What Doesn't Kill You...

by Draconian Soul

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Dark
Length: 3710

Celestia tests Twilight's limits by teaching her to deal with pain and death. This is all for Twilight's benefit, or at least that's what Celestia is telling her.

As a new leader and higher up in the ranks of the alicorns, Twilight must be tested. She needs to be prepared to deal with the responsibilities of her duties as a princess. Not only in the term of protecting others, but in physical pain that she would potentially go through.

Or that's what Celestia keeps telling herself. Celestia constantly attempts to kill Twilight, bringing her back to life every time she stops breathing. Twilight doesn't understand. Why would her mentor put her through this? Why would she make her suffer like that? She claims it's to teach her how to deal with pain...

But is she really telling the truth, or does she need an outlet for the pain she suffered?

Special thanks to Mr101, Skeeter the Lurker, RainbowBob, and Merc

Published 2013-10-29 00:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-29 00:50:02 UTC

Makes You Colder

A strange message from Princess Celestia was sent to Twilight. It was very vague and non descriptive, which was unlike the princess.

Dear Twilight,

Come to the Canterlot Palace immediately. There is something we need to discuss.

Your Teacher,
Princess Celestia

“What could she possibly need me for?” Twilight pondered to herself, reading the letter over and over again. The rain pattered hard on the windows of the train, distracting Twilight’s thoughts. “I just hope it’s nothing too severe. Maybe it’s just a little formal event.”

Pondering over the thought, she scanned through the short letter repeatedly for the rest of the trainride.

It was a half day trip to get to the castle, though Twilight’s eagerness made the time fly by. Within mere hours, she had arrived to Canterlot. She got off the train and trotted directly towards Canterlot Palace. Many questions were rushing through her brain.

Why does she need me? What could she possibly want to discuss? Is she in danger?

The more questions she asked, the more anxious and excited she became.

There’s no way to find other than to go there and find out for myself.

Twilight was no stranger to the castle. Often called up for important events and just social gatherings with the princesses, Twilight could track the building inside and out, knowing every location to go in order to reach her teacher. Or at least her former teacher.

As a princess, she no longer needed the same lessons as she did before, which made visitations and reports a lot less frequent. So any kind of meeting with Celestia, as rare as they were, was something special.

With bright enthusiasm, Twilight trotted into the palace. The guards greeted Twilight with the respect of a princess, some bowing and some saluting as she walked past. She waved at them all as she continued her way to Celestia’s room. Twilight assumed she was relaxing from another long day. Being a princess was a job on it’s own, especially for one as ancient as the celestial royalty.

She swiftly made her way towards Celestia’s room, knocking on her door.

“It’s open,” Celestia replied from the other side. Twilight used her magic to turn the knob and pushed the door open. Princess Celestia was laying on her bed, skimming through a book which by the cover art, Twilight could only assume was a book about Equestria’s history. But why would the princess need a book like that. When she heard the footsteps of her number one student, she closed her book and gave a soft, unconvincing smile.

“Hello, Twilight,” Celestia said dryly.

Twilight scratched her head with her hoof from her reaction. “Um, hello, Princess Celestia,” she replied, inching her way closer to her teacher. Celestia didn’t seem as happy to see Twilight as she normally was. She seemed tired and saddened, as if she had lost somepony dear to her. “Is… Is something wrong?”

Celestia shook her head and chuckled. “Not at all, Twilight. I was just sitting here bored, waiting for you to arrive.”

“You… waited for me for that long?”

Celestia nodded, lifting herself off her bed and spreading her wings. “You see, what I called you here for today is urgent. It’s of the utmost importance you take this seriously.”

Twilight frowned slightly, but nodded her head in compliance. “I understand, Princess Celestia,” she said. “So, what exactly do you want me to do?”

