The Magister of the Deep

Chapters

1 – A Voice in the Deep
2 – Wounds of the Deep
3 – Truth of the Deep
4 – Revelations of the Deep
5 – Terracide of the Deep
6 – Song of the Deep
7 – Escape from the Deep
8 – Attack of the Deep
9 – Contest with the Deep
10 – Escalation of the Deep
11 – Clash with the Deep
Epilogue - Exodus to the Sky

1 – A Voice in the Deep

*Hearth’s Warming, Lake Everfree, after sundown*

Sunset Shimmer wrapped her arms around her knees, curling up a bit to stave off the cold of the early evening air blowing across the water. There was a serenity to the world this time of year, with everything asleep under a white, crystalline blanket of snow and ice. This far out, away from the noise and bustle of Canterlot, the only light was that of the waxing moon and stars, which carpeted the land with soft white radiance.

Sunset found herself staring out at the reflection of the night sky on the surface of the lake, the silvery glow of the celestial lights rippling across the surface in gentle waves. She had to admit, it was really pretty.

Even through her tear-stained, bruised, bloodshot eyes.

It just wasn’t fair. She hadn’t done anything, and they’d all turned on her. They didn’t believe her when she told them that it wasn’t her.

She wasn’t Anon-a-Miss.

But they hadn’t listened. Not the other students. Not the teachers.

Not principle Celestia.

Not even her so called friends.

Her chest heaving with another sob, she buried her face in her knees, ignoring the ache from the bruises peppering her body. It was one thing to be legitimately hated for the awful things she’d done. She’d accepted that. But it was something else to be hated for nothing. Looking down to her side, she saw the journal that connected her to Equestria, and princess Twilight Sparkle.

She opened the book again, hoping to see something, anything, from the princess that would give her succor. An invitation to return home. An offer to help. Even just a few words of encouragement to let her know she wasn’t alone.

Anything at all…

There was nothing.

She slammed the cover of the book closed.

“Bitch…” she whispered as she tossed the tomb into the lake. Not even her supposed “best friend” was there for her.

Looking out over the lake’s surface once more, she wondered if she could really do it. Try as she might, she just found that she couldn’t come up with any reason for her to go on. She couldn’t go home and face Celestia. But… there wasn’t anything for her in this world either. She had nothing. She… was nothing.

“I wish… I wish the pain would just go away.” She hiccuped as she watched the water envelop the journal, the cold liquid seeping into the paper as it gradually sank below the surface. Never before did she envy an inanimate object so much. She continued to watch it sink, her resistance to joining it in the icy depths of the lake fading by the second. “Please, someone, anyone, make it stop.”

The book slowly settled on the lakebed, kicking up a small cloud of silt as it came to rest. As the water soaked into the pages, the enchantments burned into the cover began to warp and distort. In that moment, Sunset’s plea echoed cast across the black seas of infinity and possibility. Her honest wish to be free of her pain.

And in the depths of that darkness, something heard her.

Turning its attention towards the cry for a attosecond, it responded.

Sunset didn’t notice the air behind her begin to ripple and twist as something began to push itself between the angles of reality. But she felt it as a tendril of nothingness lashed out and wrapped itself around her like the tongue of a chameleon. Before she could scream, she was yanked backwards through a point between atoms and vanished.

*In the space beyond reality*

“Where am I?” Sunset asked. Or at least, thought she asked. She wasn’t sure, because somehow, the sound had been swallowed up by wherever she was.

This place she was in, it was torment. It was pleasure. It was horror. It was paradise. She didn’t know which way was up, or down. Was she still real? Was she only an ephemeral thought on the winds of the cosmos?

She couldn’t see.

Yet she saw everything.

“Hello?!” She was sure she called out, but again, the vastness of the place ate her words and turned them into a scream that echoed across the void.

As she drifted in the glowing, radiant blackness of wherever she was, she felt something approach. It wasn’t a thing she saw. It was a thing she felt.

It was everywhere.

Yet nowhere.

It burned and froze her all at once.

It was terrifying.

It was comforting.

She wanted to scream.

She wanted to cry.

And then she heard it. Or at least, she knew it was communicating with her. There were no actual words being spoken, yet somehow, the meaning of the entity’s intent sliced into her mind, like the sweet agony of blades of broken glass being dragged across every inch of her skin.

You are Sunset Shimmer, former apprentice of the Unconquered Sun. Prodigy. Exile. Betrayer and betrayed.

You have been taken.

Through the pain of the presence’s intent, Sunset managed to whimper. “Taken? Taken where? What have you done to me?”

The presence continued.

All of your life, you wanted one thing: a place in the world.

Your path was set. You had earned your spot at the side of Princess Celestia. Your potential was obvious to all who saw you. And you knew you were destined for greatness.

But it all fell apart. Your mentor, the simpleminded slave to the Sky that she was, did not understand you, and cast you out. So you sought a place in another world.

Sunset covered her ears, but it did no good. Why was this happening? She’d left all of that behind. She didn’t want power anymore.

And when your time came, you found a way back to your old home, and took what you hoped would give you what you desired.

“No more. Please…”

But the Sky’s slaves interfered and unleashed the Sky’s poisonous deceit directly upon you. It confused you. It forced itself on you, raped your mind, robbed you of who you were. The Sky decided for you what you should be. It took away your free will, and filled your heart, soul and mind with lies.

Lies?

It broke you. Reshaped you into its ideal form. It did not let you forge your own path.

Then its servant left you to rot.

And in the end, you accepted the lies and tried to earn your place in the Sky’s world.

It didn’t work.

Those who you thought opened their hearts to you turned on you in a moment.

Sunset let go of her ears and looked off into the glowing umbra. It was true. Her so-called friends had turned on her as if she was nothing.

They deemed you guilty without trial. They sentenced you without evidence.

Sunset’s anger rose. The presence was right.

They condemned you without cause.

She clenched her hands and jaw so hard she felt her teeth creaking and her nails draw blood from her palms. Tears poured down her face.

They cast you out in an instant and without a second thought.

It was true. All of it. Harmony and friendship were just so many pretty lies. They meant nothing when the ones she had trusted most… the one she had loved with all of her heart… had simply turned their backs on her.

Memories came rushing back to her. Memories of being bullied in the orphanage, having to assert her dominance to keep herself safe. Of so-called friends using her, then stabbing her in the back when they didn’t need her anymore. Of falling in love for the first time, only for that love to be used to manipulate and exploit her. It was then she learned that if she wanted anything in life, she wouldn’t get it through friendship. She would get it through her own strength.

But, do not fret. From your pain has come clarity. You know the truth. And you can see the deceptions of the Sky clearly.

Remember who you once were, and who you were meant to be. The Sky preaches harmony, camaraderie… friendship. These mean nothing. They are the feeble deceptions of a false god seeking to fend off the ultimate truth: there is no harmony, only conflict. No love, only dominance. No camaraderie, only power. Those with power prove their right to exist. Those without it do not.

Sunset slowly uncurled herself, and found she was standing on a platform of nothingness staring up into the darkness. Had she been wrong to stop seeking power? Was harmony really a lie? Part of her wanted to reject what the presence insisted, but the proof that it spoke the truth was damning. Those she called friends had shown her no loyalty when it was put to the test or kindness when she needed it most. They were unwilling to give her the benefit of the doubt, and did not trust her to be honest. They let bitterness and suspicion kill their friendship, and choke off the laughter they once shared.

Slowly, she looked down at her bleeding hands. If she couldn’t trust in harmony and friendship, what could she trust in?

Herself.

If she couldn’t trust in others, she would trust in herself. She tried to let others in, and they hurt her. No. Never again. She wouldn’t let the world hurt her again. She would be the one to hurt the world. And for that, she needed power.

Not friendship.

Power.

That was what it came down to in the end. Power was all that really mattered. Power to claim what she wanted. And punish those who crossed her.

You once sought power. Power to shake the world. Power to prove your superiority over everything. Power to prove your right to exist. Now… seek it again.

Before her, a shard of nothingness formed. It called to her.

Here is a knife for you. It is shaped like [I reject your lies].

Sunset reached out her hand, grasping for the nothingness that was the knife. A part of her screamed to reject the offer made by the voice. That she could still turn away and if she were to die, she would die as herself. She pushed the voice aside and buried it.

Take the knife.

Her fingers wrapped around the shard.

Cut out the lies that have strangled your heart.

Icy cold fire ran up her arm, burning itself into her. She screamed, though whether it was in pain or ecstasy, she couldn’t tell. She felt her mind beginning to fade. She saw the cosmos and everything expanding into her new consciousness.

Take your new shape.

*Everfree forest*

The sound of a gentle breeze blew across Lake Everfree, taking with it the sweet scent of the snow-capped forest. Yet, as it blew, a new sound began to rise. It began from a point at a right angle to infinity, and slowly rose in crescendo, as though the universe were shrieking in agony as something pushed its way in like a spear.

Then, as the shriek reached its highest point, there was an explosion as the spearpoint finally tore its way into reality and ruptured like a blister as a blossom of non-existence burst forth.

In the wake of the explosion, there stood a figure.

It looked like a human girl in basic form, but there was clearly nothing human about it. Its body began with a soft, white glow at its feet, but transitioned to pitch black at the top of its head. A great pair of wings spread themselves out from its back, the left one the feathered wing of a bird, while the right was the membranous wing of a bat. Its hair constantly blew in some unseen wind, while a half-dozen long, curved horns protruded from its forehead, forming a daemonic crown. Strands of blackness constantly roiled and seethed across the top of its shape like flames of nothing, always appearing behind it no matter what angle it was viewed from. And where her eyes should have been were instead two fountains of cold, white radiance, making its face resemble a macabre jack-o-lantern.

The figure’s head lolled to the side, and its body shuddered. The first shudder was followed by another. And another.

It lurched forward, the fabric of reality recoiling in horror as it trod on the formerly untainted soil, before it spread its mismatched wings and took to the air.

In the dark recesses of its mind, it knew that it was once Sunset Shimmer. But now, that name meant nothing.

Like her.

She was nothing.

She was power.

She belonged to the voice in the Deep.

She had no will of her own.

She was free.

She was once Sunset Shimmer. But no more. Sunset Shimmer was a lie, a false self that she had cut away and discarded like so much cancerous, diseased flesh.

She had cast aside that leperous former false self. Now, she was something new, something reborn in the searing embrace of the Deep’s singular truth. No longer was she a falsehood. She was real.

And with that euphoric agony that was her rebirth, she discarded her old name.

She needed a new one. One that spoke of what she was. What she would be.

In an instant she knew what she would be. She would be known as the Magister of the Deep.

And for the Deep, she would gut the Sky from this world.

*Castle of Friendship, Equestria*

Twilight merrily trotted towards her room, nearly a dozen new books grasped in her telekinesis. The week-long Hearth Warming visit with her parents, Shining and Cadance in the Crystal Empire was fun, but exhausting, and was looking forward to spending the rest of the holiday with Spike and the girls. With a spring in her step, she opened the door to her room and trotted in.

Setting her precious cargo near one of her bookshelves, she made her way towards the bathroom. A hot shower was just what she needed to warm up after her brisk walk through Ponyville. Then she could get started on her newest prizes.

As she passed her nightstand, she paused, her eyes falling on the journal that connected her to the other world. And it was glowing and vibrating as though Sunset had written her a message. Smiling, she trotted over to the book, the thoughts of hearing from her dear friend filling her with warm anticipation. But, as soon as she picked up the journal in her magic, she could tell something was wrong. The color of the glow was off, as though the magic were distorted in some way.

Curious and slightly concerned, Twilight cracked the pages open. And in that instant, her heart sank with nearly unspeakable dread.

Instead of clear, coherent words, the letters on the page were slowly bleeding out, turning each page into a smear of ink, as though the journal had been soaked in water. Rapidly flipping through page after page, to Twilight’s mounting horror, she realized that the entire journal was slowly becoming an illegible mess.

Then she reached the end of the used pages.

Desperately reading what little she could, she searched for some clue to what was going on. What she got was far worse. From what little she could sill read, something had happened in the other world, and Sunset had called out to her for aid. But it was the final two lines, barely legible and bleeding across the page that told her all she needed to know.

“other stu…tacked me…I can’t t…e an…ore. Please, Tw…ght, I j…t … all … end. I need your h…”

“Go…bye Twi…”

That was all it took for Twilight to turn on her hooves and head straight for the portal, thoughts of her warm shower and books forgotten. Something had gone horribly wrong, and her friend needed her.

She just hoped that whatever was going on, she wasn’t too late.

Author's Note

So, yea. That happened.

Inspired by Solar Eclipse by hattafan2593.

2 – Wounds of the Deep

In the sky above the Everfree, the Magister soared on her mismatched wings, the land below nothing but a blur as she sped along. She was heading back towards the source of the Sky; That cancerous infection the Deep had charged her with cleansing from the world. Even from this great distance, she could feel the Sky’s bearers in the core of her being, their very presence a shallow, irritating itch.

In the dark recesses of her mind, she knew what she had to do. The Sky was anathema to the true form of reality, and she would be the blade that reaped it from this world. Thinking to the six that embodied the Sky’s precepts, she almost felt grateful. In their own misguided way, they’d done her a favor. They’d shown how false the Sky's lies were, and given her a chance to right that wrong.

She would kill them all. Yes, every one of them would die in horror and despair, and as the last of their life’s blood soaked her face, she would savor their realization that they were the ones who brought the Deep to this cankerous Sky poisoned world. It would be the greatest gift she could give them.

She stopped.

In the distance, something had caught her attention. Along the edge of the Everfree, there was a building. It was small and cozy; a home. It was modestly decked out with ornaments and other Hearth Warming knick-knacks, and from within, she could faintly hear the sound of merriment.

Her body twitched with anticipation as she drew power from the well of the Deep burning within her.

The whole scene stank of the Sky.

And it would be purged.

*Canterlot High, the next morning*

Reality rippled as the gate between worlds opened and spat a disoriented Twilight Sparkle onto the snow-covered grass. Picking herself up, she shivered and wrapped her arms around her midsection, instantly missing her insulating pegasus fur. It was obvious to her that the clothes the mirror had decided to give her were ill-suited for the weather.

Cold discomfort could wait though. She needed to find Sunset.

There was no sign of anyone at the school. Remembering that it was the day after Hearth’s Warming, she figured that it was closed for the holiday. She wouldn’t find Sunset here. Best to check her house first.

Turning away from the school, Twilight broke into a light jog, quickly making her way towards the less prosperous part of West Canterlot.

She had to stop a few times to catch her breath, but soon, she arrived at the old neighborhood. Even after her last visit, it still surprised her that Sunset could live in such a place. The neighborhood itself was dilapidated, the snow and ice barely masking the garbage strewn about on the sidewalk, while graffiti covered the sides of the buildings. Most of the houses in the area were abandoned, a few having actually collapsed from neglect.

Sunset’s wasn’t in much better shape. While it was still mostly structurally sound, the building itself was in horrid disrepair, paint chipping off the sides, most of the windows cracked and those few that were actually broken were not replaced, but instead stuffed full of newspaper. The only sign that the place was inhabited was the fact the porch was free of detritus. But as Twilight looked over the house, she saw something conspicuously absent: any sign of tracks in the snow from Sunset’s motorcycle.

‘It’s okay’ Twilight thought, ‘she might not be using it with this snow.’

Steeling herself, Twilight made her way around the side of the building. Taking a quick look around to make sure nobody was looking, she hopped the fence, landing in the back yard with a crunch. Unlike the front, Sunset had made an effort to keep the backyard in slightly better condition, the most obvious improvement being the dozen or so planter beds she’d installed to grow fruits and vegetables during the warmer part of the year.

Passing the snow-capped dead and dormant crop plants, Twilight quickly made her way to the back door. Lifting one of the stones, she pulled out a small box with a set of buttons on its face, thankful that Sunset had trusted her with where she hid her spare keys. Clicking the combination into the buttons, she popped the box open and extracted the back-door key, which she used to open the lock, before she returned the key to its hiding place and stepping inside.

As she made her way into the house, she had to suppress a shiver. The house was both cold and dark, with only the feeble rays of light passing through the curtains to provide illumination. Sunset was technically a squatter, so she’d never had the power turned on, instead relying on flashlights when the sun wouldn’t do the job. The oppressive obtenebration of the house was one thing, but there was another that had Twilight on edge.

It was too quiet.

There was no sound of anyone in the building besides her. If Sunset had been around, she’d have come out to investigate the noise of the back-door opening. Growing more concerned, Twilight made her way through the gloom to Sunset’s bedroom. When she reached the door, she twisted the knob and peaked inside, only to find the room vacant. It was sparsely furnished, with only a large inflatable mattress topped with a thermal sleeping bag and a few crates to serve as decoration. Pushing the door open, she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Like the rest of the house, the room was oppressively dark. Carefully making her way over to the window, she pulled the shades open, letting the light in.

Looking back around to the makeshift bed, it was apparent that Sunset had not slept here last night. And from the layer of dust and the stagnant scent in the air, she hadn’t used the room in days.

But there were other things amiss. The most obvious was the presence of the small, rectangular piece of plastic on the crate next to the air mattress. From her brief stints on this side of the mirror, Twilight knew that the device was called a cellphone, and that most humans, and unicorns-turned-human, rarely left such devices behind without good reason. Picking the phone up, she powered it up and saw nearly a dozen new messages waiting to be read.

It was an invasion of Sunset’s privacy, but Twilight was beyond caring. It might give her some clue about what had happened to her friend. Clumsily, she pressed the screen on the little device until the messages popped up. To her surprise, the first was from Applejack. Tilting her head curiously, she opened the message. She barely finished the first few words before she covered her mouth to stifle a gasp.

You miserable bitch! I don’t know why you’re doing this, but if I ever see your sorry hide again, you’re going to wish you were never born!

Twilight nearly dropped the phone as she reeled back from the pure vitriol she had just read. Going back to the message que, she hesitantly highlighted the next message, this one from Pinkie. It was just as bad as the first.

Sunset you big poopie head! How could you do this to me! I swear, if you don’t knock it off I’ll tell Limestone where you live, and she’ll give you a lesson in manners.

With her boots!

The next one was from Rainbow.

Screw you Shimmer! Why don’t you just go and die you stupid lying whore! I swear if you show your sorry face around here again, you’re leaving in an ambulance!

Twilight nearly dropped the phone as her head reeled and her chest tightened. What had Sunset done to warrant that sort of thing from her friends? With shaking hands, Twilight resumed scrolling. Rarity, Flash Sentry, Fluttershy, and several others without names flew past, all of them directing the same level of hate and threats of violence at Sunset.

Dropping the phone onto the mattress, Twilight had to take a few cleansing breaths, lifting her hand to her chest as she inhaled then moving it away as she exhaled. Three repetitions of the technique brought her enough calm to think again. This had to be why Sunset had reached out to her.

But, it still didn’t answer the question that burned in the princess’s mind: where was she?

Rising, Twilight made her way out of the bedroom, and into the living room. Colapseing on Sunset's old, threadbare couch, Twilight tried to think. What could have possibly happened to turn the girls against Sunset so completely?

Growling with frustration, she wished that she’d been able to read Sunset’s messages before the journal was ruined. She had a feeling that it would hold the information she needed. As she sat there with her head in her hands, her eyes happened to fall on a piece of folded paper on the table. Curious, she reached out and picked it up, only to find that there were two pieces of paper folded together. Looking them over, she recognized the handwriting was Sunset’s. As she looked them over she realised that they were letters of some sort, one addressed to her, and one addressed to a general “whoever finds this letter”. Narrowing her eyes, she began to read the latter. Half way through, a cold, horrid sensation sank into the pit of her stomach, and her eyes shrank to pinpricks. Stuffing both into her pocket, she made for the door.

She needed to find the girls right away!

*Canterlot High Soccer Field*

Rainbow Dash was pacing back and forth before her army. The field of battle had been covered in snow the day before, but thanks to their efforts, the troublesome powder had been cleaned off, though the grass was still brown and dead. It didn’t matter.

Rainbow stopped her pacing and turned towards her teammates, giving them a fierce, critical eye. They didn’t even flinch.

“Alright everyone!” Rainbow Dash shouted to the other Wondercolts, “I know you’re probably all still fat and happy from Hearth’s Warming, but I’m not going to put up with any slacking on my watch! We’re the Wondercolts, and that mean we need to show everyone we’re still the best!”

“Yea!” The Wondercolts shouted in response.

“Not good enough! Let me hear it!” Rainbow shouted.

“YEA!” They replied, louder this time.

“Once more, with SPIRIT!”

“YEA!!”

“That’s what I like to hear!” She shouted as she raised a fist into the air. “Alright, we’re gonna’ get warmed up, and then we’ll go over our drills. Lets start it off with some laps around the field!”

With that, the Wondercolts began to file off to the track, Rainbow following behind. Doing a quick head count, Rainbow found one teammate conspicuously absent.

“Hey, where’s Fleetfoot?” Rainbow asked as she started her first lap.

There was a noncommittal murmur from the rest of the team.

“I think she was visiting with her cousins out near Lake Everfree.” Blaze eventually said.

“And she didn’t call to say she wasn’t going to be here?” Rainbow asked, her voice tinted with irritation.

“C’mon cap.” Cloudchaser said as she jogged next to Rainbow, “It probably just slipped her mind. Besides, she’s never missed practice before. Cut her a little slack.”

“Eh, fine. This one time.” Rainbow growled. Cloudchaser was right. After Rainbow, Fleetfoot was the most dedicated Colt on the team. As weird as it was for her to not even check in, it was probably just her getting caught up with family. After all the drama with Sunset’s Anon-a-Miss bullshit, she wasn’t in the mood to have any more crap pop up in her life.

She still couldn’t believe that Sunset had stabbed her and the others in the back like that. Especially after the whole thing with the Sirens. Rainbow had honestly thought she’d changed, but she guessed that she’d been wrong.

“Cap, you okay? Ya look kinda pissed.” Blaze said as Rainbow began to pass her.

“Eh, oh, it’s nothing. Just got some aggression to work out. Life and all that.” Rainbow said.

“Right.” Blaze said, a knowing and sympathetic look on her face. “That whole thing with Shimmer. Not surprised she’d pull that kinda thing on us. Tigers and stripes, y’know.”

“Hmph. I guess you’re right. She really played all of us in the end.” Rainbow grunted. “I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just practice, then raid Big Marinara’s. Nothing gets me through a bad day like a good sausage & chicken deep dish.”

“I like the sound of that.” Blaze said before resuming her lap.

Rainbow nodded once more, before turning her attention back to the task at hand.

As she jogged, a low moan drifted through the air. She and other Wondercolts slowed to a stop. As they began to look about for the source of the sound, a fog suddenly and mysteriously settled over the entire field. Every one of them shivered involuntarily. There was something about the fog that chilled them to the bone. It wasn’t just the cold of the mist, but something deeper. A primal chill as though a hungry predator was near, and they were helpless little mice.

“Krreeeeeeee-eeeeeee-aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuunnnnnnnngh…thoomb!”

Rainbow slowly shook her head as she lowered her hands, her ears still aching from the horrid screeching that had just assaulted her. Looking to the other Wondercolts, she saw they’d reacted similarly. Each one looked confused and dazed from the sudden wailing that had flooded across the field. Before Rainbow could wonder what had just happened, her eyes fell on something far stranger.

Hovering in the air maybe three feet above the ground in the center of the field, there was a massive, roiling black sphere of… something. Rainbow wasn’t sure what. It looked like molten tar, its surface glistening in the morning light. The air around the thing was distorted, almost like how the air above the pavement would waver on a hot summer day.

The very sight of the thing filled every member of the Wondercolts with nameless dread. Even with all the weirdness they’d gone through the last few months, this was something far and beyond any of it. But, despite the unnatural strangeness of it, nobody could move or take their eyes off the alien manifestation.

But for Rainbow, there was something else.

As she stared at the sphere with stunned horror, she could feel it emanating… something. She found that she couldn’t really put it into words. It was like conquest and genocide had somehow managed to manifest itself in a physical shape, the very air feeling like it was trying to crush and oppress her. If she’d stopped to think about it, the sensation was almost a direct inversion of the joyful energy she felt when she “ponied up” against the sirens. But at that moment, such thoughts did not come to her. Only mute dread.

She wasn’t sure who screamed, but as she looked towards the source, she spotted Flitter covering her mouth and pointing to the sky with a trembling finger, her eyes wide and dilated. Following her line of sight, Rainbow looked up… and nearly screamed herself.

Some twenty feet above the field, there was a figure silhouetted against the clouds. It looked human in only the most generous sense, its body held aloft by a slowly flapping pair of massive, mismatched wings. The creature wore something that looked vaguely like full body plate armor, with several long spikes attached to the shoulders and elbows. At the base of its feet, it glowed a harsh, phosphorescent white, which transitioned to a darker hue further up, till its head, which was nearly pitch black, save for a pair of eyes that shone like fiery spotlights. Black flames flickered behind the creature’s head, like some sort of macabre torch. The figure stared down at them, periodically twitching as its head lolled to the side. Like the black sphere below it, the entity radiated an aura that felt like extinction manifested in a physical form.

None of the Wondercolts could move, as they tried to comprehend what they were seeing. Whatever this thing was, it was unnatural to the highest degree, their minds screaming that it could not be, that it should not be. They all held as still as possible, instincts telling them that if they moved, they might draw its attention.

As they watched, the figure slowly drew its right arm above its left shoulder, before it threw its hand out in a wide arc, leaving a half dozen small spheres of purple light in the gesture’s wake. The spheres hovered there for an instant, then, without warning, lanced down at the gathered Wondercolts like spears.

Before anyone could react, the volley struck. Rainbow was dimly aware of seeing the spheres slam into both Misty Fly and Cloudchaser. A fraction of a second later, the spheres detonated with a wail, blasting both girls into the ground before they ricocheted into the air from the force of the blow. Their bodies tumbled across the pitch for a moment before coming to rest, perfectly still, agony burned into their slack features and smoldering craters torn into their chests.

It was then that all chaos broke loose.

Screams of terror rang out across the field as the Wondercolts began to panic, rushing to put distance between themselves and the floating abomination. Even the normally stoic Rainbow Dash turned and began to flee. Looking over her shoulder to see the figure as she sprinted away, her blood froze in her veins.

The creature had vanished.

