Chapters "I've got to find the Crystal Heart." Twilight said as she continued to search the castle. Twilight was about to pass up the throne room when she suddenly noticed something. Something was strange about the throne, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on what. Then it suddenly hit her.
"If the Empire is filled with hope, and love those things are reflected across all of Equestria," She remembered the Princess telling her, "If hatred and fear take hold,"
"Of course!" she cried out. The crystal that sat atop the throne was the exact same shape as the one Celestia had showed her.
"What?!" asked Spike, startled, "Did you find it?"
"No," Twilight told him, "Because this isn't King Sombra's castle."
"But... Isn't this where he lived when he was in power?" questioned Spike.
"It is," she said, "But it didn't look like this." Twilight knew she was right, she had to be. The only problem was how to prove that. She tried to think back again on what Celestia said, but couldn't find the answer. Come on Twilight. She told herself. Think. Think! What was it that the Princess said? Look closely.
Twilight gasped as she realized the solution. Hatred and fear! Of course! Princess Celestia used hatred to power her magic instead of kindness. But, how am I supposed to do that? Twilight reached deep down in herself looking for something, anything, even a spark of hatred, but alas she couldn't find any.
Just then she felt something. A twinge so to speak. She reached in again, and felt the same thing, it was a feeling that she was not too familiar with, but just the one she needed right now: Hatred. As she drew upon it's power she felt another twinge, but brushed it off. "Good, take my power." She heard a whisper, but just dismissed it as her imagination.
Once she had gathered enough power the magic around her horn turned an angry shade of black, like a storm cloud right before a harsh rainfall. Finally she released the magic and it flew into the crystal that stood atop of the throne. From there the magic quickly spread out as if by chain reaction, revealing the true nature of the throne room.
In the middle of the room was a large square hole with a large staircase winding down it into darkness. "Woah," said Spike, amazed, "When did you learn to do that?" he questioned.
"That was a little trick Celestia taught me." Twilight told him, "You stay here, I'm going to have a look."
"If you insist," he said. With that out of the way Twilight lit up her horn and began her long descent down into the dark depths of the Crystal Castle. "Can you see down there yet?" he questioned.
"Not yet," she shouted back up at him, "I'm not even sure how far down this goes." Deciding to find out she used her magic to break off a piece of a crystal and drop it into the empty void listening for a good ten seconds before she finally heard it hit the ground, her eyes widening in surprise. "Spike?" she called.
"Yeah?" he called back.
"Can you see outside?" she questioned. A few seconds passed by before he answered.
"It's not good," he said, "Cadence's magic must be fading faster then before." Upon hearing this Twilight realized they had no time to waste and so started galloping down the stairs nearly falling several times before she reached the bottom. Once she was there she noticed a door and tried to open it. To her surprise though, it disappeared.
Confused, she looked around and found that the door had not disappeared, simply moved. Thinking it was merely a fluke, she tried again, and got the same result. "What in the?" she questioned trying once more to use her magic to pull open the door, yet the result was the same as the last two times.
"Stop moving!" she said, starting to get angry. Reaching once more inside of her she felt the same spark as before and drew upon it's power much more quickly this time. "Yes, embrace the hatred." A sinister voice whispered, to which Twilight paid no attention to as she was busy trying to force open the door.
Firing a beam of dark magic at the gem on top of the door she watched as the door finally opened revealing a bright light. Without thinking she barged ahead through the door, only to come to a surprised halt as she found herself back in the throne room at Canterlot Palace.
"What are you doing here?" came the angry voice of her mentor. Twilight turned around to see Celestia dealing with a large pile of paperwork.
"I-I don't know," Twilight stuttered, "I opened the door and-"
"And now you must go," Celestia interrupted her
"Go where?" questioned Twilight.
"It doesn't matter to me." Celestia told her, "You failed the test Twilight.
"I don't understand!" cried Twilight, "The test-"
"Not only will you not move on to the next level of your studies," Celestia interrupted again, "You won't continue your studies at all."
"But, you didn't say anything about no longer being your student if I failed," Twilight said, on the verge of tears.
"Didn't I?" Celestia said, seeming almost uncaring to Twilight's suffering.
