> What Choice Do I Have?
>  by chaos2012
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: ever since that day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness enshrouded Equestria. The sky wasn't it's normal blue tone as it always was. It had been shifted to a dark gray due to the amount of ash that raised from the many wildfires scorching the open fields, reducing what was once green to smoldering embers that scattered in the wind. The mountains in the distance had begun to break apart at the top as the hot magma forced its way out and trickle down the sides of the tall peaks.

In the small town of Ponyville, every single pony was screaming for their lives as they saw the approaching threat heading their way. Some tried to grab onto their loved ones and run out of town, while others were too terrified to even move from the spots that they stood. Voices rang through the night as ponies scrambled under the dark sky.

"Hurry! Run!"

"We have to get out of here!"

"She's coming!"

Suddenly, the treat store Sugar Cube Corner burst into flames. The blaze quickly raised Into the air and lighting up the rest of the dark town. While all others turned to flee, a cyan Pegasus with a multi colored mane ran towards the destroyed building, "Pinkie! Pinkie!" she screamed out in horror.

Rainbow Dash panicked as she sat there and stared at her friend Pinkie Pie's home burning. Reacting, she kicked open the front door and flew inside and up the stairs. She burst through the bedroom at the top and scanned for her friend, "Pinkie, where are you!?" she was terrified at this point now. The smoke was getting nearly too thick to see anything, and breathing was becoming difficult. Her vision was starting to fog up as the carbon dioxide was building up inside of her. Then, on the side of the room, she saw her friend.

Pinkie sat trembling in the corner, her pink coat had been stained nearly black across her body. Her pink mane and tail, which normally had a cotton candy fluff look to it, sat straight down and had been singed in multiple spots. Her front right leg had a very deep burn across the knee, the burnt skin stripped of hair.

Rainbow sprinted over to her injured friend, "Pinkie come on! We *cough* we gotta get out of here."

Pinkie sat staring at the ground, "I- I can't."

"Come on get up! I'm not leaving you here." Rainbow dropped down and put her head under Pinkie's injured leg and lifted up. Struggling out of the room, Rainbow supported her friend down the stairs and out of the front door just before several burnt beams crashed down from the ceiling and shattered on the dining room tile floor.

Dropping to the ground, Rainbow struggled to get air as she felt her lungs burning. She looked over to see Pinkie laying face down in the dirt. Ignoring her own pain, she crawled over to the pink earth pony, "Pinkie Pie, are you all right?"

All of the sudden, Sugar Cube Corner exploded in a blinding flash of fire. Rainbow dropped down and spread her wings over Pinkie to shield her from the blast. She cringed at the wave of heat that she felt strike her back. After a moment it subsided. Turning around, Rainbow saw that the store had been completely obliterated, leaving only several beams and boards sticking up from the ground. Then she felt her heart stop as a single figure came through the flames.

The unicorn's bleach white coat shined against the bright, flickering fire that made up its mane and tail. Her blood red eyes stared at the two ponies before her as she casually stepped over the splintered pieces of wood of the destroyed bakery. Coming to the street, she slightly turned, revealing the purple star cutie mark on her flank. Her muzzle shifted into a sinister smile seeing the frightened looks of the Pegasus before her, "Hello Rainbow."

Rainbow crouched down out of fear of her once good friend, "Twilight, why are you doing this?"

Twilight chuckled, her normal soft voice now mixed with a serpent like tone, "Isn't it obvious? I am the most powerful unicorn in history. It is my destiny to destroy this pathetic world."

Rainbow trembled at the look in Twilight’s eyes, which had the intent of killing. Tears formed in her own eyes as she watched the white horn become writhed in flames and point straight at her, "Twilight, please don't. You're our friend. You don't have to do this."

"I was your friend. And just so you know... I am meant to do this. it is why I exist. It is my destiny." Twilight then tilted her head down and pointed her burning horn at the crying Pegasus.

----

"NO!"

Twilight jumped up out of her bed from the scream that escaped her throat. Sitting up, she looked around to see herself inside of her room. Her eyes then shot to her forearm, seeing that her fur was still its normal purple tone. She felt the perspiration soaking her entire coat, causing a slight chill over her body as the air made contact with the moisture. The sunlight was already sneaking through the window, causing the many small trinkets in her room to shine.

Breaths coming in rapid gasps, Twilight tried to calm her thoughts, "It's just a dream. It's just a dream." despite seeing that what she saw wasn't real, her body trembled uncontrollably from what she awoken from.

Over a year ago, Twilight had been trying to understand her friend Pinkie pie's pinkie sense, which everypony said could tell what could happen in the future. Being skeptical as normal, Twilight went on a mission to prove that her friends twitching was just coincidence. Yet despite how many insane things happened, Pinkie accurately predicted everything that she described.

Soon, Twilight's frustration reached a new level when they came across a hydra, and that wasn't what was causing Pinkie to shake. Infuriated, Twilight felt her magic shift, suddenly causing her mane and tail to burst into flames, her coat bright white, and her eyes a deep crimson red. After a moment, the change vanished instantly. Pinkie and the others there were shocked, but figured it was a simple magic outburst, but Twilight knew it was something different.

At that moment when she changed, Twilight felt something snap inside of her. She had no idea what it was or where it came from. After it had disappeared, she had tried to push the memory into the back of her head and forget it had ever happened. Despite trying to ignore it, however, every time she saw a flame or even heard the sound of crackling fire, the image of herself in that disturbing form resurfaced into her mind.

Then, in the last month, the nightmares began. At first they were short and blurry, only moving images of herself leaving her friends and her home. Over time they grew much more vivid. Some of them showed her turning into that horrible beast and falling into darkness. Other dreams showed the land burning in an immense inferno, scorching the ground clean of all life. A week ago Twilight even cast a spell on herself to help eliminate nightmares while she slept. Not only did it not help, but the dreams were getting worse.

Now, the nightmares were becoming so vivid that she could not ever tell what was real or what was fake. All of them had shown her transformed into that beastly figure, destroying everything in her path as she walked. What bothered Twilight the most was the look on her face in the nightmare: she was enjoying what she was doing to all of the ponies.

The stress of the dreams were beginning to eat away at Twilight. She had begun to slack off in her studying, the library was always a mess, and even her temper had taken a turn for the worst. Before she could handle so much stress and things coming at her, but now it only took a small amount of frustration to set her off in a tantrum.

She then thought of her teacher, Princess Celestia. She had never mentioned anything about what was happening to her mentor. Now, she wanted to ask for help, but fear kept her from ever asking. "What if she sees me as a monster for what I am thinking? What will she do to me? Punish me? Banish me?"

Clenching her eyes shut, she tried to get rid of those terrible thoughts. Dropping back down into her bed, she felt the dampness from her sweat on her sheets, but she didn't care. She curled into a tight ball and grabbed her pillow and pulled it against her chest. The soft material did bring some comfort to her, but it did nothing to stop the flow of tears that began to pour out of her eyes. She was happy that Spike was away to Canterlot on business for the day; she didn't want him to see her like this.

She continued to cry for several minutes, her sobs echoing in the quiet library. "It's just a nightmare. Nightmares aren't real."


> Emotions are Strong
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia's sun was high above Ponyville and lit up the bright blue skies. It was a beautiful day as ponies strolled through the streets and walked by the shopping carts as they searched for different things that peeked their interests.

Out in front of a small diner, Rainbow Dash sat at a table with Pinkie Pie as they waited for the rest of their friends to come and meet up for their weekly lunch get together. Rainbow tapped her hoof on the ground impatiently as she sat there. "Uh! I told you they were gonna be late as usual. Why didn't you set it up later, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie just giggled at Rainbow's frustration, "Heh heh, oh silly, if I had made lunch later, than they could be late later, and that means no time for fun after later."

Rainbow continued to frown as she bent over and put her lips over the straw to her drink. Even though she was meeting up with friends, she never liked to wait for too long in one spot. Her body needed to fly, even if it was only a few feet off the ground. Boredom increasing she started to daydream of herself floating through the air as the cool wind blew through her rainbow colored mane. She imagined herself diving through the thick clouds and barrel rolling into a mix of difficult air maneuvers before a massive crowd of ponies as they cheered her name.

"woah!"

Rainbow was snapped out of her little dream at pinkies shout. Looking over to her, she saw her friends pink tail shaking like crazy. "Tail twitch!" Pinkie shouted out. Suddenly, she jumped out of her chair and moved just to the side as a large bag of letters dropped right on top of the seat where she sat.

"Whoops. My bad." a voice said from above.

Looking up, Rainbow and Pinkie saw Ditzy, a gray pegasus and the local mail carrier. Pinkie smiled up seeing her"Hi Ditzy

Ditzy dropped down, her slightly crossed eyes looking at the two, or they thought were looking at them, "Hi Pinkie. Sorry about that. I lost my grip on my mail bag just then." she said as she bent down to start gathering the loose letters that fell out.

"It's ok. I make mistakes all the time." Pinkie replied with a big smile.

Ditzy smiled back, "Thanks Pinkie. I'll try to be careful next time. Take care you two." and with that, she waved her goodbye and took off back into the skies.

Rainbow shook her head and chuckled to herself, "That Ditzy. She's always dropping the mail or crashing into a mailbox."

"Yeah, kinda like how ya crash into the library all the time."

Rainbow turned around in confusion to who said that. Near the grass walking towards them was Applejack, an orange earth pony with a yellow mane and tail. Her brown Stetson hat bounced on her head as she trotted over to the table. "Hey girls, how are y'all doin?" she said with a smile.

"Uh, bored out our my mind, what took you so long? We've been waiting forever for you." Rainbow grunted.
Applejack raised an eyebrow at her friends response, "Rainbow, it's 12:10. Lunch was set up at 12:00. Its only been ten minutes."

"Ten minutes does feel like forever when you have to wait for somepony. What were you doing anyway?"

"Ah had to finish applebucking this mornin' in one of the fields before ah came down. Big Mac had a lot on his plate so ah went over and helped him out."

Rainbow's face then sifted to a smirk, her mind working to get under the farmers skin, "You should have had me come over to the farm. I could've helped out your brother in half the time."

Applejack glared at the colorful pegasus, "Is that a fact?"

"Uh, yeah. How about when when i faced you in the iron pony competition? I think I proved I got you beat." rainbow chuckled and leaned back into her chair with her hooves behind her head."

Applejack walked over to the table, "If ah recall, y'all didn't play fair by using yer wings in half of those events. If ya didn't do that, ah got the top spot in strength."

Rainbow sat up at the statement, "Oh yeah? Well how about we prove it right now in hoof wrestling?" she finished by putting her right elbow up on the table and hoof in the air.

Applejack smiled at the challenge, "Yer on, missy." taking a seat across from Her opponent, she put her own elbow on the table and placed her hoof against Rainbows. "On three. One. Two. Three!"

Both ponies simultaneously began pushing against each other. Both mares shoved with everything that they had to push the others hoof down. Applejack smiled as she began to get the upper hoof, ever so slowly beginning to gain inch by inch, pushing the cyan hoof closer to the table top."Well, it looks like ah got this one, RD." Applejack said through her grunts.

Rainbow Struggled to keep her hoof up as Applejack began to push down. Sweat trickled down her forehead from the amount of energy she was using up. 'How in the hay does Applejack have this much strength left after apple bucking?' she thought to herself. Using everything she had left, she began to push up against the farmer, "I'm not done yet!"

"Yes ya are!" Applejack yelled as she slammed Rainbows hoof down onto the tablecloth so hard that it knocked over the juice that had been sitting on top. The cup was flung off the table and spilt across the dirt before a white unicorn.

"uh! You're going to get my coat dirty, and I was just groomed!" Rarity exclaimed as she took a few steps back away from the juice. She flicked her styled purple mane as she frowned at the two panting ponies on top of the table, "You two should learn to conduct yourselves in public. It is absolutely appalling for you to just start going at it in the middle of a restaurant."

"Beg her pardon Rarity, but we are outside at a diner. Ah don't think we need to be all fancy here." Applejack responded.

"Wait a second; did you just say you got groomed? You went to the spa when we had lunch set up?" Rainbow shot out.
Rarity smiled, "Of course we went. There was a special-"

"We?" the three ponies at the table said at once.

From behind Rarity stepped out Fluttershy, a light yellow Pegasus with a pink mane. She quietly approached the table and took a seat in one of the open chairs. She looked over and felt awkward as the eyes stared at her, "um, is there something wrong?" she said just above a whisper.

"why did you go to the spa when you knew we had lunch set up? We always have lunch on Tuesday together." Rainbow said.

"Well Rarity saw that there was a two for one special at the spa for this morning, and she said that we would have plenty of time to do our treatment and then come to lunch after."

"Oh it's ok that you got a little held up, we still have to wait for Twilight." Pinkie exclaimed.

"Now that is peculiar; Twilight is never one to be late. She is completely against anything like that." Rarity stated.

"Actually, have any of y'all noticed that Twilight has acted a little different lately?" Applejack responded

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ah mean, it's like she is always tired even if she doesn't do anything in the day. She never before slacked off her readin', but now ah hardly ever see her with a book."

"She's probably just a little down right now. We should cheer her up with a party!" Pinkie
shouted as she hopped up and down.

"Shh, here she comes." Rainbow interjected as she signaled to the right.

They turned around and saw Twilight walking towards their table. They all noticed the loose strands of purple mane sticking up in a few spots. The small bags under her eyes were another thing that caught the groups attention. They quickly glanced back and forth at each other, curious on what could be ailing their friend. Twilight stopped at the edge of the table and gave a weak smile, "Hi girls, sorry I'm late."

Rarity tried to force a grin despite seeing her friend in such a messy look, "Oh hello Twilight. You look.."

"Like a wreck." Rainbow bluntly stated which caused a table full of glares in her direction. "What? I'm just saying."

Twilight stared at Rainbow for a moment, then shifted her gaze over to Pinkie Pie. Instantly, her mind went black and replayed the horrible vision she had the night before of both of them on the ground in pain as she walked towards them through her own destruction. A slight tremor ran through her body as she tried to force the horrid ideas out, but she couldn't. It wasn't until one of her friends yelled out for her attention that she could register anything.

"Twilight!" Rainbow snapped.

Twilight shot her eyes open at her name. She saw the worried looks plastered to all of her friends faces as they stared at her. shaking her head to clear it, she tried to smile up at them, "Sorry for that. I didn't sleep well last night so my head is a little dizzy."

"Well, if you aren't feeling good, do you think you should go home and rest?" Fluttershy asked with concern.

Twilight contemplated the idea for a moment. She knew she was tired, but sleeping meant she would have to risk seeing another horrible dream while inside of her subconscious. "No, I'm alright, thank you Fluttershy, perhaps enjoying a nice lunch with my friends is the best thing for me right now." she trotted over to the final open chair and took a seat on top. "Right then, let's get some food."

----

After about an hour the six had finished up their meals. Twilight was actually in a much better mood now since she was enjoying the time she was having with the others. All of the horrible thoughts she had earlier had actually been forgotten for a while, giving her the ability to focus unlike she could before.

The six of them were now walking towards Sweet Apple Acres to relax and because Applejack had offered to give them all free cider. Her family had made a large batch not too long ago, and if it wasn't finished off by the next day it was going to be thrown away anyway, so she figured it would be nice to let her friends enjoy it while they still could. "Come on everypony, that cider ain't gonna drink itself." Applejack shouted out as they led the others towards the edge of town.

As they walked passed Sugar Cube Corner, a sudden crash was heard from inside of the kitchen, followed by a trail of smoke that began to billow out of the door. Pinkie Pie gasped at the sight, "Oh my goodness! What in the hay is going on in there?"

Out of the door came Mr. and Mrs. Cake carrying their two fillies, Pound and Pumpkin. They coughed as they stumbled out and down the steps to the street where they were met by Pinkie and the others. "What happened? Are you alright?" Rarity asked.

Mr. Cake smiled at their concern, "We're fine. One of the ovens shorted out and started a small fire. It's out at least. We just had to get out of the smoke."

"Oh my, I glad you're ok." Fluttershy smiled.

Applejack tilted her hat up and smiled at the baker family, "Same here, y'all are mighty lucky that wasn't any worse than it was. It could've-" she stopped as she looked over and saw someone missing from their group, "Twilight?"

All of them looked back to see Twilight back in the center of the street where they had just been, staring at the smoke rising from store. Her body trembled as the rush of memories came back to her in full force. She remembered herself sending out the blast of fire to ignite the bakery. She remembered the giant fire ball she materialized to blast the store to bits. Every detail came back to her head in graphic detail.

Applejack trotted over to the frozen unicorn, unsure what was wrong."Twilight, are you alright?"

Twilight looked back to her friends as they crowded around her. Her mind began to spin on what she should do. 'I can't let them know any of this. They would never forgive me.' "I'm sorry, but I... I gotta go." Backpedaling, she turned around and ran down the street back towards the library.

The others stared in confusion at each other as Twilight sprinted away from them. “What got into her?” Rarity asked.

Applejack watched as Twilight ran around the street corner out of sight, “Ah don’t know. She was staring up at that smoke and then she just freaked out.”

“Should we just let her go?” Fluttershy whispered

“No way! she’s been acting weird for a while and she hasn’t been telling us.”Rainbow said as she flapped her wings and floated up in the air, “I’m gonna go find out.” and with that she flew down the road.
---
“Why can’t I get those thoughts out of my head!” Twilight yelled as she ran down the road. She cantered through the crowds of ponies, causing many ponies to jump out of her path. She didn’t care for what the others thought of her odd behavior; she just wanted to get away from everypony else. Looking ahead of her she saw the library in sight, but her vision was suddenly blocked by a cyan pegasus dropping in front of her. Twilight skidded to a stop at the roadblock in front of her.

Rainbow Dash sneered at Twilight as they stared at each other, “Not so fast Twilight. What’s going on? why have you been acting so strange lately?”

Twilight mouth hung open for several seconds, unsure of what she should say. “I... I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 
Presently, Rarity and the others caught up soon after Rainbow Dash, all of them with worried looks on their faces. Twilight began to sweat as they came closer, seeing that they were determined to find out what was happening to her.

Rarity stepped forward, “Twilight, what is bothering you? You’ve been acting rather odd.”

Twilight panicked as they all circled her, “Nothing is bothering me. I’m just not feeling well.”

“Twilight, it’s not good to keep stuff bottled inside of ya. talk to us.” Applejack said.

Twilight looked back and forth between her friends as they all kept prying at her. Her heart began racing from the fear of her friends seeing what she was dreaming. There would be no way that they could ever understand her thoughts. They would reject her. They would hate her. She was becoming frustrated that they wouldn’t just leave her alone. “Girls, i don’t want to talk about it. I-”

“Oh, so something is bothering you.” Rainbow interjected.

"N-no! I just... I can't talk about it. Please, just stop." Twilight was panicking, but she also felt something else inside of her beginning to build up. Something that she did not expect since she always had control over it. Anger. She was becoming angry that her friends wouldn't just drop the questions and leave her alone. "Just leave me alone."

Pinkie bounced forward and put her hooves on Twilight’s face, "You know what you need to do? You need to smile!" she then forced Twilights cheeks back so they revealed her teeth, "You see? Smiles are good! He he!"

Twilight shook her face free from her friends grip and stepped back. Her frustration was building now. She glared as Pinkie Pie tried to approach her again, "Pinkie, knock it off!"

“Twilight, trust me, let old Pinkie Pie cheer you up and-"

"I SAID KNOCK IT OFF!" Twilight screamed out. The volume that she reached echoed across the entire street, freezing every pony in their tracks. Her tone was cold and painful, etched into each word that she said.

Pinkie's mane immediately fell flat against her as she trembled under Twilight's gaze. She dropped down to the ground, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "I'm sorry Twilight. I- I was just trying to make you feel better."

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she put a hoof up to her mouth, 'What have I done?' she thought to herself, ‘She wasn’t doing anything wrong.’ She walked up to her crying friend, "Pinkie, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over-" she stopped as Pinkie backed away from her. Shocked, she looked around to see everypony else staring at her in fear.

Her friends began stepping back from her. Fluttershy quivered as she tried to speak, "Tw-Twilght, what's wrong with you?"

Twilight was afraid now. She didn't understand what was happening. She knew she had overreacted, but she couldn't see why they were scared of her. "Girls, what is wrong? I didn't mean to snap like that, but what is making you all so-"

Her mouth froze as she turned and saw her reflection in a store window to the side of the street. She thought her mind was playing tricks on her, so she tried to shut her eyes and shake her head clear. When she reopened, her fears were proven correct; she wasn't imagining it.

Her eyes were blood red.


> Darker Self
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Away from Ponyville to the northeast, the great capital of Canterlot stood as a symbol for peace and for happiness for all those who saw it. The great castle in the back of the city overlooked the many buildings and the land that surrounded itself. It's gold and white color shined magnificently in the light of Celestia's sun.

At the top of one of the many towers, two figures were standing on a balcony overlooking a large part of equestria. One was the sun princess herself. Her bright white coat glistened as if she had just come from the spa and received the best form of treatment. Her long mane and tail shifted and flowed in the air, it's many colors sparkling as they swayed in the sunlight. She smiled over to her companion, "Do you like the view from up here?" she pleasantly asked.

The other figure was of a much shorter stature than the alicorn next to him. In fact he was much smaller than the standard pony, as he wasn't a pony at all. The small adolescent dragon was covered in purple scales over most of his body except for his stomach and chin, which was of a light green tint. He had a line of green spikes running from the top of his head, down his spine and the center of his tail. He turned smiled up at the princess, his small lips opening to reveal the small but sharp teeth inside his muzzle, "Yeah. This is amazing from up here. This is what I do miss about the castle, Princess. You're so lucky that you get to be up here all the time."

Celestia walked over to the edge by Spike, "Do you not enjoy Ponyville?"

"Of course. It's just that I grew up here, and it is was always so nice. I mean, you're the princess, you get to have this view all the time."

Celestia grinned at that statement. Her horn began to glow with her yellow aura as she levitated her golden crown off of her head, "Well, if you want to feel like royalty, all you need is to wear this."

Spikes eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, "What!? No no, I can't wear that! That is only for you."

"Oh Spike, it is only a piece of jewelry." she chuckled as she lowered the crown to Spike’s level.

Reaching out with his claws, he gripped the base of it. To his surprise, it was quite light despite its metal frame and size. Still unsure, he looked up to make sure she approved, which she did with a quick nod. Sighing, he lifted up the head piece and set it on top of his cranium. Surprisingly, it fit nearly perfect around and in front of the spikes on his head. He grinned as he stood there with the crown on him, "I have to say, this does make you feel awesome."

Celestia giggled at his amusement before lowering herself into a playful bow, "Oh the great Prince Spike. You are too great for me."

Spike stood up tall and stuck out his chest, trying to make himself look bigger than he was, "Prince Spike, I could get used to that."

Both of them laughed for several minutes at their role reversal before composing themselves and Spike handing back the golden crown. Celestia smiled as she levitated it back on top of her head, allowing it to settle down in her mane. "It has been wonderful having you here Spike."

"Thanks Princess, but I'm curious..." Spike Questioningly asked, "Why did you say we had work to do, but when I arrived all I did was hang out and relax?"

Celestia grinned at the little dragon, "I just thought that it would be nice to allow you two to just relax and take some time to revisit your old home. It's a shame Twilight said she got sick and couldn't come."

Spike felt much of the happiness that he had disappear at that moment, "Yeah, it was." he said as his head lowered.

Celestia noticed the change in Attitude, "Is something the matter, Spike?"

Spike sat quietly for a moment before talking again, "It's... Twilight."

Mildly concerned by Spike’s statement, the princess knelt on the ground to lower her eyes to spikes level, "What is the problem? Is she alright?"

"I... I don't know. For the last few months she has just been acting like something is really bothering her."

Celestia raised an eyebrow to this, "Really? She has never mentioned this to me in the past."

Spike frowned, "She doesn't talk about it with anypony. She just keeps it bottled up inside of her."

Celestia pondered on her thoughts for a moment, "Perhaps it would be best for Twilight to come here. If she isn't feeling well, I should try to see if she will open up to me."

"Yeah, Maybe that would be the best for her. I don't like to see her upset like this." Spike responded.

Celestia stood up, "Alright. Tell Twilight that she should come here as soon as possible for me to talk to her when you arrive back in Ponyville..." she paused as she looked back at the clock, seeing the hour hand set at one, "...which is in ten minutes."

Spike suddenly jumped up in the air, "Ten minutes!? I forgot what time it was! I have to get all my stuff packed, but if I do that I'll miss the train and-"

The loud thud of a brown suitcase dropping on the floor stopped Spike in the middle of his sentence. Looking down, he saw that it was his. Surprised, he turned to see one of the butler unicorns standing above him. The light blue stallion sat poised with his head in the air, "All of your belongings are ready for departure, sir."

Spike sat still as Celestia walked by his side and brushed him with one of her wings, "I have already notified the train to wait for your arrival. Now go and tell Twilight what I asked of you."

---

Ponyville library had been sealed shut from the inside. Every door and window was locked with a deadbolt, the blinds had been pulled down and shutters closed tight do block out any possible view for ponies from the outside street to peer into the wooden interior.

Inside of the library, darkness was all that could be felt. All the lights in the main lobby were shut off. The blinds halted any sunlight from entering through the glass and flooding the lobby to give its warm rays. Nothing was moving on the first floor, giving off an eerie silence that rang through the still air. The only sign of life that could be detected was from the small trickle of light coming from the small opening at the bottom of the closed door atop the stairs.

Through the locked door at the top of the steps, the bedroom also had all of the windows blocked and the lights turned off. The only form of light came from the single candle that was lit on the dresser in the dark room. The small flame flickered from the wisps of breath coming from the purple unicorn

Twilight Sparkle sat in the chair at the wooden stand as she stared into the tall mirror that reflected her own image. Her natural magenta eyes had replaced the burning red tone that had taken over her irises as soon as she locked herself inside of her home, but no matter how long she looked at her "normal" self, she felt like it wasn't what she was.

When she snapped at her friends just an hour before, she had panicked for what she had done. All of her friends, especially Pinkie, were frightened by her sudden change in both attitude and appearance. Confused, Twilight ran past them toward the library, slamming the door behind her and locking herself inside.

She did not know it at first, but the feelings that she felt weren't unnatural. Deep in her chest, the anger that she released wasn't something that she truly regretted. In fact, she felt almost relieved when she let the emotions flow out of her like that. The way the anger burst out was actually, natural. No matter how much she thought about it, she enjoyed her little release.

She hated that the most.

Gritting her teeth she slammed her hooves down on the desk. "Ahhh!" she screamed out of frustration. The candle nearly toppled over from the impact of her hit. Quickly using her magic, she caught the skinny wax stick and settled it back down on. She stared at the burning tip for several seconds. Despite the many times she tried to avoid fire for the feelings it brought up, fire for some odd reason felt like the best thing that she needed at the moment.

"Alright, Princess Celestia always told me that facing your fear is the best way to overcome it." Twilight said to herself. Taking a deep breath, she focused her gaze on the red and yellow flame. Looking into the tiny blaze, it didn't take long for her mind to create the figure that had 
haunted her dreams for the past month.

Herself.

Closing her eyes, she created a black void in which she placed herself in. Directly in front of her was her other form; a mane and tail of fire attached to a bleach white coat. The other form opened its eyes, revealing the red eyes that she had only recently escaped. Twilight’s heart raced as she gazed upon the body that she had seen herself as in countless nightmares.

The fire Twilight grinned at her, "Do you like what you see?"

Twilight felt her heart jump at hearing herself talk, "You... You can speak?"

The fire Twilight chuckled at her response, "Of course I can. We are inside of your own mind, 
which means I can be considered part of your subconscious."

Twilight was confused at this point; she was planning on seeing a image of herself and standing up to it to show it was fake. She did not plan on facing a talking version of her nightmare form, "So, you're just my imagination then."

Fire Twilight rolled her eyes, "No, I am more than just your imagination. I am connected to you. I am you."

Twilight glared at her fire self, "No. You are not me."

"He he, of course I am..." the flame maned unicorn responded, "I have always been inside of 
you. I have just finally come out."

"You're lying. There is no way that I am like you."

"you're right, you aren't like me... Yet."

Twilight's eyebrow raised from confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"At this moment you are fighting the feelings that are coming from your body. I know that you are afraid of what you are seeing in these dreams of yours." the fire Twilight snickered. "You see what is bound to happen."

"No! I will not ever hurt my friends!" Twilight snapped.

"Of course you will..." Fire Twilight chuckled as she walked towards her standard self, "Your dreams are showing visions of what is going to happen." she continued to smile as she circled behind the frightened purple version of herself, "No matter how much you try and fight the urge, You will soon learn to accept what will happen to you."

"And what will happen to me?" Twilight shakingly asked.

"There is no reason for me to tell you, for you will discover it soon enough."

"No."

Fire Twilight turned and glared at the purple pony, "You foal. You still try to fight the-"

"Of course I am fighting it!" Twilight screamed at her flame self, "I will never become a monster! I will make sure I don't!"

"You don't understand, do you?" the fire unicorn stated, "You do not have a choice in the matter."

"I don't care what you say, I will never turn into you!" twilight charged her horn and pointed it at her flaming version, "Now, leave and stay out of my head!" she screamed as she fired a purple blast of magic. The beam struck her fire version square in the chest, launching the white unicorn back through the darkness.

Twilight snapped her eyes open, revealing herself back inside of her room at her desk. She had no idea what truly just happened inside of her head, but she still smiled at herself, "I did it! I beat my nightmare."

Letting out a small yawn, she blew out the candle on her dresser, causing the room to fall pitch black. She didn't need the light, however, for she knew the way around her bedroom so well that she could maneuver blindfolded. Placing her hooves down, she carefully felt her way over the floor, stepping right over the small basket by her bedside and up into her large bed.

Crawling under the covers, she rolled around for a few moments until she found a comfortable position. Laying her head on her pillow, she closed her eyes and let herself think of happy thoughts with her friends. Perhaps she could finally enjoy a peaceful dream.

---

The train skidded to a halt as it came up to the wooden platform of Ponyville station. The Steam from the brakes exhaled out as the doors to the carts opened up. Spike stepped out from his cart toward the front of the long line of cars. Landing on the station platform, he glanced up and down through the mass of ponies looking for a familiar face. To his confusion, he couldn't find the one he was looking for.

Spike was perplexed as he sat there. "That's weird, Twilight never misses picking me up from the train." he said to himself. Being alone here didn't bother him, but the point of Twilight ever not being on time to things did bother him. "She probably just got caught up reading again." He said to himself trying to believe that was the only reason.

Carrying his suitcase, he walked off the station through the main street of the town. Several ponies smiled and waved to him, greeting him from his return from Canterlot. Waving back, he continued to onward, seeing the library ahead of him.

"Hey Spike!"

Hearing his name called out, Spike looked up to see Rainbow dropping down out of the sky. "Hey Rainbow, what's up."

"Just passing by. When did you get back from Canterlot?" Rainbow asked.

"I just got back on the train a few minutes ago. I was just heading back to the library." he stopped to looks past the cyan pegasus to the tree he wanted to reach, "By the way, have you seen Twilight? She Wasn't at the station when I arrived here."

Rainbow snorted at hearing that name, "Twilight locked herself in the library over an hour ago."

Spike stared at her with confusion, "What are you talking about? Why would she do that?"

"We were all having lunch at the diner, then afterward we walked by Sugar Cube Corner and there was smoke coming out-"

"Oh wow, was anypony hurt?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "No, nopony was hurt, but that's not the point. Anyway, Twilight saw the 
smoke and she freaked out."

"What do you mean she freaked out?"

"She started shaking and she ran off toward the library. When we all tried to ask her what was wrong, she wouldn't tell us. Then Pinkie tried to cheer her up, and Twilight  just lashed out at her."

Spike turned his head out of curiousness to that, "She snapped?"

"Yeah, she screamed out for us to leave her alone, and then her eyes turned red."

Spike was really startled now, "R-red eyes? You mean like Vinyl's eyes?"

"No. Twilight's were much creepier for some reason. After she saw herself, she screamed and ran to the library and hasn't come out since."

Spike looked back at the library, "You haven't tried to talk to her?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who went crazy at Pinkie!" Rainbow sneered, "She should come out herself and apologize. Anyway, I gotta get back to Moving clouds around." and with that, Dash flew off towards the clouds in the distance on the outskirts of Ponyville.

Spike frowned at the airborne pegasus as she left. His eyes then floated back towards his home, his mind spinning on what was happening to his life long caretaker. Breathing deeply, he picked up his suitcase and walked onward to the tree once again, only stopping because of the shut door in his face, "Alright Twilight, let's end this secret stuff of yours."

Reaching up, he tried to twist the handle, but found it locked. "Just like Rainbow said." he muttered to himself. Stepping over to the planter to his right, he lifted the small rock in the corner, revealing the key hidden under it. Taking it in his claws, he put it inside of the small key hole and twisting it until he heard the click of the deadbolt shift. Pulling it out, he placed the key back under the rock and twisted the handle open. 

Spike looked inside of the main lobby, and to his surprise saw nothing except for the area that the light coming from the doorway touched. Blinking several times, his dragon eyes adjusted to the darkness inside of the room, giving him a much better view. Seeing that nothing was out of the ordinary, he walked over to the light switch and flicked it up, illuminating the library in its white glow.

"Hmm..." Spike thought to himself as he looked towards the stairs, "She's probably up in her room." seeing that door was shut too, He went to the drawer in the kitchen and grabbed the small bedroom key at the back. Walking up the stairs, he put the thin key into the tiny dot-like hole and shifted it until it caught the switch.

Opening the door, he was met with more darkness inside. Reaching to the left, he found the other light switch and flicked up to turn on the lights set in the ceiling. Looking over to the bed, Spike saw the shape under the covers. "He he, Twilight fell asleep on me. She must have-"

"Spike."

"Huh?" Spike walked to the side of the bed and saw that Twilight was in deed sleeping. "She is talking in her sleep." he said to himself. He was about to let her be... Until he saw her quivering under the covers.

Twilight was trembling in her spot, whispering out her assistants name, "Spike... Spike."

--- 

Spike was running down the dark hallway of the royal castle. His breath came in rapid gasps as his lungs were becoming exhausted from running so hard. His clawed feet scraped across the marble flooring, echoing through the still air. Entering the main courtroom, his eyes shot back and forth around the room looking for the princesses. Yet despite his hopes, they were nowhere to be found. 

Spike felt himself losing all hope as he dropped to the ground. His eyes began to become glossy from the few tears that formed from his emotions building up. He quickly used the back of his arm to wipe away he moisture blocking his vision, "Princess, I need your help."

*BOOSH*

The large stained glass window of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor was suddenly shattered by an object being thrown through it from the outside. The body smacked down onto the floor and skidded across the surface in the mix of all of the glass. It was Celestia, her body littered his hundreds of deep cuts and burns across her fur. Blood slowly trickled out of her open mouth.

"Princess!" spike screamed out as he started to run over to her, but stopped as he saw the wave of lava rush into the room through the open window. The massive molten mass immediately melted anything that it touched; the marble floor sizzled and dissolved as it was passed over. The carpet and walls burst into flames from the intense heat before they were even touched by the invading mass. Then, even the princess was enveloped in the body of molten rock. She screamed as she was covered by the lava, thrashing around to try to escape, but was eventually covered completely and disappeared under the mix.

Spike trembled as he saw the lump of lava where the princess was slowly begin to fall, until blending in with the rest of the pool. He stood there motionless as the mass slowly came up to him and past around his legs. His dragon body was immune to the heat of the lava, allowing it to pass by him painlessly.

Suddenly, another mass underneath the lava in front of him began to rise up. As the melted rock fell away, it left a towering flame set on the back of the head of a unicorn, it's eyes staring straight at him with malicious intent. Stepping out from the rest of the magma, the white body of Twilight was soon standing on the surface of the still flowing pool right in front of her former assistant. She smiled down at the frightened dragon, "I did forget that about you; you are immune to heat. That's too bad, because that means you will suffer that much longer."

Tears now freely flowed from the dragons eyes as he stared at the one that he loved. He treaded through the thick pool as he made hi way towards her, "Twilight! Please stop this! I don't want you to do this!" his claws were inches away from her legs trying to embrace her, but was suddenly caught inside of an aura of magenta magic lifting him out of the air and holding him in front of her face.

Twilight laughed as she saw the terrified look in the dragons face, "You act like I don't want to do any of this. I enjoy being able to do whatever I want with my power. I will burn this pathetic world to embers. Don't worry though, you will not be here to see it."

He magic shifted into a collar around Spikes neck and began to tighten. The young dragon thrashed in the air as he felt his windpipe constricted, blocking any room for him to breathe. His claws reached up to grab at it, but he was helpless under the power of his tormenter. 

Twilight grinned as she watched the movement of the young dragon become less and less frequent after every passing moment. Soon, his arms fell to his side limp. The only form of life he had left was by the slight twitch in his eyes and for the corner of his mouth trembling. She lifted him closer to whisper into his ear, "Goodbye little Spikey whikey, perhaps you will meet your little crush in the afterlife."

---

"TWILIGHT!" Spike yelled

Twilight screamed out as she heard her name called and the feeling of something shaking her. Thrashing out from the constriction of the sheets, she fell off the side of the bed onto the wood floor. Scrambling up, she crawled to the corner of the room and curled up instinctively. Her eyes shot around the room, taking in where she was at the moment to prove the last thing she was was fake. 

This didn't calm her down.

Her breaths were coming so fast she never took a full intake. Her coat was scraggily and damp from her bodies sweat. Her skin twitched from fear as she sat their. Her eyes then went to her bed, where she saw the frightened face of a purple dragon on top of the mattress. "S-sp-Spike?"

"Twilight, are you okay?" spike asked as he sat up, "You started thrashing in your sleep so I tried to wake you up. Was it another nightmare?" his eyes went wide as Twilight rushed forward and jumped onto the bed, wrapping her hooves around him and pulling him tight,  "Oomph! Twilight, what are you-"

"Spike! I'm so sorry! I'd never want to hurt you!" Twilight screamed out as she embraced Spike, "I will never hurt you, I promise!"

Spike felt drips falling down onto his face from above. Shifting his head up, he saw that they were tears from Twilight. "Twilight, what's going on? What's wrong?"

Twilight didn't respond, her weeping too strong to stop. She put a hoof behind Spike's head and pulled it to her chest, giving her room to lay her head over his. "I will never hurt you... I will never hurt you." she whimpered.

Spike didn't know why, but he began to cry himself. Seeing his caretaker in this position hurt him so much. "Twilight, Please tell me what's wrong." he reached his arms up and wrapped them around Twilights neck.He pushed his cheek into her fur and allowed his own tears to flow, "Please Twilight, tell me what's wrong with you."

Both of them sat together for what seemed like an hour, their bodies never letting go of each other. They slowly rocked together, embracing as if this was their last time together. They didn't try to talk anymore, instead just fell into the bed as one and tightened their embrace. Twilight was soon able to stop her tears, kissing Spike on the forehead. Looking down, she saw that he had fallen asleep.

Putting her head back on him, she sat quietly in the bed. The house was silent once again... Except for the whisper inside of her mind.

'I told you that you cannot stop what is going to happen. You do not have a choice.'
 






> Facts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright Spike, I'm going to finish some things here real quick. Go find the girls and let them know what's going on, alright?"

The young dragon nodded as he walked toward the library door,"You got it, Twilight. Are... are you sure you want to do this?”

Twilight gave a small grin up to her assistant, “Yes Spike, i’ll be fine.”

Spike returned the smile as he closed the door behind him, leaving the lavender unicorn alone inside the tree once again.

After having the emotional moment with Spike the day before, Twilight was told by him what the princess had asked of her to do. At first, Twilight felt angered that Spike had gone and told Princess Celestia that she had been hiding something troubling from everypony for some time. 'Who does Spike think he is? If I had a problem that I wanted others to know about, I would've told them! What gives him the right to go off and start spouting off that I am having a mental breakdown!?' After ranting inside of her mind, however, she knew something was wrong with her.

The nightmares she had been experiencing were becoming more and more vivid with each night that she slept. She had been lucky enough to not experience one from last night. Despite her single night of peace, her mind kept thinking on what her other self kept saying to her.

'You do not have a choice.'

Shaking her head, Twilight knew that she had to figure out what just what was going on. She was preparing to head out to Canterlot to see the princess and explain everything that had been happening to her. "She's going to hate me. .." She whispered to herself, "there is no way that she would ever forgive me for having such horrible thoughts of hurting my friends."

"But, what if she says that I just need to get rid of these nightmares... She could probably be able to finally help take these thoughts out of my head." 

'Your dreams are showing visions of what’s to come' a whisper inside of her head said.

Twilight's eyes shot open immediately hearing that voice again. She knew it was her other self that said it, because she heard the same thing said to her yesterday while sifting through her own thoughts. While most pony's would have panicked at a voice telling them such things, Twilight was able to rationalize what was true from farce. 

Many times in Twilight’s life, she had heard pony's say how when one has a dream, it is important to remember it for the future. Most of the time she never put much thought into silly things like that, yet now she couldn't help but believe that all of these recurring thoughts had to truly mean something. If any kind of idea was being replayed so much in her sleep, she had no choice but to try and figure out what it meant.

Knowing her bag was already packed and had plenty of time before the train was ready to leave, Twilight walked over to one of the many bookshelves on the wall. She began to scroll through the many different colored tomes that lined the wooden shelves. Coming across a book called 'Sleep Deprivation' , she decided to pull it out and turned to the table of contents. "Hallucinations..." she said to herself, "I could try there first." Flipping to the labeled section, she began reading through the long list of different things on the subject.

"When one is deprived of sleep, the mind will begin to play tricks on itself, creating visions and false images in the line of sight. The hearing of the subject may also be affected, picking up or hearing different sounds and words that were never made. Being able to tell what is real and what is not will become harder for the affected to distinguish if the subject does not rest and allow their mind to recover."

Twilight frowned as she stopped reading and flipped through more of the section. "These aren't happening because I don't have enough sleep. These dreams are happening in my sleep." 

She skimmed through the rest of the section looking for more things that could help her out, but then tossed the book aside when she didn't find anything. Levitating the book back up to its spot, she began to look through the list of books again for more things that could help her understand what was going on inside of her troubled head.

---

"Twilight is leaving for Canterlot?"

Spike sat at a table in Sugar Cube Corner with Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash as he explained what was going on, "Yeah Rarity, she is going to see the princess to talk to her about what is happening."

Rarity gave a sigh of relief, "Well, I must say that is splendid. Twilight certainly needs someone to help her regain control of herself.

Spike shook his head "I still don't know what you girls are saying that she 'needs' help like that. Twilight just has something that is bothering her. I don't think it could be that bad."

"Don't kid yourself Spike..." Rainbow interjected, "Twilight has been off and you know it. Like I told you yesterday what happened when you were gone, she just snapped all of a sudden."

"I know you said she did, but what if she-"

"Quit trying to defend her weird actions, Spike. You went over inside the library yesterday, what was she like?" 

Spike suddenly felt himself tense up at the question. He didn't tell anypony how he found Twilight locked up in her bedroom, or how she had panicked when she woke up from her sleep and threw herself on him and wept her eyes out. 'Maybe she is really having a serious problem.' he thought to himself. Despite this, he didn't want the others to think Twilight was a freak.

"Sh-she was fine. She just slept mostly. She is very tired from being so busy with her studies you know, heh heh." he said with an awkward smile.

Rarity frowned at him for a moment, looking up and down his nervous exterior, "Spikey, I may not have the eye like Applejack when it comes to spotting a lie, but you just make it far too easy for anypony to see."

