Meltdownby Fabulosity PersonifiedChaptersSnappedDashedAnimalDarknessBattleBetterSnapped“If I have to deal with one more trivial request today, I think I’ll scream,” Twilight said through gritted teeth, as her horn glowed with a pinkish aura. The mare was currently in the midst of yet another Ponyville ‘crisis’, this time dealing with Lyra’s pet cat, Mittens, who had managed to climb a tree and got stuck. Of course, a ‘crisis’, Twilight thought, visualising the inverted commas; like this couldn’t be dealt with by Lyra herself. Oh no, it was a job for the number one problem-fixer in Equestria. More and more these days, ponies seemed to come to her first, rather than sort things out themselves. Any argument, accident, or emergency was the responsibility of the Element of Magic, who could wave her horn and fix anything and who of course never had anything better to do herself. Normally Twilight wouldn’t have minded; she was happy to help and did so with a smile, but when she was genuinely busy (those friendship reports wouldn’t write themselves) and when she’d been called out a dozen times before lunch and the same cat had climbed the same tree three times already, it began to grate. Besides, she didn’t feel much like going outside at the moment. Even the name of the cat she was constantly rescuing was beginning to get on Twilight’s nerves, for the simple reason that she had no idea what mittens were and Twilight hated not knowing things more than anything else. That cat sure had a good grip. With a mental tug from the purple pony, Mittens jerked free and hovered down to the ground, where it sat nonchalantly, unaware of the ire and worry it had caused Twilight and Lyra respectively. “There you go Lyra. Please, this time, try and keep him out of the tree.” “Oh I will! See you later Twily.” Lyra trotted off towards her house, Mittens balanced on her back. Twilight’s teeth ground together. Ever since the wedding everypony was calling her that. They didn’t seem to understand that it was her brother’s nickname for her. She took a deep breath and composed herself, but still found herself relatively near the end of her usually long tether. “It was really nothing. No need to thank me,” she muttered, turning and leaving, back towards the library. Her week had been dreadful though and today had started equally as badly. To make things worse, she hadn’t seen her friends in ages, so busy had she been. Not to mention scared of them seeing her like she’d been this week. Really, she thought, was all the work and stress worth it? Her stomach rumbled, breaking her out of her reverie. She was so hungry, she could eat a… Twilight paused, unable to think of a suitable ending to that musing. She’d worry about it later; the Pegasi had outdone themselves with the weather - the sun was blazing overhead, but with a pleasant breath of wind that cooled her fur. Maybe the day wasn’t going to turn out as badly as she thought. *** Spike looked up as the door to the library burst open, revealing the rain that fell in heavy sheets and a sodden Twilight, who stepped into the comforting warmth that always seemed to accompany the musty atmosphere of hundreds of books grouped together. Spike looked bemused to see the soaked Unicorn. “Maybe that wasn’t the best time to be outside. Didn’t you see on the weather forecast that Aero dropped round last week that it was going to rain just before lunch?” Spike sniggered, “Well I guess you know now, huh?” Twilight ignored him, approaching the table and slumping onto it. “But hey, doesn’t matter now. I’ve had a great morning with Owloysius and we did all the sorting you left me in record time and we have friendship reports to write and I know how that always cheers you up and…” “Will you shut the buck up Spike?” The silence was almost palpable, as the warmth of the library suddenly seemed transformed into an oppressive heat. “I’m not in the mood. For anything.” The lack of emotion in her voice said more than words could. Getting to her hooves, Twilight turned and went up the stairs to her bedroom. Spike was silent. A tear rolled down his cheek. *** “And she’s been up there all day?” Spike sat, legs dangling and swinging, kicking his heels against the hat box he was perched on. He looked up to the face of the purple maned pony addressing him and nodded. “Yep, she’s just lying there, face in her pillow. She’s not crying, but she won’t say anything either and I’m really worried, Rarity. She was really angry with me and, I mean, she’s been angry before, but usually it’s much more shouty and not so… cold.” A frown crossed her delicate features and the sewing machine that was criss-crossing Rarity’s latest masterpiece whirred to a stop. While she may not have usually worried too much about her friend snapping and wanting to be alone, she knew Spike well enough to notice the hurt in his voice and in the slump of his body language. Besides, she’d snapped and been a tad overdramatic about things before, and she knew the difference between anger and a real problem. “Well then, Spike, we’ll just have to try and talk to her.” “You think? I mean… you didn’t see her. She reminded me of when we fought Discord and she was all heartbroken and defeated.” “Trust me darling, I’ll have her back on her feet in no time. I’m her friend aren’t I?” *** “Twilight? Twilight, darling, are you home?” Rarity knew she was, of course, but it was common courtesy to enquire, rather than just galloping in like a common… “For Pete’s sake, come on Rarity, ya know she’s in there.” …cowpony, apparently. Rarity scowled at Applejack. She’d stumbled (gracefully of course) upon the Earth Pony on her way over to Twilight’s house, and had enlisted her support. Not that she needed it really; she was perfectly capable of cheering Twilight up on her own. A chat, a moan, some tea, and she’d be back to her usual perky, inquisitive self. An annoying doubt had nagged away at the back of Rarity’s mind though. Twilight wasn’t generally moody, her scientific mind robbing her of the flair of more dramatic ponies such as herself. Maybe it wouldn’t be as straightforward as she imagined, and so it was that Applejack found herself barging past Rarity and into the library. “Twi, it’s me and Rarity.” There was no reply. Shrugging, Applejack made her way up the stairs and into the bedroom where Twilight lay, unmoving, face down, buried in her pillow. A shaft of the setting sun drew a line over the body of the Unicorn, but the soft orange light seemed strangely hardened by the atmosphere of gloom that hung, almost magically around the place. Hay, thought Applejack, knowing Twilight, it probably was magical. “Are you ok sugarcube?” Still no answer. Rarity appeared at Applejack’s shoulder and peered down at the almost lifeless body of her friend, bar the gentle rise and fall of her breathing. A flicker of real concern played its way over her already worried face, finding its rest in her eyes, where it gazed out at the scene. “Twilight, dear, it’s your friends. We just want to know if you’re alright. We heard you weren’t in the best of moods and, well, Spike was terribly worried, so we came over to see if there was anything we could do.” The silence stretched on, and Rarity, unable to bear the tension, leant down to nuzzle Twilight, hoping that the action would rouse her into responding. Applejack tried again. “We just want to help ya Twilight, if you could just tell us what’s wrong. It’ll make ya feel better to talk about it.” “I can’t even begin to imagine what’s wrong. I saw you the other week and everything was fine. What’s brought this about?” Suddenly, Twilight’s horn flared a darker than usual colour, the purple light illuminating the darkening room and Rarity and Applejack found themselves pulled into the air. “You can’t imagine? No, you’re probably right.” Twilight’s voice was hoarse and cracked with emotion. “You couldn’t begin to imagine. You’re all so wrapped up in your own little worlds, completely oblivious to the fact that life might be anything other than pretty and perfect. Want to know the truth? Life stinks.” The sun finally sunk below the horizon, leaving Twilight’s horn as the only light. The usually vibrant glow now seemed sickly, and cast a long shadow about Twilight’s body, which seemed to writhe about as if alive. “None of you can comprehend what it’s like to be Princess Celestia’s prodigy, a bucking ‘celebrity’, the saviour of Equestria, time after time after time, and the saviour of Ponyville more often than that, somepony who can cast a spell and make everything better, who’s always happy to help, because that’s Twilight, good old Twilight, so helpful and loving and oh so unimaginably powerful. But nobody really gives a damn about you, so long as they get what they want. And you -” Twilight’s voice cracked badly, and a tear ran down her cheek, glittering in the purple light “– where were you this week? When I needed you? Too busy I’m sure, with your apples and your ridiculous hats, to bother with your friend. But then I’d expect nothing less from such a shallow pony like you Rarity. Applejack, I’m more disappointed at you.” “Twilight, you simply must…” “Calm down?” Twilight’s voice had taken on a hysterical edge and the shadows seemed to lengthen with every passing second. “Oh sure, I’ll calm down. After all, I just want to be left alone, and I’m sure that can be arranged. Twilight Sparkle, she can cast a spell and make everything better, remember?” “Twi, what are you…” “Twilight, no, Twilight!” There was a flash of light and in the split second the room was lit, Rarity saw the grin of the pony who wasn’t the friend she knew. Then everything went black. A manic giggling filled the void where the two ponies had once been. DashedSpike was still sitting in Carousel Boutique when Sweetie Belle came home from her day at school. The spring days were still relatively short and she’d hurried back in order to beat the sun as it slipped towards the horizon. “Hey Spike,” she said with a smile, “What are you doing here?” Spike gulped, momentarily tongue tied. Sweetie was the only pony who even got close to Rarity in the beauty stakes. The way her mane played around her horn, the way she made up for her lack of grace with energy and enthusiasm… Spike, however, was faithful to his true love, and shook his head, as if to dislodge those disloyal thoughts. “I was just waiting for Rarity. She’s gone to see Twilight and I didn’t think she’d want me along. You know, they needed some ‘girl time.’” “Oh, right.” There was an awkward pause. Although why it should have really been awkward, Spike didn’t know, but he felt a pressure to extricate himself from the situation. “I, erm… well I should really be going, Sweetie Belle. I’m sure I’ll bump into Rarity on the way back.” “Oh, umm, yeah, sure.” Spike stood and wandered to the door, which still stood open from Sweetie’s arrival. With a glance back at the filly, he stepped out into the gathering gloom and closed the door with a sigh of relief. Inside the boutique, Sweetie sighed too. “Of course, you couldn’t have been here to see me, could you?” *** Spike wandered down Mane Street, towards the library. He hoped Twilight was better after having seen her friend; she really had seemed terribly… angry? Upset? It had been difficult to tell. He’d never seen her like that before, like something had snapped inside of her suddenly. Although now he thought about it, she hadn’t been in the best of spirits for a while. Spike’s thoughts were interrupted by a pink blur that barrelled into him at high velocity, knocking him backwards and sending him tumbling into a flower bed. Coughing out earth, he looked up at the weapon of mass destruction that was Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, what was that for?” Pinkie giggled, pointing at the young dragon’s head. “Oh Spike, you look just like a Pikmin.” Spike hurriedly brushed of the flower that had been acting like it was a star atop a Hearth’s Warming tree and opened his mouth to ask exactly what a Pikmin was, but Pinkie ploughed on, as unstoppable in speech as in movement. “And I was just on my way to Twilight’s