"But what do I do now?" Twilight questioned. Just then she noticed the stained glass next to her. It depicted the rise of the evil King Sombra, and her own fall. Unable to contain herself any longer she broke down into tears right there. Unable to do anything other than sit there and weep she started thinking of how this could have happened.
"How could Sombra do this?" she questioned, "Why would Sombra do this?" The more and more she thought about it the tighter her chest became. Eventually her tears dried up and she was only able to come to one conclusion: This was all Sombra's fault.
She felt herself grow angry. Angry at Sombra. This is all his fault! she thought If he had just left the Crystal Empire alone none of this would have happened. She stared at the stained window as a pit of rage bubbled in her chest, growing hotter with every second.
Finally she could no longer stand it and she took a hold of all her rage and hatred, and poured it into her magic. This time instead of it becoming a deep black it became an angry red Unbeknownst to her a tinge of red shading appeared in her eyes. She focused all of her magic, and hatred on one thing.
"SOMBRA!" she yelled out her voice filled with raw emotions. She released the magic straight into the stained glass, watching as it shattered instantly. Suddenly she found herself back at the bottom of the stairwell in front of the door whose gem was shattered.
The door now revealed something very different, another, brighter room filled with yet another spiralling staircase that wound around a central column. "Twilight!" Spike called as he reached the bottom of the staircase himself, "Twilight, thank goodness, I was so worried about you."
"I'm alright Spike," she told him, not wanting to reveal what had truly happened. "Right, well I better get going," she said, entering the next room before looking back, "Actually maybe you should come with me this time." Upon hearing this Spike smiled, and quickly followed after Twilight.
"What if this is just more of his magic?" Spike panted after several exhausting minutes of climbing up the seemingly endless stairway, "What if this is a staircase that goes on forever?" Twilight thought about it, and tilted her head back trying to find the top of the never-ending stairwell. After a few moments an idea came to her.
"Spike, get on my back." she told him.
"Gladly," he said, hopping onto her, glad that he didn't have to walk any more. Twilight's horn glowed and covered them with magic. They levitated in the air for a moment before flipping upside-down and landing on the smooth bottom of the stairwell which acted as a slide and sent them spiralling down it. "Woah!" Spike screamed,
"I actually studied gravity spells, thinking it would be on my test," Twilight admitted, "Turns out I was prepared for this!" Right as they reached the top of the stairwell Twilight used her magic to once again flip them back upright. They shook their heads to rid themselves of disorientation, and saw that they were atop a tall tower. In the middle of the tower was exactly what they were looking for: The Crystal Heart.
Twilight approached the crystal, but as soon as she stepped on the decorative circle that it sat it, it flashed and let out a sound, as if a warning. Worried, Twilight leapt towards the Crystal Heart just as black crystals appeared, knocking the crystal out, but trapping herself inside of the crystal prison.
"The heart!" she panicked, "Where is the Crystal-"
"Here!" Spike called from the other side of the black walls, "It rolled over to me when you dropped it."
"Don't move." she told him, looking out a small crack to see several smaller black crystals encroaching upon the baby dragon. "You can move," she told him, "Just not towards me." Spike quickly backed away and the dark crystals stopped their advance.
With that out of the way Twilight quickly prepared her magic, and cast a teleportation spell, teleporting herself out of the prison, but something went wrong and just as soon as she got out she was teleported straight back in. "How could I have been so foolish?" Twilight despaired, "I was just so eager to get it. And when I saw what was going on outside."
"You have to get out of there Twilight," Spike said, "You have to be the one to bring the Crystal Heart to Princess Cadance. If you don't you fail Celestia's test."
"Sombra is already attacking the Crystal Empire," Twilight said, "He could reach the crystal ponies at any moment. Princess Cadence, my brother, my friends. There may not be enough time for me to find a way to escape." Twilight then realized what had to be done. "You have to be the one to bring the Crystal Heart to the fair," she told Spike.
"Me?" he questioned, "But Twilight-"
"Go." She told him.
"But-"
"Go!" With that Spike snatched up the Crystal Heart and leapt off of the tower, leaving Twilight all alone. Twilight slumped down and sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?" she wondered. "What indeed?" Came another voice, startling Twilight. "What? Who's there?" she questioned.
