The Darkest Hour

Chapters

Visiting
Appearance
Denial
Darkness and Defeat
The Unknown and The Wicked
Two Sides of One and War
The Aftermath

Visiting

Peace was brought back to the Crystal Empire once King Sombra was vanquished by Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadance, and Shining Armor. Emotions began to resume their rightful positions inside of the crystal ponies. The depressive and gloomy atmosphere was replaced by something more positive and cheerful. The residents of the Crystal Empire began to speak to one another without fear of being oppressed or punished for even muttering a single word. A new monarch had risen out of the ashes from the defeated king. This new form of political and social governmental body was something that respected the citizen's wishes and needs. It tended to the ones who were broken, mentally and physically. They received treatment for their conditions and quickly recovered within a year. The new Queen and King of the Crystal Empire were two ponies from Equestria, a distant monarchy, named Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Shining Armor was head of the Equestrian Royal Guards, but was promptly named the Crystal King after the previous kings defeat. Princess Cadance was the wife of Shining Armor and the princess of Love. She was promptly named the Crystal Queen as well. They ruled over their new kingdom happily, making sure that every one of the citizens were happy with what they did.

Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Magic, was their younger sister. She had only recently been announced as a princess, but was doing an exceptionally good job at it. By far, Twilight Sparkle was the brightest mind that Equestria has ever seen. Her doings spread far and wide from trade negotiations to forming alliances with other nations. Truly, life was well and easy for the three of them and Twilight had received days where she had a chance to relax her mental and physical state. She decided it would be wise if she were to visit her brother and sister-in-law.

The train to the Crystal Empire was slow. It seemed to move at a slower rate than usual. Twilight could only let out a quiet groan as she sat in her private compartment and gazed out the window. The journey may have been excruciatingly passive, but it was full of beauty. She could see trees of all kinds, even ones that she couldn't recognize. Their leaves varied in shape, size, and color. The bark that made up the trees were all of different colors and patterns. Some looked smooth to the touch while others looked as if they would splinter if you even got close to them. A soft smile grew across her cheeks as she enjoyed these views.

These trees aren't indigenous in Equestria. I'll have to look into seeing if we can plant these in the garden...

There was a sudden tiredness that slowly crept up on the purple alicorn. She let out a soft and quiet yawn before resting against her velvet seat. It was surprisingly comfortable as her exhausted body was pressed into it. Twilight had just finished counseling a group of colts and fillies about magic and how it can be used for many, many purposes. She gazed out of the train window one last time and noticed a raven black tree with silver leaves. The tree was about the same height as her, maybe taller by just a few inches or so. It gave off a chilling and ominous presence as her eyelids began to slowly close. Just then, she saw a figure that moved from behind the tree. It seemed as though the darkened figure glared directly at Twilight. When the train began to pass by the tree and more of the sun was shining on the vessel, it strangely resembled Twilight. She had a purple coat, but it was extremely darker than Twilight's, almost to the point of being black, and her eyes were a deep crimson. Twilight simply brushed this off as an illusion from her being sleep deprived. After all, she does tend to go a bit crazy at times.

She awoke with a jolt and a chill that went down her spine. Her first reaction was to view her environment, but saw nothing. She was surrounded by darkness as the temperature was reaching extravagantly cold feats quickly. More-so than it being winter in Equestria. She could see her own breath as it formed in a very dense cloud of smoke in front of her. Her horn glowed softly as she attempted to illuminate the area around her by casting a light wisp spell. Unfortunately, it didn't work at all. Nothing worked. She couldn't even feel magic coursing through her body. It were as if she were void of anything relating to the word "magic". Her heart began to panic and rash thoughts invaded her mind.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..!

Twilight had begun to panic violently. The reasoning behind this was because each princess was named a princess because of a certain element that they possessed. Princess Celestia was the Sun, Princess Luna was the Moon, Princess Cadance was Love, and Princess Twilight was Magic. Magic was the very essence of all Unicorns and if Twilight had somehow lost control of this element, chaos would erupt all over the world and only Discord would know what exactly happens after that catastrophe. Twilight lifted her left arm above her head to see if she still held a horn, in which case, she did. Her panicking began to slowly die down as she realized this.

"If I still have a horn, then why can't I do magic...?" the purple princess asked herself.

She began to examine possibilities as to why her magic isn't being used while scanning the darkness around her, still trying to find a hint of where she was.

Maybe I'm too exhausted to use magic, but that still doesn't explain why I'm here... Discord could just be messing with me again... Still, he's suppose to be attending to the Princesses today... Her mind trailed off as a distant laughter could be heard.

The laughter was somewhat distorted and muffled, as if it were behind walls or being covered. Twilight turned around and noticed that the raven black, silver leaf tree was there, illuminated by a source of light that she couldn't find the origins of. Reluctantly, she stood up from her sitting position and carefully approached the tree. The light was warm and soft as it heated up the vicinity around it. Twilight lifted her left arm up and slowly moved her hand towards the tree.

"I've seen this tree before... What's it doing he--"

Twilight suddenly sprung awake by the train coming to a sudden stop. She was nearly thrown out of her seat as the intercom went static for a few moments, then proceeded to give out information.

"All passengers with the destination of the Crystal Empire, we have arrived and are awaiting your departure. We will be resuming our schedule within 15 minutes or until the passengers leave the train. Thank you for your co-operation and we hope you had a fantastic ride on Railings Express." The pony who had spoke this was very monotone, enough to the point of making Twilight want to fall asleep again.

Shrugging off her tiredness, she grabbed her luggage and walked down the aisle of the train to exit. The other passengers kindly said their 'hello's' and bowed to the newly assigned princess. A faint blush grew on Twilight's face as she had still not grown accustomed to this kind of treatment. However, her nervousness and embarrassment quickly faded as she witnessed the glorious beauty of the Crystal Kingdom. Everything within the left and right were sparkling like diamonds. She couldn't help but smile wide as she looked around in amazement. Finally, she arrived here and would soon meet Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.

Twilight couldn't help but feel embarrassed as she walked through the city and saw its citizen's. She immediately noticed the difference in apparel. The mares were simply wearing formal dresses and sun dresses while Twilight looked like a schoolfilly that just got out of class. Each step they took was precise and held gracious elegance that was most likely honed before King Sombra's rule. Twilight simply wore a black buttoned shirt, a white tie that extended down to the last button that was held in place by a tie clip, and a dark pink skirt that extended down halfway to her knees. She carried her purple-ish leather bag across her shoulder and began to pick up the pace towards the castle. She felt that she was truly out of place here with not only her apparel, but as well as her bag. There were scrolls of many shapes and sizes that stuck out of the leather holding. Twilight was too stuck up in thoughts that she didn't even notice that the citizens were greeting her with glee and some even stopped what they were doing to bow in respect. After all, she was a big help in purging their kingdom from Sombra's reign.

After an agonizingly slow and mentally painful walk down the city district, she finally made way to the entrance of the castle. It was even more glorious when you stood in front of it. The walls shone brightly against the sun's rays and it easily stood over all of the other buildings. Twilight couldn't help but look up in awe. Such a building belong to her brother and sister-in-law. Jealousy began to creep up on her. She wished that a castle as magnificent as this belonged to her, but quickly shook the thought away. She learned that loathing and jealousy only brought back bad results. Mustering up her confidence, she approached the guards at the gates.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle and I've come here to--" Twilight was promptly, but politely, stopped in her tracks as one of the guards simply raised his hand as they proceeded to open the crystallized gates.

"No need for you to waste your breathe, Princess Twilight. King Shining had told us that you were coming to visit. Please enter as he is currently awaiting you in the throne room." The stallion spoke in a very soft and kind tone. Each move he performed showed off years of practice that would be tested towards royals and nobles.

Twilight smiled softly at the middle-aged stallion. She walked through the gates and heard them swiftly close behind her. The long trail leading to the castle doorway was made from a finely smooth cut stone. There were no bumps that stuck up from the ground or any cracks that your shoe would get stuck on. Twilight observed the garden that stood on both sides of the pathway. There were trees that were aligned perfectly followed by pink and red flowers Twilight had never seen before. Although, they were beautiful and she immediately knew that Cadance was the one who must have ordered them to be planted. The combined trees and flowers gave off a home-like feel. It were as if Twilight were walking back to her old house in Ponyville. Since her coronation, she hasn't visited the old tree. It really put a depressed feel into her. She loved being surrounded by all of the knowledge. Granted, she's read all of the books that the library stored more than once and expertly memorized every bit of detail.

Twilight quickly shook off this depression. There was no reason for her to be sad! She was here to see her family. Struck with new-found confidence, she walked into the castle and down the halls that lead to the throne. Twilight was shocked at the surprising lack of guards being stationed in the castle itself. Canterlot's castle had the Royal Guards stationed nearly thirty or so feet away from each other, but there were rarely any guards at all.

Shining's most likely the cause behind this. After all, he was the head chief of the Royal Guards... Twilight smiled at the thought of seeing the two of them. They hadn't spoke nor seen each other in over 2 years now.

Twilight opened the wide doors of the throne room and graciously walked inside, showing proper respect to the owner of this palace.

He may be my brother, but he's the king of the Crystal Empire. It'd be rude of me to not show proper respect.

The moment the purple alicorn walked through the crystal doors, four arms were around her. She yelped in surprise from the sudden feel of two bodies pressed against her. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were both tightly snuggling their little sister.

"Twily!" exclaimed Shining. He proceeded to remove himself from her, but Cadance kept a tight grip.

"We haven't seen you for so long, Twilight!" Cadance reluctantly let go of her and backed up to stand next to Shining Armor. Twilight felt even more embarrassed now. Cadance had dawned on a red dress with an elegant golden lining that connected the fabric at the sides. It was a dress made from the same clothe, but was cut and re-sized specifically for Cadance.

"Y-yeah, it really has. How's it like being the rulers of an empire?" Shining simply guided Twilight over to a three person couch that rested on the right side of the throne room. They sat on the couch with Twilight in the middle and began to tell Twilight everything that happened within the past 2 years, in detail, and how the Crystal Empire has developed since their arrival. Twilight couldn't remember a time when she was happier than being right between her brother and sister, talking and laughing not as a superior, but as a family.

Appearance

"How was your ride here, Twily?" Shining asked his little sister.

She sighed and leaned against the soft couch as she spoke, "It was excruciatingly slow and tiresome. I fell asleep and had this strange dream that I can't recall.."

"Many ponies don't remember their dreams. I mean, I don't even remember what I have for breakfast sometimes." Cadance let out a small giggle as Shining rolled his eyes at her.

"Well, she's not wrong about both of those things," said Shining as he chuckled a bit.

Twilight had always admired the way at how they could change the setting of the situation so fast. She always tried to do the same, but always ended up sounding crazy or it just didn't work. Her eyes slowly closed as she relaxed the muscles she didn't even know were tensed. The sounds of cheerful laughter were comforting, extremely comforting, especially since the sources are right next to her. Just then, a cold wind flew down her spine and sent chills riveting through her body. It strangely resembled the one she felt while on the train.

Shining had seemed to noticed this gesture and looked down at Twilight. "Hey Twily, I think some sleep is in order for you. Princess Celestia has been informing me about your all-nighters in the castle library and the overnight lectures. Besides, I bet you're exhausted as well."

