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                   Embrace the Darkness                    
                     -by thedarkitty-                      
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                         Prologue.                         
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Prologue.
“Luna, wait!” The Night Princess ignored Celestia’s desperate call and continued her brisk pace towards the castle’s tallest towers. “Please Luna, just stop and talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about sister,” said Luna without turning around. “I’ve already made up my mind, and nothing you can say or do will change it.” Celestia grabbed Luna’s shoulder and pulled her around to face her.
“I can’t let you do this Luna, your decision affects the entire nation of Equestria...” Luna snarled, and her horn glowed forcing Celestia back several steps with her magic.
“Do not talk to me about decisions that affect Equestria, sister! Your decision to give Twilight Sparkle the knowledge to create the Lost Rune was extremely foolish and dangerous. Not even Starswirl the Bearded was able to resist the corruption of its powers. Have you forgotten what happened to him...”
“We agreed never to speak of that time again Luna...”
“Wakeup Celestia, that time is on us once more. Equestria is about to enter its darkest times yet, and you act like nothing is happening. We need him back and you know it!”
Celestia frowned at her sister. “Perhaps it’s you who need him back...”
“Hold your tongue sister! Do not presume to know my thoughts.”
“You didn’t deny it,” Celestia pointed out. Luna scowled and continued her acescent up the tower’s stairs. “At least let me come with you. You cannot go to him alone, you know what he’s capable of.”
“Which is why it would make no difference if you were there with me or not.”
“Than it’s settled, I’m coming with you!” Luna looked like she was about to argue, but she merely nodded her acceptance instead.
“I must warn you sister, this world we are about to enter is full of dark and dangerous creatures. There are laws regarding the use of magic, and people to make sure those laws are followed. You must do as I tell you without hesitation, am I clear?” Celestia gave her sister a solemn nod, and stood next to her on the top of the tower.
Luna’s horn glowed, and the moonlight shining down on them became brighter and more intense, until Celestia had to closer her eyes. She felt a sudden jerk over her entire body, before she felt entirely weightless like she was nothing more air. And when the sensation passed, Celestia fell to her knees and threw up.
“Do not worry sister, you will feel better soon. But we must move quickly, our arrival will have been noticed by many undesirable creatures.” Celestia stood on shaky legs using Luna for support and they both walked out of the alleyway they had appeared in.
“What is this place?” Celestia asked, looking around in awe at the strange new world Luna had bought them to.
“This, my dear sister, is a different parallel world to the one Sunset Shimmer now resides in. The city we are in, is the city of New York.”
Celestia gazed curiously at her sister. “How do you know so much about this place?”
“I have come to this world a few times before, but have never traveled past this city.” Luna suddenly paused, tilting her head as though she was trying to hear something, and she began walking faster. “You may ask questions later sister, for right now I sense several vampires tracking us. We must hurry uptown where it is safer.”
Celestia took in the new sights sounds, and smells that plagued her senses. She was absolutely fascinated with the things Luna called cars, and she could only think about how much Equestria could benefit from such advanced technology.
“Vampires!” Luna yelled, suddenly grabbing Celestia’s hand and took off running. Celestia glanced over her shoulder and sure enough, three very pale looking people were chasing after them, and they were gaining fast.
“They’re getting closer!”
Luna came to a sudden stop, and spun around holding up a hand glowing with pale blue magic. “Stay away!” Luna warned. The vampires paused for a moment, than resumed their approach. Luna fired a warning shot of energy at their feet. “I said stay away!”
Celestia was about to use her own magic to defend herself, but the three vampires each gave a small grunt, and they fell forward with a large black throwing knife stuck in the back of their necks. A man dressed in dark clothes, with dark electric blue eyes, and short jet black hair, stepped out of the shadows of an alleyway, and Luna felt very mortal in the presence of Alex Cartilia.
“Welcome to my city Princess Celestia, Princess Luna,” Alex said giving them each a bow. “I must admit some confusion at your presence, as I don’t recall ever inviting you here.”
“We need your help...” Luna began, but Alex held up a hand to stop her.
“Before you go any further, I must remind you I don’t take kindly to unwanted visitors in my city, so there is a price to pay for your presumption. Follow me back to my home and we’ll talk there.” Without even waiting for their response, Alex turned his back on them and began walking away. Celestia glanced at her sister who shrugged before following after the Familiar.
“I still think this is a huge mistake, Luna,” Celestia whispered. Luna shot Celestia a brief glare.
“Don’t start sister. We’re here now, and there’s no going back.”
“Actually,” Alex said without turning around. “You’re perfectly welcome to go back to Equestria, I for one would prefer you did so. I’ve got enough problems here without you two adding to my extremely overloaded plate.”
“What kind of problems?” Luna asked curiously. There was a moment of hesitant silence, before Alex answered.
