The Candy Mare was a child no longer...

She now stood much taller than Twilight. Her body was still a chaotic jumble of candy, but it was now smooth and sleek with long limbs and longer claws. Inside her exposed ribcage a sickly green flame pulsed with unnatural light, unbearable to look upon. Her eyes were just as wild as before, and her demonic maw dripped acidic green saliva. Her mane streamed out behind her, red and black liquorice wriggling and twitching with a life of its own. A long tale made of the same substance curled into a black and red candy striped, spiked scorpion tail.

The most dramatic change, however, were the addition of several wings and horns. Her wings were long and skeletal, with not a scrap of webbing or flesh but instead what looked like six sharp candy cane striped blades, black and red. Each of the twelve long appendages ended in a cruel hook that scraped the floor. Her horns were no less striking. Seven in total were spaced evenly around her skull, curling straight upwards. They gave the impression that the Candy Mare was wearing a tall, spiky crown. Each horn was candy striped a different color of the rainbow and glowed ominously with barely contained power.

Bringing both hands forward, Twilight sent a blast of plasma hot magic streaming towards this new nightmarish version of the Candy Mare. The torrent of light never met it’s target however, as it slammed instead into a wall of interlaced, transparent diamond shaped shields.

From behind the glowing shield spell, the monster waggled one long claw and giggled, “Uh-uh! Only the first ones free!”

Twilight halted her attack when she realized it was having no effect. She didn’t let down her guard, but still, her scientific mind had to know, “How did you do that?”

In response, the Candy Mare extended her left arm and opened her hand palm upward. Seven jewels, which Twilight had just taken to be pieces of candy, detached themselves from the monsters horns and hovered in a tight circle over her palm. Each jewel was a different color, and as Twilight watched the power that had suffused each horn drained away until they were the same black and red as the creatures wings. “It seems my body picked up a few interesting objects while we were separated. Your world is one where magic is scarce, yet in order to survive without me, my body sought out these magically potent jewels. Without me, my body wasn’t able to fully unlock their potential, but now that we are united again using their power is like second nature to me.” As she said this, she closed her hand into a fist, and the little lights coursed up her arm as the jewels retook their place crowning her head and reigniting the magic flowing through her horns. “I thought I’d give them a little test drive.”

“So that’s why you let me power up,” scowled Twilight, her wings ruffeling. “You wanted a sparring partner.”

“More someone to show off to,” the candied abomination admitted with a twisted grin. “So it seems we have impenetrable magic shields. Some very interesting explosive powers,” she hooked a thumb over her shoulder to the ruined blast door. “Super strength,” she said lifting a thousand pound computer console, desk and all with one claw as if it were a balloon. “And super speed,” she finished, whispering into Twilight’s ear.

Even as powerful as she was, Twilight couldn't suppress a small shriek as a pulse of her dark wings put some distance between herself and the Candy Mare.

She hadn’t even seen her move!

“That’s just what I’ve figured out so far,” laughed the monster, clearly relishing Twilight’s reaction. Then her face grew serious. “You know, you really hurt me when we were in the sewers. More than the pain, it was how powerless you made me feel when you destroyed my borrowed body.” The Candy Mare spread her arms and two jack-o-lanterns appeared floating above the monsters hands as she said this. The corpse flames inside were already glowing bright, but turned from sickly green to a violent, blazing pink. “Feel free to let me know how you like being on the receiving end!”

There was barely any time for Twilight to dodge the first pumpkin bomb before the second slammed into her chest. The explosion was more kinetic than fiery, but the force was enough that she could feel her ribs crack despite being augmented with magic. There was no time to catch her breath, however, as a barrage of grinning pumpkins peppered the room, knocking Twilight back and forth and further like a rag doll.

