Spiritual Renewalby SadisticFluttershyChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4- A Mysterious disappearanceChapter 1***Ponyville Train Station*** Twilight Sparkle, a young Unicorn was about to leave for The Crystal Empire. Her friends were there with her to wish her a pleasant trip. "Alright Twilight, you're all set!" Applejack said closing her friends saddlebag "Listen Twi, we want you to come home safe and sound 'Ye hear?" "No need to worry Applejack" Twilight replied, "I promise I will return home without a scratch on me" "I do hope so" Pinkie giggled, "I don't want to have to bring out the cupcakes to heal you!" Twilight smiled, "You won't have to, but I would love to have cupcakes though when I come back" Pinkie smiled back "Will do Twilight!" "Oh and if you could" Rarity added "I'm working on a project and would love for you to bring me back crystals if you could please darling" "No problem Rarity, will make sure I have some before I leave" "All ABOARD!!!!" The Conductor shouted "You should get going now sugar" Applejack said hugging her friend. The rest of her friends hugged her, waved goodbye and departed back towards Ponyville. ****The Crystal Empire train station**** As the train arrived at the empire, Twilight looked out the window to find her brother Prince Shining Armour and his bride, Princess Cadence, with big smiles on their faces. "Twi'ly!" Shining Armour shouted "It's so good to see you again kiddo! I missed you soooooo much" The two hugged each other tightly and Twilight began to speak. "It's okay big brother, the last time I was here was like a few months ago" Shining Armour let go of Twilight, still with a smile, replied "I know Twilight, It's just you know, I missed you so much!" Cadence came next to give Twilight a hug embrace. Every time that the two greet, they do their greeting message. "Sunshine, Sunshine, Lady bugs awake, Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Cadence and Twilight laughed, looking towards Armour who was shared in the moment. The three began to head out of the icy chills of the surrounding tundra, into the luscious grassy plains of the empire. "Shining Armour, can I ask you something?" Twilight asked. "Huh?" Shining Armour was confused "Oh, um, What is it little sis?" She took a breath and replied without a notion, "It's about Dark Magic" Shining Armour was caught off guard by her response. "D-Dark Magic?!" there was a unearthly quiver in his voice, "Wha- Why do you want to learn about such magic?" "I-" "Twilight, honey" Cadence said interrupting Twilight, "Listen, Dark magic is full of Dark tricks and lies" "Cadence, I'm just curious on the kind of power and mysteries that it holds, what found me to get into it, is especially about the effects of it that I have noticed, such as the Green eyes and the purple mist around them" Twilight replied with an explanation. "The curiosity and disperse structured me to come here and find a book on it and study it" "Listen Kiddo, Dark Magic is a very dangerous type of intensity, it's way different than just regular magic sweetheart" Shining began "There are consequences to this, and could be serious, such as it can severely harm you" "Listen, I'm fully capable, and plus, I don't plan on doing any type of spell" Twilight defended. Shining and Cadence looked at each other with worried glances; Shining Armour nodded as Cadence responded. "We will allow you to get the book from the crystal library, however, you MUST promise us that you will not do ANY type of spells, okay honey?" Twilight nodded. "I promise I will not practice any type of spells" They arrived at the castle doors, hugged and went inside, all except Twilight who head off to the crystal library. ****Crystal Empire Library**** Twilight entered the library, immediately gazing upon the plethora of knowledge which stood before her. The smell of dusty tomes filled her lungs as she searched for the book she sought. After a long search with no success she admitted defeat over the vast building, and asked the pony clerk for assistance. "May I help you ma'am?" The pony asked. "Yes, I'm looking for a specific book" Twilight replied "Of course, we have many of those" The clerk replied sarcastically, "Any topic this book lies under?" "Oh, sorry, Dark Magic" "Yes, of course" The clerk replied, eyeballing the young mare, "They are down on the bottom level, you shouldn't miss it cause there's a sign on the outside" Twilight started to walk towards the staircase when the clerk spoke from behind. "Beware down there and only take the book in which you seek" Standing at over seventy feet, the library's interior towered over the young mare like a Skyscraper to a small house. After a short search around the cluttered confines of the reading area, she found the location of which her specified book was held. Or so she thought. The big black letters engraved upon a red surface: 'Dark Magic: Beware' Twilight pushed open a metal gating, blocking her path and ventured deep into the forbidden section. Inside lay before her many spectacular sights to behold. Stepping forward she looked over at the overabundance of literature and picked one of them up. Turning the pages she could feel the wind brushing against her mane and then a mighty howling which made her jump in fright. Continuing on through the labyrinth of paper, she saw a peculiar looking lectern in the centre. On closer inspection she noticed the lectern lined in pure gold and encrusted with jewels. It glistened in the darkness, luring her, making her susceptible. Stepping ever close towards the alluring lectern, the sparkles given off began to grow into her mind. Lying upon the lectern was a book, bound in leather, with a purple stripe down it's spine. In large letters spread across the cover spelled out 'The Journal of Venomioum: Volumes 1-5'. Twilight flipped through the pages and found this is the book she required. After her sudden revelation she closed the book and took it from the pedestal. She trotted back through the maze and towards the checkout desk. "Excuse me ma'am?" Twilight began. "May I check out this book?". The clerk looked at the book, eyes gaped wide. With a worried glare, she nodded. "Thank you so much, I appreciate it" Twilight said walking out the doors. ****Crystal Castle 5 minutes later**** Twilight returned from the library, entered through the doors and walked towards her brother and cadence. "So Twi'ly, did they have what you were looking for?" Shining asked. "Yeah, they did, I'm excited too!" Twilight replied. "Don't get to excited now, you made a promise to me and cadence that you won't be doing spells of any kind from that book" Shining replied reminding Twilight. "Yes, I know, but still" "So, how would you like to spend the rest of the day with us?" Shining asked. Twilight's ears perked up with a smile and said "That would be great! I have so many things we can do!" "That's awesome!" Shining replied cheerfully. For the rest of the day, together, shining armour, cadence and Twilight spend it playing games, talking, helping Twilight with her studies on something else and a whole lot of other things. As it seemed that it wouldn't end until a clock's 6:00 P.M bell went off. "Oh, that time already?" Twilight asked. "Yep, time for you to head back to Ponyville little sis" Shining replied, ears perking down. "Don't be sad Big brother! I'll return soon and spend a lot more time together" Twilight replied cheering her brother up. "Twilight, it's been a fun evening spending time with you, it was truly a blessing" Cadence said with a smile. "Let me walk you to the Train station" Shining Armour said wanting to spend a few more minutes with his sister. "Okay" Twilight replied. A Few minutes passed and they arrived the train station. "Gonna miss you kiddo!" Shining said embracing his sister into a hug. "I'll miss you too, but I'll be back soon okay?" Twilight replied returning the hug. The two departed and Twilight headed towards the train. All of a sudden, a sharp pain went up her right hoof and said "Ouch! what the?".She then looked down to find something familiar, but couldn't identify the object which really was King Sombra's horn. She rubbed her hoof and boarded the train and sat down next to the window. Twilight wondered as she looked at the object, trying to identify it, but blew it off and instead looking away from the window to see her right hoof being a little swollen, looking back out the window, Twilight could see that the object disappeared, but it was none of Twilight's concern and the train started to move back home. As the train departed from the station, King Sombra's horn turned to shadow, and followed Twilight back home. As an hour passes, the shadow finally made it's way into the train and hid itself into Twilight's book and a dim glow of purple showed, but Twilight did not notice and was unaware of the king's presence. ****Ponyville Train Station**** The trained pulled up to the station and slowed easily on the railing to the deck of the station. Twilight, looking out the window, saw her 5 friends sitting with smiles. The train stopped and the doors opened, walked out and greeted her friends with much hugging. "So sugar, did you have fun being at the empire with your brother and cadence?" Applejack asked. "Sure did! It was a blast!" Twilight exclaimed happily. "Twilight, I see something sticking out of your saddlebag" Applejack said noticing the bulge comming from her friends saddlebag. "Oh, it's just Rarity's crystals that she asked for" Twilight replied "CRYSTALS?! Thank you Twilight! This will sure make my project magnificent!" Rarity said jumping around her friend. "Not only that Twi, I see something else, what you hiding?" Applejack said questioning her friend. "It's nothing Applejack" Twilight lied. "Twilight, just open your saddlebag and show us what you have in there" Applejack replied not wanting to take no for an answer. Twilight opened her saddlebag, horn lighting up, levitating the book she checked out from the Crystal Empire's Library. All of her friends were shocked to see the black and purple book with the title of it being exposed in front of her friends eyes. Fluttershy whimpered "Twilight, why *gulp* do you have a magic book, on dark magic? "Yea Twi, why do you?" Applejack added "Tell us Twilight!" Rainbow Added as well. "Yea do tell darling" Rarity also added. Twilight sat down on her haunches and explained everything to her friends. They couldn't believe what they were hearing, but they had no control over her in what she does, so all they could do is support her decision. "Twilight, as much as i want to object this idea of yours for learning such magic, I can't change that choice, all I can do is support you, and I will" Applejack said concerned for her friend. "Same here Twilight" Fluttershy added "Me too" Rainbow Added "Same here" Rarity also added "Including me! Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie added also. "I appreciate the concerns guys, but it's my choice, and I also appreciate the support" Twilight replied with a small smile. "Just be careful, okay Twi?" Applejack said with a pleasant voice. Twilight embraced her friend into a hug and spoke "I will, I promise" Pinkie jumped in front only to scare her and say "You pinkie promise?" Twilight performed the Pinkie Pie promise ritual and spoke "I pinkie promise" "Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie replied cheerfully. "Anyway girls, I have to head back to the home, Spike has been by himself all day, and would be thrilled to see me, plus I have work to catch up on" Twilight said. "Remember Twi, be careful" Applejack spoke. "What she said" Rainbow Added "That too" Rarity also added. "Yup" Pinkie said adding to the conversation "See you guys later!" ****Twilight's Library that evening**** Nightfall has just arrived with Twilight finishing the last bit of work she had to do for that afternoon. "Finally!" Twilight began "I can finally start my studies on the book" "Huh, what?" Spike asked. "Oh I forgot to tell you" Twilight pulled out the book from her saddlebag "I checked out this book, it's on dark magic, opinions?" "Well, if it's what Celestia had in mind for you when she said 'moving on to the next level of your studies, then I say, go for it!" Spike encouraged. Twilight grabbed her book and walked up stairs to her bed and began reading. After an hour passes, Twilight get's a thought in her head if she should do practice spells, but remembers quickly on what her old foal sitter Cadence said to her 'Twilight, honey, Dark magic is full of dark tricks and lies' and of course, she was right, it is full of dark tricks, but lies? what lies are there to be found or heard? Twilight shook off the words and began to do what she was told to not do. After a few spells, Twilight began to get dizzy and exhausted. Twilight said to herself "Maybe I should just stop here and get some rest" and let out a exhale. 'Later that Night' Twilight was sound asleep after a long day after a visit to the empire to see her brother and old foal sister princess cadence, also with practice of dark magic, Twilight had no idea that King Sombra, a unicorn that what she thought was defeated, was present in her book next to her bed. Sombra looked at Twilight for a second, and slipped out of the book and crept around the library to make sure that nopony would see on what about Sombra was going to do. Revenge. He then made his move and crept into Twilight's horn only giving a sharp pain to the young mare. "Ow!! Pony Feathers!" Twilight shouted. Spike rose from his slumber due to the whiny shouting of Twilight's voice. He then got up from his bed and jumped onto Twilight's bedside and asked "What's wrong Twilight?" "I don't know spike, at first I'm sound asleep and then the next thing I knew I woke up screaming, and sorry for waking you by the way" Twilight replied. "It's okay Twilight, when your hurt, your my first priority than anything else in the world" Spike replied comforting his companion. Twilight blushed and replied "Thanks spike, that means alot to me" "Here, i'll keep you safe, I will sleep with you for the rest of the night" "I would really appreciate that, thanks spike" Twilight replied. "No problem at all Twilight" Spike replied. They both said goodnight to each other and fell asleep for a better waking. 