TWISTED SMILE (Bad Ending)

Regaining my strength has been slow, but with each passing day, I feel it returning. The magic coursing through me is sharper, darker, fueled by something far more potent than the harmony I once wielded. I no longer need the Elements. They were shackles, limiting my potential. The Animosity within me is enough—enough to bring the world to its knees.

I glance to my side, and there it is: the shadow that started it all. It lingers silently, watching me with its formless, shifting presence.

“Well, well, well,” I said coldly, my voice echoing through the ruined castle halls. “Look who’s come crawling back.”

The shadow remains silent, its swirling form a reminder of the deal I made. A deal I would not regret.

“Tell me,” I continued, stepping closer. “Have you come to assist me, Shadow? Or are you here to judge me?”

The shadow’s form trembled, and though it had no face, I could feel its grin. It gave a slow, deliberate nod, its answer as silent as ever.

Good.

I extended my hoof, and the shadow moved forward, meeting me in the middle. The moment we touched, a wave of icy hatred coursed through my veins. My body shuddered as the Animosity grew stronger within me, its raw power feeding on every ounce of anger and pain I had endured.

“I will need to get Celestia’s attention,” I murmured, more to myself than to the shadow. “She needs to know that her time is up. That she cannot hide from me.”

The shadow twisted and shifted at my side, its form urging me forward. I knew what I had to do. A message wasn’t enough—she wouldn’t come unless I forced her to. If I wanted her to face me, I had to give her no choice.

I turned my gaze to the horizon, where the nearest town lay just beyond the forest’s edge. It wasn’t far. A day’s walk, maybe less.

“I’ll go there,” I said aloud, my voice as cold as the magic within me. “I’ll raze it to the ground. She’ll see what I’ve become. She’ll understand that her time is running out.”

The shadow swirled around me, as though approving my plan, and I began to walk.

The forest was quiet as I made my way through it, the trees casting long, twisted shadows across the ground. Birds scattered at the sound of my hoofsteps, their panicked cries echoing in the distance.

At the edge of the forest, I saw two foals playing near a small clearing. Their laughter filled the air, carefree and innocent. I stopped, watching them for a moment.

What would the old me have done? The naive, gullible Twilight Sparkle who believed in friendship and harmony?

I shook the thought away. She was gone.

Whatever it takes.

The first house was easy. The inhabitants—a small family of earth ponies—never even saw me coming. I moved silently through the home, leaving nothing but stillness and blood in my wake.

When it was done, I stood in the center of the living room, staring at the scene before me. It was… satisfying, in a way. A grim reminder of what I had become.

I stepped outside and made my way to the next house. And the next. And the next.

Each one fell like the last, the ponies inside unable to fight back against the magic that coursed through me. Sometimes I left survivors—one or two trembling ponies to spread the story of what had happened.

To spread the story of me.

By the time I reached the center of the town, the streets were silent. The only sounds were the crackling of fires and the distant cries of those who had managed to escape.

I stood in the town square, blood staining my hooves and the air thick with the scent of death. I looked around at the destruction I had caused and smiled.

“I am this world’s boogeyman now,” I whispered to myself. “Let them fear me. Let her fear me.”

The shadow at my side pulsed with energy, feeding off the chaos I had created. I could feel its power growing, intertwining with my own.

But this was only the beginning. Celestia would come. She would have no choice. And when she did, I would make her pay for everything she had done.

As I left the ruins of the town behind me, I didn’t look back. There was no need. The message had been sent, loud and clear.

Now, all I had to do was wait.