Shunted

by ItsDandan

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life
Length: 2677

Twilight completes one of Princess Celestia's assignments a little too well

With the changeling threat showing how the princesses can be rendered useless, Princess Celestia assigns Twilight a new task: Create a device that lets ordinary unicorns control the sun and the moon once more.

Twilight completes this task with flying colours… and perhaps even a little too well.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-09-05 08:36:07 UTC

Bloodshot Eyes

Twilight looked around, and turned to the quiet mare beside her.

    “Fluttershy, what is the meaning of this?” she yelled, a bloodshot scowl across her face.

    “Oh… Well, um, we just thought-” Fluttershy started. Twilight interrupted her, asking “Just thought what, exactly?”

    The yellow mare let out a squeak and backed away.

    “Hey!” Rainbow Dash yelled, putting herself between Fluttershy and the enraged mare.

    “You need a break, Twi. You’ve been cooped up in here for way too long,” the cyan pegasus said. She stomped her hoof and stared into Twilight’s eyes.

    “Then just say that! You don’t need to go behind my back and send a letter to Princess Celestia about it,” Twilight said, and shot a glare at Spike. The small dragon backpedalled under her gaze.

    Rarity stepped forwards and moved to put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. Twilight stepped back and stared at the unicorn, her nose scrunched up.

    “Darling, we tried,” Rarity said, unconsciously fluttering her lashes. Twilight let out a small huff.

    “Don’t you remember when Fluttershy and I invited you to join us for some spa treatment?” she asked.

    “Or when I said you should totally come meet my family with me!” Pinkie Pie said.

    “Or when those Cloudsdale guys invited us to that awesome Wonderbolts race,” Rainbow Dash chimed in.

    “Or when-“ Applejack started.

    “Okay! I get it,” Twilight yelled, and let out a long sigh.

    The purple unicorn trotted to her workbench. “I’m sorry girls, but I’ve just been so caught up with this project the princess assigned,” she said, and looked to one of her open books.

    “We know. Spikey Wikey told us,” Rarity said, and fluttered her lashes at the young dragon.

    Spike’s grin was cut short by Twilight’s glare.

    “Well, what I bet Spike didn’t tell you is that the first prototype is finished!” the unicorn said, standing tall with her head held high.

    “First prototype of what?” Pinkie asked. Twilight looked quizzically to Spike.

    “I didn’t tell them what it was,” he said, arms crossed indignantly.

    “Oh…” Twilight said, and stopped for a moment.

    “Well, in that case, let me introduce you to the Magically Powered Planetary Manipulator. Otherwise known as the MPPM.” Twilight pulled out a necklace, red rubies studded throughout a dark grey chain.

    Her friends looked at the jewelry, with Rarity’s eyebrow raised.

    “So… what does it do?” Rarity asked, glancing over to Twilight’s workbench.

    Pinkie Pie bounced up.

    “Ooh, does it use the Rubies’ reflection properties to create a beam of almost pure magical energy, allowing you to boost your power a whole bunch of times?” she asked, hooves splayed across Twilight’s reference books and journals.

    Twilight started at Pinkie flipping through her notes, slack jawed.

    “But… How did you…” the purple mare started, before simply sighing.

    “That’s exactly what it does,” she said, turning to the rest of the group.

    “So,” Pinkie started, “why is it called the Magically Powered Planetary Manipulator instead of something like… the Magical Power Amplifier and Accentuator?” she asked.

    “Because…” Twilight said, waiting for a moment and staring at Pinkie, “Princess Celestia asked me to create something that would let normal unicorns, like Rarity or I, move the sun and the moon.”

    “But I thought they could already do that?” Pinkie asked, giving her a quizzical look.

    Rainbow Dash looked to Twilight.  “Yeah, the unicorns used to do that before the princesses were around, didn’t they?” the pegasus asked

    “They used to, but the unicorns’ connection with the celestial bodies has weakened over time. You’d need a large group of unicorns to even try to do it these days,” Twilight replied.

    “This device allows just two or three ordinary unicorns to move the sun and the moon, in the event that something happens to the princesses,” she continued. Twilight trotted to Rarity. She held the necklace out, smiled, and said “Try it on.”

    Rarity eyed the dark chain in front of her warily, and looked to the purple mare.

    “Twilight, dear, are you really sure it’s safe to wear?” she asked.

    “It’s totally safe; I’ve tested it a bunch of times,” Twilight replied, smiling at the dressmaker.

    “Well…” Rarity said, trailing off as she picked up the necklace.

    Rarity slipped it over her head, and stared at it for a few moments.

    “Try to cast a spell. Something big, like teleporting yourself,” Twilight suggested.

    “Darling, you know just as well as I do that I can’t,” she replied, with a small hurt frown. “I could do a needle, but trying to teleport myself just takes too much power,” the unicorn continued, staring at her friend.

    Twilight smiled back, her face softening.

    “Trust me, Rarity. With this, you will be able to do it,” she said, and put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. Rarity looked into her friend’s eyes for a few moments, and lightly sighed.

