• Published 8th Dec 2012
  • 2,836 Views, 72 Comments

The Element of Corruption - Fyronarion



When dark thoughts corrupts Twilight, she starts exploring the truth about her friends.

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Turn of Heart

Here's another short story. But if people want it to continue, I'll update it with more chapters. Enjoy reading it!
Please note, this chapter starts at Season 1. After this chapter, the main plot will continue, so favorite characters and/or villains will return

The door was knocked on, and then it was burst open. The Elements of Harmony galloped into the old, deserted castle. Rumors have told them that this is where Nightmare Moon was residing, and they were going to take her down.

They reached the main hall, where a dusty chandelier was slowly creaking against the warm summer breeze. Two stairs lead to some double doors, and another pair of doors were on the ground floor. This halted the six mares as they stared confusedly at both the doors. Never to turn down a challenge, Twilight Sparkle turned around to her friends and started giving out orders.

"We will all split up. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, you two will come with me. Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack, you three will be in a team. We will take the first floor, and you will take the ground floor. Got it?" she said. All six of them cheered and went off their ways...

"T-this is v-very c-creepy." stammered Fluttershy. They managed to open the doors, and it lead them to a large ballroom. It was worn with age, evidenced with moldy pieces of wood, dust and cobwebs. It was very dark in the room, and Twilight lit her horn to provide light. When the glow of her horn hit the walls, Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind Pinkie, who giggled at the wall.

It was a very old painting of a pony. He was posing in the painting, all dressed in a suit. It didn't seem so scary, except for the fact that it looks like he was staring at them with his eyes.

"Oooh! He looks happy to see us!" shouted Pinkie excitedly, jumping up and down. Twilight sighed and shook her head while Fluttershy cowered behind Pinkie.

"He's staring at us" she whimpered. Twilight couldn't help but stifle a chuckle.

"Don't be silly, Fluttershy. It's just a figure painted in oils. It won't cause us any harm. Come on, let's get going. We need to stop Nightmare Moon and restore daytime in Equestria." said Twilight. Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded, and they both walked across the deserted ballroom and through another large door...

Meanwhile, to Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity...

"This place is very...unsettling." whispered Rarity. They were in a narrow room, with a long table placed on it. Years of tear and wear were shown by the table, and some chairs were broken into pieces or tilted over. The carpet exhaled dust every time somepony stepped on it, and the walls were slowly rotting with age. The only source of light was a small candle that was on the head of the table. Applejack trotted over to it and lit it with a few pieces of wood from the broken chair.

"Ah knew them chairs can come in handy." she said, pleased with herself. Rainbow Dash just shook her head and walked around the room, inspecting for anything.

"Nothing is wrong here. Hey Rarity, how come you're not helping?" said Rainbow Dash, frowning at the white unicorn. Rarity huffed indignantly.

"If you expect me to ruin my hooves by touching these filthy objects, you are sadly mistaken." she said, turning her head away from her. Applejack rolled her eyes.

"That's Rarity for ya. Fine, as long as you can help with some of your fancy magic." she said. Rarity smiled and nodded. Rainbow Dash looked down on the floor to see that there wasn't any dust and some faint outlines of hoofsteps, compared to the rest of the dusty floor.

"Hey guys! Come check this out." she said excitedly. Both Rarity and Applejack came over to see the hoofprints. Applejack bent down and sniffed it. She wrinkled her nose.

"Hmmm..if ma senses are right, ah suppose we go that way." she informed, pointing at the door behind a chair.

"Sounds good." said Rarity, trying to open the door. It wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she used her magic. Rainbow Dash moved her out of the way.

"It's like this, Rarity." said the cyan pegasus, moving back from the door and flexing her wings. She grinned.

"CHAAAAAAAAARGE!" she yelled, smashing into the door with her shoulder. The door groaned under her weight and collapsed. Dust flew everywhere, and all of them started coughing. Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly.

"Um..sorry about that. Let's get going." she said, flying through the door. Applejack and Rarity sighed, following behind her...

Back to Twilight and her group...

"I think this is it." whispered Twilight. Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded their heads in agreement. Twilight charged her horn and blasted the door apart. All three of them ran in to see a large chamber. It was decorated with many different engravings on the walls, depicting ancient times of Ponyville. Cracked stone stairs lead to two disintegrating thrones. One of them was large, with the sun inscribed on the head of it. The one next to it was much smaller. It had the moon engraved onto it. Sitting on that throne was no other than Nightmare Moon. She looked pleased when Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie burst in.

