A World Unseen- PREQUEL

by Rainy Spirit

Rating: everyone
Tags: Alternate Universe, Sad, Adventure, Dark
Length: 5244

When the Mane Six discover Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra have a son, who is now taking over Equestria, they know they are taking on their strongest enemy yet.

For the main story, click here.

Dark Heart is the son of Queen Chrysalis of the changelings and King Sombra of the shadows. The colt is said to be the strongest enemy the Element Bearers have ever had to face. Will they be able to defeat him?
The actual story is coming soon!
(P.S. The actual story will be written in past tense, unlike the majority of this, because I find past tense easier to write in and that will likely make it a smoother read)

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-01-09 21:49:24 UTC

Chapter 1- Through the Darkness

The cold air swims between the six element bearers, nipping at their hooves and tugging at their mane. Twilight sinks deeper into her threadbare scarf, pulling it tighter around her neck with her magic. A shiver runs down her spine as the frigid winds encompass her, howling to the skies. Silently, the purple alicorn begins to trudge up the back of the mountain, her eyes set on the black pool of magic hovering at the top. The wind pulls on the magic, but occasional drops of darkness only drift slightly from their base. The youngest princess watches with fear flowering in her heart, her hooves trembling slightly with each step upward. Her friends follow, the quiet weighing heavily on each pony’s shoulders. Each face is flushed bright pink, every eye is trained on their goal. The bearers cannot afford to lose, despite the difficulty of their duties to Equestria. This is it. They are their country’s only hope.

Fluttershy sucks in a deep breath and, clearly terrified, is the last to join the group climbing the mountain. She looks at Twilight, who is looking more and more sure of herself each minute. Then, her eyes fall on Rainbow Dash, who fights the winds from a few feet higher than the rest. She peers at Applejack, and an uncertainty lies in her expression. Pinkie’s eyes are downcast, her appearance much more solemn than usual. Finally, there’s Rarity. It is clear she is afraid, but she’s perhaps the most determined. She is aware of the possible consequences of taking on this kind of enemy, but she will give up her life for the ponies of Equestria if it’s needed. If anypony has represented the Element of Generosity before, certainly none of them did it better than Rarity. Even so, by her expression, one can tell that she is fighting the fear of death.

Just a day ago, things had been so normal. Nopony would have ever imagined that they would end up here, worrying that they might die, on Hearths Warming. It darkened their hearts that they might never share happy moments all together again like they did the day before at Pinkie’s Hearth’s Warming Eve party.

It had been a cheerful day in Ponyville. Fillies were out in the streets, tossing snowballs at one another and trying to build the tallest snowpony in town. The market was bustling with last minute Hearth’s Warming shoppers and ponies were stopping by one anothers houses to deliver their gifts. The town was bright with the energy of the holiday, and many ponies had marked their calendars for Pinkie’s party. The element bearers had gathered at Sugarcube Corner and were decorating in a mad rush with only an hour left before the bash. Although they had been there for hours, the girls had gotten distracted quite a few times by the large collection of cupcakes on the table, or by how cute Pound and Pumpkin Cake looked in their little Hearth’s Warming outfits, or by the white crystals that floated down from the sky. “Oooh! We’re going to have a white Hearth’s Warming!” Pinkie had exclaimed. Nonetheless, they managed to put the very last decoration on the tree before the first guest rang the doorbell.

“Wheeeeewiee!! That was close!” the pink earth pony giggled like a filly, jumping towards the door and swinging it open. She shot a wide smile at the Cutie Mark Crusaders who stood in the doorway. “Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle! Applebloom! C’mon in, guys! We’ve got cu-upcakes!” she sung lackadaisically.

The three fillies trotted in, dropping three bags of presents by the tree as they swung over to the snack counter, chatting about how to get their cutie marks and their favourite types of cupcakes. After they were seated, it wasn’t long before a whole slew of ponies had arrived. It seemed as though everyone in town had showed up to Pinkie’s party. There were families, couples, and best friends alike, all mingling around Sugarcube corner.