Spike's eyes grew wide as he realized he couldn't hide his uncertainty. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as he began to panic, "I- I'm not lying. I just went inside of the house and Twilight was sleeping."

"And what about when she did wake up?" Rainbow chimed in as she leaned over the table towards the young dragon.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Spike answered the impatient Pegasus, "She didn't have red eyes like you said that she got." 

"Well duh!" Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted out. All three heads at the table turned to look at the pink pony as her fluffy hair bounced up and down as she threw her emphasis in every word. "Her eyes aren't going to stay red silly. They were gonna turn back to normal like they did last time."

"What?" all three of the others asked simultaneously.

Pinkie pie shook her head at how her friends could never remember the second long details from the past."Oh Spike, don't you remember that one time that Fluttershy went into the bog to go enjoy her frogs and then I had that doozy of a shake?"

Putting his claws on his chin, Spike thought for a moment as his mind worked, "Oh I remember now! Then that hydra attacked us there!"

Rarity then had something click inside her head, "Now I remember you telling us this story now. How that hideous monstrosity tried to eat every one of you in that truly revolting bog outside of the town.

Pinkie pie grinned seeing that the others remembered the story, "Ok then, now that we all remember what happened now, let's get to the point. Anyway, we go to the pond because I had a doozy and feared it might have had something to do with Fluttershy. Once we finally got there, we were attacked by a big, giant, devilish, mighty, fat, two legged, four headed hydra! Can you believe it?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes at the question, "Yes Pinkie, we all just said how we remember about the hydra. What was the thing you were going to tell us about Twilight?"

Pinkie Pie gave Rainbow the stink eye for interrupting her tale, "Who is the one telling the story? not you. because if it was you, they would be asking you!"

Rainbow grunted as she slumped back in her chair. Her mind began to fog as she began to space out from not paying attention to Pinkie. She knew her friend would go into explaining every tiny detail that happened to each pony that was there that day. She began to daydream of flying in the wonderbolts, performing to crowds of thousands as pony's cheered her on from below. A large grin spread across her muzzle as she pictured walking with the rest of the team in the center of a large...

"... And then we finally got away from the hydra across the little gorge!"

Rainbows mind picked up on that last sentence. She sat up straight to focus, knowing now that the story was near its end, "Ye-yeah, what happened next Pinkie?" 

"Once we were across, my doozy twitch was still going..." Pinkie pie then began to vibrate in her chair to demonstrate what she meant, causing some of the silverware on the table to bounce off, "... And that's when I realized that the hydra wasn't the doozy. Twilight became so frustrated that she couldn't understand my pinkie sense. She jumped up into the air and BOOSH!" pinkie pie then jumped up in the air like Twilight did, and by some unknown force, was able to sit there in mid air floating to the others astonishment. "And then Twilight's coat turned white, hair in fire and her eyes were bright red like they were yesterday!"

Rarity gave a surprised look after hearing that last part, "What? I've never heard any of you tell me about that part about Twilight in the end. You mean her strange change in demeanor has happened before?"

Pinkie Pie then floated back down into her chair to be eye level with the others, "Of course, silly! It happened when she was really, really angry, but then it disappears after. Her magic is super crazy like that."

"Wait, why did you act so scared yesterday if you knew exactly what it was that happened to Twilight?" Rainbow asked.

"I wasn't scared; I was so sad that Twilight didn't even want to smile at all." Pinkie the. Put on a sad, puppy dog face with her lip curled, "Anypony that doesn't want to smile makes me sad."

"So, that's why Applejack and Fluttershy were so frightened yesterday when they saw the change; they just didn't remember it was normal, or at least, normal for Twilight" Rarity said with a smirk, "Oh this is wonderful! Now we all know that Twilight is fine. That takes a large load off of my shoulders."

"By the way, where are they, anyway?" Spike questioned as he looked around, "Didn't you say you would go get them Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders, "I tried to Spike, but Applejack said she had a lot of work to do at the farm. When I asked Fluttershy to come down, she said she had to make sure one of her birds was alright because it had eaten a bad acorn or something like that."

"Don't you worry about anything, Spike. We will make sure that we tell them after you and Twilight leave for Canterlot later." Rarity cheerfully said.

"Actually, I'm not going to Canterlot. Twilight is going alone tonight." spike responded.

"Really? She doesn't want you to come along?"

“No, she asked if she could visit the princess alone. She said it would make her feel better if she did."

Rainbow took a sip of the fruit punch that was on the table before giving an annoyed grunt, "Like I said, she is trying to hide something and that is why she is being so distant from all of us."

Rarity shot a glare over to the athletic pegasus. She had no idea what was making Rainbow so short lately."Rainbow, now that is not what is happening to Twilight! She is probably just stressed out over something. At least she is seeing the princess over this."

"Yeah, and whenever you get stressed out with one of your dresses you burst into flames." Rainbow sarcastically sneered, "Can't believe you totally agree with Spike on how she is fine. A normal unicorn does not do that."

"Twilight is not a normal unicorn!" Spike shouted out, "Twilight is the strongest unicorn I know! Her power might just be a little different than everypony else." stepping down from the table, he stomped off to the door, "I'm not going to sit here while you insult Twilight like this."

Before his claws gripped the door handle, Pinkie felt a sudden feeling coming on her, "Ooh, what is that!?" her ears started to flop over, then her eyes fluttered, "Ooh, a combo! Ear flop...eye flutter..." she stopped when her knees started shaking, "...knee twitch! Uh oh!"

BOOM!

The door to Sugar Cube burst open suddenly, crashing Spike into the wall behind it. The cutie mark crusaders fell onto the floor of the bakery all tied up in a mass of ropes. The Young orange Pegasus with a purple mane and tail in the group stood up with an awkward grin on her face, "Heh heh, sorry about that."

Rainbow chuckled at seeing them all on the ground, "Hey Scootaloo, what are you three up to this time?"

The white unicorn filly of the group threw off the rope wrapped around her horn as she got off the ground brushing off her pink and purple mane,  "We were trying to get our cutie marks in rodeo roping. Applebloom said her big sister is an expert at it."

Rarity frowned at her younger sister, "Sweetie Belle, do you three realize you crushed poor Spike in the wall when you crashed in here?"

"Huh?" all three of them said at the same time. Applebloom, a yellow earth pony with a red mane, pulled herself out of the mess and walked over to the door and yanked it off the wall to find a dazed Spike fall to the floor, "Oops."

"Sorry Spike, I felt it coming on too late..." Pinkie Pie said, "I felt and ear flop, eye flutter, then knee twitch. That meant a door was going to suddenly open."

The three fillies all looked down to the dazed dragon, then all gasped in excitement. 

"Maybe we can get our cutie marks as nurses!" Sweetie Belle stated.

"Yeah, ah bet helping out Spike will surely get us that!" Applebloom cheered.  

"Come on girls, to the clubhouse!" shouted Scootaloo as they hoisted up Spike and dragged him out of the shop.

---

"No no no!"

Twilight threw another book into the large pile that had built up in the center of the room. She didn't care about trying to put them back on the shelves anymore as she continued to pull out different books to search their contents.

Reading the title of another intriguing premise, she flipped the pages until she reached the section the section that she was looking for. "Recurring dreams, now this is what I'm looking for." she said to herself as she continued to read out loud.

"When one experiences an important or traumatic event in their life, the subconscious mind will sometimes replay these experiences during the subjects dreams. If the event or dreams have a strong enough impact on the conscious thought of the one experiencing it, the events may begin to replay during future dreams. Depending on the reactions and the thought of the subject, the length of time in which the dreams repeat themselves will vary."

Shaking her head, Twilight skimmed back a few pages for more detailed reasons of the causes of recurring dreams. "I never experienced what I am seeing. There has to be another cause." She stopped at the section that she wanted.

"Scientists have determined that some forms of recurring dreams are not of any past event, but of something completely created from the subconscious mind. The reason for many forms of these dreams to ever be made are still trying to be Deciphered by the analysts in these fields of work." 

Frustrated, she tossed that book aside as well across the room. "Does no book have any answers!?" but then took a deep breath and sat back on her haunches. She had less than an hour until her train was scheduled to leave for Canterlot, and she at least wanted to somewhat understand her problems before seeing her teacher. Getting back up, she walked over to one of the lower shelves and pulled out another book, but paused when something behind it caught her eye, "Huh?"

Sliding the few books on that shelf out of the way, she saw an old, bronze horseshoe on the back wall inside of the cabinet. Curiously, she reached out a hoof to touch it, but was surprised to feel it go back into the wall. Suddenly, the entire back pulled apart, revealing another book hidden inside of an old, dusty compartment. Pulling it out, she immediately recognized the torn cover, "This is that book Spike found when Pinkie Pie copied herself from the Mirror Pool. He must have put it back here afterward."

Last time she had it, Twilight flipped straight to the section regarding the legend around the pond and then was done with it, giving it back to Spike. Now, curiosity overtook her troubled mind, wanting to see what other old secrets and legends were in this book. Flipping the page open, she saw that there was many more different things that she found to be very interesting in just the table of contents, "Let's see. Places of secret. Wars and conflicts. Figures of power."

The last one sounded interesting to Twilight, making her flip through the pages to the section towards the back. There wasn't a list of names, but instead categories of different classes of figures. "Hmm, royal sisters. Great unicorns. Unnatural beings."

Twilight personally knew Princess Celestia and Princess Luna; so she decided to skip that section for the things that she didn't know. The great unicorns sounded interesting, but mentioning ponies that were "unnatural" seemed so intriguing to learn about. Flipping through the pages, she came across the first one in that section. Sure enough, it was one that she had met in her past.

"Discord; the deviant spirit of chaos. This draconequus is composed of a mix of different creatures, symbolizing his own personal nature. His power is drawn from disharmony among others and the world around him. Due to this attribute, the magic he contains is considered limitless, for it continues to grow as more things are thrown into chaos."

“I already met Discord. I don’t want to read more about him.” “Not wanting to read anymore on the one who divided her friends, Twilight skipped past the rest of the pages that talked about him. Coming up to another being, she looked down and was really drawn into it now.

"Aligon; the great hybrid. This creature was a genetically engineered being made through science and sorcery. Using stolen DNA acquired from Star Swirl the Bearded himself (For information of Starswirl, see Great unicorns), a cultist group of pony’s known as the Shadow Walkers wanted to create a pony strong enough to allow them to overthrow Equestria. Using the unicorns DNA and the DNA of a dragon, they created a pony unlike anything ever seen before. With the body of a unicorn and the wings and tail of a dragon, the creature Aligon was born."

"Once awakened, however, Aligon went on a killing spree, wiping out all of the members of the shadows, and then leaving to kill everything else that stood in its way. Star Swirl then confronted this beast and engaged it. For three days they did battle, destroying most of the land . Eventually, Star Swirl overpowered the hybrid and defeated him."

Twilight turned the page to find an Artist's depiction of Aligon. 



The creature was definitely something that was interesting; large blue stallion with a strange, curved horn on his forehead. The large dragon wings spread out, which somewhat resembled Princess Luna's lunar guards, but in a much more menacing way. She sat astounded at the facts she was learning, "This is amazing. Why haven't I ever learned of these things before?" Going on to the next pony, she eagerly wanted to see what other things happened.

"Crimson Flames; the Fire monster. Very little is known about the origins from where he came from. A talented unicorn who had the unique gift to control and manipulate fire or other forms burning materials." 

Twilight felt a strange chill go up the back of her neck as she was reading it. Something about it was... Familiar.

"His strange gift was something that not even the great Princess Celestia could control (for information on Princess Celestia, see Royal sisters). Eventually, he went insane for some unknown reason, even his body took a different form as he soon became enshrouded in fire. In his insanity he proceeded to burn the land of Equestria."

Twilight was now sweating as she hesitantly flipped to the next page of the book. While wanting to see who and what this pony the more she read about him, the strange feeling inside of her chest began to grow stronger.

"As Crimson's powers erupted out of control, the level of destruction grew beyond anything prior to that event, and possibly to ever happen again in history. Cities and towns fell as they were engulfed in flames. Any pony or creature that was able to escape out of his path alive decided to create a new name for the pony; The Destroyer."

"Princess Celestia herself rose up to stop his malicious destruction, but even herself was not able to stop him. Overpowered, she barely escaped with her life as The destroyer continued his wave of terror across the land, before mysteriously disappearing. No further known information exists on what became of him."

Twilight stared at the last sentence on the page for a moment, shocked to see a documented story cut off in this manner, "That's it!? Where is the rest of the information? What happened to him? No information just ends like that!" she flipped to the next page, but then wished she hadn’t. 

The magic that surrounded the book faltered, causing it to drop down onto the floor with a loud thud. The air in the library felt very cold and dark in a single instant. Even the normal ring inside of the ears when in a quiet room was not detectable, leaving a complete and utter silence. Still open, the image that she saw stared right back at her, making her heart feel like it was going to explode out of her chest. Her legs felt wobbly as she stumbled backwards away from the terrible picture that was on the page.

The picture looked exactly like her other self.


> What will she think?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bouncing along the metal tracks, the train traveled up the windy path of the mountain to its destination. Snaking its way on the side of the steep face, it eventually came to a long tunnel that passed directly through the center of the massive stone interior of the mountain. The bright headlight of the train illuminated the dark pathway before opening up to the bright afternoon sunlight at the other side. 

As soon as the train passed through the end of the tunnel and outside of the mountain, the great city of Canterlot came into view for all those on board. Happy cheers came from many of the fillies seeing the Giant castle. The many adults also gave small cheers as they saw they were nearing their destination. 

All were excited, except for one.
Twilight stared out the square window at the approaching capital in the distance. Small beads of sweat began forming on her forehead as her heart rate steadily increased out of a mix of different fears and worries that were building inside of her. Every cell inside of her brain was spinning as she contemplated how to tell the princess of everything that has happened to her.
"What will the princess think if I asked her about that book that I found in the library?" she said to herself, "Why didn't she ever tell me about the things that were listed in there?"

Her eyes then floated over to the bag that she brought along with her. Opening it up, she pulled out the strange book that she had discovered inside the library. Before flipping the cover open, she glanced around to see if other ponies were near her, but forgot she was in her own personal car. Being a student of the princess granted her certain privileges and services in things, which at the moment she was very thankful for; she wanted to be alone for as long as she could.

Flipping the book open, she immediately turned to the section on Crimson Flames and stared at the picture of him. Her eyes focused on the bright flickering flames that replaced the normal mane and tail. Then she gazed at the red eyes that glared to some unknown target that it was looking at. Her mind sputtered, replaying just some of the many disturbing visions that she had been experiencing for the last few weeks.

Twilight began breathing faster as she watched herself as that... Other form walking steady behind a large mass of screaming ponies, the fire around her racing after the terrified and helpless victims. The cries of agony and horror rang through her subconscious as the flames engulfed the many ponies, slowly burning them to cinders.

"No!" Twilight screamed as she through the book across the cart. The small tome smacked against the wall opposite of where she was sitting, falling down to the ground. As if by some twist of fate against her, the book fell open, still on that horrible image looking right back at her. She glared and used her magic to lift it in the air. She had all of the urge to just use her power and shred the book right there, but she somehow stopped herself from doing it.

Taking several deep breaths, her nerves began to settle down. Levitating the book over, she slipped it back inside of her bag and closed it up. She wanted to try and calm herself before getting to Canterlot. She was also very thirsty. One thing came to mind. Pulling down on the service string above her head, signaling the train attendant. About a minute later, a cream colored earth pony came in, wearing the standard blue overall attire worn by the train workers. "You called for assistance?" the young mare asked.

Twilight nodded in the ponies direction, "Yes, can I have a drink please? Something alcoholic. Strong."

The Attendant gave a questionable look, "Ma'm, we will be arriving in Canterlot shortly. Are you sure that you don't want to just wait until we get there? There is a nice bar right next to the-"

"Please. I just... Need something." Twilight interjected.

The young attendant decided to hold her tongue and go get a beverage for Twilight. Being the personal student of the princess also meant that many ponies who knew her ranking didn't want to upset her in any way. 

Watching the pony walk away, Twilight then turned her gaze back to the view outside of the train. The large sun in the sky was beginning its slow descent on the horizon towards the ground, giving a beautiful orange glow across the sky. The sight was certainly spectacular to admire, giving a warm feeling throughout Twilight for a moment. The touching moment was short lived, however, as she suddenly felt the train begin to slow its speed down, the brakes caused a strong vibration throughout the carts. Looking towards the front of the train, she saw the approaching station.

Twilight's mind began to race again, seeing that she was now so close to having to talk to Celestia. Her legs suddenly felt like butter, shaking as she listened to the constant screeching from the brakes beneath her cart. Now that she was actually arriving in Canterlot, she wasn't so sure that coming to talk to the princess was such a good idea. 'She will think I'm just a monster.' she thought to herself, 'There is no way that she will think understand. I am just a freak and-"

"Miss Sparkle?"

Twilight jumped up at the sound of her name. "Huh, what?" she flipped around to see the young attendant carrying a small glass of what seemed like wine. The mare stared at her curiously for a moment before lifting the glass up. "I... I brought the drink that you asked for. It was all that we have at the moment."

"N-no its fine." Twilight quickly responded. Grabbing the glass with her magic, she quickly brought it up to her mouth and gulped it down in seconds. She coughed from the strong alcohol that gave a slight burn in her throat from drinking it so quickly, but she didn't care. She levitated the now empty glass back to the stunned worker. "Thanks."

The attendant stared at Twilight for a moment before turning around and walking out of the door to the front of the cart. Twilight then felt the train come to its complete stop at the station. Steeling herself to face the princess, she stood up from her seat and hopped onto the ground. Grabbing the bag she had, she slipped it over her shoulder and walked towards the main door of her cart that led to the station on the other side.

Ever so slowly, Twilight reached out and pushed the train door open, allowing the slightly chilled air to flow into the open doorway. Stepping outside, the bustling train made her have to weave her way through all of the crowded pockets of ponies that simply stood and chatted with each other. Once she finally got clear of the thick crowd, she stood on the main street of the town that lead directly towards the castle.

Twilight sat in place for what seemed like eternity staring up at the massive home of the princesses that overlooked the city. Even with the drink she had, her heart rate didn't slow down at all. 'I don't know what the princess would say. Heck, what would I tell my mother if-
"Oh my." Twilight whispered to herself. Her parents lived in Canterlot, and in the state she was in, she had no intention on wanting to see them now. Seeing a nearby taxi, she figured that she could get through the town that way without risking the chance of running into some pony she knew. Running up to it, she jumped into the back seat. "Canterlot castle, please." she quickly told the pony hooked to the front. Nodding, the stallion began pulling the wagon down the cobblestone street.

Gift of  the strong stallion in front, the wagon ride to the castle only lasted a few minutes. Thankfully Twilight did not see any pony that she knew on the way, although she had hunkered in the back of the cart and hardly saw any pony at all from inside. Coming to a stop outside the main castle gates, the taxi pony glanced back to Twilight, "We are here Ma'am."

"Thank you." Twilight responded as she handed several bits to him. Turning around, she started slowly making her way past the large stone opening in the tall security wall, leading to the massive courtyard in front of the main palace. Looking around, she saw several guards lined along side of the path, watching her intently as she walked. Even though she knew that was just standard for guards to watch everypony, right now it just put her even more on edge.

Continuing on, she eventually was stopped by the large doors that led to the interior of the royal palace. Twilight stood as still as stone for several moments, staring blankly at the golden round door knock that hung in front of her. Taking a few deep breaths, she began to force her heart rate down. 'Alright Twilight, this will all be fine...' she thought to herself, 'She will find out what is wrong with you and fix the problem. You'll be as good as new in no time.'

Reaching up, she put her hoof on the door knock and tapped it several times on the brown door. The sound of the knocking could be heard outside echoing through the large entryway inside the castle. Then, the sounds of hooves walking across marble flooring making THEIR way to the door. Then, the latch inside clicked, followed by the door creaking open. Sure enough, the Princess of the sun herself was one who answered.

"Twilight, it is great to see you again. I'm glad that you made it." Celestia said with a bright smile.
Twilight gave the best false smile that she possible could back to her teacher, "Yes, it is good to be back. I... I was told you wanted to talk about some things."

The princess nodded,  "Yes, but perhaps we should have a refreshment. Let us head inside for a cup of tea." turning around, Celestia headed back inside and around the corner.

Twilight slowly stepped inside after Celestia. As she walked, her mind was spinning on how exactly to start out explaining all of the things that were going through her head. 'Should I tell her that I dream of killing everypony that I care about? Should say how for some sick reason I am enjoying all of it in my sleep?'

Trotting down the hallway, both princess and student entered the large dining area. In the center, a massive oak table sat stretched out across the red carpet that was laid below on the ground. Walking up to it, Celestia signaled one of the butlers to come over. "Some tea, please." she pleasantly told him. 

Nodding his head, the pony quickly turned around and passed through the swinging doors leading to the kitchen in the back. Once he was gone, Celestia turned her attention back to Twilight. "So, how was the train ride here from Ponyville?" she knew small talk was always the best thing to do before jumping straightforward to what she wanted.

"It was nice. It seemed a little faster than normal. I just relaxed and..." Twilight hesitated for a moment before speaking again, "Just read a... History book."

"Oh, what was the subject matter of history that this book focused on?"

Twilight swallowed the lump that began to form inside of her throat. She contemplated if she should try and evade the book for now, or to just pull out the book and show her. "It, uh, talked about a mix of different things in history. You know, uh, old legends and stuff."

Celestia noticed the small amount of shakiness inside of Twilight's  voice as she spoke. 'She's definitely trying to hide something.' she thought to herself, 'Is it from what Spike told me?' before she could speak, however, the butler returned back into the room, balancing a silver tray on his hoof as the small cups sat perfectly still on top. "the tea is ready, your highness ." he politely stated.

Celestia smiled at him as she enshrouded the cups with her magic, lifting them and setting  both onto the table. "Thank you." lifting one cup up to her lips, she took a small sip, enjoying the warm drink pass down her throat and settle into her stomach. After a few more sips, she lowered the cup and turned to Twilight, "Wouldn’t you like your tea?"

Twilight shook her head, "No, I'm fine. Thank you."

Celestia nodded before taking another sip. "Now, I wanted to talk to you about what Spike had told me. He says that you have been very troubled lately about something."

Twilight felt the sweat begin to form all over her body. She had dreaded this moment the whole time. 'Should I tell her about the fact that I look like the pony Crimson Flames in the book? Who was he? Why hasn't she ever mentioned him before?’

"Twilight?"

"Huh?" twilight snapped out of her small trance at her name. Looking up, she saw Celestia 
staring at her curiously. "Oh, sorry Princess. I.. I just got caught up thinking of something."

Celestia tilted her head owns narrowed her eyes at her student, "You do seem awfully distracted at the moment. What is on your mind that is bothering you?"

Twilight took a deep breath before speaking, "Well, I was doing some reading and I found an interesting pony. What do you know about... Crimson Flames?"

The aura around Celestia's cup vanished instantly, causing the cup to fall to the ground and shatter into tiny fragments. The Princesses eyes were as wide as dinner plates as her skin began to shiver. The butler quickly rushed over to her. "Princess, are you all-

"Leave us." Celestia quickly cut him off. When he didn't react immediately, her voice rose a few dozen decibels, "Now!" 

Feeling frightened, the pony made a quick U-turn and hastily exited the room. Seeing the sudden change in emotion from the princess made Twilight feel like she had made the wrong choice in mentioning his name. Celestia blankly stared forward, not focusing on anything in particular. "Wh-where did you hear that name?"

Twilight's mouth hung open for a moment, hesitant to continue talking. Deciding to show instead, she slipped the bag off her shoulder and set it onto the ground. Opening the top, she pulled out the small book and held it in the air, "This is the book that i found in the library."

Celestia turned her head towards the book. Then, a loud gasp escaped her throat when she recognized what it was. Enveloping it in her aura, she ripped the old book from Twilight's grasp and pulled it towards her face as she quickly flipped open the cover. 'I thought all of these books had been destroyed? How could she have found one?' she screamed inside of her head. Skimming the pages, she came up to the page containing the picture of Crimson.

Horrible memories began resurfacing in Celestia's mind as she stared at the image. Sweat began to come up through her fur across her entire body, falling down her body as small tremors and shakes rippled through her. Her wings gave small twitches out of reflex from the increased blood flow spread through her body. She had not experienced this kind of feeling of terror since she watched her sister Luna be consumed into the dark figure Nightmare Moon all those years ago.

Twilight sat still as she stared at the princess, unsure what she should do. She had never seen her act like this before with anything. Not even the return of Discord caused this kind of panic with the princess. Before she could say anything, Celestia slammed the book shut and dropped it on the table next to her. Her eyes were shut tight as her head hung down in front of her. She sat like this for what seemed like minutes before her voice broke the eerie silence. "What do you want to know of him? He died along time ago."

Twilight tilted her head out of confusion, "Wait, died? I... I thought it said he just vanished, it didn't say anything about-

Celestia's eyes snapped open, glaring down at her student."What is your concern with the ancient past, Twilight?"

Twilight crouched down to the ground out of fear from the outburst from the princess. The tone in Celestia's voice was a mix of anger and annoyance blended together and aimed directly for her. Never once in her entire life had she experienced emotions like this from the princess before, and having the emotions focused on her made her all that more uncomfortable in the empty room with her. "I-I was just curious on him, princess. Th-there was just some facts I was curious on in the book that I thought you could answer."

Standing up, Celestia stared at Twilight and watched the small shakes traveling through the magenta body of the young unicorn. Thousands of years of experience gave her the skills to spot a lie through any small nervous twitch on a pony. Her eyes continued their harsh glare at her student as she began trotting in her direction, "Are you going to sit there and lie to me Twilight? You have a reason for asking me about him, so tell me."

Fear began taking over Twilight's body as her teacher walked towards her. She began backpedaling to keep a small distance between herself and the angry alicorn at at her. "Princess, I-I wanna go now."

"What reason do you want to know about Crimson Flames? Why is something that happened all those years of any concern to you? Of all of the other ponies in that book, why are you asking of him?"

"Please, I want to go home now!" Twilight pleaded. She felt herself back into the wall behind her, stopping her from retreating any more. Tears of fear began to form in her eyes as she crouched lower and watched her princess come closer. "I-I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Celestia was now standing over Twilight, her eyes beaming down with anger."I want to know right now, Twilight. For what reason are you not telling me what you troubles are? I know how you are with curiosity and history. If you specifically asked about one particular pony, you have a 
reason for it. Why do you want to know about that monster!?"

"BECAUSE I DREAMT I WAS HIM!"

The loud scream of Twilight’s echoed across the room. Celestia flinched back in shock of the outburst. Looking down, she saw the tears now flowed freely from her students eyes as she began revealing everything that she had inside.

"I have had horrible nightmares for weeks that I am a monster, walking through towns and destroying them! I see all of my friends and the ones I care about trying to get away from me, but I kill them! I can't stop watching myself burn city after city in fire and lava, and I can't wake up until there is nothing left. Do you know what the worst part is? In my dream I am enjoying it! No matter what I tried I couldn't stop the nightmares as they got worse.

"I figured that you could probably help me, but I was afraid you would hate me for what I’ve thought of. I tried to find something this morning before I came here about my dreams, and then I found this book and saw what it said about him. When I read what it said he did and then the picture of him, I was terrified that you would think I was just the same."

Celestia sat still in shock not from the tormented state of her student, but of what she had heard. "Twilight, you were having dreams like this before you read about him in the book?"

Twilight used the back of her hoof to wipe out the water that built up in her eyes. "Y-yes. They have been happening for a long time now. Ever since I changed like in the picture I have had weird-"

"Changed!?" Celestia snapped, "What do you mean you changed?"

Taking a deep breath, Twilight began explaining all that had happened to her starting from the events in the swamp with the hydra and Pinkie Pie. She completely spilled every bit of detail that she had been keeping inside of her heart this entire time. She told about the horrible things she saw in the dreams that she had, even how she had even talked to what she thought was her own subconscious self. After about fifteen minutes, she was finished speaking.

The pulse in Celestia's neck began to jump faster as the facts started to like up inside of her mind. Unknown to Twilight, everything that she was saying was all creating a horrible realization in the princesses mind. 'It can't be. I never saw any signs that it was happening.' looking down to her student, her eyes gave an expression of confusion and concern to what she had just discovered. 'I must find out if the prophecy is true.'

"Princess?" Twilight whispered as she still laid prone in her spot, unsure if she should move or not. "What can you do to help me? I can't deal with these dreams anymore."

"I must look into your memories, Twilight." Celestia answered. Twilight's eyes widened when she heard that, but before she could respond, the long white horn rushed forward and touched onto her forehead. In a flash, Celestia had passed through and entered Twilight's mind.

---

Celestia found herself in a dark void surrounded by thousands of pictures, which were in fact the memories of Twilight. While she could not enter dreams as which was the specialty of her sister's power, she could enter another's mind and scroll through all of the past experiences one has gone through in their life.

The images of Twilight's life flashed before the sun goddess like pictures in a magazine as she continued deeper into the mind. Scenes of her laughing with her friends at parties, times of her trotting through the town on normal days. Even the memory of her brother Shining Armor's wedding and the attack of the changelings that same day. Seeing that the time she needed was not here, she continued even deeper.

Since she went inside of her pupils head against her will, the memory in which she wanted to see had to be found manually instead of being aided by the subject. Celestia knew that it was wrong and immoral to ever forcefully memory scan a pony, especially somepony as close as Twilight. Yet despite the things that were wrong and told, she knew Twilight was not going to let her inside of her mind after the tension that had come between them in those sudden few minutes. Most importantly, she had to find out if the time she feared all these years was truly upon her.

After some more grueling  searching, Celestia found the memory that she desired. In a brilliant blast of technicolor light, she pulled herself into another Place; the memory itself. Due to her unique magic, the princess was able to view the memory not just from the subjects perspective, but from outside as if she was there herself. 'Please, please be wrong Twilight.' she pleaded to herself.

Celestia found herself on the edge of a large ravine above the brown, bubbling swamp below. Right next to her, she saw Spike, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie all staring ahead. Looking forward, she saw Twilight standing there, her face twisted with confusion and anger. 

"Huh? But I... What!?" Twilight screamed out, "The hydra wasn't the doozy? How could it not be the doozy!? What could be doozier than that!?"

"Don't know, by it just wasn't it." Pinkie Pie responded back.

Celestia watched as Twilight’s face contorted with rage as the anger and frustration inside of her shot to a new level. Then, she leapt into the air, and in a bright flash of magic, she shifted to the horrible sight that was just what the princess feared.

Her spirit felt like it was shattered as she stood there in shock staring at the pony she had loved since a filly become exactly what she had feared since that day all those years in the past. "No, how can this all be happening!? Why didn't I ever see it?" needing to get out, she charged her horn and pulled herself out of her student's mind and back to the real world.

---

Twilight stumbled as the princesses magic was Lifted off of her. Her brain felt like it was pulsing with her heartbeat, a side effect from scanning the mind with magic. Once she was able to stand up, she gazed back up to her teacher. Surprisingly, she didn't feel angry that the princess did that to her. In fact,'she was a little afraid now, "Princess, I know what you saw in there."

Celestia didn't respond as she stood there staring at Twilight, her breaths coming in quick and loud through her nostrils.

The look of shock on The princess’s face made Twilight scared what was going to happen now. "I'm sorry that I never told you about what happened that day. I thought that it would just go away and I could forget it. Then all of this stuff starting happening and- Agh!"

The bright blast of magic cut her off as she was slammed into the wall behind her, cracking some of the drywall from the hard impact. Before she could move at all, her body was surrounded by the yellow aura and lifted into the air. She became terrified as she was held there, and then felt herself thrown back and smacked into the wall again, this time holding her against it. Turning her head, her heart dropped when she saw the caster, "Princess?"

Celestia's horn pulsed with bright magic as her eyes glared at her target. Her large wings were flared out and held at sharp angles. Her mouth was pulled back into a tight snarl, revealing her clenched teeth. It was perhaps the most frightening and angry that Twilight had ever seen the princess in her life. "Princess, what are you doing!?"

"No..." Celestia growled through her teeth, "I will not let you destroy my world again! I won't let it happen a second time!  I'll make sure you won't have a chance." tilting her head forward, she focused more magic at the tip of her horn directly at Twilight's heart.

> First One to Strike
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time seemed to slow down for Twilight as she watched Celestia lower her horn towards her. Panicking, she tried to thrash around, but the alicorn’s magic held her body tight to the wall to restrict her movements. The young unicorn felt helpless as the glow on the princess’s horn began focusing down its length to the tip, concentrating into a bright ball of light at the end. Celestia glanced upwards, her eyes locking with Twilight’s for several moments. “You will not destroy this world again.” She grimaced, tears in her eyes.

Twilight cringed not at the attack that was coming her way, but by the look that was inside of the eyes of the princess. A swirling mass of hatred boiled at the surface, mixed with the pain from past memories in her mind. Seeing the ball about to fire, Twilight closed her eyes and focused her magic as fast as she possibly could. A moment later, she illuminated herself in a flash of purple light before teleporting outside of the grip of the restricting magic.

Celestia’s eyes went wide in shock as her target disappeared before her, leaving a blank wall in her front. Deactivating her magic, she stared at where her student escaped. “What!?” whipping her head around, she saw Twilight appear by the table in the center of the room. Opening her wings, Celestia launched herself through the air, her face twisted with anger. Her horn refocused the attack she had prepared, lighting up the entire room in a brilliant white glow. A split second later, she released the shining attack forward.

Heart racing, Twilight enveloped the table next to her and lifted it into the air between her and the incoming attack. The ball of light struck the table, obliterating the oak into hundreds of small pieces. The flash from the blast was so bright that both Twilight and Celestia had to cover their eyes to keep the light from doing more than causing spots to appear in their field of vision. Once it dissipated, Twilight looked up to see Celestia slowly trotting towards her, her horn glowing once again. The sight of her once beloved mentor attacking her caused the unicorn to drop to the ground, trembling on the floor. “P-princess, what are you doing!? What did I do!?”

“I have to do this Twilight…” Celestia continued trotting forward, her golden horseshoes crashing down and splintering a section of the table below her. “I cannot allow you to  live on to fulfill your fate.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide in confusion, “What are you talking about? What fate?”

“The one where you destroy everything.” Celestia  tilted her head and fired a bright stream of magic at her student. Twilight quickly jumped to her right, rolling out of the way before the magic blasted a hole into the flooring. Twilight crawled back up to her hooves as she looked back to her still approaching teacher. Before the young pony could plead anymore, several more attacks screamed through the air at her. Reacting on instinct, Twilight created a force field in front of her, solidifying into a round bubble around herself. The trio of attacks struck the shield simultaneously, catapulting the bubble and Twilight through the entire courtroom and smashing into the far wall.

The shield created a deep imprint into the marble wall, splintering an area eight feet across. Despite the shield taking the majority of the impact, Twilight still felt the painful experience of smacking into the back of her own shield. Deactivating her magic, Twilight passed through the dissipating shield and landed onto the floor below her. Shaking her dazed head, she quickly got back up to her hooves as Celestia came forward once again for another attack. Eyes scanning the room, Twilight caught glimpse of the only way for her to escape the courtroom. ‘I have to get out of here. She really wants to kill me.’ She said to herself.

Celestia rushed forward, her shoes pounding into the ground as she was intent on making sure she finished what she started. Before she could strike, a cloud of smoke spread out from Twilight’s horn until it covered the entire side of the room. Skidding to a stop, the prepared her horn for anything that may be happening. A second later, she saw Twilight burst through the right side of the cloud and sprinting for one of the windows. “No, you won’t have the chance to unleash your power!” Celestia screamed out. Firing a large beam of magic, Celestia watched as the stream shot through the room and struck her student in the side, launching her into the wall as she-

POOF!

“WHAT!?” Celestia yelled as she watched Twilight blow up into a cloud of dust. A frown spread across the muzzle of the princess when she realized what she attacked was simply a materialized clone, a special trick that she had taught Twilight just several weeks before. “She would use my own trick to evade me. No wonder she is my student.” She sneered to herself. Turning her gaze back to the dissipating cloud, she saw the open door that led back into the interior of the castle. “She thinks she can get away from me.”

The doors on the other side of the courtroom burst open, followed by a platoon of six unicorn guards. “Your highness, we heard the disturbance and-“  the lead unicorn paused as his eyes scanned the decimated room. “Wh-what happened in here?”

Celestia turned around to face the guards. “Go and search the castle. Find Twilight Sparkle and bring her down.”

Every guards eyes went wide at hearing the order. “But, princess, she is your student! Why are we-

“I GAVE YOU AN ORDER SOLDIERS!” Celestia’s royal canterlot voice boomed inside of the room, shaking the windows to the point of near shattering. The guards cringed as they brought their hooves to their heads to try to block the powerful shouting. By the time the ringing in their ears stopped, the princess of the sun was standing above them, her furious eyes staring down at them. “Find Twilight Sparkle and use everything you are capable of to strike her down. If you are unable to, hold her until I arrive myself.”

---

Skidding around a hallway corner, Twilight’s hooves scraped across the flooring as she sprinted down the empty corridor away from the courtroom. Her heart was hammering inside of her chest so quickly that it was pausing pain to run through her excited nervous system, sending messages to her already overloaded and turning mind. She ran as fast as she could, her legs burning from exertion before she slowed her pace, realizing she was alone.

Panting, she looked back and forth down another hallway, trying to find anypony that could give her position away. Squatting low, she made her way into the new path, looking for someplace she could at least escape into. She knew the door she went to led her towards the center of the castle, but she couldn’t take the risk of going across the entire courtroom to the other side where the door leading out of the palace was. She didn’t care at the moment though, because all she cared about right now was knowing that she was alive.

“*Huff* alright, now I just have to make my way to the-

“She probably went this way!”

Twilight’s hair stood on end hearing the voices coming her direction from behind. Turning her head, she could see the shadows of the figures making their way down the hallway towards her. “She’s sending the guards after me now?” She whispered to herself. Turning back forward, she ran to the nearest door on her right and twisted the handle open. Closing it behind her, Twilight turned to see herself inside of a massive storage room approximately thirty feet across. Set up throughout the interior were large boxes of food, and in the center were dozens stacked high in a large tower. Running forward, she dropped down and huddled behind the boxes.

Sitting quietly, her ears could pick up the hoof steps coming through the hallways searching for her. Sweat dripped down the back of her neck, causing a chilling crawl across her skin. while she sat there, a crushing feeling gripped her heart, causing a wave of powerful emotions to overwhelm the unicorn. Curling into a tight ball, she began to weep in her hooves. “What is happening to me? Why is she trying to kill me?”

‘It’s because she fears your power.’

Twilight yelped out of shock from the sudden dark voice. Wiping the tears out of her eyes, she looked around the room trying to find the host. To her fear, nopony was with her. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

‘I can’t show myself to you.’ The voice responded.

“Why not? Just come out!”

‘I would, but you keep trying to hold me back.’

An icy chill ran up Twilight’s spine when she realized she was talking to the voice inside of her mind. “No, get out of my head!”

‘Twilight, quit trying to fight your destiny. I have told you before, it is going to happen.’

Gritting her teeth, Twilight shut her eyes and concentrated, once again entering the black void of her mind. Presenting itself once again was the horrid figure that tormented her dreams. The white unicorn beamed a large grin her direction, which in turn brought a frown to her own. “Why are you doing this to me?”

The white unicorn trotted her direction, its burning tail swinging back and forth. ‘Don’t be angry at me Twilight, I can’t help it that you were the one destined to become this.’

Twilight glared at the approaching fire form of herself. “Why won’t somepony tell me what is going on? I have been told about fate and destiny, but what does that even mean? Why is the princess trying to kill me!?”

‘Have I not already said? She is afraid of you.’

Shock was the next feeling to overcome Twilight. “Afraid? Why would she be afraid of me? I haven’t done anything.”

‘Of course you haven’t. She is afraid of what you are to become. The very same evil that she fought all those years ago.’

“Wh-what do you mean the same as…” Twilight froze as her fire counterpart walked by and flicked its burning tail up below her neck. The flames enveloped her throat but did not burn, instead giving a warm sensation to spread along her skin. Taking a deep breath, she turned her head to see the burning red eyes staring right back at her, imprinting on her mind. “What do you mean the same evil?”

‘Twilight, how many times have I told you? You are destined to become the most powerful unicorn in the history of all of Equestria. Your abilities will grant you the level of power to take this world for your own.’

Stomping her hoof in frustration, Twilight stepped back away from her fire self. “Quit avoiding the question, what are you talking about destiny!?”

The sound of the door to the room which Twilight was hiding in opening up rang inside the void like a drum in the night. The fire Twilight smiled as her form began to dissipate. ‘You should prepare yourself. Oh, and about your question, here is your answer; A phoenix must die in flames, and be reborn from the ashes.’

Before Twilight could respond, she felt herself pulled out of her mind and thrown back into consciousness. Opening her eyes, she gazed around the boxes to catch sight of several guards entering the room. Panicking, she tried to hide back down, but not before one of the guards caught sight of movement.

“Hey, she’s right there!”

Cursing to herself, Twilight rammed the tall stack of boxes towards the guards, causing the entire stack to crash down. Jumping back, the trio of unicorns now stood out of the doorway, allowing Twilight to quickly jump out of the room and sprinted down the hallway, only to have her way blocked by three more unicorns. The guards were in defensive stances, horns pointed at Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle, you are to surrender immediately. By…” The soldier’s eyes looked around in uncertainty, “By order of Princess Celestia.”

Looking behind herself, Twilight saw the other three guards lined up to prevent her from running the other way. Turning back around, her eyes fixated on the main doors at the very end of the corridor that would lead to the main castle entrance. Turning back to the guard, she stood down into her fighting stance and charged her horn. “I am not going to let the princess kill me. Get out of my way.”

The lead guard in front of her closed his eyes in regret. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” He reopened his eyes as he fired a beam of magic towards her. Charging her horn, Twilight created a shield in front of her and reflected the beam to the side of the corridor. Leaping forward, she enshrouded one of the guards in her aura and threw him out of her way into the wall. As she spun around, she barely had enough time to duck under the ball of shock magic that rushed past her head, grazing the end of her mane.  Quickly creating her own ball of magic, she shot it and struck the guard in the chest, knocking him into the wall and knocking him out.

Twilight felt a strange feeling inside of her as she watched the guard slump down onto the ground. Normally, committing any form of pain to another pony would cause her horrible feelings and regret. Now though, she didn’t feel that. Even as the other guards charged her, she retaliated with her own powerful magic attacks. Her body was almost responding naturally to the incoming strikes of the other ponies. As one of the stallions jumped at her, she quickly grabbed him with her magic and threw him into one of his companions.  Deep inside her chest, she couldn’t help but feel a rush of adrenaline course through her veins as the guards were tossed about in her power, as if she was meant to do this. She enjoyed using her power against others.

After several intense minutes, all six guards were on the ground, unconscious. Now with that obstacle out of her way, Twilight ran to the exit. Bursting through the door, Twilight found herself on top of the large staircase that travelled down to the main castle doorway which lead to the outskirts of the palace. Sighing in relief, she teleported herself to the bottom of the stairs and sprinted to the doors. “I’m almost there, I can make it out and-

The bright flash of light in front of her caused her to turn around and shield her eyes. Using her hoof to cover her eyes, she looked at the source of the light, only to be blindsided by a powerful wing connecting to the side of her head. Shaking off her daze, she watched as the light diminished, revealing Celestia standing in front of the doorway. Stepping forward, the tall alicorn towering over her terrified student. “Did you think that I would allow you to leave and burn this world?”

