Shadows of Equestriaby Silver InkwellChaptersReflectionsMirrorsDoorsPathwaysInto DarknessTaken to the Castle/ Waiting in the DungeonTalking with ShadowsShadows of the PastFinaleAmbush/ Atatck/ CapturedReflectionsChapter One: Reflections Twilight Sparkle smiled as she went down the hallways of the Royal Canterlot Castle, she was glad because she had all her friends here and she was getting to do something very important and regal, and she would get to meet the great wizard Star Swirl again! When she first heard the news she literally squealed in delight and jumped around with joy and cheer. She didn’t know why she was coming back here to meet Star Swirl, but it must be important. But things had been differently ever since the defeat of Nightmare Shadow several months ago. She didn’t know exactly why he wanted to meet her, and she was slightly nervous about that, but due to some calming techniques she was now ready. He was waiting for her in the throne room for her when she came in. “Well hello there,” he said, “Thank you for joining me today, what I have to say and show you is very important, so much so that it will change your life and hopefully as I want, also change the way that you think and perceive too.” “I know Princess Celestia told me so, but where is she exactly?” “She is on matters of royal and official matters, she will not be her today because of how busy she is, sorry to say, but come now, on with the lesson,” he said walking over to a mirror and then pointing at it very simply and then said, “Tell me, what do you see here?” “My reflection?” she said uncertain of what he could be getting at. “I’m sorry, I thought that we were going to be talking about something royal or regal.” “This is technically, but what it really is, well its’ even more important officially. And as for your answer, you are not completely wrong or right either. For you see light has to take time to get to the mirror and your eyes and then also bounce off the mirror to your eyes, and so in reality whenever you look in a mirror you’re just seeing the slightly delayed version of the past, just like the stars that we see at night, they were, or may still be bright balls of light and energy or heat, or they might be just a reminder of the cold dead past instead. And that’s why no matter what you must remember this lesson, the past does not define you, only the actions that you take now will determine your future and destiny, so you must promise me that no matter what you see, no matter what you experience or feel, you won’t let it change who you really are, ever. You can’t ever let it get deep down inside of you, you just have to accept it as what it could have been, but something that is not, do you understand?” “I think so,” Twilight said, “But I am not so sure, I’m still confused, I mean what are you going to show me exactly? And are we going somewhere?” “In a manner of speaking,” he said, “To where it does not matter, and to what we will do, that also does not matter since I don’t know, but what does matter is the journey, not the end or goal. But come now, take my hooves.” And with that said Twilight grabbed his hooves as she was teleported away into a whole new world that was completely different from her own that she knew. “Where are we?” she said looking around at the dream landscape. “In a land between light and darkness, between imagination and reality, between that which is true, and the lies that we know. Between that which can never be, that which is, and that which was. A place that has no start or end, and yet contains every start and end. A world without limits, without rules, one that has no chaos or order, one that has a fixed point in time, yet no time at all. And whether you be in the past, present or future, no pony can tell but few. We are somewhere between being asleep and awake, between the land of the dead and the land of the living, we are not quite fully in the dream lands, yet somehow we will still yet be like as if we were in a dream, real or not. We are not on the Celestial plane or the Lunar plane of reality and existence either. It’s a place where we can see and touch and smell and taste and hear, but not one that we can exactly change without it changing us either, because for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This place has many names and yet no real or true name at all, it has everything, and yet still nothing as well. It is the place where you can learn all, or perhaps nothing instead too. Basically this place, it’s what the mind sees and wants it to be, for thought can be stronger than reality, and so perception really does play tricks on us, just like ponies who use mind control on you. But what you will see here is no trick, no illusion, no lie, it’s not a dream but neither is it real either, it can be only that which you want it to be or see, a nightmare, a reminder, a lesson. Whatever, but whatever it is, it will change you in some small tiny little way no matter what, whether it be your thoughts, ideas, language, action, hopes, fears, or even dreams, it will change you, I know that it certainly did for Luna and Celestia, but then again, what they saw was much more different than what you will see, for every pony sees something else that is unique, and not even I could show all of them to you by the laws of this place, but maybe I could tell you sometime, after all, I have written about thousands of alternate realities in my journals and books, but even I still have not named or visited them all yet. But please don’t ask anything just yet, for all will be explained very shortly, for you see, what you will experience next, it will just be a reflection of what you could have been had you just made other choices, so just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride,” and with that said the landscape started to change. MirrorsChapter Two: Mirrors Suddenly it was no longer just blue and black and gray with stars, now it also had walls and rows and columns of mirrors that were all lined up perfectly. “What are these?” Twilight said pointing at them as they zoomed by. “These? Well these are all the representations of ways to other realms and other universes and timelines too, each door is different, even if slightly. For each door has something very different about it, even if only slightly. But many of these do not pertain to you, so don’t worry, but just so you know it does have every known gateway here, even to the human worlds too,” he said as the mirror that lead to their human world zipped on by very fast. “But how?” Twilight said, “How can this be? And also, did you say that this place had laws? I thought that you said there was no order here.” “There is a very big difference between order and laws and rules and chaos, this place doesn’t have order or chaos because there is no pony to try to enforce order, but the way that it is set out makes it chaotic, but since there is no pony around ever if at all then it can’t be called chaotic either. But yes, it does have rules and laws which would be very bad to break, one of them involves not changing the world that we visit in any way, we can’t affect their future by telling them something that they didn’t or should know. Another is that you can’t have any interactions with other ponies, so no talking or kissing or killing or anything else, but this rule isn’t ever enforced that much, well except for matters of death and love, then it gets very serious. Another thing, you can’t die here right now, but when we go to the other worlds you won’t and can’t exactly die unless you change their world first, and you can’t feel pain either unless you also break the rules first. Basically don’t break any of the rules and we will stay invisible and be just fine, okay?” he said. “Alright, fine then,” she said still somewhat confused at all this. “Good then,” he said, “Oh, and before I forget do not, I repeat, do not tell your friends about any of this, if they found out about this, who knows what could happen, what would, I don’t want to deal with any of that so just be quiet about it because not even Celestia has told any pone else her secret, not even her prized star pupils and students, so you can see just how important this is, oaky, alright?” he said looking at her with a crazy insane look on his face. “Alright, fine then,” she said, “But which one of these mirrors will we explore today?” she said looking at each unique individual mirror individually. “Mirror?” he said, “Who said anything about a mirror? I didn’t.” “But… but you said-,” Twilight tried to start saying. “I said that these mirrors represent a reflection of time, what was, what is, what will be, and also what might have been too, but did I ever say that they were the actual gateway into another world? No, I didn’t, they just contain images and pictures and so on and so forth of every world, and any pony can choose one and see another’s reality and world, like Celestia’s for example, but they can’t ever really go through it into that world, no, that’s both too stupid and dangerous. Instead there is another much safer way to use, doors.” And with that said the mirrors were replaced with doors. DoorsChapter Three: Doors “But if every mirror was a representation or reflection of real gateways, then how come the mirror to our human world was still there?” she said. He merely just laughed at this, “Oh Twilight, there is always an exception to every rule, even this one. But come, it’s time to show you a whole new world. One with no direction at all.” And with that said they entered a very dark black door then. PathwaysChapter Four: Pathways “Where