“Well, girls!” Pinkie grinned. “I do believe we have officially the best party in town!” She hoof-bumped with Rainbow Dash and the six laughed.

Suddenly, the building trembled. The music wafting about the room faltered and ponies shared looks of shock and exclamations of horror. “What’s going on?” they yelped to one another. “What’s happening?”

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash yelled, lowering herself to the ground and leaning on the wall to stay standing up.

“What on earth is all this shaking about?” Rarity asked.

“Ah think Ah’m gonna be sick!” Applejack stumbled over her own hooves and nearly fell over.

Suddenly, the door to the confectionary opened with a loud bang. Spike stood below the awning, terror in his eyes.

“Spike!” Twilight called out as he ran and, albeit falling a few times, reached her side. He held a faded scroll in his claw.

“Twilight, Princess Celestia sent you this!” he said in one breath, giving her the scroll. “And, there’s this big cloud of black smoke up by Canterlot!” The crowd responded to his last comment with gasps and widening eyes. The purple alicorn wordlessly levitated the scroll and broke the seal. As her eyes scanned the paper, the world slowly stopped shaking, but the look of fear in Twilight’s expression did not fade.

When she finished reading, Twilight opened her mouth as if she were about to give a response. Then, however, she looked back up, seeming to remember the ponies present. She cleared her throat nervously, rolling up the paper again and turning to face the worried group of ponies. “Please, head back to your homes. The party will have to be over for tonight. Presently, we cannot tell you anything about the, um, earthquakes, for lack of a more proper term. We will inform you as soon as possible.” Then, she turned back to her friends, who wore looks of concern and confusion. She waited for a moment for everypony to leave, watching quietly for the very last filly to head out the door. Calmly, she used her magic to turn the lock on the door. She looked at the Cakes, who now stood in the centre of the main area of Sugarcube Corner. “I’m very sorry, but we need to speak alone, if that’s alright.”

“That’s okay, Princess,” Carrot Cake said with a smile, gently lifting the twins from their spot on the floor. The family headed upstairs. Once Twilight heard the click of the door closing, she turned back to her friends.

“Sorry, Princess Celestia just didn't want anypony else to know yet,” Twilight explained, giving Pinkie an apologetic look before glancing at each of her other friends. “It’s important that ponies remain calm.” It was clear, though, that Twilight wasn't calm. She seemed to be desperately trying to look as though she was, but her eyes were brimmed with tears and she seemed afraid.

“It’s mighty fine, Twi, we understand,” Applejack said carefully, her tone sympathetic and worried. They all looked at her, on the edge of their seats, waiting for an explanation.

“Well,” the purple pony swallowed her emotions. “It seems as though King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis have… had a colt.”

“What?” Fluttershy commented in disbelief.

“Yes, they… named him Dark Heart, apparently. Dark Heart has come to Canterlot. He’s very powerful, of course, considering his parents are so powerful themselves. We have to admit they were not easy to defeat,” Twilight responded, obviously being very selective in how she said what she needed to say. “He has very strong hypnotic powers, and he has taken control of the princesses, at least, I believe he has, and most the citizens of Canterlot. Somehow, a few of the ponies there were immune, however, but he has used his strong magic to lock them up and use them to his advantage, much like what King Sombra did when he ruled over the Crystal Empire… Princess Celestia, she wrote her letter as he was coming for her…” The tears that were previously in Twilight’s eyes returned, threatening to break free. “We’re Equestria’s last hope.”

For a minute, everypony stood in stunned silence. Finally, Rarity spoke. “Well, we can’t let that happen!” she stated matter-of-factly, shaking her head.

“No, we can’t,” Rainbow nodded. “So what do we gotta do to save Equestria this time?”

