A Hollow Nightmare
Things in life aren't always as they seem normally. You have sweet and innocent angels with dark and horrifying pasts and vice versa; there are demons with positive pasts that have somewhere gone off the hypothetical rails of this so called "life." There are a number of beings that appear to be bright and kindhearted on the outside, projecting that to others around them. But, as stated prior, things in life aren't always as they seem normally.
"Why should I apologize for being the monster you helped create?"
Sound familiar? How about another try then?
"Why don't you go out and make some friends? Why do you spend all day stuck inside your room?"
That has to sound familiar to some of you. Why don't we try one more time?
"Why are you socially weird? Why do you even try?"
"Why don't you kill yourself?"
Surely a button was pressed with that question.
Well, friends, death is a punishable crime. I kill myself, you get blamed. Easy is as easy does. Or so it seems…
Hypothetically speaking, let's assume that I, the author, killed myself right now. Because of how this story was published, none of you would be reading this right now. What would I have left behind as my legacy? Well, it's a small list, but a list nonetheless: cancer survivor, high school graduate, cartoonist, author, semi-professional gamer, and a former caregiver. Should I die at the present moment, there are forty-nine stories I would leave behind, eighty videos, a successful page, and a successful channel with over twenty-five thousand subscribers. Would anyone bat an eye? No. Would anyone notice? Probably not at the start.
I can already foresee some reviews saying, "What exactly are you getting at?" Well, friends, what I am "getting at" is the fact that life isn't all fun and games. Some of us do have to learn when to grow up, but more importantly, some of us have to learn how to deal with those little emotions we all have in us, even if the emotions seem horrifying. If tomorrow, a gangbanger gets shot or a truckload of soldiers blow up, nobody will panic. But, if one little old politician dies, well then everyone loses their minds!
Ergo, we finally start the story. Location: Equestria. Time: Shortly before Twilight received her wings. Ruler: Celestia.
Let's get started.
"…and although my achievements were in bulk, there is only one thing I wish I could have done."
Here she was, at the small desk in her room on the second floor of her home. She was by herself as her assistant went to sleep for the night. It was dark, stormy, and cold out tonight.
Here she was, pacing back and forth, writing a letter to her professor and mentor. In the letter was many words, letters, periods, commas, and, very subtly, a confession. She was driven to madness over time. Her original assignment was to learn from them, but the new assignment was disturbing; disturbing to the point where she questioned her mentor's logic and thinking.
What is she thinking? She thought to herself. Why do this? Why now?
Her pacing woke her assistant up. He looked over to her and asked what she was doing.
"Nothing," she lied, not facing him, "I just couldn't fall asleep."
He stared back at her, dreary eyed and all. "What is really going on?"
"Nothing," she snapped. She stopped in her tracks and finally found the courage to turn around and face him.
He motioned backwards in his bed, staring blankly at his family. In reality, she was his mother, even though they were nothing alike. He was a dragon; she was a unicorn. Unicorns don't give birth to dragons, but she was there from the moment he was born, so he considered her to be his mother, though he never told her that. He finally rose and walked over to her slowly and carefully.
"What has you acting like this?" He asked.
She towered over him, not even motioning her head downward to meet his eyes and make contact with them. She frowned at him, not even moving an inch.
"It's nothing," she finally answered.
He reached out and hugged his mother tightly. He knew that she needed comfort every now and then as well and gladly offered it to her when she needed it most. Usually, it worked to the point where she would confess. Tonight, however, things seemed off. She hugged him back, but she wouldn't budge in confessing her troubles to him.
Deep down, she didn't want him to know what was now assigned to her. She felt that he wouldn't understand it completely. He was still considered to be a baby dragon, after all.
Should I tell him? She conflicted with herself. Would he understand?
"You can tell me," he insisted, "I'll listen."
"I don't know," she replied, pausing for a long, long time to reflect and balance her options.
"If you'd like," he continued, "you can tell me in the morning."
She finally made eye contact with him. She nodded at him slowly, promising to reveal the origins to her troubles at some point tomorrow morning. As she levitated him back to his bed, she tucked him in and kissed his forehead. She told him goodnight, then went back to her letter.