are we exactly?” Twilight said as they walked down a very dark black pathway. “We are on our way to one of the most detailed pathways of this door, for the mirrors show the worlds, the doors lead to them, but the pathways, they are the details that make up different worlds, I mean after all, if there is another huge big wide vast world with a major difference, there are going to many small differences in other ponies too, the path we are on now, well let’s just say that t’s the one that you need to see, and the one that I will guide you on too, and just in case you were wondering I am here for your safety.” “Of course you are,” she said, “But where will this take us to exactly?” “Who knows?” he said, “It could be a castle or a house or something very important or not, it could be small or big, tiny or large, little or huge, gigantic or tall, I really don’t know, but it will be somewhere that you need to be so that you may see what is really important, after all, the pathway never ever lies.” And with that said they went on as they slowly started to see stuff pop up. “Are we entering the world?” Twilight said looking around at the houses. “Yes, we are,” he said and with that said they suddenly saw a castle. Into DarknessChapter Five: Into Darkness “So it is a castle,” he said looking at it, “How strange, Celestia and Luna also saw castles too, but not this exact one, this one would be yours I think.” “But it’s different, it’s not the same, it can’t be,” she said looking at it. “Oh, but it is,” he said pointing to the huge large wide vast black castle, that stood before her now, “What you see is not a lie or a dream, it is very real.” “But why would it be black, and also look so ominous too?” she said. “Well let’s go inside and see, shall we?” he said with a smile on his face. “I don’t see how you’re smiling about any of this,” Twilight said with some slight fear in her voice as she slowly followed him to the horrible sight before her now, “I mean don’t you see how scary looking this castle is?” “I do, but if you think this is scary, just wait until you see your home town, or rather, what’s left of it, if my knowledge is correct then you destroyed it.” “But I didn’t,” she said turning to look at the town which lay in ruins before her, and there was no pony to be seen at all, and the sky, it was black, and there was only a slight hint of orange and red and purple on the horizon. “No, you did not, but she did,” he said emphasizing almost every word very slowly. “Wait, who’s she?” Twilight said as he entered the castle, “WAIT!” she said trying to catch up with him, “You didn’t answer my question yet!” “And I won’t, you’ll just have to see her for yourself otherwise you’ll never believe me, and just in case you think I’m trying to dodge or avoid the question, I’m not, I’m just pushing it aside and ignoring it instead,” he said. “Isn’t that like the same exact thing?” she said. “That all depends upon how you look at it,” he said. And with that said they entered the throne room of the castle where another version of herself sat, but it wasn’t an exact image or replica, she was very… different instead, she wore battle armor and had a royal red cape, and her crown, it wasn’t an element of harmony, no, it was also very different too. And her eyes, they were red instead of purple, and they had green mist around them, almost like she was possessed with the madness and power of dark magic. “Who is that?” Twilight said looking at her with some slight horror. “That is you, or rather, a different version of you, one that is evil, but what you see now is just a reflection, an image, she can’t see us any more than a blind pony can see, but don’t worry, she can’t hear us either or touch us. The only way that she ever could interact with us is if we broke the rules, but I’m sure that won’t happen, will it Twilight?” he said looking at her. “Sure thing, right,” she said dazed at this new sight, “So then, what happens now? What am I supposed to see? Just this or is there more instead?” “Just wait,” he said, “Don’t worry, there is more here to see.” And with that said she watched herself stand up as a guard entered the room. “Queen Midnight, there is an urgent matter that must be dealt with.” “Well, what is it?” she said with a yawn, “It had better be important.” “It is,” he said, “We found yet another traitor, and we have them here.” “Really?” Midnight said standing up and going over to him, “Who is it?” “I think that you should know him, he’s the captain of Celestia’s Guard.” “Flash Sentry?” Midnight said with surprise and shock, “Surely it cannot be.” “It is,” the guard said clapping his hooves together as eight guards dragged in Flash Sentry who was desperately trying in vain to escape from their grasp. “Well hello there, Flash Sentry,” Midnight said slowly walking up to him, “My, it is very good to finally see you here before me, because now you can pay.” “If you’re going to kill me then do it already, if not then don’t bother with the useless idle talk, I don’t need to hear it. But no matter what you do my idea and what I represent will live on, you will not win, you will never win.” “Oh, but I already have, but I’m not going to kill you, not yet at least, that will come later, first I will make an example out of you, how about I torture you with your worst nightmares, or would you rather prefer seeing dreams instead? The choice is yours, you can either cooperate with me, or not.” “I will never betray the true real princess of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle.” She growled very angrily, “I TOLD YOU TO NEVER USE THAT NAME AGAIN! AND I HAVE TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT IT IS NOT MY NAME ANYMORE! TWILIGHT SPARKLE DIED WHEN I CAME IN, WHEN MIDNIGHT CAME IN! NO ONE USES THAT NAME ANYMORE, AND EVEN FOR THOSE THAT DID KNOW THAT NAME, THEY WOULD NOT DARE EVER USE IT AGAIN!” “Ah, but it is your name, or rather was, and still technically is, but there are still those who do know your real true name and will still use it.” “It’s time for you to learn a lesson, I hope that you enjoy being a statue Flash, because you’re going to be one for a very long time.” And with that said she lowered her horn and spread out her wings as she used her very powerful dark magic to turn Flash Sentry into stone then. “I know that you can hear me,” she said, “And I just want you to know that I changed my mind about your death, I think that this is far worse instead.” And with that said she smiled and then went to go sit back down on her throne and then she said, “Take him to the town square and let the ponies see him.” “NO!” Twilight screamed out when she saw Flash Sentry being turned into stone, but it was no use, she couldn’t change it, and luckily enough for her Midnight couldn’t see or hear her, but soon enough she would. “Wait, did you hear something?” Midnight said. The guards shook their heads as Twilight started to cry as Star Swirl went over to her and comforted her by putting his hoof on her shoulder with no words being needed to be spoken. “Okay, now I know that I heard something.” “Are you sure my Queen? You could be just hearing things not to question your sanity or judgement, and please forgive my manners and rudeness.” “You are forgiven, but I am not hearing things, someone or something is here that should not be, the only problem is that I have to find them.” “You didn’t break any rules, did you?” Star Swirl said. “I tried to, I wanted to, I wanted to save him, and now I just feel so bad.” “Well stop, your feelings are doing this, she’s staring to hear you.” “But I can’t stop, I just want to cry, I want to save him, free him, I just wish that I could change the past, just change what happened right now.” “No, don’t say that, don’t ever say that here,” Star Swirl said, but it was too late, they were suddenly no longer invisible and unheard anymore. “Well what do we have here?” Midnight said looking at them, “It seems that we have intruders within the castle, but I shall take care of the now very shortly my guards, you don’t need to worry about doing anything at all.” And with that said they nodded as she slowly approached them. “Forgive us oh great and wise queen, we were just hoping and wishing to gaze upon your great glory without incurring any of your wrath or fury.” Midnight smiled very coldly and cruelly, “Oh, thank you for the compliment, but you really need to work on lying better, and now that I think about it you seem very familiar to me, have I ever seen you around here before?” she said going around him as she slowly gazed at his every detail very carefully. “No, I’m pretty sure that we haven’t met before, it’s very highly unlikely.” “Yet you still seem so familiar to me…” she said, and that was when she finally looked down and noticed Twilight there, “And as for her… she looks just like I used to be, I demand an explanation right now from you as to how this could ever possibly be, and don’t try to lie to me otherwise I will know if you do it.” “We’re from an alternate universe and she’s the duplicate copy of yourself that has the exact same image because alternate universes reflect choices and actions made by every pony, and we were just here to observe and then leave, but Twilight here decided that she wanted to change something here and so as a result things here did start to change around her as a result of her thoughts.” That was of course Star Swirl’s response, brutal honesty to everything. Midnight looked at him very closely for a very long time to the point where the silence became very awkward and to where the tension could be cut with a knife bef9ore she