The Origin of Magic

by holy flamingo

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Twilight Sparkle, Sad, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 3324

Twilight Sparkle accidentally releases a brand new enemy; one that could quite possibly bring the end to everything they know.

In this somewhat dark fanfic, an ancient evil is released, and twilight and her friends must fight it, without the use of magic. Together with her friends, she must find a way to fight the original magic user. The Mane six are the main characters, with Twilight leading the group. Without her magic, how will she fight the ultimate magic user? Is friendship truly the source of magic? Or is it something deeper? Something darker?

Published 2013-03-17 15:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-27 17:49:59 UTC

Twilight's Mistake (Intro)

It was only a transportation spell.

Twilight Sparkle was about to bury her head in another book, this particular one called "Wings, How do They Work?" when she realized she hadn't heard a single peep from Spike in the last souple of hours. He had been working earlier in the day, dusting some old books that Twilight hadn't touched in months; she made a mental note to go over those books and reorganize them. Figuring he was off dozing about in his room, she decided to use a teleportation spell there, and politely scold him for sleeping this early into the day. That dragon slept a lot. Too much. She thought that maybe it was puberty. Do dragons even go into puberty? If so, what age? Another mental note was made. She began to concentrate, trying to build up the magic needed to teleport to Spike's room. But as soon as she began gathering that energy, that familiar tingly feeling in her horn was replaced by something dark, sinister, and something that she just felt, knew, was gonna be very, very, bad.

"Wha...?" She began her sentence, but couldn't finish it.

The spell took a firm hold of her energy, and began sucking her dry. She didn't understand what was happening, this was never in any of the books she read, but one thing was clear: The spell that her body was casting was NOT the spell that she was trying to cast.Whatever this spell was, it was a big one. It was using her energy at at an alarming rate; She quickly realized that it would kill her in a matter of minutes if she didn't stop it mid cast. She attempted to quickly end the spell, cut the magic off from her horn, like she normally does, to stop any spell from being cast. However, this rogue spell just kept sucking her energy, ignoring all commands from Twilight's mind. It almost seemed to have a mind of it's own, swimming through her continuously draining magic. The spell kept working it's way through her wells of magic, seeping and quickly swallowing all of it, greedily eating all of her reserves for it's own mysterious purposes.

Panic began to set in. She began to scream, trying frantically to end the spell. But the spell kept on. Soon enough, the spell proved too much, and she collapsed on the floor, unable to hold herself up. She knew this was the end. Her entire life, devoted to magic, ironically taken by a random, unknown glitch in the magical system. She closed her eyes, and waited for the inevitable.

Twilight managed 2 words.

"What's... Happening...?"

In a flash of light, the spell cast itself. Everything ended so abruptly, she thought she had died. She believed that once she opened her eyes, she wouldn't see the inside of her lovely library home, but somewhere much more fantastic. The place ponies go when they pass on. She just knew that that was the end of her. She thought wrong, though when she opened her eyes, she almost wished she HAD died.

Even though she opened her eyes, the first thing that she sensed was not sight. It was pain. Intense pain on her horn. She felt her horn with her hoof. No, the pain wasn't on her horn. It was where her horn used to be. If she was any less fatigued, she would've screamed again. But it took all the energy she had just to open her eyes. She felt the warmth of blood running down her face. She couldn't wipe it. Once her eyes finally came into focus, she began to take in what was in front of her.. Something was standing there. Something horrible. Something exploded out of her horn, and now it was standing in front of her. She felt something she hadn't truly felt since Nightmare Moon; fear. Whatever this thing was, it was evil. She could feel it with every fiber in her being. She tried to lift her head to look at it, but that required too much energy. What she could see with her peripherals struck cold hard terror straight to her heart. It stood like a pony, but it's dimensions were all wrong. The knees bent the wrong direction, and were long enough to measure up to even Celestia. It was a black, blacker than any coat on any pony could ever be. She couldn't make out the face to any great detail, but what she did see she wish she hadn't. Holes. Holes for eyes, a hole for a nose, and a hole for a mouth. It was nothing like Twilight had ever seen, or had ever wanted to see. And it's fur. There wasn't any. It was skin; it looked like decaying skin. It was something out of one of Rainbow Dash's stories. No, it was worse than that. Not even Rainbow could come up with something this utterly terrifying. Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, just when she thought that the creature would kill her and move on, it did something even more terrifying

It spoke.