Twilight didn't seem encouraged by her friends’ exclamations of heroism. “We have to take him down with the magic of friendship, I suppose…”

“What’s wrong sugarcube?” Applejack stepped forward. “We've done this before, we can do it again.

The other four nodded and voiced their agreement with Applejack’s promise.

“Girls, there’s reason to believe we can’t,” Twilight replied. “This colt is more powerful than any enemy we've ever taken on. He certainly knows more about magic than I do, and that’s my element! He’s shrouded all of Canterlot in darkness, they say. I couldn't do anything that requires that much magic. We couldn't do anything that requires that much magic. Don’t you see? We could die! He could kill us!”

The ponies looked to one another, now considerably less sure of themselves. All of them looked much more fearful, and Fluttershy seemed horrified.

“B-but Twilight, y-you took on Tirek!” the yellow pegasus whimpered, seemingly trying to calm herself more than Twilight.

The purple alicorn looked at her friend, pity in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but this pony… Well, it’s likely he has the power of ten Tireks, completely filled with magic.”

Everypony grew quiet, the gravity of their situation settling on their shoulders. “We… have to do this,” the Element of Loyalty finally spoke up, living up to her element as well as she was able.

“Dashie is right,” the formerly quiet Pinkie spoke up. She gave them a weak smile. “We are the bearers of the elements, guys! Nopony can beat us!”

The others brightened up a bit at her comment and all began to agree. That is, all except Fluttershy, who seemed reluctant. “B-but guys…” she mumbled nervously.

Applejack walked over to her and looked her in the eyes. “Fluttershy, Ah know you’re scared. Aw, hay fries, so am Ah. But… if’n we don’t beat this guy… Ah mean, think o’ the princesses, o’ your animals… your friends. We’ll be like the folks of the Crystal Empire, assumin’ we ain’t hypnotized… There ain’t no winnin’ if we don’t even give it a try.”

“She’s right, dear,” Rarity backed her up, with a sad but reassuring smile.

“O-okay… I’ll do it for Angel bunny, and for you guys…” Fluttershy almost whispered, getting up slowly.

“Alright,” Twilight said. “It also mentioned in the letter that there are no trains to Canterlot, since a few royal guards were able to escape and inform the ponies in charge of transportation, so we’ll have to travel by hoof. You all better go back to your homes and pack what you need. Dress warmly, too, everypony, we've got a long journey ahead of us. Oh, and remember, please don’t tell anypony about what’s going on. If somepony asks, just tell them that you are leaving town for element business, don’t say any more. Meet me by the Castle when you’re done getting ready, and please try to hurry.”

“Okay, Twilight,” Rainbow responded, and all of them but Pinkie and Twilight filed out the door.

Pinkie smiled nervously at Twilight, who was clearly downtrodden. “It’s okay, Twilight. We’ll save Princess Celestia and the rest of Equestria, I just know it.”

The purple alicorn glanced at her friend with a dark expression. “I sure hope so,” she said quietly as she made for the door and, head low, trotted out.

A half hour or so later, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight had gathered outside Twilight’s castle. Each wore their saddlebags and were standing in quietude. “Where is that Rarity?” Applejack questioned, breaking the silence.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Dash said, looking annoyed.

As though on cue, Rarity called out from a few yards away, running in their direction. “So sorry! I just could not find my earmuffs!” she apologized as she reached her destination and placed a pink pair of earmuffs on her head with her magic.

“It’s okay, Rarity,” Fluttershy responded softly. Rainbow kept a look of irritation on her face.

“Let’s get going,” Twilight replied, lifting herself into the air, just above the heads of her grounded friends. Fluttershy also preferred to walk, but Twilight motioned for her to join her and Rainbow. Reluctantly, the pegasus fought the strengthening breeze to fly beside them. “Okay, I’m sure you girls know the way, right?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, of course, darling,” Rarity answered her.