finally responded, “I believe that you are telling the truth.” “Wait, you actually believe me?” Star Swirl said in shock and surprise. “Well of course I do, I am very good at telling who is lying to me, and who isn’t. And I know that you weren’t even trying to lie to me when you talked, which by the way, few ponies who know they face punishment for a crime, well they rarely will ever tell the truth, but you, well you didn’t seem to fear me or telling the truth, even if to me, and I have to wonder why that is so for you exactly.” “I am a very firm believer that the truth should be told no matter what.” “Yes, I agree, but I also believe in many more other things as well too.” “Like what? Rule with fear and power and not love and kindness instead? Making sure that no pony will ever dare disobey or rebel against you? If you really truly think this, then you are the only fool within this room.” “HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!” Midnight shouted, “But to answer your remark yes, I do believe in all of that, and is it really all that so bad as you say it is?” “No, it’s worse, and that is because you see what you have around you now, but you have forgotten what you have lost too, family, friends, loved ones.” “I lost nothing, but now you shall pay for your remarks, guards, take them away to the dungeons until I can decide what to do with them, now please.” And with that said they started to move forward towards them, but that was when everything started to go very wrong, and it started when the windows within the castle suddenly exploded as an attack suddenly happened. Taken to the Castle/ Waiting in the DungeonChapter Seven: Taken to the Castle/ Waiting in the Dungeon “Well this is just great,” Twilight rambled on to herself, “You managed to not only get us captured and put in this very cold dungeon, but you have also managed to somehow not get us home or talk your way through this.” “Calm down Twilight, I have everything under control,” he said very calmly. “Calm down? How can you expect me to calm down at a time like this?” “Honestly I really don’t know what method work out best for you.” “Why are we here? Why do I have to see this?” “I find that talking to myself works out the best sometimes…” “Hello? Did you hear my questions at all?” Twilight said. “Yes, of course, well to answer them I will tell you, you are here to see what you might have become Twilight, and like it or not, this is very real for some ponies. And neither of us can change their lives, we can only see it from far away.” “But I did try to change it, and now we’re stuck here,” she said. “Exactly, and that is why you always listen to me first.” And with that said there was a very long profound silence in the room now. “You know it’s quite boring in here only if you think it is so,” he said. She remained quiet, “When I’m bored I always try to invent new spells and songs, for example, I making one that causes lots of explosions and stuff.” Twilight still didn’t respond, “I’m also making one to pick locks.” She still didn’t respond and he was ready to do something very drastic, but then suddenly she snapped her head up so quickly that it was a surprise. “I’ve got it, I finally figured out how we can leave!” Twilight said. “That’s very highly odd and strange,” Star Swirl said, “Usually I’m the one that does that, but if you must go on explaining your plan to me then.” “We have to change something here right? Well what if we change it to make it better and not just the same and regular? Would that work out for us?” “I guess so,” Star Swirl said, “But we would need to leave here first.” “Well then, use your new experimental spells to get out, so let’s go!” “I don’t know if they’ll work out,” he said. “Just try to do it.” But before they could a guard came in and then took them to the throne room. Talking with ShadowsChapter Eight: Talking with Shadows “Well hello there, strange ponies,” the stallion who sat on the throne said, “I must ask you who you are exactly and why you are here too.” Twilight stared at him, it couldn’t be him, could it? “You seem shocked and surprised to see me, I don’t blame you.” “No, you’re not real, you can’t be! You were defeated!” Twilight said. “I don’t think so, otherwise I wouldn’t be her today,” he said. “I know who you are, but the Sombra I knew couldn’t be you ever!” King Sombra smiled, “The Sombra that you knew? That’s very curious, by your dialogue I would guess that you’re from an alternate universe, correct?” “That is correct,” Star Swirl said, “And forgive Twilight, but in her world you were a very evil king, but here I can see that you clearly are not however.” “That is right, but if you are to understand my story you first must meet the former rulers of this land, Celestia, Luna, you can come out now.” And with that said two ponies who looked like the princesses came out. “Twilight? Is that really you?” they said coming closer to her now. “No, she’s from an alternate universe,” King Sombra said, “She’s not our Twilight, not your Twilight, and she’s also not your enemy either.” “Oh,” Luna said disappointed, “That’s too bad then,” “What’s up with her?” Twilight said as she walked away very slowly. “She’s the one who feels responsible for creating Midnight,” Celestia said. “What do you mean by that exactly?” Twilight said. “In this universe my sister admitted to me that she was considering to rebel against me, but she didn’t go insane, instead she tried to do something else completely different, she decided to corrupt my students instead.” “I said that I was sorry for what I did,” Luna said. “I know sister,” Celestia said walking over to her. “And as for me, well Luna managed to talk me out of my madness for she was the only who really truly understood my heart, and she was the one who made all my darkness and shadows vanish, but now it seems that the madness and my power that I used to have now reside within the former body of Twilight, for now she has a completely new different name to separate herself now.” “So you created shadows and nightmares, versions that are far worse that we have then,” Star Swirl said, “Excellent, let’s go on now then.” “And we have been trying to stop here ever since the Shadow War.” “Or at least I have,” Luna said to Celestia said, “She won’t listen to any pony anymore, even me but she used to before she went insane.” “I know how to defeat her,” Star Swirl said, “But it would mean a very great sacrifice indeed, one that even I would never try to make at all however.” “What is it? How can we make Twilight normal once ore again?” “Do you know the names Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Applejack, and also Rainbow Dash?” Star Swirl said. “You mean Midnight’s person fashion designer, torturer, business pony, and also her most loyal royal guard?” Celestia said. “Well never mind about that idea of using them,” he said, “Very well then, if you are to bring Twilight back to normal some pony will need to take her curse, they will need to take her power, her darkness, her evil and shadows.” “That does sound very horrible,” Luna said, “But I am willing to do it.” “No sister, I cannot allow you to do this,” Celestia said. “Then let me,” Sombra said, “After all, I am the king of this empire, and since the Crystal Empire is the only thing holding back Midnight I think that I have the final say, and you cannot stop me my very lovely dear wife.” “WIFE?” Twilight said shocked and surprised as they kissed and then Sombra laughed and said, “Yes, we married shortly after I was purged of evil.” “Oh, I can’t believe that this is actually happening,” Twilight said. “You better, because our Twilight has cause pain and chaos making despair and sorrow for all ponies for far too long now, and we will do anything to make her normal and regular again, even if that means that we will have to die.” “I doubt that it will come to that,” Celestia said to all of them. “Well then, why don’t you go do that? After all, we can’t leave just yet.” “Do you really think that we should?” Celestia said. “Trust me when I say that with all of you that Midnight won’t stand a chance.” And with that said they nodded, “Very well then, we leave at once.” And with that said they all left the castle to go to Midnight now. Shadows of the PastChapter Nine: Shadows of the Past Before we get to their story with Midnight let us first go back in time to really truly fully understand what happened exactly to make this possible. Luna was very angry at her sister, but she knew that she couldn’t act out by letting the nightmare forces control her, no, she would have to do something much better. But what? The answer came very soon enough. She could get her revenge by corrupting her students of course. And with that in her mind she smiled as she started her plan. All the other students had failed in some way, Sunset Shimmer just ran away, Trixie never was accepted, and Twilight Velvet wasn’t quite good enough either. No unicorn was, well all except for Twilight Sparkle of course. She was perfect, and soon enough, she did corrupt her. She told her that Celestia would want her to listen to her advice, and soon enough she even eventually convinced her (through a song) that if she listened to Celestia that a very horrible and terrible fate would come through to the lands, but that was sort of the truth since a very terrible and horrible fate did come eventually, but it came from the words of Luna herself instead. Where once she had been nervous and shy and afraid, now she stood very strong and brave, but her desire for power was just too much. And in her desire she went insane just like Sunset