"I am a bit sleepy. If it's of no problems, I'll gladly take a spare room." Twilight loved and hated how her older brother was always able to tell what she needed and what she was thinking.

I guess it's a perk that comes with being the older sibling... She thought to herself.

Shining stood up from the couch and helped Twilight stand as well. She was suddenly overcome with tiredness to the point where her legs wobbled as they supported her weight. Shining simply wrapped an arm around her shoulder and helped the purple alicorn to his and Cadance's bedroom. Twilight immediately noticed where they were headed to and looked up at Shining.

"Are you sure I can sleep here? I mean, it is your bedroom after all..." The sight of the large bed was enough to make Twilight completely forget she had even questioned their destination. All she wanted was to lay on the bed and fall asleep, and so she did. Shining laid her on the silk covered mattress and exited himself from the room. Twilight immediately wrapped her arms around a pillow and soon fell prey to the tiredness that was relentlessly growing.

Twilight found herself sitting on what felt like grass, but was the color of night. She was once against shrouded in darkness and had the silver leaved tree sturdily standing in front of her. The light was noticeably darker than before and the distant laughter was even quieter to the point where it was barely noticeable. She now knew that Discord had nothing to do with this, but thought that her mental state might need to be checked. Having the same dream twice within a small time frame rarely occurred to Twilight, yet here she was, in front of the same tree while covered by the same darkness. Twilight stood and lifted up her right arm as she placed her hand against the surprisingly smooth bark. Her hand glided inches above and below where she originally touched the tree to reveal that the entire structure was smooth to the touch. Twilight lifted her right arm above her head and gently plucked off one of the many silver leaves.

The leaf shriveled between her fingers immediately and disappeared into the void around her. The leaf she plucked was promptly replaced with another one of equal shape and size. Twilight pulled another leaf and the same happened as before. Disappearance and reappearance. It reminded her of a certain cycle that Zecora had told her.

One thing must pass before another rises in its place, huh..? She stared at the leaves for a moment before turning around and resting against the tree. Her body slowly slid down until she was sitting on the soft grass beneath her.

She then heard a faint whisper. It was very quiet and yet very noticeable. Her eyes scanned the surroundings around her, but only saw the darkness. The whispering was only getting louder at this point and Twilight began to have panic rise inside of her from the lack of knowing where the source is originating at and from what she thought she heard. Her head quickly sprung left and right, but the whispering was only getting louder and seemed to approach at an omni-direction. She could hear it get loud in her right ear, then her left, then both. It was frustrating, truly, truly frustrating. She clamped her ears down with her hands and contracted her knees up to her chest. Covering her ears had no effect. The whispers seemed to come internally rather than externally. Twilight unclasped her ears and stared up at the tree. At what seemed like the peak of volume for these noises, they suddenly stopped. There was only silence as Twilight rested against the dark, smooth tree.

She felt two arms wrap around her neck. Her immediate thought was that she was about to be suffocated by someone. Just as she was about to react to this alleged act of hostility, she noticed that the arms weren't tightening around her neck. They were instead wrapped loosely around her as if she were being hugged from behind. There was a subtle warmth that radiated off of the body behind her that felt heavenly compared to the coldness that was consuming her. From the way the body felt and the structure of it, she hypothesized that the figure behind her was a mare. Twilight tried to turn her head to see who the figure was, but something was restricting her movements. She couldn't even move her body. Her arms twitched and her legs shook, but they never made any real and noticeable movements. She determined that her nerves were still intact, but some type of magical force was restraining her from changing her position.

The arms wrapped around Twilight began to shiver ever so slightly, but enough for her to notice. There were quiet whimpers that she could hear behind her, most likely from the mare holding onto Twilight. The pony behind her was obviously afraid. Of what, Twilight didn't know. Just then, the figure behind her muttered four words that Twilight had thought that she would never hear again. It was more of that she never wanted to hear those cursed words once more.

"King Sombra is back..."

Twilight suddenly jolted upright in the massive bed. Her body was drenched in a cold sweat and she was panting extremely hard. She placed a hand over her heart and noticed that it was beating rapidly as if she had finished an encounter with a creature that would have ravaged her being. Twilight moved from the center of the bed to the side closest to the window. She hopped off of the mattress and stood up on shaking legs. Her thought process was clouded and a hand was placed on the right side of her face.

"Another dream that I can't remember.... What's going on with me?" she asked herself quietly. Twilight knew that mental breakdowns were no rarities for her, but for her body to be physically exhausted was the rare portion. Just then, the room around her, no, the entire castle began to quake viciously. Ornaments were knocked to the ground and shattered into pieces as the windows were destroyed from the shear violence. Twilight had to grab hold of the bed for support just so she wouldn't fall over on the shards of glass that were scattered all across the floor. As soon it started, it stopped. Then the screams were heard. Twilight immediately ran to the window and stared out at the city. Gigantic darkened crystals had sprouted out of the ground. They were massive in size, easily towering over the stores and houses. There was a glowing substance in each of these crystals. Twilight jumped out of the window and unfurled her 12-foot wingspan. She hadn't flown in a vast amount of time, but she needed to investigate these crystals immediately.

Upon landing in front of the massive crystal, a wave of nausea hit her hard. She felt weak in her knees to the point where she had almost doubled-over. However, Twilight held her ground and approached the gem, curiosity filling her eyes. There was just something about this darkened material that made her attracted to it. It were as if something were calling her name and pleading for her attention. She lifted her left arm and attempted to touch the crystal, but received an electric shock upon contact. She quickly withdrew her hand and backed a few inches from the gem. Twilight also noticed that these materials had risen all over town, not just in that spot. Her first thought was to inform her brother and sister, but was interrupted when she overheard their voices nearby.

"I want all of the citizens evacuated to their designated areas. There is no need to panic as we will figure out these abnormalities as soon as possible and inform you shortly after." The stallion known as Shining Armor had a strong and leader-like tone in his voice that had calmed the residence of the Crystal Empire. They all followed the Crystal Guards to the castle and flooded inside the main hall.

Twilight continued her investigation of these strange objects. She circled, crouched, and flew above them, observing them from all possible angles and taking mental notes. There were no cracks or ridges on any of these crystals as they were perfectly smooth sided. Twilight began to grow furious as the sky darkened, restricting the much needed sunlight. She knew it wasn't late enough into the day for the sun to set so she cursed at the clouds and their impeccable timing. Upon looking up, her eyes widened.

There were no clouds as the sun stood static in the sky, dead center at the highest point possible. The blue sky turned into an agonizingly black color as the yellow sun had changed its shading to a darkened crimson red. There was a loud crunching and crackling noise from below and caught Twilight's attention. She flung her head to look down at the ground and the once smooth crystals had developed massive cracks. After moments of only crackling noises being heard, each crystal began to shatter into dust, one by one. What emerged was something entirely different, however. Something that twisted the insides of Twilight's stomach and made her feel sick to the core at the shear sight.

Bodies sprung free from their imprisonment. In this case, their imprisonment consisted of the gigantic crystals. A black substance oozed off of the visible entities that erupted from the gems and burned through the ground as if it were an acidic chemical. Groans and moans of pain were able to be heard throughout the city in an unordered pattern of voices. The sound was wretched and fowl. The smells that followed were even worse as Twilight recognized this to be the source of the nausea she had felt before. The figures all wielded some sort of pole or stick in their left hand and a flat circular object attack to the right forearm.

Their bodies were slim, extremely slim. It seemed as if there were only bones under the oozing black tar. The arms and legs were extended well beyond what was considered normal and their heads took the shape of vertical ovals with sharp points at both tips. There were no eyes or mouths on what she considered their faces. Twilight stared in horror as these creatures began to appear all across the city in each district. There was a very noticeable sound of metal violently clashing against each other and loud shrieks following each clash. She flew over to the sound and realized that the direction she was headed in was the direction where she heard her brother's voice from. Her heart sank at the thought of him being injured, or worse...killed.

Denial

Twilight's legs violently shook. It all happened so fast that she had a hard time believing what had just occurred. Her legs gave out on her as she fell to the ground and placed a hand over her stomach. Twilight felt sick. Her stomach was violently twisting itself as if a storm was raging inside of her. Her lips parted only slightly, but her eyes were wide open. Tears freely flowed out of her eyes and down the sides of her face. Her body jerked and twitched every few seconds as she could only mutter out incoherent words. Both of her hands extended outwards towards something. It looked like she was a foal in desperate need and want of something. It was like their life depended on it. She dropped her hands on top of a corpse. A rather muscular corpse at that, who wore the Equestrian Royal Guard armor. There was a gaping hole through his chest that was around the size of 6 inches in diameter. It had pierced and completely destroyed his heart and lungs. Twilight let out a loud, guttural groan. Her lips spread apart as far as they could and a loud primal scream was let loose.

Twilight was flying at high speeds. The distance she needed to close was further than she had imagined. She cursed herself from neglecting the flying lessons Rainbow Dash offered. Nonetheless, she had to close this gap at all costs. The clashing of metal became more and more refined the closer she approached. It really did sound like an all-out battle was happening. Twilight could hear the yells of the Crystal Guards as they relentlessly fought what she presumed were those creatures that sprouted from the crystals.

She was confident in her brother's combat ability. He was, at one point, given the title of the most experienced veteran in all of Equestria. He knew his way around a sword and could think of thousands of combinations on the fly. However, these creatures weren't normal, no, they weren't even ponies. The black substance was what really put her on edge. That liquid was something to not trifle with. It could easily burn through any kind of metal. Her eyes widened at that thought.

If it can burn through metal, how effective were the Crystal Guard's swords and armor? She shook her head and realized that she just had to believe in them. Believe in Shining Armor.

Twilight had finally reached her destination as she descended onto the ground and watched the battle. Her eyes widened as she watched. There were corpses everywhere. All she saw were the Crystal Guards lying on the ground with holes in their armor that indicated that that was where they were struck down at. Each of them had an open hole on the left side of their chest. It seemed as though all of these strikes were execution strikes. They aimed to swiftly destroy their hearts and end the battle with one hit. Her eyes darted left and right as she scanned the area to look for Shining Armor. Her eyes locked on the blue mane he had grown out. However, he was completely surrounded, and by the Crystal Guards no less. They all held their swords against him and clashed, but their movements were sloppy and uncoordinated. He effortlessly parried the oncoming slashes and cut down the guards.

Twilight's eyes widened. Shining was hurting his own people... There must be a logical explana-- Her thought was completely cut off as she had caught a glimpse of a guard falling after being struck. His face was completely distorted in more ways than one. His eye sockets were completely void and his mouth had turned and twisted until it was no more. These weren't normal guards. She couldn't even call them ponies anymore. It's like they were some sort of creature straight out of a fantasy book. One body on the ground had their upper body rotate a full 360 degrees. The turning was quick and had a sickening crunch sound, indicating that bones were broken in the process. Nevertheless, it stood back up and emitted a loud groan. From where, she could not determine. However, Twilight knew Shining was in trouble and she was determined to help him no matter what.