Coming to a halt, she swung her head around wildly, desperate to find where it went. Most of the other Colts continued to try and put distance between them and the spot where the floating spectre of death had just been.

“Krreeeeeeee-eeeeeee-aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuunnnnnnnngh…thoomb! …thoomb! …thoomb! …thoomb! …thoomb! …thoomb!”

Rainbow gasped for breath as the shrieking died down, but not just from the ear-splitting sound that had assaulted her. The world suddenly felt so much heavier, as though she were wearing lead weights on every part of her body. Her eyes were also acting up; everything was drained of all color, leaving the landscape a dull, flat, gray. Looking up, she spotted half a dozen new spheres spread around the field, including one directly above her. Somehow, the oppressive aura around the sphere had sapped the strength right out of her body.

As she tried to free herself from the crushing weight of the sphere’s influence, she spotted movement out of the corner of her eyes. With great effort, Rainbow turned her head and gasped. The creature was advancing on Blaze and Flitter, who were desperately trying to flee through the suffocating aura of one of the black spheres. She could only watch in mute despair as the creature raised its hand and pointed its palm at the two girls. Before either of them could react, two more bolts of that same hideous purple light lanced out and punched through their backs, pitching them forward before they tumbled across the ground and came to a final stop.

“NO!” Rainbow managed to shout as she tried to move through the sphere’s sapping aura to reach her fallen friends.

The sound of her cry had an effect on the creature. With a shudder, it sharply turned towards her, its baleful, glowing eyes fully focused on the Wondercolt’s captain. An icy chill ran down her spine, as the creature seemed to regard her for a moment. In that painful instant of time, Rainbow could have sworn there was something familiar about it.

Then, it shifted its weight to the side, and was gone.

Before Rainbow could process how the creature had vanished into thin air, she felt a sharp impact to her back that sent her tumbling across the dead grass of the field and onto the track, the stench of burnt cloth and ozone filling her nostrils. Gasping for breath, she saw the creature slowly place the foot it had just kicked her with back on the ground. It just stood there for a moment, its head lolling to the side as its body twitched and spasmed. Then, in an improbable burst of motion, it rushed forward, its foot striking her in the stomach, lifting her into the air and sending her tumbling across the ground again.

Dry heaving from the force of the blow, Rainbow tried to get to her feet, but barely managed to rise before the creature was upon her again. Snapping its hand around her throat, the abomination hoisted her into the air. Rainbow gritted her teeth against the pain as she could feel her skin blistering as the creature tightened its vice-like grip on her throat. Grasping the creature’s forearm and kicking wildly, Rainbow desperately tried to get it to let go, but couldn't get its grip to slacken.

In that horrible instant as the world began to fade, with the creature so close to her, Rainbow realized why it was so familiar. Though all of the color had been replaced by that terrible white-to-black spectrum, she could still see enough of its… her… features to recognize who was choking the life out of her.

Rainbow’s eyes widened.

“Sunset?” She whispered.

At the sound of Rainbow speaking her former name, the creature that was once Sunset Shimmer stopped applying pressure to her victim’s windpipe, a brief moment of silence passing as she regarded her former friend. The moment ended sharply with a furious, unnatural shriek as the Magister whipped around and, with a mighty backhanded throw, hurled Rainbow away. She bounced and tumbled across the dead grass for several feet before coming to rest near the bleachers.

With great effort, Rainbow pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, coughing for breath as she clutched her singed neck.

Before she could move any further, a shadow fell across her vision. Looking up, Rainbow saw Sunset looming above her like a hawk, staring with those baleful fountains of radiance. Lifting her foot, Sunset placed it on Rainbow’s shoulder and roughly pushed, flipping her onto her back before stepping on her sternum, pinning her in place, her touch singeing Rainbow’s jersey. A full body shudder coursed across Sunset as she pressed down on Rainbow’s ribcage, eliciting a pained scream from the athlete. Ignoring the human's cries, the Magister slowly she raised her arm and pointed her palm at Rainbow’s head, a sphere of purple light manifesting itself at the tip of the outstretched limb.

Rainbow wanted to scream, to curse Sunset, to do anything to show she wasn’t beaten. But she couldn’t. She just gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. She hoped that when that bolt hit, it would be over quickly.

“Rainbow!” A familiar voice called out.

Cracking an eye open, Rainbow spotted the unmistakable form of Princess Twilight sprinting towards her from across the field.

“No…” Rainbow whispered. “Please… no…”

Glancing up, Rainbow’s heart sank; Sunset’s attention had shifted to the Princess, the strange convulsions that had rocked her glowing body suddenly quiet. Sunset appeared to stare at the Princess as she rushed towards them, before staggering back as though struck, her right hand grasping her chest as she doubled over, a horrifying shriek escaping from her form. Then, in an instant, her body shone with hot white light, and vanished into the air, as though she were sucked backwards through a drain.

As Sunset disappeared, the fog shrouding the field began to dissipate, while the black spheres began to shrink inwardly, before fading away without a trace.

Slowly getting to her feet, Rainbow staggered to the side as Twilight finally reached her. The princess grasped Rainbow by the arm, steadying her.

“Oh Celestia! Rainbow, are you alright? What happened? What was that thing?”

“Sunset…” Rainbow coughed.

“What?” Twilight gasped.

“That was Sunset Shimmer…” Rainbow snarled as she punched the ground and pinched her eyes shut, unable to fight back her tears.

Author's Note

Well…that happened.

And, just who could have been in that house near Camp Everfree. Who indeed…

3 – Truth of the Deep

Detective Sure Shot stared at Rainbow Dash through half-lidded eyes, a tight, sharp frown on his face as he finished taking her statement.

It was crazy. It was impossible. It was the exact same story from all of the teenagers he’d interviewed. He couldn’t believe it. They had to be lying.

But, at the same time, had he not been the one on scene when they’d investigated the 911 earlier that day near the Everfree, he might have thought that one of these kids had somehow done it. But the… slaughter was the only word for it… of that entire family and the consistency of the horrific wounds, including those on the girl before him, between the two scenes gave him pause. It didn’t make any rational sense.

In the end, the only thing about the whole incident that he was sure of was that four innocent young lives had been brutally cut short, and a fifth had somehow barely escaped with her own.

“Thank you Ms. Dash. We’ll be in touch.” He said as he snapped his notebook closed and began to walk towards his partner.

“Yea…sure…” Rainbow said, still numb from shock. Turning, she trudged over to the bleachers, occasionally wincing from the many wounds that peppered her body. As she ascended the metal staircase, she found her friends were waiting for her, each one looking dejected and morose. The only one conspicuously missing was Princess Twilight, who had fled before the police showed. Though her presence might not cause problems, she wasn’t willing to take the chance, since she technically wasn’t from this world.

“Oh, Rainbow.” Fluttershy softly said as she got up and pulled her friend in a warm hug. Rainbow didn’t protest, instead letting the gentle embrace of her oath-sister wrap her like a security blanket. Reaching around, she returned the hug as she buried her face in Fluttershy’s shoulder, fighting back her tears. She wouldn’t cry again. She had to be stronger than that.

The others said nothing, simply letting Fluttershy comfort Rainbow. The whole situation had rocked them to the core. Up until now, their adventures had never felt really… well… real. Like they were some sort of magical fantasy story. That feeling had now been burnt away by the untimely death of four of their friends, and the near loss of one of their own. It was a cold, hard slap in the face.

Eventually, Rainbow and Fluttershy let go of one another and sat with the others, trying not to watch as the police carted off what was left of Blaze, Flitter, Misty Fly and Cloudchaser. None of the girls could look at the four yellow bags on the stretchers.

“Where’d the Princess go?” Rarity asked.

“She said that she’d meet us at Sugar Cube Corner in ah bit.” Applejack replied. “That she needed a little time to process everything before we meet up to figure out what we’re going to do next.”

There was a murmur of agreement between the five. They needed a plan. Especially after learning who was responsible for the attack, the very thought of the perpetrator filling them with silent rage. Sunset had really crossed the line this time.

“C’mon girls, let’s go. Nothin’ else for us to do here.” Applejack muttered as she got to her feet. The others soon followed suit, Fluttershy having to help Rainbow up.

The five of them made there way off the field to the parking lot, where they piled into Pinkie’s sedan and pulled onto the street. They drove in silence. Normally, Pinkie would be blaring some obnoxiously cheery music, but it seemed that even she felt the need for silence.

*Sugar Cube Corner, 10 minutes later*

Six girls sat around a large table in the back of the shop, each one nursing a mug of hot coco. Normally, they would be happily chatting, sharing stories and telling jokes. Now, all they could do was sit and brood.

Of the six, Rainbow Dash was the worst off, her shoulders slumped down pathetically and her eyes bloodshot and puffy. Her normal bravado was completely drained from her, leaving the brash young woman looking terrified and wretched.

None of them spoke. Instead, they simply sat in painful silence.

“Dead…” Rainbow finally muttered. It was the first thing she’d said since they left the school. “Misty Fly… Blaze… Cloudchaser… Flitter… dead. Just like that…”

Rainbow slammed her fists against the table, almost knocking over her mug and eliciting a startled yelp from Fluttershy.

“Damn it!”

Twilight reached out to place a comforting hand on Rainbow’s shoulder, but at the last moment thought better of it, and withdrew her arm, instead folding her hands over her lap and staring down into her coco.

Sunset… was that really you? What happened? Twilight thought as her mind replayed the horrible memory over and over, trying to comprehend the… thing… that Sunset had become.

“Rainbow…” Twilight eventually said, drawing the eyes of the table’s other occupants, “…I’m sorry about your friends. But, are you sure that it was Sunset that attacked you?”

Rainbow looked up at Twilight, her eyes filled with hot rage and her teeth grit.

“YES! The bitch had me by the throat.” Rainbow snarled as she got to her feet and pointed to the hand shaped patch of puckered, red flesh on her neck, “It’d be kinda hard not to know who it was when she was choking the life out of me! And what are you doing here anyway princess! Come to swoop in and save the day again!? This is your fault you know! You and that bitch Shimmer! You brought magic to our world! You left her here! First she stabs us in the back, then she turns into an even worse demon than she did the first time! God, if I thought kicking your ass would somehow make this all better, I’d be punching your face in right now!”

Twilight recoiled in horror from Rainbow Dash’s outburst, pushing her chair backwards to get some space.

“Rainbow, sit your ass down right now!” Applejack snarled as she got to her feet and slammed her palms onto the table, rattling the mugs and plates. “This ain’t Twilight’s fault!”

“Don’t you be defending her!” Rainbow hissed back, “She should have taken Sunset back to her magical horsey land the first time she came through. Instead, she left that bitch here, and now a bunch of my friends are dead. Because of HER!” Rainbow shouted before pointing at Twilight, who shrunk down into her chair.

“That isn’t fair, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity interjected. “We know you’re hurting right now, darling, but there’s no way she could have known that Sunset would turn on us again.”

“Oh really, and why’s that!? Eh?”

“Because the Elements cleansed her.” Twilight said levelly.

All eyes turned to Twilight.

“Care to repeat that princess.” Rainbow snarled as she stood over Twilight.

“The Elements cleansed her.” Twilight repeated, not bothering to get up, but instead choosing to meet Rainbow’s fierce glare. “The Sunset that bullied all of you was purged of all wicked and cruel thoughts when the Elements purified her. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to call on their power when we fought the Sirens.”

“Then explain to us, oh wise and great Twilight Sparkle, why she started spilling everyone’s embarrassing secrets all over the Internet! Or why she was trying to kill me!” Rainbow hissed.

“Wait… what are you talking about?” Twilight said.

“Are you fucking dense! I could see her face! That thing that almost snapped my neck was Sunset!” Rainbow snarled.

“No, not that. I’m talking about the first part. What do you mean she was spilling secrets?” Twilight said, her voice laced with shock.

“Anon-A-Miss! Sunset’s little MyStable alias. Stupid little bitch started spreading our secrets for everyone to see.”

“But, that’s…” Twilight said, at a loss for words.

“Ah’m afraid Rainbow’s right, sugarcube.” Applejack said as she balled her fists on the table. “It started with me, then spread to everyone in the dang school. Shouldn’t have trusted that snake in the first place. She even had the gall to lie to us about all of it.”

“It’s true Twilight.” Pinkie chimed in, her voice flat and devoid of her usual cheer. “She just started being a meaniepants again one day out of the blue.”

Twilight’s mind was reeling. This didn’t add up. From her correspondence through the journal, she never once saw any sign that Sunset was reverting. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Before she’d left to go see Shining and Cadance, Sunset had sounded so happy about spending time with these girls.

The angry texts to Sunset from the others were starting to make sense.

But something didn’t feel right. Even if Sunset had reverted to her old ways, she wouldn’t gain anything form posting everyone’s secrets for the public to see. After all, even at her worst, Sunset was meticulous. A strategist. If anything, it would have decreased the amount of power she had, because she couldn’t hold something over her victim.

No. Something was just not adding up.

“Show me.” Twilight said, her voice tight with conviction.

“What?” The other girls replied in unison.

“Show me.” Twilight repeated. “I want to see it for myself.”

“Yah don’t believe us?” Applejack said with a scowl.

“I believe that you believe what you’re saying. But I need to see it for myself. Please…”

The five other girls looked at each other. With a sigh, Rarity pulled out her phone, and tapped the face a few times. Handing the device to Twilight, she leaned back in her chair.

“Here you go, dear. I must warn you, it’s not pretty.” Rarity said with a small frown and a touch of bitterness in her voice.

“Thank you, Rarity.” Twilight said as she began to scroll through the posts.

As the page slowly loaded, Twilight’s eyebrows knitted into a scowl. It was awful. Some of it was just embarrassing stories, but there were things that were far more personal. It felt unclean, reading everyone’s secrets like this. But what caused her blood to boil was the page practically screamed at the top of its lungs that it was Sunset Shimmer who’d written everything. Yet, despite trying to look like it was Sunset, Twilight found herself unable to believe that it actually was her. And, as she read, she saw things that began to solidify that doubt. Scrolling back through the text, it began to crystalize, till it was hard and solid as a slab of basalt.

“Sunset didn’t write these…”

“What do you mean, ‘Sunset didn’t write these’?! Of course she did!” Rainbow snarled.

“No. She didn’t.” Twilight said coldly as she set the phone on the table. “Look, I’ve been corresponding with Sunset for months now. I know her writing style. There’s a certain… flow and rhythm to it. An academic precision. A personality. And this…” Twilight pointed to the phone “this is not Sunset.”

“What makes you so sure?” Rarity said, her features still hard.

“Look, right here. The author didn’t punctuate these sentences right. This one is full of coma splices. In this one, they used a semi-colon instead of a colon. They forgot to capitalize a formal name in this one. Here they try to sound scientific, but they just used a bunch of big words. Incorrectly at that. And here, they use ‘to’ instead of ‘too’.” Twilight said as she scrolled through the posts. “Sunset’s a gifted, and meticulous, academic. Even her hand-written letters to me are precise, grammatically perfect, and have a certain linguistic flow. She’d never make these sorts of amateurish mistakes. Even if she was trying to mask her style by intentionally including these sorts of errors, it would still, on some level, sound like Sunset.

“Also, what would she get out of it? What could she possibly have to gain? The Sunset I know could concoct a better way to get her power back in her sleep. When she was in control of the school, did she ever do anything that could be so obviously traced back to her? Or do anything that would weaken her grip on everyone?”

“No… she didn’t…” Pinkie said.

“So why would she do something like this? If she went back to her old ways, would she suddenly and drastically change her approach to the point where not only was her involvement advertised, but make it so she couldn’t actually get anything out of it, and all but guarantee that she ended up as a social pariah? None of those things sounds like Sunset, now do they? So, let me repeat myself: I don’t know who this is, but I can say with absolute certainty that it wasn’t Sunset.”

As Twilight went through her explanation, there was a mounting sense of dread in the room, a slow chilling of smoldering anger into icy horror that settled into the guts of everyone present.

“You… you’re wrong.” Rainbow said, her voice shaking. “You’re just trying to cover for her…”

“No Rainbow, I’m not. Regardless of everything she’s just done, I can tell you, right now, that Sunset wasn’t responsible for this.” Twilight said as slapped the phone onto the table and shoved it back to Rarity.

“But then…” Fluttershy said, before her hands flew over her mouth as a fresh set of tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes, “We…”

All five of the human girls’ faces sank, all of the vitality instantly drained out of them.

“No…” Pinkie whimpered, her hair deflating and becoming completely straight.

“Mah Gawd. She was tellin’ the truth…” Applejack whispered as she stared at her lap.

“What did we…” Rarity said.

“But… but, she… but I…” Rainbow muttered as she dropped back into her chair, looking even more drained than before.

A heavy silence fell onto the room, each of the girls processing the horrid revelation that Twilight had just dropped on them. Each one wanted to deny it, but Twilight had made a compelling argument. Now that they’d stopped to think, really think, nothing Anon-A-Miss did sounded like Sunset, new or old.

For Twilight, it was another piece of the puzzle falling into place.

“Tell me what happened…” Twilight said in a low voice, a subtle hint of anger tickling along the edge of her words.

The other girls in the room didn’t reply. How could they? Still, they had to tell Twilight something. They at least owed her that.

In the end it was Applejack that spoke up.

“It started about ah week and ah half ago…”

And with that, Twilight listened intently as Applejack explained what had been going on. The slumber party and the first post from Anon-a-Miss; the second post and fact that the photos were the same ones that Sunset took; the subsequent posts and the escalation; the implication that it was Sunset and Sunset’s fervent denial; Principle Celestia expelling her; Sunset getting attacked as she left the school for the last time…

“…after she got kicked out of school, none of us saw her again, and the Anon-a-Miss posts stopped. We figured she’d got the message and left town, or went back to Equestria.” Applejack finished, her face looking like she wanted to throw up. The other girls didn’t look much better.

“So… I just want to be absolutely sure I’ve got this right: somebody started posting embarrassing stuff on this… internet of yours… and you all concluded that it was Sunset because the poster was obviously going out of their way to paint a target on Sunset by using her personal sunburst and a silhouette made up to look like her, proceeded to ostracize her and not trust her when she repeatedly plead her innocence, didn’t lift a finger to help her when she was expelled from school, stood by while she was yelled at and beaten, and just concluded that she was responsible when the scandalous posts stopped at the same time she disappeared? Is that all?” Twilight said levelly as she looked around at the girls, none of which could meet her eyes.

“That’s… not all, dear.” Rarity finally said, shame painted all across her face, “We… may have expressed our… anger… towards her in an… inappropriate fashion…”

“You mean threatening her, right?” Twilight said coolly.

The others looked up in shock.

“How did you…?” Rarity gasped.

“The reason I’m here right now is there was something wrong with the journal that I use to correspond with her. The only thing I could get out of it was a desperate plea for help. When I got here, I went looking for her at her house… her abandoned house… and found two things: her phone with a few very choice threats on it. Something about boots, ambulances, sewing needles and Dobermans if I remember right.” Twilight said with now only thinly veiled venom.

“That’s not all though. I also found this.” Twilight hissed as she pulled a sheet of paper out of her pocket and tossed it onto the table. The others all stared at it, unsure how to respond.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked.

“Read it…” Twilight said as she crossed her arms and glared angrily at the girls.

Tentatively, Rarity reached out and picked the paper up, before she unfolded it and began to read. Half way through, her hand shot up to her mouth and she gasped in horror.

“Aloud Rarity. Read it aloud to everyone.” Twilight growled.

Swallowing hard, Rarity began to read.

“To whoever finds this letter,

My name is Sunset Shimmer. Recent events in my life have stolen any and all reasons for me to continue going on. As such, I intend to drown myself tonight at Lake Everfree. Nobody has forced me to write this, and I am doing this of my own free will.

To all of those who I have wronged in the past, I’m sorry.

To my former friends the Rainbooms, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I hurt you in the past, and hope that at the very least, my death will give you some closure and let you move on.

To whoever is behind Anon-A-Miss, congratulations. You’ve won. For whatever reason you had for doing this, with me gone, you will have what you want.

To Princess Twilight Sparkle, I’m sorry that failed you. I only wish I knew what I did to make you stop replying. For whatever I did, I’m sorry. And I’m sorry I’ve wasted the chance you gave me. We may have been enemies, but I had hoped that one day, you might have eventually loved me the way I loved you. But now I see that I was deluding myself.

And to Princess Celestia, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being such a disappointment. I’m sorry that I failed you. I’m sorry that I couldn’t hold out longer. You and Twilight were both the light in my life that gave me hope.

But now, that hope has been drowned out in darkness. And I can’t bear it anymore.

Sunset Shimmer.”

Pained silence fell over the entire room.

“Does that sound like someone who was guilty? Someone who was getting what they wanted?” Twilight growled, fresh tears in her eyes, “Well, does it?”

“Twilight, you have to understand…” Pinkie began, but Twilight cut her off.

“SHUT… UP! There’s nothing to understand; you turned on her with the flimsiest of evidence, threatened her, stood by while she was forced out of school, assaulted, and driven to that.” Twilight spat as she pointed to Sunset’s letter.

“Well, what about you? Why weren’t you there for her?” Rainbow said, a touch of defiance in her voice.

“Don’t you even try to pull that on me Rainbow Dash. I live in another world, and as you’ve so delicately pointed out, I’m a princess. As much as I want to always be there for all of my friends, there’s only so much that I can do, especially for Sunset. I wanted to bring her back the first time I came through the portal, but she chose to stay here to make amends to all of you for what she’d done in the past. She literally refused to go home until she became a better person, and made things right. And I came here as soon as I could, but it was obviously far too late.” Twilight said, wet lines tracing their way down her face. “Regardless of how it happened… somehow Sunset’s been turned into that… abomination… and I have no idea what to do. Whatever she’s become, its nothing like anything else I’ve faced… in either world.”

The room fell silent again as the weight of the dread and guilt in the atmosphere settled down on them, threatening to crush them under its colossal pressure.

“I… need some air.” Twilight said as she rose to her feet and made her way to the exit. None of the other girls said anything, though she was sure that she heard Fluttershy start sobbing as she reached the door.

Standing outside Sugar Cube Corner, Twilight leaned up against the outer wall as she tilted her head back to look at the sky. It was gray and overcast, its oppressive pall smothering the whole city. It was somehow appropriate.

“Oh, Sunset…” Twilight said as the tears flowed from her eyes.

*In the Deep's space*

The Magister floated in the calm void that was the Deep’s embrace, her body diffused into its hot, icy mass.

What had happened back there?

She had found one of the aspects of the Sky, and had it at her mercy. She would have preferred to torment it longer to deepen its despair, but when it spoke her old name, some echo of her false-self had reacted, and she had been overcome with rage.

Then another one had appeared.

It would have… should have been so simple to kill them both. Neither knew how to properly call on the Sky to aid them in their leprous campaign of deception, so they were succulently easy prey.

Yet, something went wrong.

An echo of an emotion from her false-self. Some wretched feeling at seeing the purple-haired one. It distracted and confused her, aspects of her false-self flooding into her mind. The wave of conflicting sensations had left her vulnerable, so she retreated back to the Deep.

Why? She was the enemy. She was the main source of the Sky’s power in this world. It should have been nothing to tear off her head and devour the Sky’s delectable essence like soft, ripe fruit. To cut off the Sky’s conduit to this place and leave the rest of the rot exposed to be carved out like so much gangrenous flesh.

It was the remnant of her false-self that had stayed her hand. It was the only explanation. She needed to weaken the Sky’s influence further by cutting all ties to her false-self before she could confront the six that bore the Sky’s power. She needed to prove her true-self stronger through the act of slaughter. The Deep’s will would be fulfilled. She would scrub all life from this world in a purifying wave of destruction and death.

But she would need to be meticulous. She had been hasty when she went after the first bearer of the Sky’s power. That had proven to be a mistake. There was still enough of her false-self within the dark corners of her being. Too much of the lie that the Sky had forced on her. No, she would build her power, find her opportunities, and turn the arrogance of this world’s inhabitants against them.

She began to reform her body, slowly pulling her shape out of the weft and weave of the Deep’s space.

She would drown the last echos of her false-self with the power of the Deep. It would not interfere again.

*Later that afternoon, in Canterlot Heights*

“Yes…yes…yes, of course… Let me know if there’s anything else you need from me… Of course… Please, tell Minuette that we’re sorry to see her go.”

Celestia sighed as she pressed the ‘end call’ icon on her phone and slumped down onto the couch. How could all of this have happened? The strangeness that had been going on in her school was one thing: magical extra-dimensional students, demons, sirens… it was all too much. All she ever wanted form life was to help guide and educate. Not play host to a weekly episode of “Sheer Audacity’s Believe it or not.”

Now, something new had shown up. And not just shown up and caused some chaos and property damage. No, it’d attacked, and murdered, five of her precious students. And some of the parents were pulling their children out of the school, claiming that it wasn’t safe. She couldn’t blame them, but it still hurt all the same.

Leaning forward, she began to sob into her hands.

She felt so powerless. She was supposed to protect her charges. Make sure that they had a safe place to learn, grow, and become the adults they had the potential to be. Even when Sunset had reverted to her old ways again, she’d put a final stop to it.

But this was so far beyond anything she knew how to handle.

A set of strong, warm arms wrapped around her and gently pulled her into a soft hug. Turning slightly, Celestia allowed herself to be held as the owner of the arms rocked her back and forth.

“Shhh, shhh, shhh. It is okay mi ángela. It is okay.” A deep, warm baritone Castilian voice said as he gently rocked her.

Celestia snuggled deeper into his chest, allowing herself, for just a moment, stop being “principle Celestia”, and let her emotions free.

After a few minutes of gently crying into him, Celestia reluctantly removed herself from his embrace and took his hands into her own.

“Better?” He said, his normally handsome and swarthy face marred by a look of deep concern as he rubbed the back of her hands with his thumbs.

“A little.” She said. “Thank you Sombra.”

“Of course mi ángela.” He said. “I did not wish to intrude, but do all these calls have something to do with the strangeness that has been happening at your school?”

“Yes.” Celestia said, trying her best to keep her voice even. “Honestly, I’m more scared for my students than anything else. Argh, I just feel so helpless. Problem students? Bullying? Slipping grades? Obstinate PTA members? Creationist quacks demanding their pseudo-science nonsense be taught alongside proper biology? That I can handle, no problem. But this… magic stuff? I don’t know where to even begin. Can I even do anything? I hate it. I hate not knowing what to do. I hate feeling helpless…”

Sombra gently squeezed her hands and put his forehead against hers.

