The Tower That Ate Ponies
By The Sentimentalism Brony
Chapter 1
The Book
Twilight awoke on a bright and sunny Wednesday afternoon. The birds were chirping, and the smell of scorched wood still hung in the air, haunting the pony whom had stopped it all. She groggily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with her hooves respectively. The small pieces of sleep that sat in her eyes falling to the bed sheets below, to be nothing more than flung away as she pushed herself from the confines of her large queen-sized bed.
Pushing herself from the bed, she stood on all four of her hooves, stretched her wings, and shook her body slightly to further wake herself from the cold grasp of sleep. She sighed aloud as she seen the door to Spikes room open, and Spike not visible in its confines.
“Where has that dragon gone to now?” She questioned aloud, stepping out from the confines of her room, out into the great halls of her palace. The halls were lined with highline arches, and white glistening pillars. The sight was still alien to Twilight, as she was still used to the wooden walls of Golden Oaks Library – Where she once called home. Where she still wished was her home…
She then began to trot down the hallway, looking from room to shining room, before coming to the room that represented a kitchen. Despite what was expected of a princess, Twilight never really much cared for the affairs of ponies tending to her beckon call. She’d much rather do things on her own. That is why the kitchen was fairly bare, only having the basic necessities two ponies – Or, in this case, pony and dragon would need.
Now inside the kitchen area, Twilight made quick work of looking for her noble assistant. But she came up empty. He was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he had gone, just as she did the day pervious, to look over the rest of the palace that they had yet gotten to investigate. So, with that impromptu thought buried deep into her prefrontal cortex, she made her way out of the kitchen and back into the long hallway. The kitchen she had just stepped out of was approximately halfway down the hall she had just moseyed on down. And she was sure Spike was back down the hall towards hers and his bedroom proper. For if he wasn’t in the kitchen preparing himself a snack, he had to be in the wing relating to Twilight’s new and vast library of Equestrian literature.
She pushed the door open to the library and sauntered inside. The room was enormous; probably six times the amount of storage space she had at good Ol’ Golden Oaks. The walls were lined with row upon row of virgin and not so bound books. The ones that had been barely touched, Twilight was saving for later, as she suspected they obtained less than an adequate amount of knowledge to absorb. Not that she wasn’t planning on delving deep into whatever the books had to offer, but their contents would have to wait for the more worn and vulnerable ones.
“Spike?” Twilight called out. “Spike, where are you?” There was no answer. She continued to look throughout the rest of the library. “Where in Tartarus is that dragon?” Twilight cursed lightly under her breath.
Coming across a smaller room, which was an offshoot of the rest of the library, she peaked inside. The room was dark and almost impossible to see down. But there was one small source of light down, far at the end of the passageway.
“Spike?” Twilight called out again, her voice wavering slightly due to the tremendously dark hallway. There was still no answer, but Twilight was positive that she had never seen that light down at the end of the hall before. And assumed it was Spike. Perhaps he was just ignoring her? Perhaps he was in trouble and had gotten himself hurt being curious?
With the slight realization smacking into Twilight like a ton of bricks, she illuminated her horn, a soft magenta hue surrounding it like a blanket. She then took the first step to make her way into the long hallway.
If Twilight was remembering right, which she normally does, the hall was leading to the rarer books that the library had to offer. The books in this hall usually contained advanced spells and various books on creating your own spell, and how to slightly alter the effects of currently ‘in use’ spells.
As she neared the end of the long hall, a small figure could be seen at the end of it. The small figure looked to be approximately Spike’s height, and was hunched over a small, crystal-like desk at the back. It appeared to be…Reading. So, Twilight called out again, coming to the conclusion that it could only be Spike; if not, who?
“Spike?” Twilight called out in a low monotone voice. The voice was almost so low, that it resembled that of a squeak of Fluttershy, but was loud enough to emanate the rest of the way down the hallowed hall and to the figures ears.
“Huh?” The darkened figure called out. It then turned one-hundred and eighty degrees, in a vague attempt to see whom had called it. But when the realization came across of just who it was, there was a concessive answer.
“Oh, Twilight, it’s you,” Spike said. Twilight was now practically face-to-face with the dragon. His eyes simmered in the light of Twilight’s aura, and he smiled before she spoke softly to him.
