The Forbidden Jungle used to be much larger.
It was once a sprawling and vibrant jungle full of wildlife. All kinds of species gathered there, some magical, some not. It was a place full of splendor and thriving life. It still was to this day, but it was nothing compared to what it was before. In the past, ponies from all around would come to explore the depths and meet the creatures that lived there.
Once upon a time, a civilization lived in that jungle. Bordering Equestria, it was a civilization that was occupied by the Zebra. They had built mighty stone temples in that jungle, large sprawling temples that seemed to reach the sky. Built only by hoof, each part of their civilization had been a marvel to see.
Of course, that civilization had died long ago. And where the capital of their city once sat was nothing more than a smoking crater... the Badlands.
"Sister, are you paying attention? The fate of Equestria is on the line!" The voice of Luna, her sister, was accompanied by a stomp. It rang out in the empty castle, echoing through the halls. Had a soul been there to hear it, they might have been concerned.
If they weren't worried about the approaching doom-lord of course, possible end to Equestria. Tirek.
"Right." Celestia cleared her throat. "I was lost in thought."
"We need to decide what to do. If Tirek drains our magic, there will be no hope left for Equestria!" Cadance, her niece, spoke up from the edge of the room. "We cannot lose here!"
"What are we to do? Our magic is strong, but I don't know if it is strong enough." Luna said, her starry mane a streak of night in the bountiful sunlight that saturated the throne room. "Tia, do you have any ideas?"
The eyes of her niece and sister turned towards her. Even as a practiced ruler of Equestria used to the boring eyes of ponies, she still felt uncomfortable beneath their pleading looks. Celestia needed to make a decision as to what to do. The burden of the kingdom once again fell to her hooves.
Celestia thought quickly, rolling over the thoughts in her mind. They needed some pony able to fight Tirek, some pony with enough magic to be able to face him. Beat him even. And if that pony lost...
It was unspeakable. They could not lose.
She looked down at her hoof, her coat a pristine white, like baked porcelain. Perhaps it was finally time to fight, to withdraw the potent power that dwelled inside of her. She could feel it seething even now, begging to be let out. It burned in her chest, a smoking white ember that yearned for tinder to ignite.
All it needed, was a spark. When dark magic was mixed with alicorn magic, it had... destructive properties.
"Celestia?" Luna asked, her voice worried and her eyes searching. "What do we do?"
"We need to gather all of our magic together." Celestia said at last.
She could feel the presence of Tirek drawing closer, a cloud of potent magic that hung in the back of her mind. That was not something she wanted to face with her current strength. Time was passing, her heart beating in tune with its maddening ticks.
"That might just work." Cadance spoke up. "With all of our magic piled into one alicorn, they might be able to go hoof to hoof with Tirek. But who do we give it to? I can't handle that kind of magic."
"It has to be you, Tia. I don't trust myself with such power." Luna said, staring at her hooves. "After what I did..."
"Enough of that dear sister." Celestia heart softened at the sight of her sister. "You were not in your right mind, and it was my failures that lead to that fateful day. If any pony should be blamed for that, it is me."
"How can you say that?" Luna asked.
How could she say that? Celestia knew why. Unlike Luna, her actions had been much worse than just threatening to bring about eternal night. Luna's threats had been all smoke and mirrors, she never really wanted to hurt any pony, she just wanted to be loved.
"Because..." The painful memories were welling their way up into Celestia's mind like a cloud of dark magic. "I don't trust myself either."
Luna's eyes widened. "You are the beloved ruler of Equestria, a noble and wise ruler for hundreds of years. How could you not trust yourself to use our magic?"
For a moment, Celestia agreed. How could she not handle the magic? Was she not powerful? When did she stop fighting her own battles and exercising her power? It was time to stand back up to the threats to Equestria, to take a stand for once. She had grown soft, allowing her ponies to fight her battles for her.
Maybe it was time to finally fight back for once. To draw from that pit in her chest that yearned to be kindled.
As Celestia opened her mouth to voice her agreement, to take on the burden of their power and of Equestria, her vision went stark white. Her eyes felt like two twin suns, scorching the flesh around their sockets. Her mouth went dry, and all feeling was lost in her body, like a puppet cut from its strings. For a moment, all she saw was white, heat-blasted porcelain white.