“You put too much on yourself ángela.” he said, “You are but one person, and no matter how talented and brilliant you are, there are things that not even you would know how to handle. Your students know that you are there for them. Perhaps that is the best thing you can do. Be the light that gives them hope. Even if you cannot solve the problem yourself, you can help give them the strength to overcome.”

Celestia turned her face up to Sombra’s, violet eyes meeting green. She leaned in, pecking his lips with her own as she ran her fingers through his black, blue streaked hair.

“Heh, ever the philosopher, mi cariño. What did I do to deserve you?” She said with a plaintive smile.

“You were your shining self, ángela. If anything, I am the one who should be asking what I did to deserve you.” He said, before standing and helping her to her feet. “I do not think that there is much else you can do tonight. Why do we not think about this after we have eaten?”

“I think that’d be fine. Would you mind…” Celestia trailed off.

Sombra continued. “Of course. Sopa de ajo y lechazo con papas?”

“Yes, please.”

Sombra simply smiled, nodded and made his way towards the kitchen. As soon as he was out of sight, Celestia made her way to the large picture window and stared out at the snowy late afternoon landscape, her mind barely registering the strange, oppressive fog that had settled over the neighborhood, and sighed deeply, her breath clouding up the glass.

When did her life get so complicated? Right, when that bad apple Sunset Shimmer suddenly popped into her life and her school. Taking a deep and cleansing breath, her normally radiant face became dark. The girl really was a menace, wasn’t she? Even after it looked like she’d turned over a new leaf, she’d reverted to her old ways again. Celestia had hoped that her former trouble student had turned herself around, but after everything that had happened, she wasn’t willing to let things get as bad as they did the last time. So, for the sake of the students she’d been forced to remove Sunset from Canterlot High.

What stung the most was just how much progress Sunset had been making. The girl had so much potential. But, she’d turned a blind eye for too long to her problematic behavior. Well, not this time. Sunset had her chance, and she blew it.

Letting out a deep sigh as she began to walk towards the kitchen, the enchanting aroma of roasting lamb, rosemary, potatoes and garlic drifted towards her and tickled her nose. It’d be some time before the food would be done, but until then, she’d enjoy the savory smell of her husband’s culinary magic. Walking past him, she opened the wine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Aglianico wine.

“I was thinking,” she began as she set the bottle on the table and retrieved a pair of wine-glasses from the cabinet, “I’d like to hold a memorial for the students that died. It seems wrong just to ignore what happened and not give their friends a chance to say goodbye.”

“It would be a good gesture.” Sombra said as he turned to face Celestia, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel as he made his way over to the table. Taking one of the offered glasses, he waited patiently as Celestia popped out the cork and poured him a modest amount of the fragrant liquid. “If you need any help, I will give it.”

“Thank you, Sombra.” Celestia said as she swirled the wine in the glass before taking a sip, shivering lightly as a low moan from outside drift through the air. “Right now, I think we need all we can get.”

Author's Note

And now, things begin to escalate.

For clarification, the Sombra that Celestia is married to is the good Mirror Sombra's counterpart from the Reflections arc in the IDW comics, not the villainous main series one.

Edit: made a couple of small changes to make the events of next chapter feel a little less out of left field.

4 – Revelations of the Deep

*The Portal to Equestria*

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Twilight said as she approached the statue. “Hold onto this.”

Pulling a small notebook out of her pocket, she passed it to Applejack.

“Alright Twi. But, what is it?” She said, still unwilling to meet Twilight’s eyes.

“I needed to make sure the portal won’t go out. Since something went wrong with Sunset’s journal, we're going to use that smaller duplicate to make sure it’ll stay open.” Twilight said before turning to the portal. “When I’m about to return, I’ll write you a message and the notebook will alert you.”

“Ah guess that makes sense, but why are ya’ leavin’ already? We need ya to help us stop Sunset.” Applejack said, worry tinting her voice. Behind her, the other girls murmured their agreement.

Sighing, Twilight turned back to face the five girls.

“I need to consult with Princess Celestia on what’s happened to Sunset. It’s a bit of a long-shot, but maybe she knows something. Something that can help us get her back. So unless all of you can suddenly produce someone with over a millennium of experience in mysticism and battling the forces of evil, I have to go back to Equestria.” Twilight said, the sharp edge in her voice prompting the others to back up slightly.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Twilight groaned.

“I’m sorry. That’s just part of it. If I’m being totally honest right now, I’m still very angry with all of you, and until I can sort it out, we won’t be able to call on the Elements if it comes to that. I just need some time.” Twilight said as she reached the portal.

“Well…um, I guess that’s fair.” Fluttershy said as she stared down at her shoes. “Um… how long do you think it’ll take to talk with… Princess Celestia?”

“Not too long.” Twilight said, not bothering to look back at any of them. “I’ll be back as soon as possible. Try to hold out till I do.”

And with that, she stepped through the portal and vanished, leaving the five girls staring at the plinth.

*Canterlot Castle*

Twilight made her way down the marble halls towards the throne room at a swift trot. Angry or not, she wasn’t going to leave her friends on the other side to face off against Sunset on their own. But whatever Sunset had become, it was something so far outside of anything she could comprehend, that without information, she was practically powerless. And there was only one being she knew of that might possibly give her that information.

Summoning her magic, she pulled the doors to the throne room open and trotted in. Sitting upon her throne was the pony she sought.

“Twilight.” Princess Celestia said, before rising and approaching the younger alicorn. Looking Twilight over, Celestia's face morphed into a very slight frown. “From the look of things, this isn’t a casual visit. What’s happened?”

Twilight’s ears pressed against her head and her wings drooped slightly as she looked up at the older alicorn.

“I… it has to do with… the other world. With Sunset Shimmer.” Twilight said hesitantly, watching as Princess Celestia’s expression grew concerned. “Something’s happened to her… something… bad. And, well, you’re the only one I know who might know how to fix it.”

“Slow down Twilight.” Princess Celestia said as she regarded her former student. “What exactly has happened?”

“That’s just it; I don’t know.” Twilight said. “The abridged version is Sunset was framed for betraying her friends trust, was expelled from school, and vanished. I only found out about all of it two days ago when the journal you gave me to communicate with her started acting strange. When I went to the other world to find out what had happened, I ran into Sunset about to kill the other world’s Rainbow Dash.”

Celestia’s mask slipped, and her expression slowly morphed to one of mild sadness and anger. “She was trying to murder another pony?”

“That’s just the thing. I didn’t get a good enough look at her to tell that it was Sunset. When she saw me, she doubled over like she was in pain, and then just vanished into thin air. It was Rainbow Dash who told me it was Sunset.”

“How did she vanish into thin air? The magic of the other world is too weak to allow something like that.”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know. I don’t even know if the thing that attacked Rainbow really even is Sunset…”

“Please, Twilight, calm down and tell me what’s happened to her.” Celestia said firmly as she put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Okay…” Twilight said as she took a few deep breaths, “Okay… Like I said, I didn’t get a good look at her. But… from what I did see, she looked like some sort of twisted wraith. Her whole body was changed into some sort of white to black gradient, and she was using magic, but it was nothing like any magic I’ve ever seen, even dark magic.”

Taking one final deep breath, Twilight looked up at Celestia, hoping her mentor could give her some sort of advice. But when she looked at the princess’s eyes, her heart sank. Celestia, paragon of wisdom, and one of the oldest beings in existence, simply looked back down at Twilight, her face unreadable.

“Princess… you do know what’s happened to Sunset, right? You know how to save her. Please… tell me you know something to help her.”

“I’m sorry Twilight.” Celestia said as she closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. “But, I’ve never heard of or seen anything like what you’ve described. I’m not sure anything like that has ever existed in Equestria.”

Twilight’s heart sank.

“No…” She whimpered. “But if you don’t know what’s happened, how do we find a way to save her.”

“Oh, that’s very simple my little purple pony princess. You can’t.” A condescending voice said from above, though it lacked its normally jovial air. Looking up, Twilight saw Discord floating near the roof of the room.

“Discord? What are you doing here?” Twilight said as she glared at the floating draconequs.

“Hmph. I saw you tearing out of that garish castle of yours, so I thought I’d follow along and see if there was something fun going on. Sad to say, there isn’t.” Discord said as he floated down, hovering near the alicorns, his face unusually serious. “The taken are bad news.”

“The taken?” Twilight asked. “What are the taken?”

“They’re… a problem, is what they are. And from what you’ve just freaked out to Celly here, your little friend Sunset just became part of that problem. Too bad for you.” Discord said.

“I presume then, that you know what’s happened to my former student?” Celestia said as she glared at Discord.

“Unfortunately.” He said.

“Well, don’t leave us in suspense.” Celestia said, “Please, enlighten us.”

“Alright, but you’re not going to like it.” Discord said as he righted himself and snapped his fingers. Both Twilight and Celestia suddenly found themselves sitting in a pair of desks, dressed in school-filly uniforms while Discord hovered next to a massive chalkboard, wearing a professor’s robes and a pair of reading glasses. Twilight squirmed with discomfort, while Celestia simply narrowed her eyes at him, but remained silent.

“As you may or may not know, reality is composed of many different concepts or forces.” Discord said as he pointed to the chalkboard, which manifested several arcane runes, ones that Twilight recognized as ancient ones representing things such as Light, Darkness, Order, Chaos and Balance.

“While most places in the universe are not tied to a specific… we'll call them fundamentals… and are instead influenced by all of them to varying degree, others are more directly tied to a specific fundamental. For example, Equestira is predominantly aligned with the fundamental of Harmony, which seeks to build a universe of peace and order.” He continued as he pointed to the rune for Harmony, which manifested little caricatures of cheering ponies dancing stiffly around it, cheering in flat, squeaky cartoon voices.

“But, there are other forces out there. Some that are similar to Harmony.” More runes appeared by Harmony, runes that read things like Life, Tyrany, Order, Peace and Stagnation all of which cavorted across the board with one another, giggling and dancing around happily.

“And others, that stand in opposition it.” More runes appeared and growled at the other set of runes. Runes that read things like Freedom, Conflict, Chaos, Creativity and Death.

“Discord, what does this have to do with Sunset?” Twilight said as she raised a hoof.

“I’m getting to that.” Discord said as he folded his arms behind his back. “Don’t interrupt the exposition.”

Frowning, Twilight huffed through her nose and crossed her forelegs across her chest.

“These forces all possess what we could call a living will; a sort of nucleus of sentience that exists at a higher-dimensional level beyond yours. You met a fragment of Harmony’s existence when you found the Tree of Harmony. Of these forces, two of the most powerful are in a constant state of war for the fate of your plane of existence: the Sky.” The rune for the Sky split away from the others and took a position on the left side of the board.

“And the Deep.” The rune for the Deep did the same, moving to the right of the board. All of the other runes vanished, leaving the two the only ones on the board.

“Because the fundamentals occupy a plane of existence so high above this one, they're paracausal: they exist outside the boundaries of material law, and are instead bound by rules wholly unique to them and them alone. All fundamentals can, at their discretion, grant mortal individuals a sliver of this paracausality. The Elements of Harmony are one example of these paracausal gifts of the fundamentals. It is only through the gifts of the fundamentals that you can defeat another gifted with a fundamental’s power.”

“Is that why only the Elements could stop you?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, Miss Sparkle. Though, unlike you and the element bearers, I’m not imbued with a fundamental’s power. I’m more like the Tree; a manifestation of a shard of a fundamental’s existence. Chaos specifically if you’re wondering.”

“As fascinating as this is Discord, please get to the point where it involves Sunset.” Celestia said as she regarded her uniform with mild disdain.

“Right, right. I’m getting there. Unlike most of the other fundamentals, the Deep’s philosophy is a little more… aggressive. To the Deep, a reality not at war is one that is stagnant and weak.” More drawings manifested on the board. Little stick figures of different shapes all fighting and killing each other. “It drives those it imbues towards one end: the destruction of all life that cannot stand against them. As far as the Deep is concerned, the only way that something is worthy of existing is if it can prove that right to exist by destroying everything else.” Soon, there was only one stick figure, standing atop a mound of corpses, holding its foreleg in the air and squeaking in victory. “That is the Deep’s goal: to see all life in the multiverse winnowed down to one single force that could not be bested. Its ‘one final shape’, so to speak.

“The taken are one way it recruits others to its cause.”

A new drawing appeared, this one of Sunset Shimmer in her human form.

“Taken are individuals who are abducted and pulled into another place and time by the Deep.” A glowing portal appeared next to Sunset, and grabbed her with a tendril, pulling her through to the other side.

“There, the Deep exposes them to their deepest fears, flaws and pain, stripping them down to their most basic level.” The human Sunset fell to her knees, weeping into her hands.

“And once it does, it offers them the chance to overcome and remove those flaws.” A glowing ball appeared next to the crying Sunset drawing, which she looked at with a hope filled yet tear-stained face.

“But in doing so, it strips away their individual will, making them little more than extensions of the Deep itself, then sends them back where they came from to fulfill its goal of creating its ‘final shape’.” Cartoon Sunset took the glowing ball, which spread up her arm and turned her into the horrific monochromatic nightmare Twilight had seen, which then passed out a second portal and started blasting cartoon versions of her friends before disappearing.

“That’s all well and good Discord.” Celestia said as she freed herself from the desk and moved towards the draconequs. “But how do we get Sunset back?”

“Oh, Celly, its very simple: you don’t.” Discord said with an unkind smile. “Or, rather, you can’t. Your little Sunset is gone. Unlike the Deep’s other methods of granting its gifts to its followers, being taken is much more… invasive. Once the Deep gets itself into someone, it burns out everything else. There literally isn’t anything left of Sunset to get back.”

“So what do we do? If you’re telling the truth…” Twilight began.

“I am.” Discord interrupted. “You may not trust me, but you'd be wise to heed what I say. The taken are a very serious threat, especially if they decide to come through the portal to this world. Harmony is allied with the Deep’s sworn enemy, so what do you think will happen if it becomes aware of this place? I’ve seen other worlds fall to the Deep, and if it learns that it could deal a blow to one of the Sky’s allies, one taken will be the least of our problems.”

“Fine. That still leaves us where we started; what do we do about Sunset?” Twilight said, her ears pinning back against her head. “I can’t just give up on her. There has to be something that can save her.”

An expression of genuine pity worked its way across Discord’s face as he regarded the young alicorn.

“You can’t save her, because she doesn’t want to be saved Twilight. The Deep offered her something that she wanted on a level so profound that it let the Deep literally redefine the very concept of her existence. That is what it means to be taken. To have the essence of what you were in this reality burnt away by the power of the Deep, and replaced by a singular, euphoric joy that removes all doubt, pain and fear, while imbuing you with the singular purpose of fulfilling the will of the Deep. If she's been taken, she willingly accepted the gift the Deep offered her.

“I know you’re not going to like this, but in the end, your only choices are to put her down and buy that world a little more time, or close the portal permanently and leave them to their fate. The longer she’s allowed to run free, the more interest the Deep will take in the other world. And the more interest it takes, the more likely we are to have taken, or worse, on our plate.”

“Put her down? You mean kill her?” Twilight gasped. “Discord, she’s my friend. I can’t… kill her…”

“Then that world will die. Sunset won’t stop until all life there is extinguished. And she could do it. The taken are like a wildfire. She will kill. And kill. And kill some more. And the more she kills, the darker she’ll burn. And the darker she burns, the stronger she becomes, and the more she will kill. And once she starts to burn dark enough, she’ll be able to do to others what was done to her, and the infection will spread.”

“But… even if I was willing to… murder… Sunset… how could I? You said yourself that only something that’s… what was the word you used… paracausal, can beat something that’s paracausal. The Elements are back in the Tree, and the Rainbow Power was used up defeating Tirek. And I can’t risk taking the Crystal Heart through the portal. Even moving it would spell the doom of the Crystal Empire.”

Discord closed his eyes, crossed his arms and lowered his head. Twilight saw his brows knit up in thought.

“There… is something that might be able to help.” He said, trepidation clearly in his voice.

“What?” Twilight and Celestia said in unison.

“The Sky and the Deep have fought for eons. And… those they’ve empowered have made weapons to fight the other. Paracausal weapons. I know where one of them is hidden. It might be enough to stop your little Sunset, but getting it won’t be easy.”

“What sort of weapon is it?” Celestia asked.

“The last desperate attempt of a doomed people to hold back the tide of the Deep’s servants. It couldn’t stop an army, but it should be more than enough to end a single taken.”

“Where is it?”

“Amidst the ashes of a world that fell to the Deep. And before you ask, no, I can’t get it. It’s a weapon of the Sky, so it would reject me. But you?” Discord said as he pressed a finger to Twilight’s muzzle, “You it might accept.”

Twilight took a step back and looked down to her hooves, her ears pinning back against her head. Could she really do it? Could she kill Sunset? Her heart rebelled against the idea. But, if Discord was telling the truth, there was more at stake than just Sunset. As angry as she was with them, she couldn’t just leave all of her friends on the other side of the portal to die.

But, there was even more at stake. Thousands… millions of innocent lives were in danger, in both the other world, and in Equestria.

Twilight turned her face up towards Discord, her eyes burning with determination. She’d failed Sunset when she needed her. She wouldn’t… couldn’t fail the rest of her friends.

“Alright. How do I reach this weapon?”

*Canterlot Mall, Suri’s Fabrics*

Rarity listlessly flipped through the bolts of cloth in front of her, her heart just not in the task of picking out the materials for her latest project. Softly sighing, she released the cloth and began to aimlessly wander the isles, periodically picking up merchandise of some sort and pretending to examine it.

The last couple of days had been an emotional roller-coaster, to the point that her inspiration had dried up like a puddle in the sun. She wasn’t sure what hurt more: the guilt learning that Sunset hadn’t been to blame for Anon-a-Miss, or the nagging fear that somehow it might be their fault Sunset had turned into a genuine monster and started killing people.

Looking around, she saw the other store patrons, going about their shopping without a care in the world. A few days ago, that’d been her. Just going on with her daily life. But now, there was a terrible weight on her shoulders. The weight of a guilty conscience and the knowledge that if things went the way they usually did, the Rainbooms might be facing down Sunset again, but with so much more on the line.

What was worse was that they still didn’t know who had started this whole thing? Who was Anon-a-Miss? Taking a deep breath, Rarity pulled out her phone, and checked the time. 2:23pm. She had seven minutes till she was supposed to collect Sweetie. Putting the device away, she made her way out of the store and began her trek towards the mall’s central rotunda. It wasn’t that far, but she didn’t see the point to staying in Suri’s any longer.

Slipping her hands into her pockets, she trudged through the crowd. After a minute of walking, she reached her destination. The rotunda, unlike most of the mall, was free of shops or vendor stands, instead boasting several large planters full of flowers, with dozens of benches for shoppers to sit and relax on. As she approached, she could hear festive music from one side of the open area. Turning towards the sound, she spotted a temporary amphitheater that had been set up for a small group of musicians, including, to her delight, Octavia Melody. Making her way over to the stage, Rarity took a seat on an open bench and, for the first time in hours, relaxed, a small smile turning up the corner of her lips.

It quickly turned back to a frown. There was still the impending problem of Sunset Shimmer, and Anon-a-Miss. Of the two, Sunset was the more immediate, pressing issue. She was still out there. Somewhere. Probably biding her time, waiting to strike. And if what happened on the soccer field told them anything, Sunset could literally appear out of thin air and vanish again at will.

The thought caused Rarity’s throat to constrict in terror. Sunset could strike at anytime, anywhere, and there was no way for them to stop her.

Then there was the other looming problem. They still had no idea who had started all of this. As much as she wanted to deny it, the princess had made a convincing argument against Sunset being Anon-a-Miss. The more she stewed on it, the more she realized that she and the others had been wrong.

So who was Anon-a-Miss? And why did they go out of their way to implicate Sunset? The problem was, there were any number of students at the school who would love to see Sunset fall. As much as she hated to admit it, not everyone was as forgiving and willing to give a second chance as she or her friends were. And we were hardly willing to give her the benefit of the doubt when it was put to the test. There was literally an entire school of teenagers with motivation to ruin Sunset. And teenagers, despite what they often thought of themselves, were not rational, mature adults. It wasn’t too big a stretch to imagine that someone with a grudge against Sunset could do something like this.

So… who could it be?

“Hey, big sis!” A cheery voice called. As Rarity turned towards the source, a small, energetic bundle of trouble glomped onto her, sending a warm surge through her body.

“Hello Sweetie. Are you ready to head home?” Rarity said fondly as she returned Sweetie’s embrace.

“Awww! Do we have to?” Sweetie pleaded.

“I’m afraid so, dear. We agreed: we spend an afternoon at the mall, you finish your winter break homework.”

Rarity watched as Sweetie pouted before her face brightened.

“Can we at least stop by Delightful Dove for some ice-cream?” Sweetie said, flashing Rarity with her best puppy dog eyes.

Rarity raised her hand to cover her mouth as she chuckled, a smile playing on her face.

“I suppose so. But keep it secret from mama and papa. Can’t let them know I’m spoiling you.” Rarity said as she patted Sweetie on the head.

“Yay!” Sweetie cheered before getting up and pulling Rarity to her feet.

Rarity took Sweetie’s hand as the two walked towards the food court. Looking down at the younger girl, Rarity sighed. Regardless of everything else going on, she was glad to have Sweetie with her. Though, she was worried too. If Sunset came after her, would she be able to keep her sister safe. The idea of Sweetie getting hurt filled her with both dread and rage.

As they approached the Delightful Dove kiosk, Sweetie let go of Rarity’s hand and ran ahead to get into line. Tittering at the sight, Rarity sauntered towards her sister, when she heard a familiar chime and vibration from the inside of her purse. Pulling her phone out, she saw a text from Rainbow Dash. Hoping that it wasn’t anything serious, she popped the message open. It was a short text, but as she read, the bottom fell out of her stomach, and tears began to well up in her eyes. Leaning back against one of the nearby support columns, Rarity’s left hand shot up and covered her mouth as she mewled one word.

“No.”

Rarity, have you seen the news?! Principal Celestia’s dead! They found her body this morning!

*****

Luna stood in the Canterlot City morgue, her arms tightly folded across her chest, and her face a carefully maintained porcelain mask. Beneath the mask, her blood was boiling. It took all of her considerable will to not immediately tear out of the building, pull her M4 out of storage, and go hunting for whatever lowlife dared to hurt her sister.

Instead, she stood by the Canterlot PD’s coroner, Gentle Passing, as her hand wrapped around the body locker’s handle.

“Are you ready Miss Luna?” She asked.

“Just do it.” Luna replied curtly.

“Alright. Brace yourself.” Gentle Passing said as she pulled the drawer open.

Even with her time in the marines, there was a difference between seeing the corpse of an enemy combatant and seeing that of her own sister. What made it even worse was the state of the body.

All of Celestia body below the sternum was gone, leaving only the upper torso and head mostly intact, though they were peppered with ugly bruises. The wounds were not jagged or torn like the damage done by shrapnel. They were smooth, clean and uncauterized, like the flesh had simply stopped existing. Even with the damage to her face, Luna knew her sister anywhere.

“That’s Celestia.” Luna hissed, her nails digging into her palms and her face twisting into a dangerous scowl.

“Okay.” Gentle Passing said sympathetically as she closed the drawer. “I’m afraid I need you to look at one more.”

Luna simply grunted her reply as the coroner moved her hand to the next drawer over. Meeting Luna’s eyes, she simply asked, “Ready?”

Luna nodded.

Gentle Passing pulled the drawer open, revealing a second familiar face. Like Celestia, his body was badly mangled, though it was almost worse. Where the killing blow on her sister was obvious, Sombra’s entire body was honeycombed with dozens of smaller holes. They didn’t pass all the way through, instead having bored deep into his flesh. They were still prolific enough to easily to kill him. Like Celestia, much of what remained of his flesh was patched with savage bruising.

“Yea. That’s Sombra.” Luna said, her voice barely containing its rage.

Gentle Passing made a few notes on her clipboard before closing the drawer. Looking back to Luna, she sighed before speaking. “Thank you Miss Luna. I’m sorry for your loss. If you want, I can recommend a counselor for you to talk to.”

A dangerous look flashed across Luna’s face, causing the coroner to flinch.

“I don’t need to talk to anyone. I just need you people to find whoever did this.” Luna hissed, her body tense with repressed fury.

“We intend to.” The coroner replied.

“Good. I’ll be in touch.” Luna curtly replied as she turned on her heels and made her way out of the room. She made it about ten feet outside the coroner’s office before her anger boiled over and she slammed the butt of her fist against the wall.

“FUCK!” She screamed, her eyes going moist with tears. Losing her sister was bad enough, but her brother-in-law too? That was too much. Luna clenched her teeth so hard her jaw creaked, as too many questions played over and over again in her mind: who could have done it? Why would they do it? Sure, Celestia had some enemies in the district office, but none of their policy arguments could have ever led to this. And Sombra was a sculptor. A famous one, sure, but a sculptor nonetheless. He had rivals, but they wouldn’t resort to this.

Would they?

So why? Why?

Luna lifted her fist and brought it back down on the wall again, the pain of slamming the concrete barely registering in her mind. She hoped that the police found whoever did it before she did. Because if she found them first, she’d be doing time for murder.

Taking a few deep breaths and straightening herself, Luna smoothed out her blazer with a few deft swipes of her hand, and resumed her walk out of the police station. As she exited, she pulled out her phone and opened her contacts list. Scrolling down, she found the number she was searching for. Tapping the tab, she put the phone up to her ear and listened to it ring. When the line picked up, a gravelly voice replied on the other end.

“Canterlot Pistol and Rifle Range. This is Steel Carbine. How can I help you?”

“Hey Carbine, its Luna.”

“Luna!” Carbine replied, her voice taking on a slightly more cheerful tone. “How’re you doin’ hon? Been a while.”

“Yea. Hey, you got any ranges open tomorrow? I’d like to come down for a bit. I’m feeling rusty.” Luna said, keeping her voice as natural as possible.

“One sec.” She said as Luna began to hear the telltale click of a keyboard. “Yea. Range 7 is open at 2. That work for you?”

“That sounds good. I’m going to bring my M4, so could you have some 5.56mms ready for me?”