“Alright. We’re going to fly ahead, so we can find the best and quickest way to go up the mountain when we get there. Meet us at the base of the North Mountain,” Twilight instructed.

“You got it, Cap’n Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said, much too chipper for the situation. She saluted Twilight enthusiastically.

The lavender pony lifted herself higher reluctantly, glancing back at her friends. “Be careful, girls, I don’t know if he’s found out we’re coming yet.”

As Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy began to fly away, the other three looked at each other nervously.

It had taken quite a long time to reach the North Mountain, until what must have been shortly after dawn the morning of Hearth’s Warming. Nopony could have been sure, though, because the whole area surrounding the mountain was veiled with a dark fog, like an eternal night with no moon and stars, and somehow even darker than that. Even so, there was some form of blue light coming from an unknown source that allowed the winged ponies to see their friends as they arrived. That had been about a half hour ago. They had discussed the plan of how they would reach the top, and that had been about it. After that, it had been complete silence, which seemed to be a recurring thing between the circle of friends in the past few hours.

As they continue to trot up the mountain, somepony finally says something. “So… how… was your trip?” Pinkie awkwardly asks the pegasi and alicorn. “Didya have any problems?”

“Well, we kinda had some trouble seeing. It was a lot darker up there,” Rainbow replies.

“Why, that’s strange,” Rarity comments.

“It was.... weird,” Fluttershy adds, her voice haunted.

There is another uncomfortable quietness between the best friends as they make their way up the steep mountain. The quiet is suddenly shattered, though, when a deep, throaty roar echoes through the mountain. Everypony stops in their tracks and looks at each other. Heavy hoofsteps shake the ground beneath them, and they all instinctively take a step back.

“Nopony run! Running is what Dark Heart wants!” Twilight yells over the hoofsteps. She peers ahead, trying to get a look at what seems to be coming down the mountain but unable to see through the thick darkness ahead. Thoughts of what creature is coming to them run through her mind, until she matches the roar she heard with one of them.

An Ursa Major, she recalls, her heart skipping a beat.

Before she can warn her friends further, the creature’s nose is right in front of her. The creature stares her down, its posture confident. “Everypony grab my hoof!” she yells as she reaches back as quickly as she can. Once she thinks she feels each friend’s hoof, she teleports a ways up the mountain, behind the Ursa.

“Where’s Applejack?” Pinkie shouts in bewilderment, before Twilight can recognize that only four of her friends are present.

“Oh, no!” Twilight yelps. “You four go ahead, we’ll catch up, okay?”

Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy nod and begin to run ahead, but Rainbow Dash looks unsure. “Be careful, okay?” she says, worried for her friends’ safety.

“We’ll be alright, Rainbow,” Twilight reassures, though she doesn’t believe that is necessarily true.

With that, RD flies towards the other two ponies farther up the mountain. Twilight turns and takes flight, the wind whistling in her ears as she picks up her speed.

“Hey, Ursa!” she yells, using all her strength to kick him in the back. The creature turns around, his claws flying furiously. She flies out of his reach, dodging each attempt to catch her. “Applejack!” She calls down, searching for her friend.

Finally, she spots her. The orange pony lies on the ground in front of the Ursa. Twilight gasps when she doesn’t reply to her calls. She darts down at full speed, doing her best to avoid getting caught by the Ursa. But as she nears the ground, her worries for Applejack grow as she notices she seems unconscious, and the Ursa Major is able to hit her while she is distracted. She is flung backwards through the air, flapping her wings as hard as she is able to keep herself from crashing into the quickly approaching side of the mountain. She tries to create a force field as she did with Tirek but finds it difficult, images of Applejack rushing through her mind. What if she’s dead? she worries. She finally clears her mind by reminding herself that she will be no use to Applejack if she herself dies. After she remembers this, her wings feel stronger and stop her right before she collides with the mountain. She flies upwards again, the Ursa Major watching her from below, pawing up towards her but not quite able to reach. Then, she plummets towards the ground, hooves outstretched. She makes her way past the Ursa and gets close enough to Applejack that she can use her magic to carry her.