Twilight cringed under the terrifying gaze of her master, backpedaling away from her. Watching Celestia fire another blast, she raised up her head and formed her shield around herself. The beam sent her several feet back towards the stairs before she could catch her footing. As she looked up, another beam rushed towards her head. Shooting her own beam out, the two magic streams collided and began creating a swirling mass of pulsating energy. The next moment, the mixed magic burst outward, sending both unicorn and alicorn backwards across the room.

Crawling off the ground, Twilight felt every muscle in her body sore from the blast. Looking to her left, she saw the door to the outside unblocked, giving her hope to get out. As she ran to her freedom however, she became enveloped in a powerful magic that held her back. Trying to focus her magic, she attempted to teleport once again, but a band of magic tightened around her horn, restricting her flow of own magic. Now terrified, she began trying to thrash about with no avail as the tall princess rose up once again.

Celestia stared down onto her captured student, knowing now this was her chance to end the fear that had been inside her heart for years. “I will not let his prophecy come to pass. I have to end this now.” Charging on the tip of her long horn, she created a massive ball of energy a foot across, far more powerful than anything she had used in the last five hundred years, and prepared to release it on her target.

Twilight stared in fear as the glowing ball of magic hovered just several feet away from her, awaiting to end her life that very instant. “Let me go, Celestia! Please!” she cried out. Her pleas seemed to go unanswered as the princess pointed the attack directly at her. Not wanting it to end like this, Twilight closed her eyes and continued to thrash about, angered that she was completely defenseless and helpless like this. Death was something that she always feared, and she was determined not to let it take her.

While she struggled, she didn’t notice the ball of light dissipating away from the horn of the princess until it didn’t exist anymore. Lifting her head up, Celestia’s eyes were dripping tears as she looked at her student. While she knew what was to happen, memories of the horrid actions that occurred to her all those years ago at the hooves of Crimson Flames, she couldn’t stop all of the wonderful and happy memories she shared with the purple unicorn at her hooves. The time she first met her when Twilight gained her cutie mark, or her rescuing her sister from the control of Nightmare Moon. All of the happiness that she shared with her.

“I can’t do it.” Celestia whispered to herself, “I can’t bring myself to do it, no matter what you are to become. I couldn’t the first time, and I can’t now.” A strange and warm sensation suddenly began blowing past the princess, causing her mane to flow backwards. “Huh?” looking up, her heart felt like it stopped beating all together. “No…”

Twilight’s body was radiating red waves of energy, pulsing out every few seconds like the heartbeat on a monitor. Her mane and tail were dancing in the air above her, and after a moment, began smoking at the tips. Small sparks were shooting off the end of her horn, fighting its way past the restriction spell holding her magic back. Her coat’s purple tone began to begin fading lighter throughout, becoming almost translucent in several spots. Her nostrils flared out as she snorted in anger several times, soon followed by smoke escaping along with her exhales.

Something inside of Twilights body was urging itself to come out, and at this moment, she allowed it to show itself. “I said…” her cold voice echoed in the silent palace as she looked up to her mentor, her eyes a blazing pool of red, “Let. Me. Go.”

> Just in Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash dove down through the air, slicing through the few clouds that remained in the sky. Flipping around, she corkscrewed towards the ground and kicked a small batch of fluffy clouds and broke it to pieces. Smirking, she continued her descent further out of the air to the grassy plain beneath her position.

Soaring through the air always brought a rush of adrenaline to Rainbow's blood. The experience of having the wind whip through her fur caused a chilling but relieving feeling to move across her skin underneath her coat. She grinned as she banked back upward into the sky and charged the last batch of clouds. Performing a front flip, she smacked the clump with her tail and broke it into several pieces. Before they could scatter, she bucked outwards and broke each part.

smiling to herself, she enjoyed the clear sky as it glowed a bright orange from the setting sun. The flight back to Ponyville was only a minute thanks to her speed, and she had promised to head over to Sugarcube Corner to meet up with Pinkie for a night at the club. She did stop when she noticed the sun hadn't moved for the last several minutes. "Huh, that's weird. Princess Celestia stopped moving the sun. Hmm, maybe she had to go the bathroom or something."

Passing over several buildings, she stopped flying when she came across the library. A cold feeling crept up inside of Dash's chest as she stared at the tall oak tree. While she knew some of the strange new emotions were from seeing the odd change in Twilight and her own suspicions, but most of the negative feelings were from her own regret.

Landing down onto the ground, she tucked her wings to her side and stared up to the door at the entrance to the library. One of her best friends was going through something horrible and needed help. Instead of giving that, however, she had pushed Twilight away and acted like her friend was the enemy. She was supposed to represent loyalty, but she didn't even take the decency to help out someone so close to her in a desperate time. Instead, she had pretty much acted like Twilight was a freak.

Ears flat against her head, she slowly trotted her way over to Sugarcube Corner and walked through the front door. Inside, she saw Pinkie Pie mopping up the floors as the last customer made their way out of the door.

Looking up, Pinkie cast a large smile at her arriving friend. "Hey Dashie, you made it!" Her bright face faded when she saw the down look of Rainbow. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Rainbow turned her gaze away and trotted over to one of the tables to the side. "Don't worry Pinkie, I was just thinking of something."

"Twilight?"

Plopping down into the seat, Rainbow lowered chin onto the table. "Yeah, What gave it away?" She sarcastically responded.

Pinkie set her mop onto its side and made her way over to her sulking friend. Placing a hoof on Rainbows shoulder, she gave a warm nuzzle to her cheek. "Don't worry Dash. The princess will help Twilight out. She will be all better."

"That's not the problem, Pinkie. The problem is what I did."

Pinkie lifted an eyebrow out of confusion to that comment. "What do you mean what you did? You didn't do anything to make her upset."

"That is the problem. I did nothing!" Rainbow yelled out as she sat up, "Twilight is really upset and going through something very odd, maybe even bad. Who knows. I don't know right now because I didn't even ask her. I didn't see if she needed help with anything; maybe helping in her library, trying to figure out what she wants, or even if she just wanted a friend to talk to about her thoughts. But no, I had to be an idiot and not ask."

Leaning over, Pinkie tried to calm her friend. "Don't say that, Dashie. It isn't your fault. None of us went to ask if Twilight needed help because we felt like she wanted nopony to disturb her."

“Exactly, we thought. We didn't know. I am supposed to be loyalty, yet I don't even take the time to fly over to the library and just knock on the door. I had to act like she didn't need our help, so I tried to ignore her. I..." Rainbow shut her eyes tight as a tear began to drip down her cheek, "I acted like she was a freak. I should have tried to make her feel better, but that's all I did. Acted like she was a freak."

Pinkies heart melted seeing Rainbow cry.. Wrapping her foreleg over the Pegasus's shoulder, she pulled her into a hug to comfort her. "Oh Rainbow, don't do this to yourself. You are just a little confused. This is just a crazy time for us right now. Everything will be fine."
Smiling, Rainbow wiped her cheek dry and hugged her pink friend back. "Thanks Pinkie. That makes me feel better."

"Yup! Now, how about we enjoy a cupcake now and- woah!" Pinkie Pie suddenly started vibrating erratically, her body bouncing up and down off the ground. "My Pinkie sense!"
Rainbow hopped down from her seat when she heard that. She watched as Pinkie vibrated like crazy, scooting across the ground. She realized it was the doozie sense, just like Pinkie had demonstrated earlier. "What is it? Is it a doozie?"

"Wooooh! Yeah. It's a big doozie!" Pinkie answered between shakes. "This is bigger than any before!"

"Well, what is it?"

"I dunno! All I can tell is that it is in Canterlot."

Rainbow sat quietly as Pinkie continued to shake, contemplating what could cause that sense to be triggered. she thought about what could be the problem, and she only hoped whatever it was, Twilight wouldn't be caught up in it.

---

Celestia watched in horror as Twilight's body began to change right before her eyes. Her fur coat continued to fade from its magenta color to a pale tone. Her mane and tail continued to smoke at the ends, until the hair itself began to smolder and spark into small, flickering flames. Even her horn was starting to physically change, becoming longer and much broader from the base until it was nearly double the width from before.

Celestia felt her body trembling as heat radiating out from Twilight began to expand away from her body and cover the entire room. Watching her beloved student turning into the monster of her past, horrible memories began to inside of the princesses head. 'How could this be happening again? Why does it have to be Twilight?' She whispered in her head.

Forcing herself to her hooves, Twilight began to physically push her body off the ground despite the restriction spell holding her down. Growling out of frustration, she glared up to the princess above, her red eyes filled with anger. "I said to let me go."

Exerting more energy, Twilight was now standing up off the ground now, her legs holding steady against the yellow magic around her. The red aura continued to pulse out from her body, whipping up all the broken pieces of flooring around her. As she started to inhale deeper than before, small patches of fire began exiting her mouth with each exhale.

Feeling Twilight beginning to overcome her spell, Celestia increased the amount of energy she put into it. The light radiating from her golden aura grew much brighter than before, forcing Twilight back to her belly. The unicorn snarled in anger and attempted to focus her own magic from her horn. The now white horn on her forehead started shooting our bright sparks at the tip, pushing away the golden magic that had been restricting its flow before.

Panicking, Celestia began forming large bolts of electricity and blasted them into her magical cage in an attempt to stop her. Twilight screamed out in anger and pain as the high level of voltage coarser through her body. However, she still continued to try and fight her way up.
"I warned you princess..." The burning unicorn growled, "now I will make you get out of my way."

"Twilight, calm down!" Celestia pleaded, "I know you don't want to do this. Try to-

“Who says I didn't want this to happen?" Twilight responded through the lightning, her voice growing deeper, "this power is giving me the ability to challenge your own magic."
The aura pulsing out from Twilight suddenly shifted from red waves into a thick wall of embers. 

Eyes wide, Celestia stopped her attack and formed a shield around herself, reflecting the burning flames away from her. The scorching pieces rushed out and set several sections of carpet aflame. Using some of her magic, Celestia extinguished the small fires to keep them from spreading any further. Turning back, she saw a swirling ball of fire around where Twilight was.

As the flames disappeared, Twilight's body was nearly completely white now. The end of her mane and tail flickered in bright flames as they slowly began crawling up the length of her hair. 'No, she is almost fully changed...' Celestia whispered inside her head. 'I have to stop her before it is complete.'

Celestia focused her own aura into a bright ball on the tip of her horn. Looking up, Twilight grinned as she watched the princess prepare her technique. "Are you willing to strike me down? Your own student?"

Gritting her teeth, Celestia pointed her horn down at Twilight as she continued to hold her in place. Shooting her ball of magic, she aimed it at her students head. At the last minute however, she stopped her attack and held it in place just inches from Twilight's muzzle. The sun goddess held her killing blow back once again.

Even in this desperate moment, Celestia could not strike down the one she had grown so close to over these years. Their bond was-

BOOM!

A large blue sphere blasted Twilight in her side and launched her across the room, ripping her free of Celestia's grasp. Slamming into the wall, Twilight attempted to thrash about until the ball on her side suddenly burst out. Shifting into thick tendrils, the dark toned magic rushed out and wrapped around all of the unicorns limbs and neck, restricting her movement.

Bright blue bolts of electricity burst out of the magic around Twilight, enveloping her in a bright array of sparks. Screaming out, she tried to move her body, but the overload of voltage was locking all of her muscles in place and taking a toll on her mind. The surge in her veins suddenly increased another level, overpowering every sense in her body until she completely blacked out.

Celestia watched in shock as Twilight slumped down to the ground, the magic holding her dissipating. Her mane and tail reverted back to normal hair as it fell down. Her coat began shifting from white back to its magenta tone. "What was that?" Celestia asked out loud. Turning her head, she saw standing by the side door somepony she did not expect.

"Luna?"

The blue alicorn's horn sparkled brightly until dissipating as she lifted her head up. Luna's gaze was as hard as stone as she stared at the now unconscious form of Twilight on the scorched ground. The dark toned princess of the night walked forward and inspected Twilight before turning to her sister, eyes filled with anger and confusion. "You have some explaining to do, Tia."

---

Deep inside the rear section of the castle, a small hallway led to the restricted section of the palace. Only vice captain level officers and above were allowed passage into this region. Standing at attention to the large wood door at the end of the were eight unicorn guards in formation to the front, four solar guards and four lunar ponies. The reason for both usually opposing soldiers was because who was inside.

Through the door, the atmosphere in the very air changed from welcoming to repulsive. The smell of old moss and dust filled the air and blocked out any other odor. Instead of brightly lit windows and colorful hues throughout, the new caste section was constructed of solid rock all throughout. Several cell blocks lined the wall on the left, thick steel bars blocking off exit for any pony thrown inside of them.

Luna stared down at the unconscious form of Twilight on the other side of the bars of the middle cell. The unicorn laid sprawled across the stone floor, several thick cuffs wrapped around her ankles leading to multiple chains connected to the walls of her cage. She knew in her head that if she hasn't shown up, things would have been much worse.

She had been getting prepared for the night in her bedroom earlier that evening when she felt the powerful magic surges. Running as fast as she could, she followed the power she sensed before finding the unconscious guards in one of the palace halls. Shaking one awake, she was told to her own shock that it was Twilight that had done this to them. That next moment, she felt another magic surge coming from the nearby section of the castle.

Coming through the side doors, she watched as Twilight's body began to suddenly change into something that she had believed to be long out of her life. Reacting on instinct, she used one of her high level restricting spells to take hold of the burning unicorn when she saw her sister stop her own attempt.

Once they finally subdued her, the two alicorns took her into the dungeons in the castle to make sure she was quarantined and could not escape again. Even though many of the guards were still confused on what was going on, they dared not question the orders of the princess and helped them take the unconscious unicorn with them to where they were told to go.

After hearing the explanation from her older sister, Luna was in a state of confusion and somewhat panic. After years of peace, she had come to believe the prophecy was not going to happen. Now, however, she could tell that what she believed to be long gone was the inevitable. While she herself was so young, she still remembered the fires burning through the land. The destruction of so many peaceful villages and innocent lives by a pony identical to the form Twilight was in.

"Sister, what should we do now?" She asked out loud. Not hearing a response, she turned to her right to see a troubling scene. "Tia?"

Celestia was pacing back and forth in the hallway, her mane whipping back and forth as she turned. Her eyes were bloodshot and she continued to babble to herself. "How could this have not have been foreseen? I didn't ever once sense the signs that Twilight would be the one."
Luna turned her gaze back to the unconscious unicorn in the cell block. "Perhaps the answers were right in front of you the whole time."

Stopping her pacing, Celestia looked in confusion to the statement."Wh-what? What do you mean?"

"Twilight is perhaps the most talented unicorn alive now. Her powers and abilities far surpass all others that we know of. And..." Luna turned and stared her sister in the eyes, "she is your student. Perhaps she was chosen for this reason as well."

Celestia glared at Luna after that comment. "What are you trying to say? That Twilight is the one because of me?"

"You were told that when he would return, he would make sure that you suffered. Not only that, but your love for Twilight blinded what you could have seen to give away any small chance at what she could have been. It is just like how all those years ago your love for-

"Don't you dare try to compare those Luna!" Celestia snapped out as she stepped forward. "I had no idea about what had happened or what was going on with her until just today. 
And speaking of not sensing the signs, what in Equestria is wrong with you!?"

Luna was taken aback by that. "What are you talking about now? You are saying I knew about this?"

"You are the guardian of the night and are supposed to help ponies relieve themselves of the nightmares that plague their dreams. Twilight says she was having these nightmares for months now. Why have you not done anything or told me about these?"

Returning her glare, Luna stepped up and faced her sister. "You think that I would try to hide something like this? What kind of reasoning would I have to do that? I had no idea that that was happening to her."

“What are you talking about?" Celestia questioned, "how could you not enter these nightmares? Ones this powerful you must have easily sensed."

"That is what I am telling you. I didn't sense any nightmares coming from Twilight."

"What!?" Celestia yelled, "How is that possible? You are supposed to telepathically receive any nightmare from any pony."

"And I am telling you I did not feel any disturbances from her. The only way for dreams not to come to me is if they are being blocked by a extremely powerful source. And don't you try blaming me for this..." Luna shouted back, "Don't change the subject away from what I told you. You were too caring and loving for Twilight that perhaps you missed the signs warning us of this."

"What are you trying to get at? That I could have prevented it from ever happening?"

"I do know that you could have stopped it earlier but you didn't." Luna sneered.

"What are you talking about?" Celestia replied, now with a small hint of caution.

"I saw you hesitate to strike Twilight down back in the entrance to the castle. Also by what you told me, you hesitated before she even began to awaken her powers. You chose that, but did not hesitate to send me to the moon for a thousand years."

Celestia went to reply, but found her mind struggling to answer before Luna continued. "In times of true desperation, one must make powerful sacrifices to do what is necessary for the benefit of the land. Sending me to the moon was harsh, but I understand your reasoning for it because you knew that I could be saved. This however is far worse. Knowing now that Twilight is the one destined for Crimson's fate, you should have killed her the second you found out."

"That was not the case was it?" Luna glared at her sister, who in turn had flipped her body around to not meet eyes. "You love her so much that you fail to do what is necessary for our land. It is just what happened with him all those years ago."

That last statement made something snap inside Celestia's mind. Turning back around, she glared back at her sister, yet her anger was hidden partially by the tears that fell from her eyes. "How dare you try and use that against me!? You know damn well that what happened back then, I was not at fault for."

"Oh really?" Luna shouted back, "Just like Twilight, you failed to strike down Crimson when you had the chance, and could have ended everything right then. Instead however, you couldn't bring yourself to do it due to what you felt. Because of that, he was able to grow too strong for even you to handle and nearly destroyed everything and everyone."

"You allow yourself to not fulfill something that will save Equestria because you let emotion block your objective." Luna trotted right up to Celestia until their muzzles were nearly touching. "How about you tell the citizens of Canterlot what happened back then and let them choose for themselves who was to blame?"

With the emotions building up inside of her, Celestia clenched her eyes tight as more tears fell down. instinctively, she charged her horn until it was sparking up from energy. "Stop it now Luna, or I will make you stop." Teeth bared, Celestia pointed her horn at the blue alicorn in front of her.

Seeing the display only made Luna roll her eyes and turn her back to her sister. "Are you angry at me now sister? Are you going to strike me down? I know that won't happen even if what I speak is the truth. You can't even bring yourself to strike Twilight a finishing blow when she is the one we have feared all these years, so I know you would never attack your own sister who is looking for what is best in our world."

Hearing something flop to the ground, Luna turned around to see Celestia laying on the floor, her eyes stained with salty tears now as she sobbed into her hooves. All regal composure that the white alicorn kept as a princess was completely ignored at this moment of pain and torment for herself. All the memories of past and present were rushing through her thoughts, reminding her of everything she had experienced.

While acting as if she didn't care, Luna was in fact suffering as well. Seeing her sister having to relive the horror of this was eating away at her own heart. Saying everything she had said was perhaps the hardest for her to do, but she knew she had to do it. If Celestia was not willing to do what was necessary, she would have to push her until she did the right thing.

"Luna..."

Hearing her name, Luna turned back to her sister on the ground. "What is it?"

Celestia crawled off the floor to her hooves and pushed herself up. Wiping away the tears from her eyes, she looked to her younger sibling. "I know that you may think that I love Twilight too much to do what is right, and... you may be right.” She turned her gaze over to the sleeping form of her student. “That is why I need your help.”

Luna tilted her head in confusion to that. “Are you... asking me to kill her for you?”

“No...” Celestia responded, “I know it sounds insane, but I believe we can save Twilight.”

“How?”


> The Darkness Inside
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash stared at the table in Sugar Cube corner she sat at as she contemplated everything going on inside her head; Twilight had gone to Canterlot to talk with the Princess, and it just so happened that Pinkie Pie had a doozy that had something to do with Canterlot. 'It can't be Twilight, can it?' She said to herself.

Looking up, she looked back and forth between all her friends that came as soon as they could when they heard a about the doozy, which had ended nearly half an hour ago and hadn't reappeared yet. "Well, what do you all think it could be?" She asked.

"Do you think something bad has happened to Twilight!?" Spike nervously shouted. "What if she is in trouble?" 

"It could be anythin' sugarcube, We shouldn't jump to any conclusions yet." Applejack chimed in as she trotted over to the excited dragon, "Y'all shouldn't start makin' yerself freaked out before ya know what it is."

"But what if something is wrong with Twilight? We aren't there to help her!"

"Spike, now don't worry about Twilight. If something is supposed to happen in Canterlot, I'm sure the princess can handle it."Rarity said with a smile.

Spike however didn't take her advice. "I can't stop worrying about it. It has to be something with Twilight just like the last time this happened."

Rainbow tilted her head in confusion. "Wait, what do you mean like last time?"

"The doozy." Spike glanced around to all the confused looks. "Don't you realize something? The only other time that Pinkie had a doozy shake it was because it was with Twilight. Now that there is another one, what else could it be?"

"Oh Spike, it could be anything!" Pinkie exclaimed."my pinkie sense is not set on one thing remember? It is never made for one thing. If something is going to fall, my tail can't tell what is going to fall, silly!"

Spike grunted, "But you have had that happen to many things. Your doozy happened once and it had something to do with Twilight. Now that it happens again, it just so happens to be in an area where Twilight is. That has to mean something right there."

Rubbing her chin, Rainbow sat quiet for a moment as she thought about that statement. "That is a good point. Maybe there is something going to happen with her."

"Um... What can we do about it then?" Fluttershy whispered.

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, unless we were there, we wouldn't know what the problem was." 

Rainbow's eyes shot open with excitement at hearing those words."Hey, that's it!"

Applejack lifted an eyebrow at the now happy Pegasus. "Uh, what's it?" 

"We should all go to Canterlot and make sure Twilight is alright."

Liking the sound of that idea, Spike cast a large smile, "I agree with Rainbow, let's go right now!"

"Wait, y'all wanna just rush over there right now? It's gonna be night in a few." Applejack stated.

"Why not? If there is a doozy like Pinkie felt and it is where Twilight is, I want to go and make sure that she is fine." Spike got down from the chair he was in and stood up to face all the girls. "Anyone else want to go?"

"I'm going." Rainbow said as she got up as well.

"Now darling, maybe we shouldn't just rush over there right now..." Rarity interjected, "If Twilight wanted to be alone with the princess, perhaps we shouldn't go barging in on them even if we felt something might be a little off."

"I don't care if she said she wanted to be alone, I am going to go and make sure myself." Rainbow demanded. "I didn't check on Twilight before when she wasn't feeling good, so I am going tonight whether you all do or not."

Spike cast an even bigger grin at seeing the change in Rainbow Dash from earlier. Now he could see why she was the element of loyalty; she was determined to go and stick by her friends even in times where it seemed one should stay away. "You won't be going alone Rainbow, I'll be coming too and-

BURP!

The sudden belch from the small dragon expelled a patch of green fire, quickly turning into a small scroll as it floated down to the ground. "Huh?" All the girls said in unison.

Spike knelt down and picked up the paper that appeared from his mouth and unraveled it. His eyes quickly scanned the letter as a perplexed looks spread across his face. "It looks like we are all going to Canterlot. Now."

---

Luna sat with a frown across her muzzle as she watched her sister receive a response letter back from Spike on her request for them to rush to Canterlot immediately. "It seems they are on their way as we speak." Celestia said.

"Tia, you know this is insane what you are asking me to do, right?" Luna grimaced, "The chance of this working is nearly impossible."

"Please Luna, I need you to do this..." Celestia pleaded, "it could be the only way to save her."

"You are asking me to go into her subconscious mind and try to suppress the dark magic inside of her body. Then, once I have done that, you want the element bearers to voluntarily use the elements of harmony on Twilight, correct?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am asking of you to do."

Luna chuckled at the logic of the plan. "Celestia, do you even realize how rediculous this sounds? First, the bearers would never choose to use the elements on their own friend. Secondly, how do you expect me to just go into her mind and suppress the darkness? That cannot simply be forced."

"Luna, please..." Celestia begged as she trotted up to her sister, "The power is supposed to be inside of a section of her mind that cannot be accessed by normal means. You can go inside her mind and use your magic to try and-

"And what, fight it inside her brain!?" Luna snapped, "You really don't understand the complexity of the subconscious, do you? I cannot simply go in and destroy the magic that sits inside of her. For her to to take control of her own self, she must overcome that by herself. I cannot forcibly manipulate parts of the mind for any reason, because my power is to guide, not control."

Looking to her right, Celestia gazed into the cage where her student lay asleep in chains. Her heart ached in pain at having this situation ever happen to her. She felt helpless and weak that she couldn't do anything. "There has to be something you can do. She must be in complete control for her to use her own element as the others prepare-

"Then why don't you wake Twilight up and reason with her?" Luna sneered, "I'm sure she would listen to you and allow herself to be tested on." 

Celestia clenched her eyes and turned away. "She wouldn't want to listen to me after what I tried to do to her. That is why I need your help, Luna."

"Why is it that you need to do this? Why can't you just do what is necessary right now when we have the chance?"

"We can't do that Luna. We don't know if the prophecy will just stop if we kill her. It could very well just happen again if we don't stop it now with the elements."

Luna lifted an eyebrow at her sister, "Is that the only reason you won't have her killed? Or are you just too close to her that you can't do what you should?"

Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but she held her tongue and turned away as she realized to herself that her sister was right; she loved Twilight too much to do what she should have earlier that evening. No matter how much she wanted to protect her world however , her heart was being torn in two different directions on what she could do to not only save her world, but to save the pony she had become so close to.

"I'll do it."

Celestia jerked her head back at hearing her sister say those words. "What?"

Luna tepirted herself past the iron bars of the cell door and reappeared standing over Twilight. "I will try this plan that you have. Perhaps if I could help her in suppressing the power inside, then perhaps there is a chance that it could be successful."

A single tear of joy fell from Celesitia's eye seeing this. "Thank you Luna."

Luna however did not smile back as she lowered her head, touching her horn to the unconscious unicorns forehead. "Do not thank me yet, Tia. If I cannot get her to accept my help, then I will finish what you started."

Celestia gasped, realizing Luna's true intention. "Wait, no!"

Her plead went ignored as a bright blue flash was emmited from the tip of Luna's horn and enveloped the two inside the cell.

---

Passing through her field of magic, Luna found herself passing into the subconscious barrier of ones mind. To her shock, she fell into a swirling mass of pink and purple energy, large charges of electricity and static shooting in all directions inside. As she dropped into the pathway, she immediately felt herself being resisted by the energy. 'What is this strange force?' Luna grunted to herself.

With normal passages, she easily travelled into a mind with no trouble at all. Even just through telepathy from the castle, the transition was usually smooth, even relaxing for her to do as she entered the dreams that all ponies experience when they are asleep. The usual barrier around the mind was almost as if she was swimming through a stream of flowing blue aura, the passage way so simple for her to enter it was no trouble whatsoever.

This however, was unlike anything she had felt before. Even with her horn physically touching Twilight, which increases the strength of her magic, the strong force being exerted from the energy was nearly pushing Luna out and away from the interior of the mind. The princess of the night had to physically force her way through the mess, but the electricity that filled the entire path was striking her with unbelievable force and almost caused her to lose focus and leave altogether. 

Feeling this magic, Luna understood why she couldn't sense whatever nightmares Twilight claimed to have had in the past; the level of energy inside of her mind was blocking anything from passing in or out. "I have never felt this much resistance before..." Luna said as she used her own magic to slowly push the incoming mix out of her way, "Perhaps it is already too late for her."

The next moment, Luna burst through the final wall of magic that stood in her way and finally entered the subconscious area of the mind. Taking in several deep breaths, she allowed herself a moments rest after that troubling ordeal she went through. When she opened her eyes to see what was going on inside of Twilight, she felt confusion. "What?"

All in front of her was blackness as far as she could see. There was no form of light at all, yet the princess could still see her own hooves below her. "What is this place?" She said to herself as she scanned for anything.

The dream state of ponies was supposed to always have scenarios or memories playing out in very detailed visuals for the mind to be stimulated while resting. This here was a seemingly endless void of nothing. It was unlike any subconscious she had entered in her life. "Is this how it has always been for her? Or his her magic blocking me out altogether from seeing her dreams?"

The sudden sound of heavy breathing sent the princess into a defensive feeling. Flipping around, she prepared to see something horrid rushing her through the darkness, but instead saw a purple form curled up into a ball several feet away. Curious, she slowly trotted over to it until she stood over it. Being so close, she saw the horn protruding through the messy purple and pink mane hanging down, the young mares face hidden in her hooves.

Luna could however hear the sniffling coming from Twilight as she lay in a fetal position below her. Confused, she reached a hoof out and poked the crying form. "Twilight?"

The moment the glass shoe touched fur, Twilight screamed out as she jumped up. Luna yelped and fell back a few steps before catching herself, locking eyes with the purple unicorns own. The magenta eyes of Twilight were filled with tears, dripping down her cheeks as she stared up at the blue alicorn before her. "P-princess?" 

Luna went to respond, but was caught off guard as she felt Twilight leap forward and latch onto her chest. "Twilight, what are you-

"Princess, please help me!" Twilight cried out, "I can't make it stop."

Luna stared down in shock, "what? Can't stop what?"

"I can't make the voice go away! I don't want to hurt anypony!" Twilight buried her face into Luna's neck as she cried. "Please, tell me what I can do."

"You, don't understand the dreams that are happening to you?"

I... I see myself as a monster as I burn everything in my way. I hurt ponies for no reason. I keep hearing a voice talking to me, telling me that I will be the one to destroy Equestria and that it was my destiny. Please help me! I don't want to do that!"

Despite still having the urge to end everything right then, Luna had a horrible wave of pity and sorrow pour over her as she felt Twilight cry into her fur. Her mind was now at war with itself in just this small time coming into Twilight; one half wanted to push forward and simply end the prophecy that was before her and prove she was not weak at heart. The other half, though, was in pain at seeing this unicorn terrified of everything that was happening to her.  'She really doesn't know what is happening to her.' 

Luna then thought back to when she arrived in Ponyville that nightmare night festival after she returned from the moon. Of all the ponies that feared and rejected her, Twilight was the only one that looked past what she was and went on to help her win the hearts of the fellow citizens of the town. Seeing how that Twilight was willing to do that for her, then she should try and help her in return.

Wrapping one of her forelegs around, Luna pulled Twilight closer to herself. "Don't worry, I'm here to help you Twilight. It will all be alright."

"I don't know what is happening to me. I feel like I can't control myself anymore." Twilight leaned back and wiped away the tears from her eyes. "It is hard to tell what is a dream and what is real anymore."

"Your mind is at war with itself, Twilight. You must overcome the darkness inside of yourself if you are to ever take control of your emotions and fight the thoughts that are coursing through you."

Twilight sniffled and looked down in sorrow. "Princess Celestia hates me for what I am. She... She tried to kill me. And-

Twilight suddenly froze and looked up to Luna in terror. She stared for what seemed like minutes before her eyes narrowed into a cold glare. "You..."

Luna sat back in confusion at the sudden change in Twilight. "Me? What are- oomph!" She gasped as Twilight  kicked her stomach as she for Ed her way away from the princess.

You tried to kill me too, didn't you!?" Twilight screamed in anger, "I remember now, you came in that room and shot me as well. You are just like her!"

Watching int terror, Luna stood up and watched as a dark red aura began growing out from The now enraged unicorn. "listen to me Twilight, I wasn't trying to-

"That's what you are here for right now, isn't it? You are here to kill me!" Twilight's horn suddenly became enshrouded in bright flames, "I won't let you do that to me!"

A massive wall of flames blasted out from Twilight's horn so fast that Luna had no time to defend herself. The fire struck the princess with so much force, in just a fraction of a second, she felt herself launched outward, passing back through the thick barrier of the mind before being physically shot across the prison cell she was inside and slamming into the side wall.

"Luna!" Celestia screamed as she watched her sister slump to the ground. Quickly teleporting inside, she dropped Down and knelt by Luna's side. "Are you alright?"

Crawling off the ground, Luna shook her head to clear her head. "She forced me out of her subconscious. Nopony should be able to do that."

Both alicorns looked over to the still unconscious form of Twilight in the cell. From the unicorns body, a wave of red magic erupted outwards, nearly engulfing both sisters before they teleported outside of the iron bars. From the other side, they used their wings to shield their faces from the incomprehensible heat radiating out from the cage. Luna winced as she felt her feathers singe at the tips, several of them burning up in quick flashes.  

After several intense seconds, the swirling mass of red aura suddenly dissipated inside of the cage, leaving behind the now bleach white unicorn on the ground. Both the mane and tail were completely engulfed in fire that danced up in the air. To the princesses horror, the chains wrapped around Twilight's ankles began smoldering from the heat before turning into molten metal and drizzling down her coat onto the floor. Celestia felt her heart double its pace as she watched her once beloved student finally descend into the darkness. "No... The transformation is complete."

Twilight lifted her head off the ground and opened her eyes, her dark red irises burning with anger and hatred. "You tried to kill me... Now I will return the favor."
> Unleashing Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Forcing herself off of the ground, Twilight locked gazes with the two alicorns on the other side of the cell bars. Her red eyes burned with the anger and hatred matching the fire that made up her mane and tail. She could see the look of fear on both of the princesses faces, but that went unhindered in her thoughts as the voice spoke up inside her once again.

'Don't you see Twilight? She put you in this cell to keep you contained. She is afraid of you. She has always been afraid of what you were capable of. Now she is trying to kill you to keep you from reaching your full strength, and now her sister is trying to kill you as well! Do not let them stop us. Do not let them stop you!' 

Blood boiling, Twilight moved until she stood at the iron bars blocking her path out. She sat still for a moment until she gritted her teeth, the large horn on her forehead becoming engulfed in bright stream of flames. "You locked me up like a criminal, didn't you? You thought that I was a monster coming for you."

Celestia sat open mouthed as she trembled at what her loving student had fallen and turned into right before her eyes. It seemed as if history was repeating itself and-

'No, I can't let this happen again!' She screamed inside her head. Standing back up, Celestia faced her student, her own eyes filled with pain and suffering. "Twilight, please listen to me. I had to do this for your own protection so that we could help you. If you can reason with me and keep back-

"Keep back!?" Twilight snapped out, "Talk as if I am some wild beast! Is that all I am to? A monster!?"

"No! Please try to understand what I am trying to say-

"No, I understand what you mean princess. You want me out of the way so that you do not have to fear me anymore. That is all that you see, isn't it? Somepony that is strong enough to threaten you, so you hate me because of that. Now, I will not let you shove me into the ground like a dead corpse. I am much stronger than I was before, and I will not die here."

Pointing her horn forward, Twilight blasted out a massive ball of fire, the burning mass rushing forward to the rod iron bars. Luna quickly focused her own magic and teleported both herself and Celestia further down the hall away from the fire. The moment they reappeared, the iron door of the cell block was obliterated, chunks of metal and stone flying off into the back wall of the prison hallway.  Coming out through the large opening stepped Twilight, each hoof step creating a small patch of fire beneath herself. Grimacing, Luna trotted forward and placed herself between Celestia and the burning unicorn that stared at her. Inside her own heart, Luna felt the horrible pain of seeing one the she herself had grown close to fall and become this figure coming her way. If it wasn't for the kindness that Twilight had given her that nightmare night after returning from the moon, she would still be alone and unaccustomed to the way that ponies were today. Even after that, both herself and the young unicorn had stayed in contact with each other and stayed good friends. In fact, Twilight was her best friend.

At this moment however, Luna knew that allowing personal feelings to cloud her judgement would only make doing the right thing that much harder for herself. And at this very moment, the prophecy that had been nearly forgotten by both her and her sister was coming to effect right in front of them, and she had to do anything to keep it from destroying the home that she loved so dearly.

Charging her own horn, the lunar princess shot out a bright beam of magic targeted at Twilight's chest. The unicorn stood still as the attack came closer to her, then grinned to herself. "I told you that I am much stronger than before. Let me show you what I have become." From her own horn, a stream of fire shot out and dropped to the ground at her hooves. The patch of flames expanded up, creating a sphere of fire surrounding herself, repelling the blue blast and sending it into the wall nearby.

Luna clenched her teeth and fired another beam of magic forward, attempting to break through the shield Twilight had formed. Once again however, her attack was repelled with ease. 'Damn it, I have to get out from here...' Luna snapped at herself, 'I can't use my full power inside of the castle interior; I may blow up most of this section if I did.' Watching the flames part away, her fur stood on edge as Twilight stepped through it and smiled at her. "Tia, I need your help now! We have to stop her within the prison!"

"But we can't use our full power in here..." Celestia yelled, "if we use too much, the entire ceiling above us will collapse!"

"We don't have a choice, we have to keep her down here or she will get out!"

Breathing heavily, Celestia raced her mind as she realized the situation she was in; not only did she have to try and force her student to stop, but she would have to do it while holding back a large portion of her strength while Twilight would not attempt to contain any. It felt like the same situation when she had to fight Chrysalis while surrounded by hundreds of her subjects in the same room. Having to hold back her magic to avoid hurting the innocent bystanders led to her being struck down and defeated. While not the exact same scenario, the danger here was just as great for herself and every other pony in Canterlot.

Taking a deep breath, the white alicorn focused the magic in her horn, conjuring a long glowing chain and lifted it above her head. Nodding to Luna, she turned back and stepped towards her student. Preparing her spell, she would attempt to latch it around Twilights neck to hold her down while her sister could land a paralyzing spell long enough to knock her out temporarily to keep her down until the other element bearers could arrive.

Launching the chain forward, Celestia guided it straight towards the fire unicorn, who in turn shot out a stream of fire to counter it. Luna had already prepared and blasted a small ball of lightning in the path of the fire, creating a bright explosion of static and embers. Twilight backed up as the blinding light stifled her sight for a moment, shaking her head to clear the spots. Before she fully recovered, the golden chain shot through the smoke and wrapped around her throat, sinching tight and cutting off her air. 

Gagging, Twilight attempted to pull back out of the grip, but the chain suddenly yanked her down to the floor and to her belly. Luna saw she had the chance to act and stop this battle before it could escalate at all. Charging her horn up, the bright blue electricity pulsed along the length and ended up into a shimmering ball at the tip. The paralyzing spell lifted off her tip and shot it out, leaving a bright trail in its path. Twilight snarled as she saw the attack coming closer to her. Focusing, she took control of the fire that sat on the ground, expanding its size and blocking the incoming spell. Stopping that, she then pulled as hard as she could to lift back off the ground and stand back up. Celestia panicked at seeing that her holding spell was being physically resisted once again, attempting to put more into it.

Moving the fire she manipulated, Twilight curved it around and slashed at the chains, cutting straight through it and severing the hold on her. As the chains disintegrated around her throat, she took a deep breath as she enjoyed the relief she had with her windpipe unrestricted. She then looked up to the two princesses as they sat there staring at her, which for some reason brought a grin to her face. "I have gotten stronger, haven't I?"

'You see Twilight? This is the power that you are supposed to have.' The voice in her head said again, 'You realize how much strength you have now. And now that you have it, doesn't it feel good? I can sense that you love this feeling that you have. Now, use it against the ones that tried to end your life. Use it on them!'

Not wanting to deny it, but Twilight did like this power that she had. It was giving her abilities she would have never even thought possible before. While it all seemed to be new and sudden, everything that was happening now did not seem out of place for herself to be doing. What she was doing felt natural for her. It all seemed like it was what she was made to always do. What she was born to do.

What she was destined to do.

"Yes I should..." Twilight grinned, "I will see the extent of my powers." Taking hold of the fire around herself, Twilight formed two tall columns of flames and launched them forward towards each princess. Reacting quickly, Celestia formed a shield around herself and diverted her fire away. Luna had chosen to counter the column with her own blast of bright blue magic, striking the flames and pushing it past herself to the side and rushed forward.

Conjuring a long whip, Luna brought it back and snapped it forward, only to have another column of fire rise up and push her back. Grunting, she brought the whip back and snapped it again and again in an attempt to land a successful blow. Every time however, Twilight's fire rose up and blocked the stinging tip away from herself. The lunar princess bared her teeth in frustration. 'Her powers are growing stronger every moment she is like that. I have to stop this before she does grow to be too much.' 

Luna turned around and saw Celestia still caught inside the fire behind, unable to help at the moment. Deactivating her whip, she formed herself several balls of powerful paralyzing spells and shot them forward one after another. Twilight shot forth her own fireballs to block the incoming attempts. As the final one came at her, a large batch of fire came up in front of her face and physically catches the bright sparkling ball. 

Luna gasped at seeing her technique stifled so easily. "What!?"

A cold smile grew on Twilights muzzle. "I told you that my power has grown from before... Princess." 

As the attack blasted back, Luna attempted to form a shield in front of herself, but before it fully formed, her own paralyzing spell struck her square in the chest and launched her backwards down the wall. Her body became enshrouded in powerful streams of electricity that coarsed along her skin. As she fell back onto the stone bedding, her body convulsed as she began losing consciousness and passing out.

Finally breaking through the obstructive fire, Celestia caught sight of her sister on the ground, body limp and still. Panicking, she quickly sprinted over to her sister and dropped to her side. "Luna! Luna get up!" Despite shaking her side, the younger sibling did not wake. "No, this cannot be happening to me."

"Oh but it is happening." Twilight chuckled as she stepped through the fire that decorated the ground she walked. "Now I will make sure that you stay out of my way from now on." Gathering all the fire around herself, Twilight formed a massive stream of fire that danced behind her before rushing like an uncontrolled locomotive at the terrified princess. 

Before the ball of fire could reach its target, a sudden burst of yellow and red fire even brighter than Twilights came out of nowhere and created a burning wall in front of both princesses, shielding them from the attack. Twilights eyes went wide in surprise as the new flames began shifting its shape before her, becoming a smaller shape with large and spectacular wings. 

Celestia raised herself off the ground as the new entity began taking its form in front of her. While most ponies would be shocked by a mass of living fire, but to her, she knew exactly what it was; something that the had lived with her for the last two thousand years of her life. "Philomena!"

The pheonix took its shape as it landed down on the ground in front of the princess. Wings outstretched, the fire bird hissed at Twilight, it's screeches echoing in the stone hallway. Its normally orange eyes were a piercing white as she glared at the burning unicorn, her long feathers emitting bright orange fire. From the sides of her body, Philomena created a blinding flash of light grew out and blocked out all other sight for all of the ponies in the prison cell. 

Twilight stumbled backwards as she clenched her eyes tight, bright purple spots still seen in her vision. Rubbing her eyes, she reopened to see the entire hallway empty, only herself standing alone.

---

Inside of Celestia's personal chambers, a bright flash of fire suddenly appeared in the center, lighting up the once dark room. As the fire dissipated, Philomena forced her wings outward, removing all flames around herself. Down below, Celestia sat in shock as she breathed in and out. On floor by her side was Luna, still passed out from her own attack. The pheonix floated down to the ground to her masters side, cawing up to get her attention.

Snapping out of her shock, Celestia looked down to her pet and realized what had happened; Philomena had used her power to teleport comverting all their bodies temporarily into fire and moved them up out of the prison. This was one of the special abilities that only phoenixes had that no other creatures could do. Shaking off the small crawling sensation that was the after affect from the technique, Celestia gave a loving smile to her lifelong pet. "Philomena, you saved me." She gratefully thanked.

Philomena in turn only lowered her head and took several steps away from the princess. The mystic bird trembled slightly as she came to a stop by the large oak desk. Celestia didn't need her smaller friend to tell her what was causing her to be afraid like this. Getting up from the ground, she walked over and sat by her lifelong companion.