“The CMC is still recovering from a serious attempted coup led by a coven of rogue vampires. Disturbingly enough, they also had a pack of werewolves, and a group of warlocks working alongside them. But while the CMC is repairing itself, there has been a massive uprising in magical related crime, and I’m the one who has to deal with it all.”
“What’s the CMC?” Celestia asked. Alex sighed, sounding resigned.
“It’s the Control of Magical Creatures. We protect mortals from magical creatures, and make sure no treaties are broken between the two different cultures.”
Celestia asked a few more questions, but Alex was stubbornly silent, probably pretending they didn’t exist, so she spent the rest of the journey in silence.
“We’re here,” Alex informed them after another half hour of walking. He led the way inside to the living room, where Alex’s twin sister “Angel,” instantly enveloped Luna in a bone crushing hug that could rival Pinkie Pie’s with its enthusiasm.
“Lulu, I missed you so much! It’s been ages!”
“I missed you too Kitten!” Luna replied returning the hug.
Though Alex and Angel were twins, they were polar opposites of themselves. Angel was short, with pure snowy white hair, and dark emerald green eyes, her clothes were also pure white, and unlike Alex, Angel was outgoing and friendly with an strong aversion to killing.
“Hey Tia,” Angel said grabbing Celestia in a eager hug. “What brings to our world?”
“We were hoping to discuss something with your brother,” Luna explained. Angel gave a short laugh.
“Good luck with that, Alex isn’t in a very good mood at the moment. And I don’t think your appearance here is going to help improve that.”
Luna glanced over at Alex who was leaning against the wall, completely still and statue like, expressing no emotion or indication of what he was feeling. “How can you tell?”
Angel shrugged and walked into the kitchen, returning with several cups of warm milk. “When you’ve been together as long as Alex and I have, you pretty much become an open book to each other. You just have to learn how to read it properly.”
“Why are you here princesses?” asked Alex.
Luna exchanged a glance with her sister and pulled a small glowing gem from her pocket. “Equestria needs our help.”
Alex smiled mirthlessly. “Equestria isn’t my problem. It’s yours.” Celestia began to walk forward, and Alex aimed two silenced handguns at each of the princesses. “You know what is my problem though. I’ve got a five million dollar bounty on my head, a coven of rogue vampires trying their best to take over my city, and I now have the threat of Nightmare Moon.”
Luna walked forward until the barrel of the gun pointed at her was touching her forehead. “If you wanted us dead, you’d have killed us when you killed those vampires.”
“Alex!” Angel admonished stepping in front of her brother’s guns. “You are completely out of line...”
“The last time the princesses of Equestria came to me, I ended up fighting and imprisoning an army of dark demons, losing my amour, and almost getting trapped in limbo between our realms. So forgive me if I’m not keen on seeing them again.”
“I can get you your amour back.” Luna said. Alex lowered his guns and stared at the night princess with cold calculating eyes. “If you fight with us once more to save Equesria, I’ll get you your amour.”
“Let me see the gem.” Luna obliged, and they waited in silence as Alex studied it, and after a few minutes he handed the gem back to Luna. “We don’t have much time, months if we’re lucky. But I’m going to need your help to cancel the contract on my head before we go to Equestria.”
Luna nodded agreement. “Very well. How do we do it.”
“Quite simple, we cancel the contact giver.”

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                The age of darkness begins                 
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The age of darkness begins
Night had settled over Ponyville covering the small town in its darkness, and the only source of light was from a purple magical glow shining through a window of the local library. The Alicorn responsible for the magic was holding a long scroll in her magical grasp, intently studying the formula she had written down with a critical eye. Twilight once again dipped her quill into the ever dwindling supply of ink, and after a few more jots here, and some scribbles there, she was finally satisfied with her results.
For the past five days and nights she had been working on deciphering Star Swirl the Bearded’s book on creating the Lost Rune, and her diet had been nothing more than noodles and coffee. But now almost finishing her assignment she just needed another boost of energy to see her through to the end.
Twilight went to take a sip of coffee, only to realize the cup was empty as was the coffee pot. Muttering obscenities under her breath unbecoming of s princess, Twilight made her way into the kitchen and put a pot on the stove to boil, so she could make more of her much needed liquid energy.
As she waited for the water to boil, Twilight pulled a photograph off the fridge which showed Rainbow Dash grabbing an annoyed looking  purple Alicorn and giving her a noogie. Twilight smiled fondly and placed the photograph carefully back on the fridge. She missed Rainbow Dash, especially her marefirend’s smile, and continuous attention. But it was for those reasons Twilight had asked Rainbow to move out while she completed the assignment Princess Celestia had given her. She was just too distracting, especially those athletically toned flanks, and silky soft feathers perfect for stroking her... Twilight shook her head to get rid of those thoughts, as she realized her pegasus was too distracting even when she wasn’t there.