Shimmer. And so it was that she became crazy and insane and eventually became evil. But as for King Sombra, well it was also due to Luna’s words. And why was that? Well because his heart was dark and black as night of course. I would tell you more, but let’s just say that it was very intense. Oh, you want to know the dialogue? Very well then, as you wish. “Sister, how can we defeat this King?” Luna said looking at the reports the mail pony had just brought in about news from the Crystal Empire. “Together of course,” and with that said they went there. “Have you come to challenge me?” Sombra said once they got there. “We have, your reign of terror has gone on for far too long now.” “Oh, it has only begun,” he said to Celestia smiling as he attacked. The battle was very intense, but eventually Luna gained the advantage. “You can’t stop me, no pony ever can or will,” he said. “Yes, I can, because I know what pain you feel.” “You know nothing of my pain,” Sombra said. “Oh, I know full too well,” Luna said stepping closer to him and then kissed him, and then suddenly the darkness drained out of him. “That was very interesting,” he said with a smile, “Thanks for that.” “You’re welcome, and it’s not your fault you didn’t recognize who you really and truly were, but now you do,” and with that said they dragged the unconscious form of Celestia through the air since Sombra had knocked her out in the fight. “If you listen to Celestia a great and terrible horrible fate will meet Equestria.” “What does that mean exactly?” Twilight said with some slight fear. “Chaos and pain and sorrow and despair will rule these lands.” “Surely this cannot be, Celestia cares for me like my own mother.” “She does, but she does not have the true insight that I do of you.” “So what are you saying then? That I should leave her?” “Yes, and come join me, I will be your teacher now.” “Well okay then, I just hope that you won’t be disappointed in me.” “Trust me child, I won’t ever be,” Luna said with a very devious smile. “Celestia would have you believe that I am not equal to her, but I am,” Luna said, “In fact I think that I may be even much stronger than her.” “Very well then, if you say so,” Twilight said going back to work then. “Twilight! You have to give up this crazy quest for power!” “NEVER!” Twilight said, “AND YOU CANNOT STOP ME! AND OH, BY THE WAY, MY NAME IS NOT TWILIGHT SPARKLE! IT IS MIDNIGHT SPARKLE NOW!” And with that said she started to attack Luna, and she eventually had to retreat with tears on her face because of her actions, and that was why Twilight had taken over Canterlot and why any resistance was still in the empire. But of course these were and are still just mixed up memories of the past, they are still just echoes, they are not real, they’re just a reflection, just shadows. And they were all the memories that Luna lived through each and every day, but I think that is enough of the past, let us get back to the story now. FinaleChapter Ten: Midnight Ascension Midnight smiled to herself, so much power that she had. And yet still no true real friends either. So while she thought that she had everything, but she didn’t. Not really, not truly. Chapter Eleven: The Darkness Rises Twilight had come to power with many forces, and it was those that she used when the group came to attack her, in fact she even yawned with boredom and sighed at their tiny little attempt and sent them into a dream. “Good night,” she said smiling, “And I hope that you have very good dreams.” Chapter Twelve: Nightmares They didn’t, they went through all their worst nightmares instead. Sombra saw Celestia dying, Twilight saw Midnight, and Star Swirl, he already knew his and was ready to face it when he saw his wife die again. Luna also saw Midnight and so did Celestia. But eventually they all got through it. Chapter Thirteen: Shadows “If this is a dream, then why does it feel so real?” Twilight said. “Because it is,” Star Swirl said, “You just have to wake up, all of you, right now,” and with that said they all tried to do so, and then they did eventually. Chapter Fourteen: A Light in The Darkness “HOW DID YOU EVER ESCAPE?” Midnight said once she saw that they were awake. “Because of me, and now it is time for you to change.” And with that said Midnight screamed as she flew at them, but that was when Sombra topped her and took her magic, Celestia screamed in protest, but it was far too late as his last words were, “I love you,” and then it was over. “It’s so good to finally have my power back again,” he said smiling. And that was when Luna and Celestia fought him using the elements of harmony, but as he vanished Luna saw a spark of light within him. And then when they eventually found his broken horn they broke it because of Twilight’s advice which was, “Destroy it before it causes any problems for you.” And they did so, and quite very well too. Chapter Fifteen: A Seed of Light “Thank you for your help, for now there is light in the kingdom now,” Celestia said as repairs went around the whole entire kingdom. “You’re welcome,” he said, “But I’m just glad to see that there is joy now instead of pain and sorrow and despair and chaos here. But we really must go, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t visit sometime very soon. And with that said they turned away from them. Chapter Sixteen: A Spark of Hope “Do you really think that they’ll be okay?” Twilight said as Star Swirl opened a portal for them. “Yes, they have a spark and seed of both hope and light.” And with that said they watched as Twilight hugged every pony. And with that they turned and left. Chapter Seventeen: The Road/ Pathway of Gray “Where are we now exactly?” Twilight said as they walked the very gray road and pathway. “A road that is best not ever mentioned here, except to say that not everything is black and white,” and with that said he was silent. Chapter Eighteen: The Road/ Pathway Not Taken “The road of gray always represents the road and pathway not taken,” he said, “And this reality was one of yours that could have been just as all others.” “What’s the worst version of Equestria you have seen so far?” “There are far too many to name and count.” And with that said he went on. Chapter Nineteen: Choice “You see choices are important because they shape our reality and future, and they are influenced by everything around us, mentors, teachers, even friends and family too, and now the only question left is this, what will you do with this new information? Will you change and improve or not? Will you still stay the same? Will you let it shape your very character and personality as well?” Chapter Twenty: Destiny His question echoed in her mind and then she said this, “No, I make my own choices, and this will change nothing, but thank you for teaching me.” And with that said he smiled, “That was the whole entire point, so that you could realize just how truly important you really are to us and this land.” And with that said the lesson was over and they returned to Equestria. But the lesson and shadows of that other universe would always remain there forever, but Twilight wouldn’t ever let it change or affect her. And so the Shadows of Equestria lived on in the darkness as they should. And Twilight, she only ever improved as a hero also should too. Ambush/ Atatck/ CapturedChapter Six: Ambush/ Attack/ Captured “What the-?” Star Swirl said when the ponies crashed through the window. “QUEEN MIDNIGHT SURRENDER NOW OR PREPARE TO FIGHT!” “I would much rather fight thank you very much,” she said smiling as she picked up several weapons with her magic and defended every attack by every pony in the room whether it was magical, physical, or from the air, she was good, too good. “Oh crap,” Star Swirl said, “That’s the problem with Alicorns, they’re too over powered or too Mary Stu or Gary Stu, in this case Mary though because of her gender, she’s female, but I can only hope and guess that in the end that there will be some weakness that we Can exploit from her then.” “WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” Twilight shouted as the chaos went around her and the attacks only ever grew more intense and violent. “Oh nothing much, but Twilight, here’s the plan now, we go with them because I have a feeling and sense that we would be much safer with them instead.” “Can’t we just leave and come back?” Twilight said fearfully. “No, we have to stay until things go back to normal or change again.” “I was afraid that you were going to say that,” she said. “Come on,” he said, “Let’s play our part now.” And with that said he calmly waited until the phrase, “RETREAT!” was said and then walked up to one of the ponies and followed them outside. The pony tried to get away, but it was no use and in vain because of his magic. “What do you want?” the stallion said turning to them. “Simple, take us to your leader and say that you captured us,” Star Swirl said with a bright cheery smile on his face holding his hooves out in front of him. “Huh?” the pony said very confused as to what was going on now exactly. “Look, we’re not spies or part of your rebellion, we’re just two ponies who want to talk to your leader, and as a bonus one of us should look very familiar to one of your leaders, so please just lead the way or else I will make you do it.” “Well okay then, but don’t try any tricks on me,” the stallion said. “How do you know that I haven’t already?” Star Swirl said. The pony looked like he was ready to answer but then decided to remain silent instead, and so that was why they were willingly captured and thus soon came across a completely different and new castle for them.
