Chapters This story is currently undergoing a complete rewrite. The first rewrite was just a cleanup of any grammar errors or just some of the terrible pacing. Now, I am redoing the entire thing from scratch.
Check here to check on the progress.
ZOOM
Twilight cracked open her eyes as sunlight streamed in through the window onto her face. She yawned and blinked twice to clear a few of the fuzzes dotting her vision. She stayed prone in bed for a moment, feeling contentment course through her body. She sighed and moved her eyes to Spike, who was sleeping in his bed, snoring softly.
She got up and walked over to him. She prodded him gently with her hoof, and he stirred.
"Wake up," she whispered.
"Huh, wha-?" he said, looking around in confusion. His eyes widened. "Oh, no! Did I sleep in?!"
Twilight chuckled softly and smiled.
"It's okay," she said. "The library's opening soon, though. We have to get ready."
Spike moaned and crawled from bed, his mood changing from fear to unwillingness. He got up and followed the now departing Twilight from the room. He landed next to her on the main floor.
"Should I cook breakfast?" he asked.
"You do it every morning," Twilight said. "So, yes."
Spike nodded and darted to the kitchen, leaving Twilight to find an assortment of books she could read in her free time today between ponies coming in to check out a book. She started to scan over the spines of the many stories and biographies on her shelves.
"What to read?" she said, pushing her tongue through her lips in thought. Her mind thought of a book she had not gotten to finish a few days ago. "I know!"
She spun around to the other side of the room and was greeted with a shock. Her right eye flickered off for a brief moment and then zoomed in on the books across the space from her.
"Ah!" she yelled in surprise, falling down on her haunches.
She started to breath heavily, trying to focus on something with conflicting optics. She waved her hoof in front of her face, and blinked in instinctive reaction as it appeared to be mere millimeters from her eyes. The zoom reverted back to normal, and she paused in place.
"What?" she said. "That's- what- what?"
"Twilight?" Spike called from the kitchen. "Breakfast's ready!"
Twilight sat in stunned shock for a minute, wondering what had just happened.
"Twilight?" Spike asked, coming out from the kitchen to see her sitting there, immobile. "Twilight, what's wrong?"
The unicorn just sighed and stood.
"I- it's nothing," she said, turning to face Spike.
"Well, breakfast is ready."
Twilight followed her assistant into the kitchen, where a plate of pancakes awaited her.
"Thanks, Spike," she said, taking her seat.
She levitated her fork to her mouth and chewed. She barely enjoyed the delicious flavor as she thought about the incident that had just occurred with her eye.
What was it? she asked herself, swallowing. It was so strange. Could it have been just a burst of magic?
She took another bite of pancake.
Maybe something's in my eye. It's not very likely, but after all the things I've gone though in my time here in Ponyville, it could very well be just that.
"Twilight, you've been sitting there for a few minutes. Are you okay?"
Twilight snapped out of her trance and shook her head.
"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied to the dragon. "I was just thinking."
Spike nodded and continued to eat his food. Twilight placed her head in her head in her hooves and closed her eyes.
Okay, Twilight, just think about something else. Don't let this get to you.
She opened her eyes and was greeted by incredibly close up pancakes.
"Ah!" she yelled, falling from her chair, which was sent toppling backwards in her reeling shock.
"Twilight!" Spike said, running to her side.
The unicorn rubbed her head. She suddenly started to panic, standing and running in an anxious circle.
"Twilight?" her assistant asked. "What's wrong?"
Twilight stopped pacing and turned to Spike.
"I don't know," she said. "Something weird is going on."
She waved a hoof in front of her face.
"What is it?" Spike asked.
"My eye is- it's zoomed in," she replied. "I can see everything up close and in great detail. I'm confused."
She started to hyperventilate, thinking about all the things that could be wrong.
"It could be anything!" she said. "It could be magic, it could be some ancient curse or something, there could even be something in my eye!"
"Come on, Twilight," Spike said. "Don't be so paranoid!"
Twilight paused her thought train. Spike was right. She did not want to go into some insanity episode like when she had forgotten to send her weekly friendship report to Celestia, or when parasprites had overtaken Ponyville, or when herself from the future had come to deliver a message that ended up to be telling her not to worry about anything.
"Yeah, Spike, you're right," she said. "I don't think going crazy over this will help anypony. Especially not myself."
