Prologue : The day of the Fall

The voices. They never stopped. Twirling around, running in circles, they penetrated her mind in a deafening cacophony. It was all she could hear ; she had even lost the ability to plead or pray, pray to whatever god existed that this torture would stop.
It didn't start out like this.

***

When Twilight Sparkle was first crowned Princess, she accepted this title and power with humility and grace. But what she had received was more than a crown ; she had received a gift, a strength, a strength so powerful she couldn't comprehend all its might. Her body was transformed by this new energy, she could feel its intensity running through her veins, fueling her with newfound energy. As she felt the heavy crown on her head, Twilight promised herself one thing : all this power she had received, this force she had been gifted with, she would use only to make good.

The first few weeks were fine, normal even. Twilight had felt the changes inside of her, but this was to be expected. She welcomed each new feeling, each new sensation, and relished in them. She savoured it. But the sweet taste of this gift, too good to be true, would soon turn sour, and poisonous. It was too late for Twilight ; the changes had already started. She was trapped. She was too small for a power this great ; and it started to overflow.

It all started with a sickness. An aching in the bones, that painful feeling of your body parts being stretched and stretched and stretched, then put back together, but as if they were backwards. Twilight, as always, tried to think rationally ; it was her wings, it had to be. After all, her body was never supposed to have wings. It was perfectly normal that it took some time to adjust to them. She would feel better soon, and the terrible ache twisting her insides would soon vanish.

The nights became shorter as she kept waking up drenched in cold sweat from horrifying nightmares she couldn't even bear to try and remember. She felt dizzy, her head was boiling hot but her body freezing cold. She felt like she was bound to explode, her brain feeling like it was melting, a burning liquid pouring into her. Twilight woke up in screams, pure cries of terrors, as she held herself tight, trying to make all the hurt go away. But it didn't leave. In fact, her state worsened, and she was soon bed bound, unable to move, her fragile breaths shaking her whole.

Twilight refused to see anyone. More than afraid, she was ashamed. She could feel that this power was too great to be contained in her, and she was absolutely guilt-ridden. How could she face her friends ? How could she face her mentor ? She couldn't face anyone. She couldn't even face herself, as she hid away from everyone.

"Help me," she softly cried. "Please. Help me."

That's when the voices started.
We can help you, they whispered in a low, threatening yet calm tone. If only you would accept to let go, we could take control and make the pain go away. It's painful, isn't it ? This power. It wasn't meant for you. You can't contain it, but we can, we could make you whole.

Twilight tried to ignore it at first. She thought that this was a trick, made to deceive her, and she had to be strong against it. But as she grew weaker, and the voices grew louder, she found herself unable to fight back anymore. She could feel what she previously thought was a gifted strength ensnaring her like thorns, constricting her and taking ahold of her. Twilight was tired. She didn't want to fight what she knew was too strong for her to defeat, she wanted to give in, let go and finally rest. Her mind was already broken. Insanity had slowly spread through her soul. There was nothing left to do. In the midst of her agony, Twilight let out a squeal of pain, trying to say something. Baring her teeth, putting the little bit of strength she had left into her words, she uttered ;

I think i'm going mad.

***

No one could believe it when they saw Twilight Sparkle, standing in the throne room, her posture elegant and stately. All of Equestria rejoiced that their Princess had finally recovered from her unknown, terrible sickness. And she appeared fine, better than before even. She looked more in control of her movements, confident and regal. But there was something wrong, something deeply, horribly wrong, hiding inside of her. Her friends noticed, but the love they had for Twilight made them try to ignore it.

The princesses could feel it as well, and their uneasy feeling only grew with each day. While she tried to convince herself otherwise, Celestia knew that this was not her student anymore, but a puppet to a greater force. The sun princess ignored it, hoping that this was only temporary, and things would soon return to normal. Twilight would return to normal, and everything would be alright. Luna, on the other hand, understood the urgency of the situation ; she tried many times to warn Celestia, to urge her to do something about it. But too afraid to loose her pupil forever in the abyss, the reigning Alicorn dared not to intervene. And this was her mistake. A mistake that would lead to the fall of Equestria.

***

Luna woke up in a daze, sweat dripping off her face. Her breathing was raspy and rushed, and she felt a trembling in her core. What was this ? What was this awful sensation of dread piercing through her ? Trying her best to calm herself, she slowly got out of her bed. The night was pitch black, and the darkness that normally appeased Luna now only made her feel more uneasy. The stars weren't shining tonight. There was only blackness.

Luna got out of her room, on the tip of her hooves, trying to be as discreet as possible. In the corridor, she noticed Celestia, in the room across, doing the same thing. The Alicorns crossed eyes, and the same fear pierced their gaze. They knew. They both knew. The princesses rushed to the throne room, panting and galloping as fast as they could. Using her magic, Celestia slammed the large doors open, and stopped running, petrified. She froze as she saw what became of Twilight Sparkle, standing in front of them.

"No," whispered Celestia in a desperate breath.

Twilight stood perfectly still, regal. Her mane was floating in the air as would a freezing breeze, its deep colors like an abyss, as if an aura of darkness was perpetually surrounding her. Her pale, lavender fur had turned into a deep purple that only brought out the shimmer in her eyes. But this was not the sparkling of curiosity and kindness that Celestia had always known in the eyes of her student ; this was the shimmering of Twilight's newfound lust. A lust for power. Trembling, Celestia couldn't move an inch, she was paralyzed by shock and fear. She didn't want to believe what she was seeing.

