Prologue: More Power, More Problems
TWILIGHT
Twilight Sparkle flew back to Ponyville, as quick as she could. She knew that Discord and Tirek were about to be successful in their attempt to attain absolute power. On the way, she gradually gained speed the more she thought about her friends, and how much they needed her. She saw the cage holding her friends, and saw Tirek and Discord nex to it, in the distance. She arrived post-haste, much to the surprise of the two criminals holding the other elements, and Spike, captive. She was about to give them both a harsh lecture when she noticed just how awful her friends looked. They were like husks, shells of their former selves. Tirek's absorption left them in a powerless, vegetative state. Twilight gawked as she searched for any signs of movement or liveliness, and all she got were the blank stares of her friends, trapped within themselves. She turned back to the two, but Discord decided he would have the first word.
"Sorry, Twilight, but Tirek opened my eyes; I was turning soft because of you girls, and I just couldn't have any of that, now could I? I have a reputation to keep," Discord stated, with a twinge of uncertainty. Twilight was too upset to notice it, conflicting thoughts running through her mind going a mile a minute. She was unsure of what she should do, until she looked at Spike. He was dead. He passed laying in a fetal position, and he was staring straight at Twilight with his lifeless eyes. Twilight was overcome with a certain anger that only alicorns could experience. When an alicorn reached a point at which their anger is first and foremost, the magical energy releases a surge, but not through the horn. The energy is distributed throughout the body of the alicorn, increasing strength, speed, perception, and magical power. The visible effects were apparent, as Twilight's eyes glowed the stark white of when she normally casts great spells, and her body was enveloped in a great, pink glow. Tirek watched in awe as Twilight barely shot Discord a glance, and he just... stopped. He fell over dead, and his body shrunk as Twilight absorbed his power. The sight could've been equated to a grape becoming a raisin, but if the process happened to a living being and in mere seconds.
Twilight looked at Tirek, whom she knew would not fall so easily, for he had absorbed not only the power of her friends, but also that of almost everypony else in Equestria. She decided to try out her newfangled abilities she acquired from Discord. All she did was clap her hooves, and a huge-ass piano dropped out of the sky. It was so heavy that it pushed Tirek down into the earth several meters. Twilight was just as confused as he must've been, because... Well.... It was a giant piano! Her powerful surge of power dissipated after the use of that spell, if one could call it that, and she scratched her head, still in utter shock. The scratching of her head made the piano disappear, and she noticed that Tirek had shrunk a considerable amount. This meant that everypony had received their powers again, and everything was back to normal. Except, that it wasn't. Much to Twilight's chagrin, because Tirek had absorbed the elements themselves, her friends were not getting their powers back. She was confused as to why Spike was not getting his power back, either, and the whole ordeal left her in a fit of tears that could've filled the lake outside of Ponyville. She couldn't bear to see her friends looking lifeless, knowing that they were in there, but they couldn't recover. She decided that she'd have to put them out of their misery. She spent a whole minute charging the flame spell to send off her friends to whatever lay beyond, because she didn't want them to suffer. She finally let it all go, and the bodies of Tirek, Discord, and her friends, were no longer present. All that was left were ashes, and the wind made short work of them. Twilight sat there on her haunches for what felt like centuries, when a giant structure started to rise and protrude out of the ground.
The Palace was massive, towering above even the clouds that covered Ponyville. It was a perfectly reflective obsidian and red colored… Building, If one could even call it that. It was the single most intimidating thing that Twilight herself had ever encountered. She was paralyzed with fear, standing stiff, waiting for whatever would come out of the enormous double doors that served as the structure’s entrance. After seconds of waiting, that to her felt like centuries, she slowly crept toward the door, intrigued by the power she could feel emanating from the inside. She placed her hoof on the left door, and the moment she made contact, she was revitalized; Having been exhausted emotionally and physically, this was a welcome change. Before she could even place a hoof inside, she noticed that the citizens of Ponyville were arriving to see what all the commotion was about.
