Author's Note

So this is an alternate ending I thought of. I didn't go with it because to me, I didn't know if it was enough for Twilight to transform into her evil alter ego. She's been through a lot by this point. But I wrote it because I thought it was cool and wanted to see how I'd write Midnight.

Lucid Darkness

The room was basked in silence, until the door was hurriedly opened, allowing a distressed lavender Alicorn to enter.

The safety one normally feels in the confines of their room was vacant, and did nothing to stave off her welling anxiety.

She crossed the room before taking a seat at a highly ornate desk that flowed up. She stared at nothing on her desk, her mind reeling.

Thoughts passed in rapid fire as she attempted to formulate the endless possibilities and quell the internal rising doom.

With haste, her eyes flicked up and scanned the books on the shelf in front of her. Levitating a book in front of her, she riffled through the pages, stopping at specific points.

She attempted to find any magical solution, using the ancient texts to her advantage, from ancient artifacts, cosmic magic, to dark magic...

She tossed the remaining book onto the desk, her brows furrowed, a heat and feeling of excessive power rising.

Her psyche was split into two. One was irate, resentful at the fate she had no choice in and was given. She wondered why she even bothered with it all when it all was for nothing. Why she was even given an existence. The spirit of rebellion welled.

And with a whisper, it offered a simple solution to stop it. Power.

She hissed through her teeth as she seethed, her vision beginning to blur.

She gazed into the abyss.

The resentment grew, amplified, laced in sorrow as any remnant of anxiety transformed into malice.

A field of magical energy expanded around her as she began to levitate. Her tears were seared before one could fall, as steam came from her closed eyes.

Energy expanded from her chest before it encapsulated her into a white sphere with black energy spilling and flowing from its core.

The sphere burst revealing Twilight but with a purple and dark purple highlighted armor, with a sparkling mane flowing upward like a slow burning fire.

A turquoise magical crescent curve formed around the edge of her eyes that began to flame, the same energy erected from her head, encapsulating and lengthening her horn, making it more jagged but still straight in appearance.

Her eyes opened revealing a turquoise color surrounding a pinprick purple pupil.

A deranged and muffled giggle came from her muzzle as she ambled forward.

The drawer opened before an amulet gifted long ago levitated out of the drawer encapsulated in a black aura. It followed the transformed Twilight out into the sunlight on the balcony.

She glared at the sun before it began to descend. The light faded away from the horizon leaving only a black starry night.

"What's happening here?"

The black aura surrounding the amulet dissipated, causing it to fall to the ground. Her hoof gave a resounding stomp, destroying it, scattering various bits and pieces.

The transformed Twilight slowly turned to face the voice, seeing a familiar draconequus.

"Twilight-"

"My name isn't Twilight. It's MIDNIGHT SPARKLE!" She shouted, her voice booming and reverberating like the rulers of old.

"No, you're not. You're Twilight. Quit it with this nonsense," Discord dismissed waving his talons.

Midnight's brows furrowed. Bowing her head, her horn channeled a black energy. She flicked her head up, sending a crescent blade of turquoise magic with a white outline at Discord.

The blade made contact, creating an explosion of dust and rubble. The dust slowly settled, revealing the draconequus had vanished.

"You know, I really don't want to fight you."

Midnight's ear flicked before she glanced over her shoulder. "Because you're weak," she derided, turning to face him.

Levitating in the air with his arms crossed, Discord scoffed, "You're starting to sound like somepony familiar. They also used to be dark and brooding." He snapped his fingers, conjuring a glass of chocolate milk. "Surely it's just a phase. Tell me, Twilight-"

"Midnight," she scolded with venom.

"Midnight. Whatever. What is it you wish to gain from this temper tantrum?"

In response, Midnight's horn channeled magic before a sparkling ball of energy formed at the end, growing bigger before exploding into a turquoise beam zooming toward him.

An explosion of dust enveloped where he was, before the dust dissipated, revealing Discord with his talons pushed in front of him.

He sighed, his eyes shut for a few moments. "So be it." He took a drink from the glass, the glass disappearing with each gulp. "So," he said, tossing the chocolate milk away. "Shall we have some fun?" He held out his arms as if beckoning for her to hit him.

