Fear Me, for My Name is Twaith!

Chapters

The Day After
Outside
More Surprises!
Pancakes!
Popsicles
Popsicles Pt. 2
Sleepy Times
A New Challenger Arrives!
The Great and Wondrous Trixune!
Daring Do
Summer Sun Preparation
Finishing Set Up
Confrontation
Vengeance is Mine!
Fears and Fox Fire
The Return of Pancakes
Mom?
Greetings
Mother
Peppers Please
Romance
[s]Fan Service[/s] Nightmare Night
Preparations 2.0
The Wraith's New Clothes
At the Gala!
Dancing Under An Eldritch Sky
A Fair Trade
An Unfair Game
Recovery
The House On the Hill
Spoopy
Spooky
Flying
A Family Reunion
Futa Tax
Coming Home
Tallywhacker
Hearthswarming Eve
Hearthswarming Play
Two Twilight's and an Eldritch God
Shocking News
Learning
The Depths of a Wraith
A New Chance?
A Cold Greeting
Twilight: The Harmony Wraith
Finally
The Final Chapter
Greetings
A Meeting of Gods
The Wraith's New Clothes
Fluffy's Day Out
Romance
Deadpool. You've been warned.

The Day After

Celestia yawned as she woke up for the second time that day. It had taken careful scheduling, but the nap had been absolutely crucial. Between her nerves about having to fight a wraith and then sealing much of Twilight’s power, she had been left feeling drained. Though, it was a great excuse for a day off. I should find and befriend powerful entities more often. “Especially cute little ones like that ghost.”

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she dwelled on the thoughts. The mare’s immortality was useful to Celestia, but she doubted she would have enough time to actually bond with her. Not when I have to teach Sunset and run a kingdom. Well, perhaps someday, especially if Starswirl’s prediction is right. She stopped for a moment and looked into the sky. “Wouldn’t that be nice sister.”

She then shook her head clear of such thoughts. Even though it was her day off, she knew better than to waste it. She started to trot through the halls, politely asking servants where her young pupil was. None could give her a location, though that wasn’t too surprising as Celestia had expected the Sunset and Twilight to try to find somewhere private to stay together.

However, by the time she had searched the castle twice over, even a ruler as wise and experienced as her was feeling her patience strain. With a cup of coffee in one hoof, her horn started to glow. The search spell slowly grew in size, as well as in how taxing it was. It has been far too long since I’ve had to use this much magic in only a few days. It isn’t even my fault. Diplomacy doesn’t give a lot of opportunities for razing a mountain. At least there is cake and the odd princess looking to further her diplomatic career through their own cake inflated thighs and-

Ding!

Celestia snapped out of her thoughts of momentary delights and started laying down mental maps of where her seal on the wraith was. Just past the deeper parts of the library, underneath Jet Set’s house, just about where–

Servants in the castle almost were killed by Celestia’s mad dash through the corridors. Plates were sent flying and crashing down, three bookshelves were sent tumbling to the floor, and six doors flattened the ponies about to open them as Celestia almost broke the sound barrier. Sunset and Twilight looked up as the sound of Cockroaches scattering filled the corridors. The sound of flagstones cracking came from just outside just before the two small forts were thrown away from their occupants.

“Hey!” Both mares scowled at the princess who was heaving heavily. Sunset grabbed one of the books and started to bring it back to herself. Celestia promptly grabbed it and found an old version of the necronomicon in front of her. Sunset was promptly picked up and dragged away. “Hey!”

“Um, is something the matter?”

Celestia sighed as she continued to trot away. “First, Sunset, what have I said about dark magic?”

Sunset huffed. “Nothing.” She immediately winced once the necronomicon was put upside her head. “No dark magic, I know!”

Celestia couldn’t help but get a smile at her student’s juvenile behavior. “As for both of you, you can hang out tomorrow, and by hang out, I mean do something other than read silently.”

Twilight immediately snuggled against one of the discarded tomes and hissed at her, just before also getting grabbed and pulled away. “No!”

Celestia simply shook her head as Sunset glared at her and Twilight continued to wrestle and whine about her books. And here I thought life was going to get easier. She was proven just how right as half her face suddenly got a lot colder and heavier and she smacked both of them with the necronomicon.

Author's Note

The comment:

Outside

Sunset looked at the small book fort that resided in the back right corner of the royal library with envy. She had been being pushed hard by Celestia, no, with Celestia, to learn all they could on wraiths without using the forbidden tomes. As much as she may have been able to glean on Twilight’s dark magic from them, they would have painted the ghosts in the worst lights, as abominations, and neither her or the princess wanted to even let that thought cross their minds. Hence why we’re doing what we’re doing today.

Sunset put out a hoof and tapped on the books. A single purple eye appeared at the hole before a small, ‘Eee,’ could be heard within. Twilight popped out of her home and floated next to Sunset. “Where were you yesterday? I thought we were gonna do stuff together.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow and pretended to take a swipe at the pristine back cloak of her friend. “Don’t you mean past few days?”

Twilight’s eyes widened before her face turned slightly more transparent and gained a red tinge. “Oh, sorry. I’ve been getting into this ‘kids’ section within the library, like with Epona, Winnie the Pooh, and even Thomas the–“

Fwoosh!

They both looked at the newly disintegrated book as the smiling face of a train started to fall to the ground. Sunset quickly put the survivor out of its misery before realizing she was with someone and putting a hoof to her face.

“Why did you–“

“Don’t ask.”

“But you just destroyed a–“

“Don’t ask!”

“But I liked that one!”

Sunset spent a moment glaring at her new acquaintance before remembering that if she started yelling at her, she could end up frozen. “That’s perfectly fine, but if you want to do things with me today, you will let it stay dead.”

Twilight weighed the options for a few moments. “Do I at least get to know what we were going to do if I ask again?”

“No.”

She bit into her lip and started to turn over as she considered it. She had spent hundreds of years reading books, so this could be a new, fun, exciting experience. On the other hoof though… books. Twilight spent another moment rubbing her temples before sighing and looking at Sunset. “When did you get on the ceiling?”

Sunset rubbed her eyes a bit more in frustration, remembering times when she would have an all nighter and ask a servant that exact same question in the morning. At least she isn’t asking about the book anymore. She shook her head clear of the nasty trains and pulled a piece of parchment from her pack. “Celestia made you this, saying that she knew your ethereal form would hamper your ability to be with anypony, especially while most are awake.This should at least help with the latter problem.”

Twilight grabbed it with her magic and pulled it to herself. “These arcana are amazing, and the penmanship is fantastic!” She then turned slightly red again. “It may be a little too new for me to be able to read though.”

Sunset tried ignoring the crossed front hooves and sheepish smile as she took the paper back. That much cuteness was far too much to simply ignore though and she felt her annoyance fading away. “It is a seal that Celestia may remove at any time. When it is on and active, you should be able to walk into any sort of light without fear. The trade off though is that if she ever turns it off, that pain will go from annoying, to searing.” She bit into her lip as Twilight lowered herself to the floor.

The purple ghost spent a few moments with one hoof to her muzzle, the air still between the two of them. She looked up at Sunset with her eyebrows furrowed, just before she broke into a large grin. “Yes!” She glided straight through Sunset as she tried hugging her and started to laugh on the other side.

Sunset let out a deep sigh of relief, attempting to ignore the deep chill that had been sent through her. “It’s good to see you taking the news so well. I thought you would be annoyed.”

“For what? Putting a safety pin on me?” Twilight laughed a little more before wiping away a shining blue tear and flicked it away, covering the floor around where it hit with frost. “I don’t plan on ever making you hate me, so why would I fear or be offended? It’s just smart.”

A smile spread over Sunset’s face and she nodded. Her horn glowed bright and plucked the sigil from the paper before placing it upon Twilight’s essence. It shone even brighter for a single moment before merging and fading into her form. “Yum!”

A slight giggle escaped Sunset and she beckoned for Twilight to follow her. “That is a great idea for a first stop.”

Twilight’s eyebrows furrowed as she floated over Sunset. “What do you mean? I didn’t offer anything?”

“No, you didn’t, but I’m starving and it’s almost lunch, so why don’t we go to a food cart while we’re in town?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “I get to go into town? I get to see it?” She started zipping about Sunset as the yellow unicorn opened the door to Canterlot proper. The moment the door was open, an icy gale blew through the halls of the library and Twilight launched herself towards the center of town, the mare too excited to know how the town had changed to consider the years.

There, she found nothing the same. No small buildings that held families that wanted to invite her in for lunch, no simple farmers or craftsmen, and definitely no earthy smell to which you could enjoy fully after a hard rain. Instead, she was surrounded by towering figures of stone and clay, roads that chorused hundreds of hooves at the same time, ponies dressed in the fanciest robes that used to be reserved strictly for the princesses, and definitely no homes that simply wanted her as their guest. Her hooves came around her as she touched the ground.

Sunset heard the clamor just before she got there. In the middle of one of the small squares of commerce was a patch of ice and fog. She couldn’t see Twilight, but she assumed that the wraith was hiding herself. Damnit! I was going to keep her to the back alleys and outskirts, but she simply got away too fast. She swallowed hard, her brain pumping as hard as it could to figure out how to get Twilight out of there without anyone knowing the truth.

A blast a radiant white light filled the square as Celestia appeared over the origin of the ice. For a brief moment, Sunset saw Celestia use an aura to pull something underneath one of her wings and she sighed in relief as the princess spoke. “I’m sorry everypony. Just like with the freezing pipes, the cold magics being studied in the academy are being extremely temperamental right now, so you simply have to bear with me. I am attempting to fix the controls, but new spells can always cause problems, something I hope you all can understand.”

Almost nopony there had even heard most of the speech as they were too busy trying to kiss the ground at almost terminal velocity. Sunset stayed until everyone was gone before trotting up to Celestia. “Is she okay?”

Celestia nodded. “I told her telepathically to go and return to her books. She simply got over eager and then overwhelmed, that was all.” She watched as her pupil looked away and shook her head as she lifted Sunset’s head. “I know you would have been careful, but I knew this might happen due to her nature, not yours, okay?”

Sunset brushed the hoof away and sighed. “I…I, I have reading to get done. Will I see you tomorrow, princess?”

Celestia kept her tongue in cheek, but knew better then to force Sunset to share. “Of course you will. Have fun.” Once her student was gone, she teleported back to Twilight, who was under her bookfort. She looked in the small hole. “Are you okay?”

Twilight glanced up. “Yeah, yeah I think so.” She felt her worries lift slightly and saw Celestia’ horn glowing. “Thanks.”

“Anytime my young pony. I do hope you know we had the best intentions by showing you the town.”

Twilight nodded. “I know, promise. Just, in that moment, it dawned on me that I know this is Equestria, I know you’re a princess, but that is about where my knowledge ends. I probably don’t even know all there is to know about me anymore or what I am!” She grew silent for a few moments before looking back up. “It scares me Celestia.”

She reached in with an aura cloaked hoof and brushed it against Twilight’s face. “Don’t worry. You’ll learn at your own pace, and you’ll probably even teach to some degree. Though, if you absolutely need an answer,” Celestia paused as she teleported a book from her bedroom and slid it through the fortress hole, “that book holds all current knowledge on wraiths, but make sure that you only read it when you absolutely must, and not a moment sooner. The things you may find in there, they may scare you more then you already are.”

For a moment Twilight considered opening it up right then and there, but the princess was so nice and patient. No, you should listen to her this time. She hunkered down into her current book after putting the guide underneath one of the piles. Just as Celestia was about to go though, she looked out with puppy dog eyes. “Can you please not leave yet? I… I wouldn’t mind some company.”

Celestia smiled and nodded, knowing Kibitz was going to have a fit when she got back, and not caring at all as her hoof touched Twilight through the hole.

Author's Note

The comment

And I will be entirely honest, I took some liberties on this one, as it brought up a wonderful idea that I truly do believe in (that Meghan McCarthy and her Crystal Empire don't), but this one concept could easily be a good few chapters itself and much longer then I can get done in about an hour to two hours of typing. So yeah, sorry that it might not be quite what you hoped, but I hope it was good nonetheless.

More Surprises!

Celestia came around the bend to find the small book fort had already started to grow, making its way past the first bookshelves of its corner. A small smile came upon her face and she knocked on the top. “I thought you and Sunset would be playing today.”

Twilight’s head poked out and she hummed for a few moments as her eyes wouldn’t meet Celestia’s. “We are.”

“Oh, what game? Perhaps I could join in.”

“I doubt you would want to.”

“Now, I think you give me too little credit. Can you at least tell me what it is so I may judge for myself?”

Twilight glanced back at the children’s books that still littered her bookfort’s floor as her brain raced for anything that she had come across within them as a response. “Hide and Seek.”

“In a bookfort?”

Twilight’s head slowly went back in as she steadied her voice. “Yes.”

Celestia’s horn shone and she lifted up the mounds of books to reveal Twilight, who hissed at the sudden light, despite it not hurting her. “Well, looks like Sunset is cheating then.”

Twilight crossed her hooves. “She said she didn’t want to, okay. I think she is mad at me for yesterday.”

Celestia took in a small breath of air before putting on a soft smile. “It isn’t you, I can assure you of that. Sunset just thinks she failed, and to Sunset, failure is the last thing that is to ever be allowed.”

Twilight took one loose thread in her cloak in between her hooves and sighed. “I… I guess.”

The princess shook her head. “You know what I think you need? Someone you can relate to.” Her horn glowed and slowly a cart came around the corner, revealing a purple and green egg. “I was hoping you might hatch it. It would know nothing of this world, just like you.”

Twilight cocked her head slightly and drifted towards it. “You want me to open this? But I work with darkness and ice, not life.”

“Dragon eggs react to the natural magic of their mothers, and after long enough, instead of simply keeping them warm and fed, the magic causes it to hatch. This one is plenty old, but it has never received the right jump start. I believe you will have the amount of magic required to give it just that.”

She glanced back down at the egg and ran a hoof along its edge. A dragon. I’ve never met a dragon before. I bet it would be really cute as a baby. She smiled slightly as a dark aura came over her. A sudden want spread through her. She wasn’t just interested in what was within like with the books, she had to know. Her eyes darkened and opened wide as the dark aura flooded into the egg, forcing it to crack open.

A blinding black void caused both to miss the shell’s true breaking, but as the darkness dissipated, a small, dark purple and faded green, baby dragon sat on the pedestal, sucking on its tail. Twilight floated to just over to it. “Ah, you’re so cute!”

The little dragon looked up at her with grey eyes, extending its arms and weakly wrapping them around her. She snuggled against it, enjoying the cold of the creature’s scales and the sharpness of its bony claws.

Celestia on the other hand spent a few moments staring at the literally bony claws. Something happened, I just can’t pla–

“Hic.”

Twilight held the small creature away from her, not questioning why she could. “Oh, do you need a–“ A large gout of black fire blasted Twilight into a bookshelf on the other side of the library. Celestia caught the baby dracolich just before he hit the grounds, even if one of his spikes pressed into her hoof and cut it slightly.

“Well aren’t you just prickly?” She spent a few moments looking into its eyes as a name formed into her mind. “You’re just going to be another headache for me, aren’t you Spike?” A small hiccup caused her to smile and to start planning the nursery the little thing would need.

Author's Note

The comment was done by Bobby125 but is unfortunately too long for me to screenshot, so sorry about that. Anyways, two things I want to clarify. First, Spike is a baby, and will probably not progress past this except by magical intervention while the story is going. And two is that everyone is at least close their canon age, so despite the cover art, Twilight is still an adult, not a filly. That is all.

Pancakes!

Sunset nudged one the main supports to the book fort. The structure quaked, and Sunset dived to save the column, forgetting for a moment that the hut was made out of books, not stone. A muffled yelp and hiss came from within as the roof came down with the rest of it. Ever so slowly, Twilight floated out with crossed front hooves. “What was that for?”

Sunset blushed slightly and swallowed hard. “Look, I’m not good at this, so, can we drop the home destruction and have you simply…” She stopped talking as a black aura came over all the books and they came over Sunset before promptly being released. “Mmf!”

“Okay, now I have dropped it.” Twilight simply giggled as Sunset threw a book through her.

“Do you want to make pancakes?”

Twilight tilted her head. “What is a pancake?”

Sunset blinked a few times before grabbing Twilight with her magic. “You are coming with me, now!”

Twilight leaned back and brought a book to herself as she was taken to the royal kitchens. She immediately sought out a cookbook to find this treat while staying invisible from the chefs around the place. Sunset picked up the milk and flour before pointing to the eggs and mouthing three. Twilight nodded, focused real hard to keep her invisibility up while grabbing the three eggs, and rushed back.

Crack

The head chef pony stared at the yolk on his face, glanced at the other ponies in the kitchen, and acted like nothing had happened. It was better to have yoke on his face than be called insane, or at least in his mind. Sunset and Twilight on the other hand couldn’t stop snickering. They eventually were able to focus on the pancakes again, and Twilight stirred while Sunset got the condiments. Many chefs followed their leader’s example and simply ignored the whisk that was moving itself.

Celestia soon entered the early morning kitchen, there for what she always was there for. A quick scan of the room caused her to weakly waved to Sunset, mumble something to a chef, and to dump a whole bag of chocolate chips into the pancake batter. Twilight looked at Sunset who shook her head and walked over to Celestia.

“Coffee?” She watched as Celestia groaned and waved a hoof at the air before letting it lazily fall back to her side. Sunset nodded, and gave the princess her very much so needed caffeine. The kitchen staff put on their regular blinders and Sunset shut her eyes and added a layer of magical protection in preparation for what was to come. Twilight, only got closer.

Gulp, gulp, gulp. “Ahh.” Celestia smiled and let her body relax for a moment, just as she had every morning before finding this wonderful nectar of the gods. There was one drawback, but Twilight’s screams of agony as her retinas were seared by Celestia’s burst of magic as it woke up were well worth the benefit of being able to move for the first half of the day. “So, pancakes?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to read again!”

Sunset grabbed Twilight with her magic and helped her to rest in the dining hall. “Give it half an hour while I finish up the pancakes. It hurts, but if it actually caused a problem, Celestia would have stopped drinking coffee a long time ago. Besides, it’s well worth it for those days where someone accidentally makes decaf.”

Twilight chuckled, having seen the almost dead Celestia and imagining what that might be like for an extended period of time. Sunset, content with her friend being okay, moved back into the kitchen. Upon coming out with Celestia and three plates of chocolate chip pancakes with whip cream coming out, a giggle escaped her and the princess as Twilight was already back to reading. “You ready to hear the praise for your wonderful stirring skills?”

Twilight floated upward and did a small curtsy with the edges of her cloak. “Shower me with your praise.”

Sunset and Celestia both bit into their light, fluffy treats and moaned in pleasure. Celestia knew Sunset could make some of the best pancakes in Equestria, even if she normally lit everything else on fire and still demanded that it was amazing, and these were no exception. Twilight squirmed in the air as two continued to eat and exclaim. She focused and sniffed, being able to just for a moment get a whiff of the delectable entrees.

She floated down and put her hooves into the table as she stared at the pancakes. She leaned forward and bit at it, but only got a chuckle as half of her head simply vanished into the food. Twilight came out and glared at the fellow unicorn before focusing and turning tangible again, only this time she took a large bit and pulled. The piece fell out of her as the pancakes crashed to the ground.

Celestia jumped at the sudden disturbance to the peace and sighed. “I’m sorry Twilight if we’re causing you a problem. Sunset, perhaps you could clean that up for her?”

Sunset hopped down from her chair and gave Twilight a brief sile. “Well, I guess my pancakes just can’t beat thousand year old recipes, can they?”

Twilight rubbed her hooves. She didn’t want Sunset to think she didn’t like the pancakes. The mare had worked hard on those and deserved praise, just like she had for her phenomenal whisk skills. She thought for a few moments, and just as Sunset went to eat more of her pancakes, they were chucked into the fireplace.

“Wh-wha? Why did you?”

“I’m hoping that now their spirits will come up and I’ll be able to sample them then.”

Sunset watched as Twilight simply continued to float there. Her horn started to spark and arc electricity as she bent low. “They were my pancakes! Only I burn my pancakes!”

Celestia threw up a protective spell to combat her student’s angry outburst, giving herself a quick reminder that it had been some time since the two of them had talked about controlling one’s emotions, at least in coordination with their emotions. At least, that was until she opened her eyes. “Sunset?”

She turned around and stomped on the floor. “What is i-ah, ah, um.” She swallowed hard as Celestia got down from her chair and the away from the burnt pile that was left of her pancakes.

“Are there anymore left?”

“Hey, you at least got some!”

“Twilight, you aren’t helping.” Sunset turned back to Celestia and swallowed hard. “No?”

The janitor later would be quite perplexed how the dining room had come to be so thoroughly scarred by magical radiation, ice, and fire. So much fire. He would always have his theories though, the most commonly ridiculed being: pancakes.

Author's Note

I couldn't screenshot this one because the application seems to have decided to break.

Popsicles

The foals looked upon the icy stand in wonder. No pony knew where it had come from, who made it, or even who was running it. All they knew was that it was there, and it had a very simple sign. Bring juice, get a popsicle. Most shuffled in their spots as they continued to watch it in the sweltering heat. Juice wasn’t hard to come by, even for outskirt and slum kids like them, but the lack of a vendor made them cautious, as even young foals knew that down here, if something looked to good to be true, it usually is.

“Aaaagh!” A small blue colt named Heat Beat stomped on his fore hooves. “That is it! I have to have one before I melt!” With that, the little pegasus beat his wings, heading for the local farmer’s market with his two bit allowance on his mind. Many of the others watched in quiet anticipation, ready to see good news come from his attempt so, if nothing else, they could at least rest on the large block of ice where it would be cool.

Heat soon charged back into the clearing, a large gallon of juice in hand. He had had to promise the salespony he would share it, but he was thankful for how kind they had been to sell it for so cheap. What he was not thankful for was now being in the open, only a few feet away from the icy stall. He pushed the cherry liquid in front of him and gently continued to nudge it forward with his muzzle as he stayed low to the ground.

Once he was only about two feet away, the juice was picked up by a black, shadowy aura. It pulled the jug onto the counter and Heat stood wide eyed as he stared at the magic. A single, short, wooden stick came from behind the counter and plunged into the juice. It then slowly came out, a full, frost covered popsicle on the end.

Heat stared at it as it drifted down to him, stick first. He hesitantly moved forward and bit into it before scampering back to the safety of his peers. There, every filly and colt watched him as he took a tentative lick. His eyes widened and he started licking more furiously. “This is awesome!”

The rest of the little ponies took that as the go ahead, and anyone who couldn’t get one from this jug started rushing for home or the market, dependent on how many bits they had on themselves. Heat simply continued sucking on his popsicle, his mind wondering if one day he might be able to make one just as good.

As the day progressed, the foals couldn’t get enough. The ones fortunate to have a blender, or knew some pony with one, started to experiment, setting the poor devices to liquefy and putting whatever they thought might taste good in. This almost stopped when they tried dirt, but in no way did it dampen their spirits, especially Berry Pinch’s. This was because she didn’t have a mood to dampen though.

“Why don’t you have some?”

She buried her muzzle further into her fore hooves, having been under a bush this whole time. Pinch didn’t bother looking at the mare, as she really just wanted to be alone and hoped that she would get that. “I don’t have any juice.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. Plenty of them have been sharing.”

Pinch shut her eyes at this point. “I don’t want to have to have them share. They already share plenty with me at school.”

“Come now. Your mom must have some juice for you at home, or would at least get you some, right?”

“The only juice my mom would buy is her juice, and that always makes me sick.”

For a few moments, the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of the other foals playing in the clearing. Their hoots and hollers filled Pinch’s ears, and though she didn’t want to go home, she didn’t want to hear them either. She just barely heard, “I’ll be back,” before wrapping her hooves over her head. And in that position, the minutes passed for her.

The foals stepped back when a dark shadow covered the counter, turning the last spare jug that had been on there into popsicles. Once it cleared though, the words etched into ice said, Gone to lunch. Be back soon. The group groaned for a moment, but stopped the moment one of them accidentally bounced a ball against another. Soon their game was back on, the foals being more then willing to wait for more popsicles.

Almost thirty minutes after the change to the sign, the skies over Canterlot momentarily went dark. From the castle, a swarm came. Ponies panicked in the streets, shops closed their doors, and for one moment, they knew true terror. Then, one of the foals that was still being grabbed by their parents said, “I want the cherry one!”

The clearing became alive with renewed energy as the swarm of popsicles headed their way. It banked and weaved, performing small tricks as the excitement grew and grew. Just before it reached them though, it banked at a ninety degree angle and a sad, pink filly soon found herself cold, and in the air. “Ah!”

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing… I hope.”

She looked at the mare that had spoken to her and saw a pretty, purple unicorn in a black cloak. “What is going on?”

Twilight’s smile grew as the started turning them into a loop, the magic and popsicles keeping Berry Pinch safe. “I wasn’t going to stand by and just let you be so sad, not when I could so easily fix it. So, consider this my gift to you.” She held up a hoof as Pinch frowned. “And before you say you don’t want it, remember that I’m older then you and that if you must repay me, repay me with a smile!”

Pinch looked at the ground, spotting her friends as they stared back, felt the wind rushing through her mane, and simply couldn’t help herself. A loud squeal of delight escaped the small pink mare as they continued to fly about, and would only stop once she was on the ground with a popsicle in her mouth. It wouldn’t be until that night at home that Pinch would realize the kind mare had seemingly disappeared once they had landed, but no one would blame her when she had popsicles to be had.

Meanwhile, in the castle, Sunset almost collapsed in front of her homework as one of the maids came in. “Juice, now.”

“Actually, Miss Set, um…” The mare crossed her fore hooves and swallowed hard. “There appears to be no juice left.”

Sunset’s eyes grew wide, one even twitching, but the heat of the day had drained her too much to give anymore of a reaction. She laid down on her desk and groaned before looking out the window. “Do you know what would sound real good right now? A popsicle.” She spent a moment thinking about having an orange cream one and simply groaned more as another bead of sweat came down her face.

Author's Note

The comment
I'm pretty sure that instead of comedy, my main sources of entertainment will be through cuteness and FEELS!

Popsicles Pt. 2

Celestia groaned as her last meeting before lunch finally let out. She was tired, sore, but above all else, sweating bullets in the midsummer’s heat. I know the Summer Sun Celebration is soon, but this just isn’t right. She stomped down with her hooves and let out a muffled scream into the pillow on her throne.

“Excuse me princess.”

She looked down at her secretary Kibitz and sighed. The biege unicorn was one of the few ponies who knew of her frustrations, even if he cared so little for them. Whether it was exhaustion or her wounds, he always made sure she kept to her schedule. But surely this is relatable enough for him to give me a break, right? SHe looked down at him and mustered her best sigh. “It’s simply too warm today. If I go on I will collapse.”

Kibitz sighed internally and shook his head. “You simply need some water in you. We can break for lunch and you may have some juice or something if you truly need something relaxing. However, you are not allowed to shirk your duties, especially with the town committee of Ponyville being here specifically for you later today.”

She lowered her head, but then nodded. She had her duties, and that was that. The word juice stuck in her head though, and soon her horn was aglow as she called her second newest tenant.

Kibitz nearly had a heart attack when the disembodied head of a unicorn was on the dining table that they normally adjourned to. He then scowled and stomped a hoof. “I thought the cleaning staff knew better than to leave death threats just lying around. My apologies princess. I’ll see to it personally that it is removed with expert efficiency.”

“But I like it here. Do I really need to go?”

He stared at the head for a few moments longer before falling over to his side, out cold. Celestia stepped forward and giggled. “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. However, I demand popsicles. My plan was that you would–”

“Take shortish sticks, stick them into juice, and freeze them, right?”

Celestia blinked a few times. “It sounds like you’ve done this before.”

Twilight rubbed her forehooves together as she smiled wide. “I might have been the reason we were out of juice a few days ago.”

She smirked at the apparition. “Did you at least put it to good use?”

Twilight nodded vigorously as she brought a popsicle over to Celestia. “Bon Appetite!”

Celestia smiled and put the tip into her mouth, her tongue slowly moving along one inch of it before her eyes twitched. She spat it back out and gently put it onto a napkin on the table. “I’m sorry Twilight, but I absolutely despise grape flavored things.”

“Oh, I’m so–”

“How dare you! I demand for you to eat me before I, the great Poslicel, will force you to!”

Both of the mares simply stared at it. “You will give Poslicel the the same honor his brethren were given upon birth, or else, Poslicel will have to start altering the very fabric of the universe. He can make the air colder, skin freeze, and, if he absolutely must, he will use the forbidden technique of changing forms!”

Celestia merely started laughing as Twilight’s eyes widened. “Please, don’t! We’ll take your demands. Celestia, please, devour him so he may be appeased.”

A white hoof came across Celestia’s face as she shook her head. “I demand proof of his almighty powers first then. Do something truly fantastical, and I will devour you.”

The popsicle harumphed. “You dare question the great Poslicel’s power? You will lose your mind as I give you your idiotic ‘proof’.” The purple popsicle began to glow and levitate, the dark aura of Twilight’s magic gathering around it. Slowly, the purple became black and a wicked laugh filled the room. “Here it comes! Hold onto your seats as the great Poslicel changes flavors!”

The popsicle dropped to the table and the aura faded away, revealing a now orange popsicle. “Now, are you afraid yet?”

Celestia levitated it into the air and gave him a lick. “Oh, yes, I truly am terri-mmm-fied. Please, I can’t take you sweet, sweet, orangey goodness.”

And so, slowly, Celestia endured as she continued her war against the orange creamsicle popsicle. Each lick tested her resilience, and slowly, Twilight lost her own control as she started to giggle. But in the end she succeeded, and she placed the remains of her favorite flavor of popsicle on the table.

Author's Note

Whee for finals week. Made because of fan demand. Have the alt version that inspired this.

"Twilight this was very thoughtful of you! And at this time of year most welcome."
"Yeah Twilight, this is really good but I can't really place the flavor."
"Oh it was nothing really! I just took some mixed fruit juices from the kitchens and froze them onto sticks with my magic!"
A moment of comfortable silence in which the two living ponies continue licking their popsicles, then pause at the same time and peer at each other.
"What?"
"Didn't your magic result in an arguably undead dragon being born right out of the shell?"
"Well... yeah? So? This is just ice. I do that without even trying."
"I will destroy you all!"
"..."
"..."
"Did the popsicle just--"
"OK. Fine. I get it. My magic does weird things OK?!"
"...."
"Why are you still licking it?"
"Because it's the tastiest villain I've ever defeated in my life."
"...."
And so they resumed eating the evil popsicles that promised them death, torment, suffering, and garishly contrasting clothing for the rest of eternity.

Sleepy Times

“Waaah! Waaah!”

Upon hearing the wails, Sunset’s eyes shot open, Celestia shot a hole through her alarm clock, and Twilight shrieked herself. The wraith flew over to her small vassal and rubbed his tummy as he continued his cries. “What is wrong? Come on, you can tell me, what is wro–” A gout of fire was the only reply she got before the tiny dracolich went back to its howling.

“Princess?”

Celestia’s eye twitched as her room got colder and shut her eyes tight, trying to ignore the foul moans from further in the castle. She only got four hours of time a day where she could rest because of her duties with the sun and moon and she desperately needed them. Unfortunately, a chill ran through her and caused her to jump out of bed as Twilight pulled her hoof back. “Sorry.”

Celestia rubbed at her weary eyes. “What ish it Twivight?”

“Well, um,” Twilight tucked her hooves underneath her cloak as she bit into her lip. “I was hoping you could help me appease my little dragon. I don’t want to just throw a silence spell on him tonight.”

Celestia looked over her hoof at Twilight and for a moment, considered demanding that she do that so she could go back to bed. No Celestia, you invited them into your bed so you can sleep and be awake for the sunri– She slightly smacked herself as she straightened out her thoughts. “Of course, though,” a small rise in her spirits came as she though of how misery loved company, “I do believe it would be best to awaken Sunset too. It’s simply too good of a… learning opportunity for her to miss.”

Twilight brightened herself and uncurled. “You’re absolutely right. I’ll go get her right now!”

Celestia smirked as she slowly moved out of bed, slipping her front hooves into nice, fluffy, white slippers. She slowly made her way to the nursery that Spike slept in, taking it one hoof at a time. The last time she had had to be awake at this hour, she had fallen asleep while Kibitz tried getting her to care about a new complaint from the nobles. She was just happy that some cake made him okay about the bruised muzzle he got from trying to catch her.

Finally, she found the door and slowly opened it, slipping the blanket at the entrance over herself. Like most undead, Spike emanated an aura of cold that chilled nearby ponies to the core, causing Celestia to be able to see her own breath as she came in.

“Waaah! Waaah!”

Celestia put a hoof onto Spike’s tiny belly and his claws immediately came around her hoof. He was shaking, and clinging to the appendage as if his life depended upon it. “You just wanted something to grip, didn’t you?” Unsurprisingly, no response came, but her voice did seem to make it grow quieter by a fraction of a hair. Still, better than nothing.

Sunset trudged in with Twilight, who quickly shut the door behind them. She opened her mouth, but at a quick gesture from Celestia, Sunset was silent. Twilight came ever closer to her abomination and placed a hoof on its shoulder tentatively, but this time, no fire came. Twilight smiled and floated so as to be half in and half out of the crib. “Good boy!”

Sunset groaned and leaned against one of the book cases. “Twilight, he is an unholy, uncaring, dracolich baby. Please, do not treat him as a dog.”

Twilight stuck her tongue out and snuggled more against him. “So Celestia, do you now what is wrong with him?”

Celestia nodded. “Or at least, I have a guess. Children connect most with their parent, but they don’t only want them. They need others, and so he cried to get us.”

Twilight fully wrapped her hooves over the little figure and nodded. “So, we all just need to give him more attention?” She waited for Celestia to nod before she herself nodded and then bobbed in the air for a moment. “Will you two please stay? I know it’s late, but I feel bad that he got like this in the first place.”

Sunset swallowed hard. “As tempting as that is, I have a big test to–“

“It’s cancelled, so that the three of us can have a girl’s night in tonight. In other words, you’re staying.” The two exchanged glares, but if Celestia was about to go through all of this, she was going to make sure Sunset joined her. She then let out a small yawn and snuggled into the floor, the blanket tight against her.

Sunset glanced over and whispered, “Give me some of the blanket before I freeze to death.”

“Mumph.”

Sunset grimaced and lightly kicked her. She got a groan, but still no action, so she lightly kicked again, getting Celestia to open one eye. Sunset scowled. “It’s too cold. You need to share.”

Celestia’s gaze narrowed and she snuggled into the make shift cloak further. At first, Sunset’s tug was light, but quickly grew until she pulled so hard that Celestia spun in midair. Once the princess had come back to the ground, she blinked a few times before glaring at Sunset and teleporting her. Almost a minute passed before Sunset was brought back.

“Whe-where was that?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Is that what I’ll get if,”

“Mhm.”

Sunset thought about arguing further, but soon decided the fatigue of her heating spell would be well worth not annoying her teacher further. Celestia watched the aura come over her student and nodded, happy that neither would be cold that night. Her eyes closed, and there she rested in sweet bliss. At least, for about ten minutes.

“Waaaaah!”

Twilight’s subsequent screaming about her mane somehow being on fire made this, officially, Celestia’s worst night of sleep, ever.

Author's Note

Yay! I found out yesterday that I'm picking up more days at work, so more money and such for me, along with more time to work on this. Also, I'll say this preemptively, I am sorry that the next chapter will have crossover elements, and I hope none of you get thrown too hard because of it. I'm sorry. :twilightblush:

A New Challenger Arrives!

Sunset kept the binoculars to her muzzle as she hummed to herself. “Do you see the one with the really large and funny hat?”

“I think he’s called a Sous Chef.”

“But his name isn’t Sue.”

“No, Sunset, it’s a term for the head chef in a kitchen, derived from the French to mean–“

Sunset rubbed her forehead and cut Twilight off with a sigh. “I know what it means. I was just trying to joke around. Now, do you see him?”

Twilight nodded as she lazily spun in a circle in the air. “I still don’t see why you’re so excited for this. It seems kind of mean.”

“They’re called pranks. Besides, you’re a form of ghost, so isn’t haunting kind of a part of your job description?”

“I never signed a contract to work as a ghost.”

Sunset hit her head against the table she sat at before pointing a hoof through the window she was spying through. “Just… just go and do your magic.”

“So freeze everything?”

Sunset looked up and glared at Twilight, but the smile Twilight bore simply caused her to grimace and groan. Twilight let out a small giggle and slipped through the glass, made her way across the open space between Sunset’s room and the kitchens, and then went behind a set of hanging pots and pans. She tapped one gently and watched it swing in front of the Sous chef. A frown came across her face and she tapped it harder, but still no response. Well, I guess I have to try a little harder than.

The clamor of the pans was silenced almost immediately by the chef’s horn glowing and him glaring at the pastry in front of him. A bead of sweat ran down his face and he waited, keeping his grip on the pans tight. The crash of the drop sent spams through his body, and Twilight gently tipped his hat. She smiled as he didn’t notice, but decided that she had had enough of trying out Sunset’s new activity. As she left though, the chef let out a deep sigh of relief.

Pssht.

His eyes tweaked as the soufflé slowly fell to its untimely demise. The stallion opened and closed his mouth for a few moments before screaming, “No!”

Twilight appeared next to Sunset as she giggled, delighted to have foiled the poor stallion’s attempts once again. Twilight on the other hand, was not so pleased. “I don’t think I like haunting.”

“What? Oh come on, that is classic slapstick.”

“It’s mean. Look how sad he is.”

Sunset rolled his eyes. “He’ll just try to make another one soon. In fact, I rarely get such a perfect opportunity to ruin it.” She sighed as Twilight continued to frown at her. Playing with the servants and guards had been one of her few ways to entertain herself in the past, and she wanted Twilight to be able to enjoy it too. Wait, guards! That’s it! “Twilight, please, give me one more chance, okay?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, but soon remembered that she honestly didn’t have anything better to do. Besides, Sunset rarely gets to have a day to herself, so it is really nice that she wanted so badly to spend it with me and just me. She smiled at Sunset and put a hoof on the yellow mare’s nose. “Okay I guess.”

Sunset spun around almost instantly to hide her blush from Twilight. She then led the way as they went towards the front of the castle and the barracks. Once more, they took a strategic position outside of the guard’s main barracks where most of them would be hanging out currently. Twilight snuggled into the bush next to Sunset, causing the other mare to shiver. “So, what are we doing here?”

“You’re going to do something simple. The absolute worst thing it can do is slightly scare some ponies. Sound good?”

“That doesn't answer what I’m going to do.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Fine. You’ll grab one of their sheets, put it on while invisible, and make spooky noises. Though… give me a spooky voice.”

Twilight cleared her throat and waved her forehooves in front of her slightly. “Wooo.”

Sunset blinked a few times before smacking herself, causing Twilight to frown. At this point she had started to be able to understand at least what this gesture was and didn’t like it when Sunset did it. It made her feel bad, like she had failed to do something right. Well, maybe a different dialect would help.

The three layered voices that spoke Eldritch words shook Sunset to her core and she lowered her hoof as she shivered harder. Twilight bit into her lower lip. “So, will that do?”

Sunset slowly nodded, and Twilight clapped her hooves together before flying into the room. For the first few minutes it worked like a charm. The guards were startled by the sheet, but it definitely was the voice and cold that emanated from her that sent a few of the closer ones into a panic. She paused for a few moments, unable to stop giggling as the owner of the sheet fell onto his back. Maybe Sunset is right? This can be kind of fun. The sheet around her was then yanked off by a pink aura.

“What are all of you doing? If I didn’t think higher of our dear princess then to do such an elementary prank on us, I would say she at best was testing our courage, and from what I see, you all failed!” The white stallion put his hoof down onto the ground as he shook his head, his beautiful blue mane swaying with it. “It’s just a sheet.”

Twilight’s eyes were wide as she stared the new player in her game. His toned muscles, tall frame, long and slightly messy hair, dampened by a shower he just took, simply took her breath away for a moment. One of the guards yelled something about ghosts and that same stallion turned to face directly at her. “Fine, if you guys insist, I’ll check for them.”

Twilight thought about the prospect of the handsome pony spotting her, and panicked.

======+++++======

“So, can you two please tell me why my captain of the guard was frozen today?”

Sunset and Twilight both swallowed hard as they laid down in front of Celestia. Sunset opened her mouth, but Twilight beat her to the punch. “I panicked. I’ve never tried talking to a handsome stallion before. I’m sorry! Please don’t punish me!”

Both of the mare’s eyes widened as the words settled on them and both shouted, “Handsome what?”

Celestia now was faster then Sunset as she calmly stated, “I would suggest removing such thoughts about him. You and Shining Armor are related.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed. “Wouldn’t he be something akin to a thirtieth generation nephew of mine, at best?”

Celestia simply opened her mouth before shutting it. Sunset finally took this as a chance to speak her own reason for why she should dislike him. “He doesn’t like books.”

“He what?” The ground around Twaith froze as she fumed, and Sunset let out a sigh of relief, thankful that no further questions were to be asked about the threat, even though she still wasn’t absolutely certain why she considered him such a tremendous threat. Unfortunately for Sunset though, that night, Twilight floated into the barracks and waved at Shining Armor from the other side of the room. She then threw her hooves into the air, happy she could even do that.

Author's Note

*Jumbled looks up at the title and smiles, because he knows exactly what he has done*

The Great and Wondrous Trixune!

Trixie yawned as she neared the outskirts of the capital of Equestria. Her ethereal appearance masked her aproach, but she rarely cared, flashing her image to young fillies that passed by. Their laughter and wonder at the sudden visitor always warmed her heart, though she wished that she could show it to everyone. Almost getting exorcised though was an experience she only had to have happen to her once before she decided to not be too careless.

One of her pointed ears twitched and she looked up before drifting into a small apartment complex. Within was a purple mare, a bottle in one hoof while being passed out on the floor. Trixie sighed, but another twitch of her ears made her smile. Truly one worthy of a gift from the Great and Wondrous, Trixie!

She pretended to trot along the floor as her fox nose twitched. After almost four years of being in the field, doing work that only the best of kitsune were entrusted with, Trixie had become accustomed to the stench of pain and sorrow, not that that fact made her happy. She always followed the scent though, and when she found its source, like this stupid drunkard, she would find the one most affected by it, like the little pink filly in front of her, and bestow upon them gifts.

The first was a simple blessing of luck, one all kitsune gave out. The next was that of warmth and care, to make sure their health would stay up. The last one was admittedly for Trixie though. This one was that she would look into the filly’s dreams, hoping to say hi and give them a friend to call upon when they needed her the most. Within though, she found something far more horrifying than an alcoholic.

Berry Pinch had been reliving the day when another spirit had come and seen her. Only, it wasn’t Trixie. Instead, it was a purple mare with a black cloak around her. The mare could control ice, be intangible, and had massive amounts of magical potential, at least in Berry Pinch’s eyes. To Trixie’s nose, the imprint left by the thing’s memory was that of horror, cold, and death, all that a kitsune swore to fight. Berry Pinch had been seen by a wraith, and now Trixie had a mission.

Finding her goal though, stumped her for a few moments. She had no idea where to begin searching. Sure, the dream had been in Canterlot, but it could have been weeks ago, and the monster may have long ago left. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to check. Trixie’s eyes glowed as her magic started up, and slowly a pulse of energy left her, growing faster and faster as it searched. A shiver ran through Trixie as the spell picked up the slightest traces of evil and cold, and it came directly from the castle. Ha! Trixie will be able to cleanup such a whelp almost instantly.

Trixie floated towards the castle, soon slipping through the walls and into the library where the cloaked menace sat, reading, most likely something foul and corrupt. Wait, is that– Every hair on her body stood on edge as she took in the dracolich between her hooves and wondered why in Equestria her magic didn’t pick up that! She shook the surprise away. It must already be completely passed on, or simply too weak.

She took in a deep breath, and gathered as much of her magic as she thought she could do safely. Her nose twitched as the white ball of fire grew, and then she threw it. The fireball collided with Twilight’s side, washing both monstrosities’ bodies over with fox fire. When the smoke cleared though, the mare was simply turning the page to her book.

What? I-is she ignoring me?

The barrage that soon came after had no mercy or subtlety behind it. It was simply fireballs and light spells, as fast, and as ferocious as Trixie could manage. No matter what she threw at her though, the wraith simply stayed put. With a final yell and the almost the last of her magic, she threw one last fireball, the only one directed straight towards the wraith’s face, instead of the body.

It collided against and incinerated the book.

Twilight looked up, finally noticing that it wasn’t simply the summer night making her have seemingly hot flashes. Her eyes narrowed and her body glowed. “I was reading Winnie the Pooh to my son.”

Trixie’s eyes went wide. “What? The Great and Wondrous Trixie knows most things, one of them being that a pony can’t have a dragon for a child. Now that I have your full attention though–“

“He was enjoying it. Apologize.”

Trixie blinked a few times in disbelief. “I will not! You two are vile creatures and I am here to rid Equestria of you before you can do any more damage.”

It was Twilight’s turn to blink a few times before sighing and putting her hooves around Spike. “Don’t listen to the crazy pony Spike. She lost her mind a long time ago.”

“Oh you bi-“

Trixie could have left the prison of ice, or as Twilight called it, the censor cage, at anytime, but instead, she stayed there. A second pulse of her magic sensed almost no evil, and definitely no malice, even from the monsters directly in front of her. It made no sense, and as much as it infuriated Trixie not to be able to understand, she could not deny her curiosity was piqued.

