At Twilight's End

Chapters

He Who Fights Monsters
Angel Of Darkness
What is a mare?
Equivalent Exchange
In the Dark of the Night
Gazing into the Abyss
Beyond Good and Evil (Past part 1)
Good Intentions... (Past Part 2)
...Pave the Path to Hell (Past Part 3)
The Shadows Crossed

He Who Fights Monsters

She awoke with a start.

Adrenaline coursed through her as though she was going to fight. She whipped her head around, attempting to figure out where she was and whether she was safe. After examining her surroundings, she allowed herself to relax and the adrenaline began to fade then. “A hospital...” she said aloud. “Particularly, Canterlot Medical Laboratories.” She continued to herself, noticing a few smaller details.

“Indeed.” A masculine voice startled her just before he emerged from behind a curtain for another patient. “You've been here a lot then?” He asked as he drew nearer.

Twilight shook her head as she realized he was a nurse. “Only twice. I just recognize the emblem on that Doctorate posted by the door.” She allowed herself a moment to relax. “Few ponies would step down from such a prestigious position. This is the foremost research facility in Equestria.”

“Correct yet again. And you've got good eyes, especially for what you've been through.” The stallion smiled as he checked her charts. “That's good. It means you're recovering well. This is the first time you've been fully conscious for a couple of moons now. Celestia will want to speak with you, if you feel up to visitors.”

“Celestia wants to speak to me?” The battle for the Crystal Kingdom played through her head in an instant and she cringed visibly. “She's going to be angry with me. I played right into the enemies hands. What if she banishes me? Not even her sister did this much damage and she got sent to the moon! What if she wants to kill me for treason? I-- will never be alone again!” She felt a surge of warmth as she felt power rushing into her. She noticed the nurse backing away from her slowly, and he had a look of terror on his face. “Have you never looked upon the visage of power, lowly stallion?” Her voice had an ethereal echo to it that reminded her of-

“N-n-n-night--AAHH!” the nurse yelled and took off running.

Twilight tried to calm herself down, regaining control of her mind, but not quite her body, which was magically suspended over the hospital cot. “This isn't right! I never gave myself to you!” Twilight raged, literally trapped inside her own head.

“We are not just a creature of shadows. We were called by your fear to protect you from the world; We wish you to not feel the hatred, fear, and loneliness of being an outcast. We don't want you to hurt, Twilight Sparkle, and so we have given you the choice of escape.” The Voice answered smoothly and softly. “We have done nothing more than to revitalize your body, and awaken you in your time of need. We would never leave you to such a painful path. Come with us, Twilight Sparkle, and drink of our Harmony!”

Surely enough, she slowly felt herself regaining control of her body, and, true to its word, she felt stronger than ever. Thinking back, she realized that the 'Nightmare' actually broke her out of the nightmare she had been having. The door must have been a trap laid by Sombra. “Only those who have complete control of their emotions would have access to the chamber the Crystal Heart was in. It required dark magic to open the tunnel and love magic to dispell the enchanted door, then gravity manipulation to reach the Heart itself.” She thought, landing on top of the cot. “I'll be damned to Tartarus if Sombra isn't actually an intellectual and a decent tactician. I wasn't prepared for a fight last time and those spells were too much, too quickly. I didn't have the knowledge to stand against him. Next time,” She thought, a grim smile on her face, “Next time, I'll be ready.”

“Twilight Sparkle, my trusted and most faithful student.” Twilight heard from the doorway. “I am glad to see that you are well.” Though she still took measured steps, Celestia beamed brightly. “I confess, I was worried that you may not recover, but you seem well now that you have awakened.”

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight, who was at this point standing on the cot, promptly fell prostrate to the floor with the grace of a minotaur. She rose from her blunder to give her princess a proper bow.

Stifling a chuckle, Celestia continued, “It is well that you have regained a full measure of health. You have been unconscious for several moons, there is much you have missed.” Her tone grew gradually dour until she asked, equal parts trepidation and misery carried through her regal voice. “But I fear I must ask... what happened at the kingdom?”

Twilight's blood chilled, and she knew that, while telling the truth was her only option, it was also going to bring about her worst fear. Slowly, she began,

After arriving at the stop, Shining, my friends, and I were all beset upon by shadow, the last remnants of raw power that tethered Sombra to our world. We managed to escape into the Crystal Kingdom, and Shining, now maimed by Sombra's dark magic, took us to the palace, where we met a beleaguered Cadence. They told us that they have been so busy trying to protect the kingdom themselves that they haven't had the time to look into a more permanent solution. My friends and I took it upon ourselves to do some research into the history of the Crystal Empire. After doing some asking around, and finding out that the ponies had no memory of what transpired before the land was cursed, we found ourselves at the library. There we found a book that spoke of the Crystal Faire, which concluded with a ceremony that echoed your warning from before I left. We knew then that this was our way to defeat Sombra.

We went about getting everything set up, and as the ponies took part in the revelry, they started regaining their memory. Here we found out the truth about a relic known as the Crystal Heart, which was the center-piece of not only the faire, but the defensive magic that protects Equestria. I took this to be the true portion of my test, and as you said I must be the one to protect the empire, I had all of my friends keep the faire going while I searched. After several tribulations, I found Sombra already at the Heart, and engaged him in open combat in an attempt to wrest the relic from him. He overpowered me quickly, and so I used shadow magic to strike back at him. During our fight, a stray spell hit the heart and corrupted it. I was, at this point, drained of all energy, and so Sombra kicked me over the edge, where I fell down the side of the palace onto the terrace where I landed next to Cadence and Shining.

The room became silent for a time. Twilight's mind started whirling, but she knew that if she lost control of her emotions, the 'Nightmare' would return. She had to hide her “tribulations” from Celestia, else her true nightmare should come to life. “Celestia can never know. She might banish me to the moon to keep Equestria safe.” And then it struck her like a bell. She was a hazard to Equestrian society. The 'nightmare' inside her would destroy all she held dear if it were to be set loose. She started to wonder if maybe being sentanced to the moon would be a good idea, but she couldn't come forward due to her fear of losing Celestia's – or her friends – favor.

“I see.” Celestia nodded sadly. “You engaged a master of shadows in open combat, and attempted to use his own magic against him. A magic you have never trained in.” She knelt next to Twilight and looked directly into her eyes. She searched them for a while before stating, “You were the one that powered the heart.”

Twilight panicked. Had Celestia seen through her slight falsehoods? “Y-yes...” She choked out involuntarily, tears starting to stream down her face. “I missed what should have been a fatal shot. I was trying to save the Crystal Empire! I wanted to pass your test! I swear I didn't mean to hit the Heart! I -I-I-- I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this!” She started bawling and begging for forgiveness.

Celestia stood up and Twilight lunged for her foreleg, pleading for her forgiveness. Celestia steeled herself against the pleas, knowing that what she had to say next would break both her and Twilight's heart. “I'm-” She looked away, pulling out of Twilight's half-hearted grip. “I'm disappointed in you, Twilight. I thought you'd grown, but using hatred and anger to fight... You made yourself no better than the beast you sought to defeat.” Celestia wanted to start crying, but hid it from her tormented student by turning fully away and facing the door. Without looking over her back, she finished with a barely audible warble to her voice, “You have a lot to think about. Until you understand just how grave of an error it was to fight evil with evil, there is nothing more I can teach you.”

And with that final phrase, she walked out of the room.

Twilight was stricken with grief. So melancholic was her sorrow that she couldn't even cry. Celestia's words cut into her as she realized that she was right. She examined her thoughts and feelings, and she knew that all of this was just wrong. Her seeking revenge, her using shadow magic – magic she hadn't ever truly studied – to defeat King Sombra, her actually considering the offer posed by the Nightmare, all of this wasn't just foolish; these were things that she had actually already shown to be ineffective, at best.

So many times she and her friends had shown friendship, had shown love, to be the penultimate of magic in power and versatility, just to succumb to her baser nature and seek destruction as a means of attaining a personal goal? What had become of her?

“The Elements are powerful, but they aren't without fault.” The Voice called gently to her. “The six elements require each other to work. Without even one of them present, they all lose their power. You must realize that true strength comes from within, and relying on others weakens the individual.”

“No. Friends help each other grow. A true friend helps a friend in need. These bonds we form strengthen us and allow us to take on the world --”

“Together, yes, however you won't have them forever, and what shall you do then? If they find out you've endangered their way of life, how likely are they to help you, really? How loyal are your friends to you? If they had to choose between you and Celestia, who would follow you willingly into the dark?” The Voice posed a good question, and Twilight took a moment to consider it. How many of her friends would truly stand with her, no matter what? “This is to say nothing of how you truly feel right now. The lonliness and lack of direction gnaws at your heart, though you can't yet feel it. Would you truly prolong such agony?” She started to doubt her friends, but caught a single thread of logic that the Voice didn't take into account.

“To answer your doubt, we must first actually speak to them. I have five very dear friends who hold me dear as well, so I would hypothesize that they will be supportive of me.” Twilight hoped it would be true, but even she couldn't dispell the niggling doubt in the corner of her mind.

“Very well, let us take to the streets.” The presence in her mind faded for the first time since she woke up from Sombra's 'fear trap.' “Your friends cannot understand, but you will see... and hurt.” It whispered darkly into the back of her mind, while the strength of the presence faded steadily.

Only then did Twilight realize just how comforting the dark truly was. All of her anxieties came slowly to the forefront of her mind as the shadows cleared. Celestia, who was like a second mother to Twilight, was both angered and saddened by her, and she began to worry about how the others would take the news that she, in her desire to prove herself, had weakened the nation she attempted to save.

“How much does intent really matter when put against the action taken? Does the end justify the means?” Philosophy was a topic Twilight normally left to others, but science couldn't answer everything. She half expected the voice to answer her, but when it didn't, she, against all reason, felt even more lonely.

She finally stood up, her body feeling weak from her recent incapacitation, thankful for the second wind she received from the beast now residing inside her.

As she hobbled out into the hall and down the hallway towards the elevator, she wondered where she was supposed to go. She wanted to beg forgiveness from Celestia, she wanted to ask Luna for help in regaining herself, she wanted to run to Rarity and talk about her experience, and maybe have the other five gather around her to disspell the nightmare before things started to spiral out of control. She wanted despeately for someone to guide her.

“Normally I'm much more independent than than this...” She ruminated aloud, trying to sort out her thoughts. All at once she felt both foolish and joyous that she so needed her friends; that she had traded a measure of self-reliance for a desire of companionship. The more emotional part of her entreated her to find that nopony is an island, and the we grow into better ponies thorugh our interactions with one another. It spoke of community, and learning from one another's triumphs and failures. Concurrently, however, the more logical side of her reminded her of many books that spoke of being a master of your own fate, and that you didn't need anypony else to excel. Many more preached liberation and freedom for those who didn't seek the approval of others; that societal expectations limited individual greatness for those too afraid to stand against the grain. Ponies have accomplished great feats of art, research, and magic while in solitude. The practice of Zen even promised happiness and peace to those who denied society in favor of balance and one-ness with nature itself.

Before she realized it, she was out in the middle of the plaza between the castle and the railway of the “Friendship Express”, the train that led from Canterlot to the west and south. The plaza itself was a magnificent sight, cobblestone paths, encircled by well trimmed trees and grandoise architecture, leading to a set of marble tiles that bore upon them a statue of an unnamed alicorn, rearing triumphantly. “This is... difficult to deal with.” Twilight thought as she looked back to the castle, eyes taking in the sight as if it would be the last she'd see of her old home. Her gaze floated fondly over the main hall, remembering all of the court sessions she would attend as Celelstia's “Faithful Student.” It slowly then, and with a sense of melancholy, drifted up to the Ivory Tower, her and Celestia's old domicile. There were so many memories within the walls of the castle, so much warmth and comfort.

“And yet, as with all good things, it must come to an end.” She heard an echo of her thoughts in the dark corners of her mind.

“If my day in the sun has set, then where shall I go?” Twilight asked herself. “My studies were as much to impress my mentor as they were to satiate my own curiosity.” Her eyes trailed the silhouette of the castle to Luna's tower, the Eclipse Spire. “Luna will have heard from Celestia of my... faux pas. I wonder if she too will be angry with me for betraying the light, or if maybe she will find kinship in me for embracing the darkness?”

Knowing that the dark force that woke her from Sombra's trap still resided within her, Twilight wondered if this was something Luna as well dealt with. A voice that is both hers and not, a personification of her own dark thoughts. Twilight couldn't deny that the voice spoke of the doubts already floating about her mind, and hearing them uttered validated them moreso. She worried against historical evidence that the Elements– and those who bore them –were weak because of co-dependancy. When together, they could overcome any odds, but apart... She was powerless to stop Chrysalis because she couldn't unite her friends. By the time that she could, it was already too late, and the Relics they needed were stolen away by a masterful tactician.

To have that power, to be able to affect change on her own... it was certainly an intriguing, appealing concept. Chrysalis had overpowered Celestia, but she had used Twilight's own brother to do so. It was a diferent kind of magic, one she hadn't been able to study much due to the secrecy of the Changeling race. She had wondered since the wedding, though, just how powerful that magic was. Celestia fought her using a standard combat spell, but now that Twilight had some time to reflect on it, she began to wonder if the outcome would've been changed if she had used dark magic instead.

Does giving way to the shadows result in losing yourself to them? Is that why it wasn't until just before this mission that Celestia showed that she had studied dark magic? Maybe Celestia thought that Twilight didn't have to mental fortitude to guard herself against the lure of power?

Whatever it was, it was now in the past, and she could study how she pleased. The old Palace of the Two Sisters had a library, she remembered, she just had never gotten a chance to explore it. Maybe there would be tomes of lost arcanum, or even supplemental reading on the Changelings or the Nightmare, if maybe Luna kept a tome for memoirs or something to that matter? She started to get excited about what she might find.

She started moving again, heading towards the train to Ponyville. She would find her friends and see whether the magic of friendship was truly powerful enough to overcome betrayal. If her friends could understand, could accept, what she'd done, then maybe the old library might be unnecessary. She first needed to figure out how to right her grave mistake... Celestia was right about one thing at least.

She truly did have a lot to think about.

Angel Of Darkness

When Twilight stepped off the train onto the Ponyville platform, she took a second to get her bearings. It was nearing midnight, but the light reflected off Luna's moon was plenty enough to see that her quaint, lively town was now quiet and morose. There also seemed some sort of oppresive magic field bearing down on the city, as Twilight's horn tingled with every movement she made. The land looked the same, but devoid of its usual goings on. She stood there until the train started moving again. “What have I done... ?” She asked breathlessly. “I've got to find a way to make this all okay. Who knew that one small mistake could cause so much heartache?”

She slowly stepped off the platform and started down the street toward the town hall, thinking it was near enough the center of Ponyville that it should offer a good vantage point to see the rest of the town. She kept seeing flashes of movement, but when she'd look for what was moving it seemingly disappeared. She wondered anxiously if it was magic, or mere visual– and auditory –hallucinations.

As she neared the center of town, a she saw a bush near her move and heard the leaves rustle. She bristled and backed up, crossing the border from anxious to scared. “Show yourself!” She demanded, her voice warbling involuntarily. It rustled again and she saw a small white rabbit jump from the bush. The two exchanged glances, and Twilight noticed a faint glimmer in his eyes that she had only seen in – “Angel?” She asked, softly, as if speaking might make him disappear. The rabbit looked around furtively, then hopped up to Twilight tapped her leg twice and started dashing away. Twilight followed, assuming that's what he wanted.

After a few twists and turns, Angel led Twilight to the Apple family's farm on the outskirts of Ponyville. Specifically, to the barn where the cattle slept. Twilight entered cautiously, her nerves still fraying due to the atmosphere that engulfed her once happy home town. She could barely see anything, but she began to relax due to what she heard. “T-Twilight?” A demure voice whispered through the darkness.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight's fear vanished as the familiar yellow pegasus stepped out of the shadows. Twilight moved in to nuzzle her fondly. “Oh thank Celestia! I was afraid something horrible happened to you all! The town, the air, everything here just feels... wrong!”

“Oh, I know. Ever since Trixie showed up, things have been slowly getting worse.” Fluttershy returned Twilight's show of affection, though it was far more tempered. “It's so good to see you awake after what happened at the Crystal Kingdom.” Twilight could hear the hope shimmering in her soft voice.

“Trixie is here? She did all of this? How is that even possible?” Twilight shook her head vigorously. “Nevermind that! Where is everybody else? Are they hurt?”

Fluttershy took a couple steps backwards as Twilight began frantically whipping her head from side to side, trying to find their friends. “Umm, Twilight, please, calm down. The others are alright... mostly. Trixie has them and has been running them ragged for almost a moon now.” She took a breath. “Trixie has a necklace that made her very powerful, and we found a reference to it in your library.” She pulled a small bundle of papers from concealment under one of her wings. “Scootaloo and I tried to get help, but after Trixie turned her into a chicken... I... I just hid here.” Her head drooped. “I'm so sorry, Twilight...”

Twilight nuzzled her friend again. “Don't be, Fluttershy. If you and Angel hadn't been here, I wouldn't know what I was walking into.” She smiled warmly, continuing, “Your mission was a successful one, since now that I'm here I can be the help you sought.” Fluttershy smiled a little at this sentiment, but couldn't bring herself to acutally say anything. “Transmogrification is a very complex magic, and Trixie shouldn't be capable of such things.” Twilight stated while picking up the bundle of paper. She cast a Candlelight spell, and a small orb of magical light began hovering over head. She refocused on her telekinesis to manipulate the seal and pages, scanning through the information therein. Once she finished she looked up thoughtfully and started pacing. “The Alicorn Amulet... I have studied this before. Besides the information you guys gathered, it's also one of three relics that Starswirl hid due to their destructive power, both on the world and the pony who wears them.” Twilight's expression grew somber. “How long has Trixie been here, Fluttershy?”

“Too long, I'm afraid. It's been a full moon cycle already.” Fluttershy's voice was barely more than a whisper, but Twilight could hear in its tone a small part of the horrors she must have witnessed.

