Darkly Familiar

Dear Diary,

Mating Season sure is hectic this year. All my animals are really scared to go outside at certain times of night too. I’m worried it might be something like a Cocatrice or an angry Manticore, although it’s probably just the weather lately. I guess Rainbow Dash must be on vacation with all the odd weather lately.

I really wish I could visit the girls. I haven’t seen any of them recently. I haven’t even been able to see Rarity for our weekly Spa visits. The animals get too restless if I leave for too long this time of year though, so I can’t go anywhere for now.

Maybe Rarity and I should invite them with us next week to the Spa so we can make it up to each other for not being able to visit lately. If that’s okay with them that is…

Angel’s really acting up right now. Maybe he misses our Pony Pet Playdates. Or maybe’s he’s hungry again. Or maybe…

Oh! I just heard somepony knock on my door. I have to go see who it is. It’d be rude not to, right? Okay then.

Bye…

-Fluttershy

***

Fluttershy slowly opened the door to her cottage, looking around for who had knocked as she did. Noticing Twilight bent over in pain and shivering just above her Welcome mat, Fluttershy suddenly felt immense worry in her gut.

“Twilight? Are you okay?” Fluttershy quietly asked as she bent down to try and look at her friends face.

Twilight’s face was scrunched up in pain while she held her front hooves to her temples. Once she heard Fluttershy’s voice, her eyes flew open instantly, shining vile green for a half second before fully reverting to violet for the moment.

“Fluttershy! RUN!” Twilight screamed up at her friend, being unable to do more than that at the moment.

Before Fluttershy could even ask what Twilight meant, she was slammed flat against the farthest back wall of her cottage and encased in a black aura of magic. Fluttershy tried to look about for her attacker, but she couldn’t see in front of her for a couple of moments afterwards as all the animals she kept in her cottage, from the squirrels to the bear, charged towards the door, clear intent to kill on their features.

A moment later though, each and every animal was suddenly shoved aside and slashed violently across nearly every part of their body, causing them to collapse lifeless against the other walls of Fluttershy’s cottage, coating the entire floor in a thick layer of blood. Only Angel remained relatively unharmed as he landed next to Fluttershy on the far back wall, a look of immense anger on his face still, bruised as it was.

“You’re quite lucky I already promised you to Owlowiscious Angel, or else you’d be like all the rest of your animal friends. I had quite enough trouble with Peewee already. I’d like Owlowiscious not to have to work too terribly hard for this meal.” Twilight angrily called across the room, now raised up on her hooves, but with her head still hung low.

“T-T-Twilight?” Fluttershy shakily called out to her friend, hoping everything she saw was somehow part of some terrible nightmare and not reality.

Twilight’s ears twitched as she heard Fluttershy call out to her. She jutted her head up, revealing violet eyes once again and a look of horror on her face. Tears quickly beaded and began to run down Twilight’s face near instantly afterwards.

“Oh Celestia… Fluttershy! Please listen to me! I don’t have long! She’s too strong to stop. I won’t be able to save you, just like the others…” Twilight wailed as she explained, galloping forward over the blood on the floor, walking over it with the same spell Zecora had taught her that she used on the Mirror Pool.

Fluttershy merely nodded at her friend, tears streaming down her face as well. Fluttershy knew the real Twilight would never do this, and that made it easier to take. Fluttershy knew she would die from the hoof somepony that was never really Twilight instead of the hoof of one of her best friends, and that was all she needed to know to accept death easier.

“I don’t know how far she wants to go with all this. Spike, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack are already…. Oh Luna. I can’t stop her, so I can only hope somepony else can. I’m sorry Fluttershy. I’m sorry to you, and I’m sorry to all the others. I can’t undo this. I can’t make it go away. I can’t make up for it. It’s still my body and my hooves and my magic that’s doing all this. All I ask is you tell this to the other girls…. When you meet them…” Twilight screamed as she cried, trying her best to make this easier on the last of her best friends.

“I will Twilight. Thank you for being who you really are, even if it’s only for short bits like this. That’s the Twilight me and all the other girls really know and love. If we know that, and I’m certain we all did, then we know it wasn’t really you who killed us, so we won’t hate you.” Fluttershy answered Twilight closing her eyes and letting the tears flow uninterrupted as she waited.