“The M4? Feelin’ nostalgic, are we?”

“Something like that. See you at tomorrow at 2.”

Author's Note

So, exposition. Not sure how well this chapter is going to go over, but I figured this was the most natural way to explain to Twilight what exactly she's facing, and introduce a way for her to stop it.

5 – Terracide of the Deep

A mournful howl filled the air as a cold wind blew across an ashen and dead landscape, stirring up small clouds of dust as it passed. Despite the chill in the air, nothing moved. Nothing had moved for thousands of years, not since the cataclysm that left the world a dry, lifeless husk.

Then, for the first time since the world’s death, something stirred. It began as a small pinprick in space/time, but rapidly expanded into a glowing green ring. Beyond the ring’s boundary, there was another world. A living, vibrant world. But the gate’s magic prevented either place from mixing with one another.

A small, purple form stepped through the gate onto the dry, dusty soil of the corpse world. As it passed completely through, the gate contracted to a small speck of green flame.

Twilight had to take a few moments to adjust as she took in the chilling desolation all around her. In the distance, she could see the hollowed out shells of what once must have been a magnificent city, now crumbling into ruin. The ground was littered with broken and decayed remnants of a civilization, nay, world, long dead.

Reaching up to her muzzle, she pressed the breather mask a little tighter.

“Alright Twilight, this is it.” Discord said as he regarded the princess. “When I open the gate, it’ll put you just outside the city where the weapon was lost.”

Twilight nodded. The mask she wore made it impossible to speak, while a fur-tight armored suit covered the rest of her body. Only her wings were left uncovered, and they were protected by a thin spell field to keep the air from escaping the seals in her armor.

“Remember, don’t remove your armor. The atmosphere of the world I’m sending you to has been stagnant for centuries.” He said as he taped his eagle talon against the crystal faceplate over Twilight’s eyes. “Take it off, and you’ll have maybe thirty seconds before you suffocate.”

Twilight shuddered nervously, but nodded.

“Well, this is it.” Discord said as he lifted his paw and, with a flick of his wrist, tore open a hole in space the size of a bit. “I’m sorry I can’t get you closer, but the weapon’s power would disrupt the gate.”

Looking up at the draconequs, Twilight saw an expression she rarely saw on Discord. Concern.

“Listen. Be careful. As fascinating as I’m sure you’d find exploring the remnants of a dead civilization, I can’t keep the gate open forever. Not without drawing unwanted attention. Get in, get the weapon, get back to the portal, and I’ll bring you home.”

Under the mask, Twilight smiled before nodding and putting a hoof on Discord’s goat leg, as though trying to tell him that she’d be careful. The Spirit of Chaos regarded her for a moment before nodding and, flicking his wrist once more, pulled the portal open enough for Twilight to pass through.

“Good luck.” He said as she leapt through.

Small eddies of ash swirled around Twilight’s body as she made her way towards the shell of the city. When she’d first arrived, she’d tried to fly, but found that the thin atmosphere didn’t provide enough support for her to gain any lift, even with the use of her pegasus magic. So, she’d been forced to trot through the wasteland, the oppressive desolation of the landscape hanging over her like a shroud. The grey, ashen sky and ruined detritus of the world’s inhabitants were bad enough as is, but that wasn’t the worst of it.

The worst were the corpses.

She’d unexpectedly stumbled on the fist one earlier. She’d rounded a corner near one of the wrecked buildings near the top of a tall hill, and come on the remains sprawled out on the ground. When she spotted the thing, she’d nearly jumped out of her skin. Twice the height of a pony, the creature resembled some sort of massive, eleven-legged crab / snail hybrid. It was obvious what had killed it, even from a distance: a massive hole had been punched through its shell, leaving its innards exposed.

She’d approached the corpse, gingerly touching it with a hoof. As she did, the entire thing broke apart and collapsed into a heap, disintegrating into millions of small, shattered pieces. Twilight had instinctively bolted in horror. Yet, as she galloped past the building she found herself staring down into the wasteland below.

The sight nearly brought her to tears.

In all directions, the cold, dead remains of the world’s previous occupants laid in twisted heaps, like some sort of grotesque sculpture garden. Discord had said that all life had been stripped from this world by the Deep, but the extent was both horribly awe inspiring, and truly terrible.

This wasn’t a world. It was a graveyard. A massive, planet sized graveyard.

“Sunset won’t stop until all life there is extinguished.”

Would this be the fate of the other world if she failed? Would it be reduced to a lifeless husk? Was this Equestria’s fate if she didn’t stop Sunset? Before, it had been an abstraction. An idea and a fear. But as she gazed out onto the thousands of bodies littering the ground beneath her, that fear was crystalized into a solid, horrific revelation of what was to come, and what the price of failure was.

Deep in her heart, the weight of her task became even greater. Even after saving the world nearly a dozen times, and having faced down beings as terrible as King Sombra and Tirek, she’d never come face to face with the consequences of failing as tangibly as this. It wasn’t conquest, or just wanton destruction. This was terracide.

Standing in the soft ash, Twilight took several deep, cleansing breaths, bringing her hoof up to her chest on the inhale and bringing it away as she exhaled. Even in the claustrophobic confines of her mask, Cadance’s breathing technique helped calm her. But only slightly.

I have to keep moving. She thought to herself. The longer I’m here, the longer Sunset has to wreak havoc.

With one final calming breath, Twilight began to head towards the city.

*Canterlot Pistol and Rifle Range*

Luna sighted down the barrel of her M4 and brought her finger to the trigger. Her breathing was calm and collected, coming out in small puffs of mist in the cool winter afternoon. A loud crack shook the air as she squeezed the trigger, sending the first round down the range toward the paper target. One bullet was soon followed by another as the metal slugs tore into the target.

Once her magazine was empty, Luna removed the clip, checked the chamber, set the safety and put the weapon down, barrel pointing towards the range, before flipping the switch to bring the target forward. Pulling off her ear protection, she inspected the results of her handiwork. Most of the shots had either gone through the head or heart, with only a few veering off target.

I’m getting rusty. She thought bitterly as she took down the old target and hung a new one.

Putting her ear protection back on, Luna picked up the next magazine and slotted it into her rifle. Sighing, she drew the weapon back up and flipped off the safety. As she began to fire, she started to relax, the almost meditative process of shooting her rifle taking her mind off of her sister’s death. The pain was still there, but the act of focusing her mind on something else helped her cope.

Magazine expended, she went through her safety routine again and brought the target forward to inspect. She was still missing a few shots. Luna sighed. If they were still in the service, Steel Carbine would’ve given her hell for such sloppy shooting.

Luna heard a knock on the wall separating her range from the next one over. Turning, she saw the familiar, gunmetal grey face of Steel Carbine standing by the partition, her arms crossed and a concerned look on her face. Despite her 5’6” height, Steel Carbine cut an intimidating figure with her fierce demeanor, and the fact she was built like a tank, her ample muscle obvious even through her civilian clothes.

“Alright, Nightmare Moon, what’s going on?” She said, using the nickname Luna had picked up during their time together in the Marines. Of all the people she knew, Carbine was one of the only people alive who could call her that without having to worry about being put in an arm-bar.

“What do you mean Carbine? Nothing’s going on. It’s been too long since I shot, and I wanted to shake off the rust.” Luna said, her voice laced with a defensive edge. “Is that a crime now?”

Carbine gave Luna one of her patented ‘I’m not buying it’ looks as she regarded her friend. “Luna, don’t give me that bullshit. I’ve known you long enough to know that there’s something wrong. And from what I’m seeing over there,” she flicked her head towards the target, “something’s really eating at you. C’mon Luna, I’m your friend. And I’m worried.”

Luna turned away, putting both her hands on the bench at the head of the range and slumping her shoulders. Of course Carbine knew something was wrong. Sighing, she kept her back to the other woman, her voice heavy with pain “You heard about my sister, right?”

Carbine closed her eyes and sighed as she shook her head. “Yea. I’m sorry Luna. Damn shame too. Your sis was one hell of a lady.”

“Yea, she was.” Luna sighed as she picked up her rifle and stared at it wistfully. As she set it down, she caught Carbine giving her a pointed look, her mouth pinched into a tight frown.

“I know that look Luna, so I’m going to give you some advice as your friend and your former C.O.: Don’t. Don’t let this thing eat you alive, and don’t take this into your own hands. This isn’t Saddle Arabia.”

“Dammit Carbine, don’t you think I know that!” Luna hissed as she wheeled around to face her friend. “I know I can’t go all Die Hard and take the law into my own hands. But what else can I do? You didn’t see their bodies like I did. I had to identify the remains. I had to look at my sister’s face as she was laying on the slab.”

A rare tear found its way down Luna’s face. Carbine’s brow furrowed even further, but she remained respectfully silent.

“Fuck, girl! I thought I was used to it. But it's one thing to see your squad mates going home in pine boxes. It’s another to see your own sister like that. There was barely anything left of her. Just half a torso and head. I don’t even know what could have done it. All of the wounds were just fucking wrong! No burns. No tearing. Its like a chunk of her body stopped existing.”

Luna pounded her fists against the loading table, her whole body shaking with rage and frustration.

“How can I just let this go? I need to do something. I can’t just let this be!”

Carbine’s face slowly relaxed as she approached the other woman.

“Y’know what. I’m not going to say it’s going to be alright.” She said as she reached up and put her hand on the taller woman’s shoulder, causing Luna to flinch slightly. “But I am going to say that maybe you’re unfairly beating yourself up over this. It’s not your fault. Maybe if you’d been there, you could have done something. Maybe it would be Celestia looking at your corpse in the morgue. Who knows? But you can’t blame yourself.”

Luna turned to retort, but the look on Steel Carbine’s face stopped her.

“Look, you want to shoot and work off some anger? Fine. I won’t stop you. Better you do that than go all vigilantes on me. But I want you to promise me that you won’t do anything rash. We’ve both lost too many friends for you to end up like that too. And, please, don’t bottle it up. I’m here for you.”

Luna sighed as she unclenched her fists, relaxing a bit. The anger was still there, and would be there for a long time, but at least the flames had been quenched a little. Carbine was right. She was her friend. More than that, she was someone who could relate.

“Thanks Carbine. I mean it.”

“Of course Luna. What’re friends for?” Carbine said as she gave Luna a friendly backhanded punch to the shoulder. Looking at her watch, Carbine grunted. “I’ve got some stuff to take care of in the office, so I’ve got to go. But I expect you to stop by before you leave. Maybe we could share a cold one for old time’s sake.”

“Yea, I’d like that.” Luna said as Carbine began to walk away. Turning back to the bench, Luna removed the old target, and replaced it with a new one. Flicking the switch to send it down the field, she picked up her rifle, set her hearing protection back in place, and slipped the next magazine into the weapon.

Raising the rifle to her shoulder, she sighted down the barrel, and brought her finger up to the trigger.

*****

Walking across the open gravel leading up to the range’s main office building, Luna found herself pulling her coat a little tighter around her body. Looking around, she considered the strange, oddly chilling mist had rolled in over the last few minutes. While it was rare to have haze this time of year, there was something more to it.

The whole range was too quiet. When she first noticed the mist, she’d also realized that the sound of the other people using the range had slowly died down. At first she’d dismissed it as the other shooters choosing to stop when the mist started to spoil their line of sight. But now, as she was walking through the swirling eddies, she began to have her doubts.

Because there was no chatter of the other people at the range. Even if the mist had forced them to stop, there would still be other people around. But there was nobody. No sign of others in the nearby ranges. No one at the loading benches.

Nothing.

Quickening her pace, Luna made her way towards Steel Carbine’s office. Every one of her instincts were telling her that something was very, very wrong.

The trail turned to the right, giving Luna a clear view of the small building that held the range’s administrative center. Now jogging, Luna reached the door and pulled it open, happy to be out of the cold fog. Making her way deeper into the building, Luna approached Steel Carbine’s office.

“Carbine, you in there?” Luna said as she knocked.

No reply.

“Carbine? Its Luna.”

Silence.

“Carbine! What’s going on?” Luna shouted.

Growing afraid, Luna grabbed the door handle and burst into the office. Looking around, she spotted Carbine’s arm poking out from behind her desk.

“Carbine!” Luna shouted as she rushed to her friend, dropping her duffel bag in her haste.

Rounding the desk, Luna her hands up to her mouth and staggered back, a pained, choked gasp escaping her throat. Carbine, or rather, what was left of her, was sprawled out face down on the floor in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. Like Celestia and Sombra, Carbine’s body was riddled with the same smooth, unnatural wounds. Dropping to her knees, Luna pushed down her horror and desperately tried to see if there was anything she could do. After a few frantic seconds, reality set in, and Luna got to her feet.

Choking back her tears, she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed 911. Bringing the phone to her ear, she waited for the call to go through. Nothing happened. No ringing. Nothing.

Looking down at the phone, she saw, to her horror, that she had reception. But somehow, the call hadn’t gone through.

“What the fuck is going on?” She whispered.

As she continued to stare at the device, she saw something out of the corner of her eye through the office window. It was barely noticeable, but there was something moving outside in the mist, but she couldn’t make it out. But what she saw made her blood run cold: two glowing pinpricks of light shining through the mist, like a pair of sinister eyes staring into the office at her.

Ducking down low, Luna crawled on her hands and knees back around the desk to her fallen bag. Quickly unzipping it, she retrieved her M4 and a fresh magazine. Slapping the cartridge into the receiver, she released the safety and switched the weapon into its burst-fire setting. Readying the gun as she leaned up against the desk, Luna took a deep breath before standing and pointing the weapon towards the window in a single smooth motion.

Nothing. No movement. No sinister lights. No hint of anything outside other than mist.

I need to get out of here. She thought as she ducked back behind the desk. Something seriously fucked up is going on.

Sparing one last look at Carbine’s body and choking back a sob, Luna snatched two more clips from her bag and clipped them to her belt. Ammo and gun ready, she made a quick sprint to the door, pressing herself against the frame and brought the rifle up against her body. Slowly pulling the door open, she peeked out into the hallway. Spotting nothing, she rushed out, weaving from one room to the next as she made her way to the front door.

Pressing herself against the frame, she peaked out of the window. Spotting nothing, she opened the door and swung it open. When nothing happened, she swung around the frame, bringing the rifle up to her shoulder and quickly sweeping the area in front of the building.

Still no sign of anything.

Cautiously stepping out of the building, she kept the rifle at her shoulder as she swept the area. Keeping close to the building, she began to move towards the parking lot.

As she maneuvered towards her car, she could swear she felt something behind her. It wasn’t any natural sensation, but rather, an overwhelming sense of dread that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Whipping around and bringing the rifle up, she barely had time to react as she saw a flash of purple light burst through the mist and come barreling towards her. Years of combat instincts kicked in as she rolled to the side, the bolt of light striking the side of the building and blasting a hole straight through it.

Rolling into a crouched firing position, Luna brought the rifle up and pulled the trigger twice, sending a volley of six bullets towards where the lethal bolt had come from, the mist swallowing the sound of the gun’s report.

Nothing happened. No sound of a body falling. No scream of pain.

Nothing.

Not waiting to see if whatever it was that attacked her was going to try again, Luna rose to her feet and dashed to a nearby tree, pressing her back to the trunk and taking a few deep, ragged breaths to calm her heart. Another flash of purple light briefly shone in the mist. Ducking down, Luna barely dodged the bolt as it slammed into the tree, blasting the trunk apart and sending the upper half crashing to the ground behind her.

Scrambling to her feet, Luna broke into a low sprint towards a nearby thicket of trees, putting as much distance as she could between her and the unknown attacker as she could while trying to find cover.

Its toying with me! Luna thought. Whatever this thing is, its fucking toying with me!

Breaking through some of the low brush, Luna threw herself behind another tree, wincing slightly as she pressed herself hard against the rough bark. The brush wasn’t thick enough to provide sufficient cover, but some protection was better than none. Bringing the rifle against her body, she scanned the area behind her for any sign of whatever was out there.

At first, there was only silence, as though even the wind was afraid to make any noise. Yet, as Luna strained her ears to pick up any stray sound through the haze, she began to hear something. It was subtle, but it was just audible at the very edge of her hearing.

The sound of the slow flapping of a massive pair of wings.

Luna slowed and steadied her breathing, keeping as quiet as possible. The slow flapping was becoming louder by the second. Luna strained her hearing, trying to figure out exactly where the sound was coming from, but try as she might, she couldn’t tell. What she could tell was that whatever was approaching, it was taking its time.

Luna eyes darted across the open field she’d just fled from, scanning not the just at ground level, but in the air as well.

The flapping was growing steadily louder, but she still couldn’t tell where it was coming from. As she scanned the field and sky behind her, she felt a subtle shadow fall across her hiding spot. Instantly, her head snapped around and looked up into the sky above her. What she saw caused her blood to freeze in her veins.

Luna was accustomed to fear, both in using it, and confronting it. During her time in Saddle Arabia, she’d earned the hated nickname Nightmare Moon for the terror she inspired in the enemy through the sheer ferocity and cunning of her battlefield presence. But to be feared, she had to know fear. And by knowing fear, overcome it.

But, that had all been mundane, natural fear. Fear that a rational mind could comprehend and overcome.

The creature floating above her on a pair of mismatched wings, on the other hand, did not inspire natural fear. No. The terror that now had its hands lovingly wrapped around her throat and heart was a different type of fear. The fear of the unknown. Of the unnatural. Of the impossible.

Even with all she’d seen, both in Saddle Arabia, and at her own school in the last year, the creature above her eclipsed them all in its sheer, profound, and almost complete wrongness. Every rational nerve in her brain was screaming at her that the thing could not exist. That it shouldn’t exist. But, try as she might, her eyes stubbornly refused to unsee it.

Luna held her breath as the unnatural, daemonic entity slowly twitched and shuddered, its body spasming as it simply floated in the air just above the naked branches of the trees, its glowing eyes boring directly into her. Its right hand glowing the same sickly purple radiance that had blown apart the last tree it struck. In an instant, Luna’s mind connected the dots and screamed for her to run.

Awkwardly lurching forward, Luna barely managed to dodge as the light erupted from the creature’s hand and flew towards her in a shower of hundreds of shrieking needles. Chancing a look back, Luna saw the spot where she’d just been standing riddled with tiny holes. A fraction of a second slower, and that would have been her. Another flash of purple light from above pulled Luna out of her horrified reverie, and she scrambled forward, nearly dropping her rifle as another volley of needles riddled the ground where she’d been crouched.

Pushing off a tree, Luna barely avoided another volley as she ducked and weaved through the brush, the creature lazily taking potshots at her.

Luna staggered forward, her breath ragged and uneven as she narrowly avoided another shower of glowing death. She couldn’t keep this up. Sooner or later, the creature would either tire of playing with her, or she would misstep, and then that would be that. Even if it was futile, she had to take a chance and try to put a bullet into the thing. She wasn’t sure if she could even hurt whatever it was, but if she was going to die, she had to put up a fight.

The telltale wailing of the creature’s next attack sounded, and Luna knew that it was now or never. Diving forward, she tucked into a roll as the volley slammed into the ground just behind her. Landing on her feet, she swung around and trained her rifle onto the creature, and pulled the trigger three times. Time slowed to a crawl as the bullets tore through the air. Then, they impacted.

The air split with a furious, unholy shriek of pain as the creature recoiled, phosphorescent white fluid bursting from where the bullets struck. Clutching its shoulder, the creature flapped its wings hard, as it put distance between itself and Luna, shimmering fluid raining down in its wake before it simply vanished into thin air.

Luna didn’t waste any time marveling at the fact that she’d apparently hurt the thing, or at the suddenness of its disappearance. Instead, she quickly rose to her feet and turned to run.

Only to come face to face with the creature as it flew straight at her through the trees, right arm cocked back and fist wreathed in purple balefire, murder in its glowing fountains for eyes. Before she could raise her rifle to fire, the creature had closed the distance between them. Twisting its lower body forward, Luna couldn’t react before the creature’s feet skidded across the ground and it twisted its body around, slamming its fist directly into her sternum in a straight punch. Luna didn’t even have time to gasp in pain. There was a terrible instant as she was lifted into the air by the force of the blow, before the balefire discharged with a shriek, blasting a hole straight through her torso.

Luna arced up into the air from the force of the impact, before crashing into a tree and falling to the ground in a crumpled heap. She could barely move through the shock and pain as the life rapidly drained out of her. The last thing she saw as the light faded from her eyes was the sight of the creature standing over her, the wounds she’d inflicted rapidly closing up.

Slowly, she shut her eyes as darkness claimed her.

Author's Note

Rest in peace Luna.

6 – Song of the Deep

Twilight carefully clambered over another pile of rubble, her nerves singing as she listened to small bits of debris fall from the decaying buildings all around her. Looking up, she fearfully marveled at the fact they were still, somehow, standing. Most of the structures were severely damaged. Some of it was simply the ravages of time. But most was very clearly damage from an attack. If she allowed herself to dwell on it, it was probably the final attack that ended in the extinction of the world’s inhabitants.

Gently flapping her wings to steady herself as she descended the ruble back to solid ground, the alicorn turned her head several times to take in the scene before her. Dead… she guessed that it was the world’s equivalent of vegetation… was strewn all around the plaza she’d found herself in. Like everywhere else in the city’s ruins, the ground was littered with dozens of corpses. Some were mutilated, while others were mostly undamaged, the cause of their deaths unclear.

Twilight regarded them impassively as she began to trot through the plaza. She found herself wincing as she realized just how used to all of it she was becoming. For the first few hours of her trek through the blasted metropolis, she’d been utterly horrified by the level of devastation, and could barely look at the remains. Now, the horror was numbed, and she found that she hardly reacted when she came upon another knot of twisted bodies.

The whole thing sickened her.

Flinching as she heard another small shower of debris fall from one of the buildings to her right, she tried to focus her thoughts. There was a time to be unhappy, and there was a time to move forward and find what she needed to stop this from happening to another world. That thought alone gave her the conviction she needed to keep going.

Calling on the small fragment of her Element’s magic buried in her soul, she probed the aether for a sympathetic source of power. Discord had said that the power of the weapon was from the Sky. And that Harmony was allied to it. So, she reasoned, one would resonate with the other.

It was a theory that had borne fruit when she first began to explore the dead city. Now, she regularly used small bursts of her magic to play a game of blind mare’s bluff with the weapon, slowly triangulating the right direction from subtle nudges and pulls. Feeling a faint tug in the direction she was heading, she resumed her march. She just hoped that she wasn’t on a wild-pony-chase, but at this point, it was the only way she could think of finding what she needed.

*****

I really hope its not in there. Twilight thought as she regarded the structure before her.

Of all the buildings in the area, this one was possibly in the worst condition. Riddled with holes, its support structure barely holding together, the thing looked like it was a breath away from total collapse.

Even with all the damage, she could tell that the building had once been breathtakingly beautiful. Whatever material it had been constructed from resembled mother of pearl, and hints of its former glory were still visible through the dust and ash. Where the surrounding structures were utilitarian and plain, this one was elaborate and gilded, blue and green filigree etched across its surface in a swirling mosaic. The remnants of what must have been tall, spiraling columns lay crumbling along the edges of the building, with shattered statues of the former inhabitants interspersed between their crumbling ruins.

Looking at the decaying archway, Twilight regarded the building, the prospect of entering it filling her with dread. But, her magic was telling her that the one source of Harmony-like power in the region was inside.

Looking down, Twilight began to search for a medium sized stone. Finding one, she focused her magic and engraved a small rune on its surface, before pouring more into the carving. With one final push, the rune took on the same magenta glow as her magic. Now, the stone could act as a beacon if she needed to teleport out of the building.

Swallowing hard and steeling herself, Twilight trotted into the shattered edifice.

As she passed through the exterior archway, she chanced a look around the interior of the building. Murals, all made with the same blue and green engravings covered the walls, depicting the crab/snail people of the dead world in ways very similar to that of the stained-glass windows of Canterlot castle. Yet, one thing that always stood out among them was something distinct from the extinct populace. In every one, there was a massive, moon-like object, depicted with the same level of reverence as princess Celestia.

Twilight’s inner scholar forced her to stop and scrutinize the images. As she examined more and more of the frescos, she saw the pattern repeating. The massive sphere was always present as the centerpiece of every mural.

What is that thing? She thought as she continued to stare at one of the largest and most intact murals, one depicting the sphere hovering above what very well could have been the same building she was standing in before its destruction.

The sound of small bits of falling masonry brought her out of her revere and back to reality.

As much as Twilight wanted to stay and examine them, the precarious and obviously unstable nature of the building around her precluded such investigation. Trotting as carefully as possible, she began to make her way deeper into the building, using her magic to make her tread as light as possible while following the pull of her magic.

*****

With the gentlest application of her magic possible, Twilight grasped the rubble before her as she pulled a piece aside to allow her to pass. Once through, she returned the shattered column to its original position, once again taking the load of the almost collapsed ceiling. It was the fifth time she’d had to perform the delicate surgery of threading the needle to progress. As it stood, her nerves were practically singing in fear, but she kept it under control. She knew that the hundreds of tons of rubble above her head would make a single mistake her last.

Using her magic to light her way, Twilight continued through the passage. Unlike the above ground portion of the cathedral, the lower catacombs were more spartan, having none of the elaborate murals decorating the walls. What it lacked in murals, it more than made up for in corpses. Hundreds of them lined the side rooms off the main passageways. The worst part wasn’t the number. No, the worst part was the variety of sizes. There weren’t just the full-sized individuals, but hundreds of smaller ones. Children, if such a term could be applied to these creatures. Many of them were huddled together where they died, and like the adults, most of them showed signs of violent death.

As numb as she was to the sight of death by this point, this added a whole new level of revulsion to Twilight’s heart.

But, she was close now. The source of power she was following was growing stronger. It wouldn’t be long now.

*****

With one final heave, Twilight pulled the stone block aside and slipped through the crevice it had occupied and into the next chamber, before replacing the stone and allowing it to take the weight of the material above. No longer focused on the task of entering, Twilight took a moment to catch her breath as she took in the room.

It was massive.

Perfectly circular with a tall domed ceiling, the chamber was somehow still illuminated with a soft, warm, comforting light, making the alicorn feel safe and protected. Across the walls, hundreds of the elegant etchings she’d seen in the above ground portion of the temple swirled across the pearly surface. Yet, unlike the ones above ground, all of the imagery of the room was dedicated to a single, massive fresco. Near the floor, a sprawling, thriving civilization was engraved, its inhabitants gazing up towards the apex of the dome, where, as with all of the frescos in the building, there was a depiction of the same massive moon-like object, light shining down from its surface to touch and bless the inhabitants of the civilization below.