Celestia walked towards the door and into the hallway. “Follow me. I’ll explain to you once we get somewhere solitary. This will require a lot of concentration for what we’re going to do.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow in curiosity. What task would require the level of concentration that Celestia was implying? However, she didn’t question Celestia. She knew that she would have her best intention at heart, and followed her down the narrow hallway.

Their walk was hauntingly quiet; neither one of them spoke much on the way down to the chambers of the castle. Even when Twilight tried to strike a conversation, they usually ended with short, blunt answers. The air was cold and stiff, and Twilight felt strange, as if something wasn’t right about the situation.

Still, she ignored these feelings and continued on, trailing behind Celestia.

“Go ahead of me, Twilight,” Celestia commanded. “I need to lock the door in place. We can’t have any disturbance during our activity.

“Yes, Celestia,” Twilight obeyed, trotting ahead of Twilight. She smiled at Celestia, who stared at her nonchalantly, melting the cheerful smile from Twilight’s face.

What’s wrong with her?

Each hoofstep Twilight took was audible on the cold, hard floor. Even the magic that Celestia was using to lock the stone door behind her echoed throughout the catacomb. It was a chilling experience, and Twilight’s heart rate increased because of it.

“Now, Twilight, remember that everything I do is to help you grow,” Celestia stated, heavily sighing in between her statements. “You do know that, right?”

Twilight turned towards Celestia, eye’s raised in confusion. Why would she ask me something like that? Of course everything she does is to help me! “Of course, Celestia. You don’t have to remind me of that!”

Not a single smirk was visible on Celestia’s face. “Just remember, the trails you go through are for the betterment of you, and to help you grow mentally and physically as a princess.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. Wow, she’s really taking this seriously. This must be a new level of my position! This is without a doubt what the letter was for!

“Now, Twilight, are you ready for the—”

“YES!” Twilight shouted. Once she realized how disorderly she sounded, she blushed and coughed into her hooves. “I mean, yes, Princess Celestia. I’m ready for whatever you have in store for me.”

For the first time since Twilight arrived, Celestia appeared to crack a genuine smile. “Glad to hear that, my number one student. Now please, close your eyes so we can begin.”

Without hesitation, Twilight obeyed her order, shutting her eyes tight and waiting for what was to come.

I wonder what she could possibly be doing. Twilight wondered. Maybe she will endow me with some kind of ancient alicorn knowledge. Or maybe even a new magic that only the most skilled can handle! Oh, or maybe even—

Before she could finish her thoughts, she felt a similar feeling surrounding her body. It was Celestia’s magic, levitating her from the ground. The eagerness was welling up inside of her.

“Celestia, when can I open my eyes?” Twilight asked eagerly. “I want to know what’s going on.”

“Oh, trust me, Twilight. You’ll feel it soon enough.”

“Feel it? What do yo—GAAH!”

The sense of euphoria and serenity was replaced by that of intense pain. It felt as if something was piercing through her flesh and through her heart. Twilight was in too much pain to verbally call this to attention, so she shot her eyes open in order to see what was going on.

And what she saw caused her irises to shrink in terror. Celestia’s horn had pierced through her chest. This was made worse by the spurts of blood dripping from the horn and onto the ground.

“C...C….Ce…” Twilight tried to speak, but the pain was too much. Her vision began to blur; her reality began to distort. The only thing she could remember before completely blacking out is the soulless expression on Celestia’s face, as if she cared very little about her pain.

The darkness didn’t last long. When Twilight regained consciousness, she gasped and grabbed at her chest, writhing around the floor in agony. However, there was no blood, nor any sign that she was killed. So why was it that she was laying on the same cold floor as before?

“Wh… What’s going on?” she asked to no one in particular.

Her answer was given, not vocally, but physically. A restraining grip of magic grasped her airways, cutting off her breathing entirely. She flailed around for air, but to no avail.

“Your training, of course.” Celestia walked into the view of a confused and terrified Twilight. Her expression was as cold as stone, and her horn was glowing with her celestial magic. Horrifyingly enough, it was the same magic choking Twilight.