"Well, it didn't take long you long to find me. I suppose I'll call in your friends so they won't waste time searching for me." she drawled, clapping her hooves. A moment later, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack appeared next to Twilight. They looked around wildly.

"What happened?" asked Rainbow Dash crazily. Applejack and Rarity followed suit on her question.

"You were teleported, silly!" said Pinkie cheerfully. Twilight looked at Nightmare Moon with a scowl.

"Your time is up. We will end the night and restore daylight" threatened Twilight, her horn charging with energy. Rarity came up next to her, her horn brimming with energy. Rainbow Dash and Applejack growled, hoofing the ground. Pinkie took out a frying pan and held it like a baseball bat, her face eager. And Fluttershy just stood there quietly, watching them all with a sad expression. Nightmare laughed.

"Oh, you six are so funny. Elements of Harmony, thinking they can stop me. Usually, when somepony speaks to me like that, I smite them into oblivion. But..I have taken a liking to your magic, Twilight Sparkle. I wish to speak with you." she said, leaning against her throne. Twilight shook her head while her friends cried in outrage.

"I will never associate myself with such an evil being. I don't care if you're Princess Celestia's sister, you are an evil, corrupted pony. We will fight you." snarled Twilight, taking a step forward. Nightmare looked at them coolly.

"You have a noble spirit, Twilight Sparkle. You and all your friends. But you have one thing that they do not have. You have the Element of Magic, the most powerful one of them all. Combine that with your exceptional magical skills, you shall be unstoppable." she said, lazily flicking a fly away from her. Twilight lowered her horn's energy but still kept her stance. She watched Nightmare suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Rainbow Dash flew down and nudged Twilight hard on her ribs.

"Don't listen to her, Twilight! She's trying to play us!" she muttered.

"Yeah! Don't listen to that meanie-beanie pony!" exclaimed Pinkie.

"Ah agree, sugarcube. Let's end this." piped up Appejack, walking up to her.

"As much as I dislike to say it, I agree with Applejack on this one. Twilight, ignore her words." whispered Rarity. Applejack frowned at her, and Rarity smiled apologetically. Twilight shook her head, trying to absorb the information.

"No. Nightmare Moon, your influence won't affect me. Prepare to meet the Elements." yelled Twilight, her horn firing a pulse beam. Nightmare Moon's horn glowed bright blue and deflected her attack towards her. Twilight quickly dodged it and the magic beam left a small burn on the ground. Nightmare growled. She quickly stood up and mumbled some ancient Moonwhinny. There was a sound like fingernails being scraped against a chalkboard. Twilight covered her ears and closed her eyes, trying to muffle the violent sound. When she opened them, she heard strange crackling behind her. Twilight whirled around to see her friends turned to stone. All of them had surprised expressions on their faces, and it looked like they were going to attack Nightmare Moon, seeing from their stances. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at her recent yet closest friends...turned into granite.

"What did you do to them...YOU MONSTER?!" screamed Twilight. Nightmare only looked at her calmly.

"They are merely petrified. They shall be returned to their normal state after you hear me out. If you do not agree with me, they shall be stone forever." said Nightmare Moon, watching Twilight closely. Twilight hung her head in defeat.

"Fine. Hurry up and tell me." she said, looking at the ground. Nightmare Moon smiled evilly and leaned forward in her seat.

"What if I told you that my dear sister is using you and your friends like a pawn?" she said. Twilight looked at her as if she swallowed a lemon.

"Are you crazy?! The Princess will never use anypony like that!" said Twilight hotly. Nightmare smirked at her reaction.

"Do you really believe that? I remember, before my banishment, the Princess used her subjects as if they were toys. Disposable toys, to be correct. Believe me, I never lie. Even though vengeance and malice flows in my veins, I firmly stand ground that lies are much more than just words spoken from a pony's tongue. They are real evil." she taunted. Twilight looked at the ground in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, yet it seemed true.

Nightmare looked at her, apparently impressed that she still didn't make a dent in Twilight's loyalty to the Princess. She decided to change the subject to her friends, whom she recently met.