Twilight wasn’t just going to sit back and take this, however. Lashing out with her own power, the pumpkins exploded harmlessly against a wall of magic. This didn't last long, however as the Candy Mare slammed into the barrier herself and burrowing through it as if it were made of paper. The cackling monstrosity flew at Twilight almost too fast to see, with claws splayed and maw foaming. It was all she could do to get off a defensive blast of magic that, once again, was met by a translucent diamond shield.

The Candy Mare’s momentum carried her forward, and she smashed into Twilight, sending her flying into the opposite bank of computers. Sparks flew and clouds of blue smoke jetted into the air as Twilight dragged herself up from the wreckage. It was her turn to bare her teeth as her eyes flashed with anger. Instead of a blast of magic, however, she brought her wrists together and fanned out her fingers. At first, the gesture seemed to have no effect... Then there was a howling wind that seemed to suck the Candy Mare backwards.

A black hole hung in the air behind the monster. More specifically, Twilight had opened up a portal beyond which lay only twinkling stars and the vacuum of space. If she couldn’t beat the Candy Mare, she could at least send her away.

“Go to hell you monster!” she roared over the sound of all of the air rushing out of the room and into the void.

For her part, the candy coated demoness scrabbled along the floor, trying to find purchase with her claws. However, as strong as she was, as fast as she was, there was no fighting the hungry emptiness that lay beyond the dark portal. As she continued to move towards the ravenous void, she let loose a scream of frustration. Her wing blades spread out, and somehow she managed to hook herself onto the edges of the portal just as she was about to slip through.

Though she struggled mightily, her body was still drug into the abyss, and the sound of her voice was quickly silenced. Twilight closed her hands, and the portal began to iris shut. Summoning portals like this was taxing on her powers, but it seemed like the gamble had payed off.

Or had it?

Just before the portal shut completely, an eruption of violet light flashed from behind the portal. The Candy Mare surged through just as it closed, her body engulfed in a burning aura of purple magic. “Well, that’s interesting,” she said with a smirk. “It seems I’ve got magic similar to yours now!”

The flames that wreathed Twilight’s eyes flared with her anger, and her clenched fists started to glow like twin stars. “Then let’s see who’s better at using it.”

With that, the dark angel and the candied devil clashed, bolts of magic sizzling the air as they flew back and forth. Twilight held nothing back now, opening and closing portals at random that she darted in and out of while her opponent was stuck trying to keep up. While the Candy Mare could match her spell for spell, but this was an ability she did not have, and even with her superior speed she had difficulty keeping up with Twilight’s new mobility. Despite being faster, the monster still had to take time to react, and Twilight’s attacks were becoming more and more unpredictable as they came suddenly from portals placed at odd angles.

A glancing shot sheared off the Candy Mare’s blue striped horn, her speed suddenly dropped dramatically. Another took off her white striped horn, leaving her unable to manifest any shields. The fight grew more savage then, with the Candy Mare lobbing pumpkin bombs at random into open portals, scorching Twilight’s flesh but more worryingly shattering the delicate bones in her wings. Twilight’s left arm and right leg hung limply as well as she tumbled out of a portal and on to the charred control room floor.

Despite Twilight's battered state, the fight had become decidedly one sided. The Candy Mare might have been magically augmented, but she wasn’t as used to her new powers as Twilight was experienced with her own. With the loss of her horns, her attack power dropped dramatically, and it was easy for Twilight to pick off the rest of the jewels with a few well placed blasts of magic. In short order, the candied demon was brought to her knees, all of her horns broken and her magic spent.

Midnight Sparkle loomed over the Candy Mare, and raised her hand to deliver the finishing blow...

Then a commanding voice rang out, “STOP!”

Twilight stood motionless, unable to so much as blink.

Starlight Glimmer, face bloody but eyes glowing brightly, wobbled to her feet. As if that were not bad enough, Twilight's time was up. Her wings evaporated, leaving her to crumple to the ground when her full body weight came to rest on her shattered leg. Such was the hold Starlight had over her, however, that she couldn’t even cry out in pain when this occurred. Nor could she reach for the device that allowed her transformation to begin with as it clattered onto the floor.