Twilight thought for a moment. “How much longer can you stay hidden?” She asked after a couple silent minutes.

“Oh, I don't know, Twilight... Trixie was pretty angry that I got away, so she might still be looking.” Her voice dropped to barely audible, not wanting to answer directly.

“So, not long...” Twilight nodded absently. “Okay, if you get caught, let the others know to look for a pink flare from the direction of the Everfree.” Twilight stopped pacing and put a hoof on her shoulder. “I'm going to go to the Castle of the Two Sisters, in hopes that the library there will having something I can reference to so that I can stop Trixie from doing any more harm.”

“Please hurry, Twilight. She has been torturing the town for quite some time.” Fluttershy nuzzled Twilight, continuing, “And please, please, be careful. The forest has been... upset since we all got back from the Crystal Kingdom.” Fluttershy shuddered, remembering some untold horror. “And Trixie's arrival only agitated it more.”

Twilight nodded. “I will be. You do the same, Fluttershy.” Twilight's tone was somber. “Her mind may already be breaking, and she could become very dangerous.” Fluttershy nodded, her face twisted with poorly concealed anxiety.

Rather than continuing to draw out those farewells, Twilight cast a muffle spell on her hooves and dispelled the candlelight. She peeked around outside to make sure that noone was there, and, upon reaching the consensus that she was safe to do so, stepped out cautiously. She crept along the brush, staying off the path, in an attempt to remain unnoticed. “Espionage one-oh-one: Walk with the Shadows.” She reminded herself, grinning. “Adventures like this bring everyone closer. They'll welcome me with open arms once I pacify Trixie, and then we can all work together to wrest the Crystal Heart from Sombra.” Thinking about it made her giddy. Even if they would have a hard time forgiving her for her mistake up in the Crystal Kingdom, they would have to acknowledge her efforts here. “After we defeat Sombra and recapture the Heart, Celestia will see that she was wrong. She'll take me back and apologize for once again underestimating her Faithful Student.”

It was not long until she was near the path into the Everfree Forest. Even when docile, there was a terrifying presence about these woods. The world came to life when you stepped past those first few trees. Not only were there many predators and highly dangerous creatures, some bordering on the line of being monstrous, but the even the plants themselves would try to repel travelers. Most ponies in Ponyville avoid the area as though it were a plague, lest they might be set upon by Timberwolves, Manticores, Chimeras and other such things.

Twilight knew that there were several such untamed areas dotting the Equestrian landscape, but only had firsthand knowledge of this one. It was, after all, a natural barrier that separated common pony-folk from the Castle of the Two Sisters, which was where all of this began.
Drawing in the courage to face what awaited her, Twilight stepped lively into the dark.

“It's too quiet...” Twilight said softly, thinking aloud. “There are no scents, sounds... I haven't come across anything turned into stone...” She was getting restless, waiting for an attack that never came. “I don't even feel like I'm being followed. It's just... quiet...” She finished with a whimper. She felt a strange fluctuation of the ambient magical energy as she moved forward.

“Hush, now; quiet now.” The dark voice whispered in perfect tune. “Your dreams will keep you through the night.” It continued with its creepy verse of the popular lullaby. “Hush now; quiet now. Your fears are out of sight.” Twilight wondered what it was getting at. “Hush, now; quiet now. Though night may break upon the dawn, listen for my call, and together we will rise!”

Twilight stopped walking and looked around anxiously, scanning for danger. “Why the song?” Afraid that something was going to come out at the voices call, Twilight widened her stance.

“Forgive us our sentimentality. This clearing had a name once, you know.” Twilight hadn't even noticed she had passed into a clearing, nor did had she seen the crumbled marble statue on the far end. “This was known as the Garden of Shadows, as it was where Luna came to escape the Sun. Such beautiful flowers blossomed here under the light of twilight, and their radiant glory persisted through the night, only to close and hide from the sun. We worked together to create a place where we could admire these flowers forever, and so what followed would become known as the Eclipse, or the “Eternal Night”. It was around then that Luna's hide began to darken and her cutie mark shown through...it is also where Nightwind Squall, the first of our Thestral Guard, pledged his allegience, before the rift...”

Twilight heard a sort of wistfulness that she never would have expected from a 'Nightmare'. She sounded almost... happy in her reminiscence. Twilight began wondering just how much she didn't know about the War of Heavens. It was becoming hard to believe that this voice was indeed Nightmare Moon, the same mare who had only just over a year before threatened to plunge the world into eternal night. “She never did identify herself, just said, 'you know who we are'. Being a creature of shadows does not necessarily mean that she is indeed a Nightmare...” Twilight's thoughts searched for a way to reason her newest discovery. “But her voice and speech pattern both match perfectly, and her knowledge of Luna's past seems to be firsthand...”

“There is much unsaid of what transpired those many years ago. A millenium is a long time for ponies to forget.” The voice began to grow harder again, but Twilight could hear emotion in that statement. Anger, melancholy, and longing lingered in her voice.

“As much as you say you want to protect me, I feel that you truly only want me. I can but scarcely imagine how painful, how lonely, it must be to be villainized. To be alone for a thousand years...” Twilight surprised herself by saying. All of this had quickly passed into surrealism, but Twilight felt was actually handling it well. Considering how far out of left field it was for her, she spoke her heart without real thought behind it. Having uttered those words, though, she began to reflect upon them. If Sombra was telling the truth about why he was so harsh...

“These words are true, Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps, though, villainy is deserved in my case. We were foolish, and Luna too ignorant, too innocent.” There was a great sigh, then she continued, “Alas, 'tis all We shall say. Speak to Luna if you would seek inquire further.”

Already moving by this point, Twilight exited the clearing heading towards the old royal castle. Making a mental note to talk to Luna, Twilight took the travel time to reflect upon all that had happened. She had forgotten about Fluttershy's warning due to her analyzation of the information she had acquired bout her mind-mate, and so was too distracted to realize the pulse of magical energy released into the night sky as she crossed the threshold of the forest. It wasn't until she stepped onto the bridge that she realized she had arrived at her destination.
The clack of her hoof against the first wooden plank tore her from her reverie, and she looked up at the castle grounds before her. She knew that there was something wrong, as it took considerably less time to get there than when she and her friends came the first time. “If I had come to a river, I would just shrug it off, but to surpass both the valley and the river...” But before she could finish that thought, she felt a surge of magic and she was thrown backwards.

Though not as deftly as she would have liked, Twilight manged to land upright, though shaken and weak. She dropped to her hocks to breathe, and after a while stood back up and saw a black-yellow spiral. “Shadowbolts?” Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head, thinking that she was seeing things. When she opened them again, the swirl was still there.

Since it never took a corporeal form, Twilight, assuming it to be some form of rogue magical manifestation, tried something she hadn't had much chance, or reason, to use before. She began to force an overglow from her horn and released it as a sphere of pure magical energy. She knew that the Everfree Forest had a lot more ambient magical energy than most of the other places she had been, but what she observed in the sphere was nothing like what she would have expected.

It grew.

“Magical energy should dissipate upon release from a concentrated focal point,” Twilight thought in wonder, “so either this sphere has become a focus for the ambient energies, or this field is so saturated with rogue energy that there is no way for the energy to disperse properly.” Twilight pondered this for a minute, realizing that recently she had felt the magic shifting oddly. She had thought nothing of it at the time, considering where she was, but now she wished she had paid more attention. And as she shifted her attention, she began to speak her mind aloud. “In fact, there are some parallels between this chaotic force and... Discord's magic?” It hit her as she said it. “Curiouser and curiouser...”

As though a kid again she began making wild theories about how the ambient magicks would affect spellcraft and whether she could learn to control chaos through study of the few areas like this across Equestria. It was in this spirit she decided to take the lavender magic bubble and throw it against the black and yellow swirl. She had no basis to make a hypothesis as to the consequence, so she watched with bated breath and wished – Oh how she wished – for a pen and some parchment.

She began to hear a hum that rose in tone the closer her bubble neared the swirl. It passed into inaudible range, and Twilight began to have a headache that got progressively worse until the two forces met. Everything then went silent and still. Twilight looked around, and found that all of the laws of nature seemed unhinged. She took a step, feeling like she was wading through water, and heard nothing when her foot hit the ground. She twisted the leg she had stepped with and felt no sensory feedback.

Beginning to worry, she tried to talk, and though she could feel her mouth moving, she heard no sound. “This isn't the Everfree's magic field...! Where am I?” She could feel herself becoming frantic but a dark, cool voice inside kept her cohesive.

“This is the Everfree, as its forebear intended, or do you believe there to be a second Castle of the Two Sisters? The forest is alive now that the barrier has been weakened. It rested until your “experiment” awoke it from its thousand year incubation.” The voice purred. Twilight felt as though she was compelled to draw something in the dirt under her hooves. After subconsciously completing what she realized was a Zebraic sealing fetish, it began to glow. “Put your hoof in the middle and repeat these words.” Comforted again by the shadows' embrace, Twilight obeyed willingly. She was too frightened of losing control that she didn't even hesitate to do as she was told.

Together they spoke both inward and outward, saying,

“Chaos ascendant darkens our days.
Come, Harmony, and seal his dark ways!”

The glowing glyph glimmered greater.

“Deliver us from spirits malign,
Restore Nature's whole and true design!”

There was a blinding flash and Twilight felt as though she had teleported to a separate location. The ambient magicks faded and she felt filled with a strange force. “We haven't time for analysis, Twilight Sparkle. Quickly, into the castle! It will provide us with some measure of shelter.” The voice urged her onward. As soon as her sight readjusted, she ran across the bridge as fast as her hooves could carry her. Once she passed the threshold into the main atrium, she felt safer, even if not by any great measure.

“The world itself has become far more dangerous without the light of the Crystal Heart...” Twilight began thinking that this was all her fault, and the voice inside affirmed her fears.

“Nay, rather the darkness you spread has powered the forces that feed on such energy. The Crystal Heart is nothing but a universal magnifier of whatever magical force is acted upon it. Your own fear and anger now fuels the chaotic energies that already abode here.”

“I can't let myself stop now then. If it's my fault, then I must set it right. I have to pass this test!” Twilight resolved, feeling empowered by the calm confidence of the Voice.

She stepped forward, raising her head and squaring her posture. “You said I know who you are, but I believe you're mistaken. I know nothing about you.” Twilight's self-assurance was rarely as strong as it was in this moment. Hoping to get some answers out of what she could no longer assume to be a 'Nightmare,' she continued, “So what are you? I always believed what 'tainted' Luna was a malevolent force from the dark side of the moon, preying upon her fears and the pain she felt. If this were the case, and you are who you implied you were, why are you with me? I love the night, but have no direct connection to it.”

“That statement is misleading. If it were not for the link you and the sisters share, We would not be here with you.” The voice started to become quiet, as if it was tired from the seal that it had created.

Twilight stopped for a moment, absorbing the statement. She was linked to Luna? Was that why she was never able to dismiss the prophecy of Nightmare Moon's return? And, perhaps even more astounding, was the sincerety the voice showed. “You do not seem to be the vicious figure that historians make you out to be.”

“Indeed? Perhaps time has softened my cold, black heart... or, perhaps, the victor may not speak the whole truth.” The Voice countered with quite an edge.

“I'm so sorry! I only meant that--” Twilight flushed at her faux pas.

“Be still.We understand you meant no offense, yet still 'tis irksome that you might still harbor ill will against us. We know what ponies whisper in the dark; we know how they fear what they do not understand. We walk dreams of heroic light and vengeful dark.” The voice grew dark, though it sounded tired. “Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, do you know what it is to be unnoticed in the eyes of any audience you sought? To be feared or reviled by the only ones who saw you?” The voice stilled for a moment, then continued softly. “We shared in her pain, and in bearing it we knew her melancholy. Our ire was tempered by her loyalty for a time, but after...” The voice stopped. “It is not my place. Luna's story is her own.”

“It seems to me that your stories are so intertwined that they should qualify as inextricable. Only in fantasy do you see such mystic or esoteric tales. You are immortal due to being incorporeal, and you speak as though you once were not. Your consciousness is somehow fused to the core of Luna's...” A sudden thought occurred. “Is Luna in trouble?! If you are a part of her and not with her, isn't she going to... to die?” Twilight's heart rate shot through the roof as she thought that she might inadvertantly kill Luna.

The voice started laughing in response. “Fret not, my little pony. Your precious Luna is safe... Only weakened. She has strength enough without the Cloak of Night that she... bears... regularly.”

Noticing the pauses, Twilight began to wonder about the true motives of this great unknown who knows so much. “I have one more wonder, if you'll indulge it.”

“By all means, we've nowhere important to be!” The sarcasm dripped heavily off that last statement, but Twilight continued as though she hadn't heard.

“Luna is powerful enough to paint the sky without your aid, but with your depth of knowledge you two would have been a most terrifying foe for most anybody. I find myself curious, then, as to why you want me.” Twilight stated her question.

“You're a clever girl. I'm sure you don't need me to spell it out for you. I will give you a hint however: Only the brightest stars show when between the moon and sun, find one to wish upon, and your wish will surely come.” The voice laughed at the posed riddle.

Twilight noticed something different about the presence inside her, but she couldn't put a hoof on it. Shrugging it off for more important matters, she continued walking again. There was already so much to think about, but she didn't have time for dissemenation of her current predicament. She had to save Fluttershy and the others, after all, and then she'd have time to study afterwards.

But she just could not seem to expel the niggling worry that something just wasn't right.

Author's Note

Sorry about the delay. had a huge hiccup in my scheduling... and as always I hit writer's block when I couldn't even get to type a word for more than a week and a half. I begin to lose track of things, and then I begin to lose inspiration, but knowing that there were people looking forward to it made me able to push through and it's starting to come again. Thanks for being awesome, guys :)

Hopefully I don't disappoint :)

What is a mare?

After finding her way to the library, which inspired some childlike prancing about after seeing the sheer size of the library, not to mention the selection of books, Twilight had to rein in her excitement so she could find what she needed. Admittedly, she wasn't entirely sure of what she was looking for, but she grabbed a couple grimoires that looked promising for defensive spells, a reference to enchanted artefacts, and, to her personal excitement, a report by Star-Swirl the Bearded himself on “Experiments Against Ethics: Perilous Advances in Enchantment”. There were several others that were similar, but this was the only one she needed now. “Star-Swirl's own reports to Celestia! I'll have to come back for these!” Twilight noted as she pulled the tome. Her vision briefly brushed back across Star-Swirl's reports, longing for a chance to read them thoroughly, before she pulled away with a small groan.

“First thing's first; I need to know what I'm up against. Star-Swirl, let's see what you could scribe...” Twilight began reading -

To My Dear Celestia,

I have wandered Equus for many years, and as such I have seen a great many ordeals. I have borne witness to many unsettling things, but nothing has quite matched the subject which I write of now. The fear I have of these studies is matched only by my revulsion of them. Before I can properly qualify my observations, however, I must remind you of a few things...

Twilight skimmed through a couple paragraphs explaining the process of enchanting. It was a topic she, as the personal student to Princess Celestia, was already quite familiar with. Enchanting is the process of infusing crystalline gemstones with active magicks. The purer the crystal, the stronger the effect would be. Also, each type of gem has different latent magical properties, and as such, they would behave differently when enchanted.

Twilight was surprised and intrigued to find, however, that a more advanced method of enchanting actually changed the nature of the gem, allowing you the ability to use it however you might want. This took a significant amount of energy, however, and only proved useful when performed by a team, as together they could meld it easier. He went on to explain that these types of gemstones were most often unstable, but could be used with great power. He cited the Crystal Heart as one such artefact. It would take a team of about about seventy to one hundred Unicorns to power it, but that relic actually has the power to warp and empower the natural magic field surrounding the entirety of Panequea.

The Unicorn team that placed the enchantment nearly killed themselves attempting this feat, since channeling the required energy exhausted their neural synapses, but the results were extraordinary. Star-Swirl went on to describe how inspirational it was to unlock the true nature of the Crystal Heart, and his admiration of the team that sought to use it to protect their kingdom by cycling the emotions of the ponies around it. But he ended his praises with a darker passage.

… Then I understood what power we truly had over the natural order.

Dearest Celestia, I write this to warn you of those who practice magic in the shadows. While the Crystal Heart was a triumph of love and light, it was brought about by those who champion the darker arts to produce such effects.

The construction of the enchantment was astounding, as I've said, but as I read through the written reports of one of the researchers, I found that after they laid the groundwork, they had a difficult time trying to find a power source strong enough to warp the magical field to feed on ambient emotional surges, instead of only directed magical energy. It was at this point one of the primary researchers brought up a particular field that surpassed every other in pure power.

Necromancy.

Note that this was not the first time that Necromantic Enchanting had been carried out, but after the success of the project so many years ago, it became a legitimate field of research. The power required to morph the structure of the gem was very high, and as such there were a grand total of thirty-four killed for love of country. Twenty-five were willing participants, and the other nine were prisoners serving life sentences.

I applaud them for achieving what many of their contemporaries believed impossible, even if their methods do leave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. What they proved, however was that it could be done. I have seen many artefacts in my travels that were immensely powerful, and after this I became curious as to how they were made as well. The groundwork of the enchantments I knew, but now that I could no longer assume that their research was indeed ethical, I conducted many in depth studies of these artefacts.

The three most malevolent enchantments I've come across I refer to as the Necroid.

The first item is the Alicorn Amulet. It is a stylized amulet depicting an Alicorn with its wings unfurled with a garnet inset on a shield in the fore. The groundwork of it's enchantment was incomplete, but still allowed for continuous growth of magical power. It was designed by a Unicorn who managed to soul-siphon an Alicorn prince into the gem at it's center. The downside was that you would slowly lose what made you who you were, as the power (or rather the soul, I should say.) in the amulet slowly took over. Its creator ultimately destroyed himself and half of a city in a duel with his 'rival power.' The Alicorn Amulet was lost to the histories after this event.