This curiosity started to die as the energy spent on her earlier spells caught up with her. Her mind started to wander, thinking of such things like how the creatures might hide their evil, how the dracolich breathed, and how the wraith’s ear might taste. Her tongue ran over her lips as her imagination had her petting the cute purple thing, growing close to her and– Wow, Trixie is far too tired for this. Recon will have to wait for another time. She took one more glance and nodded to herself. But Trixie will most definitely not be letting this… mare, out of her sight.

Author's Note

The comment.

Daring Do

Sunset fidgeted a bit as she stood next to a transformed Celestia. She glanced over and was still amazed by the power of the princess’ illusion and its ability to make her look like a white earth pony with only pink in her mane. This wasn’t the first time they had done this though, and she rubbed the stone underhoof for a moment in anticipation. “So, any hints as to what the new one is about?”

Celestia smirked. “I’ll only say that you shouldn’t be getting too excited. Apparently, this one ends in a less then climactic finale, but she had written herself into a corner and had to finish it.”

Sunset nudged Celestia’s side. “Come on Celestia, don’t tease me!”

She sighed for a moment. “Aliens.”

Sunset blinked for a few moments before opening her mouth, closing it, and then simply shaking her head. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Twilight piped up between them, even though she was supposed to stay quiet and read the Daring Do collection she had been given. “At least it’s more original then any of this plagiarized crud I’ve read.”

Every eye was on the two mares now, one who stared into space in pure shock, the other knowing quite well to act like she hadn’t heard anything. Sunset’s shock soon turned to rage. She had spent most of the morning talking up the Daring Do series and how they beat any of the filly’s tales that Twilight had been reading as of late. To hear this wondrous book series be called out like this made her wish she could blast the wraith. “What are you talking about?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, not that Sunset could see her while she was intangible. “I’m talking about how she has obviously decided to rip off Indiana Pones! Except, unlike a true ripoff artist, she has decided to make them bad by making them kid friendly.”

Sunset lowered her voice to almost a whisper, hoping not to come off as crazy to the ponies around them who were also waiting for the new Daring Do book that was at the signing. “Kid friendly? How about everyponies’ souls being sucked out of them, or the pony who was turned to stone after such dutiful service, or even the slow suffocation in the Temple of Doom?”

Twilight opened her mouth, but then stopped. “What Temple of Doom?”

Sunset smirked. “It’s quite infamous actually. The leader of a cult of ponies can take his hoof to a stallion’s chest and slowly suffocate them, where he either dismisses the breathe, killing them, or keeps it to control them.”

Twilight’s form shook before she screamed, “That isn’t right!” She shot off as a small missile, her form a swirling mass of black magic and cold. She stopped in front of the signing table, the area around A.K. Yearling freezing. She sucked in a breath of air and recalled her last lesson from Cthulu as she prepared to project to the whole block that the bookstore was on.

“You are a phony, a liar, and a cheat! You claim to write your books as your own, but you do so falsely! Indiana Pones knew what he was writing, and for you to decide to make his books any less gritty or real is an insult to all ponanity! What do you have to say for yourself, scum?”

The yellow pony shook a few times before rolling her eyes back and collapsing. Guards that were in the bookstore and from the street soon had their magic trained on Twilight, but she shook off the blasts like nothing. She could feel Sunset’s grasp on her, and looking back she frowned. Twilight glanced back at A.K. Yearling and sighed. She hadn’t even meant to cause her to faint, no matter how enraging her crimes were. Soon, the patrons of the bookstore could breath easy as the darkness dissipated.

======+++++======

“Thank you.”

Celestia smiled slightly and raised an eyebrow. “I did nothing but observe today Ms. Do, so there is no reason to thank me.”

The yellow pegasus stepped out from the shadows, scowling. “I highly doubt that princess. A wraith that old and strong could only have been driven off by someone of your power.”

Celestia bit into her cheek and pulled a book from beneath her bed, slowly flipping through its pages. “It was her own choice. She reacted in anger, but her core is good. That is why you are still alive.” She heard wingbeats behind her and scowled. “And no, I’m not under her influence.”

“I’m sorry, but I find myself somewhat skeptical. It knew about Indiana Pones, making it be at least five hundred years old, because that is when his books went out of print and my family took over his family’s job of taking care of the problems his books presented. A wraith that old just might–“

“Be powerful enough to take me out? Yes, you’re possibly correct. That wraith though, can’t, and probably never will.” She lifted the book she had grabbed up and floated the dusty tome to Daring. “Your proof is in there, for more then time is needed for a wraith to reach its full potential.”

Daring hesitated for a moment, but then glanced down at the faded script. Celeste sipped her tea before finally turning to the other mare. “Please, read it aloud. I want to know where you are, and make sure you don’t miss anything. This is too important.”

She bit into her cheek and nodded as she began. “I have finally done it. I have made a wraith I can research. Or at least, I thought I did. This one is perfect in theory. Of a good, kind, innocent heart, so she is unlikely to hurt others. She is even more powerful than even I, or my mother, making her an apt candidate to have made sure the soul had enough magic to sustain itself. She even has an intense interest that cannot drive her mad, as she only finds joy in it, and needs no more then to simply be doing it.”

“So then, why am I so hesitant? Why do I hate what I have done? I only do this to make headway in figuring out one of the biggest threats to Equestria, but anytime I think of taking samples or doing research, I just end up hating myself and what I have done.”

“I do know of course. Binding one’s own filly to the earth, making it so that she will never know the peace of death; it is something only a maniac would do. And yet, here I write, watching as my daughter celebrates her eighteenth birthday with a shroud on, excited to know that she’ll never have to stop reading.”

Daring’s voice started to waver at this point. “I only hope she stays happy, and I will continue to bring her books to make sure of this. I know I am a horrible pony, and hopefully, one day, my spell will break and she will be free to seek her own peace. Until then, my dear sweet Twilight, I am sorry.”

Celestia stepped over to beside her loyal subject and friend. “Are you okay?”

Daring bit into her lip, forcing tears away from her eyes. “You know that this means that if she ever decided to turn against you, she couldn’t be exorcised or anything like that, right? Only outright destruction can remove her.”

Celestia took in a deep breath and was silent for a long moment. “I know, but I want to give her the chance. She is a good mare, and fills my chest with warmth that I have so rarely known before.”

A small nod came from Daring. “Yeah, yeah, I guess that is a good enough reason to at least give her a chance.”

The two silently sat in the throne room for a while longer before Daring started to leave, having much to think about. Celestia piped up and asked, “So, aliens. Really?”

Daring scowled. “I’m so sorry. The ruins had nothing in them and deadlines were crushing me.”

Celestia giggled slightly. “Have a nice night Daring, and the best of luck with your next book.” She watched for another moment as the pegasus darted away and looked back to the early newspaper print in front of her. News about the incident was front and center, and it worried her. Forced her to consider a possibility she hated.

She sighed one more time, folding the tabloid and rubbing her eye. She was tired, and had a big announcement that she was going to hate making coming up. At least it’ll be quieter now.

Author's Note

The comment.

And now we're hunkering down into real story mode, a mode where I'll be trying to keep up with taking in comments, but also bucking them to the curb to do as I wish/need to progress the overall plot. I expect to be in this mode for roughly three weeks, and the first story update will be on Friday with no update on Wednesday. See you all then.

Also, and yes this came after publish, new cover art to stop the god damn confusion! Also because I felt like actually having some version of Twaith there.

Summer Sun Preparation

Sunset fidgeted with her saddlebags for about the twenty-seventh time during their chariot ride, causing Twilight to put a hoof against her shoulder. “Why are you so nervous? I thought this is what you wanted.”

A checklist floated in front of Sunset’s eyes for a moment as she memorized it again. “It is, and that is why I’m terrified. Out of the blue, Celestia entrusts me to be her royal representative in Ponyville for their Summer Sun Celebration, and even on the year that they get a visit from the princess. I’ve never had to leave Canterlot, let alone go to a small village like this.”

Twilight let out a content sigh as she thought about how nice it was going to be to be in a small town again, instead of the terrifying monstrosity that Canterlot felt like at times. “Don’t worry so much. Small towns breed nice ponies, like me, and I don’t know anypony who is more determined in their work than you. They’ll at least be able to respect that.”

Sunset smiled slightly, but the blush and embarrassment stopped it from growing more. She liked just about any compliment from Twilight, and to hear such a vote of confidence after the short time they’d spent together was more then she could have asked for. Then again, I’m one of the only ponies she has met in over a thousand years. One of her forehooves came hard against her forehead as she smacked the thought away. Just take the compliment.

Twilight shrunk herself somewhat and nestled into the insulated bag on Sunset’s side. It was meant to make her able to accompany Sunset, but not let her aura of cold give her away. “So, the first pony we see, you’ll try talking to?”

“I don’t know…”

“Consider it practice for both of us in talking to strangers. It’ll help when you actually talk to the people you have to.”

Sunset swallowed hard as they came closer and closer to the ground and let her eyes set upon a pink pony with a large smile on her face. She looks friendly enough I suppose. “Alright, I will.”

As they approached the new pony, Twilight stuck her head out of the bag and watched. She was tense herself, as she hadn’t made too many attempts to actually talk to others, and especially for no reason. Sunset swallowed hard and extended a hoof. “Hello, my name is Sunset Shimmer, and I am here to–“

“Ghost!”

Both mare’s eyes were wide open as the pink pony ran away as fast as she could. Sunset sighed. “Fuck.”

Twilight blinked a few times. “Well, I guess the least you have to do is say that she was wrong.”

Sunset bit into her cheek for a moment and nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Come on, lets get going.”

And with that, they set off down the road. Their first stop would take them to Sweet Apple Acres, and with the succulent scent of fresh apples in the air, Sunset found her stomach beginning to growl just as an orange mare trotted up to greet her.

“Hello there. My name is Applejack, and I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Sunset steeled herself, now having a real chance to prove herself as a diplomat. She opened her mouth, but was cut off by her stomach.

Grumble.

Her face went flushed and she swallowed hard. “My apologies. I haven’t had lunch yet.”

Applejack only grinned at the sound and put a hoof on the new mare’s shoulder. “Well, we have so much family here today that I know we’ll make far more food then we’ll need, and we always like having guests. What do you say, sugarcube?”

Sunset frowned for a moment, but then shrugged, seeing no real problem with it. “Seeing as I would need to try your food anyways, I see no problem with it being a little less formally.”

Applejack tucked that piece of information back in her mind and took in a deep breath while she got ready to ring the dinner bell. “Soups on!”

It almost floored Sunset just how fast the family members seemed to appear out of thin air. She had watched guards mobilizing for threats slower then the Apple Family got ready for lunch. And then came the food. Oh the food. Twilight’s mouth watered as she smelled the fritters, pies, and other assorted pastries be laid out for all to enjoy. Applejack grinned as she sat next Sunset. “Well, are you going to try something?”

Sunset gave a slight chuckle as she was still trying to process it all, but soon was inhaling the delicious treats, only pausing to answer questions Applejack had for her, and when her curiosity grew too much, questions she had for Applejack. Twilight tried following her friend’s example, but was soon reminded that she was indeed still ethereal as a pie was where her brain should have been, and an apple fritter replaced her kidneys.

It only took minutes for Twilight’s curiosity to grow to almost unbearable levels. She simply had to try all of it. Her eyes searched the crowd for the one she thought best suited for the job and saw a large, red stallion who was just about to dig in. She floated over and whispered, “Sorry,” to him just before diving into the body.

The rest of the Apple Family watched in silence as Big Mac jumped onto the table. An industrial strength vacuum would have had a hard time keeping up with the pace the eldest Apple heir kept up. No matter how much he knocked down or devoured, his pace kept constant. It was only when Sunset noticed a black glow that anyone had a clue as to what was going on. While no one was watching her, she focused her magic and grabbed the ghost from within the body, quickly evicting her.

Big Mac stood on the table for a few moments, stunned, before bending over and letting out a low groan. Applejack glared at him. “You know we had guests, right?”

“E-eeyup.”

“You didn’t mean to, right?”

“Eeyup.”

Applejack let out a sigh and turned towards Sunset to apologize, only to find her gone. She was, in fact, already down the road to check on the weather pony for the celebration, blushing madly while scolding Twilight on how what she did was wrong,

Author's Note

The comment!
So, because of a choice I made, which is going to lead to a pretty decent chapter on Friday, I may actually be done with this by the end of next week.

And one last thing. I am looking for a cover artists for a side story I am planning with Twaith, based off of one person wanting more of her backstory (namely how she was made), but that is much too dark to make more then a cameo appearance here. So, I am thinking of making a journal style story for that which will be sequel linked to this. Please A)PM me if you want to help with the art, and B)let me know if you want this story. It will not be done at work if I do it, so no slow down for the main story.

Finishing Set Up

Sunset frowned as they made their way into the middle of town and the clouds were still hanging in the sky. She glanced over at Twilight and pulled out a picture of the pegasus they were looking for. “Think you can fly up there and find her? Maybe even give her a bit of a spook so she gets what she deserves.”

“Deserves?”

“Do you not see the sky? It’s supposed to be clear and the orders were sent out last week. This is just sloppy.”

Twilight glanced up and concurred; the sky was not clear. She floated upward, gliding in between clouds as she searched for her target. She rose above a particularly large one and saw the cyan mare spread out and snoring loudly. Twilight covered her ears and frowned. Such a snore could cause a pony problems down the road if nothing was done. Maybe if she were on her side…

Rainbow woke up to a loud, “Sorry,” while the wind rushed through her mane. For a moment, she thought about just turning back over, but the fact that her stomach felt like it was against her throat made her rethink it. Looking down, her eyes widened into shock as her wings instinctively put on the breaks. She crashed into one of the clouds beneath her, just barely not breaking it. It did however, release a lightning bolt directed at a certain yellow mare.

“Ow!”

Rainbow poked her head out from behind the cloud and paled as small tendrils of smoke came from the recently burned mare, her mane now a mohawk all the war down her neck. A small chuckle escaped Rainbow. “Sorry.”

Sunset growled at her and stomped forward. “Are you Rainbow Dash?”

The pegasus’s eyes shined for a moment and she came down to the ground. “Why yes I am! I’m guessing you’ve heard of me.”

Sunset put a hoof to her jaw. “Why, I do believe I have. First on my list to take back to the Canterlot dungeons for not performing her royal duty.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide and she stomped a hoof down in front of Sunset. A blast of hot steam escaped Rainbow and blew into Sunset’s face, but the unicorn was feeling cocky and playful, though that may have been the electrical current still running through her. “Kissing me isn’t going to help your case.”

That caught Rainbow off guard and she blushed before turning away, lightly smacking Sunset in the face with her tail. “I don’t swing that way, and I wasn’t gonna avoid my job. I was just waiting because I could get it done in ten seconds flat.”

Sunset yawned and made sure to be extra obnoxious with the noise from it. “Only that fast? I bet I could do better in my sleep.”

Rainbow rose a bit into the sky as she came back back around to fave her. “Oh yeah?”

Sunset smirked. “Yeah.”

She wasn’t caught off guard when Rainbow suddenly yelled, “Onetwothreego,” and had the first cloud Rainbow had gone for turned into water vapor just before she got there.

“Come on, I’m just putting the steam you were blowing off back in your face!”

Rainbow’s eye twitched and she took off like a rocket. Sunset tried to continue to play her little game, but soon realized she would be more likely to burn the pegasus instead of the clouds of she continued like that. Rainbow ducked and weaved through the cloud line, decimating them while Sunset blasted them with superheated magic, vaporizing them. When all was said and done, Rainbow flew down and let out a slight pant. “So, I won, right?”

Sunset opened her mouth, but Twilight appeared next to her. “Sorry Sunset, but you lost by one.”

For a moment she considered lying, but simply let it go with a sigh. “You got one more. Good job.”

Rainbow Dash bucked at the air and scowled. “Only by one? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Sunset grinned, knowing the feeling. “It was fun though. Thanks.”

The blue pegasus glanced at the outstretched hoof and shook it. “Yeah, gotta admit that at least. See you around sometime…”

“Sunset Shimmer.”

She nodded for a moment and gave her a small salute before looking for a new place to relax in. Sunset scanned the skies and nodded to herself, happy with the results. Twilight poked her head over her shoulder. “So, why did you head go to her kissing you as a taunt? Is that normal nowadays?”

Sunset merely continued to trot, thanking a small illusion spell for covering her blush, and gave out a sigh of relief as the two quickly entered city hall before she absolutely had to answer. The sight within gave her a small smile as she looked upon dazzling red bows, blue and green streamers, and an elegant banner that wavered in the air. She came closer to the decorator, who was currently looking over two sets of bows, and gave a small cough to let her know she was there.

Rarity turned to face them, a smile on her face for a total of two seconds before the sight of Sunset’s mane-hawk and the smell of her still singed fur came to assault her sense. She let out a strangled gasp before a spray bottle and comb came over and took Sunset down in a cloud of aerosol, water spray, and ruthless combing.

Sunset set of a small explosion around her, thankful for a protection spell to protect her from the mist’s destruction. “Hey, careful with that stuff! I couldn’t breath.”

Rarity turned her head away. “I’m sorry, but perhaps you should have allowed me to breath. instead of bringing that horrid smell with you.”

Twilight let out a small giggle that received a moment’s glare from Sunset. “Well, if we can stop trying to kill each other, I am here from Canterlot to appraise the decorations.”

Rarity seemingly teleported to her side with stars in her eyes. “Canterlot you say?”

Sunset swallowed for a moment. “Um, yes. Even born and raised there.”

The stars only became brighter as Rarity trotted towards the back, dragging Sunset by her tail with her magic. “Well then, I simply must make up for any ill will that I have gained from our unfortunate introduction. Please, follow me.”

Sunset merely mouthed, ‘help me,’ to Twilight before she was taken to the back. Unfortunately, Twilight didn’t know how to read lips and wasn’t about to interrupt what she thought was female bonding time.

It would only be hours later that Sunset would escape the town hall. She had actually liked talking to the fashion mare, especially since she had been the star of attention during almost the whole time. I even got to make plans to help Twilight, which is always a plus. Being caught in what should be considered a death trap though, instead of a corset, had been the final straw for her, and so the time had to stop, before anything tighter like leather had come into play.

“How was your time with her?”

“Not now, need to run.” And run they did. She booked it, only now realizing how close it had come to nightfall. At least the notes had stated it would be easiest to find the orchestrator the closer it was to night.

Sunset and Twilight only slowed when both of their ears started to twitch. Something was… off about the clearing. Sunset stretched her neck out and took a deep breath in, feeling a calm wash over her. And yet, she still didn’t know why. “Who is there?”

All at once, the odd feeling was gone, and so was the calming effect that had accompanied it. Sunset scowled and her horn started to glow. A beautiful voice came from the trees in response. “Please keep the light low. You’ll hurt my performers otherwise.”

Sunset glanced back at Twilight, but the wraith was already floating forward. After a few moments of waiting, a dark yellow blur came whizzing past Sunset, Twilight following soon after. “Oh my Celestia! You’re a bat pony aren’t you?”

Sunset listened to her friend barrage the poor mare with questions for only a few more moments before summoning a wall of magic for Twilight to smash into. She then watched as the blur went into a tree. “Are you Fluttershy?

Two large eyes showed themselves before two fluffed ears and leathery wings joined them. The mare slowly descended to the ground and swallowed hard. “Ye-yes, I am.”

Sunset scowled for a moment. “Then please, let me apologize for my idiot of a friend. I haven’t met a bat pony either, but that still isn’t anyway to treat another pony. Besides, It shouldn’t even matter as I am here on royal duty to hear the orchestra. May I?”

Fluttershy frowned and scratched at the ground. “I-it’s fine. I don’t like it, but I’m growing used to it.” She cleared her throat and opened it for a moment, bringing the odd feeling back to Sunset. “Did you feel that when you came here?”

Sunset shook her head. “Yeah.”

Fluttershy’s eyes shone for a moment. “Did you also feel relaxed?”

She blinked a couple of times. “Yeah actually, or at least, I think I would have if I hadn’t thought that I was about to be attacked.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy put a hoof over her muzzle. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I promise. I was just causing my bats to synchronize for a nice, peaceful frequency to make ponies happy.”

Sunset bit into her lip. “Think I might be able to hear it again?”

Fluttershy nodded and zipped back to her trees. For a few minutes, Sunset stood there, now able to hear the gentle melody to their odd sonar, and it did calm her. “How interesting. It should do quite nicely, and I have to talk to you about it sometime. Until then, I hope you do well Fluttershy.”

The bat pony watched as the two left, watching the wraith that had scared her, those beautiful green eyes almost having caused her heart to stop when she had first seen them.

Once they were finally within the treehouse that the two would call their office and home in Ponyville for the next few days, they got quite a surprise. As tempting as a seance had been for her, Pinkie had decided an all out, bat pony crazy party was the route to go to welcome the new pony and her ghost friend.

To say the least, it caught them off guard.

It would be a couple hours of partying later when Sunset finally joined Twilight in the bedroom. She collapsed next to the ghost and groaned. Twilight smiled slightly. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t think I’ve been more exhausted in my life… but yeah, I think I am.”

“Your new friends seemed nice.”

Sunset didn’t catch the slight quiver in Twilight’s voice. “Yeah, but it isn’t like we’re staying long, and not all of them are gems.” She rubbed one of her ears, remembering Pinkie practically screaming in her ear.

Twilight nosed her book closer to being between them. “I have this book of filly’s fairy tales. Would you care to join me?”

Sunset shivered for a moment from Twilight’s cold, but then nodded. “Sounds nice. Which one are you on?”

“The Elements of Harmony and Nightmare Moon.”

Sunset let out a small chuckle. “You mean that rumor made by others to say Celestia isn't our proper ruler? Sorry, but pass.”

Twilight pouted. “Please, I’ve never read it before.”

A sigh passed the Sunset’s muzzle, but one glance at those eager green eyes and she knew she was doomed. “Fine, read on.”

“Yay!”

======+++++======

Sunset yawned like most of the ponies there. She may have been excited about the Summer Sun Celebration like every pony else, but that didn’t remove the late night discussion on the validity of ‘Luna’ as she probably had been called, even if she had ever even existed. The moment the princess didn’t show though, adrenaline kicked in while Sunset’s heart sank. Kibitz would have never have allowed her to be late, let alone miss something like this. Where is sh–

“Hello citizens of Equestria. Your true ruler is here!”

Sunset and Twilight had the same thought as they gazed upon the black pony. She just stole one of the closest people to them, and she was going to pay. Sunset ran back to the library for Twilight’s book from before, while Twilight set off after Nightmare Moon, ready to show her why wraiths are feared like they are.

Author's Note

The main comment that affected this.

This was the change that caused my schedule for the story to become end of next week instead of two more weeks, as they were each going to get their own chapters originally, or two per chapter.

Also, I'll give you three guesses, first two don't count, on the validity of Dash saying, "I don't swing that way."

Confrontation

Nightmare Moon rubbed her chin as she looked at the clearing in the Everfree, one of multitple paths the ponies from town could take. “So, they’ll probably come out here, and I can hover menacingly, inspiring the insipid fillies to run. If that doesn’t do the trick, some good old fashioned vaporization should do it.”

“I don’t think so!”

She turned to the voice just before large spikes of ice grew out of the forest and ground, all directed at her. She quickly flew off off the ground and banked to go back and get her attacker. At least, until the first blast of black energy smashed across her face. She spun back, just before more black globes came her way.

Twilight watched as black energy filled the air, charging her horn while the smoke cleared. The moment she saw a glint of moonlight against her opponent’s armor, she fired. One last missile, larger then any of the ones previously fired, shot through the air.

And never made contact.

Her eyes widened and Twilight started to back up, searching for where her enemy may have gone. A single feather tapped against her rump and she jumped into the air, only to then come crashing back down by a dark aura. The aura was quickly dispelled by her own magic, but she could feel the ache the forced materialization had caused.

Nightmare Moon smiled as the purple mare got back to floating just above the ground. “Oh, don’t look so shaken. I just wanted to see the little cutie better.” She stepped forward and smiled. “And trust me, you look like just my–“

Twilight smiled as she looked upon the large chunk of ice that was now Nightmare’s head. It started to sparkle and black electricity ran through the frozen water. In only a few seconds, Nightmare Moon was free and smiling at her again. “Like I said, cute.”

Twilight stepped back, her confidence waning fast. “Wh-what have you done with Celestia?”

“Oh, that old bag? I did what we all should have done long ago and banished her so we may enjoy my night. I know one such as yourself must agree.”

She stomped her hooves down before going back to being intangible. “No, I don’t!”

Nightmare looked back at the curious creature, her smile finally fading. “What are you, some kind of fool? In my world, you would be a god, challenged by only myself, never having to be an outcast due to the light, or,” her horn glowing and forcing Celestia’s mark to show itself, “have to live within other’s confines. Don’t you want to ever be truly accepted?”

“I am!” Twilight’s form rippled and shook for a moment as strands of her cloak no longer were simply frayed, but now tore themselves open, creating small holes in it as the energy collecting at her horn changed from pure black, to mixed with a sickly green that made Nightmare shudder simply from the sight of it.

Nightmare charged her own horn, and released just as Twilight did, obliterating the ground they fought on and the surrounding trees.

As the dust cleared, one body hit the ground, as the other panted. The second pony stepped forward, a frost covered hoof almost coming down upon the loser. Nightmare bent low and almost put her muzzle again Twilight’s ear. “You’re lucky that I have other things I must take care of. If you ever decide to reconsider my offer though, find me.” And then she took off, leaving part of her magic behind so she could find the elements without distraction, no longer having the time or strength she thought may be needed to fight the ponies that would be coming after her.

Meanwhile, Twilight curled into a ball, her soul howling in pain. She had never been beat like that. In fact, she had never even been challenged like that before. Is she right? Am I alone? One glance around the crater only reinforced the feeling, and she tucked her head into her hooves, wishing for a friend to find her. Twilight’s horn reacted to the thoughts, dipping into the new pool within her, sinking her magic firmly into the quagmire of dark magic that was her true reserves.

Slowly, the earth beside her cracked, a green aura ushering forth a large, bony, taloned arm. It moved around the small, sobbing form, and gently pet the pony to sleep.

=====+++++======

Celestia sipped her tea as she looked out upon the sunset. It had been a long, proud day for her. Well, at least, outside of my sister trapping me in a dungeon of nightmares, but one learns to look at the good during times like these. Good like my prized pupil doing the unthinkable by making friends, though I suppose using the elements is quite an amazing feat as well.

Luna scowled at her now much larger sister as she heard her giggle. “It has been a thousand years, and my powers have been cut. Some, umf, difficulty with the moon should be expected, not laughed at.” She puffed out her cheeks as she felt her grip on the celestial body wane, and Celestia couldn’t help but smile at her little sister.

“The laughter was not at you dear sister, I promise. I’m just… thinking back on the day and making jokes with myself.”

Luna stretched her neck as the moon finally caught its rotation before collapsing onto the ground, panting between Celestia’s legs. “I’m so happy for you. My day was just as fantastic you know. Being trapped in the body of a filly was exactly what I wanted.”

Celestia lowered herself, curling Luna up in her hooves. “Would you have rather had the alternative?”

Luna closed her eyes, but her first thought got a smile to her face. “Well, at least I would be able to have more cake then.” She flinched a little at the light smack to the back of the head Celestia gave her. “No, of course not sister.”

Celestia smiled and snuggled more into her sister, but it didn’t help. Though Luna was back, she knew she would have to be on guard and make absolute certain that the elements had been successful at bringing her sister back before she could truly confide into her. She now had no one to confide in, to laugh with, to treat truly as a friend, not with Sunset choosing to stay as the royal representative for Ponyville and continue her career politically.

And then there was Twilight. While she had not seen the wraith at the celebration, she doubted she would choose to come back to Canterlot. The city was too large, Sunset wasn’t here, and even if Spike and Shining Armor called to her, she had so many new ponies to meet that would most likely to distract and keep her there.

Luna looked up as a soft sigh escaped her sister. “What seems the matter Celestia?”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing to concern yourself over. Just an old mare having wishful thoughts.”

Luna stuck her hoof up and booped Celestia in the nose. “I’m your sister. Confiding in me your wishes is practically my job, even when it’s something silly, like only wanting lemon cake for a week straight.”

“You know, that doesn’t sound bad. Maybe we should talk to the chefs about it.”

“The chefs swore they would go on strike if they ever had to make lemon cake again after making a hundred in one day. Besides, you’re getting off topic.”

Celestia nodded. “I know. Just, I’m sad to know my friends are gone. That they have lives away from me, and that if I see them again, it’ll be for such brief moments of time. Without Sunset or Twilight, this castle feels so…”

“Quiet?”

Celestia’s eyes widened and she saw Twilight, her robe still filled with small holes and tears, showing the dirt and mud caked in her fur. The princess tackled the wraith to the ground, snuggling her tight. “Why are you here? When did you get here?”

Twilight smiled and then stuck her tongue out. “I’m an ancient, class five wraith. Teleportation is nothing to me.”

Celestia giggled before snuggling Twilight tighter. “Thank you. Thank you for coming back.”

Twilight laughed back. “What, did you think I was going to leave one of my two best friends behind, never to see them again? No way in Tarturus!”

A small smile came over Celestia’s face as her heart swelled. “No, I don’t suppose you would do that.”

Author's Note

First

Second: Story is done, and with it, Woona is here to stay! As well, I'm doing only one more of the old comments, but otherwise, I'm kind of wiping the board. We have 90% of our cast, and I have WAY too many comments.
And three: It won't be for a good while probably before we go into story mode again. I wanted to go to Ponyville after about a month and I hit that just about dead on. I think if I want to set a timer, I'll say in about a year, so yeah, no timer, story will progress when I feel like it, or when I run out of other ideas with the current situation.

So yeah, I hope you all enjoyed it, back to fluffy random times!

Vengeance is Mine!

Luna groggily trotted through the castle, nodding to guards as she passed them. Each pony that was in her path all reacted the same, much to her annoyance. Shock, then a slight tilting of their head as they almost went, “Daaah,” and then fear as they realized they were about to do that to a princess. The sooner Celestia finds a way to get me to be full grown again, the better.

The kitchen staff turned as they heard a crash against their swinging door and then a small thud. One of them opened it to a small, dark blue foal rubbing her head as she sat on the ground. The unicorn lifted her up and brought her to his face. “Ah, it’s okay little one. Did you get lost and bump your head?”

Luna opened her eyes into a deadly glare straight into the staff member’s soul. “If you do not put me down right this second and make me tea, I will have you thrown into a dungeon for a thousand years you peasant!”

The chef just stood there, stunned, his jaw hanging low. The sous chef came up behind the filly with a high chair and, by Celestia’s orders, put Luna into the seat as punishment for terrorizing his staff.

Luna’s eyes bulged just before she started rocking the chair, thrashing about like the five year old filly her body showed her as. Her wings started to buzz as she tried desperately to fly out, but she had never been a strong, young flyer, so in the chair she stayed. She then puffed out her cheeks before she wailed any more, only now having realized that the whole staff was looking at her. “I don’t believe I have my tea yet.”

A small smile came across the sous chef’s face and he bowed to her. “Of course my princess.” Sous then got to work, boiling the water before steeping the bag of night dew tea, and then bringing it to the princess in a sippy cup. “Please do be careful; it’s hot.”

Luna’s eyes twitched and she looked up at the stallion. “You realize I could vaporize you. That I could send you into the deepest pits of Tarturus, and no one would be the wiser. Now, you will treat me with respect, or else.”

Sous stared at her for a few moments before smacking himself and nodding. “You’re correct princess, and I’m terribly sorry for not having served you to the best of my abilities.” He trotted to the cabinets and pulled a single, small, thin straw from a box before coming back over and putting it into Luna’s cup. “I hope this pleases you, my highness.”

“No, it does not! It only makes it worse!”

Sous put a hoof to his chin before quickly coming down and taking back the straw. “You’re absolutely right. A straw will only increase the possibility that you burn your mouth.”

Luna shook silently in her seat. All that she had said before was a bluff, as her magic had shrank with her body, and now all she could think about was how degrading it would be to ask for the straw back. She slowly leaned forward and took a small sip from the cup, letting the warmth and taste of her favorite beverage fill her. The warmth soon left as a chill entered the room. “Who’s there?”

A whisper came into Luna’s ear, barely a few centimeters from her head. “You don’t remember me?”

Luna put her hooves over her mouth as she yawned, her first long night of many catching up with her. She knew the wraith’s voice, but hadn’t had a chance to be properly greeted yet, not with how tired and busy she had been. “Look, if I hurt you as Nightmare Moon, I am sorry, but I’ve been back for less then a week, and as much as I’ve wanted, I haven’t blown anyone up.”

Twilight stayed intangible as she crossed her forehooves. “Don’t try that with me. I want a real apology.”

Luna sipped her tea. “Yes, well, you’re dead, I’m not. Color me not afraid.”

Twilight’s eye now shook and she stayed intangible as she threw up her hooves and her magic started to gather. “Then a curse! A curse upon you! A curse upon your moon! And a curse upon your tea!”

Luna didn’t notice the glow on her sippy cup as she put the small opening to her mouth. The minute the hot liquid touched her muzzle, it flash froze. Luna’s eyes went wide just before she was forced to hang her head from the awkward weight. She shook her head, but it stayed on her solidly. She tried her magic, but she simply couldn’t focus enough to bend a shot down to it.

So, she resorted to the last thing she could think of in a high chair.

“Waaaaah!”

Five minutes later, Luna was sniffling, snuggled in-between Celestia’s hooves with a cup of hot coco, her tongue still stinging from getting the sip cup off. “Don’t worry little sister. I know you and Twilight will get along soon enough. Just give it time.”

Luna crossed her forehooves. “Well, it can’t come soon enough then.” She yawned, her anger already dissipating. “Maybe when I wake up it’ll be okay.”

Celestia smiled and turned to the fuming purple entity next to her. “No more antagonizing her.”

“But she blew me up!”

“Did she?”

Twilight huffed, but under Celestia’s gaze couldn’t keep an angry face. “No… I suppose you’re right.” She then floated down and pat Luna’s head. “You know, she’s cute. Especially sleeping like this.”

Now it was Celestia’s turn to puff out her cheeks, fuming with rage she had to keep in.

Author's Note

Well, back to your regularly scheduled fluff and cuteness. At least, after you hopefully give me a few more minutes of your time. It would mean a lot to me.

Also, the comment of course.

Fears and Fox Fire

Sunset smiled as she sat across from both Twilight and Celestia. The three were having tea in Canterlot Castle, or at least, she and Celestia were. Twilight was watching them in a huff, but Sunset knew she was enjoying herself. She turned to Celestia. “So, shall we show her our trick?”

Celestia smiled back at her student before nodding. “Yes, I do believe it is time we showed Twilight just how much magic unicorns of today have. If you will start us, my beloved student, we can begin.”

Sunset swelled from the praise and stood on her hooves. An aura of red magic started to surround her. It bathed her in its warmth and familiarity, just as it always had. A tear came to her eye as it squeezed around her, the joy of her magic causing her to get emotional. Finally, once she was certain she would be able to control it, she let the bright field flow upwards in a steady stream.

A wave of golden energy radiated outward from Celestia, but as it banked, it became smaller and more condensed. The aura slowly glided around Sunset’s own magic, keeping it together and adding to it.Twilight watched in awe as the energies continued to wrap around each other, becoming two spheres; a small red one within a larger, more radiant sun that engulfed it.

“I-it’s amazing! Did Celestia show you how to do this?”

Sunset grinned, but the amount of focus she needed stopped her from answering. Instead, Celestia answered for her. “No. Sunset came up with this, to prove herself as the greatest unicorn in Equestria, something she proves everyday to me.”

Twilight whistled for a moment before her form shook and her pristine cloaked was suddenly filled with holes. The shrill laughter that came out from her friend chilled Sunset to her core. “Wh-what is it Tw-nng.” She bent her knees as she kept the magic under control, panic causing it to waver and shake.

Twilight stepped forward before gathering a large mass of her black magic. It shot forward like a lightning bolt, crashing against the sphere. Tendrils of darkness infected the bubble, and for a moment, went down the lines that connected the other two magic users. It was then though that Twilight let out another laugh, but this one was far more pleasant as her magic stabilized within the maelstrom of mana. “You two should see the looks on your faces!”

Sunset let out a desperate sigh before her face tensed from how hard it was getting to keep control. The magic was getting too strong for her, but she couldn’t just let go and disappoint Celestia. She had little choice though as a blue, auric lance slammed into the sphere.

Luna flew down, as tall as Nightmare Moon, and just as frightening to Sunset. The magic was growing quickly out of control, with the bubble shaking more and more each moment. The newest princess set down next to Sunset and whispered, “What makes you so special?”

Twilight smiled as she heard the words. “If it weren’t for Celestia’s seals, my magic would be so strong as to freeze you without thinking. Can you do anything like that?”

Celestia turned to Twilight. “How true little one. And with how much resilience to your own decay you’ve shown, you’ll definitely outlast my current, useless student.”

“Bu-but Im your priz–“

“My prized student would not need to dream up a spell to impress me, she just–“

Boom!

White fire bathed the entirety of the castle, and Sunset shut her eyes as the warmth started to beat at her face. Opening them, she found herself not in the castle, but her still unfamiliar treehouse. She shook for a few moments before shutting her eyes and putting her head into her hooves. Why am I her student? What makes me so special?

“Excuse me, but Trixie thinks that talking to you might help with your worries.”

Sunset looked up at the strange new voice and saw a kitsune, a pony spirit, reincarnated to have the traits of a fox. They were rare, but known as omens of good luck and safety, at least, if the old legends had kept true. Her mind immediately flashed to the white light that had ended her nightmare. “Fox fire?”

Trixie grinned. “Trixie sure does hope you liked it… though, she is sorry that she didn’t jump in earlier.”

Sunset bit into her cheek as she looked at her hooves. “A-another spirit for my new home I guess.” She tried chuckling slightly before putting her hooves into her lap. “And just another pony I know who is better than me.”

Trixie floated over, her nose twitching as she frowned. “While Trixie knows she is better then you, she doubts that you have anything to worry about. She can tell you are beyond almost any pony she has seen, at least in Equestria.”

Sunset looked up, her eyes set in a firm glare. “How am I supposed to believe you?”

The blue kitsune bit into her cheek. “Trixie supposes the best she can say is that she has been through most of Equestria, and never before has she seen a mare who not only can impress a ruler, but also befriend a wraith and harness the powers of nature and magic themselves.”

Sunset blushed for a few moments and grinned. “Well, when you put it that way…”

Trixie gave out a slight chuckle. “See, you’re fine as you are. And now that you know of Trixie, you have a new goal to strive for.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Oh really?”

Trixie mimicked Sunset’s gesture. “You don’t want to challenge an almighty kitsune. This is the only warning Trixie will give you.”

“Is that because you’re too scared?”

Trixie’s eyes widened and her tails glowed before she breathed a jet of flame. Sunset merely smirked as her horn glowed. The white flame was caught in her aura and circled her bed before coming back at Trixie, only three times larger.

Trixie coughed as Sunset levitated a fire extinguisher over to the newly forming hole in her wall. The blackened fox pony fell over as the flames on her were put out. “This is why a fire user should not live in a tree.”

Trixie floated through the wooden floor while Sunset flopped back into bed. Both of them were ready to be done with the night, though Trixie couldn’t help but feel… irked. I am really getting tired of these mares getting lucky. Next time I swear I will win!

Author's Note

To all of those requests for more Trixie. Also, something I had toyed with back at Everfree, but don't really plan to continue is this. Leave comments on the doc as it was meant to be a second comment driven story that I was thinking of doing, and if enough spark my imagination, I'll think about it. Also, this is Trixune related, and if you want to possibly take it from me, PM me please.

The Return of Pancakes

Pinkie rubbed her chin as she pondered the question. It certainly wasn’t a problem she herself had faced before. Normally with spirits, you kept them as far away from each other as possible. This though… this had promise. Possibilities ran through her mind with what she could do with total darkness and flashing lights, both seemingly from nowhere. “Sunset, I do believe I have a solution!”

Sunset gave Pinkie a small smile as she swallowed hard. As much as she knew she needed help in this regard, and that the odd pony next to her was probably the best advisor she could get, she couldn’t help but feel like one day this pony would lead her to insanity, and by then, she’d be okay with that, and she wasn’t okay with that. “So, what is it?”

She grabbed Sunset’s cheeks and pulled the yellow mare in close, their faces centimeters away from each other. “Breakfast.”

Sunset blinked a few times before her eyelids drooped with her tone. “What?”

Pinkie slipped a foreleg around Sunset and gestured to the air. “Just think about it. The two know you want to make a great breakfast, but you need their help. Chilled fruits and cold juice alongside something baked over fox fire would be perfect! Now, the only question is what to make. Muffins are out of the question, as Derpy would kill me if I made muffins while she was out of town.”

Sunset smirked. “How about war inducing pancakes?”

Pinkie turned to her and licked her muzzle. “Explain.”

She grinned slightly. “Well, Celestia likes them enough that she almost assaulted a griffon diplomat who said they were junk, and that was seven years ago. I hadn’t perfected them by then.” Sunset jumped slightly as Pinkie grabbed her face.

“I need these pancakes.” She stood away from her and turned to look outside. “You know what you must do.”

Sunset tapped the wooden floor and bit into her cheek. “Actually… can I borrow some ingredients from you? I’ve only been here a little over a week and still haven’t had a chance to stock up on food.”

A pink cloud of smoke was all that remained of Pinkie, until a low rumble started up. Sunset looked out of the window just before Pinkie charged through it, bringing along with her a mountain of ingredients. Sunset’s legs twitched as she found herself half buried between sugar bags. “I don’t need this much!”

Pinkie heard the muffled scream and trotted over. “Did you just say you needed more?” Another muffled scream met her question and Pinkie shrugged. “Sorry, but I don’t get my paycheck until Tuesday, so you’ll just have to work with my emergency supplies.”

Sunset finally got her head free, but instead of saying anything, simply glared at the loud pony before crawling through the ingredients, slowly making her way to the kitchen.

======+++++======

“Eat me!”

“Gladly!”

Trixie glared at the abomination of nature as it was eaten by pink pony. It was odd to see a cursed one so far from the deserts of Saddle Arabia and the caves of Nihon-Po, but it wasn’t impossible. I suppose such druids aren’t only for such lands though. She flinched as Pinkie chomped down on half of Poslicel the thirty-eigth.

Her gaze then turned back to the creator of the unholy creations. Twilight however, wasn’t seeming to care. Instead, she was eagerly creating juice and popsicles for Sunset and her new friend. She agreed with the others though in wishing that Pinkie would eat them faster, instead of always hearing the tyrant’s voice before its death.

“Eggs, and then I need your fire Trixie.”

Twilight frowned as Trixie got to work. As nice as it was to use her ice magic for creating nice treats, she wished she could actually help in making the pancakes. Then again, I still didn’t get any, even after our… debate, back in the castle.

Sunset took off her apron as she sat back down next to Pinkie. “So, what now?”

Pinkie nodded and turned to Trixie. “So, you two seem to know each other. Can we know the story of how your burgeoning romance begAiii!” Pinkie almost hit the ceiling as her rooty potootie became way too warm. Sunset merely glanced away, pretending to not have done anything, even with her cheeks burning.

Trixie scowled. “The Great and Wondrous Trixie would never think of such vulgar things with a cursed creature like that thing.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You’re the one that likes to curse. Little Spike’s ears didn’t need that.”

Sunset put a hoof to Trixie’s mouth. “Wait. Just please, think for a few moments as to how bad she really is when she talks like that.”

Trixie bit into her cheeks and sucked in the corner of her mouth. Twilight gave her a small smile, but the kitsune simply looked away. Not that she could deny the truth of course. The wraith had had plenty of chances to be nefarious ever since they first met, and not once had she acted on those desires. At least, unless she has been doing something over this week at Canterlot.

Twilight floated over. “Sunset seems to want us to be friends, so maybe we can be?”

Trixie glanced over at the hoof being extended to her before sighing and taking it. “Trixie supposes that she can see if you aren’t actually evil. However, she won’t simply drop her guard because we say we’re friends.”

Twilight nodded. “Now, let me see those tails. They look so fluffy, and I want to see if I can make Spike a new pillow.”

“What, no! Trixie will not be touched any further by your tainted filth, especially if it means losing parts of her beautiful tail!”

Sunset scowled as a small timer dinged next to her. “Can someone please grab the pancakes?”

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks, spotting her chance to help in the main course’s creation. “I can!” Her horn glowed a sickly green before letting out a small pulse of magic that sent chills through all of them. The whole room became silent as they all just waited.

Creak. Stomp, stomp, stomp.

A large manticore skeleton stepped into the kitchen and every pony simply stared at the beast that gently took the pancakes off. It then poured more of the batter onto the pan and turned back to them with a large smile.

Sunset screamed, “What in Celestia’s name is that?” Pinkie jumped onto it, and Trixie barely stopped herself from lobbing a light grenade into since the pink pony now rode the beast. Twilight merely smiled with her tail swinging behind her. “Everyone, say hi to Fluffy!”

“Kill it with fire!”

“I’m trying!”

“Nice to meet you Fluffy!”

This continued for about an hour and ended with a destroyed kitchen, singed bones, and pancakes for all, and a manticore skeleton that continued to smile.