ReflectionsChapter One: Reflections Twilight Sparkle smiled as she went down the hallways of the Royal Canterlot Castle, she was glad because she had all her friends here and she was getting to do something very important and regal, and she would get to meet the great wizard Star Swirl again! When she first heard the news she literally squealed in delight and jumped around with joy and cheer. She didn’t know why she was coming back here to meet Star Swirl, but it must be important. But things had been differently ever since the defeat of Nightmare Shadow several months ago. She didn’t know exactly why he wanted to meet her, and she was slightly nervous about that, but due to some calming techniques she was now ready. He was waiting for her in the throne room for her when she came in. “Well hello there,” he said, “Thank you for joining me today, what I have to say and show you is very important, so much so that it will change your life and hopefully as I want, also change the way that you think and perceive too.” “I know Princess Celestia told me so, but where is she exactly?” “She is on matters of royal and official matters, she will not be her today because of how busy she is, sorry to say, but come now, on with the lesson,” he said walking over to a mirror and then pointing at it very simply and then said, “Tell me, what do you see here?” “My reflection?” she said uncertain of what he could be getting at. “I’m sorry, I thought that we were going to be talking about something royal or regal.” “This is technically, but what it really is, well its’ even more important officially. And as for your answer, you are not completely wrong or right either. For you see light has to take time to get to the mirror and your eyes and then also bounce off the mirror to your eyes, and so in reality whenever you look in a mirror you’re just seeing the slightly delayed version of the past, just like the stars that we see at night, they were, or may still be bright balls of light and energy or heat, or they might be just a reminder of the cold dead past instead. And that’s why no matter what you must remember this lesson, the past does not define you, only the actions that you take now will determine your future and destiny, so you must promise me that no matter what you see, no matter what you experience or feel, you won’t let it change who you really are, ever. You can’t ever let it get deep down inside of you, you just have to accept it as what it could have been, but something that is not, do you understand?” “I think so,” Twilight said, “But I am not so sure, I’m still confused, I mean what are you going to show me exactly? And are we going somewhere?” “In a manner of speaking,” he said, “To where it does not matter, and to what we will do, that also does not matter since I don’t know, but what does matter is the journey, not the end or goal. But come now, take my hooves.” And with that said Twilight grabbed his hooves as she was teleported away into a whole new world that was completely different from her own that she knew. “Where are we?” she said looking around at the dream landscape. “In a land between light and darkness, between imagination and reality, between that which is true, and the lies that we know. Between that which can never be, that which is, and that which was. A place that has no start or end, and yet contains every start and end. A world without limits, without rules, one that has no chaos or order, one that has a fixed point in time, yet no time at all. And whether you be in the past, present or future, no pony can tell but few. We are somewhere between being asleep and awake, between the land of the dead and the land of the living, we are not quite fully in the dream lands, yet somehow we will still yet be like as if we were in a dream, real or not. We are not on the Celestial plane or the Lunar plane of reality and existence either. It’s a place where we can see and touch and smell and taste and hear, but not one that we can exactly change without it changing us either, because for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This place has many names and yet no real or true name at all, it has everything, and yet still nothing as well. It is the place where you can learn all, or perhaps nothing instead too. Basically this place, it’s what the mind sees and wants it to be, for thought can be stronger than reality, and so perception really does play tricks on us, just like ponies who use mind control on you. But what you will see here is no trick, no illusion, no lie, it’s not a dream but neither is it real either, it can be only that which you want it to be or see, a nightmare, a reminder, a lesson. Whatever, but whatever it is, it will change you in some small tiny little way no matter what, whether it be your thoughts, ideas, language, action, hopes, fears, or even dreams, it will change you, I know that it certainly did for Luna and Celestia, but then again, what they saw was much more different than what you will see, for every pony sees something else that is unique, and not even I could show all of them to you by the laws of this place, but maybe I could tell you sometime, after all, I have written about thousands of alternate realities in my journals and books, but even I still have not named or visited them all yet. But please don’t ask anything just yet, for all will be explained very shortly, for you see, what you will experience next, it will just be a reflection of what you could have been had you just made other choices, so just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride,” and with that said the landscape started to change.
MirrorsChapter Two: Mirrors Suddenly it was no longer just blue and black and gray with stars, now it also had walls and rows and columns of mirrors that were all lined up perfectly. “What are these?” Twilight said pointing at them as they zoomed by. “These? Well these are all the representations of ways to other realms and other universes and timelines too, each door is different, even if slightly. For each door has something very different about it, even if only slightly. But many of these do not pertain to you, so don’t worry, but just so you know it does have every known gateway here, even to the human worlds too,” he said as the mirror that lead to their human world zipped on by very fast. “But how?” Twilight said, “How can this be? And also, did you say that this place had laws? I thought that you said there was no order here.” “There is a very big difference between order and laws and rules and chaos, this place doesn’t have order or chaos because there is no pony to try to enforce order, but the way that it is set out makes it chaotic, but since there is no pony around ever if at all then it can’t be called chaotic either. But yes, it does have rules and laws which would be very bad to break, one of them involves not changing the world that we visit in any way, we can’t affect their future by telling them something that they didn’t or should know. Another is that you can’t have any interactions with other ponies, so no talking or kissing or killing or anything else, but this rule isn’t ever enforced that much, well except for matters of death and love, then it gets very serious. Another thing, you can’t die here right now, but when we go to the other worlds you won’t and can’t exactly die unless you change their world first, and you can’t feel pain either unless you also break the rules first. Basically don’t break any of the rules and we will stay invisible and be just fine, okay?” he said. “Alright, fine then,” she said still somewhat confused at all this. “Good then,” he said, “Oh, and before I forget do not, I repeat, do not tell your friends about any of this, if they found out about this, who knows what could happen, what would, I don’t want to deal with any of that so just be quiet about it because not even Celestia has told any pone else her secret, not even her prized star pupils and students, so you can see just how important this is, oaky, alright?” he said looking at her with a crazy insane look on his face. “Alright, fine then,” she said, “But which one of these mirrors will we explore today?” she said looking at each unique individual mirror individually. “Mirror?” he said, “Who said anything about a mirror? I didn’t.” “But… but you said-,” Twilight tried to start saying. “I said that these mirrors represent a reflection of time, what was, what is, what will be, and also what might have been too, but did I ever say that they were the actual gateway into another world? No, I didn’t, they just contain images and pictures and so on and so forth of every world, and any pony can choose one and see another’s reality and world, like Celestia’s for example, but they can’t ever really go through it into that world, no, that’s both too stupid and dangerous. Instead there is another much safer way to use, doors.” And with that said the mirrors were replaced with doors.
DoorsChapter Three: Doors “But if every mirror was a representation or reflection of real gateways, then how come the mirror to our human world was still there?” she said. He merely just laughed at this, “Oh Twilight, there is always an exception to every rule, even this one. But come, it’s time to show you a whole new world. One with no direction at all.” And with that said they entered a very dark black door then.
PathwaysChapter Four: Pathways “Where are we exactly?” Twilight said as they walked down a very dark black pathway. “We are on our way to one of the most detailed pathways of this door, for the mirrors show the worlds, the doors lead to them, but the pathways, they are the details that make up different worlds, I mean after all, if there is another huge big wide vast world with a major difference, there are going to many small differences in other ponies too, the path we are on now, well let’s just say that t’s the one that you need to see, and the one that I will guide you on too, and just in case you were wondering I am here for your safety.” “Of course you are,” she said, “But where will this take us to exactly?” “Who knows?” he said, “It could be a castle or a house or something very important or not, it could be small or big, tiny or large, little or huge, gigantic or tall, I really don’t know, but it will be somewhere that you need to be so that you may see what is really important, after all, the pathway never ever lies.” And with that said they went on as they slowly started to see stuff pop up. “Are we entering the world?” Twilight said looking around at the houses. “Yes, we are,” he said and with that said they suddenly saw a castle.