The purple alicorn dashed towards the older stallion with confidence. Her footsteps were immediately heard by the possessed corpses. They had swiftly moved from Shining and stood in the way of Twilight. She gritted her teeth and mentally prepared herself for combat. It had been a while since she last fought, 2 years to be exact. Twilight stopped running and skidded on her heels as she threw a punch that skyrocketed towards the sky. However, the entity dodged the ability and let out a taunt-like laughter. In a matter of milliseconds, it was sent flying backwards by an explosion near its head. The others looked confused because they saw it dodge the princess's attack. Twilight couldn't help but grin. Fighting had always felt natural to her.

As a bearer of the most important Element of Harmony, there are many who would attempt to assassinate her. Therefore, she had to learn martial arts in order to defend herself from these combatants. It was a rigorous and painful process, but it had definitely paid off. However, in a world with magic, hand-to-hand combat wouldn't be able to handle everything. With that knowledge, she learned offensive magic. Twilight is able to use her magic to follow-up attacks that would have miss or to increase the impact force to increase the damage done.

Two more of the possessed beings charged at Twilight, swords above their heads and shields covering their bodies. Twilight stood static in a fighting position with her hands raised at eye level and her arms bent at an almost perfect 90 degree angle. Boxing was the type of combat style that Twilight was most attracted to. The soldier at her left sent its sword flying directly at Twilight's head. She swiftly sidestepped to the right. The other soldier attempted to shield bash her. She reacted instantly by using the rubble around her to kick a rock so it would launch herself backwards. This had caused the right soldier to shield bash the other guard Twilight jumped up into the sky and began rotating rapidly. She stuck out her right leg and struck the right soldier's temple. The force and impact was enough to send it flying towards its comrade. Both of them were sent hurling into the candy shop that was rested and abandoned to their left. Twilight's rotating slowed down as she landed on the ground.

She started running to Shining as fast as she could. Just one look at the stallion and you'd know he was exhausted. Even the most prestigious soldiers have a limit. More and more of the possessed beings started to get in her way. They now saw Twilight as more of a threat than Shining Armor. Twilight grew furious as she just wanted to be by her brother's side and aid him. The new interference's seemed to be smarter than the last two. Instead of charging head-on, they stood their ground and raised their shields. Twilight noticed the change in behavior and stopped in her tracks. She was only a few feet away from her brother, but these two seemed dangerous.

She raised her arms like before and began to lightly hop on her toes. The constant movement made her senses heighten and kept her alert. She would step close to them and they would raise their shields higher and tighten their guard. When she backed away, they loosened their shields. Twilight dashed forward towards the two guards. They propped up their shields and raised their swords as well, getting prepared to strike. They then jabbed their swords at her. It was a quick jab as it sliced the air while moving. In reaction to this, Twilight created a shield around her hands and forearms, creating a magical armor of some sort. She used the back of her hands to parry both of the blades. In one quick motion, she plunged her fists into the two soldiers faces, or what remained of their faces after the distortion. They were both sent down to the ground. Two large craters formed when their skulls impacted the stone. Twilight stood up straight and leaped to her brother.

They immediately touched backs and grinned. They fought off the hordes of soldiers while protecting each others hide. Shining Armor would slash at the crowd while Twilight would decimate their shields so their defenses were lowered. However, if they had learned anything from this fight, it's that the soldiers were relatively immortal. No matter what their injuries consisted of, crushed skulls to dismembered heads, they stood back up and continued to fight. This fight was heavily against them. They were running out of stamina and were slowly growing weaker. Suddenly, the soldiers stopped attacking. They stared at the two relatives.

All of the entities around them lowered their weapons and dropped down on one knee. Both Twilight and Shining were heavily confused. They were just being attack, but now they're being showed respect? The sound of something, or someone, flying behind them became apparent. Both heads turned and their eyes widened in horror. Princess Cadance was in the air above them. She was being held by one of the distorted soldiers. Shining Armor gripped his sword tight. His grip was so extreme that veins were sticking out of his arm and his fingernails dug into his skin, causing him to bleed. Cadance had been murdered. A long obsidian colored sword had pierced her heart. Her eyes were wide and blank as blood was following the blade and dripped from the tip. Her body was tossed to the ground like a rag doll, but Shining ran to catch Cadance. Her body was heavy and lifeless. Her muscles were limp and loose. The sword was stuck firmly through her body. It took on the shape of a lightning bolt and that had caused the extraction to be difficult. However, Shining didn't even attempt to remove the sword. He knew fully well that Cadance, his wife, had passed.

Anger rose through Shining's body. The one he loved the most was in his hands, but in the wrong situation. He held her close to his chest and clamped his eyes shut as tears managed to break through the tightly clasped eyelids. Slowly and gently, he lowered her body and pulled the sword out of her chest. He stared at the lightning-shaped blade and look up at the figure who carried Cadance over to them. In one swift motion that even Twilight couldn't follow, the blade had been struck through the flying figure's chest. Electricity surged through its body before exploding entirely, the small bits of flesh and bone were evaporated into dust. Not a single trace of the being remained. Shining had fused lightning magic with the sword before he threw it. The stallion stood up and picked up Cadance. He carried her over to Twilight.

Twilight was shocked. She never would have thought that Cadance, her older sister and infinitely more powerful than her, would have been killed. No, she even denied it. Twilight desperately wanted to pass it off as type of illusion magic. She looked up at Shining, but he simply stared into her eyes and those two eyes said everything. This was no illusion. This was reality.

Twilight carefully levitated Cadance's body off of Shining's arms and placed her on a patch of grass. Flowers began to slowly sprout from the ground around Cadance as she rested peacefully. Twilight sat next the Princess of Love and held her hand in a tight grip. It took everything she had to not burst into tears or to yell out her raw emotions. Shining, however, was not so delicate about his emotions. He let them soar far above him as he went into a fit of rage. The obsidian blade easily sliced through revived soldiers. He made sure to not give them a chance at resurrection by completely evaporated everything, refusing to leave even a single trace of evidence of their existence. Shining was broken.

He fought recklessly. Twilight watched as her brother didn't bother to bring up his defense or to parry the oncoming blades. His swift movements were enough to dodge the blades before they were even able to be lifted into the air. His rage and anger became his strength for the brief amount of time. It were as if Shining was being possessed by a god of calamity from his rampaging. His breath came in short, rapid bursts and his body was drenched in sweat. The armor he wore was torn to shreds from all of the slashes he's encountered. Then a darkness surrounded them. Twilight quickly lost track of where Shining stood. She jumped onto her feet and yelled into the darkness.

"Shining!" she exclaimed, but received no answers. Twilight didn't even hear herself shout. Everything was silent, painfully silent. She grasped chest from the fear of losing her older brother as well. Her horn began to glow as a white wisp of light was summoned. It revealed the area around them, but Twilight instantly regretted the decision. Her light wisp faded as quickly as the darkness did. Standing in front of her was King Sombra, but that's not what had made Twilight feel weak in her knees. No, what she saw was something far, far worse. Her older brother's death. Shining Armor had developed a hole in his chest where his heart once rested. What rested behind the hole was King Sombra's hand.

The purple alicorn's eyes began to haze. Her vision grew blurry and her coordination became poor. Her legs and arms refused to move. She sat on the ground with a blank expression. Everything around her was falling apart. Her entire world began to shatter as she witnessed her family be murdered not just a few feet away from her.

King Sombra stared down at the alicorn and smirked. He had never felt so powerful before. The sole cause of his absence was because of these three ponies. He had exterminated two of them and only one remained. He knew that witnessing her brother dying would have shattered her mind, no, it would have broken her entirely. Once he killed Twilight, nothing would stop him. He brazenly held his sword high in the air.

"Goodbye, you wench." he said calmly, yet proudly.

He swung his sword down, aiming for her neck. Just then, there was a deep pulse that echoed off of Twilight and sent Sombra stumbling backwards. He looked in shock and surprise, but also in interest. He had felt this kind of magical prowess before and wanted to know if it were the same type he had faced against in his early years of absolute terror. He held his sword in both hands and aimed the lethal blade at Twilight. The purple mare never took her eyes off the ground, but stood up. She had a sort of tilt in her standing as if she were off balance. Her horn was glowing, but not in its usual vibrant, warm feel. No, this was something entirely different. This was a new Twilight with only one thing coursing through her mind...

This can't be reality

Darkness and Defeat

Twilight stood next to the corpse of her dear brother and sister. She never thought the day where her siblings death would come and with such a fowl ending.

They don't deserve this... This is just an illusion...

The purple alicorn was desperately trying to convince herself that this reality was make-believe. That it was just all some type of magic that played tricks on her mind or that she was still asleep in the soft, silky mattress. However, she couldn't deny what she saw. The way her emotions flew into a rage, the smell of something rotting and iron from the splattered blood, and the vulgar sights before her. These were just all too real for magic.

Her gaze slowly moved from the ground to the malicious figure that stood only a few feet away from her. Twilight's eyes were hazed out and unfocused. She couldn't think properly anymore, but one things was sure for her: He's the reason why they died.

King Sombra held his ground with his sword in both hands, ready to strike or defend at any moment. His eyes were fixated on Twilight, refusing to move his focus on anything else. A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of his head. The ominous magical presence she was giving off reminded him of the one time where he felt true fear. He hated knowing what it was like to be afraid. King Sombra, however, dismissed the thoughts. He knew that one wrong move here could mean potential death. Twilight is extraordinarily smart and he knew from experience. His feet slowly inched toward the left as he tried to get into Twilight's blind-spot. Sombra knew she was mentally broken and he wanted, no, needed to take full advantage of that. All of his strength hadn't returned yet because he had just gotten his physical form back. He took a step forward towards the distracted alicorn ever so slightly. He took a few more steps. Then he charged. Sombra's movements were swift and silent. His sword slashed at Twilight's midpoint, her stomach, but had instead sliced through air.

His eyes widened as Twilight was just suddenly gone. Her body was just in front of him, but now she had vanished.

Teleportation?! No, I didn't feel any type of transporting magic being used. Illusions? It can't be. Those have no affect on me.

There was a low groan that came from behind Sombra. He immediately turned and saw Twilight standing behind him. She was hunched over and stumbled as she desperately tried to stay standing. Her movements were uncoordinated and sloppy. It was like she was possessed by something, or someone.

"This is going to be interesting." he muttered to himself under his breath.

Twilight felt sick to her stomach. Her head was throbbing painfully. She couldn't speak or move properly and that only infuriated her even more. In her eyes, all she saw was King Sombra and his grin. She looked up at the unicorn. Anything else to her was blurry. Just then, darkness flooded Twilight's vision. She lost sight of everything, even Sombra and Shining armor. Panic rose through her body. She would surely be killed the same way her brother was. However, this darkness felt warm and strangely gentle. It was vastly different than the one she experienced earlier. The black tree stood tall in front of her. The light was dim, but bright enough to show the outline of the tree. The silver leaves were slowly falling from their branches and evaporated in the middle of their descending. However, new leaves didn't sprout. The branches remained naked and alone.