Author's Note

First, the comment as always.

Second, ART! I didn't think it would fit for a cute cover art though.

And finally, a true author's note. I need more comments, and please, not about Trixune. She is actually a little hard to work with as she is mostly an observer, and as a comment pointed out, without her job, doesn't entirely feel like herself. So please, more comments. I 'm actually slightly running out of them that I really like.

Mom?

“Waaah! Waaah!”

Celestia grit her teeth as Spike started howling for the fourth time in the same hour. She had fed it some ice cream, made sure it had burped, and even given it some hot milk, but nothing kept it quiet. It doesn’t help that this seems to be a growing trend as of late.

She trotted over to the the small creature while her magic kept a quill furiously signing papers for Luna’s reinstatement. He latched onto the hoof Celestia lowered and she gave him a weak smile. “It’s very stressful on all of us, so please, please, Spike, just calm down. We’ll go see your mommy soon, okay? Maybe that will calm you.”

For a few seconds, all was quiet while Spike let out a small, green flame against her hoof. She kept her breath in though, and wasn’t entirely surprised when Spike started howling again. While she wasn’t surprised though, Celestia had had enough.

“Stop!”

The entire castle shook as Celestia slammed her hooves onto the ground and accidentally let out a burst of magic. Spike’s crib started to spin away, quickly approaching a wall. Her eyes went wide as she realized what was to happen and galloped towards him. She was just too late to stop the inevitable though.

Crash!

Celestia stared at the fragments of the crib as it scattered about. Her eyes searched for the little one she absolutely had to save. She could never live with herself if Spike had actually been hurt. That was when she heard a thud right next to her, and saw the young dracolich’s skull with a crack in its jaw.

She stepped closer to it and lowered herself. One of her hooves pulled it closer and rubbed the side as she felt her cheeks flush. “No, no, no, no, no.” She pulled it to her stomach, now entirely coiled around it. “Please, I just got my sister back. I know I was annoyed, but… but I didn’t mean to!”

The skull tried to slip out of her grasp, but she wasn’t about to let it go, so she strengthened her grip on it. A small cracking sound caused her to jump, afraid that her strong forehooves had damaged it. More cracks came from the skull as it started to roll, the bone becoming larger, rounder, and the spikes becoming more prominent.

Slowly, all of the bones came back together. First, a layer of ice formed over each joint as they connected with one another. They would then flex as darkness poured itself over the structure, putting the dracolich’s skin back on. Finally, gouts of green and black magic came from its mouth and eyes before the auras coiled back over the whole body.

The magic was only just beginning to fade when Celestia trotted over. Turning him over, she could see that Spike had grown, though not by much if she were honest. He still wore his faded greens and purples, with the bones of his claws now entirely showing. His eyes opened and glowed green, before a blink got the magic to settle back in him, though his irises still shone with that earlier light.

The two made eye contact and Spike smiled. “Mommy?”

Her heart almost stopped as she slowly opened her mouth. Twilight was technically his mother, but she was in Ponyville. And even when she was here, she didn’t spend that much time with Spike, at least not as much time as she should. She shut her eyes and swallowed hard. She still is his mother, not I.

“N-no. I’m sorry.”

Spike shook his head as he stood. Celestia’s chest swelled with pride and she had to stop the tears in her eyes from coming back. She stepped away from him as he took an unsteady step forward, but immediately zoomed forward as Spike started to fall. He wrapped his claws tight around her foreleg. “I got you.”

Celestia started to tremble as she wrapped him into her hooves. “Yes. You’ve got me.”

“I love you, mommy.”

Not even a near goddess like herself could stop herself as she cried like the baby in her arms.

Author's Note

And now Spike looks (at least with body type) as he does in the show, and may start to mentally age a bit further off screen, we will see.

Also, for the comment, I spent ten minutes searching the comments as I knew I'd seen one for Spike's first words before remembering that one of my patrons had left it on patreon, so I have no way to link it, I'm sorry. Luckily, I always forget they can comment there, so I doubt this will even be able to become a common trend. :twilightblush:

Greetings

Applejack swiped the sweat off of her brow as the mid-summer's day’s heat beat down upon her. She had been working hard on the harvest, and at this point, was admittedly feeling a little sore. Not that she minded, of course. It meant she was getting work done, work that had to be done.

This didn’t mean she wouldn’t pass up a reason to take a break though, especially if otherwise she may have passed up on a possible new customer. And so, with the appearance of a purple mare in a tattered black cloak, she left her buckets and trotted over. “Howdy there! I don’t believe we’ve met before. Is this your first time to Sweet Apple Acres?”

Twilight bit her tongue as she thought about the reason she was here. She shook her head and took in a deep breath. “I’m looking for a Small Macintosh. Do you know where he might be?”

Applejack’s eyes slowly drifted down to being half closed as she realized just why she was here. Big Mac had been getting plenty of suitors as of late, and this had to be one of them. She didn’t even bother with learning his name first! She resisted sighing as she knew she’d lost another cute mare to her brother, and instead kept her smile on. “I do. He is in the west field, though, his name is Big Macintosh, not small.”

Twilight felt her cheeks burn and thanked her luck for having met the farm mare first. “Thank you.” She turned to head to the field, and then turned again to go to the field, and then turned a third time, completely confused by now. She finally turned back to Applejack. “I’m sorry, but can I bother you again?”

She stifled a smile. “Yes, Sugarcube?”

“Could you possibly show me where the west field is?”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “I would love to.”

Twilight beamed at her. “Really? Thank you so much!”

She sighed as the two started to trot through the fields. Twilight was too nervous to really say anything, and Applejack was stuck in her head as she tried to think about how unfair it was for Big Mac to get everyone. Not that she would have said yes since she knew nothing about this mare, but it would still have been nice to get propositioned for even one date in the past month, while Big Mac had five in that time. Don’t keep thinking like that AJ. You’ve got your family, and that is what matters.

This thought still didn’t make it any easier for her as they broke through the trees and found Big Mac slamming his back hooves into a tree. The gentle thud of apples filled the air, and the shy stallion paled as he saw the two of them. His mind immediately went where Applejack’s had, and as good of a face as he put on so as not to insult the mares, he was getting tired of it. At this rate, he soon wouldn’t be able to go into town without finding some pony that he had turned down.

“Hey Big Mac. She wants to talk to you.”

He nodded. “Eeyup?”

Twilight took a deep breath in before bending her forelegs down low while she almost kissed the ground. “I am here to apologize. I can’t say how, but I recently made you look like a fool, and that was bad of me. I do hope you will forgive me.”

Both Apple family members looked at each other, but neither knew what in the world the mare could be talking about. Applejack stepped forward and tried putting a hoof on the mare’s shoulder. Without finding the resistance she had expected, she stumbled forward and through Twilight before crashing to the ground.

Twilight almost jumped off the ground as she felt her essence get brushed through by Applejack, but kept her hooves planted. She had wanted to apologize to Big Mac, but Sunset and her had also agreed that they might not like a wraith being in town, and that tact would be needed in her reveal. Unfortunately, Big Mac’s wide eyes told her she may have lost that ability now.

All three looked at each other before Twilight squeaked out, “I’m sorry for bothering you, have a nice day,” and evaporating into darkness.

Applejack and Big Mac looked at each other. “Do you know what that was?”

“Nope.”

“Me neither.” Applejack was quiet for another few moments before standing up. “I’m calling Aunt Pepper.”

“Eeyup.”

======+++++======

Rainbow Dash almost laughed at the darkened shed that Sunset had led her to on the edge of town. “So, you think I’m afraid of the dark or something?”

Sunset kept her face stoic. After Rainbow had come within five inches of shocking her again today, Sunset had wanted a chance to make Rainbow ‘jump’ like she had. Add that with never having gotten back at her the electrical treatment on the first day they had met, and she had much to get even about. “Oh no, I do not. I simply believe that this is the best place for you to meet my pet.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Pet?”

Sunset merely nodded as her horn glowed. The door slammed shut and it left Sunset and Rainbow in a bubble of orange light. At least, until a green ball of fire popped into existence at the other end of the shed.

Slam! Rainbow almost took flight as one of the lights was taken out by something very large, or at least, very strong. Another light heading towards the two was snuffed out and the shack shook from the force. Rainbow looked at Sunset. “I-I don’t know what your doing, but it’s not going to–“

Slam!

She jumped into the air as a large, skeletal claw beat the ground just ahead of them, snuffing out the final green light. Just then, from behind the slowly revealed manticore, came something that caused Sunset to facehoof. “Woo.”

Fluffy turned around, his smile on his face widening as he heard his master’s call. Rainbow stifled a giggle from what she presumed was a sound effect, at least until she a green light appear in front of her while Sunset’s light went out. There, bathed in the ghastly glow, the shadow of her hood deepening the curves of her face, was a purple unicorn that held the green, necrotic flame. Rainbow’s wings snapped to her side as she threw the ball towards Fluffy and said, “Catch!”

Fluffy came right next to Rainbow as he ate the magic in midair. Twilight shot a blast of ice onto the ground and the shocked stiff Rainbow Dash slid along the cold ice and the ground, only stopping once she got to Sunset.

The curtains to the shack opened up and Twilight floated down to them with Fluffy right behind her, small flames still curling out the side of his grin. “So, did you like our performance? I bet if they let me and Fluffy compete in competitions, he would love the blue ribbon he deserves.”

Rainbow looked up at Twilight and then back at Sunset. “Fluffy?”

“Yep. Rainbow. Please meet my friend, Twilight the wraith, and her pet, Fluffy.”

Rainbow looked at both of them for a few moments before getting up to her hooves and coughing. “Sorry, got wing lock there for a few moments. I’m, um, going to go home now.”

Sunset put a hoof against the door as Twilight furrowed her eyebrows. “You can’t tell anyone, alright? I trust you, and that is why you get to know about her.”

Rainbow glared at Sunset. “I just got scared from something called Fluffy. I don’t want anyone other then you ever knowing about this.” She stomped out the door while Sunset rolled on the ground laughing.

======+++++======

Fluttershy hummed to herself as the last rays of the day fell beneath the sky. She had a basket of apple fritters beside her and hoped Applejack would have stayed up to try them with her. She was confident that she had gotten the recipe right this time and that they would be just as fantastic as when her adopted sister made them. Of course, I can’t even make myself try them first, so how confident am I really? She lowered her head and sighed.

“What has you down?”

“Oh nothYeep!” She jumped as a face came out of the branches next to her and she realized that somepony had spoken to her, instead of just her thoughts. She then turned her head, the face being oddly familiar. “D-do I know you?”

Twilight furrowed her brows. “I don’t think so. My name is Twilight, and I’m a friend of Sunset Shimmer. She thought that since I am a shut in and never sleep, and you were nocturnal, it might not be a bad idea for us to try to become friends.”

Fluttershy bit into her cheek just before her brain sparked with why the wraith was familiar. She backpedaled and almost fell off the branch she was on. She whimpered as she the twigs snapped and she had to reposition her claws. Twilight moved forward, hot on her trail. “Please, don’t run. I know it may be weird to befriend a spirit, but I promise I mean you no harm.”

She whimpered as she brought her wings over her eyes for a moment. She hated being able to see ghosts like this, even if it was normal for bat ponies, as it only ever led to trouble. Fluttershy swallowed hard. “Pl-please leave me be.”

Twilight opened her mouth, but looking at Fluttershy’s shaking form made her rethink pushing the shy mare further. She hung her head low, her cloak swaying in a nonexistent breeze. “Yeah, I… I understand. I’m sorry to have disturbed you, and please keep my existence a secret.”

Fluttershy peaked over her wings as Twilight slowly floated away. A small lump formed in her throat and she bit into her lip. Come on Fluttershy. Applejack says I should give everyone a chance, and this should be no different. “Wait!”

Twilight turned around. “Yes?”

“You… you don’t have to go, okay? I’m just… kind of scared I guess.”

Twilight nodded to herself and then smiled at Fluttershy as she waved towards her. “Then we’ll talk tomorrow. When you feel scared again, I can leave again, and we’ll slowly get comfortable that way. Sound like a good plan?”

Fluttershy’s heart grew lighter at the offer to be alone and nodded. She got one last nod from Twilight before the wraith floated away. The first cries of the bats within the forest reminded Fluttershy of the time and that she had a plan for the night. So, with nervousness for tomorrow night with the spirit and excitement for her fritters, Fluttershy flew towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Author's Note

The comment!

Mother

Author's Note

Written to release pain pent up within me due to my brother. It's out of place in the timeline, most likely not canon to the rest, and not happy in the slightest. Completely optional, and written and published merely because I felt I had to. Channel the emotions I suppose. If you do read, understand that me and my family are safe, just... scared, and not for me, but for another.

There is no comment. For that, I apologize.

Mother

Twilight, Celestia, and Sunset all stood at the top of the hill, overlooking the cliffs of Canterlot while the chill to the rainy day made its way through their cloaks. Twilight swallowed hard as she took a step forward and passed under the metal archway so as to enter the graveyard proper. Glancing back at Celestia, she was gestured forward by the princess. And so, she started passing along the tombstones.

Sunset and Celestia soon followed, keeping their distance as Twilight floated amongst the graves. Twilight had awoken the two of them a few nights ago because of thoughts about her about her past, and when she had realized that she had never figured out what happened to her mother, the three had agreed to come together to her gravesite. Now that they were there though, the two of them knew to give Twilight space. That, and neither wanted to see the ghost cry.

“So, how long do you think it will take her?”

Celestia bit into her cheek. “I think a few minutes at least. I put it in pretty far back to fit when it should have been dug.”

Sunset glanced up. “What do you mean by should? As far as I know, she was still close enough to Clover to have deserved a decent burial on advisor lands.”

Celestia sucked on her lips in as Twilight lowered herself and the flowers in her hooves towards one grave before zipping away to the next. “Back then, deaths like that were even more frowned upon. So much so, that the ponies weren’t allowed proper grave.”

“Deaths like that?”

A soft sigh escaped the princess. “Think about what you would think if the last twenty years of your life was dedicated to trying to fix your final mistake? Fix what you had done to your own family.”

Sunset’s eyes slowly widened as she realized all that Ghastly Aura had done when it came to Twilight. “I… I don’t think I could live with myself, not for even a second.”

“Yes, well, Ghastly made it for twenty years, doing nothing but collect books so as to make our friend as happy as she could.” Celestia lowered her head. “I never understood the note I found in her still hooves. Now, with her in front of us, I do.”

Sunset leaned against Celestia’s side. “May I know what it said?”

“That she was done, and the one who she had dedicated her life was all set to do the great things. She only wished she had never forced her time to be great to wait.”

Sunset knew no response to that, so stayed quiet as they watched Twilight continue to wander around the graves. Both thought the same things as they watched, wondering if she knew what her mother had done, and if the pretty mare hated her for it. A small smile passed over their lips as they thought, No. It isn’t in her to hate for something like that, not after so long, and especially not now that she has me.

Twilight turned around and frowned as she saw the two down the path. “Come on! I know it’s fun to watch me float about, but I could have used your help to find this! Now, are you coming over, or do I get to awkwardly just stand here by myself?”

Celestia chuckled slightly and gestured for Sunset to move forward. Soon the three looked at the small headstone, with only two knowing the signs of age had been caused by magic. On it, it simply stated, Ghastly Aura lies here, a mare who only wished to know how spirits worked. May her time as one bring solace to her questions.

“It sounds like my mom ended up learning a lot, didn’t she?”

Sunset swallowed a lump in her throat. “Yes. We still use many of her observations to this day, especially on wraiths.”

“Well, I guess it helps to have a daughter who is one. Though, with how little she pushed me, I wonder if she ever found another?” Twilight shook her head furiosly, putting her smile back on. “It doesn’t matter. Do you have anything you want to say Celestia?”

Celestia blinked the tears in her eyes away. “Only that I wish I had been closer to her then I had been. I only knew of her by name and talking to Clover. Your mother wasn’t the most… social.”

Twilight laughed slightly as she looked back at the tombstone. “I guess I know where I get it now. Still,” her voice lowered as she does herself, the flowers placing themselves on the freshly moved soil, “I do miss you mom. I love you, and I’m sorry you couldn’t keep stopping by. I know it’s not your fault though, and never will be.”

She rubbed at her eyes before looking back at Sunset and Celestia. “D-do you mind if we go?”

Both nodded, with Sunset nuzzling against Twilight as they walked while Celestia kept a comforting wing over both of them.

Peppers Please

Pinkie coughed as she entered the small shed that was kept in the west fields of Sweet Apple Acres, as did Sunset as she did. The two swallowed hard, feeling the moisture leaving their mouths quickly as the hot tin roof was only amplified by the three blazing fires that were kept going. Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Fluttershy all looked at them as they showed up. Applejack took a sip of the water she had with her. "Take a seat in the circle. Aunt Pepper should be here soon."

Sunset and Pinkie sat awkwardly before Pinkie rolled away, making room for Twilight to silently, invisibly, float in between them. Curiosity had gotten the better of the studious mare, so even though she knew this was all about banishing her, Twilight had to come and observe how exactly it was to be done. Of course, the words of Pinkie and Sunset about the impossibility of simple peppers and heat doing it helped her confidence.
.

Sunset blinked a few times, the intense heat causing her eyes to water. "So, what brings you out here Fluttershy? It's a little early, don't you think?"

Fluttershy moved her sunglasses slightly so that they kept out more of the glaring light. "It’s okay. Aunt Pepper says that having more family here makes her treatments stronger, so she wasn't about to miss out on me, not while Apple Bloom and Granny Smith are gone."

"I honestly wish they were here. No matter how friendly it tried acting, that thing could possess ponies, and that... that just ain't right."

Twilight put her head down at the stinging words from Applejack, even though she knew in her heart, she was right. Sunset restrained her hoof from reaching out, knowing that they shouldn't let the others know that Twilight was there. To see her immediately be brought down like that though only made Sunset's resolve that this would fail brighter.

The next time the doors opened though, most of them stopped thinking about whatever it was they were doing. All but Pinkie though, as she had a tolerance to spice and heat that nopony else knew, so the dried ghost pepper powder that wafted into the room with the new mare didn't do a thing to her while the others gagged and became even more teary eyed. The leather clad, black mare looked around the room and scowled. "Why is there a hole in my circle?"

Pinkie beamed at her. "It's for the ghost silly!"

Pepper's scowl deepened as she stepped forward. "I'm sorry, but that isn't funny."

“Don’t worry, we can still put our hooves together if we need to.” Sunset put a hoof around Pinkie's neck, having to stretch to do so. “See?”

Applejack bit into her cheek. "I suggest you leave it at that Aunt. Pinkie can be rather... silly, at times, and changing her mind during those moments can be rather hard."

Pepper looked at the two mares in front of her before slowly nodding. "I suppose it will have to do if they are that stubborn. I don’t want to waste any of the good spices discussing this further. Now, can anyone tell me what this is?" She reached into her jacket and pulled out a thin, dried, black pepper.

Pinkie jumped up to her back hooves. "Yummy!" Pinkie immediately lowered herself from the old crone’s withering gaze..

"This, is a dried ghost pepper. When spread into the room as I did when I first entered, and now," she stomped on a bag after laying it down and the dusty debris filled the room with more of the agonizing flakes, "it burns spirits, because it is that spicy. This on the other hand," she said as she pulled out what looked like a water balloon, "is filled with the juices of ten of these ghosts peppers, and will incinerate any ghoul."

Sunset lazily lifted a hoof up. "And what backing do you have to believe all of this?"

Pepper smirked for a few moments. "You don't get the title of professional from trying fifty times and never succeeding. You get it for succeeding to rid the world of fifty soul siphoning freaks. Now, may I move on, or do you have any more dumb questions?"

Sunset resisted scowling as she looked at Twilight, who merely shrugged. While she could feel a slight discomfort within her, she merely assumed it was empathy for her friends. Pepper though, caught the glance and began to frown. While it may have been because she had proven the mare wrong in her doubt, it had still been toward that empty space. That space that the pink one had so eagerly declared as, ‘for the ghost’.

Pepper brought a hoof covered in black dust to her face and inhaled briefly, enjoying the cleansing fire that ran through her senses and stung at her eyes. And then, she blew. The cloud of concentrated dust flew across the table, and the room became deathly silent. Pinkie mimed eating it while a bead of cold sweat ran down Sunset's brow. Twilight simply leaned forward, ever curious about the thing that was supposed to be her destruction.

And then, all chaos broke loose.

Twilight's essence felt like a billion bees had started stinging it as she lost control, releasing a burst of ice and frost as she howled. Pepper smiled as the ghoul showed itself, but she didn't dare launch the finisher yet. Instead, she threw powder into one of the fires, and it flared, causing the room to grow even hotter, halting the frost that was coming off of the enraged spirit.

Twilight spun a cocoon of ice around herself, trying her best to still control the magic. The more she tried to control it though, the weaker it came out as she felt the heat and spice run through her core and her instincts begged to freeze all that was in sight. She couldn't, no, wouldn't, not when it could potentially kill so many of her friends.

Cracks in the ice kept appearing, but all Pepper did was wait. She knew the creature would grow tired and weak from the refined pepper, and then would collapse. The juice was meant only for the kill, or as a last resort. Of course, she was so good, that the only time she had ever had to use it like that, was against-

"Fe fi fo fum, I smell the scent of a peppered one!"

Ghost Pepper stood still at the shout. A shout that must have come from just outside. But how? How did no one else see it? Has it grown powerful enough to be intangible? She shook her thoughts clear, though she could not do the same with her fear. She wasn't about to let that stop her from running out into the yard to face the abomination.. Looking up though, she simply couldn't believe it. "How are you still alive?"

The large, white giant started to laugh. Its form shook and undulated as it was seemingly entirely made up of some sort of liquid. It stood twice the height of the barn, and its laugh shook the window panes. "You thought a silo of peppers would kill a beast made of milk? You are as silly as you ever were!"

Pepper stood still as her hooves trembled beneath her. "Begone you! I have no quarrel with a creature such as yourself, not this time."

The giant shook his head. "That is where you are wrong. You attack one I hold very dear, and if you do not run, I shall do what I should have done before, instead of pretending to die, because if you do not give her up, you will stop amusing me."

The coldness of the last words almost caused her heart to stop, and the thought of destroying the wraith left her mind. One last, booming laugh filled the air as the mare ran into the woods. After another ten minutes, the giant disappeared. By then though, Sunset, Twilight, and the rest, were outside, and got to watch as Trixie floated to the ground.

Twilight weakly hovered over and tried picking Trixie up before deciding that simply snuggling the kitsune was enough for tonight. "Why did you help me?"

Trixie smiled slightly and tried to stand up, before promptly collapsing back down. "I... I haven't had a long term friend before... and you don't deserve to go that way. Besides, Trixie had fought her once before, and she knows those burns. She couldn't let that happen." She waited a moment or two, looking into those tear filled, purple eyes, before turning away. "Even to you."

Not even Trixie was going to fight the hug that Twilight soon wrapped around her friend, and nopony noticed as a blue star and wand appeared on the far side of Twilight's cloak, before stitching itself to black once more.

======+++++======

Pepper stomped through the outskirts of the orchard, tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe that her one failure would find her again. What made it even worse was that this time, she had even been humiliated in front of her family. They now could see she wasn't a perfect ghost exterminator, wasn't something everypony else could be proud of. No, stop thinking like that. Farmer is not the only job allowed in-What in Equestria is that?

She turned to the odd bipedal creature that was standing in the road. In one of its appendages was a long staff of sorts while it wore what looked oddly like church garments. And all it did, was stare at Pepper.

"I suggest you leave. This is Apple family property, and we do not accept monsters."

The thing laughed slightly before beginning to walk towards her. "You hunted a creature I call my kitten tonight. I do not approve of such an act."

Pepper scowled slightly. "I hunted an abomination of nature tonight. Nothing more, nothing less."

The thing nodded as it made its way closer and closer. "You even continue to insult her in my presence, Your list of sins continues to grow."

Pepper reached into her cloak, grabbing the ball of pepper juice. "I have no sins on me. My soul is clean."

The tall creature was only a few yards away now, a small rosary on his coat beginning to smoke. "As this is Equestria, I will respect Celestia and give you the chance to apologize. Now, apologi-"

Splash.

The priest smirked as juice ran down his front, and then, the clothes and the creature were gone. For only a moment, Pepper had thought she had won, until a presence appeared. She couldn't see it, but she could feel an immense pressure over her as it gazed upon her very soul. It stopped all noise, and her vision was beginning to blur. Finally, Pepper turned around, only to face...

Cthulhu.

Author's Note

The Comment.

Romance

Cadance lifted a teacup to her muzzle and took a light sip before letting out a content sigh. She had spent the last five months in Saddle Arabia to, as Celestia put it, become more worldly, strengthen political ties, and further her range of social experiences. Of course, except for the political reasoning, these had been the same reasons that she had been told to foalsit through her teen years, and she suspected that to put her through frustration had been the reason for this trip as well.

Now she was home though, and was able to let her tired wings rest while she sat on a couch, awaiting Celestia's arrival and drinking her tea. Cadance hoped nothing too chaotic had happened while she had been gone, but knowing Equestria, that one thought would make the country have to prove her wrong.

Almost as if on cue, a plate of scones floated through the air, carried by a somewhat transparent, purple mare in a tattered, black cloak. The ghostly being bowed to her as she let her magic drop the tray besides Cadance. "Hello Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the resident wraith of both Golden Oaks Library and Canterlot Castle. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Cadance blinked a few times before lifting the cup to her mouth and taking a larger gulp, cringing as the hot liquid ran down her throat. It did not wake her up like she had hoped though, and so she swallowed hard and put on a forced smile. "You don't say now. How... um, fascinating. Does Celestia know about you?"

Twilight nodded, while not noticing the slight aura around Cadance's horn. "Of course she does. She in fact was the one who suggested I meet you since she is running late. Apparently, a nephew of hers is asking how many dates he can bring to something called the Grand Galloping Gala, and is being adamant about at least half of the Wonderbolts. It was actually pretty funny to watch."

Cadance let out a small laugh as the glow on her horn disappeared. She had decided that if Celestia trusted the being, she should be able to as well. "That sounds like Blue Blood. He can be a bit of a... hoof full, at times, but I suspect once a mare smacks him across the muzzle he'll turn around." She paused for a moment, thinking about the two weeks of 'courtship' they had gone through. "Hopefully."

Twilight nodded and gave her a big smile. "Well, it seemed like Celestia was about ready to smack him with the necronomicon, so maybe that chance will be sooner than you think."

Cadance spat out her drink through Twilight as her eyes widened. "Since when has Celestia been learning necromancy?"

"She isn't."

"But you said she had the necronomicon."

"Yes."

"If she isn't using it for magic, what is she using it for."

"To smack me, Trixie, and Luna whenever we get into fights."

Cadance simply stared at the hovering ghost as her brain desperately tried to work. She had heard about Luna's arrival, and could believe that she wouldn't be able to accept Twilight's innocence, just as she was beginning to have a hard time doing as well, but the rest made no sense. "Who's Trixie?"

"A kitsune that took residence here and is now one of my best friends, though she won't admit it."

More gears started to break in Cadance's mind as she tried to choke out anything. "Except don't kitsunes usually kill wraiths and are respectful, and above all else, normally in Saddle Arabia?"

Twilight shrugged. "I suppose that might all be true, but Trixie likes to say she's on a special mission into Equestria for her kind, though she won't quite say what it is. Of course, we have nothing to fear. A thousand years of aging does wonders to a wraiths power, and I can easily keep her down if she causes trouble."

"A-a-a thousand..." Cadance brought the teacup back to her lips spending a few moments draining it as she tried desperately to calm down. She was on the verge of a panic attack at this point, and hoped the bitter liquid might help.

As she drank though, the pink alicorn heard Twilight say, "Fluffy! You should come say hi to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

Lowering the cup, Cadance saw an undead manticore walking her way, and finally broke. "Shine Bug!"

In only a few moments, Shining Armor burst into the room, spotting a confused wraith that he had been told about a while ago but usually never saw or heard, her pet, and his fiance, who was currently in a protective bubble. He lowered his raised spear and bit into his cheek. "May I know what's going on here?"

Cadance reached out to him, shaking a bit. "Hug me, I'm scared."

Shining scowled as he swept his beloved into his hooves and then glared at Twilight. "What did you do to her?"

Twilight's form shuddered as the guards pony she had continued to watch scolded her. She swallowed hard and tried to smile. "I was merely answering her questions. I didn't mean for them to scare her."

Shining frowned and stroked Cadance's mane. He could hear her muttering about how Celestia had gone insane, a sentiment he had at one point shared, but now accepted, as well as all the supernatural things that surrounded the castle. Still, he empathized more with his soon to be wife, rather than a dead mare. "I'm sorry Twilight, but you must have overwhelmed her, so please, leave."

Twilight immediately nodded and began to float away. Just before she went through the wall though, and Fluffy almost attempted to walk through it, she turned around. "May I know why you came when she called out Shine Bug?"

A small chuckle came from Shining as he heard the stupid pet name come from somepony else. "I suppose it does sound weird, but as my fiance, pet names are perfectly fine."

Twilight paused for a moment, staring at the mare that had seemed actually quite nice, if not a little weird. She a pretty mare that she had hoped to befriend, but could now only be her enemy. She slowly nodded to herself about what she had been told, and floated away, trying to think of a good outlet for her jealousy and confusion.

A few minutes later, as Cadance was just getting composed, Celestia finally trotted in, at the same time as her sister. Cadance saw the well guarded secret of Luna being a foal, and fell back on the couch, finally done with the day as a whole.

Celestia looked down at her sister and the small, blue filly blew at her nose, blowing away some of the frost and snow from it. "May I know why Twilight froze my room?"

She looked from Luna, to Shining, to muddy manticore prints, to Cadance, and then simply outside. Something told her that somehow, Blue Blood would not be her biggest annoyance of that day.

Author's Note

The comment.

I won't lie, the connection to the comment is weak, but I chuckled to myself when I realized I could do this.

[s]Fan Service[/s] Nightmare Night

"Eat Me!"

"Don't listen to the fool, eat me!"

"Don't fall for the grape and cherry flavored ones’ lies, eat the orange king!"

"You are not king, I am!"

"I am!"

"Guys, just chill out. I'm certain that if we are patient, and work together, we can all be eaten, starting with me."

A hush fell over the popsicle stand, and the small, blue, filly kitsune uncovered her ears for a moment as the Poslicels stared at the tye-dyed one. "What is your name?"

"Peacelicel, dudes."

The silence grew more tense as the popsicles that were being sold by Luna and Trixie began to shake. Finally, in one outcry, they declared war on the outsider. "Freeze him! Make sure his form never becomes liquid! Let him know eternal life!"

Applejack's eye twitched. Her and Sunset had been on their way to run the games that were being held for the fillies, but had decided to stop by Twilight's popsicle stand on the way. What they had not known was that in order to keep to the theme, the five beings running the stand were only bringing out the popsicles once they had started screaming. "At least they're free?"

Sunset couldn't respond as she merely trotted up to the stand, her teeth grinding against each other. She took a moment to consider melting all of the suckers, but decided against it as she stared at the 'menu'. Twilight would be too hurt if she got rid of her popsicles like that. "I'll take an orange popsicle-"

"Success!"

"And what is the secret? All it says is that it's free."

Luna sighed as she continued to press her cheek onto the wooden counter. "Don't. He makes you into his favorite form of pony. A filly."

While Sunset followed the hoof that pointed upwards, Trixie giggled. "Trixie was sure surprised when it was the same that was done to poor Big Mac. Of course, it's only for the night, so she’ll be fine."

Sunset and Applejack almost didn't hear that though, as they stared at a large green monstrosity, with large tentacles for a maw. It had bright orange and deep purple face paint, and wore a jester's hat, all while petting something in it's lap. "Wha-wha-what is that?"

It was Trixie's turn to sigh. "Trixie learned tonight that that is Cthulhu… in clown makeup. When she lashed out at a mysterious presence, she was turned into... this." She put her front paws on the counter, her small nose and large eyes pointed towards Sunset and Applejack. Sunset had to work hard not to let out a, 'daaah,' at the adorable kit.

"What do you reckon it is that he is petting?"

A small, white head poked out from the lap, eyes almost shut as her pink mane flowed behind her and her back was scratched. "Hello Sunset. Might this be your friend, Applejack?"

Both of their jaws almost hit the floor as it occurred to them that Celestia had allowed herself to be transformed into a filly, and now was even being pet by an eldritch abomination. Applejack put a hoof to her eyes and groaned. "I... I don't know how much more I can take of this."

"More little emperors coming!"

Both mares froze as they watched Twilight descend from behind Cthulhu. She had with her twelve more popsicles, but that didn't matter. What did matter, was that her cloak was about five sizes too big.

Twilight put the tray down before tugging at her long sleeve to get her hoof visible, and then waved at the two. Her small body floated eye level to them, and both of them swore her eyes took up ninety percent of her face. She stuck her tongue out at them and then wrapped her forelegs around Sunset's neck. "Happy Nightmare Night you two!"

For a few moments, the two said nothing, causing Twilight to tilt her head to one side. That was the last straw for the confused mares. In unison, the two spoke. "I, um, you know, have, things, yes, things to go do. Very important… things, so, no time for chit chat, sorry, bye!"

Twilight watched as her best friend and another friend ran away, and waved them away. "It's a shame they couldn't stay longer, isn't it?"

Trixie swallowed hard as the purple foal that was practically swimming in her black cloak, sat beside her. She desperately wanted to join those two and escape these confusing feelings in her chest. "Yes... Trixie supposes so."

Luna rolled her eyes and looked up to Celestia. “You know, instead of making the citizens ridicule me even further, he could have changed me into my proper form!”

Celestia hummed to herself as the center of her wings was gently scratched by one large claw. “Yes, but seeing as for a thousand years they saw you as something they could never come up to, the fact that they can come to this stand at all should be taken as a positive.”

Luna puffed out her chest as her face scrunched up. She had had this discussion before with Celestia when they left the castle, and the same result had been the result. While she did admit that she didn’t want her wonderful subjects to fear her, the fact that not even the castle guard could always take her seriously had left a deep mark of shame in her. Luna shut her eyes tight, trying to focus on the fact that this night was supposed to be technically celebrating her.

A long, cold piece of cloth came around her small body, and she turned to see Twilight frowning at her. “Are you okay Luna?”

“I-I’m fine.”

Twilight bit into her cheek as she pulled her sleeve away. She wanted to help in someway, but knew few ways she could. Tonight was supposed to help smooth any final grievances the two truly had, but all she could see was how miserable her supposed friend was. “Umm, well, why don’t we see them tell your story? We can close up for half an hour to do that.”

Luna turned towards one of the screaming popsicles and gave it a lick to shut it up. “And put myself in a crowd of foals my height? No thanks.”

At this point, not even Celestia could ignore the pain her sister was in. “It’s going to happen at the fringe of the Everfree. You could simply watch from the bushes.”

Trixie even knew her job as a kitsune demanded that she help. And that was the only reason she was going to care about this wraith’s friend. The only reason. “I can even use my illusion magic to make absolute certain that no one sees us.”

Luna switched her gaze from each of them before letting out a long sigh. “If it will make all of you stop bothering me, fine.”

Celestia stayed behind to watch the stand as the three fillies ran towards the Everfree. After a short journey through the brambles, they made it just in time to catch the beginning of Zecora’s tale. And Luna watched. She watched as the foals, and even some of their elders, were captivated by the horror she had once been. The respect that nightmare form of her had commanded from them. And all she could think was how she would give anything to have that.

Trixie’s nose twitched as she felt a darkness approaching them. She had felt it before, and while it was weaker now, it chilled her to the core. It rivalled even Twilight at this point in power, and she had no idea why it was coming. Twilight on the other hand, while detecting none of this, had already realized the mistake she had made, and had a new plan.

“Luna, I’m going to make those foals out there think you’re a hundred times more badass then that stupid apparition.”

Luna looked over at the large green eyes and chuckled. “Unless you can make me about five feet taller, and two hundred pounds heavier, I doubt it.”

Twilight floated to Luna’s side, her sleeves going through the grass. “Please, trust me, I can.”

She looked one more time, and nodded.

Five minute later, just as Zecora’s tale came to a close, Luna stepped out of the bushes. Black tendrils floated behind her as lights flashed from the tree line, and then, she cleared her throat. No high pitch squeal came out; Trixie had made sure of that. Instead, her true Canterlot voice came out. “I am pleased that you all praise me so much, but instead of staring at a fantasm, why don’t you look upon, the true thing and bow to your princess?”

She slammed her hooves down upon the ground, a shimmering, blue version of her adult self mimicking the action. Thunder crashed through the clearing as her hooves hit the ground, and large spires of ice formed around her, leaving a ghostly mist to surround the small princess.

Hooves clattered onto the ground as they paid respect to their princess. Hearts pounded within their chests, and three mares even fainted from just how sudden and terrifying the filly’s presence was. Luna almost cried as she cleared her throat again. “Thank you all for allowing me to come to this event, and for the courage you have been showing me. I hope you continue to, and I will see you, next, Nightmare Night. Until then, enjoy yourselves.” She then trotted back into the treeline, and hugged Twilight.

Trixie breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the presence leave by itself as the two other mares giggled. And while everyone was celebrating their plan working, a spark from Luna’s horn drifted to Twilight’s cloak, and another patch was filled with a crescent moon, before fading to black.

Author's Note

The comments!

Also, a homage to all the comments at the beginning about Twi being a foal. Now she has been one.

Preparations 2.0

Author's Note

A poll was taken to see who Twilight would go with to the Gala, and the results are:
Sunset at 3

Celestia at 3

Trixie at 6

And finally, none other then,

CTHULHU! at 7!

Preparations 2.0

Kibitz moved his pencil case one and a half inches to the right, before smiling. His desk was finally ready for the intruder he would have that day. He scrunched his eyebrows and shook his head, deciding that intruder wasn't correct. Raven Quill had been working under him for almost two years and had become a promising successor for his role, not some common flunky. Of course, this thought always caused him to groan, as he still didn't want to have to retire.

Nonetheless, he was not going to complain against the princess' orders, especially when they had, for once, chosen someone so competent. The first five didn't last a week before he sent them packing. And he had to force down his thoughts on physical beauty as the young, black maned mare trotted in. Such things would not help her in this line of work. "Good Morning."

Raven trotted to her seat at the desk that had been moved in yesterday and nodded to her teacher. "Hello Kibitz. I brought the complaint box like you asked."

He nodded as the box was passed to him, and he opened the wooden lid. Most years, the box would be almost bare, as few wished to complain to the princesses. However, this year, he felt he knew why the box was almost overflowing. With a sigh, his horn lit up and he blasted all of the paper into shreds and flecks.

Of course, this was simply to be more efficient as purple words floated in front of the two; the major bullet points of the complaints. Odd sounds was one, strange chills another, an undead manticore got Kibitz to raise an eyebrow, coffee was the most prominent, as it always was, and the only one that rivaled it, was simply put as ice.

Raven tried not to stare, but after only having seen five words float in front of him in the last two years, the wall of text in front of Kibitz mystified her. "Is the princess' guest really causing that much of a problem?"

Kibitz almost laughed at the accusation, barely breaking into a smile as he transcribed them onto a separate page, a few of the letters opening in front of him for further clarification. "Simply more complaining from the staff about odd noises. I will discuss with Celestia about revealing Twilight to everypony else after the gala. Maybe then we won't have fifty paladins knocking at our doors soon."

Raven nodded as she picked up payment forms for the catering, scowling at what they called hors d’oeuvres, but Celestia would call specks, especially with the tiny cakes list. "We need to triple the cake requests. We don't want a repeat of last year."

Kibitz took the paper from her, glanced it over, and forced himself not to beam at the good work. "Quite."

Raven swallowed hard as she continued to sift through acquisition forms. Spotting one for apple juice for Luna, her mind sparked back to her teacher's mention of paladins. "We are truly lucky that only one Element of Harmony had a problem with Twilight. Do you know if this will hurt our relations with the orchard though?"

A lock box came in front of Kibitz, his horn glowing to open it so that he could put away some of Griffonstone's refusals for help. Again. "When Celestia was informed, I thought it might. However, calm words from me stopped her from razing their barn, and instead seek friendship. With how dangerous Twilight could have been, and may still one day be, we were fortunate that we got so lucky with the Apple's retrieving such an incompetent fool, though the wraith and Celestia's student didn't help in all of this. As I will always say..."

"The best type of scholar is the one who actually uses their brain."

Both of them shared a smile before Raven trotted away from her chair and over to her things, pulling out a small basket of tangerines. "Would you care for one, Master Kibitz?"

He scowled at the offer. "Would I care for one? I most certainly would not, and I would expect the same from you! Tangerines, pomegranates, and oranges are all forbidden today. It's too easy for them to spray their juices and get on the papers."

Raven paled and looked down, her stomach gurgling. The white mare had been so busy getting ready for today that she had forgotten to eat breakfast. Kibitz glanced over at the sound and sighed. "Sue should be here soon to figure out what we can eat or what we may want. Maybe we can see what he can do with those."

She smiled a bit as she got back onto her chair and went over guest lists. "I sure wish I could go to this. I'd love to taste the head chef's cooking."

Kibitz frowned and looked over his paper. "You've had it on this day for the past two years. What made you think otherwise?"

Raven rose an eyebrow as she looked back. "Sue is the sous chef, meaning he is the second in command. I've never seen the head chef, but I suspect he's around here somewhere."

"No he isn't."

"What?"

Kibitz sighed as he rubbed one of his temples. He should have known that such obscure facts wouldn't be known by her, at least, until he told her. "For Canterlot Castle, our sous chef is our head chef. For almost nine-hundred years ago, this has been the case. However, before then, our head chef was the greatest baker Equestria had ever seen, and in fact, made the first cake ever. From what I've heard, after one taste, the princess demanded the mare to retire, and that she was never allowed to make the dish again. All in an attempt to stop the craving she could feel growing within her."

Raven blinked a few times before snickering. "How long?"

Kibitz smirked back at her. "By the end of the week, she had been given a small island to train cooks on, and was so highly honored that no chef has been allowed to be our head chef ever since."

Raven was almost about to roll out of her chair, much to Kibitz's disapproval, when they both stopped at once. First came over the wooden desks as it felt like the temperature dropped at least fifty degrees. Kibitz scowled, but was determined to ignore it, picking up the next document as his breath came out in a cloud. He had work to do.

(five minutes earlier)

Twilight pounced on a book she had missed within the halls of the catacombs, snuggling to it like a kitten, remembering the good times when she read about Haycart's method. She turned back to a chuckling Celestia and beamed at her. "So, is this deep enough?"

Celestia bit into her cheek before nodding. "Yes, I do believe it is. Your cold shouldn't freeze anypony above us instantly, so I should be able to put the seal back on if this fails. Alright?"

Twilight nodded. Celestia had told her that if she were to come to the Grand Galloping Gala, she had to learn to control her cold. To be able to keep it down, even under stress or around crowds, but with as much confidence as she showed, she wasn't certain she could. Not as she was. "Break the seal, focus on my cold aura, shut that down myself instead of your magic stirring it up to stop me, and we're all good. Should be no problem."

Celestia nodded. She had made the seal to make sure if she became dangerous, she would already have an inhibitor in place that could make sure that Twilight stayed within certain parameters. However, she had felt for a while now that this had been wrong. Twilight was a good mare, with a good heart, and even gaining necromancy hadn't seemed to change that. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Celestia sent out a single beam of light, causing a red mark to appear from the enchantment. The spiral lock began to crack, until it simply shattered into light.

Celestia immediately felt her heat enchantments waver as a wave of cold buffeted the princess. Twilight bit into her cheek as she felt her essence reach out, turning what it could into frost. With a few, deep breaths through, the ice faded, as did the cold. "I...I did it!"

Celestia nodded, sweat coming down her face due to worry and stress. "Yes...yes you did."

Twilight beamed at Celestia. "Can I go to the gala?"

"Of course you may."

The Wraith's New Clothes

Raven stared as the phantasm got to work, her mouth agape. The purple mare worked fast, floating around the base that she had to work with, expanding, subtracting, and fine toning each part. Flecks of snow drifted down around the giant ice block that Twilight worked on, and soon evaporated, thanks to Sunset.

This went on for almost a full five minutes while Celestia's assistant-in-training and the camera colt for the gala waited in eager anticipation. Only once she was finished though, did Twilight disperse all the mist and snow she had made, to reveal something truly amazing. She had turned the block of ice into a scale replica of Canterlot Mountain, complete with a castle on the side.

The black camera colt, Snap, slowly lowered his jaw as he gazed upon the masterpiece. Only once Raven had smacked him upside the head did he remember to take the picture while Twilight giggled in the air. Just as everyone was recovering from the creation, a guard pony rushed into the ballroom. "I am looking for a Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight's eyes widened just before she went intangible, hid behind her creation, and then came out, pretending to trot like any other pony. "That would be me. What is it you need?"

He saluted to her. "Princes Celestia demands you meet her in your nursery immediately."

Twilight was tempted to float up and boop him on the nose, before deciding that that may not be the best idea. Instead, she merely bowed to the stallion. "Thank you, sir." Once she was past him though, she ducked into the floor, and made her way to Spike's room.

Upon entering, she spotted her little dracolich between Celestia's forehooves, gently stroking his head. Twilight floated over and stroked his tummy, getting the little guy to curl up a bit and hum in his sleep. "I'm happy he's doing so well."