Into DarknessChapter Five: Into Darkness “So it is a castle,” he said looking at it, “How strange, Celestia and Luna also saw castles too, but not this exact one, this one would be yours I think.” “But it’s different, it’s not the same, it can’t be,” she said looking at it. “Oh, but it is,” he said pointing to the huge large wide vast black castle, that stood before her now, “What you see is not a lie or a dream, it is very real.” “But why would it be black, and also look so ominous too?” she said. “Well let’s go inside and see, shall we?” he said with a smile on his face. “I don’t see how you’re smiling about any of this,” Twilight said with some slight fear in her voice as she slowly followed him to the horrible sight before her now, “I mean don’t you see how scary looking this castle is?” “I do, but if you think this is scary, just wait until you see your home town, or rather, what’s left of it, if my knowledge is correct then you destroyed it.” “But I didn’t,” she said turning to look at the town which lay in ruins before her, and there was no pony to be seen at all, and the sky, it was black, and there was only a slight hint of orange and red and purple on the horizon. “No, you did not, but she did,” he said emphasizing almost every word very slowly. “Wait, who’s she?” Twilight said as he entered the castle, “WAIT!” she said trying to catch up with him, “You didn’t answer my question yet!” “And I won’t, you’ll just have to see her for yourself otherwise you’ll never believe me, and just in case you think I’m trying to dodge or avoid the question, I’m not, I’m just pushing it aside and ignoring it instead,” he said. “Isn’t that like the same exact thing?” she said. “That all depends upon how you look at it,” he said. And with that said they entered the throne room of the castle where another version of herself sat, but it wasn’t an exact image or replica, she was very… different instead, she wore battle armor and had a royal red cape, and her crown, it wasn’t an element of harmony, no, it was also very different too. And her eyes, they were red instead of purple, and they had green mist around them, almost like she was possessed with the madness and power of dark magic. “Who is that?” Twilight said looking at her with some slight horror. “That is you, or rather, a different version of you, one that is evil, but what you see now is just a reflection, an image, she can’t see us any more than a blind pony can see, but don’t worry, she can’t hear us either or touch us. The only way that she ever could interact with us is if we broke the rules, but I’m sure that won’t happen, will it Twilight?” he said looking at her. “Sure thing, right,” she said dazed at this new sight, “So then, what happens now? What am I supposed to see? Just this or is there more instead?” “Just wait,” he said, “Don’t worry, there is more here to see.” And with that said she watched herself stand up as a guard entered the room. “Queen Midnight, there is an urgent matter that must be dealt with.” “Well, what is it?” she said with a yawn, “It had better be important.” “It is,” he said, “We found yet another traitor, and we have them here.” “Really?” Midnight said standing up and going over to him, “Who is it?” “I think that you should know him, he’s the captain of Celestia’s Guard.” “Flash Sentry?” Midnight said with surprise and shock, “Surely it cannot be.” “It is,” the guard said clapping his hooves together as eight guards dragged in Flash Sentry who was desperately trying in vain to escape from their grasp. “Well hello there, Flash Sentry,” Midnight said slowly walking up to him, “My, it is very good to finally see you here before me, because now you can pay.” “If you’re going to kill me then do it already, if not then don’t bother with the useless idle talk, I don’t need to hear it. But no matter what you do my idea and what I represent will live on, you will not win, you will never win.” “Oh, but I already have, but I’m not going to kill you, not yet at least, that will come later, first I will make an example out of you, how about I torture you with your worst nightmares, or would you rather prefer seeing dreams instead? The choice is yours, you can either cooperate with me, or not.” “I will never betray the true real princess of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle.” She growled very angrily, “I TOLD YOU TO NEVER USE THAT NAME AGAIN! AND I HAVE TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT IT IS NOT MY NAME ANYMORE! TWILIGHT SPARKLE DIED WHEN I CAME IN, WHEN MIDNIGHT CAME IN! NO ONE USES THAT NAME ANYMORE, AND EVEN FOR THOSE THAT DID KNOW THAT NAME, THEY WOULD NOT DARE EVER USE IT AGAIN!” “Ah, but it is your name, or rather was, and still technically is, but there are still those who do know your real true name and will still use it.” “It’s time for you to learn a lesson, I hope that you enjoy being a statue Flash, because you’re going to be one for a very long time.” And with that said she lowered her horn and spread out her wings as she used her very powerful dark magic to turn Flash Sentry into stone then. “I know that you can hear me,” she said, “And I just want you to know that I changed my mind about your death, I think that this is far worse instead.” And with that said she smiled and then went to go sit back down on her throne and then she said, “Take him to the town square and let the ponies see him.” “NO!” Twilight screamed out when she saw Flash Sentry being turned into stone, but it was no use, she couldn’t change it, and luckily enough for her Midnight couldn’t see or hear her, but soon enough she would. “Wait, did you hear something?” Midnight said. The guards shook their heads as Twilight started to cry as Star Swirl went over to her and comforted her by putting his hoof on her shoulder with no words being needed to be spoken. “Okay, now I know that I heard something.” “Are you sure my Queen? You could be just hearing things not to question your sanity or judgement, and please forgive my manners and rudeness.” “You are forgiven, but I am not hearing things, someone or something is here that should not be, the only problem is that I have to find them.” “You didn’t break any rules, did you?” Star Swirl said. “I tried to, I wanted to, I wanted to save him, and now I just feel so bad.” “Well stop, your feelings are doing this, she’s staring to hear you.” “But I can’t stop, I just want to cry, I want to save him, free him, I just wish that I could change the past, just change what happened right now.” “No, don’t say that, don’t ever say that here,” Star Swirl said, but it was too late, they were suddenly no longer invisible and unheard anymore. “Well what do we have here?” Midnight said looking at them, “It seems that we have intruders within the castle, but I shall take care of the now very shortly my guards, you don’t need to worry about doing anything at all.” And with that said they nodded as she slowly approached them. “Forgive us oh great and wise queen, we were just hoping and wishing to gaze upon your great glory without incurring any of your wrath or fury.” Midnight smiled very coldly and cruelly, “Oh, thank you for the compliment, but you really need to work on lying better, and now that I think about it you seem very familiar to me, have I ever seen you around here before?” she said going around him as she slowly gazed at his every detail very carefully. “No, I’m pretty sure that we haven’t met before, it’s very highly unlikely.” “Yet you still seem so familiar to me…” she said, and that was when she finally looked down and noticed Twilight there, “And as for her… she looks just like I used to be, I demand an explanation right now from you as to how this could ever possibly be, and don’t try to lie to me otherwise I will know if you do it.” “We’re from an alternate universe and she’s the duplicate copy of yourself that has the exact same image because alternate universes reflect choices and actions made by every pony, and we were just here to observe and then leave, but Twilight here decided that she wanted to change something here and so as a result things here did start to change around her as a result of her thoughts.” That was of course Star Swirl’s response, brutal honesty to everything. Midnight looked at him very closely for a very long time to the point where the silence became very awkward and to where the tension could be cut with a knife bef9ore she finally responded, “I believe that you are telling the truth.” “Wait, you actually believe me?” Star Swirl said in shock and surprise. “Well of course I do, I am very good at telling who is lying to me, and who isn’t. And I know that you weren’t even trying to lie to me when you talked, which by the way, few ponies who know they face punishment for a crime, well they rarely will ever tell the truth, but you, well you didn’t seem to fear me or telling the truth, even if to me, and I have to wonder why that is so for you exactly.” “I am a very firm believer that the truth should be told no matter what.” “Yes, I agree, but I also believe in many more other things as well too.” “Like what? Rule with fear and power and not love and kindness instead? Making sure that no pony will ever dare disobey or rebel against you? If you really truly think this, then you are the only fool within this room.” “HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!” Midnight shouted, “But to answer your remark yes, I do believe in all of that, and is it really all that so bad as you say it is?” “No, it’s worse, and that is because you see what you have around you now, but you have forgotten what you have lost too, family, friends, loved ones.” “I lost nothing, but now you shall pay for your remarks, guards, take them away to the dungeons until I can decide what to do with them, now please.” And with that said they started to move forward towards them, but that was when everything started to go very wrong, and it started when the windows within the castle suddenly exploded as an attack suddenly happened.