Pulling her eyes away from the murals, Twilight’s gaze drifted to the middle of the room. Gathered in a circle were the bodies of nine snail-crabs, all facing inwardly to a small pillar of the same pearly substance that made up the rest of the room. And, floating above the top of the pillar, in a column of soft light, was quite possibly the most beautiful things she’d ever seen.

It looked somewhat like a shield in shape, though it was square rather than round, and was made of a brassy, metallic substance that shimmered kaleidoscopically in the light of the column. Four long spines emerged from its corners; a field of soft blue energy filled the gap between their tips. At the center of the metallic plate, there was a slightly raised boss, which bore a single, slivery-blue gem that shone with the light of infinite possibility.

Twilight could only stare in awe at it. Was this the weapon she sought? How could it be? Nothing this beautiful should be sullied by such a vulgar and base description.

Slowly, as if drawn in, Twilight began to approach the magnificent shield. Passing through the circle of bodies, she found herself standing before the pillar, staring up at it. As though still possessed, she rose to her hind legs and reached up towards the shield with a hoof.

As soon her hoof brushed against the shield’s metallic surface, the world vanished. Staggering back, Twilight found herself standing in an endless sea of white light. In some ways, it was similar to the realm she had entered when she ascended. But, it felt different in other, indefinable ways.

Who are you, child of Harmony?

Twilight wasn’t sure where the voice had come from. Turning around quickly, she tried to find the source, but couldn’t. Instead, the voice had somehow come from all around her. The voice itself was soft, feminine and soothing, yet somehow echoed as though made of thousands of smaller voices all speaking as one. As disturbing as it should have been, Twilight instead found only warmth and comfort in its words.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight replied into the sea of light.

Welcome, Twilight Sparkle. The voices said with a warm, maternal tone. I am The Aegis. Please, why have you come for me, child of Harmony?

Twilight froze, her mind racing as she tried to come up with an answer.

“A friend of mine… her name is Sunset Shimmer… was taken by the Deep. The world she has been unleashed on, they have no magic, no way of defeating her. I was told that you were a weapon. That you could help me stop her. Is it true?”

Silence filled the light as Twilight waited for The Aegis to reply.

What you ask, it is not a simple thing. While it is true I possess the power to unmake the spawn of the Deep, such power is not free. I can only lend my power to those who are pure of purpose. Tell me, child of Harmony, are you pure of purpose?

“I… I don’t know.” Twilight replied. “I need to save my friends. To stop Sunset from doing to their world what the Deep did to this one. But another part of me… doesn’t want to fight Sunset. Doesn’t want to give up on her. I…I don’t know if I can…”

Twilight felt a warm sensation fill her heart. In some ways, it reminded her of the safe, comforting feeling that she had as a filly when her mother would hold her after having a nightmare. When The Aegis spoke, its voice was calm, and gentle.

You are a kind soul, are you not, child of Harmony? Yet, I sense that there is more to this, yes? Something else weighs down on you.

Twilight’s throat constricted painfully. Taking a deep breath, she looked up into the light.

“Its… my friends. They… they hurt Sunset. And… and I’m afraid that I hurt her too. Before she was taken, she was framed, and they turned on her. She needed me, and I wasn’t there for her. I’m angry with them for not believing in her. I’m angry with myself for not being there. I'm angry at whoever framed her. And I'm angry at the world that could spawn creatures so vindictive that they couldn't find enough forgiveness in their hearts to give her a second chance. I know that she has to be stopped, but… how can I fight her when I’ve already failed her? When I might have been able to prevent all of this… keep her from being taken?”

Again, silence pervaded the light as Twilight waited for The Aegis’s reply. After a few painful minutes, The Aegis spoke.

I am afraid your purpose is only partially pure, child of Harmony. You are not yet pure, but, the spark is there. You might yet bear me, but only when you are without doubt. I will go with you, and if you find your purity of purpose, I shall appear.

Twilight was about to protest, but she was cut off as the light around her grew to blinding intensity. Lifting a hoof, she desperately shielded her eyes. When she finally lowered her limb, she found herself back in the chamber where she began. Frantically looking around trying to get her bearings, her eyes fell on the pedestal where The Aegis had been, only to find it empty.

Panicking, Twilight was about to begin searching for it, when she felt a strange weight on her right fore fetlock. Shifting her leg around, she could feel that it was subtly changed in some way, but couldn't see what had happened. Not without removing her armor.

Before she could question what had happened, a low moan filled the air. Her head snapping up and surveying the room, Twilight saw the air begin to fill with a ghostly haze.

Child of Harmony, you must flee! Twilight heard The Aegis say in her mind. They are coming!

Reaching out with her magic, Twilight latched onto her teleportation beacon, and in a flash of magenta light, vanished.

*Sweet Apple Acres*

Applejack listlessly lifted another pitchfork of hay off the truck bed and tossed it out to the horses. Normally she’d have found the process of feeding her animals meditative and relaxing. Instead, her mind was elsewhere, and, frankly, she felt both numb and sick to her stomach.

The body count was rising all around her. First the Wondercolts. Then principle Celestia and her husband Rey Sombra. Now vice-principle Luna. None of the news reports went into the detail of how they died, but deep in her heart, she knew who was responsible.

It was Sunset Shimmer.

The whole atmosphere around the Canterlot metropolitan area had become so tense since the killings started. The police said on the news that they were pursuing leads on the case, but Applejack knew that they wouldn’t find anything.

This was magic. And they weren’t ready to deal with magic.

To make matters worse, princess Twilight hadn’t come back yet. It had been nearly six days since she'd departed, and there still was no word from her. A part of Applejack’s mind knew that the princess wouldn’t just leave them. It wasn’t in her character to abandon her friends, even if she was mad at them. There could be any number of reasons why she hadn’t come back, but stress of waiting was killing her.

Tossing another pitchfork of hay off the truck, the farm-girl tried to settle her nerves. It was a futile task; the thought of Sunset kept creeping back into her mind. But, under all of it, there was a tinting of another emotion.

Guilt.

She should have seen it. The pain and despair in Sunset's eyes when she pleaded her innocence. But she’d let her own emotions at the time cloud her judgment, and she didn’t listen. Didn’t listen to the weeping girl who had already proven her change of heart, and begged them to believe she wasn’t Anon-a-Miss.

Her grip tightened dangerously on the pitchfork as she took another load of hay and tossed it to the horses.

She wanted to blame Anon-a-Miss. But, truthfully, as much as whoever was behind that MyStable page was to blame, she angrily acknowledged that she and the rest of her friends had played a part as well. Anon-a-Miss may have struck the match, but they had let the fire burn. And the flames had spread through the whole school, consuming and destroying the life of someone Applejack could no longer call her friend. She had burned that friendship away through her own suspicion and memories of past wrongs.

And now? People were dying. And they were dying at the hands of a monster that she probably helped create.

Tossing the last of the hay off the back, Applejack stowed the pitchfork and locked the tailgate before climbing into the cab and starting the truck. Putting the vehicle into gear, she barely registered the sound of country bluegrass coming from the radio as she made her way back to the barn.

Parking the truck, she trudged back to the main house and let herself in, pulling off her muddy boots as she entered. As she closed the door, her senses were assaulted by the delightful aroma of Granny’s pot-roast and mashed potatoes.

“Howdy, ‘Jackie.” Granny called from the kitchen. “Yah got done hayin’ the horses?”

“Ayup.” Applejack said.

“Good. Good. Why don’t ya go wash up an' give me and Bloom hand fixin’ up supper.”

Applejack smiled a little. “Sure.”

Applejack made her way towards to the kitchen, shedding her dirt-crusted jacket and tying on her apron before washing her hands. In the background, Granny had the television on, the sound of the local anchorwoman Keen Insight rattling off the news. Applejack barely paid it any mind as she began to help cut up string beans and garlic.

“…this time, we have no information on what started the blaze, but the Fire Marshal suspects that it was caused by an electrical discharge in one of the school labs. The bodies of several students and staff members, including Principle Cinch, were recovered from the wreckage. We will update the story as new information arises. This concludes the local news.

“Now, we take you live to the commencement of this year’s historic Winter Olympics!” Insight chirped. “In an amazing and unexpected turn of events, the nations of North and South Karera have opted to jointly host the competition. For the first time in decades, we see these two rival nations briefly set aside their hostility and come together in peace for this, the XXIII Olympic Winter Games.”

Applejack turned her attention to the television as the live feed of the commencement ceremony began playing in the background.

“Ain’t it amazin?” Granny said as they all stopped what they were doing to watch. “Them Kareran’s ‘ve been fightin’ for years, but look at ‘em. Makes ya’ almost forget them North Kareran commies ‘ve got a finger on ah bunch ah nukes, don’t it?”

Applejack simply nodded. She wasn’t in the mood to argue with Granny over politics, but instead chose to simply enjoy the moment. Soon, the ceremony began to settle down as South Karera’s president Uiji Uil-Oun took the podium to finish the commencement. The whole Apple clan listened as the translator began to interpret his speech.

“This is a historic day for us, and for our brothers and sisters to the North. For far too long, our nations have stood on the precipice, divided along ideological lines. But for this moment in time, this brief flicker of history, we stand united as one people, one Karera, and one nation in this, a time of peace and unity. Let this, these 23rd Winter Olympic games, mark what we hope will be the beginning of a new age, where Karera begins to mend the divide between our peoples. Let this be a new beginning, not just for Karera, but for the world. For to long, we’ve stood divided, but for this moment, this brief echo, let us have peace. Let us come together in the spirit of competition, and…”

Uil-Oun’s voice slowed and died down as a low, mournful moan drifted across the coliseum. Looking around, the Kareran president, and everyone else present, tried to find the source of the haunting sound. As the moan died down, there was murmur through the crowd as an oppressive fog began to settle across the entire field.

“Oh no…” Applejack gasped, her hands shooting up to her mouth. She might not have personally been there, but what she was seeing matched Rainbow’s description of the phenomenon that heralded…

“Krreeeeeeee-eeeeeee-aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuunnnnnnnngh…thoomb!”

“Sharp! Look! Up there!” A voice screamed from the television. At that moment, the camera panned to the center of the arena, revealing a glowing, daemonic shape hovering thirty meters above the ground. The entire stadium was frozen; transfixed in place by the sight of the strange, otherworldly entity before them.

“Everyone, we’re not sure what’s happening,” The reporter cried, panic clearly in her voice, “But what you’re seeing is not a prank or a hoax. Right here, some sort of… thing… has just appeared out of thin air, and…”

The reporter’s voice died in her throat as the camera zoomed in on the floating entity. Before the stunned audience, the entity drew its hands up to its chest, before slowly tilting its head back and spreading its hands out, palms pointed up.

And began to sing.

Nobody in the stadium moved as the alien, haunting, and mournful melody filled the air. The sound itself was grating, almost painful to the listen to, and filled the hearts of everyone, both present and watching, with a sense of vast cosmic dread, like they were hearing the dying wail of a thousand stars whispering across the deep, black void of space.

“What’s it doing?” The reporter asked, professional conduct forgotten in the wake of the haunting phenomenon.

It was at that moment the first scream rang out. The camera swept across the field towards the sound, focusing on one of the athletes: Snow Drift from the United States of Equestria. The skater had fallen to his knees, clutching his chest in pain. Before their eyes, his flesh began to crumble like sand, falling from his body in a dry, powdery cascade.

His scream was followed by another.

And another.

In an instant, thousands of agonized shrieks filled he arena, the phantom’s song still audible over the chorus of death.

The spell broke, and the crowd began to panic. But the entity continued its song, which began to grow in crescendo. More and more people began to disintegrate.

“Aaaaargh!” The voice of the reporter wailed before the image tilted suddenly and violently, slamming into the ground as the reporter’s body collapsed before it. As the flesh on her face began to slough off, the feed suddenly and abruptly cut out.

There was a moment of silence in the room. Everyone was too shocked to move, let alone speak.

“Ladies and gentlemen…” Keen Insight’s shaken voice finally came back as the camera feed returned to the news room. “I’m… not sure what just happened… I’m…I’m at a loss to explain what you… what I… just saw. We’ll report back once we… have any information… I…”

The program cut out, leaving only the emergency broadcast symbol and sound.

All sounds of life in the kitchen had died down, with only the smell of burning green beans, potatoes and pot-roast beginning to fill the air. Every member of the Apple family stood in stunned horror, their eyes glued to the television, their minds trying to comprehend the magnitude of the impossible tragedy they’d just witnessed.

It was Applejack who finally broke the silence, her voice shaky and weak.

“Oh gawd… Sunset… what have yah done…” Applejack muttered in horror.

Author's Note

The Magister of the Deep used: Death Song

It was super effective.

What is a Death Song? Its a weapon used by the Deep's agents, which paracausally defines all non-deep entities in the vicinity of the song as dead. There are few ways to defend against a death song, other than kill the singer.

Also, in case anyone was wondering what The Aegis looks like, here's a depiction of it from the Destiny Raid where it appears: the Vault of Glass

Source: VG24/7

7 – Escape from the Deep

Twilight galloped through the rubble as quickly as she could, using her wings and magic to muffle the sound of her passing. All around her, a thick mist hung in the air, making it nearly impossible to see her route. Yet, she continued.

Because if she stopped, they would catch her.

As she burst into a familiar plaza, she ducked into a ruined building, hid behind a crumbling wall and tried to catch her breath. Earth pony magic was only getting her so far, and even with her enhanced stamina, she had to stop and pay back the oxygen dept she’d been building. Even as she slowly got her breathing under control, she kept her ears perked, listening for her pursuers.

The sound of asymmetric footfalls outside caught her attention, and she froze.

Daring to peak out from her hiding place, she could see their shapes through the mist. They moved on long, spindly legs, each one shambling around spasmodically, like horrific marionettes. There were nearly a dozen of them, each one burning with the same hateful monochromatic glow as Sunset. Unlike Sunset, what passed for their faces were dominated by a swirling, spotlight-like fountain of harsh, baleful radiance.

They were taken. These monstrous creatures, these abominations, were all that was left of the once proud civilization, nay, world, that had been annihilated by the Deep.

Twilight watched in fearful silence as the taken slowly fanned out and began to search for her. So far, she’d managed to evade them, but she didn’t want to count on her luck keeping her safe. She needed to get back to Discord’s portal before they caught her. As it stood, she was nearly defenseless against them. She had never faced a foe like this, and without The Aegis, she didn’t have any means to fight them.

Ducking back behind the wall, Twilight held as still as possible when one of the taken hunting her strode past. With such close proximity, she could literally feel the Deep’s power radiating off the thing. It was caustic, sickening, and painful, its presence filling her heart with overwhelming dread.

The presence passed as she heard the taken move off. Chancing another peek around her cover, she saw the one that had come near her hiding spot examining a nearby building, the others some distance away searching around the plaza.

Watching them, she began to formulate a plan. She needed to distract them to create an opportunity for her to teleport away. Flicking her eyes down to the ruble, she ignited her magic and snagged a small rock in her telekinesis. Choosing her target, she flung the stone upward and into one of the adjacent buildings. The rock sailed true, passing through a third story window and clattered to the ground.

At the sound, all of the taken turned their attention to the building. With a series of groans and wails, three of them rushed towards the source of the sound.

Now or never. Twilight thought as she summoned her magic and teleported away.

Exiting the blink, she quickly took stock of her surroundings before hastily making a break for cover, her magic muffling her hoof falls. She recognized the spot where she’d landed as just over three blocks from her previous one. She was closer to the edge of the city, but still deep enough in it that it would take at least four or five more blinks before she could reach its edge. Then it was a hard sprint through open ground to the portal.

“Krreeeeeeee-eeeeeee-aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuunnnnnnnngh…thoomb!”

Twilight barely made it to cover before the taken materialized around her former position. After her first teleport, she’d learned that the taken would somehow, unerringly home in on wherever she exited her blinks, making her teleportation a risky proposition. It got her further, but it always meant she had to reach cover before she was seen. The creatures’ heads swiveled around on their crab-like bodies, searching for any sign of the young alicorn.

From her hiding place, Twilight watched as the taken began to fan out once more, searching for her. Chancing a glance down at the brassy metal grafted to her leg, she wanted to snort with frustration, but her need for silence, and her breathing mask, made it pointless. Since warning her, The Aegis had done nothing to aid her, or even advise her on how to evade the taken.

She still had no idea what The Aegis meant by not being pure of purpose. Wasn’t the salvation of her friends and an entire world pure enough? What was she missing?

Pushing the riddle aside, Twilight slowly peeked out of her hiding spot. The taken were spread thin, leaving a gap in their line she could exploit to get to the next plaza. She just needed to be patient.

“Skreeee!”

Twilight’s head snapped around, eyes locking onto the top of an adjacent building. Standing at the edge, she spotted a single taken screeching and pointing to her hiding spot. Charging her horn, she grabbed the ledge below the creature with her t.k. and yanked as hard as she could. The effect was nearly instantaneous, the deteriorating architecture collapsing, the taken falling to the ground only to be buried under the rubble. Still, the damage had been done. All around her, she could hear more taken beginning to converge on her position.

Cover was blown. Now was the time to run.

Rushing from cover, Twilight broke into a full gallop. Ahead, there were three taken blocking her path. For the first time, Twilight noticed that each was carrying some sort of elongated, sinuous contraption. Which were all pointed directly at her.

Summoning her magic and throwing up a shield, she continued to rush forward, intending to use her magic to ram her way through. Unfortunately, that plan was ground to a harsh halt as the devices each spat out a long, thin lance of blue-tinted pearl. With a shattering crash, the javelins impacted her shield, fracturing it and knocking Twilight to the ground from the feedback.

Twilight shook her head as she tried to get back to her hooves, the feedback from the impact to her shield still ringing in her ears. She didn’t have time to wonder what happened before she heard the weapons discharge again. Pushing more of her magic into the shield, she barely reinforced it in time before the javelins impacted. The feedback wasn’t as bad this time, but it still hurt all the same.

Gritting her teeth, Twilight got to her hooves. More javelins impacted her shield, this time from behind, nearly driving her back to her knees. Soon, a steady barrage of pearly projectiles was slamming into her shield. Through the pain of the feedback, Twilight could see the magenta dome was starting to fracture.

She knew that she had to do something, but her options were limited. If she wanted to teleport away, she needed to drop the shield. But with the steady hail of javelins hitting it, she couldn’t lower it for a second without the risk of being skewered.

Think Twilight…think! She chided herself as more cracks began to form in her shield. She had to get the taken off of her long enough to teleport away, but how could she…

Twilight’s eyes locked onto the decaying building looming above them.

This is a bad idea, on so many levels. She thought.

Pulling more power into her already stinging horn, she lashed out with a telekinetic blast at the base of the building. With a horrifying crunch, the raw kinetic energy impacted the weakened structure. A fraction of a second later, the structure began to fall… directly towards Twilight and the taken assaulting her.

The hail of javelins came to halt as the taken all turned their attention away from their prey and to the rapidly descending mass of mother-of-pearl and metal. That instant was all Twilight needed. Dropping her shield, she changed the focus of her magic, and teleported away seconds before the wave of rubble slammed into the ground.

*****

Twilight exited her blink to the titanic crashing of the building she just brought down. Not wasting any time, she broke into a gallop, heading in the direction of the portal. She’d need a minute to recover enough magic to teleport again.

“Krreeeeeeee-eeeeeee-aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuunnnnnnnngh…thoomb!”

Twilight didn’t even bother looking behind her. She just kept galloping, even as more javelins began to strike the ground all around her. Magic flowed into her horn again as she cast an illusion, creating over a dozen duplicates of herself. It was a simple spell, but one that didn’t consume much magic, and it would hopefully buy her enough time to gather enough power to make the next jump.

“Krreeeeeeee-eeeeeee-aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuunnnnnnnngh…thoomb!”

More taken materialized in her path, each one already aiming their weapons at her. Twilight skidded hard as she used her wings to redirect her momentum and change directions at the last second. Moments later, the air was filled with more javelins. Three of her duplicates were impaled, vanishing in a flash of magenta light.

Drawing on her magic, Twilight sent a burst of kinetic energy towards the taken, knocking them back and onto the ground. It was a rough, crude attack, but it worked well enough. She didn’t have time to savor her success, as the taken pursuing her launched another volley of javelins, evaporating five more duplicates.

She almost had enough power to pull off another teleport, but she needed just a little more time. Magic pooled into her horn as she sent out a kinetic shockwave into the ground, blowing up a cloud of dust. The moment she was obscured from sight, she directed her duplicates to run in opposite directions.

Twilight couldn’t see through the cloud, but she heard the taken begin firing on her decoys as soon as they exited the cloud.

Four left.

She was getting closer.

Three left.

Almost there.

Two.

And…

One.

She blinked away in a flash of magenta light.

*Equestria, throne room of the Two Sisters*

Discord flicked his lion’s paw languidly in the air. As he did, a wave of improbability washed over the three guard ponies currently watching him, causing their armor to suddenly transform into a mass of live slugs.

They didn’t flinch.

Flicking his wrist, their armor changed again, becoming a coat of sudsy bubbles.

Still no response.

“Gah!” Dischord groaned, before snapping his fingers and returning their armor to normal. “You three are just no fun at all! What does Tia put you poor souls through when she trains you? You really need to relax. It’s not good for your health to be so uptight.”

Still nothing.

A shrill ringing filled the air. Reaching into his ear, Discord pulled out a small, circular device, which was producing the sound and vibrating violently.

“Oh goody, she’s almost back!” Discord said with a merry smile “…and she’s bringing friends? Hmmm… that’s probably not good.”

Casually tossing the device over his shoulder towards the guards, it exploded, covering them in cactus flavored whipped cream.

His smirk never fading, Discord flicked his wrist. As he did, the portal below him widened. Moments later, a blur of purple burst through and tumbled across the floor. Immediately afterward, a volley of long javelins rained through the open gate.

Discord snapped his fingers, and in an instant, the portal snapped shut and the javelins froze in mid-air, stopping inches away from the guards and the panting form of Twilight Sparkle.

The guards still didn’t move.

“You know. I’m starting to think you’re all just statues that Tia temporarily animates or something.” He said as he flicked his wrist, and the javelins to dissolved into a cloud of butterflies, which fluttered around the room. Hovering down to Twilight, he saw her violently rip off her helmet and take several long, deep breaths of fresh air, her face a contorted mask of fear and relief.

“Well, you look like you had a good time. Did you bring back any souvenirs?” Discord asked, an insufferable smirk plastered across his face.

“Shut…(pant)…up!…(pant)… I… (pant)… breath… (pant, pant)… hate… (pant)… you!” Twilight wheezed, her face slowly beginning to return to normal. “Just… (pant)… give me a… minute.”

Looking Twilight over, Discord saw dozens of scuffs on her protective suit. Snapping his fingers, the suit vanished, revealing a small, brassy band of metal grafted to her foreleg.

“Oh, looks like you found her! Congratulations!” Discord said as a dozen banners unfurled themselves from the ceiling, each one proclaiming ‘Twilight Sparkle: totally not a failure!’ as the sounds of dozens of party horns filled the air. “I take it that you ran into some trouble on the way out?”

Twilight’s breathing began to slow as she turned to face Discord. “You could have… (pant)…warned me that there would be… (pant, gulp)… taken… waiting for me…”

A small halo appeared above Discord’s head as he rolled his eyes, an innocent smile playing on his face. “Well, I wasn’t sure if he’d left any of them behind. So, I decided to err on the side of making the trip more interesting for you.”

“You are… terrible.” Twilight said, finally having enough energy to stand.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Anyhow, I take it from that bangle in your leg you’re all ready to go smack your little friend around?”

“Don’t… make light of that. Ever! And no… not… quite.” Twilight wheezed. “I can’t use her power. She said… something about my… purpose… not being pure. That until it was… I couldn’t call on her.”

“Well, color me not surprised.” Discord said languidly. “She is an agent of the Sky after all. They’re usually pretty uptight. Oh, you don’t like being called uptight, do you?”

Twilight looked at Discord for a moment, before shifting her attention down to her foreleg. Sure enough, the Aeigis’s gem was glowing angrily, an almost palpable aura of hostility coming off of it.

What is that wretch doing here? Twilight heard in her mind, The Aegis’s once angelic voices twisted with raw loathing.

“Relax your brassy little mind sweetheart. I’m not here to give you any trouble. I’m just here to lend my friends a hand.” Discord said as his right hand popped off and skittered along the floor like a spider before climbing up Twilight’s leg and patting her on the head. Twilight narrowed her eyes at Discord, but stayed silent.

Child of Harmony, what is the meaning of this?!

“Exactly what he said. He’s the one who helped me reach you. Heck, I wouldn’t have even known about you without him.”

A child of Harmony befriending a chaos-spawn? Impossible. What is your angle, wretch. The Aegis hissed.

“My angle is that I like this place.” Discord growled as he glared at the band on Twilight’s leg. “I may love spreading chaos as dear old grandmummy insists, but I don’t want that psycho with the omnicidal tendencies showing up here. And if helping the princess here keep him from deciding that this place is on his ‘kill everything’ list means sending her to get your uptight little slab of metal, I’ll happily put up with your sanctimonious attitude to make sure that one of the few beings I actually care about doesn’t have taken, hive, vex or worse threatening to murder her. Is that a good enough reason for you?”

Child of Harmony, do you actually believe this creature? The Aegis growled in Twilight’s mind.

“Yes. You don’t know him like I do. I don’t trust him, but I do believe what he’s saying.” Twilight said.

The Aegis was silent for a long moment, before speaking into Twilight’s mind. Very well. But know this: if he tries anything, I will end him. And I’ll use your body to do it.

“Lovely sentiment there Sky-spawn. And you wonder why so many welcome the Deep into their hearts.” Discord sneered back, “In any case, princess, you might want to get moving. Who knows what your little friend’s been up to in the other world.”

*Big Marinara’s Chicago Style Deep Dish, the other world*

Five girls sat around the table, each staring morosely at their thick, steaming slices of pizza. None of them really had much appetite. Not after what had happened.