What stood in front of Twilight was no longer the same beautiful silver-leaf tree, but something that was dying. The roots began to shrivel and pulled themselves out of the ground. The bark became frail and chipped off at the slightest touch. The grass that Twilight felt against her toes slowly hardened. It felt as if she were standing on broken twigs. Twilight blinked once and what stood in front of her was no longer a tree, but another one of herself. She didn't recoil back or even showed any reaction to this, even though she was surprised on the inside. Twilight simply stared into the eyes of herself, except those weren't the same eyes. The white had turned into a shade of black. Her purple pupils turned into a dark crimson red. The color of her fur was darker than Twilight's. It opened its mouth to speak, but decided against it as she closed her mouth and instead offered a grin. It reminded her of King Sombra.

This new figure gave off a feeling that she couldn't describe. It was just...negative. Everything that brings pain, sorrow, hurtfulness, and things like that were all bottled up into this one figure. It was the darkness in your heart. The two alicorns stared at each other in silence, one with the grin and the other with a blank expression. None of them uttered a single word towards each other. After several moments of silence, the Twilight wearing the grin waved at her before backing up into the void. Everything came back in full color. Sombra was in front her as well as her brother and sister. Except two were dead and one wasn't. Twilight's thought process became more refined. She could put two and two together again. The encounter she just had had somehow repaired her mental state

For now... she thought to herself.

King Sombra stared at Twilight. His eyes had widened considerably and his grin changed into something more suited for cowardice. What he just witnessed wasn't possible. He carefully took steps backwards in fear. He was furious at his own emotions.

Fear?! To this foal?! He gritted his teeth and glared at Twilight. In a brief moment, no longer than two seconds, King Sombra saw something that struck fear into this stallions cold heart.

While King Sombra was preparing to strike the hunched over Twilight, he was stopped dead in his tracks. There was another entity present on the field that gave off a dangerous atmosphere. However, Sombra couldn't see who it was, nor was he able to detect an actual life form nearby that could have created a pressure this heavy. He suspected the source to be coming from Twilight, but her mental state was broken. The main source was indeed coming from Twilight's general direction. He glared at the mare, but saw that she was still in a hazy state. When he looked further beyond her, there was an odd silhouette that seemed to shadow the Princess of Magic.

When he looked past the purple alicorn, he felt as if he were staring into the heart of a monster. Monster is a light expression of what Sombra felt. Fear was temporarily etched into his heart as he was paralyzed in from shock and disbelief. Twilight was standing in front of Sombra in complete darkness. The void around them was more intense that anything Sombra had ever felt and much more powerful than anything he could create. He was truly terrified. The Twilight figure that stood in front of him was the same as the one that stood in front of the purple alicorn beforehand. Except she was angry this time. Her anger could be physically felt. It was like the air around him began to slowly contract upon his body and slowly crush every bone he had. This feeling was all caused by the raw emotions being spewed out of this new figure.

Twilight stood up straighter and fixed her gaze on Sombra. She could see things clearly now. Her mind was back to a somewhat normal state. Her muscles moved on command and the pain in her head was nothing more than a less-than-noticeable throb. However, despite all this, anger and sadness continued to rise and flare inside the young princess. Her actions were blinded by emotions. Twilight raised both of her arms to take a fighting position. She knew that the fight wouldn't be on her side. As skilled as she is, Sombra has more experience in combat. His knowledge far surpassed her own. However, she knew that if she ran, her death was certain. Instead, she would attempt to battle against the odds to try and survive. In Twilight's current state, avenging her family would be impossible. She began to lightly hop on her toes. A magical suit of armor was placed around her body for protection. Twilight shook away the memories of the encounter with her darker self. That would need to be addressed at a later date, not in the midst of battle.

There was a moment of silence and stillness between the two. They stood only a few feet front each other's throat. Twilight felt exhausted even before the fight began. Sombra was, however, refreshed and filled with energy. The malicious stallion threw his sword handle into his right hand and leaped towards Twilight. It was a fast leap as his blade cut the air in the swift movement. Twilight reacted equally as quick and brought up her left arm to block his sword. A loud clank of metal was heard as the blade dug into the magical armor, nearly slicing through the protection that Twilight wore and cutting off her arm.

The impact had forced Twilight to jump to her right. She kicked the ground to help accelerate her jump as the blade slid off of the armor. She was surprised. The protection she dawned was of high-tier magic that took her months to acquire, 8 months and 23 days to be exact. From this point on, Twilight knew that any direct hit to her armor is fatal, no matter how strong or weak the swing of the blade was. It took her a moment to recover from the strike, but it was a second too long. Sombra had followed Twilight's footsteps and there was another swing. This strike came at a diagonal angle that was slashing upwards. Twilight was forced bend the top portion of her body more to the right in order to avoid the slash. In the moment of her dodging, Sombra's left fist found its mark at the mare's stomach. The impact was strong enough to crack through the magic armor and push Twilight backwards.

Twilight flew back as she felt the fist. Her mind went numb for a split-second before she was able to somewhat conceive what had just happened. She coughed viciously before vomiting clear liquid. Sombra looked down at his left hand and repeatedly clenched his fist. His strength was steadily returning. The purple alicorn tried her hardest attempt at standing straight. In the moment of what she thought was Sombra taunting her, Twilight used her magic to boost her dash forward. In a matter of milliseconds, the princess stood directly in front of the now surprised stallion. Her right fist made contact against Sombra's chest. However, his armor was proven to be far to tough as her punch didn't leave a dent and ricocheted off of his chest. Almost immediately, she kicked the ground to grow distance between the two. She was shocked at how ineffective her attacks were. Twilight's chances of survival were getting slimmer by the second.

She hunched over slightly and focused her sights only on Sombra. Anything else besides him at this point would just be a distraction and could lead to her death. She refused to die here, not by him. Using her magic, Twilight summoned a familiar. This wasn't an animal familiar, but more so of an object. She summoned four double-edged blades that floated around her body, the tips facing the sky. They slowly rotated around her torso, being just inches away from actually touching her. She lifted her right hand out and flicked her wrist as one sword fell out of rotation. It hovered above Twilight's head, the tip now pointed towards Sombra. She flicked her wrist once more and the sword was sent flying at him. He easily parried the projectile, but three more swiftly followed. Each blade was thrown off target by King Sombra, but one had been more resistant than the others. Instead of making a wide arc like the others, it had managed to stay on track, but only cut Sombra's cheek. Blood trickled down the side of the stallions face, but what came out wasn't red. Instead of blood flowing out, a purple substance slowly flowed down his cheek. In Twilight's eyes, it was a mistake to even categorize King Sombra as a pony anymore.

Twilight continued her assault with the four magical blades. Her attacks were smooth and coordinated. Each strike was always followed by one or two more. The stallion was now on the defenses as he moved to dodge or used his sword to change the trajectory of the blades. Twilight thought of running while Sombra was distracted, but she had to be within a certain range to control these magical swords. If she moved too far out, than these blades would disperse into the void. Her only choice was to fend off this creature of the dark until help came.

If it'll be here before I die... Twilight quickly shook her head. No! I have to think positive! Help will surely come!

Lost in her train of thought, there was a loud yell. She took a step back from being startled by this shout. Sombra was surrounded by a nasty feeling red aura. In an instant, the blades dissolved. Twilight could feel pulses of magic emitting from deep within Sombra. It was filled with anger, desperation, rage, sadness, and vengeance. He approached the mare with his sword held tightly in his right hands. Twilight began to panic as she threw up a shield to try and protect her so she could gain distance between the two of them. However, the moment the shield was thrown up, it was quickly shattered by a single strike of Sombra's sword. Twilight tried again and again to put up shields, but each one fell in one swoop.

She knew her shields were doing nothing, but devised to use his strength as her advantage. She created another shield between them.

"WHEN WILL YOU LEARN ALL OF THIS IS FUTILE?!" the black-fur stallion roared at the top of his lungs. He threw his sword down and broke the shield.

Twilight acted quickly. She used the shards of hardened magic that were made when the shield shattered as a type of camouflage. Swiftly stepping under all of the debris Sombra created, she placed her foot on the blade and pushed down. Not expecting the sudden force of his blade, the sword hit the ground with Twilight's foot holding it down. She followed this gesture with an uppercut. Her right fist, backed by a high concentration of magic focused directly on her fist, pushed against the unforgiving armor and broke through Sombra's breastplate. Her fist connected with his chest as he was forced backwards from the impact. He knelt down and wheezed heavily. The punch had thrown all of the air out of Sombra, forcing him to recover his breath back.

Twilight charged at Sombra in a single dash. She attempted to hit Sombra's temple with a left hook, but he rolled backwards. Sombra contracted his legs before extending them outwards so his feet were planted flatly against Twilight's chest, forcing her to be pushed backwards and fall. Instead of falling, she used her arms to perform a back-flip and landed squarely on her feet. Sombra had rolled backwards and jumped up on his feet. They both stood and the staring battle continued. The sword was of equal distance between them and whoever moved had the advantage and disadvantage.

Sombra was the first to act. He moved at an incredible speed and reached out for his blade. Twilight reacted equally as fast and had created one extra familiar blade. It was hidden behind her back, but moved above Twilight and was sent flying downwards towards Sombra's skull. The stallion clawed his left hand and swiped the air between the blade and himself, intending the catch the blade. However, a black substance that moved in a strange pattern followed his hand in the arc he made. The blade clashed against the shadows and broke instantly. Sombra quickly grabbed his sword and jolted back upright. Twilight was shocked at what she witnessed.

Dark Magic?! Not only was that Dark Magic, but he manipulated the shadows?!

Her teeth pressed against each other harshly. Dark Magic was the second most powerful type of magic. It was closely behind Light Magic, which was the more appropriate form of magic to learn. Twilight knew that she couldn't beat that. She just couldn't. Her magic wasn't powerful enough to face off against something like that. However, now that she knew this, she could try and play against it, to try and force him to use his magic power and exhaust himself. She summoned more familiar blades and took two in hand while having three more above her head. Five blades were her limit and she dared not go past that.

King Sombra was shocked. He didn't know that his magic power could recover so quickly. His face grew a malicious grin as he felt new-found strength surging through him.

This magic will make killing that wench even faster. This battle should have ended sooner, but her relentlessness to die is annoying.

Sombra held the sword tightly in his right hand and hunched his back just ever so slightly. In one strong kick that left a crater in the ground, he lunged forward. The sword he wielded aimed directly for Twilight's heart while his left hand was still in its claw position. He thrusted his blade forward only to have it caught between and pushed upwards by the twin magic swords Twilight held onto. The three blades above her were shot down at the supposedly exposed stallion. Sombra released his blade and, in lightning quick motions, rotated his body 180 degrees. He grabbed onto the sword as he pushed down with his blade to support him. Twilight foolishly pushed back up to match his strength, but all was according to his plan. He used Twilight's strength to help and keep him from falling. Sombra's left hand swiped the spacing between him and the blades. Another dark shadow followed his hand movement and created a makeshift shield. The blades were shattered upon impact.

Sombra used the ground to kick himself up and over Twilight. His blade curved under the twin swords she held as he used his might to try and strike downwards to pull the mare with him. She loosened the blades so his would go through, but he thought ahead of this. Sombra's left hand grabbed the mare's mane and pulled. This lifted Twilight above Sombra. His threw the alicorn on the ground, face first, and laughed. The wind was knocked out of Twilight as she rolled to the side and jumped to her feet. Sombra used his magic to hold Twilight in place with shadows as he walked over to her. A wicked grin grew across his face.