The second item is the Voidsever. A carved emerald ring that empowered ones conjuration. It was created in time of war by a Unicorn who sought an advantage against his liege-lord's foes. It was made to fit around the horn of a Unicorn, but the groundwork of the enchantment allowed for slight manipulation of the size, so that it could be used by others in the event of his death. It greatly reduced the amount of energy needed to conjure weaponry, and as such one pony could wield multiple weapons effortlessly. He was assassinated, and the ring stolen, but since then there has been tales of a curse surrounding the use of the ring. Apparently it has a hunger for souls, and if it isn't used to take the life of another it will sap the strength of whoever wields it. I have recovered it, and I will bring it to the Castle of the Two Sisters for safe keeping when I can.

And the last, and perhaps most insidious in its creation, was the Hollow. A regal velvet cape, with several polished jet gemstones embedded in the fur trim. It is unknown where it came from, but it is being held in the Academy at the Crystal Empire. I managed to get the curators to allow me to study it, and what I found was disturbing. It enchantment is simple; it maintains a passive field. It shifts all magical energy around it. The disturbing part is that this field can be changed at will with little to no energy from the user. I only examined three gems, but each had more power in them than should have been possible. I have to conclude that multiple murders in conjunction with Necromantic Enchanting is the only way for mere ponies to achieve the results seen here. After reading through the tests performed, there seemed to be no ill effects on the researchers, except that they became... agitated after a prolonged absence of the cape. Their conditions continued to decline until they were driven mad and began to kill each other to wear it.

I dared not don it myself, for it would seem the souls trapped inside have become either harshly malevolent so as to cause fear of being without their power, or beatific so as to cause intense jealousy of others that might use it themselves. The chaos contained within is akin to the magic of Discord, and while it is possible that he is the source of the enchantment, it does not seem his style. There is no fun to be had in the death of a toy.

With this comparison, surely you too can see how dangerous it is to exert such control of the natural realm. Even if it weren't unethical to manipulate the natural order in such a way, no ethical code would ever allow for the enslavement of equine souls...

Twilight didn't finish reading the report, now unconcerned about the ethical dilemma that Star-Swirl wrote of. “I DIDN'T MISS!!” Twilight shouted at the scroll. “That cape! Celestia's solar-flaring MAREHEAT!” Twilight jumped away from her research materials and kicked the wall. The exerted force actually managed to dislodge a brick, not to mention leave an imprint of her hoof on the stone. She began shouting obscenities while thrashing about, her mane burning with all the fury of Celestia's sun.

“Saucy.” the voice laughed cheekily.

“RRRAAARRRGHH!!!!” Twilight screamed, trying to release her overpowering anger. “And YOU! You would have to have known about this! You must have a lot of arcane knowledge to be able to draw complete zebraic glyphs, and if you and Luna fought him, surely you knew about his BUCKING CAPE!? Something you could've mentioned BEFORE I SENT EVERY LAST BIT OF MY MAGICAL ENERGY TOWARD HIM!?” Twilight raged, twitching with every attempted movement.

“Now, how would that have benefited Us?” The voice asked, a bit smug. “If you were to calm down, you would realize that if We would have volunteered that information, you would have turned us in to Celestia. If there were no rift between you two, We would've been in much more danger than We ever had been with Luna. Surely you can forgive a mare for looking out for herself, right? Champion of friendship and trust?” She laughed a bit haughtily.

This stopped Twilight in her tracks as her blood turned cold. “You... You set me up?”

“No, We just allowed your mistake to ensure our future.”

“Why... Why did I ever let myelf trust you?”

“Because I offer you comfort, Twilight Sparkle. I offer you power.” The Voice spoke lowly and darkly. “We never lied to you. Together we would be even greater than the Royal Sisters. And in the darkest corner of your mind, you don't want to be recognized as a student, but as an equal. You know that We want you, and We know you want Us, even if you'd never admit to it.”

“But I... No, not like this.” Twilight flushed as she sought to defend herself. “You offered companionship... unity. Like with Luna! Surely she wanted love just as much as I! I wanted to be recognized, yes, but in love, not the fear that you cast. I don't want this... I... I...” Tears started to fall as she realized that she had brought this 'Nightmare' to life. “Not like this...”

“We all want for things in our hearts, Twilight Sparkle. You are not mistaken, Luna sought love at first, but when she found it and it was taken from her... longing turned to hatred, and hatred spreads like wildfire. You sought power you lacked to overcome your foe, and We supplied it. Now you seek companionship because you lack it, and We, thus far, have supplied it. Now that you realize that We, too, have been seeking something, is it truly so surprising? We want to live, and you are my best chance at realizing my own goal.”

Twilight tried to think about this, but found it much harder than it ever was before. There were so many things happening concurrently that she couldn't parse out the genesis or destination of any of them. “You seek life, I seek companionship, and...” Twilight had a thought. “Am I to be as Luna was, then? Is that your idea of a symbiotic relationship?”

The Voice stilled. “That was a mistake. She sought help, and I, in love for her, offered my soul to her cause. I fell prior to the conquest of the Crystal Empire, and my soul followed her until the enchantment was broken, along with her armor. Since then, she and I have worked together again, as in the olden days. You must speak with her.”

“You... Bound your own soul?” Twilight gaped.

“As I said previously, I was foolish, and Luna too innocent.”

“Why have you been using the Empirical We? Why the separate voices?”

“Luna and yourself have become part of who We are, but I am still myself as well.” She replied evenly. The concept confused Twilight, but she thought it was minor in comparison to the many other things she had learned today. Not to mention that she still had to return to Ponyville.

After a beleagured sigh, she huffed, “Back to the books then.”

“And pass up the opportunity to surpass your idol's studies of an extremely powerful magical artefact?” The voice said coyly.

“I am NOT going to risk my life so haphazardly. The Voidsever may be hidden here, but I will not use it unless I absolutely must.” Twilight paused. “But I suppose having it around couldn't hurt.”

“There's a good filly.” The voice laughed.

Ignoring her, Twilight began to search for Voidsever.

After some time, Twilight managed to find a set of saddlebags, a cloak, a couple more grimoires with both defensive and offensive spells scribed within, and, eventually, the Voidsever. As night fell once more, Twilight decided to get some rest before heading back to Ponyville. Before settling in, though, she wanted to crack open a couple of the spell books. She already had an impressive repertoire of magic spells learned, and her near iodedic memory would allow her to recall any of them given a reason to do so. “It is still good to brush up before heading into a test... especially against such a strong foe. Trixie's magic was all flash and no substance before, but if she can handle transmogrification spells, combat spells should be easy for her.”

Twilight picked through her collection and found a new one to start with. “One With the Shadows: A Hoof of the Brotherhood.” Twilight paused a moment to wonder why the princesses would have a spell book used by one the more infamous guilds in history. Granted, at the time very few knew of them, just remembering their mention as stories used to scare foals straight. The princesses would know the truth, but in order for them to have obtained a spy's/assassin's spell book... there was a story there that Twilight would love to hear.

She opened the book and began to read about one of the spells she cast during the fight with Sombra. The shadow teleportation spell, called “Slide”, was developed to have a method of short range teleportation in lowlight environments where the glow of a horn would give away the user's location. Twilight was surprised to find out that the spell matrix was based on a seal, a magical symbol that acts as a focal point for the spell.

“To be able to cast a seal spell without the seal being present is unprecedented, at least in my studies thus far...” Twilight ruminated. Intrigued, she delved deeper. Always a fast reader, Twilight read through, following several different rabbit holes due to the book referencing other things, until she came across a passage she had to reread to make sure she understood it properly.

“...and therein lies the primary difference between basic magic and shadow magic.

Basic magic uses a concentration where your horn draws the energy needed to itself and requires mental fortitude to morph the energy into the form you seek. The glow exhibited by the horn is a byproduct of the combined aura of the magical energies. This is even shown in black magic (a.k.a. Dark magic), named for the black aura that surround the horn. The amount and style of manipulation is determined by your willpower and knowledge, therefore it stands to reason that your spells normally revolve around your talent. People practice and are more knowledgable about things that they are passionate about.

Shadow magic (a.k.a seal/runic magic, thought the latter is only very recently coined), on the other hoof, is a recent development that hybridizes power of Zebraic fetishes and the versitility of Pony magic. The mental component is less taxing as it uses glyphs that act as the focal point for the magic. There are a few exceptions, such as 'Slide', 'Flash', and 'Fear', where there is no true focus for the magic being used. These exceptions actually form a field of foci, normally spherical, and allow for manipulation of the field. The primary drawback to this type of magic is the necessity of the glyphs or seals, but as their presence reduces the neural strain of the magi's spellcraft, it is well worth adding to any serious magi's repertoire, even if only to understand the concepts.

This being said, shadow magic carries a stigma not only because it is a bastardization of two distinct types of magic, but also because at it's onset, the primary users would carve runes into themselves, and some actually combined it with necromantic enchanting to place the magic in their blood. Beware these approaches, however, as they morph the magic. The phrase 'Shadow magic' was coined for these abnormalities. The aforementioned spells in particular seem to turn the field to an indiscernable shadow for the channelling and execution of the spell, making them particularly useful for espionage or other ponies who wish to remain concealed and utilize magicks.”

Twilight closed her eyes and considered this while recalling the event during that fight. When Sombra's cut healed itself, dark tendrils had shown in the wound to knit his flesh back together. “A healing spell, seal based. Character composition... fi del ae, omega... Matrix complexity: High.” She opened her eyes and looked up the characters she recognized in a grimoire. “Mend.” She closed her eyes hummed as she drew the spell matrix in her mind.

She couldn't have known it, but as she traced the matrix in her mind, the lines wrote themselves in her eyes. By the time she fell asleep, her eyes glowed white with the newly learned rune.

Author's Note

I was expecting to make it back to Ponyville this chapter, but this felt like a natural place to end the chapter. One more and we'll get to see Twilight vs. Trixie how it was meant to be.

If you guys want after a while, I can write a snippet or side-story short about her search for the Voidsever, since it did take a whole day's worth of adventure and exploration. I figure in interest of time, however, I should probably just say she found it.

If you guys have any questions about the content of the chapter, let me know. I attempted to cover A LOT of ground with how I see the magic working. I feel like the explanation has holes, but I need more eyes to find them. A few things are vague on purpose, but I tried to disclose a fair amount of information and world-building.

Oh, and one last thing...

That scene where Twilight gets pissed off, I actually redid a paragraph because I felt I had gone a bit far. if anyone is interested in reading it though, just PM me and we'll see what you think.

Enjoy the show!

Equivalent Exchange

When Twilight awoke, the first thing she noticed was that the world seemed much brighter. “Perhaps it is because I spent most of yesterday poking through old, dusty, dark and dank dungeons?” She pondered on it for a short while before rising and setting off toward the castle entrance. There wasn't much to eat around here, so she determined to find some edible herbs on her way to Ponyville.

As she approached the rift in front of the castle, it struck her again how much brighter everything seemed. She could still feel an impending sense of doom as she entered the Everfree, but it was definitely more inviting than it had been the day before. “Something is different... I can hear sounds of life coming from the forest now, whereas it was entirely still on our way up.” Twilight noted mentally. “Also, the ambient magics seem to be less... malevolent.” She strode forward cautiously, as she always did in the Everfree.

True to the perks of being well rested, Twilight kept a much sharper eye on the surroundings, paying attention to the currents in the magical field and attempting to further memorize the local topography. Time passed much slower this time around, as her nerves weren't nearly as frayed. “I still have a mentor, even if I'll never be able to speak to him. Star-Swirl is one of the most prolific wizards in Equestrian history, if not in the history of all of Equus. Surely there are more things I can learn from his books and many more after via his letters to Celestia.” Twilight thought to herself.

As she walked through the forest, she came across an area that, though it was morning, still bore the blue light of the moon. “Garden of shadows indeed. She seems to have been truthful...” She thought as she looked around the clearing. She saw the flowers that the voice spoke of, and they were indeed beautiful. It was as Twilight inspected and admired the surroundings that she realized how quiet her head had been.

The presence in her mind was gone.

Twilight couldn't feel her mental companion at all anymore. Despite her feeling a little betrayed about the circumstances, Twilight felt lonely and wished for the intimate companionship, however dark it may have been. She waited here for a while, wondering if her presence in the Garden of Shadows would draw her mind-mate back, and when it did not, Twilight began to think about how things had been until recently. “Now that I can be fairly confident my thoughts are mine again, perhaps it is time for a bit of reflection.” She reasoned.

“My mind mate had multiple voices, as though she'd had multiple hosts. I wonder if she takes aspects from each, or if there's some sort of impression from the minds it touches... the softer voice was more eloquent, and primarily used the old royal 'We', so I am to guess that was Luna's influence... Perhaps Luna really did send her to me, but wouldn't she fear that I would be corrupted?” She shook her head as she walked over to the broken statue of the Thestral guard. “No, after my friends and I broke the hold that Luna had allowed the snake to obtain, I'm sure she would trust me enough to not give in.” The thought made her smile a little. “She referred to herself as the “Cloak of Night”. A cloak is like a sheet, but allows for more movement... Perhaps the technicality doesn't matter, and the cloak is to be equal to a sheet, or a covering, making the “Cloak of Night” the stars?” Twilight hypothesized, humming as she examined both her thoughts and the statue in front of her. The thought of her power being split in twain between a set of souls was an intriguing idea, and Twilight resolved to ask at some point. “He certainly would've been quite a handsome stallion...” Twilight said softly, her mind running parallel to itself. Once she read the inscription at the base of the statue, however, the two tracks instantly crossed.

Here Lies Nightwind Squall, Nightwatch Captain, and bodyguard and personal friend to the Mistress of Dreams. May we never forget the sacrifice he gave for our our beoved Princess.

“THE MOON SHALL NOT RELENT”

Standing still while she watched the ground underneath her feet, giving a moment of silence for the deceased, she felt a strange pulling sensation. Her visioned darkened and she heard a whisper and moan in her mind. “The stars will doom her.” One said while the other promised “The stars will give her strength!” She backed up a bit, shaking her head. “She will be lost in the pain.” Followed by, “When something's lost, something's gained.” After the exchange, Twilight began to feel the ambient magicks of the Everfree again.

"What in Tartarus was that?” There was no answer readily available, and Twilight couldn't place a finger on any probable cause until she felt a chill run up her spine. She pulled out the Voidsever and heard a soft scream in her mind. She took a minute to examine the ring, which now had a dark blue aura and an aetherial chill. “Was I... being sheltered by the voice? It can't have been Luna herself, but... I couldn't feel any of the energies until that exchange... And now that she's gone...” Twilight shuddered. “Oh, Luna... please be okay...”

The rest of the trip was uneventful, save for the dark chill emanating from the ring, until she reached the border of Ponyville. As she entered the little town, she again felt the overwhelming sense of suppression. She crept along to Fluttershy's cottage and let fire a pink flare to announce her return to her friends. She did not yet want to be seen by Trixie however, so she crept along the forest's edge and towards the Apple family's farm. Once there, she sought out Fluttershy to see if she was still there, but what she found was even more unsettling than her friends disappearance.

Angel lay there, writhing in agony. He had been half-transmogrified into some creature that shouldn't exist. Twilight could see blood from the fusing, and upon looking at Fluttershy's dearest pet and oldest friend, she couldn't look away. “Oh by the gods...” was all she could say. Angel's body had been merged with a couple different animal's appendages. “Genetic reconfiguration would be preferable to barbarity like this.” Twilight thought to herself.

Angel had been transmuted into an oryctolagusian chimera, and Twilight knew that returning him to his former self would be impossible at this point. “I can only offer the sweet release from the pain of life...” Twilight whispered to the writhing abomination, tears forming in her eyes as the wretch before her begged as coherently as it could to die. Nodding, Twilight stood up, but had a dark idea. “If his life was forfeit, shouldn't it be for good reason? I know that if I were to die for a friend, I wouldn't want that death to be in vain...” Twilight reasoned as she twirled Voidsever out of her pack. “I may need the strength to get rid of Trixie... If she has this much power, I cannot afford to take chances, lest I end up a plaything like Fluttershy's poor pet.” She thought. “But, if I do this, then I'm no better than she. Survival, or ideals? Necromancy is a dark art, and the grimoire describing this artefact said that it fused itself to it's host. Do I really need the power that badly?”

She watched as the grotesque image of Angel started convulsing on the floor. Thinking of her and her friends like this, she knew she had to prevent it whatever the cost to herself. She donned the ring, knowing she full well she would be incapable of removing it herself. As she did so, her vision changed. It became darkened with a slight red tint, and she could see five specs of aetherial light zipping around Angel. Drawn by the bidding of her newest accessory, she summoned a sealing blade and promptly brought it down on Angel.

Blood splattered over her and her mind began to revolt against her decision to power an artefact she knew she couldn't remove. As much as she regretted its necessity, she now felt empowered even more beyond her regular self. This burst of power was accompanied by a dark thrill. This was the first actual muderous action in Equestria for a very long time, and, deep in her, there was a flame ignited that felt almost blissful. She noticed something then that had seemed to have gone unchecked until now. She noticed something that she should have seen before placing the ring upon her horn, and she traced it back to the curse on the door.

She had been changed.

No longer was she the herald of the magic of friendship. She still believed in her friends, and in her heart, she knew that they now were the only ones who could save her from the darkness she now faced. Even if she may no longer admit it, she knew her love for them would give her the strength she would soon need to not use her powers.

No longer was she the student of Celestia. She still admired her, but she had seen a darker side that had captured her. She wondered idly if this was why Celestia never shared dark magic with her. Twilight was powerful in her own right, but not being able to harness her raw power ensured that she could remain controlled, either by herself or her old mentor. She couldn't have been faithful if she wasn't given the choice.

No longer was she a peaceful bookworm. Now she could see herself as a leader. A ruler in her own right. After all, was she not more powerful than everyone around her? Why could she not lead them, as she, being more studious than they, should know better what would do well for them. Among her friends she was the smartest, and maybe even the strongest. Was this not why she became the leader of their little group?

By murdering Angel in a dark decision to gain strength over her opponent, she had proven the darkest fathoms of ponydom can be reached by even the most righteous of ponies. Possessing the strength of Voidsever had caused her mind to envision ever greater feats that she might perform to show that she was worthy of the love once bestowed upon her by her former mentor.