"Don't go to bed late." He called to her.
"I won't," she naturally responded, although she wasn't too sure of the legitimacy of her response.
She took her letter down to the foyer and continued working on it, reading it and rereading it, even re-rereading it. She wanted to make sure that what she wrote made sense to her. She took a quill and started writing some more on her letter.
"It is of the utmost disappointment, unbearable, chagrin, disillusionment…" She stopped, collecting her emotions that were just poured out in the last four words of her letter. She sighed, staring out the window for a brief period of time.
She stared at the full moon for a long time. It was for hours that she stared at it, eventually resulting in her going outside to get some fresh air, although it was brisk during this time of the night. She sat down on her front porch, which was a stair in reality, as she stared at the full moon. She stared longer at it than she thought, being drawn in by the bright and soothing light that was being given off by the moon.
In short, she could see her reflection in the moon. It wasn't an actual one per se, but she could see a reflection in the moon. Thoughts swarmed into her mind as she remembered her reassignment. The moment she met her friends; the moment she met her assistant; the moment she was accepted as a student; the moment she learned magic; the moment she learned how to walk; the moments she shared with her brother; and the moments she spent with her parents long ago.
Things were looking grim for her as she stared longer at the full moon. She began wondering what time it was and looked back inside to the clock that was perched over a fireplace in the foyer. She noticed that it had stopped moving with its arms clocked at 5:28 in the morning. She sighed, then went to check another clock, this one being in her bedroom. She noticed that this clock had also stopped moving, arms clocked at 5:28 in the morning as well.
"What's going on?" She whispered. "Why has time come to a standstill?"
She looked around for clues, mainly the moon, and was struck with fear when a giant shadow stopped in front of the moon. She rushed outside and saw that there was nothing to fear. The giant shadow was just an illusion created by point of view and positioning. Outside, the ruler of the moon stood firmly on the ground, awaiting for the pupil to come outside.
"Princess Luna?" She gasped as she left the safety of her home.
"Twilight Sparkle," the beautiful princess of the night replied, "how art thou?"
"Okay, I suppose," she answered, "but what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting ready for bringing in the new day?"
"We wish we were," the princess said, "but we aren't here on the basis of happy news."
"What's happened?" the petite purple unicorn asked.
"Something terrible has happened to our sister," Princess Luna stated, "she is acting like we once did many moons ago."
"What do you mean?"
"She's becoming corrupted like we once were." Princess Luna explained.
"Corrupted?" Twilight repeated. "But how?"
"We aren't too sure," admitted Princess Luna, "but we nary a moment to offer. We must approach her now."
Without being given a chance to respond, Princess Luna teleported herself and Twilight elsewhere, although it wasn't to Canterlot, where Luna and her sister ruled together. They teleported elsewhere in Twilight's current home town – Ponyville – hoping to gather her friends together. If they were together, there could be a chance that Princess Luna's sister, Princess Celestia, could be saved.
Twilight looked around nervously, then started realizing where they now were. To her left was a barn and to her right were some apple trees. Twilight knew where she was. She was at the home of one of her best friends – honesty. It was the home of Applejack, Sweet Apple Acres. She looked back at Princess Luna and was confused slightly.
"Why are we here?" She asked instinctively.
"Gather your friends," advised Princess Luna, "if they're all together, we might be able to save our sister."
"I understand," nodded Twilight as she ran towards the dark barn.
As she ran, thoughts swarmed into her mind. These weren't her thoughts; rather, they were the thoughts of her mentor. They were sent to her telepathically and swarmed and attacked her mind, trying to persuade her to abandon hope and join the side of the corrupted; the side of Solar Flare, Nightmare Moon, and others.
There is no hope, she cried, things will get worse!
"No they won't!" Twilight responded, yelling into thin air.
All is lost, she continued, you are out of time!
"No it hasn't!" Twilight remarked, still barking at thin air.
A light turned on from inside the barn and a shadow could be seen moving from the left side of the room to the right side of the room. Meanwhile, the conflicting voices were still trying to grab Twilight and her sense of credibility.
Join us…join us and destroy everything you ever loved!
"I will never join you!" Twilight defiantly spoke.