Carrying heavier items with magic for long periods of time is a major energy drainer, and she knows she will need her magic to fight Dark Heart. Because of this, she places Applejack on her back, despite the strain on her wings. She flies back up towards the sky before racing forward, parallel to the mountainside. Her adrenaline keeps her going when her wings would have otherwise failed. The Ursa Major growls before belting out another angry roar. He, luckily, gives up following them rather quickly, apparently realizing that they are leaving his territory anyway and are not worth his time.

As soon as he stops chasing them, Twilight lowers herself to the ground weakly. She has to stop for a minute, the weight of AJ and her speed having tired her out. She is unsure if she will be able to complete the trip, but she knows her friends are ahead. She vows to only take a short rest, knowing that it is also dangerous to sleep in snow. She gently sets Applejack down and lies down in the snow, her chest rising and falling shakily with each ragged breath. The cold stings her throat and the wind blows snow in her eyes.

She soon realizes how exhausted she truly is. Her mind fights her body as it pulls her towards slumber. What about Applejack? she questions herself. She tries to get up, but she can’t. She hasn't slept all night and has just worked herself to her limits. There is no way her body will let her continue her journey.

So, despite her protest and worries about the dangers of sleeping in the cold, Twilight feels herself quickly falling into the serenity of sleep.

Chapter 2- Equestria in Our Hooves- Twilight's POV

Twilight awakes to find herself slung over somepony's back. Confused, she turns to get a glimpse of who it is, but the pony’s voice beats her to it. "Twi?" Applejack turns her head back, meeting the alicorn's gaze.

"Sweet Celestia, Applejack!" the lavender pony says in surprise, remembering Applejack's condition earlier. I must have fallen asleep, she reasons. She stumbles off her fellow element bearer's back in a rush, tumbling into the snow.

"Whoa there," the cowpony exclaims, looking down at her friend. "Better be careful. You looked a might awful when I found ya passed out earlier."

As she gets up and shakes off the snow, Twilight can hardly believe what she is hearing. "I looked awful? You had a gash in your side and- Twilight stops mid sentence as she weakly trots to AJ's other side. "Oh, AJ, you still have it! Why are you carrying me; you're the injured one!"

"Why, I reckon I couldn't have just left you there, sugarcube," she frowns at her friend, "an, well, y'know, we had to keep goin'."

Twilight stares at her for a minute. Applejack is pale and her wound is still bleeding. However, Twilight knows the earth pony was not in good condition, but she also knows that AJ came into this aware that she might lose her life for it. Twilight ponders this before releasing a burdened sigh. "You're right, but... Where are the others?"

"That's what Ah've been wonderin'," she pauses and peers at her friend through curious eyes as the two begin walking upwards again. "'An Ah've been wonderin' how exactly Ah'm alive right now. Ah figure you saved me, now, but... Ah don't know how you defeated an Ursa Major..." A sly smile worms its way into Applejack's expression. "That's somethin' ya should tell Trixie."

Twilight rolls her eyes but smiles. "Well, that isn't important now. The others went ahead, but I would have expected we would have seen them... Well, I guess I don't know how long I've been unconscious-

"Two hours or so, I'm willin' to bet," AJ interrupts.

"Yes. So, we should have seen them by now..." she trails off, once again examining her friend's condition. Well, maybe not, she thinks. “I’ll fly ahead and see if I can find them.”

Applejack looks for a moment as though she might protest, but then, probably reassessing the situation, just furrows her brow and nods in response.

“I’ll be right back,” Twilight promises. “Just stay here.” AJ nods again, so Twilight takes off. As she flies, she remembers how Rainbow had been savouring her flight earlier, how Pinkie Pie had tried to cheer everypony up. She feels her stomach drop. What if something bad happened to them? she worries inwardly. Wouldn’t they have come back to look for us?