She patted the dragon on the back and blinked. Her right eye became normal again.
"Whoa," she said. "It just fixed itself!"
"Maybe it's something to do with Pinkie Pie?" Spike asked. "She might've done something."
Twilight laughed.
"I was serious, Twilight!" he yelled as she left the kitchen.
Twilight walked over to the door of the library.
"I'm going to ask Pinkie about it!" she said. "Can you watch the library while I'm gone?"
Spike came out of the kitchen and saluted.
"You can count on me!" he said.
Twilight smiled and opened the door. She stepped out into the air and breathed in deeply. It was a light but warm air that woke her up and made her feel more alert to the world around her. She closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them, her right eye had zoomed in again.
She flipped out, flailing wildly as she fell on her butt, trying to get a grasp on what was going on. The ponies who were walking past the library looked for a quick second, then decided to never remember the scene again.
"What is happening?!" she yelled, drawing glances of confusion from hallway across town. "This doesn't make sense!"
She blinked, and the odd occurrence vanished once more. She breathed deeply, trying to process the wealth of information pulsing through her head.
"I think I should just go inside and... do something," she said. "Maybe... experiment? Yeah."
She rushed back in, much to the surprise of Spike, who was carrying a plate of dishes that he head just finished cleaning. He started and dropped them, wincing as they approached the ground. Twilight stopped them mid-fall with a levitation spell and put them back in the assistant's claws.
"Thanks, Twi-" he began, only to hear the basement door shut as Twilight left. He grumbled.
Twilight flew down the stairs and saw her machine. She placed all of the electrodes and stuff on her and magically turned the machine on. It began to sputter out readings, all of which seemed perfectly normal.
"Gah!" she yelled, unlatching herself. "Nothing seems to be wro-"
She felt something hot prick in her leg. It was just like a needle poking her back leg at first, but it soon grew, taking up her entire right hindleg. It started to burn, and the pain entered her body. She felt as through her leg was being invaded by thousands upon thousands of burning fire ants that were biting her flesh and ripping it from her bone.
She tried to scream, but the sound caught in her throat as the agony began on her other hindleg. She felt like her flesh was being burned away, slowly becoming something else. Soon, the pain reached a crescendo, tearing through her mind. This time, nothing could stop her from screeching in agony as her body collapsed to the floor, trying to fight the burning overtaking her lower body.
"Twilight?!"
She heard Spike call from the top of the stairs, and heard his footsteps come closer. She winced as the pain got to its horrifying peak, causing her back to arch. The baby dragon saw her and ran over.
"What wrong?!" he asked.
"I- don't- know!" Twilight screamed between bursts of fire. Her breathing was becoming erratic, slowly making her brain go numb.
"Should I get somepony?!" Spike asked.
"Yes!" Twilight replied. "Please!"
The dragon ran off to go find anypony who could help. Twilight felt the pain begin to recede. She gasped for air as it slowly became a moderate ebb in her legs. She turned her sweat-soaked head to see that her fur was singed and cracked, matted with blood.
The world was spinning as Twilight returned her gaze to the floor, where she vomited. She shut her eyes, and suddenly she lost consciousness.
Author's Note
The rewritten Zoom. Tell me what you think!
Author's Note
Sorry for taking so long. Hope you enjoy!
Jump (Rewritten)
JUMP
When Twilight opened her eyes, she was alone in the dark.
"Hello?" she said, not daring to move a muscle.
A demonic chuckle filled the air, and the black lit up as a single, solitary candle flickered on. This illuminated the face of a gray pony, who was staring her in the face, eyes full of mirth.
"Boo!" he said in a whisper.
Twilight yelped and jumped back. However, her hooves found no surface, and she started to fall. She screamed as the air rushed past her, tearing at her coat and mane.
She hit the ground with a thud, and groaned as she tried to stand. When she had struggled to her hooves, the candle returned, this time brighter and revealing more of the area.
The face of the pony was lit up once more, revealing that it was a head floating in the air. The candle flew up to above the head, showing strings hovering above it, dancing madly.
"A... puppet?" Twilight asked in confusion.
"I am not just a puppet," the creature said, spinning around on the wire. "I am a being here to take you away. I am here to make you do my will."
Twilight shuddered as the space became ice-cold. A layer of frost began to develop on her fur, turning it hard and brittle.