The main light to the barn lit up, but Twilight didn't notice this. The shadowy figure from before stood before the entrance to the barn and called out to Twilight, trying to get her attention.
You aren't loved by them, her mentor continued, they'll abandon you at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the town allows them to be.
"You're wrong!" Twilight snapped. "They would never do that to me."
"Twilight!"
Twilight finally turned around and noticed the shadowy figure standing in the barn. The figure moved out into the field and as the light grew further and further away, it was revealed to be honesty indeed. It was Applejack and she appeared to be surprised by Twilight and her recent actions.
"What in Equestria are ya doin' here this late at night?" Applejack asked.
Twilight looked around, trying to reconfigure herself with where she presently was, then finally bucked up and answered the orange earth pony's question.
"I need your help, Applejack," Twilight said.
"With what?"
Princess Luna flew in from above. "We need thou's help with our sister."
"What's wrong?" Applejack replied.
"No time to explain," Princess Luna admitted as she used her magic to teleport herself, Twilight, and Applejack elsewhere in Ponyville. Princess Luna looked around, locating a nearby building. "We're here."
"Where?" Applejack asked. She looked around and noticed the same building Princess Luna was staring at. "Rarity's home?"
"Get her." Princess Luna instructed. She then flew into the sky quickly. "We shall gather the rest of thy friends!" With that, she flew away.
Twilight and Applejack glanced towards each other. They were completely left in the dark – no pun intended – with what was really going on. They said nothing towards each other and turned towards Rarity's home; the Carousel Boutique. The lights were off and crickets were chirping nearby, but as the duo approached the door, Twilight's mind once again was swarmed by her mentor's thoughts. They were trying to corrupt her once more.
She left you! Abandon them while you still can!
"No." Twilight muttered.
Applejack's ears twitched slightly. "What's that, sugar cube?"
Twilight shook her head vigorously. "It was nothing."
"If y'all say so then," replied the farm gal. She knocked on the door quite heavily, immediately being answered with a light turning on on the second floor.
The voices kept at it in Twilight's mind. They would not let up.
Leave them, she yelled, NOW!
"I won't!" Twilight snapped.
"Twilight!" Applejack called, started by her friend's random outburst.
Twilight didn't hear Applejack's call. She kept on addressing the voices inside her head. "Get out! Leave me at once!"
Oh, that won't happen at all! You see, we are all powerful! You ran out of time! You'll see once you get here!
"Leave!" Twilight demanded. "Now!"
"But why!?" Applejack replied.
Twilight shook her head once more, then realigned herself again. She apologized to Applejack, but Applejack wasn't sold on the apology quite just yet.
"Twilight," Applejack sighed, "is somethin' botherin' ya?"
Twilight wanted to be truthful with her friend – one of her greatest friends – but she couldn't find the strength to come up with the truth. Instead, she lied directly to Applejack.
"I'm fine," she lied.
"No, you're not." Applejack remarked. She rested a hoof onto her friend's shoulder. "You can tell me, Twilight. I won't tell anypony."
But Twilight couldn't tell her or anypony. There was something deep inside Twilight that managed to convince her that this problem went against her moral values and beliefs. She couldn't find the strength to tell anypony.
Without answering, the door between Applejack, Twilight, and Rarity had opened up. Rarity revealed herself to the unicorn and earth pony and was shocked to see them so late at night.
"What are you both doing here?" She curiously asked.
"Never mind that," Twilight said, rushing away, "we need to find Princess Luna at once!"
Applejack and Rarity were both hesitant, but ultimately followed Twilight into the dark and ominous Ponyville. They ran behind Twilight and noticed that she shad come to a complete stop in the middle of the town.
"I won't bow to the likes of you!" Twilight burst out randomly. She swung a hoof at the open air.
"Twilight!" Applejack called.
"What's wrong!?" Rarity added.
"You won't prevail!" Twilight snapped, ignoring Rarity and Applejack.
Rarity and Applejack reached out to help out Twilight, but it was no good. Twilight was consumed by her mentor's thoughts; they swarmed her brain and were nearly taking over her existence. Twilight, trying to fight against the urge to fall, swung hooves through the air, flailing about. Rarity and Applejack tried holding Twilight down, but when Twilight sent them away with a magical force field, there was nothing else that they could do.