Pink clouds rolled in from nowhere as lightning struck and chocolate rain fell into his open hands.

Memories flooded into her mind, of what he was and specifically of who freed him...

"On the blackest night, only the brightest star shines." Midnight unfurled her large dark purple wings, her forelegs leaving the ground, and soon after, her hindlegs. She slowly ascended, her horn shining in black and white. The fire surrounding her eyes became more volatile.

Discord's gaze flicked past the pink clouds to the night sky before staying there, his eyes widening.

Stars began to whimper and flicker with a few going out. A sphere of white energy formed above her horn, growing in size. The energy appeared unstable as it gave a whining and undulating hum but Midnight appeared unfazed at its power. The mass appeared to finally stop growing at nearly six times the size of Midnight. But the humming increased in intensity, growing faster as it reached a crescendo.

A beam of white energy shot from the ball, lighting up the sky as it disintegrated any cotton candy clouds and went into a far mountain, instantly creating a giant crevasse. Midnight turned her head, destroying any pink clouds before drawing permanent enormous scars onto the earth.

But finally, the last of the energy was depleted, leaving a levitating Midnight in a borderline empty sky with a few sparse pink clouds and a sea of stars above.

Her malicious smile vanished upon feeling chocolate rain fall on her alongside hearing voice.

"Quite the display," Discord applauded mockingly. He appeared to be magically writing a note without touching the quill. Snapping his fingers, it vanished in a starry flash. "How about we take this elsewhere?" He said, slithering away through the air, gesturing behind him with his thumb.

Midnight's glare deepened before a black bubble formed around her. She darted forward chasing him through the sky. It continued for half a minute before Discord stopped in front of a mountain. He raised his talons with his middle finger and thumb pressed together.

Noticing the display, she halted herself before impact.

"It seems we're learning," Discord noted.

"Your fate won't be you residing in Tartarus," she warned. She smiled. "Your existence will come to an end."

A small ball of magic formed above her head before it exploded into small sparkles, which immediately zoomed through the air towards him.

He snapped his fingers, transforming the onslaught into bubbles.

She then tossed her head from side to side, sending crescent blades of magic at him.

He slithered through the air, avoiding them as they hit the mountain.

Her horn then charged again before firing two powerful turquoise beams. Both missed and instead further damaged the mountain.

Discord held his talons out as if he was fiercely gripping something from below with a yellow glow emanating from them.

Midnight felt a powerful compression surround her. Magic surged through her horn before a burst of energy erupted, breaking the grip. She grinned before quickly retaliating with a turquoise beam with a black center.

Discord slithered up through the air, using his agile serpent body to his advantage as the beam carved into the mountain beside him. He snapped his fingers, disappearing and reappearing behind her with a pie in his paw.

In a split second, Midnight surrounded herself in a barrier that protected her before she was shot into the mountain.

Before Discord could internally revel at his successful blow, he felt a magical presence teleport behind him. Pivoting, he managed to catch a magical sphere, wincing as he attempted to contain it. Imbuing it with his own touch, he hurled it back, but she evaded it.

Briskly, Discord reached forward, gripping the air with both hands. He brought them together, causing an explosive and peculiar sound to reverberate as reality warped and slammed together with Midnight at its center.

Shaking her head to snap from the minor daze, she channeled magic again, causing turquoise lasers to fall from the sky on Discord.

Discord closed his hands and brought them together before pulling them apart, creating an umbrella that blocked the incoming blows.

She then shot a bunch of sparkles at him again, but he swiped the air with his talons, clawing open a portal that ate them.

Midnight reared back, her horn charging magical energy.

Discord slithered in an upward spiral, lifting his head up.

Midnight swiftly bowed her head and shot a vaporizing white beam with black energy sporadically entangling with it.

Discord opened his mouth, spewing a purplish energy that was akin to liquid mercury.

The dueling beams collided, creating a giant white blast before a deep bass hummed far into existence.

Energy dissipating, the Spirit of Chaos and the Alicorn of Lucid Darkness glared at each other.

"Give up yet?" Discord asked.

"Never."