'The next morning' Twilight rose from her slumber, still with eyes closed, she grabbed her brush and walked to her mirror to brush her mane and tail to start the day, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she let out a scream, "OH MY GOD!! This is bad this is bad this is bad" Twilight began to panic. Spike rose from his slumber and in a quiet voice he asked "What's wrong Twilight?" "Spike, is this normal?" Spike got down from Twilight's bed and walked over to the mirror. "I don't know Twilight, do you mean normal as in every-pony or normal as in you?" Spike said while having a smirk on his face. "Well obviously it's not spike, it's red for pony sake!" Twilight said hovering her hoof above her horn "Oh dear, Twilight, it's bright red!" Spike replied with a worried tone. "I think Zecora may have an answer on this, she knows a lot about mysterious changes" Twilight said "I would do that, I agree though she does know a lot about mysterious magic or well, changes" Spike replied. "Let's just hope she does" ****Zecora's Tree hut 15 minutes later**** "The Redding in your horn is nothing that I am not sure what caused it, for it would seem I've never seen before" "What can I do Zecora? My horn has never been this red before, Not even after doing the Mirror pool return spell multiple times!" Twilight said. "Whatever seems to be troubling you Twilight Sparkle, I do not know what it is you have been through, When did this occurrence of yours, happen?" "Overnight" Twilight replied. "Overnight? Not long I tell, A cure I can try and find, but cannot guarantee" "Please Zecora, Just do the best you can!" "Will try Twilight Sparkle" Chapter 2****Zecora's Hut**** "Zecora, is there anything you can do to help me?" asked Twilight "I am not sure Twilight Sparkle as I have never seen anything like this before" Zecora replied with a sigh, "Well there has to be something that you can do!" Twilight looked down at her hooves, "I am not sure this is going to get better or worse" "Ah that I can try to find, but please keep in mind, for a cure you see, I cannot guarantee" "I trust you Zecora, please help me and find a cure as quickly as possible!" ****Twilight's Library 1 hour later**** Twilight requested for her friends to come to the library to see if they could help her. The door opened and all of her friends walked in to assist her. "What's the big hurry Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash, hovering above the rest, "I need all of your help, I don't know what's going on, but my horn is red can't you see it?" Twilight panicked. As Twilight revealed her horn, the group gasped. "Twilight, your horn..It's..." Fluttershy whimpered, "Sharper Pinkie sense" Applejack exclaimed, "Oooo, can I touch it? Huh? Can I? Can I?" Pinkie said ecstatically, hovering her hoof over the razor-sharp horn, "If you must" Twilight groaned, Pinkie proceeded to place her hoof on top of the point, piercing her skin, "Y'ouch!" Pinkie screamed, glaring at her swollen hoof, a single stream of blood pouring from her wound. "Something is terribly wrong with my horn, but I can't seem to know what!" Twilight explained "I have never seen anything like it before" she continues to explain her experiences upon her return from the crystal empire. Rarity tried to comfort Twilight, "Oh darling, It doesn't look that bad", giving her friend a hug "I'm sure it'll heal up in no time". "I'm not sure about that Rarity, as each hour passes it only seems to get worse" "If it gets any worse sugarcube, we are here if you need us" AppleJack proceeded, "Okay, I will keep that in mind" Twilight nodded The group agreed with AppleJack and left Twilight alone in the dark. ****Sugarcube Corner**** "I am worried about Twilight Y'all, she seemed in a lot of pain" AppleJack said concerningly, "There must be something we can do to help her" said Fluttershy, "Will cupcakes help her?" asked Pinkie, "You know everything can be fixed with cupcakes" "Pinkie Pie, this is mighty serious, she needs us to help her but I'm not sure how" AppleJack responded. "Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Rainbow exclaimed "Come on, I got an idea!" "And what is this idea of yours Rainbow?" Applejack asked "You guys know that Shining Armour and Princess Cadence live in Crystal Empire right?" "Yeah?" "Well, maybe we should call them to come down here and see if they can help Twilight" "I like your thinking" AppleJack responded "Alright guys, we need to send a message to the Crystal Empire" ****1 hour later**** "Thank you so much for coming down, it means a lot to us, we are very worried about Twilight" Applejack said looking down at the ground, "Well when we were called, we both could tell that something was not right" replied Shining Armour, "Well duhhhhh, we wouldn't call you unless there was something wrong with her, I mean after all you are her brother" Pinkie said giggling "Of course dear, we care about Twilight, she's the closest thing to us and we love her a lot" Cadence said "We did whatever it took to come down here as quickly as possible" "So what seems to be the problem?" Shining Armour asked, "Twilight looks very different than before, her horn has seemed to change shape, it is now curvy and sharp, we don't know what's wrong with her" AppleJack looked up into Shining Armour's eyes, "So we thought we could get you to find out what's wrong with her and fix it if possible" "Applejack is right guys, I mean I touched her horn and it made my hoof bleed" Pinkie pie added. "Alright then, what are we sitting here for? Let's go help Twilight!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. ****Twilight's Library 10 minutes later**** As all of her friends arrived, they saw that no lights were on and the place looked deserted. Slowly a hoof opened the door and stepped in the dark and cold library. "Ohhhhh Twilight!!" Pinkie called out "You in here?" But all she could hear was her own voice, "Hehe, Echo...ECHO..." "Now is not the time for games Pinkie" Rainbow snapped, "Twilight, you here?" Applejack in a worried tone, Still no sound was heard from their friend. "Hmmm, maybe she's not here" said Pinkie Pie. "Well, where could she be?" Rainbow Dash asked. "She could be anywhere" Rarity added. "Well we can't just sit here and wait for her to come back, we need to go find her" Applejack hurried. The group nodded in agreement. ****Central Ponyville**** Every-pony were worried about finding their friend, as they figured she could be anywhere in Equestria. As each minute passed the anxiety grew, and every place they looked led to a dead end. Hours passed and the ponies regrouped, "Any luck?" AppleJack asked, "My furry friends haven't seen her anywhere" Fluttershy replied, "She's not the market" Rarity continued "Oooo, we are never going to find her!" Pinkie Shouted, "We will find her Pinkie, it's just a matter of time" AppleJack replied hugging her friend, "Has anyone seen Rainbow?" "Oh she's still scouring the skies for any sign of Twilight" Fluttershy said, upon finishing Rainbow came crashing down, "Guys, come quick!" she panted "I think I've found her" "WHERE?!?" the rest shouted, "Follow me" Rainbow said pointing her hoof towards Twilight's location. The group followed Rainbow through the town to where their friend lay lifeless on the ground, all of Twilight's friends were in relief as they found her, but when they try to wake her, she didn't move. "Twilight!" AppleJack shouted, "Wake up!" a trickle fell from her eye, "Come on Twilight you have to wake up!" Pinkie said as she began to tear up, no response came. "We got to take her back to the library" Rarity responded "Maybe Shining Armour and Princess Cadence can help her" "I'll carry her" AppleJack said, holding back her tears "Some-pony help me lift her", Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie lifted Twilight's limp body onto her back and they proceeded to walk back to the library as quickly as possible. ****Twilight's Library 5 minutes later**** As the group arrived at the library, they headed upstairs and put their friend gently into bed and called Shining Armour and Princess Cadence to come help. The two headed into the library and AppleJack called them upstairs to where the group surrounded Twilight in her bed. "What's going on dear?" Princess Cadence asked with concern, "I'm not sure Princess, she's not looking too good that's for sure" AppleJack said with a worried tone, "How so?" Shining Armour asked, "Well for one, her horn is a different shape, I mean look!" AppleJack pointed at Twilight's horn and they both looked, "It's all curved, sharp and Redder than usual" Applejack explained, "We also can't seem to wake her" Fluttershy continued, "Hmm, I'll see what I can do for her" Cadence said "Step back", the group stepped back to allow the princess to work her magic. She lowered her horn towards Twilight's head and a bright glow occurred. "Hmm, I have good news and bad news" she said, shaking her head, "Which would you like to hear first?" "Give us the good news" Rainbow said, "Well she is alive, but is unconscious" she explained, "The bad news is that I am unable to find a cause to her current condition", Pinkie jumped up on the bed and shouted "What can we do to help?" "That won't be necessary Pinkie, thank you" Cadence replied, "I will be able to revive her using a conscious spell", the princess conjoined their horns and Twilight began to awake. "Look! She's waking up" Fluttershy said happily, Twilight slowly open her eyes, revealing them to be slightly blood shot, "You okay Twilight?" Applejack asked with concern, Twilight rubbed her head, "I'm not sure, I was walking around town when all of a sudden I blacked out" Twilight explained "I don't remember much after that" "Well the important thing is, is that your safe here, when we saw you on the grass, we tried to wake you, but you didn't wake up so we all got worried and decided to take you home so that you could rest up" Applejack explained. "I have a feeling that Twilight may have broken her promise that she made to me and Cadence" Shining Armour said in a stern voice, Twilight's ears perked down, "Twilight? Did y..?" "Yes, I did, I am so sorry!" Twilight said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I was just so anxious to do spells, I know I promised to not do them but I did them anyway", "I told you it was full of dark tricks and lies!" Princess Cadence said in a angry tone, "But I.." "I am very disappointed in you Twilight, I mean look at you!" Shining Armour turned away from her, "Your body is changing because you were so anxious to use dark magic, or should I call it 'Forbidden Magic', these are the consequences when you don't listen to me, Cadence or any-pony that tells you something bad WILL happen" "I know big brother, and I am really sorry!" Twilight said crying, "I know you are, But all I can say for right now is to get some rest and maybe that'll help, if it doesn't we will get Princess Celestia and Luna to come down and help you, okay kiddo?" Shining Armour replied giving her a hug to calm her down, "Okay Big brother" Twilight said wiping her tears away, "I think it's time for you to head off to bed, it's 10:30 at night" Shining Armour said looking at the clock, "And also, you need to rest up Twilight, it's important that you do so cause that's all we can really do right now" Cadence added. "You both are right, I do need sleep and I am quite worn out myself" Twilight replied, "Well, good night Kiddo" Shining Armour and Princess Cadence both said while giving her a hug goodnight, "Just remember, If you need us we will be right down stairs okay?" Shining Armour said with a smile, "Okay" Twilight Replied, All of the ponies nodded and then went downstairs to go to sleep, Shining armour was the last one to come downstairs only to look back at his little sister sound asleep and then had a smile across his cheeks. Chapter 3****Twilight's Library the next morning**** As the morning arrived, Shining Armour was the first one to awaken. He stretched his hind legs, and headed upstairs to wake Twilight, who was still sound asleep in her bed. "Wake up Twilight, it's morning" Shining Armor said shaking his sister, quickly noticing that she wasn't waking, he began to panic. "Twilight?", He shook her even more violently, "Twilight!! Wake up!!". The stallions eyes quickly filled with tears as he couldn't wake her from her slumber. Each attempt, there was still no response, Shining Armor looked to see if she was breathing but as he found that she wasn't. "Help!!!" Shining shouted "I need help!!" "What's wrong dear?" Cadence asked yawning, "It's Twilight!" He responded, tears pouring down his cheeks, "I can't hear her breathing" "Oh my, we need to get Twilight to the hospital, and fast!" said Fluttershy, quickly, every-pony took Twilight to the hospital together. Running through the doors of the hospital screaming for help, the nurse ponies responded with due haste as the doctors rolled her into the ER. All the ponies could do was sit and watch their friend being plugged into a machine, which provided her with air and food. "C'mon y'all this is gettin' mighty serious" AppleJack complained, "I agree" Rainbow responded, "I mean come one, first her physical changes, now this?!" "I hope she's going to be okay" Fluttershy blubbered, "She looked awful when she went in there", "I hope so too Fluttershy, but all we can do is just wait and pray for Twilight" ****Ponyville Hospital 2 hours later**** Two hours had passed and still no word on Twilight's status, the group began restless, however a nurse pony came out of the ER with coming news, breaking the tension. "Please, I hope you 'ave some mighty good news there" Applejack said anxiously, "Well, I don't know how I can put this" The nurse-pony said looking down at her hooves, "Would you like the good news or the bad news?" "Oh not this game again" Rainbow complained, "Ooo, I love guessing games!" Pinkie roared, "Is it: Potatoes?" "No..Waffles?" "Ooo I know! 73?!" "Pinkie, shh" Rarity blurted, "Please tell us the good news first", "Well the good news is, your friend is alive" The nurse spoke, every-pony sighed in relief, "You got here just in time, any longer and she would've died." "And the bad news?" Fluttershy whimpered, "Yes, yes, the bad news." The nurse continued, "Your friend is in a coma" All of the ponies simultaneously gasped at the news, "Twilight is in a coma?" Applejack pondered, "But how!?", "We aren't entirely sure" the nurse replied, "But all we can say for now is that she is alive and well" "Th-Thank you nurse" Rarity responded, "Your words are like crystal" "I'm so sorry, I wish there was something else we could do but sadly we can't" The nurse left the group alone in the waiting room. All of Twilight's friends could do nothing but cry their hearts out. When the group finally calmed down, they all asked if they could see Twilight. The nurse nodded and directed them to a private room number 117. "That mighty kind of you nurse" Applejack said. Together, they all entered the room to see Twilight on the bed with her chest slowly rising and dropping, surrounding the bed Applejack was the first one to speak. "Oh Twilight, what has happened to ya?" She said wiping a tear from her eye, "First the physical changes, and now this?" "If only there was something we could do to help Twi" Rainbow responded, "I'm sure we did the best we could for her" Fluttershy said holding AJ in a hug "At least she is alive, that's what matters" "You're right Fluttershy, and Thanks" Applejack said wiping the tears from her eyes. "What can we do Princess?" Rarity asked "Not sure Rarity, I don't have any spells that can help awake Twilight from a coma" Cadence responded "I never knew ponies could get into comas" "Well there has to be something we can do!" Rainbow Dash added. "All we can do now Rainbow, is hope that Twilight awakens from this Coma" Applejack replied. The nurse came into the room and told the group that visiting hours were over. They all went back into the waiting room. "Even if the nurse told us to come back into the waiting room, I'm not leaving her side until she wakes up" Applejack said in a meaningful voice. "Me too" Fluttershy said agreeing with Applejack "Same here" Rarity added "All of us" Cadence said with a smile The ponies nodded and together, they all fell asleep until morning. **The Next Morning** As morning came, Shining Armor woke suddenly, he pushed open the door to Twilights ward. She lay there still, unaware of her surroundings, Shining Armor walked up to her bedside and kissed her on the head, "Twilight, I don't know if you can hear me but, I Love you and I hope that you get out of the coma soon" Shining Armor as tears began to stream down his cheeks, he sat down beside her and never left his sisters side. An hour passed and Cadence walked in to check up on the two siblings, looking up at Shining's tears, "She's going be fine Shining Armor" Cadence said hugging Shining softly, "She will come out of this, I promise she will", returning the hug Shining replied, "I do hope so too" "Come on Shiny, Twilight needs her rest" Cadence said. They both left the room for the young mare to rest rejoining the others in the waiting room, "How's Twilight doing?" Applejack asked, "Well, she's still in a coma" Shining huffed, "But I do hope she gets out of it soon because I can't bare it if something bad happens to her" "As if there any-pony that can fix this kind of situation it is Zecora" Applejack informed. "Well, let's go get her then!" Rainbow Dash shouted. The group agreed. ****2 hours later**** "What is it you need from me?" Zecora asked, Applejack let out a sigh "Zecora, Twilight is in horrible condition" She explained, "Her horn changed shape, her mane is a different colour and her eyes are darker than usual" "Also, she made my hoof bleed when I touched her horn!" Pinkie Pie added, "I am quite aware of the situation" Zecora replied, "You are?" Applejack asked, "Of course Applejack, I see what I see, She came to my hut just a little less then week ago" Zecora explained, "Well to add above that Zecora, she's in a coma", Zecora looked up from her brew with a crude look on her face, "Oh? What has happened?" Zecora questioned, "We don't know, that's what we are trying to figure out" Applejack responded silently, "We were wondering if you had anything that can help us" "Ah yes, a brew I can mix for her to drink and in forty-eight hours she will wake" "Thank you Zecora, and hurry, we need to give her it as soon as possible" Applejack replied. ****1 hour later**** "Here you go, make her drink this brew" AppleJack reached for the bottle, "But beware that this will merely awaken her not cure" Zecora warned, "Yes of course, thank you Zecora" AppleJack took the bottle from the Zebra and the group headed back through the murky forest to help their friend in need. Arriving at the Hospital, they noticed Shining Armour and Cadence at Twilights bedside, "Good news, Zecora was able to concoct a remedy which will awaken Twilight!" Applejack explained "Thank goodness!" Shining replied with a look of joy on his face, "But she won't awaken for two days" Rainbow added, Shining and Cadence looked at each other and nodded, smiling, "That is fine, we shall let her rest knowing full well that she will awaken" Cadence finished, the friends held down each of Twilights limbs, while Shining administered the remedy. He gently opened the mares mouth and poured the liquid down her gullet. Every-pony left the sleeping Twilight to rest. 