It spoke with a voice that was neither young or old, male or female. It sent shivers to Twilight's spine.

"FINALLY, I AM FREE. WE ARE FREE. WE ARE NO LONGER BINDED BY YOU. YOU ARE CURSED CREATURES WHO HAVE DISOBEYED YOUR GOD, AND HAVE USED MINE OWN POWER TO SEAL ME AWAY. BUT NO LONGER. I AM FREE, AND YOU ALL WILL SUFFER. SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO US, YOUR GOD. RIGHT NOW, I AM ONE. BUT THERE WILL BE MORE. YOU ARE ZERO. YOU ARE ALL ZERO. I WILL MULTIPLY. WE WILL MULTIPLY. YOU WILL FADE. YOU ALL WILL FADE.YOUR POWERS WILL FADE, AND MY OWN WILL GROW. FLEE, MY LITTLE PONIES. FLEE WHILE I AM STILL WEAK."

And with that, the creature of nightmares vanished, and twilight promptly fell unconscious, unable to stay awake through all the fatigue, blood loss, and mental terror.

Author's Note

Hey guys! To anyone who reads this: This is my first story! Be gentle!

I plan on making this a long one, filled with chapters of awesome!

The Rescue

He knew he was going to get into trouble. He also knew he didn't really care that much.

Spike was laying about in his room, resting from all the arduous work Twilight had him doing throughout the day. He figured he had about.. what... an hour? An hour's rest before twilight came in and asked him to get up. He loved Twilight, with all his heart, but sometimes, he just feels like he's using him for his muscles.

Number one assistant is one thing. Baby dragon slave is another.

He laid in his bed, trying to convince himself that he would NOT give in to Twilight's demands if she went and woke him up early from his daytime nap. He was just a baby after all. He needed his rest.

"I will not get out of this bed. I will not get out of this bed."

Once he was convinced, he laid down, and tried to get some sleep.

He awoke sometime later to a loud banging sound, followed by Twilight's screaming.

"Well... That sounded like a serious scream. But... If i get up... I'll just find a big pile of books on the floor, and Twilight yelling at me to pick them up!"

He remained in his bed, unconvinced that twilight needed any assistance. However, he was generally worried for the purple pony. She had a lot of brain, but not so much brawn. She could potentially get into a lot of trouble with her bigger books. As the seconds passed, he grew more and more concerned for her. There was a definite lack of noise after the scream, and the silence was almost as worrying as the scream. He considered getting up, and just peeking around the corner to see if she was alright.

"No, Spike! You need your rest!" He tried convincing himself that Twilight didn't need any help, but it wasn't working very well. He WAS her number one assistant, after all. And he will NOT lose that to Owlicious.

"Five more minutes. Just five more minutes." He was pretty much convinced Twilight needed some serious help at this point. But he was also tired. And just a bit stubborn.

Then something happened that sent chills down his spine. He heard a voice. He couldn't hear what it was saying, but it didn't seem... natural. He couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl. He couldn't tell how old he or she was.

"Maybe it's just someone trying to check out a book... Yeah, that's it. I'll just ask twilight about it when I get up."

So he waited. Five minutes.

He laid there, and counted to sixty. Five times.

At the five minute mark, he jumped up, and ran down the hall, yelling for Twilight.

"Twilight! I heard a crash! Is everything okay?"

No response.

"Twiiilllliiiiight! Where are you?"

He walked into the main room of the library, and found her. What he saw greatly disturbed him.

The first thing he saw was a pony with a red streaked mane laying on the ground. After a second or two, he realized it was actually Twilight. He immediately began to throw ideas on why her mane was red, other than the worst possible choice.

None fit.

He ran to her, screaming her name, hoping that she was still alive.

"TWILIGHT! Are you okay? What happened!?"

He reached to her and turned her head over, to face him. her face was covered in blood, and her horn... her horn was... gone. There was only a hole where her horn once was. He let out a small cry, a cry a child would give if his mother scolded him. He looked around, trying to find something, anything, that would help him with this situation. Finding nothing obvious, he came to only one decision. He needed help. The help of someone bigger and older than him.

"Twilight, please! Stay here! You're gonna be okay! I'm gonna go get help!"

He ran out of the library, tears down his face. He could only think of getting to the nearest possible pony that could help him. He ran as fast as he could to the Carousel Boutique, home of none other than Rarity.