A vision, she was about to have a vision. When was the last time she had one? When Twilight hatched Spike's egg? When the crystal empire returned? Why did this vision hurt so much then? Why did it scorch and burn and smolder with pain? Celestia knew why in the back of her mind, a memory she thought she had finally forgotten, come back to haunt her.
Because she remembered, even if she didn't want to. In the next moment Celestia's vision fully enraptured itself in her mind, and Celestia was taken back to that day hundreds of years ago. In a time lost to history. For what knowledge could a book hold if it was burned to cinder?
Ash held only faint memories of what it once was...
The strongest, the best, and the hottest of course. Who else could Daybreaker be but that?
With a smug grin, Daybreaker flew through the air like a comet, a burning trail of smoke and cinder flowing behind her like a billowing cape.
Above her was her magnificent sun, its scorching rays blessing her kingdom with warmth. The little ponies loved her for that, as it nourished their crops and allowed them to play in the light. Of course, all good things had to come to an end eventually, and later Daybreaker would have to lower to sun for Luna's moon.
Luna was such a little foal, wanting her moon to be valued and treasured. Who cared about some dumb rock in the sky? Her sun was much better.
Daybreaker sighed, crossing her hooves and flying upside-down, letting her mighty wings carry her through the sky. Her golden armor flashed in the sunlight and her long mane of waving flame blew behind her.
Really, it was getting kind of annoying. Play this game with me sister! Don't go to war with the zebras sister! Don't burn down another village sister! She didn't even burn down villages. Did she come across that way? A village burner-downer?
There was no way. How could a pony look at her and say that she burned down villages? It just didn't make any sense. They should be begging her to burn down a village just to look upon her beautiful flames and magnificent self.
What was she supposed to be doing again? Oh right, negotiations with the zebra in the Forbidden Jungle. Something about war or the likes, Daybreaker didn't really care. They would do whatever she said to anyways. Every pony did whatever she said. How could any pony say no to a ruler who had been around for hundreds of years? Or was it thousands? Daybreaker tended to forget sometimes. Being in charge was mentally tiring when every pony besides you was stupid and emotional.
The lush and vibrant jungle beneath her caught her attention. Looks like she had arrived at the meeting point. Best to get these negotiations over with as soon as possible. She had a hot tub waiting for her back at The Castle of the Two Sisters. That place really needed to be renamed. Maybe the Castle of Daybreaker with the tiny, decidedly less important script of Luna written in fine print beneath it.
Well, it was a work in progress anyways.
Daybreaker flipped over and banked down towards the jungle. Meteor-like in nature, she fell towards it. Leaves withered as she approached, the sheen of water on them immediately evaporating. The light would have darkened beneath the thick canopy had her flaming mane not lit up the area like a bonfire. With a light huff, she hit the forest floor on four hooves, sending a puff of flame in every direction. A circle of fire surrounded her.
"I'm here!" Daybreaker called out. "Really, who would have thought that I would have accepted your invitation. You're lucky I was feeling just in the mood for a flight today."
From the shadowy depths of the forest, came a Zebra.
"Your majesty." The zebra bowed as he appeared. "We have been expecting you."
"Yes, as you should have." Daybreaker inspected her hooves, not really caring. "Where is your... king? Is that what you call him?"
"He has asked me to escort you to him." The Zebra said.
"Really?" Daybreaker cocked a brow. "Does he think himself so high above me that he cannot even meet me here?"
The zebra said nothing, but his forehead was soaked with sweat. A near imperceptible shiver went through his body. He was frightened of her.
"Lead me to him, I tire of this already." Daybreaker sighed. "Go on, try not to spill anything on my hooves as you walk."
"Yes, your majesty." The zebra nearly squeaked, his face going red.
Daybreaker followed him through the jungle, grew tired of the mud staining her hooves and the leaves brushing up against her, grabbed the Zebra, and took to the skies. In a single wingbeat she cleared the canopy, and the zebra in her clutches threw up his lunch all over the rapidly shrinking jungle.
"Which way? This is boring!" Daybreaker shouted over the roaring wind.
The zebra pointed in a direction, face green with sickness.