A few minutes later Twilight pulled the boiling pot off the stove and finished making her coffee, before going back into the lounge room and once again studying the formula hanging from the walls with a critical eye. It was imperative she had every formula and measurement perfect, or the tiniest mistake could lead to disastrous and potentially fatal consequences. Once again her findings led her to conclude that everything was as it should be and there was nothing stopping her from moving to the second phase, which was creating the actual rune. Twilight placed her cup where it wouldn’t spill over everything, and stepped into the area of the lounge room she had cleared of all furniture.
Creating the rune wasn’t going to be easy, it involved cutting a pattern of different runes into her body each one with a specific meaning and purpose. If done right, the pattern of runes will create one entire rune with the ability to increase a pony’s magic tenfold, that was the theory anyway, and a lot of things could go wrong with potentially disastrous consequences should she be off by even a tiny fraction. But Twilight was confident even in her fatigued, and coffee fulled state she would be able to pull it off perfectly. Just as Twilight was about to get everything ready for creating the rune, a knock sounded at the door putting her experiments on hold for a moment.
“Hey Twi,” Rainbow greeted when she answered the door.
“Rainbow, what are...MMPH” Twilight was cut off as rainbow pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her fiercely on the lips, their tongues danced together for a moment before Twilight pulled back. “What are you doing here Rainbow! You weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “It’s not my fault I’ve been missing you so bad. Seriously, sleeping alone sucks, no matter how many pillows you snuggle with.”
“I’m sure you can survive another couple of hours, Dashie.”
Rainbow frowned at her lover. “What’s the matter Twi? It’s almost like you don’t want me around...”
“No, it’s that Rainbow,” Twilight assured her pegasus, “it’s just, I’m in the final stages of a really huge magical break through, and I can’t afford to have any really sexy distractions around at the moment.”
“How ‘bout if I just go straight to bed and wait for you?” Without waiting for an answer Rainbow walked past Twilight into the library.
“Rainbow wait!” Twilight called out, but it was too late and Rainbow came to a dead stop when she stepped into the lounge room.
The lounge room’s walls were hidden behind a thick layer of parchment and scrolls, each one showing a detailed closeup of a pony’s anatomy with a complicated pattern of what looked like runes cut into its skin. Rainbow stared in shock and horror at the detailed formula hanging on the walls before her, words dying on her tongue even as she tried to speak them.
“Rainbow, I really need you to leave,” Twilight pleaded, “we’ll talk in the morning, okay?”
“Is this why you wanted me to leave?” Rainbow asked finally able to form a complete sentence. “So you could cut yourself up like this?”
“That’s only half the reason I wanted you to leave. The other half is because you are too distracting.”
“There’s no way I’m going to let you do this Twilight,” Rainbow said, attempting to pull the parchment off the walls, but Twilight used her magic to pull Rainbow away from her months of hard work and study.
“I’m going to do this Rainbow, whether you like it or not Dashie. I’ve already taken into account and prepared for every risk involved with this procedure. I’ve study for months on this, and I’m not going to let that go to waste.”
Rainbow struggled against the aura of violet magic restraining her but to no avail. “You could die Twilight! I’m not going to let that happen!”
“I won’t die Rainbow, I promise. Like I said before, I’ve prepared everything for this procedure, so there’s no chance of anything going wrong.” Rainbow still struggled desperately to get free, until Twilight kissed her reassuringly on the lips, and only pulled back when Rainbow was calmed down. “If it makes you feel any better I’ll let you stay with me so you can get help right away if something does go wrong, or I’ll have to lock you outside.”
“I’ll, stay with you Twi...”
“Very well,” Twilight said, interrupting her lover, “but only on the condition you do not under any circumstances mess with my work, doing so could kill both of us. So I need you to promise me you’ll do nothing unless I tell you to.”
Rainbow hesitated before nodding. “I promise Twi.”
“Okay, I’m going to let you go now, remember no interruptions unless I say so.” Rainbow nodded her understanding once more, and Twilight released her magical hold on the pegasus. “I promise you Dashie, everything is going to be completely fine.” Twilight levitated a quill from her desk, but unlike the rest of her quills, this one was cyan blue with a razor sharp metal point on it that she had designed for this exact purpose. Next, she levitated three full blood bags from the kitchen’s freezer and attached them a tall stand. Each blood bag was connected together by blood transfusion pipes leading to one syringe needle.
“What in Celestia’s name is that for?” Rainbow asked looking at the bags in shock.
“This is so I don’t bleed out during the procedure, once I started creating the runes this blood will replace the blood I lose as I lose it. I’ve also got a pint of saline solution I’ll be using to make sure I don’t passout. And a syringe of adrenaline in the unlikely event something should go wrong. I told you Dashie, everything is going to be fine.”