And all of it would start here, in Ponyville. All of it would start here, with Trixie. This was to be a great moment in her life, she was sure. Just as sure as she was in her heart that she had made the gravest of mistakes by donning the Voidsever. Yet all of the conflicting feelings couldn't shut out the severeity of watching those five little specs of light be absorbed by the blade, and the rush of vitality gained as the power of the spec eeped into her being. Nor could it make her truly regret desiring the power to stop someone who had made it necessary to gain the power.

“IT IS TIME!” Twilight yelled at the top of her lungs. Her horn shimmered with overglow and her heart thudded with a flood of adrenaline. It was, indeed, time for the two sorceresses to meet.

Little did they know it would be the last time.

Twilight stalked out of the barn and into town, but was unopposed until she reached town hall, where there were a host of ponies gathered behind Trixie. The hope in their eyes was nearly palpable as they looked upon their lavender savior, expecting some great feat of magic to show up Trixie and release them from their servitude.

Her face set in a scowl and lightly splattered with blood, Twilight shouted as she slowly, menacingly, advanced. “Trixie! What ever fight you had with me should have stayed that way. The damage you have done here is irreparable and unforgivable! Your dominion of Ponyville is at an end!”

A mad grin spread across Trixie's face, and her eyes flashed red as the gem set in the Alicorn Amulet began to emit a dark aura. “Twilight Sparkle! My arch-nemesis! My only rival!” She reared up and spread her hooves dramatically. As she landed, she pointed a hoof at the slowly advancing lavender mare. “You are nothing against Trrrixie! The greatest and most powerful of all!” She spun and flourished her cape, removing her hat, then turned to face her opponent, who stopped about twenty yards away. “This Amulet has increased my already considerable power by more than you could possibly imagine! I could even take Celestia's everlasting Sun out of the sky! I have created new life, and can bring back the dead! I truly am the greatest sorcerer in the entirety of Equus!”

“You are weak, and pathetic. You play with the hard-won lives of others, and create only grotesque mimicry of what life should be! The world ill needs a sorceress such as yourself! Remove the Amulet, or I shall be forced to remove it from you!” Twilight shouted, an ethereal echo beginning to form around the last bit of her sentence as her eyes glowed white, still emitting the dark green and purple aura associated with dark magic. Her presence seemed to grow as her own magical aura began to dispel the oppressive field already there.

Trixie, driven mad by the power of the amulet, began laughing as dark blue, leathery wings sprouted from her back. She lifted herself into the air, blood dripping down her sides. “Surrender the amulet? Heresy! Watch, slaves, as I strike down this arrogant little pony!” Flashes of light erupted from Trixie's horn, burning so hot that they glassed the ground upon impact.

Twilight dodged Trixie's first barrage, and began analyzing the situation as Trixie taunted her. The air around them was saturated with magical energy, so Twilight quickly decided on a course of action. She blinked and a glyph began glowing red on her completely white eyes. The same glyph began to appear in the air in multiple areas around the two of them, and Twilight disappeared as Trixie started another barrage. It seemed as though Twilight was slipping in and out of the dimension, appearing in one location just to disappear and reappear somewhere else.

Finally she appeared directly behind the hovering Trixie, and, having by this point summoned her soul-sword, cleaved through the bone of one of her wings. She neatly severed the wing, bringing her opponent flailing to the ground. Once Trixie hit the ground, she started to cower, realization in her eyes. She abandoned trying to fight, knowing it to be futile, and instead tried to run, only to have Twilight reappear right in front of her, sword raised just beside her. Trixie could feel the hunger emanating from the ghastly apparition.

Twilight felt a rush of magic as Trixie tried to defend herself. Twilight flourished the blade to deflect the mind bullet, and riposted automatically by cutting off Trixie's horn, mere centimeters from her forehead. Instantly, the fire in Trixie's eyes died out and the Alicorn Amulet flashed brilliantly before fading. Trixie fell limply, as though all her strength had left her.

There was a stunned silence as Twilight stood darkly over Trixie, whose coat had begun to lose its usual luster. Twilight let out a primal scream as the silence drew longer, and her friends started forward cautiously, to attempt to calm her. Seeing how poorly her friends had fared angered her further, causing her to spin back toward Trixie and wrap her telekinesis around her neck. Twilight dragged her defeated foe up by her head and neck so that they were face to face. Fear was plastered on Trixie's face, but Twilight would have her revenge.

“THIS IS THE PRICE OF ARROGANCE!” Twilight shouted, multiple layers of ethereal presence echoing her. Summoning her sword back, she held it to the throat of the numbly cowering mare. “She's defenseless, Twilight! She is in shock, this is murder! Don't do this!” Her mind and heart cried out to stop her body, along with a familiar feeling, a familiar voice, that attempted to bolster her resistance. “You are Ours now,Twilight Sparkle. Resistance is futile...” A voice that was both her and not hissed before plunging the blade deep into Trixie's chest, twisting it and ripping it out violently, spraying blood everywhere. Trixie's lifeless shell fell with a thud that reverberated in the silence. No one dared breathe as they felt the malevolence seeping from Twilight. An aura began to overtake her as a cluster of motes rose to her sword and merged with it, sending a feeling of mad euphoria through her.

A dark laugh seemed to rise from the ground as a cackling Twilight was joined by a host of deep, chaotic laughter. The blood pooling around Trixie's corpse rose into the air by itself and exploded outward as a grotesque creature with a hoof, a reptilian leg, a paw and a talon attached to a serpentine body with a grey pony's head coiled around itself in midair.

The Lord of Chaos had returned!

In the Dark of the Night

“Ah, yes! It feels good to be alive!” Discord laughed. “And you, my dear, are more than I could have ever dreamed! Who knew that old Sun-Butt could have trained such a chaotic little minion? Maybe she loved me after all!” He broke into pieces, each of which gained a mouth to laugh with in a different tone.

There was a bright yellow flash as Celestia arrived on scene, wearing her full armor and holding a radiant gold and white halberd. “Discord, show yourself! I cannot allow you to... to...” She stopped as she surveyed the scene, seeing a bloodsoaked Twilight controlling a conjured blade, and the rural town changed from it's normally lively atmosphere into one of fear. “Twilight... ?” Celestia was too shocked to see what had become of her student to say anything.

“There is no battle I couldn't survive, feeling like this—Feeling Alive!” Twilight sang as her head turned up toward her old mentor, her face twisted in a dark grin, but her eyes greyed, and dim. “Princess Celestia,” she started, her voice uneven and accompanied by an aetherial echo. “to what grand scheme do I owe the pleasure?” Her stance was unmistakably combative, looking as though she could charge her old mentor at any moment.

Discord reappeared and slithered around Celestia, whispering in her ear. “Oops, I did it again, Celestia. I played with your heart...” He started laughing, lifting himself into the air grandly. “You should know better than to chase the master of Chaos!”

“NO!” Celestia shouted, closing her eyes and shaking tremendously. “NO! You're playing with my head, this can't be the reality I sought to defend!”

“In this case, you simply can't make up how marvelous, simply marvelous, this has all turned out!” Discord laughed. “I saw that you placed some wards to limit my abilities this time, so why should I use the energy to surpass them when there is already so much discord to revel in?”

Celestia opened her eyes to see the twisted shadow of her former student. She ignored Discord's comment as horror and regret played equally across her features. “What happened to you, Twilight? It's been three days since I saw you...” Receiving no answer, she continued. “Where is my Faithful Student? Where is my dear frie--”

“You lie, Celestia.” Twilight growled. “Or do you dismiss all your friends when they're begging for forgiveness? No, I was naught but a pawn to you, a useful tool for carrying out your will. I failed your test, and so now I, and I alone, must correct the situation.” She laughed bitterly. “Sound familiar, Teacher?” She took a step forward, leveling a menacing leer at Celestia

Discord appeared in front of Twilight, a mischievous grin on his face. “Well, well, well... Someone finally told off the old mare! What fun!” He laughed as he pet Twilight face. “I'm beginning to like you, even if you are a bit too grim at times!” Twilight reacted by swinging her aetherial sword in an upward arc, knicking his arm. The blow would have cut the limb from his body had he not pulled back in time. She snorted, facing him and kicking at the ground threateningly. “Well, the fun here has certainly died out. That bloodlust is just not a good fit for me.” Twilight charged him when he looked away, only to be caught in mid air, unable to move. Her horn fizzled out and the sword disappeared. Discord came toward her immobilized body, and she, and all the host within her, began screaming. “What was the price of arrogance again?” He started cackling, which turned into the laughter of a mad man the closer he drew. “Ah, yes. I remember now!”

“Unhand her, Discord! You will not have her life!” Celestia grabbed her halberd and charged him, her eyes glowing white.

He put up a finger from his talon and stopped the point of her blade on it. Tisking, he said with an exaggerated frown. “Oh, my adorable little sun, you always did burn up a bit too quick.” He moved his finger toward Celestia. “I'm not going to harm dear Twilight, there's no sport in it.” He masterfully hid the strain that holding them both was placing upon him. Once Celestia relented, he touched Twilight's horn, and the Voidsever separated from it and rose off as a piercing howl of pain rang from her lips. “These items, and the souls within them, make it far too hard to play with some ponies, however, so I think I'll just hold onto this for a while.” He released Twilight, who fell limply to the floor. “Ah, I forgot to mention, you'll be a little dead for a bit.”

He stepped on her as he began walking away, causing her to cough and begin breathing again. As her eyes fluttered open, she felt the other's closing in on her. Like a wounded cat, she sprang up to protect herself, feigning strength when all she felt was weakness. Her eyes remained unfocused and confused for a time, but when her eyes settled on Celestia, it all came back in a rush. Discord turned to watch as some popcorn popped up in front of him and a chair flashed under him as he sat back.

“Twilight..” Celestia dared to breathe hopefully.

“No!” Twilight backed away from her. “I—I'm no longer your student, Celestia. I don't deserve it...” Twilight's eyes closed as she questioned if the murderer had been in her this whole time, lurking beneath the surface. She couldn't know how much she had changed, but ever since having learned defensive combat spells, she had always wanted to use them... She wanted to cry, but she felt it would be wrong to seek comfort in the host of ponies she had betrayed, however unwittingly. “There can be no forgiveness for my actions, as I have doomed too many. Saving the lives of others does not lessen the weight of my crimes.” When she finally opened her eyes, the haunting pain was evident. Her gaze seemed to settle on the horizon as it glazed over while she fell into herself. “I... must leave to acquit myself of my crimes.”

“Twilight, please! It doesn't have to be this way! Come back to me!” Celestia cried, Twilight's words stinging her core as she realized her folly.

“You're talkin' crazy, Twi!” Applejack shouted out.

“Yeah! You know we'd never just let you go, egghead!” Rainbow Dash joined in.

Hearing her friends calling out for her drew her attention. She looked them over, taking note of just how scarred they had become from Trixie's reign. Applejack wore a white bandage holding a patch of cloth over her left eye, and her coat had been singed in several areas, revealing burns left under-treated while she was forced to continue working. Rainbow Dash had splints on both of her wings. Pinkie's jaw was wired shut. Rarity's coiffure was dingy and her coat lacked any of its usual luster, and her eyes bore the tiredness that echoed her slightly bloody and swollen hooves. Thankfully, Fluttershy herself looked unharmed, but Twilight saw in her eyes that she knew what had happened to Angel. The meek pony could hide neither her horror nor her disgust.

“To make matters worse,” Twilight surmised, “It's all my fault... Luna...”

“I am the reason your lives are ruined.” Twilight confessed, her voice now soft and low without the echo. “And I'm not the Twilight Sparkle you used to know.” Twilight walked up to Fluttershy who began cowering away. Nodding, Twilight asked, “Do you want to tell them?” Fluttershy shook her head. Twilight drew in a deep breath and started, slowly. “You saw me kill Trixie. I had donned a powerful, soul-stealing artefact, and powered it with the soul of Fluttershy's dear Angel, who Trixie had resigned to a life of torment.” Her voice trailed off as she turned her gaze to the ground, not able or willing to hold anypony's eye contact, “And... I was the one who corrupted the Crystal Heart.”

Everything went silent. Even Discord didn't speak, though his reason was attempting to stifle ill-humoured laughter. Twilight looked around, and their faces spoke what their words could not. Resentment from Fluttershy, Betrayal from Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Pain from Pinkie Pie and Celestia, and bafflement from Rarity and many faces in the crowd.

After the silence sat for a few seconds, Celestia tried to intercede. “Twilight, you were not properly prepared for what you faced, and that is my fault. If I had--”

“You did not make the decision to fight. I had other choices and made the worst possible one.” She drew in a sharp breath, “And I have to this point continued that trend. I will not ask for forgiveness, for there is none to be found with the dead and dying. All that is left to me is redemption, and I will seek that for the rest of my days. I have failed you all.” Twilight turned and ran away, flashing into a teleport before the others could see her cry.

The only sound left to the crowd was the mad cackling of Discordant laughter.

Twilight, having teleported herself just outside of her old home, ran into the Golden Oak Library, slamming the door shut behind her as she collapsed a few feet from the entrance, sobbing. She laid there a while, mourning what she felt she had lost and might never regain. Eventually she heard a small voice calling her out of her depressive stupor.

“Twilight?” Spike approached slowly. The baby dragon looked like he had done his own fair share of crying over the time she'd been away, judging from the slightly red eyes and and generally tired, nearly expressionless face.

“Oh, Spike!” Twilight started rubbing her eyes, trying to dry them. She stopped when Spike grabbed one of her legs and just held on for a while. “Oh, Spike...” and the two of them started crying, holding each other. “I'm so sorry, Spike, I should have had you come with me. I needed my number one assistant with me.” She smiled sadly.

“Celestia told you that it had to be you, Twilight. I just wish I could have helped. I saw a battle on top of the Crystal Spire, and then I saw you fall off the edge and land on the balcony. I was so scared! I thought for a while that you had... had...” Spike couldn't finish his sentence as his voice got stuffy, reliving their last parting. “Promise me that you'll never pull a stunt like that again! You're more like my family than my mentor, and I just don't know what I'd do if you really...”

“Shh, Spike.” Twilight clutched him a little tighter. “I'll be careful, I promise.” She stood after a minute, feeling better about things now that she had met a friend that she knew would never leave her. “This means, however, that we have to leave soon. Our welcome here has been worn thin, and we must find somewhere else to go.” Twilight told him, a soft darkness still present in her voice.

“Find somewhere... ?” Spike blinked. “Twilight, what happened?”

“I made a few mistakes.” She paused ominously. “A few very bad mistakes.” She continued with a grimace. She related to him the events since they last spoke while they went around gathering supplies for an extended trek. When she told him about the Voidsever and the different voices, He looked thoughtful, as if attempting to parse out the meaning behind it all. When she finally made it to the encounter with Trixie, she slowed down and stopped packing altogether, watching Spike for a reaction. The one that she got surprised her.

He cried.

“Spike... ?” Twilight stepped towards him.

“These artefacts...” He started slowly. “They do things to your mind. It's not all your fault, Twilight. Trixie... She fought it too, but she couldn't win. Her greed, her want of attention, was greater than her self-confidence. They are the darkest of magic, feeding on your emotions just like that spell Celestia taught you.” After catching a sidelong glance of surprise from Twilight, Spike wiped his eyes with a sad smile. “I have had a lot of time to read after escaping Trixie's notice.” He looked out the window towards the town hall, whose spire was no only barely visible due the the surrounding buildings. “I have to thank Discord now. Without him, you may not have escaped Trixie's fate. If you live by the sword...” He paused, turning his head to Twilight. “I'm just glad you're okay. Even if you're a little different now. I'm sure the others will be fine with it if you give them time. Maybe we should stay, give them a chance? They haven't really rejected you.” Spike said hopefully, trying to dissuade Twilight. The task was always difficult, but he had to try.

“Yet, Spike. You didn't see their eyes. If I stay, it will only hurt worse.” Twilight sighed.

“Twilight, the only way to be stronger than your fear is to face it head on.” Spike's expression became pained. “If we have to leave, then so be it, but don't underestimate the others. Don't you remember when you were so afraid of them hating you for your obvious magical talent?”

“That was different.I was making an inference due to an experience with another pony. This time, their eyes were on me. They see me as a traitor, Spike. And I'm sorry, but I can't hear them say what I saw in their eyes. If I do, then I can no longer hope to win their forgiveness by fixing some of my mistakes.” Twilight said as she grabbed her saddlebags. “Come on. I think I know where we're going next.”

With a somber expression, Spike grabbed the bag he packed and followed Twilight out the door. “This can't end well...” He took a final gaze around the home he was leaving. “This won't end well at all...”

A few hours later, they found themselves setting up camp in a cave several leagues outside Ponyville. As Spike started gathering wood for a fire, Twilight set up a couple places to sleep and fashioned a firepit between them. They had packed as light as possible, with the exception of a select few grimoires for Twilight to study on the way. They had only basic necessities like emergency rations and water purification tablets, in case Twilight wasn't able to cast her spells for some reason. Everything else they would have to acquire when they needed it.

Spike made his way in shortly and saw Twilight, having already set up their accommodations for the night, studying by the low-light of her horn. He set the gathered firewood in the firepit and and lit it with his breath. He padded silently to his alcove, then turned and faced Twilight. “It's not too late to go back, you know. Your friends... they need you, Twilight. You were always the glue that held us all together. Especially after what happened with Trixie, they'll need you, if only to organize the rebuilding efforts.”

“Let Amethyst Star handle it. She did well enough before I got there.” Twilight said off-handedly. She flipped a page.

“She can't do it as well as you though, and you know it.” Spike returned. “Besides, there are many things that happened to them that they'll need help dealing with.”

“Fluttershy's better at playing doctor. I may have more book knowledge, but she is Kindness, after all.” Flip.

“And what about her? Who can she go to?”

“She never really talked to me about her problems anyway. She and Rainbow Dash go way back. It would make sense that they would confide in each other. Plus, Big Mac seems to be pretty sweet on her as well.” Flip.