'The room began to disintegrate, focusing on the comatose mares head as all faded to black' Twilight lifted her head from between her front legs, "Huh?" she said, unaltered, "Where am I?" "You are in the depths of your mind" an eerie voice from the shadows replied, "My domain now" "W-Who's there..?" "Hahahahaaaaa, It's been quite some time hasn't it Twilight Sparkle?" the voice asked, "Who are you? and Where am I?!" Twilight replied shouting at the voice, "You are in your mind, or maybe I should call it MY mind!", "Your mind?, This is my mind! No one touches it BUT ME!" the mare stamped her feet. 'The sudden shock in her neural pattern made Twilight's physical form shake slightly' "Oh?" the mysterious noise came again, "But I am on the verge of taking over your entire body as we speak, you are in what they call a coma" "A...C...Coma?" Twilight stammered, "Yes, you and your hunger to learn drew me here" the shadow continued, "I climbed inside your subconscious once you exhausted that pitiful excuse for a body. Slowly altering your very DNA; your horn curvature, the change of colour in your mane, even the dilation of your eyes were my doing", "But why?!" "Oh, you and your precious princess may have thought you destroyed me in the crystal empire, but part of me survived. You my dear Twilight awakened it". Twilight began to ponder the meaning behind what he was saying, "Destroyed in the crystal empire..." Twilight thought to herself, then it hit her like a ton of bricks, "King Sombra!", "You are correct Twilight Sparkle" the King replied, he stepped out of the shadows, more healthy than ever, and began to encircle the weakening mare, "I will not let you get away with this" Twilight said, dragging herself towards the prowling king, before collapsing. ****Ponyville Hospital the next morning**** Morning surely arrived, all were resting but AppleJack was missing. She snuck into Twilight's room, without waking a soul, to check upon on her friend, finding the mare stirring in her sleep, sweating a lot. She trotted over towards her friends bedside, and patted her forehead with a cloth, "It's okay sugar, all those dreams you are having, I'm sure they aren't bad" Applejack said putting her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. 'The room Darkened' "Taking over all of Equestria?" Twilight huffed, "That's not going to happen!", she fired a bolt of purple fire which dissipated before even reaching King Sombra, "Hahaha" The king cackled, "You really think you can defeat me inside my own domain?!". 'Reality took place again' AppleJack had stayed by Twilight's bedside for the past hour, noticing that her friend was moving violently in her sleep, she called to her, "Twi'? What's wrong?", she realized that Twilight couldn't hear her. The mare knew something was wrong and ran out into the waiting room to get help from her friends, 'The room Darkened' "Is that the best you got?" King Sombra said, unharmed. Completely shattered Twilight conjured every last might in her being and sent a beam of energy in the kings direction. The king countered and sent force lightning which caused Twilight major damage, the repercussions being felt outside of her mind. 'Reality took place' All of Twilight's friends and relatives were sitting in the waiting room, when suddenly AppleJack rushes in, "What's the hurry AppleJack?" Cadence questioned, "Twil...Twilight...Something wrong" AppleJack panted, "What's wrong with Twilight?" Shining Armor asked, "I'm not entirely sure, she just seems to be sweating at an uncontrollable level" Applejack replied, the group looked at each other and followed AppleJack back to Twilight's room to find the mare in a fit, Shining Armor moved over to Twilight's side and put a hoof on her shoulder, not even on the outside could she feel any physical touch, "Some-pony call a nurse in here!" He yelled, a nurse rushed in, and upon seeing Twilight in her current condition she froze, "Ok, every-pony out, doctor she's going into shock!" the nurse ordered, time passed and every-pony began to worry. 'Later' "She's going into cardiac arrest!" one of the nurses shouted, the doctor picked up the defibrillator, "Set it to 100 cc's" he said, the nurse set the charge, "Alright, clear!", he pressed the steel plated electrodes against Twilights chest and the mares body was shocked, "Ok now set it to 200 cc's" the nurse nodded and adjusted the charge, "Alight clear!" again the electrodes came into contact with the mares chest, bringing back her vital signs. All of Twilight's friends looked on in shock and relief to see their friend was safe. "Oh, I do hope Zecora's potion works" Fluttershy said anxiously, "As do I Fluttershy" AppleJack responded, "We just got to sit here and wait", "Come on guys, We need to head into the waiting room" Cadence said. The group agreed and left the ward back out to the waiting room. Forty-Six hours had passed since they have given Twilight the potion. The group entered to visit Twilight once more before they were to head home because the hospital staff were worried about their individual health, they would call if anything arose. "Twilight, I know you are in horrible condition" Shining began, "But we were told that you will be taken care of by the doctors here and that we can go home" Cadence continued, "But I'll be with your brother at sweet apple acres", "Also, they said that they will call us if anything happens to you" Shining Armor added, "I hope you will be okay" Fluttershy included, "Same here sugar" Applejack added, "Same here as well" Rarity said, "Even me" Pinkie Pie added, "We all love you Twilight" Shining finished, "It isn't long until you are out of this coma, but even after that you will still need to be in the hospital for another twenty-four hours so that they can check on you". They all gave Twilight a soft hug goodbye, and they all left the room. **2 Hours later** The doctors entered Twilight's room to check up on her, finding that she was slowly coming to. They left the room and when the door clicked shut, Twilight's eyes sharply opened with a menacing glare while a grin protruded over her face. Chapter 4- A Mysterious disappearance**A Mysterious disappearance** ****Ponyville Hospital the next morning**** The sun rose upon the horizon, and all were eagerly awaiting Twilight's awakening. Departing from their respective abodes; Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy were waiting outside the hospital ward. Rainbow Dash and AppleJack were finishing up on work in which they had missed in the last couple days. "I wonder what caused Twilight to flip out," Pinkie blurted. "No pony knows Pinkie," Rarity commented. "I do hope she isn't badly hurt," Fluttershy whimpered. "Oh, I'm sure she's alright Fluttershy," Rarity said, laying a hoof upon her shoulder. "This is Twilight we are talking about!" "I guess you're right" Shining Armour and Princess Cadence arrived minutes later to see the trio hugging. "I hope you save enough hugs for Twilight," Cadence commented. "Oh, You betcha!" Pinkie shouted. "Me and Cadence are going to go check and see if Twilight is awake," Armour responded. "Where is Rainbow and AppleJack?" "Those two will be here in a while," Rarity replied. "They have a few errands that they need to tie up, we will wait here for them to arrive" Armour and Cadence nodded and proceeded to enter the hospital. The couple trotted up to the reception. "Hi, my name is Shining Armour and this is my wife Princess Cadence," Armour began. "We were wondering if we were able to see Twilight Sparkle," Cadence continued. The receptionist looked up and blinked. "O-of course," the pony said in shock. "Let me just call a nurse to escort you to her room, Please wait here." Moments passed and a nurse came towards the couple. "Prince Shining Armour and Princess Cadence, is it?" "Yes" both replied. "Please, follow me." Following the nurse they arrived at Twilight's ward. "Thank you" Cadence said gesturing towards the nurse. She opened the door and their jaws dropped, looking upon a bomb site. They entered the room to find that the bed sheets had been stripped, furniture toppled and the window smashed. Searching the room they found no trace of their relative anywhere. "Shining, where is she?" Cadence questioned, Armour looked petrified. "Nurse!" he shouted, the nurse slowly entered. "Y-Yes?” upon seeing the state of the room she gasped. Her horn lit up and then dimmed, "I have just sent out an alert across the hospital in search of her." "Thank you," Armour nodded. "In the mean time we shall search for her elsewhere" Armour and Cadence then exited the hospital to tell the bad news to the others. Pinkie was bouncing around AppleJack and Rainbow Dash, who had just returned. Noticing the returning couple, the group galloped over to hear the news. "So how is Twilight doing?" AppleJack asked. "We have some bad news," Amour replied. A stream of fear filtered through the five friends. "W-What is it?" Fluttershy spoke. "Well, firstly to pick up everyone's spirits," Cadence said, walking besides the friends. "The potion seems to have done the trick and she is awake." A look of relief flustered through all the ponies. "But what of the bad news?" Rainbow questioned. "Well..." "Yes?" the group said simultaneously. "Twilight has disappeared", when these words hit their ear drums, their eye ducts began to swell. Fluttershy began to cry and was comforted by Rarity. "Any idea to where she might have gone?" AppleJack asked. "We hoped you might know," Cadence replied. "I say we check out the library," Rainbow blurted. Everypony nodded and they headed off. ****Twilight's Library 5 minutes later**** The group arrived at the library, hoping to find their friend in a normal state. They knocked on the oak door, to no answer. Louder they knocked, but still to no prevail. "Step out of the way everypony" Rainbow shouted. The ponies stepped aside just as she crashed through; stepping through the door remains everypony looked around the tree dome, finding nothing. "Twilight! you in here?" Pinkie pie shouted, to no response. A cool chill descended upon the inhabitants of the library, "Twilight?" Applejack called out, shivering, “Ye' here?" Still no response. "Okay, so Twilight isn't here" Rainbow Dash said, "What now?" A loud noise echoed through the structure and a voice was heard from the upper levels, "Ow!" a familiar voice yelled, "Who's in here?!" Applejack asked with a higher tone in her voice, "It's Spike!" Spike replied, as if he was being arrested, "What brings you here?" "Oh" Fluttershy sighed, "We thought you were somepony else" "May I ask who exactly?" Spike enquired, "We are looking for Twilight, have you seen her?" Rarity asked, "No, why?" "Well, Twilight has disappeared" Pinkie Pie explained, "We thought she might have come here" "Sorry guys" Spike replied, shrugging, "I have no clue where Twilight might have gone, but she sure isn't here" Everypony looked up at each other with concerned looks on their faces. "Well, where could she be?" Shining Armour asked. "Not sure sugar, but we'll find her eventually" AppleJack said reassuringly, "Let's not just rush to any conclusions, this is Twilight we are on about" "Yes, I guess you're right AJ" Shining Armour replied. "I think the logical thing to do is wait here" AppleJack continued, "Maybe she'll return?" "Sounds good to me" Rainbow Dash replied. Hours passed and the tension became so thin that you could cut it with a knife. The group seemed to get more and more worried about their friend. "Dear lord, where is that girl?" Rarity said in a huff, "Rarity, please" Fluttershy reasoned, "I'm sure Twilight will return in due time" "That's right!" Rainbow agreed, "Twilight can be very stubborn" "No Rainbow, that's just you" AppleJack laughed, "No, Twilight can be very stubborn" Shining said entering the conversation, "When we were younger she never once asked for help and always found it upon herself to fix her problems" "Well, while we wait maybe we can immerse ourselves into a board game?" Cadence suggested, Pinkie gasped, "A game?!" "Yes a game might lift our spirits" AppleJack continued. All of the ponies began to group together when Fluttershy noticed a bulge in Pinkie's saddlebag, "Umm Pinkie?" "Yes Fluttershy?" "What is in your bag?" "OH!" Pinkie exclaimed, "I almost forgot that I brought cupcakes..." saddened at the thought, "...to give to Twilight after waking up" "Don't worry Pinkie" AppleJack said reassuringly, "Twilight will be fine". "Well if it's all the same to you ponies, I'm going to stay here until she returns" Rainbow announced, "Rainbow is right, I am going to stay here also" Fluttershy said. "Yes, after all we know Twilight" AppleJack spoke up, "When she puts her mind to something is nothing to stop her" "Like that time she locked herself up for two days?" Pinkie questioned, "...To read all those books from Celestia?" Rarity continued. Rainbow and AppleJack nodded, "I still don't understand why she doesn't confide in us" Fluttershy alleged, "Well it's probably because she thinks that you may not think it was serious, like last time" Spike sniggered, all the ponies scowled at the young dragon and then looked down depressed and continued to play the game. The next morning. Twilight was still nowhere to be found and her friends were worried sick by this. "Spike, can you send a message to the princess and find out where she is?" Applejack asked. "Sure AJ can do!" Spike replied, grabbing a quill and some ink, "Okay, shoot" "Dear Princess Celestia," AppleJack began, "Twilight has recently undertaken a strange transformation" "She was checked into hospital" Rainbow continued, "Having been put into a coma" "We contacted Zecora for a cure" Pinkie maintained, "She gave us one which would wake her" "She awoke" Rarity pressed, "But has disappeared" "She hasn't returned and we are all worried" Fluttershy ventured, "We were wondering if you could lend a hoof in helping us locate her" "Your faithful subjects..." All the ponies simultaneously spoke, signing the letter. Once the letter was complete, Spike rolled up the parchment and set it aflame. As the fire burned the parchment it gave off a green flare and the smoke drifted off out the window. They slowly waited for a response from the princess, however nothing came. The group began to grow in anxiety and panic, Applejack let out a heavy sigh "Why hasn't the princess wrote us back yet?" "Maybe she's busy?" Rarity replied, "Yea, okay, 'busy'" AppleJack replied, in a huff "That term that a lot of ponies use" "Don't worry AJ, she'll reply when she gets the chance" Rainbow added. Shining Armour and Cadence looked at each other with worried looks on their faces, "The Princess will reply back" Shining spoke, “Cadence and I think she is still looking for her" "But it's taking for-" Pinkie Pie said only to be cut off by Spike burping up a response. Noticing what Spike had just received caused the group to surround the poor dragon, "Calm down guys, jeez" Spike mumbled, feeling a little claustrophobic, "READ IT READ IT READ IT!" The group shouted, "Okay okay, you ponies are