“Wh...Why ar—”

Again, Twilight was cut off by her own mortality. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her body began to twitch for all of twenty seconds before going cold. Celestia shook her head, tsking silently before bringing new life into Twilight. Once again, she woke up gasping for air, this time grabbing at her throat.

“Twilight, my most faithful student,” Celestia said, pacing around the terrified Twilight. “How are you going to be my successor when you die so easily?”

Twilight looked up, tears nearly flowing down her face from the pain she had felt. “I don’t understand.”

Celestia’s horn lit again. This time, it lit with purple. The forbidden magic that would corrupt the weak. Almost instantly, Twilight felt a sickening feeling envelope her horn.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Twilight asked in despair. “You’re filling me with dark magic!”

“I know that, Twilight,” Celestia said, her eye’s now green and corrupted.

“B… But if you overflow me with this, I could die!” Twilight drug herself on the ground, trying to escape the madness she was involved in.

“That’s why you need to fight it off. If you are to be my successor, you must learn how to deal with pain. You have to go beyond that of a mere mortal, and build an immunity to things that would normally kill ordinary ponies.”

“But I’m… gah!... mortal as well!” Twilight exclaimed, screaming in pain between sentences.

“Yes, and that’s why you are going through these trials,” Celestia explained, strengthening her dark magic. “The longer you can go without dying, the more prepared you will be to succeed me. Trust me, Twilight, this hurts me far worse than it hurts you.”

Somehow, Twilight didn’t seem to believe her. The pain she was going through was clouding her thoughts, and the dark magic soon corroded her entire insides. Once again, she flopped to the ground, death taking hold of her just so Celestia could revive her.

Each death was just as painful as the last, and being brought back to relive this experience made Twilight wish she would stay dead.

How is this for my benefit? Twilight thought as Celestia continued to torture her. She says she’s doing this for my own good, but why? Why this?

Twilight continued withstanding the torments her teacher made her go through. With each choke, jab in the chest, and corrosive overload she went through, Celestia would remind her about the reasoning for it. And each time, Twilight believed her less and less.

After killing Twilight repeatedly, Celestia walked over her, staring down at her. “You seem, startled for some reason. Are you second guessing yourself?”

Twilight coughed, straining to move around. “Please… stop…” was all she could mutter.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Celestia said. “,but you need to learn how it feels.” Celestia continued to use her magic to test the boundaries of Twilight’s life. “You need to survive the pains and turmoils that you will surely have in the future. This is to harden you, so these things don’t torment you.”

Celestia’s voice became shaky as she continued. “You have to survive, thrive, and deal with the pain that you are enduring. It’s only for you to grow. To build immunity from the suffering that will go through.”

Twilight tried to hold onto her life. She tried desperately to believe in Celestia’s words. She wanted her actions to have a purpose to them. But every choke, every stab to the chest, every corrosion she went through, her sanity and tolerance began to slip, and the less she believed Celestia’s dry words.

The ‘training’continued for hours. Twilight soon didn’t have the will to scream or cry anymore. There were no more tears left to shed, and her voice was completely shattered. She just lied on the ground, taking in the extreme measures of Celestia without so much of a peap. Her death and reincarnation became less painful as the hours went on, if only because she had experienced it so many times.

Celestia finally released her magical hold on Twilight, letting the half dead student twitch on the ground, gasping desperately for air.

“Well, I think you’ve had enough for one day,” Celestia said, lifting Twilight with her magic and placing her on her back. “We can resume again tomorrow, but for now, I think you need rest.”

Tomorrow?

“Oh, and thank you, Twilight, for being so understanding.”

With that, Celestia trotted out of the catacombs and into the winding halls. Twilight lied motionless on her back, eyes wide open. Fear had consumed her completely.

I can’t… I can’t do this! Not again!

Twilight’s mouth opened slowly, but all that came out were inaudible, zombie-like mumbles. Celestia chuckled.