“Why didn’t you answer me when I called you, Spike?” Twilight asked, narrowing her eyes towards him.
“Oh, sorry. I honestly didn’t hear you.” He then lowered his head, almost looking as if it were in a sense of shame, defeat.
Twilight then put her hoof under his chin and raised his head back up high. Looking him straight in the eye, she then spoke, “It’s okay. I’m just happy I found you. I was starting to get worried.” The edges of her mouth then lifted up into a small, content smile, which caused Spike’s angst to melt away into nothing. He smiled back and nodded in response.
“What were you looking at, anyways?” Twilight asked quizzically, looking over Spike’s shoulder to the illuminated book on the table in front of him. He turned back around and mumbled something incoherent, then started to flip through a few pages of the book. She asked him again, and he snapped back out of the trance the book seemed to have over him.
“…Sorry, Twilight, I’m just...Really into this book.”
“And why so?” Twilight asked, attempting to scan over a few words on the pages, before Spike eventually flipped the next set of pages, quickly scanning over them and repeating the same thing.
“I’ve just been looking for a spell.”
“A spell,” Twilight repeated. “Why in Equestria would you need to look for a spell? I haven’t the need for new one in quite some time.”
“Yeah,” Spike hummed, “but it’s not really for you but more for the rest of Ponyville. You know, ever since Tirek had destroyed, like, half the town.”
Twilight’s ears folded back at the uttering of Tirek’s name. Her face went a paler shade of purple and she scrunched it up slightly. “Please don’t say his name. I’ve had enough of it for a lifetime or more.”
“Sorry, Twilight,” Spike conceded. “It’s just…”Spike looked away across the pages of the book, and continued to read. He needed to find the spell he had been hoping would be in this book.
“Anyways,” Twilight said with an exaggerated sigh, “what book are you reading from?”
She stepped next to spike and lit her horn once more, grasping the book tightly in her magenta aura. Peeling it out of his claws, she placed it in front of her bright eyes and began to read its pages. The book seemed to have spells much similar to ones that were used to shape structures and change landscapes. They required copious amounts of magic and could, if performed incorrectly, set the user into a life of paralysis, only able to move their head.
Opening her eyes wide, Twilight lowered the book and asked spike to follow her out of the hallway, and into the rest of the open concept library. Spike listened accordingly, and followed her out of the hallway. When they reached the rest of the library, Twilight motioned Spike over to one of the oak tables that sat all around the library.
They sat down at it, and Twilight opened the book back up, this time supporting it with the table. She looked over to Spike as he sat down next to her and she looked at him quizzically before saying, “Why in Equestria do you have such a book, Spike?” She pointed a hoof down to the pages and asked again, “Where did you even find it?”
“I found it in the hall over there.” He motioned a claw towards the hallway they had just emerged from and said, “It was right in-between, Old Equestrian Incantations and Improbable Potions.” He moved his claw back down to his lap, and looked up to Twilight with wild staring eyes. “Should I have not touched it, Twilight?” He asked.
Huh, Twilight thought to herself, before responding to Spike. I must have overlooked that one when we were cataloging that hallway. I have to be more careful of such things.
“No, Spike, it’s not that,” Twilight said. “It’s just…Why were you looking for it?” Twilight asked concernedly.
“I was…” His voice wavered, like if he were about to tell the deepest, darkest secret one could tell to another. It was the type of tale that tears friendships apart, leaving the pieces to be picked up by the storyteller his or herself.
“Well,” he said nervously, “I was trying to help find a solution to all the destruction that Tirek has caused.”
There it is again. That name. That Celestia forsaken name.
Starting to get a migraine from just the mention of His name once more, Twilight raised a hoof to her head and sighed heavily. She spun her hoof around her left temple and said in earnest, “Spike, please. Don’t mention his name again.”
Apologizing again, Spike looked back to the book. “I never found a spell that could be used to help rebuild large sums of building or entire landscapes, though. The only thing that could be found in there was tons of spells on reshaping landscapes and shaping structures. It is helpful, but not on the large-scale that we need it for.”