Just then, Princess Luna had reappeared with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, gliding down from the sky in a hurry. She stopped in front of Twilight and rested her front hooves on her shoulders. Princess Luna tried snapping some sense into Twilight, trying to bring her back into reality and away from her own clouded mind. Twilight, not even noticing who was rigorously shaking her, sent Luna away with the same force field she used against Rarity and Applejack. The four ponies were concerned for Twilight, but were even more petrified for Luna. They all neared Princess Luna, asking if she were alright.
"We're fine," Princess Luna answered, "but we need to stop her from spiraling out of control."
How cute, Twilight's mentor beamed in Twilight's mind, they really think that they can stop me!?
"Twilight," Rainbow Dash called, tackling Twilight to the ground, "snap out of it!"
That got Twilight's undivided attention. "Huh? Wha-what?"
"Finally…" sighed Rainbow Dash.
"What happened?" Twilight asked.
"No time for that," Princess Luna replied, "we need to move now!"
"Move whe-?"
Not even having the chance to finish her question, Princess Luna teleported Twilight and her friends to the base of the Canterlot Castle. Twilight looked around, taking in the surrounding area, then noticed that something wasn't right.
"Princess Luna," Twilight began, "where is Pinkie Pie?"
Princess Luna didn't even answer as she escorted everyone inside the castle to face her sister, Solar Flare. Twilight, growing even more nervous and cautious, asked Princess Luna again where Pinkie Pie was.
"Never you mind that, Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna replied, taking the group of friends up the stairs to the door of the throne room.
"Why not?" Twilight questioned. She insisted that she know where Pinkie Pie was; why she wasn't there with them currently.
"An explanation will be given later." Princess Luna boldly stated.
Twilight wasn't the slightest bit lessened in terms of emotion due to the lack of an answer. Surrounded by her friends, she began wondering why she was the only one who questioned the whereabouts of Pinkamena Diane Pie, one of their closest friends.
The group slowly entered the throne room only to be greeted to an empty room. Solar Flare was nowhere to be found, neither were any guards. As the group plunged forward, things started getting darker than they usually were. Twilight turned around and noticed that she was now all alone.
"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight called.
There was no response given; only silence.
"Fluttershy?"
Again, silence filled the room in an eerie fashion.
"Rarity?" Twilight continued. "I know you're here with me."
But alas, Rarity was not there; not anymore.
"Applejack?" Twilight cried. "Somepony please answer me!"
Silence answered Twilight, nothing but silence.
"Princess Luna?"
Not even the princess answered Twilight's call for help. Twilight was abandoned in the dark room all by herself. Just then, Solar Flare approached the dismantled unicorn from the depths of the shadows and smirked slyly at her. She started pacing around Twilight, trying once more to convince her to fall and join her in her mission across Equestria.
"Well, well, well," Solar Flare evilly chuckled, "look at who is finally all alone…I told you that they would abandon you when the time came."
"I don't understand…" Twilight wept. "They were my friends."
"They thought the same thing too, Twilight," Solar Flare remarked, although she spoke more from Princess Celestia's wellbeing rather than her own.
"What?" gasped Twilight.
The lights were drawn for a split second in the throne room. Twilight was so focused on Solar Flare and her behavior that she didn't even notice anything else in the room besides them. Solar Flare flickered off the lights with her incredible power, then approached Twilight once more.
"See anything you didn't like?" She asked Twilight.
Twilight remained silent. She didn't know what Solar Flare just showed her, so she didn't know if she was qualified to answer that question. Instead, she remained silent. Solar Flare, on the other hand, smirked greatly and moved away from Twilight. She began pacing around Twilight once more.
"I trust that by the lack of a response that you did not enjoy what you saw," Solar Flare oozed, "it really is a shame that it had to come down to just you and I. After all the years I've spent mentoring you, and this is how it all comes to an end…pitiful, really."
"What did you do?" Twilight questioned, looking down at the ground.
"Me?" Solar Flare replied, laughing in the process. "Why, I didn't do anything, Twilight."