"Who are you?" she asked with a shiver.
"I am a certain spirit," the head replied, a smile across its face. "I am here to spread a little mischief. Maybe butt heads with Celestia, see how powerful she really is without her Elements."
"Why?"
There was a crackle. The face began to develop static across it.
"Why not?" it said with a chuckle. "She imprisoned me in stone, now I'm going to get my long awaited revenge!"
The face faded into the blackness along with the candle, which left a small trail of smoke floating off into the sky.
The ground gave way beneath Twilight's hooves, and she fell onto something sharp, which tore through her body. She screamed in agony as her body fell limp.
~
"Twilight?"
Twilight's eyes fluttered open, revealing Spike to be standing over her with a doctor, who was looking at her form in interest. Her head pounded as though somepony had dropped a ton of bricks on it, and she winced in pain.
"Wha-?" she said numbly, trying to fight through the haze. "How- how long was I out?"
"Not too terribly long," the doctor said, inspecting her coat, which was covered in water. "You passed out at sometime while your assistant came to fetch me, and woke up within a few minutes of our arrival here."
Twilight shut her eyes and the dream came rushing back to her. She bit her lip as she remembered the face.
"I had a really bad nightmare," she said, looking at the doctor, who had begun to look at her legs, which showed no signs of injury.
"I wouldn't be surprised after what Spike here told me happened," he replied. "However, it seems as though these 'metal knives' he spoke of don't exist."
"But they were there!" Spike said, pointing a claw. "They cut her leg open! She was bleeding and hurt and-"
"I see that you believe firmly that there was a projection of metal," the doctor said. "But, I doubt that a traumatized pony and dragon can be trusted to provide accurate information about a very... different thing."
Twilight gritted her teeth.
"A question still does remain," he said, staring her in the eyes. "Your coat is soaking wet. Why?"
Twilight thought for a moment, going through both the dream and before she blacked out.
"In my dream,” she began. “There was a strange pony, and he spoke of overthrowing Celestia and doing something to get revenge on her. When he was speaking, it got cold, and my fur froze. That means that this water is from the dream.”
The doctor shook his head.
“I must say,” he said. “It takes a powerful unicorn to do that.”
“Do what?” Twilight asked.
“Project your dreams into the real world,” he replied, turning away. “It’s something I’ve read about. I assumed it was possible, at least from the Princesses. But you’re not a princess, just a normal unicorn.”
“Well, I’m a bit far from normal,” Twilight said with a smile. “I am one of the Elements of Harmony, and my cutie mark is in magic.”
“I deduced that much on my own,” the doctor replied. “And you’re still normal. You just learn your magic faster and have a good deal more of it to throw around. Those things just make you unique, not beyond normal. Now, maybe if I got to know your personality, I might see you as not normal, but until then, you are only Twilight Sparkle, a normal unicorn.”
The doctor stood and smiled.
“Well,” I must be going,” he said. “If anything else pops up, don’t hesitate to give me a call. Just, please don’t call me after my shift. Call one of the others at the hospital.”
Twilight chuckled lightly as she watched him leave the room. She stood shakily and sighed.
“Maybe it was all a dream,” she said. “He said I could project my dreams, so what if I had a bad dream about my legs splitting apart?”
“Hm... that actually kinda makes sense,” Spike mused. “But what if it wasn’t? What if it really happened?”
Twilight shook her head.
“No,” she said. “The logical explanation is the one that had to have happened. Some unexplained anomaly is not going to beat out the choice of magic or science.”
“It did with Pinkie Pie,” Spike quipped.
“She’s Pinkie,” Twilight replied with a laugh.
Spike laughed as well, and soon Twilight was convinced that it had all been the result of some strange dream magic.
~
Twilight turned and waved goodbye to Spike as she left to acquire some quills. She closed the door and stepped into the Ponyville afternoon. It was a good temperature, warm but not too warm, and with a slight breeze to blow through Twilight’s fur.
The unicorn walked slowly, relishing the air and every breath of wind.
It was all brought to an end when she reached the quill store, known as Ink Point. She stepped inside and was greeted by the clerk, who automatically pulled out a small box full of his finest quills.
Twilight was ridiculously particular about her quills. They had to be made from griffon feathers, due to the griffons having very sturdy feathers. Twilight was prone to snapping quills with her strong magical grip, so any extra bit a strength helped.