“It’s alright Spike. I appreciate you looking for something to help, but I think you might want to leave this to me. Okay?” She smiled at him knowingly, and he smiled back. She knew he had the best intentions, but a baby dragon would never be able to find what was needed to fix an entire town, and heal its moral to boot.
“I don’t know, Twi. Are you sure?” He was looking to her knowingly now. He knew she really didn’t know what to do, and how to handle it. It was no surprise. It was no use to fight it. He curved his scaly lips into an awkward smile, showing only some sharp teeth through the veneer of skin.
“Yes, Spike,” Twilight said sharply. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to think of something today. Myself,” she added
“And why do you think today of all days?” Spike asked.
“Because Spike,” she said sarcastically, “I have a feeling, okay?”
“Yeah, Twilight,” he said in defeat. He then jumped down from the seat he was stationed at, turned back to the table, and said, “I’m going to go make us some breakfast now.”
Twilight smiled warmly. “Okay Spike. Just call me when it’s done.” He smiled and walked out of the library. Twilight watched him the whole way out, making sure he made it into and down the hall. When he had made it about halfway down the hall, Twilight looked back to the book that had been sitting idly on the table. It was bound in black, hollow feeling and lacked the texture of the way books were usually bound.
The cover, a feeling of leather – Whereas the books she usually carried were normally covered in a sort of felt or cardboard and paper jacket design. She turned her attention back to the paper that was used in the creation of this particular scripture. It felt rough, grassy, lacking the usual texture of finely cut and separated papers created with the use of unicorn precision.
She ran her hoof over the paper once more, turning it with her hoof instead of her magic. It was an awkward process, but she felt the need to touch the paper physically, instead of mentally.
The page began to flip, the ill sound of paper sliding against hoof and paper respectively. It sounded similar to sandpaper grating against a piece of wood, smoothing its contours out as it glided effortlessly.
Twilight looked down to the page she had just flipped to, and began to read the woods upon the page attentively. He eyes scanned across words like, “Earth, Crust, Creationism” and, finally, “Tremble Tower Engagement.” Her eyes stopped when she reached these words, and she thought of what it meant, the gravity of the spell – The purpose.
Looking under the text that projected the name of the spell, Twilight looked for the inscribed description of the intent of said spell’s use. She found the description, and began to read it with vigor.
The words that were lined under the name read: ‘The spell, Tremble Tower Engagementis for and intended to be used in the event of environmental change.’ “Well,” Twilight said out loud to herself, “that doesn’t sound like something that I can use –“A few words that she had scanned over caught her eye, changing her thoughts on the spell completely. The words read:‘This spell has an alternate function, ifit is cast appropriately.’ Twilight was intrigued now, ready for the alternative use of said, seemingly useless spell.
She read on.
‘The spell could be used for absorption of negative magics – Hatred, removing it completely, expelling it.’
Expel negative magic, Twilight thought. How can that be possible? I thought negative magics could only be expelled through the Elements of Harmony: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic.
Twilight was then pulled from her rapture of thought as Spike called out down the hall towards the library.
“Twilight!” He called. “Breakfast is ready!”
Sighing, Twilight rose from her seat at the table. She grabbed the book and closed it with her magic, before elevating it and brining it with her down the hallway towards the kitchen.
2…
In the kitchen Twilight got her food from Spike and exited into the room on her immediate left, into the large crystal-like dining area. The large table that sat front-and-center in the room, stretched all along the length of the room – All ninety-two feet of it. Sitting down at the large table, Twilight placed the book across from her at the table, as well as placed her plate in front of her. She then started to make quick work of her food.
Levitating her fork into a small mound of scrambled eggs, Twilight placed them into her maw hungrily, chewing away as she raptured through her thoughts once more. She thought about the use of the spell again. Would she need the condolence of the princesses to go forth with her use of the spell? The book was fairly straight forward with the use and just cause. It’s not like it was hiding anything. Was it?
She placed the book in the embrace of her magic once more, this time sliding it across the table and towards herself, a squeak emanating from the gleaming crystal in the table. When it got to her, she opened it quickly and read through the paragraph that detailed the spells use once more. It still seemed straight forward. She was still unsure, though, a constant state of confusion clouding her mind. As she stuck another mouthful of eggs into her maw, she decided she would have to talk things over with her friends later. Perhaps they would have an idea as to what she should do. They too did have thrones within the confines of her new place; and they can make use of them when they discuss the matter – Together.