Taken to the Castle/ Waiting in the DungeonChapter Seven: Taken to the Castle/ Waiting in the Dungeon “Well this is just great,” Twilight rambled on to herself, “You managed to not only get us captured and put in this very cold dungeon, but you have also managed to somehow not get us home or talk your way through this.” “Calm down Twilight, I have everything under control,” he said very calmly. “Calm down? How can you expect me to calm down at a time like this?” “Honestly I really don’t know what method work out best for you.” “Why are we here? Why do I have to see this?” “I find that talking to myself works out the best sometimes…” “Hello? Did you hear my questions at all?” Twilight said. “Yes, of course, well to answer them I will tell you, you are here to see what you might have become Twilight, and like it or not, this is very real for some ponies. And neither of us can change their lives, we can only see it from far away.” “But I did try to change it, and now we’re stuck here,” she said. “Exactly, and that is why you always listen to me first.” And with that said there was a very long profound silence in the room now. “You know it’s quite boring in here only if you think it is so,” he said. She remained quiet, “When I’m bored I always try to invent new spells and songs, for example, I making one that causes lots of explosions and stuff.” Twilight still didn’t respond, “I’m also making one to pick locks.” She still didn’t respond and he was ready to do something very drastic, but then suddenly she snapped her head up so quickly that it was a surprise. “I’ve got it, I finally figured out how we can leave!” Twilight said. “That’s very highly odd and strange,” Star Swirl said, “Usually I’m the one that does that, but if you must go on explaining your plan to me then.” “We have to change something here right? Well what if we change it to make it better and not just the same and regular? Would that work out for us?” “I guess so,” Star Swirl said, “But we would need to leave here first.” “Well then, use your new experimental spells to get out, so let’s go!” “I don’t know if they’ll work out,” he said. “Just try to do it.” But before they could a guard came in and then took them to the throne room.
Talking with ShadowsChapter Eight: Talking with Shadows “Well hello there, strange ponies,” the stallion who sat on the throne said, “I must ask you who you are exactly and why you are here too.” Twilight stared at him, it couldn’t be him, could it? “You seem shocked and surprised to see me, I don’t blame you.” “No, you’re not real, you can’t be! You were defeated!” Twilight said. “I don’t think so, otherwise I wouldn’t be her today,” he said. “I know who you are, but the Sombra I knew couldn’t be you ever!” King Sombra smiled, “The Sombra that you knew? That’s very curious, by your dialogue I would guess that you’re from an alternate universe, correct?” “That is correct,” Star Swirl said, “And forgive Twilight, but in her world you were a very evil king, but here I can see that you clearly are not however.” “That is right, but if you are to understand my story you first must meet the former rulers of this land, Celestia, Luna, you can come out now.” And with that said two ponies who looked like the princesses came out. “Twilight? Is that really you?” they said coming closer to her now. “No, she’s from an alternate universe,” King Sombra said, “She’s not our Twilight, not your Twilight, and she’s also not your enemy either.” “Oh,” Luna said disappointed, “That’s too bad then,” “What’s up with her?” Twilight said as she walked away very slowly. “She’s the one who feels responsible for creating Midnight,” Celestia said. “What do you mean by that exactly?” Twilight said. “In this universe my sister admitted to me that she was considering to rebel against me, but she didn’t go insane, instead she tried to do something else completely different, she decided to corrupt my students instead.” “I said that I was sorry for what I did,” Luna said. “I know sister,” Celestia said walking over to her. “And as for me, well Luna managed to talk me out of my madness for she was the only who really truly understood my heart, and she was the one who made all my darkness and shadows vanish, but now it seems that the madness and my power that I used to have now reside within the former body of Twilight, for now she has a completely new different name to separate herself now.” “So you created shadows and nightmares, versions that are far worse that we have then,” Star Swirl said, “Excellent, let’s go on now then.” “And we have been trying to stop here ever since the Shadow War.” “Or at least I have,” Luna said to Celestia said, “She won’t listen to any pony anymore, even me but she used to before she went insane.” “I know how to defeat her,” Star Swirl said, “But it would mean a very great sacrifice indeed, one that even I would never try to make at all however.” “What is it? How can we make Twilight normal once ore again?” “Do you know the names Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Applejack, and also Rainbow Dash?” Star Swirl said. “You mean Midnight’s person fashion designer, torturer, business pony, and also her most loyal royal guard?” Celestia said. “Well never mind about that idea of using them,” he said, “Very well then, if you are to bring Twilight back to normal some pony will need to take her curse, they will need to take her power, her darkness, her evil and shadows.” “That does sound very horrible,” Luna said, “But I am willing to do it.” “No sister, I cannot allow you to do this,” Celestia said. “Then let me,” Sombra said, “After all, I am the king of this empire, and since the Crystal Empire is the only thing holding back Midnight I think that I have the final say, and you cannot stop me my very lovely dear wife.” “WIFE?” Twilight said shocked and surprised as they kissed and then Sombra laughed and said, “Yes, we married shortly after I was purged of evil.” “Oh, I can’t believe that this is actually happening,” Twilight said. “You better, because our Twilight has cause pain and chaos making despair and sorrow for all ponies for far too long now, and we will do anything to make her normal and regular again, even if that means that we will have to die.” “I doubt that it will come to that,” Celestia said to all of them. “Well then, why don’t you go do that? After all, we can’t leave just yet.” “Do you really think that we should?” Celestia said. “Trust me when I say that with all of you that Midnight won’t stand a chance.” And with that said they nodded, “Very well then, we leave at once.” And with that said they all left the castle to go to Midnight now.