The sound of a massive explosion rocked the air, causing the castle itself to seemingly shake. The princess looked out her window, terrified of what was to come after everything that has happened. The horrible time that both her and Philomena experienced seemed to be repeating itself before them.  Her horn glowed once again as she prepared to go back down to the courtyard.

"She looks just like him, Philomena. I know that you felt the power coming from her." Celestia looked down at Philomena, who in turn leaned over and embraced her leg like a frightened filly. "I am so sorry you have to see his form again after what he did to you."

---

Trotting along the busy streets of Canterlot, many ponies casually went about their business shopping in whatever shop caught their interest. Out of nowhere, a strong rumbling started shaking the roads, causing many ponies to panic as they looked around for the source. Yelling and screaming erupted as some began speculating another changeling attack was upon the city.

The next moment, a massive blast suddenly burst through the large wooden doors of the royal castle, sending burning chunks of wood flying through the air and crashing into the streets of bustling ponies. Loud gasps and screams erupted from the ponies as the watched in horror at seeing the castle seemingly under attack. As they stared through the clearing smoke, they caught sight of a single figure exiting through the shattered door and onto the steps. The burning mane and cold red eyes pierced through the night as the unicorn came to view.

Twilight made her way down the steps of the castle exterior, making her way towards the crowd of terrified spectators that were frozen in her presence. She glanced back and forth between all of them, registering the fear and confusion that was placed upon each of their faces. 'They all fear me and my power.' She whispered to herself.

Several guards quickly burst through the citizens and placed themselves between the new entity in front of them and the innocent bystanders behind. One of the guards lowered his spear into charging position and glared up at the fire unicorn. "Who are you and what have you done with the princess!?"

Not answering, Twilight continued down the steps  until she reached the pathway towards the rest of Canterlot. Inside her heart, a strange sensation began boiling inside as she stared at the ponies watch her approach. Every one of them saw her as a monster, afraid of the power that she had obtained. Knowing this, she smiled.

'Twilight, show all these ponies exactly what you are capable of...' Her inner voice spoke up, 'show them why you are the greatest unicorn in this world. Make them know just what happens when one reaches the point beyond the princesses. Make them know in the greatest way possible!'

A cold grin spread across Twilights muzzle imagining her capabilities. The many small fires around the courtyard began dancing upward, their sizes growing immensely and moving toward the one manipulating them. The swirling masses of flames grew out behind Twilight and formed into multiple large balls. "I will show them all."

The fireballs rushed forth, striking the buildings behind the crowd of ponies and obliterating the walls on contact. Screams of terror erupted from the crowd as they scattered out in all directions to get away from the destruction happening to their city. The guards eyes went wide in shock from the size of the explosions. Still determined however, all of them simultaneously rushed forward, weapons drawn to strike down this new foe. "Fools." Twilight remarked as she formed a ring of fire around herself. Raising her hoovesup, she slammed them back down onto the stone, creating a moving shockwave of fire that rocketed all of the guards far across the street and slamming into the opposing walls. She chuckled as she continued onward, her horn once again grew bright fire as she conjured more fireballs above herself. 

As she trotted along, she shot the blasts up into the buildings above her, making large sections of the upper levels crumble down and create a maze of falling matter for the terrified ponies running away. From behind a wall, a guard leapt out and tackled Twilight to the ground. She grunted as her body was pushed down into the stone street, the pony using his armor to keep her pinned beneath himself. "Rah! Let me go!" In an instant, Twilight's whole body began to simmer as her physical temperature increased dramatically. The guard pony yelled out as he felt his chest plate melting against his own skin. Jumping off, he began thrashing about as his armor's molten pieces began dripping onto his fur and scorching his upper body. He screamed in pain as he tried to rip off the straps that held his armor against himself, slamming into the nearby buildings while wailing in agony.

Crawling off the ground, Twilight chuckled as the guard continued to cry out while scrambling down the street away from her. The rustle behind the trash can to her right caught her attention, putting her back on the alert. Making her way towards the metal bin, Twilight slowly stalked forward like a hungry manticore cornering its prey. As she came up to its side, it slightly moved again, indicating something hiding behind it. Using her standard magic, she picked up the bin and threw it aside to reveal the hidden subject.

The small unicorn filly screamed out as her hiding spot was discovered, allowing Twilight to look down upon the trembling pony. It's bright yellow coat was stained in several spots, signifying she barely escaped the earlier collapsing structures. It's wide eyes leaked tears of fear as she curled up into a ball, cowering against the wall behind her. Twilight came closer to it, standing tall above the terrified youngster. A patch of flames expanded out from the thick white horn on Twilight's forehead and began hovering above her head.

'Good Twilight, young ones always leave the most powerful impact when showing your abilities. Now, strike her down.'

Twilight went along with the voice in her head, raising the fire up before curving it down towards the crying filly. As she did, however, something inside of her mind clicked, making her stop the flames only a foot from burning the young unicorn. Her eyes blinked rapidly as her mind began running into circles over what she was doing.

'Twilight, what are you doing? Why did you stop?' The voice snapped, 'Do what should be done and strike her down!'

Twilight however deactivated her fire and stepped backwards. "But... She's just a filly. I shouldn't have to hurt her."

'Why would you stop yourself? She is just like every other pony in this world, one that is against you. If you allow her to grow, she will only resist and fight your way of power. Now kill her!'

This time, Twilight didn't want to listen to her inner self this time. Clenching her eyes shut, she shook her head several times in an attempt to free herself. "No, I won't do something like this! I won't!"

Why are you resisting Twilight? Do it now!'

"No!" 

"TWILIGHT!" 

The loud scream from behind snapped Twilight out of her subconscious argument and brought her back to reality. Flipping around, she prepared to face whatever pony was coming at her. But when she did, her entire body felt like it chilled to ice when she saw the other unicorn staring right back at her,its eyes wide with terror and pain. It's white coat and purple streaked mane was one Twilight recognized the moment laid eyes on her.

"M-mother?"

> Love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight stared in complete shock at the sight of her mother. Her red eyes had lost all anger as she looked into the terrified blue eyes at the one that had given birth to her. "Mom, what are... You... What are you doing here?"

Her mother just trembled as she looked around to the surrounding area. Buildings slowly burned as the fire grew, causing some to collapse down on top of each other. "Twilight, wh-what... What are you?"

Unsure what to say, Twilight sat open mouthed for a moment before stepping forward. "I... This is..." She had no idea of how to explain what was happening to herself. "This isn't my fault.

Twilight Velvet backpedaled as her daughter took a step towards her. "What happened to you? What have you done to this place?"

Looking around, Twilight saw the destruction that she had caused. The entire area of Canterlot around her had been turned into a swirling mix of fire and wreckage. Screams from ponies running down the streets echoed in the air and rang inside of her ears. Her eyes then travelled down to the small filly still trembling against the wall, the one she was just trying to kill moments earlier. The thing that got to her the most however was her reflection in a nearby window.

Her burning mane flickered above her head and illuminated her bleach white coat. The sinister red eyes she possessed seemed to pierce her own soul as she stared at herself. "Mom, I just..." She turned and stepped towards her mom, "It wasn't my fault, I-

"Stay back..."

Twilight ears laid flat against her head at the words that came out of her mother. "What's wrong? I'm not going to hurt you, it's me."

"I said stay back!" Velvet yelled out. "Get away from me. You aren't Twilight."

That final statement pierced right through Twilights heart and caused it to shatter. Her own mother saw her as a monster and evil. But unlike every other time when she felt anger towards the ones against her, she felt pain

That caused her to hate herself. She looked down to her bleached hooves, and then noticed the small drops falling onto the ground below her. After a few moments, she realized they were her tears.

Her mind began spinning as her thoughts and emotions began surging back and forth against each other. Before the voice inside her head was guiding her to whatever was happening, but now, she felt lost without a guide to tell her what to do. One thing did come to her mind in that moment was to just get away from everything here. Closing her eyes, she quickly teleported out of Canterlot. She didn't even aim for a specific location. She just jumped to the limit of her ability away from what she had done.

---

Spike stared out of the window of the train as it bounced along the tracks toward Canterlot. His mind was racing in concern for Twilight as his friends talked behind him. While on the train ride to the capital, Pinkie Pie began having another powerful doozie shake, this one even stronger than the ones that had happened before.

Clenching his claws, the young dragon looked up into the star filled sky. "Twilight, Please be okay." He said to himself. He could only hope that Twilight would be fine by the time they all arrived there.

In the center of the cart, the others all circled around Pinkie Pie in an attempt to find out what was happening. "Come on Pinkie, y'all have to have some idea what's happenin'." Applejack pressed.

"I have no idea Applejack, these doozie shakes aren't like my normal senses..." Pinkie insisted, "the only thing I can tell is that what's happening is in Canterlot."

There's nothing else you know?" Rainbow asked, "come on, anything."

"Nope, that's it. I'm sure it will all be fine though." Pinkie said with a big smile. "Both of the princesses are there, so nothing bad should happen."

Despite her friends positive look on the situation, Rainbow couldn't help but feel that something really wrong was happening. She knew that whatever was going on was not something small that they shouldn't worry about, but something much bigger. She could feel it in her gut.

A moment later, the train slowed to a stop as it reached the train station. Eager to get to the palace as fast as he could, Spike hopped off the seat and ran to the door. "Come on girls, lets go!"

Rarity chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Easy darling, we are all going. No need to sprint like you’re in the equestrian games." Her smile however disappeared when Spike thrust the door open and ran out. "Or you can just go..."

To everyone else's surprise, Rainbow Dash also took off out of the cart after the small dragon. "Lets go Spike!" She yelled out as she shot through the air.

Back in the cart, Fluttershy looked to her remaining friends. "Um, should we go fast too?"

"Ah think ah'll just go at mah own pace." Applejack smirked as she stepped out of the cart. "Come on, lets get goin'."

As the four ponies walked towards the castle, they started to notice that the ponies walking by had a look of terror spread across their faces. Fluttershy looked back and forth between her friends and the surrounding ponies. Hey, what's happening here? Did something-

"Miss Rarity!" A voice yelled from behind. The three mares turned around to see a pair of unicorn guards running their direction. "Miss Applejack, Miss Fluttershy. Miss Pinkie. We have been awaiting your arrival. We have been ordered to bring you to the castle immediately."

"You have been waiting for us?" Rarity questioned. "We were heading to the castle now, why do we need escorts and-

Her question was cut off as a bright flash was emitted from the unicorn’s horns, enshrouding all three of them. The next moment, they were all standing inside of the main lobby of the castle. Right by their side was Spike and Rainbow Dash, just as confused as they were. "Spike, Rainbow, they did the same thing to you and-

Rarity once again stopped talking when she looked around at the destroyed lobby of the castle. Large scorch marks littered the ground, along with the shattered doorway that sat behind them. "What... What in Equestria happened?"

"So you all finally made it."a calm voice emanated from the side. They all turned to see Celestia walking towards them. "It is good that you all made it here safely."

The small purple dragon walked up to the tall alicorn. "Princess, what is going on? Where's Twilight?"

Celestia shut her eyes tight and turned her head away in shame. She didn't want to speak of wht happened, but she knew Luna was right, he had to tell them what happened to their, and her good friend. She opened her eyes and looked to the guards. "Leave us."

Nodding, the group of guards trotted off towards the exit, but were knocked back as a white unicorn mare with a purple streaked mane shoved past them. Spike immediately recognized her immediately. "Twilight Velvet?"

"Princess!" Velvet screamed as she stormed up to the tall alicorn. Her eyes poured out tears as she stared up to her ruler. "What happened to her?"

Celestia came closer to the troubled mare. "Velvet, what did-

"What happened to my daughter!?"

All of the girls and drake sat still at the sudden mention of their friend. Rainbow ran up to the older mare in concern. "What's wrong with twilight? Did you see her?"

"See her?" Velvet huffed, "she nearly destroyed half of Canterlot... Now I want to know right now Princess, because I know you have something to do with this. What happened to Twilight?"

Rainbow just sat open mouthed at what she heard. "She... She what?" She turned up to Celestia, "What is happening?

Celestia took a deep breath as she looked at the confused faces of the ponies and dragon beneath her. While she had tried for so many years to keep everything that happened in the past, she knew that it was no longer an option to keep this information from them anymore. Summoning the tome Twilight brought, she lowered it down for the young drake."Spike, do you know of this book?"

Grabbing it out of the golden aura, Spike studied it for a moment. "Yeah, I do. I found this inside of a small hidden box in Ponyville library."

Frowning, Celestia trotted away for a moment as she thought to herself. 'Who could have hidden that book there? All of those books were ordered to be destroyed several hundred years ago.' Shaking the other problem she had to deal with, she turned back to the group. "Open the book to the section on one named Crimson Flames."

Confused, Spike did as he was told and began skimming through pages until he found the one he was looking for. "Here it is, Crimson Flames. But... What does this have to do with us?"

"Go to the page of the illustration of him."

Skipping several pages, he stopped, and at the same time nearly dropped the book in shock as he stared at the fire enshrouded unicorn. The others came up and also had the same reaction as well. 

"Is... Is that what ah remember seein back then?" Applejack said to herself.

"I can't believe it..." Spike muttered at the page in his claws. "It looks like..."

"Hey! That's Twilight in a book!" Pinkie yipped out. As soon as she said it, she received several glares from the others. "What? I'm just saying." 

Velvet moved over so she could get a view of the page. As she did, she gasped and put a hoof to her mouth. "Oh my gosh. What is this? Why... Why does my filly look like that?"

"Come with me," Celestia stated as she started walking down the halls of the castle, coaxing the others to come. When they didn't come at first, she turned around and stared at them for several moments before speaking. "You will all want to know of the truth I have kept hidden for all these years." Turning about face, she continued on, this time hearing there hoof steps behind.

"The story begins over seventeen hundred years ago, back when both Luna and myself were still just young fillies. We were the first alicorns to ever be born. Back then, unicorns still controlled the movement of the sun and the moon, but for some unknown reason, our two souls were connected to the universe to where we could manipulate them ourselves. considered the start of a new era, ponies everywhere wanted us to lead them. To teach us how to use our powers for good, we became the personal students of Starswirl the Bearded."

"For years he trained us in the ways that we would be able to rule the ponies. He became like a father to us as we grew up under him. After time, we finally became the princesses of Equestria. Peace fell upon the land for years to come as ponies saw a new life on the horizon. Sadly though, Starswirl was still a mortal and could not live as long as we could. After fifteen years, he finally passed on." She lowered her head in memory of her departed master.

"Ah'm so sorry ya lost someone like that princess..." Applejack said, "but what does this have ta do with Twilight?"

"He taught me everything that I know, Applejack. If it weren't for his wonderous teachings, I would not be anywhere near where I am now. Because of what he did for me, I believed it would honor his life if I did the same to another; to take a pony under my wing and teach them how to use their potential to the best they ever could. To have my own personal student."

The princess came to her own personal quarters and opened the doors. Stepping into the lavishly decorated room, she walked directly towards the large brown wardrobe against the side wall. Using her magic, she pulled it to the side, revealing an old steel door behind it. Unlocking the many latches on its side, she forced the door open with a loud screech that sent chills down all the ponies spines. Through the opening was a dimly lit staircase going down to some unknown destination "What is this place?" Fluttershy shakingly asked.

"There is something that I must show you all." Celestia stated, no emotion in her voice whatsoever. "Please follow me." As she descended, the ponies and dragon kept close to the center of the stairwell while the torches barely gave enough light for them to see the steps below. Walking on, Celestia continued on with her story.

"I began to look for a pony that I saw had the potential to be the next one to take Starswirl’s place as head of the magical field for the castle. While there were many ponies that were already well known for their amazing talent, I believed the best thing to do was to find a young colt or filly like I was when Starswirl first took me. I wanted to find the right subject that with my training, would be able to become a great and noble pony. And then, I found him."

"Who?" Rainbow asked.

Celestia stopped walking at the question, causing the group behind to come to a halt. The normally level headed alicorn was slightly shaking as she thought back to that pony all those years ago; The one that caused so much horror to the land, but also left that longing pain in her heart that sat with her even to this day. Lifting her head up, she stared at the ceiling for a moment before she  finally answered.

"Crimson Flames. The first student I ever had."

Every pony in the room gasped at hearing what was said. "Th-that pony in the book was your student?" Spike stuttered, "but it didn't say anything in there about that."

"There are many things in life that aren't written in books." Celestia continued down the steps as she revealed everything to them.

"I found Crimson in an orphanage near the castle. I had heard there was a young colt there that they could not keep anymore because of what he was. He had a powerful ability of able to create and manipulate fire to his will. I first met him when I went to the small home where he staying. His bright orange coat and red mane will always be burned in my mind, and then I saw why they didn't want him anymore."

Rarity raised an eyebrow curiously at hearing that. "Whatever do you mean? Why would the orphanage want to get rid of a young colt like that?"

"Yeah, that just sounds super mean!" Pinkie yelled with a frown across her muzzle.

"Crimson's power was very unstable back then. Several times he had started fires that had nearly destroyed the home he lived in. But that wasn't why they wanted him gone. They said there was something inside of his head that made him off. The caregivers told me that they have had many troubled and hurt foals come into the nursery, but that he was different than any other one before. They told it seemed like his personality itself was filled with anger towards any pony around him."

"I however saw a pony that had the potential to be much greater than he was. I also felt the pain in his heart, and thought that it only needed something to fill the emptiness. Seeing an opportunity to do good for another pony, I chose him to be my personal student. Luna was still younger than me and believed that I was making a mistake in trying to follow out masters hoof steps so early, but I believed that I could truly honor Starswirl by doing the same kindness he showed me."

"Taking him in, I began to teach him everything that I knew in magic and spells. In only a few years, he had learned how to control his power so he did not cause damage to things around himself anymore. I was astounded in how quickly his powers grew from when I first met him and to what he had become. At a young age he easily could duel any member of my guard into submission with ease. His own personality seemed to turn for the better as well, since his hatred and anger was nearly gone. The more he trained and learned beneath me, I began to discover that he hadn't just become a student to me, he became something more."

"What do you mean 'more'?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I raised him and taught him everything that he knew. We studied together,  laughed together, did everything with each other. After time, I felt like I had a colt of my own. I..." Celestia took a deep breath, "I felt like he had become my own son."

Spike felt his jaw drop slightly at what Celestia said. he could hear in the painful tone of her voice that she was telling the truth. "But... What happened? If he was like that, why did he become bad like in the book?"

Celestia didn't answer as she came to the bottom of the steps. Leading the group down the stone hallway, she came upon another steel door that was also sealed shut. "I believed I finally found something that I had done right in my life. With hard work, Crimson had become a great and strong unicorn. But... It wasn't enough for him.

"He soon began to believe that he deserved to be stronger, that he was greater than the other unicorns. I tried to show him that no pony was above the others like I was taught, but he was convinced he was different.  Pushing himself harder, he began demanding that I teach him the most advanced levels of magic, but I told him he wasn't ready for anything like that yet. Outraged, he began to sneak into the Starswirl archives and started secretly reading the ancient spells written by my master."

"As his knowledge began to grow, he began experimenting with dark magic and sorcery in an attempt to increase his knowledge. When I discovered what he was doing, I was outraged for going behind my back and doing that. While I was furious, he however was frustrated that I wasn't helping him. This continued on several more times, and soon I was coming to the end of my patience. I threatened that if he did not stop the experiments, I would make sure he would regret it. But before I could do anything, he pushed his tests even further."

"Crimson knew the story of Aligon, the hybrid that was made from Starswirls DNA and that of a dragons. Seeing how far combining genetics could in increase abilities, he had an idea of what to do for himself. He saw the power that phoenixes have and their connection to fire, he believed he found a way to truly go beyond any form of training could. Back then, Philomena was still young, but her genes were just what he needed. He kidnapped her from my care and..." Celestia lowered her head as she started to cry. "He started running experiments on her to extract some of the power that resided inside of her."

Fluttershy gasped and covered her mouth, "oh my gosh, that's horrible! How could he do something so cruel?"

"He almost killed her and he didn't even care..." The princess gritted her teeth as several tears dripped off her face and onto the ground. "When I finally found where she was, she could barely even breath. I broke her out of his laboratory and brought her back to Canterlot. I went back to find him, but he had escaped with the serum he developed. And then... He finally did it."

"He injected himself with the combined mutated genes of Philomena and the rest of his experiments, causing an unpredicted side effect; his body itself began changing, morphing into a form that could handle the exponential increase in power. The form in which you see in that book."

Flipping the cover open, Spike scanned back to the section of Crimson and stared at the picture of the burning unicorn. His heart sped up as he stared at the similarity between this and what Twilight went through. But before he could ask anything, the princess continued on.

"While his body had gone through a change, his mind was the part that was the most molded. The once calm unicorn that had lived with me for all those years became nothing like I had ever seen before. His soul became as sinister as those burning red eyes he possessed. With his newfound power, he saw everything else weak, and in a small way, he was right; never once after that time would a unicorn ever have the capabilities and sheer level of power he had. Not even King Sombra that you all met in the Crystal Empire was equal to Crimson. with his newfound skill, he believed that a world in fire was what he wanted. He went on to commit acts far worse than anything I had ever seen before."

"He went on a rampage, destroying any village or pony that stood in his way. The massive fires spread across the land, torching every living creature that was in its path. So many lives were lost in such a short time. He then had the plan of how to completely destroy the rest of the land in a single blow. He traveled to the Mount Volvack on the edge of Equestria in an attempt to create an eruption large enough to burn all of the land. Seeing I had no other choice, I went myself to fight him and end his destructive ways."

"When I arrived, he had already begun the start of the eruption. Seeing that he had grown tired from using so much power, I had the chance to defeat him and end his horrid reign. We faced each other in a final duel to decide who was the victor, but..." Celestia's body shook as her memories replayed that day on the volcano. "When I finally had my chance to strike him down, I... I couldn't do it."

The others just stared in silence as the princess quietly sobbed. "Even after everything that he had done to myself and the rest of Equestria, I still had a place in my heart where I still cared for him. I loved him too much to strike him down. He however did not keep the same compassion that I did, and used the chance to take advantage of the fight. I was nearly killed by my own personal student because I was too weak. Then, something happened that neither of us expected."

She stopped once again and walked up to the door she had been standing in front of. Opening it up, they came upon a small circular room with several torches lighting it up. Walking into it, all of them stared at the single statue that sat in the middle. Twilight Velvet felt her skin crawl at the sight of the very detailed stone Statue. it was of a unicorn stallion, bent over in an apparent crouching position. Both his mane and tail seemed to be made of flames that rose high above his body. The most terrifying part was across its face was what appeared to be a sinister grin. Velvet walked right up to the statue and stared into its still eyes. "This... This looks like..." She couldn't even finish her sentence as her eyes began to water again.

"Hey, that looks like Twilight!" Pinkie blurted out loud, causing a mix of glares her way again.

While she didn't say it, Fluttershy couldn't help but agree with Pinkie Pie. That time in the swamp was coming back to her now as she looked at the nearly perfectly done statue. "Is this a statue of what happened to your student?" She quietly asked.

"No Fluttershy, this is not a statue of Crimson..." Celestia felt her heart cringe as also stared at the stone. No matter how long it had been or what she tried to do, she would never forget what had happened.

"This here... Is Crimson Flames himself."

All of them screamed out in unison. "What!?"

"What do you mean this is him? That... That's his body!?" Rainbow looked back and forth between the stone and the princess. "You turned him into stone?"

"No, I didn't. I was too weak to perform a binding spell of that magnitude. But before he could kill me, his body began radiating an out uncontrollable amount of magic. While it granted him so much power, mixing the pheonix blood with his own was too much for him to handle, causing his power to begin spiraling out of control. I used all the strength I had to escape out of there. Then in a bright flash, his body gave off a massive explosion that in fact sealed the volcano back up and stopped the eruption from continuing. His power had actually stopped his own plan."

"But... I do not understand, if he died, why is this happening to Twilight?" Spike questioned the alicorn.

"Crimson sensed that he was going to die when his powers began acting up, but he did not lose that evil smile on his face. He warned me that while his body was to be destroyed, the soul inside of him would live on due to the power of the pheonix. His spirit would return in the body of another pony, one who was capable of containing the power that was once his, and that his goal would be accomplished. And... It seems Twilight is the one."

Rainbow felt her stomach drop. "His... His spirit lived on? You mean like a ghost that took over Twilight?"

"The last words that he said before I escaped were these: A Phoenix must die in flames, and be reborn from the ashes." Celestia swallowed the small lump built up in her throat. "His power was not fully developed when he had it, but a Phoenix adapts and grows stronger every time they are born again. I believe that his powers have actually grown stronger than before, and Twilight was chosen to be the vessel since her powers can control it as well."

Rainbow Dash sat down on the ground as all of this information piled up onto her. Her heart ached as she realized just how much pain Twilight was going through now. With everything she discovered now, she now felt even worse for never attempting to aid her friend through everything that had happened now. Her eyes became glossy as her guilt began building up even more now. 'Twilight, I'm so sorry.'

Velvet was knelt by the bottom of the statue, her head hung low as she wept. "My daughter has become this monster now..." Her eyes poured out tears as she let out all the emotion she had inside. "Why did this happen to my baby?"

Seeing the mare in pain, Celestia trotted up to her side. "I am so sorry that this has happened. If I could have found out she was the one sooner, I could have been able to possibly stop it." She draped a wing over Velvet's back. "I wish that I could have-

"Don't touch me!" Velvet screamed out as she smacked the large white wing away. She turned around and faced the shocked princess, her eyes filled with pain and anger. "This is all your fault."

Celestia stepped backward at the accusation. "My fault? You blame me for this?"

"Everything you told me says you are to blame! You made an insane pony serve under you, and you made him stronger. And when he started to change, you were too weak to do anything. Now my own child has been taken over by this devil because you didn't get rid of him when you had the chance!"

Glaring back, Celestia stepped forward until she stood over the shorter mare. "I tried to stop him, but he was able to continue working in secret. Do you think I wanted him to become something like that? No, I loved him and tried to bring him back from that insane path he was on."

Despite knowing she was yelling at the princess,Velvet held her ground and snapped right back. "What about when he tried to blow up everything with a volcano? And I have knowledge of phoenixes as well; if you just killed him, he couldn't have been reborn, but you gave him the chance to come back. Now, my daughter has been turned into demon just like he was!"

"HE WAS MY SON!" Celestia screamed back, "I loved him and-

"He was not your son! You will never understand a true bond unless you have had your own foal."

Celestia felt like a knife had been shoved into her heart at that remark. Her eyes burned with anger as she brought her face closer to Velvet's. "any pony can grow a bond that powerful! I love Twilight as well, and that's why I couldn't kill her earlier when I-

"You what!?"

Celestia felt her heart stop when she realized what she had just revealed. She looked to the faces of the element bearers as they all stared at her in shock. Spike’s eyes were also wide with disbelief at hearing that his sister had almost been killed by the princess. She then looked back to Velvet who mouth slightly quivered as more tears began to come up. "You... You tried to kill my daughter?" The crying unicorn stuttered.

Sweating, Celestia tried to explain her reasoning.  "I... I didn't want any of this to happen. When I found out Twilight was the one, I panicked and tried to keep my past from returning to destroy my home. But when I did get the-

WHACK!

The loud slap across Celestia's cheek echoed inside of the small room. Everypony was too shocked to even speak after seeing Twilight Velvet's hoof smack across the princesse’s face. Celestia herself just sat still, her cheek marked red by a hoof print from the impact. She slowly turned her eyes back to the mare below her.

Velvet just kept her watery eyes on the princess as she lowered her hoof down to the floor. She didn't even say a word as she turned around and walked out of the room and up the stairs.

> The next Move
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning inside the palace, guards continued to clean up and fix the destruction that had happened the previous night. Hardly any words were said between the ponies as they walked past each other, unsure what to even say about what had occurred. While not all of them had seen the events themselves, the rumors and whispers spread like wildfire through the ranks of how the once prized student of the princess had turned into something unlike they had ever heard of.

The ones who did see the odd transformation of Twilight were the ones most shaken. Several of them couldn't even believe finding out this was the unicorn they had seen so many times, the very pony who had actually saved Equestria multiple times was now the one as the threat.

Many knew Twilight back when she was just a small filly and watched her grow up, never once before believing something so horrible could come from her in their lifetime.

A few guards walked past one of the dining rooms where they noticed several mares sitting at the table. All five of them they immediately recognized, four of them being bearers of the elements of Harmony, and the fifth one the mother of Twilight. Knowing the trouble they were going through, one of the guards decided to see if they needed anything to help them out.

"Excuse me, would any of you like something from the kitchen? I can have the cooks make something up." He tried asking in the most sincere tone he could.

Rarity waved her hoof. "Thank you darling, but I have myself some tea. I'm alright."

"Um, I will just have some of her tea. Thank you." Fluttershy whispered.
"Ooh! Let me get a few things!" Pinkie happily bounced up and down. "I'll take a tall stack of pancakes with some lemon frosting and whipped cream! Then I want a big slice of chocolate cake that has chocolate syrup and more whipped cream and-

"Pinkie!" Applejack barked, "ah think y'all don't need that stuff now."

"Oh, okay then. I'll just take one doughnut then." Pinkie said with a bright smile.

The guard shook his head, glad he didn't have to remember the entire order from the pink mare. He then turned to the orange farm pony. "And, anything for you two?"

Applejack shook her head, "ah'm fine, and..." She turned to look at Twilight Velvet, who just stared down at the table in front of her. Biting her lip, AJ looked back to the guard. "Just grab some water fer us."

The guard nodded and trotted out of the room, leaving the girls to themselves once again. Rarity lifted up her glass and took a sip of her tea, looking around to the faces of all the others around her. The most concern though was for Twilight Velvet, who had not said a word since the incident the night before. She couldn't even imagine how much pain Velvet was in after learning what has happened to Twilight. Not only that, but she saw Twilight in the city, in her rage and assaulting the guards in the courtyard.

Standing up, Rarity walked over and put her hoof onto Velvet's back. "How are you doing Mrs. Velvet? Are you thirsty?"

Velvet said nothing.

Rarity gave a concerned look to Applejack, who just shook her head. Stepping back, Rarity decided to leave them here and go check on Rainbow Dash and Spike, who hadn't come out of their rooms since the night before. Both were extremely distraught after the talk with the princess, Rainbow because of guilt, and Spike because of how close he was with Twilight.

As Rarity left, Fluttershy poured herself more tea into her cup. Her eyes drifted up to Velvet, then down to the empty cup at her side. Picking it up, she brought the cup over and poured some warm tea into it. Carrying it over, she slid the tea under the saddened mare. "I made you a glass of tea. Um, if you wanted any." She quietly said and stepped back.

"Am I a bad mother?" Velvet suddenly said.

"Ooh look! She said a word!" Pinkie yelled out.

While happy that she was talking, Applejack was caught off guard by the statement. "What? No, of course ya ain't a bad mother. Why would ya say that?"

"Was I never there enough for her to see what was happening? And what I said to the princess..."

"Y'all can't blame herself for this. Nopony could see that was gonna happen. And if..." Applejack took a breath, "If ah was ya, ah would have said the same thing to the princess. Knowing what she tried to do to Twilight."

"I don't regret accusing her of her mistakes Applejack..." Velvet said as she fought back incoming tears, "did I have the right to say that to her after my mistake?"

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

"When I saw Twilight in the city, I couldn't believe it was her. Even when I called her name and she looked right at me, I felt like that wasn't my daughter. She tried to talk to me, but I pushed her away. When she teleported away, I suddenly tried to call out to her and hold her, but she was gone."

"Ya pushed her away? What do ya mean?" Applejack questioned.

"I told her to stay away and that she wasn't the Twilight I knew." Velvet couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "I don't know why I did that, it just came out. I'm sorry!"

As the older mare began crying again, Applejack put a hoof around her and brought her into a warm embrace. Feeling Velvet weep into her shoulder made it hard for the farm pony not to cry now, fighting back the tears that were puddling up in her eyelids. Having a pony that was part of your family turn into this was nothing Applejack could even fathom happening to her siblings or Granny, so even though her feelings were strong, she knew they weren't as bad as Velvet's.

Meanwhile, Rarity made her way down the hall towards the group of rooms that were given to herself and the others to stay in for the night. On the right were three rooms, and the left were another three. Deciding to check on Rainbow first, she went to the center room on the right and knocked. "Rainbow. How are you?"

After a few seconds of silence, she knocked again. "Rainbow, why don't you come eat something? Come out of there." Rarity then noticed the piece of paper on the ground sticking out from the door. Picking it up, she frowned as she read  it. "Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk now."

Seeing Rainbow was set on staying there, Rarity moved across the hall to the door on the very end. Velvet and Spike had shared a room, but the small drake refused to come out when she did earlier. 'Poor little Spike, he must be in so much pain in hearing what happened to Twilight.' Rarity said to herself. She always saw Twilight as a big sister to Spike, and she saw how close they were in life.

Taking a deep breath, Rarity put her hoof up to the door and knocked several times. "Spikey wikey, Are you okay?" To her surprise, the door slid open. Deciding to check, she pushed it in and stuck her head in. "Spike? Are you up?"

When she walked in, she was shocked to not only see him not in the room, but the mess it was in. The mattress and comforter was flipped over onto the ground, all of the blankets and sheets gone from the top. Even the curtains that normally hung in front of the large window were ripped off the top. Panic set into Rarity's mind as she saw the disaster. "Spike! What happened!? Where are you!?"

Then she noticed the cool breeze that brushed against her coat, coming in through the window that was open. From the nightstand by the ledge was part of the torn off curtain tied around the leg and leading out the window. Sprinting over, she looked out and saw the rest of the bed sheets tied together into a rope and dangling as a way to the ground below. Rarity realized he had fled the castle out of his window. "Spike..." She whispered.

As she stepped back, she stepped onto a piece of paper that caught her attention. Getting off it, she lifted up the sheet and read the message that was scribbled on it, causing her heart to skip a beat.

"I am going to find her, and I am going to save her no matter what."

---

Inside her private chambers, Princess Luna moved out of the bathroom after just washing in the shower. Waking up in the infirmary of the castle was not something she wanted, so she immediately ordered herself released from care so she could return to her duties. As she approached her bed, she stopped and stared at her large mattress that was now littered with pieces of equipment that she had put there in preparation for her departure out of the castle.

Her thick breastplate shimmered in the light from her room, the dark blue steel matching her own coat color. Her set of steel horseshoes were laid out next to the edge, each one long enough to reach past her knees. In the very center of the bed was her helmet, which covered her entire head except for her muzzle that stuck out in front. Along with the hole for her horn to fit through, a thick crystal horn directly in front of it would help ensure her own horn was protected against direct strikes. All these items were pieces of equipment that she had hoped to never have to use.

Luna stared at herself in the mirror on her dresser, her gaze unfocused as she sat deep in her thoughts about what she saw inside Twilight's mind. The young unicorn was terrified when she first entered, begging for her help. Just seeing her friend in that state already put a strain of guilt in her heart for what she had to do.

Opening the drawer below her, she eyed the star covered blue hat that was folded down. Levitating it up, the jingle of bells rang in the room as she set it back down on the countertop. Her mind then jumped to the first Nightmare Night after her return from the moon, when Twilight was the only one in all of Ponyville that even attempted to accept her as the princess and not the monster that she once was. Not only did she help her become adjusted to the modern days of life, Twilight also did everything she could to help the citizens treat Luna with kindness.

Twilight had become her first true friend after returning to her sisters side. As a gift at the end of the night, Twilight even gave her hat to the princess as a souvenir. Luna couldn't help but cast a small grin in memory of what she went through with the young purple unicorn. Her happiness however vanished as her mind imagined the new form that had taken over Twilights form, and the one that had put her in the hospital in the first place. Looking back into the mirror, her face became stern and determined with her choice.

"I have to do this... For her sake." Luna said to herself. Putting the hat back in the dresser, she shut it closed and returned to her bed. Before she could begin her assembly, her door was pushed open, followed by Celestia slowly trotting inside. The sullen look on her sisters face told Luna all she needed to know. "You told them about Crimson didn't you..."

The white alicorn nodded her head. "Yes... I told them."

Luna looked past her sister to see if any others were around before returning her eyes back. "How did they react to it?"

Lifting her hoof up, Celestia rubbed the spot on her cheek where Velvet had smacked her the night before. "As I expected them to. They were shocked, angry, and confused by all the things happening."

"I didn't expect them to react any different." Luna said with a hint of sternness. "It was what you needed to hear though. You must learn that what happened was wrong and must be fixed and-

"It wasn't their anger toward me that bothers me now Luna." Celestia cut her off.

Luna furrowed her brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It was something Velvet said to me, about how Crimson wasn't my son and I would never feel a true bond unless I gave life. While in reality that was true, I... I truly did feel something inside myself that I had a bond. After he was stopped, I felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest and crushed. Remember how I couldn't sleep for weeks because of my nightmares of watching him die?"

Luna did remember the time after the incident at mount Volvack. She had not yet developed the level of magic to enter the dreams of ponies yet, but Luna instead ran to comfort her sister as she screamed in the night. Constantly tormented by the ghost of her past, her older sister had a terrible recovery back to normal after that. "I do Tia, but what does that have to do with..."

"Years after that, I decided to reintroduce to the idea of ponies as students to me. While I did make sure that I kept my feelings out of the equation with them, I couldn't escape the feeling that I did want a pony to call my own. Then, I even tried to..." Celestia took a deep breath. "I tried to have a foal of my own. But no matter how much I tried, no matter what the doctors said, I could not get pregnant. For some reason my body would not allow itself to give birth."

"I felt defeated for years after that. Even when I tried to move on, I still had the longing pain in my heart. That all changed though when... When Twilight became my student."

Luna's eyes widened at hearing that; she had known about Celestia trying for years to have a foal with no success. Even herself had been unable to become pregnant when she tried. However, she didn't know her sisters pain was this bad. "You mean, when you brought Twilight in as your student, you felt another bond..."

Slowly nodding her head, Celestia leaned back and sat on the ground. 
"When she began studying under me, she was one of the most eager ponies I could remember that wanted to learn. Not only that, her heart was so warm and kind, I felt something inside of me that I hadn't in a long time. It seemed like the loneliness that I had was gone. The way Twilight came to me for help, her bright and happy personality, everything about her made me feel like I found a pony that I could truly bond with."

Luna sat still for what felt like several minutes as she stared at her troubled sister. Sighing, she turned towards her bed and used her magic to pull up the large breastplate up to her body and clasped it on. Frowning, she turned back to Celestia with a stern look. "I am sorry about what has happened to Twilight. I will be the first to say, of all ponies, I wish it were not on her. But no matter how close you have felt for her, she is like Crimson. She isn't your filly."

Celestia felt her heart sting at the words of her sister. Before she could say anything however, Luna walked right up to her and stood face to face. "I know how hard this has been for you to go through Tia, but your emotions are too unstable for you to get involved with this anymore. You couldn't kill Crimson because of how you felt for him, and you tried to make up for that with the way you have lived. And when Twilight revealed her trouble, you tried to kill her but stopped because of your love."

"I didn't mean for that to happen like that!" Celestia snapped out, a little louder than she wanted. Turning around, she shut the door to keep any passing ponies from hearing. "I just reacted at the moment, I wasn't thinking clearly and tried to stop history from repeating itself."

"Yet it has repeated. And now I will make sure this ends unlike last time."

"We still haven't tried the elements on her. If we can convince Twilight to activate her magic and use it on herself, we- oomph!"

Celestia yelped in fright as Luna's foreleg grabbed onto her neck and threw her against the side wall. Feeling the hoof press her further up onto the wall, her eyes went wide in shock to her sisters actions. "Luna, what are-

"She's gone Celestia! The Twilight that we both knew is gone!" Luna screamed out. "Why can't you get that through your head that this cannot be solved with you trying to save her!? If I knew there was a plausible way to stop this, I would agree with you, but you saw what happened to her."

Celestia's mouth trembled as her sister yelled at her. "Luna..."

"I cared about Twilight as well, but I saw exactly how she reacted to us. Her mind is becoming more unstable, and her body has gone through the shift as well. Once she transformed like he did, there is no reversing the process." Letting go of her sister, Luna allowed her to fall to the ground. "I have to end this... Not only for Equestria, but for your sake."

Crawling off the carpet, Celestia's breathing came in small gasps as she tried to calm herself. Emotions were swirling around and she couldn't contemplate which one to agree with the most. She loved Twilight, and seeing her in the form of Crimson also brought forth other emotions that she had bottled up inside. At the same time however, she knew that allowing what happened all those years ago to repeat itself would lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent lives. 'How do I kill one that is so close to me?'

Fighting back her own emotions, Luna turned to the tall item set against the side of her dresser, wrapped in a brown leather mesh. The special item was something that she had retrieved from the secured vault of the castle before coming to her room. Pulling out the cloth, Luna unwrapped it to reveal the item inside and causing a gasp to escape from Celestia. "Is... Is that...?"

Held in Luna's aura was a long sword, its charcoal gray sheath encasing the four foot blade. The thick golden hilt was marked with two red jewels that seemed to radiate its own glow. Grasping the handle with a section of her power, Luna slid the sword out a few inches, revealing the solid black blade that was hidden inside. The blue alicorn stared in focus at the legendary weapon. "Yes it is Tia. The sword of shadows that our master wielded all those years ago. The very weapon that he used to strike down the monster Aligon."

Even with its magic encasing sheath, Celestia could have sworn she could feel the evil radiating out from the weapon. "Luna, you should not be wielding that weapon. Do you know the level of dark magic that is enchanted in that blade?"

"I know the dangers that come from this weapon. Starswirl showed us when we were young about the sorcery used in creating it. But now I believe have  the magic to wield it just like he did, and I will use this to end this nightmare."

Inside her heart, Celestia felt a shot of anger creep in. "Our master used that sword to kill a creature that wasn't supposed to even exist; one that tried to kill everything just for pleasure. Now you want to use that on Twilight!?"

"Crimson Flames should not have existed Celestia. And since that is what has possessed Twilight, I see that taking her out is the only way to stop this from happening again." Luna slid the blade back into its sheath and laid it across her back. Now focusing on her leg braces, she lifted them up and strapped them onto herself. "You have to stop with these feelings of yours Tia. It will only bring more pain to you." Carrying her helmet in her grasp, Luna trotted past her sister and opened the door before stopping one last time. "I am going to do this Tia, whether you believe it is too harsh or not. I am not going to let our home be burnt to the ground again."

Walking out, Celestia was left alone in the room, staring at her own reflection and looking back at her actions in life.

> Never Give Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several miles outside of Canterlot, Spike slowly made his way across the landscape. The small dragon turned around to the city to see the sun rising high above it, illuminating the tall castle in the center. Most of the fires that had sizzled out left only small smoke trails, returning the distant view of the city almost back to normal. But inside his heart he felt a pain lingering from the thought of what caused those fires. Adjusting the small bag he had over his shoulder, he turned around and continued walking.

Ever since he escaped a few hours before, Spike was intent on staying out of sight. Because every guard pretty much knew who he was because of Twilight, he was afraid that if he was seen trying to leave the city, they would bring him back to the castle. While they didn't directly say it, it seemed as if he and the girls were being kept confined inside the palace, being asked to turn back every time they wanted to go outside. Despite that fact, Spike was determined on his goal. The moment Velvet left the room, he got up from his fake sleep and quickly made his rope out the window and past the city walls.