At least this spell won’t send me into paralysis like the others, Twilight thought, now at ease that this spell was somewhat different than the others.
As a chair slid out from the opposite side of the table, it snapped Twilight out of her fit of mulling over the book causing her to lower it, looking over the table as she did. The one that was now seating himself at the opposite side of the table was Spike. He had finally finished his work cooking up his breakfast and was now ready to enjoy it.
He had a wide-mouthed grin on his face as he shoved his helping of scrambled eggs into his mouth. He sighed in content, the warm, mushy texture cruising over his serpentine tongue; delivering the delectable taste of eggy goodness into his gullet and down to his stomach below.
Twilight watched him as he ate: Happy as can be. She sighed. It must have been too loud, as Spike noticed, springing up breakfast banter. “Twilight,” he said wholeheartedly, “what’s wrong?”
She didn’t know how to answer that. She just knew that she couldn’t lead him on that she was having a bad day. It would make him feel even worse than she did. She didn’t want him to worry, and that is why she didn’t tell him. Instead, she avoided the question like the plague, passing over it with a bulldozer of off-topic conversation.
“Oh,” she said jumping into conversation, like lemmings jumping off of a cliff, “I was just wondering if you had any plans for today.” That was the worst question she could have possibly asked him. He only really had any work when she gave it to him. So, of course he didn’t have any ‘real’ plans. For now, anyways.
The smile that was once plastered all across his face, fell. “Ah… No,” he said with slight hesitation. “You haven’t said what we we’re doing for today, yet”
“Ah, yes,” Twilight said, attempting to pick herself up, even if it were just for the façade. “I – We were going to go through some of the books in the library today.” She put a fake smile on her face, attempting to get spike to smile again.
It didn’t work.
“Do we have to go through the books in the library again? I thought we organized them, like, three days ago? ”
“We organized them two days after we moved in,” Twilight attempted to correct.
“Yeah, Twi,” Spike said, “that was three days ago.” He sighed. “We’ve only been here for a week.” He motioned out into the hallway with his claw and followed suit with, “You got to get some more sleep. You haven’t been getting enough.”
“No,” Twilight said in disbelief. “I get enough sleep, Spike. Trust me.”
“Fine, Twi, whatever you say.” He then looked back down to his plate and continued to devour his meal. Twilight, on the other hoof, had stopped completely now, unsure of how to tread…
A few moments passed and there was a thudding on the castle doors. Twilight jumped out of shock, and eeped slightly before rising form her seat. Spike did the same, but she assured him she had it and to continue eating as he was a growing dragon. He sighed as she entered the hallway, sticking some lettuce into his mouth, chewing it in angst.
When Twilight came to the door, she edged it open slightly to see whom it was. Outside the door was, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. For some odd reason, Rarity was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she had gotten busy at Carousal Boutique, and had to stay. Regardless, Twilight decided to ask, quizzical as she may be.
“Hi girls,” she said with a wide smile on her face. She opened the doors wider to allow them entrance into the palace. As they stepped in, she asked, “Where is Rarity? Was she too busy at the boutique today to come by?”
“Sort’a” Applejack said, her southern accent permeating throughout the large hallway. “Ya’ see, she had ta go ta Manehatten this mornin’. Somethin’ about a ‘fashion’ emergency.”
“Oh,” Twilight said. “How come nobody came to get me to see her off?”
“She sort’a dropped in on me last minute, Sugarcube. No one really got ta she ‘er off. The only reason Ah know, if’n at all, is ‘cause Ah seen her in the market this mornin’. That was when she was on her way ta the station.”
“Oh, okay,” Twilight said. She then paused momentarily, taking in the gravity of the situation she was now in. One of her best friends was out of the town, in some big far-off city, while she was stuck in Ponyville. Not only stuck in Ponyville, but stuck in Ponyville without the counsel of all of her friends.
She then started down the hallway, her friends following her as she moved with purpose. Her hooves clopped against the marble of the floor, and she sighed.
“What’sthematterTwilight?!” Pinkie exclaimed in exuberant glee, her mane bouncing as she hopped down the hallway after Twilight. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took to the air, flying over Twilight as Pinkie made her show, and Applejack just followed behind, trotting at a steady pace.