    “Okay Twilight. Just… back up, would you dear?” Rarity said, as she stepped back and made sure nothing was around her.

    Rarity’s face scrunched up, and her head dipped in concentration. After a short while, everyone could see her blue magical energy as it reflected and focused off the necklace.

    Everyone but Twilight had expressions of awe. The purple mare looked on with a grin on her face.

    In a flash of white light, Rarity disappeared.

    Twilight jumped into the air and squealed, “It worked!”

    “Uhh, Rare?” Applejack asked. She looked around, and surveyed the area around her.

    “In…” everypony heard, and looked towards the kitchen.

    “In here,” Rarity said. The unicorn stepped out into the foyer, looking at her necklace in wonder.

    “Twilight…” Rarity said, and looked to the fellow unicorn. “This is… was, so easy” she continued.

    Twilight beamed, and bought one of her books and a quill over with magic.

    “Of course, that’s what it was designed for,” she said, and started scribbling notes on various pages.

    “Spike!” Twilight shouted. The dragon by her feet cleared his throat, and stared at the purple pony next to him.

    “Oh, Spike,” Twilight said. She looked down and smiled at the dragon next to her.

    “Do you know what this means?” she asked.

    “Uhh-“ Spike started, before being cut off by a hyperactive pink pony.

    “Oh! Oh!” Pinkie said, and bounced up and down.

    “Does it mean you’re gonna get out of the library? Are you going to come meet my family or go to the spa with Rarity and Flutters?”

    Twilight giggled, and replied, “No, this means we can start the real test!” The purple mare smiled, and turned to Spike.

    “You mean, today?” the dragon asked, sounding wary. He saw the unicorn nod in response.

    “I dunno Twilight, shouldn’t we ask the princesses first? I think they’d want to know if you’re trying to move the sun,” the dragon replied, and lightly kicked at the ground.

    Twilight grinned.

    “Spike, it’ll just be a tiny move, nothing major. Then, once we’ve ironed out the bugs, we can send the princesses a letter and show them the real thing in action,” she explained, standing proudly.

    “…Uhh, If you say so,” the dragon murmured, and Twilight jumped into the air with glee.

    Pinkie Pie bounced out the front door, and everyone followed her. On the group’s faces was a mixture of expressions, most somewhere between happy and wary. As they got in front of the library, everyone gathered around Twilight in a half circle.

    “If this works as well as it did for me,” Rarity said, with a smile on her face, “then we’re about to get a real show.”

    “Ya’ got that right. There was magic flying every which way back in there…” Applejack said, as she kept her eyes on the necklace.

    “Spike, checklist?” Twilight asked, head down and eyes closed.

    “Check,” her assistant said, quill scratching a tick in the first box.

    “Weather nominal?” she asked, as she concentrated on the necklace.

    Spike looked about, before sticking his index finger in his mouth and then pointing it into the air. The other ponies looked a little disgusted, but the dragon continued.

    “Check,” he said, ticking another box off.

    A few tendrils of magic began to arc across the chain. Twilight’s brow furrowed as the arc went across each ruby.

    “Magical Matrix appears to be fully functional,” she said, the arc slowly dissipating.

    “Uhh…” the dragon said, and scratched his chin. “Magical thingy, check,” he said, as he ticked off the last box.

    Twilight sighed for a moment, and then smiled.

    “Well, that means we’re ready to start?” she asked. Twilight opened her eyes, crouched down, and looked to her assistant.

    Spike looked over the checklist, and replied “Yep, everything’s ready.”

    Twilight looked about and saw a few townsponies were gathered around her, with a few others standing well back.

    Twilight grabbed a stick and drew a large circle on the ground, before moving to the centre of it. The other ponies moved outside the area and left her a wide berth.

    “Okay then…” she said, before squinting at the sun burning high above. Looking down, she grinned and said, “Let’s start.”

    Twilight’s horn began to glow as she closed her eyes. Magic began to feed into the necklace, letting off a warm purple-pink glow as it cascaded across the stones. Some of the townsponies let out oohs and ahhs, which prompted Pinkie to pop up next to them and say “You aint’ seen nothing yet,” offering them some popcorn.

    The dust around Twilight began to kick up, and started spinning about. The ponies around her stepped back, and watched as magic began to arc off the necklace and throughout the dust cloud. The air around Twilight seemed to become charged, and let off a slight magical hum.

    Tendrils of magic started to extend into the sky, wavering in the wind for a few moments before becoming taut. Twilight stumbled slightly, but quickly righted herself.

    The cloud of charged dust, as well as the tendrils extending to the sky, quickly shifted to a pinky orange hue as Twilight’s magic attuned to the sun’s energy.

    “Now then…” Twilight said, though nobody could hear her over the din of magical buzzing. “Let’s just give this a tiny nudge.”