so nosey" Spike said annoyed, clearing his throat, Dear friends of Twilight, I have some good news; I have located my student Twilight. She is currently residing in the Crystal Empire. However I must speak with all of you urgently. That includes you Shining Armour and Cadence. Celestia. "Oh that's a relief!" AppleJack shouted, "She's just there to visit" "Hold on AJ" Spike continued, "I don't like the sounds of her needing to speak with us urgently" "And how does she know we are here" Shining Armour responded. "Yes that is very peculiar" Applejack responded with a sad face. "We should hurry" Rainbow said, "The next train to Canterlot is leaving soon, with this knowledge the group left the library and rushed over to the station catching the next train to Canterlot. ****Canterlot Castle 1 hour later**** The train pulled into Canterlot station, and the ponies could see a lot of commotion outside their carriage. "I wonder what this is about" AppleJack pondered, "Maybe this is why Celestia wanted us to come quickly" Armour answered. The group nodded and stepped out onto the platform. They pushed past the crowds and confronted with violence, Cadence lifted her wings and sent a beam of love towards the violent ponies, causing them to seize their actions. Minutes pass and the ponies ventured deeper into the labyrinth that was the Canterlot marketplace. Going deeper and deeper, they reached the castle gates, pushing them open and stepping inside. They made their way Princess Celestia’s throne, bowing their heads upon sight. "Thank you for coming quickly" Celestia began, “Princess, what’s going on?” Applejack asked. Looking worried, the Princess continued to keep eye contact with the group, “You okay princess?" Pinkie Pie continued "You seem upset”, Celestia sighed, “It’s because I am Pinkie” “Why is that darling?” Rarity asked. The Princess let out a long exhale. “Your friend Twilight Sparkle was found at the Crystal Empire" The Princess explained, "But it seems she has started a reign of chaos over the inhabitants". Everypony gasped in fright, "Wh-What do you mean?!" Shining sobbed, "She wouldn't do anything like this!" “I’m sorry Shining Armor, but it’s the truth” “What do we do Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked. There was a long silence in which the Princess needed to think before she spoke. Minutes passed, and the princess broke the silence with her answer. “Well my little ponies" She began, "I will need you to go the empire and stop Twilight from taking over” “And how are we going to do that?” Rarity asked with a confused look. “Princess Luna is going to go with you" The Princess explained "Using the elements will be useless without the sixth element” “May I ask who’s the one responsible for Twilight’s sudden change?” Applejack asked. The Princess shook her head. “No, sorry Applejack, I do not" “But we can find out fast right?” Applejack continued. “It depends AJ” Celestia started “It just depends” “Sounds good to me!” Pinkie pie said “Cometh quickly!" Luna bellowed, "We must venture forwards quickly!” “Yeah!" Rainbow shouted, "We’ll found out who the little feather causing all this and tear it up!” “Okay sugar, calm down” Applejack began, “C’mon princess, let’s go” The group headed out the twin doors towards the empire. ****The Crystal Empire**** The ponies arrived at the empire within a roaring blizzard, stepping out with a intimidating shiver. “Oh my, it’s cold!” Rarity complained “Some pony get my scarf!” Rainbow Dash, irritated by her whiny friend and the blistering cold began arguing, “Oh boo hoo rarity, get over it!” “Don’t tell me such thing Rainbow Dash!" Rarity protested, "That’s abruptly rude!” “Will you two hush your traps!?” Applejack yelled. “There is no time for fussing, we need to get inside the empire, find Twilight, and fix this mess” Rainbow and Rarity looked down in shame and said “Sorry Applejack”. After a short hug they continued their trek east to the empire. Arriving at the gates, they saw their friend standing defensively, with her horn glowing bright purple. She stretched out a wretched grin and fired a bolt of energy towards to the group. “STOP!” the group shouted at their friend, dodging the bolt. “What in Celestia’s name are you doing?!” Shining Armor asked. No response. “Twilight Sparkle, answer me RIGHT NOW!” Shining Armor yelled slamming his hoof on the ground. For a split second, Twilight snapped out of her trance and spoke two words. "Shining...Help...." Upon speaking these words caused something to snap in her brain, which in turn, caused her to writhe in pain. She gripped at her skull in agony, seeing their friend in turmoil the group stepped forward. "STEP BACK!" Twilight shouted with a deeper voice, stomping on the ground, producing a large shockwave knocking the ponies backwards. Leaning forward she could feel her spine cracking as it elongated, *Crack, Crack, Crack* The Unicorn's legs widened and her jaw shifted. Her horn curvetted upwards and dark magic began to spew from its tip. The dark energy seeped into her hair and coat causing them to change further. Her coat grew smoother and darkened to a shade of Byzantium, whilst her hair grew blacker and blacker, with a streak of Cardinal Red, along with the hatred in her heart. The group of ponies looked on in trepidation, fearing for their friends safety. Twilight lifted her head and gave the group a crimson glare. Her horn brightened and she blasted multiple streams of energy towards the group, causing the ground to begin cracking around each of them. The cracks grew out of control and lifted each individual pony off on different crystalline pillars. All of them looked down in fear, whilst the fliers amongst them stared down Twilight, who had also risen up. "Twilight!" Rainbow shouted, "What are you doing?!", Twilight gave a smug look towards the cyan Pegasus and laughed, "Uhm, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, "I'm sensing a large amount of Dark energy originating from Twilight's mind" Luna spoke, "Such an energy I haven't felt in over a millennia" “Twilight?" Sombra sniggered, "I’m afraid your friend's mind has been disposed of. And there is NOTHING you can do to save her!” “What have you done to Twilight?!” Shining Armor yelled. “Oh nothing really," The king replied, looking at his enthralled hooves. "I've only taken domain within this poor souls mind. Such domain has granted me control over her body, which I shall use to enact my revenge upon all of Equestria." The group looked amongst themselves puzzled. Shining stood between the group pondering on the information his supposed sister had just told him. Sombra pulled on the strings of his puppet, causing Twilight to lift her front legs one by one and turn around. Using his enhanced vision he pinpointed his HVT. A plum shade illuminated from his thrall's horn as he began to conjure a spell. “Revenge? What are you talking about? Who are you?!” Shining Armour belted. The sudden interruption caused the king to curse inwardly. "Are you really that naive? I don't see what the royal family sees in you!" He snarled. The puppets' head turned, its gaze set upon the white stallion over yonder. A slight grin spread across his familiars face, as he commanded Twilight's limbs to turn towards Shining, keeping his minds' eye set upon his target. AppleJack and Rainbow Dash sniggered behind Shining's back before being silenced by the two princesses. Shining looked at Twilight's seemingly lifeless body puzzled. Cadence trotted over to Shining's side. "Shining, dear?" She asked. Shining snapped from his confusion. "Huh, what?" He looked up and saw Cadence with a concerned look on her face, "I'm fine". Luna stepped forward presenting herself before Sombra's thrall. "My name is Princess Luna of the night, sister to Princess Celestia of the sun," she roared, "Who is it that I am addressing?" Sombra turned Twilight's attention towards the secondary speaker. "Ah, Princess Luna of the night, It is a pleasure to see you again. How long has it been? One thousand and two years? It has been too long" Luna looked on blankly, completely speechless. "Oh don't remember me? Pity. I sure remember you and how you banished me away in the ice. Now I am back for a third time..." Whilst distracting the group, Sombra materialized a phantom specter out the back of Twilight's head. The horn protruded through her skull and a beam of pure ghastly energy shot down its line of sight. "...After your sister sent Twilight and her friends to stop me from retaking my rightful place upon the crystal throne, I had to come up with a contingency plan, for the off chance that they would restore the crystal heart back to its original position." Twilight's body began to pace up and down the plinth in which she stood. "Wait...Is that you Sombra?" Luna quivered. "Very clever Luna, you were always the smarter one out of the two of you. And it's King Sombra now." "Oh we are very sorry, Your Majesty," Cadence replied sarcastically, looking up from her enraged husband. Sombra stopped Twilight in her tracks and raised an eyebrow, looking upon the third individual. "Ah, Cadence of Love. The one who my subjects believe to be their new benevolent leader." As the conversation continued on, the group were still none the wiser on what Sombra had planned. The beam continued along its trajectory penetrating the Empire's shields without much loss of momentum. "Once you returned that tainted heart upon its pedestal, the oncoming shockwave completely obliterated my physical being. All that was left of my soul was saved within my horn," Sombra explained. "There I waited, lost and forgotten. Until Twilight here stepped upon the horn which provided the perfect opportunity to find a new host." Shining picked up enough strength to tackle Sombra's silver tongue. Wincing, he questioned Sombra's target. "Twilight is one of the strongest unicorns in all of Equestria! How could you overpower her so easily?" Sombra began to laugh manically, his laughs echoing throughout the chasm below them. "It was actually quite easy. The foal misunderstood the magic which she tried to conjure. She openly allowed me to navigate my way through her subconscious and completely take hold of her while she slept." A soft ringing echoed throughout the valley. All the ponies wreathed in pain, all except King Sombra. For he knew what the ringing signalized. Twilight turned, and the plinths in which the group were residing began to descend. Noticing this, Shining readied himself for a charge. "You won't get away with this," Shining roared. "You really don't see it, do you? For I already have!" Sombra replied as his thrall began to hastily retreat back towards the Empire. Shining looked upon his seven friends, who all nodded. They began to charge forward. Sensing the tremor beneath his hooves, he hit on the brakes causing Twilight to slid 180 degrees. A louder ringing steered its way through the mountain tops, and upon hearing Twilight's subconscious was given a slight jolt. "Stop..." She whispered, tears trickling down her cheek. "I SAID STOP!" She slammed her hooves down upon the ground causing a massive shock wave, cracking the ground into an uneven mess. Only Shining Armour and The Princess of the night were left in any fighting form. The bodies of the others lay injured upon the earth. Shining looked upon the thrall to see her tears pat against the ground. "Twilight..." He murmured. Her pupils then blotted and Sombra regained control, who gave Shining an evil smirk. Luna and Shining charged forward as Sombra lifted Twilight's front hooves upwards. "Behold!" Sombra bellowed. A final screeching sound boomed from the centre of the Empire. A dark violet beam shot into the night sky showering the adjacent landscape with its intense glow. The Crystal Heart rose up, centralizing itself within the beam. "The true power of the Crystal Heart". Upon arriving at the top the Crystal Heart refracted the dark violet beam into multiple rays of light. Shining and Luna edged closer towards Sombra whilst the others slowly began picking themselves up from the crash. Sombra spun Twilight's hind legs across the ground as he bolted further into the Empire, forcing gravel into Shining's face. The white stallion became enraged and picked up his acceleration, sure of the capture of his sister's captor. "You won't get away from me!" Shining exploded. Sombra looked down his line of sight and noticed a beam of light strike up against some pendulous rocks. 'Almost there...I'd better pick up the pace...' he thought. The beam struck against a golden switch in the shape of an eye. As it entered the eye it was deflected by a series of mirrors and was sent skyward as a mist descended around the rocks. The beams travelled along the mist line and re-centered within the Crystal Heart. The mist began to thicken as Twilight launched herself past the pendulous rocks, causing the mist barrier to solidify. Noticing the sudden solidification of the mist, Luna stretched out her wings to reduce her velocity. Shining picked up the pace witnessing Sombra's sudden yet passive halt. Unwavering he leapt forward only for the mist to fully harden. He struck hard against the crystalline bubble which now encased the entire Empire. A surge of current began to flow up through the unicorns' body into his brain. He pushed with all his strength, finally grasping freedom. A small explosion detonated, blasting the unicorn over fifty feet. Shining drifted through the air, plummeting upon the ground. Cadence rushed over to her husband, eyes drenched with tears. “Shining Armor!” she yelled. The group of ponies ran towards to where Shining laid, gasping upon finding him unconscious. Cadence tried to grasp Shining and hold him in her arms, but was given a shock. Tears began to flow from Cadence’s eyes. “No!! This can’t be!” Cadence lay distraught next to her half scorched husband. Rarity and Fluttershy trotted over to comfort her. Whilst Rainbow Dash and AppleJack joined Princess Luna in surveying the barrier now blocking their path. "What are you thinking Princess?" Rainbow asked. Luna's gaze fixated upon the Crystal Heart, now circling the centre of the Empire. "Princess?" AppleJack questioned. Luna snapped from her trance and beckoned the two ponies whom joined her. "I was thinking about somepony" "Who?" Rainbow and AppleJack asked simultaneously, slightly confused. "Sombra...or "King" Sombra" Luna replied. Shining’s eyes opened slightly, and began to speak softly. “Cadence...” The soft echo of Shining's voice drifted towards Cadence over yonder. Her ears perked upon the vibrations collided with her ear drum. "Shining?" Cadence looked over towards her husband, who was writhing in agonizing pain. She trotted over towards him, tears dripping upon the swollen earth. “Shining! You’re going to be fine! Let me help!” Cadence sobbed. “No” Shining spoke, clutching Cadence by the hooves. The Princess’s eyes widened “Wha- What do you mean Shining?” “I took too much damage from that dome, I’m dy...” Shining struggled to spit out his words, taking a gulp he continued. "I'm dying..." “No! don’t say that!” Cadence said, struggling to speak. Shining wrapped his hooves around his wife and spoke softly “Shh, it’s okay Cadence, I’ve done my work here, I’ve had a great life, and I’m glad I lived it with you and my sister and her friends." He gazed upon the barrier in which had forced this burden upon him, "I’m very grateful, listen honey, I know for sure you can stop King Sombra from destroying all of Equestria." Shining howled out in excruciating pain. Cadence noticed a small crystalline shard sticking from his side in which she carefully extracted. Shining took a deep breath and continued. "Twilight is still in there Cadence, I've seen it," Shining explained. "Sombra must be stopped at all costs. Free Twilight from his wrath, with my spirit with you all, together, we can defeat Sombra and save this world...I love you“ Shining's hooves slid from Cadence and hit back down upon the ground, his eyes slowly started to close and finally, the warm breath of the unicorn, stopped. Cadence could only close her eyes, as her tears splashed upon the ground. She could hear the pounding of her heartbeat boom within her skull. She looked towards the heavens and noticed Shining's spirit ascend. Delicately, she spoke six words. “I love you too Shining Armor”