house. Oh! Were you going too?” Spike stood up and brushed himself off. “As a matter of fact I was. It’s quite late.” not that you’re aware of little things like time, he didn’t add. “Oh, so it is. Silly me.” Pinkie giggled again. She always giggled. And bounced. Talking to her really took it out of you - she was certainly easier to take in small doses. Together they walked towards the library, as the first stars began to be painted onto the canvas of the night sky by Luna, first a few dabs, then broader brushstrokes, until the sky was filled with sparkling diamonds. Or gems. Spike was reminded of Rarity and wondered what had happened to her. The library was in total darkness as they approached, the little dragon jogging to keep pace with the larger mare. When it came to running at least, four legs really were better than two. Spike reached up and pulled at the door. Frowning, he turned to Pinkie. “It’s locked.” “Don’t you have a key?” “No. I mean, I didn’t even know this door could be locked!” “Then where’s Twilight?” “And where are the others? Rarity went to visit her earlier, and she hadn’t come back when I left the shop.” “Oh, that must be where Applejack went with Rarity too.” There was a pause, as the two friends silently asked the same question – where the hay was everypony? *** Applejack opened her eyes, then closed them again when she saw it didn’t make any difference. Or rather, she didn’t see. Her head chased that round for a few seconds and then she sighed, her breath seeming to echo in the huge space she was in. She felt a body tense next to her in the darkness, startled by the sound. Applejack turned her head and looked at where she thought her companion in the void was lying. “Rarity? That you?” There was a long pause. “I… yes. It is me. But how… how do I know it’s you?” Applejack thought about that. “You don’t. An’ I don’t know if you’re you either.” “Of course I’m me!” the voice said, indignantly. Applejack sighed again, and raised a hoof to her forehead. At least her hat was still there, she realised as she brushed against the Stetson. That was something at least. “Well then, I reckon we’re gonna have to just trust each other.” Applejack felt a well-manicured hoof fumble at her side, until it touched against her own, significantly more weathered one. “I trust you.” The two ponies sat, holding hooves, alone in the dark. *** Rainbow Dash lay, head resting on her cloud pillow, on her cloud bed, on the cloud floor, of her cloud room, in her cloud house. Nothing in Equestria was quite as comfortable as clouds at the end of the day. Plus the number of injuries from trips and falls were minimal. Rainbow groaned at that thought; she was getting to the stage in her life when practical things like that were becoming her biggest concerns. Growing up sucked. “Why am I lying here in bed at nine pm, when I could be out partying? When did I become so… un-Rainbow?” she asked rhetorically. “Oh, I think I know.” Rainbow leapt into the air, slamming her head into the cloud ceiling. Maybe it was sensible to be worried about accidents in the home after all. She turned towards the source of the voice, which had practically dripped with malice and hatred. A shadow was standing in the doorway, framed against the night sky that showed through the hole that had been silently torn in the side of her house. So there was a drawback to clouds; if they were exploded it didn’t act as an alarm. “Alright, whoever that is, you do realise you just put a hole in my house, right? That’s just asking for trouble.” The shadow laughed maniacally. “Oh please. Your comeuppance comes into your house in the dead of night, and your biggest concern is the destruction of your property? And you’ve talked and thought, rather than just kicking me in the face. You’re right; you’ve become very un-Rainbow.” Something about the inflection or tone of the voice sparked Rainbow’s drowsy brain. “Twi…Twilight? Is that you? What the hay do you think you’re doing? And whaddya mean my… comeuppance?” The shadow advanced menacingly towards the rainbow maned pony hovering a foot above the bed. “You know, the most irritating thing about my name is that it’s in two parts. Nobody ever really calls me Twilight Sparkle anymore. Not like Applejack, or Fluttershy. You understand what that’s like at least. It’s just unfortunate, because my new name would work so much better if people weren’t so lazy.” “Your new… what?” “Well you see, my dear Rainbow Dash, I used to be Twilight Sparkle. Now however, I like to think of myself as just Twilight. Without the Sparkle. The twilight of your existence as the self-centred egotistical brute that you are.” The shadow laughed again, at its own joke. Rainbow rolled her eyes and sighed. “Oh fantastic, Twilight’s gone all cartoony super-villain. Great. Well it was bound to happen at some point, all those experiments with that wacky machinery and time alone in your library.” “You’re supposed to be terrified!” “Oh, pur-lease Twilight, I’m Rainbow Dash. Nothing scares me, even if I can’t stay up partying until three in the morning anymore." The shadow paused. “Aren’t you even a little concerned about me?” “I’ll be concerned after I’ve kicked you off my cloud!” So saying, Rainbow Dash flew forward, back legs lashing out towards Twilight. They found their target, and Rainbow gave a small whoop of triumph as, combined with her momentum, they hit home with enough force to knock over a tree. Or that was the theory anyway. Rainbow watched in dismay as her feet seemed to pass through Twilight, leaving her hopelessly off balance. The shadow’s horn flared, and Rainbow found herself surround by a purple aura, which lifted her into the air and slammed her against the wall. She saw, lit by the glow of Twilight’s horn, the face of her friend, the mad glint in her eyes and the grin which stretched across it. It wasn’t the face of a sane pony. Nor was it particularly cartoon-villain evil. Rainbow shuddered, suddenly gripped by the fear she’d been hiding since Twilight had first appeared as her mask of bravado slipped. The mare slowly walked towards her victim, like a spider feeling its way along a web towards a helpless fly. Rainbow gulped. “You were asking why you were so un-Rainbow, as you put it. Well how about I tell you. You became un-Rainbow when you lost sight of your loyalty and became a jumped up, Wonderbolt-fawning, narcissistic, arrogant little toad. I know where you were this week when I running round after all the idiots in this stupid town during the day and crying at night - chasing after Soarin’ in Canterlot. As if he’d ever be interested in you.” Twilight giggled again, as a look of hurt and dismay flashed across Rainbow’s face. “You can’t hide from me Rainbow. I know everything. Your deepest and darkest desires and secrets are laid bare by my power. Not that they’d have been difficult to find out anyway, shallow and obvious as you are.” Twilight’s horn stopped glowing, and Rainbow fell to the ground and sat, slumped against the wall, defeated by the vicious verbal attack. No longer lit, the shadow advanced. “I was going to let you go you know. After all, you’re not really worth it. But then you and your team made it rain on me today, and, well, that’s not very nice. I guess there’s only value in keeping me dry when I have tickets to the Gala. It’s a shame that I have to do this really, but, like I say, at least it’ll make life far less annoying for Soarin’.” Rainbow leapt up, tears in her eyes, determined to land a blow on the shadow that had been her friend. There was a flash of light, blinding her, and then… darkness. AnimalDarkness. Overwhelming, crushing, suffocating darkness. Rainbow, used as she was to open skies, had to choke back a cry of panic. The sound echoed in the blackness and alerted Rarity and Applejack to the new presence. Rainbow heard a scuffling sound to her left, as though two ponies were moving away from each other in alarm. At least, she assumed they were ponies; who knew what Twilight-not-Sparkle had in store for her? Nervously, she cleared her throat. “Who… who’s there?” “Rainbow, is that you?” A cautious voice piped up near to Dash, only a few feet away, its Southern twang unmistakable, even in the short sentence. “Of course it’s me. Who else would it be?” “Well, gee, I didn’t realise that ya made a habit of visiting magical prisons in ya spare time, funnily enough.” “I thought the aura of awesome that I have would have made it obvious.” Applejack facehoofed. Even in the most dire of situations you could trust Rainbow to keep her bravado, particularly in front of the orange Earth Pony. “Enough small talk Rainbow; how in the name of Equestria did ya end up here?” “Twilight. Duh.” “But…” Applejack tailed off and thought, before continuing, “Why you? What had you done?” Rainbow was quiet and Applejack got the distinct impression she was deciding quite how honest she was going to be. “Twilight… she’s mad at all of us I think. Something about us not being there for her when she needed us.” “I think ‘mad’ might just be the understatement of the century. She’s banished three of her friends into a magical dungeon, in the pitch black, with no hope of escape, for Pete’s sake.” “Three? Someone else is here?” “Oh, yeah, me and Rarity have been here for a while,” Applejack said, nudging the Unicorn who was now leaning on her shoulder. Rainbow was bemused that she hadn’t heard a single word from the fashionista since her arrival. “Wait she’s here? You’re together?” There was a frightened and most unladylike squeak from a few inches past Applejack and a panicky, yet refined voice filled the prison. “Not together, oh no, not together. What gave you that idea Rainbow? Honestly, going around accusing ponies of things like that, you should be ashamed.” “Uh, Rarity, I think she meant together in here.” There was a pause. “Oh.” Rainbow leant back against the wall and sighed. “Well, whatever I meant, I think we’re going to be ‘together’ in here for a while.” *** Pinkie and Spike had arrived back at Sugarcube Corner and had moved into the rooms above the shop. Pinkie’s bedroom was certainly very… pink, Spike thought. She’d practically ordered him to take her bed for the night, while she slept on the couch in the room next to the kitchen. How he was meant to sleep with his stomach rumbling like it was, was anyone’s guess, given how the whole building smelled delicious. Spike had no idea how Pinkie wasn’t much chubbier than she already was. Pinkie, predictably, giggled as his stomach growled again, and grinned. “All you have to do is ask, Spike.” Spike ran a claw over his scaly stomach and then curled his fist defiantly. “No! Twilight and Rarity are missing, I can’t sit around eating! Oh,” he suddenly looked guilty, “And Applejack. Can’t forget her.” “Especially after the time you almost kissed her,” Pinkie winked. Spike looked mortified. “Rarity had just been kidnapped by those dogs! I was thinking about her, I promise.” “Yeah, Spike, just a tip, but ‘I was thinking about you the whole time’ doesn’t really fly.” Spike opened his mouth to protest again, but Pinkie ploughed on. As usual. “And anyway, there’s no point us worrying. They could have gone for a walk for all we know. Besides, it’s late, and baby dragons need their sleep. And cake,” she added, pulling a gem-covered cupcake from nowhere and handing it to him. “Now, go to sleep and we’ll worry about them in the morning, ok?” Spike shoved the cake into his mouth and swallowed it with barely a chew, before climbing under the covers of the bed and curling up. It wasn’t any use arguing with her. Pinkie smiled at the dragon and turned, moving to the door and turning out the lights as she left. If anypony could have seen her face then, they would have seen the mask of worry that covered it. She knew perfectly well that Twilight, from what Spike had told her, had been terribly upset. Otherwise Rarity and Applejack wouldn’t have dropped everything to go and see her. In the best case scenario they had cheered her up. In the worst case, Twilight would still be sad, which was enough to worry the pink pony. Most of all though, neither