“Here you are,” the clerk said, pushing the box forward.
Twilight opened it and began flitting through the quills within. She performed measurements and scrutinized every last one until there were five sitting out.
“I’ll take these,” she said.
She dropped her bits on the counter and strode out. She just stepped into the street when she heard it. She looked and saw a runaway carriage bowling down the road. It was close, already only fifty feet away.
Twilight did not have time to charge up a teleportation spell, so she risked it and tried jumping away. She closed her eyes and pushed.
The ground disappeared beneath her hooves as she leapt, but it did not return, as Twilight seemed to be suspended in the air. Her eyes opened, and she screamed as she saw herself flying fifteen feet up, heading for a nearby tree. She hit it and fell.
When her vision reverted back into focus, she saw that some ponies had gathered around her, and more still had turned and stared.
“I-I’m okay,” Twilight stammered awkwardly, standing unsteadily and chuckling softly.
What was that? her panicked mind whispered fiercely. I just jumped across the dang street!
The ponies backed away and went back to their daily lives, albeit a little concerned. It was not everyday when an Element of Harmony jumped into a tree.
Twilight hurried back home and slammed the door shut violently. She fell against it and started shuddering.
“What’s happening?” she asked herself, cold sweat pouring down her body. “All these things.”
“Twilight, I heard the door slam,” Spike called from upstairs. “Are you alright?”
“Y-Yes, I’m fine!” Twilight called back, closing her eyes and attempting to clear her head.
“Are you sure?” Spike was coming downstairs, his claws clicking softly on the wood.
“Y-Yes!” Twilight opened her eyes and jumped further back onto the door.
Her right eye had zoomed in once more, and now a pain was sprouting from her back.
“Ok, I’m not!” she yelled. “There’s something really wrong with me!”
Spike ran down the stairs and came up to her, “What is it?” He enveloped her in a hug, and Twilight began to sob.
“Whatever happened to my leg, it was real. Today I somehow jumped across the street and just kept going. Whatever I saw on my leg that broke through, it was real, and it made me jump that far.”
Spike ran his hands down her back, and suddenly he stopped. Twilight became aware that his hands were no longer touching her, and she was confused.
“Spike?” she asked.
“Twilight, what are these?” he asked, moving his head to Twilight’s back to see. He gasped.
“What?” Twilight asked frantically. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s something growing out of your back,” the dragon whispered, staring straight at the rods of bloody steel and wire tearing their way out of Twilight’s spine.
FLICKER
Twilight looked back on herself and screamed. She began to hyperventilate, becoming light-headed.
“What’s happening?!” she said, falling onto the ground and putting her hooves over her head. “Why?!”
Spike stood in shock, unsure of how to comfort her. He watched as she shook, her cries filling the silent air.
“Should we get everypony else?” Spike asked.
“I don’t know,” Twilight replied, looking up at the wall. “I don’t want them to see me like this. I may just make them get too worried over something. What if they can’t fix it? Then they’ll keep worrying and worrying and worrying!”
She got up and stomped her hoof.
“I want this to stop!” she yelled, her voice cracking. “All of this crap!”
There was a moment of silence as Twilight began walking to her bedroom.
“Twilight!’ Spike called out, running to her.
“I don’t care!” she yelled, pushing him away. “I don’t care what happens! Stupid metal can grow out of me all it wants! I DON’T CARE!”
Spike opened his mouth but kept silent as Twilight left. He let her go, then stood.
“That wasn’t like her at all...” he said to himself, going to the kitchen.
~
Twilight pressed on the rods, feeling only little twinges of pain as she did. She remembered yelling at Spike, and she felt the urge to apologize.
“What came over me?” she whispered, pulling at the wires on the rod and feeling it ripple under her skin. She shivered and dropped them. “Weird.”
She had lost all interest in panic now. Something was wrong, but now panic was not necessary. It was more important to figure out what was happening. She heard a small sound as her door was opened, and she turned to see Spike enter with a tray with two glasses. He was staring at her with surprised sadness.
“Twilight, you’re all sparkly,” he told her, setting down the drinks, coming closer in a dreamy trance. “Like a gem...”