"So why are we here in this dark room then?" Twilight continued.
"Because…" Solar Flare said. She approached Twilight and lifted her head with one of her hooves so that they were now making forced eye-contact. "I want to show you what you've done."
"What I've done?" Twilight repeated.
Without skipping a beat, Solar Flare brushed back the shadows and showed the chambers of a seemingly empty throne room. Nobody was with Twilight, not even Solar Flare anymore. Twilight was confused. She didn't know what exactly was taking place, but she knew one thing; it was still dark outside, signaling that the night still hadn't come to an end yet. Twilight started moving forward into the dark throne room, hoping to find someone else with her. She looked at the thrones themselves and saw nothing but empty seats.
"What happened?" Twilight wondered.
She looked around the empty abyss and saw nothing more than shadows. Shadows…nothing more; never more; forever more. Giving up hope of anyone else being in the room with her, Twilight turned around and started to leave and embark for home. Along the way towards the outside of the castle, Twilight noticed that everything was left in an abandoned state. There were stains all around the castle, almost like nobody were inside the castle in years, and also noticed that there weren't any guards standing around at any of the designated posts inside the castle.
Upon reaching the entrance to the castle, Twilight looked around and checked her surroundings yet again to notice that nothing was around. Literally, Canterlot was left in an abandoned state through the vision of Twilight. She was beginning to grow worried.
"I can't remember what happened here…?" Twilight asked nobody in particular.
"Amnesia isn't your friend nor your enemy in this scenario, my dear," a voice called back.
This startled Twilight greatly. "Who's there?" She asked, jumping backwards out of fear and shock.
"Twilight Sparkle," the voice continued, "it is such a great waste to all of ponydom…to think that it had to end like that and that Princess Celestia was your mentor."
"She is my mentor!" Twilight barked, still unsure of who she was talking to.
The voice uttered a chuckle. "No, my dear," they said, "was."
"Is!"
"Such a naïve little twerp." The voice insulted.
"Discord?" Twilight called, muttering a completely random guess.
"Not even Discord could believe the events that happened here." The voice laughed. "I'd be surprised if he even could, to tell you the truth."
"What did you do?" Twilight wondered, keeping her guard high.
"Oh," the voice continued, "you'll find out in due time, my dear."
The wind whistled thereafter and, just like magic, Twilight was left all alone again. Her voice echoed throughout the streets of the abandoned capital city of Equestria, hoping that someone would answer her calls for help. Silence filled the vast majority of the air, then the wind, whistling lightly as it breezed by Twilight. She felt shivers get sent down her spine, then pursued forward to explore the empty city.
She looked up and down every single street, but found no one who was present in her visionary state. After another whistling of wind whizzed by, Twilight collapsed onto her knees and started crying. She hated the feeling of being alone, and this macro feeling of abandonment was starting to break Twilight. Solar Flare reappeared in front of Twilight, falling from the sky gently. She saw the broken Twilight and smiled evilly.
"See, my dear," Solar Flare chuckled, "nopony is here with you. Look around," Solar Flare paused momentarily as she motioned to the empty city, then picked back up again, "everypony has abandoned you! What good will you do now that you have no good left to enact upon others?"
Twilight didn't' even respond to Solar Flare and her question. Granted, Solar Flare's question was broad and on the rhetoric side slightly, but nothing within Solar Flare's question or Twilight's wellbeing could even offer an answer. Solar Flare looked down at Twilight again and laughed more.
"Stop laughing at me," Twilight whispered. It was a light whisper, but one that still grabbed the attention of Solar Flare.
"Why should I?" Solar Flare continued. "Have you not seen what has happened?"
"I just want to be left alone right now," Twilight admitted, although she was indeed alone; Solar Flare was no longer there.
"Look around you, Twilight," Solar Flare called, voice being carried through the wind, "you are alone…you'll always be alone. You have been alone."
A flash of light shown brightly in the immediate area. Twilight shielded her eyes, then began rubbing them once the blinding light dissipated from existence. After slowly opening her eyes again, Twilight looked around and noticed that the dark void was back again. She called out to Solar Flare, but received no answer.