The voice let out a malicious chuckle. "That's not important right now" it told her, "What is important though is that you get out of here. This prison is slowly draining your magic. If you stay here for too long you'll end up dead. "W-What?!" she stuttered in shock, "What do you mean?"
"You should know," the voice said, your body uses magic to keep itself running. With all your magic gone your body will stop functioning and you'll die. The only reason you're not dead yet is because of your large quantities of magic, but if you don't get out of here quick you'll be dead.
"W-What do I do?" she questioned, "I can't teleport out of here, and my magic isn't strong enough to break through." The voice let out a sigh. "Very well, just this once I'll lend you my power." Suddenly she felt a rush of energy like nothing she'd ever felt before. A strange red aura surrounded her. It was amazing, this magic was like nothing she'd ever seen before.
--
Spike was perched precariously on the ledge of a dark crystal as he tried to make his way down to the others. Suddenly there was an explosion from above, making him loose his balance, and nearly fall off the edge. Luckily he was able to stabilize himself before he fell and stood back up, looking upwards for the source of the explosion.
Suddenly a figure appeared from the tower, completely covered in a deep red cloak of magic, so he was unable to tell who that was. Then the figure spoke, "SOMBRA!" And he instantly recognized the figure as one Twilight Sparkle.
Before Sombra had a chance to respond he was blasted by a streak of orange energy from Twilight's horn, sending him flying backwards, only stopping when he crashed into a building. Everypony stared gaping at the indention made by Sombra's body hitting a wall.
To everypony's surprise, Sombra stood back up, unfazed, and let out a growl. In response Twilight let out one of her own, sounding more like an animal then a pony. Sombra's horn glowed, and a shroud of darkness surrounded him. With a roar of fury he charged towards Twilight whom jumped down to meet his challenge.
The resulting clash released a large shock wave of energy that flattened anything within a ten foot radius, and sent everypony flying back "W-What's going on?" Spike questioned after he regained his balance.
"I don't know Spike," Shining Armor said, "But whatever it is, it's not good."
"Spike!" Cadance exclaimed, "Where's Twilight?!"
"She's over there!" he said, pointing to where Twilight and Sombra were having a standoff.
"Where?" asked Cadance, "I can only see Sombra, and that thing."
"That 'thing' is Twilight," Spike told her.
"What?!" exclaimed Shining, "What do you mean that thing is Twily?!"
"I don't know," Spike told him, "Last time I saw her she was stuck in one of Sombra's crystal traps. I'm sure that's Twilight though." Shining Armour looked back to where the two powerful beings were clashing. Both Sombra and Twilight were charging up magic, an eerie black surrounding Sombra's horn, and an angry red surrounding Twilight's.
Almost instantaneously the two each shot a bolt of magic from their horns, the energies clashing with each-other in mid-air, causing a huge explosion sending both of the ponies flying backwards, and flattening several nearby buildings. Twilight recovered faster then Sombra though, and her horn glowed a scarlet red.
This time though, instead of casting a bolt of magic at Sombra, a collection of blood red orbs, and sky blue orbs started collecting together at the tip of Twilight's horn, creating a large black ball of energy nearly the size of a pony's head. The ground beneath Twilight's hooves cracked as though under a great weight as she reared up on her hind hooves.
What happened next shocked everypony to the core. Twilight slammed her hooves down, and shot the dark ball towards Sombra. Sombra, having very little time to react, enshrouded himself in a cloak of darkness. When the ball hit it, though, it exploded in a brilliant explosion much bigger than any of the ones that had come before.
Right before the shock wave hit them, Shining Armour created a dome of bright pink energy which shielded the castle from the force of the blast, but the shock wave was still strong enough to cause several parts of the castle to crumble. When the shock wave had passed a thick layer of dust had settled over everything, and Shining Armour released his shield.
When the dust settled the group stared in shock, and horror at what was left of the crystal kingdom, or rather what wasn't. Anything that had been in the way when Twilight had unleashed that strange energy had been completely obliterated, leaving only a large furrow where half of the Crystal Empire had once stood.