Daybreaker blasted away in that direction, cinders dusting the canopy. In moments, the top of a temple appeared out of the canopy. She flew towards it, banked around, and landed in front of the temple. It was an imperial structure, tall as her castle, but Daybreaker hardly cared. It was primitive and made by Zebras.
Around her was a bustling market, full of exotic spices and goods. Buildings spread out for what seemed forever, made of stone and thatch. Pathetic little squalid things.
Zebras watched her with wide eyes, and a vendor even dropped the fruit he was holding. Daybreaker relished in the attention.
"Where is your king?" Daybreaker asked.
"T-Temple..." The zebra in her grasp fell to the ground. Daybreaker left him there.
"Finally." Daybreaker murmured, flying up the steps of the temple. Where she walked, her hooves imprinted black scorch marks into the stone. May as well leave her mark for all the disrespect she had suffered so far.
She entered the massive stone portal to the temple. A single large chamber was within, adorned with colorful tapestries and quilts. Zebra guards stood at attention, clothed in leaf and wood armor. They watched her nervously as she strode into the chamber, the once cool temple immediately beginning to warm up. Pathetic guards. Scared of just a little fire.
At the end of the chamber was an old zebra. He sat on a plush cushion of purple, and that was it. Just one cushion for a king.
The king wore a simple golden crown, if it could even be called that. It was more of a headdress, with little pearls embedded into the face. He was old and withered, his frame frail. Susceptible to the passage of time no doubt, a trait that was unfit for a proper ruler.
"King of the zebras!" Daybreaker laughed as she approached, her hooves smoldering on the lush carpet. "I can't believe you made me walk all this way."
The king eyed the smoldering carpet. "I am old, I couldn't go out to meet you."
"Oh right, time, the unstoppable predator of you mortals." Daybreaker sighed, waving a hoof. "So, peace talks?"
"Yes. Peace talks." The zebra king said. "I cannot allow your tyranny to continue for any longer. My people are suffering because of you, and we tire of you intruding on our lands."
"Intruding? Everything in this world belongs to me." Daybreaker said. "I allow you to live because I feel like it, nothing more."
"Then you won't even consider peace?" The zebra king leaned forward, his legs shaking from merely sitting up.
"Peace will be maintained as long as you shut your mouths." Daybreaker said. "I am a kind ruler, and you the ungrateful subject. We ponies are above the zebra, it is only natural for us to take resources if we need them."
"Then there is nothing more to be said." The zebra king said. "Guards, detain her."
"Are you joking?" Daybreaker laughed. "Attacking a diplomat?'
"You're a tyrant, not a diplomat." The zebra king said. "My people starve, our economies are broken, and you are the cause of it all. We cannot fight the monsters that dwell in the jungle if we don't have the tools to stand for ourselves."
Daybreaker sighed. "Fine then, come at me guards. See what you can do."
The guards shook on their hooves. One leveled a spear towards her, and its tip began to smoke. The zebra holding it backed away and dropped it from nothing more than Daybreaker's scorching glare.
"Pathetic." Daybreaker said.
The old zebra king rose from his cushion. "Even if we are afraid, we won't let this tyranny go on for any longer."
"You can't even land a scratch on me." Daybreaker said. "Is this all the fury you can muster?"
"Not exactly." The zebra king withdrew something from his side. It glinted in the light.
"What is that?" Daybreaker raised a brow. "A knife?"
"If you will not allow us to live in peace, then we will carve a place in this world for ourselves." The zebra king held the item out towards her. "You are saturated with dark magic, and I will cleanse it from you."
It looked like an amulet. It was made of steel, and in its center was a red gem. On the top of it was the steel head of a unicorn in profile, and on the sides were two sharp wings. Daybreaker felt no magic from the amulet and scoffed at the sight.
"An amulet?" Daybreaker asked. "Are you about to hit me with some voodoo? Perhaps some shamanistic ritual?"
"You were once a kind and noble ruler, if a bit arrogant." The zebra king said. "You are tainted by dark magic, and I will draw it from you. Restore you to your former self."
"Please, there is no dark magic. It's just magic." Daybreaker said. "Dark and light, who says what is on what side?"
The air grew still, and the center of the amulet began to glow. There was no magic to be felt, only a sucking sensation. An invisible whirlpool, pulling at her chest. Daybreaker paused, about to laugh in his face again, when she suddenly felt something begin to leave her. A piece of her, a shard of her power.