"Take me home…" Twilight begged. "Please!"
There was a bold response by the dark abyss. No answer given; just deafening, deadly silence. Twilight wept even more, breaking down greatly. It was the perfect time for Solar Flare to act and take control of Twilight, break her down past the point of no return, but she didn't even act on Twilight's weeping and self-destruction. Twilight started screaming and yelling into the void, her voice echoing throughout the area.
"Let me go!" She cried. "I want to go home!"
Solar Flare snapped. "You can't go home!"
"Take me home…" Twilight ignored. "Please…I'm begging you…"
"There is no home for you!" Solar Flare boomed. She flashed the area with a bright white light once more and left Twilight out on a field of fire.
Twilight looked around and was scared. She was left alone in the field where the fire raged onward. Everything around Twilight was on fire, but miraculously nothing was actually burning to a crisp. Twilight called out for Solar Flare, but she didn't receive a verbal answer from her.
Walk forward, Solar Flare told Twilight telepathically.
Twilight moved forward and through the fire and flames. She looked from left to right, but there was nothing that could be seen. Solar Flare kept guiding Twilight through the fire, telling her where to move next.
Left.
Twilight moved to the left, just like Solar Flare told her to. She walked through more flames and kept pursuing forward movement.
Right.
Twilight followed Solar Flare's directions and moved to the right. Walking through more flames, she could now see a lake that was burning. Twilight felt confused, seeing a lake filled with water burning brightly. Water underneath fire should stop said fire, but it did not in this case. Twilight looked to her right and saw the flames bursting out towards her. She began running, but was told to stop by Solar Flare.
The flames will not bring harm to you.
Twilight was skeptical, but when she tripped over and fell, the flames caught up with her and whizzed past her. Solar Flare was speaking the truth; Twilight was left unharmed by the raging fire.
Look up.
Twilight looked up from the burning ground and saw that her surroundings changed. They were now back in the dark of night in the forest. Twilight was shocked, but then started to calm herself slightly. She looked around, trying to find a sense of direction. Solar Flare commanded Twilight to get up and start moving forward. Following her commands, Twilight lifted herself from the ground and started pushing herself forward.
She saw the silhouette of leaves fall to the ground, but then she took a closer look at them. Twilight noticed that the leaves had small, written words on them, each of them relating to Twilight in some way. She saw leaves that ranged from "loving" to "caregiver," and from "intelligent" to "studious." There were leaves that said "family," "kindhearted," and "selflessness." These words all revolved around Twilight and burnt to nothing more than dust the moment they collided and made contact with the ground. Up ahead, larger, darker leaves fell to the ground. Unlike the ones Twilight saw before, these leaves kept their form as they touched the ground and didn't turn into dust. Looking closer at them, these leaves read "selfishness," "betrayal," and "abandonment." There were leaves that now ranged from "loneliness" to "ghoulish," and from "sarcastic" to "death."
Twilight was shocked. She looked around, focusing on what was behind her and tried going back, but Solar Flare wouldn't allow her to do so. Solar Flare took control of Twilight and turned her back around, forcing her to continue moving forward.
"Why?" Twilight called.
Keep moving forward!
Twilight shook her head, then followed Solar Flare's command, moving forward at once. It was very dark up ahead in the eerie and illusionary forest, but as Twilight pursued further up the path, she began seeing more red. Red filled Twilight's peripheral vision, but Twilight refused to look. She shut her eyes, continuing to move forward. Solar Flare was aware of this and snapped at Twilight, ordering her to open her eyes.
"I don't want to see what you've done!" Twilight replied.
"What I've done!?" Solar Flare boomed, appearing before Twilight. "No-no-no-no-no-no-no, my dear! This…This is all what you've done!"
Twilight was shocked. She opened her eyes and witnessed was she saw lying around her. All around her were fields of red; dark red on the ground. Things weren't sitting well with Twilight; she hated seeing this type of picture and it was even worse that this was reality.
As Solar Flare pushed Twilight onward, forcing her to take hold of the very graphic pictures that lay around her. Twilight tried shutting her eyes yet again, but Solar Flare kept Twilight's eyes held open, pushing her forward into the ocean of deep red.