Chapter 1***Ponyville Train Station*** Twilight Sparkle, a young Unicorn was about to leave for The Crystal Empire. Her friends were there with her to wish her a pleasant trip. "Alright Twilight, you're all set!" Applejack said closing her friends saddlebag "Listen Twi, we want you to come home safe and sound 'Ye hear?" "No need to worry Applejack" Twilight replied, "I promise I will return home without a scratch on me" "I do hope so" Pinkie giggled, "I don't want to have to bring out the cupcakes to heal you!" Twilight smiled, "You won't have to, but I would love to have cupcakes though when I come back" Pinkie smiled back "Will do Twilight!" "Oh and if you could" Rarity added "I'm working on a project and would love for you to bring me back crystals if you could please darling" "No problem Rarity, will make sure I have some before I leave" "All ABOARD!!!!" The Conductor shouted "You should get going now sugar" Applejack said hugging her friend. The rest of her friends hugged her, waved goodbye and departed back towards Ponyville. ****The Crystal Empire train station**** As the train arrived at the empire, Twilight looked out the window to find her brother Prince Shining Armour and his bride, Princess Cadence, with big smiles on their faces. "Twi'ly!" Shining Armour shouted "It's so good to see you again kiddo! I missed you soooooo much" The two hugged each other tightly and Twilight began to speak. "It's okay big brother, the last time I was here was like a few months ago" Shining Armour let go of Twilight, still with a smile, replied "I know Twilight, It's just you know, I missed you so much!" Cadence came next to give Twilight a hug embrace. Every time that the two greet, they do their greeting message. "Sunshine, Sunshine, Lady bugs awake, Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Cadence and Twilight laughed, looking towards Armour who was shared in the moment. The three began to head out of the icy chills of the surrounding tundra, into the luscious grassy plains of the empire. "Shining Armour, can I ask you something?" Twilight asked. "Huh?" Shining Armour was confused "Oh, um, What is it little sis?" She took a breath and replied without a notion, "It's about Dark Magic" Shining Armour was caught off guard by her response. "D-Dark Magic?!" there was a unearthly quiver in his voice, "Wha- Why do you want to learn about such magic?" "I-" "Twilight, honey" Cadence said interrupting Twilight, "Listen, Dark magic is full of Dark tricks and lies" "Cadence, I'm just curious on the kind of power and mysteries that it holds, what found me to get into it, is especially about the effects of it that I have noticed, such as the Green eyes and the purple mist around them" Twilight replied with an explanation. "The curiosity and disperse structured me to come here and find a book on it and study it" "Listen Kiddo, Dark Magic is a very dangerous type of intensity, it's way different than just regular magic sweetheart" Shining began "There are consequences to this, and could be serious, such as it can severely harm you" "Listen, I'm fully capable, and plus, I don't plan on doing any type of spell" Twilight defended. Shining and Cadence looked at each other with worried glances; Shining Armour nodded as Cadence responded. "We will allow you to get the book from the crystal library, however, you MUST promise us that you will not do ANY type of spells, okay honey?" Twilight nodded. "I promise I will not practice any type of spells" They arrived at the castle doors, hugged and went inside, all except Twilight who head off to the crystal library. ****Crystal Empire Library**** Twilight entered the library, immediately gazing upon the plethora of knowledge which stood before her. The smell of dusty tomes filled her lungs as she searched for the book she sought. After a long search with no success she admitted defeat over the vast building, and asked the pony clerk for assistance. "May I help you ma'am?" The pony asked. "Yes, I'm looking for a specific book" Twilight replied "Of course, we have many of those" The clerk replied sarcastically, "Any topic this book lies under?" "Oh, sorry, Dark Magic" "Yes, of course" The clerk replied, eyeballing the young mare, "They are down on the bottom level, you shouldn't miss it cause there's a sign on the outside" Twilight started to walk towards the staircase when the clerk spoke from behind. "Beware down there and only take the book in which you seek" Standing at over seventy feet, the library's interior towered over the young mare like a Skyscraper to a small house. After a short search around the cluttered confines of the reading area, she found the location of which her specified book was held. Or so she thought. The big black letters engraved upon a red surface: 'Dark Magic: Beware' Twilight pushed open a metal gating, blocking her path and ventured deep into the forbidden section. Inside lay before her many spectacular sights to behold. Stepping forward she looked over at the overabundance of literature and picked one of them up. Turning the pages she could feel the wind brushing against her mane and then a mighty howling which made her jump in fright. Continuing on through the labyrinth of paper, she saw a peculiar looking lectern in the centre. On closer inspection she noticed the lectern lined in pure gold and encrusted with jewels. It glistened in the darkness, luring her, making her susceptible. Stepping ever close towards the alluring lectern, the sparkles given off began to grow into her mind. Lying upon the lectern was a book, bound in leather, with a purple stripe down it's spine. In large letters spread across the cover spelled out 'The Journal of Venomioum: Volumes 1-5'. Twilight flipped through the pages and found this is the book she required. After her sudden revelation she closed the book and took it from the pedestal. She trotted back through the maze and towards the checkout desk. "Excuse me ma'am?" Twilight began. "May I check out this book?". The clerk looked at the book, eyes gaped wide. With a worried glare, she nodded. "Thank you so much, I appreciate it" Twilight said walking out the doors. ****Crystal Castle 5 minutes later**** Twilight returned from the library, entered through the doors and walked towards her brother and cadence. "So Twi'ly, did they have what you were looking for?" Shining asked. "Yeah, they did, I'm excited too!" Twilight replied. "Don't get to excited now, you made a promise to me and cadence that you won't be doing spells of any kind from that book" Shining replied reminding Twilight. "Yes, I know, but still" "So, how would you like to spend the rest of the day with us?" Shining asked. Twilight's ears perked up with a smile and said "That would be great! I have so many things we can do!" "That's awesome!" Shining replied cheerfully. For the rest of the day, together, shining armour, cadence and Twilight spend it playing games, talking, helping Twilight with her studies on something else and a whole lot of other things. As it seemed that it wouldn't end until a clock's 6:00 P.M bell went off. "Oh, that time already?" Twilight asked. "Yep, time for you to head back to Ponyville little sis" Shining replied, ears perking down. "Don't be sad Big brother! I'll return soon and spend a lot more time together" Twilight replied cheering her brother up. "Twilight, it's been a fun evening spending time with you, it was truly a blessing" Cadence said with a smile. "Let me walk you to the Train station" Shining Armour said wanting to spend a few more minutes with his sister. "Okay" Twilight replied. A Few minutes passed and they arrived the train station. "Gonna miss you kiddo!" Shining said embracing his sister into a hug. "I'll miss you too, but I'll be back soon okay?" Twilight replied returning the hug. The two departed and Twilight headed towards the train. All of a sudden, a sharp pain went up her right hoof and said "Ouch! what the?".She then looked down to find something familiar, but couldn't identify the object which really was King Sombra's horn. She rubbed her hoof and boarded the train and sat down next to the window. Twilight wondered as she looked at the object, trying to identify it, but blew it off and instead looking away from the window to see her right hoof being a little swollen, looking back out the window, Twilight could see that the object disappeared, but it was none of Twilight's concern and the train started to move back home. As the train departed from the station, King Sombra's horn turned to shadow, and followed Twilight back home. As an hour passes, the shadow finally made it's way into the train and hid itself into Twilight's book and a dim glow of purple showed, but Twilight did not notice and was unaware of the king's presence. ****Ponyville Train Station**** The trained pulled up to the station and slowed easily on the railing to the deck of the station. Twilight, looking out the window, saw her 5 friends sitting with smiles. The train stopped and the doors opened, walked out and greeted her friends with much hugging. "So sugar, did you have fun being at the empire with your brother and cadence?" Applejack asked. "Sure did! It was a blast!" Twilight exclaimed happily. "Twilight, I see something sticking out of your saddlebag" Applejack said noticing the bulge comming from her friends saddlebag. "Oh, it's just Rarity's crystals that she asked for" Twilight replied "CRYSTALS?! Thank you Twilight! This will sure make my project magnificent!" Rarity said jumping around her friend. "Not only that Twi, I see something else, what you hiding?" Applejack said questioning her friend. "It's nothing Applejack" Twilight lied. "Twilight, just open your saddlebag and show us what you have in there" Applejack replied not wanting to take no for an answer. Twilight opened her saddlebag, horn lighting up, levitating the book she checked out from the Crystal Empire's Library. All of her friends were shocked to see the black and purple book with the title of it being exposed in front of her friends eyes. Fluttershy whimpered "Twilight, why *gulp* do you have a magic book, on dark magic? "Yea Twi, why do you?" Applejack added "Tell us Twilight!" Rainbow Added as well. "Yea do tell darling" Rarity also added. Twilight sat down on her haunches and explained everything to her friends. They couldn't believe what they were hearing, but they had no control over her in what she does, so all they could do is support her decision. "Twilight, as much as i want to object this idea of yours for learning such magic, I can't change that choice, all I can do is support you, and I will" Applejack said concerned for her friend. "Same here Twilight" Fluttershy added "Me too" Rainbow Added "Same here" Rarity also added "Including me! Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie added also. "I appreciate the concerns guys, but it's my choice, and I also appreciate the support" Twilight replied with a small smile. "Just be careful, okay Twi?" Applejack said with a pleasant voice. Twilight embraced her friend into a hug and spoke "I will, I promise" Pinkie jumped in front only to scare her and say "You pinkie promise?" Twilight performed the Pinkie Pie promise ritual and spoke "I pinkie promise" "Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie replied cheerfully. "Anyway girls, I have to head back to the home, Spike has been by himself all day, and would be thrilled to see me, plus I have work to catch up on" Twilight said. "Remember Twi, be careful" Applejack spoke. "What she said" Rainbow Added "That too" Rarity also added. "Yup" Pinkie said adding to the conversation "See you guys later!" ****Twilight's Library that evening**** Nightfall has just arrived with Twilight finishing the last bit of work she had to do for that afternoon. "Finally!" Twilight began "I can finally start my studies on the book" "Huh, what?" Spike asked. "Oh I forgot to tell you" Twilight pulled out the book from her saddlebag "I checked out this book, it's on dark magic, opinions?" "Well, if it's what Celestia had in mind for you when she said 'moving on to the next level of your studies, then I say, go for it!" Spike encouraged. Twilight grabbed her book and walked up stairs to her bed and began reading. After an hour passes, Twilight get's a thought in her head if she should do practice spells, but remembers quickly on what her old foal sitter Cadence said to her 'Twilight, honey, Dark magic is full of dark tricks and lies' and of course, she was right, it is full of dark tricks, but lies? what lies are there to be found or heard? Twilight shook off the words and began to do what she was told to not do. After a few spells, Twilight began to get dizzy and exhausted. Twilight said to herself "Maybe I should just stop here and get some rest" and let out a exhale. 'Later that Night' Twilight was sound asleep after a long day after a visit to the empire to see her brother and old foal sister princess cadence, also with practice of dark magic, Twilight had no idea that King Sombra, a unicorn that what she thought was defeated, was present in her book next to her bed. Sombra looked at Twilight for a second, and slipped out of the book and crept around the library to make sure that nopony would see on what about Sombra was going to do. Revenge. He then made his move and crept into Twilight's horn only giving a sharp pain to the young mare. "Ow!! Pony Feathers!" Twilight shouted. Spike rose from his slumber due to the whiny shouting of Twilight's voice. He then got up from his bed and jumped onto Twilight's bedside and asked "What's wrong Twilight?" "I don't know spike, at first I'm sound asleep and then the next thing I knew I woke up screaming, and sorry for waking you by the way" Twilight replied. "It's okay Twilight, when your hurt, your my first priority than anything else in the world" Spike replied comforting his companion. Twilight blushed and replied "Thanks spike, that means alot to me" "Here, i'll keep you safe, I will sleep with you for the rest of the night" "I would really appreciate that, thanks spike" Twilight replied. "No problem at all Twilight" Spike replied. They both said goodnight to each other and fell asleep for a better waking. 'The next morning' Twilight rose from her slumber, still with eyes closed, she grabbed her brush and walked to her mirror to brush her mane and tail to start the day, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she let out a scream, "OH MY GOD!! This is bad this is bad this is bad" Twilight began to panic. Spike rose from his slumber and in a quiet voice he asked "What's wrong Twilight?" "Spike, is this normal?" Spike got down from Twilight's bed and walked over to the mirror. "I don't know Twilight, do you mean normal as in every-pony or normal as in you?" Spike said while having a smirk on his face. "Well obviously it's not spike, it's red for pony sake!" Twilight said hovering her hoof above her horn "Oh dear, Twilight, it's bright red!" Spike replied with a worried tone. "I think Zecora may have an answer on this, she knows a lot about mysterious changes" Twilight said "I would do that, I agree though she does know a lot about mysterious magic or well, changes" Spike replied. "Let's just hope she does" ****Zecora's Tree hut 15 minutes later**** "The Redding in your horn is nothing that I am not sure what caused it, for it would seem I've never seen before" "What can I do Zecora? My horn has never been this red before, Not even after doing the Mirror pool return spell multiple times!" Twilight said. "Whatever seems to be troubling you Twilight Sparkle, I do not know what it is you have been through, When did this occurrence of yours, happen?" "Overnight" Twilight replied. "Overnight? Not long I tell, A cure I can try and find, but cannot guarantee" "Please Zecora, Just do the best you can!" "Will try Twilight Sparkle"