scenario explained why there was no trace of three of her friends. She could scarcely believe Spike had bought for a minute that they might have gone for a walk in the dead of night, without telling anypony or thinking about him. Pinkie would have cried, but she knew there was little point. Sure, there was no real reason for their disappearance, but it might not be for any reason as horrible as what she was imagining. Besides, crying would change nothing, and she had to stay strong for Spike. Pinkie settled onto the couch and tried to clear her mind. In the morning she and Spike would look around, ask some questions and try and find out what the buck was going on. At least Spike seemed to have been put at ease by her prattle. Upstairs, Spike tossed and turned, unable to sleep. *** Twilight felt incredible. It was like the day she had got her cutie mark, or when she had harnessed the Elements of Harmony; magic and power were coursing through her. Only this time it was untapped, uncontrolled, free to roam and permeate every cell in her body. Unlike those other times, there was no brake, no restraint, in the form of ‘friendship’ or ‘love’ or anything so ridiculous. Her body was magic, her very essence like electricity, tempered into form by hatred and shadow. Somewhere deep inside her, a small voice yelled at her to stop, but it was too faint and too far away to bother taking notice of. Why should she stop? She was the most powerful being in Ponyville and probably in Equestria; Celestia wasn’t looking as untouchable as she had before Chrysalis’ attack. Besides, she felt so alive. She laughed, the chilling sound verging on a cackle; not to mention that she was having fun. Rainbow Dash had been amusing. The look of hurt and pain on her face was joy for the shadow. Far inside her, the part of her soul still intact and untouched flinched at the memory, but its cries were swept away by the tide of anger that now swirled through Twilight. They’d all deserved what they’d got. Her ‘friends’ had practically abandoned her, leaving her to deal with the stupid requests, the too-tight jar lids, the burst pipes, the cats in trees, whatever it was that the local ponies needed fixing that day. Killing them would have been too easy. They needed to suffer, like she had, with nothing behind or ahead but darkness. The cat… it had been sick a while back… Twilight smiled. What was to come would be even more fun. She was still standing in Rainbow’s house, the adrenaline of the confrontation making her pant, but now she turned and with a burst of light from her horn, vanished. *** A solitary fox stalked through the Everfree Forest, the scent of its prey driving it forward. Suddenly, a flash of light lit the clearing, and with a bloodcurdling scream the fox leapt into the air. Frightened out of its wits, the creature ran from the shadow that stood among the trees, malice diffusing into the air around it. Striding towards its target, with as much focus as the fox after its meal, Twilight stepped out of the trees and gazed at the cottage in front of her. So picturesque, even in the dark, with only the moon and the stars shining on it. A solitary light shone in the window of the second floor bedroom, and it spilled into the back garden, gathering in a golden pool. The shadow avoided it. With a smile, in which pain and suffering were writ large, Twilight pointed her horn at the door and sent forth a small proportion of her power, blowing the door off its hinges. She moved forward, pleased by the panicked cries of the wounded animals, which streamed out of the cottage, swimming against the tide of black that swept through the ruined entrance. Twilight advanced up the stairs and moved towards the door, which was ajar, a crack of light showing its location. Slowly pushing it open, Twilight confronted her next victim. Fluttershy lay, eyes wild with panic, paralyzed by fear, a romance novel lying face down on the floor beside the bed where it had fallen. Finally in the light, the ruin of the once brilliant Unicorn was visible. Fluttershy took in the darker purple of her coat, the swirling magical energy that revolved around her body and the manic, unhinged look in her eyes and squeaked. “Twi...Twi…Twilight?” “Pleased to see me?” Twilight grinned and moved towards the helpless Pegasus. “I was in the neighbourhood. Just thought I’d drop by to see my good friend.” “Oh, erm… nice to see-” “Shut up Fluttershy and let me finish. It’s rude to interrupt a villain’s monologue. The thing is, then I realised that I didn’t have a good friend after all. I had another selfish sponger, who cared more about her animals than about her friends.” Twilight leaned over Fluttershy. “Because that’s true isn’t it? You don’t really care about another pony do you? Just your animals. Oh, of course you’re oh so kind, and meek, and helpless, but it’s a show, to manipulate us into doing what you want, into protecting you, into letting my glory trickle its way down to you.” She paused for dramatic effect. “It was actually difficult for me to justify banishing you, you know? Because after all, I’m not totally heartless and for a while I bought the whole act. Then I realised that anypony who thinks a rabbit is more important than me, when I’m clearly not coping, probably isn’t worth sparing. Oh, and the fact that you looked after Mittens when she was sick last month, and I bucking hate that cat. So, to summarise my key points, I’m banishing you because, at the end of the day, you’re a massive bit-“ “No.” Fluttershy lifted into the air, wings flapping, hooves on hips, eyes wide and angry. “You’re not my friend and you’re going to be quiet.” Fluttershy’s voice dripped with power, her gaze like lasers, boring into Twilight. The fragment of Twilight Sparkle deep in the shadow cheered at the sudden turn of events, as Twilight recoiled and trembled under the force of The Stare. The hatred and anger flared upwards within Twilight; it wasn’t going to end like this. With a yell of effort, she lifted her head and met the Pegasus Pony’s eyes, purple magic filling her own and welling over like tears. The two Stares met and a battle of wills and power commenced, swinging one way, then the other, as the two forces collided. Fluttershy held on for as long as she could, as she fought for and against her friend; but alone her power was little match for Twilight’s and with a gasp of shock, her will broke. “I guess I win, Fluttershy. Looks like you really are totally useless.” Twilight’s horn flashed and Fluttershy was gone. DarknessA shaft of sunlight crept its way through the window and into the bedroom throwing a beam of pure annoyance across Spike’s eyes. The purple dragon uncurled himself from the folds of the duvet and sat up, rubbing away the sleep and yawning. He hadn’t had a good night, but at least he had eventually drifted off, even if it was to a land where Twilight spoke to him with that tone of cold disappointment from the previous afternoon. Not to mention Rarity had… Spike’s clawed hands went to his head. He couldn’t dwell on dreams. He went down to the kitchen and wasn’t surprised to find Pinkie there, despite it being dawn. In a few hours it would be a hive of activity, as the Cakes went about their business, but for now all was still in the way only an early morning can facilitate. The two exchanged half-hearted good mornings and sat in silence as they ate breakfast. Pinkie was the first to break the tension. “They’ll be ok, wherever they are. I’m sure everything’s fine.” She didn’t sound like she believed her own words. “I know.” Neither did Spike. They didn’t know that things were about to get a lot worse. *** “So, umm, how did all you guys end up here? If you don’t mind me asking, that is, I umm…” Fluttershy tailed off. Nobody really felt like discussing the events of the past… hour? Day? Week? Time had no relevance in the darkness. “Pretty much the same way as you, I’d imagine dear,” Rarity said, putting the still mumbling Fluttershy out of her misery. Applejack carried the conversation forward. “The thing I don’t get is why in the name of Celestia would Twi act like that? What did we do wrong?” “I… I suppose we have all been rather busy. The darling is under a terrific amount of pressure you know. Whenever we have tea together, or go to the spa, she seems to have a lot to get off her chest. But... I haven’t done anything with her for weeks, what with designing that new line,” Rarity finished guiltily. “Has anypony?” “Well, umm, I’ve been busy with my animals.” “I’ve had the apple harvest to take care of with Big Mac, and Applebloom runs me ragged too, y’all know that.” “And I’ve been… errr, practising my flying. Plus the weather’s been crazy recently, and my team’s been understaffed.” “Umm… so when was the last time anypony actually, you know, saw Twilight, apart from, umm… you know. And she’s been so busy looking after the town; I saw her running around Ponyville every day last week, without a break, helping ponies with the silliest of things.” There was a silence. “Still, that hardly gives her the right to do this to us, does it now Fluttershy? She’s been positively brutish. We’re her friends!” “Uh, Rarity, maybe we haven’t been acting much like it recently. Now I’m not sayin’ she’s right, but we maybe shoulda been more aware of how she was.” The darkness appeared too filled with black to be able to cope with anything else, but awkward silence filled it now too. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not about to give up on my friend.” A flutter of wings whipped the otherwise still air in the prison, as Dash took to the air, as she always did when she was feeling defiant. The others could picture her, arms crossed, a reckless look in her eyes. “We’re going to get Twilight Sparkle back.” “Umm… Rainbow? How?” Not even Rainbow had an answer. *** “Rainbow Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash!” Pinkie, resplendent in her deerstalker mystery solving hat, stood in the long grass underneath Rainbow’s cloud and called up. The grass was sodden with dew, the little beads catching the early morning sun and throwing little rainbows of light over her pink coat. Spike, meanwhile, was up to his neck in it, and wasn’t really in any mood to enjoy the glory of nature that morning, though he didn’t mind the fetching hat Pinkie had insisted on him wearing. The pair had already been to the Carousel and found it empty, with no sign of Rarity. Pinkie Responsibility Pie had taken Sweetie to Sweet Apple Acres the night before, where she was being looked after by Granny Smith and Big Mac. There she had confirmed that Applejack hadn’t returned, and the situation hadn’t changed when she and Spike had arrived after looking for Rarity. Luckily mornings were early on a farm, and they’d met Mac on his way out to look for Applejack. After assurances that they had everything in hand, he’d instead returned to the vital apple harvest, but he’d insisted that he and Granny were kept in the loop. So here they were calling for Rainbow Dash and receiving no answer and the excuses that Pinkie was conjuring for Spike were doing little to quell their anxiety. “I wouldn’t worry, Spike, she’s probably off on morning weather duty.” Spike was silent. Fluttershy’s cottage was their next port of call. Rainbow was a wildcard, unreliable; surely Fluttershy wouldn’t have run off anywhere. The house was empty. All the animals were gone. Even Angel was missing, although from the squeaky sobbing coming from the chicken coop, it was pretty obvious he hadn’t gone far. The living room was a scene of utter devastation – feathers, fur, knocked over furniture and splinters of the door covering everything like confetti. The Pegasus herself, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found. Spike and Pinkie went outside again and sat, totally dejected on the grass at the back of the house, hats discarded. Spike was the first to speak. “Fluttershy would never leave her animals.” Pinkie shook her head, her mane bobbing from side to side. “Spike, I think they’re in trouble.” Spike paused and thought about losing his temper with Pinkie. Talk