Diablo III: Fall of Equestria

Sunset was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Starlight’s eyes glaze over. Her normally light blue eyes turned sulfur yellow with slit pupils. Starlight slowly stalked toward Sunset with a crazed look on her face. When Sunset turned around, Starlight jumped and tackled her to the ground.

“Starlight! What’s gotten into you?” Sunset grunted as she tried to push Starlight off.

“The same thing that is going to get into you!” Starlight hissed. She leaned in close to Sunset and opened her mouth wide. Sunset struggled to free herself, but she was no match for Starlight’s manic strength. A dark miasma formed in Starlight’s mouth and slowly oozed toward Sunset.

Sunset shrieked and turned her head away, but Starlight clamped her hooves to Sunset’s face, forcing her to be still. In her panicked state, Sunset desperately tried to think of a solution. Finally it dawned on her, and Sunset momentarily felt silly. She was a pony again and had access to all her magic and abilities. Focusing her magic, Sunset’s horn started to glow red and she blasted Starlight across the room. The possessed unicorn knocked over a bookshelf and disappeared under an avalanche of books.

Sunset took a deep breath and shakily rose to her feet. Her horn kept its red glow as she cautiously approached the pile of books. The pile shifted slightly and a blast of magic vaporized the books, revealing a crazed Starlight Glimmer, whose own horn was primed with magic.

Sunset glared at Starlight and considered her options. She didn’t want to hurt Starlight, and certainly didn’t want to destroy Twilight’s castle on accident. Unfortunately, Starlight made the choice for her when she sent a beam of magic at Sunset. Sunset ducked out of the way and a small table was reduced to dust instead.

“Really? Annihilator magic?” Sunset asked incredulously. Starlight responded by firing at Sunset again. This time, Sunset used teleportation magic to appear in the doorway behind Starlight. Sunset cast a paralyzer spell, but Starlight teleported herself to safety down the hall. They stared at each other, then Starlight took off with Sunset in hot pursuit.

Starlight held a slight advantage since she knew the layout of the castle, but Sunset hit her with a sneaky tracking spell, allowing her to teleport to Starlight’s location. A brief scuffle would ensue, with both gifted unicorns trying to get the upper hand, before Starlight ran away again. Eventually, Starlight led Sunset into a cellar that led deep underground.

Sunset took a moment to catch her breath. She was glad to be able to use familiar spells again, but her lack of practice left her winded and using more magic than normal. As she traveled deep and deeper underground, Sunset felt a chill roll down her spine. She stopped and carefully looked around. She didn’t notice anything, but could feel eyes staring intently at her. The pathway had become uncomfortably claustrophobic and the walls were slimy with condensation. Sunset had to use an illumination spell to light the way, which only added to the creepy atmosphere. She suppressed a shudder and used her magic to teleport to Starlight’s location.

When Sunset appeared from her last teleport, she found herself in a large cavern. What she saw turned her stomach and nearly made her vomit. Piles of bloody bones were scattered around the cavern and to Sunset’s horror, they appeared to be fresh. An altar of rocks and wood dominated the center of the cavern. Strange patterns had been carved into the ground and filled with a dark, viscous red liquid. The scent of copper overpowered Sunset’s sense of smell. Pale green bioluminescent moss covered the ceiling, acting as a pitiful source of light. Starlight stood in the center of the altar, chanting in a language Sunset had never heard before. Hearing the words made Sunset feel like needles were stabbing her brain though her ears. Starlight held a large bowl overhead in her magic and Sunset noticed her cutie mark had been covered in what she hoped was red paint.

This whole scene was like something out of Sunset’s nightmares, or her favorite video game series “Tirek’s Revenge.” Starlight’s foreign words penetrated deep into Sunset’s soul and icy fingers slowly gripped her heart. There was a strange and unnatural magic in Starlight’s words and it was starting to affect Sunset. She found herself rooted to the spot, unable to move or even look away. It was then that she realized Starlight had intended to bring her here from the start. It made Sunset feel disgusted and betrayed. Anger began to build in her belly and the warmth slowly spread through her body.