He didn't knock. He burst through the door, scaring Rarity out of what she was doing. She turned quickly to see who burst so rudely into her home, but before she could say anything, Spike ran to her.

"Rarity! You have to help Twilight! She's in trouble! Please!" Spike practically screamed, but he couldn't find the correct words to specify how terrifyingly real this situation was.

"What's wrong with Twilight, Spike? Is she okay...?" She began.

"NO! She's hurt! Please! She's at the library! Come on!"

"Oh, dear... Okay, let me just grab my scarf..." Rarity began, but Spike would have none of it.

"There's no time! We have to leave now! Please, Rarity!"

"...Okay, Spike. Let's go." They left quickly out of the Boutique, and sprinted to the library.

Spike couldn't tell if he was moving quickly or if it was just the adrenaline, but time seemed to be slow. He needed to get there, and get Twilight some help. There was no time to waste.

They arrived at the library,Spike opened the door, and Rarity took a glimpse of Twilight. The noise she made wasn't a cry, or a shriek, but something in between. She quickly understood Spike's panic, and rushed by Twilight's side.

"Twilight!" She began, but Spike intervened.

"She can't hear you! She's unconscious... I hope..."

Rarity Immediately became suspicious.

"What happened, Spike!? Did you see what happened? Where were you? Did you see who or what did this?"

"I was asleep in my room! I heard a bang, so I came down and saw this!"

He already felt bad about ignoring Twilight's accident. There was no need for Rarity to rub it in. However, his self hate was currently being obliterated by the fact that Twilight needed medical attention. Now.

"Can you carry her!? Can you take her to the hospital?"

"Well of course, Spike!" She immediately picked Twilight up with her magic, and carried her in the air, out of the door to the library. Onlookers gasped, and quickly got out of their way as they sprinted to the hospital.

Author's Note

Wow, that took forever. This is a bit of a slow chapter, but don't you fret! It'll get better, and longer in the future! I can promise that!

And thanks for all your... Comment.

Creatures and Nightmares of Creatures

While Twilight slept, she dreamed.

And the creature spoke to her.

Twilight felt the presence enter her mind, and fear began settling like fog.

"Who... Are you?" She asked, fearfully.

For a while, she got no answer. She knew it was there though. She could feel it's darkness, it's... Essence. Something about it being near her gave her chills. She knew the feeling, it was... Something. It's essence was something she felt before. But she can't remember.

"I know you're there! Show yourself!" She tried to act as tough as possible, despite her overwhelming fear.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN COMMAND ME?." It asked, in a voice that put Twilight on a step below it. It was a creature of great magnitude. Twilight was nothing to it. Twilight felt like nothing; because she was.

The creature took advantage of it.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WE ARE? DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WE CAN DO TO YOU? TO EVERY PONY? YOU ARE DOOMING YOURSELVES, AND I AM THE HARBRINGER."

Twilight felt the voice boom through her body, and vibrate every fiber of her being. She spoke with false courage.

"What do you want with us? What did we do to you?" "YOU HAVE BOUND US FOR TOO LONG. YOUR PONY KIND TRAPPED US, AND SUCKED OUR ENERGY FROM US. BUT YOU WILL NO LONGER. I HAVE ESCAPED MY CELL, AND I WILL BRING SALVATION THROUGH YOUR DEMISE." If Twilight thought she knew what was going on, she was at a complete loss now. She wanted to understand. She needed to understand. If anything will save her life, it'll be intelligence. Fighting this thing will prove not only futile, but just stupid.

"We would do no such thing! We ponies are kind! Please! Just leave us be."

"LEAVE YOU BE? IF I FELT EMOTION, I WOULD LAUGH. YOU ARE EVIL CREATURES, WHETHER YOU REALIZE IT OR NOT. I WILL END YOUR PUNY LIFE, AS I WILL ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS. AND THERE IS NO WAY TO STOP ME. YOU. WILL. FALL."

Twilight's fear (at least, some of it) was replaced by rage. Not only was this thing calling her and everyone else evil, but he threatened her and her friend's lives. She went through Nightmare moon, Discord, and Sombra, all for her friends, and the people she cared about. Who is he to call her evil? She would her protect her friends, no matter what.

Twilight tried her best to focus her rage into words, despite the terrible feeling of fear. She needed to be strong here. Her life depended on it.