Spike had no idea where he was going. He had no way of being able to find Twilight by just walking like this, but for some reason, he felt something inside. Something tugging at his soul telling him to walk west from Canterlot. Whatever it was, it was strong inside of him, and he was willing to follow it if it meant a chance at finding her. Glancing back at his bag, he hoped the things he brought could help him in some way to fix this thing that has happened. He only wished he wasn't the only one trying to do this though.

Even though he couldn't believe there wasn't a way to bring Twilight back to her senses, the girls didn't seem as eager as he was. What more he was astounded at was what the others had said to him the night before. After they left the princess, he was already insistent on leaving the castle right then to go and find Twilight, but each of them didn't want to help. 

Fluttershy felt that everything was too frightening for her to deal with and refused. Rarity said there was too much going through her head to decide what to do. Pinkie Pie was too eccentric about all the things she never gave her answer, but Spike could tell she was unsure about everything. And then Applejack, who said herself she didn't know what to do, therefore choosing to stay.

Rainbow Dash however was the only one who didn't say anything against the idea. The difference though, she hadn't said anything at all. As soon as they left the room where Celestia took then, she left them immediately and locked herself in her room. Spike sighed as he thought about her; ever since she admitted her guilt for not helping Twilight, Rainbows demeanor had completely changed. She wasn't as eager when she spoke, her voice attempting to hide the pain she had inside. 'Rainbow, I know are hurt. I feel it too.'

Sighing, he trudged onward away from the city. The young drake wanted to try to-

"Spike!"

Spike froze at the sound of his name being called. Looking back, he covered his eyes and saw a pegasus flying his direction "Shoot, it must be one of the guards! The princess must have sent them after me!"

Afraid that whoever it was wanted to stop him, he turned tail and began sprinting as fast as he could to go. His claws scraped in the dirt as he pumped his legs, going faster to escape his pursuer. Looking back, he noticed the Pegasus was gone, but a shadow passing overhead showed it wasn't far. Panicking, he pushed even harder to get away, not wanting to be taken. "No, I'm not going back!" He shouted at himself.

Spike then noticed a small rock outcropping to his right, the large boulders a possible spot to escape.Seeing his chance, he quickly turned and ran towards the stone area as fast as he could. Skidding down underneath one of the overhanging rocks, he quickly crawled beneath the big stone to give him cover from his pursuer. Sitting quiet for a moment, he listened as the flapping wings past overhead, meaning he wasn't in the clear yet. "Come on, get out of here. Go look somewhere else!" Spike quietly shouted to himself.

"Spike! Get out here! I saw you run into those rocks!"

The young dragons ears perked up at the raspy voice calling out. "Wait a minute. That sounds like..." Crawling forward, he stuck his head out just far enough to look up into the sky to see his answer confirmed. "Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash was hovering up above the boulders, her head scanning back and forth around the area as she looked for him. "Come on Spike, quit hiding, its me! I know why you are out here!"

Glaring, Spike pulled his head back under the rock. "She must have come out after they found out I was gone. The others probably aren't far behind either." Out to the left in the distance, he noticed the tall trees that were on the outside edge of a forest, giving himself a new target to reach. "Those trees are perfect. She won't be able to fly through and see me as well, giving me a better spot to hide." His only challenge was how to get there.

The distance was at least a hundred yards to the nearest tree trunk. If he tried to just sprint with her here, there was no chance he could make it without being caught, let alone noticed. He would have to somehow get her attention somewhere else just long enough to make it. Eyes looking back and forth around him, he saw a small stone in the crevice of the wall by his side. Seeing that as something perfect, he used his claws and scraped at the surrounding rock, chipping away at the hard material until the stone fell free into his grasp.

"Perfect." He said with a grin. Looking out from beneath the ledge again, we watched as Rainbow continue to search the area for him, ducking back and forth between the other rocky areas as she scouted. Waiting until she wasn't looking in his area, he prepared his arm, clenching the rock in his claws. "Come on... Come on." The moment she flew to the ground behind a boulder, he saw his chance.

"Now!"

Jumping out of his spot, Spike threw the rock as far as he could into another crevice away from Rainbow. As soon as the rock collided with the stone, the loud smack rang through the air and reached the Pegasus's ears. Shooting up into the air, she burst towards the source with breakneck speed. "Now's my chance!" Spike screamed to himself.

Standing up, the small dragon sprinted as fast as he could towards the trees across the clearing. Digging his claws into the ground, he pushed himself harder than he ever had before in his attempt to get away. He knew if he could get away from Rainbow Dash, then the others would have no chance of catching up to him. This have him hopes as the trees were only thirty yards from him now.

"Almost there.... Almost there!" He yelled out between his raspy breaths. His lungs burned from exhaustion, but the drive to save his family was far stronger than that. He looked back over his shoulder towards the rocks behind him and smiled when he noticed Rainbow had not come back up from the rocks. "Good, she's still looking back there. Now I just have to- Oof!"

Running full speed into something wasn't something the young dragon was expecting. Falling onto his back, Spike brought his claws up to his head to rub the sore spot on his head. "Ow, what the heck was that? The tree wasn't until..." He paused as he opened his eyes and saw his obstacle. "Crap."

Rainbow Dash was standing in front of him, the rock spike had thrown bouncing up and down in her hoof. A large frown was plastered across her muzzle down at the dragon. "So, thought you could lose me like that, huh?"

Grunting, Spike crawled off the ground and brushed the dirt off his shoulders. "I should have figured that you would be fast enough to find that."

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow threw the rock behind her. "What the heck are you trying to do Spike? I was calling to you back there and-

"You know damn well what I am doing Rainbow!" Spike screamed out.

Rainbow took a step back from his outburst. "Spike, what is wrong-

"I am not going back to Canterlot with you so you guys can keep me there. I am going to save Twilight." Readjusting the bag on his shoulder, he took a deep breath and stared right into the mares eyes. "If you don't want to help her after everything that has happened, that is your choice. I am not going to sit by while she is hurting with nopony to be with."

"Spike please listen to me, I didn't come here to-

"To what, take me back to keep me locked up while the princess goes to kill her!?" Spike clenched his claws in anger as his breaths came in quick intakes. "I saw the group of lunar guards preparing outside of the castle when I left. They are going to go after Twilight, and I am not going to let them get to her before I do."

“What did you plan on doing Spike? Taking off on your own to find her?" You do even know how hard that would be for you?" Rainbow retorted.

"I don't care how hard it will be for me. As long as she is alive, I will not let her be alone. I can bring her back from whatever happened, I know I can."

"Spike listen to me, I want to-

"I don't want to hear anything more you have to say." Spike growled through his teeth as he walked by Rainbow. "I will walk to the end of Equestria if that is what it takes to find her. I don't care. Twilight is my family, and you never abandon your family."

"Spike, can you please stop talking so I can-

“You may not know how much I love her, Rainbow, but Twilight means everything to me. You can go back to Canterlot with everypony else that doesn't want to-

"SPIKE! Are you gonna help me find her or not!?"

Spike froze mid step to what he just heard. Flipping around, his mouth shuttered several times before he could finally form words. "Wh-what?"

"Are you going to come with me and help me find Twilight or are you going to walk on by yourself?" Rainbow asked with a grunt, finally able to tell him her goal from the beginning.

"You... You mean you aren't here to take me back? You want to help her too?"

"Of course I want to help her, she's my best friend!" Rainbow trotted up and sat down in front of Spike. "Twilight has always been there for us through everything, and she has always done the best she can. Whatever is happening to her, she doesn't want this. I know Twilight, and she would never want to do the things that happened in the city."

"But I thought you had stayed in the castle with everypony else?" Spike questioned, "You didn't want to talk at all when I began mentioning leaving to help her."

Rainbow's ears dropped to her head at those words. "I know and... I'm sorry for that. I was just so upset at everything that was happening I didn't want to talk to anypony then. When I went to bed though, I kept dreaming over and over again that Twilight was back home with us in Ponyville, living happy with all of our friends together. I knew I just had to help her now. I did hear how the other girls were too unsure about coming, I chose to just stick with you and we could do it together. I went out my window earlier, but when I flew to over to your room you were already gone."

Spike just stood motionless for several seconds before he could blink again. All this time he wasn't the only one feeling the same way as himself, and he was trying to get away from her. "So... All this time I was running from you, you were just trying to get me so we could work together, huh?"

"Yeah. I know how much you love Twilight, and I want to help too. Whatever that Crimson pony did to her, I know we can get her free." Rainbow smiled down at the small drake and held out a hoof to shake. "What do ya say?"

Looking down to the hoof, Spike pushed it aside and leaped up onto Rainbows chest and wrapped his arms around her neck for a hug. At first she was startled, but then put both of her hooves around him and returned the embrace. Knowing somepony was here to help him made Spike so much happier now. "Thank you, Rainbow."

What caught Spike off guard was the drops that fell onto the topic his head. Leaning back, he looked up and was shocked to see Rainbow Dash crying. "Hey, what's wrong?"

The cyan mare blinked several times to clear her moist eyes. "It's just... This whole time when Twilight was feeling bad, I never tried to help her. I knew something was wrong, but I never took the time to try and figure out what was happening." Pausing to wipe away a patch of tears, she tried to speak again, but her words caught in her throat, unsure of what else to say.

"Hey, don't say that Rainbow..." Spike whispered, "...this isn't your fault. None of this is. We never could have known some crazy dead pony was going to do this to Twilight. But right now, you are here, and that is what matters."

Rainbow couldn't help but smile from how kind Spike was. He truly was a good friend, loyal to the point of possibly surpassing her own level. Everything he did was for the thought of those around him, always making sure that they were happy and healthy. Even the small act of him reaching up and wiping away a stray tear from her fur was something so kind... But as he began to gently caress her cheek, she couldn't help but turn a deep red from a blush.

Pulling back, she smiled awkwardly and chuckled. "Hehe, woah there Casanova. Getting a little comfy there."

"Wh-what?" Spike stuttered before a blush washed over his face too. "I... I was just trying to make you feel better and-

"Hey don't worry about it." She said with a chuckle. Putting a hoof on his shoulder, she gave him a real smile this time. "And thank you Spike. Twilight is truly lucky to have someone like you."

Returning the smile, Spike put his claws on top of her hoof. "Thank you for not giving up."

Pulling her hoof away, Rainbow turned sideways and nodded at her companion. "Now come on, lets go find her."

"Alright then!" Spike yelled out as he ran up and hopped onto her back, positioning himself in front of her wings and putting his claws around her neck. "Lets save Twilight!"

Bursting off of the ground, Rainbow took to the skies high above the trees and to the clouds. Not sure where to go, she decided to head the same direction Spike was going in the first place. He had a fire in his heart and a drive, and that was just enough in her books to go with. 'I will make up for not being there for you. I won't leave you this time.' She thought to herself.

Behind her, Spike looked out past her mane to the great and massive land of Equestria far below him, a land so vast and magical. Although it was beautiful, he only cared for one specific thing, and no matter where it was, he was going to find it. 'Don't worry Twilight..' Spike thought as he gripped his new allies neck tighter, 'we will find you. And we will save you.'

> Lies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight's eyes snapped open as she shot up from her Nightmare. Her breaths came in rapid gasps as her nerves rocked her body, causing her to shake continuously. It was just like the one she had the other night inside of the throne room with Spike. The only difference, however, was Luna was the one this time crashing through the window, her battered body bleeding on the ground until it was engulfed in lava just like her sister was.

Shutting her eyes again, she tried to calm her mind to think, but when she reopened them and saw her bleach white leg, her heart didn't slow down. 'I'm... I'm still like this?' She questioned herself.

Using her magic, Twilight conjured a small pool of aura to act as a mirror to give herself a reflection. She could only hope that she was still imagining everything that had happened, that it was just her mind playing a horrible trick on her. When she saw herself in her magic however, her heart sank once again; her burning mane still flickered erratically above her head, along with those horrid red eyes and pure white coat. She hadn't changed back from the night before.

Looking around, Twilight noted the bleak, dank cave she had fled into when she reappeared from her teleportation. She didn't even know where she was now, her spell had taken her to the limit of distance that she possessed. Her personal record before was five miles, but with whatever power had come from inside of her, there was no doubt that amount had been amplified. Whatever distance it was, she didn't care. As long as she got away from everything, that was what mattered. Away from Canterlot. Away from Every pony.

Away from her mentor.

That last thought stuck into Twilight’ head as she sat there on the stone floor. Ever since the beginning, Celestia’s reaction to her was what tormented her thoughts the most over anything. The moment she even mentioned the name Crimson Flames, she saw how terrified the princess became, even to where she tried to kill her without warning. Never once in all the years she served under the princess had Twilight ever seen her react to anything to such an extent to where she was willing to-

"Rah!" Twilight screamed as she slammed her hoof into the ground. "What is happening to me!? Why did this happen! Why! Why! WHY!" Every time she hit the stone, a patch of flames burst out from her hoof, which she quickly noticed and forced herself to stop. Her mouth shook from pure frustration, but slowly turned into quivering as her eyes slowly narrowed. Tears began to drip down her cheeks until they reached her chin and dripped onto the ground. Not able to deal with it, she dropped onto her belly and buried her muzzle into her hooves.

"Why... Why did this happen?"Twilight choked out between her sobs. Everything going through her mind was causing her emotions to become a swirling whirlpool of turmoil. Nothing that was happening was making sense to her anymore. The pain in her head was nothing compared to the pain inside her heart. The worst part about everything was the fact that not a single pony would want to help her. Celestia, the one she always loved, tried to kill her when she asked for help. Even Luna, one she saw as a friend had betrayed her and tried to finish her off as well. It tore at her heart, but her friends were probably no better.
None came by and tried to help her when she was hurting back in the library. Rainbow Dash especially was the one that got to her. 'That stupid pony...' Twilight growled to herself, "...the supposed element of Loyalty never even bothered to give me comfort when I needed it. All I remember getting was a cold shoulder from that Pegasus. And then Spike... That little dragon traitor. He must have told the princess something about me when I was on my way there. They must have worked together to-

Twilight stopped herself when she realized what she was saying. "What is wrong with me?"

She had started accusing Spike of betraying her and trying to have her killed. If any one soul was to help her, it was Spike, and she knew it. Whenever she felt hurt, he would always be there to comfort her and make her feel better. Never once in his life had he tried to betray her in any form whatsoever, and yet she had immediately turned on him like a conniving snake. To what reason she even started saying something like that was beyond her. It didn't matter anymore though.

Not one pony in her life would take her in anymore. Her friends were terrified just by her eyes, she couldn't even imagine what they would do seeing her like this. Both princesses had tried to kill her, one of the main reasons she fled. Even her own mother, one she thought would love her no matter what, shoved her away like a leper. Her heart was shattered from the pain she was enduring, causing more tears to fall from her eyes.  

She had nowhere to go.

She was alone.

...



...



...



"Do not worry Twilight. You will not need them anymore."

Twilight heart skipped at the cold voice inside her mind again. A cold gaze formed in Twilights brow from the thought of that thing still inside her. "What are you doing here?" She angrily asked.

"What do you mean Twilight? I have always been here inside of you. I have always been you." The voice responded casually.

"No... I am not this monster that you are."

"A monster? Whoever said anything about being a-

"Princess Celestia did! She tried to kill me because I look like you!" Twilight screamed out.

"Are you really going to listen to that liar, Twilight?' The voice chuckled inside her head. 'She has been using you from the moment you served her."

Furious, Twilight shut her eyes and reentered her subconscious. Once again she found herself inside the black void of her mind, staring at the fire version of herself. The irony of this moment however was both Twilight and the other version of herself weren't so different anymore. In fact, they were exactly the same as each other now, whether it be their coat color to the eyes that burned as bright as their manes. While Twilight hated this thought, her copy simply smiled. 'It does look good to see you like this. That is the power that you deserve to wield.'

Twilight bared her teeth in anger to the statement, stomping her hoof in anger. "This is nothing that I wanted. You have destroyed my life and everything that I have loved!"

"There was never a life for you there, Twilight. Everypony in your life was against you and planned to betray you sooner or later."

Before she answered, the picture she saw in that book suddenly came up in Twilight's mind. That stallion in the picture wasn't just a horrible memory for the princess to panic like that. She knew

"You... You aren't me." Twilight said.

"Twilight, quit trying to deny the fact that you are-

"You are not me. I know who you are..." Twilight took a deep breath as she took a step forward. "Crimson Flames. That is who you really are."

The fire copy sat quiet for a moment before a large smile spread across its muzzle. "So you finally know who I am. I guess I don't need to do this form anymore." In an instant, a burst of fire encircled the unicorn, causing Twilight to cover her eyes from the bright light. Almost as fast as it came, the fire dissipated, allowing Twilight to open her eyes forward again. When she looked however, the sight caused her to step backwards and fall onto her rump.

Where that form of herself once stood was the unicorn stallion that was from the picture in that book she found. His muscular body stood a head taller than she was, in fact, nearly the size of Big Mac. His bleached coat was much more ragged and thick than a normal ponies, making his frame seem even thicker than it already was. The most noticeable difference on the new pony was the cutie mark replacing her own purple star. On its flank sat a swirling tornado of flames extending from the tail of a fireball. It was so unlike anypony she had ever seen before, yet it felt so familiar to her.

The stallion before her was Crimson Flames himself.

Trotting forward, Crimson smiled down upon the stunned mare. "I had chosen to appear as you to let you feel more easily acquainted with your experience, but now that you know that I am here, I might as well not hide."

Twilight had made the assumption to the connection between herself and the pony in the book, but to hear the deep voice come out of this stallion made her sit in disbelief. This stallion that was regarded as a monster to the world was living inside of her. "You... You are the one who made me like this?"

"I made you something extraordinary Twilight." Crimson stepped closer until he stood directly in front of her. "You were destined to be the one to-

"YOU TURNED ME INTO A MONSTER!" Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping off the ground and launching herself at the startled stallion. Colliding into his chest, she tackled him backwards into the blackness, but in an instant he vanished entirely from her grasp. "Wh-what?"

"Twilight, don't try and fight what has happened."

The voice behind her sent a chill up Twilight’s spine. Flipping around, she saw him standing there, a large grin upon his face. "How... How did you get there? You didn't teleport."

"I am part of your subconscious Twilight. Part of your soul. I can be anywhere within you at any moment. But I would rather not fight with you, since we can work together."

"Together?" Twilight crawled to her hooves and glared at Crimson. "Why would I want to do anything with you. You turned me into a monster."

"I did something amazing for you. You are a pony born with my powers, which means your magic is far beyond any unicorn in your time. You should be honored to be the one to inherit my gifts." Crimson trotted towards Twilight, his horn casting a patch of fire that shifted into the shape of a burning rose. "I am happy that of any pony, it would happen to you."

Twilight watched as the fire flower was levitated over in front of her face. Gritting her teeth, she swung her hoof and broke the fire apart. "So that is all I am to you? A vessel for your power to come back after you died? I am nothing but something to use for your own gain!"

"I am saving this world from weakness and despair." The smile on Crimson fell away as he spoke. "This entire land is flooded with ponies of useless lives mulling around in the dirt, serving under that so called princess you served."

"What kind of pony are you?" Twilight trotted directly into Crimsons face, all fear vanished from her heart. "You are a sick, and twisted freak who tried to destroy Equestria because of whatever reason you saw fit. And now, after you failed, you want to use me to kill the princess, don't you?"

"Our mentor is the one reason everything has happened."

Twilight's eyes became the size of dinner plates from what she heard. "I-I-our mentor?" She stuttered.

"I figured she would never tell you about me..." Crimson turned around, his fire tail dragging across Twilight's chin as he walked away. "Celestia never mentioned how I was the first student she ever trained, did she?" He looked backward and saw the stunned look on her. "I'll take your silence as my answer."

"Well over a millennia ago, I was a colt gifted with a talent in magic far beyond the level most stallions could ever hope to achieve in their life. When the princess saw the power I had, she took me into the castle to be her student. My magic grew even more than before, the new techniques she had pushed me to learn. Every part of my power and control came from inside that castle. You strive to push yourself to become stronger, and that is what I was doing for her."

"She always taught me that I could be great, to push myself further than before no matter what. That is what she taught me. I did everything for her, all of my training and goals were for her to be happy, to become proud of me. After time however, I realized in the end that I was the one being played."

"All she wanted to use me for was a subject to test her abilities with. But after time with my teachings, I soon became so powerful that she tried to keep me from growing any stronger. She refused to teach me anything else so that I could not turn into something she would see as a threat to her precious rule." Crimson stepped away from Twilight, his brow furrowed as he was deep in thought. "After everything I did for her, she turned out to be nothing more than a master to her slave."

"That's not true..." Twilight glared at him, "... You are lying to me. I read the history in that book about you. You were an insane pony that tried to destroy Equestria. You killed innocent ponies because you-

"I was doing what Celestia trained me to do." The angered stallion turned back to Twilight, "She always told me I was destined to be greater than any unicorn alive, and I must push myself to be stronger. Celestia however refused to help me grow stronger when my talent began to increase. She saw I was one to take her off the pedestal she sits on along with her sister, overlooking the lives of their subjects like cattle. I was doing all of this for her, she created me."

Twilight's breath caught in her throat the more she listened to his words. Part of her wanted to shut him out of her thoughts and be rid of him... But another part wanted to let Crimson speak on to tell a totally different perspective to the book she read. "You claim you were a slave to her, and yet you are the one controlling me."

"Am I controlling you?" Crimson asked with a smirk, "You chose to talk to me now because you want answers. I would gladly give them to you if you wish. I read through ancient scrolls hidden away in the library at Canterlot and discovered the creature Aligon."

"I know..." Twilight responded, "I saw him in that book. A dragon and unicorn hybrid."

The white stallion nodded in approval. "Exactly. Starswirl was a pony of legend, his powers dwarfing any other unicorn in his time and perhaps for eternity. The idea of fusing his powers with a dragon’s is astounding, revealing how powerful a being could become by doing that. It took me time to put it together, but Celestia wanted me to do that for myself."

"What!?" Twilight exclaimed, "why in Equestria would she ever want something like that? There is no way-

"She was testing me from the moment she picked me." Crimson growled at her, "do you think it was coincidence that she chose me, a unicorn that controls fire, when she had a Phoenix at the time?"

Twilight's mind thought back to the mystical bird for the princess. "Philomena?"

"Why would she pick me of all ponies to be her student? It's because she saw my potential to what I could be. And yet when I surpassed the power she saw, she betrayed me after I was doing all of the things she expected of me. I died, taking my own life before she could kill me, but my power couldn't be extinguished by her." Crimson couldn't help but chuckle for a moment. "It seems like fate that the pony strong enough to wield my power would be you Twilight."

Twilight's heart skipped a beat hearing that. "Wield your power? What do you mean?"

"My soul lived on, containing all of my powers due to the rebirth effect of the Phoenix. The only problem was I could not return right then. My powers had not developed enough to where being reborn from by own ashes. I had to linger... Sitting in limbo until a pony was strong enough to control my abilities. And that pony of all... Is you."

A sickening crawl moved up Twilights skin at those words. Her legs began shaking to the point to where she almost fell to her stomach. Her breaths came in extremely quick and raspy gasps, making her stumble slightly. "It's true then... You possessed me. You used me so you could come back and do whatever sick plan you think-

"It is fate that you would be the one to gain my power?" Crimson stepped back from Twilight, giving her space to take in everything. "Celestia only takes ponies to serve her that rank above all others in strength. You were chosen because she wants those that are capable of surpassing her. I in fact am freeing you."

Twilight panted as she glared up to the soul of Crimson. "You are just making that up to cover yourself. You are a sick and twisted freak that is lying to me."

"Don't try and fool yourself Twilight. How many ponies do you know have the magical capabilities that you do? Celestia chose you out of so many ponies in all of Those that have gone through her class because she saw how strong you are. You may not realize it, but she purposely picked you so that you will be restricted from growing your talent any more." Crimson lowered his head to be eye level with her. "Haven't you noticed how she stopped teaching you advanced spells once you passed the high level classes?"

Before she said anything, Twilight stopped herself and thought about what he just said. She had advanced much faster than any other pony in studies that she could think of. Being able to cast spells at the age of nine which most stallions at twenty couldn't pull off was something she just figured as a high level skill. She did remember though when she had requested to increase her level of magic training on multiple occasions, Celestia always stated that she wasn't ready for magic like that... No matter how much she asked.

Crimson noticed the confusion growing in her face. "You see her put on a mask of emotions when she speaks to you Twilight, but in reality that mentor of yours is as conniving as any serpent in these lands. You may think that she cares for you, but she doesn't. Everything in your life shows me that."

"What?" Twilight asked in concern. "My life? Wait.... You, you have seen everything?"

Crimson nodded. "I may have been unable to come out in the beginning, but I was there. I watched your life role by day after day, showing me the fate you were to share. You were just as much of a slave as I was."

"You're lying..." Twilight glared at him, her teeth clenched in anger,  "I.. I wasn't a slave. I was a student that-

"Of course you were a slave. The moment you agreed to serve her you were set to live a life under her control. Unable to do what you wish because your choices were all made by her." The burning stallion leaned in so his muzzle was right up to her ear. "Every event you have lived through was a game of chess with your so called goddess."

Twilight turned to look at him in confusion. "Chess?"

"The princess knew the coming of her sister from the moon, and yet she allowed you to figure it out on your own. You nearly died trying to recover those elements that she never even told you about. Her so called test not only almost cost you your life, but it insured you into serving her for whatever task that is needed. You recall the events with the dragon in the mountain? A dangerous beast that could easily kill anything it wanted and Celestia sends you to talk to it with no protection of guards or anything."

"I was... We were doing the service to protect the land from its smoke." Twilight tried to find reasoning for the event, but as she thought more about it, the lingering feeling of doubt began to creep into her heart. Why did the princess send them unprotected to a dragon? Why couldn't the guards go and push it out?

"The release of Discord. The spirit of chaos and perhaps one of the single most powerful creatures in the history of the planet. The only ones that could have rivaled him are the princesses themselves, and what did they do? They allowed you and your friends to face him yourselves, with nothing more than your own will to find the elements. Don't try and tell me that wasn't some sick game to test your skill against a deity."

The more Twilight listened, she couldn't stop the nagging feeling growing inside of her heart. All these different events that she was remembering were revealing different perspectives to everything. She looked back up as Crimson came closer towards her.

"And just recently, Sombra returned to the northern region. A unicorn ruling by the use of dark magic and what does your precious princess do? She sends you and a few other mares up there with nothing, not even the Elements of Harmony. She even admitted that she and her sister stopped him once, she could have easily stopped him again. She didn't however, she allowed you to risk your life to challenge him just for her so called test."

"You were nothing more than a pawn in her life." Crimson marched towards her, passing by on her right side before coming around. "Every event in your existence has been in her control, and she didn't even care about your life once. Even your so called friends that you live are all working for her."

That last statement sent a shock through the mares heart, making her eyes shoot up to him. "What are you talking about? How are they involved with the princess?"

"The moment you met them it was a set-up. You were sent to your new home when the princess told you to 'make friends' as she says. Do you think it was coincidence the ones you met were the elements of harmony? Every single stop for you was a prearranged pick from the princess to set you up with so you could become her simple pieces of protection."

It is quite a shame that you felt like you had a bond with them too. I could sense how happy you were with them, but I am sorry to see how they don't even care the slightest for your when-

"You're lying! They wouldn't do that to me!" Twilight screamed out at Crimson. "All of those times we laughed. The games. The Parties. We loved each other."

"Then where were they when you felt like you needed help?" Crimson asked her, forcing her to fall silent as he continued, "You even admit to yourself that you were in pain and yet none of them came to help you."

Twilight felt her mouth slightly open, confused in how to respond. "I... I tried to stay away from them."


"And yet none of them came to see if you were okay. Every time you needed something they simply turned their gaze the other way and let you do it all by yourself. Just like your princess, they completely ignored your warnings about that changeling and your brother. You were left alone to figure out the entire problem yourself. They only came to help once they saw it necessary for them." Crimson turned his back away from her, and looked turned his head around to keep eye contact. "Not to mention that dragon traitor."

Twilight stepped back in shock, almost experiencing déjà vu to what she said earlier. "Spike. He's.... He isn't a traitor..."

"Yes he is Twilight, he has always been going behind your back." Crimson flipped back around and faced his burning female counterpart. "He went to the princess and told her you were experiencing odd sensations, warning her that I was returning. And don't let her emotions and lies hide her true motives. She has been awaiting my arrival ever since she tried to kill me back then, and she has been planning everything from the beginning. That egg test she does is a set up. To hatch a dragon by magic requires unbelievable magical talent, which meant all average ponies fail. when one did achieve that feat, she took them immediately as a student because of the chance they could be the one to be my rebirth."

And him being your assistant is no coincidence, Twilight. What did she always have you do with him?" Crimson used his fire to create an image of a piece of paper, until it disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Does that look familiar? The same thing your so called assistant does every time the princess needs something."

The gears in Twilight’s head began spinning as she started to realize the connections Crimson was pointing out. Celestia had always required her to send messages to her via Spike, to check up on what she was doing constantly. Any time something would happen, the princess would want to know immediately. Always submitting letters was in fact more than a simple request; it was a requirement that Twilight send them to her... Master.

"She made you follow her like a beaten dog. The fear of being punished for stepping out of line made you worry to the point of seclusion. You were so afraid to say anything wrong to her, just like-

"Just like a slave." Twilight finished, her eyes floating up towards Crimson. The stallion noted the fury radiating from her gaze, but it wasn't directed towards him. It was of the realization to what her life had been this entire time. She was tricked into believing that her life was a natural mix of events that led her to Ponyville. The fury of being connived into thinking that anypony cared about her, while the truth had been hidden behind the disgusting smiles they wore.

Seeing this made Crimson smile.

"Exactly. Everything I have told you is the truth. Both you and I were tricked into thinking she cared about us. But now we know the truth, don't we?" Crimson asked her.

"We were pawns to her game. Used as servants to do her bidding." Twilight growled out, her voice growing deeper with every word. A wave of red aura began to pulse out from her hooves, radiating with each exhale.

"And what did she do to restrict our growth?"

"She refused to teach us anymore. We could have became so much more, except she was frightened that we would be too much to control."

"Tell me, how did she make you believe you actually were of use to her?"

"She made me go through dangerous tasks, not caring if I died or not just to test my ability." The red aura around Twilight shifted into a wall of flames, the bright fire bursting out in powerful flashes.

"What did she do to keep you under her control?"

"She set everything up so I would be surrounded by her servants. All those ponies I thought were my friends were put there by her, so that we would all meet and they could act like they cared for me." Twilight's eyes closed as she vented, all this anger coming from the fact she was betrayed. "And Spike was her little spy. He was always around me, able to see everything I did. The moment I showed any change he went crawling to her and told her. That is why she tried to kill me when I arrived. He warned her."

"Put it all together, Twilight. She forced you to follow her ways, a pony who puts herself above others just because she is stronger than them. That is why she made an entire world of lies to keep you contained, the way she kept me contained. But this time it's different. You can show her what you truly are capable of. Unleash the power that is inside of you. LET IT ALL OUT OUT NOW!"

Twilight's hooves lifted up and slammed back down, unleashing a tsunami of fire in all directions and engulfing every single area of space in sight. After a moment her eyes shot back open, the blood red irises glowing even brighter than before. She saw herself back Inside the cave she had hidden in, its entire inner facing lined in dancing flames now. Her mouth hung open as she panted, trails of black smoke exiting her mouth. "I will not let her control my life anymore." She snarled.

'What are you going to do now?' Crimsons voice said inside her head.

Twilight's eyes fell upon the cave opening, the small trickle of daylight reaching the interior. Stared at it for several seconds before a large grin spread across her face. "I will destroy this prison of a world she created, the lies she tells to keep that crown of her head. It... Is my destiny."

> Onward
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bright sun hung above the  great city of Canterlot. Or what was great just the day before. 

Multiple Buildings in the Main Street were broken apart and charred from the powerful fires that struck them last night. Windows were shattered across the faces, the broken glass at least had been cleaned by the royal guards walking through the streets. The warriors in golden armor all had a look of defeat on their faces despite not being involved in a fight themselves. The reason for their down demeanor was the fact that the one who caused this destruction was a pony they had known for years. One they always saw as a friend and warm hearted soul.

Twilight Sparkle.

Many of the guards became recruits back when she still lived in the castle as a student to their princess. She was the younger sister to their former captain, and never once was angry at anything more than herself for missing a study lesson. But what bothered them just as much as that was the change in their princess herself. Word quickly spread amongst the ranks of what happened inside the castle halls; how Celestia was set in her mind on killing Twilight that very instant, but then was an emotional wreck and since then had disappeared within the castle. Her absence now was the reason they were stuck on clean up duty, grunting as they looked over their shoulder to the force at the city gate.

Over three dozens lunar guards were standing at attention next to the exit of Canterlot. Their dark blue armor reflected against the sunlight, making the already bright light even stronger for the guards nocturnal eyes. The bat ponies all squinted to try and see in the midday brightness, not something they were normally  used to, but they didn't complain. They had orders to follow and they would do them... no matter what they were, or what the mission was. That was the major difference between the day and night guards; many times when some missions pushed the  boundaries that many other guards wouldn't do, the lunar guards would be used to finish them off.

Walking down in front of the lines of bat ponies, the captain eyed down the ranks to make sure they were all in their correct positions. His bright yellow irises focused intently at every soldier he had, checking for their weapon placement along with the position of their hooves. The extremely strict order amongst the lunar guards gave them the stronger drive to complete an assigned mission or to defend against any threat. And while they did know of Twilight Sparkle, they lacked any personal bond with her, which gave them an advantage if it came to having to take her down.

As the lunar captain came back towards the center of the group, he looked over his shoulder and saw Princess Luna walking their direction, her body also clad in her dark armor. Snapping his hooves together, he locked his body in stance and gave a salute.

"Your highness, we are ready to leave now. All my top guards are set." He said in his usual stoic military tone.

Luna gave a nod of approval to her captain, but her eyes gave off a different emotion. Glancing across the lines of stallions in front of her, the princesses face was a mixture of determination for preparation of the mission she wanted. The other emotion however was one that even the captain, one who was never the best with reading others, was one that he didn't expect to see.

Pain.

The pain he saw wasn't one that came from an injury or physical action. It was the kind that one gets from a place deep inside their own heart. A conflicting set of feelings that are battling with each other, each one trying to overtake the other. There was something that was bothering the princess, and he wanted to know what it was.

Trotting forward, the captain stopped in front of the princess and gave one more salute to her. To his surprise, she didn't even notice his presence, her eyes simply gazing off in thought. Giving a slight cough, the captain stepped slightly closer. "Excuse me? Your highness... Is everything alright?"

Hearing her title called again, Luna blinked several times to clear her thoughts. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

Raising his eyebrow, the bat stallion sat back on his haunches, still keeping his posture straight "I don't mean to ask anything personal, but you seem to have something bothering you." 

Before she answered, Luna looked back towards the platoon of soldiers standing in their ranks. Despite her original plan she laid out, Luna was now at an internal battle within her own heart. Instead of trying to hide her new decision, she knew it was best to just come out straight with it.

"Actually captain, there is something I wish to say now. I have made a change to my original plan."

"A change, princess?" Her captain questioned, "what do you want us to do now?"

"I want you all to remain here in Canterlot. I will go after Twilight myself."

The bat captains eyes shot open in surprise to hearing that. "What? But princess, you wanted all of us to join you so that we can assist in the takedown of Twilight and-

"I have made my decision, and am certain in what I want. I am going to face her alone and need you to be here for the city. Keep the perimeter protected and secure." Luna paused as she glanced back at the sword that laid strapped to her backside. Taking a deep breath, she turned back towards the pony standing before her. "I need you all to stay here in case I cannot finish what I have to."

The captain felt his mouth drop open in shock to what she just told him. "What... What do you mean?"

"If I fail, I need you to get everypony out of the city and away from this place." Moving past him and the rest of the guards, Luna looked out to the distance that was the kingdom she ruled, one she wanted to keep intact.  "Wish me luck, captain."

With her final words, Luna walked past the battalion of soldiers and edited the walls of the city. Reaching the large cobblestone path on the other side of the bridge, she came to a stop and shut her eyes in focus. Her head was spinning like a top from everything that was conflicting inside of her. 

Turning back around once more, Luna stared at the sword of shadows that she carried with her. The she encased the handle of the blade with her magic and slid it out once more to reveal a few inches of the black blade. Even with such a small amount of it revealed, Luna could feel the cold aura slithering out from within the sheath. 'What could Starswirl have used to make such a powerful weapon?' She asked herself as she slid it back in. She then moved the sword up, revealing a small pouch that she kept tucked in with her armor. This in fact carried the true item that she wished to use instead of the sword.

Opening the pocket, she stared at the blue cloth that was bunched up together, a single golden bell sticking up through the tight bundle. Luna took another deep breath before closing it up and turning back to the land ahead of her. "If I can get through to her with this, perhaps I really can save her."

---

From inside the palace, the pair of Pegasi guards stared out the window down to the courtyard far below them. They knew princess Luna was planning on leaving along with her own squadron of soldiers, but they were surprised to see that she had now left on her own now. 

"That's quite strange, isn't it?" The one on the left asked.

"I know. Princess Luna seemed like she was set on going after Twilight with her own soldiers. Why is she going herself now?" The other responded.

"She's probably going to gain all the glory herself." The first one scoffed as he turned away and trotted down the hallway. "She is always the one between the two that is ready for fighting."

"Is princess Celestia any different at this moment?"

The words of his companion made the first guard stop in his tracks. Both of them had heard what the other guards said about Celestia when she tried killing Twilight in an instant. They hadn't even heard of a reason from the princess even when Twilight had been captured and locked in the dungeons beneath the castle. And despite the fact Twilight had broken out of the cell she was in and disappeared, the princess still refused to explain the full situation. Only to the element bearers was the entire truth revealed, just before Celestia had vanished from all eyes in the castle.

Now, the guards of the day were scattered across the castle with only minimal information on a major situation. Twilight Sparkle, a pony both of the guards grew up around was suddenly considered a threat to the capital. A filly they watched happily study down these very halls suddenly turned and was set on destroying everything, just didn't sit well inside their minds. What made things worse was now they were the personal guards stationed outside of the rooms of the element bearers to keep an eye on them from leaving the castle for "protecting the remaining elements" reasoning. And being sworn as guards, they had to follow orders.

Although some orders were harder to follow.

Walking down to the end of the hallway, the pair of guards came to the final door on their left. Quickly glancing around to make sure they were alone, they gave several knocks to the door. Opening up revealed Rarity standing at the doorway. 

"Is it clear now?" She asked them.

"It is, but you have to go now if you are still going." One of the two said as he moved out of the way for her. "We can only keep this a secret for so long."

"well, I certainly appreciate this from a fine stallion as yourself." Rarity happily said, giving a quick wink before stepping out of the room. "Come on girls, let's get going."

Following her out came Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and finally Twilight Velvet. The group of mares all crowded into the hallway as they turned back to the two guards. 

"Thank you for this." Velvet quietly whispered to the stallions.

"Yeah! I'll make sure I send you both an entire cart of cupcakes after we get back!" Pinkie Pie happily chirped.

"Don't worry about thanks, just go and get Twilight back." One of the two guards responded. "I know she would never have done something like this herself. To find out what happened."

Applejack prepared to walk down the hall to their path before she stopped and turned back towards them. "Y'all know they are gonna find out ya let us simply go. Won't that be bad for ya?" 

Both guards gave a slight chuckle. "Well, ponies have to go the bathroom. It just so happened we both had to go at the same time that you escaped in that time. But even if they do find out, it doesn't matter. We want the truth from what's going on, and the princesses aren't giving it. If any ponies can get to Twilight, it would be you girls."

Applejack couldn't help but give a warm smile to his words. "Ah promise we will do everything we can to save her. Thank ya once again."

"Don't worry about it. Just remember, the third door to the right down that hallway will lead to the back of the castle. Go through that and you will come out behind the southern gardens. They are unguarded at the moment, but won't be for long. It's now or never. Go."

Nodding, Applejack and the others quickly took off down the long hall towards the door they were instructed to. Opening it up, they came to a narrow corridor winding downwards what they were told was the back end of the castle. Fluttershy swallowed the lump in her throat at the sight of the mysterious path. "Wh-what's down that way?"

Before anypony could respond, Twilight Velvet quickly trotted down the hall ahead of them. "Miss Velvet?" Rarity called out.

Turning around to them, Velvet gave a look of determination that caused even Pinkie Pie to step back. "My daughter is that way, and that is enough for me."

As she walked onward, Rarity looked back to her friends with a raised eyebrow.  "I must say, she is entirely different than she was this morning."

"Of course she would be, crazy! She found out those mean guards are going after Twilight." Pinkie grunted, surprisingly more angry than she talks normally. "Wouldn't you be upset if something like that happened to your family?"

Rarity flattened her ears against her head and looked towards the ground. "I... That is true. I would do anything to help my parents or Sweetie belle."

"Yeah, especially with this new doozy I had today. It was a really big one, maybe bigger than the last one! with all these crazy doozies all of the sudden, we really have to go to the rescue. Remember, we always help those in need."

"Ah agree. Now that ah know Twilight is in trouble with those guards and Luna going after her, ah ain't gonna sit by any more." Applejack sternly stated as she glared down the hallway. "Why in the hay did Rainbow and Spike take off on their own? Why didn't they come tell us that they were really leaving?"

"Well... Maybe it was because we didn't want to last night." Fluttershy meekly answered.

"Fluttershy, it's not like ah didn't want to help her; it's just that ah was so confused with everythin' happenin' so fast ah didn't know what to think. If ah knew they really were leavin' this mornin' ah would have gone with them. Now with knowin' Luna is after her ah am fer sure goin' now."

Rarity gave a quick nod of approval. "Well I certainly agree with your enthusiasm darling, but I have a big question. How in the world are we supposed to find Rainbow and Spike, or Twilight for that matter?"

"It don't matter. We are gonna go look fer them and we are gonna find them." Applejack took a deep breath and made her way after the now vanished unicorn. "If Rainbow and Spike are on their own, ah guarantee we can do it as well. Besides, ah bet we can do it if those two can work together."

> More than Friends?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No, let's go that way!"

"We've been going that way for hours! Let's try going this way now!"

Spike grunted in frustration as he leaned back from Rainbow’s neck. "We have been going that way for so long, because I feel her that way."

"What the hay are you talking about?" Rainbow turned her head around to face the drake on her back. "What do you mean you feel her that way? You’re just making a guess."

"No, I mean I feel her, Rainbow. I... I don't know how to explain it, but I keep feeling this strange urge in my chest. It's like I feel Twilight's magic moving inside of me."

Rainbow Dash perked her eyebrow at his comment. "You sure you aren't just hungry?"

Spike glared at her. "No, it isn't from my stomach. I can't explain it, but the odd feeling is getting stronger. It's something I've always noticed inside. Just trust me, alright. Keep flying that direction."

Rainbow gave a pissed off look his direction at his order. It wasn't directly meant for him, but more for the task he asked. Sure she wanted to find Twilight more than anything, but her body was beginning to tire from the nonstop flying. Traveling this long alone was already pushing her limits, but Spike resting on her back only weighed her down that much more. Her wings were beginning to cramp up with each flap, but she pushed through it by her determination.

Looking forward again, Rainbow noticed the sun beginning to lower towards the ground in the distance, casting its orange rays across the sky. Knowing they had been flying for Celestia knows how long, she realized how close it was coming to dark soon. Wanting to cover as much ground as she could still, she decided to just go with the odd feeling Spike claimed to have been having all day, guiding them to who knows where. "I hope that feeling you got is good, Spike. That's all we have to find her."

"Trust me, I don't know what it is, but I can feel her somehow."