Starlight stopped her chanting long enough to turn in Sunset’s direction. “I am so glad you could make it,” she said.

“Not like you gave me much of a choice,” Sunset growled. An unnaturally wide smile spread across Starlight’s face as she levitated into the air and floated closer to Sunset. Sunset was taken aback when she saw that Starlight was doing this without using magic. “There was never a choice. You were meant to be here,” Starlight said.

It was at this point Sunset finally realized that this was not Starlight Glimmer. She saw the unnatural eyes and heard the strange distortion in her voice. “Where is Starlight?” Sunset demanded.

“Is she not standing before you?” Not Starlight asked and slowly turned in a circle.

A plan was starting to take shape in Sunset’s mind. It would be risky, but she saw little choice. Rather than use her horn, Sunset focused the magic internally, so as to not arouse suspicion. “That may be Starlight’s body, but what do I call the one possessing her?” she called out.

“Your primitive language cannot pronounce my true name, but you may call me Unum, for I am one of Many,” Not Starlight spoke.

The building magic in Sunset’s chest was starting to cause her discomfort, but she did her best to keep it off her face. “So what is all this for then?” she asked and gestured around the cavern. “Are you trying to summon your evil overlord?” At this, Starlight, rather Unum, chuckled. “There is no need for such a thing since the Prime Evil already walks among your kind.” This gave Sunset quite a shock and she nearly lost control of her spell. The magic was becoming difficult to control and Sunset doubted she could hold it much longer.

Unum then moved until it was hovering right above the altar. “This simple gathering is so that I might be born into this world,” it said. With a wave of the hoof, the bowl floating above the altar slowly tipped over and a rancid liquid poured over the altar. Rather than spill everywhere, the liquid formed into a long cylinder with a rounded end. The phallic shaped object floated up and Sunset could only watch as it penetrated Starlight Glimmer. When it was fully inserted, Starlight’s eyes went wide and she doubled over in pain. To Sunset’s growing horror, Starlight’s stomach ballooned outward. Starlight rolled over on her back with her legs spread out, still floating in midair. Her belly began to shift and contort, as if something was trying to get out. Starlight screamed in agony and Sunset’s spell was finally ready. The magic that had been building inside her rushed to her horn and poured out. Delirious with the rush of magic, Sunset pointed her horn at the altar and focused there. A speck of light appeared and quickly grew into a raging inferno of red and gold. Once again, Sunset had cast her most powerful spell: Starfire.

The magical flames burned through the altar like dry kindling and engulfed Starlight Glimmer. Unum’s wail pierced Sunset to the core. It almost made he falter and lose control, but she stubbornly held on. The altar was reduced to nothing and the Starfire began burning up the rest of the cavern. All of it had to go. If one speck of this unspeakable evil remained, it would fester and grow like a tumor, until all of Equestria was consumed and turned into Hell.

“This is nothing!” Unum screeched and thrashed about in the flames. “The Prime Evil walks this land and none can oppose him! My brothers and sisters will reshape this world to suit his needs. It is inevitable!”

“SHUT UP!” Sunset screamed. Her growing rage added fuel to the Starfire, causing it to grow bigger and burn hotter. Black liquid was boiled out of Starlight’s body and Unum’s screaming finally faded away, returning her to normal. Mercifully, she had passed out.

Sustaining the Starfire drained Sunset’s magic at an alarming rate. Her limbs grew heavy and her vision started to blur and fade. Sweat poured off her body from the heat and Sunset found it difficult to breathe. She wasn’t sure if she had the strength to end the spell.

Vaguely, she felt something touch her shoulder and Sunset started to feel just a tiny bit better. Realizing this was her chance, Sunset carefully ended the Starfire. The great red and gold flames shrank until they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The cavern had been completely torched. Nothing remained of the altar, the bones, the symbols on the ground, or the liquid that filled them. The stone walls glowed red with heat and cracked as they cooled. The air was hot and dry, and it was a wonder that all of the oxygen hadn’t been consumed by the flames.

Sunset was emotionally and physically exhausted. Her legs finally gave out and she collapsed in a heap. The ground was so warm and she was so tired. Sunset closed her eyes, just for a quick nap.