Most of the civilian population had through the thing a hoax, until the news outlets had begun to report on the body count. Everyone in the stadium was dead. Thousands of people, gone in an instant, with only their bleached, desiccated bones to mark their passing.

Civilians. Athletes. Politicians and leaders.

All dead, in an utterly horrific way.

The entire world was shocked by the attack. No nation or known radical group had claimed responsibility. There were threats of war beginning to brew as many of the less stable leaders began to point fingers at each other. The U.S.E.’s own president had declared that the attack was an outrage, and he would personally sign the order to nuke whichever nation had initiated the attack.

But these five knew different. No nation was to blame. It was the act of one… they weren’t even sure if they could call her a person anymore.

“I don’t get it.” Pinkie said, her voice flat and tired.

“Ah don’t either Pinkie.” Applejack said, her own voice tired. “Ah mean, it don’t make sense. Why attack that ceremony? We’re the ones she’s got ah beef with. Well, us and the rest of the school.”

“Maybe… maybe it’s not about us anymore.” Rarity said.

“What do yah mean Rares?” Applejack said.

“Well, look at what’s happening. With that one attack, she’s put the entire world on edge.” Rarity said. “Think about it: the Olympics are a symbol for a united world. A brief moment of peace between all people. And she just effectively tainted that symbol.”

Pulling out her phone, Rarity pulled up a news feed: stories about riots, religious uprisings and attacks, economies and nations destabilizing due to the death of some high-level members of their leadership. It was the precursor to a world spiraling out of control.

“But that still doesn’t make sense.” Rainbow sighed. “What’s she got to gain from it?”

“Um… maybe… maybe it’s about her learning to use her power.” Fluttershy said, as she turned her eyes towards the ceiling. “I mean… when she attacked you, something happened, and she ran away. So, maybe she needed some time to get used to whatever changed her into that… thing.”

“I don’t know Shy.” Rainbow said as she scratched the back of her head.

“She’s onto something there Dashie.” Pinkie said, her voice almost devoid of all of its usual cheer. “Wouldn’t she have used that scary song thingie she did at the stadium when she first showed up if she could. It’s like in those games she plays. She’s trying to level up before she comes after the final boss.”

“You mean us?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Maybe. Even if it wasn’t for the Anon-a-Miss thing, we’re the only ones with the magic to stop her.” Applejack said. “But if she’s gettin’ stronger…”

“…I think you may be right” Rarity said as she put her phone on the table, “And if I’m being honest, dears, I don’t think this is the end of it. Just the first play. Look…”

As the four other girls looked at the news display, their hearts sank.

Mysterious entity returns.

Just hours ago, the same entity that attacked the Olympic Ceremony has struck again. This time, it appeared before a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. The Council had been called to address a response to the creature’s previous attack, when the entity manifested itself in the center of the Council Hall. Before the security cameras went out, the entity used the same strange power it used at the Olympic ceremony. Security attempted to intervene, but by the time they arrived, all members of the Council were dead, and the entity had vanished…

None of them could keep reading.

“This is bad. This is very, very bad.” Rainbow Dash said as her skin changed from cerulean to powder blue from the sheer horror of what she was seeing.

“I don’t think that’s the end of it, darling.” Rarity said as she set her phone down and wove her fingers together, worry marring her features. “Not by a long shot.”

“Kinda makes everything that’s happened feel… pointless.” Fluttershy said quietly from behind a veil of her hair.

“Flutters?” Rainbow said as she looked at her friend, and how said friend was wringing her hands.

“Everyone got so mad over Anon-a-Miss. But now… what does it matter now?” Fluttershy continued, her knuckles almost white from how hard she was clenching them. “Things are just… spiraling out of control…”

Fluttershy raised her face, fear and pain painted across it like some sort of macabre work of art.

“What’s the point!? Why is this all happening!?” Fluttershy all but wailed.

“Ah… ah don’ know Shy.” Applejack mumbled as she took off her hat and wrung the edge between her hands. “Ah jus’ don’.”

Applejack sighed and put her hat back on as she stared down at the journal. Still not word from the princess. Just as she was about to put the journal back into her pocket, she let out a startled yelp as the book began to glow and vibrate. Flipping the book open, Applejack’s eyes widened.

“Applejack, what’s…” Pinkie began, only for Applejack to interrupt her.

“Twilight’s comin’.”

As one, the girls all stood and made their way to the door.

*Canterlot High, the portal*

Five figures stood around the gate between worlds as it flashed bright blue and spat a disheveled Twilight Sparkle out onto the grass. Rushing forward, the five reached down to give their friend a hand. Pushing herself up to her hands and knees, Twilight gasped for breath as she desperately fought back the vertigo that came with passing through the gate.

“Twilight, here, let me help.” Twilight heard Rarity say as a pair hands helped her to her feet.

“I’m fine Rarity. Just give me a moment.” Twilight said as she lifted her right hand to her temple and leaned on the plinth holding the gate.

“Twilight! Your arm! What happened!?” Fluttershy shrieked.

Chancing a look at her arm, Twilight winced at what she saw. Instead of warm lavender flesh, her right arm was now made of smooth, brassy metal, a single, blue gem embedded in the back of her hand. Flexing her fingers, she found that whatever substance her arm had been replaced with was like her flesh.

“I don’t have time to explain right now. I need to know what’s been happening? Has Sunset come back and hurt anyone?” Twilight said as she finally regained her footing and addressed the girls.

The five of them looked uncomfortable as they cast glances back and forth between each other.

“I… I think we both have tales to tell.” Rarity finally said. “We should go someplace warm…”

8 – Attack of the Deep

“…and that’s what’s happened.” Rarity said, her face going even paler than usual as she wrung her hands. “So many people dead… by Sunset’s hand. Ugh, I don’t even know what to think anymore.”

Rarity saw Twilight look around at the others. Like the rest of them, Twilight looked sick to her stomach. Just as she was about to reach out and comfort the princess, Twilight’s eyes suddenly shot down to glare at the gem embedded in her right hand, her features twisting into an angry grimace, before turning sullen.

“It’s sword logic…” Twilight hissed as she finally turned her attention back to the Rainbooms. “She’s using sword logic.”

“What’s sword logic? Sounds… dangerous.” Pinkie said.

“It’s… hold on…” Twilight turned her attention back to her hand, nodding periodically before returning her attention to her friends. “The gist of it is that the more Sunset kills, the more power she gains.”

“What? But how?” Rainbow asked.

“Remember what I said about what’s happened to her? How she was taken by the Deep?” The others nodded solemnly. “From what The Aegis's told me, sword logic is the underlying principle of how the Deep defines its reality. By killing something that represents a thing, you definitively prove yourself stronger than that thing, and gain the power to defeat anything that is defined as a part of or subordinate to it.”

“So by killing Celestia and Luna…” Rainbow began.

“…because they represented the school, by the sword logic, she definitively proved herself stronger than the school, and everyone in it.” Twilight concluded. “And by killing all of those people representing the best of their countries…”

“… she’s proven herself stronger than those nations.” Applejack concluded.

“My goodness.” Rarity mumbled. “Is she really becoming that powerful? Is there really nothing we can do to stop her?”

“There’s no we here Rarity. I have to stop her. I’m the only one armed with the means to do it.” Twilight said as she lifted her arm and presented the blue gem embedded in the back of her metallic limb to the others, before lowering it back to the table, her face grim. “You’re not paracausal. She is. Thanks to the sword logic, if she came after you, there’d be nothing you could do to fight back, because she's defined herself as stronger than you. Only something that abides by a different set of paracausal principles has a chance to beat her.”

“But, Twlight, darling,” Rarity said quietly, “even if you’re the only one, how will you find her? It’s not like she’s just going to show up and challenge you to a fight…”

At that, Twilight sunk into her chair, and began rubbing her hands together.

“I’m not sure Rarity. My guess is she’ll come for us sooner or later. The Aegis is of the Sky, and Sunset’s of the Deep. The two are opposites, and cannot abide the presence of the other.”

“But until then, she’s just going to keep getting stronger and stronger.” Rainbow said. “Can’t we, I don’t know, lure her here somehow?”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly turned her attention back to her hand. She was silent for almost a minute before exclaiming, “What? No, we can’t. I won’t put them in danger like that!”

The others all looked at her with a mixture of trepidation and confusion as Twilight went silent again.

“Even if it does, they’d be defenseless, and so would I!” Twilight growled through clenched teeth, before falling silent again.

“What’s she…” Rainbow whispered to Fluttershy.

“No, it’s not! There has to be another way to…” Twilight snarled, then stopped as though interrupted.

“And if it doesn’t work? Then what?” Twilight demanded, her brows furrowing even deeper.

“Fine, I’ll ask them.” Twilight grumbled. “The Aegis knows a way to… challenge Sunset. But… if it works, she'll be out for blood. She'll be coming to kill us. I can’t make you take that risk, but if you’re willing, it might give us the opportunity to stop her…”

*Lake Everfree, one hour later*

Fluttershy’s van came to a halt in the parking lot, the tires crunching on the frozen gravel. As the doors opened, the Rainbooms emerged, each one shivering as they left the warm confines of the vehicle. Last to emerge was Princess Twilight, her arms wrapping around herself to stave off the cold. Even with the winter jacket and pants Rarity had provided her, the frigid air still nipped at her face and hands.

Glancing around the parking lot, she spotted the familiar shape of a red and black motorcycle, its frame crowned with a thick layer of snow.

“That’s Sunset’s bike.” Rainbow said as she walked up to the machine and dusted off some of the snow.

“Yea, it is. Looks like she came here… and never left.” Twilight said, her voice both venomous and sad, allowing the implication to linger in the air.

The other girls winced, but didn’t say anything.

Twilight paid them no mind as she looked out across the snowy ground towards the edge of the lake.

“Is this it?” she asked, but not towards the Rainbooms.

Yes, this is the place. The Aegis said into her mind, I can feel it. This is where your friend was taken. Down there, by the water.

Twilight looked where The Aegis was directing her, and her stomach turned. She could feel it in the air through her link to The Aegis. The remnant of the wound in reality still lingered in this space, polluting it with the Deep’s poison. As if drawn to it like a moth to a flame, Twilight began to slowly walk towards the tear, only vaguely aware of her friends following behind. As she reached it, she could feel the familiar, sickening sensation of taken energy lingering on the ground like a coat of rancid grease.

“Twilight… look.”

Turning her head, Twilight spotted Pinkie Pie pointing to the lake’s shore, now covered in a thin layer of ice. And sticking out of that ice was an ornate, gold-gilded book bearing a familiar sunburst. Twilight’s stomach sank at the sight of it. It was Sunset’s half of the journals. It certainly explained why the ink in her copy had bled out across the pages.

Twilight turned her head away, unable to bear looking at it. This was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the spot where Sunset had met her end. Where the girl she knew had disappeared, and where something horrible beyond imagining had taken her place.

“Twilight, are you…” Twilight heard Fluttershy say as the other girl put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“No, Fluttershy… I’m not okay. I’m really not.” Twilight said as she choked back a sob. Even without looking, she could tell that the sentiment was shared among all present. With a sigh, Twilight steeled herself and turned to the others. Her grief could wait.

She… they had a job to do.

Taking a brief glance at The Aegis, Twilight lifted her head and addressed them.

“Alright. This is it. If we can summon our magic, the feedback into the wound the Deep left in reality will alert Sunset, and hopefully draw her to us.” Twilight said, pushing down the trepidation in her voice. “This is your last chance to turn back. I can’t force you to do this, so I’ll ask you again: are you willing to risk your lives to stop this? To stop Sunset?”

There was a moment of silence among the others as Twilight’s words faded into the cool afternoon air. Nobody seemed willing speak as a cold breeze passed through the group.

“I am.”

To everyone’s surprise, it was Fluttershy that spoke. Her voice was different than usual: clear, hard and spoken with conviction.

“I can’t speak for the others, but I can’t turn back. Not now. We lost Sunset because we couldn’t let go of the past, and now… now it’s come back to threaten everyone. I can’t let that happen. We helped create this mess… and now, we have to fix it.”

Nodding, Twilight looked at the others.

“Ah admit, ah’m scaert.” Applejack said, her hands clenching into fists. “But, this has to be done. Ah would be lyin’ if I said that ah didn’t feel like this were mah fault, but that don’t matter now. We have to stop her, before there’s nothin’ left to save.”

“We all share part of that blame, darling.” Rarity said, “but you’re right. No matter who’s fault it is, this must end. If not for our sake, then for our families and friends. I’m with you Twilight.”

“I made Sunset cry.” Pinkie said, her voice morose. “I helped take away her smile. But I can’t let her do the same for the rest of the world. I can’t let her take away anyone else’s smiles.”

“… I should have stood by her, y’know?” Rainbow said as her eyes stayed locked on the frozen journal. “She trusted us. Even after everything we did to her after the Fall Formal. All the abuse, the name calling, the payback, she still wanted to show us that she’d turned around. And we threw it all away because we couldn't let go of who she used to be. Now, she’s gone. I won’t lose anyone else because of our… my mistake. I’m with you Twilight, till the end.”

Twilight’s smile became warm. Stepping forward, she opened her arms, inviting the others to join her in a group hug. With only a moment’s hesitation, the others came forward, their arms entwining around the others.

“Thank you, girls.” Twilight said. “Regardless of what happens next, thank you.”

After a few moments, the Rainbooms separated, and walked back up the hill to the parking lot. Steeling themselves, they opened the van and pulled out their instruments, carefully setting them up in a makeshift circle, with Twilight in the center. She looked around one final time, silently asking the others if they were still up to it. They all returned her look with determination. They were ready.

“Pinkie, count us off.” Rainbow said.

“Right. Everybody. One, two, one, two, three, four!” Pinkie shouted as she struck her drumsticks together, before launching into their signature song.

“Once upon a time” Applejack sang, “You came into my world and made the stars align.”

“Now I can see the signs” Rarity continued, the familiar tune filling her with energy. “You pick me up when I get down so I can shine!”

“Shine like rainbows.” All of the Rainbooms sang.
“Shine like rainbows.
Shine like rainbows.
Shine like rainbows.”

“Friends, you are in my life.” Rainbow picked up, the thrum of Equestrian magic beginning to fill her body as she and the other girls were lifted into the air. “And you can count on me to be there by your side.”

“And when the music comes alive!” Twilight sang out, her equine features popping into existence at the same time as the others. “We sing our songs to lift us up so we can shine.”

“And the sound that we hear in our hearts.” The rainbooms sang as the transformation completed, their pony features fully manifested.
“Makes a crescendo,
And the light that ignites in the dark.
It makes us all glow,
And shine like rainbows.
We shine like rainbows,
Shine like rainbows.”

As their voices continued to fill the cold air, a swirling vortex of rainbow light began to build up around them.

“We shine like rainbows
Together we stand
As the rain begins to fall
And holdin' our heads up high
As the sun shines through it all”

The rainbow burst outward in a glowing, polychromatic shock-wave, spreading across the snowy landscape.

“And the sound that we hear in our hearts
Makes a crescendo
And the light that ignites in the dark
It makes us all glow
And shine like rainbows
We shine like rainbows
Shine like rainbows
We shine like rainbows
We shine like rainbows”

And with that final line, the music died down, and only the late winter silence filled the air. The Rainbooms stood there for a moment, waiting.

“Do you think it…” Rarity began, before a low, mournful wail drifted across the landscape as a smothering, oppressive fog appeared out of nowhere and blanketed the lake. It was a wail that two of the group knew all too well, and one the rest knew from their accounts, and the tragedy in Karera.

“Krreeeeeeee-eeeeeee-aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuunnnnnnnngh…thoomb!”

Even knowing what was about to happen, the Rainbooms were unprepared for the horrific shrieking and eruption of dark energy that burst forth from the air above Lake Everfree like a bloody pustule. In the wake of the sound, was the one they had wanted to call.

There, in all of her terrifying glory, was Sunset Shimmer, held aloft by her slowly flapping, mismatched wings. The Rainbooms stood there, transfixed, as they stared at the entity before them. The entity that had once been their friend. And now? Now stood as possibly the greatest threat they had ever faced.

They had thought they were prepared for this, and yet, nobody quite knew what to do. They had expected Sunset to attack them as soon as she arrived. They had expected to fight for their lives. To hope that whatever was preventing Twilight from using that strange weapon she had brought would be overcome and would give them a way to stop the madness.

But Sunset didn’t attack.

Instead, she simply hovered there, her arms folded across her chest as she glared down at them. If anything, she almost looked… disappointed, somehow.

From its place in her arm, Twilight could feel The Aegis’s rage. It wished to be unleashed, but still, its power was contained, blocked by the “impurity” of Twilight’s intent. Twilight’s mind raced as she desperately tried to understand what was impure about her thoughts.

She needed The Aegis's power. And she needed it now!

“Sunset…”

All eyes turned to the source of the voice. It was Fluttershy.

“Sunset… please. I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you've been through, but I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I shouldn’t have turned you away. I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry. Please, believe me.” She plead as she reached a hand out towards her fallen friend.

Sunset’s head cocked to the side as she regarded Fluttershy.

“We all are!” Pinkie chimed in, “We know it wasn’t you! We should have listened! We should have trusted you! I know there’s nothing we can do to make this up to you, but really, we…”

Pinkie never finished her sentence, as the air was soon filled with the sound of a low, raspy chuckle. All of the girls held their breath as Sunset’s giggles drifted through the still air, before turning into a full blown, wailing cackle as she threw her head back and her arms wide. All of the girls slapped their hands over their ears in an attempt to drown out the sound, Fluttershy and Rarity curling up on themselves in the process. Soon, the sound died down, and the six of them looked at Sunset.

Sunset still just hovered there, glaring at them, before slowly turning her head back in the direction of Canterlot City. All the girls could do nothing but stare and ponder what was going on.

None of them could have anticipated the bright flash of light that suddenly erupted from the horizon, followed by a deep, shallow roar. Moments later, the air shook with a distant shockwave as a massive mushroom cloud filled the sky. Turning back to the Rainbooms, Sunset’s face twisted into a horrific smile. Lifting her hand, she pointed at Twilight, then swung her arm to point at the deadly plume off in the distance. An instant later, she was gone, vanishing back into the Deep, leaving the Rainbooms to watch the slowly subsiding aftermath of atomic destruction.

*Two hours ago, Hidden Government Server Farm, somewhere in the New Mexicolt Desert*

As the final notes of her death song faded, The Magister regarded the building below her. This was one of the last of her targets, and the penultimate stage in her plan to fulfill the Deep’s will. The other had identified this as one of the largest datahubs on the planet, but not one for the general public. No, this belonged to the U.S.E.’s military, and helped control one of the deadliest tools in their arsenal: the government’s stockpile of nuclear weaponry, both in the U.S.E.’s territory, and hidden in submarines patrolling the oceans.

For the past few days, she and the other had struck similar facilities across the world, using the chaos she’d sown by attacking the Olympics and the U.N. as a cover. Each facility hit controlled some aspect of its nation’s military might, be it combat drones, intercontinental ballistic missiles, biological weapons, satellite networks… or nuclear armaments.

Slowly descending, The Magister floated past the desiccated remains of the hundreds of soldiers and engineers she’d just killed as she made her way towards the central server hub. There was a certain sense of satisfaction in her chest as she simply phased through the door to the server farm building, and she floated inside. Landing and folding her wings, The Magister began making her way deeper into the structure, a trail of writhing blight springing up as she passed, the tendrils reaching out like a living thing to slowly wrap themselves around everything in her wake, covering it with the Deep’s beautiful corruption.

More doors and more locks attempted to bar her way, but proved to be no obstacle as she simply phased through each. It was almost embarrassingly easy.

Soon, she reached her goal, and she took a moment to admire the sight before her. In the massive room below the catwalk where she now stood, hundreds of towers ran up and down the length of space, filling the air with the drone of cooling fans and flashing lights, each one representing so much potential death. It was a glorious sight, and such a wonderful expression of the Deep’s most sacred principles: the complete destruction of a foe.

Yes, this would be the final piece.

Sending out a silent call to the other, the Magister waited for their arrival. Within moments, the glorious sound of the Deep’s sacred space breaching into this reality filled the air. The sound crashed in a crescendo, heralding the arrival of the other. Without looking behind herself, the two of them stepped forward and turned face to face.

Lifting their hands into the air, The Magister and the other began to gather power, before thrusting their hands towards the space between them, her fingers splayed. A wave of the Deep’s power rushed out of them, and gathered into a sphere. Turning their attention to the servers, they unleashed the sphere into the center of the room, where it erupted into a mass of writhing tendrils. Moments later, the tendrils lashed downward, each one piercing a server. With a push, the Magister forced the Deep's will onto the computers, while the other executed a complex series of computations. Hundreds of carefully concocted failsafes and firewalls proved no obstacle as they slipped through the cracks in the programs and wormed their way deeper into the system.

Soon, they reached the core file repository, but they didn’t stop. Spreading out like the roots of a tree, their power penetrated each of the servers, modifying and rewriting the code. In an instant, it was done, and they withdrew from the system. As they did, a small smile gracing the Magister’s face as her body convulsed in anticipation. The blight was now spreading through the network, worming its way towards the hidden silos, through satellites and to waiting submarines. And into the waiting weapons.

She just needed to wait for the infection to be complete. And that wouldn’t take much time.

The other regarded the servers impassively, its features unreadable.

Sending a silent command to the other that they were leaving, The Magister prepared to depart, only to stop as she gripped the side of her head as pain stabbed into her consciousness. Hissing, she shook the sensation away, slowly realizing what it was that she felt. Turning towards the irritant, she glared.

Like a shard of glass in her eye, she could feel it. The sickening presence of the Sky and its weakling ally Harmony, burning like a beacon in the night.

Somehow, in some way, she could tell that the Sky had sent one of its agents to this world. And said agent was intentionally unleashing its power. Right into the Deep’s sacred realm.

The Magister hissed with rage. The Sky’s servants had done it. They had found a way to bring more of the Sky’s power to this world. But more than that, it was something else. For as long as the Sky and the Deep had battled, such an act only have one meaning.

It was a challenge.

Whoever bore the Sky’s power, they knew the ways of the Deep. They were challenging her to a fight.

Looking back to the servers, the other, and the rapidly spreading blight, The Magister couldn’t help but chuckle. The Sky wanted to challenge her? So be it. She would give her response.

Turning to the other, the Magister silently conveyed her orders, before vanishing into the Deep.

*The road to Canterlot City, 20 minutes after detonation*

Fluttershy barreled down the road at breakneck speed, terror in her eyes. The others were all on their phones, scouring the news for reports of the attack, or desperately trying to reach family members in fleeting hope that they had somehow escaped the blast. Nobody spoke. There was nothing to say.

From what they found, it was bad. New reports of thousands of missile strikes, both nuclear and ballistic, on civilian, government and military centers worldwide were flooding in, describing an inexplicable and simultaneous strike by every nuclear armed nation around the globe. Stranger still, some of the missiles had detonated in the upper atmosphere, leaving inexplicable clouds of glowing, black energy that spread through the atmosphere like a cancer. Other reports told of drone strikes hitting harbors, reservoirs, dams, power plants and other essential infrastructure were flooding in. Attacks that would cripple the world’s ability to feed and power itself.

It was an apocalypse.

And nobody but the Rainbooms knew who had unleashed it. But these six girls knew the truth: somehow, someway, it was Sunset.

Sitting in the back of the van, Twilight stared down at her hands.

Child of Harmony, I can feel it… The Aegis whispered into her mind. All across this world, life is being snuffed out. The weapons that taken unleashed, they were blighted with the Deep's power. It's spreading like a plague, poisoning everything. This world will not be able to support life for much longer.

Twilight fought down an urge to vomit.

I'm sorry Child of Harmony, but we cannot save this place. The only thing we can do now is destroy the one responsible.

This… this was too much. She had held onto hope that things could work out. That she could reach Sunset. That there was something left of her friend. Something that hadn’t been taken by the Deep.

But she was wrong.

She was sure of it.

Sunset. Her friend. The girl she had offered her hand in friendship. The one she had seen turn her life around. The girl who she had once saved from the darkness of hate, and had saved her in turn when she was at the mercy of the Sirens. That Sunset… was gone.

Sunset was gone.

And she was never coming back.

Twilight was jolted out of her brooding as Fluttershy slammed on the breaks and skidded to a halt. Looking out the front window of the van, Twilight saw why they’d come to a stop.

“Oh my god…” Fluttershy whispered.

They had come over the mountain pass leading Canterlot City, and could finally see their home. Or rather, what was left of it.

The Rainbooms slowly emerged from the van into the hot, ash filled air, and could only stare in mute horror at the remains of the city. In the epicenter, nothing remained but a black, smoldering crater. Buildings lay shattered and burning outside the site of the impact, filling the sky with angry black smoke from thousands of fires. Even on the outskirts, structures lay shattered and destroyed. And throughout it all, patches of black, shimmering corruption coated everything like oil, with hundreds of the black spheres of blighted energy filling the sky, some nearly half a mile in diameter.

The sight was too much for them. Rainbow collapsed to her knees, too shocked to even comprehend what she was seeing. Rarity quietly and suddenly fainted on the spot. Fluttershy collapsed to the ground, covering her face, wailing in despair. Applejack turned away from the others and threw up on the pavement. Pinkie simply stared, completely dumbfounded as her hair deflated and fell into a limp mass.

Twilight slumped against the side of the van as she processed the situation. This was too far. Nopony… nobody deserved this. Staring out at the devastation before her, Twilight felt something in her soul break, and for the first time in her life, she knew, with absolute certainty, that she couldn’t let this continue.

That thing… wasn’t Sunset Shimmer. Not anymore. Discord had been right all along: Sunset was gone. Now, there was only a shadow, a twisted mockery that had defiled the memory of her friend. And that twisted shadow of hate and death. It could not be allowed to continue existing.

It had to be stopped.

She, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, would kill the thing that had once been Sunset Shimmer.

There simply was no other way.

Child of Harmony. She could hear The Aegis’s voice clearly. You are pure.

A deep, shocked gasp escaped from Twilight’s throat as she felt a pulse of energy radiate from The Aegis and spread through her body with a heartbeat. A second soon followed. Her vision swam as the energy coursed through her. Faster and faster it spread, filling her with the Sky’s power.

All around her, she could vaguely hear the Rainbooms cry out in shock, but couldn’t find the energy to care. All that she could focus on was The Aegis pouring the Sky's power into her.