I should’ve figured everypony would’ve shown up sooner or later, considering not only all of the magic I used, but also the large fucking tower in the middle of the town… Wait, what did I just think? I've never heard the word "fucking" before. What does it even mean?. Twilight thought it was kind of weird.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were the first to approach her, and she feared talking to them the most. She had always appreciated the little fillies; Even in her worst moments, they would try their best to help her and cheer her up. Now, she would have to explain that the reason their siblings, (And in the case of Scootaloo, idol) are dead, are because of her. But, as guilty as she felt, she also just wanted to rub it in their faces. She kept all of her qualms hidden deep as to not offend her friends, but now, she was calling the shots…
No! I can’t think like that. If I’m going to make Equestria and the rest of the world peaceful, I have to be benevolent. I know that my friends are dead, but Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle… I’d kill anypony else to keep them from hating me.
“T-T-Twilight, what happened? What is that thing?” The first one to gather the courage to speak was Applebloom.
“Yeah, what happened? Why is this tower here?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yeah Twilight, What is it?”
“Why isn’t everypony with you?”
“What happened to Tirek?”
Everypony was asking questions that she wished she had the courage to answer, but… She didn’t have to. They answered to her. She was their princess, their ruler. She was about to take a step that would change everything forever.
“Everypony. I had to kill my friends to stop Tirek…” Everypony went dead silent, “Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie… all of the them. Even Spike. He would’ve proven too great a foe for me to defeat. I couldn’t stand to see them rotting in that cage they were put in. But I will not allow monsters like him to antagonize us any longer!” Twilight was really getting into her speech, and everypony was listening intently, “I give you ponies a choice! Stand by me, and help make Equestria a lawful place, no matter the cost, or leave, and never return.” Whispers broke out in the crowd, and Twilight was nervous. Despite the fact that she could disintegrate them with merely a thought, they were her subjects; No, they were her friends. When it came down to it, she never sought her own approval, or even that of the princesses…
The princesses! Dammit! How am I going to convince them that the princesses stand in the way? Celestia and Luna are bigger tyrants than the one I’m prepared to become; Always sending ponies to do their dirty work, putting their lives in danger just so they can sit on their flanks and pretend to be running the country. They’ve convinced everypony that they’ve been around for thousands of years, but it’s a hoax. Having done extensive research on the subject myself, I know that they tell the scholars and presses what to put into books and teaching materials… It makes me sick! I trusted them, and they turned out to be selfish, and lazy. I’d bet that they’ve never lifted a hoof to help somepony in their life!
“Twilight? Twilight!” Scootaloo spoke up this time, and this broke twilight out of her reverie.
“What?” Twilight was sweating beads, but she had hoped nopony had noticed.
“Everypony has decided, that no matter what you do, we’ll follow you through it…” Big Macintosh had started the sentence, and Lyra continued, “Because you’re our friend; You’ve helped us all so much…” It was her turn to pause, and her companion, much to Twilight’s surprise, was not Bon Bon, but Ditzy Doo, and she continued, with perfect clarity, “And now, we’ll help you, even if you lead us through the gates of Tartarus.” Twilight gazed at everypony in the crowd before her, all of them smiling at her. She shed a single tear of joy, before she realized that there was still much to be done.
“Well everypony, congratulations. You’re standing on the grounds of the capital of New Equestria!” Everypony kind of just stood there as Twilight began entering the palace. She knew better, though. She knew that everypony would mourn for their fallen friends, including herself. She hated herself for killing her friends, but she also knew it was the right thing to do. It pissed her off that she wanted to rule the kingdom, but she couldn't even come to terms with her own guilt. Not to mention, she knew that what she was doing had a very slim chance of succeeding, and everypony was probably putting on a brave face.
Welcome to New Canterlot? Jeeze, I sound like a cheezy king from some Trottingham movie. Even better, I bet that they're on a quest to find the Holy Chalice or something. Celestia ruled this long and she BS'd her way through. I should be able to do better than that! The true test of everypony's loyalty and faith would come with the fall of Canterlot, which she would put into action the next day. But for now, she needed some sleep. Where the hell was her bedroom?
Twilight awoke in the wee hours of the morning, about 2:00 AM. She had no doubt that Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were wondering what had happened with Tirek, and she would keep them waiting no longer.