“Now now, Twilight. You need to conserve your energy if we are going to continue your training. Don’t strain yourself too much. That’s my job.”

Twilight’s eye’s lowered, anger prominent on her face

She… she’s amused by this! She… doesn’t care at all!

Celestia took her to the guest room and softly dropped her on the bed. With one last smile, she rubbed Twilight’s mane to comfort her.

“Don’t worry, Twilight. You did a good job today. I’m sure tomorrow you’ll make excellent progress. You might even be able to last longer than five minutes.”

Celestia tucked the motionless Twilight in and trotted towards the door. Before exiting and closing it, she uttered one last sentence.

“Good night, my most faithful student.”

The door closed slowly, leaving Twilight in her mute state. Her eyes twitched; her body shivered. How could she endure anymore of what she had? There was no way she wanted to go through that again.

Nor was she going to.

“Buck Celestia,” Twilight softly muttered. “I thought she had my best interest at heart, but all I was to her was a mere tool for her enjoyment.”

Twilight’s fear turned into bitter hatred. Her neck wasn’t the only thing that snapped during their training. She sat up in her bed, eye’s filled with burning hatred of her former mentor.

“I will not endure what I just did, not again.” Twilight lit her horn, trying to replicate the dark magic that Celestia had taught her. Spurts of green and purple corrupted her horn, causing her to smile slightly.

“Wait, what am I thinking?” Twilight dimmed her horn, frowning once more. “I can’t do that! If I actually kill her, I’ll never be able to live that down!”

Her hooves quivered, she grabbed at her neck, swallowing heavily. “Still, if I let her continue...” It hurt just to think about it. Twilight looked towards the door, eyes lowering.

“No. I can’t take this anymore. I refuse to let her do this to me.” Twilight lied back in her bed and closed her eyes.

“Tonight, I put an end to my so called loving teacher.”

***

Celestia curled up in her covers, sleeping soundly. She was rarely ever able to sleep and enjoy her day, but for some reason, she felt at peace. Sleep came easy to her, and she found herself finally able to relax and enjoy her lofty dreams.

When she opened her eyes, she wasn’t lying in her bed. No, she was lying on the ground of the main hallway. Only, the hallway was not normal.

“Wha… Where am I?” Celestia walked around the empty hallway, trying to piece together why she was their. As she continued onwards, her eyes widened in despair as she saw the stained glass windows. They showed pictures of her sister, and what Celestia was forced to do to her. It showed the years she spent suffering, tormenting herself over her decision.

“What is this? Why am I being shown this?” Celestia’s questions went unheard, and she continued down the neverending hallway, trying to divert her eyes from her past. Soon, she reached the end of the hallway, with a big, stained image showcasing itself to her. The image caused Celestia’s eyes to shrink in shock.

“Twilight?” The image was her, striking her student down to the ground, killing her repeatedly. She stepped back from the image in front of her, tears welling in her eyes.

“No! That’s not what I did! That’s not…”

“What’s the matter, Princess Celestia?” A cold, unapologetic voice haunted Celestia. She turned her head to the side to see who the intruder was. “The truth getting to you? You starting to feel slight guilt for what you did to us? What you did to me?”

There was no doubt about it. Twilight stood behind her, emotionless and eyes glowing with green. She inched her way closer to Celestia.

“Twilight! What are you doing here? You know this kind of magic is forbidden to be used!”

Twilight chuckled, sending chills down Celestia’s spine. “Yes, I know. But what can you do about it? Your magic is a lot less weaker in your dreams than it is awake, and I have you slightly beat in the magic control area here.”

Celestia tried to blast her student with a little of her magic, but nothing came out. Celestia looked up at her student in fear, realizing what she had done.

“Figured it out, I see?” Twilight taunted. “I put a field around your magic, rendering it useless here.” Twilight trotted closer to Celestia, who tried to walk away from her student. “And I’m sure you know why I did so.”