Twilight tried to gain freedom from the invisible restraints around her. She panicked as the stallion slowly inched closer and closer to her. The horn she wielded refused to glow and use magic. Something about the restraints were blocking Twilight's use of magic. She was too focused on trying to escape that she didn't even notice that Sombra was standing less than a feet away from her.

Suddenly, Twilight's body jerked backwards, then forwards. She felt the restraints no long, but her limbs refused to move. Both of her arms grew limp and her legs grew weak. There was a cold feeling around the left side of her chest. She felt something inside of her, but couldn't make out what it was. Her head had refused to move down to see what was going on, but in the back of her mind, she knew what it was. The strange sensation soon became something she was more accustomed to...

Pain

The Unknown and The Wicked

There was a tingling sensation that riveted throughout the purple alicorn's body. The air around her was cold and heavy. Each breath she took in felt as if there was something weighing down on her chest. Each exhale only felt worse. She saw color in front of her, but everything was hazy and out of focus. Her knees locked in place, determined to keep her standing, but her arms and hands were useless. They refused her command of being lifted into the air, or even move. All she felt was something cold on the left side of her chest. Something cold and hard. She tried to look down at what was causing the strange feeling, but her head had also gained the rebellious act of disobeying her commands. A single tear slowly made its way down the left side of her face as everything started to slowly come back to her. King Sombra was standing inches away from Twilight. Her muscles began to move again and her head ever-so-slightly dropped. She saw an obsidian black blade and the handle, but the other half of it was missing. A red liquid slowly slid across the sharp edge of the sword and fell to the ground. She could hear it. The sound of it dripping, the impact of it hitting the ground, everything.

Her eyes began to slowly close. Her heart beat began to slow down. Her muscles spasmed gently before finally falling prey to its fatigue. There was nothing she could do. Her eyes closed and darkness filled her once more. She had grown accustomed to this kind of feeling. The feeling of the unknown void around her. The feeling of being alone. It comforted her in more ways than one. Her eyelids slowly opened, but only halfway. There was nothing in front of her. Nothing beside her, nor behind. The air had no longer held its cold and chilling grasp around her body. What she did feel, however, was a wave of warmth. She was content with what she felt. It was warm and there was a sense of safety. A sense of home, for an odd reason. It were as if this was where she belonged all along. She forgot about her duties as a princess. Her duties as an Element of Harmony. Those were the last things that tread her mind. All she wanted was to lie down and sleep. Yes, sleep was what occupied the young mare's mind. She was so tired. So much had happened and she just wanted rest.

She felt a hand rest upon her cheek. The purple alicorn looked to see who it was, but saw nothing. There was a heavy radiance of light shining behind the figure who held the mare's cheek. Twilight's eyes squinted as she struggled to desperately see who was with her. To see who was giving her such a warm feeling after all that had happened. But, she saw nothing. All Twilight felt was a sudden emptiness at her chest.

Sombra forced his sword out and had kicked the alicorn to the ground. The crimson liquid that rested inside the mare began to slowly ooze out of the gaping hole in her chest. The flesh was torn and the bone was split. You could straight through her chest if you so pleased. The wound Sombra inflicted on Twilight had went through her heart. An execution strike his father had taught him as a child. His blade was soaked in the mare's blood, but it didn't bother him. In fact, it amused him how much a single pony could bleed. He slowly lifted his blade up to his face and licked off the blood that slowly ran down the sword.

Iron.. Like always.. He muttered to himself with a smirk.

The stallions feet suddenly stopped moving. He felt a deep pulsing coming from the area where the purple mare's body rested. It sent odd chills down his spine. He knew this feeling all too well and didn't want to reminisce it in his past. It was filled with failures that could have easily been avoided. The stallions head slowly turned see what exactly was happening.

Twilight's body laid on the ground, unmoving. There was no rise in her chest from breathing. Her muscles didn't move an inch. She was still, yet something was emitting from her body. It was something odd and tingly. The atmosphere turned cold and damp. Sombra swore he could see his own breath, even though it was the middle of the day. Twilight's body jerked on the ground. One arm moved. Then her legs. A low growl was heard from her as another deep pulse echoed through the air. The alicorns hand placed itself on the ground as she slowly lifted herself up. Her fingers began to contract into a fist and just as her fingers touched her palm, the ground under her fist cracked. The solid granite broke into small pieces and, in the shock of what Sombra was seeing, he saw nothing more. Twilight had vanished. There was a small dust cloud where her corpse was and the blood stained the granite, but the body was missing. The deep and threatening growl echoed behind Sombra. The fallen king quickly leaped forward and turned himself in mid air only to meet a hand that grabbed his face and forced him to the ground. There was a loud crash when Sombra's body smashed into the ground. His eyes widened and he coughed out the purple liquid that flowed through his veins. He stared through the crack of Twilight's finger. The mare's fur was spiked up slightly. Her pupils turned into that of a cats, sharp and unforgiving. Her teeth were sharpened into what seemed like tiny daggers. The bloodlust pressure that radiated off of Twilight was enough to send Sombra into a spiral of fear.

Sombra quickly snapped out of his fear. His arms were still free and he could easily break free of this grasp. His right fist was planted against Twilight's stomach. She immediately jumped off of the stallion and stood on her toes just a few feet from Sombra. He stood and glared at Twilight. He knew something was wrong about this new development. Terribly wrong. It wasn't a spell that she had cast, nor was it anything that had to do with genetic mutation. It was something different, like another personality that was kept under chains deep inside of her. Her stance was low and her hands were spread wide from her chest. She had grown claws on each fingertip and the look in her eyes were filled with rage. This was nothing like the coordinated and calm-tempered Twilight he faced before. However, the hole was still in her chest. He could see through where he stabbed and destroyed her heart.

"What are you?!" he shouted.

Sombra received nothing more than a low snarl. It seemed that the Twilight he was facing had no intentions of answer him, if it could even speak in proper English.

Twilight was shrouded in the darkness with only the light enveloped figure in front of her. She felt safe while in this figures grasp. It were as if all of her fatigue had faded and her injuries were no more. She smiled. The first smile had since she had awoken from her slumber in her brother's room. The figure slowly helped Twilight up into a sitting position and not long, into a standing position. She wobbled on her feet, but held the entity for support which it gladly gave her. When her hand touched its chest, something was odd. There was something that was off about all of this. She turned to face the figure. Her purple eyes widened. The light was gone and she saw herself. Except, it wasn't really herself. The fur was darkened almost to a complete black. Her pupils were no longer circular, but more like the Twilight's that was facing Sombra. There were strange markings that covered up the left half of her face. She smirked at Twilight to reveal the fangs that had grown in replacement of her teeth. Twilight slowly backed away from this new character only to hit something. She turned and saw the tree standing before her. It was dying. Truly dying. The branches had fallen off and were rotting on the ground. The bark slowly peeled off like brittle paper being blown in the wind. The magnificent tree she once saw was nothing more than a stump on the ground. Twilight felt an incredible pain near her heart. She grasped her chest and gasped loudly. The pain was unimaginable. It was something she had not felt before and it scared her greatly.

Two arms gently wrapped around Twilight and held her softly. However, they didn't feel even the slightest comforting. She felt the darkened Twilight's chin rest against her shoulder and a soft sigh.

"You're too soft. Too stiff. Just relax, all right? I'll take care of everything from here on out. Just sleep." the mare said.

Twilight tried to speak in protest, but something about the mare's voice was so soothing and divine. It made Twilight feel at ease. It was true, she wanted to sleep. The figure behind Twilight covered the purple mare's eyes.

Her hands are so soft and warm... Twilight couldn't resist any longer. Her body began to slowly shut down as she let the corruption consume her.

Sombra held his sword in his right land and clawed his left. He knew that any wrong move here would absolutely lead to his death. The bloodlust he felt from this alicorn was something else. The pressure was more harsh than his. He crouched slightly and glared down the beast. Sombra decided to treat Twilight as if she were some sort of beast that dwell deep within the Everfree Forest. Any sign of submission or hesitance could be the last decision he ever makes. There was something new glinting in his eyes. He wasn't fighting for vengeance, but more so for survival. Sombra blinked once before Twilight vanished before his eyes. He felt the air cut past him on his left. He brought his sword up and managed to just barely parry the oncoming claws. The force behind Twilight's strike was powerful enough to push Sombra back four feet. He squinted his eyes and exhaled slowly. The sword he held began to grow a sickening red aura around the sharp edges. He guided his index and middle finger across the flat side of his blade and began to speak quietly.

"Shadows of the Underworld, I call upon thee for strength" the stallion muttered to himself.

Sombra leaped at Twilight at an incredible speed. His body soared and cut through the air as he suddenly appeared under the alicorn. He swung his blade the moment his body became visible to the naked eye. Twilight let out a loud shriek as she jumped back and held her stomach. Sombra striked at Twilight's abdomen, but only cut half an inch deep into her flesh. However, it was enough to slightly impair the high speed movements of Twilight. However, the blade had injected Twilight with a weakening curse. The victims physical prowess would be slowly drained down to almost nothing. They fatigued easier, grew sore from physical exertion faster, and grew weaker in power quicker. In short, it created short battles instead of long, drawn-out fights. Sombra now had the advantage. He slowly stood and re-positioned himself.

This next strike will be the last.. he spoke in confidence. Showing no hesitation, he charged.

Twilight was laid out on the ground. Her arms and legs were both spread apart and her eyes were closed tightly. Shrouded in the darkness, nightmares began to spring free. Memories of seeing her brother being impaled on Sombra's sword constantly showed in front of her in quick flashes. The ideas of what Cadance had felt like before she died. Twilight felt sick to the core. Every time her arm would reach out and yell their name, the images and memories vanished only to be replaced by a more serene, happy memory. Tears quickly sprung to her eyes. She let them fall freely as she watched her past self so happy. Shining and Twilight were baking a cake for their mother's birthday. Twilight and Cadance were playing on the playground. Shining and Cadance getting married. She saw all of these memories, but couldn't bare it anymore. Slowly, the corrupted Twilight was breaking her own mentality. Twilight moved softly and curled on the ground. She placed both hands over her ears to try and block out the cheerful laughter of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Tears flowed down Twilight's face steadily as she was forced to live through this hellish dream. She jolted when a hand was placed on her shoulder. Twilight didn't even bother to look up at who was there. She knew that she would regret what she saw.

"Come on Twily, let's go play with Cadance." she heard a stallion's voice.

Her eyes widened as wide as they could. She heard Shining Armor's young teen voice. This was her breaking point. She couldn't bare it any longer. She began to howl a deep cry. Her moans of agony echoed throughout her subconscious hell-hole as she made everything shake from the sheer pressure of her voice. Cracks began to form around the space around her. Twilight continued to yell and cry as loud and deep as she could. She gripped her head tightly and pulled on her hair, nearly ripping out every strand she had. Small pieces of the darkness around her began to chip off. Bright lights shown through these tiny cracks and filled the void with a comforting warmth. However, Twilight hadn't noticed these changes, but the corrupted version had. She began to panic as light flooded the room.