Spike sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument, but determined to try. He only had a few more bullets though, so he'd have to place them carefully. “What about the Elements of Harmony?”

“Not much harmonious about betrayal and loathing, Spike.” Flip.

“You are the only who feels loathing, Twilight. You need them--” As Soon as Spike started, he knew he'd made a mistake.

Twilight slammed the book shut and threw it on the ground. “I need them to what, Spike?” She shouted. “To tell me how disappointed they are? To turn the cold shoulder? To slowly push me out of their lives because I remind them of a simpler time when the sky wasn't so heavy?” She started crying. “Ponyfeathers, Spike! I don't need them! I can do without their anger and their fear...” Her voice dropped as her crying intensified.

“Verily, you do have enough troubles of your own.” A smooth, light voice cooed from the cave entrance. “'Tis indeed unfortunate if you are to lose friends over them though.” She continued. Despite the luxurious quality of her voice, you could hear the tiredness – the exhaustion – slowly fraying her composure.

“Princess Luna!” Spike exclaimed, somewhere between jumping for joy and sighing in relief. “You're here! Thank you!”

Simultaneously, Twilight jumped for her, hugging her without thought of station. Luna, surprised by the sudden movement and unable to brace herself before the contact, toppled over. “Th-Thank the g-gods!” Twilight sobbed into her shoulder. “You're alive! You're okay!”

Moaning from underneath one of the tightest hugs she'd received, Luna managed to ask, “Twilight, what... ?”

“In the Voidsever! I felt you! Heard you! The voices disappeared when I took it, but when I succumbed to the souls you were there with me! I thought I had lost you, your voice!” Twilight clutched as tight as she could until she could feel Luna straining herself to move. Twilight let go quickly at that point. “Sorry...”

“No...” Luna moaned as she struggled to get up. “I am myself, and I am well... enough.” Twilight hadn't bothered getting up, deciding instead to busy herself with thoughts so how to handle things in an attempt to shield herself from the embarrassment of tackling a princess. Knowing the determination in her eyes, Luna made no attempt to dissuade her. Instead she just reached down and nuzzled her, drawing her out of her reverie. “I am sorry, Twilight Sparkle. The darkness you face now is deeper than many will ever face. Neither Sister nor I could have prepared you for this.” She straightened, taking on a more regal, more natural, posture. “Sombra was ready for you, and Sister's order, though well in intent, was ill advised. Your greatest strength is that of your friends. To single you out did not have the effect Sister desired, as your faithfulness to her was greater than your desire to be with your friends. All that has followed is unfortunate, but must you truly exile yourself for the redemption you seek?” Luna sat and regarded Twilight, who nodded silently. “So be it. You are no doubt returning to the Crystal Kingdom to confront Sombra, and while you are armed with more knowledge than you had before, he still will likely outclass you in a fight. How, pray tell, will you confront him?”

Twilight shifted uneasily. “I won't.” She stated simply. “I will take the Heart after earning his trust. I don't want to fight anymore...” Twilight seemed broken as she muttered these words.

Luna raised an eyebrow in surprise, but she said answered, shaking her head sadly. “Twilight Sparkle, it is imperative that you find a way to forgive yourself for what happened to Trixie Lullamoon. The choice to fight was yours, but the choice to kill was not. The spirits contained in that artefact overpowered even my own, and they are malevolent, bloodthirsty.” Luna shuddered. “You were ill equipped to deal with their influence.”

“I should never have donned the ring in the first place...”

Luna chortled darkly “In fact, you should never have take the ring from Our castle.” She sighed faintly, “Hindsight is always perfect. Our value is not measured by our failures, but by what we learn from them. Twilight Sparkle, you are one of the most intelligent ponies I have had the pleasure of meeting, but I fear that your intelligence will be your undoing.” Luna's expression tightened slightly. “I can see that you are capable of many great things. Sister's belief in your ability is what lead to this entire debacle, so I know she sees it as well. You merely need guidance, and even at that you don't need much. Will you not return? Sister is heartbroken about the state of your relationship just as much as she is about the state of Equestria at large. I feel that little would bring her more joy than for you two to be together again. And Little Spike was right, you need your friend's love to overcome your fears, and they need your strength to push past the horrible experiences they had.” Twilight shook her head, silently crying the tears of the damned. Luna sighed deeply. “Alas, I feared it would be so. I must give you this, then.” Luna summoned a black book, richly adorned with silver filigree and a crescent moon, much like her cutie mark. “Contained within are words hidden from history. It is a story about two foolish sisters, about fear and love, about the light and the darkness within, about ambition...” Luna looked away to the north, her eyes betraying her sorrow. “And about loss...” She breathed deeply, and exhaled slowly. “I hope to see you soon, Twilight Sparkle.” She turned and began to walk away before hesitating at the mouth of the cave, something bothering her.

Twilight took the opportunity to speak, now that she was calmer. “Luna – Princess Luna” Twilight corrected herself, her voice a little hoarse. “I... Thank you. Without you, I wouldn't have survived... The Cloak of Night was a generous protector, if a selfish one. I... do have a wonder though.” Twilight paused as she saw Luna's expression. Luna was staring at her, horror in her eyes.

“You...” Luna seemed to have a hard time composing herself, which was quite out of the normal for her. She realized what was bothering her, but she shook her head and instead let the young lavender unicorn continue. “And what might that be... young one?” Luna couldn't help but add emphasis to the new name, but Twilight didn't catch it right away.

“She—They... they said we were linked. That was one message given with sincerity. After I said I had no direct connection to the moon, they told me that they wouldn't have found me if it weren't for the link I share to you and Princess Celestia.” Twilight recalled. Her face fell to her hooves as she continued. “Am I... to be like you? Do you know what they meant?” She looked up, her fear evident. “Do I truly have the power to shape the world?”

Luna shook her head imperceptibly. “Alas, even I don't know the true nature of every star, young one. The ones that light your path are separate from my own, and it seems they've told you more than they ever did myself.”

“They spoke as though they owed you a debt, as well. I can infer that they warped you through their companionship, and that they regret what happened.” Twilight's mind finally put itself back on track. Having something to think about other than her failures helped her to finally be able to think.

And, she couldn't deny, the companionship was, indeed, comforting.

Luna's exhaustion, however, seemed to be nearing a peak as she staggered at the cave entrance. “You will soon find that sharing your soul with any other creature changes the nature of both you and your meld-mate. The sweet caress of moonlight called to my soul, but the realms above are filled with spirits, both benevolent and violent. The dissonant chorus of voices would threaten to drive you mad if you open yourself to them.” Luna gave a measured glare at Twilight, “Much like the Voidsever, in fact.” Twilight withered a little as Luna continued. “And my, as you've called it, Cloak of Night had helped to defend me against the malevolent will of the spirits of Chaos. Now, I must wane, rest, and at a horrible time. Sister shall soon have need of me, this I can sense in the air, but until then, I must once again rely upon her for support.”

“You will always have me as well... Luna” Twilight dropped the title with an intentional pause.

“Thank you, young one... But Sister shall need you more. I prithee reconsider returning, as Sister would--” Luna didn't get a chance to finish her sentence.

“I cannot face Celestia after so blatantly abandoning her teachings...” Twilight gave Luna an indiscernible look. “My fears are not unfounded, as I have doomed the nation she has worked tirelessly to protect for millennia. I have single-handedly undermined all of her efforts to maintain peace and prosperity in Equestria. It would be her duty as Princess to banish me for my crimes. If not even you, her dearly beloved sister, could escape the law, what chance have I? Surely you can understand my trepidation in this regard?”

“I can... and I suppose I shall have to explain it to Sister. You should not allow so petty a fear to keep you from the ponies who love you, young one.” Luna sighed wearily. Twilight recoiled, but remained silent. “But you have it set in your mind that you cannot be loved until recompense is made, and I cannot convince you otherwise.” Luna paused, considering her own emotions. “You cannot stand forever against the tides of evil if you choose to stand alone, Twilight. At least take this to heart.”Luna started walking out of the cave, calling over her shoulder, “Sister will soon have need of me, so I'm afraid I must take my leave. Fare thee well, Twilight Sparkle. I wish you good fortune and godspeed.” She jumped mightily into the air with a flap of her wings, and she soared gloriously into the night, all her fatigue seemingly forgotten in the light of the full moon.

Twilight stood for a while before shuffling towards her cot, Luna's book in tow. She fell into her bed-roll, curling up a little. “I certainly have a lot to think about... Celestia... I'm so sorry it had to be like this...” Twilight's mind turned towards the others, and she knew she couldn't leave without saying goodbye.

“Spike... Take a letter for me.” Twilight murmured, just barely able to be heard. “To Ponyville...” She added, the words seemingly paining her.

Spike, who had been listening intently this entire time, nodded as he pulled out some parchment and a quill. “To Ponyville,” He repeated as he wrote the words.

I write this to express my deepest sorrow and sincerest apologies. I have left to seek indemnification from my past sins. I may not return, and so wish to leave a few words for those who may require an explanation. My crimes speak for themselves, and the list will no doubt continue to grow; I, however, would be remiss if I were not to speak my peace.

I fought Sombra for the Crystal Heart and failed to wrest it from his hooves, and my final strike went awry and infused the Heart with all the dark energies I felt while fighting him. My rage and my fear were great, and as such the shield that was to bolster the peace and prosperity of our fair land has turned against it, and the places with heavy concentrations of chaotic magical energy will continue to grow until they consume Equestria. The Everfree Forest, being one such location, will soon become a daily foe for many who inhabit Ponyville.

This is your warning.

And now, for my farewells.

Firstly, I want to thank all of you for enriching my life ever since I moved to Ponyville. I never knew what friendship could be until you all shared its magic with me. If it hadn't been for each and every one of you, I never would've been able to enjoy life outside of my studies.

Secondly, I know that my apologies will never be enough, especially after the past couple moons, but I want to express my anguish over the state of the town. I should have been there. I should have been able to do more. I can no longer be there to aid you, however, and for that I am truly sorry.

And finally, I want to acknowledge each of my best friends. You made it possible for me to achieve greatness. I knew I had nothing to fear with you six at my back. When you didn't believe me, I couldn't hold it against you. I had, maybe, been a little crazy around you, and I can't blame you for trying to get me to see reason.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy... You will always be very dear to me and hold a special place in my heart. I couldn't ever forget you, nor could I forget all of the things we've done together. I am most especially damned for my crime against you all, as my betrayal of your trust is something that can never be forgiven. Even if I was there to mend the friendships we've established, we would never be able to be as close as we were before... At least, not until I fix what mistakes I can. Maybe then we will be able to be friends again, if I can manage to earn your trust. Until such time, just trust that I will do whatever I can to make your lives better.

With Love,

Twilight Sparkle

After writing all of this, Spike promptly yawned and stretched. “Go ahead and get some sleep, Spike... We both have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” Twilight said with a sad smile.

“No complaints here.” Spike laughed and he laid on his bed-roll. “See you in the morning, Twilight.” He smiled warmly as Twilight pulled his covers up and tucked him in.

“Yes... Good night, Spike.” She kissed him on the forehead and watched as he fell asleep. Once he was well and truly asleep, Twilight dipped the quill in the ink Spike was using and added a couple lines.

Spike, I will always love you. You have been a constant companion and my dearest friend for my whole life. You were always there for me... and I regret nothing more than my inability to be there for you. I can't risk your life for my mistakes. I need you to stay in Ponyville. They will need you just as much as I, but you'll be far safer there than with me. Farewell.

Tears dotted the end of the page, and, as silent as the night, Twilight grabbed her saddlebags and left. She continued north, towards the everlasting winter.

To Sombra.

Author's Note

Okay, so this one turned out to be a bit longer, and I couldn't get my editor to proofread it. I actually finished the chapter about two weeks ago, but I wanted to have someone read it first to check for characterization errors... which I'm still not sure of, but I'll open it to you guys since it's been a while.

Hope you guys enjoy. :pinkiehappy:
Next chapter's a doozy :pinkiecrazy:

Gazing into the Abyss

Having managed to make another score of miles before fatigue set in, Twilight set up camp in a cliffside cave. She had stayed in the wilderness to hide from those she felt she had betrayed. Left alone with her books and her thoughts, she would continue to study the texts she retrieved from the Castle of the Two Sisters.

Several weeks passed in the same manner; move, eat, move, read, sleep, and repeat. She didn't have any knowledge of the terrain, so she would stop to orient herself whenever she needed something to eat, and she managed to remain near enough fresh water to keep herself hydrated. Eventually, she found herself before a mountain range, and knowing that time was of the essence, she set upon the road instead of trekking through the rocky mountainside.

This path would lead her to Vanhoover, one of Equestria's biggest cities in the northeast. She found herself surprised at how quickly she had made her way north, but accepted it as just losing track of time. “I've only got maybe another six weeks before I will be before Sombra's dark court.” Twilight gritted her teeth, “I'm armed and ready, this time. If I can't teach him that things are different now, then I might stand a chance at subduing him... Hopefully he won't force my hoof... I don't want to kill anypony else...”

She started to notice that foot traffic was increasing, so she slowed to a walk. “If I can't avoid ponies all together, I can at least avoid notice.” She thought to herself, a small smirk playing across her lips. She had made sure that her cloak would cover her saddlebags, paranoid that somepony might catch sight of, or let alone recognize, the dark grimoires she had with her. “And if absolutely nothing else... I can always disappear.” She finished the thought with a self-assurance that unsettled her. It was almost like having another soul in her mind again, but this time she knew it was just her... Just the new her from contact with dark souls. She had been trying to stay off the topic, as she had no evidence to satiate her mind as to whom she truly was. In this attempt, she swept that worry under a proverbial mattress and carried on by observing the world around her.

Now in the mountains, she marveled silently at the beauty of nature. Looking out over the wilderness she had come from, she couldn't see much in the way of civilization. In the distance, there was a port city on the coast, only barely visible on the horizon, and that was it besides the families on the road around her. Turning back toward Vanhoover, Twilight set her tired hooves to motion one more time. “I will save them. Baltimare, Las Pegasus, Manehattan, Vanhoover... Ponyville... I can not fail this time. I will stop Sombra before he can terrorize Equestria.”

Her momentum was broken when she finally made it to the walls of the city. The gate was barred, and guards were stationed outside, holding off all the families that passed Twilight on the path. Twilight skulked around silently, eavesdropping on the gathered ponies to figure out what was going on. She learned nothing of use until she heard a proclamation from a guard at the gates.

“HEAR YE, ALL WHO ARE GATHERED!” A familiar voice boomed to hush the crowds. “My contingent of Royal Guards has been sent here to hold the gates, as the Princesses are searching for a highly dangerous criminal who has been sighted heading this way. Until further notice, all are barred from entry. I am sorry for the inconvenience.”

Twilight managed to catch a glance of him, but she knew him by his voice. A tall, white, slender unicorn with blue hair, garbed in purple and gold barding was dead center in front of the gates. Twilight wanted to call out to him, but she was stopped cold by what he said. “A highly dangerous criminal? I killed Trixie pretty easily, so that could be me, but I kept to the wilderness in an attempt to not be spotted... However the coincidence is too great to take a chance at discovery.” Twilight's sharp mind quickly began calculating and plotting routes that she could take to get over the wall. “No one is allowed to enter, so if I can get in without being noticed, then I should be home free.”

The only weakness Twilight could see was that her brother hadn't used his barrier spell. Other than that, she'd have to scale the wall, which meant waiting for night. Twilight hoped that Shining Armor didn't have any thestrals under his command, since it would be a lot harder to remain hidden if there were. “I don't want to wait, but I must endeavor to do so patiently. It is imperative I not be noticed, else I may never get the chance to return the heart to it's former state.” She told herself silently. “Good thing I've got a lot of books.” Twilight found an area where she felt she was safely hidden among the crowds of ponies waiting for the gate to be opened again, and she lay down to read one of her less conspicuous texts.

After thumbing through the several books she had with her, she settled on one that was leather-bound, having no particular markings on the cover, and was primarily text, with very few diagrams. As she pulled it out, however, she saw the book Luna had given her. With its black-blue binding and silver moon-phase filigree, she could only assume was a journal, or some sort of memoirs from Luna. She started to grab it with her magic, but stopped and shook her head. She was curious to see what was inside, but caution bade her hold that curiosity in check. She knew there was an enchantment on it, and didn't know what it could be. “It could really be anything.” She thought to herself at first. “I trust Luna, but I don’t know why she would give this to me. She might have something to incapacitate me, bring me before 'Dear Sister'...” The more Twilight thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded, but she still couldn't bring herself to take the risk. Twilight's gaze lingered on the book, knowing that the decision to not read it was based in emotion. “I have to stay in control of my emotions. My anger tainted the Crystal Heart, my curiosity almost killed me in the Everfree, and my fear killed Angel and Trixie. I can't afford to take any risks, I can't stain my hooves any further.” She told herself, eyes closed. With that last phrase, she forgot about the mysterious book and turned to her current one, flipping it open to the last page she was at and reading it voraciously.

To anyone watching, it would be obvious it wasn't just an interesting book, but an escape. Many of the ponies around her were attempting to create the same for their tired and hungry friends or family, so it wasn't ill considered, but it was still an escape.

Twilight drew her traveling cloak around her tighter, pulling its hood further forward so that it became impossible to see her face unless you had just the right angle. Comfortable enough to lose herself, she would lie like this for several hours before she had to strain her eyes to read. A few pages later, she realized that her eyes were tired from the strain, breaking her concentration long enough to notice that the sun was indeed slipping past the horizon.