Chapter 2****Zecora's Hut**** "Zecora, is there anything you can do to help me?" asked Twilight "I am not sure Twilight Sparkle as I have never seen anything like this before" Zecora replied with a sigh, "Well there has to be something that you can do!" Twilight looked down at her hooves, "I am not sure this is going to get better or worse" "Ah that I can try to find, but please keep in mind, for a cure you see, I cannot guarantee" "I trust you Zecora, please help me and find a cure as quickly as possible!" ****Twilight's Library 1 hour later**** Twilight requested for her friends to come to the library to see if they could help her. The door opened and all of her friends walked in to assist her. "What's the big hurry Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash, hovering above the rest, "I need all of your help, I don't know what's going on, but my horn is red can't you see it?" Twilight panicked. As Twilight revealed her horn, the group gasped. "Twilight, your horn..It's..." Fluttershy whimpered, "Sharper Pinkie sense" Applejack exclaimed, "Oooo, can I touch it? Huh? Can I? Can I?" Pinkie said ecstatically, hovering her hoof over the razor-sharp horn, "If you must" Twilight groaned, Pinkie proceeded to place her hoof on top of the point, piercing her skin, "Y'ouch!" Pinkie screamed, glaring at her swollen hoof, a single stream of blood pouring from her wound. "Something is terribly wrong with my horn, but I can't seem to know what!" Twilight explained "I have never seen anything like it before" she continues to explain her experiences upon her return from the crystal empire. Rarity tried to comfort Twilight, "Oh darling, It doesn't look that bad", giving her friend a hug "I'm sure it'll heal up in no time". "I'm not sure about that Rarity, as each hour passes it only seems to get worse" "If it gets any worse sugarcube, we are here if you need us" AppleJack proceeded, "Okay, I will keep that in mind" Twilight nodded The group agreed with AppleJack and left Twilight alone in the dark. ****Sugarcube Corner**** "I am worried about Twilight Y'all, she seemed in a lot of pain" AppleJack said concerningly, "There must be something we can do to help her" said Fluttershy, "Will cupcakes help her?" asked Pinkie, "You know everything can be fixed with cupcakes" "Pinkie Pie, this is mighty serious, she needs us to help her but I'm not sure how" AppleJack responded. "Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Rainbow exclaimed "Come on, I got an idea!" "And what is this idea of yours Rainbow?" Applejack asked "You guys know that Shining Armour and Princess Cadence live in Crystal Empire right?" "Yeah?" "Well, maybe we should call them to come down here and see if they can help Twilight" "I like your thinking" AppleJack responded "Alright guys, we need to send a message to the Crystal Empire" ****1 hour later**** "Thank you so much for coming down, it means a lot to us, we are very worried about Twilight" Applejack said looking down at the ground, "Well when we were called, we both could tell that something was not right" replied Shining Armour, "Well duhhhhh, we wouldn't call you unless there was something wrong with her, I mean after all you are her brother" Pinkie said giggling "Of course dear, we care about Twilight, she's the closest thing to us and we love her a lot" Cadence said "We did whatever it took to come down here as quickly as possible" "So what seems to be the problem?" Shining Armour asked, "Twilight looks very different than before, her horn has seemed to change shape, it is now curvy and sharp, we don't know what's wrong with her" AppleJack looked up into Shining Armour's eyes, "So we thought we could get you to find out what's wrong with her and fix it if possible" "Applejack is right guys, I mean I touched her horn and it made my hoof bleed" Pinkie pie added. "Alright then, what are we sitting here for? Let's go help Twilight!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. ****Twilight's Library 10 minutes later**** As all of her friends arrived, they saw that no lights were on and the place looked deserted. Slowly a hoof opened the door and stepped in the dark and cold library. "Ohhhhh Twilight!!" Pinkie called out "You in here?" But all she could hear was her own voice, "Hehe, Echo...ECHO..." "Now is not the time for games Pinkie" Rainbow snapped, "Twilight, you here?" Applejack in a worried tone, Still no sound was heard from their friend. "Hmmm, maybe she's not here" said Pinkie Pie. "Well, where could she be?" Rainbow Dash asked. "She could be anywhere" Rarity added. "Well we can't just sit here and wait for her to come back, we need to go find her" Applejack hurried. The group nodded in agreement. ****Central Ponyville**** Every-pony were worried about finding their friend, as they figured she could be anywhere in Equestria. As each minute passed the anxiety grew, and every place they looked led to a dead end. Hours passed and the ponies regrouped, "Any luck?" AppleJack asked, "My furry friends haven't seen her anywhere" Fluttershy replied, "She's not the market" Rarity continued "Oooo, we are never going to find her!" Pinkie Shouted, "We will find her Pinkie, it's just a matter of time" AppleJack replied hugging her friend, "Has anyone seen Rainbow?" "Oh she's still scouring the skies for any sign of Twilight" Fluttershy said, upon finishing Rainbow came crashing down, "Guys, come quick!" she panted "I think I've found her" "WHERE?!?" the rest shouted, "Follow me" Rainbow said pointing her hoof towards Twilight's location. The group followed Rainbow through the town to where their friend lay lifeless on the ground, all of Twilight's friends were in relief as they found her, but when they try to wake her, she didn't move. "Twilight!" AppleJack shouted, "Wake up!" a trickle fell from her eye, "Come on Twilight you have to wake up!" Pinkie said as she began to tear up, no response came. "We got to take her back to the library" Rarity responded "Maybe Shining Armour and Princess Cadence can help her" "I'll carry her" AppleJack said, holding back her tears "Some-pony help me lift her", Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie lifted Twilight's limp body onto her back and they proceeded to walk back to the library as quickly as possible. ****Twilight's Library 5 minutes later**** As the group arrived at the library, they headed upstairs and put their friend gently into bed and called Shining Armour and Princess Cadence to come help. The two headed into the library and AppleJack called them upstairs to where the group surrounded Twilight in her bed. "What's going on dear?" Princess Cadence asked with concern, "I'm not sure Princess, she's not looking too good that's for sure" AppleJack said with a worried tone, "How so?" Shining Armour asked, "Well for one, her horn is a different shape, I mean look!" AppleJack pointed at Twilight's horn and they both looked, "It's all curved, sharp and Redder than usual" Applejack explained, "We also can't seem to wake her" Fluttershy continued, "Hmm, I'll see what I can do for her" Cadence said "Step back", the group stepped back to allow the princess to work her magic. She lowered her horn towards Twilight's head and a bright glow occurred. "Hmm, I have good news and bad news" she said, shaking her head, "Which would you like to hear first?" "Give us the good news" Rainbow said, "Well she is alive, but is unconscious" she explained, "The bad news is that I am unable to find a cause to her current condition", Pinkie jumped up on the bed and shouted "What can we do to help?" "That won't be necessary Pinkie, thank you" Cadence replied, "I will be able to revive her using a conscious spell", the princess conjoined their horns and Twilight began to awake. "Look! She's waking up" Fluttershy said happily, Twilight slowly open her eyes, revealing them to be slightly blood shot, "You okay Twilight?" Applejack asked with concern, Twilight rubbed her head, "I'm not sure, I was walking around town when all of a sudden I blacked out" Twilight explained "I don't remember much after that" "Well the important thing is, is that your safe here, when we saw you on the grass, we tried to wake you, but you didn't wake up so we all got worried and decided to take you home so that you could rest up" Applejack explained. "I have a feeling that Twilight may have broken her promise that she made to me and Cadence" Shining Armour said in a stern voice, Twilight's ears perked down, "Twilight? Did y..?" "Yes, I did, I am so sorry!" Twilight said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I was just so anxious to do spells, I know I promised to not do them but I did them anyway", "I told you it was full of dark tricks and lies!" Princess Cadence said in a angry tone, "But I.." "I am very disappointed in you Twilight, I mean look at you!" Shining Armour turned away from her, "Your body is changing because you were so anxious to use dark magic, or should I call it 'Forbidden Magic', these are the consequences when you don't listen to me, Cadence or any-pony that tells you something bad WILL happen" "I know big brother, and I am really sorry!" Twilight said crying, "I know you are, But all I can say for right now is to get some rest and maybe that'll help, if it doesn't we will get Princess Celestia and Luna to come down and help you, okay kiddo?" Shining Armour replied giving her a hug to calm her down, "Okay Big brother" Twilight said wiping her tears away, "I think it's time for you to head off to bed, it's 10:30 at night" Shining Armour said looking at the clock, "And also, you need to rest up Twilight, it's important that you do so cause that's all we can really do right now" Cadence added. "You both are right, I do need sleep and I am quite worn out myself" Twilight replied, "Well, good night Kiddo" Shining Armour and Princess Cadence both said while giving her a hug goodnight, "Just remember, If you need us we will be right down stairs okay?" Shining Armour said with a smile, "Okay" Twilight Replied, All of the ponies nodded and then went downstairs to go to sleep, Shining armour was the last one to come downstairs only to look back at his little sister sound asleep and then had a smile across his cheeks.
Chapter 3****Twilight's Library the next morning**** As the morning arrived, Shining Armour was the first one to awaken. He stretched his hind legs, and headed upstairs to wake Twilight, who was still sound asleep in her bed. "Wake up Twilight, it's morning" Shining Armor said shaking his sister, quickly noticing that she wasn't waking, he began to panic. "Twilight?", He shook her even more violently, "Twilight!! Wake up!!". The stallions eyes quickly filled with tears as he couldn't wake her from her slumber. Each attempt, there was still no response, Shining Armor looked to see if she was breathing but as he found that she wasn't. "Help!!!" Shining shouted "I need help!!" "What's wrong dear?" Cadence asked yawning, "It's Twilight!" He responded, tears pouring down his cheeks, "I can't hear her breathing" "Oh my, we need to get Twilight to the hospital, and fast!" said Fluttershy, quickly, every-pony took Twilight to the hospital together. Running through the doors of the hospital screaming for help, the nurse ponies responded with due haste as the doctors rolled her into the ER. All the ponies could do was sit and watch their friend being plugged into a machine, which provided her with air and food. "C'mon y'all this is gettin' mighty serious" AppleJack complained, "I agree" Rainbow responded, "I mean come one, first her physical changes, now this?!" "I hope she's going to be okay" Fluttershy blubbered, "She looked awful when she went in there", "I hope so too Fluttershy, but all we can do is just wait and pray for Twilight" ****Ponyville Hospital 2 hours later**** Two hours had passed and still no word on Twilight's status, the group began restless, however a nurse pony came out of the ER with coming news, breaking the tension. "Please, I hope you 'ave some mighty good news there" Applejack said anxiously, "Well, I don't know how I can put this" The nurse-pony said looking down at her hooves, "Would you like the good news or the bad news?" "Oh not this game again" Rainbow complained, "Ooo, I love guessing games!" Pinkie roared, "Is it: Potatoes?" "No..Waffles?" "Ooo I know! 73?!" "Pinkie, shh" Rarity blurted, "Please tell us the good news first", "Well the good news is, your friend is alive" The nurse spoke, every-pony sighed in relief, "You got here just in time, any longer and she would've died." "And the bad news?" Fluttershy whimpered, "Yes, yes, the bad news." The nurse continued, "Your friend is in a coma" All of the ponies simultaneously gasped at the news, "Twilight is in a coma?" Applejack pondered, "But how!?", "We aren't entirely sure" the nurse replied, "But all we can say for now is that she is alive and well" "Th-Thank you nurse" Rarity responded, "Your words are like crystal" "I'm so sorry, I wish there was something else we could do but sadly we can't" The nurse left the group alone in the waiting room. All of Twilight's friends could do nothing but cry their hearts out. When the group finally calmed down, they all asked if they could see Twilight. The nurse nodded and directed them to a private room number 117. "That mighty kind of you nurse" Applejack said. Together, they all entered the room to see Twilight on the bed with her chest slowly rising and dropping, surrounding the bed Applejack was the first one to speak. "Oh Twilight, what has happened to ya?" She said wiping a tear from her eye, "First the physical changes, and now this?" "If only there was something we could do to help Twi" Rainbow responded, "I'm sure we did the best we could for her" Fluttershy said holding AJ in a hug "At least she is alive, that's what matters" "You're right Fluttershy, and Thanks" Applejack said wiping the tears from her eyes. "What can we do Princess?" Rarity asked "Not sure Rarity, I don't have any spells that can help awake Twilight from a coma" Cadence responded "I never knew ponies could get into comas" "Well there has to be something we can do!" Rainbow Dash added. "All we can do now Rainbow, is hope that Twilight awakens from this Coma" Applejack replied. The nurse came into the room and told the group that visiting hours were over. They all went back into the waiting room. "Even if the nurse told us to come back into the waiting room, I'm not leaving her side until she wakes up" Applejack said in a meaningful voice. "Me too" Fluttershy said agreeing with Applejack "Same here" Rarity added "All of us" Cadence said with a smile The ponies nodded and together, they all fell asleep until morning. **The Next Morning** As morning came, Shining Armor woke suddenly, he pushed open the door to Twilights ward. She lay there still, unaware of her surroundings, Shining Armor walked up to her bedside and kissed her on the head, "Twilight, I don't know if you can hear me but, I Love you and I hope that you get out of the coma soon" Shining Armor as tears began to stream down his cheeks, he sat down beside her and never left his sisters side. An hour passed and Cadence walked in to check up on the two siblings, looking up at Shining's tears, "She's going be fine Shining Armor" Cadence said hugging Shining softly, "She will come out of this, I promise she will", returning the hug Shining replied, "I do hope so too" "Come on Shiny, Twilight needs her rest" Cadence said. They both left the room for the young mare to rest rejoining the others in the waiting room, "How's Twilight doing?" Applejack asked, "Well, she's still in a coma" Shining huffed, "But I do hope she gets out of it soon because I can't bare it if something bad happens to her" "As if there any-pony that can fix this kind of situation it is Zecora" Applejack informed. "Well, let's go get her then!" Rainbow Dash shouted. The group agreed. ****2 hours later**** "What is it you need from me?" Zecora asked, Applejack let out a sigh "Zecora, Twilight is in horrible condition" She explained, "Her horn changed shape, her mane is a different colour and her eyes are darker than usual" "Also, she made my hoof bleed when I touched her horn!" Pinkie Pie added, "I am quite aware of the situation" Zecora replied, "You are?" Applejack asked, "Of course Applejack, I see what I see, She came to my hut just a little less then week ago" Zecora explained, "Well to add above that Zecora, she's in a coma", Zecora looked up from her brew with a crude look on her face, "Oh? What has happened?" Zecora questioned, "We don't know, that's what we are trying to figure out" Applejack responded silently, "We were wondering if you had anything that can help us" "Ah yes, a brew I can mix for her to drink and in forty-eight hours she will wake" "Thank you Zecora, and hurry, we need to give her it as soon as possible" Applejack replied. ****1 hour later**** "Here you go, make her drink this brew" AppleJack reached for the bottle, "But beware that this will merely awaken her not cure" Zecora warned, "Yes of course, thank you Zecora" AppleJack took the bottle from the Zebra and the group headed back through the murky forest to help their friend in need. Arriving at the Hospital, they noticed Shining Armour and Cadence at Twilights bedside, "Good news, Zecora was able to concoct a remedy which will awaken Twilight!" Applejack explained "Thank goodness!" Shining replied with a look of joy on his face, "But she won't awaken for two days" Rainbow added, Shining and Cadence looked at each other and nodded, smiling, "That is fine, we shall let her rest knowing full well that she will awaken" Cadence finished, the friends held down each of Twilights limbs, while Shining administered the remedy. He gently opened the mares mouth and poured the liquid down her gullet. Every-pony left the sleeping Twilight to rest. 