about stating the obvious; five ponies were missing and Fluttershy’s house was a total wreck. It was only the total absence of her characteristic bounce that held his tongue, as well as the fact that her hair looked dangerously close to deflating. “I think you’re right. We have to do something!” The two stood, infused by a fresh energy. “But what, Spike? My special talent is throwing parties for Celestia’s sake, I doubt that’ll solve anything. For once.” A spark flickered in Spike’s brain. “Well, maybe we should just write to Princess Celestia and just tell her what’s happened and ask for help?” “Oh, I really don’t think that’d be a good idea, do you?” Pinkie and Spike turned to face Twilight. *** Moments earlier, Twilight had been thoroughly enjoying herself. She’d attained and experienced absolute power and exiled her not-friends into a shadowy dungeon of doom, all in half a day. She had been in the process of plotting her next move. Of course she would take over Equestria; it was the courteous thing to do in her situation. No sense wasting all the magical energy that was flowing through her. It was more a question of how. She couldn’t just waltz into Canterlot and blow Celestia to kingdom come; there was no style in that. She didn’t want to be cliché either, although that was always fun. If she could have had her way, she would have drowned everyone in chocolate, just for irony’s sake and the fantastic villain lines it’d provide (“Well that sure is a sweet way to die, mwahahahaha.”), but Discord had taken that one already with his chocolate rain. Chocolate rain… Twilight had been reminded of Pinkie. Of course, she’d considered the Earth Pony’s threat to her plans, as well as Spike’s. They were both far too stupid to be a problem though. Honestly, sometimes she wondered how they managed to stay upright. The little piece of her soul had screamed its protest inside, but it had fallen on deaf ears as Twilight mused on whether it might be entertaining to put them both in a cage and throw bananas at them. Maybe she could train them. Suddenly, a wave of magical disturbance had cut the air – Spike had had an idea. His constant exposure to Twilight had given him a little magical connection to her and she could sense what he was about to do. “Oh no you don’t, you stupid dragon.” There was a flash and Twilight was gone. *** “No, definitely not a good idea,” Twilight laughed and advanced on the stunned pair, a glimmer of madness in her eye. “You see, if you were to tell Celestia what was going on, she might stumble upon my plan, and while I could beat her with two hooves tied behind my back, I’d rather she was unprepared. Besides, if she were forewarned, she might be able to find that cretin Luna, and drag her away from whatever keeps her so busy whenever drama happens. Two on one? Well that’s just unfair.” Spike was the first to react. “Twi… Twilight, where have you been? What are you talking about?” “Your Twilight is gone, you stupid dragon. I am so sick of you. ‘Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, Friendship! Twilight, Twilight’”, she mocked cruelly, “All the bucking time.” “Hey, nobody speaks to Spike like that!” Pinkie had bounced into attack mode, and hopped, foot to foot, hooves raised like a boxer. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not Twilight!” “Well done. What gave it away, the magical vortex of shadows swirling around me, or the fact that I keep cackling?” Pinkie struck, but Twilight dodged easily, and backhoofed her around the face, knocking her to the ground. “Pinkie!” Spike leapt into action, teeth bared. Then he hesitated. It was still Twilight. Even if there was only a little bit left of her; he could still feel it. The connection worked both ways. Twilight acted ruthlessly, slamming Spike into the wall of the cottage, where he slumped, winded. “You know, I was going to spare you two. I didn’t imagine you’d ever really be a problem. Oh well, I guess I should have expected it – it’s always the plucky underdogs who take down the villain in the end isn’t it?” Twilight laughed maniacally again, “Not this time though. I won’t miss either of you, if it makes you feel any better. To think, the last hope Equestria had, it came down to you, and you’ve screwed it up. Ouch.” Twilight’s horn flashed, and the shadows consumed her friends. Inside Twilight, a piece of soul slumped, and let darkness take it too. Her hope had gone. Battle“Oh my gosh, is that Dashie? And Rarity? And AJ? And…” “Yes Pinkie, it’s us, now will ya please move, ya sittin’ on ma tail.” Pinkie shifted her weight to one side and giggled, “Sorry AJ.” Rainbow blew out a breath; if it were possible to scowl with a voice, she managed it. “Well you seem cheerful for someone who’s been locked in a pitch black dungeon, with no hope of escape, Pinkie.” “Who said there was no hope of escape? Have you silly billys even tried?” “Well, no darling, but if we can’t see, what possible hope do we have?” “Umm…” Everyone turned to where Fluttershy’s voice was coming from. “Rarity, umm, yeah. Don’t you have a horn? You’re a Unicorn.” Rarity was nonplussed. “What’s your point dear?” “Well, umm, it’s just that… when you do magic, your horn glows.” There was a stunned silence. One beat passed. Then two. Still the silence continued. “Umm… sorry.” Rainbow shook of the shock quickest.. “Fluttershy, why the buck didn’t you think of this earlier, for the love of Celestia.” “Well… in my defence, I would have thought that it was obvious?” “She’s got a point guys. I mean, I’m no pony, but even I know that Unicorn’s horns glow when they use magic.” “Well if you’re so clever, why don’t you breathe fire and light this place up that way? Oh wait, because you can’t.” “Rainbow! Don’t you dare talk to Spikey Wikey that way!” The room quickly descended into chaos as the ponies argued. Spike was yelling, Rarity was growling in Dash’s direction, Fluttershy was crying, and Applejack was threatening to lasso everypony. Pinkie sat, grinding her forehead with a hoof. This was why she threw so many parties; it was far easier to get along on the back of a party-high. Even the best of friends could end up bickering if they weren’t careful. Pinkie was painfully aware of why they were really fighting. Without Twilight there to hold them together as the cool voice of logic, they were just a fragmented group. After all, in the beginning, had they even really liked each other? It had been Twilight that had brought them together and bonded them into a cohesive force that had overcome the likes of Nightmare Moon, and without her they were beginning to fall apart again. They were still arguing and it was getting on Pinkie’s nerves. “WILL YOU ALL PLEASE BE QUIET!” With a roar, her party cannon fired into the air, showering everypony in confetti. Silence fell. “That’s better. Now, Rarity, if you don’t mind, would you please light this room up so I can see who I’m talking too.” A soft-purple glow radiated from her right as Rarity acquiesced to her request, and their prison was revealed for the first time. It wasn’t much to look at. A simple box in shape, made of concrete, with cracks in through which shadow seemed to spill like black vapour. Pinkie surveyed her friends and snorted with laughter. "You all look ridiculous!" It was true; their manes were messy and they were covered in tiny pieces of confetti and streamers from the cannon. Soon they were all laughing, and just like that the tension was diffused. Pinkie suddenly snapped to attention. “Right. Everypony listen to me.” All heads turned to face the pink pony, who seemed to have taken charge. The others let her, although Rainbow wasn’t necessarily happy about it. When she was sure she had their attention, Pinkie continued. “We are all friends. Remember the lesson that Twilight taught us; we’re connected by the magic that is friendship. If there is even a little part of her left, then we can find it and we can save it.” Pinkie moved towards Rarity and lay a hoof on her shoulder. “When we were sat here, in the dark, it was the light of a friend that showed us the way. Twilight has been in darkness for so long and we ignored it. Well not any more. We’re going to get Twilight back and make her smile again.” “Uh, sugarcube, how exactly do you plan on us getting out of here?” Pinkie giggled. “That big old meany in Twilight’s body underestimates me. She thinks I’m some airhead, who’s only good for partying!” Rainbow muttered something indecipherable, which may have been in tentative agreement with Twilight. Pinkie continued. “But she clearly doesn’t know me as well as our Twilight. After all, look at this cell.” The other ponies looked around, bemused. “Pinkie Pie, dear, what exactly are we looking for? This place is impossible to get out of.” Pinkie grinned wickedly, a playful twinkle in her eye. “For you maybe, but I have another talent besides partying. We need to break out and if I’m not mistaken, this cell has four walls…” *** Ponies were running, terrified, as bolts of purple lightning rained down upon Ponyville. Thatched roofs across the town had caught alight, market stalls were overturned, and Mittens had hidden up her tree again. Twilight hovered above it all, floating on a cloud of corporeal shadow, laughing. The screams were getting on her nerves though. “Look, I know I went for the classic ‘crush, kill, destroy’ model, but is that really so terrible?” she called down. More screams. She supposed she’d have to get used to it, being a monstrous shadowy dictator and all. No pony had ever said life was easy. Twilight hummed along to some of Octavia’s latest compositions as she toured above the burning town. The library was still intact though. All those books inside; she might have been a monster, but she wasn’t that evil. She paused. Well, maybe a few of those Stephenie Neigher books could burn. They did steal her name after all, and it was bad form to be associated with that kind of rubbish as an evil pony overlord. Meanwhile, the real Twilight, buried deep inside cackling villain, was crying. Everything that was happening was her fault. She’d been stressed and depressed, and instead of asking for help she’d bottled everything up, taken it out on her friends, and now she was flying over Ponyville, raining down lightning bolts. “And the worst part for you,” Twilight said to the fragment, “Is that there’s nobody who can stop me… err, you… err… whatever this deal is.” “Oh silly Twilight, I think you might be a teensy-tiny bit mistaken.” Twilight swivelled, mouth agape, to see 5 ponies (and Spike) running towards her, very much not in a shadowy prison of despair. “What in the deus ex machina!?” She descended, until she was hovering just a few feet off the ground. “How the buck did you escape?” Pinkie bounced forward, a look of triumph on her face. “Isn’t it obvious Twilight?” She turned away and addressed thin air. “I’m sure all of our intelligent readers have worked it out. I did make clear enough, didn’t I?” “Uh, Pinkie, darling, who are you talking to? Because now really isn’t the time.” “Woops, sorry Rarity.” Twilight ground her teeth. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve escaped. You’re no match for me anyway. I mean, come on, I imprisoned you once already. I wasn’t in the best of moods then, to be fair, but I’m feeling happier now; so I’ll just kill you this time. It’ll be far simpler than creating a magical prison symbolic of my inner turmoil in any case.” She smiled evilly, though it looked more like a grimace. “And I think I’ll start by picking on someone much smaller and weaker than me. It’s the super-villain way.” Her horn glowed and a bolt of energy sped its way towards Spike. With a yell of fear and anger, Rarity reacted, leaping into its path and meeting it with her own magic. Light purple met dark purple, as the two ponies struggled. Twilight was clearly the stronger though; even without counting her elevated power levels Twilight was trained in a number of disciplines, including combat magic. Rarity, on the other hand, made dresses. She was quickly overwhelmed, Twilight’s magic smashing into her body and sending her flying backwards, where she lay, winded and unable to fight. “Rarity!” Spike ran to her side, both alarmed and moved by her sacrifice. “That works too,” Twilight panted, “Two down.” “And no more. Um, if you don’t mind that is?” Fluttershy, a look of steely resolve on her face, stepped forward to confront the Unicorn. “You hurt my friends, I’ll… ummm… be your end?” “That was the best you could do? Seriously, is your middle name ‘pathetic’?” A very un-Fluttershy growl rose in her throat, and she advanced, eyes wide, Stare activated, extreme concentration rendering her unable to reply. Twilight snorted. “Really? You caught me unprepared last time, but I garnered sufficient data to work out the best way to make your Stare impotent.” Twilight closed her eyes and with contact broken she shoved her hoof into Fluttershy’s face, knocking her to the ground, startled. With a yelp of surprise and fear at having her power broken so easily, Fluttershy took the safest course of action; simulated rigor mortis. “Now why has nobody else thought of doing that? Any other challengers? Come on Applejack, Rainbow, fancy teaming up to try and take me down? I dare you.” With a swift glance at one another, the two friends leapt forward in unison, hooves first. Twilight smiled and with a flash she was gone. With a sickening crash Dash and Applejack collided and tumbled to the floor in a heap together. Twilight reappeared a few feet away and rolled her eyes. “Celestia, you’re stupid. Still, Applejack on top of Rainbow Dash; the shippers will be happy.” Pinkie gasped and pointed a hoof at Twilight, dismayed. “That’s my bit! I’m the one who’s supposed to break the immersion of reality!” “So I’m evil, big surprise Pinkie. You won’t have to worry about it for much longer anyway.” Pinkie smiled. It was surprisingly nonchalant for a pony on the verge of defeat. “Oh, I don’t think so Twi. You see, we didn’t come straight here after we escaped. We might not be as clever as you, but we’re not that stupid; we planned this. We’ve set a trap and you’ve sprung it.” “What are you talking about?” “Well, look at where you are Twilight. Surrounded.” Twilight looked around and indeed saw that she was at the centre of her former friends; Applejack and Rainbow behind her, Fluttershy on one side, Rarity on the other and Pinkie in front. “Surrounding me with unconscious ponies? That was your plan.” “Oh Twilight, darling, you think we’ve been beaten?” Twilight’s head whipped round to see Rarity getting shakily to her feet. “Yeah Twi, did ya think me and Rainbow were actually that stupid? Well, Rainbow might be.” “Hey!” “And, umm, I wouldn’t be silly enough to try The Stare again after you’d already beaten me once.” Twilight’s head swivelled from side to side to see ponies on every one. “So what?! I’ve beaten you twice, I can do it again!” Pinkie giggled. “Silly billy Twilight, I think you’re brain's gone a bit loco. You might even say you’re loco in-” “Pinkie, dear, focus.” “Sorry Rarity. Their attacks were a distraction, Twilight, so that I could get ready.” Twilight frowned. “Ready? Ready for what?” “For my big speech of course!” Pinkie cleared her throat. “We’ve let you down, we know we have. All this destruction is your responsibility of course, but you’re here because of your loneliness and isolation getting the better of you and we shouldn’t have ever let that happen. We should have paid more attention to you and done something with you, to let you know you weren’t alone. Hay, I haven’t even thrown a party in at least a week! But did you ever think of coming to talk to us, to ask us for help? No, because you’re smarty smart pants Twilight, who thinks she should be able to be fine on her own. I mean, you did it for years before you met us. But things change, Twilight. I’m talking to what’s left of you, inside that evil shell. You aren’t alone. There is always hope. And now…” Pinkie drew herself up and raised a hoof skyward. “…with the sappy stuff over, it’s time to kick your butt!” Twilight snorted with disgust. “Well, unless your plan was to make me vomit with that saccharine speech, I don’t see how.” “Don’t you remember the old fairy tales? In the books, there was always a picture of the Elements of Harmony. Magic, surrounded by Honestly, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness and Laughter. Magic was the spark made by friendship. Magic was made possible by the other elements. It was a failsafe, to stop Magic becoming corrupted by the unlimited power of friendship. Only together could the Elements thrive.” Twilight bared her teeth, suddenly aware that her plans for world domination were coming crashing down around her. Pinkie continued. “We gave you your strength, and we can take it away too!” There was a bang, and a blinding flash as pure white light erupted around the group. Twilight desperately tried to teleport away, but found herself bound within the circle by the walls of light. It was too bright for her. The shadows swirling around her receded, frightened and chased by the light. There was another bang, and five jets of light, one from each pony, shot forward, slamming into Twilight and pinning her to the ground. The beams, one red, one orange, one green, one blue and one purple, converged upon the Unicorn. Shadows fell off, sloughed away by the energy contained by the Elements. Then, with yet another boom, light exploded in all directions, spreading in a wave across Equestria, bending trees over with its force, like a hurricane. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the light faded and dissipated. The five ponies at the epicentre felt the power leave their bodies and floated slowly to the ground. There they came face to face with Twilight Sparkle. She looked smaller, weaker, without the magic coursing through her, or the shadows clinging to her frame. Lying prone on the scorched grass, she looked up at her friends. “I…” Then she burst into tears. BetterDear Princess Celestia I don’t really know where to begin. The first thing is that I’m sorry. I learned a valuable lesson this week, about life as well as friendship. I’ll start with the practical aspects I suppose. Ponyville has been repaired and looks no worse for wear from its experiences. After all the disasters that have occurred in this place, it’s no surprise that most of the locals have homeowner’s insurance, which thankfully covered destruction by evil beings and paid for most of the work. I helped out as much as I could, of course, even if it was just holding a bucket or hammer here, or lifting some lumber there. In my spare time I’ve been researching more into the Elements in order to work out what happened. When she confronted me, Pinkie hadn’t really known what would happen or if her plan would even work, but she’s got as much in the brain department as anypony and she was more familiar with the legend than I realised. What she said at the time was true; the Elements keep each other in check just as much as anything else. It turns out the Elements just needed to be correctly configured and in the correct scenario they’d act on their own. Apparently they have a flair for the dramatic too, letting Pinkie have her moment in the spotlight the way they did. Which is odd, thinking of them as almost being sentient. As for myself, I’m much the same as I was before the whole incident. I feel emptier, if that’s the best way of putting it. It’s not an experience I’ll get over quickly. I’m not happier either, but I’m not sad in the same way anymore. Empty probably does sum it up best; empty as well as remorseful and guilty of course. Things are different now though. I learnt that my friends truly are what make me whole. They are my rocks and my support. When I need them I must trust them and lean on them, as I would want them to lean on me. This whole crisis could have been averted if I just asked for help and made an effort to go out and spend time with them, even at my lowest point. I got scared though; scared of being with them, scared that they didn’t truly want me as a friend. Instead I just wallowed in my depression. Which reminds me, I must tell Rarity that ponies can definitely wallow. Anyway, my friends will be there for me, even when I’m not there for myself. In many ways, that is the magic of friendship. When I apologised to them all for the things I said and the things I did they forgave me, even after how I treated them. Other ponies haven’t been as accepting. I know that I have to make it up to everyone though, whatever my friends say. And I will, no matter what it takes. I will be a different pony from now on. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle Twilight gently levitated the quill down, onto the desk and sighed. The Unicorn massaged her forehead and prepared herself for what she had to do. When had this become so difficult? When had the very idea of stepping out the door become so terrifying? Twilight knew it was illogical, but she’d known that before everything went wrong and it hadn’t changed anything. She’d promised though; both to Celestia in her letter and to her friends. She was going to be a different pony. She took a deep, calming, breath, steeling her resolve before standing and heading for the door. The first time was going to be the hardest. Behind her, Spike picked up and blew green flame onto the letter and watched as the magical essence of the message floated towards the window, towards Canterlot. Twilight, purposefully not looking back at the safety of her books and the library, closed the door behind her and trotted down the street. It was a beautiful day; Celestia’s sun high in the clear blue sky. No wind today though. Ponies were out in force, enjoying the weather, shopping at the market, or working on repairing their houses and shops. The only sign that the damage hadn’t been caused by a freak hurricane that was left of the entire incident was the charred earth where the shadow had finally fallen, obliterated by the light. Twilight did her best not to look at it as she moved past. She’d already tried repairing it with magic, but whatever damage her alter-ego's defeat had done appeared to be permanent. Perhaps that was best, although Twilight hoped that she’d never need a reminder. Besides, the residents of Ponyville had decided that a small statue should be erected there. Twilight was unsure how she felt about that. As she approached her destination an inquisitive meow caught her attention, and she looked down to see Mittens prancing delicately alongside her, mimicking her step. She looked none the worse for her experience, her fluffy white tail waving like a flag behind her. With a genuine smile, Twilight stopped and petted the animal, who purred, before catching sight of a bird and stalking off. Twilight shook her head, but grinned; the cat was heading straight for the tree again. It’d be Twilight who had to fetch her down again, most likely, but for some reason that didn’t bother her as much as it once did. The Unicorn continued towards Sugarcube Corner and arrived before the brightly painted door. It was the first party that Pinkie had thrown since the event, as she celebrated the completion of the final repairs to the shop. Twilight stopped and drew in a nervous breath. This was her last chance to let all that fear and doubt get the better of her once again. She wasn't going to let it happen; she was going to be a different pony from now on. Twilight knocked on the door. She was going to be better.