Chuckling, the Candy Mare rose to her cloven feet. She approached Twilight slowly, gloatingly, as she stooped to pick up the small compact machine. “It’s hard to believe such a small thing caused so much fuss. Something to keep in mind if I visit another world like this.” saying that, the monster opened her gaping maw wide and swallowed the trinket whole. You could follow the shape of the bulge until it settled into the Candy Mare's burning green core, where violet light flared briefly from her ribcage before the flames settled back to a dull roar. She burped and smiled wickedly. “Pardon me. It was a bit bitter, but not bad. Now, let’s deal with this sweet little morsel that created it...”

The candied demoness looked over Twilight hungrily, running her long candy striped tongue over her sharp candy corn fangs. Her horns were already starting to grow back. Without the constant onslaught from Midnight Sparkle, she was already starting to regenerate. Starlight’s control over Twilight's body might have been absolute, but that didn’t stop the teens eyes from shedding tears as the monster knelt over her like a lion over a fresh kill and she felt its fetid breath wash over her neck.

Instead of the sensation of her throat being ripped open, however, the Candy Mare began to shake and shiver as if she were in the grips of a seizure as soon as her claws touched Twilight's shoulders. When she was finally still again, the monster quickly withdrew her hands. She whirled to Starlight “There’s a bomb! I don’t know why, but when I touched her I had a vision. I felt what she felt and... There’s some kind of countdown! An explosion large enough to wipe out this place and the city above could go off any second!” Panic replaced the madness in the demons eyes, “Make her stop it! Only she can stop it!”

Before Starlight could utter so much as a word, however, a jagged fragment of the blast door burst through the front of her throat. As the mage-light faded from Starlight’s eyes, she clutched at the shrapnel in disbelief. Cadance, blood stained and exhausted, stood behind the teenager as she collapsed to the floor for the final time.

“Nooo!” howled the Candy Mare as she lashed out with her wings.

The cruel barbed hooks dug into Cadance’s limbs, tearing through her flesh, and lifting her high in the air. In a single furious wrenching movement, the enraged Candy Mare tore Cadance's arms, legs, and head free from the woman’s torso. Scarlet blood gushed in every direction, raining down in a hot vermilion shower.

Despite her swift and brutal demise, however, the damage Cadance had wrought had already been done. Visibly shrinking, the Candy Mare went to her fallen accomplice. She carefully removed the twisted metal from Starlight's throat, but blood seeped between her fingers as she tried to hold the wound closed. “You have to do this for me. You have to make her stop the countdown. This world will be lost to us otherwise.”

Starlight Glimmer gurgled, choking on her own blood. The ragged hole in her throat made even breathing difficult, and no matter how much blood she spat up she couldn’t speak. She started to shiver, going into shock.

Despite the horror and the carnage, Twilight Sparkle laughed.

She laughed hysterically, crazily, but her face was one of cherubic glee. She propped herself up with her unbroken arm and smiled madly “We got you! We got you at last! You killed all of my friends. Killed my dog. Killed my solders. You even killed my old babysitter. But in the end, we killed you! WE KILLED YOU!”

At that moment, the floor seemed to rise. White hot light that cast no shadow seeped through the cracks. In a flash, nuclear fire engulfed the room.

The crater left behind by the explosion was several miles wide.

Only the outskirts of the city remained standing when the mushroom cloud at last dissipated. Many of the suburbs around the city were likewise lost.

It would be several months before the site was deemed safe to investigate, but by then the foundation had worked furiously to cover up the incident that had led to the cities destruction.

The catastrophe was, in the end, blamed on a combination of poor city planning, climate change, and solar flares. Interest in the actual disaster faded as all sides of the political spectrum argued over who should shoulder the most blame.

The dead quietly moldered in the earth. Lives tragically ended but deaths, at least, peaceful and undisturbed.

The End...