Nodding, Rainbow flew on through the sky towards where she was guided. After only a few more flaps however, she felt a sharp pain shoot through the length of her right wing and making her scream out.

"What's wrong!?" Spike yelled out in panic, not sure what happened.

"I... I don't know. I felt something tear." Rainbow grimaced as she tried to flap on. The more we tried however, the more her wing hurt. "I have to land."

Coming through the opening of the canopy, Rainbow Dash quickly dropped down to the ground and touched her hooves down on the dirt. Spike hopped off her back, but as he did accidentally caught his leg on her wing which caused her to gasp out in pain.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Spike apologized as he watched Rainbow drop to her stomach with a thud. "Oh my gosh, I should have paid attention and-”

"No no, it's fine..." Rainbow quickly cut him off, trying to take deep breaths to calm her own nerves. "I'm just a little tired. Let me catch my breath and I- ah!" 

Rainbow grunted as her right wing pulsed a few times, earning another groan from her. "Maybe I just need a little break."

Quickly slipping the bag off from his shoulder, Spike stepped over to her side. "Here, let me help."

Before she could even ask what he was doing, Rainbow felt Spike’s claws grip the base of her wing. At first she yelped out in shock and was about to tell him off, but as soon as he squeezed her sore muscles she melted into his movements. "Ooh, that does feel good." She moaned out in relief.

Spike simply chuckled at her reaction as he moved his claws up and down her wing. "I've been around books enough to know that you strained your wing. Luckily they also show how to help with the muscles."

"Hmph, straining isn't going to help me with the Wonderbolts." Rainbow mumbled out.

"Don't worry about it, if any pony is good enough for the wonderbolts, it's you Rainbow."

"Heh heh, I am pretty good, aren't I?" Rainbow eagerly stated. Both of them had a quick laugh before silence fell over both of them. As Spike continued to rub the aching muscle, Rainbow laid her head down on the ground and let herself enjoy the massage she received, which also made her laugh. "It's funny. I always made fun of Rarity for how much she went to the spa for treatments. Now I kinda understand why she liked it so much."

"Yeah, that's her thing." Spike said with an almost dull tone.

Rainbow noticed the change in his voice, making her sit up in curiosity. "Hey, so... What did happen with you and Rarity by the way. I mean... You know. You always wanted to-

"Not gonna happen." Spike quickly answered. "She made it pretty clear many times she doesn't feel the same way. All I am is her little 'Spikey wikey' as she says. She obviously isn't interested in a "baby dragon" as everyone sees me."

"Oh..." Rainbow laid her ears down against her head, feeling bad for bringing up what seemed like a touchy subject for him. She always knew that he had a crush on Rarity since he first moved to Ponyville. She also knew how Rarity also treated Spike like was was just a little baby most of the time despite him being there for a few years.Before she was about to change the conversation, something started to not make sense inside her head. "Hey Spike, how... old are you actually? I never really knew your real age."

Spike didn't answer as massaged her wing for a few more strokes before releasing his grip. "So how does that feel now? Better?"

Rainbow sat silent for a moment, unsure why he was hesitant on answering. Not wanting to push her luck, She shifted her wing a few times to test the pain. To her relief, only a few small pricks of pain travelled up her wing base. "Yeah, it's much better. Thanks Spike."

"Don't mention it." Spike said with a smile. As he turned up to the sky though, he frowned when he saw the sun dropping beneath the skyline in the distance. "Looks like we won't be going much longer now."

"Yeah. And... Even if it was lighter, I'm not sure how much longer I could go with this wing." Rainbow propped herself on her elbows and tucked her wings to her side. "Feels like it's getting colder now too."

"Don't worry, I'll start a fire real fast." Spike got up and walked over to the nearby trees. "Just rest. You've done more than your fair share of the work today."

Breaking off a few low hanging branches, Spike piled them up until he had a large stack in his arms and carried them back to the center of the clearing. Building up a small group, he took a deep breath and belched out a stream of fire to ignite the wood. Rainbow couldn't help but grin at the sight.

"Heh, gotta say, at least you don't have to worry about going somewhere and you're food getting cold."

"Yeah, you got that right." Spike said with a chuckle as he sat back onto the ground next to the bag he had carried with him from Canterlot. Opening it up, he pulled out a bottle of water and a pair of sandwiches.

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of food. Her mouth immediately began to water, along with her stomach emitting a loud growl. Not eating all day was now showing off the side effects of skipping her meals. Spike noticed her staring and laughed.

"Would you like a sandwich, Rainbow?" Spike asked her, already handing the sandwich her direction.

Almost ripping the food from his grip, Rainbow wolfed down the sandwich so fast she nearly ate plastic wrapping that covered the bread. Hardly even taking her time to chew, she had completely finished her entire meal before Spike had time to even finish his first bite. "Wow..." Spike said wide eyed, "if I knew you were that hungry, we could have stopped earlier to eat."

Blushing slightly from his words, Rainbow wiped her mouth clean of crumbs. "Sorry about that. I didn't realize I was until we stopped."

"Here..." Spike reached over to the water on the ground and passed it her direction. "You want some of this too?"

Nodding, Rainbow grabbed the bottle with her good wing and pulled it towards her. Placing the base between her hooves, she twisted off the cap with her feather before popping off the top. Taking a few gulps, she shut her eyes in the pleasure to feeling the water soothe her dry throat.  Pulling the tip away, she licked her lips to catch the few stray drips that fell out before handing the bottle back. "Thanks again."

"No prob." Spike said as he took the bottle back from her. Reaching back into the bag, Spike fumbled around for a moment before he pulled out a small blanket. "Here, you can use this."

Rainbow sat still for a moment, amazed at the selflessness Spike was showing her. "But... this is yours. You don't have to give me that. I'm alright for now."

Spike shook his head in defiance. "Don't worry about it. I'm okay without it."

Without letting her answer, Spike walked to her sides draped the blanket over rainbows back. A light blush spread across her cheeks at the kind act that her friend was giving her. All these different provisions that he had originally taken for himself he was now offering her for her own comfort. Not even a single one of the stallions she had been with before had ever shown this amount of generosity towards her, and this was coming from a young drake she had known as a friend.

But was he a simple young dragon she thought he was? She had known Spike for the two years he had lived in Ponyville and had watched him change. While he hadn't changed in size, which was still bugging her in the back of her mind, she had seen him grow up emotionally and mentally. He always showed respect to everypony around him. Never once had she seen him purposely try to take advantage of another to benefit himself, and he never gave up on somepony else.

'Just like me...' She whispered to herself.

"Uh... Rainbow?"

"Huh?" Rainbow suddenly came back into consciousness, seeing Spike giving her a questionable look. "What's up?"

"You were just staring at me for a little bit. Was a little weird."

"Oh. Uh..." Rainbow scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. I just spaced out for a bit. I..."

Rainbow trailed her words off when she saw the item Spike had in his claws. "Is... Is that the book?"

Indeed, it was the same book that revealed the secret of Crimson Flames. Spike nodded as he stepped over by Rainbows side and sat down. "Yeah. I grabbed it so I could look through it for anything. Anything that could help with Twilight."

"Thats really smart actually. Did you find anything so far?"

"Well... No." Spike disappointedly responded, "I read through the part of that Crimson Flames over and over again last night, but I couldn't find anything more than we already know."

Rainbow frowned hearing that, hoping there could be more they could do. "There has to be more in that book about him, like... I don't know, ways to turn off the flames or something."

"I didn't see it. I can check again real quick." Flipping open the book, Spike skimmed through the pages, going past dozens of strange things as he looked for the right one. "Let's see; the mirror pool, Gate of Tartarus, Sword of Shadows... Ah, here. Unnatural beings."

Looking over his shoulder, Rainbow noticed the first creature that was featured in the book, the sight of him bringing a scowl to her face. "What in the hay? Why would Discord be in a book like this?"

"He is pretty weird, Rainbow." Spike answered with a shrug.'"Kinda does match him."

"Yeah... I guess that's true. What else is here?"

"We have this one guy..." Spike flipped the page to reveal the section of Aligon, the dragon hybrid. "This is the one the Princess mentioned. She said that Crimson found out about him and used this idea on himself. That's why he turned into... Whatever he made Twilight."

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth in anger at the thought of her friend being compared to these monsters from an old book. "What does it say about him? Maybe if there is a tip to stopping him, we can use that also."

"I checked already..." Spike quietly answered, his eyes slowly looking up at hers. "Starswirl killed him."

Rainbow's eyes widened in shock at hearing that. "Just killing him? No, there has to be more than that, because we aren't going to do that to Twilight!"

"I know. I would never even consider doing that. I don't care what this book says, because I won't believe there isn't a way to save her." Spike sternly answered. "I mean, who knows, maybe this book only gives part of the story. It never mentioned anything about Crimson being Princess Celestia's student."

That was a good point that Rainbow never thought about. "Hmm, you have a really good point there. Also, how do we know everything in here is even true? What kind of other things are in there?"

"Well..." Spike looked back down to the book and skimmed a few parts until he came to a section he hadn't read before. "Here's one. Fenrir; the wolf of the west. This creature was one of the ancient beings before time was written. He-

"Woah woah, wait a sec..." Rainbow cut him off,  "How in the hay would they know if he was before time if it wasn't written?"

Spike sat quiet for a moment as he thought about it himself, "Huh, that is true. How would the author know about something before time? Then it says he was stronger than the greatest of dragons, and blood was his ally."

Rainbow couldn't help but laugh at hearing that. "What? A wolf stronger than dragons? That's hard believing even if it said than a small dragon. And what in the world does it mean blood is his ally?"

"I have no idea. It then talks a little about him ruling the world, until he was defeated and sealed. It doesn't mention how, when or where." Spike flipped to the next page to see what this thing was supposed to look like, but to his surprise was met with nothing. "There isn't even a picture of him."

"See? What did I tell you?" Rainbow patted her chest in applause to herself. "If that thing doesn't even make sense, how do we even know this thing is honest or not?"

"You do have a point, Rainbow. Let's see another." Spike turned a few more pages until he came to one that caught his eye. "Woah, this ones different. Telnara: the naga from the north. This monster was the tail of a snake, the body of a pony, the claws of a dragon, and the head of a serpent. She was the pinnacle of beauty for all males, along with the manipulation of their souls. Water was her weapon of choice, it's versatility above all."

Rainbow sat quiet as she listened to Spike talk. While she was never a history fan, some of this stuff was kinda cool to hear. But one part did confuse her though. "Hey Spike, I have one question though."

Spike stopped reading and turned back to her. "Hmm? Did some of her powers confuse you? Don't worry, I don't really-”

"Well..." Rainbow scratched her head again, slightly embarrassed she was going to ask this. "What does... Versatility mean?"

"Oh..." Spike couldn't help but chuckle, which brought a slight blush across her face. "It means it can be used so many different ways. But like you mentioned earlier, maybe this book isn't as good as we thought on some things."

Rainbow perked her ears up in excitement hearing that. "Really?"

"Yeah. I read the rest about her, and like the last one, it doesn't mention how, when or where she was beaten. And no picture again."

"Really? Huh... I thought that would have been pretty cool to see what it looked like actually." Rainbow leaned back away from him and looked up to the sky, realizing that it was night now." Wow, time flew by pretty quick, didn't it?"

Spike looked up as well, taking note of the thousands of stars that dotted the dark sky. "Yeah, I didn't even realize it because the fire next to us." Closing the book, he slid it back inside of the bag and let out a long yawn. "Maybe we should get some sleep. There isn't anything we can do now."

"Yeah, I'm a little tired too." Rainbow moved herself around underneath the blanket, relishing in the warmth it gave her. When she looked back up however, she felt a wave of guilt come over her when she saw Spike shiver slightly. "Spike, don't you want your blanket back? You're gonna catch a cold out like that."

"No, it's okay Rainbow, I'll be fine. You can use it."

Despite his words, Rainbow could see him rubbing his claws over his shoulders to warm them up. Suddenly, an idea came in her head which caused her body to quickly heat up itself. 'I mean... I could do that. It would be best... And we're just friends.' She quickly told herself.

"H-hey Spike..." She stuttered out, confused why she was having trouble just asking it. "If you want we can... You know... Share the blanket."

Spike lifted his head and turned around to face her, his eyes wide and a light pink blush across his cheeks. "Sh-share!? No no, I'm okay. I wouldn't want to take some of it away from you."

"It's plenty big Spike. Besides, it is yours anyway, you should keep warm at least." Using her wing, Rainbow lifted up the side to her chest, "come on."

Spike simply sat still for a few seconds as he stared at her. Sure, he always had a huge crush on a Rarity when he first met her, but he never really told anypony before that he also had a small attraction to Rainbow Dash… and Applejack, but that wasn’t the point right now. Her toned, slender body was much better than half the mares in Ponyville could dream of, and her beautiful hair always made him smile. Not only that, but he also found her energetic and positive personality fun, and not grating at all.

'Well... She probably just wants to share. She doesn't feel anything for me I bet.’

Nodding his head he stood up and walked over, he grabbed the blanket and laid down on the ground next to her with his back facing her. The problem was he attempted to stay on the very edge of the covers to where his stomach was still exposed. While she was a little nervous of being so close at first, Rainbow would not let Spike suffer the cold just so she could stay warm. Unfurling her good wing, she wrapped it around his shoulder and pulled him closer in.

"H-hey! What are you doing?" Spike quickly asked as he felt himself slide across the dirt.

"Relax, I'm just sharing a blanket." Rainbow pulled him until he was almost against her chest before she relaxed her grip in him. "There, that better?"

Spike had to admit, laying under the blanket was much better the. Sitting outside. But perhaps the best feeling for him was the warm feathers that draped over his body. Rainbows long wing felt more than just a second cover to him. It was the warmth of somepony close to him, which felt better than anything else at the moment. As she began to pull it away, he quickly grabbed the end of her feathers and held it there.

"Rainbow... Would you mind if... You kept your wing like this?"

Rainbow felt her face grow very warm from the question. Having him close like this was already more than she expected, but cuddling was not something she had planned on at all. But... She did like the feeling of being close to another at the moment. "Sure."

Wrapping her feathers back around, she encircled him until she completely covered his back. She was actually surprised by the warmth of his scales against her, almost like there was a fire inside of him. 'Being a dragon, there probably is.' She joked to herself.

"I'm not a baby dragon." Spike suddenly said.

"Eh... What?" Rainbow asked, a little caught off guard from the sudden statement.

"I'm not a baby like everypony thinks I look like. I am older than that." Spike sighed as he shifted in the dirt. "Just because I look like this doesn't mean I'm that age."

Rainbow tilted her head in curiosity, since this is what she asked him earlier. "Well, how old are you?"

Spike gave out a loud sigh before rolling over to his other side to face Rainbow. His eyes gave a look of frustration, and that of sadness. "I'm seventeen."

"What!?" Rainbow yelled out in complete shock from hearing that. "Y-you're seventeen!? But how... I mean...  You look..."

"Twilight was five years old when she hatched me. She's twenty two now. She grew up... But I am stuck looking like this." Spike’s eyes looked towards the ground in disappointment. "We tried talking even to Princess Celestia about it, but she doesn't know why I'm not growing anymore.Twilight decided it was best just to say I was a baby dragon to everypony else. Now I am stuck looking like this for who knows how long."

Rainbow sat open mouthed for a little bit, stunned at the fact she just learned of him. Now she realized why he acted so much older than he looked compared to the other fillies and colts around the town. Seeing him having to deal with everypony treating him like a baby would be frustrating for anyone. Reaching out with her hoof, she turned his cheek so that he looked right into her eyes, giving in a warm smile. "You are more grown up than any baby I know. And I know you definitely aren't one."

Spike couldn't help but smile at what she said to him. Closing his eyes, he leaned in and laid his head against her chest, causing Rainbow to blush out like crazy. Looking down, she was thankful he couldn't see the redness on her cheeks. Her heart was beating like crazy with him this close to her, causing her to be confused with herself. 'wait, why am I so nervous with him like this? We're... We're just friends. We aren't like... That.' She sternly told herself

After a moment of feeling him against her fur however, she couldn't help but realize she liked the comfort of him this close. Closing her eyes as well, she lowered her head and rested it against his forehead, smiling at the warmth in her chest. 

"Goodnight."

Both of them stayed in that position, for the first time in the last few days finding a small amount of comfort before drifting off to sleep.
> Burn It All
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flying high above the ground, Luna glided through the dark night sky. Her dark armor reflected the moonlight from above, making her appear to be a shooting star as the past over the large clouds. While looking like a beacon of hope however, her mind was far from that idea. Not that she didn't want that, but it was that she didn't know if it could happen.

Shaking her head, Luna banked downward and settled down on top of a large cloud beneath her. As she tucked her wings into her side, she stomped her hooves several times before sitting down on her rump. Levitating her helmet off her head, Luna brought her hoof up and rubbed the side of her head.

"How am I supposed to decide between what to do?" She mumbled to herself.

Ever since she left the city, Luna's mind was in a scramble of conflicting ideals over what to do. In truth, she truly did not want to bring harm to Twilight. The young mare was a true friend to her, and was a victim in this entire scenario. In truth, all of this was her sisters fault because of that student she had taken in all those years ago. Luna could still see the orange pony back on the very first day he walked through the doors to the castle.

"Crimson..." She said with a sneer.

The moment Crimson Flames was brought into the castle, Luna felt a shiver crawl up her spine just from his presence. There was something dark flowing through his heart, and whatever it was she wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. Why her sister even wanted to bring a pony like that to train was beyond any logical reason Celestia tried coming up with. All Luna was ever told was that a damaged pony like this  could be trained to be something 'great' or whatever that meant. All that Luna knew was that she never expected the damage that would be caused by his power. And now, Twilight was being taken down the dark path as well.

But helping a Twilight was something that may be too late now. She saw the transformation that had taken over Twilight's body, the exact same that Crimson had undertaken when he had fused his body with his dark sorcery. From everything that they had been able to learn, there was no reversing the process to which he had become. Now that Twilight had been forced into that form, there was no way to undo it to make her body normal once more. The only chance was to save her mentally.

If not though, there was only one other option to do.

Turning her head around, Luna stared at the Sword of Shadows strapped to her back. The great weapon was something shown to both her and Celestia back when they were still students to Starswirl. They were told the blade was conjured of the darkest of sorcery, it's power claimed to slice through the mountains. Never was the sword demonstrated to them however, since Starswirl said it would be dangerous for them to be next to it unsheathed.

'Only the true masters of magic are able to wield the blade and control it...' Starswirls voice said inside of Luna's head. 'If you do not have the strength of mind and will, the power of this sword will consume you. Only when the time is right will you be ready for it.'

Now, after over sixteen hundred years, Luna felt she was ready to prove to her master what she had become. And now she wanted to test it herself. 

Looking down to the land beneath her, she noticed the collection of trees to the left. Deciding that was a good opportunity, she leaped off the cloud and quietly glided down towards the ground. As she touched down to the dirt, she laid her eyes upon the tall oak trees standing over seventy feet in the air. Their bases must have been at least eight feet thick each, a challenge for anypony to get through. 

"Alright, let's see what those warnings were for..." Luna said before taking a deep breath. 

Her magic grasped the hilt of the sword, sliding the steel out of the sheath until the tip slipped out of the case. Seeing the entire sword for the first time, Luna couldn't help but stare in awe to the weapon. Despite being solid black, the blade shined against the moonlight above, giving a near perfect reflection to its shape. What caught her attention the most was the edge itself; even after over a century sitting idle, the sharp side was so fine it was easily in match with the thinnest razor. 

Giving a small swing, Luna was amazed as a glowing blue aura drifted out in the wake of the blade. The strange power danced in the wind and seemed to physically distort the air itself. It was unlike anything she had seen before. 

"Wow..." Luna whispered to herself, "so this is the power that Starswirl wielded." Looking up, she raised the sword above her head as she focused on the tree in front of her. Brought it back before giving it a powerful swing.

The sword rushed forward and slashed through the trunk of the large tree as if it was butter. Luna couldn't help but grin at the sight of the swords power. Before the tree even fell though, her eyes shot open in shock as the next two trees behind the first suddenly fell, realizing the swords aura rushed past and cut right through them. Her mouth fell as the massive trunks toppled over, crashing into the other nearby trees before they fell to the ground. Her eyes drifted down to the sword in her grasp, seeing what this sword was capable of.

Then it hit her.

Luna felt a strange sensation almost crawling under her skin. It was like a cold wind whisking through her fur, but instead it was in her veins. She could tell it was the aura oozing out from the sword and seemingly trying to bond with her. "This happened from just one swing. Is this why he always warned us about it?" Luna questioned herself. 

Deciding she had seen enough, Luna slipped the sword back into its sheath, immediately cutting off the odd feeling over her. Sitting quietly for a few moments, she took a deep breath clearing her head. "What kind of power is this that Starswirl used against that beast Aligon? Could a normal unicorn handle this level of-

A massive blast of fire in the distance cut off Luna's thought. She looked up above the tree line and watched as a column of flames and smoke grow up through the clouds, blocking out the stars. "That looks like forty miles to the east. That is..."

Luna's eyes shot open in realization. "That is Hoofington!" 

Unfurling her wings, Luna catapulted off the ground and flew as fast as she could towards the town. While she didn't want to believe it, she knew it was only one thing responsible for whatever was happening.

Or should say, one pony.

---

Screams rang through the night as the ponies ran down the street, fleeing in terror from the growing wall of fire. Seven Hoofington guards quickly gathered in the center of the Main Street as they stared in complete shock at the destruction coming there way. 

"What the heck is that!?" One of the Pegasi to the right yelled out over the roaring flames.

"I don't know, it just came out of nowhere." The other Pegasus responded.



The captain looked forward again as the sound of a loud crash. The town hall was already ablaze, the support beams cracking and crumbling from the intense heat. The entire left side of the building split apart and collapsed down to the ground. "What kind of madness caused this to-

The town hall suddenly exploded in a bright blast of heat and flame, wood splintering off in all directions. The guards all jumped back in shock as a large chunk of the front door shot towards them. A few more seconds past before the light faded, revealing to them the one responsible walking their direction.

Twilight Sparkle casually stepped through the decimated building, smiling deviously to the group of ponies staring at her. Her burning mane flickered amongst the columns of fire around her, seemingly blending all together making one massive flame. 

"So, what do we have here? Someponies choosing to stand in my way?" Twilight chuckled as she stepped down to the street. "Not the smartest I should say though."

The group of guards all stared in disbelief to the bleached unicorn staring down at them, her blood red eyes seeming to pierce their souls. After a moment of shock, the captains eyes narrowed in anger to the pony as he stepped forward. 

"Who are you and why have you attacked our home?" He demanded.

"Well, I was just passing through, but your town got in my way." Twilight said with a smirk. "Sometimes you just need to clear your path to move forward."

Hearing that statement sent a pulse of anger flowing through the captains veins. "Is that all we are to you? Are we just pieces of rubble compared to whatever kind of freak you are!?"

Twilight's smile slowly fell from her face hearing that word. "A freak? Is that what you think I am?" She took several steps their direction before stomping her hoof to the street, emitting a patch of fire from beneath her. "You are all pieces of rubble compared to me." 

'Heh heh, you are correct Twilight.' Crimsons voice said inside her head. 'If there is one pony alive that has every right to do as she chooses, it's you.'

Smirking once again, Twilight shut her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I am curious on how much magic you did have. From what you told me, that's a lot of magic to try to wield."

'And why would that be of concern for you? For too long you have held back on your power, never pushing past the limits of what you had before. But now there is no reason to do that anymore. You were the one chosen to wield my magic because you are the only one capable of it. And now I want to see you test it.'

Twilight glanced down at her hooves at his statement. "Test it? You mean..." She turned to the group of guards before her, and then the rest of the city behind them. "On all this?"

'Don't be concerned with that stuff Twilight.' Crimson told her with a hint of anger in his tone. 'Remember the pain that you have had to deal with in your past. The years of servitude you gave to that one self proclaimed princess. All these ponies here are guards to her, and will not hesitate to take you out.' 

Twilight's eyes narrowed being reminded of being forced under Celestia's rule. The hundreds of meaningless letters she sent just to show what she was doing to the princess. But now it was different. She had the chance to finally test exactly what she was capable of. An opportunity to unleash the built up power she had been keeping inside, and trying to hide.

But no more.

Smiling, Twilight took a deep breath clearing her head. As she exhaled, thick trails of steam exited her mouth along with a ring of fire sprout up from her hooves. The group of guards all felt their hearts race at the sight in front of them. Never before had they ever seen a pony that gave off such a sinister feel to them. It was as if they were staring at a demon straight from the bowels of Tartarus.

Before they even had a chance to react, Twilight shot off a fireball from her horn right towards them. Scattering out, they barely jumped out of the way as it rushed past them and smashed through a building down the street. Without a second to spare, Twilight launched off the ground in a burst of flames in her wake as she charged like a bull. 

"All of you, scatter!" The captain yelled out.

The five unicorns all teleported to the side out of the way while one of the Pegasi flew up into the air above. The final guard however froze in panic as Twilight slammed into him like a freight train. The stallion yelled out in pain as he was launched through the air and smacked into a light pole behind him, hitting it so hard it bent in half. Before he could even stand up, Twilight's hoof stepped down on his neck plate and pinned him in place.

"You all are nothing compared to me now..." Twilight chuckled as he struggled beneath her, "it's as if you are a simple piece of parchment under me. And when it is given just a little heat... It always burns."

The guards eyes shot open as he felt the metal underneath her hoof begin to melt onto his skin. He screamed out in pain and tried to flail out of her grasp, but she pushed harder and held him in place. 

"It hurts doesn't it?" Twilight asked with a sneer, "it hurts knowing you are helpless and at the mercy of one over you. This is what I was for so many years until now."

"Get off him now!"

Twilight turned around at the shout to see the rest of the small battalion charging her. Grunting in annoyance, she stepped off the thrashing Pegasi and casually trotted towards them. "Why do you even want to waste the time in trying to stop me?" She paused as her hoof scraped across the stone street, leaving a thin trail of flames in its wake. "Fire consumes all!"

Thrusting her hoof forward, Twilight shot out a massive fireball towards the stunned ponies in front of her. One of the unicorns created a barrier to stop the fire, only to have it shatter instantly to the overwhelming power and envelop his body. The burning stallion screamed as he dropped to the ground and tried to roll out the flames, but the fire was far too much for his form to handle. After a few more seconds, his cries of agony faded to only the burning sound of fur and flesh.

Smiling to herself, Twilight glanced to her right and saw two more unicorns charging their horns before shooting off separate beams. In a mere second, a thick wall of fire rose up from the ground and blocked both attacks, leaving the guards dumbfounded. Twilight couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she watched the fire dance about her in a large circle. "This power is truly incredible. It seems there isn't any limit to it."

'I told you it was something you deserved Twilight...' Crimson said from inside her mind, 'you can do anything with it. Now why don't you really test its limits now? I want to see just how far it can go from an outside perspective.'

Hearing those words seemed to bring about feelings inside of Twilight's chest she didn't even know she had. It felt like a wave of euphoria washed over her mind and gave a thrilling chill inside her burning veins. Her lips curled up into a devious smile as she turned to the remaining guards before her. "Yes, that does sound like a good idea to me."

Thin streams of fire danced around Twilight's horn as she took a step towards the frozen guards, but stopped herself when she noticed a group of ponies attempting to escape the outskirts of the city. "Looks like they don't wish to see my power." She whispered to herself.

'Twilight, they can't be allowed to leave this place.' crimson quickly shouted in her thoughts. 'If they get out, then that means they can warn Celestia about where you are and will come after you.'

Hearing that name caused Twilight's blood to boil in anger, her face scrunching in hatred. "Celestia. That bitch should show up just so I can show her how I feel about her now and-

'You will Twilight. You will have your chance. But now you shouldn't have the annoyance of her getting in our way before we reach our true goal.' 

Calming herself, Twilight then remembered what he had explained to her back when she was inside the cave. There was one specific place that Crimson had told her she should go to truly use the ability she had. A certain mountain sitting on the border of Equestria and Montara, the land of the dragons. Somewhere that she had never even been to before.

"Mount Volvack." She said to herself. 

'Yes. The great volcano resting beyond these borders. It's size will give you enough fire and magma that not even the princesses combined would have the ability to stop you. Due to my foolishness, I wasn't able to control it when my body went out of sync. But I believe that won't be the case with you. I sense the the magic inside your body blending perfectly with your form. Your own body and magic are a perfect blend to go with this power.'

The compliment only made Twilight snicker to herself as she watched the ponies attempting to escape in the distance. She then looked over to the remaining guards still standing there, too shocked and afraid to move. "Now will be the time to see what I can do."

'You are greater than any living creature, Twilight. The power of both me and the Phoenix flow through your veins. Nothing is a match to your strength.'

A thick column of fire rose up from behind Twilight as her horn burned brighter, lighting up even more than the buildings ablaze around them. Hers eyes flickered in excitement of knowing she was truly free of control now. "As you told me earlier Crimson, a Phoenix dies in flames and is reborn through ash. Perhaps I should cleanse this place through fire as well ."

---

Rainbow Dash's eyes slowly fluttered open as she lifted her head from the dirt. It took a few seconds for her to adjust her eyes before she was able to to use clearly, looking up to the stars above the trees. She always hated waking up in the middle of the night, but it was a habit she always had. Grunting, she attempted to roll over to her back, but felt her hooves caught on something and-

"Oh..." Her cheeks heated up when she remembered what, or better yet, who it was she was next to.

Looking back to her side, she stared down at Spike curled up to her chest. Her eyes lowered down and widened when she realized his arms had snaked their way over and around her barrel. Her first reaction was a little annoyed thinking he was trying to get a little frisky... But she couldn't say anything since her own forelegs and wings were wrapped around him.

"Uhhh...." Rainbow was a little confused in what would be the best thing to do. She wanted to get him off and make him sleep without touching. But... She also relished in the feeling of him so close and warm, brushing her fur up against his rough yet seemingly gentle scales. But more than the warmth, it was the comfort of having somepony to be next to. While he may have been a dragon, that wasn't the issue though.

Were these sudden feelings inside brought up from these events the last few days? She couldn't tell. What she did know was he was beginning to feel like more than just a friend to her. 'Well, he isn't that young...' The said to herself, 'he's so nice and caring whenever he talks to me or anypony else. He also always helps and-

She stopped herself when she realized what she was doing. 'Am I making a checklist on him? Is that normal for a pony to do if they... Gah! Why does this feel so weird!?"

"Mmph!"

Rainbows thoughts were cut off by the sudden grunt from Spikes throat. She turned down to see his face scrunched up together, almost like it was a look of fear. She could also feel his body trembling against her, shaking like a filly in a storm. "Spike?" She said out loud.

Spike however didn't respond. Instead, his body only shook more along with his arms tightening their grip. Rainbow sat up in concern of what was happening to him.  "Spike? Spike get up." She put her hoof on his shoulder and gave him a small shake. "Come on buddy this isn't funny."

Her shaking didn't wake him up however. In fact, it only seemed to make it worse. His breath began coming in quick gasps between his convulsions, causing his body to lurch against her. Rainbow began growing scared when she noticed his scales beginning to turn a deeper purple. "Oh my gosh he isn't breathing! Spike come on, get up!" Grabbing his shoulders, Rainbow was nearly lifting him off he dirt as she shook him. "Spike! SPIKE!"

Suddenly, Spikes eyes shot open as he threw himself off of Rainbow Dash. He crawled up to his knees and put his claws up to his chest as if he had just had a heart attack, breathing hard as he stared blankly to the ground. Rainbow watched him with concern as he sat there, confused what the heck had just happened. After a moment she sighed when she  noticed his scales began returning to their normal tone.

"Jeez, don't scare me like that Spike..." She mumbled as she stood up and trotted over to him. "That must have been a crazy nightmare for you to-

"Twilight..." Spike cut her off.  "It was Twilight."

Rainbow sat open mouthed for a few moments before shaking her head and putting a hoof to his back. "Look, I know its rough right now Spike. You had a night are so strong with her that you felt it was real."

"No, it wasn't a nightmare!" Spike snapped back at her, "It was Twilight! It's the same feeling I was having yesterday, but it was much stronger this time. Then I saw fire burning a city, and I could hear ponies screaming in the distance. It was like..." He turned up to her with a look of pain in his eyes. "...Like I was there."

Standing off the ground, Spike turned to his left and felt his chest tighten once again. He clutched his scales as his heart felt like it was doing flips inside, as if it was giving him a sign.

"That way!" He shouted as he pointed that direction. "She is that way."

"What?" Rainbow raised her eyebrow in confusion to his sudden sense in direction. "How do you know she is that way?"

"Trust me, I know she is that way!" Spike ran over and grabbed the small bag he kept the book in, not even grabbing the blanket in the dirt. "We have to go now!"

While she didn't know what gave him such a sudden urge like this, Rainbow decided to let his gut instinct lead the way. She leaned down and let him hop on her back and then kicked off the dirt. As soon as they raised above the trees though, she froze in the air when she saw orange glow in the distance. Neither needed a second look to know what it was that was causing it. 

The unmistakable light from fire.

---

Luna's heart raced inside her chest like the drums of war. She pumped her wings harder and faster, racing through the clouds towards the city of Hoofington as fast as she could. The entire time she was flying, she could see the large blasts of fire constantly lighting up the sky as she came closer, making her worry even more.

"Please, please make it in time." She said to herself between her gasps for air, "I won't let history repeat itself."

She pushed herself faster and faster, whipping through the clouds so fast she began pulling them in her wake. She only had one more small mountain standing between her and the city. She felt a small glimmer of hope when she began flying over the top, so close to her destination. The moment she came over the top however, her wings nearly froze to her sides to the sight before her.

"No, it... It can't be..." She stuttered in horror.

Every single building in Hoofington was burning in what looked like a single massive inferno. Several buildings had already collapsed into piles of embers, smoldering up as if they were simple twigs to the scorching blaze. "No, this couldn't have... No." She was in too much shock to even speak clear.

Luna slowly lowered her body closer towards the decimated city, already feeling the intense heat even though she was so high above the fire. Her eyes then noticed something that made her heart nearly stop. Not even ten feet outside of the city was a massive ring of burnt in a perfect ring around the perimeter. "That fire has already burnt itself out, meaning it was some of the first flames out. That means..."

The princess clenched her eyes shut in anger to what she realized had happened. Twilight had made a wall of fire outside the city, trapping all the ponies inside. With nowhere to go, they were helpless to do anything to what had come next.

"No. This can't be happening." Luna clenched her teeth together in anger, furious she was too late to do anything. Several tears fell down her cheeks knowing she did nothing while this had happened. "Twilight, how could you have fallen so far?"

Opening her eyes again, Luna stared down to the lost city beneath her. She was too afraid to go any closer, knowing there was nothing she could do now. After a few seconds, her eyes narrowed in fury in thought to who she knew was the one responsible. "Damn it all. Damn it all!"

In a bright flash, Luna teleported away from the city and far off into the night, knowing exactly where her target was heading next.

Several minutes of silenced past in the sky, only the gentle breeze whipping by. Then through the darkness, a new form flew through the air towards the city. Coming through a patch of clouds, the Pegasus mare Rainbow froze in flight when she laid her eyes upon the wreckage of Hoofington. "Oh my gosh..." She gasped as she put a hoof to her mouth.

Slowly descending to the ground, Rainbow Dash landed on the grass and stared in horror to the destruction. Her mouth fell open in disbelief to the burning town, her lungs having trouble breathing in while her body was in shock. "How could this... No. Twilight wouldn't do..." 

Rainbow closed her eyes to hold back the tears coming up. While she didn't want to believe it, she knew who was the one who had done this. "How can this be happening? Why is this happening?" She cried out. The sudden weight sliding off her back though caught her attention, making her wipe her eyes dry as she looked to her side. "Spike?"

Not even turning his head to her, Spike slowly walked past Rainbow towards the fire in front of him. He slipped the bag off his shoulder and stopped a dozen feet from the fire. His eyes never blinked as he stared up to the blaze. Then, his eyes grew moist in the realization of everything now. Not only had Twilight set fire to Canterlot, she had now just destroyed an entire city with her power, and the lives of all those here as well.

The one he had loved like a big sister had just killed hundreds of lives in an instant, leaving their home to burn on in the night. He dropped to his knees and dug his claws into the dirt, gasping for air from the tightness in his chest. "Twilight, how could you have done something like this?" He yelled to himself, "How could you just kill all these ponies like this?"

Watching the young drake cry in front of her made Rainbow feel even worse. She knew Spike was far closer to Twilight than any of them were, and to for him to see something like this was much more devastating to his heart. Trotting forward, she attempted to comfort him, but the fire was too hot for her to get any closer and forced her back. Shielding her face with her wing, she got as close as she could before having to stop. 

"Spike, I'm so sorry you had to see something like this." She called out to him,  lThis isn't something Twilight would have done on her own though. You know that."

Hoping he would come back, Rainbow sat there and waited for a response. Instead though, Spikes claws clenched together as he lifted his right arm up and slammed it into the ground. 

"Twilight." Spike growled between his teeth, raising his arm up and slamming it again. "Twilight!"

Rainbow watched in pain as he began hitting the ground over and over again, his claws creating a hole in the dirt.  "Spike, stop, come away from the fire!"

"Twilight! Twilight!" Spike continued to yell as he hit the ground.

"Spike, please stop!" Rainbow pleaded to him. She resisted the intense heat and began walking towards him. "I know you are angry this happened, but please! Let's get back and-

"TWILIGHT!"

Spike slammed down one final time, when suddenly a an explosion of light from his fist engulfed him in a giant of purple column of energy. Rainbow screamed out as she felt herself launched back from the blast before she skidded across the grass. Coughing from having the wind knocked out of her, she crawled back up to her hooves and looked back up. "What the hay was that!?" She shouted as she looked back up where Spike was.

The next moment, the bright aura vanished, but what remained was something that made Rainbows eyes widen in shock and her mouth drop open. "Sp-Spike?"
> Into the Heart
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group of mares ran thorough the thick trees of the forest, trying to keep pace with the bouncing pink pony in front. All of them were panting at the high pace she had kept for the last four hours.

"Pinkie, could you please slow down!?" Fluttershy yelled out from the back of the group.

"Nope, can't talk! Can't talk!" Pinkie rapidly shot out between her hops. "Pinkie sense crazy! I feel it I feel it!"

"What in tarnation are ya talking about pinkie? Just stop for one minute, please!" Applejack shouted.

Pinkie Pie growled in frustration but skidded herself to a stop. The other 4 mares all came to a halt as well, sweating and panting to try and catch their breath. Applejack coughed several times to clear her throat. "Dag nabbit Pinkie, what's gotten into ya!?" She snapped out in frustration, "y'all been acting more hyper than a rabid squirrel!" 

Pinkie Pie began spinning in quick circles on the spot. "Pinkie sense going bonkers! The doozies are getting stronger!"

"But if ya think that is getting stronger, why didn't ya say anythin' earlier!?" Applejack growled at her.

"Yes, can you please let us know next time?" Fluttershy said between her gasps. She sat down on her haunches to rest her sore legs. "Can we take a break for a little bit, please?" 

"Yes, a break is just what we need!" Rarity said in relief, eying the broken sticks and leaves stuck inside her mane. "Look at this atrocity at what has happened to me! I knew I should have packed my bag to bring along with me." 

Applejack cast a glare in Rarity's direction hearing that. "With all the things happening now, how can a makeup bag come in yer mind of things to bring?"

"Well how can it not come into consideration? If I am to see Twilight I should be looking my best!"

"Lookin' yer best is the least of our worries, rarity!" 

"Well sorry if I am concerned in appearance! I can't help myself, alright!?" Rarity snapped back, frowning as she pulled out the loose twigs in her hair.

Sighing, Applejack trotted over to her friend. "Sorry Rar, it's just ah'm so worried at what is happening to Twilight. And I'm not the one who is worried the most."

All of them turned back toward Twilight Velvet, the elder mare standing by herself looking up toward the dark sky. The entire time since leaving the castle she had not said a word to any of them, making them grow concerned for her well being. To their surprise however they saw something in her eyes they did not expect. She showed no sign of pain or sorrow, but only a single look.

Nothing.

No expression, no guilt, nothing but a blank face.

Fluttershy glanced to the others in confusion before walking towards Violet. "Miss Violet, are... You alright?"

Violet sat silent for several moments before she turned towards Fluttershy. "We are heading towards the dragons homeland."

The four young mares, especially Fluttershy, gave gasps of shock hearing that. None of them had any idea where they were going, only following where Pinkie Pie said she felt her senses going off at. 

"D-dragons!?" Fluttershy whimpered out, "but what if we meet a dragon there?"

"Agreed, that would not be the best thing to happen!" Rarity said, having strong memories of the small time spent in the dragon homeland during the last dragon migration. "I can't believe I'm going back to that place since I went there with Rainbow and Twilight for... For..." Her voice trailed off realizing who she was saying.

She had originally gone to the dragon homeland with Rainbow and Twilight after Spike had left to see his own kind. By coincidence, all three of them were gone or missing at this time as well, sending a wave of guilt through her heart. 

"Miss violet..." Applejack questioned the elder mare, "How do ya know this is the right way we're goin' to the dragon homeland?"

Twilight Velvet shut her eyes and took several steps forward. "Going directly east from Canterlot  leads to only one place. Montara, the dragons territory. It's only a hundred miles away from where we were this morning, and ends up at the landmark separating the two borders."

"Landmark? What landmark?" Rarity asked.

"The volcano Mount Volvack. " Velvet responded. Suddenly, a small smile made its way to her muzzle and she laughed. "I still remember all those times Twilight would sit there at the dinner table reading off facts to us. The exact distance from Canterlot to Manehatten. I can still see her sitting there."

---
seventeen years ago

Twilight Velvet trotted over to her kitchen sink as she levitated her pot under the faucet. She quietly hummed to herself while the water filled up before she shut it off and made her way to the small stove. She looked over to the table and couldn't help but smile to the sight.

Twilight Sparkle, barely over seven years old, sat at the table staring down into a book nearly as big as herself. The young filly sat engrossed in glee to the giant encyclopedia in front of her. "Hey mom, did you know that dragons have no age limit? Nopony knows how old they can get!"

"Hmm, I didn't know that sweetie." Velvet answered as she poured her vegetables into the pot. "Why don't you put that away so we can get ready for dinner? Your brother and father are going to be here soon."

"I can't believe dragons live only a hundred miles from us. There home is so close that they could fly here all the time if they wanted. Wouldn't that be crazy, mom!?" Twilight ecstatically asked.

"Oh I don't think that would be fun, Twilight. A big dragon would be pretty frightening to see here. Now I know it is fun to read, but-

"Mount Volvack is so big that Canterlot can fit in its top! I wonder if I'll ever see it someday!"

---

Taking a deep breath, Velvet came back to the present and turned back to the other girls. "I can still see my little girl everyday when I wake up. I know she's in there."

A few seconds later, the suns rays began to slowly creep its way over the horizon, lighting the sky from the mystic dark blue to the majestic gold shine. They all looked at the brightening light, all watching in awe as the sun began to creep over the large mountains in the distance.

"If what I remember from Twilight is right, we are twenty miles from the volcano. That is the same one Princess Celestia said her student used in the past..." Velvet felt her skin shiver at the thought of some mad pony crawling inside her daughters mind.  "I have never been strong in believing in fate, but I may have to change my ways today."

Velvet began walking towards the distant mountains, especially eyeing the very large one silhouetted behind them. "If there is only one place to where she is going. It has to be there."