Snapped“If I have to deal with one more trivial request today, I think I’ll scream,” Twilight said through gritted teeth, as her horn glowed with a pinkish aura. The mare was currently in the midst of yet another Ponyville ‘crisis’, this time dealing with Lyra’s pet cat, Mittens, who had managed to climb a tree and got stuck. Of course, a ‘crisis’, Twilight thought, visualising the inverted commas; like this couldn’t be dealt with by Lyra herself. Oh no, it was a job for the number one problem-fixer in Equestria. More and more these days, ponies seemed to come to her first, rather than sort things out themselves. Any argument, accident, or emergency was the responsibility of the Element of Magic, who could wave her horn and fix anything and who of course never had anything better to do herself. Normally Twilight wouldn’t have minded; she was happy to help and did so with a smile, but when she was genuinely busy (those friendship reports wouldn’t write themselves) and when she’d been called out a dozen times before lunch and the same cat had climbed the same tree three times already, it began to grate. Besides, she didn’t feel much like going outside at the moment. Even the name of the cat she was constantly rescuing was beginning to get on Twilight’s nerves, for the simple reason that she had no idea what mittens were and Twilight hated not knowing things more than anything else. That cat sure had a good grip. With a mental tug from the purple pony, Mittens jerked free and hovered down to the ground, where it sat nonchalantly, unaware of the ire and worry it had caused Twilight and Lyra respectively. “There you go Lyra. Please, this time, try and keep him out of the tree.” “Oh I will! See you later Twily.” Lyra trotted off towards her house, Mittens balanced on her back. Twilight’s teeth ground together. Ever since the wedding everypony was calling her that. They didn’t seem to understand that it was her brother’s nickname for her. She took a deep breath and composed herself, but still found herself relatively near the end of her usually long tether. “It was really nothing. No need to thank me,” she muttered, turning and leaving, back towards the library. Her week had been dreadful though and today had started equally as badly. To make things worse, she hadn’t seen her friends in ages, so busy had she been. Not to mention scared of them seeing her like she’d been this week. Really, she thought, was all the work and stress worth it? Her stomach rumbled, breaking her out of her reverie. She was so hungry, she could eat a… Twilight paused, unable to think of a suitable ending to that musing. She’d worry about it later; the Pegasi had outdone themselves with the weather - the sun was blazing overhead, but with a pleasant breath of wind that cooled her fur. Maybe the day wasn’t going to turn out as badly as she thought. *** Spike looked up as the door to the library burst open, revealing the rain that fell in heavy sheets and a sodden Twilight, who stepped into the comforting warmth that always seemed to accompany the musty atmosphere of hundreds of books grouped together. Spike looked bemused to see the soaked Unicorn. “Maybe that wasn’t the best time to be outside. Didn’t you see on the weather forecast that Aero dropped round last week that it was going to rain just before lunch?” Spike sniggered, “Well I guess you know now, huh?” Twilight ignored him, approaching the table and slumping onto it. “But hey, doesn’t matter now. I’ve had a great morning with Owloysius and we did all the sorting you left me in record time and we have friendship reports to write and I know how that always cheers you up and…” “Will you shut the buck up Spike?” The silence was almost palpable, as the warmth of the library suddenly seemed transformed into an oppressive heat. “I’m not in the mood. For anything.” The lack of emotion in her voice said more than words could. Getting to her hooves, Twilight turned and went up the stairs to her bedroom. Spike was silent. A tear rolled down his cheek. *** “And she’s been up there all day?” Spike sat, legs dangling and swinging, kicking his heels against the hat box he was perched on. He looked up to the face of the purple maned pony addressing him and nodded. “Yep, she’s just lying there, face in her pillow. She’s not crying, but she won’t say anything either and I’m really worried, Rarity. She was really angry with me and, I mean, she’s been angry before, but usually it’s much more shouty and not so… cold.” A frown crossed her delicate features and the sewing machine that was criss-crossing Rarity’s latest masterpiece whirred to a stop. While she may not have usually worried too much about her friend snapping and wanting to be alone, she knew Spike well enough to notice the hurt in his voice and in the slump of his body language. Besides, she’d snapped and been a tad overdramatic about things before, and she knew the difference between anger and a real problem. “Well then, Spike, we’ll just have to try and talk to her.” “You think? I mean… you didn’t see her. She reminded me of when we fought Discord and she was all heartbroken and defeated.” “Trust me darling, I’ll have her back on her feet in no time. I’m her friend aren’t I?” *** “Twilight? Twilight, darling, are you home?” Rarity knew she was, of course, but it was common courtesy to enquire, rather than just galloping in like a common… “For Pete’s sake, come on Rarity, ya know she’s in there.” …cowpony, apparently. Rarity scowled at Applejack. She’d stumbled (gracefully of course) upon the Earth Pony on her way over to Twilight’s house, and had enlisted her support. Not that she needed it really; she was perfectly capable of cheering Twilight up on her own. A chat, a moan, some tea, and she’d be back to her usual perky, inquisitive self. An annoying doubt had nagged away at the back of Rarity’s mind though. Twilight wasn’t generally moody, her scientific mind robbing her of the flair of more dramatic ponies such as herself. Maybe it wouldn’t be as straightforward as she imagined, and so it was that Applejack found herself barging past Rarity and into the library. “Twi, it’s me and Rarity.” There was no reply. Shrugging, Applejack made her way up the stairs and into the bedroom where Twilight lay, unmoving, face down, buried in her pillow. A shaft of the setting sun drew a line over the body of the Unicorn, but the soft orange light seemed strangely hardened by the atmosphere of gloom that hung, almost magically around the place. Hay, thought Applejack, knowing Twilight, it probably was magical. “Are you ok sugarcube?” Still no answer. Rarity appeared at Applejack’s shoulder and peered down at the almost lifeless body of her friend, bar the gentle rise and fall of her breathing. A flicker of real concern played its way over her already worried face, finding its rest in her eyes, where it gazed out at the scene. “Twilight, dear, it’s your friends. We just want to know if you’re alright. We heard you weren’t in the best of moods and, well, Spike was terribly worried, so we came over to see if there was anything we could do.” The silence stretched on, and Rarity, unable to bear the tension, leant down to nuzzle Twilight, hoping that the action would rouse her into responding. Applejack tried again. “We just want to help ya Twilight, if you could just tell us what’s wrong. It’ll make ya feel better to talk about it.” “I can’t even begin to imagine what’s wrong. I saw you the other week and everything was fine. What’s brought this about?” Suddenly, Twilight’s horn flared a darker than usual colour, the purple light illuminating the darkening room and Rarity and Applejack found themselves pulled into the air. “You can’t imagine? No, you’re probably right.” Twilight’s voice was hoarse and cracked with emotion. “You couldn’t begin to imagine. You’re all so wrapped up in your own little worlds, completely oblivious to the fact that life might be anything other than pretty and perfect. Want to know the truth? Life stinks.” The sun finally sunk below the horizon, leaving Twilight’s horn as the only light. The usually vibrant glow now seemed sickly, and cast a long shadow about Twilight’s body, which seemed to writhe about as if alive. “None of you can comprehend what it’s like to be Princess Celestia’s prodigy, a bucking ‘celebrity’, the saviour of Equestria, time after time after time, and the saviour of Ponyville more often than that, somepony who can cast a spell and make everything better, who’s always happy to help, because that’s Twilight, good old Twilight, so helpful and loving and oh so unimaginably powerful. But nobody really gives a damn about you, so long as they get what they want. And you -” Twilight’s voice cracked badly, and a tear ran down her cheek, glittering in the purple light “– where were you this week? When I needed you? Too busy I’m sure, with your apples and your ridiculous hats, to bother with your friend. But then I’d expect nothing less from such a shallow pony like you Rarity. Applejack, I’m more disappointed at you.” “Twilight, you simply must…” “Calm down?” Twilight’s voice had taken on a hysterical edge and the shadows seemed to lengthen with every passing second. “Oh sure, I’ll calm down. After all, I just want to be left alone, and I’m sure that can be arranged. Twilight Sparkle, she can cast a spell and make everything better, remember?” “Twi, what are you…” “Twilight, no, Twilight!” There was a flash of light and in the split second the room was lit, Rarity saw the grin of the pony who wasn’t the friend she knew. Then everything went black. A manic giggling filled the void where the two ponies had once been.
DashedSpike was still sitting in Carousel Boutique when Sweetie Belle came home from her day at school. The spring days were still relatively short and she’d hurried back in order to beat the sun as it slipped towards the horizon. “Hey Spike,” she said with a smile, “What are you doing here?” Spike gulped, momentarily tongue tied. Sweetie was the only pony who even got close to Rarity in the beauty stakes. The way her mane played around her horn, the way she made up for her lack of grace with energy and enthusiasm… Spike, however, was faithful to his true love, and shook his head, as if to dislodge those disloyal thoughts. “I was just waiting for Rarity. She’s gone to see Twilight and I didn’t think she’d want me along. You know, they needed some ‘girl time.’” “Oh, right.” There was an awkward pause. Although why it should have really been awkward, Spike didn’t know, but he felt a pressure to extricate himself from the situation. “I, erm… well I should really be going, Sweetie Belle. I’m sure I’ll bump into Rarity on the way back.” “Oh, umm, yeah, sure.” Spike stood and wandered to the door, which still stood open from Sweetie’s arrival. With a glance back at the filly, he stepped out into the gathering gloom and closed the door with a sigh of relief. Inside the boutique, Sweetie sighed too. “Of course, you couldn’t have been here to see me, could you?” *** Spike wandered down Mane Street, towards the library. He hoped Twilight was better after having seen her friend; she really had seemed terribly… angry? Upset? It had been difficult to tell. He’d never seen her like that before, like something had snapped inside of her suddenly. Although now he thought about it, she hadn’t been in the best of spirits for a while. Spike’s thoughts were interrupted by a pink blur that barrelled into him at high velocity, knocking him backwards and sending him tumbling into a flower bed. Coughing out earth, he looked up at the weapon of mass destruction that was Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, what was that for?” Pinkie giggled, pointing at the young dragon’s head. “Oh Spike, you look just like a Pikmin.” Spike hurriedly brushed of the flower that had been acting like it was a star atop a Hearth’s Warming tree and opened his mouth to ask exactly what a Pikmin was, but Pinkie ploughed on, as unstoppable in speech as in movement. “And I was just on my way to Twilight’s house. Oh! Were you going too?” Spike stood up and brushed himself off. “As a matter of fact I was. It’s quite late.” not that you’re aware of little things like time, he didn’t add. “Oh, so it is. Silly me.” Pinkie giggled again. She always giggled. And bounced. Talking to her really took it out of you - she was certainly easier to take in small doses. Together they walked towards the library, as the first stars began to be painted onto the canvas of the night sky by Luna, first a few dabs, then broader brushstrokes, until the sky was filled with sparkling diamonds. Or gems. Spike was reminded of Rarity and wondered what had happened to her. The library was in total darkness as they approached, the little dragon jogging to keep pace with the larger