Wait, she thinks, like Applejack said, we have to just keep going. They know that too; They aren’t going to head back, though they probably thought of it.

The princess sighs as she scans the ground for her friends, the situation feeling all too familiar. As she weaves between the clouds of darkness, she feels tears filling her eyes. Seriously, Twilight? she thinks furiously. Stop crying, focus on your job! She has to remind herself this is her duty to Equestria, and it requires all her attention. She always comes through for her country.

Lost in her thoughts, Twilight almost doesn’t hear the soft calls of her friends below. Upon recognizing their voices, she immediately changes her direction and flies downwards. Rainbow is mid air, between her and the ground, waving her hooves like a madmare. “Twilight!” she yells.

“Rainbow?” Twilight says as she nears her friend.

“Where were you guys?” the blue pegasus gestures to the little cluster of multicoloured ponies standing on the ground below them. “You got us worried!” Rainbow looks around for a minute. “Wait, where’s Applejack?”

“She’s injured,” Twilight answers quickly, knowing there is no time to waste. “The faster we can take care of Dark Heart, the more likely she’ll be alright.”

Rainbow’s eyes fall to the ground. “It’s that bad, huh?” she asks. “Well, we can wait for you guys here if you think she can make it this far, otherwise I guess we could go back and fly her here.” Although this response takes Twilight by surprise (since, usually, she would be already headed to help Applejack, despite not even knowing where she is), she knows Rainbow is very loyal to Equestria as well as her friends and wants the best for both. They both know it would be best if Applejack could go on her own, since everypony gets extremely slowed down when they’re carrying somepony else. And, if she were honest with herself, Twilight knows she wouldn’t be much help, since she’s not very strong.

“I think she can make it,” the purple pony states, though she is doubtful. “We’ll go as fast as we can.” Before Rainbow can change her mind, Twilight turns back to the direction in which she came and flies at top speed.

It isn’t long before she had reaches her orange friend, who silently sits in the snow. As Twilight lands, she notices the look of sadness in Applejack’s eyes. It quickly fades once the earth pony notices her, though.

“They aren’t too far ahead of us,” Twilight answers her friend’s unvoiced question. “You’ll be okay walking, right?”

Applejack rolls her eyes and shoots her friend a wry grin. “Seriously, Twi, since when does this pony need help with anythin’?” She gets on her hooves and the two begin speed walking.

Applejack is able to go surprisingly fast, considering her injury. Twilight just hopes she isn’t overdoing it. But she has to believe that AJ knows her limits. It is the only thing she can believe, at this point, if she wants to save Equestria.

Before long, the two are able to make out their friends in the distance. This makes AJ push herself even harder, and, soon, she is running full speed. She takes a few minutes to catch her breath upon reaching the others.

Twilight decides it was best for everypony to just get right down to business. “How close are we to Dark Heart’s cave?” she asks the others.

“We think it’s… right up ahead,” Fluttershy whispers the last part, fear in her eyes.

There is a pause as Twilight looks sadly from friend to friend. “If… this is the end, after all, I… just want to say: you guys have been great friends,” they all stare back at her. She knows she is watering a dead flower, but she just wants to say it if it really is the last time she can.

Soon, everypony joins in, though, reminding their friends how much they’ve meant to them. Even Rainbow Dash thanks her friends for everything, despite being the one who usually would complain about the sappiness of the situation.

After another moment of silence, Pinkie smiles halfheartedly at her friends, looking from pony to pony. “Well, let’s go get ‘em, team!” she says, but her voice sounds deflated, much like her mane. Still, upon her prompting, they all start to make their way through the final stretch to Dark Heart’s lair.

