What Shall be True

When Twilight awoke again, everything felt like it was spinning.

Like the whole world was whirling and twirling around her as she…

Hang on…

Was she standing or laying down? She couldn’t tell.

She tried moving her limbs experimentally from their curled-up posture, only to have them snap back into place the minute she tried, like she was wrapped up in something.

Hesitantly, she tried casting a telekinesis spell to unwrap herself. And though she could feel the magic flowing all the way through her horn (with hefty resistance), it was like it got…stuck. On what, she didn’t know.

Finally, Twilight decided to just open her eyes. It was a chore to do so, given how painfully bright the room was, and how some of her mind wanted nothing more than to crawl back to sleep. But she managed.

She instantly regretted what she saw.

It was Canterlot. Specifically, the Throne Room. And yet, the whole thing was wrong on so many levels. It was lit only by torches lining the walls. Several of the priceless stained-glass windows depicting Twilight’s previous escapades were shattered, letting the wind moan softly through the room. Above the throne itself hung a massive skull, belonging to what must have been a dragon. And coating the ceiling were slimy green cocoons.

Twilight frantically struggled to move her legs, fearing the worst. And when she looked down…

…green cocoon.

“Well, well, well. Good morning, sleepyhead.”

Twilight looked up (up relative to her), and immediately saw her.

Chrysalis.

She buzzed her wings, floating gently up to greet Twilight at eye level.

“Long time, no see. How’ve you been?”

Twilight said nothing. She did her best to look threatening, but Chrysalis was radiating raw power. It reminded Twilight of the residual magic she felt when facing Nightmare Moon, only much, much stronger.

Chrysalis had gotten powerful.

“I’ve been doing fantastic, thank you for asking,” she started, looking mildly peeved that Twilight was giving her the silent treatment. She pretended to look disinterestedly at a porphyritic hoof. “Ruling Equestria, killing Princesses, and generally just living the dream life.”

Twilight just wished she could burn Chrysalis with her gaze. “You killed Luna.”

“Oh, yes, about that. You see, she was trying to kill me, and…well, it’s legal if it’s in self-defense.”

“She was my friend. And you murdered her. In cold blood.”

She just looked at Twilight, a wicked gleam in her eye. Then she floated in closer and closer until her face filled Twilight's vision, venom dripping from her monstrous grin.

“Yes. I did.” Her gaze turned predatory. “Wanna know the other friends of yours I killed?”

Twilight tried to reach out and strangle her, only to elecit a swinging of her cocoon and an echoing laugh from Chrysalis. “Oh, Twilight, I forgot just how spirited you could be! You’re so much like your pet dragon in that respect.”

Twilight turned to look at the dragon skull mounted on the far wall, suddenly placing it.

“Y-You…”

“Oh, yes. His body was a bit bothersome to deal with, being almost 8,000 pounds. I had to leave him sticking out of his cave until he rotted enough to move. Talk about an eyesore. But I think I like him here. Really puts the room together.”

Twilight let out a ferocious scream of rage as red filed her vision. She kept trying, so hard, to do anything to harm Chrysalis. To make her pay for the atrocities she’d done to her beloved assistant.

But all she did was make Chrysalis laugh.

“Ohh Twily, your fury is so very delectable. Not as filling as love, but it certainly has a nice kick to it!”

Twilight was too furious to dignify that with a response.

There was a soft tingle as Chrysalis’ magic wrapped around her, pulling her cocoon off the ceiling to drift with her towards the ground.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Oh, off to see your friends of course! When I heard you were back, I prepared a special room in the castle just for you six. All kinds of seals and wards in place to keep you locked inside.”

“Changelings don’t know how to make seals, or wards. Those are advanced magic!”

“And what do you think I’ve had access to my whole time in Canterlot? I’ve been brushing up the past four years, teaching myself all kinds of magic that you unicorns take for granted. I’m even teaching a few of those spells to my drones.” She smiled another evil grin. “They’re such good students. You’d like them.”

Twilight said nothing, her face locked in a harsh glare as her mind reeled through the implications. Changelings, learning advanced magic? Changelings on their own were bad enough, but with spells like shields and summoning and healing magic? That could be a really big problem. And Princess’ forbid she ever find something like a time sp-

Twilight’s heart dropped like an anvil.

Star Swirl’s book.

Chrysalis laughed manically. “Finally figured it out, have you? I’ve been glancing over your notes in that book. Really impressive stuff. One in particular jumped out at me, and I think you know which spell. Oh, just imagine it! Two queens, one who’s already conquered Equestria! Why, I could even go back to my very early youth, and take this country for myself before it ever has a chance to punish me for something I can’t help. Doesn’t that just sound grand?”

Twilight’s mind raced faster than ever before. There had to be a way to stop her. There had to be a way out of this. Some flaw in the system she could exploit. She just had to find it.