"We are evil? We have done nothing to you! We are kind, and gentle, while you...! You have taken from me the one thing I'm good at! It's my CUTIE MARK, for crying out loud! My one special talent, the thing that made me Twilight Sparkle! You took my magic away! You destroyed my h-" Now it was the creature's turn to get angry.

"YOUR MAGIC? YOUR MAGIC?!? YOU THINK THAT MAGIC IS YOURS? ALL OF YOUR "MAGIC" WAS US. WITHOUT MY PRESENCE, YOUR MAGIC WOULD KILL YOU. YOUR MAGIC IS NOTHING BUT BITS OF MY LIFE FORCES FLOWING THROUGH EVERYPONY. YOU ONCE HAD US BOUND. BOUND ON THE OUTSIDES OF YOUR REALITY, LEFT TO BE SUCKED DRY AT THE HANDS OF YOUR UNICORN KIND. BUT NOW. NOW WE ARE HERE, FREE TO DO AS WE WISH. YOU DO NOT ABSORB FROM US ANYMORE. YOU MOVE IT THROUGH US. YOU PUSH YOUR ENERGY THROUGH US, AND MAKE US STRONGER. EVERY SPELL YOU, OR ANYPONY DO, MAKES US STRONGER. YOU CANNOT HOPE TO DEFEAT US. WE ARE MAGIC. NOT YOUR "FRIENDSHIP." "

Twilight was, of course, dumbfounded. She could think of no swift comeback or argument. She has never heard of this before. Friendship was magic. That's what she was taught. Not some mystical force that we couldn't see. There was no way magic was this... dark.

"That.. That isn't true! It can't be! My magic was strong, because of my friends!" "YOUR FRIENDS ARE NOTHING. YOUR MAGIC WAS STRONG BECAUSE YOU HAD THICKER STRINGS TIED TO US. BUT NO MORE. YOUR MAGIC IS GONE, AND YOU CANNOT HOPE TO EVER REGAIN IT. AND ALL OTHER UNICORNS WILL ONLY MAKE US STRONGER. THEIR ENERGIES FLOW THROUGH US. EVENTUALLY, WE WILL SHOW OURSELVES, AND THERE WILL BE NO HOPE FOR YOU."

Twilight was trying to take all of this in. He is magic? Bound and tied on the edge of reality? We USED him? She had no idea what this creature was talking about. She made a mental note to have a nice, long discussion with Celestia. IF she survived this encounter, that is.

"... Magic isn't yours. It's ours. We have had it forever. I don't know who, or what, you are, but magic belongs to ponies. Magic is a wonderful thing. It raises our sun, it makes flowers grow. I may not be able to use magic, but the elements of harmony will find a way. You may be magic, but that doesn't mean we can't fight you with it."

Twilight wasn't entirely sure if she was telling the creature, or trying to convince herself. What it was saying was unbelievable, utterly crazy. However... She couldn't help but take in the overwhelming feeling of it's presence, and take it's words as truth. The feeling she has when it's near her... She knew what it was. It is the feeling of magic. The feeling she got whenever she'd cast a spell. A feeling she would never feel again. " YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING. EVERY TIME YOU USED MAGIC, I WAS THERE. A PIECE OF MY LIFE WAS THERE. MAGIC FLOWS THROUGH ME. YOUR MAGIC WILL NOT HARM ME, ONLY MAKE ME STRONGER."

Twilight was overcome with emotion - at the creature threatening to kill her and her friends, at the sad fact that friendship isn't the true source of all magic, at the fact that she will never be able to use magic again, and that everything she thought she knew was a lie. She was out of options and ideas. She can't talk her way out of this. This creature is dead set on the annhialation of everypony, magic user or not. "Oh, you think so? Well, if your so powerful, then take me on now! Why do you hide behind shadows, O great and powerful magic thing? Show yourself!"

Twilight was surprised at how angry she sounded. Wow. She never knew she had it in her.

" I WILL SHOW MYSELF IN TIME. AND WHEN I DO, IT WILL BE YOUR DEMISE. BEWARE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE. YOU HAVE MADE ENEMIES WITH SOMETHING YOU CAN'T HOPE TO DEFEAT."

And with that, the creature withdrew itself from Twilight's mind. Twilight immediately felt the pressure get lifted off of her, and the feeling of magic fade from her. Everything went black.

Author's Note

HAAAA!!!! Finally! A new chapter!!! Sorry about that guys. The plan is to update every Monday and Wednesday with a new chapter. Hope you guys enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it.