"As am I." Celestia looked up at Twilight and bit into her cheek, before brushing away the immediate thoughts for more important business; floating a small totem between the two of them. "This is why I called you."

Twilight floated closer, examining the small, magical artifact. She could tell that powerful enchantments were laced over it, and that whatever it did, would be significant. She couldn't actually figure out what though.

Celestia smiled as her lovely, little wraith looked at her, puzzled. Celestia put the totem onto Twilight's hoof. "It's a gift from an old friend of yours. He wants to make sure that when you give him the dance you owe him, you'll be able to touch him for no other reason than being alive."

Twilight's eyes grew wider as she gasped for words. Celestia stopped her though with a single hoof. "It's from Cthulhu, and because of his limited, allowed, influence in this realm, it will only last for tonight." She forced herself to keep a stoic look on her face, instead of sighing like she wanted to.

Twilight bit into her cheek as she nodded, and slipped the totem over her neck. Immediately, she felt the change as her hooves made a sound upon the ground when she stumbled forward. However, that wasn't all that had changed. Looking down, she was in what looked like a beautiful, black, gothic dress. She gazed upon the gold, lace trim before frowning. "Is this also from Cthulhu?"

Celestia shook her head, blushing a little bit. "No, that is from me. A simple illusion spell to make your cloak look like a beautiful dress so that you may look even more breathtaking then you already do.” She then pulled out a piece of parchment. “I also, have this for you."

Twilight took the piece of parchment offered to her, and her jaw almost hit the floor. It was an enchantment that would amend her ward against sunlight. An amendment that would make it so that only she could take it off, and not Celestia. "Wh-why are you giving me this?"

Celestia wrapped a wing over the young mare. A hundred different replies flashed through her mind, each begging for her to say what her heart wanted. However, even the thought of saying she had feelings for the wraith left her petrified. So, instead, she chickened out. "You-you've proven yourself time in and time out as a loyal, responsible, and kind member of Equestria. I thought it was about time I stopped holding that over your head, for you by no means, ever deserved it."

Twilight let out a small, "Squee," before lunging toward Celestia, and barely missing Spike as she hugged the older mare. Celestia gave Twilight a small squeeze back, cursing herself out rampantly on the inside.

Author's Note

Did you all expect the gala to be one chapter? :pinkiehappy: If you got the special referance to my other works in this, kudos to you, and please check out this blog. It's talking about a bit more of a... mature, side story to Twaith, that I plan to name Fuck Me, for My Name us Succulight! I need your opinion though on whether or not to do it.

At the Gala!

"Left hoof, right hoof. Left hoof, right hoof." This had been the mantra that Twilight had muttered to herself since Canterlot Castle, and had carried her along all the way to the edge of the Everfree, her brow tensed in concentration. Pretending to trot had quickly proven itself much harder than actually trotting. Fortunately, as she neared the tree she had been looking for, she thought she had it down.

Because of this, as Twilight quickly approached the large, sturdy oak, she simply stared at the normal set of branches she would phase through, instead of remembering that she could no longer fly.

Wham!

The tree shook from the impact, quickly waking up the yellow bat pony that dwelled within it. No matter how fast she woke up though, it wasn't going to help Fluttershy, who froze in place, just before letting go of the branch she was on.

Trixie was the next to come into the clearing. On most days, if she was in Ponyville at least, she wandered the Everfree in search of the stupid fillies who trotted in, or for truly nefarious monsters to slay... if she thought she was strong enough. Today though, she had been told to come an hour before sundown to where she normally met Twilight and Fluttershy. And she did find them, with Twilight groaning on the ground, while Fluttershy twitched, her eyes shocked open. "Can Trixie please get an explanation?"

Twilight looked up, rubbing her muzzle as she let out another bitter groan. "I forgot I was given a body and walked straight into Fluttershy's tree."

Trixie slammed a hoof against her face. "And let Trixie guess. Fluttershy got scared and fell out?"

Fluttershy glanced away as her face turned slightly pink. "I-it's nice to see you, Trixie."

"It's nice to see you too. Now, can Trixie get another explanation, like finally being told why you wanted her tonight?”

Twilight attempted to wrap a hoof around her low hanging friend, swinging through her, just like so many ponies had done with Twilight over the past few months. Once she was back on her hooves, she beamed at Trixie. "We hoped you would come to the Grand Galloping Gala with us!"

"The what?"

======+++++======

Trixie and Twilight blinked a few times as they watched the ponies in front of castle, including their own friends, start randomly singing and dancing. Trixie bit into her cheek. "Is this normal for them?"

"Not from what I've seen." Twilight shook her head. "At least it means we can be the first ones in the gala!"

Trixie rolled her eyes. "You will be the first."

Twilight stopped for a moment. "Are you not coming in?"

"Trixie is one spirit who knows better than to ask to be exorcised, unlike somepony."

A deep blush came over Twilight's cheeks as she began to chuckle. "I promise, I won't go doing anything like that again. It still means a lot to me that you saved me. That's why I wanted to bring you to this, as a thank you to a good friend."

Trixie took a deep breath in while trying to ignore something in her fluffy chest that was fluttering. "Trixie supposes she must accept this gift then, or else be called a buffalo giver. I'm not going to become visible though, so you get to be called crazy."

"Deal!" The two trotted into the room, and looking around herself, Twilight immediately wanted to step right back out. She had thought the almost fifty ponies outside were all that were attending, but she was horribly wrong. The social elites looked over at her, and she could feel their judgemental thoughts and the pressure of simply being in a nice, gothic dress, instead of having things like large peacock plumage out of her outfit. Slowly, she started to shake, a cold sweat breaking over herself.

Trixie noticed the unsure steps as she floated alongside her friend. She bit into her cheek, before her eyes glowed bright. Twilight's vision soon changed, with all of the socialites' clothes suddenly disappearing. "N-now you're the best dressed, so ignore them."

Twilight held a hoof to her muzzle, stopping herself from bursting out with laughter. A tear came down the side of her face, a smile widening on her face. It was only when she got to a table when she actually broke down, sobbing. Trixie paled and lowered herself beside Twilight. "Twilight? Is it something Trixie did?"

Twilight turned to her, the smile having not faded as the tears wouldn't stop. "N-no, or, at least, it isn't anything bad you did. I... I just realized how much everypony has done for me. Applejack forgave me for all the trouble I caused her, Rarity tried to give me a new outfit the first time we met, and then there is Fluttershy, Sunset, Celestia, and," turning to the kitsune behind her, "you."

"You all have truly accepted me. I can call all four of you my friends, knowing that not only can I trust you, but that you trust me, almost… almost unconditionally. It... it's something I never had, even when I was alive. I... I just wish I could do something to say thank you. To pay you all back for all you’ve done for me."

Trixie stopped for a few moments before wrapping her hooves around the wraith. "Shut up. That is what friends do, and don't you dare make Trixie's gifts seem like favors, because they weren't. I... I truly want to see you do better, and..." Trixie cursed at herself, unable to quite figure out what it was that was building within her.

Twilight got most of the message though, using a spell taught to her by Cthulhu and Celestia to wrap her hooves around the ghost, ignoring the fact that to everyone else, she was touching nothing. "I won't, promise. It just... it means so much to me. Thank you."

Trixie's breathing stopped as she felt the warm hooves. She hadn't been held like this since she left her home on her mission almost ten years ago. She shook her head before forcing herself out of Twilight's arms. "Alright, that's enough of that."

"But Trixie-"

The kitsune thought fast and cut Twilight off. "Do you want hugs, or to learn about my race?"

Twilight could only think about hugs for a single second before shouting, "Tell me! Finally!"

Trixie floated to the other side of the table, breathing a sigh of relief as she managed to push the fluttering in her chest to the side.

Author's Note

Shit! Forgot the author's note at first. I thought I would link this, as I hope it stays true.

Dancing Under An Eldritch Sky

Twilight put a hoof to her muzzle. They had already been talking for what must have been hours, and she finally was being forced to slow down with her questions. One thing had always bothered her about the fox-pony though. "So, a wraith is made from a pony's spirit. As you're also classified as a spirit, is it one of nature, or what?"

Trixie grinned at the question. "Well, while you're born of the want and corruption of a unicorn, Trixie is born of a much purer source. We are derived from a pony of an honest and magical soul. When they die, their soul moulds itself become one of us, almost as if through reincarnation. Of course, a soul as pure as a kitsune's is hard to come by, so exposure to magical creatures and spirits, especially kitsune, can increase their chances."

Twilight sipped her apple juice, her eyes shining as she took in the information. "Wow. So, being able to travel through Equestria must be really helpful, especially since Saddle Arabia and Nipone have started to believe in you less."

Trixie bit into her cheek, a feeling of apprehension filling her chest, before she let it go, knowing the purple mare did not mean it as an insult. "Yes, it is. Sometimes Trixie wonders if that is why she is here, instead of as a guardian."

Twilight attempted to put a hoof on Trixie's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I know you've done some amazing things, like fighting off that Ursa-" She stopped mid-sentence as she felt ripples go through her soul, and her ears struggled to understand the eldritch tongue that she had been taught as a spirit.

Trixie's ears twitched at the sound and she sighed. "You did say you expected to see him, right?"

Twilight blushed a little bit. "You don't mind, do you?"

A slight shrug was all the kitsune gave back. "He gave you a body, so it's not Trixie's place to complain."

Twilight nodded, before hugging the air tightly. "Thank you Trixie. I hope you have a nice night!"

Most of the other patrons decided it was for the best to ignore the mare that had been talking to herself this entire evening, even if she had started to yell. So, Twilight was able to trot into the private gardens alone, following the whispers and chills that went through her. The garden kept her warm though, even if most of the animals had fled for shelter. All due to, Cthulhu.

A small gasp escaped Twilight as she saw the monstrosity. He was dressed in a large tuxedo, with a top hat adorning his head, and a red tie running along his strong chest. Twilight managed a small curtsy to him. "You look absolutely dashing tonight."

Cthulhu's maw curled upwards in a smile as he leaned over. He was only just small enough so that the trees hid him, but that still meant that he towered over the small mare. Small distortions appeared in the air as he spoke, and Twilight blushed at the kind words. "Well, Celestia picked it out, though I rather like it. I think it goes well with your gift."

He warbled in laughter, with a bird bath being cloned due to his jubilation. This was not the end of his warping though. He went on to tell her how he wanted the small pony to enjoy herself, and if not just for a night, have some of the luxuries that she had missed with her premature demise. This included, a dance with a gentlecolt, or beast, as it just so happened to be that night.

Twilight had turned a deep crimson at the caring words, messing with her hair as she had listened. To the thought of dancing though, she found a problem, or, a really funny solution. "Won't I need to become your size then? Or will you just make me an eldritch god temporarily, and if you did that, would my muzzle turn into tentacles? I could eat so many things at once then!”

Cthulhu slowly shook his head as more warbling came out. The solution he proposed, was much simpler. He lowered two fingers to her, and instructed Twilight to dance with them. A small giggle escaped Twilight that warmed his heart, before she stood on her hind hooves, and put her forehooves on his claws. Cthulhu said a quick incantation, that brought back into existence, fully entombed by his magic, an undead Ghost Pepper, who played the violin for them.

And so, they swayed, Twilight following the movements of his claws. Back and forth, the two simply enjoyed the solace of the others company, and the stillness of the night. Even the slight groans from Pepper that came every now and then did nothing to dampen the mood. The chimes within the castle started to go off after about ten minutes of dancing. Twilight counted each one in her head, but stopped at twelve, as she found herself sliding through Cthluhu's claws on that one.

Cthulhu watched as the small wraith started to laugh. She was right to assume that the enchantment had been for the one day, just as Celestia had said, and while she joked about it, it only reminded Cthulhu of one thing. His limited influence, and the fear that Beerus may one day make him regret his inability to stop prophecy, as it may hurt his favorite pony.

"Is something the matter, Cthulhu?"

He shook his head, making sure the tear that had threatened to come out was quickly erased from existence. He patted his lap when Twilight let out a yawn, and began to pet Twilight, while hoping Whis was right, and that Beerus was just blowing hot air.

Author's Note

*Jumbled sips his hot cocoa and grins* I start college on Monday, Discord is up next, and did you really think our favorite undead pony was safe already?

In other news, as I keep forgetting to post some of this stuff, two main things. One, due to a project I am considering that will be akin to Twaith by being a practical ask tumblr of a story, I was hoping to possibly team up with an artist to create a Twaith Ask Tumblr. Drawn responses would be mainly to fill out parts that could get a funny joke, or a cool answer, but that I can't think of anything to make an actual chapter out of. We would need to cover some ground from the beginning, but not everything would absolutely have to get hit, just the major stuff like the prophecy and Spike.

The other thing is that I am going back to college, been growing increasingly depressed which makes writing this harder, and increasingly stressed, so I'll take this as a chance to remind everyone that I have a patreon link in my bio, and I hope you all have a nice night.

Last note, came two seconds away from not saying it, but there are two side stories to Twaith right now. One if Fishing for Flutterbat, which explains how AJ and her came to meet and be sisters, and Fuck Me, for My Name is Succulight, which is a what if scenario to this, and is not canon to the actual Twaith canon. Just something fun I decided to do. I can't link it because of hopefully obvious reasons.

A Fair Trade

It had been a very bad day for Sunset. When she had first awoken, she had found out that her normal courier that brought her assignments to Ponyville had been held up, so she now had fifteen different royal letters to read through that she still hadn't. That was because Applejack had soon asked her to help on the farm, as her brother had hurt himself, and after earlier in the year, she wasn’t going to be stubborn about seeking help again. She had even been willing to let Twilight try to help, which had been her only piece of good news all day.

Ever since she had gotten to the farm, the afternoon had quickly spiraled out of control. From cotton candy clouds, to chocolate rain, to a spirit of chaos roaming loose, some ponies would probably have wanted to murder something. Sunset knew though that as long as she made it to the middle of the maze, she would be fine, and work could continue as scheduled.

"You're looking quite fine today, Sunset. Do something new with your mane?"

She spun her head around to try to spot the spirit, but quickly found herself spinning further then she meant to because of the prankster on top of her. She let out a low growl and glared at Discord as he hovered above her. "What do you want? I'm trying to finish this game of yours."

Discord raised an eyebrow while tapping his chin. "Now, why would you want to do that?"

Sunset's scowl only deepened at the stupid question. "So things can go back to normal you idiot!"

Discord nodded to himself, before slithering towards the mare, until the two's faces were only centimeters from each other. "Wouldn't you rather have both though? The prize, and the elements?"

Sunset stepped back from the sudden approach, before slamming the hoof back forward, and crushing Discord's paw. "What prize? I thought the elements were the prize."

He pouted for a moment, before detaching the paw and flailing the stump at her. "You know such an action would be taken as rude normally, right?"

Sunset came even closer, now trying to step on him. "I. Don't. Care. Now, tell me what prize you're talking about, because you didn't mention any in the rules."

Discord put his hands up. "Guilty as charged, though, this prize is only available for you. I mean, would you want me to offer to anyone else the ability to say they brought Twilight back to life?”

Sunset stepped back, her eyes widening in shock. “Wh-what are you saying?”

His grin widened, showing off a long, curved fang. “Your prize is Twilight’s life, and all you have to do, is lose the game.” Her horn popped into existence between them. “If you take it, it will be loaded with the spell to bring her back, and you lose the game. I’ll even throw in letting the elements stay where they are and the location if you swallow your pride.”

Sunset blinked for a few times, her heart hammering in her chest. She knew that a trickster like him had to have an ace up their sleeve. Some final twist that would make her regret the most joyous moment of her life. She immediately tried to shake the thought away, turning away from the chaotic being, but it stayed. It stayed, and she knew the temptation would only grow stronger with time. “I need to get going. Besides, I don’t need you. Celestia and I are already working on a cure.”

Discord coiled around her, stopping the fiery unicorn in her tracks.. "You don't? You're trying to beat death itself, something nopony has ever done, not even Starswirl the Bearded, and you think you'll be able to? How many trials will there have to be before she is back? And what if you turn her into something worse, like a succubus? Do you want to risk that?"

Sunset's breaths had becoming shallower with each sentence. Even though he had almost fully entombed her within his coils, she said nothing. She was too preoccupied. "No funny business?"

"One living Twilight, and the location of your elements, just so you lose here."

Sunset was silent for another few moments before gently nod. She felt her horn come back to her head, and immediately started charging it. She doubted the spell that was about to be used would need any less than her maximum.

Discord smiled at the initiative, liking how the mare knew why she had to lose. He touched her horn, and before she could react, the hedges came down, Twilight came into existence before them, and Sunset fired. A mixture of black and green energy rocketed towards Twilight, before slamming into the purple mare's chest.

Sunset's chest flared in pain at that exact moment, and she winced from the fact that it was getting harder to breathe. Something was quickly making its way within her, a dark force that reached into her mind. Her want to control, to live a good life, and to be someone someday were all brought to the forefront, with the large question of, “How?” repeating itself into infinite within her mind. She felt her legs buckle as the sound grew louder and louder, catching up for several hundred years of corruption, and drowning out her other thoughts with these base desires. Her mind screamed for a way to fix this, to get the voices to stop, but only one solution would present itself. Souls.

Discord leaned down, admiring how, despite all of the darkness and pressure that was on her soul, she hadn't immediately succumbed. He knew how to fix this though. "The elements were never in the maze, but in your library."

Sunset snapped. A bloodcurdling wail filled the air as green magic radiated off of her now ethereal body. Skeletal claws and hooves stuck themselves out of the ground, just before she turned to Discord. "I will rip you apart, and devour your intesti-"

With one snap, the spirit of chaos cut her off, causing the mare to go far away from them. Twilight wobbled on her newly formed legs, before slumping to her side. She had no clue as to what had happened, only that all of the pressure she had felt since she left the catacombs was gone, and that she was extremely tired.

While the ex-wraith got used to being truly alive again, and not simply given tangibility, Applejack walked forward. "What did you do with our friend?"

Discord put his talons to his chest and looked over newly made sunglasses. "What, me? I merely sent her a day away. I don't want to be around for the mess she'll make when she comes back around and turns in to the real monsters that wraiths are."

Twilight put on hoof beneath her, before groaning and raising herself. "N-no, she won't. She is too good for that."

Discord's eyebrow simply leaped off of his face at this point, just as a bemused smile crossed his lips. "Oh, how little you know. Still, it has been fun, and good luck helping your friend... recuperate."

And with that, he flashed out of sight, leaving the six mares there to think about how to save their friend.

Author's Note

I expect Twaith power headcanons, and will even be wiilling to confirm when someone gets it right.

Anyways today is my first day back at college! And to go with that, me continuing to worry about my finances, along with tinkering with the idea of a Twaith exclusive patreon that I want your guy's feedback. In essence though, it would be a patreon meant purely for this story, and its universe, and that is what you would be supporting then. Take a look at the document, as it has my thoughts, and plenty of space to leave comments on.

An Unfair Game

Cadance yawned as she pushed a book away from herself. Glancing about, she
could see mountains of books, covering topics ranging from anatomy, to the supernatural. The element bearers, Celestia, and her beloved each had a pile besides them, though all were small when compared to the pony who had organized this. She stepped back as another book was thrown with almost ballistic force, wrapped in purple energy from atop its master's mountain. Cadance frowned before unfolding her wings, and beginning to fly to Twilight.

"Hey there."

Twilight looked up towards the voice, before looking back down to the next book, and putting it in her pile, noting it as one of her books from the catacombs. "Did you find something Cadance?"

Cadance set herself down besides Twilight, just before she put a hoof to the stressed mare's horn. The book in front of Twilight fell, and the princess almost immediately got a scowl in return. "What are you doing? We only have another sixteen hours before Sunset comes back, and we have to be able to fix her!"

Cadance shook her head slowly. "I know Twilight, but this won't work. We won't find an answer here."

Twilight stomped forward, sending more books clattering down along her mountain. Her horn began to glow as she charged a spell and narrowed her eyes. "We have to! I... I won't lose her."

Cadance put her hoof against the horn again, her leg throbbing in pain as the magic transferred itself. "I don't want her gone either. None of us do. However," she blinked back a tear, sympathizing with the younger unicorn before she spoke again, "these books won't help us."

Twilight began to shake as a tear came down her face. She shook her head vigorously, trying to keep it together. Sunset needed her to be focused, not to lament on the new positions they were in. "The-they have to. They just, have to."

Cadance wrapped a wing around Twilight. She had seen this pain so many times before, though with the ex-wraith, she was not sure if the pain was from the a loss of a love like normal. It could just be that the small pony thought she was losing all that she had. That didn't mean she could simply ignore the truth though. "They owe you nothing, just as they have owed nopony trying to cheat death in the past."

Twilight looked up at Cadance, tears now freely streaming down her face. "Please tell me you didn't just come up here to tell me that? I didn't need to hear it."

Cadance felt another tug at her chest. She had joined the search due to empathy, and because she too wanted to defeat Discord. Looking at the cute thing beside her though, showing such compassion for her friend, made her realize why so many called a wraith their companion. "I didn't. In fact, I have a plan. I believe we need to make Discord bring Sunset back."

Twilight looked down, her ears folding over the sides of her head. "I... I see the logic I suppose. Discord was able to bring me back in the first place, so he should be able to do the same to Sunset. He is the god of chaos though, so I doubt he would be willing to help us."

The alicorn shook her head. "Well, that's where my plan comes into play. See, he may be chaotic, but do you think that would stop him from playing a game, or push him towards it?"

Twilight held a hoof up to her mouth, slowly tapping it as her tears started to slow. "I suppose that might work, but we would need to pick the right game."

Cadance grinned at that, beginning to pet Twilight's head to try to relax her. "The game would be of reactions. He would think he could win, but if we use her for the judge," pointing to Celestia, who had only now noticed that the two were talking, "I am almost certain he would find it to be an uphill battle to beat me.”

The gears in Twilight's head began to whir, trying to push out the misery within her thoughts. Celestia was a very controlled pony, and as she had seen Discord's magic before, she would be more prepared for his tricks. That left one big question though. "How would we win?"

Cadance glanced back at her aunt, thinking about all of those years of foalsitting she had been forced to do, and the best way to get back at Celestia for them. "Oh, I'll think of something."

======+++++======

"Discord!" Cadance glanced around the barren field that used to be the Canterlot Garden Maze, waiting for a response. They had maybe four hours before Sunset came back, so they needed to work fast. "Discord, come out! We have a game for you."

"A game you say?"

The ponies gathered glanced around, before Fluttershy let out a yelp from dirt being displaced, and Discord rose out of the ground, his arms stretched out in front of him. He then stretched and yawned. "I really am honored actually. To spend your last few hours with me before Sunset comes is really quite... touching."

Twilight ground a hoof into the supple soil, her cheeks puffed out as she tried not to start screaming at the meanie. Cadance rubbed the mare between the wing joints as she took in a deep breath herself. "About that, well, you see-"

Discord put a finger to her muzzle, a grin on his face. "Oh trust me, I know you want a wager. I’ve honestly been expecting it all night. So, what will the challenge be? Kayaking perhaps?” He paused, snapping and beginning to row through the dirt with his small boat. "Or maybe something more original, like extreme library sorting!" This time, they were all teleported to Golden Oaks Library, where there were rings of fire, spike pits, and hundred of books that were pulled off of the shelves.

Cadance merely shook her head. "Nothing quite that fancy actually. In fact, it's simply a game of making a pony react through one action. Whoever can get Celestia to react more, gets the prize. For us, it would be you bringing back Sunset."

Discord tapped a talon to his chin, before coiling around Applejack, causing the farm mare to jump to the other side of the room and singe her tail on a hoop. "Sorry, but I doubt any of you can tempt me to agree to any sort of wager. I can make anything I want, so what could you possibly have to give me?"

Twilight knew it was her turn as she stepped up. "How about another draconequus?"

Discord had been just about to sip some tea, before the cup crashed onto the floor and became a flock of doves. "What?"

The purple unicorn stepped forward, just as they had planned. "I doubt you can simply make another one of you, and I've already been a wraith. It might be interesting, being a fellow spirit of chaos."

Discord stopped before glancing around the room. The assembled ponies looked concerned, but by the fact that no pony was actually acting with shock meant they had planned this. That they thought they could win. One more look at Twilight though, and his intelligence wavered for his heart. He swallowed his true reasoning for it, and nodded. "Fine, if not just to see what you have up your-"

The draconequus whipped around and grabbed Celestia's head. In a blink of an eye, Celestia witnessed every moment that Luna had spent on the moon. Felt all of the boredom and pain her sister had. Night after night of cold isolation, only wanting to be accepted, and at home. To have what her sister always did. The white mare stepped back, and hung her head low, letting out a single tear.

Cadance's jaw went slack at the sight of her aunt crying. She hadn't even thought that was possible. Discord pushed the alicorn's mouth up and whispered, "Beat that."

Cadance's head panicked. She was only now realizing that they were no longer in Canterlot, so an illusion of blowing up Canterlot Castle wouldn’t work. Now, she had no ideas, and a crying Celestia that she had to somehow change to something, anything else. She watched as Celestia blinked a few times, and began to shake. When the solar princess looked to Twilight, Cadance's heart almost skipped a beat as she knew what to do.

Cadance put a hoof underneath Twilight's chin, looked deep into the mare's amethyst eyes, and thought of an apology for Celestia as she pressed her muzzle against Twilight's. There was an audible gasp from the room, and Celestia simply stared for a moment. While the reminder of what she had done had hurt, she had long ago accepted what she had done, and with it, the pain. To watch the mare she was supposed to be with be kissed by her niece though, especially her niece that was betrothed, was a bit more shocking.

Cadance jumped away from Twilight when Celestia slammed her hooves down, the white alicorn letting her sadness be channeled into rage. "What do you think you're doing?"

Cadance smiled, but before she could say anything, the wobbling Twilight spoke. "So, that's what kissing is."

Cadance could only pale, before running from Celestia, who was screaming as parts of her mane intermittently caught on fire. In hindsight, she would thank Cadance for all of this, but for now, the pink homewrecker was going to die.

Discord watched the two barrel out the front door and sighed. He knew he should have gone for shock and awe, instead of something Celestia had fought with for so long. He then shrugged, making sure the tear coming down his face did not show. "You win some," he snapped and caused Sunset to appear in front of him, "you lose some."

Before the yellow wraith could do anything, Discord moved his hands back. He pput his wrists together, a blue ball forming between his palms, and then slammed the energy into Sunset’s barrel. The effect was immediate, as all of the magic that was consuming Sunset was blasted away from her. Unfortunately, it was directed at Twilight now, who wasn't quite fast enough to dodge.

Sunset collapsed to the ground with a thud. She could barely remember any of the past twenty hours. All she could remember was the deal she had made, and the fact that Twilight was supposed to be alive now. She then looked up, and saw a translucent Twilight hit the ground, and Discord snickering above her.

"Hahaha! You really thought I would let it be one sided if you won? I'll admit, I'm amazed that you were able to win in the first place, but," he teleported to in front of Twilight and picked her up by the chin, "I always play the long game."

Sunset stared as Twilight glanced at the ground, and a single tear came down and hit the wooden floor. Her thoughts cleared out of her mind to allow her being to be filled with one emotion. Rage.

Discord felt the wind whip about himself as suddenly a whole town's worth of magic seemed to have appeared behind him. He burped for a moment, with small, pink pubbles coming out that exploded like fireworks, before turning around. Before him floated Sunset, her eyes glowing, and the cutie mark on her flank becoming a spinning typhoon of fire. A book on one of the shelves burst into flames, and the elements came out of their prison, only to then surround Sunset and start glowing. "Wha-"

"Get away from my wraith, you son of a dragon!" Sunset threw her head back, and the glowing orb of magic around her exploded. Discord threw his hands up and tried to erect barriers for himself, but to no avail. The harmonious magic had him in its grip, and within seconds, he found his body returning to its petrified state.

The other elements stared as Sunset slowly lowered herself to the ground. Pinkie let out a cheer for her victorious friend. The others opened their mouths to join, but were cut off by the sound of the unicorn's body hitting the ground. What filled the air afterwards, was dead silence.

Rarity stepped forward, before reaching out a hoof and nudging Sunset. The yellow mare's side barely rose in response, and Fluttershy flew over to join them. Resting her head against Sunset's barrel, she heard the faintest of heartbeats. "But... but why?"

Now it was Twilight's turn to come over. She felt weak, and her essence was screaming, trying to go back to the freedom it had within Sunset. The amount of pain she must have been in over the last day while containing this must have been unbearable, and having to channel enough energy to undo Discord’s magic by herself... Twilight couldn't imagine having survived that herself. Even with understanding why though, she still didn't want to accept what was happening.

It wasn't spontaneous before. This time she could feel her desires as they dangled over a pool of untapped energy. Even if she didn't know what the energy entailed, it would give her options. Options that might just save her best friend. She let the pool be touched as she accepted her desire for Sunset to live, no matter what, and her body followed its instincts.

Slowly, Twilight lowered her head, and pressed her muzzle to Sunset's. It was a light kiss, and through it, Twilight fed Sunset a piece of her own essence, the newly found soul magic teaching her things that both excited, and frightened her. The others simply watched the brief embrace, before Fluttershy whispered, "She is growing stronger."

Twilight pulled away, her own eyes growing very heavy as she said no to her magic. She had only needed it to keep Sunset alive, not to wake her up. She would not be greedy, and pulled the edge of her desires away from the last pool of energy within her, before collapsing beside her best friend.

======+++++======

Cadance looked up from her hospital bed at the slight chill that seemed to have entered the room. Almost immediately, Twilight turned down her cold, and smiled at the princess. "Hi. I thought I should come by and see how you were doing."

Cadance let out a pained groan as she sat up and rubbed her head. "Let me put it this way. Don't ever get Celestia to go from fairly depressed to enraged like that. It's not good for your health."

Twilight let out a small laugh and floated to the edge of the bed. "I would imagine. When she breaks her mask, it breaks hard."

Cadance chuckled, thinking back to back when she was a younger filly and Celestia tried to protect her, especially when Shining Armor first asked her out. "Yeah, but she always means well. It might be part of what makes her so amazing."

A small nod came from Twilight. "I... I'm honestly surprised you were willing to go so far to help me. From what I'd known, I thought we were destined to be cursed enemies, always out for the others prizes and wishes."

Cadance raised a single eyebrow. "Sorry, but it's not like we're in a storybook. You may have scared me the first time we met, but after seeing how much you matter to everypony else, I knew you couldn’t be all bad, and even became someone I could care about too."

Twilight smiled at that and wrapped her hooves around Cadance's neck. The pink princess reciprocated hug, holding the wraith tight with magic. A small pink wisp escaped Cadance as she reflected on how happy everypony was now, including her, to have this one spirit back to normal. The wisp sunk into Twilight's cloak, becoming a bright, blue heart, before being closed up by black threads.

Once the two were done with the hug, Twilight nodded to herself, having made her mind up on a long standing problem she had had. "You know what? I think it's official. I will find another way to deal with my problem with you, instead of freezing you and dumping your body where nopony will find you."

Cadance chuckled for a moment. "Well, I'm happy to hea-" Her eyes shot open as the wraith glided into the floor. Twilight did not decide to come back when the rival for her possible, but not sure yet, crush yelled, "What did you just say?"

Author's Note

I had to end it on a happy note, as this chapter was far sadder then I even expected. However, this also marks the end of the story focus part until about mid-January, so please, leave more comments once more. I suspect this one will have sparked some new ideas and such.

So yeah, lets keep trucking, hope you enjoyed the long chapter, and comments are open.

Recovery

Sunset pushed off against the bed beneath, her muscles protesting from even this simple of a movement. She grinded her teeth as she threw her covers away, early morning air carrying a light bite with it. It had been almost a week since she had been restored to the land of the living, and had since been at Canterlot Castle, waiting for the de-stabilized magic within herself to calm, and for the pain to go away. The fact that it hadn’t though, was driving her up a wall.

She took a deep breath in, before using her magic to bring over a small pair of white socks, that she soon slipped on. The warm cotton helped her feel better, and the extra padding also made sure her sore hooves were protected. She glanced at the small suns on the bottom of her hooves now, and whispered a quick thanks to Celestia, before getting off the bed.

Once she had a small breakfast of cheese and bread, half of which was grabbed from her personal ice box in the room, she went down the same way she had every other day of her stay; to Spike’s room. What she was told by Celestia was that she wanted the two to bond, so when the time came to evaluate him as a threat or not came, one of them would know him better. Know his weaknesses. After their cookie raid yesterday though, she suspected it was more so for Spike to have another friend when he had to go out into the rest of the world.

Opening the door to the frigid cold, she was met by large, green and black eyes. The dracolich smiled at her, and held his arms out. “Sistah!”

Sunset rolled her eyes, before levitating the smaller creature onto her back. She had decided last night to spend the whole day out and about the castle, as she was done resting for half of the day. Besides, most of the guards were gone, still with their families so they would not worry about Discord having done anything to them, so Spike would be safe from sight. “It’s Sunset. Sun-set.”

Spike wrapped his claws around her neck. “Sister!”

Sunset merely smacked herself while letting out a sigh, before smiling to herself and stepping out of the door. She felt the little dracolich tense on her back as he did anytime he left the familiarity of his room, and she treated him just as she had for the past two days. A few pats on the back with one of his toys. This time though, as the doll of Pinkie Pie bat against him, Spike tensed even more.

“Braaap!”

Sunset had barely ducked her head, dodging the black flames that came over her head. It washed over a vase, and the unicorn’s eyes widened as cracks began to form in it. “Spike, do you know how much that is wor-”

Crack.

Sunset glanced back at the piece of pottery, and watched as more cracks formed on it. The paint then yellowed, and fragments fell, turning to dust as they hit the podium it sat upon. The first shard brought her attention to the weathering that was eroding the top of the podium as well, and it had barely been touched by the flame. Her investigation stopped as a larger piece crashed down and off of the podium.

Sunset whipped her head around to face the dracolich who now held onto his stomach. A pitiful whine escaped him, and he nuzzled into the unicorn’s mane, before whimpering again. A wave of fear went through her, wondering what might happen if those flames were let out again right now. From what she could tell, the vase had decayed, and the quickly rising pile of dust only seemed to prove that theory. “Which simply means you have to get him to Celestia even faster than, Sunset.”

At first, her galloping was fine. Sure, her muscles gave stiff resistance to her movements, but nothing she couldn’t power through. It was instead when she got to the stairs and forgot to slow down that she found a problem. The first few steps merely made her wince as she put far more weight on individual hooves then she should. For another few, she stumbled, her legs screaming as she tried to brace herself. It was too late though, and she soon found herself crashing down.

Her mind turned into a fire of activity after her side slammed into the next step. She had to stop herself, but she was by no means strong enough. The emergency side of herself smacked the rest, before reminding her that she still had magic, no matter how unstable. Using the sharp agony caused by almost all of her weight being put one leg, she was able to focus just enough to make the next bounce be straight into a hard barrier. She took in a sharp breath as her ribs were bruised, but then slid back onto the step she had come from. She still hurt, but at least she was still.

She also had nothing on her back now.

“Spike!”

“Yes?” Spike put his claws to the sides of his head, before a nasty crack filled the air, and his head now faced forward. He let out a yawn as he hopped slightly, so as to allow the last piece of him, his left leg, to pop back on, and for his magics to re-skin it.

Now that he was complete, Sunset found herself looking at what looked like a very small dragon, standing on two legs. His fingers were entirely bone now, and the spikes on his back and head were almost entirely bone as well. He blinked a few times, the muted purple skin looking cleaner, and more taut than it ever had before. “What’s up sis?”

“You- You gr-Ah!” Her left, rear hoof buckled as she put weight onto it, and she slid down another step, before succeeding in stopping herself. She tried again, far more delicately this time. “Nng.”

Spike stepped closer, his eyes widening in concern, Sunset tried to muster a smile, but knew she had made a pretty lame attempt. “I-I’m fine, I promise. Just… just hurts, that’s nng.”

Spike’s eyes narrowed as he came closer, his head now level with Sunset’s hoof. He scowled as he could see a fresh cut along the leg, and a bulge that probably wasn’t supposed to be there. “This doesn’t look like it's just hurt.”

Sunset shook her head, a tear coming down as she tried again to smile. “I-it’s fine. I promise.” Her eyes widened, the pain turning to fear as a wisp of flame escaped Spike’s mouth. “Spike?” Her heart almost stopped with the next moment.

A green gout of flame escaped his maw, coating Sunset’s leg. Immediately, Sunset tried to prepare herself for the pain. To ride out the suffering that her leg decaying off would be like. And the next few moments were indeed painful as the skin stitched itself, and the bone was forced back into position. Sunset’s screams even brought Celestia to the stairwell, who now stood at the top of the stairs, watching them.

The princess could hear exclamations of joy, and excitement coming from below her, and when she finally got to see them, she watched as Sunset and Spike hugged. She didn’t let them know she was there yet though, as Sunset blasted a scar into the stone spire beside her, and Spike breathed on it, repairing the damaged rock with green flames. The two exclaimed, and their smiles filled Celestia’s heart.

She stepped away, quietly humming to herself as she reflected on just how well the two seemed to be getting along. She would of course need to inquire more into the scream, or about how Spike had grown into a true child, instead of an adolescent, but those questions could wait. For now, she was merely happy to have been able to see Sunset growing stronger, and her two children bonding so well.

Author's Note

And so we start Twaithtober, where I will not only be updating this at least once a week, but maybe even twice. While I'm attempting to do that, I will be working through Sunset Shimmer: The Royal Student. It covers this universes' (and somewhat the normal canon if you want the first three chapters to be about that) backstory for our fiery unicorn. That will also be updating weekly throughout October.

Edit: *Jumbled smacks self* Btw, this is actually based off of a comment for Spike to find out what his breath powers could do.

The House On the Hill

Scootaloo grinned as they stared at the hill before them. The path leading up to it was winding and narrow, and with the wind whipping through the branches, covered in grotesque, long shadows. It sent shivers of excitement down the young pegasi's spine, while it sent more regular ones down her companions'. "So, think there really are any ghosts up there?"

Apple Bloom shrugged, before shaking her head. "I'm not really allowed to say no. Last time I tried saying supernatural stuff was fake, Aunt Pepper washed my mouth out with Ghost Pepper soap so as to 'get the demon out of you'. Even if she is lost in her travels right now, I don't want to risk my ability to taste sweet things. I already miss sour."

Sweetie lowered her head and rubbed her hoof along the ground. "Girls, do we really have to do this? It's not like we have to."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at the white unicorn. "Seriously? Rainbow Dash sent me this challenge personally, and I thought you two would be just as excited to see about getting a ghostbusting cutie mark as I am! Do you two even have your weapons?"

Sweetie Belle's horn glowed, and a vacuum came out from behind a tree. "Just like Ravioli, right?" She smiled wide, which only got Scootaloo to smack herself harder than she already had planned to.

Apple Bloom reached back and pulled out a small, crumpled up package of red dust. "It's from when my aunt was over, trying to dispel the wraith that as supposedly living here. A single packet of ghost pepper dust."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes at that. "I guess that's an okay choice. I however, will be going with my awesome kung fu moves!" She leapt into the air, before striking out with one hoof... and promptly crashing back down.

Apple Bloom snickered. "Oh yeah, so awesome."All she got in return was a glare from Scootaloo as the pegasus stood back up.

Sweetie Belle stepped forward and raised a hoof between the two. "Alright, let's go!"

Scootaloo blinked a few times, failing to figure out Sweetie's attempt to distract them, and slammed her hoof against the unicorn's, while Apple Bloom did the same. "Cutie Mark Ghostbusters, here we come!" The three then all took off, giggling as they made their way up the hill.

Scootaloo kicked the door open, grinning as she looked inside the large, gothic mansion. It had been rumored to be haunted for many years, and no pony had moved in for that reason. Not that that worried the adventurous filly as she stepped in, and the house responded with a loud creak of the floorboards. Scootaloo heard the hurried clatter of hooves behind her, and looked back to see that Sweetie was very close. "Really?"

"It's the middle of the night, and we're in a haunted mansion. How are you not creeped out?"

"Because I got taught by Rainbow how to be brave, courageous, and overall amaz-"

Boom!

The thunderclap resounded through the entry hall, causing the shutters on the windows to slam against the house, the timbers to creak once more, and to cause Sweetie and Apple Bloom to briefly see a floating pony, staring down at them. Scootaloo blinked for a moment, before raising an eyebrow. "Wow, you two really are scaredy fillies."

Apple Bloom puffed out her cheeks and stepped onto the staircase. "No, we're not. Did you not see the ghost that was just hanging in the air?"

"Can we go home girls?"

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. "No, and that's to both of you. Whatever you saw was nothing. Just your eyes tricking you. Besides, Rainbow told me there was nothing to be afraid of here, so it was nothing."

Apple Bloom sighed, but said nothing more, which Scootaloo took as an acceptance of the truth. "Now, how about you Sweetie Belle?"

She scratched one of her forehooves with the other. "Well, we do have a good bit of reading to do for class. Maybe we should-"

"You should," the voice paused for a moment, the words having come out very quickly, before the last one was said slowly, letting the echo be drawn out, "go."

Sweetie almost fell to the ground as the voice echoed, and now Scootaloo blanched as well from the sound. "Where did that come from?"

Apple Bloom was herself flushed, but something bothered her too much to keep quiet. "Scoots, you said this was from RD, right? What if she is the one doing this? Trying to mess with us?"

Scootaloo raised a hoof to her mouth. "Are you insane? How dare you accuse Rainbow of..." She blinked a few times, before looking down again. "Huh, actually, you might just be right."

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "And who originally told you about this spooky house?"

"Well, it's a fairly normal Ponyville tale."

"Scoots, Sweetie is close to curling up into the fetal position, don't dodge the question."

"Fine!" Scootaloo took another few steps up, not noticing the cold that was beginning to encroach on the room. Neither did she see the frost that was growing outwards from the window pane in the foyer, that had Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's eyes widening. "This was all set up by Rainbow. But hey, at least this was a little fun, right?"

Apple Bloom swallowed hard, before raising a hoof up. "Be-behind you."

Scootaloo lowered her eyes halfway. "You already got me with your stupid logic stuff. Don't think I'll fall for stupid prank tricks."

The green eyes blinked as they hovered over Scootaloo's head, before Twilight put her still invisible hooves on the back of Scootaloo's back. Once she turned around, Twilight fully revealed herself, and shouted in eldritch for them to go home, for they had reading to do!

Sweetie Belle barely missed Scootaloo as she threw her vacuum at the wraith, and Apple Bloom found her pepper powder gone, having been stolen earlier by Twilight. While they ran though, Scootaloo merely blinked, stepping back as she mouthed something Twilight couldn’t catch. Apple Bloom leapt forward, grabbing her friend's hoof before she pulled, forcing Scootaloo away from the spirit who was staring down upon them with ice forming on the stairs. "Come on, don't let it eat your soul!"

Twilight smirked to herself as she heard the doors slam shut to the mansion. “You know what? I might just be getting good at this haunting stuff. She then floated over a note, sent to her earlier that day. I’ve been too busy as of late to hang out with her, so can you give her a good scare tonight? I promise I’ll actually introduce you two soon enough. Just give her a good fright, get the two fraidy cats with her to take her to their homes for the night, and I’ll officially owe you one. -Rainbow Dash Tucking it back into her nearby books, she nodded to herself on a job well done.

Author's Note

This is based not off my ideas for Twaithtober, but instead a comment requiring that I do Cutie Mark Ghostbusters! Instead... I messed myself up with my plan for Twaithtober. It's important, meant as a psuedo story part regarding Pinkie's past and her ability to see and accept ghosts, but when I was writing it, I realized it was so very dark, and depressing that it didn't fit well with the rest of Twaith. As of right now, it's being prepared as a 3 part sidestory, with a fourth chapter to be put on Twaith that covers the absolutely most important part, but not any of the information leading up to it, thus harming the payoff.

It also made me realize that there is a strong argument towards Twaith having a dark tag put onto it. Because of all of this, I made a strawpoll so I can have all of yours inputs on where this story should be posted, and whether or not the dark tag should or should not be added. So, please go vote, and leave me comments for future chapters please.

Spoopy

Berry Pinch swallowed hard as she and the other foals from around this part of town looked upon the new structure. It was a large, gothic manor, with black paint on every portion of the outside. No light came from within, and purple curtains made sure nopony could peer within. The only indication of why it was there was a sign stating, House of Illusions: Enter if you DARE! With Nightmare Night only having been a few weeks ago, and Discord even closer, the current theory was that it was built by ghosts, when in actuality, it had been prepared by Luna shortly after Nightmare Night so as to give her poorest subjects some fun.

Pinch felt herself be nosed forwards, and glared at the friend who had done so. The other filly sheepishly grinned at the angry eyes, and swallowed hard. "Come on, you've seen worse things than ghosts, so you should be the first to check it out, right Pinch?"

Pinch's glare deepened for a moment, before the image of a purple mare in a black cloak, riding on top of a fleet of popsicles entered her mind. She glanced back at the house, sitting there in the autumn chill. It had appeared just as suddenly as the stand, and no one had ever said the mare had left, so it was possible that the friend had stayed, and this was her new trick. At least, she hoped. She took in a deep breath and stepped forward on her own this time. "Alright everypony, I'll go see what this is about!"

A sigh of relief escaped the assembled crowd, and a twinge of annoyance went through Pinch as nopony said they would come with her. She took one more look at the entrance, before shutting her eyes and running up. There, she blindly groped for the handle, until she accidentally opened it, and fell through the pitch black entrance. All the fillies and colts outside saw was Pinch being eaten by the darkness.