"What have you made of Twilight Sparkle ?" shouted Luna, standing in a position of defense.

Twilight chuckled a bit. The princesses blood turned cold. Luna glanced over at Celestia, and her heart broke when she saw the tears forming in her soft eyes.

"I am Twilight Sparkle." The terrifying Alicorn slowly paced around the room. "This power I received, it broke me. It shattered me. It was too much for my mind. At first, I thought this was the end, but then, I realized... This was only the beginning. I started to accept it. I accepted it for what it was, and I let it flow through me, making me whole again."

"You are not Twilight anymore," declared Luna. "A power too great can lead to madness. You let this power take ahold of you."

"No, I took ahold of it."

Twilight's horn started faintly glowing purple. Luna shouted at her sister to move, to hide, but was interrupted by a ray of light piercing through the room. Celestia let out a blood curdling scream, watching her sister get hit by the light. The princess of the sun was blinded for a moment ; and when she opened her eyes again, all she could see was red. Blood red, smearing the marble walls and the golden slabs. Tears started to roll on her face as her mind shattered in confusion. Luna ? Luna ? Where was Luna ? What did Twilight do ? Luna !

"Sister," Celestia weeped.
Luna laid on the ground, motionless, a hole in her chest with blood staining her furr. She died the moment the ray had hit her, cutting right through her now lifeless body, fast and deadly. Luna's mane had stopped floating in a haze and was now still and stiff. Her body was cold. Luna was no more. In the night sky, the moon started to lower, as if to grieve its princess.

Twilight soared in the sky, crashing through the glass ceiling. The shards cut Celestia's face, but the Alicorn flew after her former pupil. Blinded by rage, and choking on her tears, she charged. The same power that had driven Twilight to madness was now fueling Celestia's divine anger. Swirling in the night sky, chasing one another, the Alicorns mercilessly attacked each other. Twilight was calm and collected, using her beams of magic only when she knew for sure it would hit her adversary. She flew with ease through the air, preferring to quickly dodge her mentor's strikes than defend herself. She didn't feel the need to protect herself ; she felt like the superior one in this fight.

This only angered Celestia more. Was she not taking this seriously ? The sun princess had just seen her world destroyed in front of her eyes, and she was powerless. She allowed for Twilight to have this power, and she let the madness poison her mind, too scared to act. She was a coward, and her cowardice had costed her her sister's life, and maybe her kingdom was already doomed as well. It all hit Celestia : she was not just fighting for herself. She was fighting for all of Equestria. She had to win, for the sake of everyone who trusted her and adored her, but as she looked into Twilight's eyes, she just couldn't bring herself to use all her magic against her. She couldn't. Celestia tried to search for her student's soul in her eyes, she tried to convince herself that she was being manipulated, and she could bring her back. She didn't want to kill her. She wasn't sure she could.

But this was Twilight now. This madness was hers. This overflowing amount of pure power had perverted her mind and driven her to insanity. And time was running out. Celestia could feel herself weaken, exhausted by the tragedy that had hit her moments ago. She couldn't feel the strong spirit of her sister with her. She felt alone in this fight, alone against an evil too great that she had helped create. Against this darkness, in this state, Celestia couldn't win, but she couldn't lose this battle either, or all hope would be lost. She had to do something. Anything.

"I always admired you," said Twilight, now charging towards Celestia. "But now I see you're weak. You could do nothing against Nightmare Moon, nothing against the Changelings, and now, you can do nothing against me. You lost, princess."

Twilight's horn glowed purple. Celestia barely dodged the ray of blinding light that striked her, damaging her wings. The ivory white feathers fell around them, while the sun princess desperately tried to keep moving in the air, despite the pain. Celestia ignored the drops of blood now staining her pearly fur, trying to focus her attention on Twilight. She felt heavy. She knew there was no time left, she had to act. Celestia swallowed her tears and let out a cry.

"I am sorry," she softly said.

Celestia charged her magic, and in a flash, blasted Twilight with a blinding flare. It hit the purple Alicorn, and for a few seconds, everything was white. Twilight shook her head, and she could feel her eyesight slowly return. Celestia hadn't tried to kill her. If she had wanted to, this blow could've easily been fatal, and she would've been obliterated. Twilight opened her eyes.

Celestia was gone. She had fled. Unable to bring herself to kill her former student, she flied away from the fight, leaving Twilight standing as the winner of the battle. Twilight started to softly giggle, a laugh that soon turned into a burst of uncontained laughter. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

***

Celestia was flying away from Canterlot, already knowing where she was going. Ponyville. She had to find the Elements of Harmony before Twilight, she had to explain what happened, she had to... She stopped, and looked at the sky.
The moon had disappeared, but the sun hadn't risen. The sky was tinted in hues of scarlet red and deep purple. A perpetual Twilight.
This was the beginning of the reign of the Tyrant.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading this chapter !
I am french and english is not my first language, so if any phrasing is awkward, please let me know. I am only looking to better myself :)

This is set early in the seasons, because a war is pretty difficult to write with too many lore and characters, so I decided to set it earlier.

I hope you enjoyed your reading !