The cloaked Twilight grinned maliciously, thinking that it'd finally finished what it started when a large mass of darkness unravelled to reveal a completely unharmed King Sombra. "Uh oh," Cadance said, "If this goes on for much longer the entire Crystal Empire will be destroyed!"
"I'll tell Celestia." Spike said, "She'll know what to do!"
'I hope so Spike," Shining said, "Please be okay Twily." He looked back to where the two were fighting while Spike wrote a letter to send to Celestia. Twilight let out an unearthly growl at Sombra, and Sombra did the same. Then Sombra's horn glowed an ominous black, and a shroud of darkness wrapped around the enraged Twilight.
Twilight let out a beast like roar as the shadows squeezed her tighter, and tighter. Suddenly a violent red magic spread from her body and covered the shadows, and anything touching it dissolved, freeing Twilight from Sombra's grasp. In retaliation a claw of pure orange energy shot out and reached for Sombra whom swiftly jumped back to avoid it, the claw slamming into the ground.
Almost instantly another claw shot up out of the ground, and slammed into Sombra, sending flying back, skidding to a halt a ways back. He stood back up revealing an angry green glow in his eyes, and a small gash on his cheek which was leaking blood. He let out an enraged roar as a dark orb of magic collected around his horn.
Sombra shot the ball of dark magic at Twilight. When it slammed into her it sent her flying back before crashing into the ground. Twilight stood back up, uninjured and enraged, it was clear to the ponies watching that this fight was far from over. Suddenly there was a bright flash, and Princess Celestia appeared in front of the ponies.
"What's happened?!" she demanded, "Where's Twilight?!" Spike pointed towards the near barren landscape at the two powerful ponies who had been battling. Princess Celestia turned around to look, and her eyes widened in horror at the pure destruction as well as Twilight who was covered in a violent orange energy.
She quickly swung back around to face the ponies. "Quickly Cadance!" she exclaimed, "You must use the Crystal Heart before it's too late."
"But what about Twilight?" Cadance questioned. Princess Celestia's eyes darkened.
"I am talking about Twilight." she said ominously. Cadance nodded before levitating the Crystal Heart to herself, and flying off towards the courtyard at the bottom of the castle where all the citizens of the Crystal Kingdom had gathered. "Wait, what do you mean?" Shining Armour questioned, "What's going to happen to Twilight?" Celestia simply lowered her eyes.
Shining Armour grew angry, "What's going to happen to Twilight?!" he demanded, "Tell me!" Normally he wouldn't have ever spoken like that to the Princess, but his little sister was down there, covered in some kind of strange energy, and fighting to the death with a thousand year old king who was trying to take over the Crystal Empire.
"She should be safe." Celestia told him, still unable to look him in the eyes.
"Should be?!"
"At this stage it's hard to tell." she said, looking at him, "She's too far gone for me to reach, the only chance we have is to use the Crystal Heart."
"What do you mean?" he demanded, "What's going on here?"
"Shining Armour!" she said, getting his attention, "This is all the information I can divulge at the moment. All I can say is that the Crystal Heart is the best chance we have for returning Twilight to normal." Shining Armour, having nothing to respond with merely bowed his head in submission.
"Citizens of the Crystal Empire," Cadance said, catching everypony's attention, "The Crystal Heart has returned. Use the love and light within you to vanquish the evil that has seized the Crystal Empire." One by one the crystal ponies regained their crystal coats, and bowed down, making the Crystal Heart grow brighter and brighter until it unleashed a bright wave of energy.
As the energy spread out it destroyed any dark crystals that had been created by Sombra, and when it reached the two fighting beings it burnt away the bright orange energy from around Twilight, and caused several cracks to appear in Sombra before he let out a roar of rage and shattered into pieces.
Upon seeing this the others, and Shining Armour rushed out of the castle, and to the side of the exhausted, and unconscious Twilight who had somehow sustained several burns, revealing several red patches underneath her fur. As they checked to see if she had any more injuries Princess Celestia flew up to them.
"I will be sure that she gets good medical treatment back in Canterlot. The rest of you may come if you'd like of course." Celestia told them. They nodded in agreement and she turned away to leave when a very familiar voice sounded in her head. "Celestia."
