus refers to Death:
would Twilight be Numinus? she can't be Death...
Holy Pony Feathers!
I knew, that the voice inside Twilight's head was a separate entity! 
Nice explanation with the history between Luna and Doubt by the way. To me, even though Doubt is the one behind the corruption of Twilight, from the way he talks about his ideals, it almost sounds like he's some sort of vigilante or anti-hero. Doing justice his way and seeing everyone else's way as wrong. Either doing too much that involves the lighter side of life or in the case of Nightmare Moon, causing too much darkness and despair. In a sense, him and Twilight have helped others see the error of their ways. But at this point, things just got that much tougher to try and bring Twilight to some level of sense. And with Doubt out in a form of his own, he can now take this opportunity to free Twilight since everyone is so occupied with holding her down. Luna's vision is becoming more and more true. All I can say is that if they want Equestria to not fall into chaos (oh Discord would be so proud, 
) then they better step up their A-game because things are going to get ugly really fast. As usual, great chapter and I can't wait for the next.
- Super-Brony12
I actually find this all funny anyway GO DOUBT!!! O and twi thanks for giving him form. I'm also with Shader on this.
cheers
God, I really love this! Yes, yes I do...
And just a little tidbit that annoyed me a bit, but it's not THAT annoying, you see, you could make the thoughts in Italics making them more distinguishable from the other text.
That was my little tip... I love this though!
Doubt definitely seems to have morals, so alignment wise, would Chaotic Neutral be on the money?
I love this and you. Omg I literally pumped my fist in the aur when Doubt came around, Yesssss this is wonderful. Now I never heard the new Bane so I am more going from Megs voice. Ahhh so much fuel for my own brain. Thank you very much.
flipping off? son, you made me make a whole 'nother story based on this, I'll link it when I get the chance to
1385395
Doubt's views will be explained in the upcoming chapter but it was important that I stress early on that Twilight is not brainwashed. Her actions are her own... just influenced by one whispering in her ear.
1385412
The reason I don't do thoughts in italics in this chapter and in many chapters is that many of the thoughts were actually Doubt talking. As such, i treated them as dialogue. Now that he is free, thoughts will go into italics when Twilight has them, since Doubt is no longer bouncing around in her brain.
1385462
Gray. Doubt's alignment is gray... a dark gray, maybe, but gray nonetheless.
1385463
Megs for the sound but Bane for the cadence and style. I was playing around with the voice (believe it or not figuring out an OC's voice is very important to getting into their headspace) and I was doing my BW Meg impression when I added a touch of growl (maybe a James Earl Jones roll to the words) and said "Look at you Celestia, beaten and gasping for air... but you don't get to go yet. When Equestria is in ashes... then you have my permission to die." The moment I said it I knew exactly what Doubt sounded like. His motives aren't as evil as that line would make them out to be, though...
And then they were all fucked
....
On a side note not loving new darker and edgeier Twilight, stealing my thunder
Dude would it be too much to ask if you have a youtube channel? I would love to hear your voices. I respect VAs a lot and the time you took to learn that skill is awesome. Looks like I need to watch the new Batman movie.
I love it btw. I agree that once you have a voice you know the character inside and out. I do a lot of role playing so I totally get where you are coming from.
1385518
I do but there isn't anything on there yet. I am thinking about putting up audio readings of my next story, The Amber Apple: A Thunderlane PI Story, since it is a first person narration anyway.
That said, I mostly can do animated characters and some celebs (my best is Don Knotts).
Intriguing! A physical manifestation of hegemonic psychic negativity!
This promises to be intriguing.
And the real kicker? Doubt can theoretically never be banished since he exists in the hearts of all Ponies. The only one that can match him...is Faith.
*Sage nod* More!
Cheers
GM
*bows* I'm Not Worthy! I'm Not Worthy!!!
You can't understand someone's pain unless you've experienced that pain before...
1385215
I knew that Doubt was the evil in this, but I'm not sure how I feel about it taking a physical form. It feels a little too much like "End of Days," in which the devil is the kind that jumps around corners making faces to scare little kids. I always see this sort of enemy as the kind who doesn't exist in a form of matter, but rather a person (or pony)'s mind.
That said, you couldn't have picked better imagery, and I'm sure you have something big planned for the rest of this rather brilliant story.
1385582
All I will say is that Doubt will not behave at all like you expect.
1385215
How is doubt a bad thing? Throughout the show Twilight has always been a bit of a skeptic, questioning things that had very little basis to be believed.
1385606
It isn't, necessarily. However, we can conclude that he's the antagonist in this story, at least so far.
meh.
1385612
I think it is less doubt and more De Nile.
I'm going to read this in hope it will lead to some good ol' bludgeoning!
I am a fan of it myself; Ever bludgeoning a Mosquito Hawk with a lamp?
No?
I know I have~!
1385612
I wouldn't use that term, as I think there really isn't a hero or a villain in this story... just different sides. But there is a mastermind to Twilight's elevation to dark alicorn and that is Doubt.
1385629
Care to elaborate?
I'm gonna go on a loop here and say that doubt is like those vilians that try to purify the worlds evils but by committing evil. While he may not be a bad guy himself, it's his actions that speak otherwise. It's like having two different beings who have their vision on how to run the world and how the darkness should be judged and light should be used. One could claim that total domination can ensure survival, strength and pride by doing dark acts in the name of good justifying the means by saying it's for the greater good. But then there's the other who believes that it is not the way and proposes a new path that relies less on violent acts and more on faith and goodwill. Mainly paragon versus renegade. Both achieve the end but though different means. So mainly in the story, twilight can be corrupted but that does not make.evil nor does that.make doubt a bad guy. It's what they shall do next that will determine there aura. Also doubt is not always a bad thing, sometimes it is the right thing to do, it leads us to seek out answers to the questions we hold close. Lastly, I love how the story is going so far, can't wait for the next update. This is getting interesting.
I still have my DOUBTS about this twist. I started just wanting a rebel Twilight lashing out at her friends and them realizing just how bad they have been, even Celestia sending her into danger tons of time.
1385646
As I stated in my notes, don't assume for a moment you know where this is going. Anyone expecting a big, Dragonball Z style battle where Twilight and Doubt go all Lord Zedd on the Harmony Rangers is going to be disappointed.
1385660 I will give you the benefit of DOUBT then.
Hmm, where in the story are we? Half way or just starting?