Twilight’s cold smile turned into a bitter, teeth bearing frown. Celestia could feel the sweat coming down her brow. “Twilight, is this about the training we did? I thought you were understanding of that!”

“Oh, I was. Until it turned into needless torture,” Twilight said, lighting up her horn and pointing it towards Celestia.

“Twilight, please!” Celestia begged, tears starting to flow down her face. “You aren’t thinking clearly!”

Twilight scoffed at Celestia’s statement, pointing her horn even closer to her. “You know what, maybe you’re right. But how can I think clearly after somepony stabbed me and snapped my neck with magic constantly?”

“But… I did that to help you,” Celestia defended. “I did that for you to—”

Twilight shot a jolt of magic at Celestia’s chest, who began to writhe on the ground, screaming in pain.

“To what? To suffer what you suffered?” Twilight shot more bolts at Celestia, taking extra care to not kill her. “To make me go through your pain for you? You think that helped me! Is this your idea of help!”

As her rage built, Twilight became more reckless with her magic, shooting it near vital parts of Celestia’s body. Celestia’s hooves twitched, jolting with each bolt that entered her body.

“Twilight… please…”

Twilight regained control of her emotions and stepped on her teacher’s chest. “Please? Remember when I cried that? You just continued killing me, over and over. And if you haven’t noticed… I didn’t like the feeling of dying.” Twilight pushed her hoof into Celestia’s chest, causing blood to leak out of Celestia’s mouth. “But, since I’m nice, I’ll give you the liberty you didn’t give me: permanent death.”

Celestia was speechless, eye’s wavering in fear.

“You know, I read up on Celestial alicorn mortality. If she is murdered in anyway, her duty becomes the responsibility of the killer. When you die, I will have to carry on your responsibilty for thousands of years. I find this both ironic and tragic.”

Twilight charged her magic; a big ball of dark magic enveloped her horn. Celestia closed her eyes, not wanting to see what she had created.

“You will die of cardiac arrest in your sleep. When the guards come, I will feign sorrow for your death. I even took the liberty of making a fake letter saying that the will and responsibility would be passed down to me, while burning all evidence of the fact that I just told you. Don’t worry, I won’t get off with a clean slate. After all, I get to carry on my guilt for thousands of years, living every waking moment with the knowledge of what I’ve done. I’ll kind of be…”

Twilight paused, tears rushing down her face. It was too late to turn back, and without hesitation, she shot the lethal charge of magic at Celestia’s heart.

“...Just like you.”

***

“Starlight? Your teacher needs you immediately.”

The young unicorn looked up at the royal guard, smiling widely. “Thank you, sir! I’ll go see her immediately then.”

The silver mare trotted with glee in the palace. She had studied countless hours of magic, and practiced the same spells over and over to impress her teacher. This might be the chance she needed.

Walking into the princesses throne room, she immediately bowed to her superior.

“There is no need for that, Starlight. We’ve been through this before. I’m your teacher, not your god.”

“I know, I know!” Starlight looked up at the princess, blushing madly. “It’s just, well anypony in their right mind would give you the respect you deserve! I mean, you’re the element of magic! How can I not fawn over you?”

The lavender princess brought a hoof to her mouth and chuckled. “Still, you are my student before anything else, and I wish it to stay that way. I don’t want you worshiping me everytime you come into my presence.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Starlight stood correctly and smiled widely at her teacher. “So, what do you want from me, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I’m at your humble service.”

She got off of her throne and walked towards Starlight, smiling softly at her eager student. “Come with me, Starlight. There is much to be done today.”

Starlight’s eyes lit up with glee. “Really? What is it?”

Twilight led her out of the door and into the main hall. “Let’s just say, it’s about time for your next level of studies to begin.”

Author's Note

Well, hope this isn't too terrible for your taste. Only 1 more to go. See ya on Halloween.