She watched the setting sun closely, noting how its light lingered after it was no longer present. The tranquil blue sky had become a blazing red and orange, with hints of purple slowly pushing the brilliant sun out of the sky. The moon was dark tonight, and every bit as red as her celestial sister, though only a sliver of herself could be seen. “Biding her time...” Twilight thought with a smirk. “Waiting for the right time to strike.” Twilight recalled the nightmare presence inside her head. While it may not have been overtly violent, it certainly did seem like it was lurking just underneath the surface. The knowledge it had was deep, and Twilight thought of just how dangerous such knowledge could be. “Of course, I am not so different, am I?” Twilight's smirk disappeared as she stared at the moon. “I am broadening my knowledge of dark, dangerous arts. I am lurking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike. I may not want to fight right now, but I'm making ready in case I must... Just as the old Nightmare from the legends. She wanted merely to be loved, to be respected. It wasn't until she was resisted that she became violent...” Twilight's thoughts turned dark as the final light receded over the horizon. “I seek now only to erase my past sins, but what then? Am I to be the new Nightmare? Am I to be a story told to cow young children into obedience?” Twilight shook her head. “No, If I succeed in my mission, they would have no reason to fear me. But since I was the start of all of this, how would my story read? Would I simply be a wild card, played to trump the current suit? What will my legacy be?” Twilight's eyes fell to her hooves, a few tears joining her gaze. “What of the darkness inside me?” Twilight cried silently for a while before she cast her eyes once more to the moon. With her friends' memory floating in her mind, she asked in solemnity. “I'm as lonely as I've ever been... Is there any way to fix a broken heart?”

Her thoughts turned to her friends, her old home. The thought that drove her forward all this time was that there was no going back. That Spike was wrong this time. She knew that he was right about one thing, however, and that was that not knowing, that leaving before fully exploring her options, would eat at her. She went into her saddlebags, hoping to pull out a tome and read to take her mind off of things, as she had done multiple times over the past couple months. She was stopped short when she saw the silver filigree on Luna's book glimmering faintly. When she enveloped it in her magic, pulling it out to examine it, she felt drawn to it. It opened, almost as if by it's own accord, and Twilight, suddenly very weary, closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she was in a space that seemed infinite. Over her head was a vast emptiness, and all around her was a veil of magic, almost like mist, shimmering faintly with a silver-blue tint. Just underneath her hooves there was another, brighter, shimmer of magic that seemed to pulse in time with her heart. She could notice nothing else beside tiny motes of light suspended in the magic veil.

“Where am I?” she asked with wonder in her voice. There was an air of peace and tranquility in the place that helped keep her calm in her new surroundings, despite her mounting fear that she had triggered a trap.

“This is my realm, young one. This is where I come to guide others through their troubles. Sister can help through her court, but I prefer a more personal touch." A smooth, rich alto flowed through Twilight, causing her to shiver with recognition. “This, Twilight Sparkle, is where the hearts of others are laid bare before me... And yet, it is where I feel the most alone.” It was as though Luna formed from the veil in front of Twilight, appearing slowly but without hint of movement.

“Luna...” Twilight was speechless. She had so many things she wished to say, and yet, foremost on her mind was the vulnerability that both she and Luna had here.

“It does my heart good to see you are well, Twilight.” A warm smile spread easily across Luna's face. “I will confess that with the tensions of others running so high, I feared that you might have been hurt in your exodus.” Luna paused, and Twilight worked her mouth, trying to find a response. Luna's smile faltered and faded as she pushed herself to continue. “Much has happened since you left Ponyville. After you left him in the woods, Spike told your friends about everything. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity came to inform Sister and I, demanding that we do something to retrieve you. I have never seen them so riled... so worried.” Luna sighed. “But the noblemen also heard of your actions and demanded that you be executed under the old law, as no murder had been recorded since then.“Celestia was able to appease them by sending the royal guard to apprehend you. If you haven't yet crossed the northern border, you will find it much more difficult to do so now. They took the train-way a few days ago, and if they haven't yet set up their perimeter, they will do so in a matter of hours.”

“Yes, I just heard my brother at the gates of Vanhoover. They must have just finished setting up their perimeter.” Twilight stated. “As always, his duty to Celestia demands prompt and decisive action.” Twilight caught herself grinning, remembering happy times before she left for Ponyville. The grin faded quickly as her thoughts turned morose.

Luna stood there for a long moment before speaking softly. “Twilight, Tia is still distraught at your abandonment of her. While you do certainly carry blame in your current circumstance, know that she is more than willing to overlook the law and work with you. She also feels that she carries the most blame in this due to her parting commandment. Her intent was that you might take one step closer toward the destiny she sees for you, but your lack of knowledge of the corrupting effects of dark magic,” Luna's voice paused for but a moment before she gave Twilight the same glare of distaste she had donned during their last conversation. “or necromantic enchanting,” She coughed pointedly before continuing. “She feels is primarily her fault. Indeed, she seeks nothing more desperately than for you to return, so that you two can have a discussion of the events, and not just a report.” Luna drew herself up and spoke as if reciting a list, “Sister regrets the bluntness of her expression of displeasure and wishes to show you that she was not displeased with you, only your actions. Her statement of disappointment was, and is, as much in her as in you, as she feels, being your mentor, that she should have better readied you to fight against the darkness, instead of having you study the light.” Luna worked her mouth wordlessly for a second, like she was trying to get the taste of something out of her mouth.

She sighed and her demeanor shifted back to being soft and personal. “Tia and I will be flying out to the northern border within a fortnight. Trotonto and Vanhoover will be our first stops, respectively. I would ask that you consider stalling your... adventure... long enough that We might speak in person. Whether you decide to continue afterward or not, I must impart some measure of understanding of the history into which you have been thrown. As always, there is more to the current struggles than it would seem, and if you mean to talk Sombra out of militancy you will need to know more than was recorded in the histories.” Luna's face was unreadable, but Twilight could swear she heard a well veiled sadness as the last sentence faded.

While she didn't know why Luna would be sad, Twilight did know that Luna was not yet ready to say what she needed to. After a long and heavy pause, she shifted to another topic that had concerned her since leaving. “Discord returned after I killed Trixie... How is Celestia faring?”

Luna gritted her teeth. "Tia cannot hold out against him forever, and so has requested that your friends aid her in finding and subduing him. She has placed wards on them that prevent them from being manipulated by his magic, but they might still be turned if he can subvert their faith in Celestia. Unless old grudges can be put aside and Hyperion be brought to end his chaos, I fear all of us will be lost to his madness ere it would matter if your quest is successful.”

Twilight looked down, before she recognized the name Luna spoke. “Hyperion?” She snapped her head back up. “All of the texts I've read term him as 'Wise-One', surely you can't mean to tell me that Discord is...” Twilight trailed off at Luna's mild amusement

“All of us are multifaceted, Twilight. Even those who seem to be purely representative of one ideal can have the desire to be the opposite. While he wouldn't admit to it now, the Master of Chaos was not always so. He has had many names in the past, and was always a master of whatever field he chose to study. His current madness has lasted over a thousand years at this point, though for much of it he was imprisoned in his stone prison. Hyperion was…."Luna stopped as she considered her next words carefully. “Discord was not always as you saw him after your showdown with Trixie. Many things have changed with time."

“You knew him before he became…” Twilight’s jaw hung open as her mind worked.

“First and foremost, this is why I have come to you, Twilight Sparkle. Sombra, Discord, Tia and I all have a history. If you are to be involved in our future, you would do well to be knowledgeable about our past.” Luna closed her eyes, pained, and their environment shifted to a moonlit plateau overlooking the Equestrian land-side. Twilight recognized the view as the spot of the Canterlot Castle, but she saw no castle around her. Luna drew herself up and slowly waved a hoof across the scenery.

“I wanted to wait to see you in person, but perhaps it’s better that we can relive these old nightmares together…” Luna sighed, continuing darkly. “First, I must start at the beginning, before the founding of Equestria…

Author's Note

WELL THEN...

After a Hiatus to rival that of the season the Rick and Morty gap, I'm finally back to a place where I can write. I just need to shake the cobwebs off and I should be back to my spell binding self...

Just in time to alienate more folks lol. These next few chapters are... difficult to write, to say the least. Feel free to poke at me, but this is where my Fan-Cannon begins firing all over the place... and my stories primary departure from canon takes place. Bear with me folks, got a little while to go.

A HUGE GINORMOUS THANK YOU to all of the people who have commented on my story, especially during the time that I wasn't active, it was because of you all that I felt like I could come back to writing after so many bad things happened to me. You'll likely notice a difference in my writing style now, but I hope you all like it just as much as before.

Beyond Good and Evil (Past part 1)

Author's Note

I'm still working on tweaking the narration for these chapters. I feel like Luna's narrative and her speech patterns at the moment are... incomplete, but I can't figure out why.

Also, The next few chapters after this one are kind of long and recount more personal experiences. therefore, the pacing is also off, and I don't know how to fix it.

It is flawed, surely, but I submit it for your viewing pleasure after determining it is the best I can do at this current moment in time.

Beyond Good and Evil (Past part 1)

Beyond Good and Evil

My sister and I were not always how we are now. Though we were royal by birth, our power was gained through study. My sister and I were both quite adept at telekinetic manipulation, and with how rapidly we were able to ascertain the complexities of cosmologic magic, we were placed in cosmologistics at a very young age. Tia received command of her team first. She managed, albeit barely, to withstand raising the sun after half of her team fell ill. The more she worked at the magic, the more she studied it, the more time passed, she became able to raise the sun with an increasingly smaller number of ponies. Her popularity grew along with her strength and ponies flocked to her light. Even being involved in politics as a young mare wouldn’t besmirch her good name, but now I am getting ahead of myself.

She received her cutiemark when she earned the title “Harbinger of the Sun” and she took the name “Celestia.” It was a grand day for the Unicorn race, and she was hailed as the heir apparent to the throne. Much against her own desires, I might add, as she had fallen in love with a wizard who attended to her. A steward by the name of Jewel Storm, sworn to our Lord Father. As the heir apparent, she was at father’s mercy in terms of securing alliances and tribute from surrounding kingdoms, and she was given hold of the Gaian tribe to rule under her own jurisdiction. She pleaded that I come with her, and though our Lord Father didn’t think it prudent, I did. Princess Purity, now Princess Celestia, was terrified of her new office, and she knew that she could no longer directly consort with Jewel Storm. I was their messenger, and an anchor for Tia when she held court.

It was shortly thereafter that I became aware of mine own talent, that of the fabled dreamwalking. I came to be able to control it and thus earned my cutiemark. When presented before the royal court, I was given the title “Priestess of Nocturne” and took the name “Luna.” I was given the Crystaline tribelands, and was promised to the prince of a nearby Thestral kingdom. A Darkmane Storm, the youngest and fiercest of three brothers.

Tia was the only one to celebrate with me.

As time passed and we grew older, our studies brought us to the apex of known magic. Celestia and I began to involve ourselves more and more with the research being done by the scholars, creating spells, crafting self-sustaining enchantments… She wanted to unravel the mysteries of magic, to see why we were the ones to guide the celestial bodies. I wanted to be noticed for something other than my dreamwalking. I felt I had so much untapped potential, but I couldn’t find ponies willing to work alongside me.

At least, until I met a Crystal Wizard named Sombra. He was highly intelligent, both academically and socially, active, sensitive, and... well, *she blushes a bit as she continues.* quite fetching as well. He was a well renowned magical researcher when I appointed him to the post of Grand Magus, and after that was when he began to catch my eye. After a while I appointed him Lord Chancellor, and it was through fellowship in his studies that eventually led to my becoming an Alicorn.

Good Intentions... (Past Part 2)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

...Pave the Path to Hell (Past Part 3)

... Pave the Path to Hell

For a certainty, we were becoming mad. Killing creatures will change you... especially doing so in such large droves as we did. Sombra and I killed hundreds between us, not to include those we ordered to their deaths or had executed by somepony else. We had committed heinous acts in the course of peace. Eventually word of our atrocities had reached into Equestria, and Celestia herself came as an envoy and met with Sombra, as I was touring our battlements in preparation for further enemy campaigns. She sought to convince us to abdicate for ponies less bloodied. She never passed judgement on us, but she knew that the fear we had built was gaining us enemies. Equestrian nobility, wanting the land for themselves, had taken to activistic talks of invasion to topple the empire for its acts against equinity. I, of course, would hear none of this for years to come.

But the only action we could take against that was to bolster our forces and train more ponies to fight. We began to take outlying areas and… requisition their able-bodied, pulling them back to the capital to train them and arm them for further conquest. I had adopted the name of Crystal Empire only for a show of strength, but slowly that's exactly what we became.

I would come to realize this only far, far too late.

It was effective, though. The Caribou were repelled until their forces reeled from their war effort, and our countercharge all but annihilated their force, taking a few alive for... extensive anatomical study. The changelings had fled, or if they had not yet, they were hiding very well. The griffon state had fallen into disrepair, and Equestria's only standing military was the royal guard. Yakyakistan had taken a separatist approach, content not to poke the sleeping giant. No creature on Equus could match the martial might of Our grand army.

No creature but Tia's lover.

High Steward and Chamberlain Jewel Storm had gone missing after a particularly embarrassing stunt he pulled. He had overstepped his bounds and deigned to utilize foreign allies to rid himself of particularly annoying house-heads in the nobility, but word only got out about it once he warned the successors that something interesting would happen soon. The Noble lords were killed accidentally, and the successors took it upon themselves to crucify Jewel Storm despite having no solid evidence of any wrongdoing. Jewel Storm and the Grand Magus Starswirl the Bearded had been working on several spells in conjunction with Tia, and when Jewel Storm was forced from his position, Starswirl resigned as Grand Magus and began traveling, sending reports of research to Tia regularly.

Tia, in private, was beside herself with worry, but she had grown well into the role of leading a peaceful kingdom. She kept a small contingent of Royal Guard, but that was all the military might they needed. “We do this to keep Our subjects safe… from themselves.” Tia would tell me much later, along with reciting a poem about paper tigers. I would have done well to listen when she spoke of it, but that is a separate issue. For all intents, and in all proceedings, Princess Celestia wore her crown well.

I saw tidings of war between the races once I noticed the Griffon Kingdom poising for an attack on a few western Equestrian settlements. I was unsurprised, as it seemed like an easy mark, but I wouldn’t stand for it. I ordered a regiment of my Crystal Army to stand guard on the perimeter of Equestrian Land, along with a few of my own Thestral guard as scouts. They succeeded in disrupting the supply lines to the Griffon force and soon forced a withdrawal from the opposition. The ferocity of Our armies was legendary in their time, and I took great pride in being able to secure peace through a show of arms against all but the most insidious of foes.

Almost a year passed like this. I would spend most of my dreamwalk with Sombra, trying to help him find peace. Most of my waking hours would be spent overseeing defenses and magical research. What little other time I had went into foreign diplomacy, until one day I received a missive from Tia stating only that, “He was able to discover an artefact with untold magical powers, and has since gone missing. I request your assistance forthwith in locating him.” I told Sombra that I would need to take a leave to visit with my sister, but to continue our research and send me updates whenever he had a breakthrough.

Have you figured out who “He” is? Or rather, what he was? I will give you a hint that he was both Jewel Storm and Starswirl the Bearded, but neither were his actual name. Hyperion had integrated himself into our lives as three different ponysonas. One was the Grand Magus Starswirl, whom history knows as one of the most prolific and well traveled wizards. Another was Jewel Storm, the loyal advisor to the royal family, a cunning tactician and charismatic prankster. Hyperion himself was all but forgotten; Tia knew him because they were lovers, but how they met, I’m still not sure. I knew him because I was their messenger, and close to my sister during their romance. I knew little about him at the time, but their correspondence ensured that I knew him just as well… well, almost as well… as Tia herself.

I was, perhaps, a little jealous that Tia was the elder until I was sent to the Crystal Tribelands and made a kingdom of my own with Sombra. This is neither here nor there, but it will help explain how this all began. Tia’s affairs with Jewel Storm were a bit of a… precedent for my relationship with Sombra. Ironic, considering...

I digress.

I traveled south to meet my sister, and when she saw me she was awestruck by my newly found alicorn status. It was something we had read about, dreamt about, but never actually thought possible. It had come with a lot of things to get used to as well.

Over time, I became more powerful far more rapidly than before. My body started to change more. My mane had started shimmering faintly, though it still looked like a regular mane. I had gotten slightly taller, and my body became stronger, though it was becoming more lithe as well. My wings became grander, feathers longer. At this point I stood almost two heads taller than my sister, was longer and thinner as well.

I smiled sweetly at Tia. “Dearest Sister! We are glad thou art well!” I bowed slightly

Celestia smiled sheepishly in return. “Luna, it is good to see you well also. I had yet to hear of your… transformation. Congratulations are in order, as this has not been proven in recorded history.” Tia gracefully bowed her head in a deferential manner.

I couldn’t help but giggle. I had approached her in a sovereign manner and she had deferred due to my stronger stature. I had never felt stronger than Tia, and I wanted to tease her about my ascension. I didn’t realize then however, that it had truly been too easy. Tia saw me trying to maintain my composure and I could just barely make out the grin that she hid from me. Her bow deepened just a touch and she leapt at me without warning. I drew back a touch, surprised, but she wrapped a leg around my neck and tousled my mane with one of her hooves. Her back hooves landed on the ground as she had brought my head down a touch when she landed on my neck. As soon as they did she let go and jumped away laughing. “You’ll never be too big for your big sister though!”

I started laughing as well, despite myself. “Tia, whatever will I do with you?” I laughed along. After that little scene, we relaxed into a more natural, sisterly tone. She told me about how things were progressing with the nobility making land grabs at the nearby settlements, making money off the explorers and settlers alike without ever leaving Canterlot, which was quickly becoming more affluent. It wasn’t the same city anymore, she told me, as the nobility had built up the walls surrounding the city even further and access was restricted. She had abolished slavery, but was having trouble enforcing wage and housing laws. She had also funded expeditions into the surrounding areas, primarily to find resources for the royal holdings so that she wouldn’t lose even more power to the nobles, but was finding settlements, travelers, and natives looking to swear fealty for economic protection. There were a few pockets of ill-meaning ponies about, but these bandits and ruffians were easily dealt with by her trained explorers.