What Pinch saw though, was a slide. She was immediately zooming through a long, narrow shoot, lit by purple, enchanted flames that outlined where she was going. Once the filly's heart had started beating again, she couldn't help but squeal in delight as she was taken into the depths.

Once she got to the bottom, she splashed down into a heated pool, courtesy of Sunset. The filly's head burst from the the water, and she coughed a few times, before panic set in. She reached out, and felt grooves all around her in the pool for her to cling to. She panted for a bit, spending a moment to enjoy the warm water, before pulling herself out.

Before her now was a large room, with few lights. Pinch could only tell its size due to the small lights above her that made her think of stars gazing back down. Other than that, she could see a set of five doors in front of her. One had nine wisps of white ingrained into the wood, the next a crescent blood moon, then a mirror and a small light for the next two. The last one though, was a door made of black ice, and it was only now that she saw that a time was embedded into each door. And right now, only the mirror, the light, and this one were open.

She gently pushed against the cold door, her hooves sticking slightly, as they were still damp from her splashdown. Entering the cold room, she could hear a thumping in the background. A heavy creature's steps, accompanied by its claws scraping at the ice. The hair on the filly's back rose before she swallowed hard, taking off down one of the many slick paths.

Her hooves slid on the thick ice, and the echoes of her trotting filled the air. She wished they wouldn't, and tears almost came to her eyes as she heard the pounding of the beast grow louder. She slid on her hooves as she saw a towering mass in the distance, trying to slow down at the intersection she found herself at, and saw icicles spring from the ground, just before slamming into them. They hurt, but they also gave a way to block the creature.

It was at this point that others would have screamed, but Pinch stayed quiet. She knew no one was there to cry out to, and so simply took off down another path, unable to see the spikes as they slid back into the ground. This routine happened two more times, with each bringing the beast closer, before all that lay in front of Pinch was a long hall with seemingly no end.

Looking back, the outline of a chimera appeared, and it roared.

She ran, her legs crying out for rest, but not receiving any. She needed to reach the end of this hall before it got her. After so many problems with her life, she did not want to go out like this. And yet, her muzzle stayed shut, even as tears came down her face.

Twilight jumped as Pinch crashed through the enchanted curtain, and came barreling into one of the tables set up in the underground room. She almost immediately floated down towards the filly, getting ready to shout surprise, or congratulations like Luna had told her to. This way, the foals would know all was okay, and she would explain that they had always been okay. Looking at her pink friend on the ground though, in the fetal position, the jubilation halted within her. She swallowed hard, and whispered, "Are you okay?"

Pinch looked up, blinking as she tried to clear her eyes. She noted the large, green eyes, the black cloak, and purple fur, and felt the tears well back up. "Wh...why do you want to kill me now?"

Twilight paused for a moment before lowering herself and whispering apology after apology to the little filly as they snuggled. Looking up and towards the gift shop further in, Twilight knew she would get back at Luna for having failed at making a ‘fun’ house.

======+++++======

Celestia smiled as she saw Twilight skating with Berry Pinch in the castle yard, hot cocoa being made at the side by Spike, all as an apology to the filly for what had happened. She sipped her own tea, before looking back to her sister. "So, what did we learn?"

"That ponies have become pansies since my time."

"Luna."

"Fine! That we should not try to make a fun house the scariest thing on the planet. I'm sorry."

Celestia nodded, before laying down beside her filly of a sister, who was currently stuck in a block of ice that was as big as herself, and only let her head stick out. "You know, I think this is a good look for you. I bet the nobles would love it for the party tonight. Better than some old swan for the ice sculpture."

Luna only gave her sister a glare as she sipped the juice box that had been set up on top of the ice. "Just shut up and push me closer to the fire."

Author's Note

Based off of a comment (I think) for a haunted house. I'm sorry that this is about all I have to show for Twaithtober, but life just hit me like a dump truck this month. Those who follow me or kept up with the Twaith blogs probably know why. However, life does show signs of stabilizing, so hopefully I'll be a better spoopy author soon. I keep saying that, don't I?

Yes, you do.

Wait, who are- Oh sweet Celestia!

See you all, tonight. And remember, Happy Halloween.

Spooky

Cold air permeated the cavern. Few come near the domain it is so isolated, so foreboding. No light enters, and no light may escape. Spires of black reach up, supporting the prison’s ceiling, making sure the occupant is not crushed. This, is where the rat arrives, having scavenged for so long that it would deny its natural instincts, just for a chance to eat.

It scurried along the cold, hard floor, sniffing at the rocks that it passed by. Another cold draft passed through the hole it came in. With such a small entrance, the rat had to wonder how anything had gotten in before it to eat any of the leaves or berries it may find. With its continued search though, it found no such thing. No leaves, no grass, and not even dirt to nestle into.

All it found was bone.

Bones of various creatures who had come before it. Come, searching for food just like the rat, and starved there. The rat did not know this as he saw the carcass of a fellow mouse. He simply assumed a predator had arrived, and this was what was left. It still saddened him, but also filled him with determination to not stop searching.

His claws filled the air with their soft sound as he leapt, bounded, and ran through the cavern. Something about this place made the pain in his stomach become worse, and he found himself desperately needing any sort of food. He even thought that if his mouse brother had had any meat left, he might try to be like one of their predators. It disgusted him, but anything was better than this awful hunger.

Soon though, he entered the final part of the chamber, where light was to be found. Two circles illuminated the ground with soft light, one of blue, one of white. Something about them helped put off the pain, if not for just a moment, and he thanked them for it. He spent another moment viewing them, taking in the intricate lines and thinking about how beautiful the shifting light was within them.

The thing within the two circles then decided to move, and the rat could only feel his pain grow and grow while looking upon the creature. It put one hoof besides the rat, slamming it down upon the ground as it found itself awoken by something. The creature blinked a few times, trying to pinpoint the energy. Pinpoint what had awoken it from its slumber.

The rat did not care though. It was looking at the flesh that was on the hoof, barely clinging to the exposed bone underneath. Its reservations were gone, the pain in its core being all that it knew, and it skittered over the symbols. The creature’s head swiveled down, its four hooves now planted firmly as the rat came close.

It waited, and once the rat was on, futilely nibbling on the skin, he raised the hoof to his face. The rat ignored the beast’s gaze, even as the light of the symbols bounced off of the exposed part of its skull. The creature was considering what to do, to call it meal, or friend, when a tremor passed through the cave. A rock from above came down, and smashed into the beast’s head.

It came back up, none of the rest of its body having moved with the blow, and it could hear the pitter patter of shards of bone hitting the ground. It didn’t deserve the injury. Didn’t deserve the insult. It was supposed to be the strongest being there was, and yet a simple rock could still hurt it, even after all this time.

At least he had just recieved a way to repair himself.

The creature lowered his hoof, his jaw slowly moving as the crunching of bones filled the air, and no rat found the ground again. The hole that had appeared in his skull slowly mended itself, closing the gap as the crunching became softer, and softer. Finally, the beast swallowed, its magic only allowing the soul of the rat to continue to exist, and even that was consumed by the soul within the creature.

The pony shook his head, feeling a few tendrils of hair come down over its face. A faint green glowed from within the two empty sockets it called eyes, and some skin came back around its teeth. The runes closer to the beast flared, and a blast of lunar magic came up, searing both the flesh and the strands of mane from it. The symbols had long ago lost their ability to completely keep him down, letting flesh cling to the monster, and some of its arcane powers to still exist.

It lowered its head, its magic soon resonating from its body; fishing for power, and answers. In response, it heard exactly what it had been waiting for.

‘A being, come out of the darkness after hundreds of years, will be given the chance to live. However, just as life will be shown to her, so must nature show death within the first year. When both sides have shown their might, her choice must be made; To accept what she is, or to fight what no soul has beaten. The end result will favor death, or life, and Equestria will have to follow that path with which she chooses.’

A cackle left the beast as it reared up, and brought its hooves crashing down upon the ground, its power being released in a colossal wave, overcoming most that it met. Stone cracked, bones broke, and spires shook. As the darkness faded around it, the creature noted that only the last ring of white runes remained, and even they were now faded. A smile split his jaw.

“By the end of your year, deary, I will have you, and I will break you.”

Author's Note

Published on October 31st, 11:59, Alaskan Time.

Happy Halloween everybody.

Flying

Rainbow laid back on her cloud, staring at the sky. It was a pure blue, clear as far as the eye could see, at least, when you were looking from up here, where only wisps barely grazed the skyline. She took in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the crisp air. It was a joy few else knew, especially so well.

“Hi.”

Rainbow almost leapt off of her cloud as she looked around herself, and saw Twilight materialize. The wraith gave her a large smile, and floated closer. “I thought I’d try to hang out with you today, seeing as Sunset is still at Canterlot, getting the last of her tests done. You know, fill the time with somepony I don’t get to with very often.”

The blue pegasus stretched her legs out, scowling slightly as she finally sat upright. “Oh, I am just overjoyed to be your second fiddle.”

Twilight’s whole body faded in color as her eyes widened, just before she began waving her hooves frantically in front of herself. “No! That isn’t what I meant at all. I mean, yes, I normally do not seek your company because you can be loud, rude, obnoxious, insensitive-”

“Oh yes, please do go on. I am beyond flattered.” She flopped back down, tufts of cloud coming up as she went back to staring at the sky. “Look egghead, why don’t you bother Rarity? I hear she has a slow day today, and I bet you have far less compliments for her.”

Twilight looked down at her hooves, rubbing them together for a moment before floating back over. Her bright, green eyes came into Rainbow’s vision, as well as a small frown that complimented the rest of her stupidly cute face far too well. “I did mean it when I said I wanted to hang out with you. Everyone just tells me you’re busy though, and usually you’re already asleep, exhausted from your workouts, and I don’t want to bother you then.” She lowered her head, and began to float away. “I understand if you don’t want me to disrupt you though.”

Rainbow watched Twilight slowly leaving, biting her lip as the wraith became less and less visible. She had planned to take a nap that day, but she could skip it, even if it meant hanging out with the bookworm. Twilight had meant well, and she had snapped at her for no good reason. “Fine. I suppose we could go on a short flight or something.”

Twilight was back in almost an instant, a gleam in her eyes. “Really. Ah, thank you Rainbow!”

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed as the cold spirit wrapped her hooves around her, a scowl firmly embedded in the pegasus’s face. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

Twilight shook her head furiously. “I promise Rainbow, I no longer need such things as plans so as to be able to interact with my friends.” Twilight then made sure to make a mental note about hiding the friendship strategy map that Sunset and her used when she got back to the treehouse.

Rainbow slowly left her cloud, gently beating her wings as she tested the current. She found a perfect one to get back at Twilight with, and grinned. “Alrighty then, beat me to that cloud.” Twilight had only just looked when Rainbow yelled, “Three, two, one, go!”

The cloud she had pointed to was even higher, and one of the few wisps that dared to stray this high. Soon it was nothing as Rainbow crashed through it, gently slowing herself down. She hadn’t pulled out all her stops like she would with Gilda, but this should have been more than enough to get some bit of satisfaction out of today.

Turning around though, she spotted Twilight gliding through the air, a mix of black and green magic flowing from behind her, propelling her through the sky. Rainbow turned her attention to the currents that battered at her small body this high for only a moment, and when she turned back, Twilight was directly in front of her. “Wha-”

“Wow, Rainbow! I always knew you were fast, but I had forgotten just how fast.”

Rainbow tilted her head to the side, her mouth open as she simply stared. “But how were you that fast? I’ve never seen you break a brisk gallop with your floating, let alone shoot through the sky like a bullet!”

Twilight’s cheeks reddened as she held her hooves up, once more being cuter than Rainbow would ever have wanted to see her as. “Well, it’s really rather simple. A blast of magic in one direction can throw me in another. It’s akin to how Spike can burp me across the room, but far more controlled.”

Rainbow nodded, thinking she had it. “That… that’s pretty useful.” She put a hoof to her chin, rubbing it slowly. “What do you think your top speed is?”

Twilight raised her hooves and shrugged, before a grin broke out over her face. “Why don’t we test it? Unless you’re scared.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?"

The purple wraith stuck her tongue out for a moment, before copying the pegasus by shouting, “Three, two, one, go!”

Rainbow flinched as black magic plumed from the spirit, and glared as she saw her competition take off across the sky. “Hey, no fair! Get back here!”

The two soon raced through the sky, bobbing and weaving through the cloud cover. A streak of black and green, met by a bright spectrum that was always just ahead, and always encouraging. Through rings of mists, or large masses of fluff, the two continued their dance, keeping as close as they could to the other as laughter filled the air.

Finally, the two collided midair while Twilight was merely trying to boop Rainbow, and they plowed into a thick, fluffy cloud. Rainbow blinked a few times, before looking down into the green eyes below her. Her face immediately became red as she realized how close their muzzles were, and Twilight sticking her tongue out didn’t help. The tap on her nose by the silly spirit did though, and she huffed as she got up and bounced to another part of the cloud.

Twilight sat up, giggling before she said, “That was fun. Thank you.”

Rainbow blushed a bit more, gazing out at the setting sun, annoyed at the pounding in her ears. “Yeah, it was alright I guess.”

“Think we could do this again some time? Maybe you could teach me a few more of your tricks.”

Rainbow glanced over at the cute mare, and cursed to herself as she realized why Sunset had a crush on the stupidly innocent wraith. “Y-yeah, I think I could set aside the time from time to time.”

Twilight smiled widely at Rainbow, and Rainbow couldn’t help but reciprocate. The two then looked to the skyline. The beautiful golden globe setting in the distance set the whole sky ablaze around them, and Rainbow Dash grinned, watching Twilight’s eyes widen at the view. She of course had seen it so many times before, but now, watching Twilight enjoy it like this, it became better. Of course, Rainbow was by no means about to admit why.

Author's Note

...This was made because I SERIOUSLY messed up on remembering what a comment was, so have some non Twilestia, or Sunlight shipping. *Jumbled zoidbergs away*

A Family Reunion

[I need the author's note at the end, so this is your warning that spoilers for How a Balloon Can Break a Rock are here, and this link will take you there first, if you feel so inclined. It is a new Twaith sequel.]

As the first rays of morning broke through the darkness of the night, Twilight slowly floated away from the fields, giving Pinkie one more nod before dashing into the house. Nothing stirred in the house, and Twilight nodded to herself, before floating up. She poked her head through the door she met, and she saw Igneous and Cloudy Quartz laying in their bed.

She gently lowered a hoof, and briefly touched their eyes. A trace of dark magic was left upon them, enchanting the couple as they woke up. Twilight smiled slightly, and bowed in midair as they caught notice of the wraith. “Excuse me, but I was hoping you would come with me.”

Igneous shook his head, putting one foreleg over his eyes, before checking his vision again. The purple mare was still there. “Are we dead? Are you here to show us where to go?”

A small giggle escaped Twilight, before she shook her head. “Nothing like that, I promise. In fact, my intention is to show you the life that sprang from last night.”

Igneous’s eyes widened, and Cloudy Quartz shared a glance with him, before he slipped out of bed. “So… you did as I asked? Freed my little filly?”

Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin, before nodding. “Something of that sort, but much better than what you suspect. I promise.”

The two older ponies exchanged one more look. While the two had their suspicions, and were still uncertain as to what the spirit’s true intentions might be, but she was Pinkie’s friend, and they would follow her for that. The three slowly moved down the stairs, before stepping out onto the porch. Leaning against Holder’s Boulder was Pinkie, snoring.

Twilight sucked in her muzzle before holding one hoof up. “Please, just a moment. I need to,” she cleared her throat before screaming, “wake up my friend.”

Pinkie’s eyes snapped open, and she almost jumped onto Holder’s Boulder. Looking beside herself, she paled as she realized what she had done, before dismissing it. If Limestone was here, she would be doomed to run laps around the farm, but she should be okay today. Should.

Now with the danger out of her mind, she looked over to Twilight, and cocked her head. “What?”

Twilight slapped herself with a forehoof, before floating over and turning Pinkie’s head a few degrees. The pink mare blinked a few more times, before her mane exploded, hiding Twilight for a moment, before she grew a large smile. “H-hi!”

Igneous sighed, shaking his head as he came off of the porch. “Pinkie, can you please focus?” He glanced up for a moment, smiling as he noted something he rarely got to see, despite his desire to. “I like your mane today. It fits you.”

Pinkie blushed for a moment, running a single hoof through her poof. She felt Twilight’s cold hooves push her forwards, and she nodded, swallowing hard. “Well, you see, last night… she still came.”

Cloudy looked away at the mention of the spirit, and Pinkie watched as a tear fell from her eye. “But wait, for once I didn’t just sit in my room like a little filly, whining for answers. Well, at least, not for all of it.”

Twilight nodded, coming up besides Pinkie, both of them now standing in front of the giant stone. “I got to meet her last night, and at first, well, what’s the best way to put this?”

“You tried to brutally exorcise my sister?”

Twilight swallowed hard. “Well, while that may be true, I’m not sure if that’s actually the best way to put it. However, yes, that would be accurate. I soon realized though that such a tactic was not the way to go.” She paused, watching Igneous turn away, before letting the breath she had taken in out. “Instead, I decided to seek harmony, and would like to show you the results.” Twilight floated to the side as Pinkie eagerly rolled away, before they both gestured to the boulder.

After a long moment of waiting, Igneous coughed from the crisp, morning air. “What are we supposed to be seeing?”

Twilight cocked her head, before holding one hoof up. “Please, just trust me for another moment.” She then shot into the rock, and Pinkie found herself once more thanking the fact that Limestone avoided this weekend like the plague. The wraith’s voice could soon be heard from within the rock.

“Hey, we rehearsed this.”

A silence came in response.

“I know it’s been a long time, and they have only seen you as a ghou- as a wonderfully exciting part of their life for the last ten years, but please, they’re your family.”

A silence responded again, and Pinkie coughed, before smiling to Igneous, who was so far, unimpressed, nor could he hear Twilight.

“Would it help if I reminded that you were super cute? Or maybe gave you a hug?”

Finally, a gray and red spirit shot out of the rock, coming to a screeching halt in the middle of the air, breathing hard as she looked around. The grey mare met her parents eyes, before hiding behind her long mane, her cheeks on fire from the idea of her mistress holding her. Cloudy looked up at the spirit. The mare was indeed cute, and familiar, with a small, purple star embedded in her throat. The eyes were what told the mother the truth though, and Cloudy wondered if this was all just a dream. “Marble?”

“Mhm.”

Pinkie rubbed her eyes with a hoof, smiling as Marble hugged their parents. Twilight floated beside Pinkie, nuzzling against the pink mare’s side, before looking into her eyes. “I’m happy to see you so happy. It was really weird to see you depressed.”

Pinkie looked into Twilight’s green eyes, feeling her heart skip a beat as the wraith chuckled nervously. More tears streamed down the party mare’s face as she wrapped her hooves around Twilight, sobbing now. “Thank you Twilight, thank you for everything. You’re the best friend a pony could have.”

Twilight wrapped her hooves around Pinkie, and nuzzled back. “I could say the same about you.”

Pink wisps escaped Pinkie’s mane. They slowly crossed over Twilight’s robe, before three balloons appeared within the cloak, getting larger and larger, until they finally popped, spewing black strings to permanently repair the hole in her essence.

Author's Note

Just to clarify Marble's position, she is (at least kind of) Twaith's familiar, as it's only by her magic that she now stays on this Earth so she can spend time with Pinkie. None of the three are aware of this, nor the fact that this allows Twilight some power over Marble. Again, doesn't know that. But yeah, now we have a second Pie family member here!

Futa Tax

Author's Note

I'm an accounting major. The chapter I read gave me a funny idea that I thought would work well here, and I had forty minutes to type it. This is canon now, I did not edit it, and it's not meant as anything more then a little bit of sillyness. I hope you enjoy it, I REGRET NOTHING!

Futa Tax

Twilight hummed to herself as she floated along the fields. Applejack was the pony she had decided to come visit today, and she was pretty excited about it. She could find out more about succulent apples, maybe see that little sister of hers some more, finally actually get introduced, and bond with the friend she knew mistrusted her the most. “I only hope things can go as smoothly with Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Then, when Sunset gets back, I can tell her about all of the close marefriends I’ve made, and all the special things we’ve done!”

“Why are you talking to yourself, Twilight?”

Twilight turned to the voice, before beaming at Applejack, who had two heavy saddlebags on. The wraith floated down and wrapped her forehooves around her friend, and quickly felt one coil around her currently firm body. “Just something I do when I get excited I guess. Sorry.”

Applejack waved a hoof in front of herself. “Don’t worry about it sugarcube, I entirely understand. Granny Smith swears I must be in the mountains with how much chittering I do whenever I have to do taxes, especially the FUTA bull manure that I can’t avoid.”

Twilight furrowed her brow. The term futa was new to her, and it was an odd one at that. No prefixes or suffixes to really help her identify it either. She swallowed hard. “What are futa taxes?”

Applejack narrowed her eyes. Just mentioning them had already put her blood in a boil, and she would later smack herself for not actually clarifying, and instead assuming the Twilight was just helping her vent. “They’re a burden on us honest farm, family folk, that’s what it is. We don’t need what they’re pushing, but because everypony else needs to feel special, we need to pay for it. I mean, do you know how much more my whole family could be making if we could go up to Celestia and tell her that are family is special, and therefore shouldn’t be charged?”

Twilight put a hoof up to her muzzle, mulling it over. Futa did start with an F, and if it were an acronym against farmers, that could be the first letter. She tried wracking her brain for more, but taxes escaped her limited scope, having lived off the grid for most of her natural life. She did know one way she could help. “So… this is a really bad thing?”

Applejack sneered at the ground, happy for a chance to relieve some anger, especially since she had done the stupid things only a week ago. “Yes! I mean, just think about how much six percent of my total crop worth being stripped away for no reason must feel like!”

The wraith’s eyes widened, imagining six percent of the orchard simply disappearing in a blink of an eye. She almost couldn’t believe Celestia would do such a thing. She needed answers. Before Applejack could go any farther, her horn glowed, and a black portal appeared beneath both of them. Applejack didn’t even have time to scream before they blinked out of existence.

======+++++======

Celestia saw the portals on the ground, and smiled to herself as she closed her book. The first time she had seen Twilight teleport, she had almost been ready to have the sun crash down upon her before the wraith had shouted out her greeting. Now though, she could identify the source of the portals, and so got ready for another pleasant meeting.

This is also why Celestiia found herself somewhat stunned, staring into glowing green eyes that were only centimeters from her own. “How could you do this to my friend?”

Celestia blinked again, considering bringing her tea up for a moment but decided against it. “Do what exactly?”

Twilight threw up her arms. “Discriminate against her family like this! Just because she is a futa does not mean you have the right to belittle her, and force her to lose her income, just to make everyone else feel special. I need an answer Celestia; why?”

The ruler this time did sip from her cup, before leaning over the arm of her throne, and looking at the stunned, blushing Applejack. “Might I get an explanation, please?”

Applejack’s face almost went through the floor due to how fast she bowed the ruler, quaking as she realized what was being asked of her. “Well, you see, your highness, I was simply discussing-”

“Discussing? Applejack, don’t fear her. Celestia is kind, and understanding. If she saw the fiery wrath with which you talked about her nefarious policies, I am almost certain she would fix them!”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, looking between her subjects. “Nefarious you say? Well, now I really am curious.”

Applejack swallowed hard, before barely smiling. “I was simply trying to tell Twilight my thoughts on the Federal Unemployment Tax that is set by you, and how while I understand we all must pay, I find some… annoyance with it, due to farmers never being unemployed.”

Celestia nodded to herself as Twaith floated away, her eyebrows furrowed. The ruler smiled to Applejack, and put her tea down. “While I understand your annoyance, I can also see that you do not take full grievance. Yes, I had such arguments brought to my attention on such things, and taxes akin to it that some believe they should be exempt from. However, they were put in place for a reason, and I ask that you please have a bit more trust in me and my advisors. Understand?”

Applejack nodded furious thankful nothing worse would happen. Celestia nodded back, and waved them away. The two were gone almost instantly, as Twilight decided to talk to Applejack about her questions this time. “So, there is no discrimination, just annoyance?”

Applejack panted out, “Yes,” before slumping back against a wall, and sliding down, her heart finally beginning to calm down.

Twilight blushed a bit as she laid down next to Applejack. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to screw that up so badly.” She shook her head, before gently knocking a hoof against it. “I should have asked you to clarify first.”

Applejack looked over to the beautiful set of green eyes besides her, and decided to simply shrug. “I suppose we got off pretty easy, so no harm, no foul. I will admit though,” she looked away from Twilight for a moment, “I didn’t know that you knew I had a stallion’s member between my legs. Most mares find it unnatural, or disturbing to meet a futa like me, but even with you being time displaced, you decided to ignore it. That means… that means so much to-” She stopped, having looked back to Twilight, who’s eye was twitching, and as wide as it could be.

“What?”

Coming Home

Sunset took in a deep breath as the chariot flew through the clouds. To one side of her stood Celestia, her wonderful tutor, with a wing over her student to keep her warm. On the other side, bounced Spike, who eagerly jumped about in the chariot, excited for what was to come. She was too of course. While the extended sabbatical at Canterlot had allowed her a chance to relax and catch up with her mentor, she was more than ready to see her friends. Especially, Twilight.

Spike rattled his claws on the hard wood, his smile trying to match the sun in brightness. “So, what do you think Pinkie will have done? Huge cakes, streamers, maybe a statue in the likeness of a certain dracolich you know?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Sorry little guy, but from what I know, it’s just that first one. Besides, why would she make a statue of you when your creator is also getting announced today?”

Spike didn’t even flinch at the words, a black tongue coming across his fangs. “Well, let’s look at the track record. Every time Twilight and I have come to blows, she is the one that ends up in a wall.”

Celestia giggled at the two’s banter, looking at them from the corner of her eye. “Remember that you were even littler then, and when she finds out just how tough you are now, I doubt she’ll hold back if you two, ‘come to blows’.”

Spike’s smile finally faded as his eyes widened, the stretched skin over his jawline becoming more apparent with his frown. “Sh-she wouldn’t do anything that drastic though… right?”

Celestia shrugged. “While I doubt she would do anything you may consider severe, one must remember what has happened to my sister, who so often incites the spirit’s anger.”

Sunset watched as Spike looked at the wall of the chariot, and rubbed the top of his head, chuckling slightly as he squinted. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You know she loves you, just like us. Now, think about the food and friends you’ll be able to have by the end of today, instead of anything stupid like rivalries between companions. Okay?”

Spike nodded, once more peering over the edge as they broke through the cloudline. Before them was the small town of Ponyville. In the center stood the town hall, surrounded by dozens of ponies, all awaiting the princess and her prodigy. It was none of this though that had the three slack jawed. That was due to the cake that was almost the size of the town hall, and the pink pony that grinned on top of it. Celestia’s tongue ran along her muzzle, and she quickly whispered to the pegasi pulling the chariot, “Let us down on the cake. I want to… inspect it, closely.”

The chariot quickly swerved in the air, and changed its course for the cake. Pinkie only seemed to bounce more and more with each moment. Sunset was looking up for her friend as they arrived, even though the cloud cover now hid the pink pony, and could faintly hear, although it was growing louder, “Daaaaash!” Sunset put a barrier to protect herself from the frosting splatter, while Spike and Celestia both stretched their jaws, getting a mouthful of the yellow sugar as Pinkie got back onto the cake.“Umm, Princess, you seem to have something on your face.”

Celestia opened her eyes, the rest of her head now yellow, before her magic collected it all, and put the practical sugar cube into her mouth. She gently munched on it as she turned to Pinkie. “Not anymore.”

“Nope!” Pinkie then trotted forward and wrapped her hooves around Sunset. “It’s so good to see you again!”

Sunset hugged back, blushing slightly as she could feel more and more ponies gazes’ upon her. “It’s good to see you too Pinkie. Don’t you think you went a little overkill on the cake though?”

Pinkie leaned back, her dead pan eyes staring at Sunset. “First, you can never go too big on a cake.”

Celestia involuntarily grinned. “I can agree with this.”

“And two, this cake is to celebrate your return, and the return of my sister. I still don’t think this is big enough, but it’s the largest I could make!”

Celestia put a hoof to her mouth, her mind already coming up with solutions to this dire problem.. “I’ll need to see about changing this fact for future dates.”

Pinkie sighed, shaking her head with Celestia, but for wholly different reasons. “Though, if I were to be honest, it’s not like Marble could really enjoy the cake anyways.”

Celestia and Sunset were glancing at each other as a gray head came out of the cake, staying invisible to all but Pinkie, though Spike still waved to her. “Umm, I don’t want to push, but don’t you all have things to do?”

Pinkie’s eyes widened, before she nodded furiously. “Celestia, you can have a half of the cake later, but don’t you think we should possibly move forward with the ceremony?”

The princess glanced over, her chest tightening as she did so. No matter how many times she went through the reasons why this should work, she could never be absolutely confident.. Now though, she had to put faith in her subjects, lest she leave Equestria forever in the dark. Celestia turned on her back hooves, and looked over the largest part of the crowd. Even Pinkie knew by the sound of the princesses hooves on the cake that it was time to be quiet.

Celestia nodded again once all was stilled, and cleared her throat. “First, might I say that I am overjoyed by how you have treated my faithful student, Sunset Shimmer.” She unfolded a wing, gesturing to Sunset by putting it behind her. “Even before she proved herself as an Element of Harmony, you welcomed her with open hooves. Where she had come from, who she was, what she wanted, all of those things were irrelevant. Instead, what mattered was the pony beneath the bacon mane.”

A laugh burst from the crowd, and Sunset’s eye twitched ever so slightly. It only got worse as Pinkie fell over, her legs flailing in the air. “Oh my Celestia, it does lo-oomph!” She had been cut off abruptly by a ‘gentle’ nudge by Sunset to quiet her down.

Celestia beamed at her subjects, their jovial nature filling her with determination. To think they would have panicked simply by meeting her was a Canterlot mindset, not what she considered the Equestrian mindset. “I’m happy you all seem to share in my sentiment, for it is this sentiment that I place my trust in when I tell you the next piece of news I have.” It took a few moments, but the laughter died out fairly quickly, before all eyes were on the princess. “Tell me, would you believe me if I told you that there was a wraith in your midst?”

Applejack raised her hoof, along with Rarity. Rainbow would have as well, but while in the cloud cover, she saw no real point. Outside of that, nopony budged, though they did murmur in confusion. Celestia nodded to herself. “Well, how would you react if I told you that there was indeed one here?”

“Why I would be simply appalled!”

Sunset’s eyes widened, before glancing at Celestia. The slightest twitch of a smile at the corner of the ruler’s lips told her everything she needed to know, and Sunset got prepared not to burst from holding back laughter.

“I mean, do you know what one of us could do?” Twilight’s head popped out the cake at their hooves, cocked to the one side so as to keep one ear stuck in the creamy substance. “We could summon an undead manticore over at the playground to terrorize the school fillies… though, Fluffy did get bored pretty quick and started letting them ride him instead.”

Celestia paled as she realized that second part wasn’t on the list.

Twilight shook her head furiously, before narrowing her eyes again and floating higher. “I could even be powerful enough to have kept the ice cream in this cake, all five layers of it, nice and cold, even though I can’t eat any of it!”

Celestia continued pretending to be worried, leaving her jaw wide open, even as she began to salivate.

“Add on top of that, having the ability to do this,” Twilight shot a wave of cold at the ground, and everypony watched as a statue of a filly Celestia, Sunset, and Twilight, curled up and sleeping, appeared on the ground, “and who knows what sort of danger I could have posed to these ponies!”

For a moment, all was quiet. Even Sunset kept to silent embarrassment, wishing her younger self was not on display for everypony else. This was eventually broken by three ponies rearing back and screaming, “The horror, the horror!” Every eye turned to them as they fell to the ground, and the ponies on the cake paled.

Doctor Hooves trotted forward and placed a hoof on one of the easily spooked flower ponies’ necks. “Her heartbeat is only that of a regularly scared ponies, meaning they were just startled. Even they don’t buy the wraith being a threat!”

A laugh burst through the crowd as a sigh of relief escaped Sunset, Celestia, and Twilight. Pinkie tapped the cake, and a column of it flattened out, before steps jutted out. Celestia paused for a moment, but upon seeing her student not even flinch, decided not to ask any questions. Soon, all five of them were heading on down to their waiting audience.

======+++++======

Sunset stepped into the library, smiling to herself as she saw a purple tail swishing back and forth. “Now, what would Celestia say if she saw that you had ducked out of your own party?”

Twilight glanced over to her friend while raising a single eyebrow. “And what about you?”

The yellow mare shrugged. “She expects it more from me.” She then laid beside Twilight, looking at the light romance novel in front of her. A fire set themselves almost immediately to her cheeks, before she coughed in an attempt to remove the annoying blush. “So, what has you reading that sort of junk?”

Twilight flipped the page with a grin. “I found out about the genre from Rarity, and after giving me a sweet example of a countess and the floating demon she knew, I thought I should look into it more.”

Sunset’s eyelids slowly moved to half closed as her mind worked on ideas for exactly why the diva may have chosen such a regal example. “Oh really? Well, I would suggest stopping. Those stories go the same way everytime. If the two main leads don’t end up getting together, it’s only because the author is trying to play to all their fans, and not piss any of them off, so none of them get together.”

A small bit of laughter escaped Twilight as she closed the book for the moment. “First, the author could instead write a tale for each pairing, and I’d love to see that. Secondly, you and Rainbow Dash share the thought that I should stop reading these, though she always follows up with wanting me to focus on the beautiful sunsets we share, and not her either. I don’t know why she feels like she has to especially rule herself out though when it comes to my focus.”

Sunset’s eye twitched as she ground her teeth. “I have no-” She stopped, spotting a gray spirit over Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight, who is that?”

The wraith glanced over, before jumping up and hugging Marble. “Oh, this is Marble Pie. She came with me from Pinkie’s home after I fixed some stuff there. While she needs to get out of this really weird habit of hers of calling me master, don’t you think she is just the cutest?”

Sunset blinked, before a massive grin appeared on her face and she shut her eyes. “Excuse me for a moment. I’ll respond when I come back.”

Twilight watched as her friend galloped towards one of the side rooms, waving a hoof as the door slammed. “We’ll be out here!”

The door shook for a moment, a loud bang echoing from within, before smoke began trailing out. It would be a few hours before Sunset came out, her mane smoldering still. By then, she was blissfully alone for her time pretending to stab Rarity and Rainbow on her friendship planning map, before making a doll for the Marble character so she could then smash it with a hammer! While this morning she had been excited to sleep in her bed again, she got none as she… relaxed.

Author's Note

First Ponyville, THEN THE WORLD!

So, since this was used more so to actually have Sunset come back more than anything, instead of just appearing back, I'm going to use this as a chance to say thank you. Twaith reached fifty-THOUSAND words a chapter or two ago, but that isn't even quite true, as the five sequels I've made make up another seventeen THOUSAND words. This puts Twaith at seventy thousand words, before this chapter even, in eight months. Not only does this make this the largest story by a large margin, it also makes up a seventh of my overall word count, at the time of this chapter.

And through all of it, you guys have been amazing. You've supported me, had fun discussions, made jokes, all that good stuff, and it has just always kept me going. So once more, thank you. I'll be coming out with another chapter later this week, and then, if I get off my lazy ass, hopefully will also be when I announce here the Twaith group that I will be creating, because at this point, I think it just makes sense for the AU to have a meeting ground. I'll see you all then, and hope you're excited for the end of the month. A new year will bring new faces, new dangers, and new tales to tell, and I can't wait to share them with you all.

Tallywhacker

“A little to the left Applejack.”

The farm mare tilted her head, before placing a hoof behind her ear. “What was that sugarcube? You’re going to need to speak up.”

Fluttershy bit into her cheek for a moment, shuffling her forehooves for a moment before turning to the hoof on her back. There she saw the still soot covered Sunset causing her horn to glow. “You should be good now.”

Fluttershy tried to whisper, “Thank you,” but instead, due to the amplification spell, said it loud enough to blow away part of the pillow maze that had been set up. Sunset covered her ears, her mane now shooting straight away from her head while her eyes stayed shut. While Sunset was trying to figure out who was shelling her house, and not realizing that she needed to turn down the spell’s effects, Rarity spotted a few leaves within the student’s mane, left from the tree that had come down into the house earlier that evening.

“You really do need to take care of your mane better honey.”

Sunset tried turning to the distorted sound before yelling, “What?”

“I’m so-” Fluttershy stopped as Rarity put one hoof to the batpony’s mouth, and the other on Sunset’s horn, causing the poor unicorn to leap into a tower of pillows that then collapsed onto Applejack. Fortunately, it had also stopped the loudspeaker boom that came from Fluttershy. “Thank you Rarity.”

Applejack forced her way out of the pillows, her blindfold ripped off long before her re-emergence. “Would anypony care to explain to me what just happened?”

Rarity sipped her tea, shrugging. “Sunset, you may want to try not using any more magic tonight. Burning the tree away and helping contain the ensuing inferno seems to have put you out of whack.”

Before the yellow unicorn could respond, a pillow covered her face, causing her to flail as Rarity finally got to rid Sunset’s face of the soot on it. Applejack, still confused from the avalanche, and tired from combating the fire Sunset had started earlier, in her own house no less, took the pillow to mean something else. Soon, the fashionista amongst them yelped as her horn impaled the pillow directed at her.

Before the ensuing pillow fight could get any worse, Fluttershy darted underneath one of the piles of fluffy white death balls, before crying out from her defense being pulled away. Sunset now stood on all four hooves, with about twelve pillows floating around her. Two of Applejack’s and one of Rarity’s were deflected away before the war mage began to plan her offensive strategy. Three were targeted for Rarity when Fluttershy, remembering about the loudspeaker incident not even five minutes ago, put her hooves onto Sunset’s horn, turning it off again. Eleven of the pillows simply fell with a soft thump, The last one though, shook, her magic not quite leaving it yet. The four watched it, paling as the aura around it became stronger with every passing moment. In almost the blink of an eye, the pillow moved, moving straight to the left and smashing into one of the side rooms. Pieces of wood and a door knob came flying away from the debris while the set of mares were deathly silent.

Sunset swallowed hard, before coughing. “So, maybe I shouldn’t use anymore magic tonight. Who else agrees?”

Before any of them could respond, a scream came from the destroyed room, and Twilight rushed out. The wraith left icy trails in the air as she came to a stop, panting hard. Sunset paled, trying to get rid of any pillows around her, but instead succeeded in sending one through the front door. “Twilight, I’m so sorry if I disturbed your reading.”

The wraith turned her head one more time, her eyes landing on her target, before yelling, “Rarity!”

Applejack’s eyebrow rose as she muttered, “Rarity?”

Sunset on the other hoof collapsed to the ground, whispering, “Oh, thank sweet Celestia.”

Rarity stepped back as Twilight floated down, and only now could the fashionista notice the red tinges throughout the spirit’s essence. This didn’t really comfort her though. “Yes, d-darling? What might it be?”

Twilight floated a book in front of her face, before smacking it with a hoof. “This!”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “A book? What, did she tear a page or something?”

“No!”

Rarity put a hoof to her muzzle. She vaguely remembered the book the wraith was holding up, as it was one of the romance novels she had loaned to Twilight for the mare’s research into the genre. Nothing clearly rung a bell as to what may be the issue though. “What about it Twilight? Are you not a fan of Grognak?”

Twilight shook her head rapidly, before leaning into Rarity’s ear, her essence brightening as she spoke. “I-it has a stallion’s tallywhacker in it? Why would a book have that?”

The white mare leaned back, staring at the ceiling. She had the smallest of suspicions that she may have lent the wraith one of those types of romance novels, but the word she used to possibly describe a stallion’s member seemed… improbable? “Tallywhacker?”

Twilight nodded furiously, a brighter shade of red coming to more of her essence with each moment. “You know… the thing, that, um…” Twilight began making small ice figurines in the air, but they keep shattering before they’re finished, her essence and magic in too much chaos to finish the spells.

Sunset stepped forward. “Did I hear that right? Tallywhacker? Are you sure you don’t mean a tail wacker?”

Twilight shook her head as she waved her hooves in front of her. “No! I know because it wasn’t going for the mare’s tail, but instead her, umm, thingamajig.”

Rarity’s jaw went slack as words failed her, but neither one of the other two had quite realized what was going on. Applejack tilted her head, before taking off her hat. “Sugarcube, could you please just describe them if you don’t know the words?”

None of Twilight was the right color now as she screamed, “Why would somepony even describe their potty areas? Are you insane?” She than slammed her hooves over her mouth, floating back as her eyes stared into nothing because of what she had said.

Applejack, Rarity, and Sunset simply stared into the sky, trying to comprehend what they had just heard. Each of them had long ago assumed that Twilight was a bit innocent of course, as it came with being from the time she was from. ‘Potty areas’ though, was beyond what any of them had expected.

“Sugarcube, you do know that it’s called a pus-”

A small, mushroom cloud appeared on the ceiling of the treehouse, drowning out Applejack with a loud, thunderous boom as Sunset’s eyes twitched. The unicorn still was trying to handle all of this, but she knew one thing. She did not want to do this tonight.

Rarity had noticed where the magical explosion had come from, and stepped over to the blushing mare. “What, is that too crass for you? I will admit that the farm way of putting something as elegant as a vag-” A pillow cut Rarity off, missing her by centimeters as it crashed through another part of the house. Spike’s distant cursing could be heard as Rarity turned back to Sunset, an idea forming. “Darling, do you know what it’s called?”

Sunset froze for a moment, before an almost audible creak could be heard while she turned her neck so as to face Rarity. “Of course I do.” She slapped her hooves over her mouth, her voice having cracked at the worst possible moment.

Applejack had noticed this too, and instead of trying to talk to Twaith and risk getting everything here destroyed, she trotted over to Sunset and nudged her in the side. “Oh, then I’m guessing you don’t mind me talking about big, meaty c-”

“I will destroy you if you do not shut up!”

“Oh, maybe I should lend you a few books. I mean, it’s never a bad idea to refresh yourself on the wonders of tentacles as they suspend you in the air, keeping you still just as one probes your vulnerable tea-”

“You will be silent before I nuke this whole place!”

Both Rarity and Applejack almost burst into tears as Sunset’s coat now matched the other half of her mane. She then thanked Celestia when she noticed Fluttershy come over. “Please tell me you understand why right now is not the time, right?”

Fluttershy ran a hoof along the floorboards, before looking back to Twilight, who was currently locked in position in the air, small, choked sounds escaping her from time to time. “M-maybe as you’re all doing it. She just needed to know the natural stuff, not any of your weirder, umm, things.”

All three heard it, and the laughter slowed down, until all were simply staring at the still wraith, and the shuffling batpony. Rarity blinked a few more times, before swallowing hard. “Fluttershy, what did you just do?”

The shy mare rubbed one foreleg on the other one as she looked down. “I just told her about stallion’s testicles and mare’s vaginas. On top of that, what they’re used for. Of course, I just kept to the natural stuff that I’ve helped my animals with, so anything more…” she blushes hard, putting a hoof over her muzzle, “is a bit out of my depth, like, um, t-tentacles.”

The three mares simultaneously blinked at Fluttershy before Applejack stood up. “Well, I’m going to bed.”

“I think I’ll join you. Sunset, will you be up shortly?”

Sunset though, was already gone, having opted out for teleportation. She missed her bed by about thirty miles, but quickly decided that Ghastly Gorge might be a better place to spend her night, even if the storm that had caused the sleepover in the first place had not subsided yet. Fluttershy merely hummed to herself as she waved them good night, beginning to look around the library for something to read. She had not expected getting the tree she sought shelter in being knocked over would lead to such a fun night, but she was definitely not about to complain. Instead, she put the book she had found beside Twilight, and began reading, a blush coming over her face as she wondered if she would ever be able to put to practice the things she knew on Twilight someday, and how wonderful that might be.

Author's Note

I really should make another chapter of Succulight, shouldn't I? Anyways, have a somehow even more SFW fic, Twaith Tries to Masturbate, which takes place shortly after this, and an announcement that I did successfully create the Twaithverse group! So yeah, tons of exciting things going on!

Hearthswarming Eve

Rainbow Dash set herself down just behind the little orange filly that was waiting for her. Winter had come pretty late for the town of Ponyville, but the light snow on the ground still made Rainbow stop her breathing, not wanting to ruin the surprise. Scootaloo merely kept humming though, unaware of the blue pegasus behind her. Rainbow grinned, keeping her wings spread.

With one, strong wingbeat, she pushed all the snow between them forward, bowling over Scootaloo. Rainbow howled as she saw the pile of snow rustled, and Scootaloo’s tail flicked back and forth from the snow. She relented pretty quickly though, and helped her little filly get out. “Right on time squirt, just like I promised.”

Scootaloo beamed at Rainbow while getting the top of her head gently rubbed. She had set up the day today, and Rainbow could remember the unbelievable excitement that she had when she said yes. Of course, nothing would have stopped her from stopping by, not when she had been busy getting ready for this year’s Hearthswarming play in Canterlot. Of course, Scootaloo’s ticket was still tucked into her primary feathers, but those didn’t matter. “So, what’s the plan? Sledding, snowball fight, what?”