Twilight teleported to the temporary chambers of her former sitter, Cadance. She had always adored her, and she was truly Twilight’s only friend as she was growing up, aside from Shining Armor, her brother. Twilight took a moment to admire how peaceful and cute Cadance looked sleeping on the bed in the center of the room. Getting her head back on track, she teleported Cadance her room at the Crystal Palace. Not wanting to stick around for any explanations, she decided to teleport to her parents’ house next.
When she arrived, she appeared in her old bedroom, adorned with posters of legendary mages such as Starswirl the Bearded, and Hoofdini. The piece that stood out to her the most, and held the most sentimental value, were the cape and hat of her friend, and former student, Trixie Lulamoon.
Trixie truly regretted the things she did… The two years I spent with her are the two I hold closest to my heart. I might go as far as to say that she is my best friend. Ever since I began the monotonous parts about being a princess, we’ve drifted apart… She departed her room and proceeded down the hallway, to find exactly what she expected: Her father gently holding her mother as they soundly slept the night away. They looked almost too peaceful to touch, as if an disturbance would break the grace of their unending affections. So it was that Twilight sent them, too, to the Crystal Palace. Before departing, herself, she placed her memorabilia of her time with Trixie in her pack, because it was the only thing from her old life that she would care to hold onto.
She plodded down the stairs, and left the house. It was going to be gone soon, anyway, so she tried not to think of it too much. She took off into the air, and flew to the outskirts of Canterlot, where she could get a good view of the entire town.
The entire town full of pompous assholes, high prices, and guards who think they own the damn thing. Especially that Ocean View! Always hitting on me and trying to flirt when I visit! Not to mention Hoity Toity’s ridiculous prices for clothes! But most of all… I hate Celestia. That dirty bitch always sent me and my friends into harm’s way, and didn’t give a damn when we got hurt. It was like a fucking GAME TO HER! The largest and most devastating spell Twilight had ever cast started towards the town, and it irradiated the brightest light ever witnessed by anypony in Equestria. Screams of thousands of ponies could be heard even from where Twilight was hovering, and she didn't even bat an eye. Stallions, mares, and foals watched and felt a horror unimaginable by even abstract deities. An inextinguishable purple arcane flame devoured the city like it was a dry bush. Nopony could escape; The spell was designed to prevent flying and magic use by sapping the strength of its victims. The buildings didn't fall due to disrepair; they just disappeared, eaten away by the torrent of pure energy.
Twilight wore a bitter smile as she ironically admired her work, and was about to depart, when she felt a very distinguishable energy coming from above. She recognized it as belonging to none other than Princess Luna.
There's no way that she could've just teleported up there! Unless... Twilight thought back to her history class in the School of Gifted Unicorns. She recalled that her professor mentioned that the spell to banish Nightmare Moon was unique, and different from a regular teleportation spell. Due to the immense power it consumed, Princess Celestia was laid up for an entire year before she was able to attend to her princess duties. If she cast that spell now, it would surely kill her.
But, it wouldn't kill Luna. Twilight landed on the ground, and stood for a moment as she thought of what she should do next. She decided that she should return to Ponyville first and foremost.
Upon her return to Ponyville, at around 3:00 AM, nothing was amiss, and she wondered how everypony would take the news of Canterlot’s destruction.
What am I going to tell them? Or rather, how am I going to tell them? I don't think it would go over well if I just told everypony that I just murdered the entire city of Canterlot! They'll think I'm too insane, or they'll try and kill me! No, I won't allow it. I'll tell them the truth, but I'll keep my eye on them. I don't want things turning messy, especially not with my friends. Twilight decided that casting the ultraspell at Canterlot took a lot out of her, unexpectedly. She decided to catch some sleep before doing anything else. She slept for about eight hours, before waking to the sound of somepony knocking on her door.
"Come in!" Twilight watched with intent as the door slowly opened, and was pleasantly surprised when Big Macintosh emerged from the door.
"Twahlight." He uttered just her name, which was his common greeting.
"Yes, Big Mac?"
"If you're startin' a new nation, You're gonna need a guard force."
"Well, I... Guess I would. Huh."
"Ah want to volunteer to be the captain, if you don't mind."