I spoke little of my own struggles, only letting her know that there was an internal threat that looked to dissolve the unity of the kingdom, and that we had taken care of it. She asked of the draconian policies and I assured her they were necessary, but now that the primary threat is taken care of that we could start reinstituting the freedoms that other nations enjoy. I told her about some of the external threats facing both of our kingdoms, and she was both surprised and thankful that I had intercepted the griffon raiding parties, as she has been wrapped up in court, trying to handle the nobility and keep them still at the same time.

Which turned our conversation to the reason she called for me. She had lost contact with Starswirl and a pony like Jewel Storm had shown up near the Everfree Forest, and the forest began acting strange. It was almost like the Forest had become sentient and actively sought to ensnare anypony who might dare trespass. Celestia had sent several members of the guard in but heard no report whatsoever of their progress. She needed someone she could trust at court while she investigated herself.

“I believe I should be able to make short work of this problem. Who is your current guard captain?” I asked, a devious thought in my mind.

She raised an eyebrow at my inquiry, but answered it nonetheless. “A young stallion by the name of Black Light. He has proven his keen mind for investigation time and time again to earn the post.” She paused and look at me, trying to discern my intentions. “Why do you ask?”

“I might be able to pull off a caper to distract the nobles, and if a smart guard captain is heading the investigation, he might be able to draw out the distraction long enough to allow us both the time to seek out your lover.” I grinned at my sister. “There’s nothing like a little infighting to weaken your enemies as well.”

“Hmm…” Tia mulled on it for a couple seconds. “Misdirection and sleight-of-hoof to implicate the nobles against themselves, meanwhile their supplications at court are forgotten due to their innate mistrust of each other is being taken advantage of. If you can pull it off, it would certainly be effective, but if they figure it out…” Tia was unsure it would be enough.

I snickered. “Oh, trust me, sister. Even if they do you’ll be fine. Which is more worrisome, a single wounded stag, or a hundred healthy bucks?”

“I will trust in your discretion in this matter, as it was why I called you down, but I prithee not do anything too rash.” Tia submitted. “I would like to not have to diffuse too many fires upon our return.”

“I have just the thing in mind…” My grin still hadn’t gone away.

The ploy I set up was devious. It took one week for the groundwork and Black Light was every bit as clever as Tia had said, and he was delightful to work with. He actually ended up nobility from how much the others tried to bribe him to implicate their enemies. He stayed loyal to the throne, and did very well for himself in confiscating a small fortune before releasing it discretely among Tia’s allies in court. The nobility was too distracted to realize the redistribution of wealth, and when they did realize it, there was nothing they could do about it.

Regardless, my ploy worked as my sister, a couple of her personal guards, myself and Nightwind Squall, my faithful shadow, ventured bravely toward the castle that Jewel Storm had requisitioned for us. Our thought was that if it was indeed him, this was the place he was mostly likely to go. It had emotional significance for all three of us, and I, at least, could feel the flux of wild emotion in the magical field that surrounded the forest. I had never felt a field so intense, but I knew Hyperion to be a powerful being in his own right, not to mention he had my sister for years and she had only grown in strength as well… There was no question in my mind that it was him, but I could feel something different, something darker. Something had changed him. I would come to see that it was much in the same way that my delving into Sombra had changed me.

“What was the last report you received from him?” I asked Tia as we came upon a bridge that I knew to be not far from the castle.

She thought about it momentarily. “He was speaking of a gem he had found in Saddle Arabia. His study of it found a crystalline intelligence, almost like a soul jar, but it slept until disturbed by a particular stimulus. He had woken it and hoped to be able to learn about the source of the enchantment, assuming this was a wizard’s step towards immortality.”

I nodded slowly. “You must be especially careful, then. I can feel something different about him. There may be some feedback from the soul in the gem he found.” I noticed a little bit of hesitation in her nod, and she regarded me coolly. “I’m just saying, he’ll remember you, but he may not be himself. He may be… imbalanced. I have dealt with enchantments of this type before, Sister, and they do not always leave one in an… entirely whole state of mind.”

This time her nod had a bit more confidence. I was not surprised when she asked about this though. “You’ve had experienced with soul magic?”

I nodded. “Necromancy in particular.” Tia and her guardsponies stopped in their tracks. I didn’t. “Come along, Tia, your lover requires our assistance.” I threw a coy look at her over my shoulder.

“You participated in death magic?” Tia’s white coat seemed to go pale, which I didn’t think possible. “I had heard stories, but I never thought them true.”

“Sombra and I have been studying varying types and applications of any school we have the opportunity to. The recent history of my kingdom has been bloody, why not take advantage of the chance to explore it with the resources we have?” I finally stopped, more than thirty paces from her. I turned and saw her expression; the sick, strangled, fearful, angry expression of a beautiful, chaste, experienced yet still naive mare. “Our research has saved my people on multiple occasions. Brief forays into dark magic improved our understanding of shielding. Runic magic has helped me focus my dream-walking on more difficult, elusive fears. Zebraic glyphs and alchemy have kept my armed forces strong in both the Badlands and the Northern Expanse. Combining blood magic, enchantment, and runic magics all aided in my ascension. My power now grows with every single day. I will be able to protect my people from any foes.”

"It is still barbaric, and an affront to the breath of the creator. I cannot understand how you would be okay with this. Father--"

"Father's beliefs mean nothing to me anymore." I said flatly. "Perchance, had he actually cared to spend time with me, his words of love and acceptance would not ring so hollow in my ears. Not to mention that his faith in the unseen means little against the empirical data gathered by my research." I picked up my hoof, inspecting it while speaking, and glared evenly at her when I crossed my hooves. “Our ‘Lord Father’ was a biased, ignorant simpleton, and every bit as preoccupied with himself as the nobles you fight on a daily basis.”

Tia's face went red with anger and embarrassment as I turned back down the trail. "Luna..." Her voice was flustered and contained a dangerous edge. "Do not disrespect father by besmirching his name. You are his daughter, you have a duty to the family..."

"Dare not speak to me of Duty, Sister!" I returned, my voice even sharper than hers. "All I have done has been in the name! I have a duty to my people! I have a duty to the stallion who may as well be my husband! I have fulfilled my duty to you by protecting YOUR borders with MY army!" I drew myself up and used the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice. "Our Empire Has Taken The Yolk Of Protecting The Creatures Of All Nations, And You Have No Right To Speak To Us On How To Carry Out This Duty! You Stand At Our Mercy, You Enjoy Our Protection, You. Need. Our. Might!" I saw Tia's guards quivering, and she herself had fear running through her eyes. She tried to hide it, but, no matter how cliche it may be, I could feel her fear. I let my voice drop into a harsh whisper. "Do not dare speak to me of duty, Sister. I have done mine, even more than you, and I deserve that respect." I turned back down the path and started walking away, head held high. I gritted my teeth, feeling tired and alone when a chirp at my side made me look at Nightwind Squall, standing beside me. He trilled softly with a kind smile. “Thank you.” I tried to return the smile, but could feel that my mouth only slightly turned up.

Just barely, behind me I could hear her hooves falling into line, and a soft whisper "Luna, What has he done to you?"

"Misanthropy and war have made me strong. Sombra has been my strength." I answered quietly. "I have been generous. I have been kind. I have been honest." I closed my eyes. "He has been loyal and studious. We work together to lead the empire."

"Luna, remember who you are. You are better than this. Dark--"

"Magic is a tool, why would I deny it's use? We are overextended, protecting the borders of nations not our own, and more and more ponies flock to the safety of our lands, despite the harsh conditions. " I said, annoyed. "We are doing all we can to ensure a peaceful future. I am respected, if not loved. I am loved by Sombra, and that is enough for me. I have given my all, Sister. Why can you not see this?"

I heard a beleaguered sigh. "I can see it, Luna. I just feel like you've given too much. You aren't the same mare I knew even five years ago." I could hear pain in her voice, as though she was the one bearing my weight.

I, on the other hand, had been steeled by my trials. "No. I have grown." I said gravely, before realizing the pun. I grinned wryly and turned my head, flipping my mane. "Can't you tell?"

She couldn't do more than snicker. I loved to see her laugh, but charisma and humor was always her forte, not mine. I did what I could, even when we had our disagreements.

The ground began tremoring, and it grew worse until I had to take to the air lest I lose my balance. "Nightwind, I feel tremendous amount of magical energy in that direction." I pointed a hoof that ended up almost directly toward the castle. "I need to help my sister's guard. Scout it out, and stay out of sight." He saluted crisply and flew away, soft and silent but fast and graceful as a falcon. I smiled as I watched him go, appreciating his talent and love more than ever. I swept down to Tia and the guards. I steadied Tia and had her focus on her magic so that she could carry herself across the moving terrain. I wrapped her guards in my magic and carried them as we made our way toward the epicenter of the quake.

I heard a squeak over the rumble and redoubled my speed, thinking my Nightwind Squall had been caught. I saw him flying back without his helmet. "What happened?" I asked. He had a hard time learning to speak our language, but I learned his fairly easily, so after a rapid series of clicks and squeaks I understood that there was a manticore three times the normal size who was unaffected by the momentum of the ground under him. He was caught in the side of the head, but recovered before crashing into anything. I checked his jawline and ear quickly, clicked my tongue, and waited for a response. It took him a second, but he nodded. "It is well." I sighed in relief. He smiled and blushed a little, making a small squeak and a couple clicks. "Oh, hush." I smirked and playfully slapped his face with a hoof. "Of course I'd be concerned about my faithful shadow." He smiled at me and pointed to a separate path to go around the manticore.

Eventually we made to the castle perimeter and saw fissures throughout the area. The path opened up toward the courtyard... and opened down underneath it. I looked down and saw a green-purple glow. "Tia, I've found him!" I shouted back as I angled my wings and dove. I dropped the guards on a section of the fissure floor that seemed sturdy and zipped past Jewel Storm, who was floating via telekinesis facing into a cavern. There was a large blue and silver tree in the cavern with multiple gems embedded in the branches. I didn't pay much attention to it however, as I turned to face Jewel Storm, whose face was slightly disfigured but seemed otherwise fine.

"Ah. The little Moon waxes well." He smiled and spoke with a raspy drawl. His mouth never moved. "I never thought you'd blossom before your sister, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You and Sombra are a good match... intellectually at least. I suspect his motives are slipping at this point." His face twitched and one of his pupils constricted like a cat's.

Tia finally caught up at this point. "Hyperion!" She called aloud, and at the sound of his true name, his whole body twitched and spasmed as his body shifted. Lepidoptera wings sprouted from his back, his horn twisted and started phasing between green and black, but his eyes went yellow and his torso went brown. He didn't shift back into his usual form. His mind seemed fine, but his body was breaking.

"Ah my sweet Sun! How radiant you are, as always!" He was visibly contorting, but his raspy voice remain calm and neutral, as though it wasn’t actually being spoken. "How I've missed you. Memories of your warmth have been all that let me sleep these three years we've been apart. I would rush to embrace you once more, but I'm afraid I've little time left. My heart has been trying to escape, and he has been very insistent that I leave when he does. It seems chaos has tired of control. Tell me, what do you know of Djinni magic?"

I spoke up. "Reality altering magic of the highest level, on par with that of Alicorn magic, but it functions in a cross-dimensional state, allowing for vast transfiguration, alteration, and conjuration. Djinni are known for their chaotic temperament and often bend the rules of our reality on a whim."

“And what of the Umbra Veil?” He responded, a dark shadow passing over his face

Celestia fielded this one, her face gone pallor as death. “The shadow that presides over the universe. That which hides true knowledge from all but the most dedicated seekers. It is only through the use of ancient blood magic that we might peer behind it. Those who do…”

He laughed conservatively as Celestia nodded. "You are well studied, Princesses..." He almost hissed at the end of his sentence. "Now that you know what's happening," He tossed a polished topaz to Celestia. She caught it in her magic. "My final gift."

"From one to another, From another to one. The mark of destiny, The Moon and the Sun. Alone one stands, willed. The light of two Fulfilled!"

His form seemed to explode from the magical energy, and the force of the wave knocked me and Celestia both out of the sky. I was blinded, but I never felt myself hit the ground. In fact I could feel an ethereal force righting me and all at once, my senses returned, but the ground was flat and checked, with brown and pink clouds overhead. I could hear my shadow screeching as all of his senses were assaulted by discordant popping and the low static of a train's chuff, extended to impossible length. There was also the loud splashing and bright colors all around. The world was recreated with no sense of order save that of gravity. Even that seemed to have a loose hold, if the random floating specks of dirt and pebbles moving in any direction in any fashion at varying speeds, served as any example.

I saw three small gems floating in front of me. Pink, purple, and orange. I regarded them curiously as they seemed to call to me. Each one was brimming with power. They had suspended me before I collided with the cavern wall, and were spinning around me of their own accord. I had never experienced magic like this. It was so much more powerful than the enchantments Sombra and I had been using to protect the crystal kingdom... and they were pure.

I do not think it needs to be said just how amazed I was at these gems. It seemed as though they were a part of the world. Like the ley energies flowed freely through them. It wasn't just channeling, though, as they felt like elements straight out of Equus. I allowed their power to flow into me and my mane became a nebula, dark and brilliant. The power surging through me made me feel more alive than I had ever known. My feet touched lightly on the ground and I walked over to my sister, who was being suspended by the gems on her side as well...

Which was when I saw the effect of the spell Hyperion had cast. "The light of two, fulfilled... He knew I had changed. He was a fairly crafty spy, to have infiltrated my empire without notice... but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, he's been blending in even longer than Misanthropy.”

Tia had been changed to match my form, yet she was taller. Her pink mane now glimmered pearlescent with purple, green, and blue and waved softly in the surrounding current of ley energies. She didn't feel as strong as i had become, but she was strong enough. When she finally gained control and touched upon the ground, she looked around furtively. A cackle rang through the air coming from no apparent direction. "Oh, Celestia, looking for little old me?" His voice was now flamboyant and bombastic. A voice I had not heard from him, but could not deny was his. "I'm touched, truly, especially after the two of you came so far just to seal me away again."

He popped up right in front of us, A grey pony head with two mismatched horns, a brown, lion-like torso with two mismatched wings and four mismatched appendages, leading into a nearly draconic tail. His body was long and serpentine, and seated somehow on an iron throne. "Are you so sure I'm naughty? Hyperion, that Jyggalag, was such a kill-joy! Why, I'm only having fun!" He said, throwing what seemed to be black pebbles here and there. He snapped his fingers and everything stopped. "This is SO BORING to have.This world isn’t even real, so let’s have some FUN!" He started swelling in size, "And besides, I'm more powerful than you could hope to be, thanks to that Djinni I have a true understanding of the magics that we wield." He snapped his fingers again and everything started moving even more erratically than before. "Our dimension could use a little of the chaos that so many others have! You haven't lived until you've seen the power chaos wields! I should think myself a spirit of Discord, for that is what I shall sow! Harmony has reigned too long, we needed to spice it up!" Discord rose into the sky and and started shouting and laughing maniacally as the world around him was swept up in a maelstrom.

I looked at Tia as this monstrosity railed against the heavens. The pain in her eyes was apparent as she saw the degradation of the ‘stallion’ she loved into this mad creature. “I can still save him.” She said under her breath. “I just have to bring back his good reason! My Hyperion is still in there somewhere…” She looked to me for support, and I saw desperation in her eyes. Her words resonated within me, however, as they sounded very familiar… almost relatable. It was not lost on me then either, and my eyes started opening.

I had no comfort to give, but my heart broke for her. I smiled wanly and told her "Tia, He may not be one you know. I..."

Her eyes clouded. and she looked back to Discord. "I won't give up on him. He gave us the power to save him. We have to do something!"

I nodded, unwilling to confront Tia's pain. I could feel power coming from the gems, but when I tried to draw upon them, the power felt hollow. It was missing some vital piece, but I couldn't place what it was. Frustrated that, despite all of my research into magic, I couldn't place the missing element, I let a little of my emotion into the magic flow... and felt a sparking reaction. Intrigued I forced all of my anxiety, anger, sadness into the gems and was fascinated by the feedback.

These gems seemed to have a similar enchantment to the Crystal Heart at the heart of my own empire. When I really thought about it, after the Crystal Faires were postponed indefinitely, I understood that the power of the heart had changed as well. The fights began getting worse and worse afterward, and the full war with the Caribou, who were even more sensitive to magic than our Unicorns, was almost six months after the Changeling infestation's conclusion. The only reason we had gained the upper hand was that our Crystal infantry could break up their ranks and our Unicorn's shields worked well on the Pegasi’s armor, deflecting all but the most damaging spells that the Caribou threw at us. Not to mention our… experimental armory, given to our special forces. Each of those weapons wrought havoc upon our foes.

I had always thought nothing of the timing, but my head began swimming at this. I was suspicious of the coincidence, and it planted the seeds of doubt in my mind about my own empire. I had so many questions...

But for now, I had to act. The gems began to go pale, but the magic felt whole and I used it to attack Discord. He was blindsided, and the amount of power in the attack knocked him out of the air and sent his body twitching across the checked floor he had made. The feedback on the attack lashed out at me, but my control was greater, thanks in no small part to the amount of training I had in necromantic manipulation, which dealt with angry souls who were far harder to control. I redirected this blind power into the ground, and a dark crystal formed. I was further intrigued, but had no time to consider it before Tia tackled me.

"LUNA!" Celestia shouted in anger, her pink eyes seeming to glow red in her raw anger. Her mane began shining, growing in potency until it almost brighter than the sun itself. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

I coughed as I waved a hoof in Discord's direction. "Go see for yourself. I knocked him out so you could do something with him." I stood up, my entire torso screaming in a pain I skillfully kept off my face. She ran off to his side, shooting me a glare so malicious that I could only define it as evil. "So embroiled in emotion... so even the proud, pure Celestia can be moved to evil acts for love... I don't know if that's heartening, or damning." I thought to myself, shaking my head a little. I sauntered over to the two and saw that I had ripped a sizable hole through him, about halfway down his torso. I was a little amazed that with all of his power, I was still able to cause such a wound. As I came closer, however, he began to try to slither away. "Be Still." I commanded, adding in "Unless you want it to hurt more." He stopped moving and looked at me with almost as much pain and hatred as Celestia.