mare. When it came to running at least, four legs really were better than two. Spike reached up and pulled at the door. Frowning, he turned to Pinkie. “It’s locked.” “Don’t you have a key?” “No. I mean, I didn’t even know this door could be locked!” “Then where’s Twilight?” “And where are the others? Rarity went to visit her earlier, and she hadn’t come back when I left the shop.” “Oh, that must be where Applejack went with Rarity too.” There was a pause, as the two friends silently asked the same question – where the hay was everypony? *** Applejack opened her eyes, then closed them again when she saw it didn’t make any difference. Or rather, she didn’t see. Her head chased that round for a few seconds and then she sighed, her breath seeming to echo in the huge space she was in. She felt a body tense next to her in the darkness, startled by the sound. Applejack turned her head and looked at where she thought her companion in the void was lying. “Rarity? That you?” There was a long pause. “I… yes. It is me. But how… how do I know it’s you?” Applejack thought about that. “You don’t. An’ I don’t know if you’re you either.” “Of course I’m me!” the voice said, indignantly. Applejack sighed again, and raised a hoof to her forehead. At least her hat was still there, she realised as she brushed against the Stetson. That was something at least. “Well then, I reckon we’re gonna have to just trust each other.” Applejack felt a well-manicured hoof fumble at her side, until it touched against her own, significantly more weathered one. “I trust you.” The two ponies sat, holding hooves, alone in the dark. *** Rainbow Dash lay, head resting on her cloud pillow, on her cloud bed, on the cloud floor, of her cloud room, in her cloud house. Nothing in Equestria was quite as comfortable as clouds at the end of the day. Plus the number of injuries from trips and falls were minimal. Rainbow groaned at that thought; she was getting to the stage in her life when practical things like that were becoming her biggest concerns. Growing up sucked. “Why am I lying here in bed at nine pm, when I could be out partying? When did I become so… un-Rainbow?” she asked rhetorically. “Oh, I think I know.” Rainbow leapt into the air, slamming her head into the cloud ceiling. Maybe it was sensible to be worried about accidents in the home after all. She turned towards the source of the voice, which had practically dripped with malice and hatred. A shadow was standing in the doorway, framed against the night sky that showed through the hole that had been silently torn in the side of her house. So there was a drawback to clouds; if they were exploded it didn’t act as an alarm. “Alright, whoever that is, you do realise you just put a hole in my house, right? That’s just asking for trouble.” The shadow laughed maniacally. “Oh please. Your comeuppance comes into your house in the dead of night, and your biggest concern is the destruction of your property? And you’ve talked and thought, rather than just kicking me in the face. You’re right; you’ve become very un-Rainbow.” Something about the inflection or tone of the voice sparked Rainbow’s drowsy brain. “Twi…Twilight? Is that you? What the hay do you think you’re doing? And whaddya mean my… comeuppance?” The shadow advanced menacingly towards the rainbow maned pony hovering a foot above the bed. “You know, the most irritating thing about my name is that it’s in two parts. Nobody ever really calls me Twilight Sparkle anymore. Not like Applejack, or Fluttershy. You understand what that’s like at least. It’s just unfortunate, because my new name would work so much better if people weren’t so lazy.” “Your new… what?” “Well you see, my dear Rainbow Dash, I used to be Twilight Sparkle. Now however, I like to think of myself as just Twilight. Without the Sparkle. The twilight of your existence as the self-centred egotistical brute that you are.” The shadow laughed again, at its own joke. Rainbow rolled her eyes and sighed. “Oh fantastic, Twilight’s gone all cartoony super-villain. Great. Well it was bound to happen at some point, all those experiments with that wacky machinery and time alone in your library.” “You’re supposed to be terrified!” “Oh, pur-lease Twilight, I’m Rainbow Dash. Nothing scares me, even if I can’t stay up partying until three in the morning anymore." The shadow paused. “Aren’t you even a little concerned about me?” “I’ll be concerned after I’ve kicked you off my cloud!” So saying, Rainbow Dash flew forward, back legs lashing out towards Twilight. They found their target, and Rainbow gave a small whoop of triumph as, combined with her momentum, they hit home with enough force to knock over a tree. Or that was the theory anyway. Rainbow watched in dismay as her feet seemed to pass through Twilight, leaving her hopelessly off balance. The shadow’s horn flared, and Rainbow found herself surround by a purple aura, which lifted her into the air and slammed her against the wall. She saw, lit by the glow of Twilight’s horn, the face of her friend, the mad glint in her eyes and the grin which stretched across it. It wasn’t the face of a sane pony. Nor was it particularly cartoon-villain evil. Rainbow shuddered, suddenly gripped by the fear she’d been hiding since Twilight had first appeared as her mask of bravado slipped. The mare slowly walked towards her victim, like a spider feeling its way along a web towards a helpless fly. Rainbow gulped. “You were asking why you were so un-Rainbow, as you put it. Well how about I tell you. You became un-Rainbow when you lost sight of your loyalty and became a jumped up, Wonderbolt-fawning, narcissistic, arrogant little toad. I know where you were this week when I running round after all the idiots in this stupid town during the day and crying at night - chasing after Soarin’ in Canterlot. As if he’d ever be interested in you.” Twilight giggled again, as a look of hurt and dismay flashed across Rainbow’s face. “You can’t hide from me Rainbow. I know everything. Your deepest and darkest desires and secrets are laid bare by my power. Not that they’d have been difficult to find out anyway, shallow and obvious as you are.” Twilight’s horn stopped glowing, and Rainbow fell to the ground and sat, slumped against the wall, defeated by the vicious verbal attack. No longer lit, the shadow advanced. “I was going to let you go you know. After all, you’re not really worth it. But then you and your team made it rain on me today, and, well, that’s not very nice. I guess there’s only value in keeping me dry when I have tickets to the Gala. It’s a shame that I have to do this really, but, like I say, at least it’ll make life far less annoying for Soarin’.” Rainbow leapt up, tears in her eyes, determined to land a blow on the shadow that had been her friend. There was a flash of light, blinding her, and then… darkness.
AnimalDarkness. Overwhelming, crushing, suffocating darkness. Rainbow, used as she was to open skies, had to choke back a cry of panic. The sound echoed in the blackness and alerted Rarity and Applejack to the new presence. Rainbow heard a scuffling sound to her left, as though two ponies were moving away from each other in alarm. At least, she assumed they were ponies; who knew what Twilight-not-Sparkle had in store for her? Nervously, she cleared her throat. “Who… who’s there?” “Rainbow, is that you?” A cautious voice piped up near to Dash, only a few feet away, its Southern twang unmistakable, even in the short sentence. “Of course it’s me. Who else would it be?” “Well, gee, I didn’t realise that ya made a habit of visiting magical prisons in ya spare time, funnily enough.” “I thought the aura of awesome that I have would have made it obvious.” Applejack facehoofed. Even in the most dire of situations you could trust Rainbow to keep her bravado, particularly in front of the orange Earth Pony. “Enough small talk Rainbow; how in the name of Equestria did ya end up here?” “Twilight. Duh.” “But…” Applejack tailed off and thought, before continuing, “Why you? What had you done?” Rainbow was quiet and Applejack got the distinct impression she was deciding quite how honest she was going to be. “Twilight… she’s mad at all of us I think. Something about us not being there for her when she needed us.” “I think ‘mad’ might just be the understatement of the century. She’s banished three of her friends into a magical dungeon, in the pitch black, with no hope of escape, for Pete’s sake.” “Three? Someone else is here?” “Oh, yeah, me and Rarity have been here for a while,” Applejack said, nudging the Unicorn who was now leaning on her shoulder. Rainbow was bemused that she hadn’t heard a single word from the fashionista since her arrival. “Wait she’s here? You’re together?” There was a frightened and most unladylike squeak from a few inches past Applejack and a panicky, yet refined voice filled the prison. “Not together, oh no, not together. What gave you that idea Rainbow? Honestly, going around accusing ponies of things like that, you should be ashamed.” “Uh, Rarity, I think she meant together in here.” There was a pause. “Oh.” Rainbow leant back against the wall and sighed. “Well, whatever I meant, I think we’re going to be ‘together’ in here for a while.” *** Pinkie and Spike had arrived back at Sugarcube Corner and had moved into the rooms above the shop. Pinkie’s bedroom was certainly very… pink, Spike thought. She’d practically ordered him to take her bed for the night, while she slept on the couch in the room next to the kitchen. How he was meant to sleep with his stomach rumbling like it was, was anyone’s guess, given how the whole building smelled delicious. Spike had no idea how Pinkie wasn’t much chubbier than she already was. Pinkie, predictably, giggled as his stomach growled again, and grinned. “All you have to do is ask, Spike.” Spike ran a claw over his scaly stomach and then curled his fist defiantly. “No! Twilight and Rarity are missing, I can’t sit around eating! Oh,” he suddenly looked guilty, “And Applejack. Can’t forget her.” “Especially after the time you almost kissed her,” Pinkie winked. Spike looked mortified. “Rarity had just been kidnapped by those dogs! I was thinking about her, I promise.” “Yeah, Spike, just a tip, but ‘I was thinking about you the whole time’ doesn’t really fly.” Spike opened his mouth to protest again, but Pinkie ploughed on. As usual. “And anyway, there’s no point us worrying. They could have gone for a walk for all we know. Besides, it’s late, and baby dragons need their sleep. And cake,” she added, pulling a gem-covered cupcake from nowhere and handing it to him. “Now, go to sleep and we’ll worry about them in the morning, ok?” Spike shoved the cake into his mouth and swallowed it with barely a chew, before climbing under the covers of the bed and curling up. It wasn’t any use arguing with her. Pinkie smiled at the dragon and turned, moving to the door and turning out the lights as she left. If anypony could have seen her face then, they would have seen the mask of worry that covered it. She knew perfectly well that Twilight, from what Spike had told her, had been terribly upset. Otherwise Rarity and Applejack wouldn’t have dropped everything to go and see her. In the best case scenario they had cheered her up. In the worst case, Twilight would still be sad, which was enough to worry the pink pony. Most of all though, neither scenario explained why there was no trace of three of her friends. She could scarcely believe Spike had bought for a minute that they might have gone for a walk in the dead of night, without telling anypony or thinking about him. Pinkie would have cried, but she knew there was little point. Sure, there was no real reason for their disappearance, but it might not be for any reason as horrible as what she was imagining. Besides, crying would change nothing, and she had to stay strong for Spike. Pinkie settled onto the couch and tried to clear her mind. In the morning she and Spike would look around, ask some questions and try and find out what the buck was going on. At least Spike seemed to have been put at ease by her prattle. Upstairs, Spike