Blood…
Solar Flare knew Twilight felt extremely uneasy and started to play with her emotions.
"Oh, what's the matter?" She sniggered, showing herself to Twilight briefly before disappearing again. Solar Flare laughed, taking the place of a bloody puddle located just to the left of Twilight. "See something you don't like!?"
"GAH!" squealed Twilight, jumping back from Solar Flare. "Get away from me!"
Solar Flare laughed, disappearing from the bloody puddle and reappearing secretly in the shadows. She approached Twilight slowly and opened her mouth. As Solar Flare continued to approach Twilight, her eyes were pitch black – darker than the forest Twilight was trapped in – and her mouth was oozing out blood, leaving a trail of blood behind her as she meandered towards Twilight.
Twilight backed away and started running away from Solar Flare, but the distance was never increased between the two. In actuality, the distance between the two was decreasing between the two. Solar Flare, mouth dripping blood, stopped a few inches from Twilight's face. Her voice echoed and the blood stopped dripping out of it. She began to address Twilight and laughed at her, her laugh echoing throughout the forest.
"Take a gander at all the things you've caused!" She boomed.
Solar Flare flashed a light behind Twilight and spun her around. Now, in front of Twilight, stood slaughtered ponies laying on the ground. The ocean of red was flowing outward and everyone in the field laid there deceased. Twilight was shocked, covering her mouth with her front hoof. She looked far and wide, eventually stopping on a group of ponies that looked familiar to her.
"Mom…?"
Twilight ran over to the group and collapsed on the ground. In front of her, laying there, was her mother and father. To the left of them was Shining Armor and to the right of Twilight's parents were her friends and Princess Luna. Twilight started crying heavily, but was stopped short when her mother grabbed her neck and threw her down to the ground. Twilight was shocked as she stared back at her mother; she wasn't her mother at all. It was Solar Flare.
"This…THIS is your fault!" Solar Flare screamed at Twilight, disappearing into the air.
Twilight blinked, looking around for Solar Flare and everyone else, but she was all alone again. This time, she was back in Ponyville. Twilight ran towards her home and broke inside. She looked for Spike, but was greeted to an awful surprise.
Her little dragon, her closest friend, was there, laying in the center of the circular room inside a pool of his own blood with several stab wounds. Next to him, there was a bloody knife and on the wall was an inscription that read: "How could you, Twilight?"
Twilight cried at the sight of a dead Spike. She spent the next few hours there and was broken up by the sound of knocks on her door. Twilight, not even having the strength to answer it, told whoever it was to go away.
When the door opened, however, it was Twilight's friends. They seemed disappointed with Twilight and told her that she needed to come with them; that Princess Celestia requested to see her.
"Go away," Twilight cried, not even making eye-contact with her friends, "I want to be left alone."
"Twilight," Rainbow Dash replied, "we're not asking you to come. We're telling you to come!"
Twilight, already past the breaking point, broke out against Rainbow Dash, yelling at her for intruding in her own home. She angrily brushed Rainbow Dash and all of her friends back with her magic, then reached for the knife. When she turned back around to charge and threaten her friends, however, Twilight was left all alone once more. She was back inside the dark void.
Solar Flare telepathically reached out to Twilight again, telling her the obvious.
They've abandoned you again, she told Twilight, why bother?
Twilight looked down at the knife, focusing solely on the dripping blood from the tip of the knife. She held it for quite some time, contemplating something drastic in her mind. Solar Flare knew this, and played from this.
Do it. She sniggered.
Twilight, shutting her eyes, turned around and slashed the knife, cutting Solar Flare's neck. Solar Flare dropped to the ground, but she didn't concede. She actually grew stronger and laughed at Twilight again.
Silly, Twilight, she told her telepathically, I cannot die! You cannot kill your imagination!
Twilight held her eyes tightly shut and pointed the knife at her. She penetrated her skin, hoping it would be powerful enough to kill her, but she wouldn't even die. Quite frankly, she didn't even feel any pain! Solar Flare witnessed this and laughed even more.
You cannot kill yourself either! Solar Flare smirked. Welcome to purgatory: the most fucked up place in all of the past life!