Sunlight gently maneuvered her way through the air duct system of the castle. It was a complete labyrinth, but luckily, she had been there so much that she knew exactly where she was. She used to hide in these air ducts when she and Celestia would play hide and seek when she was being sat for. She and Celestia had a special connection, not unlike the one her mother and Aunt Cadance shared, and she always knew that Celestia would find her there. But she still hid there, because she loved it when she was found. A game of tag would ensue, which annoyed the ponies who kept up the palace. They kept quiet about it, because they dared not speak a word against the ruler of Equestria.
As she wiggled through the tight spaces, she couldn't help but notice that she had grown considerably since the last time she was there. Darn it! She said to herself, stupid filly growth spurt! She had been growing like a small weed over the past couple of months. In fact, her father once told her that she would be as tall as Celestia before her 10th birthday if she continued on her current growth streak.
She ignored the claustrophobic feeling the space gave her and pressed on. She knew she had to get to the throne room and rescue Flurry Heart. She also knew Flurry was still in her Sunset Shimmer disguise, and that it would wear off after only a few hours in it. If Midnight knew that she had captured a princess of Equestria, then there wasn't any telling what she would do to her. She could be dealing with Flurry's death within a matter of moments, and she wasn't prepared for it.
Suddenly, the duct gave way underneath her and she crashed through a vent to the floor below. She found herself staring down her formerly deceased sister, who was seated in Celestia's oaken throne. A great sun was carved in the top of the sacred seat and flames shot from behind it. But Sunlight knew that Midnight was responsible for those flames, not Celestia.
"Ah, my dear sister!" Midnight said in a voice full of fabricated joy and spitting sarcasm, "how wonderful to finally get to meet you face to face!"
"The feeling's mutual," Sunlight said solemnly, "now, let's cut to the chase. Where are my friends and family?"
"Oh, come now. YOUR friends? YOUR family? They're my friends and family too, you know!"
"Drop the act, Midnight! Where are they?!"
Midnight's face twisted and a smile born of the devil himself appeared. She began cackling in the most horrid voice one can imagine. It sounded as if the very demons of hell and monsters of Tartarus had taken possession of her and were forcing her to do this. But Sunlight knew all too well that this was entirely Midnight. Nothing had possessed her. She was filled with evil, and she wanted to unleash that upon the innocent ponies of Equestria.
The evil filly turned and pointed with her hoof. Her eyes blazed with a malicious fire and the saliva that came from her maw seemed, to Sunlight's eyes, to be the very blood of nations. Would…I…be saving more than Equestria? She thought to herself. The burden suddenly became twice as heavy as she realized that she would be saving the entire world from Midnight's rage. She could only hope that whatever marched in the room at Midnight's command was something she could fight off with ease.
But instead, her mouth fell open as every royal pony of Equestria was marched before her eyes, along with all of her friends. Their mouths all hung open and their eyes burned a disgusting green. Midnight stepped down and haughtily paraded herself before them. It was a complete moment of victory for her, and Sunlight began to feel panic for the first time. She wasn't sure she could beat her sister.
"Look, you foolish foal! Gaze upon our mother and father, our aunts and uncle, and the rest of our parents' friends!" Midnight shrieked, "LOOK, YOU PIECE OF PONY TRASH! LOOK!"
"What have you DONE to them?!" Sunlight yelled
"What have I done? Oh, what haven't I done to them," Midnight said as she laughed, "I've cause torturous nightmares to befall them, I've taken the sun and the moon away from Celestia and Luna, and I've cause their darkest fears to be cast upon them on a continuous loop! Every day and every night, they are entranced by their fear! The only voice they hear…is mine! SLAVES! I COMMAND YOU TO BOW TO ME!" At Midnight's scream, the royal ponies and their friends all bowed low and prostrated themselves in front of her.
"DO YOU SEE WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF?!" Midnight screamed in Sunlight's face. But then the little black filly backed off. "No…you haven't seen anywhere near what I'm capable of. See, I know everypony's worst fear." With this, she went pony by pony and explained their darkest fear to the now trembling Sunlight. "Aunt Cadance's worst fear is that she will lose the love and devotion of Uncle Shining. Uncle Shining's worst fear is that someday he'll hurt Aunt Cadance beyond forgiveness."
"But those fears balance out," Sunlight pointed out as she gathered her courage, "that means Aunt Cadance and Uncle Shining really do love each other! If they're both scared that they'll hurt the other one or lose the love and trust that they have, then they'll do anything to protect it!"
"HA! Foolish foal! If they would do anything to protect it and each other, then why do they sit here IN MY GRASP?!"
"Because you put out a television signal that forced them into this disgusting trance!"
"Oh, that TV signal? That had nothing to do with it. That was just simple hypnosis. I turned it into fear after my guards went up, arrested them, and brought them here. Now, may I continue?"
Sunlight gritted her teeth and restrained herself. She wanted to attack her sister, to kill her and make sure she stayed dead. She wanted Midnight's blood on her hooves. But now wasn't the right time. She was hopelessly outnumbered, and she realized with a sad shock that she might have to end up fighting the very friends and family she was trying so desperately to save. As long as they were in Midnight's clutches, they would do anything she told them to.
"Oh, by all means," Sunlight said sarcastically, "please, continue showing me the worst fears of the ponies I love."
"How you can love anypony is beyond me, because ponies are inherently imperfect beings filled with fear and loathing for anypony else. Now, as I was saying, Celestia and Luna's worst fears go hoof in hoof. They are both scared of turning evil. Ever since Celestia had her vision of turning into the evil Daybreaker, she's been terrified that she will become more and more obsessed with power and influence. Luna is scared to death of turning back into Nightmare Moon. Right now, they are both seeing a haunting vision of Equestria. Celestia sees a land scorched by the sun. No crops grow. The ponies all trudge around, thirsty and tired, and she is the cause of it! Luna is seeing an Equestria where night reigns supreme and eternal. Again, no crops grow and the ponies have nothing to eat. The only thing they have is dirt and the small amount of grass that Nightmare Moon allows. It's a disgusting wasteland."
Sunlight stood firm, even though inside she was quaking something terrible. Just imagining the torture that her family and friends were going through right now was enough to make her want to burst into tears. But she held her ground against her evil sibling. Midnight noticed her stubbornness.
"Alright! If you won't crack at any of that, then I'll just have to get tough! OUR PARENTS!"
This struck Sunlight like the crack of a whip and she very nearly fell over. She didn't want to know what kind of hell her parents were experiencing right now. She just wanted to fight Midnight and get it over with. But she saw that she would have to get through this in order to get to Midnight.
"Our father's worst fear is rather sweet. He's scared of losing you and Flurry Heart. He's so frightened by how he had to punish you."
"But he shouldn't be! He's the parent! He knows what's best for me!"
"HORSE CRAP!" Midnight screamed, "that's what I thought, but I realized that they were only in it for themselves!"
"No, Midnight! YOU'RE only in it for yourself! Mommy and Daddy loved you and cared enough for you to set boundaries!"
"If they truly cared, then they would've let me live my own life!"
"That's not true, and you know it! But keep feeding yourself lies! It will all lead to your eventual downfall!"
"Downfall? I'm not going anywhere," Midnight said sinisterly, "but there's three more fears I need to show you."
"Three more? Mommy's the only pony left in your grasp!"
"Oh? I don't think so. IRON WING!" With that, Midnight's special pony rolled somepony else in. This prisoner was kept in a cage and she looked as if she had been beaten severely. Sunlight gasped. Even through the disguise, she could recognize that pony anywhere. It was Flurry Heart.