    Twilight attempted to send a small bit of energy to the sun, to make it move. The magic bounced through the nexus created by the necklace, and through the magical cloud infused with the sun’s energies. Twilight opened her eyes and looked to the celestial body above. Everyone saw the sun shift violently out of position. A bolt of light pink energy shot down from the sun into the magical tendrils.

    Twilight gasped and attempted to jump out of the way, but the light pink energy connected with the magical cloud around her. She saw the different magical energies spark and turn black as they connected, charring as the cloud ignited around her.

    Twilight felt the magic reach her, and passed out as everything went dark.

    The townsponies watched. A crack rang out as the energies immolated, resulting in a black cloud of dust.

    Slowly, the cloud dissipated.

    Twilight was lying on her side, and magical sparks still emanated from her body. Spike rushed to her side and called out her name.

    Applejack glanced to the blackened horn on her friend’s head. She lifted the unicorn onto her back, and took off towards the hospital.

In Canterlot, a different scene had transpired.

    Celestia stepped into the royal gardens. The light pink mare following her looked awestruck.

    “We sure don’t have gardens like this in Cloudsdale…” the pegasus said. She had a blue mane, with an unfurled scroll for a cutie mark. Celestia looked over the flowers and statues, and turned back to the pegasus.

    “Indeed, my little pony. The castle likes to spend a lot on upkeep,” she said. Celestia smiled, and continued, “Sometimes I suspect, a little too much.”

    Scryer giggled, and glanced to the sky. She furrowed her brow, looking more carefully. Celestia asked her companion what she was looking for.

    “I… What’s that, Princess?” the pegasus asked, and pointed a hoof to the sky. Celestia turned around to see a pink rope connecting from the sun to the ground. The Princess felt magical power wash over her, a power far surpassing her own, and collapsed onto one hoof.

    Celestia seemed to emanate a light pink glow, before flashing with white light. Scryer dodged by mere inches as a bolt of energy shot from Celestia’s horn towards the sun. She watched the princess drop to the ground, her horn darkened and sparks shooting from it.

That Long Train Ride

Beep… Beep… Beep… Twilight began to stir. She opened her eyes and slowly looked around. She saw the various machines and light blue walls around her.

    “Ah, Ms. Sparkle,” said a voice. Looking for the source, Twilight landed upon a colt at the foot of her bed. Rushing to her side, the colt flicked his stethoscope on and listened to Twilight’s heartbeat for a moment. “Tell me, how do you feel?”

    “I…” Twilight trailed off and put a hoof to her head. “What happened?” she asked, looking out a window. “Why are we moving?!” she asked, springing up slightly.

    The doctor pushed her back onto the bed, replying “Ms. Sparkle, please try to relax. We’re taking you to Canterlot General. We’re not exactly sure, what can you remember?”

    Twilight laid back, closing her eyes for a moment. Her brow remained scrunched up for a while, before relaxing and looking to the doctor. “I was trying out the Manipulator. Everything was going well, and then… feedback?” she asked herself, eyes darting around as she continued “No, it couldn’t have been that. The nexus was designed in such a way as… Maybe…”

    Twilight looked to the doctor at her side. “Why am I going to Canterlot instead of Ponyville?” she asked.

    “Princess Luna thought it would be best to treat you with their expertise. Given the extent of your injuries, we agreed it would be for the best.” He said, motioning around Twilight.

    Twilight stopped for a moment and looked over herself. Burnt patches of fur and bandages covered her body, and a dark soot seemed to be spread throughout her coat. Seeing the doctor motion, Twilight looked up. “My horn!” she yelled, seeing the chipped and blackened end on her head, the end covered in gauze.

    “Yes, the end of your horn was as brittle as chalk when you came in,” the doctor said, looking at the chart in front of him. “I’m afraid it will be a long while before you can do any magic at all,” he continued, looking Twilight in the eyes.

    Twilight cast her eyes downward and sighed. “Well…” she started, “At least it was just me. Nobody in town was affected, were they?” Twilight asked, looking to the doctor next to her.

    “Not… exactly,” he said, looking at Twilight’s worried expression.

Princess Luna looked at the door to her sister’s hospital room, and then to the six ponies before her. Standing there were five of the elements of harmony and Sky Scryer, the pegasus with Celestia right before it happened.

    “Twilight is being transported here by train,” Luna said. “In the mean time, let’s try to figure out what happened,” she said, staring at the group.

    Scryer looked nervously at the ponies in front of her. She shied away from the famed elements of harmony and stared at Princess Luna. “Celestia, what if I hurt the princess? I was the only one around her when it happened,” she thought, eyes open wide and downcast. “I… I don’t… Elements of harmony…” the thought, her mind racing as she stared at the ponies surrounding her.

    Pinkie looked at the pink pegasus and asked, “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

    Scryer stared at Pinkie, and began to start shivering. “I-I didn’t… Y-You won’t…” she stammered, jumping when a pair of yellow hooves hugged her from behind.

    “Ssh,” came a soft voice. “It’s okay, just relax,” Fluttershy said, feeling the mare calm down.