“It’s nothing Pinkie,” Twilight said.
“Oh, c’mon Twi! I know when you’re lying to me; I’m Pinkie Pie for crying out loud!” She bounced in front of Twilight and wrapped a hoof around her neck, pulling her into the tight embrace of a warm hug.
Twilight stopped dead in her tracks.
“It’s, like, part of the ‘Pinkie Sense,’ Twi,” she said motioning her hoof out, arching it in front of her and Twilight, like a rainbow crossing the sky.
“It’s true,” Fluttershy said in a whisper. “The Pinkie sense is a strange and mysterious thing.”
“Ha,” Dash laughed out loud, “Pinkie Sense, Sminkie Sense. We all know about it, so can we just get a move on.” She looked back down to Twilight (they were almost to the library on the opposite side of the hall). “Besides, looks like Twi wants to talk about something that’s on her mind.”
Flying down in front of her face, Rainbow said, “Now, what is it Twi? We can all tell something is bothering you today. What is it?”
Twilight sighed again, the library doors now just in front of them. To either side of the group were the pathways that led down to the throne room. And Twilight was adamant on having her much needed conversation in there, instead of out here.
“Just…Come with me,” she said. “I think we should all talk in the throne room, instead of out here.” The group nodded with confused looks on their faces. Why wouldn’t she want to discuss the issue in the throne room and not in the library like they normally did? Regardless, they started to make their way down the pathway to the throne room. But just as they started, Spike came out of the dining area and out into the hallway.
“Hey, Twilight,” he called down the long hallway. They all stopped and looked back to Spike. “Are you going to finish your eggs, or…”
“It’s fine,” Twilight said with an irritated groan. “You can eat it, Spike.”
“Thanks, Twi,” he said as he made his way back into the dining area, seating himself back at the large table.
Twilight and her friends rolled their eyes and chuckled slightly to themselves. They then began to make their way back down the hall and towards the throne room.
3…
Now in the throne room, the five friends were seated in their respective seats. Twilight was in her seat to the top left of the circle of thrones; Rainbow dash was to her immediate right. To Rainbow Dash’s right, was Fluttershy. Next to Fluttershy, was Pinkie Pie. To the left of Twilight, was Applejack. And to the left of Applejack, was the empty throne which belonged to Rarity.
“Okay,” Twilight said. “Now that we’re…Almost all here, we can start…” Twilight paused, peering at the seat where her friend Rarity should be seated. “There has been something on my mind,” she finally said. “And it has been this…Book,” she finished zapping it from the table in the dining area, hovering it next to herself…
“A book, Twi? Really? You gotta be kidding me,” Rainbow Dash said.
“It’s not just a book,” Twilight said. “It’s something more… It’s a spell book…”
“A spell book!?” Applejack stammered. “But you have, like, hundreds of those in the library.”
“Be as that may, I didn’t know I happened to have this book,” Twilight retorted, opening the book up, flipping the pages around as she did so. She opened it up to the particular spell she had read to herself earlier.
“This spell – Right here, is the thing I wanted to talk to you all about,” Twilight said, highlighting it with a magic underline, which shimmered and shone out and away from the page of the book.
“And why is that,” Fluttershy said.
“Because,” Twilight began,” I –“
“Oh, is it because you got some new, super cool spell that can, like, fix all the problems that we have been having.”
“Uh,” Twilight hummed out, elongating the humming with droned out ‘H’s.’
“I knew it,” Pinkie claimed in jubilation. “You have this awesome new spell to fix all the ponies…” Pinkie then toned herself down, practically whispering out her last words. No pony in the room could hear what she had said. But it was figured she was referring to all the ponies in Ponyville, now, effectively hating one another. The cause: Tirek, and the destruction he had laid upon the town and its relative residence. The houses, the shops; all lain to waste in the wake of his unadulterated magical surges. And now, in the midst of all that remains of the town: Citizens, at tooth and nail with each other.
But you know what they say: Everypony wants to rule the world. Including beings that surpass such vastly.