'The room began to disintegrate, focusing on the comatose mares head as all faded to black' Twilight lifted her head from between her front legs, "Huh?" she said, unaltered, "Where am I?" "You are in the depths of your mind" an eerie voice from the shadows replied, "My domain now" "W-Who's there..?" "Hahahahaaaaa, It's been quite some time hasn't it Twilight Sparkle?" the voice asked, "Who are you? and Where am I?!" Twilight replied shouting at the voice, "You are in your mind, or maybe I should call it MY mind!", "Your mind?, This is my mind! No one touches it BUT ME!" the mare stamped her feet. 'The sudden shock in her neural pattern made Twilight's physical form shake slightly' "Oh?" the mysterious noise came again, "But I am on the verge of taking over your entire body as we speak, you are in what they call a coma" "A...C...Coma?" Twilight stammered, "Yes, you and your hunger to learn drew me here" the shadow continued, "I climbed inside your subconscious once you exhausted that pitiful excuse for a body. Slowly altering your very DNA; your horn curvature, the change of colour in your mane, even the dilation of your eyes were my doing", "But why?!" "Oh, you and your precious princess may have thought you destroyed me in the crystal empire, but part of me survived. You my dear Twilight awakened it". Twilight began to ponder the meaning behind what he was saying, "Destroyed in the crystal empire..." Twilight thought to herself, then it hit her like a ton of bricks, "King Sombra!", "You are correct Twilight Sparkle" the King replied, he stepped out of the shadows, more healthy than ever, and began to encircle the weakening mare, "I will not let you get away with this" Twilight said, dragging herself towards the prowling king, before collapsing. ****Ponyville Hospital the next morning**** Morning surely arrived, all were resting but AppleJack was missing. She snuck into Twilight's room, without waking a soul, to check upon on her friend, finding the mare stirring in her sleep, sweating a lot. She trotted over towards her friends bedside, and patted her forehead with a cloth, "It's okay sugar, all those dreams you are having, I'm sure they aren't bad" Applejack said putting her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. 'The room Darkened' "Taking over all of Equestria?" Twilight huffed, "That's not going to happen!", she fired a bolt of purple fire which dissipated before even reaching King Sombra, "Hahaha" The king cackled, "You really think you can defeat me inside my own domain?!". 'Reality took place again' AppleJack had stayed by Twilight's bedside for the past hour, noticing that her friend was moving violently in her sleep, she called to her, "Twi'? What's wrong?", she realized that Twilight couldn't hear her. The mare knew something was wrong and ran out into the waiting room to get help from her friends, 'The room Darkened' "Is that the best you got?" King Sombra said, unharmed. Completely shattered Twilight conjured every last might in her being and sent a beam of energy in the kings direction. The king countered and sent force lightning which caused Twilight major damage, the repercussions being felt outside of her mind. 'Reality took place' All of Twilight's friends and relatives were sitting in the waiting room, when suddenly AppleJack rushes in, "What's the hurry AppleJack?" Cadence questioned, "Twil...Twilight...Something wrong" AppleJack panted, "What's wrong with Twilight?" Shining Armor asked, "I'm not entirely sure, she just seems to be sweating at an uncontrollable level" Applejack replied, the group looked at each other and followed AppleJack back to Twilight's room to find the mare in a fit, Shining Armor moved over to Twilight's side and put a hoof on her shoulder, not even on the outside could she feel any physical touch, "Some-pony call a nurse in here!" He yelled, a nurse rushed in, and upon seeing Twilight in her current condition she froze, "Ok, every-pony out, doctor she's going into shock!" the nurse ordered, time passed and every-pony began to worry. 'Later' "She's going into cardiac arrest!" one of the nurses shouted, the doctor picked up the defibrillator, "Set it to 100 cc's" he said, the nurse set the charge, "Alright, clear!", he pressed the steel plated electrodes against Twilights chest and the mares body was shocked, "Ok now set it to 200 cc's" the nurse nodded and adjusted the charge, "Alight clear!" again the electrodes came into contact with the mares chest, bringing back her vital signs. All of Twilight's friends looked on in shock and relief to see their friend was safe. "Oh, I do hope Zecora's potion works" Fluttershy said anxiously, "As do I Fluttershy" AppleJack responded, "We just got to sit here and wait", "Come on guys, We need to head into the waiting room" Cadence said. The group agreed and left the ward back out to the waiting room. Forty-Six hours had passed since they have given Twilight the potion. The group entered to visit Twilight once more before they were to head home because the hospital staff were worried about their individual health, they would call if anything arose. "Twilight, I know you are in horrible condition" Shining began, "But we were told that you will be taken care of by the doctors here and that we can go home" Cadence continued, "But I'll be with your brother at sweet apple acres", "Also, they said that they will call us if anything happens to you" Shining Armor added, "I hope you will be okay" Fluttershy included, "Same here sugar" Applejack added, "Same here as well" Rarity said, "Even me" Pinkie Pie added, "We all love you Twilight" Shining finished, "It isn't long until you are out of this coma, but even after that you will still need to be in the hospital for another twenty-four hours so that they can check on you". They all gave Twilight a soft hug goodbye, and they all left the room. **2 Hours later** The doctors entered Twilight's room to check up on her, finding that she was slowly coming to. They left the room and when the door clicked shut, Twilight's eyes sharply opened with a menacing glare while a grin protruded over her face.
Chapter 4- A Mysterious disappearance**A Mysterious disappearance** ****Ponyville Hospital the next morning**** The sun rose upon the horizon, and all were eagerly awaiting Twilight's awakening. Departing from their respective abodes; Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy were waiting outside the hospital ward. Rainbow Dash and AppleJack were finishing up on work in which they had missed in the last couple days. "I wonder what caused Twilight to flip out," Pinkie blurted. "No pony knows Pinkie," Rarity commented. "I do hope she isn't badly hurt," Fluttershy whimpered. "Oh, I'm sure she's alright Fluttershy," Rarity said, laying a hoof upon her shoulder. "This is Twilight we are talking about!" "I guess you're right" Shining Armour and Princess Cadence arrived minutes later to see the trio hugging. "I hope you save enough hugs for Twilight," Cadence commented. "Oh, You betcha!" Pinkie shouted. "Me and Cadence are going to go check and see if Twilight is awake," Armour responded. "Where is Rainbow and AppleJack?" "Those two will be here in a while," Rarity replied. "They have a few errands that they need to tie up, we will wait here for them to arrive" Armour and Cadence nodded and proceeded to enter the hospital. The couple trotted up to the reception. "Hi, my name is Shining Armour and this is my wife Princess Cadence," Armour began. "We were wondering if we were able to see Twilight Sparkle," Cadence continued. The receptionist looked up and blinked. "O-of course," the pony said in shock. "Let me just call a nurse to escort you to her room, Please wait here." Moments passed and a nurse came towards the couple. "Prince Shining Armour and Princess Cadence, is it?" "Yes" both replied. "Please, follow me." Following the nurse they arrived at Twilight's ward. "Thank you" Cadence said gesturing towards the nurse. She opened the door and their jaws dropped, looking upon a bomb site. They entered the room to find that the bed sheets had been stripped, furniture toppled and the window smashed. Searching the room they found no trace of their relative anywhere. "Shining, where is she?" Cadence questioned, Armour looked petrified. "Nurse!" he shouted, the nurse slowly entered. "Y-Yes?” upon seeing the state of the room she gasped. Her horn lit up and then dimmed, "I have just sent out an alert across the hospital in search of her." "Thank you," Armour nodded. "In the mean time we shall search for her elsewhere" Armour and Cadence then exited the hospital to tell the bad news to the others. Pinkie was bouncing around AppleJack and Rainbow Dash, who had just returned. Noticing the returning couple, the group galloped over to hear the news. "So how is Twilight doing?" AppleJack asked. "We have some bad news," Amour replied. A stream of fear filtered through the five friends. "W-What is it?" Fluttershy spoke. "Well, firstly to pick up everyone's spirits," Cadence said, walking besides the friends. "The potion seems to have done the trick and she is awake." A look of relief flustered through all the ponies. "But what of the bad news?" Rainbow questioned. "Well..." "Yes?" the group said simultaneously. "Twilight has disappeared", when these words hit their ear drums, their eye ducts began to swell. Fluttershy began to cry and was comforted by Rarity. "Any idea to where she might have gone?" AppleJack asked. "We hoped you might know," Cadence replied. "I say we check out the library," Rainbow blurted. Everypony nodded and they headed off. ****Twilight's Library 5 minutes later**** The group arrived at the library, hoping to find their friend in a normal state. They knocked on the oak door, to no answer. Louder they knocked, but still to no prevail. "Step out of the way everypony" Rainbow shouted. The ponies stepped aside just as she crashed through; stepping through the door remains everypony looked around the tree dome, finding nothing. "Twilight! you in here?" Pinkie pie shouted, to no response. A cool chill descended upon the inhabitants of the library, "Twilight?" Applejack called out, shivering, “Ye' here?" Still no response. "Okay, so Twilight isn't here" Rainbow Dash said, "What now?" A loud noise echoed through the structure and a voice was heard from the upper levels, "Ow!" a familiar voice yelled, "Who's in here?!" Applejack asked with a higher tone in her voice, "It's Spike!" Spike replied, as if he was being arrested, "What brings you here?" "Oh" Fluttershy sighed, "We thought you were somepony else" "May I ask who exactly?" Spike enquired, "We are looking for Twilight, have you seen her?" Rarity asked, "No, why?" "Well, Twilight has disappeared" Pinkie Pie explained, "We thought she might have come here" "Sorry guys" Spike replied, shrugging, "I have no clue where Twilight might have gone, but she sure isn't here" Everypony looked up at each other with concerned looks on their faces. "Well, where could she be?" Shining Armour asked. "Not sure sugar, but we'll find her eventually" AppleJack said reassuringly, "Let's not just rush to any conclusions, this is Twilight we are on about" "Yes, I guess you're right AJ" Shining Armour replied. "I think the logical thing to do is wait here" AppleJack continued, "Maybe she'll return?" "Sounds good to me" Rainbow Dash replied. Hours passed and the tension became so thin that you could cut it with a knife. The group seemed to get more and more worried about their friend. "Dear lord, where is that girl?" Rarity said in a huff, "Rarity, please" Fluttershy reasoned, "I'm sure Twilight will return in due time" "That's right!" Rainbow agreed, "Twilight can be very stubborn" "No Rainbow, that's just you" AppleJack laughed, "No, Twilight can be very stubborn" Shining said entering the conversation, "When we were younger she never once asked for help and always found it upon herself to fix her problems" "Well, while we wait maybe we can immerse ourselves into a board game?" Cadence suggested, Pinkie gasped, "A game?!" "Yes a game might lift our spirits" AppleJack continued. All of the ponies began to group together when Fluttershy noticed a bulge in Pinkie's saddlebag, "Umm Pinkie?" "Yes Fluttershy?" "What is in your bag?" "OH!" Pinkie exclaimed, "I almost forgot that I brought cupcakes..." saddened at the thought, "...to give to Twilight after waking up" "Don't worry Pinkie" AppleJack said reassuringly, "Twilight will be fine". "Well if it's all the same to you ponies, I'm going to stay here until she returns" Rainbow announced, "Rainbow is right, I am going to stay here also" Fluttershy said. "Yes, after all we know Twilight" AppleJack spoke up, "When she puts her mind to something is nothing to stop her" "Like that time she locked herself up for two days?" Pinkie questioned, "...To read all those books from Celestia?" Rarity continued. Rainbow and AppleJack nodded, "I still don't understand why she doesn't confide in us" Fluttershy alleged, "Well it's probably because she thinks that you may not think it was serious, like last time" Spike sniggered, all the ponies scowled at the young dragon and then looked down depressed and continued to play the game. The next morning. Twilight was still nowhere to be found and her friends were worried sick by this. "Spike, can you send a message to the princess and find out where she is?" Applejack asked. "Sure AJ can do!" Spike replied, grabbing a quill and some ink, "Okay, shoot" "Dear Princess Celestia," AppleJack began, "Twilight has recently undertaken a strange transformation" "She was checked into hospital" Rainbow continued, "Having been put into a coma" "We contacted Zecora for a cure" Pinkie maintained, "She gave us one which would wake her" "She awoke" Rarity pressed, "But has disappeared" "She hasn't returned and we are all worried" Fluttershy ventured, "We were wondering if you could lend a hoof in helping us locate her" "Your faithful subjects..." All the ponies simultaneously spoke, signing the letter. Once the letter was complete, Spike rolled up the parchment and set it aflame. As the fire burned the parchment it gave off a green flare and the smoke drifted off out the window. They slowly waited for a response from the princess, however nothing came. The group began to grow in anxiety and panic, Applejack let out a heavy sigh "Why hasn't the princess wrote us back yet?" "Maybe she's busy?" Rarity replied, "Yea, okay, 'busy'" AppleJack replied, in a huff "That term that a lot of ponies use" "Don't worry AJ, she'll reply when she gets the chance" Rainbow added. Shining Armour and Cadence looked at each other with worried looks on their faces, "The Princess will reply back" Shining spoke, “Cadence and I think she is still looking for her" "But it's taking for-" Pinkie Pie said only to be cut off by Spike burping up a response. Noticing what Spike had just received caused the group to surround the poor dragon, "Calm down guys, jeez" Spike mumbled, feeling a little claustrophobic, "READ IT READ IT READ IT!" The group shouted, "Okay okay, you ponies are so nosey" Spike said annoyed, clearing his throat, Dear friends