"I think you'd be perfect for it," Twilight finished. She put on a wide grin and held out her hoof. Mac smiled and bumped it with his own. She and Mac shared a smile, and exited the room. Twilight felt a lot better than she did the night before, she even felt like she did the right thing. She wasn't sure how the rest of the nation would feel; She was afraid of retalliation, neigh; She predicted it. Not everypony would share with her and her ponies' ideals. They would just have to be ready, or, strike first. They arrived at the end of the hallway connecting the main lobby of the palace to her chambers. They were at the top of a very large spiral staircase, that hugged the wall as it ascended. The balcony they were standing atop provided a view through a very large window, which showcased all of Ponyville. She could just make out Berry Punch stumbling through her front door.
Everypony has their own way of coping with things, I guess. I wonder just how everypony actually is handling the whole ordeal.
"Mac, could you give me some time alone? I'll meet you in front to discuss the rest of our plans.'
"No problem, Twah" Big Mac started to descend, and Twilight returned to her chambers. Upon her entrance, she noticed just how spacious it actually was. In the center, against the back, was her bed. It was honestly oversized, but felt extravagant. It was simple, a mattress and comforter, but the sheets were lavender silk, and her pillow cases were pink, just like the natural streak in her mane. In the middle of the room sat a giant rug that displayed her cutie mark in all of its glory. There was a skylight just above that let the sun-and-moonlight shine through, and the walls were made of the same odd metal of the outer walls. On the right side of the wall was a large, no, enormous wardrobe and dresser, with a jewelry box, makeup kit, and a mirror with a pink frame. On the left side of the room was the entrance to her bathing room. Twilight swaggered into the room, feeling mighty, and stumbled. It was dark, and she forgot to look for a light switch. Cursing herself for being so incompetent, she felt around for one, until she finally located it, and switched it up. She stood, mouth agape, as the lights slowly illuminated the room, showing the very large tub, and...
What the hell? Twilight was confused by the large toilet against the right wall. It's one mystery as to why this palace just popped up, and another that it's fully furnished. But is this thing saying my ass is big? Still bewildered as to why she was using weird words like that, she switched off the lights, and exited the room. She lay down on her bed, and began casting a clairvoyance spell.
Time to see what everypony thinks, she thought. A bright purple glow enveloped her horn, and lit up the room. Her eyes turned white as she watched through the eyes of anypony else.
The first pony she peeked into was Applebloom. She and the other two crusaders were in their clubhouse, and they all seemed pretty down. Which, to be fair, was to be expected, since six of their closest friends and siblings had been decimated...
I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself for that. I did what I felt I had to. But still, I have no idea how it'll affect me... Maybe it'll just take time. Time Turner does say that it's the best medicine... Twilight snapped her attention back to the scene before her when she noticed Sweetie Belle's expression. It was a look of pure agony.
"I can't believe they're all dead. I can't believe that T-T-Twilight w-would..."
"I say, that it's better that Twilight made it as quick as she did. If Tirek just drained their power, who knows how much misery they could've been put through." Twilight noticed that scratchy voice that belonged to Scootaloo. It was rough, yet full of youth. Twilight thought it was a very strong voice. She couldn't see anything, until Applebloom removed her hooves from her face.
"Sweetie, Scoots is right. Twahlight did the right thing. She didn't want to see her closest friends suffer like that." Appleblooms words rang true to all the ponies listening, in the clubhouse or not. Sweetie Belle wiped her tears, and nodded.
"Alright girls, I believe you... I'm just sad is all."
"You're not the only one. I think everypony is a little sad because of what happened. Not only did ponies die, but a lot of the town got destroyed, too." After hearing Scootaloo say that, Twilight thought back to when she looked out at the town, and realized that it really was pretty messed up. Twilight decided to stop intruding on the crusaders, and just stopped using the spell altogether.
I need to talk to Mayor Mare about repairing the town, and about where I want her to be in my little hierarchy. I think she would be a great adviser, but ultimately, it is her choice. Twilight left the palace and began to mosey her way to town hall. On her way, she noticed that a perpetual 'grey gloom' had enveloped the city, leaving an eerie sense of woe. When she got to town hall, she had to shake herself out of it. It really did make her feel like shit.
Twilight opened the door with her horn, and closed it as she entered. She was glad to see that not all of the town was in shambles. She was delighted to see that the mayor's secretary, Scribbled Ink, was in today. As she approached, the big frown disappeared on Ink's face as Twilight approached.