Suddenly she found herself no longer standing in the ruins of the Crystal Empire, instead she was standing in a large dark metal room with a large collection of pipes branching off in several directions, several of them leaking droplets which had accumulated in a thin layering of water that covered the floor.
Celestia turned around to see several large red bars, and a familiar large orange creature glaring at her with a look of pure hatred upon it's face. "Celestia!" the beast roared again.
"Ah, hello Kurama," Celestia greeted, "It's been a long time hasn't it."
"Don't give me that Celestia!" he roared, "You're the one who sealed me here in the first place."
"Yes, I know that," she said, "You needn't remind me of it."
"You may have been able to stop me this time Celestia," he said, "But this cage won't be able to hold me forever. I'll get out eventually."
"I know," Celestia said, "And when that day comes I'll be ready. I shall not allow a monster like you to harm my subjects any further." With that she turned around and walked away.
"CELESTIA!"
Twilight Sparkle let out a pained groan as she floated back to the realm of the conscious. Waking up was not a very pleasant experience for her. Her head was pounding like somepony had tried to play a drum solo on it, and her whole body felt as though it were on fire.
Twilight begrudgingly cracked open her eyes, and regretted it almost immediately as the harsh light only served to make her headache even worse. Twilight's eyes watered in irritation, but she resisted the urge to just close them again and go back to sleep. As Twilight's eyes finally began to adjust she could just make out a grouping of dark blobs at the edge of her vision.
As she continued to stare at them the blobs began to mold into vaguely familiar equine shapes before gaining the distinct features of her five friends. "Ugh," she groaned, her muscles screaming at her as she moved a foreleg to her head, "What happened?" In an instant Twilight was swarmed upon by her friends.
"Twilight you're okay!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"We're all mighty glad that you're alright sugarcube." Applejack told her.
"Yes darling," agreed Rarity, "You gave us quite the scare there."
"Ah, I knew she'd be fine." Dash said nonchalantly, though her eyes told a completely different story.
"Don't give me that Dash," Rarity said, "You were just as worried as the rest of us."
"Ah, whatever." Dash retorted, waving a hoof dismissively. Fluttershy was the only one who didn't speak, instead merely offering her a consoling smile.
"What... What happened to me?" Twilight croaked. Upon hearing this everypony's eyes widened and they looked at her in surprise.
"Don't you remember darling?" Rarity questioned.
"No," Twilight said, shaking her head, "The last thing I remember is being in Sombra's trap, and... and a voice?" The others shared a look, and for a moment Twilight worried that they might think she was crazy.
"Well Ah can't rightly say Ah know what happened to ya," Applejack started, turning to face her other friends, "Actually I don't think that any of us can."
"I can." came a voice, startling everypony. They all quickly turned around to see the large regal form of Princess Celestia walking in.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed joyously.
"Hello Twilight," Princess Celestia greeted, smiling at her, "I'm glad to see that you are okay." Princess Celestia then turned to face the others before speaking, "Would the rest of you please wait outside? I have something I wish to discuss with Twilight alone." Rainbow Dash opened her mouth as if to say something but was silenced by Applejack putting a hoof on her shoulder and shaking her head.
Begrudgingly Rainbow let herself be led out of the room followed by her other three friends. Once the door was shut and the two were finally alone Celestia turned back to look at Twilight, a somber expression on her face. "Princess?" she questioned, startled by her mentors sudden change in demeanor, "Is something wrong?"
Princess Celestia let out a long sigh. "I had hoped to forgo this longer," she said, "Perhaps indefinitely, but now I realize that that was foolishness on my part."
"Forgo what?" Twilight asked, more worried about the Princess than she was about herself.
"Before we continue any farther you must understand that all of this was my fault." Celestia told her.
"What's your fault?" Twilight questioned, "What's happening?"
"You have something sealed away inside of you Twilight," Celestia said, staring at her sadly, "A monster."
"A-A monster?" Twilight stuttered, "W-What do you mean a monster?"
"I mean a creature that cares not for the lives of others, be them ponies or otherwise," Celestia said, somberly, "A beast of unfathomable power who would destroy all he got his claws on merely for his own amusement. A beast known only as the Nine-Tailed Fox, and it's inside of you Twilight."