Twilight’s own cries were silenced a moment later. Twilight raised her head fully to look right at Fluttershy’s face, a dark sneer plastered across it now. Twilight’s tears evaporated off of her face as her eyes burned brightly vile green, at last fully encasing the tiny bit of light that had always been beneath them before now.

Twilight twisted her head to the side, and a long slash spread across Fluttershy’s neck, quickly allowing all the blood in her body to flow out and onto the floor with the rest. Fluttershy’s smile did not fade from her face, even in death. Angel screamed and struggled as he saw all this until Twilight saw fit and bucked him full in the face right across the cottage. He slumped loosely against the rest of the bodies afterwards.

Twilight slowly made her way out of the cottage, her eyes focused solely in front of her, the deed of killing all her closest friends that she had set out to do so long ago was now at last entirely complete. As Twilight stepped over the threshold of the front door, Owlowiscious swooped through above her, screeching as he surveyed the feast before him.

***

…

I was able to sneak out of sleep. It’s the only time I’ve been able to take control since Fluttershy. I can feel that “She” is definetly asleep, so I think I’m not found out yet.

She hasn’t gone after anypony else yet. I’d know. I don’t know what she intends to do now. I doubt I’ll have long before she sets her sights on somepony else though.

There’s only one thing left that I can do. My strength is fading, so I doubt I have more than a few minutes left before I’ll be gone again. I’ll have to do this fast.

Starswirl bless me and let this please work. She’s my only hope now.

…

***

Dear Diary,

I’ve received a most curious letter. Few can send me letters this directly, so that only raises my suspicions. The letter is short, badly scrawled, and reeking of blood and lavender.

All that is inscribed on it is this;

Ponyville is in danger…. Equestria after that…

Only you are strong enough…to help now…

Please… There’s no other way…

Do whatever you need to…

Luna, myself, my advisors, and Shining Armor have all reviewed the letter. As far as we can tell, it is legitimate, right down to the stench of blood. Shining Armor has returned to the Crystal Empire to protect Cadence in case of a widespread attack. Luna has reluctantly agreed to remain in Canterlot to guard it on my behalf. Discord is off examining the rest of Equestria for similar threats.

I will go alone to Ponyville. If this letter is true, then it means even the Elements of Harmony can’t stop it. And if I too can’t stop it… well, then Luna will be able to. The only thing that remains to do is ponder the final element of this letter as I take flight now.

The scent of lavender… I have a dark feeling that Twilight is involved in this. I desperately hope I am wrong about that though.

-Princess Celestia

***

In the basement of Golden Oaks Library, Twilight laid down on the floor, observing the effigies she had erected earlier that day. She had built them on a whim, both as a pleasant reminder of what she had already done, and perhaps a clue towards what she would do next.

There were 6 enormous crystal vials and a seventh smaller one before Twilight. Each was filled just below the brim with blood and certain potions Twilight had mixed with it, some more so than others. Carved in front of the cylindrical shape of each vial was a visual representation of those Twilight had already killed. From left to right, it was Spike, then Pinkie, followed by Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and lastly, Fluttershy. Each of the ponies wore their Element of Harmony, while Spike appeared to be dictating a letter.

The carving was far from crude, but nor could it ever be called beautiful. The blood continuously swirled down, out, and around the carvings, sometimes temporarily igniting in a different colour. This occasionally gave the illusion that the original living pony and dragon stood before Twilight, instead of these cruel mockeries of their recent deaths.

Twilight smiled as she lifted a glass of Sweet Apple Acres Cider to her lips and took a good long sip, finishing it off with a bite from one of the few batches of Pinkie’s cupcakes that remained. Twilight wore her Grand Galloping Gala Dress, aside from the earring. Instead, Twilight wore a cyan feather tied with a piece of rainbow mane to a butterfly broche in its place.

As Twilight prepared to take another sip of the cider, her front door was blown immensely free of its latches by an enormous burst of golden magic. Covering her eyes to block the light, Twilight at last felt genuine fear as a form appeared within the light. Taller than any other pony, with both wings flared and a horn covered in a golden magic aura, Princess Celestia appeared, with her eyes shining white with anger.

Twilight stared at Celestia as she glared upon her. As Celestia opened her lips to speak, Twilight felt jubilation and acceptance come from the “Other” within her. Another burst of magic swelled forth from Celestia and encased Twilight this time as at last the Princesses word’s reached her ears;

“You are not the Twilight Sparkle I know any more, nor will you ever truly be her again.”