of Twilight, I have some good news; I have located my student Twilight. She is currently residing in the Crystal Empire. However I must speak with all of you urgently. That includes you Shining Armour and Cadence. Celestia. "Oh that's a relief!" AppleJack shouted, "She's just there to visit" "Hold on AJ" Spike continued, "I don't like the sounds of her needing to speak with us urgently" "And how does she know we are here" Shining Armour responded. "Yes that is very peculiar" Applejack responded with a sad face. "We should hurry" Rainbow said, "The next train to Canterlot is leaving soon, with this knowledge the group left the library and rushed over to the station catching the next train to Canterlot. ****Canterlot Castle 1 hour later**** The train pulled into Canterlot station, and the ponies could see a lot of commotion outside their carriage. "I wonder what this is about" AppleJack pondered, "Maybe this is why Celestia wanted us to come quickly" Armour answered. The group nodded and stepped out onto the platform. They pushed past the crowds and confronted with violence, Cadence lifted her wings and sent a beam of love towards the violent ponies, causing them to seize their actions. Minutes pass and the ponies ventured deeper into the labyrinth that was the Canterlot marketplace. Going deeper and deeper, they reached the castle gates, pushing them open and stepping inside. They made their way Princess Celestia’s throne, bowing their heads upon sight. "Thank you for coming quickly" Celestia began, “Princess, what’s going on?” Applejack asked. Looking worried, the Princess continued to keep eye contact with the group, “You okay princess?" Pinkie Pie continued "You seem upset”, Celestia sighed, “It’s because I am Pinkie” “Why is that darling?” Rarity asked. The Princess let out a long exhale. “Your friend Twilight Sparkle was found at the Crystal Empire" The Princess explained, "But it seems she has started a reign of chaos over the inhabitants". Everypony gasped in fright, "Wh-What do you mean?!" Shining sobbed, "She wouldn't do anything like this!" “I’m sorry Shining Armor, but it’s the truth” “What do we do Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked. There was a long silence in which the Princess needed to think before she spoke. Minutes passed, and the princess broke the silence with her answer. “Well my little ponies" She began, "I will need you to go the empire and stop Twilight from taking over” “And how are we going to do that?” Rarity asked with a confused look. “Princess Luna is going to go with you" The Princess explained "Using the elements will be useless without the sixth element” “May I ask who’s the one responsible for Twilight’s sudden change?” Applejack asked. The Princess shook her head. “No, sorry Applejack, I do not" “But we can find out fast right?” Applejack continued. “It depends AJ” Celestia started “It just depends” “Sounds good to me!” Pinkie pie said “Cometh quickly!" Luna bellowed, "We must venture forwards quickly!” “Yeah!" Rainbow shouted, "We’ll found out who the little feather causing all this and tear it up!” “Okay sugar, calm down” Applejack began, “C’mon princess, let’s go” The group headed out the twin doors towards the empire. ****The Crystal Empire**** The ponies arrived at the empire within a roaring blizzard, stepping out with a intimidating shiver. “Oh my, it’s cold!” Rarity complained “Some pony get my scarf!” Rainbow Dash, irritated by her whiny friend and the blistering cold began arguing, “Oh boo hoo rarity, get over it!” “Don’t tell me such thing Rainbow Dash!" Rarity protested, "That’s abruptly rude!” “Will you two hush your traps!?” Applejack yelled. “There is no time for fussing, we need to get inside the empire, find Twilight, and fix this mess” Rainbow and Rarity looked down in shame and said “Sorry Applejack”. After a short hug they continued their trek east to the empire. Arriving at the gates, they saw their friend standing defensively, with her horn glowing bright purple. She stretched out a wretched grin and fired a bolt of energy towards to the group. “STOP!” the group shouted at their friend, dodging the bolt. “What in Celestia’s name are you doing?!” Shining Armor asked. No response. “Twilight Sparkle, answer me RIGHT NOW!” Shining Armor yelled slamming his hoof on the ground. For a split second, Twilight snapped out of her trance and spoke two words. "Shining...Help...." Upon speaking these words caused something to snap in her brain, which in turn, caused her to writhe in pain. She gripped at her skull in agony, seeing their friend in turmoil the group stepped forward. "STEP BACK!" Twilight shouted with a deeper voice, stomping on the ground, producing a large shockwave knocking the ponies backwards. Leaning forward she could feel her spine cracking as it elongated, *Crack, Crack, Crack* The Unicorn's legs widened and her jaw shifted. Her horn curvetted upwards and dark magic began to spew from its tip. The dark energy seeped into her hair and coat causing them to change further. Her coat grew smoother and darkened to a shade of Byzantium, whilst her hair grew blacker and blacker, with a streak of Cardinal Red, along with the hatred in her heart. The group of ponies looked on in trepidation, fearing for their friends safety. Twilight lifted her head and gave the group a crimson glare. Her horn brightened and she blasted multiple streams of energy towards the group, causing the ground to begin cracking around each of them. The cracks grew out of control and lifted each individual pony off on different crystalline pillars. All of them looked down in fear, whilst the fliers amongst them stared down Twilight, who had also risen up. "Twilight!" Rainbow shouted, "What are you doing?!", Twilight gave a smug look towards the cyan Pegasus and laughed, "Uhm, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, "I'm sensing a large amount of Dark energy originating from Twilight's mind" Luna spoke, "Such an energy I haven't felt in over a millennia" “Twilight?" Sombra sniggered, "I’m afraid your friend's mind has been disposed of. And there is NOTHING you can do to save her!” “What have you done to Twilight?!” Shining Armor yelled. “Oh nothing really," The king replied, looking at his enthralled hooves. "I've only taken domain within this poor souls mind. Such domain has granted me control over her body, which I shall use to enact my revenge upon all of Equestria." The group looked amongst themselves puzzled. Shining stood between the group pondering on the information his supposed sister had just told him. Sombra pulled on the strings of his puppet, causing Twilight to lift her front legs one by one and turn around. Using his enhanced vision he pinpointed his HVT. A plum shade illuminated from his thrall's horn as he began to conjure a spell. “Revenge? What are you talking about? Who are you?!” Shining Armour belted. The sudden interruption caused the king to curse inwardly. "Are you really that naive? I don't see what the royal family sees in you!" He snarled. The puppets' head turned, its gaze set upon the white stallion over yonder. A slight grin spread across his familiars face, as he commanded Twilight's limbs to turn towards Shining, keeping his minds' eye set upon his target. AppleJack and Rainbow Dash sniggered behind Shining's back before being silenced by the two princesses. Shining looked at Twilight's seemingly lifeless body puzzled. Cadence trotted over to Shining's side. "Shining, dear?" She asked. Shining snapped from his confusion. "Huh, what?" He looked up and saw Cadence with a concerned look on her face, "I'm fine". Luna stepped forward presenting herself before Sombra's thrall. "My name is Princess Luna of the night, sister to Princess Celestia of the sun," she roared, "Who is it that I am addressing?" Sombra turned Twilight's attention towards the secondary speaker. "Ah, Princess Luna of the night, It is a pleasure to see you again. How long has it been? One thousand and two years? It has been too long" Luna looked on blankly, completely speechless. "Oh don't remember me? Pity. I sure remember you and how you banished me away in the ice. Now I am back for a third time..." Whilst distracting the group, Sombra materialized a phantom specter out the back of Twilight's head. The horn protruded through her skull and a beam of pure ghastly energy shot down its line of sight. "...After your sister sent Twilight and her friends to stop me from retaking my rightful place upon the crystal throne, I had to come up with a contingency plan, for the off chance that they would restore the crystal heart back to its original position." Twilight's body began to pace up and down the plinth in which she stood. "Wait...Is that you Sombra?" Luna quivered. "Very clever Luna, you were always the smarter one out of the two of you. And it's King Sombra now." "Oh we are very sorry, Your Majesty," Cadence replied sarcastically, looking up from her enraged husband. Sombra stopped Twilight in her tracks and raised an eyebrow, looking upon the third individual. "Ah, Cadence of Love. The one who my subjects believe to be their new benevolent leader." As the conversation continued on, the group were still none the wiser on what Sombra had planned. The beam continued along its trajectory penetrating the Empire's shields without much loss of momentum. "Once you returned that tainted heart upon its pedestal, the oncoming shockwave completely obliterated my physical being. All that was left of my soul was saved within my horn," Sombra explained. "There I waited, lost and forgotten. Until Twilight here stepped upon the horn which provided the perfect opportunity to find a new host." Shining picked up enough strength to tackle Sombra's silver tongue. Wincing, he questioned Sombra's target. "Twilight is one of the strongest unicorns in all of Equestria! How could you overpower her so easily?" Sombra began to laugh manically, his laughs echoing throughout the chasm below them. "It was actually quite easy. The foal misunderstood the magic which she tried to conjure. She openly allowed me to navigate my way through her subconscious and completely take hold of her while she slept." A soft ringing echoed throughout the valley. All the ponies wreathed in pain, all except King Sombra. For he knew what the ringing signalized. Twilight turned, and the plinths in which the group were residing began to descend. Noticing this, Shining readied himself for a charge. "You won't get away with this," Shining roared. "You really don't see it, do you? For I already have!" Sombra replied as his thrall began to hastily retreat back towards the Empire. Shining looked upon his seven friends, who all nodded. They began to charge forward. Sensing the tremor beneath his hooves, he hit on the brakes causing Twilight to slid 180 degrees. A louder ringing steered its way through the mountain tops, and upon hearing Twilight's subconscious was given a slight jolt. "Stop..." She whispered, tears trickling down her cheek. "I SAID STOP!" She slammed her hooves down upon the ground causing a massive shock wave, cracking the ground into an uneven mess. Only Shining Armour and The Princess of the night were left in any fighting form. The bodies of the others lay injured upon the earth. Shining looked upon the thrall to see her tears pat against the ground. "Twilight..." He murmured. Her pupils then blotted and Sombra regained control, who gave Shining an evil smirk. Luna and Shining charged forward as Sombra lifted Twilight's front hooves upwards. "Behold!" Sombra bellowed. A final screeching sound boomed from the centre of the Empire. A dark violet beam shot into the night sky showering the adjacent landscape with its intense glow. The Crystal Heart rose up, centralizing itself within the beam. "The true power of the Crystal Heart". Upon arriving at the top the Crystal Heart refracted the dark violet beam into multiple rays of light. Shining and Luna edged closer towards Sombra whilst the others slowly began picking themselves up from the crash. Sombra spun Twilight's hind legs across the ground as he bolted further into the Empire, forcing gravel into Shining's face. The white stallion became enraged and picked up his acceleration, sure of the capture of his sister's captor. "You won't get away from me!" Shining exploded. Sombra looked down his line of sight and noticed a beam of light strike up against some pendulous rocks. 'Almost there...I'd better pick up the pace...' he thought. The beam struck against a golden switch in the shape of an eye. As it entered the eye it was deflected by a series of mirrors and was sent skyward as a mist descended around the rocks. The beams travelled along the mist line and re-centered within the Crystal Heart. The mist began to thicken as Twilight launched herself past the pendulous rocks, causing the mist barrier to solidify. Noticing the sudden solidification of the mist, Luna stretched out her wings to reduce her velocity. Shining picked up the pace witnessing Sombra's sudden yet passive halt. Unwavering he leapt forward only for the mist to fully harden. He struck hard against the crystalline bubble which now encased the entire Empire. A surge of current began to flow up through the unicorns' body into his brain. He pushed with all his strength, finally grasping freedom. A small explosion detonated, blasting the unicorn over fifty feet. Shining drifted through the air, plummeting upon the ground. Cadence rushed over to her husband, eyes drenched with tears. “Shining Armor!” she yelled. The group of ponies ran towards to where Shining laid, gasping upon finding him unconscious. Cadence tried to grasp Shining and hold him in her arms, but was given a shock. Tears began to flow from Cadence’s eyes. “No!! This can’t be!” Cadence lay distraught next to her half scorched husband. Rarity and Fluttershy trotted over to comfort her. Whilst Rainbow Dash and AppleJack joined Princess Luna in surveying the barrier now blocking their path. "What are you thinking Princess?" Rainbow asked. Luna's gaze fixated upon the Crystal Heart, now circling the centre of the Empire. "Princess?" AppleJack questioned. Luna snapped from her trance and beckoned the two ponies whom joined her. "I was thinking about somepony" "Who?" Rainbow and AppleJack asked simultaneously, slightly confused. "Sombra...or "King" Sombra" Luna replied. Shining’s eyes opened slightly, and began to speak softly. “Cadence...” The soft echo of Shining's voice drifted towards Cadence over yonder. Her ears perked upon the vibrations collided with her ear drum. "Shining?" Cadence looked over towards her husband, who was writhing in agonizing pain. She trotted over towards him, tears dripping upon the swollen earth. “Shining! You’re going to be fine! Let me help!” Cadence sobbed. “No” Shining spoke, clutching Cadence by the hooves. The Princess’s eyes widened “Wha- What do you mean Shining?” “I took too much damage from that dome, I’m dy...” Shining struggled to spit out his words, taking a gulp he continued. "I'm dying..." “No! don’t say that!” Cadence said, struggling to speak. Shining wrapped his hooves around his wife and spoke softly “Shh, it’s okay Cadence, I’ve done my work here, I’ve had a great life, and I’m glad I lived it with you and my sister and her friends." He gazed upon the barrier in which had forced this burden upon him, "I’m very grateful, listen honey, I know for sure you can stop King Sombra from destroying all of Equestria." Shining howled out in excruciating pain. Cadence noticed a small crystalline shard sticking from his side in which she carefully extracted. Shining took a deep breath and continued. "Twilight is still in there Cadence, I've seen it," Shining explained. "Sombra must be stopped at all costs. Free Twilight from his wrath, with my spirit with you all, together, we can defeat Sombra and save this world...I love you“ Shining's hooves slid from Cadence and hit back down upon the ground, his eyes slowly started to close and finally, the warm breath of the unicorn, stopped. Cadence could only close her eyes, as her tears splashed upon the ground. She could hear the pounding of her heartbeat boom within her skull. She looked towards the heavens and noticed Shining's spirit ascend. Delicately, she spoke six words. “I love you too Shining Armor”