Suddenly, after a few minutes of walking, they hear it. Maniacal laughter dancing through the air. As they fearfully follow the sound, they see blue light pouring from a hole in the mountain’s side. Electrical pulses and clouds of dark magic emanate around the cave’s entrance. When Twilight sees this, she feels her heart slowly rise to her throat. Swallowing, she lowers herself to the snowy ground and creeps forward, her friends following suit. They stop just outside of the cave, illuminated in the artificial blue light. “I’ll go in f-first,” Twilight stutters.

Without waiting for a response, the alicorn climbs into the cave. After making her way in, she feels someone’s breath on her forehead. Fearfully, she raises her head, and finds herself looking into the red eyes of a shadow changeling. “So, you’ve arrived,” the mangled creature hisses, lifting his hole-covered hoof and flipping his torn tail. His voice is much like his mother’s, only deeper, and holding more hatred than anypony- or anything- Twilight has ever talked to, including Chrysalis. Strange blue and red vines grow out of his greasy mane and wrap around his hardly-intact leg. He’s nothing more than the bones of a pony, the thinnest creature Twilight has ever laid her eyes upon.

As she stands, looking at him in horror, her friends file in behind her. His curved horn sputters as it sparks to life, like an old machine struggling to do its job. He’s much taller than the friends were expecting, especially considering he’s still a colt. “I wish you luck in defeating me,” he continues with a simper. “Looks like you’ll need it. You’re already dumbstruck by me, aren’t you?” He towers over the ponies, tittering, his fangs shining in the pale light.

"You think you're so great, huh?" Rainbow is the first to get her wits about her. "Well, we're gonna whoop your sorry flank! You'll wished you'd never messed with Equestria! Aren't I right, guys?"

"Uhhh-huh!" Pinkie says, grinning devilishly. "You mess with the princesses, you mess with Pinkie Pie!"

Dark Heart rolls his eyes. "Oh, certainly. I've heard of your ‘magic or friendship’, you know. But, tell me, Miss Pie, do you really think my parents didn't prepare me for you?" Pinkie is silent. He snorts before sitting down and staring at them. His demeanour reminds Twilight of Discord's confidence before he was defeated. This guy, though, might actually win. Twilight shudders at the thought.

Even so, she knows they must try. She looks at her friends warily, who give her reassuring nods. Twilight closes her eyes, allowing the magic to swell inside her and pulse into her horn. She imagines beads of her magic going from her and into her friends, and she feels her horn palpitate as her magic branches off its main stream.

She opens her eyes at last, looking at the world through a thick lens of glowing white. She sees the look on Dark Heart’s face: a drop of uncertainty (although, not fear) tugs at his smirking lips. He doesn’t move, however, as the iridescent magic grows between the friends. Finally, their magic gushes out of them in a rainbow of colours, headed straight for Dark Heart. It’s all going as expected, Twilight thinks, hoping it will stay that way.

The alicorn always feels as though in a daze when she uses such powerful magic; in a way, it takes ahold of her. That’s why, when Dark Heart slowly stands and lights up his horn, she has difficulty comprehending what he is doing. She simply continues to let the magic run its course as the ghastly colt’s horn roars up a ball of electrical light. The ball swells and pulses, much like the light they had seen just outside the cave earlier. It grows and grows, seeming as though it will burst with each drop of magic.

Soon, Dark Heart’s smidgen of uncertainty has completely disappeared. Even as the friends’ magic pours on him, he keeps his footing and fights it off with his ball of magic until he has enough room for a clean shot. Twilight’s eyes widen, and she steps backward. Although the friends continue to push their magic to its limits, it’s starting to dawn on her that it won’t be enough.

The tall colt smiles eerily. “Goodbye, Elements,” he chortles, sounding as daunting as ever. Then, he rears and lands hard. The minute his peculiar hooves touch the stone ground, his magic explodes into a single ray of vibrant blue light, headed right towards the group. Twilight senses their magic falter and break. She stands helplessly, her friends behind her. Held tightly by terror, she can only watch as the ball of light charges towards them at full speed.

Oh, Princess Celestia, I’m sorry I failed you.