---

The bright rays of the sun began to illuminate the interior of Celestia's bedroom. Shadows shrank smaller and smaller until they were mere patches scattered through the large bed chamber. The golden painted bed frame glittered in the bright light and created beautiful patterns across the wall. It felt so rich and warm inside that nothing felt off inside. The only problem was something was in fact off.

Celestia stood outside on her patio overlooking the large city of Canterlot. Her eyes however sat staring into the distance beneath the rising sun in the east, her alicorn eyes able to see the great volcano dwarfing all nearby mountains. She couldn't help but imagining the sun rising from the peak as if it were a massive lava ball exploding out from the top. Releasing a small sigh, she turned and walked back into her private room and cast a soundproof ward over her walls.

It was nothing new to her that Twilight Velvet and the element bearers had snuck out of the palace the night before. She also knew the guards had simply allowed them to leave as well, something she had expected from the beginning. As soon as word got out about what had happened with Twilight being the one responsible for the damage to the city, the entire royal guard grew suspicious of what was going on. It made matters worse that the guards she had ordered to attack Twilight were spreading the news of what happened inside the castle before her rampage in the streets.

"Distrust..." Celestia mumbled to herself, "I knew this would happen when they learned of what happened." Turning back behind her she shut the door, enveloping the entire room into blackness other than her glowing horn. She clicked the lock shut to ensure she wouldn't be seen at what she was about to do. 

Lifting up a small chest from the side of the room, she shut her eyes in preparation to doing this again. Opening up the lid, she levitated a round green gem the size of an orange, lifting it out and setting it into the center of the room. She stepped back from it and took a deep breath. "Once again..." She whispered.

Charging magic at the tip of her horn,  she shot out a small stream of magic at the strange artifact, causing  it to begin spinning on the carpet. It glowed brighter and brighter each second, illuminating the entire room. Releasing her magic, Celestia watched as the item continued to spin on its own as she began reciting the needed words.

"From the skies high above to the ground far below, the life blood of all will always flow. While flesh will rot and bones will fall, the souls of the dead will be there to call. Come to me the one I need, give me sight of your conscious seed."

In a bright flash, the gem shattered into thousands of small shards that seemed to float in the air, circling a single thing that Celestia stared at in awe. It was not the gem she was looking at, but in fact a figure that she had known from the earliest days of her youth. A stallion she would regard for all of her days as her savior.

Starswirl.

The legendary Mage was standing right in front of her, his gray coat hidden mostly by the blue, star covered cloak over his body. Even his long beard hung down beneath his bright yellow eyes like it always remembered it being. He was a spitting image of what he always had been.

But he was just an image.

Bowing her body down, Celestia lowered her head nearly to the floor. "It's good to see you again, master." She said.

Starswirl looked around the room for a moment before he turned back to his former student. "Your room hasn't changed much since the last time. It hasn't been long, has it?" He asked her, his voice filled with disappointment. 

Celestia looked to the side in guilt at the truth to what he was saying. "It's been about a year since I used the soul gem."

"Ah, back when Luna returned from the moon you locked her on, wasn't it?" He asked in annoyance. "It feels like this has become a habit for you to use this for whatever comes your way now despite what I warned you about the soul gem."

Celestia winced to his words that came out of his mouth, for what she was doing was perhaps one of the most restricted forms of magic in the entire kingdom.

The soul gem was an ancient relic from the beginning of time, able to communicate with the souls of the departed. The black magic revived their conscious minds to be able to physically speak to the user, even if they have been dead since the beginning of time. While it may appear to be a simple form of talking to the departed souls of loved ones, this magic can be used to uplift the souls of those of any race, able to recover information about their enemies and perhaps even use the gem to bring back the souls to show their prisoners their past loved ones to force them to give them what they want. Most importantly however, the gem is a curse to those who abuse it, unable to move on with their life as they refuse to move on in life and stare at their lost love.

"I know that you always warned Luna and I from using the gem for the wrong reasons. That's why you had it locked inside the castle in the first place."

"Alright, I understand my princess." Starswirl answered solemnly. "So what have you been up to? Has that foal you wanted come yet?"

Celestia's face scrunched in pain to the question he asked, not wanting to be reminded. Starswirl saw her look however. "Ah, so it still won't happen, will it?"

"No, but I thank you for your concern . This however is not some simple news to inform you of to why I summoned you. I am in need of your wisdom once more."

"And to seek knowledge you call upon me for help. I thought you would go to your sister now." Starswirl said to her.

"Luna isn't here, and that is due to the reason I summoned you once more." Celestia clenched her teeth together in frustration, still struggling with herself to the situation she was in. "Do you remember all those years ago? My first student Crimson?"

"Ah yes, the fire possessed one..." Starswirl sighed in curiosity... "I was always wondering how could a pony with so much talent was possessed by a pony like that. It is too bad that had to happen. Why are you mentioning him though? It was such a long time ago." 

"That is the reason I brought you back, master. Do you remember be telling you about my newest student Twilight?"

"Oh yes, the new mare prodigy you have. What does she have to do with this?"

"She..." Celestia clenched her eyes to the facts she was saying. "She is the vessel for Crimsons power I was waiting for."

Starswirls eyes widened in surprise to her words, unable to believe what she just said. "You mean your first student... He's come to possess your newest student after all these years?"

"Yes, I'm sure of it. I saw it with my own eyes." Celestia looked up to him expecting him to be deep in thought, but was shocked to see him smiling. "Do you find this amusing!?" She snapped at him.

Starswirl let out a small chuckle to her outburst. "It seems like destiny has found its way back to your doorstep, Celestia." 

"Destiny? You think it is fate that this is happening to me!?" Celestia stood up from the ground and walked towards the projection of her dead mentor. "You believe that destiny made it so that Luna was to grow jealous her moon was not as loved as the sun and led to her descent into nightmare moon? You make it sound it was all planned out in history!"

"And who says it isn't written already? Your first student, one you said was one of the strongest unicorns ever. Now your newest student happens to be the new strongest unicorn in the world, and yet you act like this wasn't expected to happen. Why don't you realize this is perhaps a chance to make up for the mistake you made all those centuries ago."

"Make up? How is this making up for it?" Celestia asked him.

"Do you remember what I had told you about Aligon, Celestia? A pony that went on a rampage destroying all those towns?" 

"Yes, but what does that have to do with Twilight?"

Sighing, Starswirl leaned his face forward until he nearly touched her muzzle. "He was a crazed monster made from my own blood. He was what you could consider my own reflection cast upon the world. When that creature tried to destroy my land, I engaged him and ended his wrath. I took my sword plunged it straight through his heart."

"I know master, you told both of us that story before. But why are you trying to tell me this? How does-"

Her words froze on her tongue when her mind realized what he was saying. "Master, you don't mean..."

"When there was a pony that threatened the safety of Equestria, I did what was necessary to ensure the survival of my home. Perhaps you should accept that and do the same."

"But wait, there has to be another way! To just kill her its-

"Destiny, Celestia, it's calling for you. You failed to bring yourself and kill your first trial of a student when it almost wiped out Equestria. Now history has repeated itself due to that reason, and unless you do what is right, it will happen again." Starswirls body suddenly began to glow green, signaling his end. "Hmph, seems like time is up again. It's such a shame... Death is truly a boring place. No thought, no hunger, no feeling. Just emptiness."

He looked down at Celestia to see her lying down on her belly with her eyes down, causing him to sigh. "Don't allow personal feeling to cloud your mind, Celestia. You must do what your heart knows is right."

After nearly a minute of silence, Celestia finally responded, but to his confusion it was a laugh. "Heh heh..." Celestia chuckled out loud,  "It seems Luna is copying your own ways of ruling. She even is using your style with your own sword and-

"The sword?" Starswirl suddenly yelled out, his voice filled with more interest than the entire conversation before. "She has taken up the sword of shadows as hers to use?"

"Y-yes, she took it this morning." Celestia answered in confusion. "But why is this important? I was telling you about Twilight and Crimson, what must I do!"

Starswirls body began to glow brighter as the shards started spinning around his form. He stared out in space before his eyes made their way back to Celestia. "I always knew she would be the one to finally unsheathe it. I actually am surprised it took so long to do it, in fact. Now it seems like the doors are really opening."


"Wait, doors? What are you talking about?"

The gem shards were spinning so fast it was hard to see Starswirls body anymore, but a large smile still could be seen. "Luna has chosen her path, and her actions will shape Equestria. Now you must also choose a path and shape yourself a chunk of history. I will see how your choices played out next time we see each other... Goodbye."

Blinding the entire room, the gem shards slammed together into their original shape once again, the single piece of stone having replaced Starswirls body. Falling to the ground, the lone jewel began to lose its bright glow as Celestia stared at the gem as it grew duller and duller before leaving the room in pure blackness. The same feeling as the answer she received.

---

On the far eastern side of Equestria, the once green and colorful landscape that covered the plains slowly began to dwindle the further you went. Trees became more scarce before they were simply charred stumps rising from the ground. Grass was only found in far distance patches until it was non existent at all. Even the soft dirt disappeared entirely, being replaced by coarse sand and hard stone. This was the border to Montara, territory of the dragons.

Ponies knew to stay away from the border due to the hostility of dragons towards other races, but the landscape itself kept them out. Set during the rule of Starswirl, the two countries were separated to determine who owned what land, the dragons of course given the harsher climate due to their resilience to heat. Temperatures on average rose into the triple digits, the intense sun rays baking into the hard ground. Even the air itself felt stale and barren. Nopony enjoyed sitting in this intense land for long.

And yet a single pony made her way into it.

Twilight slowly trotted through Montaras outer edge, her burning mane flickering like a beacon through the night. Her hooves crunched across the dry ground with every step she took closer to her target. Her mind however was focused on something else though. She stopped walking and brought a hoof up to her chest, unsure what it was she was feeling.

'Is something wrong, Twilight?' Crimsons voice echoed inside her head. 'You seem troubled since last night.'

"It's... I don't know. It has been bothering me ever since that village we went through." She responded to him, her mind replaying the villages burning inside her mind.

'Are you troubled by what you did? You cannot let emotion cloud what you are about to do. You did that to keep them from reaching word to Celestia. She would have come and killed you. You know that is the truth.'

Twilight's face scrunched in anger to the memory of her former master. "I know. She would do that, just like she did the other day."

'Yes, and we can't let her do that or we will never complete our task.'

"I just can't explain what it was that i felt last night though. It was after we left, it seemed like something burst inside and is growing stronger. It feels like... Like..." Twilight suddenly pictured a small dragon in her mind, his bright green eyes looking at her with a smile. "Spike."

'It is probably nothing Twilight. You don't wave to worry about anything. We are so close now.' Crimson said with excitement. 'Look.' 

Turning her head up, Twilight laid her eyes upon what was the largest mountain she had ever seen. The base of it was at least nine miles across from one side to the other, large pockets of dried magma still sitting across the face. The large volcano rose over four miles up into the clouds to the highest point. The most interesting part of its features was nearly half of the mountains face had been blown off, leaving a crater over a mile wide down the side. Twilight couldn't help but stare in awe at its sheer mass. 

"It's enormous..." She whispered out loud. 

'Yes, just as large as it was back when I was here...' Crimson said. 'This is it Twilight, we are here.'

Unknowing to Twilight though, crimsons soul was grinning in lustful excitement to the sight of the mountain once more. 'For sixteen hundred years I've sat in limbo.' He said to himself so Twilight couldn't hear. 'I will finally make true all those teachings you gave me. I will make true the promise I made to you, Celestia.'

---

High above the ground, two figures gently flapped their wings as they stared down at the fire unicorn beneath them. Both were small dragons around nine feet tall and dark brown, making sure they kept their bodies hidden in the clouds.

"What do you think, should we go down and see what it is doing here?" One of them asked.

"No, let's not..." The other answered, "there's something that makes me feel strange about this one. That's no ordinary pony down there." 

"It doesn't matter if it was the damn pony princess waking down there, none of them are allowed here."

"Then we go to notify the king of this. Let's go." 

Sighing, the other dragon nodded his head and lifted up from the cloud. Both drakes turned and flew towards the interior of their land, to the master of all dragons.
> Awaken the Volcano
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking up the great mountainside, Twilight's hooves  crunched against the hard ground with each step. Embers puffed out from her hooves with every step higher up the tall face. She looked up to see there was only several hundred feet until she made it to the top.

"So, what am I to expect to see up there?" Twilight asked out loud.

'I would rather not spoil the surprise until you get there yourself, Twilight...' Crimson responded, 'it's best you are the one to see it.'

Nodding to herself, Twilight walked onward towards her goal. Something that caught her attention was the closer she came to the peak, she felt like her power itself was actually growing stronger, swirling inside her body like a bubbling cauldron. While it did feel strange to her, she couldn't help but feel excited by the sensation flowing through her veins. A grin spread across her muzzle when she saw only a few more steps remained.

"Perhaps I can see why I was chosen now." She whispered to herself as she placed her hooves on the final ledge and pulled herself up.

Lying before her was what appeared to be a giant meteor crater instead of a volcano top. The mile wide opening of the crater dropped over five hundred feet down to the lowest point in the center, the outer edge shattered in multiple directions. The inner plain was covered in large waves of hardened lava and dried magma spires. It was like a page was pulled from the fantasy war books she used to read and brought to life. 

'It's quite the sight, isn't it?' Crimson asked her.

"Yes, it's nothing like I had expected to see." Twilight responded. "But staring at scenery isn't why we are here, is it?"

Crimson chuckled at her statement. 'Quite eager, aren't you? Alright then, perhaps it's best to not keep history waiting any longer.' 

Looking down into the large crater, Twilight took note of the single clear spot in the center, almost calling her to it. Charging her magic, she teleported down onto the spot, a small ring of flames bursting out as she landed on the ground. Her burning red eyes looked down, widening in shock to what she saw beneath her. "What... What's that?"

Her eyes pierced straight through the thick stone like it was glass, allowing her to see what appeared to be an ocean of magma flowing deep inside the heart of the volcano. The great center chamber was larger than the very mountain Canterlot sat on, dwarfing it in height and width. Massive rivers of molten rock pumped through the veins of the mountain and down through the base, constantly feeding the single chamber. 

'That Twilight is the very reason you are here. You can sense the very presence of fire because of my powers gifted to you, and it allows you to use it to find energy for your use. While you can create any source you wish, why not use an unlimited pool of power to feed off?'

Twilight stared down at the lava beneath her, feeling the energy pulsing as it passed underneath. "So... This here is the very reason to why we came.'

'No volcano in Equestria is anywhere near this large. In fact no volcano anywhere else in the world is the close to in size. It's the perfect source of power for tapping into. Now it's time for you to do it.'

"To prove exactly what I am worth..." Twilight hissed through her teeth. "Prove how far I have come in strength."

'Yes. I tried doing it in my lifetime, but my powers became unstable and ended up losing to my own magic. Now you have it, and must prove their is no limit to magic. Raise this volcano from its slumber and enter a new age. An age where only the strongest will stand on top.'

Grinning in excitement, Twilight shut her eyes and focused her mind. She could physically feel the lava deep inside the mountain, almost feeling like it was begging to be set free from its prison. She took a deep breath and used her power to grab the lava and pulled.

To her surprise however the lava didn't move.

'You cannot simply pull it like you had done with your power before. The sheer size alone is not something to toss around. You must take control and force it to your will.' Crimson sneered. 'Make it your servant!'

Gritting her teeth, Twilight re gripped the lava and pulled once more. She grunted and ripped with all her might to raise the great pool, already feeling sweat dripping down her brow. "Make it mine..." She growled, "make it mine!"

Her mane began flaring out in all directions, the fire pulsating out every second. She ripped harder at the magma, slowly forcing it through the giant slabs of stone. The more she pulled however, the more it felt like it was going to stay inside mountain.

'Come on, Twilight! You are not going to fail at this are you? Are you going to let yourself not accomplish your goal and allow the princesses to kill you?' Crimson warned her. 'If you let that happen, then all of this is for none, and you will be dead!'

Twilight panted as she pulled harder and harder at the lava, barely creeping it any higher than it was before. Her hooves cracked the ground in all directions beneath her, splintered rock flying up in the air. Rings of fire rushed out in pulsating waves with every pull she gave, yelling out as loud as her lungs would allow.

'Prove right now what you can do. What your power can do. DO WHAT YOU WERE DESTINED TO DO!"

Screaming out one last time, Twilight pulled with everything she had and shattered the crater on all her sides as lava burst through the top. Thousands of gallons of burning earth spewed out through the opening and filled up the crater base, flowing out into large ponds across the area. Twilight panted in exhaustion to having finally broken through the hard surface, opening her eyes to see what she had done.

Melted red earth oozed along the ground beneath her hooves, the waves of heat rushing across her fur like flowing water. Thick smoke rose into the air and darkened the sky. It was just like her dreams that had been holding onto her mind for the past months, forewarning her of what she was going to do to the world she grew up in. Realizing all of this, she only did the one thing that came to her mind.

She smiled.

---

Deep within the dragon domain, the two scouts from the country border flew through the smoke filled sky. The air was always in this condition due to the great lava pits and fires that dotted the landscape below. While most other creatures wouldn't be able to see through such harsh conditions, a dragons sense of sight and smell easily allowed them to fly through pretty much any form of debris or weather patterns and still know where they were going.

Coming through a thick cloud of smoke, the two came into view of the stronghold Vangara, the the great capital of Montara. Built inside of a mountain range, the great stone city covered fifty square miles of land, far larger than any other city in the world. The mountain faces were carved out into a maze of tunnels made into homes for drakes of all shapes and sizes. And at the front was their destination, a smoldering volcano covered in jagged spikes across the surface. The home of the king.

The two scouts turned towards each other and nodded, dropping through the air towards their destination. At the base of the mountain was a giant cave almost two hundred feet tall faded into darkness, leading to the master of all dragons. The moment they landed down at the entrance, a large shadow passed overhead before a heavy object slammed down in front of them. They both turned up to see a blue, fifty foot dragon staring down at them, it's two heads swiveling on serpent like necks.

"So, what do we have here?" One of the heads asked with a smirk.

"It seems to be two perimeter guards abandoning their post and taking a stroll." The other chuckled. "You still have two days to go until relief."

Holding back his snarl, one of the guards stepped forward and bowed to his knee. "We have important news for the king. There's been an intruder on the western border by Mount Volvack."

"And... You just decided to fly on over here instead of taking care of the problem?" The large blue dragons left head spit on the ground before continuing. "The western border is Equestria, so for what reason do you have that you couldn't take care of a small pony waddling through?"

"Probably got frightened and pissed his scales." The other head chuckled.

The second guard bared his teeth and stepped forward. "I'd watch what you say you two headed douche! I don't care how tall you are, I'll still stick both your heads up-

"Oh now look what we got here! Quite spunky isn't he?" The blue dragon laughed out loud while cracking his knuckles, "been boring this morning and would be entertaining to see you try."

"Look, we just came to see the king, that's all." The first guard yelled trying to calm the situation. "There's no reason for this."

"Look here you little shit, you level one guards don't just waltz on in and talk to the king. Only level three and up like myself gain access to him, and that still only happens with level four approval." 

"You wish to see me?"

All three dragons froze at the powerful voice that rumbled out from the cave behind them. They turned around to see the golden snout of Volvack, the great dragon king emerge from the shadows. 

His giant head was over twenty feet long alone, connected to a thick and powerful neck. Even crawling on all fours, his back was a hundred feet off the ground, nearly double the size of all other dragons. At almost three thousand years old, he was the single oldest living creature in the world, the next oldest creature being his eldest daughter. His wings and body were covered in tears and scars from fights and battle over the last two millennium. Even with his age however, no creature dared challenge his power.

Feeling the ground shake from each of Volvacks steps, the dual headed guard lowered his heads to the ground and bowed. "My lord, it's an honor to have you-

"What was that damn yelling out here for?" Volvack growled in annoyance as he sat up, his head rising an additional fifty feet into the air. "I could hear it from inside."

All three of the smaller drakes trembled in fear of angering their king, unsure what was going to happen. Looking back up, the double headed guard spoke first. "My lord, these two came from the outer perimeter asking to speak to you. I tried telling them they had to have clearance before it could be passed on."

Volvack sighed and scratched his head. "That rule again... Hmm, I'll allow this one. I'm feeling in a good mood surprisingly." He turned back towards the cave and waved them his way. "Come on, I was preparing my breakfast so we can talk in there."

As the great king walked inside, the two smaller guards looked at each other before walking after him.  The giant tunnel led deep into the mountain interior, opening up to a chamber over two thousand feet across lined in white crystal pillars. A large lava pool bubbled in the left corner of the room by another tunnel leading out to the crater top. Topping off the decoration inside was the carcass of a large hydra sprawled across the floor. While diamonds were the main part of a dragons diet, meat was an occasional treat to splurge on.

"Sorry about the trouble caused by my guard outside." Volvack grunted as he sat down next to the hydra and began scraping off the outer scales off the carcass. "Having so many requests back in the day I couldn't even take a bath without being disturbed. Had to use this new process to gather a bit of peace."

"I-it's no problem sir, I understand you would want you're own time." One of the guards said, his voice filled with a hint of nervousness. Even though they came to speak to him, any dragon felt a bit in the presence of their king.

"So you're a guard on the border correct?" Volvack asked. "So what made you come all the way to me?"

"Well my lord, we were on patrol by Mount Volvack when we spotted an intruder."

Volvack gave an annoyed sigh at hearing that volcano, never understanding why they wanted to name it after him. "So what's the problem then? I assume a few ponies coming into our land couldn't have been handled by you two? You know the rules; no pony is allowed in my home."

"I know, I understand sir. It's just that... This pony seemed different. It was a unicorn but it was like... Unlike any I've seen before."

"So what about this unicorn was so different that you couldn't force it out?" Volvack grunted in annoyance to the avoidance of the answer. "Jus get to the point."

The small guard winced to the deep voice echoing in the chamber. "W-well sir. The pony... It was on fire."

Volvack stopped moving his claws when he heard that. He turned his head down towards the guard, his eyes wide with interest now. "A pony that was on fire, you say?"

"Yes sir, I saw it as well." The other dragon answered.

Volvack tilted his head in curiosity to what was being said, a certain image popping up inside his head. "And this pony was a unicorn, correct? With a white coat and red eyes?"

Both guards jaws open slightly in disbelief. "We didn't see the eyes of it and... Wait, my lord do you... You know about this pony?"

Looking up to the black volcanic ceiling, Volvack sat in deep thought at the revelation being told to him. 'Can it be the same pony? No, that was over a thousand years ago when... No wait, That princess I confronted back then. Celestia, wasn't it? She was insistent on the Phoenix and...' He snapped out of his thoughts and looked back down to the two. "Have you told anyone else about this?"

"No sir, we thought it would be best to tell you."

After Contemplating for a few seconds, Volvack cast a large grin and went back to cleaning the carcass. "Don't worry about a thing, soldiers. Just go and enjoy the day off for now." 

Both guards gave confused looks to each other. "Ugh, I'm sorry my lord?" One of them questioned. "But what about the intruder?"

"Just let it be. It won't be a threat to us. And just to be clear, this stays between us, you understand?" Volvack looked back to them to make sure they heard him, receiving a nod from both of them. "Good day, then. You're excused."

Watching them leave his den, Volvack leaned back and looked back towards the ceiling. "So after all these years that pony has returned. It still feels like it just happened recently."

His mind flashed backed back to that time so many centuries ago, back when that one pony broke the ancient treaty set between the two clans of Equestria and Montara. Yet this unicorn wanted only one thing in mind when it entered the land. To set off the volcano and destroy its own home. He could still remember the princess coming to him, asking for his help when her own student turned into a walking flamethrower. 

"Help her with a pony problem..." Volvack chuckled to himself, "...it's not like his goal was of any threat to us. A little fire here and there is no big deal to us. Besides... It's what has been coming there way since you turned your back on us."

Laughing out loud to himself, Volvack leaned back and smiled up. "You hear that, Starswirl? You had this coming your way the moment you betrayed us. Maybe if you didn't turn against every ally you had you're world wouldn't be so isolated now. If you hadn't stolen what was ours I would have probably helped! Now you can watch your kingdom fall apart with your failure of a student losing your corrupted empire. Everything comes around in the end Starswirl!"

---

Back at the Montara border, the blackened sky loomed over the top of the tall peak. Lava bubbled across the large lake that was now inside mount Volvack. The entire crater's base now was underneath the molten liquid spilling out of the large opening made earlier. And sitting on a higher ledge overlooking it all was Twilight.

Her bright red eyes stared down beneath her, watching with intent as the lava level continued to rise. Now that she had relaxed after her exhaustion from earlier, she simply rested as the mountain did the rest. "So now this volcano has woken up from its long dormancy, thanks to me." Twilight whispered to herself.

'You handled it a lot better than I anticipated, Twilight...' Crimson responded to her, '...it took most of my energy the first time when I did it in my life, but you have already recovered your strength. It's truly a sign that you are the perfect pony for this ability.'

Twilight chuckled at his statement. "You make it sound like I am the only pony meant for this power."

'Perhaps you are the only one. If you weren't born, then I would still be waiting in limbo for a stronger unicorn.'

"I should take that as a compliment then..." Twilight smirked and stood back up, "now I wonder what is the plan you had in mind now this volcano is awake and-

A blinding blue flash of light cut Twilight off mid sentence as she turned up toward the source. What appeared to be a shooting star barreled through the air and crashed landed in the lava pit a hundred yards away. The lava around the area exploded outward before suddenly hardening in the air, creating a stone like wave formation out from the epicenter. Confused to what just happened, Twilight jumped down onto the magma surface and slowly trotted towards the object. As the smoke cleared however, her heart rate jumped at the sight of a familiar face staring at her.

"Luna..." Twilight hissed between her teeth.

Luna stood there staring right at the burning unicorn, her eyes filled with pain and hatred through the opening of her helmet. Her cheeks were stained from the tears that had escaped her eyes earlier, giving her face a more hardened expression.

"Twilight... What have you done?" Luna whispered out, "I saw what happened to Hoofington."

Twilight furrowed her brow at the lunar princess, remembering the town she went through the night before.

"Over two hundred ponies lived in that town. Innocent ponies that had lost their lives in that inferno." Luna's breath came in quick pants the more she spoke, partial to the intense heat of the lava, but the true fire was burning inside her heart.

"You took away innocent souls and left them to die in that blaze you caused." Luna grinded her teeth in anger as her horn began glowing bright. "You're nothing more than a monster that has gone against everything sacred in this world. Any pony that would do something like that should be banished to the furthest reaches of Tartarus and never released."

Seeing the blue magic increase on the alicorns horn, Twilight braced her body and summoned three fireballs to her side. "So that is the only reason you came here for, isn't it? Just to kill me after everything you and your sister tried to do to me?" She snapped back.

"No Twilight, I didn't come here to banish you..." Luna responded back to her, shutting her eyes as her magic flowed towards her back. "A pony that would ever commit crimes like that doesn't even deserve a prison sentence. They deserve the same pain to themselves as what they did to others."

Twilight's body tensed as she noticed the magic dropping towards the strange sword strapped to Luna's back. Her horn became engulfed in fire as she prepared for the incoming attack. When the magic did pull however, a sword didn't follow.

Only a blue star covered cape flowed out from the princess.

Luna's eyes opened back up, but no hatred was seen. Only a sense of sorrow. "You are not that pony who did those things Twilight."

Confused by the sudden change, Twilight lowered the fireballs into the lava beneath her and stood back up. She stared at the cape for several seconds before she realized what exactly it was. It was the same Starswirl costume she made for Nightmare Night and gave to Luna.

"You remember this, don't you?" Luna asked her, "you wore this the first time I came out to Ponyville after you saved me. The entire town was afraid of me, not wanting me to even come near them. You however saw through the fear and accepted me as a friend. In fact... You were my first friend, Twilight."

Luna levitated the cape towards Twilight, allowing her to use her own magic and carry it towards herself. "You taught me the true meanings of being a friend and helped me adjust to this new society. I felt the kindness in your heart and I can only think of one thing. It is that you could never do something as horrible as what happened."

Staring down at the cape, Twilight felt memories flow through her mind of all the different things that happened that night. "I do remember that night quite well, Princess..." She responded, a small smile creeping across her face. "The different things we tried to do to get the other ponies to have fun. We also had that prank for the fillies and colts in the forest which showed you what they wanted. Heh heh, yes, all those times back then."

The fire on Twilight's mane began to slowly settle down, the flames not as ecstatic as before. Luna's eyes widened as the fire almost came to a standstill. 'If I can get through to her, then perhaps I can stop this before it gets worse.'. Before she could say anything however, the cape caught fire and incinerated in seconds. Her mouth fell open as Twilight glared right at her. 

"Back when I was a slave."

Luna watched in horror as the cape fell apart in scorched pierces before burning up completely. "Twilight, please. You don't want any of this, do you?" Luna pleaded, "I know you are the kind of pony that-

"That what? That sits around waiting to be told what task needs to be done today? To write a letter telling her what books of hers I finished? No, I am done with that..." Twilight snapped at her, "I can't believe I ever let myself think she actually cared for me. that my friends cared for me. That you actually care for me."

"Twilight, how could you even say anything like that? You know we care for you deeply." Luna stepped towards the edge of her hardened spot, her glistened eyes filled with hope. 

"You mean by having all those so called friends spy on me to tell the princess what I'm doing? By keeping Spike around simply to get messages to her faster? She even tried to kill me when she found out the power I had!" 

Luna turned her head to the side in shame knowing that was the truth. "Yes, my sister panicked when she found out who exactly was hiding inside your body. Her reaction came without thinking because she was afraid. But she was afraid of him... Not you, Twilight. Even now are you saying these things, or is he?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at the attempt. "You mean afraid that her throne would be pulled out from her? I am tired of having everything in my life be a lie. Even you trying to be so friendly to me. If you are here to save me, why do you have that sword with you?" She asked pointing a hoof at Luna's back.

Luna swallowed the lump in her throat at the remark as Twilight continued. "Now I see  what my life has been and what I can do, and I am going to do that exactly."

"Twilight, please listen to me. You are better than this and you know it. You know what is right and wrong, and you can make the choice to choose who you are. You have to see the light and come back to it."

"Yes, I do see the light. I see a bright light ahead of me..." Twilight's grin curled up her muzzle, her eyes growing more cold as she laughed. "My light is the greatest fire Equestria has ever seen. I will show everypony my power as my flames spread across to every inch of this land. I will prove what true strength is."

A cold feeling fell into Luna's heart at the words coming out of Twilight's mouth. She couldn't believe this was the same pony that she came to call friend. Even when she was hoping to see a glimmer of hope in her, she just felt a cold hatred flowing from the young unicorn. 

Clenching her teeth, Luna's horn glowed bright again. "Twilight, I know you are still in there somewhere. Even if it's far inside and locked away, I know it's still inside. Even with what has happened, if I can save you i will do everything I can to do that." She paused as she gripped the hilt of the sword, sliding it out several inches, "but mark my words if you continue down the path you are, I will do whatever I feel necessary to make sure it never happens again."
> Sword and Flames
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lava bubbled up across the vast pool inside the great volcano, thick smoke rising up into the darkened sky. Standing on top the boiling mass was Twilight, her bright red eyes focused on the princess before her. Her main focus though was on the dark sword on Luna's back.

"That's something new, isn't it?" Twilight sarcastically said. "Were you saving that for me this whole time?"

"This was my master's sword, used to defeat his sinister copy Aligon. I had no intention on using this against you if I could. I still don't have to if you realize what you are doing." Luna pleaded.

"I know exactly what I am doing, Luna. I am fulfilling my true potential in life without you or Celestia holding me back anymore." Twilight's mane grew more erratic as her anger rose. "Is being a slave to you and your sister supposed to make me happy?"

"What makes you think you were a slave? You were my sisters own personal student and-

"Exactly! Her personal little pet!" Twilight snapped, "you can't even deny the truth in that statement! No more though, today I'll show this world what true power is."

Luna's hair stood on end at the tone in Twilight's voice. She could feel the fury and anger flowing with each word she spoke. 'She really is intent on going through with this madness. Her mind has been twisted that much.' She whispered to herself. Taking a deep breath, she pulled on the sword until the rest of the black blade slipped out of its sheath.

Twilight stepped back in caution seeing the strange sword float in front of Luna. She had never seen it used by either of the princesses, unsure exactly what it was. Then, she noticed the glowing aura flow out from the blade as it moved through the air. "You brought that thing believing it will help you kill me?" Twilight growled.

"Twilight, I'll give you one last chance to come back." Luna stated. "I know you have the strength to overcome Crimson. You know you can, but if you refuse to try and help yourself, I will kill you." 

Twilight breathed heavily through her nose, releasing a stream of smoke. "I always wondered who was stronger between you and your sister." Raising her head up, Twilight raised several fireballs around herself and grinned. "Let's see who's stronger between us!"

Twilight moved first, launching the three fireballs forward. Luna flew up into the air as they rushed beneath her, charging her horn and shooting a beam of magic at Twilight. Twilight stomped down in the lava and raised up a magma wall shielding herself from the blast. Smiling, she whipped her head forward and shattered the wall in Luna's direction, sending off dozens of smoldering chunks at the princess.

Grunting, Luna cast a shield around herself. The magic rippled across the surface as the lava pieces struck it, already beginning to smolder from the intense heat. Glaring, she pushed out on her shield and launched the pieces back at Twilight, who simply sat still as the chunks landed on her back, harmlessly dripping down her fur. "Nice try Luna, but don't forget this doesn't hurt me. Everything here is for me to use." Twilight mocked her. "Everything here is my power!"

A wall of fire formed behind Twilight before bursting forward at Luna. Forming her own magical wall, Luna shot it at the incoming attack, the two forces crashing together in a bright flash. Luna stepped away from the wall of smoke forming in the center between them, preparing for what was coming next. The next moment however, her eyes went wide as Twilight came leaping over the top of the smoke right at her. 

"You enjoy playing around inside my head?" Twilight screamed down at her, "I'll show you how much fun it was for me!"

Twilight's body became engulfed in flames as she barreled down through the air. Luna charged her horn and teleported just before twilight smashed into the hardened lava, shattering whatever solid ground was left in the pond back into molten rock. Standing up on the lava again, Twilight looked up to see Luna reappear above her and shoot another magical beam her way. To Luna's surprise however, Twilight dropped beneath the surface she stood on, vanishing under the bubbling lava.

Luna's eyes shifted back and forth over the Great Lake, looking for any sign of movement coming her way. Her magic holding the sword gripped tighter, being prepared to swing if the time came. "Where did you go?" She whispered to herself. 

The next moment the surface behind Luna exploded outward, releasing massive balls of lava hurdling over a hundred feet through the air. The blue alicorn quickly flapped her wings, dodging and dipping through the maze of burning earth. Small streams of lava dripped on her armor at times, sizzling against the plating and adding even more heat to Luna's already sweating body. Then, her eyes widen in shock as a solid block of lava nine feet across came barreling through the sky directly at the princess. Not enough time to dodge it, She raised the sword above her head and slashed down, splitting the large piece into two as if it wasn't even there. The two pieces passed by each side of Luna before crashing into the lava beneath her, but she didn't watch them fall, for her eyes were locked onto the white unicorns head sticking through the surface staring at her.

"That sword is pretty strong..." Twilight commented as she slowly raised through the lava. "Cut that attack pretty easily. Although I'd like to see you block something bigger!"

The lava beneath Twilight's hooves lifted her up  several feet onto a small wave, launching itself towards Luna like a freight train. Luna quickly spun around and flew across the surface of the bubbling pond, avoiding the sudden columns of lava bursting up in front of her. She trying to stay ahead of the pursuing unicorn behind her. Luna looked back to see Twilight slowly catching up, the deep red eyes focused directly on her form. Sweat trickled down her brow not only from the intense heat inside the crater, but from the cold gaze pouring out from Twilight's eyes.

She could feel the hatred aimed directly at her.

Clenching her teeth together, Luna created a magic bubble in front of her and flew straight at it, landing on the surface and kicking off to launch herself backwards. Twilight grinned at the sight, digging her left hoof into the lava beneath her and throwing forward a stream of magma Luna's direction. Luna didn't attempt to dodge it however, instead bringing the sword horizontally and slicing through the burning mass. 

Twilight's smile disappeared as Luna began getting closer and closer despite her continuing attack. Her horn shined bright with fire before unleashing a barrage of fire balls the lunar princesses direction, only to watch as Luna spun her sword forward and slashed through every one of the attacks effortlessly before barreling down on her. Clenching her teeth, Twilight focused her power and shot another giant fireball at Luna. Luna raised the sword over her head and flipped forward, spinning like a razor pinwheel and shattering the fire into embers. 

"You really are starting to annoy me!" Twilight yelled out as she leaped into the air and unleashed a giant wall of fire enveloping the entire area around her, spreading out until it spread out and surrounded both her and Luna, causing Luna's heart to skip a beat. 

"Her power is growing still..." She whispered to herself, "she is easily stronger than Sombra ever was."

Twilight watched in enjoyment as the giant fire prison rushed passed her until completely enveloped Luna's surrounding area before closing altogether. Staring as the flames danced over their target, she chuckled now knowing her obstacle was gone. "Now that Luna is out of the way, I only have to worry about my so called master coming here and-

Her words were cut off as a slice of blue aura shattered the fire prison into pieces, taking away the enjoyment Twilight was just having. She watched as the fire dissipated, only to see her foe not inside of it. Suddenly a bright flash appeared to her right, yet before she could see what it was, the hardened hilt of a sword slammed into the side of her face and sending her through the air. Her body slammed into the lava, submerging underneath the surface before crawling back up to the top. She licked the inside of her split cheek, spitting out the copper tasting blood. 

While Twilight was feeling the small wound she received, Luna sat hovering in the air as she clenched her eyes shut. Her body slightly shivered as she felt an odd sensation crawling across her skin. "The sword..." She whispered to herself, "I'm already feeling it again." 

Luna took a very deep breath before slowly letting it out. After a moment, the feeling began to dissipate from her form. "Just a little more... It's the only thing that can stop her."

Glaring in anger, Twilight stepped onto the lava lifting her up until she stood even with the rest of the lake. She took several deep breaths, releasing smoke with each exhale. Luna also settled down towards the surface, using her magic to quickly cool down a large section until it solidified to stand on. Now the two ponies sat staring at each other, only the sound of the exploding pockets of lava breaking the silence in the air. 

"That's quite a tool that you have for yourself, princess." Twilight sneered while eyeing the sword in grip. "I'm surprised you never used that in the past for other problems that we had in Equestria." 

"I've always promised my master I would not use this until the day I was ready." Luna responded to her, "that however is not why I never used it."

"Ah yes, you had no need to use it. You and your sister simply figured I could have solved any problem, right?" Twilight furrowed her brow at the alicorn. "Isn't that right... Princess?"

"What are you talking about Twilight? What do you-

"Don't try and give me that crap anymore, Luna." Twilight paused as she spit out excess blood. "I didn't realize until recently that I was nothing but a tool to use whenever something happened here. I was just an attack dog yo use at your leisure!"

"What are you talking about!? I don't understand what you are trying to say!" Luna yelled at her.

"You mean to tell me whenever a problem showed up, you couldn't have handled it yourself? Discord escapes his prison and instead of trying to help, you and your sister simply say good luck and have at it!"

“What did you expect us to do Twilight!? We weren't connected to the elements anymore. Only you and your friends could stop him."

"Perhaps helping us look for the elements would have helped! Maybe a distraction so Discord wasn't using us as chess pieces in a board game! And what about Sombra? You and Celestia already defeated him once. Why didn't you just go and stop him again?" Twilight questioned her.

Luna wanted to say something... But her voice fell flat to the question. She knew if both she and her sister were to go together, they could have stopped him. They didn't however.

"Twilight... There was a very important reason to why we sent you to stop Sombra alone." Luna quietly said to her. 

Casting a smirk, Twilight simply shook her head. "Another one of Celestia's 'tests' she gave me. Of course it was a test. Every master tests to see if their pet has learned the tricks it was taught."

Luna's jaw dropped open at the metaphor. "Twilight, are you even listening to the words you are saying? How in the world can-

"Enough of trying to hide it anyMORE!" Twilight screamed as she slammed her hoof into the lava, expelling a massive column of fire. "I know everything in my life has been nothing more than a prison to hold me down, to keep my power in check. But now I see that I do not need to simply stay tied to a leash as I'm given orders. I can do whatever I want in my life. It's my own choice."

"So you think that destroying the place you called home is going to prove anything? What will this accomplish?" Luna glared in fury at the smirking unicorn. "Does killing an innocent town give you pleasure? Or does being Crimsons slave make you feel good?"

Twilight sat silent after she listened to Luna's words. Her eyes drifted down to her hooves, staring at the white fur across her legs. She then looked around herself to the giant volcano bubbling around her. All this burning and destruction had been caused by her. Everything here was done by her. She then turned her eyes back towards Luna... And she smirked.

"Do you actually think you have the right to lecture me on right versus wrong.... Nightmare Moon?"

The blood in Luna's veins ran cold at once again hearing the name that was hers... Back when she attempted to overthrow Equestria. Seeing her widened eyes only made Twilight smile wider. "Oh yes, the terror of Equestria. The great and sinister princess who wanted nothing more than to blanket the entire world in darkness."

Laughing, Twilight conjured a flame in front of her and formed it into a winged pony until forming the wispy mane and horn of an alicorn. "You grew envious of your sister and in a fit of jealousy you went and tried to takeover the empire. I mean, what was the one thing that set you off, hmm? A few ponies slept through your 'precious' night? Pathetic."

Luna's eyes narrowed in focus on the pony insulting her, clenching the sword tighter in its grip.

"You do something like that and try to give me a lecture on what is wrong? No... Now I have true reasoning to do everything that I am doing." Twilight's hoof swung through the fire image, dissipating it through the air. "I have been gifted with perhaps the the greatest power in the history of Equestria. And what is the first thing my so called master did when I was younger? She put me inside of a harness to contain the power she knew I was wielding. After that, I then discovered I had something else inside of my body, something she was terrified of because she was weaker. Then she tried to kill me and you tried to come and finish the job when-

Luna's loud scream echoed through the sky as she burst forward, raising her sword above her head and swiping it back down at Twilight's head. Jumping back away from her, Twilight levitated a ball of lava and through it Luna's way, but instead of cutting it Luna disappeared in a flash of magic, reappearing right behind Twilight. Ducking just in time to evade the swords swing, Twilight tried to turn around to face her foe but instead was shot across the lake from a point blank magic blast. 

Skipping across the surface before splashing down, Twilight winced at the sore spot on her chest. Before she could completely stand back up, another flash appeared to her right. Her eye flipped to the side and widened at the charging alicorn rushing at her. Slamming her hooves down, Twilight forced up a lava wall in front of herself but gasped in shock as a blue aura slashed the shield in half. 

Another blue pulse completely obliterated the wall quickly followed by Luna bull rushing the stunned unicorn. Watching the sword thrusting towards her chest, Twilight raised a lava shield in front of her body just moments before the blade reached her. Luna shouted out as she forced the blade forward, piercing the barrier in front of Twilight before coming to a standstill.

The two forces pushed against each other trying to overcome the other. Twilight scrunched her face in frustration as she focused the lava into a tightly condensed ball, holding the sword of shadows away from her. After a moment however, her eyes widened as the end of the blade slowly slipped through the lava and inched closer towards her throat. She looked up into Luna's eyes and saw a look of fury staring straight through her soul, a cold gaze able to freeze over the very lava she stood on.

"So Luna.... You are going to finish what she started , right?" Twilight questioned through grunts. "You are going to try and kill me just like you both tried before?"