“Well, here we are. This is your room, right nextdoor to your old mentor! Pleasant, no? Oh, I knew you’d like it!”

One of the Changeling guards threw the door open, and inside Twilight could see all six of her friends being held against the far wall by telekinetic fields from the guards. The room was threadbare at best, decorated with only two windows that showed a black, starless sky.

Twilight glared at Chrysalis. “Why don’t you just kill us?”

“Because I promised Pinkamena I wouldn’t. That was part of our deal, after all. But I don’t think I’ll be breaking that deal when I do this.”

She rocketed forward with lightning speed, sinking her fangs deep into Twilight’s shoulder. Then a muscle in her mouth flexed, and Twilight felt a sudden, harsh scream of pain spread throughout her leg.

Chrysalis stepped back, red blood and green venom still dripping from her fangs. She stared at Twilight firmly.

“Kill your friends, when it pleases you.”

The reaction was immediate. Twilight felt a sudden itch appear at the very edges of her mind, an urge, a bloodlust.

Chrysalis threw her into the room, where her cocoon evaporated into a pile of sticky green gunk that Twilight sat at the middle of. As she turned back to the door, Chrysalis stared down at the tiny purple alicorn that was Twilight Sparkle, radiating power and hideous regality. “And when the venom wears off, and you see what you’ve done with a clear mind…only then do you have my permission to die.”

She stepped back, and the doors closed with an ominous Slam!.

Immediately, Twilight felt her friend’s hooves pull and tear at the remains of the cocoon, freeing her from its grasp.

Rarity appeared in her vision. “Twilight! Twilight, are you okay?”

‘Sweet Celestia, her voice is annoying.’

That itch swelled up in her mind, as if on cue. Thoughts flooded her brain of Twilight tearing the vocal chords out of the other mare’s ‘no stop it I’M IN CONTROL OF MY BRAIN!’

Twilight pulled herself together enough to stand. And then speak. “Pinkie.”

Pinkie hadn’t moved from where she sat on the back wall. “Yes, Twilight?”

“What did she mean?”

‘Kill her! Go beat the answer out of no I am not hurting my friends!’

Pinkie gulped as all of her friends fixed their eyes on her. “Please, Twilight, you have to unders-“

“What. Deal. Was she talking about?”

Pinkie started crying. “It was right before the re-invasion. She caught me on one of my scouting missions, and promised to let me keep the library. She promised that she wouldn’t kill any of us! She promised to bring you back and let us all stay happy as long as we didn't fight! It would be just like old times!”

Twilight already knew the answer, but she asked anyway. If nothing else, it gave her mind something to do as that little itch became not so little anymore. “And what did you give her in exchange?”

Pinkie broke down in sobs, and Dash answered for her. “Pinkie…you sold us out!?”

‘Dammit, I hate it when she interrupts no I don’t she’s my FRIEND!’ The thought didn’t come back, but Twilight started to feel like her hooves were moving themselves. Towards Pinkie.

Pinkie choked on the word yes.

Twilight started to charge her against her own will, only to get caught up in the remains of her cocoon and fall flat on her face.

“Pinkie…how could you? Ah trusted you! You were my friend! My best friend!”

“I couldn’t abandon the Library! I couldn’t leave Twilight! Then she got into my head and I’m sorry I’m so sorry!” Her tears were flowing freely

Twilight tried desperately to get up and kill her, beat her face in with her own four hooves until she stopped moving. But she was stuck to the floor for now.

“That’s no reason to turn yer back on yer friends!”

“I-“

“Applejack’s right!” Twilight shouted as she struggled to pull herself to her hooves. They were shaking, trying to charge forwards, but she had control for now. “What’s so special about me compared to these four!?”

“I jus-“

“Why would you get LUNA KILLED over ME!?”

“I was-“

“WHAT possessed you to let Equestria CRUMBLE just so you could WAIT in a LIBRARY FOR ME!?”

“Because-“

“WHAT IN TARTARUS WERE YOU THINKING!?!?”

“BECAUSE YOU WERE GOING TO DIE, TWILIGHT!”

Compared to the earlier yelling, it was relatively quiet. And yet, it cut through the whole room like a hot knife through butter.

“Wh…what?”

Pinkie looked somberly at the ground between them. “Chrysalis said…she…she said you were trapped in…in the t-timeline. That she c-could help bring you back. All I had to do was…” She lost her next words in sobs.

Twilight just shook her head in disbelief. “So you let everypony DIE!?”

She broke down completely. “I just…I c-couldn't...let you die..."

Twilight’s mind reeled, as she tried to contain her body and reel it back into her control. Everything started to make sense now. Her random disappearances. Her demands that Twilight not try and fight Chrysalis. All those things that Twilight blamed on simple trauma, now made so very clear.