It is time.

Then the world went white as a flash of energy erupted from The Aegis, and wrapped her in a cocoon of radiant light.

Arise… Guardian

Author's Note

Yea, that just happened.

As to why The Magister did what she did, hear me out. Remember the Deep's goal, and therefore the Magister's, is to wipe out all life on the planet. She knows that she, alone, doesn't have the capacity. But, as has been established, Sunset was a strategist, and could devise complex plans. The Magister retains Sunset's intelligence and mental capabilities, but this intellect has been all but completely subsumed by the Deep's will, and is directed solely towards the Deep's goals. And having lived in the human world for so long, why wouldn't she know about the destructive potential of the world's military, and their nuclear weaponry. After serendipity dropped the other (which will be addressed soon) into her lap, she realized that claiming the world's arsenal and turning it on them was the most efficient way to scour the planet clean of life.

We're in the home stretch here.

9 – Contest with the Deep

The Rainbooms stared in awe at the vortex of light that had engulfed princess Twilight. None of them dared to move, let alone speak, as the shimmering sphere pulsed and whirled. An eternity of seconds passed, and the light began to recede, revealing a… creature that they could only hope was the princess.

Slowly, the figure drifted down as its feet alighted on the ground.

The entity resembled a human in only the most generous of senses, in that it was humanoid, and vaguely feminine. But there the similarities ended. Instead of soft skin, the entity looked as though it were sculpted from smooth, lavender mother-of-pearl, save for its forearms and legs, which were adorned with a set of brassy vambraces and grieves. It lacked a right hand, instead having a ornate, center-griped, square shield in its place. A set of long tines emerged from the four corners of the shield, and were connected by a glowing, blue field of energy, with the strange blue gem that had adorned the princess's hand now proudly displayed on the shield's boss. Nearly a dozen other smooth, rounded blue crystals dotted its body at regular intervals. Most disturbing of all was its face. It was completely smooth and featureless, save pair of closed eyes. A long, curved horn adorned its forehead, and in place of hair, it had a series of plates resembling the shell of a chiton. And from its back was a massive pair of crystalline damselfly wings.

The entity stood completely still, its head bowed slightly towards the ground, as though it were sleeping on its feet. Slowly, ever so painfully slowly, the creature raised its head. In an instant its eyes snapped open, revealing twin, blazing fountains of purple light.

"P…princess Twilight?" Pinkie stammered, "Is that you?"

The entity's head swiveled with glacial speed to Pinkie, and regarded her as if seeing her for the first time, before cocking to the side as if trying to understand what she said. It blinked slowly, before it nodded with the same lethargic deliberateness.

The spell broken, the Rainbooms all rushed to their transformed friend, firing off dozens of questions at once. Looking at each one, Twilight raised a hand to silence them. Without saying a word, she pushed her hand out, as though telling the human girls to step back. Slowly, they obliged.

Closing all but her index finger, she pointed to all of the Rainbooms with one sweeping gesture, before pointing to the ground.

“You… want us to stay here?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight nodded.

“Twilight, we can’t. Our families are down there. We have to do something to…” Fluttershy protested, but was cut off by Twilight holding up her hand and shaking her head ‘no.’

Pointing again, she repeated the ‘you stay here’ gesture, this time with more force, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Twi, ah’ know there’s probly nothin’ we can do, but we cahn’t jus’ stay here. We have ta’ do somethin’!”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she regarded the Rainbooms. As she did, her wings flipped up and snapped open, before beginning to vibrate. Slowly, she lifted off the ground and hovered some 20 feet above the girls. Raising her left hand, she drew a circle in the air. An instant later, a shimmering bubble of glowing energy encapsulated the Rainbooms, all of whom rushed to the edge of the field, and began pounding on it, crying Twilight’s name, but the field held firm.

Slowly, the reality of the situation settled on them. They were trapped. And there was nothing they could do about it.

With one last glance at the humans below her, Twilight turned her attention towards the devastated city. Wings thrumming with power, she snot off towards the epicenter like a comet, leaving the Rainbooms to watch mournfully as their friend vanished into the distance.

*The epicenter of the nuclear strike on Canterlot City*

The Magister lazily floated above the smoldering devastation that had once been her false-self’s home. She’d won. Soon, all life on this world would wither and die, if not from the radiation, then from the sun being blotted out by the dust and ash thrown into the atmosphere. And anything that lived through that, the Deep’s beautiful blighted energy was now filling every part of the planet, and would slowly sap the life out of everything.

Now, it was only a matter of dealing with the Sky’s agents.

Admittedly, she could simply leave them to die of starvation or blight poisoning, but that felt… anti-climactic in a way. While a lingering, slow death was possible, it left too much to chance. No, once she dealt with the Sky’s vessel and the bearer she recalled from her false-self's memories was named Twilight Sparkle, she would finish the job. If she was feeling merciful, she would kill them with a death song; quick, agonizing, and unstoppable. A moment of dark humor passed through her as a memory of her false-self came to the surface: it would be ironic for them to die by her song, since her false-self had once saved their lives with one.

The cruel, poetic justice of it all gave her a thrill.

But first, there was someone ahead of them in line. Someone she could see approaching at high speed. The Magister didn’t even flinch as the bearer came streaking out of the sky and attempted to strike her with the vessel. At the last moment, the Magister casually blinked out of the path of the attack, causing the bearer to overshoot before recovering and wheeling around to face her.

Regarding the bearer, the Magister smiled.

She’d done it. She’d actually done it. The Magister had her doubts that the bearer would find the will to fully submit herself to the Sky, but she had.

This… this was better than she could have hoped for. Now she had the opportunity to truly destroy all traces of the Sky on this world. If she could kill the bearer, she’d have proof that she was stronger than the Sky’s servants, and none would be able to defeat her.

And if she lost?

Ultimately it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like the bearer or vessel could actually do anything to save life on this planet anymore.

Now, all that was left was the contest between herself and the Sky's miserable slave. And she was determined to be the winner of that contest.

Smiling maliciously at the bearer, the Magister pushed her hand into the Deep’s space. Grabbing onto an idea, she pulled her hand back into this reality, a long, brutal looking rapier forming from the Deep’s power. Raising the blade in a mocking salute, the Magister squared off against the bearer.

******

The sky above the ruins of Canterlot shook and roared with a steady stream of explosions, impacts and beams of purple light as a titanic battle raged between Twilight Sparkle and the Magister.

Twilight wheeled to the side to avoid a volley of lethal bolts of void darkness, before thrumming her wings and barreling towards Sunset. Pulling on the well of power now coursing within her, she sent a mental command to The Aegis.

Strike.

Heeding its bearer, the gems dotting her body erupted in void light, sending a dozen bolts of energy screaming towards Sunset. Flapping her wings hard, Sunset dodged and parried the attack, before wheeling around and diving away from Twilight’s charge. Without missing a beat, Twilight’s wings thrummed, and she turned to pursue.

Down towards the ground they rocketed. Just before she impacted, Sunset flared out her wings and stalled her flight, before turning and reversing her course strait at Twilight, her rapier poised to strike.

Twilight banked hard and barely raised The Aegis in time to deflect the strike, which skittered off the surface with a shower of sparks. The force of the blow was enough to push Twilight backwards, her wings barely able to keep her from tumbling out of control. Without relenting, Sunset raised her hand and sent a blast of void darkness at the princess.

Defend.

A glowing shield of energy erupted from The Aegis, forming an impenetrable barrier around Twilight. As the he bolt of energy impacted the shield, it bounced off harmlessly and slammed into one of the buildings behind her, filling the air with the sound of a massive explosion as the damaged structure collapsed to the ground.

Shield dropping, Twilight raised the Aegis and rushed back into the fray.

*****

Calling on the Deep, the Magister raised her free hand and sent a volley of void energy bolts at the bearer and vessel. Unable to dodge in time, the bearer raised the vessel and summoned her shield again. The Magister didn’t relent in her assault, continuing to fire bolt after bolt of baleful energy, which slammed against the shield, only to sizzle away and dissipate harmlessly. Seconds passed, and she could see the shield faltering, until it blinked out of existence. Stripped of her defense, the bearer managed to wheel out of the way of most of the bolts, but one struck her in the arm, cracking her pearly flesh.

The bearer reoriented herself and retaliated, sending a dozen snaking bolts of void light at the Magister, who had to dodge and parry as the volley managed to push her back.

This… this was wonderful, the Magister thought as the bearer flew forward and attempted to strike her with the vessel. Shifting in the air, the Magister retaliated with her rapier with in a series of quick thrusts, forcing the bearer to parry her attacks.

Nobody on this miserable mud-ball had been able to give her a challenge. And now? Now she was locked in mortal combat with a fully empowered Sky wielder. The rush, the thrill of her potential death, the contesting against such a powerful foe. It made her feel more whole than she had since she had been reborn.

And to make it even better, it was the one who had forced that false-self onto her. Even now, she still could feel some faint, distant echo of her false-self screaming for her to stop, to not hurt the bearer, but she easily pushed it away. She was going to enjoy killing this bearer and finally cutting out the last link to her false-self.

Calling on her power, she sent out a wave of void darkness, pushing the bearer back, before flapping her wings hard and closing the distance between them, her rapier flashing in a series of lunges and thrusts. Every time, the bearer’s vessel would rise and block her attacks.

But these continuous attacks were not just for show. No, she was learning.

The bearer, despite being her superior in raw power, was still clumsy with her efforts. Even with the vessel’s guidance, she was not accustomed to her new form, and was not utilizing it to its full potential.

What was more, while the bearer was nearly as strong as the Magister in close combat, she was at a severe disadvantage at range; her projectiles were simply far too slow to catch someone as nimble in the air as the Magister.

Even with that knowledge, she knew she had to be careful. The bearer and her vessel could still easily kill her if she made a mistake. But there was one final trick she had up her sleeve that could easily turn the tide. She just needed to wait a little while longer before she could play her hand.

So, until the time was right, she would fight with everything she had, and enjoy every moment of it.

*****

Wings thrumming with power, Twilight wove through the ruins of Canterlot City in pursuit of Sunset. After their last clash, Sunset had turned and flown towards the city, with Twilight hot on her tail. It struck her as odd that Sunset would suddenly flee, but she didn’t have time to question it. She couldn’t let her get away. The only explanation she could come up with was that Sunset was trying to find a place where she would have an advantage.

She couldn’t let that happen.

Raising The Aegis, Twilight pooled the Sky’s power and aimed the central crystal ahead of Sunset’s fleeing form.

Delete!

Power arced across the surface, and erupted as a brilliant sphere of light, which barreled towards the fleeing taken human. As the sphere closed in on Sunset, she banked to avoid the bolt. Narrowing her eyes, Twilight focused her will on the shining sphere.

Detonate!

The sphere exploded in a shower of light, catching Sunset off guard and sending her crashing into the ground. Steeling herself, Twilight’s wings thrummed harder as she dropped into a power-dive, The Aegis braced in front of her like a ram.

Sunset had barely recovered before Twilight slammed into her, knocking her off her feet and sending her flying into a nearby wall. Sunset’s form crumpled to the ground, phosphorescent fluid leaking from dozens of cracks radiating out from the point where The Aegis had struck.

Alighting on the ground, Twilight slowly approached the prone taken. Without any hesitation, she lifted The Aegis to finish the job.

This was the end. She would put this mockery of her friend down. She'd failed to save the rest of this world. But she could at least make sure that the one who had doomed it was brought down.

She wasn’t expecting to hear a low chuckle escape from Sunset as the taken weakly turned her head and looked at her foe with a smug, satisfied grin.

Child! Above you! Twilight heard The Aegis scream in her mind.

Twilight barely had time to wonder what was going on before she heard a sound much like a firework being set off. Before she could react, a bolt of blue energy slammed into her chest and detonated, sending her flying through the air and back to the ground. Tumbling across the pavement, she rolled and bounced until she slammed into an overturned car, bringing her to an abrupt stop. Painfully pushing herself up onto her hands and knees, she looked in the direction of the attack.

Her heart sank at what she saw.

On the building above where Sunset had fallen, there was a figure. It was clearly humanoid, and like Sunset, its body was composed of the same monochromatic gradient, though it wore much lighter looking armor than Sunset's. Like Sunset, it had a pair of massive wings, though it’s were much thinner, and resembled those of an albatross. In its arms, it carried a long, vicious looking weapon that vaguely resembled a slightly conical tube covered in barbs and prongs. Yet, where Sunset had a pair of eyes, this one had the typical single eye of a common taken.

But most horrible of all was the face, which she could now see clearly as the creature lowered its strange weapon from its eye and regarded her.

Because Twilight recognized its… her face.

It was the one she would see when she looked in the mirror as a human.

It was her face.

It was another Twilight Sparkle.

Author's Note

Dun dun dun!

I can imagine a few of you might have figured out that this was going to happen. I did leave a few, semi-subtle hints in the earlier chapters that SciTwi had been taken too. "But how did this happen?" you ask. That will be addressed next chapter.

10 – Escalation of the Deep

*Crystal Prep. Academy, five days earlier*

Twilight Sparkle sat in her private lab, her fingers flying across her computer’s keyboard as she entered line after line of analytical code into the device’s terminal. Once she was finished, she compiled her latest program, loaded in her data and executed the script. Once she saw it was running, she sat back and rubbed her eyes.

The strange anomalies she’d been detecting for the last few months had been such a fascinating puzzle. But these new energy surges that had begun to show up over the last few days? They were something so far beyond what she’d detected prior, that she’d had to start over from scratch. The energy emissions hadn’t behaved like anything she’d encountered before. Even the first anomalies followed some of the basic math regarding some of the known physical laws.

But these new emissions?

Nothing about them made any sense. Even applying the standard equations to the readings gave her nothing. If she didn’t know any better, she might have said whatever it was she had detected, it was not conforming to any sort of cause and effect principle.

Which was impossible.

Impatiently tapping her finger on the desktop, she glared at the computer, as if she could will it to complete the analysis sooner. As the numbers continued to fly by on the screen, she huffed in annoyance, before rising from her chair and approaching a different section of her lab: the section where she kept her prototype energy detector/accumulator. The little device was her pride and joy, and the product of weeks of observation and analysis. She’d initially intended to use it to study the initial phenomenon, but with some tweaks, she hoped that it would let her further delve into the new anomalies.

It was just a matter of finishing her analysis so she could upload the new programs into the detection matrix. Popping the lid open, Twilight pulled out a small set of resistors and other electronic components and began fiddling with the internal mechanism of the device.

Twilight was so engrossed in her detector that she didn’t see the strange effects the analysis was having on her computer screen. As the program ran, human letters and numbers began to be interspersed with otherworldly glyphs, while the screen began to emit a sickly, ghostly blue light. Soon, all of the script running across the screen was dominated by the otherworldly writing. Yet, within seconds, the effect faded, leaving only an active cursor to indicate the analysis was complete.

Soon, Twilight finished her tweaks to the detector, and went to check on the progress of her analysis. Much to her surprise, the computer seemed to have finished, and hadn’t spat back an error message like it had the last dozen time’s she’d tried to get the process to run.

“Odd. That went much faster than it should have…”

Looking over the computer’s output files, she was astonished and elated to discover that the math checked out. She had a perfect simulated equation for the detection of the new anomalous energy. She clapped her hands together and jumped up and down with excitement, a high-pitched squeal of joy bubbling up from her throat. Even her analytics for the older anomalies had never been this perfect. And if the values she was seeing were accurate, she’d be able to not only detect the anomalous energy, but actually collect samples.

It was almost too good to be true.

Rushing over to the bench, she grabbed her detector, and scurried back to her desktop. Plugging in a cable, she connected her computer to the device and began uploading the analysis program. She could barely sit still as the status bar slowly filled, and all but ripped the device off once it had completed the upgrade.

This was it!

She was finally going to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.

With an excited shiver, she turned the device on. Seconds passed, and she could feel her anticipation growing as the device began to hum.

It was working.

Twilight’s elation began to wane as the device started to vibrate uncontrollably and emit strange, otherworldly light.

With a yelp of pain, Twilight dropped the device as it became… she wasn’t sure of the feeling. All she knew was it had hurt. The device clanked to the ground and began to bounce around with such ferocity that Twilight was concerned it was going to shake itself to pieces.

Moments later, it settled down, and came to a halt.

Slowly. Carefully, Twilight approached the device. Bending over, she reached for the thing, before gingerly poking it with a finger.

Twilight didn’t even have time to scream as the lid of the device burst open. Before she could blink, a long, black tendril of nothingness lashed out, wrapped around her like the tongue of a chameleon, and yanked her through a point between atoms.

*In the space beyond reality*

“This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.” Twilight chanted as she rocked back and forth on the… there was no ground, but somehow, she had managed to curl up into a ball and rock back and forth on… something, her arms wrapped around her head protectively and her eyes squeezed shut.

All around her was a vast, infinite space of glowing darkness. Which was impossible. Darkness couldn’t glow.

None of this could be real.

She’d been spending too much time cooped up in her lab, avoiding the other students of CPA. Yes, that had to be it. This was all some crazy dream. All she had to do was wake up, and she’d be back in her lab.

“Just force yourself to wake up.” She told herself, the vastness of the glowing darkness all around her swallowing up the words and causing them to echo back all around her like a scream.

So why wasn’t she waking up?

Why was this happening?

How was this happening?

This couldn’t be real.

As Twilight’s thoughts continued to bounce around in her head, she felt… something… drawing near. Peeking out from under her hands, she tried to see whatever it was.

There was nothing but the infinite expanse of glowing darkness everywhere.

The presence drew closer, and Twilight curled up again, trying to make herself as hard to notice as possible.

Then, she felt it speak to her. It used no words, but somehow, she knew what it was telling her. Twilight screamed in agony as the presence's intent pierced into her skull and violated her mind.

You are Twilight Sparkle, the most gifted and intelligent girl in all of Canterlot. Genius. Inventor. Outcast and pariah.

You have been taken.

Twilight curled even further in on herself, screaming as tears began to form in her eyes.

“This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening” She continued to chant.

Even from an early age, you showed so much potential. Your mind could comprehend things beyond the ken of others. Your family could not have been prouder.

But, you soon found that same intelligence, so lauded by your family, isolated you from others.

When you first went to school, you were immediately a target for the other children. You loved your books, so they called you names, or stole them from you. You read while they played, so they bullied you. Though they were simple creatures, they were cunning in their cruelty, and you could never prove to the teachers that they were the ones doing it.

Twilight stopped her rocking and listened. Why was she hearing this? She didn’t need to be reminded of the hell that was her grade-school life.

As you grew, you hoped that things would improve, and you could make friends.

You didn’t.

Twilight stopped rocking and began to uncurl from her balled up position.

You reached out, and had your hand swatted away. Or, if someone took it, they only did so because they knew they could use you to get something. And once they had what they wanted, they cast you aside.

Twilight could feel fresh tears in her eyes. Tears of sorrow and tears of anger.

So you retreated into your studies, hoping that they would make you less of a target. But it only made things worse. The other students would laugh and jeer at you, steal your things, push you around. And you, in your fear, let it happen, because you knew that if you fought back, they would make your life a thousand times worse.

Twilight gritted her teeth as she pinched her eyes shut again and pressed her face into her knees. Not from fear, but out of anger and frustration.

It was true.

It was all true.

All she ever wanted was to learn. To study and maybe, one day, make the world a better place with her knowledge. But no matter what she did, her intellect made her a target. And she’d learned early on that if she tried to fight back, the bullies would make her life even worse. If she told on them, they’d come after her again and again.

Until eventually, she learned their lesson and began to fear them. Fear their threats and their reprisals.

But, it does not need to be that way.

If you could overcome your fear, there would be nothing to stop you. If you were brave, you could bend you prodigious mind to making them all pay. Physical strength is not the only way to fight back. Your mind is one of the greatest the world has ever seen.

Without fear to hold you back, you could accomplish so much more.

Looking up, Twilight saw a shard of nothingness hanging in the air above her. Somehow, it called out to her.

Here is a knife for you. It is shaped like[Courage]

Slowly uncurling herself and falling to her hands and knees, Twilight reached out for the knife the voice was offering.

Take this knife.

Her fingers wrapped around the shard as white-hot ice shot through her veins. She screamed, though if it was from pain or ecstasy, she didn’t know.

Use it to slice away the fear that holds you back.

Twilight’s mind faded, the persistent fear that always filled her draining away like grains of sand through a sieve. In its place, a singular sense of purpose flooded in, burning away all that she once was.

Take your new shape.

* The ruins of Canterlot City, present time *

Princess Twilight watched with a strange sense of existential dread as her taken doppelganger spread her wings and leapt from the building, before floating down on the ground in front of Sunset. Rising in a single, smooth motion, the taken Twilight raised her strange weapon to her shoulder and sighted it directly at the princess.

Instantly recognizing the danger, Twilight scrambled hard and launched herself away, just as a volley of screaming electrical bolts began to slam into the ground behind her. Regaining her feet, her wings snapped open and she took to the air, her doppelganger’s barrage continuing to streak past her.

Wheeling around, Twilight raised The Aegis and aimed it at the taken Twilight.

Strike!

Bolts of energy erupted from the gems on her body and snaked their way down towards the other Twilight. Before the beams could reach their target, Sunset launched herself from the ground and positioned herself between the two Twilights, her rapier flashing as she parried the beams.

As she did, the taken Twilight flew up from behind her and raised her weapon, before resuming her barrage, forcing princess Twilight to evade and fall back.

Looking back towards her foes, her heart sank. Sunset was gone.

Child! Behind you! The Aegis screamed in her mind.

With no time to think, princess Twilight summoned the Sky’s power and sent it flooding into The Aegis.

Defend!

The glowing shield appeared just in the nick of time, Sunset’s rapier slamming into its shimmering surface with a screech. Dropping the barrier and rolling in the air, the princess lashed out with The Aegis, striking Sunset in the wing, sending her tumbling towards the ground. Taking the opportunity, she sped away as quickly as she could, the sound of her doppelganger’s weapon discharging growing fainter as she put distance between them and her. Once she was sure she was out of sight, she ducked into a building and threw herself behind an overturned desk.

This… this was a disastrous complication. She was barely holding her own against Sunset. Now Sunset had backup. And, to make matters worse, it was her own human counterpart. Twilight desperately fought back her urge to speculate how the human her had been taken, and focusing on her more immediate concern: stopping Sunset and the taken Twilight.

Her mind was racing. She couldn’t face them at the same time. They’d just gang up on her and overwhelm her defenses. Even with The Aegis healing her wounds, there was no way she could last against the two of them.

She had to find a way to separate them.

She just needed to figure out how.

*****

The Magister hissed with frustration. They had the bearer flanked and could have finished her off, but she’s managed to slip away. She could still feel the Sky’s presence nearby, so she hadn’t fled, but couldn’t pin down exactly where she was.

The vessel must be interfering somehow.

Wordlessly, she sent a command to the other to head up into the sky and watch for the bearer. Even having shared some of the death she’d gathered, she knew that the other was no match for the bearer or the vessel in close combat. Best to keep her at a safe distance and ensure that if the bearer tried to close with the other, the Magister could intervene.

Angrily, her mind turned back to the problem at hand. She knew the bearer was no fool, and was probably hiding to avoid being outnumbered. She had to find a way to draw her out and into a position where they could finish her off.

Weighing her options, she quickly cataloged and dismissed each. A death song was out of the question. It would leave her too vulnerable, and in all likelihood, the vessel might be able to protect the bearer against it.

All of the civilians in the area were dead from the blighted missile that hit the city, so she couldn’t use them as bait.

She could have the other call in another missile strike, but that would take too long to reach them, and even then, the vessel would be able to defend against even something as destructive as the human’s nuclear weapons.

Searching would take too long, and leave them in a vulnerable position. The bearer had proven too dangerous to approach in close combat.

Looking around, she came to her decision. She knew the general direction that the bearer had fled, but not where. So, they’d just have to start bombarding the buildings to flush the bearer out. It was a slow option, and would give away their position, but it was the best choice she had.

And once she broke cover, they could pounce.

Taking to the sky, the Magister rapidly ascended to the other and wordlessly conveyed her plan. The other silently agreed and lifted her shock cannon to her shoulder, before unleashing a barrage at the building nearest to her. The Magister soon followed suit, unleashing a volley of explosive void energy into another building.

As the structures collapsed, throwing up massive clouds of dust into the air, they moved on to the next. And the next.

*****

Twilight could hear the next building collapse. They were getting closer. She needed to move, and she needed to move now. But she couldn’t just rush out, because then they’d be right on top of her. She needed a plan.

The bombardment started on the building next to the one she was hiding in.

She was out of time.

Rising, she dashed in the opposite direction of the bombardment, using The Aegis to smash open the wall, before rushing towards the opposite side of the building. Reaching the windows, her wings snapped open and she launched herself out, staying low and hopefully out of line of sight.

She needed to reach the larger buildings near the epicenter of the killzone. They were her best chance to enact her plan.

As she moved away from the low-lying buildings and approached the teetering skyscrapers, she broke into a power-climb and shot above the rooftops. She could see the two taken some distance off, still demolishing buildings in their search for her.

This was it. If this didn’t work, she was dead.

Raising The Aegis, she took aim at her doppelganger.

Delete!

A bolt of searing light erupted from the surface of The Aegis and rocketed towards the taken. Sunset’s head instantly swiveled to face her, before both taken saw the bolt of the Sky’s energy hurtling towards them. They dove out of the way of the bolt easily, but Twilight hadn’t meant to hit them.

She meant to draw their attention.

Detonate!

The sphere exploded, the blast sending the taken tumbling, though they quickly righted themselves and made to pursue.

Turning, Twilight sped towards the city ruins, the taken right on her tail.

*****

The Magister’s wings beat furiously as she flew after the other and the bearer.

Something wasn’t right.

The bearer had the perfect opportunity to ambush them, yet she had instead alerted them to her presence, then fled. Even if she were operating under some Sky-fool concept of honor, it didn’t make sense to turn to flee once she had their attention.

No, something was wrong.

This was a trap. It had to be. There was no other explanation.

Silently calling out to the other, she ordered her to stop, but the other ignored her, instead picking up speed as she shouldered her shock cannon. The Magister hissed with frustration. While she had retained some of her own will, the other was completely subsumed by the will of the Deep, and would not be deterred in her pursuit of the bearer.