"And your friends? You think they are here to be with you, to help you, to defeat me? No. They are only your friends because of your position. YOU are Celestia's most faithful student. They found that out right after you came to Ponyville. Why do you think they tag along with you and act nice? They would never look at you if it wasn't for your status. I thought you would notice. Rainbow Dash, the most athletic pony in Ponyville, talking to a newcomer? And Rarity, a top notch fashion designer, talking to a commoner like you? The list goes on and on." continued Nightmare Moon, apparently pleased in Twilight's reaction.

"I still don't believe a single word that spews from your mouth. You are a liar. Free my friends. Now." she said angrily. Nightmare growled, standing up. Twilight quickly moved back, lowering her horn to strike her.

"You WILL serve me!" she shouted, suddenly firing a beam towards her. Twilight gasped and dodged it, and the spot where she was standing was scorched.

"Stand still!" commanded Nightmare, firing a volley of energy beams. Twilight kept dodging them until it tired her out. She stumbled and fell down, too tired to stand up as Nightmare laughed at her, pleased with herself. Twilight looked up in fear as she was exhausted from using her magic.

"Say goodbye to your loyalties and ties, Twilight Sparkle." she said, firing a dark blue beam that hit Twilight. She screamed in pain as the aura absorbed itself into her until she was twitching on the ground. Nightmare smirked and kneeled next to her.

"It only hurts a little." she whispered, before turning back and taking a seat on her throne.

Twilight clutched her head. She felt her mind was at war, taking in the new information and processing it. The spell wasn't helping. It was like a second voice was inside her head, forcing her to change sides.

It's true...they only came with me because of my position.

Don't listen to her! Remember who you are!

The Princess uses us as her personal toys..she sends us on the most trivial situations.

For her and Equestria's protection!

Really? For her protection? She uses us. My friends use ME.

No...please, don't...

I don't see the point in following the princess anymore. I don't see the point of talking to my so-called friends. Nightmare Moon is right. Celestia is the EVIL ONE.

THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!

SHUT UP!

Twilight started to sob. Tears dripped down her face as she looked up at Nightmare Moon. She was in pain. Nightmare sensed that if she didn't receive help soon, she would surely break under the emotional strain.

"Twilight Sparkle. You have the power to change that. Leave your friends. They are not who you think they are. Abandon Celestia. A real ruler will never use her subjects for petty means. Join me, and we shall overthrow Celestia and establish our own rule. You only have one life, Twilight. You have the power to change it's course. You will not regret this choice." said Nightmare Moon quietly, sticking her hoof out.

Twilight, still sobbing, shakily got up and trotted over to her. She grasped Nightmare's hoof and she smiled. Nightmare began to glow dark blue, along with Twilight. They both levitated for a minute until they were gently lowered to the ground. Twilight opened her eyes and looked at herself. She gasped.

She was no longer bare. Her body was covered in midnight blue armor. Her hooves had jet blue hoofshoes, and her tiara, which symbolized the Element of Magic, became donned in black. Nightmare Moon smiled at her. A feat she rarely does.

"You are now my apprentice. I shall free your friends and teleport them back to their homes. They will still believe you are their friends. We will start small, Twilight Sparkle."

"What do you mean?"

"I know this will sound hard for you, but you shall kill one of your friends." said Nightmare, eyeing Twilight closely. Twilight stood proud, watching her with interest.

"That will be easy, Princess. Who is it?"

"I thought you would say that. You will slay Fluttershy."

Twilight, even though she was being influenced by evil, felt her heart drop. She couldn't kill her own friend. And such a sweet and innocent pegasus too. She will never forgive herself if she does this task. Yet, Nightmare's word is law now for her. She will lose her newfound honor if she doesn't do this. Twilight sighed.

"I-I..." stammered Twilight, torn with her decision.

"Yes?"

"I...I'll do it." finished Twilight, looking away from Nightmare Moon. She smiled, clasping Twilight on her back.

Twilight couldn't believe what has happened to her and what she just accepted. One night. Just one night. One night has changed her life...for the worse.

Yet, she sensed the truth. Celestia has been lying to her. She will taste her suffering and vengeance.

Yeah, so tell me if I should continue or not. I'll gladly appreciate any criticisms or ideas that you have.

Author's Note:

1/24/13: I made a revision of this chapter, as people told me that Twilight was too easy to convince. I change so Nightmare cast a beam, influencing her thoughts. Hopefully, this worked out well. If it didn't please tell me.