As Daybreaker opened her mouth to snarl, it turned into a scream as agony ripped through her chest like an open wound. She collapsed to her hooves, white-hot pain rippling through her flesh. From her mouth, a black cloud was being drawn out, seething in angry denial. It tried to pull back into her, but the amulet kept pulling it away.
Daybreaker's mind was blank with agony, but one emotion pulled through as it always did. Rage. Burning rage.
She snapped her jaw shut through sheer willpower, and the cloud was cut off from her. It slipped into the amulet, trapping it in its embrace.
Daybreaker rose to her hooves. Every last bit of fiery anger, she channeled through her. It raced through her veins like a shot of adrenaline, her eyes dilating into draconic slits, her fiery mane growing brighter.
"Now!" The zebra king yelled.
The guards dropped their spears and withdrew something else. Similar amulets, their red gems glowing. The vortex wrapped her in a cloud of pulling force, draining her magic, her beloved dominion over the sun.
Daybreaker cried out in agony, and slammed her eyes shut. How dare these mortals do this to her? Stealing the sun's magic? Her beloved magic? She was Daybreaker, ruler of Equestria, the most powerful kingdom in all the world.
"See the truth Daybreaker! You were once a kind ruler! You have been corrupted by your own arrogance and need for power!' The zebra king shouted over the whirlwind. "Let us take the dark magic from you! To restore you to your former self!"
Daybreaker howled. It was like a thousand needles piercing her flesh, a thousand slices gliding over her skin. She had to break free, she had to get out.
Was she not mighty? Was she not powerful? Was she not Daybreaker?
All of her remaining magic, she turned it inward, gathering it into a flaming ball in the center of her chest. It seethed with potency, brimming with untapped power. Dark magic swirled with alicorn magic, a volatile brew. It sparked together, clicking, merging, bending. The untapped raw power of the sun itself.
And of the dark magic within...
"Stand down!" Daybreaker hissed through grit teeth. "Or you will be nothing more than ash!"
"Keep going!" The zebra yelled. "Do not let her words fool you, we have her on the backstep!"
"I can't take it!" Daybreaker screamed. "I have to let it out! Stop! Stop it whelps!"
"We are almost there!" The zebra king pressed forward. "Just a little more!"
The magic in Celestia's chest crackled. Merged. Fused. Compressed.
"Please, no more! You have all gone mad!" Daybreaker voice come out in a shouting whimper. "I can't hold it any longer! You will pay for this, you will burn! You will all burn!"
Then the magic sparked, and all was flame. Daybreaker pushed it outward, all that potent burning flame. It was sucked into the amulet's draining her magic. They began to glow, first orange, then blue, then white-hot. The gems started to rattle, and the guards screamed as it began to burn their hooves.
"Hold it!" The zebra king yelled. "Do not drop them!"
The zebra king's hooves began to smoke. He gritted his teeth through the pain, even as melted hoof dripped onto the floor beneath him. "Hold it! Hold-"
One of the amulet's slipped from a guard's grasp. It hit the floor on the edge, bouncing off. It bounced once, twice, then its face hit the floor. For a moment, all was still.
Then Daybreaker surged against the draining once again, pushing every last bit of her endless magic through the connection. "You cannot hold me!"
The amulet on the ground cracked.
With one last surge of effort, Daybreaker screamed, the kind of scream that suggested a pony was getting murdered. The kind of scream that was the last breath of a dying pony. But she was not dying, no, she was living. And that life was born of flame.
One after another the amulets cracked. Crystal shattered; the magic trapped within glowing bright.
The zebra king's eyes widened. "Run! You all have to-"
The crystals shattered, and the world was engulfed in flame. Daybreaker felt her magic snap back towards her as it was released from the crystal, spilling out into the world. Daybreaker's vision went white from an ear-shattering boom. Deaf and blind, Daybreaker's head snapped against a stone wall, shattering it, her golden helmet absorbed most of the blow. But it was not enough to stop consciousness from failing her.