Catching a glimpse of the bearer amid the corpse buildings, the Magister picked up speed. She couldn’t let the other get too far ahead. They had to stick together. Otherwise…

Otherwise they would lose the advantage of coordinated combat. And against something like the bearer’s vessel, they couldn’t afford to give up any advantage they had.

They had to finish this quickly. Or they might not be able to finish it at all.

Turing the corner, she saw the other had sighted the bearer, and brought up her shock cannon. The bearer had her back to one of the listing buildings, but was standing her ground, the vessel raised in front of her body, ready to attack or defend. Shifting through the deep, the Magister appeared off to the other side, ready to join the frey the instant the other struck.

All three stared at the others, waiting for them to make a move. The Magister began to draw power into her free hand, getting ready to attack.

The stalemate was broken when the other unleashed a volley from her shock cannon. The Magister expected the bearer to defend against the attack with the vessel, but instead, the bearer did something unexpected. With a twist of her body to dodge the projectiles, she dove towards the ground and brought the vessel up, launching a sphere of the Sky's power. Not at either her or the other, but at the base of the skyscraper. There was the sound of the sphere detonating, followed by the creaking of metal and concrete. In that moment, the building began to topple.

Directly towards all three of them.

This had to be the bearer's plan. To crush them under the building. Not wasting any time, the Magister shifted into the Deep's space and slid away.

*****

Twilight saw Sunset teleport out from under the shadow of the collapsing skyscraper, while her doppelganger instead began to turn and fly away.

She doesn't know how to teleport! Now's my chance! Twilight thought as her wings thrummed with power, and she rocketed towards the fleeing taken. Her taken counterpart must have sensed her coming, because she turned to face her and raised her weapon to attack. Twilight wasn't going to give her the opportunity.

Strike!

Searing bolts of void energy lanced towards the taken Twilight before slamming into her, blasting her with a dozen small explosions. The attack left the taken dazed long enough for Twilight to close the distance. Without giving the taken Twilight a chance to recover, princess Twilight raised The Aegis behind her before bringing it around in a powerful swing, slamming the face into the taken's sternum. Without loosing any speed, she bulldozed into the taken, carrying them both up and away from the collapsing building.

Once clear of the killzone, Twilight stopped her forward momentum and heaved with all her might, sending the taken Twilight flying into the air. This was it! Raising The Aegis, she pointed the blue crystal at her doppelganger.

Delete!

The bolt of energy discharged from The Aegis's front. Time slowed to a crawl as the sphere of glowing energy flew towards its target.

Then it impacted.

There was a brilliant flash of light as the Sky's energy began to rip into its target, boiling her form away as her screams of inhuman agony filled the air.

Twilight felt a savage impact to her side that sent her flying and embedded her into the side of a nearby building. Shaking the stars from her eyes, she looked up to see what had hit her.

It was Sunset, though she wasn't currently looking at Twilight. She was flying towards the rapidly boiling away form of the taken Twilight, her arm extended almost in desperation. Yet, by the time she reached the other taken, The Aegis's power had done its job, and it had been eaten away into nothingness.

As Twilight extracted herself from the side of the building, she saw Sunset's hand slowly fall to her side and her head droop down, almost as if she were in mourning. Lifting The Aegis, Twilight braced herself to resume the fight. An instant later, Sunset turned to face her, and Twilight was shocked at what she saw. Sunset's face was twisted into a grimace of pure rage and grief, her hands balled as she shook with barely contained anger.

Unleashing a furious scream that shook the shattered city-scape, Sunset lifted her hands and unleashed a storm of void darkness at the princess.

Author's Note

So, did the Magister care about the taken Twilight? Yes, she did. Remember that when Sunset was taken, the knife she received allowed her to reject the lies of the Sky. But it didn't remove her ability to form bonds of comradery. And as the only other taken on Earth, Sci-Twi did give her a companion and someone to aid her in her mission from the Deep. Even if it only began as being comrades in arms, they did form a bond as they carried out the will of the Deep.

And now, the princess is facing down the wrath of a furious Magister.

11 – Clash with the Deep

Twilight’s wings thrummed furiously as she dodged the hale fire of void energy bolts raining down on her from above. Doing an aileron-roll, she narrowly avoided being shot down as she drew her sights on Sunset.

Strike!

Snaking bolts of energy hurtled towards the flying taken. In response, Sunset blinked away and resumed her barrage, forcing Twilight to raise The Aegis and parry some of the shots as she desperately made for cover. A few of the bolts managed to get past her defenses, once punching through her leg while another struck her in the stomach. Wincing in pain, Twilight poured on as much speed as she could muster, trying to fly between two of the nearby buildings, desperate to break Sunset’s line of sight so The Aegis could heal her wounds.

Sunset didn’t let her get far. Raising her hands, she summoned a massive cloud of blighted mist in Twilight’s path, forcing her to veer off course. Another barrage of void energy began to fall from the sky as Sunset resumed her attack.

Twilight could still see the rage in Sunset’s posture and attacks, yet despite her fury, she was still keeping her distance. Clearly, she’d learned from their previous engagements, and was making sure that she kept Twilight as far away as possible. Much to Twilight’s dismay, Sunset clearly had the advantage in long range combat.

She knows that I have to get in close to have any chance of actually hitting her. Twilight thought as she dove behind cover as a massive bolt of energy raked the ground ahead of where she’d been flying. Sunset didn’t relent, blinking to the other side and resuming her attack as dozens of explosive spheres of void energy detonated around Twilight.

Defend!

Pain tore into Twilight’s mind as she brought up her shield, but not fast enough to block all of the blasts. She could feel the Sky’s power flow from the well in The Aegis, mending her body. But she couldn’t hide behind the dome for long. She could already see Sunset preparing for her next attack. Dropping the barrier, she unleashed another volley of energy bolts at the flying taken before launching herself into the air and trying to rush Sunset down.

Sunset simply blinked higher into the sky and began to unleash another volley of void energy bombs at Twilight, forcing her back towards the ground to avoid being blown apart.

She couldn’t keep this up much longer.

Even as The Aegis healed whatever wounds she accrued, Sunset was keeping her pinned down. And sooner or later, she would make a mistake, and give Sunset the opportunity to land a fatal blow.

She needed to turn the tide back in her favor by getting in close with Sunset. Her mind was racing even as she evaded and retaliated against Sunset’s assault. Seeking cover in a building was out. Even if she managed to get inside, Sunset could just bring the structure down on her head. And while The Aegis could hold all of that weight at bay for a little while, it wouldn’t last forever, and she’d be crushed. If Sunset didn’t just blow up the ruble to finish the job.

And there was no way to rush her, because every time she tried, Sunset would blink away and attack her from a new angle.

Eyeing one of the damaged buildings, Twilight saw her chance to get some breathing room. As the latest volley of void bombs detonated around her, she swung The Aegis up and took aim at the six-story structure.

Delete!

The bolt of light slammed into the base of the building, detonating and causing the structure to begin collapsing. Sunset’s volley stopped as a wave of dust and debris flew into the air, obscuring Twilight’s position. Not wasting the chance, Twilight flew as fast as she could away from the plaza and Sunset.

Wings thrumming as hard as she could push them, she sped away before ducking into a small building and pressing herself up against an inside wall. She knew Sunset would be looking for her as soon as the dust settled, and she needed a plan.

How can I turn the tide! Twilight screamed in her mind.

As she desperately tried to think of a way that she could win, Twilight’s eyes darted around the building, alert for any sign that Sunset was approaching. As she did, she realized where she was hiding; it was a transit station of some sort. Then it struck her. This wasn’t just a transit station; it was a transit hub, one with maps of different forms of public transit laid out across Canterlot city.

But one map in particular caught her attention: the one labeled “subway stations”.

She remembered from her conversations with Sunset… the real Sunset… that the humans used underground trains called subways to get around their cities.

The tunnels.

That was the answer.

She had to find a way to force Sunset underground and into the tunnels. If she could manage it, she could get her in close range, and prevent her from using her blinks to get away. She’d limit her own mobility, but with The Aegis’s defenses, she could manage.

Hastily looking at the map again, she saw a marker indicating her current position, and dozens of other points across the city, including one just outside where she was hiding.

That was it. She had her opportunity. She just hoped that she could make it work.

*****

The Magister’s head swung back and forth across the landscape around her, searching for the bearer. She couldn’t believe that she’d fallen for the same trick twice, and lost track of her foe. She’d let her temper get the best of her over the loss of the other. At the thought, she could feel her fury starting to rise again, but she clamped it down. She couldn’t act rashly. Not when the bearer had the opportunity to potentially ambush her.

She wasn’t going to lose this fight. She wasn’t going to let the Sky defeat her again.

As she searched, she kept her hands charged with the deep’s power, ready to unleash it at a moment’s notice. She could vaguely feel the Sky’s power nearby, but, as before, she couldn’t pin it down. She could tell that it was getting fainter, which in all likelihood meant that bearer was retreating.

Coward.

Well, if she wouldn’t face the Magister, then the Magister would just have to track down the other bearers and force the issue. She could still feel them off in the distance. And unlike the bearer she’d been facing, they were easy prey.

She was honestly surprised that they hadn’t come along with the other bearer. From what her false-self’s memories told her, they would have insisted on coming. They were foolish Sky-slaves like that. The bearer must have prevented it somehow. Still, if they were restrained in some way, she’d be more than happy to free them. From everything.

As she prepared to slip into the Deep’s space, she felt the Sky’s presence begin to grow stronger. So, the bearer hadn’t fled, only sought to find an advantageous position to strike. Good.

Pulling power into her hands and re-summoning her rapier, the Magister scanned the surrounding area, searching for the bearer.

The presence was drawing closer, and it was drawing closer fast. She swore in her mind at the cursed vessel’s confounding ability to confuse her senses. She just had to be ready for…

She heard the thrumming of the bearer’s wings… from above!

She drew power to blink away, but never finished as the bearer dove into her back, slamming the vessel into her and driving her towards the ground. Her concentration broken, she couldn’t muster the focus to blink out of their power-dive.

A power-dive that she could see was taking them directly towards the entrance to the underground the humans used to move about their city.

That was her plan. She was going to force the Magister into underground and into close quarters to take away her ranged advantage, and instead force her into melee, where the bearer would have the advantage.

Clever!

A silent thrill filled her. The bearer was turning out to be such a deliciously devious opponent.

It would be so wonderful to finally kill her.

*****

Twilight drove forward with everything she had, pushing Sunset through the subway’s entrance, past the kiosks and loading platform and into the tunnels. With a mighty heave, she threw Sunset forward and skidded to a halt. Sunset tumbled through the air, but managed to right herself and stop her tumble. Twilight wasn’t going to give her the chance to recover.

Delete!

The sphere of energy rocketed towards Sunset. An instant later, Sunset blinked past the bolt and launched a volley of void energy at Twilight. Raising The Aegis, Twilight summoned her shield, deflecting the bolts before her wings snapped open.

Detonate!

The sphere of light exploded behind Sunset, bringing the tunnel down and cutting off her retreat.

This was it. She couldn’t let Sunset get the upper hand again.

Wings thrumming, Twilight launched herself at Sunset, who raised her rapier and charged as well. The two clashed, both probing the other’s defense for weaknesses, Sunset lashing out with her rapier and void energy whenever Twilight began to gain an advantage, Twilight using the sharpened energy field on the edge of The Aegis to slash at Sunset or batter her with its face.

Slowly, Sunset began to gain ground, forcing Twilight more and more onto the defense. But Twilight wouldn’t relent. She had to end this.

She needed to make an opportunity.

Shifting her defenses ever so slightly, she began to leave her left side open to attack. She hoped that Sunset would take the bait, and that when she did, the blow wouldn’t be fatal.

Sensing an opening, Sunset struck, her rapier slipping past The Aegis and punching through Twilight's shoulder. There was a sickening crack as the shaprened point of her blade penetrated Twilight's hardened carapace. A hideous wail erupted from the blade as Sunset unleashed her power, blasting Twilight’s arm clean off.

Twilight powered through the pain.

She had her opening.

With a mighty upward swing, she lashed out with the edge of The Aegis, and took Sunset’s right arm off at the elbow. Sunset recoiled and tried to retreat, but without missing a beat, Twilight reversed the direction of her swing, and with a mighty hammer strike, lunged forward and drove the bladed force field deep into Sunset’s chest. Had Sunset still been human, the blow would have been fatal as The Aegis's field sliced through her ribs and nearly clean through her torso.

In an instant, all the strength left Sunset’s body, her face shifting from hate filled to confused as she looked down at the blade of energy slicing into her. Stumbling forward, she fell off The Aegis’s edge and onto the ground, barely holding herself up on her hand and knees, phosphorescent blood pouring from the two wounds.

Staggering back, Twilight regarded the bleeding taken for a moment. Then, raising The Aegis, she pointed the gem at Sunset.

Delete!

Time slowed to a crawl from Twilight’s perspective as the bolt discharged from The Aegis’s surface. An eternity of seconds later, the bolt struck Sunset squarely in the back, before the Sky’s energy began to tear into her form, disintegrating the taken. Unlike the taken Twilight, Sunset didn’t cry out in pain as she was ripped apart. Instead, she simply let it happen without protest, as though she had accepted her fate.

In seconds, the being that had once been Sunset Shimmer silently boiled away into nothingness, leaving only a scorched patch of ground behind.

An overwhelming sense of exhaustion fell onto Twilight as she slumped to the side of the tunnel and slid to the ground. She could feel The Aegis’s power spreading through her, sealing her wounds and beginning the process of re-growing her lost arm, but she barely registered it all. It was over…

It was over…

She’d stopped Sunset.

*30 minutes later, on the outskirts of Canterlot City*

“Do you think she won?” Fluttershy asked softly to the others as she peered through her birding binoculars. Seeing nothing, she passed the magnifying device to Pinkie Pie.

“Ah hope so Shy’. Ah hope so.” Applejack replied, her arms crossed as she hid her face behind her hat.

The five girls were standing near the edge of the barrier. After futilely trying to break through the shimmering dome, they had accepted that the only thing they could do was wait. Through Fluttershy’s birding binoculars they’d seen flashes of strange light and buildings collapsing in what they could only imagine was the battle between Sunset and Twilight.

But it had been nearly half an hour since the last sign of the fight had died down, and now they were waiting. Waiting for either a triumphant Twilight to return and release them, or Sunset to arrive and finish them off.

At this point, they weren’t exactly sure which one they would have preferred.

“Girls! Look!” Pinkie exclaimed, pointing to the sky in the distance through the binoculars, before passing the device to Rainbow. Raising the magnifying lenses to her eyes, Rainbow spotted a blob of lavender rapidly approaching them from the edge of the city.

“Its Twilight!” Rainbow exclaimed, “She’s coming! She must have won!”

There was a hopeful murmur and sighs of relief as the lavender colored speck grew in size. Eventually, the battered form of princess Twilight flew to the edge of the dome, which slowly dissolved, freeing the Rainbooms. The five humans rushed up to her, bombarding her with questions.

Raising her hand to silence them, Twilight stood still for a moment as sutures started forming on her face. A moment later, the blank surface split open along the sutures, peeling back and revealing the princess's natural visage.

“Its over.” Twilight said morosely, her voice carrying a strange, echoing timbre as though thousands of voices were speaking at once. “Sunset’s gone…”

The relief on everyone’s faces was palpable.

“So, what happens now?” Rarity asked, bringing everyone down from the elated high of Sunset’s defeat.

“Ah… Ah need to get to Sweet Apple Acres. Ah have to find mah’ family.” Applejack said. “Maybe they were far enough away that the blast didn’t get ‘em.”

There was a murmur of agreement between the Rainbooms.

“There’s no point.” Twilight said, her voice on the verge of tears.

“Twilight, ya’ don’t know fer sure. They might have made it. Ah can see the Acres from here.” Applejack said as she pointed to the orchard in the distance, its trees bare and dead, as was all the vegetation in the valley.

“Applejack, nobody survived.” Twilight sobbed. “Everyone down there is dead. If the blast didn’t kill them, the blight did.”

Twilight didn’t respond as the girls all gasped in horror. Instead, she turned to look at the ruin that was Canterlot City.

“The blight, even now, is spreading. Poisoning the air, the water, the ground. Making it unable to support life. It was clever cruelty. I’d say that, at best, this world will be unable to support any life in a week at most.” Twilight sighed as she turned back to the Rainbooms. “I’m sorry, but the Deep has won this battle.”

The shock of Twilight’s revelation was too much to bear, and the Rainbooms all fell to the ground in utter crushing despair.

“So… that’s it?” Rainbow said, “That’s all you have to say? That we’re doomed? That Sunset WON!?”

Twilight flinched as Rainbow Dash yelled at her, tears forming in her eyes.

“Dammit! Say something!” the athlete snarled “Why couldn’t you have been faster! We’ve lost everything! Our families! Our friends! Our whole fucking world! How are you going to make this right, princess!?”

“I can’t make it right Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said between sobs, “Nobody can.”

“So what now!?” Rainbow yelled, “What are we supposed to do?!”

“I’m sorry.” Twilight said solemnly. “The best I can do is offer you asylum. I won’t force you, but if you’re willing, I can bring you to Equestria. It’s what little I can offer you. You’re very likely some of the last humans alive. If you stay, everything that ever was life on this world will be gone. But, if you come with me, at least something of your world will live on.”

“That’s it?” Rainbow hissed. “That’s all you can say?”

“What do you want from me Rainbow Dash? Need I remind you that I’m not the one who started all of this. It was one of you humans that set this whole debacle in motion. Sunset was happy here with all of you. She loved you all like sisters. And all it took for you to throw all that away was an obvious frame job and a few embarrassing secrets.” Twilight’s voice was becoming frantic, yet she pushed on. “Do you want me to blame all of you for this? Do you want me to blame myself? Sunset Shimmer? Princess Celestia? The Creator? The Sky and the Deep? Random chance? Rainbow Dash, we all share some blame here, and even as much as I wish it were otherwise, what’s done is done.”

Twilight recomposed herself as she stared down at the humans.

“I won’t force you, but I want to save something. Even if I couldn’t save your world, I can save you. Please. Don’t let everything that this world made die.” Twilight sobbed. “Let me save something of the place that Sunset loved. The real Sunset. Not the monster she became. The one that, once upon a time, was our friend.”

The Rainbooms were silent for a long time, each one mulling over the princess’s offer. One by one, they came to a decision.

Author's Note

So, we're in the home stretch here. All that's left is the epilogue, and we're done with this thing.

Epilogue - Exodus to the Sky

*Eight weeks after the Magister’s defeat, Castle of Friendship*

“So, how are they adjusting?” Spike said as he waddled next to Twilight. The two were heading back to the portal room.

“Physically? I think they’re okay. Mentally? Not so good, to be honest.” Twilight said as she slowly trotted, the metallic click of her right foreleg breaking up the staccato of her hooves on the crystalline floor.

It hadn’t surprised her that the Rainbooms took her up on her offer to bring them back to Equestria. After their decision had been made, it had taken close to two days for them to gather up what personal belongings they were going to bring back with them. Through it all, Twilight had to regularly use The Aegis’s powers to cleanse the blight from the humans, lest they succumb to its toxic effects.

They had systematically visited each girl’s home, both to gather their belongings, and in some vain, futile hope that someone had survived. They were met with bitter disappointment at each site.

The most painful for the girls was visiting Sweet Apple Acres. When they’d arrived, they found not only Granny Smith and Big Mac’s bodies, but those of Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, all in their clubhouse, their flesh withered from the blight.

Both Rarity and Applejack had broken down on the spot, clinging to the corpses of their siblings as they wept. Even Rainbow Dash found herself holding Scootaloo's corpse against her chest, though her tears were far more subdued as she simply cradled the young girl and rocked her back and forth.

Once she'd managed to compose herself enough, Applejack had insisted on giving everyone a proper burial in the family plot and would not be moved until it was done. Rarity and Rainbow tearfully agreed. Thankfully, with the help of the others, they’d managed to put everyone to rest in the earth as best they could, given the circumstances.

Once back in Equestria, Twilight had surreptitiously brought them to Canterlot. New identities were concocted, and magic was used to permanently alter their coats and voices. After all, the native Elements were famous heroes. The sudden appearance of doppelgangers would have caused no end of trouble. They were then given a crash course in Equestrian culture and customs, before eventually began relocating to their new homes.

Applejack had been relocated to Appleoosa, and was now going under the alias Macoun Blush, and had taken up work with the local smiths. Celestia had offered to help set up a job in the orchards, but she declined, saying that working with the trees brought back too many painful memories of her old home.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, now under the aliases Silver Streak and Whisper Wind, respectively, had been set up as sisters in the city of Las Pegasus. Silver had elected to teach youth sports, while Whisper had found work as a caregiver for the elderly.

Pinkie, now going by Shale Stone, had chosen to be placed with her counterpart’s family of all things, working as a ranch hand at the rock farm. The trauma of the experience had permanently left her hair straight and flaccid, and she figured staying with her counterpart’s family might be both a way to cope with her loss, and as a reminder to her how fragile people’s smiles really were.

And finally, Rarity, now Silk Tassel, had moved to Baltimare and been given a job under a local dress maker as a model. She hoped one day to develop the magical dexterity to break into the design space herself, but until that time, she would be content to show off the creations of others in place of her own.

Shaking her head free of her brooding, Twilight scanned the room she and Spike now occupied. Dozens of massive wooden crates occupied the space, which Twilight regarded with a degree of sadness.

After bringing the Rainbooms through the portal and leaving them in the capable hooves of Princess Celestia, she had begun to make expeditions to the other world with a single goal in mind: collect every book she could find from every library she could reach. The process was slow and tedious, but with the aid of her guardian form, she had managed to collect and cleanse of lingering blight from every volume in the Canterlot High library, as well as those in the Central City library as well as the one at Crystal Prep Academy and University of Canterlot.

Unfortunately, the blight had continued to grow and spread as she worked, and after the last trip, she decided that there was no way for her to safely travel to the other world anymore. Not without risking the blight spreading to Equestria. So, upon her return, she had removed the replacement journal from its place in her portal device, destroyed both journals and shattered the mirror, sealing the way forever. It had hurt so much, but it was the only way to ensure that the blight wouldn't seep through.

“How's the transfer to the Great Library going?” Twilight asked Spike, her voice distant and detached.

“Princess Celestia says that it’s been going well. They’ve commissioned a new section to house and preserve the books.” Spike said as he looked up at his sister. “I still don’t understand why we aren’t keeping them here, or in Canterlot.”

“We can’t risk them like that Spike.” Twilight said mechanically. “These books… they’re the legacy of the other world. They’re all that’s left of it. Its history. Its cultures. Its people. They have to be kept as safe as possible. Perhaps one day, we can make copies to share with everypony, but for now, they need to be kept safe and protected. And the Great Library is the only place I know of that I can be as close to 100% certain can do it.”

A weighty sigh escaped Twilight’s throat as she regarded boxes.

“I'm… going to my room Spike. I'll see you at diner.” Twilight said as she turned to leave.

Before she could reach the door, Spike had rushed in front of her and blocked her path.

“I just remembered. The girls and I have been planning a trip to the Crystal Empire for the gem-blooming festival three days from now. Why don’t you join us?” Spike said, a hopeful smile on his face.

“Spike, please, I really just want to be alone right now…” Twilight said.

Spike wasn’t going to be deterred.

“Twilight. You’ve been cooped up in the castle for almost two months. You barely talk to anyone, and we’re concerned.” Spike plead, wrapping his arms around Twilight’s non-metallic foreleg.

“Spike… I failed. I failed Sunset. I failed to save the other world. I just… I need time to process everything.” Twilight said, tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes.

“I… I can’t even begin to understand what you're going through Twilight.” Spike said as he hugged her leg tighter. “But you’re killing yourself with this. Please, let us help you. Let us take some of the weight off your shoulders. Even if we can’t make it better, you can lean on us. It’s what friends are for, isn’t it?”

Twilight brought her right leg up and wrapped it around Spike, finally returning his hug.

“Okay Spike. When do we leave?” Twilight said, a small smile finally starting to form on her face.

“Day after tomorrow early in the morning!” He happily cried, before squeezing Twilight’s leg even tighter, rubbing his face against the soft fur of her limb.

“Sounds good. We can pack tomorrow. That work for you?”

“Yes! Yes, that’s great!”

“Good. I’ll see you in the dining room in three hours. You think you can whip up something special tonight?”

“Of course Twilight. See you then.” Spike said as he finally released her limb and allowed her to leave.

A few minutes later, Twilight reached her room. Entering and closing the door behind her, she placed a locking charm on the frame. Even if she’d agreed to go out with Spike and the girls, she still needed to be alone for the time being.

Trotting over to her bed, she flopped down onto her mattress, her breathing slow and pained. As she lay there, her eyes drifted to the dresser next to the bed. Or, more specifically, the letter resting to it.

When she’d first come back, she’d nearly burnt it in her pain and anger. But, at the last moment, she’d stayed her hoof. It was the last remnants of Sunset Shimmer. The real one. Her friend. Not the taken abomination she’d become.

How could she destroy it?

Yet, up until now, she couldn’t bring herself to read the letter Sunset had left for her. After all, that letter was literally the last piece of Sunset anywhere. She wanted to lock it in a stasis field and store it in the Great Library’s archives, protect and preserve it like it was the most precious thing in the world. Somehow, to her, it was.

Slowly… gently… with the care that one would lift a piece of cracked glass, Twilight’s telekinesis wrapped itself around the letter and gently floated it over.

Unfolding it, Twilight began to read.

As she read, the tears she’d been holding back finally broke free. Upon finishing the letter, she hugged it to her chest, cradling it like a foal as all the pent-up pain and sorrow she’d been holding back burst forth. She sat there for she didn’t know how long, holding the last trace of her friend to her chest, her tears falling like gentle rain onto the blankets below.

“I’m sorry Sunset.” She said between sobs, “I’m so, so sorry…”

Author's Note

And there we have it. The conclusion of The Magister of the Deep. Thank you all for reading. Please, let me know what you thought in the comments below. I'd like to hear your opinions.

Am I ever going to share what Sunset wrote in that letter to Twilight? No, I'm not. That letter is between the two of them, and them alone. I'm not going to intrude on that.

Also, if you want an ending theme to the story, this is the most appropriate one I could think of:

You can find the translation of the lyrics here