"No! This isn't whats suppose to happen!" she yelled in a quick panic.

The corrupted Twilight felt a strong grip around her neck as she was slowly lifted into the air. She gasped and kicked her legs, trying her hardest to be released from this grip. Her head slowly turned and she only caught a small glimpse of who was strangling her. All she saw was a purple mist and a black mane. Her eyes widened, but everything went silent. All that was heard was the sound of brittle bones crackling and snapping in two. The limp and neck-broken corrupt Twilight fell to the ground as the shadowy figure released her from its grasp. Then Twilight felt something deep within her let go. It were as if something important, something meaningful, had just vanished. Her body began twitching involuntarily as she heard a deep chuckle that gave no remorse or care. It was filled with satisfaction.

The blackness that surrounded the two broke down completely . Light flooded the room, but it wasn't filled warmth anymore. The moment it touched her skin, she felt as though chains were weighing her down. The muscles in her legs and arms locked tightly and pain struck through her body with even the slightest movements. Her breathing became ragged and hoarse. The rise of her chest inflict an incredible amount of suffering. She felt restrained, weak. It were as if she were captured like some kind of wild animal. Twilight laid on the ground, unmoving. The sound of footsteps became louder and louder as the figure slowly approached her. There was something in its steps that reminded Twilight of something. No, it was more of a feeling of someone.

"I'm glad we could meet again, Princess." the figure spoke in a confident and cocky tone.

Immediately, Twilight knew who it was. She opened her eyes and glared up at the stallion who was towering over her. He seemed more like an apparition if anything. The bottom half of his body was concealed behind shadows, making him look like a floating figure. Still, Twilight could just barely see through the semi-translucent stallion. His eyes seemed to pierce directly into her soul with a massive grin on his face. Sombra had finally discovered a way into Twilight's deepest mental depths and he most certainly intended to destroy her from the inside.

The creature known as Twilight laid on the ground. Her body was covered with slashes, no deeper than one inch. King Sombra's armor had been cut open with her sharpened claws and she had barely touched his flesh. His hand was placed over her face as he slowly poured his malicious magic into her. He flooded Twilight's mentality and wanted to make her suffer. Suffer the way he had. When he had finished forcing his magic into the young alicorn's body, he released her head. Twilight's body reverted back to its normal form. The claws she had grown disappeared, her eyes returned to their normal purple color and shape, and her fur rested against her body instead spiking upwards. Sombra turned away from the mare on the ground. He knew that his magic would eat her away from the inside and eventually drive her to the point of death. His sword was soaked in the crimson red liquid that flowed through her veins. Both entities were badly damaged, however, Sombra knew he'd come out on top.

Sombra took one step forward and stopped dead in his tracks. There was a certain sensation that riveted through his body. The feeling was highly unpleasant and it felt as though someone was directly behind him, looking over his shoulder. It was the feeling of being watched, or more accurately, being looked down upon. He knew he should have been angered by this feeling. He should have been infuriated, but those emotions were cast aside from the overwhelming feeling of fear. Small beads of sweat rolled down his body and his legs shook. The grip on his sword tightened to the point where he was crushing the handle. The darkening aura that surrounded Sombra was quickly drowned and became pale in comparison to this new aura he felt. Sombra looked up at the sky to realize it was night. There was a full moon, but something was off. Sombra couldn't help but feel uneasy under the moon's light. It reminded him of the first time he felt afraid.

Time seemed to stop. The only noise that was heard was Sombra's own unsteady breathing. His eyes widened. He started to slowly back away from the new development. Sombra knew that his magic was superior in every which-way. His experience out-scaled hers by centuries. His maximum power would have easily crushed her. Yet here she was, standing in front of him. The wounds had vanished. Her clothes showed no signs of being cut open or slashed. Her head slowly moved up to gaze at Sombra. Those purple eyes were unfocused and hazed. There was a blank expression that overtook her face. There were no signs of fear, or sorrow, or even pain. The magic that he pushed deep inside of the mare seemed to slowly ooze out in a menacing and sickening aura. She was the embodiment of pure evil at this point; and Sombra knew this all too well.

Twilight was laying on the ground. Her gaze was fixated on the apparition of Sombra. His laughtered echoed throughout the void he stood in.

"Well, well, Princess. It was easier than I had expected to invade your subconscious." Sombra waved his arms around and loudly spoke, "and THIS is all I see?! Nothingness?!" he roared in laughter once more.

The laughing seemed to boom throughout Twilight's ears. They were loud, obscenely loud. She managed to catch a glimpse of the corrupted version of herself that laid on the floor, her neck twisted in ways that should have never been possible. She was mortified.

What's going to become of me if my subconscious self died? How did King Sombra even get into my mind. What was going on in the outside world? These questions flooded Twilight's mind.

There was a sudden pulse that boomed through her body. It was painful, truly, truly painful. Her mouth gaped wide. New tears sprung free from her eyes as another pulse happened, then another. They seemed to continue their onslaught just when Twilight thought it was over. Sombra was too busy admiring the short work he made of with the corrupted Twilight. He didn't even bother, nor cared, to look in the original Twilight's direction. Twilight wrapped her arms around her stomach and crushed her eyes close. Then the whispering happened. She could hear distant voices. They were muffled, but clearly audible. However, unlike before, they sounded more demanding, more aggressive. The longer they lasted, the more Twilight could make out.

...Kill him

Just snap all ready...

...Vengeance...

She couldn't even think straight. They just kept coming and coming. Then they began to die down, become more quiet. Suddenly, there was one dominant voice that spoke clearly and said, He killed Shining and Cadance, and now he's going to kill you.

Twilight's eyes widened. She realized now that she didn't want to die. She didn't want to let Sombra get away unpunished for his unforgivable deeds. For all of the ponies he murdered.

For Shining and Cadance.... The pulsing boomed once more, but there was no pain in this one. Twilight stood up on her feet as she suddenly felt nothing. The pain had vanished. The ground shook with each step she took. Sombra quickly turned to glare at Twilight, but he was too late. Twilight had somehow moved from her spot in front of the apparition of Sombra and crushed his windpipe. His head snapped off as if someone breaking balsa wood. She glared down at the corrupted Twilight. The pitiful body on the ground disgusted her.

So weak... So incompetent... So... Twilight didn't even finish her thoughts. That's when everything went blank in her mind.

Twilight stood up straight in front of Sombra. She fixed her gaze on the stallion, but made no indications of moving. Sombra, however, was constantly on the move. He slowly moved from left to right. A sickening sound erupted from Twilight. Blood spewed out from her back as large chains floated above her and at her sides. There was a wicked purple-black aura that surrounded these chains. Sombra noted at how Twilight showed no emotions of pain when they sprung out of her back. It seemed as if she had lost all sense of emotion, whether it be anger to pain to happiness. Sombra was suddenly forced back. He was lifted off of his feet and released his sword from the sudden impact. All four of the chains had managed to move and strike Sombra in the blink of an eye. He grabbed the chains, but the moment his gloves made contact, they evaporated. Upon seeing this, he drew both hands away from the metallic objects. Luckily, the small amount of armor that Sombra wore was strong enough to repel these wicked chains. However, that didn't stop them from slamming him against a stone wall. He spat out a small amount of his purple blood as the chains retreated back to Twilight. The impact caused the wall to crack and make a rather deep and large crevice. This was the first real pain that Sombra has felt in eons. He was scared. Extremely scared.

Twilight stood stock still and continued her gaze at Sombra. Deep down inside of Twilight, she was powerless. Her true self was being rejected by all of this hatred and anger. Her true emotions and feelings were like in a cage that was at the bottom of the ocean. She felt so helpless as the onslaught of negative feelings slowly overpowered her, changed her. She was slowly becoming something that was impure, something vile, evil, wicked. Something hellbent on vengeance and would stop at nothing to achieve it.

Twilight's chains continued to throw themselves at Sombra. He couldn't dodge something as fast as those, so he took every hit. Sombra was trying to think of a plan as to how he would turn the tide of this one-sided battle. It seemed impossible to him, but a thought struck his mind. A malicious grin grew on the stallions face as he stood up straight and glared at Twilight. She tilted her head slightly and just stared at Sombra.

"Come! Strike me with your most powerful attack!" he challenged.

Twilight took him up on that offer and pushed the chains together tightly. They then began to rotate at high speeds and created something that represented a drill. The chain-drill flew towards Sombra, but stopped inches before impact. Sombra casted a spell. A spell that revived the dead. Reviving them to his likings. Twilight took a small step backwards at the sight before her. There were two ponies standing between Twilight and Sombra.

"Shining... Cadance..." she muttered quietly.

Two Sides of One and War

Twilight stared at the figures of her older brother and sister-in-law. Her unfocused, hazy gaze became fixated on the two royalties that stood in front of her. She knew that they were dead. She knew that they were being possessed somehow by King Sombra. Even with all of this knowledge, she refused to accept. She refused to accept they were gone now. She refused to believe Sombra would stoop to such low levels. However, he had stooped to said levels. He knew that there still a bit of light and innocence in her heart that would have caused her to not attack her dear loved ones. Sombra used this to his advantage. He manipulated their bodies through the unrealistically strong Dark Magic he had developed in his years of isolation. Even if his magic was controlling their limbs, they retained all of their strength whether it be physical or magical.

Even in this dazed state where Twilight couldn't control her body, her subconscious still recognized the two ponies that she had spent her childhood with. The magical chains that nearly penetrated her siblings began to slowly retract. The only sound that was heard were the distorted rattles of the chains. They slowly moved back to Twilight's sides and retreated back into her body as she took another step backwards, both in fear and confusion. Twilight tried to make eye-contact with her brother, but his gaze was towards the ground with his unruly hair covering his face. The same expression was also placed upon the Princess of Love. Twilight extended her right arm in front of her and a desperate look overcame her face. It were as if she were trying to reach and grab something distant.

"Shining... Cadance..." she muttered quietly. Her hand began to grab at the air before returning back to her body as she had her palm rest against her heart. There was a deep pain that emitted from her chest. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach as if she were going to vomit at a moments notice. There was this feeling of nausea around her as her legs began to shake ever-so-slightly. The images of the two in front of her began to slowly blur.

Twilight lifted her left hand up to her face. She touched right under her left eye. There was a liquid substance that covered her fingertips. She was crying. Twilight quickly shook her head and wiped her tears away, then refocused her gaze at King Sombra. However, the two figures in front of her had vanished. Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped wide. The sudden impact of fist against flesh began very apparent to her the moment she felt Shining's knuckles collide with her stomach. His fist dug into her abdomen three inches before Twilight was propelled backwards. She didn't have the comfort of landing against an obstacle. Cadance had grabbed Twilight's right arm in mid-flight and slammed her onto the pavement. The ground shook and cracked from the impact. All Twilight could do was let out a struggled and loud groan. Then she scream as the sounds of brittle bones snapping filled the air. Cadance swiftly broke Twilight's right arm and let the loose limb fall to the ground.