Every part of Twilight wanted to tear Pinkie into little tiny pieces. She knew the spell for it, too. And that mare deserved it. She deserved to suffer the pain of every death she caused.

‘Yes! Kill the bucking psycho! She wants it! She needs it, so just hurry up and KILL HER ALREADY!’

Her body acted all on its own, stalking towards Pinkie Pie as her horn tried to prep the dark magic necessary for this…oh, wait, her horn didn’t quite work.

Oh well. She could do it by hoof.

Pinkie didn’t run or resist, as Twilight came closer and clo-

“WAIT!” Fluttershy shot around Twilight and skidded to a halt between her and her target.

Twilight snarled. “Fluttershy…get. Out. Of. My. WAY!”

“NO! I’m not moving this time, Twilight!”

“WHY are you DEFENDING HER!?”

“Fluttershy, don’t you-“

“DON’T interrupt me, Dash! You know I hate it when you do that!”

Dash just looked at Twilight, as if unsure what she was anymore as the alicorn rounded back on Fluttershy.

“Yes, Dash, I remember! I was there too! And I can’t say I forgive Pinkie, but I will NOT let you KILL our FRIEND over ONE STUPID MISTAKE!”

“I agree.” Rarity planted herself next to Fluttershy. “Pinkie may have caused a lot of pain, but that does not condemn her to death from a mare hopped up on Changeling venom!”

Twilight just seethed, and would have blasted all three of them into piles of nothingness if her horn worked. As it was, she had to work to turn back towards Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t tell me you’re joining their side too.”

“This ain’t about sides, Twi. This is about what’s right an’ what’s wrong. An’ Ah know for sure that this ain’t right. Pinkie deserves court an’ jail for what she did, not…this.” She stayed put for a moment, before huffing and walking past Twilight to stand next to Fluttershy.

Twilight stared in disbelief, then shook her head, steeling herself for what would have to come next. Then she turned and looked at Dash, whose face was set in indecision.

“Rainbow Dash,” she commanded. She knew Dash would take her side on this. She knew Dash well enough to say that for certain.

Dash stayed silent for a few seconds, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Twi, but You taught me a few things about forgiveness. I think it’s time you heard it yourself.” She took off smoothly, and circled to come to a low hover above Pinkie. “This is for your own good."

Twilight just shook her head, not believing what she was seeing. What she was hearing.

“I guess I really don’t know you girls anymore.” She closed her eyes, steeling herself in her mind for what had to be done. “Fine then. I’ll just have to go THROUGH YOU INSTEAD!”

She started to charge, but Rainbow caught her with a hoof to the face before she could.

There was a sudden tingle around her, and Rarity lifted her up in a telekinesis spell. Twilight had enough focus in her to repel it, but not before Applejack spun around and-

CRACK! Twilight was thrown against the wall by the impact, and she probably lost a couple ribs to the hit.

She didn’t care. She knew she had access to basic magic now, minimum.

Rainbow Dash curled around deftly in the tight quarters, charging at her again. This time, though, Twilight blasted her wing with a wave of telekinetic force, knocking her into a flat spin until she lost control and slammed into the wall.

Twilight curled and charged past Applejack, using her wings as deftly as she could to turn her motions into a high-speed glide. Rarity tried to stop her, but Twi was there to repel her magic just long enough to get close…

Her hoof hit Rarity’s shoulder with a firm SMACK!, knocking the white unicorn far enough out of the way to give Twilight a clear shot at P-

THWACK! Fluttershy seemed to appear out of nowhere, striking Twi dead in her broken ribs and eliciting a howling scream of pain as the Last Alicorn Princess was thrown against a wall, and then fell onto the floor.

Rainbow swooped in front of her, pinning her forelegs between her foreleg and barrel, while Applejack dashed up and pinned down Twilight’s hindlegs.

Twilight screamed with a howl of rage as she tried to throw them both away with her magic, before Fluttershy slapped a wad of green cocoon material onto her horn. Instantly, the magic stuck into place, refusing to work.

Fluttershy added her efforts to pinning Twilights forelegs as Rarity skidded to a halt above Twilight. They were talking about extracting venom, but Twilight didn’t hear them. She was too busy screaming bloody murder.

Rarity’s magic tingled and pulled at the bite marks on Twilight’s shoulder, pulling something out of her body. She didn’t know what it was doing, but knowing Rarity, the process would likely kill her.

Then her head started to clear.

The rage died down. That insatiable need, that hunger, to tear the throats out of her friends…

It went from all-consuming, to painful, to urgent, to simply annoying.

It didn’t disappear entirely, though. The minute Rarity’s magic disappeared, that itch came back. That need, that desire, to tear and claw and burn at something…anything…

Twilight dug deep, deep into the blackest, most rotten pit in her soul, and dredged up the strongest batch of dark magics she could pull together. And with a loud shriek, she let it fly.