"I-I don't understand Princess," Twilight said, "Why is it inside of me? And how could it be your fault?"
"It is my fault, Twilight," she answered, "Because I am the one who sealed it inside of you."
"I don't understand Princess. How? Why?" Twilight questioned.
"I sealed it inside of you out of my own selfish desires, Twilight," Celestia admitted, unable to look her in the face, "The day you lost control of your magic I saw your true potential, both as my student and as a pony. I knew then that you would be the perfect vessel for the Element of Magic."
"That day I took you under my wing to try and teach you as much as I possibly could before Nightmare Moon returned. What you do not know however was that the very same day was the day that I sealed the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of you."
"But why Princess?" Twilight questioned.
"There is something that even you do not know about the Elements of Harmony Twilight," Celestia told her, "As you already know each of the Elements needs a living vessel through which to channel their magic, hence the Element bearers. What you do not know, however, is that the Element of Magic also acts as a conduit for the other five Elements."
"It is because of this that the Element of Magic puts an immense strain on its bearer. I was only able to wield it because I am immortal. I wouldn't- I couldn't risk the Elements of Harmony failing. I couldn't risk loosing Luna again." Upon hearing Celestia's confession tears started to form in Twilight's eyes.
"Princess."
"I had to ensure that you were strong enough to wield the Element OF Magic, that is why I sealed the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of you. Now, however, the seal is leaking and the Nine-Tails seeks to escape back into Equestria by taking over your body. You're in danger and it's all my fault."
Princess Celestia squeezed her eyes shut, tears of her own forming. Suddenly she felt herself wrapped in a warm embrace, and her eyes widened in surprise. Just then Twilight said the three words that Celestia knew she didn't deserve to hear.
"I forgive you."
Celestia was unable to reign in her emotions any longer and allowed a flow of tears to slide down her face as she returned Twilight's embrace.
"Thank you."
The two stayed like that for a few more minutes before Celestia stood up and dried the tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry that I can't stay longer, but I must attend to my duties."
"Don't worry Princess, I understand." Twilight told her, giving her a warm smile. As Celestia turned to leave a question formed inside of Twilight's head. "Wait!" she called out, catching the Princesses attention, "What do I tell my friends?"
"That is not my decision to make. You alone are the one who must decide that."
With that Princess Celestia took her leave, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts. 'What should I do?' she wondered to herself, 'Should I tell them? How would they react? Will they really still accept you?' Twilight did a back take when she came to the startling realization that the last thought had not come from her.
Suddenly Twilight found herself standing ankle-deep in a large, dark pool of water. An unnatural chill sent shivers up Twilight's spine as she looked around the dark, damp room. The walls appeared to be made out of metal, and pipes protruded from several spots in the walls before extending out into several connecting corridors.
"W-Where am I?" Twilight questioned, startled by her sudden change in scenery.
"This is your psyche." a voice deep as thunder growled.
Twilight whipped around only to find herself face to face with the giant red eye of an even more enormous orange beast glaring at her. "Gyaaaaaah!" Twilight let out a screech before pinwheeling backwards as fast as she could before she tripped, landing on her flank with a large splash.
Twilight looked back up to where she had been previously, and finally noticed that there were large red bars blocking the way of the creature, effectively creating a cage. Now that she was further away she could fully make out the beast. It was the largest thing that she had ever seen, even bigger than an ursa minor, and it had deep, blood-red eyes with slitted pupils that were as large as a pony. The beast also appeared to resemble either a fox or a coyote.
"W-What are you?" Twilight questioned once she finally found the will to speak again.
The fox bared his teeth at her and growled, his tails whipping around behind him. "What do you think?" Twilight took notice of the number of tails he had and realization sparked in her eyes as she gasped.
"You're the Nine-Tailed Fox?" He growled in affirmation. "But why am I here?"
"Because I brought you here."
"But why? What do you want with me?"
"I thought that we could have a little chat."
"A... chat? About what?"
"Your friends."
"M-My friends? What about my friends?"
"What will they do once they learn of me?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, will they still accept you as their friend?"
"Of course they will! I mean why wouldn't they?"
"Because you're a monster."
"I'm not a monster! You're then monster!"