"Ah, Queen Twilight! What a surprise!" She gave Twilight a big smile.
"Hey Ink, I was-..." Wait, did she just call me Queen Twilight? What in the world?
"Is something wrong?" The frown that Scribbled Ink was sporting when Twilight entered was adorning her face yet again.
"It's just... Why did you call me 'Queen' Twilight?"
"Well, you're our ruler, so why wouldn't you be our queen?" Twilight realized this was a cold hard fact. She was indeed the ruler of New Equestria. She had been for 12 hours, and wondered by Celestia had never proclaimed herself queen.
It was because she was an idiot, borderline mentally retarded. She made all sorts of poor decisions; She was too stupid to even give herself a proper title, because she sure as hell wasn't humble. To everypony else she may have sounded and came off as a kind and benevolent mare, but she was the most condescending bitch...
"Queen Sparkle, are you alright?" Ink's inquiry brought Twilight out of yet another one of her inner ramblings.
I really need to quit doing that..."Yes, I am. Is Scroll in right now?" A little known fact about the mayor of ponyville was that her actual name was Binding Scroll. She was also fairly young, around Twilight's age, but because she put grey dye in her hair, everypony thought she was much older. Twilight personally thought that Scroll looked better with her natural mane color, but the mare insisted that looking older made other ponies take her more seriously.
"Yes, she is. She's not speaking to anypony right now, so you can go on back."
"Thank you very much." Twilight started walking in to the area of the building that held the offices. At the end of the hallway that Twilight found herself in, was the mayor's door. Twilight approaced, and gave two knocks onto the door.
"Come in!" Twilight was met with the sultry voice of the mayor, and she entered. Everything was neatly organized into cabinets marked with different letters of the alphabet. The level of discipline and organization was something Twilight admired about Scroll, and she was very attractive as well. She looked up at Twilight, and she almost got lost in her sky blue eyes. "Ah, Twilight! How are you today?"
"I'm doing as well as I can, I guess. I was wondering, now that we've began a new nation, as daunting as it sounds, if you would help me run it? I would like you to be my personal adviser, and rule in my absence. I really need your help with this one." Twilight wore a sheepish grin, and eagerly awaited the response of the mare that she realized that she had a foalish crush on.
"I... I don't know what to say..." Her professional demeanor was slowly faltering, as she started to become giddy and started bouncing like a schoolfilly, "...Except that I would love to!" She leaped across the room, which wasn't very big anyway, and gave Twilight a big hug. She started nuzzling Twilight's chest in her fit of rambling all the improvements they could make now. Twilight blushed and had to do all she could to stop her wings from expanding, and she gently pushed Scroll away. Twilight observed as her new adviser collected herself.
"I'm sorry, my queen. I... should've kept myself composed."
"Well, if it's all the same, I prefer you that way. You always seem so serious, and I'm glad that you did that." Scroll sighed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you. I don't get much time to cut loose and act less-than-serious, but I also don't want anypony to think I'm a joke." Twilight saw her chance, and took it.
"Well, when it's just you and I, you can act that way all that you want, " The two ponies shared a smile, and Twilight continued, "I'm glad that you said yes, but I need to go. That really evil-looking palace won't explore itself, and if I'm going to have all of town hall there, I'm going to need a place to put it." Scroll nodded.
"It was a pleasure, my Queen."
"Please, just call me Twilight."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course." Twilight smiled, and left the room. She felt an overwhelming sense of joy for the first time in the past couple of months. She and the others of Ponyville had a lot of work ahead of them, but she was confident that through all the rough parts, there'd be great things to come. She said goodbye to Ink on her way out, and she began her trek back to her new home. She finally felt good through all the grief of the day before. She entered her palace, and she realized what time it actually was, because the sun was going down. That was a curious thing to her. Princess Celestia and Luna said that they raised and lowered the moon, and she knew that they could, because she did it herself once. But she didn't have to. They seemed to move on their own, and created a natural sense of time. She shrugged and got over it. It was late, and she was kind of tired. So, she gracefully flopped onto her bed, and fell into a deep slumber. She slept without any dreams, because Luna couldn't control them. But she didn't complain. She felt she deserved it.
Author's Note
My first fic ever, and this is just the start of it. Hope you enjoy.
