Twilight the Gray

If one went into the Royal Library right now, they would see a rather peculiar sight. A young lavender unicorn runs between bookshelves, grabbing more books in her magic as she passed by, all while excitedly talking to herself. This is Twilight Sparkle, a pony with an obsession with books and Princess Celestia's faithful student. Fortunately for the young filly, The library was completely vacant, so nopony witness her excited behavior. After grabbing two more books, Twilight found an empty desk and got ready to read. However, something caught her eye. There, in the middle of the stack of books, was a small black book. Curious, Twilight took the book out of the pile and opened it. She quickly noticed the style of writing and date written on the page. "This is a thousand-year-old journal!" said Twilight excitedly. Eager to learn, the unicorn began to read the entry that she was on.

Today is my twentieth attempt to figure out how to protect the Crystal Empire from the deadly blizzard that hovers on our border. Right now, we are protected by the Crystal Heart, but only a naive pony will believe that it will last forever. We need to find a way to defend ourselves without the Crystal Heart. Alas, all my attempts have been in vain. Maybe I need to broaden my view. Radiant Hope won't be happy with me, but hopefully, she'll forgive me if this works,

Sombra

"If what works?" wondered Twilight as she flipped to the next entry. Meanwhile, she also made sure to write down a reminder to research the Crystal Empire.

So far, my research into dark magic has shown promise. I found a spell that creates extremely tough anti-magic stones. Any attempt to damage them through freezing does not affect them. If I can figure out a way to use these stones as a building material, we can build a shelter. Radiant reacted as I expected. She is currently not talking to me, despite my proof that this is working. I will continue to research into these stones,

Sombra

"That's it?" asked Twilight as she discovered the rest of the pages were blank. Flipping to the beginning, all she could find were entries about Sombra's feelings toward Radiant Hope. "Still, using Dark Magic to help other ponies," muttered Twilight as she thought to herself. "All stories that I know about dark magic has it being used for evil means, so the idea of using it for good is hard to process." Turning her head, she glanced toward the restricted section. "If there are more stories like Sombra's, then they will be in there." Twilight walked toward the restricted area. She hesitated for a bit when she thought about Princess Celestia's reaction to what she was planning on doing. "No, I need to do this," convinced Twilight as she ventured into the restricted section. For the next couple of hours, she went through several books. As she found more and more examples of dark magic being used for good, she began to question her teachings. After leaving the library, she decided something. "I am going to learn more about dark magic." She knew that Princess Celestia would disapprove, but Twilight has already decided.

(3 Year Time Skip)

A thirteen-year-old Twilight entered the throne room, mentally preparing herself for what was coming. "You called for me, Princess?"

A large white Alicorn glanced at Twilight's horn, which was slightly warped by her use of dark magic, before speaking. "It has come to my attention that you have been studying dark magic," said Princess Celestia

"I have," admitted Twilight, not seeing a reason to lie.

"I am sure you are aware that the use of dark magic comes with a severe punishment," stated Celestia. "However, if you promise to forget what you learn about dark magic, then I will give you a lighter punishment."

"I'm sorry, but no," said Twilight. "I have found so many ways-"

"I see," Celestia interrupted her student. "Then you leave me with no choice."

"If you will just listen, then-" Twilight tried to explain herself but was interrupted again. This time, it was the royal guard.

"Take Twilight to the Canterlot Prison," ordered Celestia. 'First Luna, then Sunset, and now you, Twilight. Am I cursed to be alone?' thought the princess as she thought about the other ponies that she got close to.

"Stay away!" shouted a panicked Twilight as she sent out a pulse of magic that knocked the guards back. Reacting quickly, she fired a blast down at the ground to create a smokescreen. Celestia calmly cleared the smoke away.

"Where is she?" asked a pegasus guard when they couldn't find Twilight. Celestia sent out a light pulse of magic to find the unicorn.

"She's in the library," said Princess Celestia. The guard left quickly, heading straight toward the library.

(With Twilight)

"Why did I do that?" question Twilight as she grabbed the books she left when she went to the throne room. She glanced at the nearby shelves before the doors were slammed open, surprising the librarian.

"Twilight Sparkle, please come with us," said one of the guards as they approached her. Twilight glanced around before running to a nearby window. "Stop!" the guard ran forward in an attempt to stop her. Twilight leaped out the window, using her magic to slow her fall. "Stop that unicorn!" Twilight didn't hesitate and began to run down the street, weaving her way past ponies. She ignored other ponies as they tried to talk to her. She didn't stop until she reached the edge of the city.

"I'll be back," she promised herself before she ran away from her home.

(With Celestia)

"Do you understand, Captain Armor?" asked Celestia as she finished explaining the situation to a white unicorn wearing armor. This is Shining Armor, captain of the Royal guard and older brother of Twilight.

"I do, Princess," said Shining Armor with a small gulp. "Can I ask a question? Why did Twilly run away?"

"She probably felt like she had no choice," guessed Celestia.

"I see," said Shining before he left the throne room.

(With Twilight)

"Okay, I think that I am far enough away," said Twilight as she pulled out the books she took. "'Magic Ponification, a ritual that allows your magic to take a physical form that you can interact with. However, this will leave you drained and unable to use magic.' I didn't know this was possible." Twilight closed her eyes and began to perform the ritual. She felt her magic leave her, but she kept at it. She let out a gasp as she finishes the spell, but she kept her eyes close.

"You gonna open your eyes or what?" asked a strange yet familiar voice. It seemed annoyed and impatient.

"Don't rush her," said another familiar voice. This seemed to be the opposite of the first voice. It almost seemed motherly. Twilight opened her eyes and was shocked by what she saw.