She looked at herself, and light reflected into her face from thousands of metal flecks in her fur. Turning, it reflected tiny waves across the room and all the books. She grabbed at one of them and yanked it out.
It was followed by a slow dull pain and a trickle of blood. Twilight dropped the flake and saw that the end that had blood was sharpened to a point.
Spike continued to get closer, drool coming from his mouth. His eyes were wide in awe.
“Gems,” he muttered, only an inch from a large metal bit on Twilight. She pushed him away.
“Spike!” she said, snapping him from his trance with a snap.
“Oh, sorry!” he said with a blush, wiping the drool from his face. “You looked like a gem, and well...”
“It's ok,” she said, looking again at the metal from her body. “You couldn’t control it.”
“What about the things in your back?” the dragon asked, tapping the rods.
“They’re a part of me,” Twilight said. “I just don’t know how. The wires lead into me, but how far in is beyond me. It could go all the way up and down my spine. I don’t want to test and find out, though.”
Spike moved one of the wires, and he watched it move beneath her fur, “That’s weird. Really gross.”
“Don’t do it,” Twilight said, taking his hand off. “It feels strange.”
Spike still stared at it, moving around her back, looking at everything on the rods. He noticed the rods were also covered in the metal fibers, glinting just barely brighter than the rods themselves.
“Why do the metal pieces not have blood coming from them?” he asked, flicking one up. “Are they fitted perfectly like that?”
“Obviously, or I’d be bleeding out of every point of my body,” Twilight said. “I don’t think that’s a very important question compared to the rods. Are they supposed to be like wings?”
Spike shrugged, “Could be. Looks like it.”
“Why are they only rods? Are they just half complete?”
Spike went back over to the tray with drinks and brought it over. He handed Twilight one of the glasses. She drank from it and sighed contentedly.
“I’m so confused,” she said, tapping her hoof on the ground.
“I’d be surprised if you weren’t,” Spike replied, sipping slowly at his drink. “It’s all one big weird piece of chaotic mess.”
“Chaos?” Twilight asked, perking up.
“I swear, don’t just jump to conclusions,” he said, rubbing his head in exasperation. “Discord doesn’t do this kind of thing. Besides, we froze him in stone again.”
“Alright,” she said, slumping back down. “After we finish, I’m going to run some tests. I want see if it’s emitting anything.”
“I’ll go with you in case you collapse again,” Spike replied, gulping down the rest of his drink. “Can’t have that.”
“Are you being sarcastic with me?”
He merely stood and started walking from the room.
“I’ll go get the stuff set up.”
Twilight smiled a little, but quickly stopped. It was not the time to be smiling or happy. It was a serious issue.
“If this gets any worse, I’ll go tell my friends,” Twilight said, finishing her drink and standing to follow Spike. “Wait...”
It then occurred to her. Write a letter to Celestia.
“Why haven’t I done that already?” she asked herself. “I should’ve–”
She stopped mid-sentence and froze. She shook her head and blinked a few times.
“What was I thinking about?” she said, looking around. “Oh, well. I’ll remember it eventually.”
She went down to go help Spike. When she came down, she found him attempting to drag the readings machine across the room.
“What are you doing?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Doesn’t it go over here?” he asked, pointing at the wall.
“No, it doesn’t,” she said, pointing at the set of bolts on the floor. “It’s bolted to the floor there because it belongs there.”
“Oh!” Spike said. “I thought that was just to keep it safe!”
Twilight creased in her eyebrows in concern. Spike had helped set up down here plenty of times. How could he unbolt the machine and move it across the room?
She was about to ask when she paused and forgot what she was about to do. Spike had already put the machine back in place and bolted it down.
“Good job setting up, Spike,” she said, hooking the steel rods up to machine with electrodes and wires. “Pull the lever.”
He did, and the electricity coursed through her body. She shook as it traveled all throughout her. It tingled, but it did not hurt or burn. She watched the readings pile out through shaky eyes, and as she blinked, her eye zoomed in on it.
Twilight almost screamed, but held it in. The shaking became magnified from the zoom, and it made it even harder to see the readings. When Spike cut off the electricity, the eye zoomed back in.
She stepped forward and looked at the readings.
“What is this?” she asked.
There was a single line running across the paper in one line at a never-changing level. The line was her heartbeat, and there was none.
“What is happening?” she asked.
Author's Note
Sorry for the wait!