“It’s all right, Pinkie,” Twilight said in an attempt to console her. “And…You’re right, we can fix this. And the spell…Perhaps. It’s just a little fishy, is all. I mean, I’ve seen spells to create, destroy, manipulate, etc., but I have never seen one that is specific to the expulsion of negative magic. This is new to me. And…I don’t know if I could do it correctly…”
“But you’re Twilight Sparkle,” Rainbow Dash and Applejack said in unison. “You can do anything you put your mind to.” They both looked at each other, Apple jack continuing afterword.
“‘Sides, Sugarcube, ya’ done some mighty hard magic before. What’s stoppin’ ya’ now?”
“It’s the fact that the book states if it is done incorrectly, that there could be some…Consequences. And if, when I cast it, it’s lackluster, it won’t have the desired effect. It will do something completely different.”
“Well, what’s the other effect?” Fluttershy asked quizzically.
“It is used to reverse environmental changes…Physical properties, I believe. Like if somepony were to magically alter the environment…The same as when Tirek…” She sighed and grabbed at her muzzle with her right hoof. “I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure I understand.”
“Well, what’s so wrong with the first one? If the buildings that were destroyed in town get fixed, then everypony will be happy again,” Fluttershy stated.
“I guess you’re right,” Twilight suggested. “I guess I never thought of it that way.” She smiled to her friend “Thank you.”
“Oh, you’re very welcome Twilight.”
“Blagh,” Rainbow Dash croaked out, mimicking a gagging motion with her left hoof. “Can we can the lovey dovey stuff?” Rainbow pleaded. “Clearly the spell has no real downside. You should just use it – Annihilating all the bad mojo around town. It’s starting to get on my nerves.”
“Now hold on, Sugarcube,” Applejack interjected. “We shouldn’t just jump into this. What if the spell does nothin’, and doesn’t even work if’n at all. Or, what if it backfires, and goes worse than planned. It could potentially make things worse.”
“Right…” Twilight somewhat agreed. “What do you thing, Pinkie Pie? Should I use the spell, or not?”
“Oh, I like questionnaires! You should, um, definitely use the spell! It should be super fun!”
“Okay,” Twilight said, “there’s one –“
“We’re turning this into a vote, then,” Dash asked.
“Yes, may as well,” Twilight said, “seeming as we can’t end in a tie now that Rarity isn’t here.”
“Awesome,” Dash said. “In that case, yes. Yes, I think that you should use the spell.”
“Okay,” Twilight said. “That’s two.” She looked to Applejack. “What about you Applejack? What do you think?”
“Ah don’t know, Twilight. Ah don’t want ya’ to do somethin’ you’re not comfortable with.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure I can do it.”
“Ah can’t have you ‘thinkin’’ you can do it.”
“I can do it, then,” Twilight said. “I’m just a little bit nervous, that’s all.”
“Well, in that case…No, Twilight. Ah don’t think you should do that spell,” Applejack finally stated.
“Okay. That’s two for ‘yes,’ one for ‘no.’” She looked up to the arched ceiling and stated, “I think I should do it. As Pinkie Pies just said: ‘It can’t really go wrong.’ Now, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, turning her attention to her, starring right at her. “What do you think I should do? As a conglomerate, Fluttershy, so there’s no pressure. It’s going to be what we all do, essentially.”
Fluttershy shrunk in her seat. She began to shake and shudder, sweat beginning to form on her bright, yellow brow. She had no idea as to what she should do. There were the points on hers, Pinkie’s, and Rainbow’s side that all made sense; that all pointed to solving the problem in one way or another. But she couldn’t handle the attention. All the eyes of every one of her closest pony friends were staring at her, waiting for her answer.
She felt like she was going to cry, but she didn’t. Instead, she wiped the forming tears from her eyes, wiped the mindset that was making her feel down, and trekked forwards mentally.
“I think…” She paused, still trying to hold onto the thin layer of confidence she had managed to pull forth to stop herself from crying. “…I…Think.” She was about to cry again. But instead she only sniffled. “I think you should…Use the spell!” she finally said, the words escaping her like burst dam.
“So its settled then,” Twilight said, clapping her hooves together in democracy. She hopped off her throne, and motioned for her friends to do the same. “I’ll ready myself for tomorrow. For tomorrow, we make pony history…”