Twilight connected the saline solution to the same syringe needle the blood bags were connected to and hung it up on the stand, and gave the shot of adrenaline to Rainbow. “Remember Rainbow, not unless I tell you to.”
“I know Twi...what are you doing?”
Twilight smirked and threw the shirt she had just taken off over Rainbow’s face. “I can’t very well create the rune with my clothes on now can I?”
“I was wandering where my panties went to,” Rainbow muttered, when Twilight removed her jeans.
“Not my fault they look so damn cute on me.” Twilight said, removing the cyan colored fabric, “besides, you still haven’t returned my bra. Now no more talking please, I need complete concentration for what I have to do next.” Twilight wrapped a belt around her upper arm, and used her magic to stick the syringe connected to the blood and saline into one of her veins. The tubes soon become red as the extra blood began began flowing into the Alicorn’s body.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself for what she was about to do, Twilight placed the quill’s tip on her left temple wincing as a drop of blood ran down her face. With a small whimper, Twilight stabbed the quill further into her temple and fell to her hands and knees as blinding pain flashed through her mind.
“Twilight!”
“Stay back Rainbow! I can’t be interrupted now!”
Rainbow paled, and she fought the urge to throw up as the quill began cutting deeply into Twilight’s face leaving a complicated pattern of deep incisions in its wake. Blood and tears mixed together forming crimson rivulets that began flowing to the ground as the quill began its work on the rest of Twilight face. With each whimper and tear that came from her lover, Rainbow had to resist the urge to pull the quill away and take Twilight to the nearest psych ward.
Each rune Twilight cut into her body took ten to fifteen minutes, and by the time Celestia began raising the sun, her entire body was aching and covered in warm blood.
But now she had to do the one rune she dreaded above all others, the Rune of Pleasure. Wincing in pain, Twilight stood on shaky legs feeling extremely faint despite the blood bags being almost empty.
“Is it over?” Rainbow asked looking through the feathers of her wings that she had used to shield herself from the nightmarish and bloody image in front of her.
“I’m almost done Dashie,” Twilight assured her lover. “I’ve only got one more to go. But I’m going to need your help.”
Trying her best not to passout from what she had seen Twilight do to herself, Rainbow walked over to t he Alicorn. “What do you need babe?”
Twilight laid on her back and spread her legs apart, revealing the only place that wasn’t covered in crimson liquid. “In order for this rune to work, I need a drop of my love’s blood.”
“W-what?”
“Just hold out finger Dashie.” Twilight instructed. The pegasus held out a finger, and Twilight pressed the quill’s sharp tip into the soft flesh until a single crimson drop formed. Being careful not to waste it, Twilight placed the quill on her marehood and shoved a hand in her mouth as both pleasure and pain shot through her body.
Rainbow looked on in great discomfort as she watched her lover’s moist fold’s being delicately branded with a complicated pattern of lines that slowly took the shape of a rune. As soon as the last line was completed, the purple aura holding the quill disappeared and the feather fell gracefully to the ground.
Twilight smiled up at her pegasus. “Now it’s over, Dashie. Can you help me up?”
Rainbow took a delicate hold of Twilight’s blood covered hand, and helped the Alicorn to her feet. “You should probably go to the hospital,” Rainbow suggested, “some of these cuts are pretty bad.”
“Don’t worry Rainbow, they’ll heal themselves shortly. I just have to...” Before Twilight could finish her sentence she passed out and dropped the floor.
“Twilight!” Rainbow placed a finger on Twilight’s neck and gave a sigh of relief when she felt a steady pulse. “What the hay...” Rainbow muttered as she saw dark electric blue light flow from a rune over Twilight’s heart and spreading through the rest of the runes like a river. The dark blue light slowly began glowing brighter, and Rainbow began shivering as the temperature in the room suddenly dropped several degrees.
Twilight screamed, and her whole body began convulsing violently as though she was being electrocuted, and Rainbow took several steps back as the light began glowing brighter illuminating the entire library brighter than the candles.
“Twilight, what’s happening?”
Twilight’s only response was to scream louder as the blue light began pouring out of her eyes and mouth in a steady stream blinding light. Ice began forming along the floor where Twilight was thrashing violently, and the temperature suddenly dropped below freezing causing Rainbow to shiver violently and use her wings as a blanket.
Twilight’s screams reached new heights, and blue lighting began crackling from Twilight’s finger tips causing Rainbow to yelp and dive for cover behind the couch. The blue lightning, and streams of blue light reached their peak, and Twilight’s body convulsed one final time before the blue light disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.
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Alex screamed and fell to his hands and knees as dark blue flames erupted from his mouth and eyes and began spreading along the floor in a thick wave. “Get out quickly!” Angel yelled, shoving Celestia and Luna towards the front door, before picking up one of the fallen guns and shooting her brother repeatedly.
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