Shadows of the PastChapter Nine: Shadows of the Past Before we get to their story with Midnight let us first go back in time to really truly fully understand what happened exactly to make this possible. Luna was very angry at her sister, but she knew that she couldn’t act out by letting the nightmare forces control her, no, she would have to do something much better. But what? The answer came very soon enough. She could get her revenge by corrupting her students of course. And with that in her mind she smiled as she started her plan. All the other students had failed in some way, Sunset Shimmer just ran away, Trixie never was accepted, and Twilight Velvet wasn’t quite good enough either. No unicorn was, well all except for Twilight Sparkle of course. She was perfect, and soon enough, she did corrupt her. She told her that Celestia would want her to listen to her advice, and soon enough she even eventually convinced her (through a song) that if she listened to Celestia that a very horrible and terrible fate would come through to the lands, but that was sort of the truth since a very terrible and horrible fate did come eventually, but it came from the words of Luna herself instead. Where once she had been nervous and shy and afraid, now she stood very strong and brave, but her desire for power was just too much. And in her desire she went insane just like Sunset Shimmer. And so it was that she became crazy and insane and eventually became evil. But as for King Sombra, well it was also due to Luna’s words. And why was that? Well because his heart was dark and black as night of course. I would tell you more, but let’s just say that it was very intense. Oh, you want to know the dialogue? Very well then, as you wish. “Sister, how can we defeat this King?” Luna said looking at the reports the mail pony had just brought in about news from the Crystal Empire. “Together of course,” and with that said they went there. “Have you come to challenge me?” Sombra said once they got there. “We have, your reign of terror has gone on for far too long now.” “Oh, it has only begun,” he said to Celestia smiling as he attacked. The battle was very intense, but eventually Luna gained the advantage. “You can’t stop me, no pony ever can or will,” he said. “Yes, I can, because I know what pain you feel.” “You know nothing of my pain,” Sombra said. “Oh, I know full too well,” Luna said stepping closer to him and then kissed him, and then suddenly the darkness drained out of him. “That was very interesting,” he said with a smile, “Thanks for that.” “You’re welcome, and it’s not your fault you didn’t recognize who you really and truly were, but now you do,” and with that said they dragged the unconscious form of Celestia through the air since Sombra had knocked her out in the fight. “If you listen to Celestia a great and terrible horrible fate will meet Equestria.” “What does that mean exactly?” Twilight said with some slight fear. “Chaos and pain and sorrow and despair will rule these lands.” “Surely this cannot be, Celestia cares for me like my own mother.” “She does, but she does not have the true insight that I do of you.” “So what are you saying then? That I should leave her?” “Yes, and come join me, I will be your teacher now.” “Well okay then, I just hope that you won’t be disappointed in me.” “Trust me child, I won’t ever be,” Luna said with a very devious smile. “Celestia would have you believe that I am not equal to her, but I am,” Luna said, “In fact I think that I may be even much stronger than her.” “Very well then, if you say so,” Twilight said going back to work then. “Twilight! You have to give up this crazy quest for power!” “NEVER!” Twilight said, “AND YOU CANNOT STOP ME! AND OH, BY THE WAY, MY NAME IS NOT TWILIGHT SPARKLE! IT IS MIDNIGHT SPARKLE NOW!” And with that said she started to attack Luna, and she eventually had to retreat with tears on her face because of her actions, and that was why Twilight had taken over Canterlot and why any resistance was still in the empire. But of course these were and are still just mixed up memories of the past, they are still just echoes, they are not real, they’re just a reflection, just shadows. And they were all the memories that Luna lived through each and every day, but I think that is enough of the past, let us get back to the story now.
FinaleChapter Ten: Midnight Ascension Midnight smiled to herself, so much power that she had. And yet still no true real friends either. So while she thought that she had everything, but she didn’t. Not really, not truly. Chapter Eleven: The Darkness Rises Twilight had come to power with many forces, and it was those that she used when the group came to attack her, in fact she even yawned with boredom and sighed at their tiny little attempt and sent them into a dream. “Good night,” she said smiling, “And I hope that you have very good dreams.” Chapter Twelve: Nightmares They didn’t, they went through all their worst nightmares instead. Sombra saw Celestia dying, Twilight saw Midnight, and Star Swirl, he already knew his and was ready to face it when he saw his wife die again. Luna also saw Midnight and so did Celestia. But eventually they all got through it. Chapter Thirteen: Shadows “If this is a dream, then why does it feel so real?” Twilight said. “Because it is,” Star Swirl said, “You just have to wake up, all of you, right now,” and with that said they all tried to do so, and then they did eventually. Chapter Fourteen: A Light in The Darkness “HOW DID YOU EVER ESCAPE?” Midnight said once she saw that they were awake. “Because of me, and now it is time for you to change.” And with that said Midnight screamed as she flew at them, but that was when Sombra topped her and took her magic, Celestia screamed in protest, but it was far too late as his last words were, “I love you,” and then it was over. “It’s so good to finally have my power back again,” he said smiling. And that was when Luna and Celestia fought him using the elements of harmony, but as he vanished Luna saw a spark of light within him. And then when they eventually found his broken horn they broke it because of Twilight’s advice which was, “Destroy it before it causes any problems for you.” And they did so, and quite very well too. Chapter Fifteen: A Seed of Light “Thank you for your help, for now there is light in the kingdom now,” Celestia said as repairs went around the whole entire kingdom. “You’re welcome,” he said, “But I’m just glad to see that there is joy now instead of pain and sorrow and despair and chaos here. But we really must go, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t visit sometime very soon. And with that said they turned away from them. Chapter Sixteen: A Spark of Hope “Do you really think that they’ll be okay?” Twilight said as Star Swirl opened a portal for them. “Yes, they have a spark and seed of both hope and light.” And with that said they watched as Twilight hugged every pony. And with that they turned and left. Chapter Seventeen: The Road/ Pathway of Gray “Where are we now exactly?” Twilight said as they walked the very gray road and pathway. “A road that is best not ever mentioned here, except to say that not everything is black and white,” and with that said he was silent. Chapter Eighteen: The Road/ Pathway Not Taken “The road of gray always represents the road and pathway not taken,” he said, “And this reality was one of yours that could have been just as all others.” “What’s the worst version of Equestria you have seen so far?” “There are far too many to name and count.” And with that said he went on. Chapter Nineteen: Choice “You see choices are important because they shape our reality and future, and they are influenced by everything around us, mentors, teachers, even friends and family too, and now the only question left is this, what will you do with this new information? Will you change and improve or not? Will you still stay the same? Will you let it shape your very character and personality as well?” Chapter Twenty: Destiny His question echoed in her mind and then she said this, “No, I make my own choices, and this will change nothing, but thank you for teaching me.” And with that said he smiled, “That was the whole entire point, so that you could realize just how truly important you really are to us and this land.” And with that said the lesson was over and they returned to Equestria. But the lesson and shadows of that other universe would always remain there forever, but Twilight wouldn’t ever let it change or affect her. And so the Shadows of Equestria lived on in the darkness as they should. And Twilight, she only ever improved as a hero also should too.
Ambush/ Atatck/ CapturedChapter Six: Ambush/ Attack/ Captured “What the-?” Star Swirl said when the ponies crashed through the window. “QUEEN MIDNIGHT SURRENDER NOW OR PREPARE TO FIGHT!” “I would much rather fight thank you very much,” she said smiling as she picked up several weapons with her magic and defended every attack by every pony in the room whether it was magical, physical, or from the air, she was good, too good. “Oh crap,” Star Swirl said, “That’s the problem with Alicorns, they’re too over powered or too Mary Stu or Gary Stu, in this case Mary though because of her gender, she’s female, but I can only hope and guess that in the end that there will be some weakness that we Can exploit from her then.” “WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” Twilight shouted as the chaos went around her and the attacks only ever grew more intense and violent. “Oh nothing much, but Twilight, here’s the plan now, we go with them because I have a feeling and sense that we would be much safer with them instead.” “Can’t we just leave and come back?” Twilight said fearfully. “No, we have to stay until things go back to normal or change again.” “I was afraid that you were going to say that,” she said. “Come on,” he said, “Let’s play our part now.” And with that said he calmly waited until the phrase, “RETREAT!” was said and then walked up to one of the ponies and followed them outside. The pony tried to get away, but it was no use and in vain because of his magic. “What do you want?” the stallion said turning to them. “Simple, take us to your leader and say that you captured us,” Star Swirl said with a bright cheery smile on his face holding his hooves out in front of him. “Huh?” the pony said very confused as to what was going on now exactly. “Look, we’re not spies or part of your rebellion, we’re just two ponies who want to talk to your leader, and as a bonus one of us should look very familiar to one of your leaders, so please just lead the way or else I will make you do it.” “Well okay then, but don’t try any tricks on me,” the stallion said. “How do you know that I haven’t already?” Star Swirl said. The pony looked like he was ready to answer but then decided to remain silent instead, and so that was why they were willingly captured and thus soon came across a completely different and new castle for them.