The chains erupted from Twilight's backside once more, but were snatched by Shining. The acidic affect did nothing to the hand that grasped a firm hold on the chains. Twilight had unconsciously refrained from using the burning properties. The chains snapped easily and dispersed into the void. She attempted to get onto her knees, but the moment her body left the ground, a harsh foot was planted on her back and forced her back down. She looked up to King Sombra standing over her with a smirk on his face. Everything seemed to turn dark around them in Twilight's eyes. She saw Sombra towering over her and her siblings were idly standing behind the malicious king. She could only see their silhouettes and white glowing eyes. They seemed to penetrate her body and stare directly into her soul. Never had she seen such angered expressions that they now wore. She was terrified.

Twilight knew that her life was at an end. Her inner self lost control of Twilight's body. Her eyes became re-focused and she regained control of her body. Twilight knew what was happening. Even thought she had no control beforehand, she could still see and hear everything that had happened. Twilight's eyes closed and she chose to accept her fate. There was nothing that she could do to prevent this. Nothing. Twilight succumbed to the darkness that followed.

Twilight awoke with a sudden jolt. She was surrounded by the darkness that she had grown accustomed to. The body of her subconscious rested on her right side. However, unlike before, the corrupted Twilight that rested next to her seemed normal. Her neck wasn't mangled and her body slowly rose from the intake of air and slowly fell from the exhale. Twilight hesitantly reached out to touch the darkened figure that laid next to her, but suddenly stopped. The body rose from its laying position and turned to face Twilight. There was no grin and smirk or even a hint of anger on the figure's face. The only expression she gave off was one of sorrow and overwhelming sadness. Tears slide down her left cheek. Twilight took note that the corrupt subconscious of her was crying only out of her left eye. Even with the knowledge of what was going to happen to her physical body, she became intrigued by this. Twilight edged closer to her darker self until their bodies were only inches away. The corrupt Twilight made no efforts of moving away as she just stared at the ground.

"I'm so sorry..." she muttered softly to Twilight.

Twilight shook her head and spoke in a quiet, calm voice, "It's completely fine. I'm not angry at you, so don't be so gloomy over what you did, okay? I mean, we are the same person after all, right?" Twilight couldn't help but giggle softly.

The corrupted subconscious looked up at Twilight in surprise. She had thought that her own body would be angry at her, reject her for what she had done. She took over her owner by forcing her out and taking control. She had placed these nightmares on her owners own mind to drive her insane. Even though all of these were thrown at Twilight, she didn't deter whatsoever. Twilight held strong to her mental state and even drove out the corruption inside of her.

Twilight smiled softly at the subconscious version of herself and placed her right hand on the figures shoulder. There was warmth that flooded throughout the subconscious Twilight's body. She was suddenly overcome with an emotion that she hadn't felt since her body was that of a foals: Happiness. She felt content with this feeling as her eyes slowly closed. She rested against her owner as Twilight gently stroked her mane.

"I guess this is end for us, huh? I'm glad we got to make amends and get on an understanding ground." Twilight spoke with a gentleness in her voice that calmed down her subconscious. The subconscious Twilight that rested against her nodded softly and let out a quiet sigh. She wanted to spend more time with her physical self, but there was little chance of that happening now that King Sombra had pinned her down. The darkness around them began to slowly fade away. The coldness began to migrate away and was being replaced by a gentle warmth. Twilight rested against the regrown silver-leafed tree while holding her subconscious in her arms. The ground flooded with color. They both sat on the soft, vivid green grass as they watched flowers sprout and bloom all over them. Patches of daisies, tulips, and other assortment of flowers grew around the pair. The sky turned into a bright blue with a little amount of clouds to block out the blazing sun. They both sat under the shade of the tree and waited for their end.

However, the end that befell them was something they hadn't expect to happen.

Just as King Sombra swung his sword down to impale the mare on the ground, he stopped. An overwhelming feeling of anxiety flooded through his systems. The feeling was so intense and powerful that it had forced him to stagger backwards. He viciously swung his head back and forth, left and right, up and down. Shining Armor stood in front of Sombra while Princess Cadance moved to his back. Their own will was being denied as they were forced to protect their new master from this new source of danger. The bright afternoon suddenly became dark. The intensity of the darkness that fell onto him wasn't natural. There was nothing natural about this new development. After all, it made King Sombra feel as though there were a blade that was tightly pressed against his neck and was ready to slit his throat in two at a moments notice.

Sombra looked down at his feet from the lack of ground against his sole. His foot slammed onto the cracked ground before he even realized Twilight had vanished from under him. Sombra couldn't see it, but he could feel the presence of death. His body tensed as he swung his sword upwards towards his left to parry the oncoming strike. His instincts were sharp enough to warn him of the unseen danger as his sword had narrowly redirected an oncoming blade.

He barely dodged and weaved through three more strikes. Sombra couldn't see anything and relied purely on his battle-honed instincts to sense and avoid these strikes.

"You two! Search for whoever is attacking me! Now!" he roared at Shining and Cadance. Swiftly, the two royalties began to dash around King Sombra and striking at the darkness in hopes of finding the offender. However, their efforts ended up fruitless as they were striking at only air. After several moments passed with their efforts in vain, they stopped from exhaustion. King Sombra's eyes darted left and right as he tried to anticipate the next strike. Nothing was thrown towards him for several seconds. His body eventually eased with the onslaught of attacks finally coming to an end.

However, the ever-so-present presence of fear still lingered through the air. Suddenly, the area around him began to get engulfed in a thick, dark mist. He simply ignored this new development, but froze when his eyes locked upon the silhouettes of two others standing in front of him just a few feet away. One was clad in a orange-yellow armor. It shone brightly and pierced through the darkness that was around them. The other figure, however, was the source of his fear. She wore black-purple armor that seemed to radiate off a dangerous and threatening presence, even more-so than the figure next to her. The Princess of the Sun and Princess of the Moon were both standing in front of King Sombra. Their expressions were that of pure hatred and anger. He saw that the Princess of the Sun, Celestia, was carrying Twilight in her arms. Sombra took one step forward. One moment he was safe, the next, Luna was at his throat. She wielded a large scythe and the blade was as sharp as can be. The littlest contact between Sombra's neck and Luna's weapon was enough to draw blood. He dared not to move or else his head would be taken.

Both Shining and Cadance dashed forward to try and assist King Sombra, but were abruptly stopped from the glare Luna casted upon them. Even though they were puppets being controlled from the shadows, they still had emotions. They simply stood still, frozen in fear. Sombra began to breath heavily. His chest rose and fell more rapidly than usual. He knew his life was at the mercy of the Princess of the Moon. He could feel the raw emotions that emitted from her scythe and the desires to end his life. However, she didn't. It was more of that she couldn't. Sombra, knowing that Luna would have killed him within seconds, used his left hand to restrain her body from moving any further. She grunted from the unexpected resistance. It took her seconds to realize what was keeping her still, as she realized that Sombra's magic was the cause. However, she realized moments too late as Shining and Cadance towered over Luna. They both raised their fists and swung down in unison. The former King and Queen intended to crush Luna's skull with their fists. Celestia couldn't simply stand and watch this atrocity of the dead. With the glow of her horn, she casted forward a blinding light. Both Shining and Cadance recoiled from the sudden intrusion. Their vision couldn't adjust to the sudden light that shone so they were forced to shield their eyes. This had stopped their attack on Luna and she had managed to cut off the shadows that restrained her movements. She kicked herself off the ground to return to her sister's side.

Sombra glared at the two of them. He was clearly outmatched considering his power was still in the process of returning to him. It was coming at an excruciatingly painful rate and he knew that his body would drop before all of it returned. Sombra knew there was only one thing he could do. He gritted his teeth and veins popped out from his temples. His decision came with great frustration. Sombra had never retreated in his life, but he knew that it was the only option at this point.

Sombra pointed his finger at Luna and Celestia and spoke calmy and confidently, "One day, the both of you shall drop by my hands. When you both are gone, I will finish off that purple mare's bloodline and make her apart of my army. I shall rule Equestria whether you agree to it or not." Sombra striked at the air in front of him with his left hand. Suddenly, Sombra, Shining Armor, and Cadance vanished. Luna released the spell that she placed in the area. The light began to return as the mist slowly faded away. The serious and angered expressions of the two changed quickly into one of concern. Celestia looked down at Twilight and held onto her tightly. Luna rushed to examine the purple mare in her sister's arms.

Twilight had bruises and cuts all over her body. They both sensed that her magic was nearly depleted. However, one thing concerned them more than anything - Was she still mentally stable? They knew how bad Twilight was when she began to unravel. At first hand experiences, they both encountered her wicked subconscious taking over and controlling her body. Celestia kissed Twilight's forehead and let out a ragged breath.

"Twilight... You poor thing.." she spoke softly before turning to Luna. "Luna, we're going back home. Also..." her face suddenly turned serious and her entire tone changed into something that complemented her position as the ruler of Equestria, "...we're going to war."

The Aftermath

Twilight awoke suddenly and stared at the ceiling that stood above her. Her vision was blurred. She slowly turned her head side to side, but everything was just a blur of colors. She couldn't make out anything that she saw. When Twilight attempted to sit up, her body refused to move. The sound of bed sheets rustling in an attempt of motion seemed to echo through the room. Besides that, everything else was deathly silent. There were no murmurs that disturbed her. Slowly, Twilight's vision began to become more focused. She could see the light coat of pink paint that covered the walls. Everything seemed so warm and soft. All Twilight could remember was that she was snuggling someone, but she couldn't recall who it was. Her head and body felt heavy, even though she hadn't moved drastically. She felt limp and dead on the soft fabric she laid on. Her eyes rested back on the pink ceiling as everything began to come back to her. Her vision began to blur again. Twilight sniffled. Tears slowly slide the sides of her face as she remembered all that had happened.

Celestia sat down elegantly on the throne chair. She rested her head in her hands and let out a quiet sigh.

"What's wrong, dear sister?" Luna spoke softly to Celestia. She knew that her sister was in great pain after seeing the newly announced Princess in those atrocious conditions.

"Shining Armor and Cadance are now gone. Oh, I can only imagine how Twilight must feel. She would always hide her own emotions to try and please others, but this might be her breaking point. I believe that Twilight is unstable now..."

Celestia looked up and, for a brief moment, locked eyes with Luna. They were forced to restrain Twilight from fear of what she had became and if were still in that subconscious form. Celestia stood from her seat and turned to look at Luna.

"I'm going to go and see if Twilight is awake.." she spoke calm and softly. Without anything else for the pair to say to each other, she left.

Twilight was left alone in her bedroom. She was left to remember all of her painful memories of what had happened. An overwhelming sadness over came the young mare. Twilight could recall watching her older brother die right in front of her. She still had the scent of blood and iron in her nostrils. The feeling of battle was slowly becoming apparent all over her body. Twilight's muscles went from relaxed to pained. As the restraint spell placed upon her faded away and Twilight could move once more, she dared not to. Each and every little motion, even her short ragged breathing, sent a shock wave of pain riveting throughout her body. Tears seemed to endlessly stream down the sides of her face.

With sheer perseverance, Twilight sat up straight. She took note that there were white bandages wrapped around multiple parts of her body. Her right arm was also in a cast from when Cadance broke her arm. Twilight remembered that in vivid detail. The feeling of pain searing through her. Twilight placed her left hand over her heart. There was a short sigh of relief as she came in contact with flesh. There was the faintest memory of there being a hole in her chest. Twilight gripped her shirt tightly as more tears threatened to flood out. However, she held these waterworks in. She mustn't show weakness, not at a critical time like this. Not when she had to comfort her father and mother after they hear of Shining Armor passing away.