Scootaloo bit into her cheek as she glanced to the side. “Well, actually, if you wouldn’t mind, I was hoping that maybe you could come back to the orphanage with me. With the flu outbreak recently, the nurses haven’t been able to set up the decorations and I know you could make the whole place look awesome!”

Rainbow jumped into the air, hovering with her legs crossed in what she called the old thinking position. While it didn’t sound like the funnest thing in the world, it wouldn’t be unheard of. Unfortunately, she remembered the lackluster donated lights from last year, and there was no way she was going to live with those if she was putting them up. A smile spread over her face as she nodded. “Meet me at the orphanage squirt, I need to get somepony.”

Scootaloo furrowed her brow, but before she could ask, Rainbow had already taken off.

======+++++======

Rainbow lifted one of the shimmering garlands up, ignoring the frost that gave it that very shimmer. Looking out, she could see Twilight nodding, before she put the pin into the wood for it. Beside her was her little squirt, stuck inside a mess of lights that now counted Scootaloo as a part of it. Behind them were the other kids currently at the orphanage who were playing with the undead manticore. She kind of felt bad for it, as it was completely taken down by the about seven little ponies.

“So, what’s next?”

Rainbow gently flapped her way down, before setting herself down beside Scootaloo. “Well, lets see. We have garlands with dark frost on them, you ripped a tree right out of the Everfree,”

“Was I not supposed to?”

Scootaloo waved a hoof from within her entrapment. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

“Me neither. However, I think that’s enough time in there for you Scoots. Twilight, can you help?”

Twilight pointed to the tree in corner, still bare of ornamentation. “Over there, right?”

Rainbow slightly nodded as she looked for the end of the cord. “Yeah, at least for this set. I just wish they were some color besides white.”

Scootaloo nodded in agreement, right as a black aura came to the end right in front of her face. A choked squeal escaped the ball of plastic and fuzz as the lights shot forward, Twilight’s magic working both ends so as to get rid of the knots while they hung themselves. Rainbow watched the blinding speed of the lights, making sure to keep an eye on the orange blur that was hanging on for her life. Twilight jumped slightly when Rainbow leapt into the air, catching Scootaloo just after she was launched.

The wraith let out a low whistle, before a slight touch of crimson touched her essence. “Oh, um, whoops.”

Rainbow shrugged, slowly letting Scootaloo down. “I knew I could do it, don’t worry. I’m just impressed that you were able to hold on for so long squirt, good job.”

Twilight smiled to herself as she watched Rainbow ruffle Scootaloo’s mane, and drifted over while the orange filly went to tell the others that they could start putting decorations onto the now glowing tree. “So, what are Scootaloo and you? Is she your…” She frowned for a moment, knowing that Rainbow was maybe ten years older than the little filly.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, before realizing what Twilight meant, and she raised a hoof as she chuckled. “Oh, no, never! Just isn’t in my plans. Nah, I’m just someone she likes to hang out with, and seeing her smile feels good, so I make sure to make time for her every now and then.” The blue pegasus gave Twilight a large grin, before realizing an odd burning sensation in her cheeks.

Twilight smiled back, her tail flicking back and forth, before she tapped her muzzle. “Wait, isn’t that your excuse for usually making time for me?”

Rainbow blinked again, before seeing the star for the tree, and thanking for any sort of escape from the conversation. She let her wings out, before shooting forwards and picking it up. With one bounce she came back and picked up Scootaloo, who was now holding the star. It took the little filly a few moments to figure out what was going on while the two spun around the tree, but she had it by the time they got to the top.

Rainbow almost dropped the filly when she saw Twilight waiting for them. She merely smiled though, before grabbing Scootaloo by the barrel as well. Hanging between them, Scootaloo blinked.

Something felt… weird. Scootaloo blinked, wondering why tears felt like they were trying to come to them. She wasn’t sad though, and no one else was. She looked from the bright green eyes of Twilight, who beamed at her once they made eye contact, to the magenta eyes she had gotten closer and closer to for the past few years Those were matched by a grin, and a tear began coming down her face. Rainbow began tilting her head, and opened her mouth. She had noticed the oddness too, and Scootaloo didn’t want to risk everything getting weird.

Twilight was blissfully unaware of all of this, even when the little filly in her hooves pushed forward and almost dropped the star as it was placed. Rainbow bit into her cheek, but decided to ignore the oddity as she flew closer, nuzzling into Scootaloo’s cheek as the star sprang to life. “Happy Hearthswarming squirt.”

Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief as she nuzzled back. “Happy Hearthswarming Rainbow.”

For the rest of the night, the three enjoyed carols, rides on Fluffy, and games with the other foals that resided in the orphanage. Nurse Redheart came during the festivities, and was amazed at the decorations put up, though was suspect that the ice was supposedly not going to melt. At least, until Twilight waved her hoof through her face.

When the night came though, Scootaloo began walking towards the front door with a long yawn. “So, I’ll see you when you get back to Ponyville?” A flap was what met her in response, and she saw Rainbow’s wing in her peripheral. Tucked between two of them were a set of papers, and she bit into her lip, before biting into the slips. Looking at them caused her jaw to go slack as Scootaloo simply stared.

“And, to sweeten the deal, I can stay the night, so we can have breakfast together before going to the train.”

Scootaloo spun around, her eyes shining. “R-really?”

Rainbow nodded, before looking away, her tail swishing behind her. “I’ll even cuddle you, but only if you don’t tell anypony, okay?” She got no response to her question as the filly tackled her to the ground. The two of them laughed as they rolled on the ground, and Twilight watched from above.

One the two were in bed though, Twilight floated to the side of the mattress, holding her hooves up as she pretended to swallow. “Um… can, can I join you two?”

Rainbow thanked the darkness as a crimson blush came over her cheeks. “B-but you don’t need any sleep.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t need snuggles!”

Scootaloo felt her heart almost skip a beat at the playful banter, her tail involuntarily swishing behind her as she looked between the mare she respected above any other, and the cute one that was by far the most interesting thing she had ever met. Then again, a nice wraith was pretty hard to beat. She held her hooves out. “I… I would love you to stay with us!”

Rainbow stayed quiet for a moment, before taking in a deep, shaking breath. “Well, you heard the kid, but… don’t think this means anything, okay?”

Twilight nuzzled against Scootaloo’s stomach before wrapping her hooves around the both of them. “Thank you Scootaloo. And Rainbow Dash, why would it? It’s not like close friends can’t snuggle all night from time to time.”

Rainbow Dash thanked everything she could think of, including Discord, for Twilight’s innocence as the three went to sleep.

Author's Note

I expect one of these day that all of you are going to team up and try to re-enact Steven King's Mercy on me until I have gone and done every ship and concept I have teased in this. We'll see what happens though.

I do have another Hearthswarming chapter prepped for actual Hearthswarming Eve, I just like to stagger my posts and I don't entirely like posting on Christmas. So yeah, I'll see you then! Happy Holidays for anyone who begins early.

Hearthswarming Play

“Achoo!”

Twilight turned her head to the sound, having just finished putting a bowtie onto Spike, who was also in a small suit, designed by Rarity for the narrator of the play. All of the costumes had been made by the slightly overworked mare, though she kept denying that she was overworked. Now though, Twilight might have proof. She floated towards the back where her friend should be changing. “Rarity, was that you?”

The white mare stretched out her neck, her normally curly mane having been straightened so as to fit her role better. She turned to the sound and saw Twilight floating there. She thought quickly, picking up her blush and waved it. “I just used a bit too much and it went up my nose. That’s all.”

Twilight bit into her cheek before mentally shrugging and floating over. “I like your robe. Grandma did always like to wear earthy colors. That, or it was her excuse as to why she didn’t wear nicer things.”

Rarity blinked as the wraith before her giggled, and tilted her head. “Wait, Sunset always told us you were old, but Clover the Clever was your grandma?”

Twilight nodded as she landed. “Yeah, though I didn’t know her well. My mom usually liked me to keep my distance from her, even when she came to visit our little hut. She was definitely a great mage though, and one of Celestia’s closest advisors. Well, at least, until she began to go a touch off the deep end.”

Rarity held a hoof up to her mouth, before swallowing hard and frowning a touch. “I’ve… I’ve always wondered about this play being true. It doesn’t include the princesses, but it includes one of their closest advisors. Not only that, but it’s supposedly the founding of Equestria. Did… did they tell this tale when you were a filly?”

Twilight blinked for a few moments before looking down. “I… I don’t think so. From what I can remember, Equestria was founded by the princesses after they beat back Discord’s madness.” She rubbed her chin for a moment, watching as Rarity looked down. Soon her hooves came together and she nodded to herself. “I think I might know why though.”

Rarity glanced up. “Wh-Achoo!”

A hoof was almost immediately in the white mare’s face as Twilight glared. “I’ll tell you my thought, but only if you admit that you worked too hard on all of this and got a cold.”

With a roll of her eyes, Rarity hid the thanks in her eyes for Twilight not realizing that her whole body felt like it was frozen; she was that warm. “Yes, the last few days have been rough, and I did catch something. The show must go on though.” Her heart spasmed slightly as she noticed Twilight’s downwards glance, and she let out a slight sigh. “I promise not to push it too hard, okay?”

Twilight looked up before she pretended to scratch the back of her head. “Fine. I’ll even still tell you the thought I had.” She floated up, small figures of Celestia, Luna, and Discord appearing. “The old tale was simple and short. The two princesses, using the absolute force of harmony, fought back the chaos that had corrupted the land, and its god Discord was forced to stone, where he would never move, never cause chaos. Once the two had recovered, they went to the recovering ponies and promised them safety and harmony. The ponies agreed, and so Equestria began.” She floated back down, the figures going away. “What might be missing there?”

Rarity put a hoof to her forehead, pretending to think as she checked to make sure she wasn’t getting too warm. “I suppose a sense of epicness?”

Twilight cocked her head and shrugged. “That’s part of it. The other might be the lack of other ponies. Nowhere in there are the citizens of Equestria a part of their country; they were just in the right place at the right time. With your tale, it’s because of them that this country exists, and that helps ponies bond together, instead of simply worshipping the already amazing princesses.”

Before Rarity could agree, Sunset poked her head through the curtains. She wore a large, platinum crown, having won the role by the simple logic of being the royal representative for Ponyville, rather than a fashionista. Her eyes narrowed at Rarity after spotting Twilight being there as well and hissed out, “Places. We go on in five.”

Rarity’s eyes widened as she held up a hoof. The cowl of the robe was soon thrown over her head, and she broke into a sprint for the stage while Twilight yelled, “Break a hoof!”

======+++++======

Trixie sat beside Twilight, the two of them high above the stage as they moved into the final scene. Both were considered the effects ponies, and the whole room began to chill as Twilight’s horn glowed. At this point, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity were in an authentic ice cave, built in a matter of minutes by Twaith between acts. She had tried to say they shouldn’t, but Rarity wanted the play to be as authentic as they could get it, so she knew the three down there must be freezing. “Get your fire prepped Trixie. They’ll probably really be needing it when the time comes.”

Trixie nodded, watching as the scene played out. The silence being broken, the three beginning to speak while ice came closer and closer to them. Twilight narrowed her eyes as Rarity began her first tale. Her voice was much weaker than it had been before, and she could tell that the unicorn was trembling. Her essence bristled at the sight, and she bit into her cheek.

A glance came from the kitsune beside her, before Trixie’s voice slipped in between them. “When the fire comes, would you like a flash of light too? I don’t think Rarity is doing so well.”

Twilight frowned as she tapped the railing in front of them. She was worried for her friend, but if they removed Rarity, it might just end up causing issues as far as the ending went. An idea formed in her mind though, and she slowly nodded. “Yeah, I would really appreciate if you did that.”

The ice began to slide onto the ponies as a flame appeared between the three of them. It was Applejack who was speaking now, and she stumbled on her words as Rarity panted, her body lowering more and more with each passing line she had to whisper. As the ice touched their necks, the light of the flame became close to that of a small sun, blinding all watching. Twilight moved fast, black balls of magic attaching themselves to different parts of the hall as she grabbed Rarity and teleported them both to the back.

She watched as Rarity breathed in and out for a few moments, before looking up and seeing Trixie nodded to her. Twilight nodded back, her words already chosen. The black balls in the other room sparked, and began broadcasting.

“I am the spirit of the windigos. Because of your heartfelt compassion for one another, I will leave. Your lesson has been learned, and friendship restored. After so long though, I do not wish to see such a vile state return, so I have taken your pretty white mare-”

Sunset grit her teeth backstage, wondering where Twilight and Rarity had gone.

“-and my brothers and I will be transforming her into something that you may all rally around. Soon they will come, and soon they will help you with what may come next.” Twilight’s horn glowed one more time, and Celestia had to throw a blanket over her popcorn munching sister before everypony saw the filly princess. She smiled widely, acting like she knew this was coming, while also wishing Twilight could have warned her in any way.

Twilight soon heard Spike giving the end narration, his own mind working fast enough to get out about the same message, while also acting like her speech right then was not improvised. A sigh was able to escape the wraith, and she turned to her friend who was holding onto her. Twilight nuzzled Rarity back, smiling to herself as she waited for everypony else to come to the backroom, but also enjoying the time with the fellow unicorn who was so close to her.

Outside the window, a small bit of frost came over it, and a small, blue filly pointed at the wraith. A gray mare with pink hair floated outside with the windigo. No pony would recognize her for the thousand year old spirit she is, trapped here by the way she tried to leave. At least now it gaze her the warm sight of her little filly so happy.

“So that’s your daughter? She's very pretty.”

Ghastly Aura nodded, a spectral tear coming down her face. “Yes, yes she is. I’m… I’m just happy that she has made friends, even after my mistake.”

The small filly put a hoof against Ghastly’s side, her vacant, white and ice blue eyes shining in the night. “Why don’t you go say hi?”

A smile crossed Ghastly’s face as she shook her head. “No Snowdrop, I can’t. I chose what my privileges were with her when I used that stupid spell that made her into this."

Snowdrop hugged the other mare tight. “If it counts for anything, she looks like the type that would forgive you.”

“I know,” Ghastly spoke softly as she turned away, the voices of Twilight's friends growing louder in her ears,, “but it is not she who needs to forgive me first.” She glanced up one more time and whispered, “Happy Hearthswarming my little one, may it be happier than any I gave you in your seclusion.”

Author's Note

Happy Hearthswarming everypony, and enjoy the peace. When the new year begins, the next arc begins.

Two Twilight's and an Eldritch God

Author's Note

A crossover collab done with my friend Foals Errand and her comment driven story, Tiny Twilight Tales, where she hopes to use Twaith more in the future, though we'll see with her update schedule. For now, have a chapter about Twaith wanting to meet the most adorable version of herself that can be found, and Cthulhu helping so he can pet more kitten ponies.

Two Twilight's and an Eldritch God

The night was young, but for the small, lavender filly, tucked under her blue, silk sheets, that meant she was fast asleep. Her gentle breaths filled the room as a pair of gleaming green eyes, and red pits of madness and destruction gazed upon her. Slowly, two clawed fingers came over, and gently stroked the filly’s mane, barely touching her head.

Twilight shifted a bit at the touch. “No wanna, Princess. No sun…”

The green eyes came closer, lending a small bit of chill to the air as she examined the little one. The shuffling had moved the blanket off, and while the taloned claws continued to pet the little filly, the spirit floating there made sure the blankets kept the foal warm. “She is as cute as you thought she may be.”

Twilight burbled before opening her eyes with a yawn. She then blinked. “Um, hello? Did the Princess send you? Are you my newest test?”

The purple spirit above her shook her head, before a gentle glow revealed to Twilight an oddly familiar face, along with a large smile that was beaming down to her. “No, but I had a crazy idea and I am so happy you, or I suppose I should say me, or should it be you? This is a different universe after all, so I don’t know if we are still considered one and the same. Hmm.” The spirit backed away a bit, along with the slight chill, as she rubbed her chin.

Twilight sat up eagerly in her bed “Oh wow! Are you really me all grown up? Are you super powerful? Do you still live with the princess? Are you her advisor now? Huh?”

The floating Twilight blinked a few times before throwing her hooves up into the air. “Oh sweet Celestia I wish! It would be so amazing to be Celestia’s advisor.” Her essence shimmered with excitement as she came closer. “And yes, I am you, but from an alternate universe! Can you guess what’s special about me? Other than the fact that I am much older than you.”

Little Twilight studied her older counterpart tapping her chin left ear flicking. “Well, You are flying did you super mega master levitation?”

The ghastly Twilight grinned, before declaring, “Nope!” Before the little one could respond, she administered the punishment for a wrong answer by igniting her horn with its black aura, and bringing the foal up to her, where she was promptly, and viciously, raspberried all over her barrel.

A squeal escaped Twilight as she giggled madly. “No fair! You know our tickles spot!”

The spirit let out a gasp before turning to the giant, eldritch monstrosity behind her. “Cthulhu!” A glow appeared over the foal’s tummy. “Right here! Scratch her right here!”

The god moved his claw forward, slowly coming closer and closer to her. The point met the filly stomach, before gently beginning to scratch and tickle the little filly as the he laughed, his chuckle distorting small bits of the room.

Twilight began kicking her left back legs howling with laughter “‘Another chance! I want another chance to guess!” Her little horn lit up trying to force the friendly monster’s claw away.

The giggling spirit took in a deep breath to try to relax, before she turned to Cthulhu. “You can pet me instead for now. She does deserve another chance, along with,” she quickly spun around as the claw moved away, before booping the filly’s nose, her hoof passing through her and leaving frost on little Twilight’s muzzle, “that as a hint.”

Twilight’s eyes light up. “Page thirty seven of the Monster-pedia! You’re a wraith!” She frowned “But I don’t get it. The book says that wraiths are really, really mean! In fact Shiny, and I never, ever even went looking for one when we were monster hunting because of that.” She cocked her head “But you’re really nice and you’re me!”

Twilight smiled even brighter before bowing. “You may call me Twaith, Twilight and wraith, so as to not get things confused. I am the daughter of Ghastly Aura and Night Watch, along with grand daughter of Clover the Clever. As for the whole mean thing, why does everything need to be mean?” She floated closer to the creature behind her, who was also gently scratching her head. “I mean, Cthulhu here is a being who rules over chaos, corruption and madness, and could make somepony’s head explode with a simple thought, but I don’t know many things that I would trust more in this world. He is even how I came to find you!”

Twilight eyes were huge with her jaw dropped “Clover the Clever? D-does that mean I’m the great infinity granddaughter to Clover the Clever?”

Twaith blinked a few times before tapping her chin and floating the filly closer. “I… I don’t know.”

“Wait that means you don’t have a BBBFF! That’s really sad.” Twilight reaches out to Twaith. “Twaith?”

She tilted her head, before pulling her into her chest, making sure she was corporeal first. “I have no idea what that means, but I do know the universal gesture for hugs!”

Twilight snuggled into Twaith’s chest before smiling. “It means Big Brother Best Friend Forever, but I had a great idea! Why don’t we share my BBBFF? And you can be my um.” She stopped and cocked her head “BSBFFWIAM!”

Twaith raised an eyebrow. “Big Sister Best Friend Forever... Who is Also Me! Yes, that sounds wonderful!” She hugged little Twilight even tighter as she giggled, before a thought occurred to her. “Who is you BBBFF though?”
“His name is Shining Armor he’s graduating from the Royal Guard academy soon! He says he’s gonna be the Princess’s captain!” Twilight beamed “He and Cadance play with me when they can but we’re all busy now!”

Twaith paled for a moment before letting out a slightly stinted laugh. “Wow, I never thought he would be my big brother. G-guess that’s another reason to give up that stupid little crush thingy. Right? He... hehe...he.”

Twilight blinked a few times, considering carefully what Twaith had said before scrunching up her muzzle “Yuck.”

Twaith nodded. “Yuck indeed! Of course, I have so many other ponies to get closer to that I don’t even see why having a crush would be something worthwhile. Why not just have really good friends, like yourself!” She beamed as Cthulhu gave a burble of agreement.

Twilight’s eyes flashed, revealing for a split second a white star. “Friends? Are you and Cthulu my friends now?”

Twaith looked down as Cthulhu's claws descended, gently stroking the backs of both mares while the spirit beamed at her younger self. “Why wouldn’t we be? You’re so smart and cute that I could just eat you-” her essence shivered for a moment and she shut her eyes, before a violent shake of her head brought her back to calm. “Umm, what was I saying?”

“Um something about eating- Hey! As a wraith do you eat food? Cause my tummy says it’s cookie o’ clock!” Twilight giggled

Twaith shook her head more as she cleared the last of the odder thoughts from her core away, before sniffling a little. “C-Cthulhu can get you some cookies,” which he promptly did in a shower of chocolate chip, sugar, and snickerdoodle cookies, “but I can’t eat any, no matter how…”

Twilight nuzzled to Twaith’s chest “What is it BSBFFWIAM? What’s wrong?”

Twaith pouted her lips as she looked to her LSBFFWIAM. “I… I can’t eat food. I don’t need it, but this cookie,” holding up a snickerdoodle, “when I go to eat it, I always lose my tangibility and bite my hooves, no matter how much I want to try it!”

“What if...what if I held it? I mean, since I’m you, we might be able to trick you into being able to try it!” Twilight smiled taking the snickerdoodle in her small forehooves “And if you do bite me, I won’t even make a noise. I promise!”

Twaith’s eyes shone as she looked at the cookie. She wouldn’t need to possess anypony or anything, she could just try it. With a small nod, she was ready, and slowly moved forward. Her mouth slowly opened, her essence bristling more with excitement each moment, before she lost control of her physical form, and merely added a layer of frost to the cookie. “Darn it!”

Twilight frowned at the cookie, her little horn flickering as she closed her eyes tight. The cookie was soon wrapped in her aura. Please work. Please, pretty please work… “Try again.”

Twaith eyed the cookie with a little suspicion, before leaning in again, and trying to take a bite. No amount of enchanting would stop her excitement from getting the best of her though, and she leaned back, pouting as small icicles formed on the cookie. “It’s fine. I didn’t want to eat you anyways!”

Cthulhu promptly began scratching the annoyed spirit harder in response to her frustrations.

Twilight stared at the cookie “...It’s not fair I want you to be able to taste the cookie and the Princess says my magic should help me do anything I want, and I want you to be able to eat the cookie!” Her eyes begin to glow white her horn glowing brightly forced on the cookie which after a few moments becomes see through.

Twaith blinked, before her mouth simulated the sensation of watering within itself, her essence wavering at places because of her excitement. She slowly leaned forward, and bit into the cookie.

It was divine.

“Oh sweet Celestia, this is amazing! How did I go on without-” She stopped her eyes widening further, before her screech pierced through the castle. “No! I’ll now know what I am missing out on!”

Twilight grabbed hold of her gently “I...I can teach you. I figured it out.” She began giggling “I just had to think out of the box!”

She tapped her chin for a few moments, before shaking her head. “I think it may be best for me not to. I want my own personal feast to happen when I figure it out! Wouldn’t that make it the best?”

“Oh yes! Will you let me be there too?” Twilight beamed up at her with eager eyes.

Twaith began bouncing up and down as Cthulhu looked to the door. “I would love for you to be there! We could eat sweets, pancakes, and Popsicles for days!”

“Oh yes! With lots of syrup!” Twilight hesitated a moment “Hey since you are from the future, I mean you are right?”

The spirit rubbed her chin for a moment, humming to herself as she thought. “I suppose I am. Why?”

“Well I was just wondering if you know why Princess Celestia gets so um, meon callie when I ask her to stargaze with me.” Twilight shrugged. “I keep asking, but she just says that I’ll know some day.”

Twaith bit into her lip, remembering how happy Celestia was to see Luna again, even as a filly. “I… I think that answer is for the best. Find out for yourself, just like me and the spell, right?”

“I think that is a lovely idea.” Celestia shut the door behind her with a soft click “Hmm what do we have here? A young wraith who looks like my student?” She cocked her head then smiled “My mistake. You’re Twilight, aren’t you my dear?”

Twaith looked around Cthulhu as the eldritch god waved hello. She bowed to the princess, before smiling. “Yes, I am, but from an alternate universe, and me and Cthulhu promise that we never intended to stay or to cause any harm tonight.”

“Oh my, dear Twilight, I have no fear of that. After all, you’ve been in here alone with Twilight for quite some time, and all her guards have reported to me have been happy giggles.” Celestia smiled gently before lifting a hoof and wrapping it around both of her little Twilights’.

The spirit nuzzled into Celestia’s chest, before pecking the smaller version of herself on the head. “I do suppose it’s time for us to go though. Some little filly needs her sleep, doesn’t she?”

Celestia smiled “Yes, I’m afraid so. though.” She chuckled a bit as she paused. Luna, I never thought I’d do this “You and Mr. Cthulhu are welcome to return to visit Twilight and myself, but let’s just try for before bedtime in the future, okay?”

Twaith nodded her agreement, and gave her small self one more hug as a portal appeared behind Cthulhu. “I’ll miss you, my most adorable version.”

The little filly hugged back with a small yawn before Celestia cleared her throat “Twilight, before you go may I ask you one question?”

The wraith turned to her, looking down as she tilted her head. “What is it, Celestia?”

Celestia opened her mouth, before stopping and instead gazed out the window, her eyes on the full moon, her question unasked, though clearly apparent.

The pull of the portal became stronger as Cthulhu stroked Celestia’s back and Twaith floated to just in front of the ruler, placing her hooves onto Celestia’s shoulder. “Do you really wanna know? Because I think the joy you feel will be far better if you don’t.”

Celestia turned to Twaith and smiled a single tear running down her cheek “Ten years isn’t that long. Come visit again soon my dear.”

Twaith nodded as bit of her essence left into the portal. “I look forward to next time then.”

And then, she was gone, leaving Twilight and Celestia alone. Twilight reached for the cookies, now in her bed, but found them being levitated by a golden aura. “But Princess Celestia, they were a gift!”

“And you can have them tomorrow, but right now, somepony should be sleeping.”

Twilight pouted for a moment, before being the good little student she was and curling up into her bed. She was just about to sleep, thoughts of the spirit’s next visit dancing around in her head, when she realized she felt something underneath her pillow. Pulling the soft cotton away, she spotted a single chocolate chip cookie, waiting for her. With a slight gasp she dove for it, and munched on it quietly as she went to sleep.

=====+++++======

Twilight shook herself free of the portal as they appeared back in Canterlot Castle. She let out a short whoop of joy as she spun, unable to believe what she just did. “Thank you, Cthulhu! I know it’s weird to cater to my requests, but…” She stopped as she looked back, and instead of the eldritch abomination, a note floated to the ground.

Dear Twilight,

I’m sorry my little kitten pony, but I must go. I may try to come back for one more visit soon, but forces even greater than me restrict your field of existence now. I would not worry, as this happens to all universes sooner or later, and it’s merely time for yours. I wish you the best of luck in these coming months, and promise to be back before Hearthswarming next year.

With a heavy heart,

Cthulhu

Twilight looked down with a sigh as she levitated the note to the side. She would miss her lovable god of chaos and his wonderful scratches. The taste of snickerdoodles came back to her mouth though, and she smiled. “Alright Cthulhu, you go rest. When you get back, we will have pancakes together!”

Her heart once more happy, Twilight floated away, already trying to figure out what her younger counterpart may have done to let her eat the cookie before.

Shocking News

“Achoo!”

Twilight glanced to Trixie as she lifted her head up, one of her eyebrows raised as the train came to a stop. They had been invited to Canterlot by Celestia to help with something, though apparently she didn't want to let them know the exact details until they were at the castle. The shield protecting the whole town might have explained it, but she wasn’t sure. So for now, she focused on her friend. “How are you coming down with a cold? We’re dead.”

Trixie glared at her as she shook her head, her fur standing on end. “It’s that stupid barrier. Trixie normally can detect and feel magic around me, but that thing must have been up for a while, because this whole place is just coated in its magic. You’re the only thing that stands out to Trixie clearly, with Sunset over there being fuzzy.”

Twilight tilted her head. “Is that a bad thing?”

Another sneeze escaped the fox spirit as they floated out of the train, following Sunset to the castle. “Trixie hopes not. A barrier like this, especially with that screening, should be enough to make it not matter if magical sensors won’t work. At least, as long as they know they're jamming their own signals.”

A small giggle escaped Twilight as she remembered the ten minute stop as they explained that Twilight was not about to nuke the town with how much evil magic was embedded in her. “I wouldn’t worry then. While I haven’t talked to him much, I know Shining Armor is an amazing captain of the guard.”

Sunset glanced back, her eye twitching at the mention of the annoying stallion. Recent developments with her friends of course, had not helped her thoughts towards him. “Even someone as highly praised as him can make mistakes.”

Pinkie grinned at Sunset. “Oh, you mean like you do?” She merely smiled as the yellow unicorn’s glare met her, and they were invited into the castle.

It wasn’t long before they entered the throne room. Standing in the middle of it were Celestia and Shining Armor, discussing in hushed tones to each other. Sunset rushed forward, before bowing before the two. “Captain, your highness, what is it that you might need? I know the barrier is to stop some sort of enemy, so if you wish for us to get the elements ready, consider it done.”

Shining slowly shook his head as he beckoned the unicorn to stand back up. “I don’t think we need anything that extreme. The barrier is for a threat we received, but we suspect it’s just to scare us while we prepare for the wedding tomorrow.”

Sunset’s eyes widened while a squeal escaped Rarity. The white unicorn rushed forward, smiling from ear to ear. “Please, please, please tell me I am here to make a royal, wedding gown!”

Shining smiled to Celestia, who slowly nodded. He then turned back to them, and cleared his throat. “Indeed. After ten months of being engaged, me and my sweet Cadance are finally getting married!”

Squeals of delight escaped the ponies, but Applejack stopped early, placing a hoof on her chin as something occurred to her. “Wait, you said tomorrow, but Rarity is making the dress? Shouldn’t you have it already?”

Celestia shook her head. “Unfortunately, the letter threatened those who help with the wedding as well, and the planners fled before anything was finished.”

“However,” Shining said while stepping forward, “Celestia told me how amazing you all were in your fields, and I would be happy to have you help me in my special day.”

Twilight floated forwards, and the news caught up with Sunset as she paled, watching the wraith closely. “Where is Cadance? Shouldn’t she be talking to us too?”

A sigh escaped the stallion. “She hasn’t been feeling the best, and I hope to soon go comfort her more. She should be fine for tomorrow though, and I’ll be by to check on all of yours plans later today. Is that alright?”

All of the mares nodded and murmured their agreements, with even Twilight hoping that Cadance would get better quickly. The moment Shining was gone though, Sunset turned to Twilight, and stared at the mare. Twilight turned to the set of eyes and stared back. This lasted about a minute before Applejack cleared her throat. “Umm, is there something we should know?”

Sunset blinked a few times as she remembered that there were other ponies around her. “I-I don’t know. Twilight, is there something we should know?”

Twilight tilted her head. “Umm, Trixie caught an undead allergy?”

“The great and giving Trixie does not have an allergy!”

Celestia put a hoof in front of Sunset as she cleared her throat, her own fears still needing to be answered as well. “It’s the worry that you’ll finally act on those, umm… threats, for lack of a better term, against Cadance.”

Twilight’s essence glowed brighter for a moment as her eyes widened, and she quickly started to wave her hoofs in front of herself. “Oh, no! I would never do that to Cadance.”

“But what about your crush?”

The other mares in attendance eyes widened in unison as their hearts froze, akin to how Sunset’s had when Twilight had first met the captain of the guard. Twilight did not notice as she began to laugh. “Wow Sunset, you apparently need to read up on romance yourself. I mean,” she crossed her hooves in front of herself as she bit into her cheek, “I did think I had feelings for him, but I can count at least a half dozen, if not a dozen, ponies whose feelings that I have are stronger than anything I can feel for Shining. He just… he made me think of the stories my dad used to tell me, about this kind guard who got the girl, so until recently, Shining was who I thought I should fall for. I know better now, and still need to figure out my feelings.”

Celestia turned to Twilight as the other mares there processed what they had just been told. “If you could, Shining would like you to work on an ice sculpture and some of the decorations please.” She smiled wide as the wraith nodded, and took off to find somewhere where the cold wouldn’t bother ponies. Celestia’s gaze now came back to the six mares and one spirit, spotting their reactions just in time.

Rarity got it first, blushing slightly, but doing well to cover up any envy for her competitors with just a quick glance to them, before turning to a wall. Applejack‘s eyes shot open as the thought of her being included that occurred to her, and she stared straight to her hooves, probably due to confusion, as the mare never had truly gotten comfortable with Twilight. Rainbow grinned as a blush came to her face, but then her eyes narrowed as she turned to her competition.

Fluttershy had the best reaction, in Celestia’s opinion, by stopping mid yawn to turn crimson red and hide her face in her hooves, shaking ever so slightly as her tail went faster than most foals on Hearthswarming’s did. Pinkie grinned wide, oblivious to the danger her obvious joy put her in, while Trixie disappeared from sight, but not after a slight, red tinge hit her essence.

And then there was Sunset, who was staring at her friends as her horn grew brighter with each moment.

Celestia teleported Sunset away, noting to herself to apologize to the cleaning staff from the ashen room that was now the royal suite most likely, before turning to the rest as they turned to each other. Before they could start anything, she said sharply, “Don’t you all have better things to do than speculate and gossip?”

Each mare in turn said something, before slinking off. Most understood, even if they were still unhappy. Celestia knew better than to let this confrontation happen, as it could only lead to pain and jealousy. Hopefully the events of the wedding would blow this all over, and the seven would simply be willing to let bygones be bygones.

Celestia watched as Fluttershy finally came back to reality, turned her whole body red, and ran off, before going back to her throne. Even with the rocky start, everything seemed to be going smoother than she had thought it would. A slight giggle escaped her as she looked out the window to the noon day sun. “I thought the same thing about Twilight though, and now I have to stop herds of mares from killing each other.”

With a shake of her head, she dismissed the thoughts. She had spent so many of the past few months worrying about so much that she just wanted to rest. Now was a time for celebration and happiness, as tomorrow, there was to be a wedding.

Unbeknownst to her though, tonight, there was to be a fight.

Author's Note

This is the beginning of the new story session for Twaith, and I am expecting 5-ish? chapters for this one, and will be publishing one a week ON PURPOSE! This is for my own reasons, as I am getting prepped for a few things and need the chance at work to work on other Twaith related things, such as filly Twaith in her backstory fic, Snuggle Me, for I am Not a Wraith!

Learning

Twilight, Trixie, and Luna all stood on the Lunar Tower of Canterlot. Luna was staring through her telescope between roles of Yatzhee, which the two were playing because neither had much to do. Trixie had long ago set her willow wisps throughout the town so as to keep track of any threats on the inside, and a glorious ice sculpture sat in the catacombs, leaving Twilight free. Luna reached back, kicking over the dice cup before looking back. “Only need one more for a large straight.”

Trixie picked up the one that Luna was talking about and began to rattle it in the cup. “Honestly, Trixie sometimes thinks that getting one of her tails is easier than a stupid large straight.” The dice rattled on the ground, but wasn’t the three that Luna was looking for. “Do you want to retry for it, or swap it out.”

“Swap it. Keep the two. I still need some of those.”

Twilight bit into her cheek, knowing this was the third time that Luna had gone for one. “What if I blew into the cup? Do you think that would help?”

Luna adjusted her telescope, before spotting something that almost made her whole, tiny body turn beet red. “Um, isn’t it supposed to be a pretty mare that blows into one’s dice? Though, if you think it will help, please do so.”

Trixie glared at Luna for a moment, before remembering that she too wasn’t supposed to think about the mare’s beautiful mane or gleaming eyes as anything disgusting and gross. Twilight pouted as the dice came up a two. “Oh, well, sorry Luna. I guess that’s what happens when one doesn’t have breath.”

Luna rolled her eyes as she turned the scope more, watching the castle now as she refocused. “It’s fine. Just scratch twos if I have none. Besides, I bore of this game, so Trixie, please do tell us about your tails to reinvigorate my energy.”

Trixie took the cup as she sighed. For most of her mission she had avoided talk of herself, but she had known Twilight for almost nine months now, and to admit that the wraith would cause her issues by knowing of her culture did indeed feel childish. “Trixie supposes she can, even if the dice are giving her junk.”

She gathered them back up before noticing Twilight watching her intently. The purple spirit had indeed inquired before about why she had multiple tails, but such a matter was secret enough to have warranted careful secrecy. Now as a friend though, before a wedding, and with a princess, she felt it was time to speak.

“A kitsune is first born with one tail. This shows us as weak, but humble beings, which of course the Great and Mystical Trixie could not allow to stay. So, she sought out the blessing of our elder, a nine tailed kitsune older than most ponies. Trixie believes that only the princesses may rival his age, but not his wisdom. No being can.”

Luna snorted. “I highly doubt that. For nothing to be wiser, the creature would need to be infallible, something which can never exist.”

Trixie grit her teeth as fire flared from the edges of her tails. “Well, he is, and you cannot prove otherwise.” She then shook her head and turned back to Twilight. “This blessing judges our spirit, and dependant on his decision, and the strength we possess internally, we gain our tails. As it is apparent by Trixie’s lack of more, he must have decided that Equestria would fear Trixie if she were at full power, and thus only gave me one.”

Twilight cocked her head as she looked to Trixie. “But then how did you gain your third?”

Trixie breathed in slightly, before smiling for a moment and shaking her head. “Well, you see, on my way to Equestria, Trixie found a foal, distraught in the desert heat. She told me that she was leaving Equestria, because she didn’t belong somewhere where your talent could rob you of those closest to you.” Trixie looked down again, remembering the pink filly as she looked so scared. “If I had left her there, I don’t know what level of madness she would have found.”

Twilight put a hoof to Trixie’s and nuzzled against her. Even Luna had turned around for the spirit’s tale, and swallowed hard as she thought of her own loneliness. “Um, you rolled junk again. Is that two, or three?”

Trixie blinked a few times, before rapidly shaking her head. “Oh, yeah, that’s three. Here you go Twilight.” She swallowed hard, her essence shaking as she regained her composure. “We eventually found a secluded valley after almost a year of travel, and she decided she wanted to stay there. Trixie accompanied her for a bit, helped her make a house and her first friend, but this whole time, Trixie was also ignoring her mission. Therefore, we had to part.”

Twilight’s dice clattered along the stone as a sad smile grew on Trixie’s face. “Trixie’s last gift to her was in helping her make an artifact that would take and store cutie marks with one paw, and give them back with the other. When she shed her tears of joy, Trixie felt like… a star. Like she had just managed to make not just a pony’s day, but their entire life.”

The wraith beside her smiled, and rubbed Trixie’s hoof harder. “See, that sounds wonderful! I was worried it was going to have a bad ending or something.”

Trixie bit into her cheek, and opened her mouth to tell them of the five year chasm that lay between her last visit to see her friend, before something triggered her sense. It wasn’t a willow wisp though. No, this spike in dark, magical power cut through the fog created by the barrier like an arrow, and her essence shook as she thought it might rival how powerful Twilight was when they first met. Luna had stopped as well, frowning as she stared at the castle. “Why is there a green glow from Shining Armor’s chambers?”

Trixie rushed over, forcing Twilight to spill her dice as she got next to the princess. “Where are his chambers?”

Luna looked to the fox spirit for a moment, trying to discern the nature of the panic, before remembering it was panic from something that fought monsters. It was usually best to listen to that type of panic. “That direction, where the scope is pointed.”

Twilight smiled for a moment as she saw five twos staring back at her, before the drama going on beside her caught her attention. “Is something the matter? Is my Yahtzee not going to matter?”

Luna and Trixie glanced at each other for a moment, before the princess stated flatly, “Well, I suppose that’s a silver lining for my game, as I do believe an intruder out for our captain of the guard is more important than a game.”

Trixie nodded as Twilight’s eyes widened. “Indeed. We need to move at once, though Trixie advisees caution. It is quite… powerful.”

Twilight nodded her agreement, before the three took off from the balcony, and set course for the chambers. The Canterlot sky was thankfully clear, though most ponies were curling up for bed at this point, what with sunset having left almost an hour ago. This meant the foal princess and spirits could fly as fast as they pleased, and not raise suspicion.

No matter how fast they went though, the spike was gone by the time they entered the chambers. Trixie narrowed her eyes, looking into the candlelit room, and only seeing a pink princess standing there. Twilight did not scowl like her fellow spirit though, and instead rushed forward, wrapping her hooves around Cadance’s neck. “I am so happy to see you’re okay!”

Cadance visibly stiffened at the touch, before wheeling around. Her wide eyes looked to the three, before she covered them and breathed in deeply. “Y-you really shouldn’t do that. I almost got a heart attack.”

Twilight’s essence brightened with a red tint for a moment as she backed away. “Sorry. We felt a presence using dark magic over here, and I thought they may have gotten to you.”

Luna watched as Cadance lifted a hoof up to her mouth, aghast at the news. While the filly didn’t know the other mare well, she did know tactics well, and how to be suspicious. One glance to Trixie, who had not been relieved of her scowl, and she felt confident in her suspicion. “Fox spirit, can you check for anything?”

Trixie grinned. “The gifted and brilliant Trixie would love to show this changeling’s true form!” Her horn flared bright for but a second, before a large gout of white flame was sent at Cadance. It never reached its target though as the room dropped almost ten degrees while Twilight blocked the fire with ice.

“What are you doing?”

Cadance stepped back, putting part of the bed between her and the spirits. “W-what’s a changeling?”

Trixie narrowed her eyes. “Twilight, move. Changelings are beings that feed on love by taking the shape of one you love. This love then gives them power, and it’s the only explanation why Cadance here would still be standing out to Trixie’s sensors.”

Luna nodded, despite not being aware what changelings were. “I doubt Trixie would simply try burning her. If she isn’t one, I suspect she would be safe.”

Twilight looked back, the gears in her mind beginning to slow to a crawl as she tried to listen to them and her feelings. There was no way Cadance could have been replaced, but with how quickly they moved, it was possible. The mare in question raised a hoof, staring Twilight in the eyes as she spoke. “Please Twilight. You know me. You wouldn’t want to hurt me, would you? Not when we’re so close.”

Cadance watched closely as Twilight opened her mouth slowly, before her eyes dropped to the floor. The spirit’s tongue came out of her mouth as her essence shuddered and shook, and the pink princess took her shot. Before any of the three could react, a green beam of energy wrapped itself around Twilight, before a moment later, the wraith was gone.

“What did you do to her?”

“If you do not bring her back this instant, I will be forced to destroy you!”

Cadance looked between them with a raised eyebrow, a moment before the door opened, and five guards poured into the room. Luna grinned at the sight of them and pointed straight at the imposter. “This Cadance is a lie guards, and must be taken into custody this instant!”

The guards looked at each other as Cadance yawned. “I could do this myself, but the one who brings down the princess gets a kiss. The kitsune is nothing.”

That got a response from the guardsmen as they yelled, “Yes, my queen!”

If not for Trixie’s quick foxfire, the fight would have been over in an instant. However, due to soundproofing charms, and Luna still being no match for her sister’s power, by morning, all was quiet, and no one was the wiser to the two’s disappearance. One merely went to bed, while the other had sense a lead they were following. That’s what everyone assumed while ‘Cadance’ got ready for her wedding.

Author's Note

I made the hook for the last chapter before I wrote this one... whoops.

Also, I think I'll start explaining this now, and over the next few chapters, instead of in a linked blog post at the end. See, this story arc, beginning with the chapter before this one and going onwards, are in a bubble.

The Depths of a Wraith

A sound slowly invaded Cadance’s conscious as she slowly opened her eyes. Something… something was close. It didn’t sound like the changlings that brought her food and water, keeping her on the brink of death, just in case her actual body could be used for something. With how they looked at her, she didn’t want to know what, and for a moment, the sounds of sobbing made her happy. If they were crying, it probably meant that her Shining wisened up to their plan.

Except her joy was shallow, and something about the sound was familiar. It was hard to place, but she swore she could recognize it from somewhere. Her ear twitched as the draft that ran through the catacombs blew in, and she shivered from the cold. The feel of the icy touch made her eyes snap open, and she limped to the wall that the crying was coming from. “T-Twilight? Please tell me that’s you.”

Twilight lifted her head as she stared at the crystal beside her. She… she was supposed to be safe and alone down here. And yet, somehow, Cadance was here. Though, if that changeling was impersonating her and sent me here, it isn’t impossible… “I-it is, but you shouldn’t want that.”

Cadance blinked at the words, confused by what she could possibly mean, but pushing it away for more important things. “Twilight, I need you to break down this wall. There is a changeling after Shining Armor, and if we don’t stop her, she might very well take over all of Equestria.”

There was a long pause as Twilight stared at the crystal, unable to see her reflection in it as her hoof slid into the material. She wished she could simply go through, but the sight of Cadance helpless in front of her, so vulnerable if she wanted to attack… “Okay, but you need to forget I’m here afterwards. I don’t want anypony to find me.”

Cadance breathed in, a yes on the tip of her tongue. She knew better though. Twilight was hurt somehow, and she needed a friend. Not only that, but Cadance could use the wraith beside her when she confronted the imposter. “Twilight, what’s wrong? What did they do to you?”

“They did nothing. I’m the one who’ll do anything.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“She asked me if I would hurt her with your face, and… and for a split second my essence said yes.”

Cadance stepped away from the wall, an icy chill invading her core as she wondered if she was going to get out of the caves alive. She then vigorously shook her head, the image of the wraith over her friend’s corpse coming to mind. “And what do you think right now? Do you want to hurt me?”