When she woke once more, she could hear nothing. She could see nothing. Ash choked her lungs. She felt weak, her body struggling even to respond to her simple commands. Fallen stone closed in around her, stained with caked ash. Breathing was hard, and her entire body was covered in agony. Searing agony, agony that came from broken bones and rent flesh.
She felt herself being ripped from the rubble. In pain she opened her eyes, light touching them once more. Above her was a familiar mare, younger than her.
"Celestia!" Luna pulled her from the rubble. "What happened to you?"
"I told you not to... call... me that." Daybreaker coughed.
"You almost died. Those zebras tried to kill you." Luna hugged her close. "What did they use on you that caused such devastation?"
"Devastation?' Daybreaker asked through the pain.
"This whole place is a crater." Luna said. "It's... everything is gone sister. Everything is gone."
Daybreaker shakily looked around her. Where there was once lush forest, there was nothing more than baked stone as far as the eye could see. Dunes of ash rolled over where once great canopies stood. The sun shone down; its light shrouded by an ash-streaked sky. It looked red from here, as if irritated. The whole of the land was covered in an eerie red glow, like Tartarus has made its home here.
Not a single thing remained of the jungle Daybreaker once knew.
"What happened?' Daybreaker coughed, ash caking her tongue.
"I don't know, those zebras must have used some sort of magic artifact on you."
Magical artifact. Dark magic. Forcing that magic out against the artifact...
It had exploded.
This was her doing?
Ash fell from the sky like false snowflakes.
"Are... there any survivors?" Daybreaker shakily stood, her alicorn magic working hard to repair her body.
Luna said nothing, her eyes sad. And that was all Daybreaker needed to know.
She looked out over the hellish landscape. Where once great temples and markets stood, there was nothing more than flaming wreckage and ash. This was her power, the full unobstructed power of the sun. Of flame, of hate, and of tyranny. The zebra had made that move because they feared her. They were scared of her, of what she was doing to them.
And for once in Daybreaker's life, she was scared.
"What happened sister?" Luna asked.
Daybreaker scrambled for something to say, trying hard to think through the fog in her head. She couldn't say this was her fault. This wasn't her fault, it couldn't be. It was those zebra's fault. They never should have tried anything in the first place!
"The zebra used a magical artifact to try and kill me. It exploded, killing them all." The half-truth came from her mouth as easily as water under a bridge.
"Why would they try such a thing?' Luna asked.
Because they were living in oppression, because they were under the hoof of Daybreaker, the tyrant. The unsaid words spun in her head. Was this who she really was? A tyrant, a killer? When did it all go wrong?
It was clear to her now, no pony could be trusted with such powerful magic. Not even herself. Especially not herself. It had to be contained, it had to be stripped from her, hidden away.
A glint from beside her caught her eye. She fished it out of the ash. One of the amulets was still intact, its red gem glowing ominously.
"Luna, go fetch the guard." Daybreaker said.
"But-"
"Please, do as I say. There could be survivors." Daybreaker said.
Luna hesitantly nodded, and took flight.
Daybreaker stared at the amulet in her hoof, then brought it to her chest.
"I can't be trusted... I can't be..." Daybreaker whispered.
And her magic began to drain.
The vision ended, and Celestia found herself back in the throne room. That had been the day the Badlands were created, a crater caused by her own ambition. Her tyranny, and her hate.
Before her were the other princesses.
"Celestia?" Luna asked. "Are you going to take our magic?"
"No." Celestia said, the words firm and unyielding.
"What? Even now you won't stand up for your kingdom?" Luna asked. "What happened to the princess I used to know?"
The words stung. Maybe Luna's memory of her past self-had been lost from years on the moon. Maybe that was for the better.
"I am not fit for this magic, but I know who is." Celestia said, turning her gaze to the doorway.
In it stood a lavender mare, Twilight Sparkle.
Celestia was not the right pony to face Tirek. She was too caught up in her own tyranny and ambition. Celestia could never trust herself to wield such power again. But Twilight, that was a mare who would not touch dark magic, who would not be tempted towards its unbelievable power.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Twilight asked with a sheepish smile.
The days of wielding such power were far behind her, but perhaps it could be passed on...
"Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. I have a task for you, and I know only you can do it..."
The power burning in Celestia's chest withdrew for now, silently hoping for something. Something small. Something fiery.
And it would only take one spark to ignite.
