Hear ears moved picking up the sound of wind blowing faintly, groaning feeling as if she’s been falling for days. Shaking her head and pressing her hands on the ground to push herself to stand up, Twilight shook her head and rubbing her forehead feeling her horn back.

Taking a moment to feel up her pony ears back, indeed she had returned to her pony body. Her eyes opening wide remembering what had happened back in the human world, though just now noticing where she was also remembered what had happened. Last she was here Princess Celestia was there to be with her before ascending into an alicorn, but now the looked like it was in the middle of a sunset with a massive broken wing laying still above. Some magic windows from back there were here too, except now they were broken showing nothing but static.

As if that wasn’t enough, ahead also was someone who looked an awful lot like her. With darker skin and hair color, wearing a dress similar to the transformed Sunset from the Fall Formal incident. Her raven-like wings flapping once while she turned to her staring with dark blue eyes, strangely her dark double suddenly smiled at her with warmth.

“Ah, hello there.” Her double started while waving at her “Good to see you’re okay.”

Twilight stood still speechless. Sure, she met and got arrested by her human counterpart in the other world. But this dark mirror of her rubbed her the wrong way, unable to say a word just shaking her head.

“You may be thinking I’m some sort of Nightmare Moon successor, but I promise that I’m not.” She walked close taking one of Twilight’s hands and holding it with both of her looking at her softly.

“Then…” Twilight finally started with her hand holding both of her double’s tighter “What happened to you?”

“It doesn’t really matter, we don’t have much time and we may never meet again.” Her double’s head tilting up pointing at the dragon wing above “It’s him, that madman is out destroying. Equestria is being affected too.”

She let go of Twilight’s hands walking to the broken static monitors, touching one of them before exhaling sadly.

“With each passing day, magic is slowly disappearing. The past, the future. They are uncertain right now. Harmony… is fleeting.”

Twilight walked after her standing behind her dark double, with the memories from the catalyst came the image of a certain mage of the winds. One of her hands clenching into a fist.

“You mean Vaati, right?” A nod from her other confirms it “But his power is insane, how can he be beaten? The power of the box did nothing to him, doubt the elements of harmony would do much to him too.”

“You see how you try to redeem some of the villains you face?” The darker Twilight faced to her side with a hardened expression, leaving Twilight confused before her ears flatten to her head.

“Yeah. Lots of my friends died because of that, and a whole world too now. It’s horrible.”

“Do the opposite of that. He has a tendency to lower his guard to the level of his opponent, use chance that to kill him.”

“K-Kill him?!” She covered her mouth staring at her double wide eyed.

“He’s a crazy psychopath!” The other Twilight wrapped her arms around her stomach, her face in the verge of wincing “Believe me, yourself. Only more people will suffer and die if you keep approaching him the same way you did everything before, there’s no redeeming him. There’s no way to seal him, he has to be stopped.”

“Still…” Twilight held out a hand to her before stopping feeling a small earthquake, a very distant roar reaching to both of their ears. The darker Twilight looking up with a somber expression.

“We’re out of time. Remember to get your friends before going after Vaati, show him no mercy at all.” She walked past the main Twilight with the mist around them slowly getting thicker, the dragon’s distant roar heard closer as well.

“But wait, who are you? Why did you come to tell me this?” Twilight called to her one last time with her head starting to get dizzy. Struggling to stay awake seeing the other Twilight stop and look at her for what’s possibly the last time she will be.

“I’m Midnight Sparkle. This was all that I could to help you beat him, do not let Equestria nor magic die!”

With one more roar the mist covered everything and Twilight felt herself fall again. The mindscape disappearing completely, feeling the fall going on with no signs of stopping nor her wings working at all to save herself.

Stirring once again she felt sheets on her before yawning and getting up from where she laid. A comfy bed within a very similar room used in one of her many visits to Canterlot when she needed a place to sleep in. Though even awake, she still can make out the dragon roar from where she met Midnight.

Luckily with her equestrian clothes still on, she threw aside the bedsheets making way outside. Not long after she went out the door Twilight felt a hand touch her shoulder, letting out a surprised gasp which belonged to one of the two guards near the door.

“Easy miss Twilight, we’re glad that you’re here. Princess Celestia is waiting for you in her chambers.”

“The princess? Oh yes, lead the way gentlemen.”

They complied with a nod. Walking the familiar halls of the castle, strangely there’s more ponies and castle staff than when she last was here. Mainly guards were scurrying about in a hurry, also strange that curtains had closed any and all windows on their way. The exception being stained glass windows.

Soon they arrived at their destination, the guards nodding at Twilight before going off to join the other guards in whatever they’re in a hurry of.

Inviting herself in Celestia’s room, her eyes shrunk at an unbelievable sight she found inside. The princess indeed was inside, and was sitting in a table taking tea with the changeling queen Chrysalis. The purple alicorn wasn’t unnoticed by the two while she received a chuckle from the changeling.

“Pleasure doing business with you, princess. Me and my hive are grateful, excuse me as you discuss the more… important matter.”

Celestia just nodded at her as she got up leaving her now empty cup, passing by Twilight surprisingly without any remarks or taunts. The younger princess could have sworn she was going to.

Though feeling Celestia’s arms around her, that had to wait. Hugging back her mentor both smiling feeling relieved.

“Welcome back Twilight, I’m so glad you’re okay. I was worried when you and Spike came out of the mirror with fire after you.”

They soon broke the hug with Twilight’s ears sprang up, she had forgotten about Spike! Were she not in the presence of the princess her palm would be on her forehead by now.

“Is Spike okay?! What happened? Why were you negotiating with that witch of a queen?”

“Easy, Twilight.” Celestia rubbed her student’s back trying to calm her down “Spike is alright, he is with your friends right now. The other questions…” Her expression visibly became concerned, something unusual from her calm self from even other disasters “It’s better if you see for yourself.”

Wordlessly knowing to follow her into the balcony, Twilight did so feeling her anxiety rise and a louder echoing dragon roar from the direction of it. But she wasn’t prepared for what she found outside.

Dark clouds surrounded the entire sky with few light shining through them, seemingly light of sunset. The shadow of a gigantic dragon flying through the sky of darkness, it was visible even on the darkest of clouds.

Worse was what down. Smoke and fire coming from all places of Equestria. Smaller shadow-like dragons attacked any towns and villages they see while ponies defend themselves with spears or any other weapon they could find. Both Canterlot and Ponyville filled with barricades that successfully have kept the dark dragons from attacking, some with wings while lots of other who didn’t still attacking. Changelings flew down aiding ponies to fight against the shadow dragons, their task of defending their homes a bit easier thanks to their support.

Unicorns were seen throwing magic spells on the dragons clawing and attacking the barricades. While effective, were quickly running out of magic and for some reason their magic reserves not refilling themselves even when they rest. Forcing said unicorns to pick up a weapon instead. Fighting broken out all over, the massive shadow dragon flying around in the sky, the depleting magic, innocents suffering while the brave charge to protect them.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time until they can’t take anymore. Memories from the human world falling came once again, Twilight couldn’t help but shed tears. It was happening again, but more slowly.

The end of harmony, the world was breaking. Both princesses witnessing a nightmare unfold before them.

Author's Note

A bit short, still garbage. But whatever, here's an update. More of a setup for this final act, not a good one in my opinion.

I intend to finish this fic even if I don't want to. I have an endpoint planned, but not how to get there. Might make some surprises in the way there, we'll see.

But if you're still here, thank you for sticking so far and having the patience of a saint to make it here. Hopefully you'll enjoy it in some way or another.