There was no hesitation, even as spectral tears came down her face. “No! I don’t want to hurt anypony, but I can, and there is this pit in me that wants me to, and I don’t know how much longer it will take for it to win.”

Another long pause filled the air before Cadance cleared her throat. She had of course talked about the state that Twilight was in, and how much of an oddity it was with Celestia, but she never imagined she would need to tell Twilight the truth. Ever make the mare think she was something so purely evil. “Twilight, what are you?”

“I am a wraith.”

“And what is a wraith.”

“By the definition of Ghastly Aura, my mother, it is the spiritual manifestation of a unicorn’s magic. While the wraith itself is not evil, their tendency to seek ways to come back to life lead to dark magic that corrupts them. Hence why I do not seek a permanent shell, so I don’t let her down.”

Cadance wanted to agree with her, let her continue to live in her fantasy. She knew that time was up though. “No Twilight. After Ghastly, others looked over wraiths, and there has never been a case of a permanently good wraith. Even ones that never sought life again followed the same patterns, which always ended in them devouring the souls of those closest to them to fill the void in their being that the dark magic they have left within them.” She tapped on the crystal, trying to smile as a tear came down her face. “Do you know what makes you different from them?”

Twilight slowly sank into the ground, wishing she could simply leave, but her curiosity stopped her. “The fact that I will soon?”

Cadance shook her head. “No, it’s the fact that this yearning you feel usually comes while they’re raising the dead. You’ve used soul magic, a wraith’s final ability, when their need is so great that faking life is not enough, and they must take it. The fact that despite you having that pit and seeing it, you can say no. Twilight, I have no idea why you are as you are, but you are not going to kill us all, not yet. However, if you do not help me defeat the changelings now, I fear for the worst.”

Twilight slowly drifted back up, her horn beginning to glow as her aura shimmered slightly. “So… you’re saying that this is natural… but also unnatural?”

Cadance shook her head as the smile on her face was now true. “No, I am saying that I believe in you, and that no matter how much that pit calls, I know you will make the right choice.”

The wraith sucked in her lips, before pointing her horn straight at the wall. Black lines shot through the crystal, before she pulled head back, and removed the entirety of the fifty foot wall in chunks. She looked down upon Cadance, unable to smile. “I… I wish I could have the same confidence, but I just don’t know yet.” She then shut her eyes and focused her energies as she put the rocks down. “You’re right though. I can’t let that changeling hurt my friends. Not now, not ever.”

======+++++======

Slam!

Everypony in the throne room turned to the doors as they came open. The Cadance at the altar scowled as she watched herself stride in, just before that one stopped, and a black spirit flowed out of its possessed body. The imposter and Twilight met eyes, and the room dropped almost twenty degrees. Twilight pointed one hoof at the changeling and said, “Show yourself, or I will drive a spike of ice into each of your legs.”

Celestia opened her mouth, barely able to form words as she moved forward. “Twilight, what are you do-” She stopped, looking over to the Cadance beside her as she shook her head.

“No, no, I won’t hide. However, as I know what will come next, why don’t you stay put. I mean, otherwise, how are you going to know where your precious,” Cadance immediately was beset by a strange, green glow, before switching to Trixie, fox tails and all, and soon after taking the form of the filly princess of the night, “friends are?”

Twilight froze in midair as the temperature in the room continued to lower. She was almost shaking with anger, having had to see the full extent that this changeling had caused her dear Cadance while possessing her body so she could even make it up here, but she was too smart. If the two of them had been lost, only she would know. Above the din of ponies gasping, she muttered, “Okay,” as she slowly nodded.

The little Luna smiled, before her horn glowed and her green aura became intense enough to push everypony downwards like she was increasing the gravity. Green, fiery magic came over her form, and part by part, her long, holed, black legs showed themselves. Her short, webbed wings sprouted from her back, just moments before head same to form, and a small crown rested upon it, just behind the alicorn’s large, crooked horn. Just as it finished, and the pressure came back to normal, Chrysalis glanced to Celestia, already primed to attack her, and used the magic around her to send it straight down.

The magic crashed into the stone tiles, and a second before Celestia fired, smoke and debris filled the room. The moment her solar beam went forward, the princess knew she had missed. Her eyes scanned the area around her before catching one silhouette. While she recharged though, another one appeared beside that, and another, and another. With each new form came more of her high pitched laughter that mocked the princess for having been so careless.

Sunset scowled as she tried to look through the dust, before turning to Fluttershy, who had been standing beside her. “Fluttershy, I need you to-” She stopped as the same green fire that had come from the queen changeling now enveloped her friend, and she stared into the ugliest bug she had ever seen. She didn’t hesitate as she scowled, a jet of flame escaping her horn and slamming into the imposter within three seconds. Looking into the dust, she wished she could clear it.

Rainbow Dash was one step ahead of her though, and had already flown upwards, Just as she cleared some of the fog from Sunset’s vision, she heard buzzing in her ears, and wildly swung for the thing beside her. She caught the changeling square in the jaw, but could see two more in her peripherals. One became nothing but a screaming bonfire in the next second, before a chair smashed against the other, the remnants of Rarity’s magic clinging to the shards as they sent the drone away.

Twilight wasn’t able to cheer for her friend’s victory as she saw at least half of the crowd turn into these abominations. Looking out of the window, she could see more and more of the swarm descend upon a no longer guarded Canterlot. If Celestia couldn’t beat their queen, it would all be over, and she couldn’t help unless she wanted to lose the two friends she had abandoned last night.

On Celestia’s part, she made a good case for why she would be able to do so as a shield of sunlight burst away from her, sending almost a dozen drones spiraling away, and ridding herself of the dust that clouded her vision. Chrysalis was not done with her tricks though, and the moment the two saw each other, the queen let out all she had. In a precise, pulsating beam of energy, she fired. It was no more than maybe two centimeters in diameter, but Celestia knew she wouldn’t be able to dodge it. Instead, she met it with her own beam.

At first, Twilight felt her spirit lift, her essence growing brighter as the two magical energies met. Chrysalis only smirked though as Celestia’s legs buckled. She had thrown up a hastily prepared counter, and she could feel it slipping. If she stopped focusing for even a moment, Chrysalis would have her.

Unfortunately, no matter how many fireballs Sunset threw, there were always more drones, and one now saw a chance for promotion as its horn glowed.

“Celestia, look out!” Twilight slammed her hooves over her mouth, but it was already too late. Celestia glanced at her beloved wraith, just a moment before the drone’s magic smacked her in the cheek. It was another second later that Chrysalis’s beam made contact with Celestia, and exploded. Most of the occupants of the room were thrown back from the blast as every bit of stained glass was ripped from its frame and rained upon the denizens below.

And in the center, was Celestia, marred by dirt and blood as she tried to stand. Chrysalis laughed for a moment, before slamming her hoof into Celestia’s muzzle. “Nice try, but the one who is prepared is the one who always wins. Any last words?”

Twilight looked around the room, watching as drones came in through the windows. Even Sunset was pinned by a good few who had the unfortunate fate of continuing to be immolated. She couldn’t reach the queen though. None of them could, and that would mean no pony could save Celestia.

Except for me. If I intervene though… but I need to.

I can fulfill that. Just let yourself fall.

But what about-

Just force the information out of her. Step into your need, and you can rip souls from ponies. Why not a bit of their knowledge too?

… Twilight shut her eyes for a moment, and saw the pit she had danced with before. She had used it to save Sunset, and to make Marble stay on this plane. If she were to save them all though, she would not be able to dance with it, but instead need to commit, even if this was the same side of her that wanted to kill.

She drifted down into the pit of her essence, and placed her hooves on a thin spire that remained in there, before the darkness flooded around her.

Her eyes snapped open, and she found herself staring into Chrysalis’s. Twilight’s eyes immediately narrowed, and she hissed, “Tell me where they are, or I may not spare you.”

The queen stepped back, taking her hoof off of Celestia’s neck now as she blinked. Her shock soon turned to anger though, and a strangled gasp came from Celestia as she slammed her hoof back down. “I’ll tell you when she is dead.”

“You will tell me now, or else.”

“Or else-”

Chrysalis never got out the last word, but instead felt two hooves try to shove themselves into her kidneys, moments before the wraith sent her flying into the ceiling. She was then pressed against it, gasping for the air she had lost. When she tried to close her mouth though, she found she couldn’t, and watched as her green magic began to flow from her mouth and towards the purple mare holding her against the ceiling.

Twilight opened opened her own mouth and felt her first, true taste of another. The magic was immediately intoxicating, and she felt herself getting stronger the more she stole. It wasn’t her soul though, but merely the stolen power from her victims that she drained now. The darkness within her cheered as her essence began to glow green, filling with the queen’s power. The magic let her see deeper though. To her laughing at Shining Armor as he started losing his willpower, and musing to herself about how easy this had all been.

Next though wasn’t so easy. She saw herself in a wasteland, staring out from her victim’s perspective. She tried to walk with confidence, but Twilight could feel the weight of guilt pushing down on the monarch. The darkness from the pit tried to cover it, but Twilight slammed upon her stone perch, banishing it away as she looked deeper.

Her people starved, were in pain, and she could do nothing. A drone then came up and told her the two happiest pieces of news she had ever found. There was a princess in Equestria having a wedding, and Canterlot had easy to infiltrate catacombs that almost nopony knew about. She had her way in, and a solution, and pecked the soldier for his good work.

Twilight blinked as she looked back to Chrysalis, who now shed a tear. Twilight watched the droplet as it travelled, before it fell from the changeling’s fanged muzzle. From that muzzle came the last of the green energy. Following just after it, only a few seconds away from entering Twilight, was something gray. The darkness in her screamed for her to take it, and for a moment, she thought maybe she should. It would appease this pain in her, and let this all be done with.

It was quite possibly the scariest moment of the wraith’s life, and she slammed her mouth shut just before the soul entered her. A primal bellow followed after as all the energy she had just drained from Chrysalis demanded to be internalized, or released, and Twilight wanted none of it.

The wraith became nothing as she continued to scream. All that made a pony even know she was still on this plane was the snap of air that came before she launched a changeling through one of the openings in the room. Once all but Chrysalis were gone from the room, she moved on to the rest of the town. She let her anger and fear fuel her magic as she blasted, punched, and bucked every changeling in the town. Even now though, she remembered why they did this. The image of them starving in the wastelands saved them, as her magic made sure they would survive their trip. Besides, killing any of them now would make all she feared a reality, and she couldn't allow that.

Twilight was done by the time Chrysalis crashed to the floor, and Celestia glanced up as she felt a chill run over her. Staring into bright, green eyes, she tried to say something. She couldn’t in her state of shock though, and watched as Twilight shut her eyes, tears falling from them just as the wraith placed a note beside the ruler.

Before anypony could truly react to all that had just happened, Twilight faded away, wanting nothing more than to be away from the room that held the ponies she trusted more than any other in Equestria.

Author's Note

I just noticed that by complete accident, this story ark will be done on our fiftieth chapter! Also, a fairly accurate representation of Twilight at the end.

The beginning of it, at the least.

Important stuff:
This bubble makes it so that these chapters have technically not happened yet, that they hold no bearing on the funny, silly chapters that are to come, and when the bubble bursts, I will be moving these five chapters up to the end of the story, and the chapters will begin including the events of this.

A New Chance?

Twilight turned to the sounds of hoofsteps as they made their way down the catacomb’s corridors. She considered vanishing, of drifting into the stone where they could not find her. Instead though, she simply turned the page and waited.

The hooves came to next to her head, and she heard the soft melody of Celestia’s voice drift in. “You know Sunset is furious, right? Though, Rainbow Dash was the only one ready to attack me to find out where you had gone.”

Twilight turned her gaze to the princess, before to the stone below her. “And what did you tell them?”

Celestia lowered herself so as to lay besides the smaller mare. “Well, I listened to your letter and told them that you were okay, but that I wasn’t allowed to tell them where you were.”

The wraith nodded as she turned back to her book. Her essence trembled as she thought, and she couldn’t help but begin dropping the temperature as she felt the fear invade her. “Then… then you know why you were allowed to come, right?”

“I do, but I can’t.”

Twilight turned to Celestia, at first in simple shock, before ice sprang out from underneath her and she floated upwards. “You can! I know how much magical power you have in you. If I don’t bring up my defenses, you can remove me. I don’t have to be afraid, I won’t put anypony at risk, it can just be over!”

Celestia brought herself up as flames licked the edges of her mane. “And you think I could just kill a pony I love and cherish? You think it would be easy for me to abandon the joy you have brought me, and all of those around you, just because you’re starting to have bad thoughts? We all have bad thoughts, it is our decision to act on them that matters!”

Twilight blinked a few times as she watched tears come down Celestia’s face. She… she had never seen Celestia cry before, or even get this worked up about something. And yet, now she did, just for her. The wraith looked back to the ground, shame filling her as she pushed back the darkness that tried edging into her thoughts about the princess. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

Celestia panted for another moment, before taking in a deep breath. “I am too. I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up I suppose.”

“No, it’s fine. You have good reason to.” Twilight rubbed her forehooves together now, uncertain as to what came now “Um, so, if you’re not here because of my letter, what does bring you here?”

Celestia bit into her cheek before shaking her head. This was the best course of action she could think of, at least, for now. “I know why you want this time to yourself, but I think retreating down here is the wrong answer. You need friends in trying parts of your life, and I think I can give you both.”

Twilight was silent for another moment, before slowly nodding. “Okay. I trust you.”

The princess smiled at her little wraith, and brought up a hoof to gently pet the mare’s cheek. “A kingdom of Equestria called The Crystal Empire finally re-appeared after a thousand years of absence in the far north. Luna and I agreed that the shadows up there do not feel like they have returned, or if they were going to, they should have by now. So, we thought it would be safe to send you, along with Shining Armor and Cadance. The tundra will be able to give you time to yourself, while the town will enable you to have purpose, and help when you can. How does that sound?”

Twilight sucked in her lips as she considered it, before turning away. “I like this place. I spent centuries here, safe and sound. I was… happy.”

Celestia placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “There is a difference between contentment, and happiness. Can you honestly tell me that you were truly happy down here?”

The wraith’s glowing, green eyes lowered, before she shut them and felt her essence shook. She had read the same books for years. Over and over, she could almost recite these books from heart. Even before Celestia came though, she had hesitated to read them, and in fact had opted for only the books she had brought down with her.

She stared at the wall and put a hoof onto it. “Do… Do you think it would have been better if you had never found me?”

“Since you’re asking me, do you?”

A long silence filled the air again, before Twilight turned to Celestia. “You all have made me happier than I’ve ever been, and… and I don’t want to give that up, so if you think that going with Cadance and Shining Armor would allow me not to lose you… Then yes, I want to go.”

Celestia nodded. “They leave in a few days, so what should I tell everypony else?”

Twilight bit into her cheek. “Tell them… Tell them that I know how much they care, but that I just can’t face them.. Please.”

Celestia wrapped a hoof around the wraith, and pulled her in close. “At least now you’re remembering that we’re here for you. We’re always here for you.”

Author's Note

Next update is going to be delayed a touch to February 9th, because of personal reasons. Props to anyone who figures out why the date is special.

Important Stuff: The reason this bubble has to exist at all is because of chapters like this. What is to come is not comedic, it's not romantic, but instead it's dark, dangerous, and ill fitting for Twaith, even though it is the next part of her story. Therefore, this next part,

A Cold Greeting

Twilight glided past a large mound of ice, circling the tip as she looked upon the blankscape she had been flying through for almost an hour now. Celestia had been right that the tundra would give her a good place to think, and flying around her made her remember the good that her powers brought her. A smile came to her face as she looked back at the name she had carved into the ice with her boosters in tribute to her flight coach. “Alright Rainbow, watch this.”

She let herself fall down the side of the mountain, picking up speed with each second. She opened her eyes and looked out to the large spire in the distance. She had spent her first day in the city with Cadance and Shining Armor, and it was nice enough. but here she felt safe though. She had nopony she could hurt, and she could remember the fun her magic could cause. The ice around her though also made her wonder if she could do all of this herself, and she wished she could shake those thoughts.

Just as she was about to float through the ground, she stopped herself dead, before launching herself like a missile across the ice. Her hooves tapped through the snow beneath her as large plumes came up behind her, and she giggled at trying to pretend to be this fast at almost a trot. “Now if only I had somepony to joke with me about all of this.”

While I may not be able to joke, perhaps I can help the fear I can feel coming off of you?

The snow caught up with Twilight as she slowed down, and she could feel her essence shaking from the voice. She had felt it more than she had heard it, and she did not want the darkness within her speaking to her, not again. The solitude was supposed to be here to prevent that.

I am not the hole within you that wishes to be filled, but somepony who wishes to help.

Twilight lifted herself out of the new snow mountain she had created, and surveyed the landscape. No matter which direction she looked though, there was nopony. She shut her eyes and tried finding the magic the other being must have been using.

It’s like a radio. I’m already matched with your frequency, so you just need to send it out.

Twilight blinked as she heard the voice, and she wondered how he could tell what she had been doing. “Then again, you are already connected with me it seems.”

Only slightly. I would never be able to connect with you as I hope to without your permission, even if it will help me fix you.

Twilight turned her head towards the sender, smiling as she used a revised detect magic that she learned from Trixie. She bent her legs, before blowing the snow behind her away and launching herself through the tundra. Her curiosity was piqued, and she had to see what this thing had to offer, no matter what.

She drifted through the walls of a snow covered cave, and found herself looking down upon a black stallion with a red horn. Her essence bristled at the sight of him, and the darkness in the deepest pits of her reached out. It almost immediately retracted as the stallion glowed black. He turned around and looked to her, before smiling, even though half of his jaw was lacking any skin or muscle. “Hello there. I’ve been expecting you.”

She floated back for a moment, her essence shrinking herself as she stared at him. Now that she was closer, she could see that more of his body was missing the skin that one would think would be crucial for a pony. She could also tell sharp canines in his jaw as he smiled. “So… what are you?”

He held a hoof to his chest as he humbly bowed his head. “I am a lich, a being created through specific rituals done upon a unicorn to allow them to escape the trappings of death, but also avoid the pitfalls of becoming a wraith, or the uncertainty. The price I had to pay was to be trapped here for quite some time, but I am finally free.” He stepped even closer and extended a hoof towards Twilight. “If I may know, could you let me know why you’re here? It will help me help you.”

Twilight pursed her lips for a moment as she continued to stare at the smiling stallion. her essence was fairly divided on how to react to him, but she knew one thing. He was the only being she had met that knew anything about her condition, or offered a way to fix it. “My name is Twilight, and I came here so I can make sure I don’t hurt those I care about. I… I don’t even know why.”

The stallion pulled on the mare and brought her closer. “I do, and I can help you, I promise. However,” he tapped his chin, “We may want to make sure your friends can’t come first, but I doubt either one of us alone could do it.”

Twilight shook her head. “They aren’t coming, Celestia promised me they wouldn’t.”

“Oh, and you think that would actually stop them?”

“...” Twilight looked to the ground. “What did you have in mind?”

Sombra patted her head as he sighed. “If we link ourselves, a deep link that will make sure our essences are connected at all times, we could make sure no train is coming here for a long time. That should buy us plenty of time for me to treat your condition.”

There was another pause from Twilight, before she looked to him, a twinkle in her eyes now as she frowned slightly. “That could hurt a lot of ponies.”

“You could hurt a lot of ponies. At least this way, it’s only once.”

She tried to keep eye contact, but soon turned away. “What do I need to do?”

“Just stand right there.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she felt his hand go into her, and she felt a rope lash itself around the her that still stood within the darkness. It chilled her to the core, but she could feel the darkness push back now. It seemed almost afraid of this stallion and what he may do, which were all good signs in this case.

Her power was then slipped out of her, and she watched as his horn glowed a black and blue. Far off in the distance, she could hear the crashing and cracking of ice, and could see the cave shake in response to the earthquake. “Y-you aren’t killing anypony, right?”

The stallion opened one eye as his panting grew louder. “N-no, of course not. That would make me the bad guy, wouldn’t it?”

Twilight bit into her cheek, before chuckling a bit. “That’s a good point, and thank you. This world means a lot to me, and I don’t want to hurt anypony because of my fear, or from trying to cure it.”

He chuckled for a moment, before extending his hoof again. “Well than, please, do not fear me, for my name is Sombra, and I will make sure that the pain you cause is minimal as you find your way to the best you, you can be.”

Twilight smiled back and took his hoof. “Thank you, Sombra.”

Author's Note

Is in Save Me, for My Name is Twaith. It is a direct continuation from this chapter, so next in the timeline, which is another reason for the bubble. I do not wish to stop updating this though, so the two stories will run side by side, being updated together.

Now, with all that nastiness out of the way, expect a happier offshoot of Twaith... hopefully, on Valentine's day, and please, leave me comments for new chapters.

And I promise, Save Me is leading to something good further down the line for the series, I just can't say what.

Twilight: The Harmony Wraith

Twilight hummed to herself, sitting in the catacombs of Canterlot Castle. The images of battle, corruption, anger, depression, all of them, now were things tucked away in the back of her mind. She had more important things to worry about, such as the soft thump in her chest, or the necronomicon in her magic.

The sound of hooves was all that broke her concentration as she continued to trace the outside of the pentagram onto the cobblestones. It would have been easier at other places, but as this ritual required it to be done near where the pony was killed, she had little choice in the matter. She did glance to the side, and froze in midair as she saw the white coat of a certain princess. “Oh… Um-”

“Sunset tells me you all had a rather exciting time in The Crystal Empire. Shame I had to hear about it in a letter.”

Twilight shrank a little as she tucked her hooves underneath herself and turned to Celestia. The princess looked exhausted as bags came around the rims of her eyes, and she seemed to almost sway as she stood. As it was the middle of the night though, it was not completely surprising. “I-I’m sorry, Celestia.”

Celestia slowly stepped forward, making each movement very deliberate as she came closer. The last few weeks had been Tarturus on her system, what with having to reconstruct almost ninety percent of the Equestrian Railroad, relocating all of Canterlot, and beginning restoration of her old castle in the Everfree. At least now her headquarters would be in the true center of Equestria again. “You’re lucky that this place is intact. Sombra…”

“He tried to kill you and Luna. Trust me, I… I know.” Twilight hung her head down, her cloak rippling with pitch black energy for a moment. She then looked up, her eyes completely black for a moment, before she blinked, and her normal green were back. “You don’t need to worry about Sombra though. I made sure to fix my mistake.”

Celestia was silent for a moment as her student got back to work, before reaching out, and touching the spirit’s side. “D-did you actually devour a spirit?”

Twilight paused for a moment, before landing on the ground. Her form rippled, some parts becoming more transparent, while others looked actually alive, rather than just corporeal. “It’s more complicated than that. You see, when they got there, I hated the mere fact that I was a wraith. I had been imprisoned, tortured, and ridiculed by that monster as he overpowered me. Apparently, while we were both roughly the same age, he still had my number on how to use the powers.”

She stomped her hoof into the ground, and Celestia watched as a final shudder ran through Twilight, and the side that she still touched felt… warm. “Everyone came to the battle, and while they could try, only Sunset stood any real chance. It was only because he wanted to have fun that I had time to listen to them. Listen to all of my friend tell me why they fought.” She shut her eyes as a tear rolled down them, and glowing symbols, her friend’s cutie marks, ranging from Sunset, to Marble, and even Celestia’s own mark appeared on her cloak. “They… they were willing to give their lives for me as a wraith, because they cared about me, and…”

Celestia tilted Twilight’s head up. “Wouldn’t use the elements on you, would they?”

Twilight smiled, and shut her eyes. Slowly, a glow began to emit out of her eyes, and a stream of black and green, and the other a mixture of gray and bone extended from her sides. Her shroud became vibrant, the colors mixing into each other to form a beautiful, rainbow colored dress, and the streams snapped, forming two wings, one made of dark and necrotic magic, the other made of bone and soul.

“If they couldn’t use it though, I would. Spike grew with me, and helped destroy the lich’s body, before he threatened to haunt Equestria for eternity, or fight me until we were both nothing. So, I did the only thing I could.”

Celestia blinked, staring at the alicorn wraith in front of her. In the silence of the room, and with her own heart still, trying to take the fact that this version of Twilight was undoubtedly, one hundred percent, alive, she could hear a thumping. The thumping of a heart, the very thing a wraith always desires, but is never supposed to have. “You ate him?”

Twilight opened her mouth, ready to start a long winded explanation, when something caught in her throat, and she hiccuped. In a single moment, the magic she had gathered to form her new form popped, and the magic shot to the sides of her, carving a long, wide tunnel through the catacombs. Her face turned a bright red, before she slowly nodded. “Yeah, but him and the heart I got are still not quite agreeing I think.”

A small chuckle escaped Celestia as she went to rub Twilight’s head, and found her hoof passing through. She immediately raised an eyebrow, but Twilight, whose robe was still intact and with a small, gray stitching to accent the hem on it now, just wove it away. “It may not take much for me to be alive now, but come on! This way I can fly, spook people, and go through walls. Why wouldn’t I want to stay like this most of the time?”

Celestia almost choked on the laughter that rose in her, but instead merely shook her head, too tired to fully take it in, especially with everything else. “So, everything else ignored, you’re safe?”

Twilight’s cheeks turned red again as she put a hoof on Celestia’s, and looked her straight in the eyes. “I’m better than safe. I… I feel alive for the first time in hundreds of years, and like I truly have a family again. Better than that though, I am enlightened, and able to see more than I ever had before.” She reached forward and touched Celestia’s chest, right over her heart. The princess gasped for a moment, before softly smiling at her little wraith as Twilight kept her tight lipped smirk.

She then floated away though, and picked up her chalk. “Unfortunately, before I can put that right, I need to put something else to right.”

Celestia opened up her mouth to question it, but after how wonderful the surprises had been tonight, she was willing to wait. Instead, she picked up her own piece of chalk, and began to help with the pentagram. The two worked in a quiet, calm silence, occasionally glancing at each other, before turning away and blushing.

Once done though, Twilight turned to Celestia while biting her lip. “I-I’m sorry, princess, but… but can you go? I need to do this by myself I think.”

Celestia stepped forward for a moment, her chest burning in frustration. She had been teased about this for too long to just be dismissed again. However, Twilight couldn’t meet her eye either, and each passing moment sank further into the ground. In the face of that, Celestia could do nothing but nod, and walk away.

Twilight slowly waved her away, waiting for her to turn the corner before turning to the pentagram, and whispering, “Ghastly Aura.”

A spirit began to shimmer into existence, with a coat as gray as ash, and hair white as snow. Twilight’s aura shivered in anticipation, and she swallowed hard as the mare opened her blue eyes. They almost immediately widened, and a hastily said, “Sorry,” escaped before Twilight grabbed her hoof.

“Please, don’t run, mom.”

The two looked into each other’s eyes for almost a minute, before Ghasty could no longer take it, and lowered her head, tears disappearing into the aether, as most spiritual ones did. Twilight gently stroked her mother’s head, remembering their last discussion. She had been trapped inside a bubble of darkness and pain, and Sombra could tell when Ghastly had come to the cave. One truth later, and Twilight had disowned her mother after knowing she was the cause for her current condition.

Now she had to amend that rant.

Twilight snuggled into Ghastly’s neck, whispering, “It’s okay,” as the other mare became quiet. “You made a mistake because you were afraid, and desperate. I know that feeling. I almost destroyed all of Equestria because of it, but you cannot continue to beat yourself up about this.” Twilight pushed her mother away so they could look eye to eye now. “If you hadn’t done any of this, I would have just ended up a shut in. I would not currently have a heart that beats for almost a dozen ponies, all of whom may very well love me back, and now I can finally appreciate and recognize that. I would not have powers unknown to most beings in the world, or be able to summon popsicles that scream at ponies, or best of all, make fillies and colts smile because what I do makes them happy. Makes so many ponies happy.”

She swallowed hard, tears now actively pouring down each of theirs faces. Ghastly swallowed hard and shakily nodded. “I… I’m happy I could… that you found happiness out of this. I only ever wanted what was best for you. What would keep you safe.”

Twilight put a hoof to Ghastly’s muzzle, and smiled as the other mare began to fade. “And you did just that. Thank you, mom.”

And then, Twilight was alone, but not sad. No, she doubted that would ever happen again…

...or at least until she forgot to turn corporeal for Sunset’s pancakes the next day and froze them instead. She was very sad then.

Author's Note

*breathes in* Tl:DR is that Save Me is dead. It bogged me down, and isn't what Twaith is pretty much. So we're moving on. Also, ship teasing is at least going to be lowered, because Twilight actually understands love and attraction, so please, flood me with your comments. Oh, and Spike is full grown (adult), and Trixie has four tails instead of three now.

Okay, the longer explanation now. If any of you kept up with the Twaith blogs, I believe the second to last one talked about me needing to refocus. Refocusing turned into moving, depression, and me trying to become an actual writer (still looking for a literary agent as this is typed), and with all of that, Twaith kind of fell to the wayside, and anytime I thought about it, I couldn't come up with good, traditional, short Twaith stuff, and I had no motivation for Save Me. So it kind of just... stuck.

Last night though, I went screw it. Save Me is an idea I loved, and wished I could have finished, but in the end, what is Twaith? Twaith is meant to be a loosely connected bits of cuteness and fluff that can have surprising story moments at times... and Cthulhu. Save Me was none of this, even the Cthulhu. So, I decided to kill it.

Where will Twaith go from here? Well, seeing as I can now do Starlight how I originally intended to again in a side story that might be like three chapters long. I don't know if Sunset's backstory will ever get finished, though the big one, her being Celestia's adopted daughter, is out, so I can live with that. I do also still plan to try to launch the other branch from the invasion, but I give NOOOOO promises.

So yeah, let's go back to the fun we used to have, and I eagerly await your comments.

Finally

Rarity swallowed hard as she, along with the the other four mares from Ponyville, stood in the doorway to the grand dining hall of The Castle of the Twin Sisters. They had been invited because of their recent triumphs over Sombrich, as he was now being called, but they also knew the greater importance of it all, and so they didn’t dare step in. Instead, they only stared at the cute mare at the end of the table. “W-what do you think’s going to happen?”

Rainbow Dash bit into her cheek, before grinning slightly. “Two to one she goes harmonic on us when she sees them.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised that that’s not the odds for when she actually gets to have them.”

Dash giggled a little bit, before shaking her head. “Nah. That one’s a certainty. I mean, what else could she do?”

A small scratching on the stones caused them all to jump, before they looked up. Spike, in turn, grinned down at them, as he was finally able to enjoy the fact that he was ‘fully grown’, instead of worrying about his sis. Still, the young dracolich couldn’t help but have his misgivings, and stepped closer to Rarity. “Well, she could flip out and freeze the whole castle. Don’t worry though, I’ll be able to keep you all protected.”

Fluttershy paled at the thought of some sort of magical explosion due to all of this, and stammered out, “A-are you sure you won’t have to go… monstrous again, if she did that?”

It was now Spike’s turn to pale. It was a reaction to Twaith unlocking her full power when he became a hundred foot tall monster that rotted all that he touched, but it was a very real possibility that another spike in her power could bring it back. “I-I’m sure that that was just because of her anger. This would be due to joy.”

“Yep!” Pinkie bounced as she yelled the word, causing the rest of the mares to jump with her, before she grinned wide. “Though, what if she became so happy that it made her heart stop? Would she die then? Or would she just need to restart it?”

All of them just stared at Pinkie for that one, before Rainbow snickered. “Could you imagine trying to give her CPR?”

Most of them gave a light chuckle, while Applejack’s cheeks turned crimson, before she turned away and huffed out, “You wouldn’t be able to touch her then, so you couldn’t!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, though now her mind turned to how nice it might be to put the mack on those cute little lips. And she could even say she was just trying to save her friend! Perfect excuse coverage.

While they devolved into more mindless banter, two beings on the top of the rafters stared down upon the hall, sharing in much of the same sentiments and misgivings that the living mares were. Of course, neither really said anything. For Trixie, it was more because she knew she could protect herself, especially now that she had her four beautiful tails flicking behind her. As for Marble, well, she didn’t really say much on a regular basis, so she wasn’t the best conversationalist.

Still, the two were happy to be back in Ponyville, and back to just being able to relax. The past month had been hard on all of them, and after so much stress, a nice, little event like this was just what the doctor ordered. Or witch doctor, if Trixie was in the mood to think back on her meeting with ‘Granny Pie.’ The aura from the old bag of bones still made her shiver, even now.

Of course, there was one in the room that had wasn’t thinking about these hardships or issues. She’d heard about some of them, and had an inkling to others, but for her, she was ready to put it all behind her. Besides, she had more important things to focus on, such as the bacon haired mare that now walked out of the doors on the other end of the hall.

Twilight licked her lips, and began to shake.

Sunset, for her part, had also managed to shed the weight of the adventure. Then again, unlike all the rest, she’d been able to go back to what she loved to do. There was no re-adjustment period, or even a chance to relax. Nope, when she got home, she was immediately ordered by not only Twilight, but her dear mentor as well to get to work.

She glanced to Celestia, who trotted beside her, and grinned. “So, tell me, how slowly should we walk?”

Celestia raised an eyebrow back, before smiling herself. She was loving the day already, because she finally could say things were returning to normal for herself. On top of that, the presence of the young ponies, and her dear Twilight, all meant that the bad memories in these stones could fade, and be replaced with ones that were entirely more pleasant. “I don’t know. If we take too long, I think she’ll freeze us in place and just take the plate from you.”

Sunset chuckled at the all too true prediction, which was only enforced as they heard Twilight yell, “Hurry up already!”

Sunset decided that the poor mare had been forced to wait long enough, and so began to trot faster to her waiting client. The plate beside her, kept calm by her magic, was all that Twilight could watch as Sunset moved, ignoring the stains on her friend, or the fact that most of her chest was white. No, they were all that mattered.

Finally, Sunset put the plate down, and lifted off the cover. It shone, almost like made of gold, and threatened to blind those looking upon it. Susnet smiled as Twilight’s face lit up, and said, “Made the very best, for the best mare I know, here you go Twilight.”

“You can finally have some pancakes.”

Twilight could almost cry as she stared at the syrup that dribbled down the large stack of flapjacks. It wouldn’t be by any tricks, or through another’s mouth, but she could eat them. She could enjoy them. It was almost too much.

And then, they were gone, as a dark blue blast swept them off the table. Twilight, along with everypony else, could only stare at where they were, stunned and afraid.

And then, a loud, commanding voice barked from the side of the dining hall. “How dare you make pancakes and not invite your dearest princess!”

Twilight turned to Luna, her eye twitching, and everything went wrong. The insanity and chaos that broke out in the ensuing duel to the death guaranteed it to everypony there.

They were home, and life would indeed continue to be the wonderful rollercoaster that they all adored, all because of their little ball of insanity named: Twilight.

Author's Note

It’s actually really nice to be back everyone, especially after all the times I considered calling this whole story done. Now, technically, I would say the ‘story’ is done, as the story ended when Twilight no longer had to fight her wraith side. But you know what I realized last night?

That just means that now I can stop being serious, and just let us go back to being fun. Of course, a whole other story did happen, and I’m trying my best to let you all know the highlights, without making them too obtrusive. This should, hopefully, be the last you see of major references to what happened in Save Me, unless it’s a chapter literally dedicated to a part that’s important for the characters, but never got written.

But, I do have to address why this is coming back. It’s coming back because I write a lot of serious shit, and I am fairly depressed a good bit of the time, and I just need Twaith back in my life to counter some of that. However, to do that, I also need ALL THE COMMENTS! I am considering all the past ones gone, so please, BOMBARD ME! Send me ALL OF YOUR IDEAS!

Which I guess is a decent enough segway to one last thing. If you have none Twaith ideas you want to see me do, I am now officially a full time writer, which means that I take commissions, but also have a patreon. Supporting the patreon lets me do more things like this, and work on my original fiction, of which I recently published my first original novella: Diane and Kat: The Bound Bands. It’s about two lesbians who go down into a dungeon to fetch a treasure, and it would mean the world to me if you checked it out.

Whoo! Sorry for the long author’s note, but after so much time, I felt it was necessary. I hope you all enjoyed this though, and see you next time.

The Final Chapter

So, this is the author doing something I’d thought about doing before, but am doing now because I need to address what this chapter is before you start reading, and then I need to talk after the chapter, so consider this as one of two author’s notes.

So, what is this chapter? It’s an admission. An admission that even though I had other ideas for the universe, I no longer had ideas for this story. Side stories? Sure, you’ll see one in this list even. For Fear Me though… no, and that’s because of my own illusion. I kept telling myself that, even though I was obviously wrapping up her story, that I could keep doing the fluff stuff. I’m not ShortSkirtsandExplosions, or Kudzuhaiku. I cannot endlessly extend a story into infinity, and slightly envy them for it. But this story should have ended when she came back from Sombra, because her story was over. Her conflict resolved.

So, this chapter is an info dump/idea dump. All the things I ended up not getting to, including a synopsis of EVERYTHING that was to be in Save Me, and the other way Save Me could have gone, with Twaith going to Equestria Girls, whose unfinished first chapter is here. Anyways, let’s begin, and I’ll see you again in the author’s note.

1)Starlight Glimmer

I kept hinting at it. and saying that I had a plan, but then Save Me confused it, and AAAAAH! Anyways.

The plan for Starlight Glimmer was that she met Trixune after leaving her small village, determined to either find a land with no cutie marks, or die in the desert that lays to the East of Equestria, on her way to Saddle Arabia, where Trixune was from. The two teamed up or Trixune’s adventures, until the very end.

At the end, they get to the valley of Out Town, where Starlight asks for help in a spell, knowing that the kitsune will be better at molding Starlight’s raw magical power into binding and releasing spells. What is made in the end is a kitsune statue that fulfils Trixie’s main purpose, and has one other big benefit.

When a pony touches one paw, it takes away their cutie mark. If they touch the other, it gives it back, and can ONLY give back the cutie mark the person originally had. Starlight put it in the middle of the valley, where it was always accessible.

My final decision on how this comes back to Twaith ended up being my original. Trixune is down, and Twaith wants to help her best buddy. They go to the valley, finding first a Double Diamond who has his cutie mark. What results is a simple, heart warming tale as Twilight comes to the town first, hears about how it’s a sanctuary for ponies who want a break from their cutie marks, with a few permanents, like Double Diamond, Sugar Belle, and Night Glider, all who only put on their cutie marks on when they needed them.

Just like Starlight, who simply tends to a small farm, and watches over the valley, with the statue never having moved, for doing so would betray her friend.

2) Trixune

I’ll try to be a bit faster here. Starts with one tail, is given power by her elder for two, gets three (what she has for Fear Me) when making the kistune statue. Her goal was stated as to defend against the dark, when really it was to make more kitsunes, by exposing them to kitsune magic. Hence why the statue helped so much.

In Save Me, she gets her fourth tail on a detour to the desert to talk to her elder, and request his help. They turn her down, but when she admits to him that she loves Twilight, and that she knows she is too weak to help, her spirit blooms, and she gets her fourth tail. She also was meant to have a chapter questioning Granny Pie as to what Pinkie really is. Speaking of which.

3) Pinkie and Pinkamena Diane Pie

Pinkie could always see ghosts, even before she almost died (though that is how most outside of thestrals see ghosts) due to her lineage, Pinkamena Diane Pie, which brings us more to:

In Save Me, she was to see Granny Pie for some protective charms and advice, and she gets given some rocks with pentagrams on them, so that the living crew can’t get their souls forcibly sucked out. Granny then looks at her daughter, Pinkamena, the same one Twilight met when she was a filly.

This Pinkamena is half draconequus, while Granny is full. She is in hiding, and was long friends with the Rock family, so when her half daughter had a quarter draconquus daughter who could pass as a pony, they gave her to them. This is why Pinkie Pie can touch Twaith.

And, for those at Everfree on the year I went, this is based off a headcanon I saw there, and helped contribute to, where Pinkie Pie is an adopted member of the Pie family.

4)Spike

This is all Save Me stuff. He grows when Twilight grows, so when she goes full on Harmony Wraith because she accepted her wraith side, instead of trying to fight it, he grew to be his MAXIMUM size, with no skin on him. Like this, he was instrumental in the final defeat of Sombra, by his rotting breath breaking his immortal enchantments, and destroying the lich’s physical form.

Now a spirit, he ended up being the only soul Twaith ever ate.

And that’s mostly it, except for Teach Me, for My Name is Twaith. I will let the chapter itself speak about the idea, but it was too late for it to save Twaith when I began writing it, especially while depression made it no longer fun to write. In general, it had a much looser plot than Fear Me, with it mostly be her trying to get along with… well, you can take a guess. Like I said, it is unfinished, but there is enough there for the start of something. And if someone wants to either just straight up take what is here, or be inspired by what is here, and do the concept themselves, I would be happy to help, and you have my full permission.

A Different Solution

A large, yellow eye opened in the ether. It belonged to a beast like fews imagining, and soon, the creature began to move. In here, at his home, he did not need a form, but the call was strong, so his essence in preparation to go to his follower, was preparing for the world. For a moment, the yellow eye faded as the energies within the god fluctuated, and he growled it back to the correct one.

He extended a green hand out, focusing his energies on the paltry task of ripping open holes to different dimensions. His other claw was on his head, rubbing at the forming skull as he noted a pounding headache. That… shouldn’t be right. He looked to the portal that was supposed to be being created, and felt his being ripple in frustration as he saw none in existence yet, but could now make out the chant.

His kitten pone was calling for him, but prophecy was trying to stop him. This would not do.

He extended both hands towards the same spot, letting the green claws hook into space and time together, something he had not done in a long time. Most worlds, even under the effects of prophecy, wouldn’t require this, but Equestria was different. So much of its conflicts and changes were within destiny and prophecy, so even beasts like the mighty Cthulhu had to fight hard to get in. It didn’t help that he had stayed longer than he should have, and thus had been tired from the experience. He would not simply ignore the reason he had become so infatuated with the world simply because he wanted a nap though. That was what stupid cats did, not deities.

Inch by inch, his claws came apart, and a rift formed within the ether. His magic kept the portal open, even as he shrunk to slip within the crack. Looking through the swirling mass of magic and essence, he could see her. His little Twilight in front of a summoning sign, her hooves placed before her, and her head hanging low.Just looking at his little kitten pone so sad like this caused his essence to boil, and he pushed forward.

She looked up only once he slammed a foot onto the stones of the Canterlot archives, and he looked down upon her, before speaking in his ancient tongue. The purple mare swiped at her eyes with a hoof, causing her black cowl to fall back from her face, before she raised herself. Cthulhu gently began to scratch at the pony’s ears as he listened to her plea. She wanted to escape, to make sure she would not be able to harm other ponies, and she thought she knew how she could.

Instead of asking to join him in his realm as he somewhat hoped, she instead asked to be sent back to the realm of humans, a place the two had been once before for a ‘field trip’. There, she felt like her magic had been weaker, and so she would not feel this hunger as much. Or so, she hoped.

His tentacle maw twisted itself around each other as he thought. He was tired, and the whole world would resist his action, for it would destroy the prophecy that was taking effect. Looking into Twilight’s shining green eyes though, he knew that he could not say no, not when he could act.

Upon hearing his agreement though, she asked for one more favor, and he chuckled as he nodded.

======+++++======

A new chill entered Chrysalis’s cell as she opened her eyes. Of course, with as deep into the ground as she must have been, it could have just been that it was now turning to night, and the normal chills of that were coming. She did hope it was something else, as even a week in one of Canterlot’s most secure dungeons was less than pleasant.

She looked up from her hole, and tried to stretch her wings against the bindings on them. If she could fly or use her magic, breaking out of this place would be a breeze, or at least, that’s what she told herself. All she would need to do is knock out one of the guards that brought her food, bring down the other, before fighting… “All of Canterlot.” She sighed as she slumped forward, crossing her hooves as she stared at the stone wall before her.

“Hello, Queen Chrysalis.”

Her mane almost stood on end as she heard the voice. It was one she would never forget, as it belonged to the creature that had almost killed her, and had led to her chapter. She turned towards the sound, and saw nothing, but still growled, knowing that the wraith could be anywhere. “I told them where your friends were, so leave me in peace!”

A purple mare appeared a few feet away, floating off of the ground as she shook her head. “That is not why I’m here. I’m here to offer you a chance at redemption, and freedom.”

Chrysalis let out a cloud of steam as she snorted. “Yeah, and next you’re gonna say you brought kittens for me to feed on or something.”

“No, but I can do this.” The wraith extended a hoof towards Chrysalis, and she tried to get away. In the confined space, it was impossible. She could feel the cold getting increasingly intense, before it stopped suddenly. It was still there, of course, but something else made her forget about it entirely. Her ears flicked again as she heard the sound of metal on stone, and her horn glowed a slight green. Chrysalis raised a hoof and put it against the newly freed appendage, before just staring at the spirit and whispering, “Why?”

The spirit floated down so that the two were able to look at each other eye to eye. “Because I saw why you did what you did, and while I know you deserve to be punished for your attempt to destroy the country I love, I don’t think you deserve to be here alone forever, or for as long as Celestia wants you to be here.” She extended a hoof towards Chrysalis. “My name is Twilight, and I want to be your friend.”