Twilight could hear the door to her room open. She didn't even bother to look up and see who was entering her room. The sounds of footsteps became louder as Celestia slowly and cautiously approached Twilight.

"Twilight? Are you okay?" Celestia spoke. There was a hint of caution and anxiety in her voice.

"I... I lost it again, didn't I?" she spoke quietly, barely above a whisper. Even though she was quiet, there was deep sadness in her voice.

Twilight grabbed hold of the soft cotton blanket that rested on her legs. She squeezed the handful she had. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks, wetting the soft fabric in her hands. Her unruly hair covered the surface of her face as she looked down onto the bed as if she were searching for an answer, searching for something to tell her that none of this had happened. Twilight's body jerked from the sudden hand on her shoulder. Celestia sat down next to shaking mare and wrapped her arms around her. Twilight sat still, tears still flowing. They sat in silence for several moments, Celestia holding the emotionally broken Twilight. Celestia couldn't even remember the last time she saw Twilight cry.

Celestia finally released her grasp on Twilight. She moved the purple mare's body so they were facing each other. Their eyes met for a brief moment.

"Twilight, I'm temporarily revoking your duties as a princess. I want you to spend time back in Ponyville with your friends. They know about your condition and...your relatives." Celestia struggled to release the last two words that had been caught in her throat. There was a twinge of guilt that lingered in the back of her mind.

Celestia herself is also currently struggling over the fact that Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are both gone. Her and her sister both felt this strange sensation in the atmosphere for the past weeks, but paid no attention to it. However, their attention snapped to it quickly on the day of the Crystal Empire's "Coup d'etat". This was not the only cause of their acknowledgment. When a fellow immortal falls, such as Princess Cadance, all others could feel her presence disappear. It were as if all the Princess's were spiritually connected to one-another. There was an overwhelming amount of grief that had suddenly erupted form there bodies. It made all-too-much sense that something was wrong when they felt that emotion suddenly cascaded over them.

A sudden question came into contact with Twilight's thoughts. "Princess.. How long have I been asleep?"

There was a slight pause between the two for a brief moment. Celestia had saw how bad a condition her apprentice Princess was, but hadn't expected her to rest for longer than a week.

"Two weeks and four days." Celestia finally managed to muster up enough willpower to tell Twilight the exact amount of time.

The mare's body tensed suddenly. Her jaw went agape as she was processing the five words Celestia had spoke. Has she really been unconscious for two weeks and four days? There was a hard time believing this statement considering the fact that her muscles weren't relaxed what-so-ever. If anything, they were even more sore and constricted than when she was with King Sombra. She closed her mouth and wrapped her fingers in each other as she stared down at the silk purple blanket. Two weeks and four days, huh... She thought to herself.

As Twilight was starting to come to terms with this new knowledge, she felt light-headed. Her entire body felt weak.

"W-what's wrong wi--" Twilight was cut off by the immense sound of her stomach growling. A soft blush overtook her face as she placed her left hand against her belly. She was hungry, of course! There was no way she was being fed in the time she was unconscious. Twilight looked up at Celestia and couldn't hold it in any longer. The pair both broke out into a laughter that seemed to evaporate the entire conversation before hand. It wasn't loud, nor quiet. It was the perfect volume for two ponies who were comfortable being around each other and who knew each other very well. It was a laughter that showed true friendship between the pair. It took both mares several moments to stop laughing. When they had, Celestia patted Twilight's shoulder and smiled.

"How about we get you something to eat? Something small to start off. What would you like?"

"Surprise me." she responded with a smile. Celestia nodded and stood up. She stretched her hand out to Twilight. The mare took her hand as Celestia helped her onto her feet. Twilight's legs wobbled and shook. They felt like jelly. Her arm was wrapped around Celestia's shoulders as she carried Twilight out of the depressive atmospheric room and into the throne room. There, Celestia placed Twilight down on the rather comfortable throne chair. Twilight attempted to protest, saying that this seat was far too inappropriate for her, but was cut off quickly by Luna's hand covering her mouth. Twilight finally conceded with her protests and sat back into the chair. Celestia smiled softly and walked over to where the royal chiefs were.

Luna couldn't muster the courage to bring up a conversation. There was this silent awkwardness that fell between the two. Luna stole small, quick glances at Twilight, silently and secretly evaluating her physical and mental condition. She noted that Twilight was sitting straight up, but still leaning back in the chair. She made no movements such as twitching her hand or bouncing her leg on the ground. She looked calm and collected, very different from when they saw her fighting Sombra. Luna felt sad that she couldn't speak to Twilight, let alone even look at her.

"Luna, I know this is awkward for you. It is for me as well." Twilight turned her head to look at Luna.

"Twilight.." she spoke softly, "How are you feeling? I know this is a lot to take in. Nopony can understand how you feel right now, but we're here for you. If you ever decide you need to talk, cry, or even cuddle, you can come to me. I knew your brother very well, more-so than my sister."

There was a silent pause after Luna had said everything that she wanted. Reluctantly, Luna turned her head to face Twilight. At that moment, the purple mare threw her arms around Luna and bursted into tears. They flowed freely down her cheeks as she held onto the Princess tightly, burying her head at Luna's chest. The Princess of the Moon simply stroked Twilight's mane.

"It's okay Twilight. Crying is acceptable in this situation. Release everything you've held pent up." Luna spoke in the most soft and gentle tone. A sudden warmth filled Twilight's heart, something she hadn't felt since she first saw her relatives before the incident. Luna closed her eyes and began to rock side-to-side ever-so-gently. She began to hum a lullaby that Celestia always hummed whenever Luna was sad. Twilight sniffled, listening very closely to the lullaby. The tune and rhythm was odd. It was something she had never heard of before. The humming sounded as if there were multiple ponies. It felt as if a choir was standing right in front of her, singing only for her.

The sound of Luna's hums began to slowly and softly die off as the song was coming to an end. Twilight, at this point, had stopped crying and was now sitting silently on Luna's lap. She was curled up with her arms wrapped around Luna's abdomen. There were stains on her face from where the tears aggressively flowed. Celestia returned moments later and smiled at the sight. The plate she was carrying for Twilight was placed on a small table that rested next to her throne chair. Luna tapped on Twilight's shoulder to get her attention. The mare sitting on her lap lifted up her head.

"Your food is here, Twilight." Luna smiled and patted the little mare's head. Twilight nodded softly and moved so she was back to sitting on Celestia chair. When she looked down at the plate of food next to her, there was a wave of nostalgia that hit her hard. The only contents on the plate consisted of a egg sandwich cut in half. However, her mother always made this for her when she was in an angry mood. It was, by far, her most favorite meal. She picked up the triangular sandwich and took a small bite. The egg was cooked to the point where it almost melted in your mouth. It was lightly glazed over with mayonnaise. The bread was soft and warmed up from the freshly made egg. It tasted heavenly. Tears swelled in Twilight's eyes as she continued to eat.

"Celestia.. How did you--" she was cut off when Princess Celestia raised her right hand up.

"Your mother told me. She told me what kind of food you like and what to make depending on your mood. I thought this would help cheer you up." Celestia smiled and patted the little mare's head and spoke softly, "I'm sorry to leave you alone Twilight, but I must discuss something extremely important with my dear sister."

Luna stood up and smiled down at Twilight. She turned her head and began walking with her sister out of the throne room and down the hall to another room. Twilight sighed softly and finished half of her meal. She stared down at her fingers. I should go down to Ponyville and tell everyone I'm okay. They must be worried sick. She had subconsciously picked up the other piece of her sandwich and began to eat. It really did taste heavenly.

Moments pass after she had finished eating her sandwich. She sat on the throne chair, cross-legged. Twilight really did want to go visit her friends, but she didn't know how to approach them properly. They would assault her with all of their worries all at once. She knew she'd be overwhelmed by all of their emotions and have it end with her bursting into tears. Oh Celestia! A thought had struck her. What about Spike?! She had just realized how Spike much be feeling. After all, Twilight was basically his mother considering she raised him from his hatchling years. She stood up. Spike wasn't in her room when she awoke, nor was he in the throne room. There was once place where he was most likely at. Twilight walked out of the room and down the hallway. She was basically jogging at this point because of her urge to tell Spike she was okay.

Twilight faced the old, run-down door. The wood was somewhat rotting and the paint was chipping off. It really stood out when compared to its neighboring doors and the painted wall it rested on. The sounds of grunts could be heard on the other side of the door. Twilight placed her hand on the handle and slowly turned the sphere counter-clockwise. It clicked open as she pushed it forward in tiny inches. Her head poked out from the now cracked open doorway as she looked inside. The room was dark. The only thing lighting up the area was a small oil lamp that sat in the center. There was the vague silhouette of somepony on the far end wall. You could see his fists pushing forward and his kicks high in the air. The sound of his ragged, worn-out breath was very apparent. The shadow of the figure stopped moving as he turned his head to look at the doorway.

"Twilight? Is that you?" he spoke softly despite his lack of breath.

"Mhm. It's me, Spike." she smiled and flipped on the light switch to the room. Spike was forced to cover his eyes from the sudden assault of light.

"Ah! You could have warned me first, Twilight!" he half laughed and half groaned.

Twilight could see all of the sweat that covered the teen dragon's body. His grey tank top was soaked with sweat and stuck onto his body tightly. Spike sighed and sat down on the floor cross legged. He picked up his water bottle and chugged down the contents half way before stopping and putting it down.

"Are you okay, Twilight? You know you can tell me anything, right? I mean, you did raise me after all." he smiled softly up at Twilight before standing up again. "I'm sorry I couldn't visit you in your room. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna told me to not stay in your room. Of course, I refused for the first few days, but they forced me out." Twilight sighed softly and patted the dragon's head.

"You silly little thing. I'm fine, Spike. I know that you must have been worried about me, but I'm truly fine. I was planning on heading down to Ponyville. Would you like to come with me?"

The dragon nodded softly. "Sure! Just.. Let me take a shower first, all right?"

"Erm, I need to take one as well. You can go first though." she smiled and picked up the oil lamp to turn it off. When she turned around, Spike was all ready gone. However, Twilight began to feel nauseous. Everything in her vision seemed to twist and turn, distorting right in front of her. Her legs suddenly lost all of their strength and wobbled violently. She tried to keep her balance and stand, but they both gave out and she was forced onto her knees. Twilight gripped the sides of her head. It felt as though the darkness around her was playing with her mind.

Just as sudden as it had happened, it all stopped. Her legs regained their strength as she stood up again. The feeling of nausea vanished and she felt fine. Twilight decided to keep this in quiet so she doesn't worry everypony more-so than they all ready are. As Twilight walked down the hallway to her room, she couldn't shake off the feeling of somepony watching her. She felt awkward and even scared, but shrugged it off as a side effect of her just awakening from her long slumber. However, in the deepest part of Twilight's heart, there lied something malicious, a curse even. Twilight would soon have to fight her own battle. An internal battle of would or wouldn't consume her. A battle that decided her fate.