Luna's breath came in quick intakes of anger, her face scrunched in frustration as she pushed the blade just a few more inches forward, just a few hairs away from Twilight's neck. Before it pushed any further however, it stopped.

"If I had really wanted to kill you Twilight, I would have back inside the castle when you were chained..." Luna answered solemnly. "I had so many chances to kill you before if I had really wanted to, but I didn't . You know why? It's because I didn't want to." 

Luna's eyes glistened over as she spoke, powerful memories crawling back up inside her mind. "It's true, I did become a monster all those years ago. I wanted to make the world see me in all the glory of the night. I tried to force everypony to worship me by casting eternal night over the land. What I tried to do was no better than what is happening now. It wasn't until I was shown the truth that I realized how stupid my ideals were. It took you and your friends to show me that."

"Now, you are in the same situation that I was in. You have been clouded in thought and can't see clear. You however can change that. You can fight it and overcome this evil inside of you."

Hissing in anger, Twilight pushed harder until the sword was a bit further from her neck. "Whoever said that this is something I don't want? I have power now. True power that will put me above everypony in history!"

Angered by the stubbornness she was hearing, Luna twisted the sword in place and broke free of the hold Twilight had on it. She charged forward and knocked Twilight onto her back and brought the sword just beneath her neck, holding it directly on her windpipe.

"Listen to yourself Twilight! Do you even hear what you are saying!? Power, destruction, death. All of this that you know is not what you truly want! Now we can try and help you, but that can only happen if you help yourself! You're stronger than this!"

Twilight's eyes narrowed into a sinister glare, her irises glowing even brighter than before. "Yes, you're right. I am stronger than this!"

Before she could notice, a thin stream of lava burst up past Twilight's face and struck Luna on her head. She screamed out in pain as her helmet began to melt from the molten rock, quickly grabbing it and throwing it off of her. She flew away from Twilight and landed on a stone column sticking up through the lava, panting from the sudden adrenaline rush. Lifting the sword up, she prepared to take off again.... Only to feel her body lock up completely.

"What's... What's going on!?" Luna gasped out, trying to move her legs in any way. Her knees trembled as if she was a nervous filly, unable to lift her hooves off the ground. Then a cold chill began crawling under her skin, almost like ice was running through her veins and freezing her body. That was when she realized what it was. "No..."

Luna's eyes shifted to the sword of shadows, watching as the black blades blue aura began to seep into her own magic. "The swords power. It's tapping into my own." She stuttered out loud. She had been feeling the sword slowly grow stronger the longer it was out, but now it was as if a giant boulder was pressing down on her back. 

"I knew it would be powerful, b-but this is something else entirely." She mumbled. "It's so much colder. Much more... Evil." Luna clenched her eyes shut and focused her magic, trying to push out this sinister feeling inside her. "I have t-to use this... It's the only way I have a chance. I won't fall to it!"

Her body trembled as her horn shined brightly, covering her body and entering her own form. The magic pulsed through her body, fighting back against the cold aura. After a few moments, she could feel the swords influence push out of her body and back into the blade. Her breaths came in quick gasps as she slowly regained feeling in her body, stumbling a few times before catching herself. 

"I... I have to hurry," she panted to herself, "I won't be able to use this sword much longer. Damn it, master, what kind of weapon is this thing!?" She glared up in frustration to her situation, only to go wide eyed in fear to what she saw. "W-what's... What is..."

Twilight was slowly trotting her direction across the lava, her mane and tail dancing erratically over her body, the fire growing more dense with each passing second. Her fur was smoldering across the surface, slowly shifting away from its bleached white form to what seemed like a charcoaled gray. Her legs also began to shift darker, it's light color slowly growing darker and darker until they were nearly black. Even the fur around her eyes began to darken, small patterns forming behind her eyes.

"What's... What's going on? This didn't happen before..." Luna said in disbelief. "What's happening now?

Twilight also noticed the change slowly growing across her body. It was strange, but instead of confusion, she felt a sense of freedom for some reason. It seemed like there was once a lid compressing the power she had, and now it was gone from her body. As though there was something trying to crawl its way to the surface and finally reached its goal. She felt lighter... Faster... Stronger.

"I feel like... The limit is gone." Twilight said to herself. "It's like I can do... Anything now. As if I can be anything now." Her eyes drifted to the frozen body of Luna, bringing a smile to her face. "And I choose to be... Free from you!"

Twilight's horn shot a blast of magic into the lava in front of her, lifting up a smoldering ball of magma in its grasp. The magic began tightening it into a tighter ball, forcing the lava into an even tighter form. The ball pulsed out erratically, ready to burst from the mighty pressure. "You look tired Luna. Perhaps I can help you get some rest. I can give you a dream you'll never forget."

The fiery attack reeled back in preparation to shoot forward, catapulting forward like a lion hunting its prey. Luna braced herself with her sword in grip, waiting as if came closer.

Only to watch the lava explode as it was struck by a ball of green fire.

"What the!?" Twilight shouted in shock. "What was that?" 

Luna was just as equally stunned as well. "What... What was that just now?" Before she even realized it, the ground shook as two forms slammed down onto the rock with her. Luna coughed several times through the thick dust rising up from the ground, looking up to see what the heck just hit here. As the dust cleared, her eyes came to see what appeared to be a tall form, much too tall for a pony. The other however was the last thing she expected.

"R-rainbow Dash!?"

Sure enough, the first figure was the familiar Pegasus Luna had seen so many times before. "Rainbow, what are you doing here!? Why aren't you back at the castle?"

Rainbow Dash flipped around glaring at the princess. "Did you really think we were gonna just sit down while you came out here to kill Twilight? No! We came to save her!"

"I didn't come to kill her, I came to stop her!" Luna yelled back at her. "You shouldn't be here, it's too dangerous!"

"No, we flew all this way to get here, and we aren't leaving without her!"

Luna gave a confused look. "We? Who's we? Who is... Is..." Her words died on her tongue as she finally focused on the other being.

It was the body of a dragon, it's head seven feet off the ground. Dark purple scales covered the majority of his body, broken up by the green spines running down the center of his back. The drakes powerful arms shifted at his sides, revealing the Defined muscles underneath. Finishing off the creature were a set of long purple and green wings jutting out from his shoulder blades. The dragon turned around towards the princess, staring at her with radiating green eyes, sending off her brain as she came to realize who this was.

"Spike?"

Not saying a word to her, Spike turned his attention back forward, looking straight at the unicorn staring right back at him. Luna couldn't believe what she was seeing with her own eyes even though he was standing right there. "What's going on? Why is he like this now?"

"I... I don't really know." Rainbow answered as she turned back towards Spike, watching him step forward to Twilight. "We saw what happened to the town Twilight went through, and he... He didn't take it too well."

 Rainbows ears fell flat against her head at the sight she saw. "The whole town burned down, and he grew so angry at that. Then... He just exploded out with magic and turned into this."

Luna couldn't truly believe the story she was hearing. "How is this possible?"

"I really don't know. But.... What's happened to Twilight?" Rainbow couldn't take her eyes off the form that was her best friend. "What's going on with her?"

Now, both Twilight and Spike stared in amazement to the change each other had gone through. Twilight was stunned as she stared at the dragon she had helped raise from an egg, one who had stayed small his entire life until just now. "What's happening? He had always been like a baby dragon..." She asked herself.

Many times had she asked Celestia why Spike never seemed to grow from the time he hatched to now. Even she didn't seem to know the full answer though, not understanding why a dragon would simply stop growing like that. Now this had happened, she couldn't really think of any reason.

"So, that's a new look you got Spike..." She said with a smirk. "What's the occasion?"

Spike didn't answer as he stopped at the edge of the rock ledge, staring in utter disbelief to the look Twilight had now. Her darkened fur gave a sinister appearance to her features. The darkened fur on her face seemed to form tribal marks behind her eyes, accentuating her bright red eyes. His claws clenched in anger having to see her look like this.

 To look like a monster.

"Twilight..." Spike said, his voice much deeper yet smoother than before. "What have you done to yourself?"

Twilight tilted her head at him. "Done to myself? I've freed myself from my chains. I discovered what was inside of me this entire time and have let it free."

"No... No you haven't. You aren't this, Twilight. I know the mare that hatched me from an egg would never do something like this. She would have never let herself do anything like this."

"And what would you know of what I want? It's not like you ever really even cared for me..." She hissed at him. 

"How can you ever say anything like that!? I love you Twilight, you've always been the only thing I've had in life!" Spike yelled back.

"All you ever were there for was to report back to Celestia whenever I had to." Twilight exhaled deeply, releasing more smoke from her nose. "You were the watch dog sent from the master to keep an eye on me."

Spikes blood rose in anger to what she accused him of. "Spying on you? What is wrong with you Twilight!? You can't really believe the crap that you are saying! This is all what Crimson is doing to you and-

"Crimson?" Twilight's eyes narrowed his direction. "How do you know about Crimson? I never told you about him."

"Celestia told us everything about what is going on..." Spike answered her, "We know he is the one that possessed you and is turning you into this. We want to help you."

a small chuckle escaped Twilights lips at his plea. “And in what way can you help me, Spike? Take me back to Canterlot so that Celestia can slit my throat? Crimson told me everything about what she is. How she brought him in and trained him. When he became stronger however, she saw it as a threat to her rule and tried to contain him. She never wanted him to increase his power so that she could keep him on a chain. And after he disappeared, it so happened by fate that I would be the one to gain his abilities. The strength to move mountains at my will. the power to show the entire land of Equestria exactly who I am.”

"No… I have come to realize that I will not be held back anymore from her, her sister, or anypony else in this world. And if you try and stand in my way too, I’ll show you exactly what I have achieved now.”

Spike felt as if an ice pick had been rammed through his heart from what he was just told. The mare he had known his entire life, the one he considered his own family had just threatened to kill him if he tried to stop her. ‘What’s happened to your heart Twilight?’ he asked himself. ‘What happened to the mare that took care of me all those years?’

Clenching his claws tighter, Spike flared his massive wings out to his sides as he stood his ground. “I don’t care what you try to say to me, or even if Princess Luna and Celestia come here to take me away, I won’t let that happen. I am going to stop you from doing this and bring you back home no matter what.”

Glaring at his stubbornness, Twilight looked past him to see a familiar Rainbow maned pegasus standing next to Luna. “So Rainbow Dash came here too, didn’t she? I never thought she would have taken the time of her day to even look my way while she would be out idolizing herself.” She turned back to Spike, her fiery mane beginning to grow more condensed. “I don’t know why you suddenly grew like this, and to be clear I don’t care to know. All that I do care about is achieving what I came here for.”

Shutting her eyes, Twilight breathed deeply as she felt her magic swelling inside of her body, begging to be released. It had been growing steadily over the time she had reawakened Mount Volvack, and now it felt like it had reached a new peak. Lava began crawling up her legs like molten snakes, slithering up her fur and covering her body. Thick steam rose off her form as the hot material bubbled over her back, beginning to make its way towards her still smiling face. “Now, I will show you exactly what it means to truly master the power that I was gifted. Now the world will see me for what I truly am.”

“Twilight stop! What are you-” Spikes words fell on deaf ears as watched in wide eyed shock as the lava completely covered Twilight. The molten mass continued to grow out until it formed into what looked like a lava cocoon, hardening until it was a solid rock. “What the heck?”

Luna was also confused at what was happening. “This never happened before with Crimson. what’s going on?”

Stepping forward, Rainbow Dash’s mouth hung open to the horrible sight she saw. her heart beat rapidly in her chest at the thought of her friend disappearing into the lava. out of instinct she slowly stepped towards Luna, the feeling of another body nearby bringing a sense of security. “Princess, what is she doing to herself?”

The hardened surface of the shell Twilight was inside began to crack across its surface, revealing the bright red internal core. “I don’t know Rainbow. I never heard anything like this happening before when he came here to the mountain. If it were the…” Luna’s heart nearly stopped in terror as her mind suddenly clicked, her body locking up in horror. “Oh no…”

The hardened cocoon began to leak out a glowing red aura, pulsating out like a heartbeat. Spike took several steps back towards the others yet never took his eyes off Twilight. “Princess, what is she doing? what’s with the thing she is inside?”

“All those years ago, Crimson injected himself with the formula he had been working on; a combination of dark sorcery and phoenix blood. it gave him the power that turned Twilight into this, but it was never stable inside of him. It wasn’t developed enough to fully bond with him… but I think that has all changed now.” Luna whispered in fear as the aura suddenly sucked back inside the cocoon. “Twilight was the final key to the transformation.

A blinding red flash erupted from the cocoon as it exploded outward, throwing chunks of rock and magma in all directions. Spike reacted and jumped backwards towards the other two and shielded them with his body and wings, feeling the hot material strike his back but not hurting him, lava dripping harmlessly off his dragon scales. The three of them turned around to stare at the massive column of red energy rising from the ground up into the sky, awestruck by the powerful feeling radiating from the source. After a few seconds the energy burst up into a spiraling tower of fire, spitting flames all across the sky and out of the mountain top. Then as fast as it started, the burning tornado burst outward from a powerful pulse inside and dissipated through the air. The three onlookers then noticed a single figure floating in the air above them, but what they saw sent a chilling shiver up their spines they would never forget.

What once was Twilight was now a pony of darkened gray fur across her body, its legs now a solid pitch black tone. Her mane had lost its fiery material, but instead had turned into a flowing bed of deep scarlet aura. Her face had formed striking tribal marks around her now deep blue eyes, along with her muzzle becoming black as well. Even her tail itself had discarded the pure fire and instead solidified into a solid long tail like a kirin, the tip flowing out with a thick patch of red aura as well. The most shocking change of all however was the line of bright and shining golden feathers running down the center of her back and to the base of her tail, along with the massive gold and blood red wings that extended out from her shoulders.

Luna’s body trembled in complete terror at the sight she beheld. Blood pumped so fast through her body she could feel the pulse on her neck. Her breath came in such quick gasps she could hardly get a full intake. It didn’t seem to bother her though, for her eyes revealed something much worse. “The powers of a phoenix evolve as they grow older, strengthening every time they are reincarnated.” she whispered.

“What?” Rainbow stuttered in terror. “W-what does that mean?”

“Twilight was given powers that had time to stabilize itself through time. For over a millenium it sat dormant until Twilight came into this world and took control of it. and now....” Luna swallowed the thick lump in her throat that had formed before continuing. “Now, she has fully bonded with the power inside of her body. She is the final step at what Crimson was trying to achieve all those years ago. A perfect blend between the powers of a unicorn and a phoenix… a hybrid.”


















> Darkness, yet Hope
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike had seen many things through his life that made his heart race out of fear. He ran for his life through the swamp trying to escape a ravenous hydra. He watched as Discord flipped his entire home upside down while his friends turned on one another. He even came face to face with the tyrant Sombra back in the crystal empire just a few months earlier. All these things made him scared and afraid. None of these however came close to the fear he was feeling now.

Looking up into the sky, he stared up to the creature that Twilight had become. Her piercing blue eyes stared right back at him, almost gazing through his soul and body, sending waves of chills down his spine. 

"This isn't happening..." He whispered out loud. "This can't be happening."

"Wh-what's going on?" Rainbow shuttered in fear. "Why does Twilight look like that now?"

Luna took several deep breaths before speaking. "It's the power that Crimson has inside of her. It's taken hold of her body and conformed to her."

Spike turned back to look at the princess. "What do mean? Why is she changing like this?"

"Crimsons body changed due to the alchemy mixture that he injected his own body with, changing his magical signature along with his body to handle the change. He however could not handle the final transformation. Twilight however can..." Luna breathed heavily as she stepped forward. "She is the key to his path to ultimate power."

Hovering in the sky, Twilight looked down at the three figures standing on top the stone ledge beneath her. She turned her head to look at the golden wings that had suddenly grown out. To her surprise it reminded her of the one she used to call teacher. A master. Now however, she just smiled because she felt like she wasn't a student any longer. 

Now she was the master.

A cold smile spread across Twilight's face as she turned forward again. "I won't ever let you control me anymore. I won't let any of you try and kill me, because you don't have the power to anymore."

Spike clenched his claws and walked towards the ledge in front of him. "Twilight! What are you doing!? You know you can hear me!"

"I can hear you... But your words are useless to me now." Twilight's body lowered several feet through the air as she spoke. "I am now free of you and Celestia. Now I will show true strength to the world."

"Power? Why are you obsessed with power? You know this isn't you!"

"Twilight please! Why are you doing this!?" Rainbow yelled out. "We are your friends. We are trying to help you!"

"You don't care for me, Rainbow. Yet to me, I don't need your love."

Rainbow felt her heart tremble at the cold words she was told. "But... Twilight, why are you saying this? We always cared for you and we would do anything to-

"You cannot be the one to say what will happen to me." Twilight injected. "I was given this power, and I will finish what I started. This power I have, this volcano, and everything else is me. This is my destiny."

Luna's eyes shot open at the last sentence Twilight said. "No... It can't be."

Flaring his wings out, Spike slammed his foot down splitting the rock outward. "Snap out of this crap, Twilight! I don't know in what stupid world your living in where-

"That's not her...." Luna answered.

Spike turned around in confusion to the princess. "What? What do you mean it's not her?"

"That's not Twilight. I mean, it's her body and mind... But her consciousness isn't clear. Her thoughts are being manipulated and controlled." Luna's magic raised the sword of shadows in front of her face. "It's Crimson."

Luna shook her head in frustration. "I figured she was simply falling to the power itself and following his words, but she truly is being controlled."

"How do you know that?" Spike asked.

"That last thing she just said. 'This power I have, this volcano, and everything else is me. This is my destiny.' That is the very thing Crimson told my sister when they battled here. I heard it so many times in her nightmares I will never forget that statement."

"So... Twilight really isn't doing this." Spike said, feeling slightly relieved at hearing that. 'So she isn't just saying this. I knew it.' He turned around to the others, but gasped when he saw Rainbows state. "Oh no, Rainbow..."

Rainbows body was dripping with sweat as she took deep breaths, shutting her eyes as she stepped forward. I... I'm fine." She shook her body and sent out a mist of perspiration into the air, evaporating before it even touched the ground.

Luna frowned and moved over to the young Pegasi's side. "Your body's overheating. You can't handle this temperature much longer. You should leave this place."

Glaring up at her, Rainbow braced her legs and stood straight up. "No, I'm not leaving! I made it here for Twilight, and I'm not leaving without her."

"Hmm.... If you insist then." Charging her horn, Luna cast a sheet of magic and settled it along Rainbows body, forming across her fur and even her tail. After she finished, Luna stepped back once more. "That will help keep your body shielded, but you cannot move much with this, so you cannot fly."

Rainbow shifted her body inside the magic, feeling it actually cooling her down. "Thank you, princess."

"It's alright. You have to be careful and- gah!" Luna gasped out in pain and dropped to the ground. 

"Princess, what's wrong?" Rainbow asked as she ran over to Luna's side.

Panting hard, Luna's eyes clenched at the pulsing energy she felt racing through her body. 'This sword is starting to really piss me off...' Luna snapped at herself. 'Just a little longer, we can make this work.'

Luna stood back up and took one more deep inhale. "I'm fine. We have to move fast if this is going to work."

"What do you plan on doing?" Spike asked her.

"If I am able to get inside of her mind, perhaps I can sever the control he has on her. The only way I can do that though is to physically touch her with my horn."

"Okay, so is that it then?"

"Not exactly. I tried it once already at the castle, but now she is even stronger. The only way this can work is if I can gain access into her heart this time and work into freeing that first."

"The heart?" Rainbow asked in confusion. "I thought you said her mind was where he was controlling?"

"A mind can be tricked and deceived, but the heart is one thing to which cannot be controlled..." Luna sighed to herself as she spoke. "Even when I lost my way in shadow, my heart never truly gave into the darkness. I gave into greed and jealousy, but deep inside, I... I truly did feel a sense of regret to what I did. If I can bring that out inside of Twilight too, that may be just what we need to make her realize what's happening."

Spike cracked his knuckles and glared up towards Twilight. "So if I can hold her down and you use your magic, we can save her?"

"I can only hope so, but it will have to be fast and-

Luna couldn't finish her sentence as Spike burst off the ground and flew up into the air. "Spike, wait!" She yelled up at him as she took off herself. "You stupid drake!"

Gritting his teeth, Spike sped through the sky straight towards Twilight as fast as he could. Seeing him come, Twilight grinned and flapped her wings harder. "You think you can kill me? You have no idea what I have in my control now."

Whipping her head forward, Twilight unleashed a massive fireball right at him. Quickly diving under it, Spike rushed and reached his claws forward, but before he came close a thick wall of lava burst upward separating him from Twilight. Flapping his wings back, Spike stared in awe at the sheer mass of the forty foot burning wall. Suddenly through the center, a thick column burst out towards him at breakneck speed, only missing his head by a few inches. "Geez that was close!" 

"Spike, look out!" Rainbow yelled from below.

Before Spike could react, a beam of magic struck his back and launched him through the sky, leaving Rainbow staring helpless up at him. "Spike!"

Grunting, Spike steadied himself and turned back around to see Twilight flying straight at him. Baring his teeth, he pumped his wings and flew at her as well. Twilight charged her power and shot a bright stream of fire forward, but Spike quickly ducked under it and slammed into her body. Not letting her move an inch, Spike wrapped his arms around her chest and squeezed tight.

"Come on Twilight, snap out of this shit!" Spike yelled at her, "I don't want to hurt you, just listen to me!"

"Let go of me!" Twilight angrily shouted back. "You are trying to take me back to her! I won't let her control me!"

"Crimson is the one controlling you! He's poisoning your mind!"

Twilight's horn began leaking streams of fire as she glared back at him. "LIAR! He set me free!" 

Thrashing forward, Twilight managed to slip out a few inches of his grip allowing her to move around. Her head turned and unleashed a blinding ball of light above her, causing Spike to yell out in pain and release his grip to cover his eyes. As soon as she was able to move, Twilight flew forward and turned to face the blinded dragon. Her eyes pierced through the darkened sky on her target, intent on removing her obstacle. Her body began emitting pulses of red energy, preparing her power for the next attack. As she was ready to use it however, a blue form rushed at her from the side forcing her to turn.

Luna came barreling through the sky with the sword of shadows in her grip. Sneering in frustration, Twilight turned her attention to the incoming princess now. "You don't know what I can do now. This is my way of freedom!" She yelled out as she used her power and grabbed a thick glob of dripping lava beneath her and threw it at Luna. 

Spinning in a forward roll, Luna cut the incoming attack in half to pass through the center. She sped towards Twilight and shot a blast of magic at her, only to have a ball of fire strike her attack and explode in a bright flash. As the smoke cleared, Luna saw Twilight was gone, her eyes now scanning back and forth across the plain of view. From below, her eyes widened as a column of lava burst upward at her, Twilight on top of it as her horn burned intensely. 

Jump off of the rising magma, Twilight launched it up at Luna, the princess barely blocking herself with the sword in time before it crashed into her. Even with the blade cutting through the incoming attack, Luna felt herself being pushed back several feet every few seconds. 

"She's... She is a lot stronger than before... I have to end this now..." Luna grunted at herself.

Twilight continued to launch her never ending lava stream at her target, hoping it would simply scorch the princess to embers. Suddenly her body was knocked to the side by Spikes mass, shoving her through the sky. Yelling out in anger, Twilight kicked back against him and pointed her horn straight at him.

"Burn and stay out of my way!"

A burst of fire over ten feet across burst out from Twilight's horn and engulfed Spikes entire form. Rainbow Dash screamed out in terror as she watched him disappear in the bright fire. "Spike!"

Forming her fire into a solid ball around him, Twilight sat back and smirked at her work. "You always were a burden at times Spike. Now you are nothing more than-

Spike Burst out of the fire with his left fist balled up tight. "RAAHHH!"

The loud crack of Spikes fist against Twilight's face rang across the darkened sky, leaving almost an eerie silence except for the sound of her body splashing into the lava below. Rainbow Dash sat in surprise at what happened as Spike slowly lowered himself down to the rock plateau she was on. She held her breath in shock when she saw there wasn't a mark on him.

"Spike... How did you..." 

"Fire doesn't hurt dragons." He answered bluntly, his eyes still looking at Twilight crawling out of the lava. "I don't know how much longer this can go on though, this place is getting more-

The ground was suddenly rocked by a large explosion, shaking the entire volcanos structure. A giant column of lava burst dozens of feet into the sky and came raining down towards where the two of them were. Spike turned to move out of the way, but saw that Rainbow was staring up in fear. "Rainbow, look out!" 

Seeing her stuck in her spot, Spike jumped over and wrapped his body and wings around her and pulled her close. His back was showered his scorching chunks of magma, fortunately which didn't hurt him in the least. His concern however was for the pony shaking against his chest. "You alright?"

"Ye-yeah... I just froze. Thank you Spike" Rainbow said as she hugged his barrel. 

Spike gave her a comforting pat on her back before putting her down. He looked back towards the magma ocean, seeing multiple bursts from the surface. "The volcano is getting more active..." He said to himself. "It's only going to get worse unless we stop this soon. Stay here."

Leaving her again, Spike leaped into the air and flew at her. Twilight shook her head clear and glared at the incoming dragon. Her hoof scooped into the lava beneath her and shoved a wave of lava growing up over sixty feet into the air. Spike stopped himself in flight in awestruck shock, turning around and flying away as the wave just missed from crashing on top of him.

"Don't think you can get away that easily, Spike." Twilight yelled as she flew after him.

Growling at himself, Spike dived down towards the small rock jutting up beneath him and hooked his claws at the top. Spinning from his momentum, he launched back through the sky towards Twilight. "Don't make me do this, Twilight!"

Spike swiped his claws in an attempt to catch hold of Twilight's wings, but her speed was too much for him.  Easily ducking underneath his strike, Twilight pointed her horn straight at his chest and smiled. 

"Nice try Spike, but not good enough."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in horror as she watched Spike become enveloped in a massive explosion in the sky high above her. "SPIKE! NO!" 

Shooting through the sky, Spikes body crashed into the side of a large rock plateau and fell beneath the collapsing rubble. Twilight chuckled to herself and floated down onto a nearby rock outing. "So now you can see why there's no chance for you to stop me, Spike you should have just-

A bolt of blue lightning striking her square in the back cut Twilight's words off, now replaced by a pain filled scream. Pulses of blue static danced around her body. Forcing her head up, Twilight looked up to see Luna landing in front of her. She grimaced at her self actually forgetting the princess in the last few minutes.

Luna rushed forward across the ground, her horn glowing bright and pulsing with energy. Her stun spell would only work for a few seconds, and she was going to make sure it counted. Without giving Twilight a moment to break free, she used her aura and grabbed her target and threw her back onto a large boulder behind her, conjuring several chains and wrapping them onto Twilight's body. Twilight wasn't going to go down easy however, her body releasing a powerful wave of heat so strong it began melting the few chains on her form. 

Panting in desperation, Luna charged her magic even more and pushed it into the chains and rebinding the connections. Roaring out, Twilight charged her own horn and shot off several fireballs towards the princess, only to have them cut by the sword Luna carried. Feeling the heat beginning to wear on herself, Luna knew she had to end this fast. With a last hard pull, she hoisted Twilight into the air in front of her and spread her forelegs out, exposing her chest for what may be only a fraction of time. That was all she needed to reach the heart, and was going to use that chance now.

...

Before she could move however, her blood ran cold.

"No..." She stuttered in fear.

Luna's body froze in place, a sinister chill wrapping around her form. Cold shivers ran across her skin as the dark aura of the sword began to leak out faster than ever, slowly crawling over her magic and onto her body. "Wh-what is this? It's different than before." She stuttered out between breaths. Her eyes stared in terror at the black sword in her grasp, realizing just how dark this blade was.

Luna's Breathing became more difficult as her lungs felt constricted, the dark aura spreading further across her body. She tried to simply drop the sword and get away from it, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't find the strength to let go of it. 

Crawling up from the rubble, Spike shook himself free of the gravel and looked up in shock to the dark energy swirling around Luna. "What is that?"

Sweat rolled down Luna's forehead as she struggled to release her hold on the sword, but it was set strong and wouldn't let go. In fact, it was getting stronger every second longer. "The sword... The longer it's out of its sheath the greater its power has been growing." She whispered to herself.

"Shakagrietha."

Luna's fur stood on end to the cold, chilling voice that spoke out. Her eyes drifted down to the sword in her magic, feeling her heart beginning to beat faster when she saw the jewel on the hilt glowing. It was then she realized the sword itself was the one speaking.

"Haashakrarã. Sukuroto makaath." 

The sinister language was something Luna had never heard before, it's dark tone sending a tremor up her spine. "Wh-what is this evil?" She whispered.

"Sakkatana decrear mortorga."

The cold voice began to grow louder as the sword started to suddenly shake in her grasp. 

"Kaarshatoo wreathraack tashkall. Shugolfga stalifga!"

The next instant, a burst of black smoke rushed out from the blade and surrounded Luna, blocking her body out of sight From the others. The chains holding Twilight down dissolved away as the Phoenix pony dropped back to the ground. Looking up, Twilight stared in wonder at the spectacle before her. 

"That power... What is that thing?" She asked Crimson.

The smoke spiraled around the locked princess, spinning before shooting up as a thick column into the sky and disappearing into the clouds. Looking through her eyes, Crimson didn't respond as he gazed upon the odd turn of events unfolding before him. Even he had no answer to the swords power. It was something even in his years of life never saw in the castle. He didn't recognize this from anything he had heard before, and from what he could sense, it was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

--- 

Seven hundred miles east of Mount Volvack, far across the Great Plains of Montara sat the edge of the country. The air was much clearer here than in most of the rest of Montara due to the lack of volcanoes in this part. The only thing that was found were were several small mountains before coming upon the ocean, the ending location of land before over two thousand miles of open water.

Sitting on one of the ledges to the final mountain sat an average sized dragon. Deep blue scales covered his twenty five foot tall frame before shifting to light turquoise on his short neck. Leaning against the stone behind him, he scratched his stomach several times before letting his arm flop back to his side. 

"Geez I'm hungry..." He moaned to himself.

He opened his mouth and released a deep yawn as he stared out to the wide open sea, admiring the bright reflection given off by the sunrise. The sound of scraping suddenly caught his attention, turning to the right to look at the open cave. "Decided to finally get up, I see?" He chuckled to the newcomer.

Coming up from her cavern was a tall drake at nearly ninety feet tall. Long and powerful arms pulled her strong yet slender body up into the open air, the sun shimmering across her silver scales. On the end of her long neck sat her slim head and a line of sleek spines rising from the back of her head. While she seemed majestic and powerful, what contradicted that was the condition her appearance sat in. 

Deep scars ran along her chest and stomach, spreading out on her arms and even her back. Her wrists had deep indentions from past confinement and shackles. The scarring ran up her neck and ended on her face, where her left eye had been replaced with a black patch of metal melded into her open socket.

She leaned forward and arched her back to pop her stiff joints, spreading out her long and wide wings. Once relaxed enough, she stood back up and sighed. 

"Yes I'm up now, scold me..." She said with a grin, "I never get to do this at home, Kalrock." 

Kalrock laughed out loud and rubbed his back on the rock to get an itch. "Yeah, your dad would probably be making you attend another clan meeting again."

Her grin turned into a frown at hearing that. "Well what would you expect? I'm the second oldest creature on this planet, it would seem odd I wasn't at an elder meeting."

Realizing what he said, Kalrock leaned up and sighed. "I didn't mean it like that, Glemora. Just because you're older, you don't act that way though.Every other dragon over a thousand years old just becomes a bore except for you. I've known you for a hundred years and I can swear you don't act all old and grouchy."

Glemora couldn't help but smile at the compliment. While she was near two thousand years old, she never was one to follow the style of  having to be a controlling mentor. She always figured the other dragons should choose their way of life. "So you mean I'm immature and not wanting to take the throne? Of course!"

"Oh boy... If lord Volvack heard you say that, I don't know if I want to be around to see that." Kalrock chuckled out loud.

"I can deal with what my father would do, thank you very much..." Glemora answered back, "right now, I'm enjoying my vacation here."

"Hehe, true to that. Hey, how about I go get some breakfast in a bit? I'm kinda over gems right now, so how does-

Kalrock was cut off my the sudden loud burst overhead. He quickly sat up straight to see a dark column of smoke shooting across the sky coming from the mainland behind them. "What the..." He mumbled as his eyes followed it over himself and towards the sea, racing in the air far into the distance until the end disappeared on the horizon.

"What is that thing? And why is it coming from Montara" he asked out loud. After a few moments of silence, he lifted his eyebrows in curiosity. "Glemora, do you know what that is?" 

Once again he heard nothing. Grunting, he stood up and turned towards his friend. "Glemora, didn't you hear me? I asked you... I asked..." His words slipped off his tongue when he saw something he didn't expect. "Glemora?"

The dragon princess was staring up at the continuing column of smoke above her, releasing a torrent of images in her mind long buried. Her body shuddered like that of a young filly confronting their worst fear in the world, breaths coming in shallow gasps. Her one green eye was unblinking and unmoving from the sight above her. "No... I-it can't be..." She stuttered in pure horror.

"Glemora, what's wrong?" Kalrock dropped down to her level and walked towards her. "What is that thing?"

Not responding, her trembling claws reached up and felt the dozens of scars that liked her body. Horrible memories she hoped to never remember began to bubble back up, haunting her soul and sending a chilling crawl up her body. She rubbed on the deep scars on her wrists, tracing up her arm to her disfigured chest and neck, until she fearfully felt the metal patch over her eye. 

"This can't be... It was supposed to never be used again..." She quietly mumbled.

"What? What wasn't supposed to be used?" Kalrock questioned her, completely confused at what was happening. He reached forward and felt her quivering arm. "What's happening? What are you afraid of?"

Instead of answering, Glemora pulled away from him and launched up into the sky. 

"Glemora wait!" Kalrock yelled out, but she ignored his words and flew back towards the interior of Montara, leaving him alone and confused.

Glemora pumped her wings as fast as she could, pushing her body back to her home. Her heart pulsed uncontrollably inside her chest, blood rushing adrenaline through every vein. She felt like she was an infant running away from a dark shadow in the corner of the room, trying to find refuge with her parents. Most of the time one would refuse to do this in reason of pride or something to prove.

At this moment though, she didn't care. For she knew exactly what that dark smoke came from, and she knew exactly to where it was going as well. Of all the things to be afraid of, there were some much more sinister than most, some shadows even dark than most others. And there was one shadow to which there was no hiding from. No place of refuge or safety to be found.

Only death and despair to not only Montara, but every single life on the planet.

"Please don't let this happen again... Please don't let them free..."

--- 

Inside the swirling cloud, Luna's predicament grew greater every second. The dark magic was unlike anything she had ever felt before, as if it wasn't natural. Even Discords magic of chaos felt like a scripted spell to the feeling she was experiencing now. Even when she fell to the dark path of Nightmare Moon did she feel this level of evil. The Not only was she no longer controlling what was happening, she had no idea entirely to what was happening.

Never once had Starswirl ever told her about what this blade was fully capable of, but to have ever thought that this is what could have happened never even mentioned her thoughts. This was as if it wasn't even a sword. The aura flowing out from it felt as if it was moving on its own, forcing itself into her very soul.

It felt like the sword was alive.

Her body began trembling every few seconds, her muscles losing strength as the sword continued seeping into her power. Even trying to stand anymore was too much, forcing her down onto her knees as she clenched her eyes shut in fear. 

"No... This isn't what I wanted. I didn't want this to happen." Luna whimpered out in fear, tears of terror dripping out of her eyes. "Celestia... Help me."

"This wasn't the deal!"

Luna's eyes shot open at the sudden powerful voice echoing in the air. "He-hello!?" She gasped out in exhaustion. She turned her head to look for whoever called, but only saw swirling smoke. 

"This was not the deal, Starswirl!" The deep voice yelled again. "You promised equal share of the power!"

"Starswirl?" Luna stuttered in confusion, unsure where the words were coming from. Suddenly, another voice rang out through the smoke. 

"Don't even try and say you have the authority to make a deal with me, I do what I seem fit for my race."

'That's Starswirls voice!' Luna yelled at herself in confusion. She knew he was dead, but now his voice was speaking. Before she could comprehend it more, the smoke began spinning faster around her. 

"I won't allow my failure to spread itself more than it is." Starswirls voice said.

"No! Please don't! I'll do what you want, just let her go! Please!" Another voice yelled.

"Now you will watch your mistake and see the consequences." Starswirls voice said in the mist.

"This world will fall to its knees before I let any single one of you take it from me."

"Now you can watch from your cage as I show you what you could have had if you simply did what you were made to do."

Luna's head was spinning in pain and confusion to everything happening. The voices didn't make sense in all the mess and she just wanted them to stop. She looked down to the sword in her grip as it shook harder and harder every moment, continuing to spill out the dark smoke from its steel. She didn't know what was going on, but one thing for certain was she wanted no part in it any more. She realized she couldn't move the sword in any way, but the sheath on her back was free to move.

Using all the strength she had, Luna focused some of her magic and lifted the sheath and pulled it to the end of the sword. Her strain made the sheath shake uncontrollably and difficult to put straight. She didn't care how hard it was though, and she pushed down with all of her might as the sheath slipped back down onto the sword.

As soon as the sword was covered, the ball of smoke around her diminished instantly, breaking apart into nothing as if it were never there. All the smoke that was in the sky vanished as well, leaving Luna standing there alone. Her body was drenched in sweat and shaking profusely, unable to stand up straight before collapsing over. 

"princess Luna!" Rainbow yelled in fear of what happened. She prepared to take off over to her, but as she moved she felt the magic on her body shifting. She knew that if she flew it would not stay on her. But she didn't care.

"Screw this!"

Tired of just sitting there, Rainbow Dash jumped off the ground and flew towards Luna. Every flap she took ate away at her magical shield, the cover slowly dripping off before falling away completely. Gasping at the intense heat crashing over her, she pushed through it and landed by the princesses side. "Princess, are you okay? What happened?"

Luna couldn't answer though, her lungs gasping too fast to even gather a full breath. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared out blankly, not able to look at anything clearly. Every muscle she had felt locked like she had been clenched for hours on end. She tried to move her body, but gasped out as her leg moved barely a few inches.

"Princess... What did that thing do to you?" Rainbow asked in concern. A movement caught her attention to the left, making her look over and felt her heart nearly drop. "Twilight..."

The burning hybrid slowly trotted towards the two terrified ponies, her flickering mane dancing like a mad wildfire. "I don't know what kind of power that was, but it looks like you can't even control it yourself. Now I am ending this pathetic attempt of you to stop me from-

Spike slammed into the ground between Twilight and the others blocking her path, his claws extended out. "I'm not gonna let you hurt them Twilight! If you won't snap out of this, I'll make you snap out of it!"

He rushed forward at her trying to grab her, but Twilight easily dodged under his arms and grabbed a large rock with her magic and launched it into his stomach. Spike yelled out in pain as he fell onto his back. Before he could get back up, Twilight's magic crawled up his back and wrapped itself around his throat.

Taking a deep Inhale, Twilight used her aura and lifted Spike up into the air above her, shifting the magic into a tight collar just beneath his chin and squeezed. Spikes eyes shot open in panic as his windpipe suddenly constricted and halted his breathing. He thrashed about in the air, reaching at his neck in an attempt to free himself, but his arms became chained by magic as well, pinning them to his side leaving him helpless.

Rainbow Dash brought a hoof to her mouth in horror as she watched Spike struggle. "No, Twilight stop it! You're hurting him!"

Ignoring her, Twilight lifted him higher, watching him continue to thrash and cough in pain. "I am done with you getting in my way. It's about time you just gave up and accepted your fate."

"Please, don't do this! Please!" Rainbow screamed out, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Luna looked up in despair at the captured drake, attempting to stand up on her shaky legs, but she gasped and collapsed back down in strain. Her body was too exhausted to move at all anymore from the dark power of the sword, making her helpless to do anything.

"Twilight, st-stop, please..." Luna struggled to say, "you don't want to do this. You know you don't."

Twilight looked over to the princess and her former friend to her side, then back up to the dragon she had in her grasp. Suddenly, her vision shifted to the small  dragon she had grown up with when she was younger, a large smile on his face looking back at her. She saw how happy he was, and deep inside her own chest... She felt... Happy as well.

"Sp-spike..." Her voice cracked out.

'TWILIGHT!'

Crimsons yell inside Twilight's head snapped her out of her thoughts, bringing back the larger Spike to her sight. 'Twilight, don't let his lies get into your head. You are a god to these creatures now. None of them are worthy of being in your presence any longer.'

Twilight's eyes furrowed in anger as the words soaked into her mind. "Yes... I am greater than them."

Gasping for air, Spike looked down with pleading eyes to the pony he once saw as a loving sister, and still did. "T-Twilight... You don't want this. I can get you home and- gah!"

His words were cut short as the magical collar tightened at his throat. Rainbow brought a hoof to her mouth to hold back her gasps.

"Spike! Twilight stop!"

The words went ignored as Twilight simply stared up at Spikes eyes begin to gloss over, losing focus as his consciousness slipped. "Goodbye Spike. Now I will never be used by you or Celestia again."

Those last words rang inside Spikes ears, echoing through is mind and rattling his thoughts. His eyes shot open in anger and rage, clenching his arms and pulling as hard as he could against the chains. Twilight gave a smirk at seeing him attempt to fight her magic... Only to watch in shock as he began stretching the magical restraints outward. Her eyes spread open as the magic pulled before finally snapping in half.

"What!?" She gasped out in disbelief.

His claws freed, Spike reached up and physically grabbed the collar around his neck and pulled outward, Shattering the magic as if it were cardboard. Before Twilight could even react anymore, Spike rushed her with his fists balled tight and landed a powerful right hook directly into her face and sent her bouncing back across the rock and down splashing onto the lava below.

Both Luna and Rainbow Dash stared open mouth in utter shock at what just happened right in front of them.

"What... How did he... What!?" Rainbow stuttered in confusion. "He broke through her magic."

"How can he do that? A dragon simply... can't grab magic like that." Luna answered between pants. "It's like he has power of his own."

"But Spike is a dragon, he doesn't have magic. Or... He shouldn't have magic, right?"

"I know... It's like..." Luna's mind began to go back to something she suddenly remembered from the past. "Rainbow.... Didn't Twilight hatch Spike?"

"Huh?" Rainbow looked back at her in confusion. "Y-yeah she did." 

The princess turned forward and took a deep breath. Using all the willpower she possibly could muster, she struggled up and lifted herself onto her elbows and looked up at the drake before her. "Celestia said when Spike was hatched... Twilight... Had a magical miss fire, including shooting Spike as well. The only thing I can..." She paused to take another inhale, "I can think of is somehow... Spike was infused with magic at birth... To why he was stunted at growth until it was broken. That's... That's why he's bigger now."

"What? You mean he has magic in him so that's why he suddenly grew?" Rainbow asked out, also remembering the burst of aura around his body when he changed.

Luna nodded. "It seems he for some miracle he... He has her power infused in his blood. He can counter her powers... And break through it. Since he is... Immune to fire and her magic... He is probably... The one who can actually stop her.

Crawling up from the lava, Twilight shook her head and looked up in complete and utter disbelief as this dragon grabbed her own aura and broke through it, something that should be impossible. She could only look up at the furious drake staring down at her, his piercing eyes focused on her as he popped the bones in his knuckles.

"Twilight, I love you and I want to help you, but you better start trying to get free. If you don't try and help yourself, I'll break every bone in your body and drag you back to Canterlot so we can rip that monster out of you!"