Chrysalis glanced at the hoof, before looking back into those shining, green eyes. They seemed to invite her, as there was no malice or hate in them. Just worry, fear, and concern, emotions she had seen for so long whenever she had looked in the mirror. She doubted it was because of herself, but that… that actually meant more to the queen, as Twilight had seemingly remembered about her, even while facing her own worries. She took in a deep breath, and took the hoof. “My name is Chrysalis, and whatever I need to do to have a second chance, I will take it. Anything has to be better than down here.”

Twilight nodded, before her horn glowed bright, and the two disappeared in a flash of light. The next moment, Chrysalis found herself stumbling forward, and getting her eyes covered. “Hey, what gives?”

“Sorry, but I’m pretty sure you do not want to see our pilot while he uses his magic. It can be a bit much for most ponies.”

“What are you-” She was cut off by something speaking. She had no idea what it said, or even was sure it was speaking a real language, but the words themselves shook her core, and she reflexively found herself shutting up.

“Is it ready?”

Another warble went through the room, and Chrysalis found herself being shoved, and the queasiness caused by Twilight’s spell could not compare to stomach wrenching she now felt.

Behind her, Twilight dove into the activated portal, and it shut right behind her. Cthulhu’s eyes drooped slightly as he moved his hands, and turned to go home. In another moment, all that was left in the forbidden chamber, was a mirror, with a purple boundary, and a crack running through its middle.

Greetings

Twilight’s essence rippled as she took in a deep breath...and heard a loud thump. A groan came from below her, and she glanced down to see a black girl with green hair, and a matching, short green dress, that had a light green wrap in the middle, and ended in multiple points that looked like teeth. Twilight floated down, letting half of her body merge into the nice, blue stone they were on. She looked into Chrysalis’s green eyes and squealed. “We made it through, and you look amazing! How about me? Did I come out okay?”

Chrysalis’s breath caught as she looked at the green eyes above her, but not for their beauty… at least, mostly. No, it was for the fact that when she looked away from them, Twilight looked wrong! She had no muzzle, her ears were tiny, and… why were her legs so long? Chrysalis glanced down, her gaze being stopped by large, black mounds on her chest. She took in a sharp breath, before Twilight’s hand covered her mouth.

Twilight smiled and slowly pulled away as Chrysalis’s eyebrows lowered. “You and I are in a new dimension, one that’s supposedly connected to Equestria. However, everypony here is something called a human. The have weirdly long legs,” she laid back in the air, kicking one to the sky, which gave Chrysalis full view of everything underneath Twilight’s robe… which was a whole lot of nothing. Later that night, Chrysalis would begin to mentally scream at the image that would not leave, but for now simply looked to the leg, her mind still adjusting with her new form.

Twilight lowered her leg, and pushed her hands into Chrysalis’s face, before her cheeks turned red and she pulled them out, though leaving frost on the changeling’s nose. “Sorry, I’m getting used to the range on these, but they’re super useful for holding things.”

Chrysalis nodded as she put her hands onto either side of herself and tried to push up. It was weird, but she could feel something guiding her actions. Was it instinct? If they were still in Equestria, she would blame harmony, but she wasn’t sure if that principle still kept in this land.

“Hey, I’m gonna see if anypony is near us, alright?”

Chrysalis nodded as she slowly put one foot under herself, and then the other. She had learned how to quickly mimic motions though, and Twilight had shown this upright stance for her to mock it okay by now. Walking would be a pain, but she wasn’t too surprised. I am way too high right now.

The wraith went around the corner, and she smiled to herself. She may have agreed to leave, but there was no way she was staying with the very thing that had almost killed her. All she had to do was focus. Even without a horn or wings, her magic still had to be there. A small energy stirred within her, and she smiled.

Green flames licked the edges of Chrysalis’s fingers, and she shut her eyes as she forced herself to focus. It felt just like her molting day, when she had to choose her real form. If she failed, and could not keep it, she was to be a failure. Victory in it though proved her for the queen she was. Now it was freedom, or having to stay close to that annoyingly cute spirit.

The flames spread, and where they touched, her black skin became white. A burst of energy came from her chest, and she felt her dress begin to change into a white shirt. A click of her tongue, and she added a pink heart to the front, just to make sure any who say her just believed she was indeed a cute, normal human. On her arms and legs, she matched the bright, fluffy hair she was growing with warmers, and smiled as she felt the flames closing in on each other. Any moment, and the transformation would be-

Fwoosh!

Chrysalis stepped back, the fluffy facade falling away as she slammed into the lockers behind her. Twilight came out of the wall only a few moments later, fear in her eyes. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Chrysalis blinked a few times. She hadn’t noticed before, but she now felt exhausted. Even the attempt, something that was nothing for her in Equestria, had almost wiped her out right now. She stared at her shaking hands, before gritting her teeth and shaking her head. “N-nothing happened.” Her voice became even softer as a drop of water splattered onto a palm. “Nothing at all.”

Author's Note

And… that’s it. If there is more, I’ve unfortunately forgotten about it here, and I’m sorry. In general, I’m sorry. I never expected this to happen. I always wanted Twaith to go on forever, but my own machinations, and the wrapping up of her story, should have made it so that I put her to rest a while ago, instead of teasing myself, and all of you.

I do want to thank you all for that chance though. For following me into this crazy experiment, and seeing where I led it. This is still, by far, the project I have written the most for, and for so long it filled me with so much joy to do so. It helped me move out of my parents house, gave me something to work on in my first year in college… and I wish I could do more to give a better send off or all of this.

The only thing I can say, is that Twaith will not be forgotten. It’s a story that simply got to the end of its arc, but what I learned while writing it, or at least I enjoyed in writing it, will stick with me.

In fact, the final nail, among many others, was what I call a spiritual successor to Twaith. Comment driven, cute, naive protagonist, insane, but fun mythos, hi-jinks surrounding what makes the character cute, but also ‘dangerous’, and having fun with all sort of side characters.

For those of you who have stuck around still, and like the sounds of that, well, the project is called Zombie Hugs, following the tale of a 12 year old zombie named Amelia who wants one thing in her post apocalyptic world: Hugs. Hopefully it’ll be able to satisfy some of the itch this may leave, and again… sorry.

And, as one last note. I have said it before, but I think now it is more important than ever. If you ever want to make a story about Twaith, or continue Fear Me, you have my complete blessing, and happy guidance, so long as you, you know, contact me. I’m always happy to help, and Twaith will always be near and dear to my heart. I think without it, I would have never had the courage to seek all I have in writing now.

So, thank you, I’m sorry, and hopefully I may continue to produce high quality content for your enjoyment… even if it’s not here.

Greetings

Sunset took in a sharp breath as they crossed into the forbidden section of the library, an ancient and foreboding place. Even after ten years of being Celestia’s pupil, she had never been allowed down here. However, this was the best way to the catacombs, and their destination. “So, exactly what should we expect?”

Celestia frowned slightly and brightened her horn slightly. “Now now Sunset, we talked about wraiths three weeks ago. There is no reason you wouldn’t know now.”

“But we didn’t go in depth on creation, just on abilities and how one would defend against it. Besides, you expect it to be a wraith? Are you sure it can’t simply be a ghost or specter?”

The princess shook her head as they turned down the final bookshelf. She almost smirked as her student kept her eyes stuck to the shelves. “Only a wraith’s ability and affinity to ice would be causing the pipes to freeze as they are. I only wish I had thought to scan the catacombs for larger magical entities before now. Luckily for us, it seems to only be the one.”

Sunset scowled slightly while trying to fight the temptation to slip one of the books into her saddlebags. “That also means it alone rivals the highest unicorns in Equestria,” her voice grew much lower, causing Celestia to barely catch, “and even beats me.”

She wrapped one wing over her student and smiled at her as they opened the door to the catacombs. “I wouldn’t have brought you if I didn’t think you could handle it. Besides, when we have to fight it, your fire magic will be invaluable.”

Sunset almost stopped in her tracks as the walls in front of them seemed alive for a moment before a cockroach landed in front of her. She immediately decided to get them back for the trick by firing a fire bolt down the corridor. “So, you said when? That’s a different tone for you.”

Celestia breathed a deep sigh, her breath coming out in an icy cloud. The temperature had dropped by almost twenty degrees by them simply walking into the catacombs, and almost every hoof step brought the chill further into her bones. “Wraiths gain power the longer they exist. Starswhirl persisted for almost a century after his death, so consumed by trying to finish his final spell that he wouldn’t leave. Not even he could resist the icy grip of death magic on his heart though.” She stopped in her tracks and felt her tear freeze her eye shut.

Sunset brought a low burning flame close to Celestia’s face. “Even Starswhirl?”

The princess shook her head clear as her legs started to become stiff from the increasing cold. “The magic that binds a soul to the planet is a strange one. For normal ghosts, it is regrets, but with wraiths, it becomes far more. Not only is it regret that causes them to stay, but also their own magic. That is why you’ll only ever see a unicorn become a wraith.”

She stopped just before the next bend. “The magic that binds them here conflicts with their magic though, and corrupts it. At first, they can only use ice. When they have spent enough time, they start to experiment with the dead, most likely why this one has taken roost here. It was only when Starswhirl heard the siren’s call of soul magic that he asked me to stop him though.”

Sunset leaned against her mentor. “I...its okay, I promise. Whatever is around the next bend is gonna get the asskicking of a lifetime!” She grinned at Celestia while her horn grew brighter and brighter. A small sun appeared at the tip and Celestia covered the added light with her wing. Soon it burst and tendrils of flame came over both of them. Celestia sighed, thankful for the warmth, though she knew such enchantments were taxing on her student.

“Are you ready?”

Sunset panted slightly as the cold was driven from her. “Yeah, I think I am.” At least, as long as there isn’t more you aren’t telling me about wraiths.

The two turned the corner and Celestia’s horn flared with light. Sunset stopped mid trot, trying to stop her magic from igniting the obstacle in front of them. “What in the world is this?”

Another voice came from the immense wall in front of them that blocked the corridor. It almost made Celestia chuckle from how nonchalant it was. “It’s called a book fort. Now please go away, I have reading to do.”

Sunset blinked a few times before turning to Celestia and mouthing, ‘What now?’

Celestia brought one hoof to her muzzle before focusing her light into a straight beam that went into one of the small holes in the wall. A pulse of magic travelled down its length before a bubble of blinding light swept through the construction.

“Ah!” Rustling could be heard within and for one of the large stacks fell, allowing the newly reformed cone of light to catch the hem of a ball cloak and cause another yelp from the creature. The rustling then stopped and ever so slowly Sunset could make out a purple hoof, just before it touched the light. “Agh!”

“Celestia, turn it down.”

Celestia bit into her cheek for a moment before complying. There was definitely something odd about the creature, such as the fact that they weren’t impaled by now. She herself watched the collapsed side for a few moments, but no further signs came of the wraith. Though perhaps it’s merely light sensitive? No, not with this much power. “Will you come out wraith, or must we come in there?”

“No, no, that shouldn’t be necessary. I… I just don’t really know what to do now.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Well why don’t you just come out then?” She almost immediately regretted it as even her own enchantment faltered against the freezing cold that came in a moment. Her doubt grew even more when she saw beautiful green eyes come out, framed just underneath a straight, bowl cut purple and pink mane. “Uh…”

The creature crossed its front hooves, a trail of ice following the right one as a slight red crossed over its face. Its form faltered for a moment as it looked between the two of them before it finally spoke. “Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle, granddaughter to Clover the Clever. What brings you to my home?”

Sunset’s jaw almost hit the floor as she tried to register what had just been said. Celestia helped her student remember her manners by politely slamming her mouth shut. “Hello there Twilight. Now… do you know what you are?”

Twilight giggled. “I am an Equestrian, unicorn mare who has become a wraith, fifth class, ice. Is that what you were wondering?”

Celestia blinked once before steeling herself. Only fifth. Then again, her scale would be based off of much older measurements. “Do you know how long you’ve been down here?”

She tapped a see through hoof to her muzzle for a moment before shrugging. “I would guess about twenty years.”

“Twenty? Clover died seven hundred-“ Sunset stopped shouting as Celestia’s hoof smacked against the back of her head.

“Sunset, don’t be rude.” She turned back to Twilight as the air crew back its chill. She could see it happening to her. The realization of what she had lost, of how much time had passed, and how much time would pass. The faint warmth in her that was caused by the pretty mare only grew as she knew how much she must hurt now. “Twilight, are you okay?”

She hung her head down. “I… I don’t know. I don’t think I wasted the time, but then again, my… my family.”

Celestia stepped closer, her horn almost flickering out so as not to hurt the wraith. “I know, it must hurt, but I can tell you one thing that might not.”

Twilight looked up at her. “What?”

“Well, thousands of books have been made since you came here, just in case you were almost out.”

Sunset jumped out of the way as frost covered the hallway. “Yes, yes, yes!” Twilight stopped in front of Celestia. “Are you serious?”

Celestia felt a small pang in her, as well as hope. “Of course I am. However, we will need to take certain precautions to not have you reading them continue to be a problem.”

“Problem?”

Sunset looked out from behind her small bit of cover, attempting to shake off the ice on her tail. “Apparently you’ve grown strong enough to start freezing the pipes just above here, and despite how awesome it was to see some of those nobles covered in sewage-“

“Sunset!”

She blushed slightly. “I mean, we would like to get that part to stop, for the ponies living above.”

Celestia brought Twilight’s eyes up to meet hers. “Which means restricting your power and growth.”

Twilight put her hoof back to her mouth. “So, I take a power cut and get all the books the world has made thus far and from now on?”

“Yes.”

Twilight jumped into the air before giving a small whoop. “Then why would I say no?”

Celestia smiled at the black cloak clad mare. “And of course, I expect you and Sunset to become friends as another part of the deal. Understood?”

Twilight frowned with Sunset as they both said, “But that’ll interfere with my reading!” They both looked at each other and Sunset blushed as Twilight giggled.

“It will be good for both of you, I promise.”

Sunset sighed, knowing that the moment she said that, there was no getting out of it. “So Twilight, what do you do for fun?”

“Read.”

“And?”

“Why and?”

Sunset simply stared at the mare before those green eyes met hers and something forced her to look away. “So, I guess we’re all heading back now?” The whole corridor decided to shake at just that moment. “What in Equestria?”

“Well, there are cows, pigs, pegasi, or at least I hope them and the earth ponies are around. I know someone had been rallying for princesses and unicorns to be the only race before I left to live here, but I like to think they didn’t get much traction.”

Sunset turned around and almost said something before she had to jump around and through large stacks of books. She watched as the book fort continued down the way. “Celestia, what have you done to me?”

She let out a small chuckle. “Just trust me, alright?”

Sunset swallowed hard. “Why does that scare me more than she does?” She never got a response, and soon had to gallop in order to catch up to the other two as they led the way out.

Author's Note

Leave anything you wish to comment/suggest they do. This is a project I hope to update at least once a week as this was created as something to do during my all too long lunch breaks, which does mean most chapters will be short and, hopefully, silly. I do have some story planned, but the shenanigans will most definitely be the focus.

A Meeting of Gods

“Celestia, I have been your student for over ten years now. I think if I am to go further then simply learning magic that I need to start coming to political meetings such as this!”

The princess sighed. She had never confirmed or denied to Sunset on whether or not she would become an advisor to her one day, and if she were honest, she didn’t know either. Celestia had recently been trying to let her have more access to the resources for these goals as a sign of hope, but it still hadn’t been enough for Sunset. Last summer had been a prime example of that. She shook her head clear of thoughts of the mirror and turned to Sunset. “As much as I would like your company for this, I simply cannot have you meeting these guests. The dangers are simply too great.”

Sunset stomped her hooves down in front of her teacher. “Tell me what dangers then! I promise you, I can take it.”

Celestia spent a moment looking into the determined unicorn’s eyes before she sighed and bent her head low to allow her horn to touch Sunset’s. In a small flash of light, she sent an image of the first time she had ever seen the most important of the guests, a creature no one could match. She watched as her student stepped back, swallowed, and then tucked her tail in between her legs and slowly started to lie down. “See Sunset?”

Sunset swallowed hard. “Y-yeah, I get it.” She then turned her eyes away from Celestia and nuzzled into her forehooves. She only looked at her teacher once when one of Celestia’s hooves was brushing against her back.

“I’m sorry Sunset, but I needed you to understand.” She wrapped a wing over her and nuzzled against Sunset. “How about this? Tomorrow I’ll set aside enough time so we can have dinner for just the two of us, and I’ll even make something special myself to make up for you missing out on today. Okay?”

Sunset bit into her cheek and nodded, nuzzling against Celestia’s chest for comfort like she had so many times before. The image of tentacles and uncaring eyes appeared in her mind again and she stiffened. “D-do you think I might be able to sleep in your bed too?”

“Like old times? It would be my pleasure.” The two mares hugged each other tight, and then Celestia found herself alone, with the only distraction her growing annoyance at her immortality.

The four occupants of the meeting room all looked over as its doors opened and Celestia walked in. The purple humanoid cat rolled his eyes and turned back to the cards in his hand. He had far more important things to focus on, like destroying the other purple thing in the room that kept acting like it wanted to be a cat. The tall, blue humanoid alien next to him waved, his white hair staying stiff, even as he did an informal bow from his chair. Twilight waved from on top of the massive, green creature in the room who then waved to Celestia and mumbled a greeting in it’s own ancient tongue.

Celestia nodded to each in turn as she said, “It is nice to see you Beerus, Whis, and Cthulu. I hope you have all been well and…“ she paused and sighed. “May I know how you got my new friend to join you?”

Beerus hissed slightly as Twilight put down her hand, once more beating him for the pot. “We needed a fourth player and Whis had heard of a popsicle maker within the castle, but no amount of tasty popsicles is going to end my fury if you do not lose this instant!”

Celestia shook her head and gave a brief greeting to the massive presence in the room while inquiring about why it had Twilight curled up like a cat on his head. He merely responded that she was soft, and he rarely got to pet and be with soft things. She then turned to Whis, who was currently licking his fourth orange creamsicle. “I take it bids are as they normally are?”

Whis nodded, but then put a finger to his chin. “At least, as normal as you can when when you can’t ever decide what exactly it is one of your players is betting with.” He flashed a brief smile at Cthulu. “Not that we mind of course sir.”

Beerus slammed the table with his paws and screamed in frustration. Celestia glanced back and chuckled. “Please tell me Twilight is giving Equestria more years like I normally would.”

Whis nodded. “She is indeed, and doing a rather good job for having been reading a book on poker for the first few hands to learn. Of course, I believe one more hand and Beerus may play his trump card against her.”

The cat’s ears twitched and he smiled at Twilight. “That’s right, I know something you don’t know. Something about your fate that may change the very course of this whole planet.”

Cthulu gurgled a retort and Whis and Celestia chuckled together. “Come now Cthulu, at least humor him, even if he is always wrong.”

Beerus started to glow with a purple aura as he glared at them. The only thing that stopped him from attacking was the fact that Celestia had long ago become one of the few people he could call acquaintance, though that was mainly because Equestria had some of the best pastries in the universe. “Oh yeah? What if I told you that in less then a year, a long lost enemy would come, and with their rising, her,” he pointed one finger straight at Twilight, “life would be put at risk as they tried to take not only her power, but her sanity as well, just as the power had done to them? Would you listen then?”

Twilight nodded to the sighing Cthulu, and a few lines of Eldritch later, Beerus’ mouth was gone. The god charged at the two of them, letting his rage out against the indestructible hide of the great eldritch horror who simply chuckled from the punches.

Celestia on the other hoof, had paled. She turned to Whis. “Please, please tell me he is wrong.”

The blue man looked at her for a few moments before the popsicle in his hand started throwing curses at him and forced him to bite into it. Once the cold treat had turned back to juice, he spoke. “I wish I could, but as we both know, Beerus can be right.” He paused for a moment and put a hand on Celestia’s shoulder and smiled. “I assure you though, that that is a long shot.”

Celestia nodded, though the reassurance didn’t stop her mind. She looked back at Twaith who was curling up and yawning in Cthulhu’s lap now, causing the Eldritch to gurgle with joy from the displays of cuteness. Celestia couldn’t see her as that for the moment though. All she could see was the same power that had corrupted the one closest to her into a monster, and for but a moment she saw Twilight as she had expected her to look when they had first met. Skeleton showing, her cloak in rags, and blazing red pupils, instead of her nice green. The creature that had caused her to have to bring Sunset just so she had someone to fear for outside of herself.

She shut her eyes and breathed a sigh. “I hope you’re right Whis. I really do.”

Author's Note

A couple things. 1) Twaithulu. And I mean the ship, not two monsters combined with Twilight.
2) My apologies to those who don't know Whis or Beerus. They're from the new Dragon Ball movie. I will be trying to avoid doing crossovers, but I couldn't resist when i saw the comment.

The comment.

The Wraith's New Clothes

Rarity sucked on her lips in concentration as she slowly finished the seam of this new dress, trying to avoid the regular pitfalls others may have that would have revealed the crease. Of course, this was almost second nature to her by now. The focus was needed simply because of how excited she was. How excited she was of Sunset’s plan.

“A new type of outfit altogether. If Sunset’s theories work out, it will surely land me a place amongst the greats.” She paused for a moment with a hoof to her muzzle. “Of course, it could also do nothing. I mean, it’s not like many ponies exactly need to dress a spirit.” She followed the statement with a soft giggle, somehow only realizing how stupid this sounded. “Still, for a friend, this has been far more pleasant than other endeavors I’ve had to try.”

Knock, knock.

“Oh, that must be them.” Rarity stopped for a moment. “Now Rarity, you don’t want them to think you’re crazy, so hush up!” She let out a sigh as she trotted towards the door. It had been a bad habit she had gotten from hours of making dresses as a filly, and she had never quite broken it. Not that she would let it do anything more than annoy her. She was too controlled to let such a silly little thing get the better of her.

Sunset smiled nervously as the door swung open. “Hi Rarity. Are you ready?”

“But of course darling.” Rarity looked past Sunset at the purple mare that was watching a butterfly. “And is this your spirit friend?”

Twilight jumped at the mention of her and looked at Rarity before smiling wide. “Hello. My name is Twilight, and I am a–”

Sunset stepped in-between them with a large smile as she almost shouted, “Ghost.”

Rarity furrowed her brow, but before she could question it, Twilight did. “Well, I suppose that is correct to some degree, though most use the term wraith, including yourself, normally.”

The white unicorn paled at the mention of the creature, her mind flashing to a large, leather bound text that she had had to borrow from Sunset to study for this project. It also reminded her of just how dangerous the creatures could be, and how tasty they found souls. “Wh-what does she mean by... wraith?”

Sunset bit into her cheek as she thought up of some excuse, but between the cold sweat she could notice on Rarity’s brow, and having to shove her hoof into Twilight’s mouth to stop her from speaking, she knew she couldn’t lie. She wrapped Twilight in her magic and brought the two close. “Mind sitting in that corner for a few moments?”

Twilight pouted for a moment, but one glance at the terror in Rarity’s eyes, and she didn’t feel like arguing about something Sunset obviously knew more on. Slowly, she floated away as Sunset turned back to Rarity. “Now Rarity–”

“You said she was going to be a common thing, like a ghast or ghost, not a wraith!”

Sunset breathed in deeply before turning Rarity towards the figure in the corner. “I did, didn’t I? Well, first of all, I told you that because I wanted to avoid exactly this. Second, look at her. She has been my friend for almost three months now, and not once has she hurt me, or anypony, else, at least not on purpose. Could you even believe she could suck a soul out?”

Rarity glanced at Sunset for a moment before turning her focus to Twilight. The wraith’s cloak was absolutely horrendous, with small pockets filling it, along with frayed seams and a ragged hood. However, looking at the face that was watching them eagerly and prompted them both to wave, she couldn’t see a reason to say yes.

A long sigh filled the silence before Rarity stood tall. “Fine. Artists must take risks, and for a friend, I will take this one.”

Sunset almost danced in place before wrapping her hooves around Rarity. “Thank you!” She then almost leapt off of the other mare and tried to regain her composure, hoping Twilight hadn’t seen that and gotten the wrong idea as she was called over.

Twilight floated over and gave both of them a smile. “So, what was the plan... unless the plan is gone. Is it?”

Rarity put a hoof down and tossed her head back. “I do declare that the plan is... on!” She laughed as Twilight did a circle in the air. Sunset only gave a roll of her eyes to the display.

“So, what is it?”

Sunset smirked at the almost sparkling eyes that eagerly stared at her. “Well, we had noticed that your cloak isn’t doing so well, so we thought we would try to fix it.”

Twilight immediately frowned as her cloak fluttered in non-existent wind. “But my cloak is a part of me.”

Rarity stood right next to the nervous wraith. “Don’t fret about that dear. You see, we’re going to try to mend it through you.”

Sunset took her place on the other side of Twilight. “The theory is that if we use our magic to bring out our souls to massage and strengthen yours, we’ll fix your cloak, even if it ends up to be only bit by bit.”

Rarity levitated a few sheets in front of the three. “I even have some designs for dresses and such that we could try someday, if you were interested.”

Twilight blinked a few times, feeling something odd come to her eyes, or at least, odd for a dead mare. “You... you two would trust me like that?”

Sunset’s eyes never broke contact with Twilight’s. “Of course I would.”

“And I would trust Sunset like that. She’s pulled through for us before, so I want to manage to do at least this for her.”

Twilight started to nod her head, trying her best not to break into tears of joy. “So, how do we begin?”

Sunset and Rarity stepped away before the yellow unicorn’s horn started to glow. “Simply stand there and relax.”

A golden aura came over Sunset’s entire body as the light on her horn grew brighter and brighter. With each passing moment, Twilight felt something pull her closer and closer to her friend, something that she… she didn’t know what the feeling in her was towards the energy, even as it started to peel away from Sunset. It slid through the air swiftly, stopping mere centimeter’s from Twilight’s cloak.

Looking to her other side, a more transparent, white, and shaky essence was slowly making its way over, infrequently folding over itself before moving forward again. Once both were close to her, Twilight found her breathing becoming shallower as something deep within her said she should… do something.

It was while Twilight was trying to shake off the feeling that a black cloud started to rise from her. Bolts of green ran through the main body of her essence, and slowly it started to move towards Rarity, threading along her strand of being. The cold and fear it emanated almost froze the mare. Almost.

Twilight felt like the side of her head was smacked as the white soul ran back to its owner, long before it could have done to her… or her to it. Sunset only grit her teeth more as the black spirit turned to her.

“Twilight, control yourself.”

Twilight blinked a few times, not understanding as her head felt murky. Her vision swam as she turned to the noise, only to see a blazing sun. A delicious, blazing sun.

“Twilight, I know you can control yourself! Don’t give in to it!”

Twilight blinked, and for a moment saw that Sunset still was connected to her, despite the growing mass that rose above her, threatening to crush the yellow unicorn at any moment. She shut her eyes, and demanded her magic stop.

Yellow, black, and green exploded off of the mass as it collapsed and was called back. Both of the living mares shuddered from the sudden, intense cold, but it vanished just as quickly as it had come. What hadn’t already vanished was the crying mare that sat in the middle of the lobby.

Sunset galloped over, despite her body wanting to do anything but. She wrapped her hooves around Twilight and started to nuzzle her head. “Don’t worry Twilight, I’m okay. Nothing happened, the theory was just wrong. Celestia doesn’t even need to know about this.”

The last statement caused a small howl to come from Twilight as she hugged her friend tighter. “I’m so sorry!”

Sunset bit into her lip and looked at Rarity, who was simply staring back. Sunset mouthed, ‘Please don’t hate her.’

Rarity bit into her lower lip before sighing and nodding. She then mouthed, ‘Give me time,’ before trotting away to her room to process all that had happened, all while Sunset still held on to her scared friend.

Unbeknownst to all of them though, was that a small bit of gold aura had stayed, and now slithered along the ground. Slowly, it climbed along Twilight’s cloak before stopping on the underbelly and glowing. The small hole that had been there previously was filled with the light, forming a radiant, golden sun, that was soon half covered with red. For only a brief moment, the sign existed, before Twilight’s essence consumed the new part, covering it in black thread like the rest of the cloak.

Author's Note

Great, I take two weeks off, and the first thing I do is use a comment that would take me eternity to find Someone long ago wanted me to do Twaith getting new clothes, so, voila! Anyways, we're slowly getting back to business over on my end of things and hope you're all doing well and enjoyed the new chapter.

Fluffy's Day Out

Fluttershy poked her head out of her tree just as the sun set the sky ablaze with an orange glow. She let out a long yawn before beginning to stretch out. And right on cue, just as she stretched her wings-

Thump, thump, thump.

She looked down and saw a small, white rabbit standing on a root of the tree. A smile immediately lit up Fluttershy's face, and like most evenings, she went to fly down, only to remember how important stretching her wings was and almost crashed. And like most evenings, the bunny silently chuckled in response.

Fluttershy shook herself out and laid out a wing for her friend. "How are you tonight, Angel?"

Angel hopped up onto her back before stretching out and pretending to nap. Fluttershy never saw these movements though, and only understood the hops. "I'm happy to see you're so energetic tonight. That should help you get along with everypony else's pets."

Angel simply scowled and would stay like that for the whole flight to the park. Then again, few had seen the rabbit with any other face..

The park was, for the most part, empty. Few ponies were still wanting to do things in the dwindling sun, and were finding somewhere to be for the night, whether that was a bar, a club, or just at home. In one corner though, Fluttershy saw her friends, waiting for her while their pets had already begun to play. She didn't dare go any faster though, just in case it forced Angel off.

By the time she landed, Applejack had already spotted the batpony and wrapped a hoof around her sister while Angel got off. The bunny rolled his eyes before hopping away, determined to get the crocodile to react today.

And for a while, all was as it should be. Four ponies, watching four pets play, all while discussing things about life, and bonding. A slight chill to the air alerted them of something being amiss, and Fluttershy finally noticed Twilight hovering above them, waving.

Twilight floated down at Fluttershy's beckoning. "What's going on here?"

Applejack swallowed hard. While she had been acclimating to knowing the specter, she was by no means comfortable with her around, especially when those initial thoughts on her attractiveness came to mind. "Well Twilight, we're having a pet playdate. What brings you to the park?"

Twilight's eyes shone with excitement, ignoring the question as she came closer to Applejack. "Pet playdate? As in a chance for pets to make friends? Why didn't you tell me?"

Rarity sipped her tea before giggling a little. "I'm sorry honey, but normally, one needs a pet to be part of a pet playdate."

"But I have a pet."

Pinkie jumped up at the mention of the manticore. "And oh boy, is it a doozy!"

Applejack nodded and stood up. "Well, if you want, you can bring him by so we all can see him. The more the merrier... right?"

Twilight nodded before laughing a little. "Don't worry about me needing to bring him though. He should be here any-"

Crash!

A blue blur zigzagged around another tree while a long curl of laughter escaped her. Just as the beast that had just knocked down a tree came into view. Its hulking frame added enough weight that its claws easily found purchase, even in the firm, compacted dirt in the park. They watched as the manticore continued to run after Rainbow, chunks of ground flying into the air. Almost simultaneously, Pinkie and Twilight shouted, "Hi Fluffy!"

The undead behemoth turned to the two mares and rose a paw towards them for a moment before remembering he was still playing catch with the blue pony thing, and took off again. When he was going to barrel through the crowd of ponies though, his master levitated in front of him with an outstretched hoof. "Fluffy, stop. Rainbow Dash doesn't need help with cardio anymore-"

"Hey!"

"But you need help. Help making friends."

Fluffy would have blinked a few times if he had had eyelids but as he was, he could only tilt his head to show his confusion. His master pointed away from herself, and his eyes followed to see four morsels staring at him. "Go burn some of that playful energy you have with them. I know they'll love to meet you."

Applejack stepped up, staring at the large maw that the manticore had. "Twilight, are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be? Fluffy is nice, caring, and fun, so there is nothing-"

A loud crunch came as Fluffy crashed through the bench between him and his prey, ready to 'play'. The animals scattered, with the white rabbit catching his attention first. With each bounding step, Fluttershy's heart leapt into her throat. She tried telling herself everyone was going to be okay, but her want to scream was almost suffocating her as those fangs came closer and closer to her wonderful little rabbit. Applejack could see the terror in her sister's eyes and whistled loud. "Round him up, Winona!"

Fluffy tracked the brown blur after it jumped off of his head, and back onto the ground. He tried growling and giving pursuit, but didn't slow in his turn. He slid along the dirt until his balance fell apart and he crashed to the ground. It wasn't long until he got back up, his smile gone, and Fluttershy fainted.

Applejack was just about to start screaming about the wraith not caring about their pets when Pinkie put a hoof over the farm mare's mouth. "Shhh. I can take care of this." She turned to Gummy, who hadn't moved so far, and saluted him. "Captain Gums, I am afraid to report that the manticore may need to be subdued. Can you do this?"

Gummy's eyes slowly closed, one after another.

"Good, then I entrust in you the mission to take down that beast!"

Applejack's eye was almost twitching while Rarity decided it would be best to keep Opal under her hooves. Twilight though, frowned. "Gummy... Gummy isn't going to hurt him, right?"

Pinkie pretended to pull a pipe out of her mouth. "He'll try, but I can't guarantee anything that maverick does."

Applejack grit into her teeth. "Pinkie, if you're going to do something, do something! Don't just..." She had looked down to where the crocodile had been, but saw nothing. Instead, Gummy was in the middle of the clearing, and Winona had just passed him.

Fluffy rose a claw towards the small green animal before making eye contact with thee reptile, and stopping. The creature didn't move or cower, or even attack, and that puzzled the manticore.

Gummy meanwhile, was facing many life questions at the moment, as was normal. Many faced around life and death, such as whether or not Fluffy may have been in agony because he was supposed to be dead, or was in ecstasy for the same reason. The same thought though kept coming back, one he had asked many times in his six years of life.. Why was Pinkie sending him out to do something so incredibly dangerous, and why does that make him happy?

Fluffy lowered himself. To most, it might mean he was calming down. To him though, he was simply taking a better look before he ate the odd reptile. That is, until a bright, white dot appeared on the ground.

Applejack finally let out a sigh of relief as Fluffy attacked the spot, though Rarity had to keep Opal from charging for it herself. Looking behind themselves, they saw Sunset, scowling as she levitated a fireball and a magnifying glass. Rarity bit into her cheek. "What brings you here darling? I thought you weren't interested in hanging out with our pets."

Sunset rubbed at one of her eyes. "I'm still not, especially since pet hair normally makes me itchy. However," her horn glowing and tying a rope around Twilight, "I am here to bring her home, especially after her, Fluffy, and Rainbow Dash have been barreling through almost half the town, leaving a path of destruction wherever they went."

Rainbow Dash smirked as Sunset continued to use the bright, magnified light to attract Fluffy behind her and kept Twilight bound up. “So, do you do this often with Twilight? Kinky."

Sunset glared at Rainbow, and the azure mare soon felt her rump get very warm. Twilight looked at the increasingly red face of her friend and frowned. "What does kinky mean?"

Sunset put the light on Twilight and barreled away from Fluffy, making sure that the conversation ended there. The next day, a no manticores rule was implemented on the park.

Author's Note

Yay! I could find it!

Anyways, to go with the new chapter, a new cover art! The first actual piece of fanart of Twaith, and not just something I commissioned, made by the talented TheStarsOfPines, or Fai Dreams, as she is known here. It looks wonderful, even if it's a Twaith from before she met Sunset and Twilight. Now, to see if anyone can guess why.

Also, her having green eyes is now canon.

Romance

Twilight and Rarity stepped back from the ponyquin. Adorning it was a plain, silver and purple gown, with a reserved crown on top. The gems were of a rough cut, and barely glinted in the light of the boutique. The whole thing would be easily still be considered a masterpiece, even with these supposed ‘flaws’, especially since parts of the Hearthswarming play were stitched into the fabric, only able to be seen through close inspection, and otherwise did not interrupt the fluid transitions between purple and silver. Rarity nodded, stretching herself out as she did.

“Thank you Twilight. I probably have a few more stitches, but this is fabulous. A true blend of modern couture, and a time period that most ponies would be fooled for Platinum’s own. I know Sunset might nitpick about it when she wears it, about how you had to come after her, but seeing as you are the farthest we can date back for any help with culture and fashion, this will just have to do.”

Twilight nodded, faking a yawn so as to make Rarity not feel bad for being tired, just in case. The dress did look amazing, but she was worried about how much she had actually been able to help, as she only ever had seen her mother’s dresses, and had assumed they were with her times when it came to fashion. No matter what, the gown was finished, and now she could go read.

The wraith slowly drifted to one of the shelves in the boutique, spotting small novels within it. She slid one out, and began to read the back. It was apparently a tale about a social outcast girl, who was about to find out that the boy she liked held a dark, and sinister secret. Turning it over again, she noted that the book’s title was her own name, and giggled at it. If it were truly about her, it would be Shining who found out about her dark secret.

One last thing about the book caught her eye though, and that was, A romance by Steponay Neighers. Twilight raised an eyebrow, and turned towards Rarity. “Rarity, is romance a new genre, or should I know about it?”

Rarity froze for a moment, and for a moment, just thought. She had wondered how oblivious the cute mare could be, having not noticed her sly compliments throughout the afternoon while they had worked, but this… this made the answer horrifyingly clear. Rarity swallowed hard, turning to look at Twilight. “What do you mean, darling?”

Twilight put the book besides Rarity, and tilted her head. “I always knew that stories may have romantic elements, and that some fairy tales were about love as a theme, but for a whole book to call itself a romance…” She opened it again, frowning more as she noted the recent publishing date. “Is this some sort of new age fairy tale? Without the interesting bits like vampires and werewolves?”

Rarity picked up the book for a moment, before throwing it behind her, causing it to slam into one of her waste bins. “More like a nightmare that I only kept around for the teen fillies who would only shut up by reading it. However,” Rarity paused, taking a deep breath as she shut her eyes, “romance is indeed a genre, and oh, what a blessed genre it can be.”

Twilight blink a few more times, before glancing at the door, and wondering just what it was she may have caused. Still, her literary curiosity had to be sated, so she raised an eyebrow, and Rarity lunged forward. Twaith would have been grabbed and twirled with her if she had been tangible, but instead, Rarity spun in the middle of the boutique by herself.

“Romance is not as the fairy tales would have you believe. Romance is the chemistry between two ponies, who don’t know the ride they’re in for. Whether with true love, love at first sight, or,” Rarity stopped herself, stretching out over one of ponyquins, before running a hoof along its chin, “unrequited love, romance covers these wondrous tales. It shows how these two lucky souls get together, what trials they may face to stay together, and, if written well, makes the reader wish they themselves could have been a part of the couple.”

Twilight swallowed hard, a blush coming over her face from the provocative pose Rarity had entered for the last part of her speech, but then bit into her cheek. “And when it’s written poorly?”

The white mare’s eyes narrowed. “Then you wish they would go out like Romeo and his fair Juliet, but with about five more gallons of gasoline.” She pushed off from the ponyquin, and back onto her hooves, before she shook herself out. “Hmm, how about instead of an explanation, an example?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Are you a writer? I would definitely like to take a look at your work!”

A small laugh escaped Rarity before she waved away the question. “Do not be silly darling. I’m far too busy to deal with putting my fantasies to paper. However,” She turned dramatically, once more trying to grab Twilight’s face, but coming back with nothing. A sigh escaped her muzzle as she shook her head. “I have been told I am a good story teller.”

Twilight lowered herself, pretending to lay down, while her eyes shone at Rarity. For a moment, the same question crossed the fashion mare’s mind as it had so many times before. If Twilight could wear something else, could all this cuteness become absolute beauty? She channeled this thought, and turned away.

“It is a late, cold night in the castle. The mistress of it walks through the halls, her heart aching for some sort of companionship. Any sort of companionship, as long as it fills the cold air with something other than bitter misery. She has been alone for too long, and even when she has time to mingle, the stallions she speaks to all seem like fools. Love is but a distant star to her, just like any that shine in the sky above.”

Rarity raised a hoof, staring to the sky. “But wait, what is there amongst those gleaming dots? Why, it is a creature, clad in darkness, descending down from the heavens. She raises her defenses, afraid of the intruder, but intrigued as well, for by no means does it seem to have hidden its arrival. When it lands, tis not a stallion, but a mare, beautiful as the night, with large, glowing, gre-gray eyes!” Rarity glanced back to Twilight, her face aflame as she realized what she had almost done. The other mare only tilted her head, allowing Rarity the ability to breathe again.

“The two begin to speak, the demon being from another time, another culture. The connection is there though. Between the sophisticated, and the innocent, but intelligent. Their hearts beat at each others time as they come closer. Even while so dangerous, this may just be what the queen so desperately needed.”

Twilight floated upwards, her smile growing as her cloak billows from the excitement within her essence. “But soon the demon must go, off to torment other towns, as she has no desire to destroy the mistress’s. She does promise that she will find her beloved one day though, and that she must not give up hope.”

Rarity’s eyes snapped open, her whole being shaking before she shot over to Twilight, putting her face mere centimeters from Twilight’s. “No! That is what we call shipteasing; when you take two characters who obviously could have chemistry, have them act like they like each other, but then they never act on it. It is the absolute worst form of romance!”

Twilight stopped, taking in Rarity’s words, and her breath. The dark blue eyes were so close, and reflected one of the lights around them, giving them a shining sparkle besides the pupils. They were truly a beauty to behold. Rarity herself noticed the softening of the other mare’s face, and started to lean in closer. Maybe if she were bold, the wraith would understand that she was attracted to her? Or at least understand how to be a bit less oblivious.

Rarity promptly slammed her face into the ground as she lost her balance, and met nothing. Twilight jumped into the air, her hooves drawn up to her chest. “You know Rarity, you really need to learn that us spirits are incorporeal. It’ll help you not get hurt like that.”

Rarity’s eye twitched, before a muffled scream escaped her lungs. “Damnit!”

Author's Note

Based off of a comment someone made for Pinkie to ask about the romance tag, but I decided I wanted something less fourth wall breaking, so I made it into Twilight asking about it.

Deadpool. You've been warned.

“Mister, are you okay?”

The costumed man’s eyes opened up to show pure white, and he stared into the space above him. Last thing he could recall was a meat grinder, about three fourths of his body going away, and...Oh! A sick ass tooth shot that got the fucker who put him in out the window. He could still hear the crack of his spine ringing in his ears. “Well, my little sweetness, I-” He looked over, and found a disturbing lack of titties on his regularly scheduled date. “Excuse me, but I do believe I have the wrong number. I was looking for death.”

The purple mare beamed at him as she floated over, and helped position the remains of his torso against a box in the warehouse. “She says she’s sorry, but as she is expecting a lot of work soon-”

“Well she better, because I still haven’t Mr. Wuggles, and I need my teddy bear to sleep.”

“-she wanted me to help her out. And hey, since I’m kind of borrowing her getup and she’s very nice-”

“Ooh, you can say that again.” The man turns to you, “Yes you,” and winks, “Even nicer than you as a succubus.”

“I thought I would help her out, especially when she speaks so kindly about you, Mr. Deadpool.”

“Ah, you know what, you’re just about cute enough for me to cuddle. I just hope this doesn’t force a crossover tag or nothing.”

Twilight snuggled into his chest, before pretending to lay on the ground in front of him. “You make really weird jokes. You know that, right?”

A gleam came to the pupil-less eyes before he leaned over and tried to pet the purple pony. “Yeah, but the folks, they love ‘em. Besides, I hear you’ve fallen on serious times, and need to lighten up a little. Speaking of which, when was the last time you were on fire? It’s exhilarating, even for a constant flamer like me.”

Twilight bit into her lip as she looked at him. While Death had said Deadpool was a fun guy, she was having a pretty hard time to keep up. However, she had also warned about asking too many questions, as the things she would learn were things nopony should know. So instead, she focused on other things. “So, are you without legs often?”

Deadpool nodded vigorously before letting out a content sigh. “Trust me when I say I’ve been through it all. Chewed legs, holes in my torso, even got my mouth sewn shut once. Worst, idea, ever. The worst injury though has got to go to whenever the main cannon goes bye-bye! Takes forever to come back, on account of its size, if you catch my drift.”

Twaith blinked a few times, before checking her watch. “I don’t think I do, actually.”

“Ooh, aren’t you the cutest? I could teach you, and trust me, my lessons would be very intense, just like I bet you like it, but I’m missing my pointer. Sorry.”

She nodded, a blush coming to her cheeks, despite not quite knowing. “Well, Mr. Pool, I think it’s about time for you to wake up, if the death clock I was given is a sign of anything.”

He tilted his head to the side and sighed. “Ah, and I didn’t get to do anything graphic. Good job on ya author, I bet you’re proud.” He waved a stump at the unicorn as she drifted away, and the sounds of yelling came into the room. “Oooh, that would be my boss. Time to get to work.”

“And so my- wait, why is the chapter still going?”

And so the author had to watch as I, the glorious, amazing Deadpool, got to work. I leaned over, picked up my gun, aimed, and, while you could probably guess what's coming, I'm gonna tell you anyways, proceeded to blow out the cocksucker’s brain in a gratuitous shower of-HOLY FUCK, MY MOUTH!!! Who in their right god damned mind would think of shooting a gun with their mouth as a good idea? I mean, that’s why I did it, but still, ow! That’s it, I’m going back to comics and movies. I’ve had enough of this fanfic bullshit!

Author's Note

Okay, not gonna be silly or coy here. The story Teach Me, for My Name is Twaith was supposed to come out today. It is delayed, along with anything else of mine, for at least a couple days, as I'm having another carpal tunnel scare, and so have my hands and wrists in braces. Still, Happy Valentine's Day, and I'm always taking more comments.