"You are not... Luna, Nightmare..." Discord coughed. "You are... So much stronger than... than when you left." He smiled, despite how badly he was hurt. "But I still have the upper hand." He lifted a claw and sliced a hole in our dimension. He tried to crawl into it, but I shot a burst of energy at his head to dissuade him.

"I can sense that you do, even weakened. But, you are vulnerable right now, and I can keep you from getting away." I boasted, my confidence overtaking my ability. I lowered my head so that neither could see me grimace about the pain in my side. "Celestia deserves admiration for loving you even when you vowed to destroy her world, so why don't you return the favor and let her lover back for a moment?"

"Hyperion is part of me, just as much as Starswirl, and just as much as Utao, the Djinn I found. I am a conglomeration of many made into one." He hissed, reeling from my burst of magic. He employed none of the usual snide humor I would have expected from Hyperion, so I doubted the sincerity of his words... but something inside me knew he wasn't lying.

"Indeed..." I breathed. "Well, Celestia, do you take this beast as your beloved? Or would you separate their consciousness' to attempt to reclaim a fragmented shadow of the creature you once loved?" I looked to her, evenly. I knew she wouldn't have the heart to reject him so I made the choice sound easier for her sake. In actuality, I might have been able to extricate one of them, but the difficulty of the procedure might have killed all of them. And then I caught it. “Wait, you weren’t the original Starswirl?”

Discord laughed. “That took you a while.”

Celestia looked at me, and I only just then realized she had regained her self-control. She started explaining the situation to me, and the basic layout was like this: Hyperion was found as a nymph by Grand Magus Starswirl, who performed multiple tests on him, turning him from the more primal aspect of his hive-mind to true, single intelligence. Starswirl left for a while, Hyperion took his place. Starswirl came back, Hyperion took the guise of Jewel Storm. They started working on a spell together and Starswirl disappeared.

“I felt a surge of power, so I still believe I somehow absorbed him with the spell-feedback.” Discord had knit himself back together at this point, much to my chagrin, and Celestia made sure to stand between us.

“I wouldn’t be so sure…” I heard a gruff, gravelly voice call from behind us. The else-dimensional portal now had the figure of a grey pony with a long, blue, tasseled cape standing in it. “I am much more hardy than you give me credit for, fool.” He regarded us all with the look of an ancient sage, as his eyes shone like burnished gold.

Fate truly twists in mysterious ways.

The Shadows Crossed

“No, Spike.” Twilight put a hoof on his head. “Princess Celestia said I had to do this on my own, and now I know why. You need to help the others keep the faire going as long as possible.”

“But, Twi--!” Spike tried to push his point.

“Please, Spike. I understand that you want to help, and I appreciate your loyalty, but this part...” Twilight swallowed hard, all of the nerves she felt before leaving catching up with her, “This part I must do alone.”

Spike releuctantly nodded, and Twilight rushed off down the road. “Where would a tyrant hold the only weapon that could defeat him?” Twilight pondered before remembering a particular Changeling Queen whose only mistake was to let her enemy touch her own weapon. King Sombra was so feared due to his power that none of the Crystal ponies would even say his name. If it was her, she would utilize that fear to hide the weapon, so it couldn't be used. She turned down a road and headed toward the castle. “It's my only lead, but I have a feeling I'm right.”

Upon entering the castle she started toward the throne room more slowly, trying to see if anything in each of the halls seemed out of place. She checked cracks in the walls, crinks in the carpet, suits of armor, and even considered destroying the crystal formations along the hall just to see if he would hide crystal in crystal. By the time she reached the throne room, she could see the barrier was fading fast.

She had to find the Crystal Heart soon, or the ponies wouldn't be able to charge it before Sombra regained his foothold. She started to panic, but then remembered something about the magic. “If fear and hatred take hold...” The castle was under the light of Cadence's love, so this wasn't the same castle he had lived in.

Drawing upon her own emotions, she formed her anger around her and let loose a stream of magic towards the throne. Almost instantly, the castle rumbled and the room darkened. Before her eyes, she saw the ground retract like a scroll, leading into an alcove below. Careful to not let herself be happy for figuring out the puzzle, she started down the stairway. After a few minutes of walking down what seemed an endless stairwell, she shot a bolt of light down the circular staircase. Once it hit the ground, she gauged the distance, and knew it would take too long to just walk.

So she jumped and started to focus on her legs, casting a low-level levitation spell, much like the cloud spell she had used for her friends. She fell for a good fifteen seconds before the strain from the landing nearly knocked her out. Using her fear as a motivation to keep moving, she looked up from the ground and saw a door. She tried to aproach it, but as she neared, it would move, as if running away from her. She attempted several times before getting frustrated and shooting a bolt of magic at the door in a fit of rage.

Instead of the resounding crack she was expecting, she heard instead a creaking noise. Opening her eyes, she saw the door was open, and the path before her was white. She took a few tentative steps towards the now open door and felt an odd sensation of being pulled toward the it. Figuring that her objective was surely on the other side, she steeled herself before stepping into the open door.

A flash blinded her, and once she regained her sight, she was in an entirely different location. She recognized it as the hall leading to Celestia's throne, in the heart of the Canterlot Castle. “How did I get here? Was the doorway a portal? How can I get back? I need to find the Crystal Heart!” Twilight's mind circled relentlessly until a familiar clip-clop reached her ears. Both nervously excited and dismayed by the sound, she looked to the source of the sound as it stopped.

“What are you doing here?” An accusation thrown at her from her trusted mentor.

Flustered, Twilight stammered, “I-I-I don't know! I cast a spell, the door opened, and I stepped through it---”

“And now you must go.” Celestia said, a harsh edge in her voice.

Twilight, fearfully, ventured her final question, “Go where?”

“It doesn't matter to me. You failed, Twilight!” Celestia rose and moved toward her throne. “Not only will you not proceed to the next level of your studies, but you'll take your studies far from here!”

“B-But you never said anything about no longer being your student if I failed!” Twilight desperately cried. Her worst fears were realized as she noticed the newest stained-glass window, depicting her being defeated by King Sombra.

“Didn't I?” Celestia didn't bother looking back. “Even so, you are the reason Sombra has returned, Twilight. I trusted you to protect the Crystal Kingdom, and you failed to do so... Miserably.” Celestia looked down upon her from the throne. “Now not only has our greatest enemy returned, but his power is greater now than ever, and Luna and I must prepare the kingdom for war. To return harmony, discord must be sown.” Celestia allowed a grim smile at the irony. “And you are only a liability. You were my protege, and now you are an enemy of the state. Guards!”

Wordless and grief stricken, Twilight sobbed as she ran down the hall. After several paces she tripped and slid, unable to make herself rise. Her thoughts were, for once, muddled and slow. She wanted to regain control, but she couldn't manage to hold out against the waves of emotion. The woman who was a second mother to her had just disowned her and declared her an enemy of Equestria.

Her brother rushed by her into the courtroom, responding to the call of his liege. Twilight heard Celestia's voice, and, barely, a shaky reply.
She had no home any longer. Her brother would be forced to turn her in if he saw her, as he was Captain of the EUP Guard; this meant she had no family to run to either. Her friends were the last hope of comfort she had.

Her friends might protect her.

This thought abated her sorrow slightly, giving her some strength to run. Praying for an easy escape, she left through the castle courtyard. She would make this trip on foot. She wasn't concerned about finding Ponyville in the least, as she had thorough knowledge of the surrounding topography due to her constant studies. “I'm not useless.” She told herself. “I'm far more well read than most anypony I know. Celestia, if only you could see!” Her tears continued to flow. “I don't want to be alone!”

Those words rang in her head and slowed her pace, stopping as she found a place to hide. She thought about her friends. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are loyal to Equestria and would never harbor a fugitive. Pinkie Pie wouldn't be able to keep a secret like this without undue mental torment after the fact. That left Fluttershy and Rarity. Either of them might help, but both had much to lose if she was discovered. Rarity's name would be ruined and she would never be able to sell in proper Equestrian markets. Fluttershy, like Pinkie Pie, would crack under the pressure of treason.

“No... I can't do that to any of them. I love my friends, and I don't want to put them in harms way.” She considered her options, putting real thought into them.

Exile. Leave and never return. Celestia is well known to be immortal, and so her “bounty” would be as well.

Execution. Turn herself in and be the first in well over a millenia to be executed for treason. “That would be a waste.” A cold, soft voice slithered through her head. “Such a strong wizard as yourself should never think so morosely.”

“No one would miss me... Celestia disowned me and wants me gone, and my friends would be unable to look at me... if they're even alive.” Twilight's head drooped as she gave up.

“We would never leave you. You should never be alone, and you should be recognized for how great you truly are.” As it spoke, the voice grew stronger. Its words were felt soft and warm, although its voice was harsh and cold. “Celestia may never have noticed your worth, but We can see the power that dwells within.” After a moment, she continued. “Your friends are alive, but you're right to fear their fickle affections. Allowing ponies that close to you can only end in pain. A wrong word could turn them against you. It wasn't so long ago they left you for voicing your concerns about your brother's wife. A mare you knew wasn't who she said she was.”

“Deep down, I knew it couldn't have been Cadence. She wouldn't have changed that much in just a decade. But...”

“But your friends wouldn't have believed you if you had said so.”

“Maybe...” Twilight's breathing stilled.

“It's time to wake up, Twilight. Don't forget though; We offer you strength and appreciation. All you must do is give us your fear, your devotion, and you will be greater than even Celestia.”

“Who... Who are you?” Twilight asked, enticed, but fearing she knew the answer.

“You know who We are, silly girl. Call upon us when you have need of our embrace!” The voice chuckled as it faded away.

The voice wasn't the only thing to fade though. Her vision darkened and slowly she felt the ground under her change. She blinked and she was staring at the door she had opened in Sombra's castle. Looking around, she found that nothing had changed, but she still had the memory of the “dream.” “Nightmare...” Twilight pondered, “I know why Luna would seek your 'embrace.' Your promises are enticing. Your price, though, is too much too high.”

There would be time for thought later though, the Crystal heart was ahead and the her friends needed her. She wouldn't fail! She examined the door more closely and noticed the gem placed at the crest of the door's top arch. It was what intercepted the magic, and she saw the dark purple aura around it. “If dark or battle magic makes you live your worst fear, then perhaps healing magic would take you where you want to go?” Twilight wondered shortly before clearing her mind and focusing on her friends. Drawing upon her love for them, she released a short beam of magic that cleansed the crystal and caused it to shine purely. This is as the door re-opened, she could see objects through it.“I will have to be more careful about traps, but I must hurry.” She stepped through the door into a large white room with a pillar in the middle. Looking at the pillar she noticed a staircase carved into the side, going the entire way through the roof. “Probably a crystal spire. This tower would be the perfect, if not cliched, place to keep the heart.” She ran up a couple steps and decided it would take too long, so she focused and wrapped her horn in overglow. She cast a gravity inversion and magnification spell focused on her body, and then slid quickly up the grand staircase.

Upon reaching the top, she released the spell, letting inertia throw her several meters into the air. Time seemed to stop at the apex of her momentary flight, though. What she saw nearly stopped her heart. Sombra had beaten her to the ancient relic.

“Ahh... Yess.... The Crystal Heart remains as glorious as always.” Sombra said slowly, opening his eyes only when Twilight's hooves contacted the ground. “So they sent only one this time?” He stepped towards her, finally looking at her. “Starburst? Ha! So the Sun and Moon finally have a protege? Tell me, filly, which master do you take after more? Does the Sun teach you how to shine? Or does the Moon allow you your own brilliance?” Sombra laughed, a ghastly grin on his face. Twilight's response was silence and an odd stare, gauging him. “Speak, girl. Or am I truly that frightening?” Nothing. “Surely you can at least have the manners to introduce yourself? I am Sombra, King of the Crystal Kingdom, and lord of shadows.”

“My name is Twilight, and I was sent here to prevent you from regaining your foothold.” She told him as she crouched, getting ready to cast and dodge.

“It's a little late for that. I have the heart, and not even your precious Sun and Moon could take it from me last time! What hope do you have when you're not yet even grown?”

Twilight started feeling nervous. Her friends were conspicuously absent, and she felt she wouldn't be able to defeat him on her own. Sombra threw a large green bolt at her which she barely dodged, mid jump throwing a counter-spell back at him. She couldn't believe her eyes when the energy dissipated in front of him. “Is that all you've got? This just went from pathetic to insulting.” A war-scythe materialized next to him. “You are not ready for war, little filly. Run home to your masters and tell them to send their armies against me. My bulwark will not fail me this time.”

Knowing that fighting him was a helpless endeavor, she attempted to find something, anything, that would give her an edge. She was fighting a stronger opponent on his home turf. Trying to do anything but run would avail her nothing but a quick death. “I am not useless, Sombra. I told them I would succeed, and so I shall!” She tapped into Dark Magic, and a faint purple glow began to emanate from her eyes that slowly turned dark green. Yelling, she shot a flurry at the wall behind him and jumped to the side, off the edge of the tower. Using a spell she'd only ever read about, she became a shadow herself and slid to the platform where she'd shot the attack spells. She rematerialzed and used yet another spell entirely new to her.

She summoned a sword.

She rushed toward him, catching him off guard, and managed to slice slightly across his face. He glared back at her as blood began seeping out into his eye and down his cheek, only to vanish along with the cut as dark tendrils sewed it back together. “I see you came prepared, but you'll have to do better than that to get me. I won't underestimate you twice, and you've lost your element of surprise.” Sombra took up a lordly stance. “I never thought I would seek companionship again, but you are obviously talented, and it would be a shame to waste such raw potential. Join me, Twilight! You are young and, under my tutelage, you would learn to truly harness the shadows. You would have no equal in this realm.” Sombra narrowed his eyes and they started to glow green, visible through the enveopling dark purple aura. “Deny me how she did, however, and it shall be the last thing you do.”

Twilight had just used the only combat trick that she'd been able to study and knew it wouldn't work twice. If Sombra landed his next hit, she'd be dead for sure, so she, in a last ditch effort, gathered all of her energy, all of her hatred and fear, into a single point and shot it at him. She wanted to overpower him by utilizing her emotions in addition to her own magical strength, but she couldn't control it due to the very nature of the attempt. Her horn shimmered with several layers of overglow, and her horn began to fizzle with the concentration of energy. As soon as she released it, she felt horribly wrong. Her horn went numb and she had no control over the last portion of the spell.
Her shot went wide, hitting the Crystal Heart instead.

Realizing her mistake too late, she shot a glance at Sombra, who merely grinned and chuckled. Twilight, now drained, dropped to her knees and hocks. She stared wordlessly as her darkness overtook the Crystal Heart, tainting it and the light it emitted. A black beam shot towards the sky, and she heard groaning from below as the sky darkened. The castle began shaking violently as it too grew black, the floor grew jagged obsidian geodes, and the shimmer dimmed to matte.

“Marvelous!” Sombra spoke with jubilee. “Simply marvelous! I cannot thank you enough, Twilight. A quick fight to loosen my joints, and a grand welcome home such as this? Today has been just perfect!” He jumped into the air and disrobed his armor. “You have built me a grand shield, and ensured my domain. Why, I have half a mind to kiss you where you lay!” Sombra laughed mirthfully. After a minute, he continued.“I wonder, though, if I should reward you for trying to kill me, or punish you for the fact that you missed?” He sauntered over to her, a curious look on his face.

Twilight tried to stand and defy him, but had no strength after her erratic shot. He stopped above her and turned her face up towards him. “You cannot resist me any further, and Celestia will never forgive your loss of control. Nothing but misery awaits you if you try to return to your masters. Join with me, and we will be unstoppable.”

“Why would I join you? You oppose everything I stand for. Friendship. Harmony. Life, Love, and Laughter. I am loyal to Princess Celestia and my friends.” Twilight muttered, trying to sound defiant. She mustered up what volume and strength she could to finish. “I would never join you.”

Sombra shook his head slowly, actual sorrow shown on his visage. “Well, let's see how loyal they are to you. When they find out that you not only failed, but managed to strengthen me by your failure... That will be a true test of those values that you find so important.” Sombra released her head, and continued darkly, looking out over the kingdom. “Strength breeds fear and respect in the hearts of others. I sought strength to secure the future of the kingdom. I supplanted her Majesty because I had to. She was not here when things went awry. My dark powers struck fear into the hearts of many, including my people. I showed no weakness, and I enforced every law. I was a tyrant, but the world required I be. Discord would find no home with my people; the Caribou wouldn't dare venture into my lands; and the hordes of Changelings had no foothold to intervene. Any that were found were summarily executed.” Sombra looked back at Twilight. “You think me evil, but I did what I did to protect my people. We're not so different, you and I.” He put a hoof at her side. “Friendship is transient, reliant on feelings and time. True strength can only be found in oneself. Even Starswirl understood this. Once they take you home, you'll find my words true. Think on them. You know where to find me.” He pushed her over the edge of the spire.

Twilight's eyes went wide, but her connection to her magic had frayed due to overuse. She had no way to decelerate her fall. She closed her eyes and prayed that someone was watching the castle. “All of this is centered around the Heart...”

She fell with a thud onto a hard, crystalline surface. Limp but conscious, she managed to open her eyes to see Cadence collapsed next to her, and Shining Armor looking at her with pain and panic written across his features. She tried to maintain consciousness, but she couldn't hold on for very long before drifting into a coma.

Author's Note

I have a lot of ideas and some of them actually turn into decent stories, but I don't know which ones people would like most, nor do I have any real confidence in my writing skill as it has been more than 5 years since I have even really had time to read a book, let alone try to write. If Y'all think this has promise then I'll try to continue it, but if not I'll focus on other things.

[Edit 09/10/16] I am finally in a place to return to my story, and I apologize to everyone who wanted more. I'm actually to a point now that I can continue, as I no longer have as many familial obligations nor do I spend quite as much time at work. I pray that everyone will like the direction the story is going, as I now have another two chapters completed, I'm just going back over my story to refine it. I have a proofreader working on the two new chapters to make sure everything is good, but then I'll release them and have more for you soon. Stay beautiful, bronies! :)