"Yes, but will they be able to tell the difference?
"Of course they will!" Twilight exclaimed, suddenly feeling unsure of herself, "I mean they are my friends aren't they?"
The Nine-Tails faded silently back into the darkness, having accomplished what he had set out to do. The last thing to fade was his malicious grin.
"O-Of course they are," Twilight continued to ramble, unaware of the Nine-Tails' absence, "They accept me for who I am. They know I'm not a monster... don't they? Don't they?! But what if they do? What if they look at me and all they see is a monster?! What if-"
"Twilight!" Applejack's voice broke through Twilight's thoughts, startling her. Twilight took a deep breath as she gazed at her surroundings and realized that she was back in her hospital room surrounded by her friends.
"Oh, hey girls." she greeted them.
"Ya okay Twi?" Applejack questioned, "Ya kinda spaced out there for a bit."
"I'm alright Applejack." Twilight assured her, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Are you sure darling?" Rarity asked, "You seem a bit pale."
"I'm fine Rarity," she answered, "I was just..." Twilight paused for a moment, searching for the right word, "...thinking." Twilight could tell that her friends didn't buy it, but they didn't push it.
"Okay darling," Rarity told her, "But if you ever need anything just tell us."
'Should I tell them?' Twilight wondered to herself, 'Of course I should, they're my friends, they won't think any differently of me.'
"Listen girls, I need to tell you something."
"Sure sugarcube, what is it?" Applejack questioned.
Twilight looked around at the expectant faces of her friends and opened her mouth to speak only to find it dry. It was then that the Nine-Tails' words once again rang in her head. 'Will they still accept you as their friend? You're a monster. Will they be able to tell the difference? '
Twilight couldn't help but imagine what would happen if they really did think she was a monster.
"I can't believe I ever thought myself friends with such an uncouth monster." Rarity sneered at her.
"You're a big meanie pants, I can't believe I threw parties for you." Pinkie spoke, her mane and tail flat.
"So not cool Twilight." Dash said.
"Ah can't believe ya lied to us." Applejack said, shaking her head sadly.
"How dare you pretend to be our friend!" Fluttershy said, looking angrier than Twilight ever remembered seeing her.
"P-Please," she stuttered, "You don't understand, I'm not a-"
"Monster!" Pinkie called out, cutting her off.
"Monster." Rarity agreed.
"Monster."
"Monster."
"Monster."
"I'm not a monster!"
"...Twilight. Twilight!"
Twilight was suddenly snapped out of her fantasy to see a stallion in a doctor's coat. "Hello there," he greeted Twilight, "My name is Dr. Horse, I'm the head doctor at Canterlot General Hostpital. Would I be correct in assuming that you are Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight simply nodded in response.
"Good," he continued, "You have probably already been made aware of this, but you have been given a clean bill of health and may go home soon. I just need to talk to you for a little bit, is that okay?" Twilight nodded again. "Good. Now I'll just give you a basic rundown as I'm sure you're eager to leave."
"When you were brought here three days ago you had sustained a few cuts and bruises, but nothing that was too pressing. Our main concern were the burns."
"Burns?" Twilight questioned.
"Yes, burns." he said, "It appeared as though you had suffered several magic induced burns. We tried to treat the burns, but no matter what we did or what kind of magic we used your body rejected the healing."
"But I don't feel any burns." Twilight argued.
"Yes, and that's the amazing part," he told her, "This morning your burns just started healing and within minutes they were completely gone. It was as if something had just willed them away." Twilight swallowed nervously at this revelation. "Anyways after that we ran a few tests on you, but everything popped up normal which brings us to where we are now."
"At any rate you're free to go, but I suggest taking it easy for a little while just in case." With that the doctor trotted out leaving Twilight with her friends.
"Well you heard the stallion Twi," Applejack said, "Why don't we get you home."
"That sounds great," Twilight said, flashing her a smile, "I am getting a little bit homesick."
"Then it's settled, "Rarity agreed, "Next stop Ponyville."
--
Deep within the Everfree a dark blue mist writhed before coalescing into the shadowy form of a pony. The pony's eyes opened to reveal deep turquoise orbs with slitted pupils. "Soon." she muttered, thinking through the week's events.