tossed and turned, unable to sleep. *** Twilight felt incredible. It was like the day she had got her cutie mark, or when she had harnessed the Elements of Harmony; magic and power were coursing through her. Only this time it was untapped, uncontrolled, free to roam and permeate every cell in her body. Unlike those other times, there was no brake, no restraint, in the form of ‘friendship’ or ‘love’ or anything so ridiculous. Her body was magic, her very essence like electricity, tempered into form by hatred and shadow. Somewhere deep inside her, a small voice yelled at her to stop, but it was too faint and too far away to bother taking notice of. Why should she stop? She was the most powerful being in Ponyville and probably in Equestria; Celestia wasn’t looking as untouchable as she had before Chrysalis’ attack. Besides, she felt so alive. She laughed, the chilling sound verging on a cackle; not to mention that she was having fun. Rainbow Dash had been amusing. The look of hurt and pain on her face was joy for the shadow. Far inside her, the part of her soul still intact and untouched flinched at the memory, but its cries were swept away by the tide of anger that now swirled through Twilight. They’d all deserved what they’d got. Her ‘friends’ had practically abandoned her, leaving her to deal with the stupid requests, the too-tight jar lids, the burst pipes, the cats in trees, whatever it was that the local ponies needed fixing that day. Killing them would have been too easy. They needed to suffer, like she had, with nothing behind or ahead but darkness. The cat… it had been sick a while back… Twilight smiled. What was to come would be even more fun. She was still standing in Rainbow’s house, the adrenaline of the confrontation making her pant, but now she turned and with a burst of light from her horn, vanished. *** A solitary fox stalked through the Everfree Forest, the scent of its prey driving it forward. Suddenly, a flash of light lit the clearing, and with a bloodcurdling scream the fox leapt into the air. Frightened out of its wits, the creature ran from the shadow that stood among the trees, malice diffusing into the air around it. Striding towards its target, with as much focus as the fox after its meal, Twilight stepped out of the trees and gazed at the cottage in front of her. So picturesque, even in the dark, with only the moon and the stars shining on it. A solitary light shone in the window of the second floor bedroom, and it spilled into the back garden, gathering in a golden pool. The shadow avoided it. With a smile, in which pain and suffering were writ large, Twilight pointed her horn at the door and sent forth a small proportion of her power, blowing the door off its hinges. She moved forward, pleased by the panicked cries of the wounded animals, which streamed out of the cottage, swimming against the tide of black that swept through the ruined entrance. Twilight advanced up the stairs and moved towards the door, which was ajar, a crack of light showing its location. Slowly pushing it open, Twilight confronted her next victim. Fluttershy lay, eyes wild with panic, paralyzed by fear, a romance novel lying face down on the floor beside the bed where it had fallen. Finally in the light, the ruin of the once brilliant Unicorn was visible. Fluttershy took in the darker purple of her coat, the swirling magical energy that revolved around her body and the manic, unhinged look in her eyes and squeaked. “Twi...Twi…Twilight?” “Pleased to see me?” Twilight grinned and moved towards the helpless Pegasus. “I was in the neighbourhood. Just thought I’d drop by to see my good friend.” “Oh, erm… nice to see-” “Shut up Fluttershy and let me finish. It’s rude to interrupt a villain’s monologue. The thing is, then I realised that I didn’t have a good friend after all. I had another selfish sponger, who cared more about her animals than about her friends.” Twilight leaned over Fluttershy. “Because that’s true isn’t it? You don’t really care about another pony do you? Just your animals. Oh, of course you’re oh so kind, and meek, and helpless, but it’s a show, to manipulate us into doing what you want, into protecting you, into letting my glory trickle its way down to you.” She paused for dramatic effect. “It was actually difficult for me to justify banishing you, you know? Because after all, I’m not totally heartless and for a while I bought the whole act. Then I realised that anypony who thinks a rabbit is more important than me, when I’m clearly not coping, probably isn’t worth sparing. Oh, and the fact that you looked after Mittens when she was sick last month, and I bucking hate that cat. So, to summarise my key points, I’m banishing you because, at the end of the day, you’re a massive bit-“ “No.” Fluttershy lifted into the air, wings flapping, hooves on hips, eyes wide and angry. “You’re not my friend and you’re going to be quiet.” Fluttershy’s voice dripped with power, her gaze like lasers, boring into Twilight. The fragment of Twilight Sparkle deep in the shadow cheered at the sudden turn of events, as Twilight recoiled and trembled under the force of The Stare. The hatred and anger flared upwards within Twilight; it wasn’t going to end like this. With a yell of effort, she lifted her head and met the Pegasus Pony’s eyes, purple magic filling her own and welling over like tears. The two Stares met and a battle of wills and power commenced, swinging one way, then the other, as the two forces collided. Fluttershy held on for as long as she could, as she fought for and against her friend; but alone her power was little match for Twilight’s and with a gasp of shock, her will broke. “I guess I win, Fluttershy. Looks like you really are totally useless.” Twilight’s horn flashed and Fluttershy was gone.
DarknessA shaft of sunlight crept its way through the window and into the bedroom throwing a beam of pure annoyance across Spike’s eyes. The purple dragon uncurled himself from the folds of the duvet and sat up, rubbing away the sleep and yawning. He hadn’t had a good night, but at least he had eventually drifted off, even if it was to a land where Twilight spoke to him with that tone of cold disappointment from the previous afternoon. Not to mention Rarity had… Spike’s clawed hands went to his head. He couldn’t dwell on dreams. He went down to the kitchen and wasn’t surprised to find Pinkie there, despite it being dawn. In a few hours it would be a hive of activity, as the Cakes went about their business, but for now all was still in the way only an early morning can facilitate. The two exchanged half-hearted good mornings and sat in silence as they ate breakfast. Pinkie was the first to break the tension. “They’ll be ok, wherever they are. I’m sure everything’s fine.” She didn’t sound like she believed her own words. “I know.” Neither did Spike. They didn’t know that things were about to get a lot worse. *** “So, umm, how did all you guys end up here? If you don’t mind me asking, that is, I umm…” Fluttershy tailed off. Nobody really felt like discussing the events of the past… hour? Day? Week? Time had no relevance in the darkness. “Pretty much the same way as you, I’d imagine dear,” Rarity said, putting the still mumbling Fluttershy out of her misery. Applejack carried the conversation forward. “The thing I don’t get is why in the name of Celestia would Twi act like that? What did we do wrong?” “I… I suppose we have all been rather busy. The darling is under a terrific amount of pressure you know. Whenever we have tea together, or go to the spa, she seems to have a lot to get off her chest. But... I haven’t done anything with her for weeks, what with designing that new line,” Rarity finished guiltily. “Has anypony?” “Well, umm, I’ve been busy with my animals.” “I’ve had the apple harvest to take care of with Big Mac, and Applebloom runs me ragged too, y’all know that.” “And I’ve been… errr, practising my flying. Plus the weather’s been crazy recently, and my team’s been understaffed.” “Umm… so when was the last time anypony actually, you know, saw Twilight, apart from, umm… you know. And she’s been so busy looking after the town; I saw her running around Ponyville every day last week, without a break, helping ponies with the silliest of things.” There was a silence. “Still, that hardly gives her the right to do this to us, does it now Fluttershy? She’s been positively brutish. We’re her friends!” “Uh, Rarity, maybe we haven’t been acting much like it recently. Now I’m not sayin’ she’s right, but we maybe shoulda been more aware of how she was.” The darkness appeared too filled with black to be able to cope with anything else, but awkward silence filled it now too. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not about to give up on my friend.” A flutter of wings whipped the otherwise still air in the prison, as Dash took to the air, as she always did when she was feeling defiant. The others could picture her, arms crossed, a reckless look in her eyes. “We’re going to get Twilight Sparkle back.” “Umm… Rainbow? How?” Not even Rainbow had an answer. *** “Rainbow Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash!” Pinkie, resplendent in her deerstalker mystery solving hat, stood in the long grass underneath Rainbow’s cloud and called up. The grass was sodden with dew, the little beads catching the early morning sun and throwing little rainbows of light over her pink coat. Spike, meanwhile, was up to his neck in it, and wasn’t really in any mood to enjoy the glory of nature that morning, though he didn’t mind the fetching hat Pinkie had insisted on him wearing. The pair had already been to the Carousel and found it empty, with no sign of Rarity. Pinkie Responsibility Pie had taken Sweetie to Sweet Apple Acres the night before, where she was being looked after by Granny Smith and Big Mac. There she had confirmed that Applejack hadn’t returned, and the situation hadn’t changed when she and Spike had arrived after looking for Rarity. Luckily mornings were early on a farm, and they’d met Mac on his way out to look for Applejack. After assurances that they had everything in hand, he’d instead returned to the vital apple harvest, but he’d insisted that he and Granny were kept in the loop. So here they were calling for Rainbow Dash and receiving no answer and the excuses that Pinkie was conjuring for Spike were doing little to quell their anxiety. “I wouldn’t worry, Spike, she’s probably off on morning weather duty.” Spike was silent. Fluttershy’s cottage was their next port of call. Rainbow was a wildcard, unreliable; surely Fluttershy wouldn’t have run off anywhere. The house was empty. All the animals were gone. Even Angel was missing, although from the squeaky sobbing coming from the chicken coop, it was pretty obvious he hadn’t gone far. The living room was a scene of utter devastation – feathers, fur, knocked over furniture and splinters of the door covering everything like confetti. The Pegasus herself, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found. Spike and Pinkie went outside again and sat, totally dejected on the grass at the back of the house, hats discarded. Spike was the first to speak. “Fluttershy would never leave her animals.” Pinkie shook her head, her mane bobbing from side to side. “Spike, I think they’re in trouble.” Spike paused and thought about losing his temper with Pinkie. Talk about stating the obvious; five ponies were missing and Fluttershy’s house was a total wreck. It was only the total absence of her characteristic bounce that held his tongue, as well as the fact that her hair looked dangerously close to deflating. “I think you’re right. We have to do something!” The two stood, infused by a fresh energy. “But what, Spike? My special talent is throwing parties for Celestia’s sake, I doubt that’ll solve anything. For once.” A spark flickered in Spike’s brain. “Well, maybe we should just write to Princess Celestia and just tell her what’s happened and ask for help?” “Oh, I really don’t think that’d be a good idea, do you?” Pinkie and Spike turned to face Twilight. *** Moments earlier, Twilight had been thoroughly enjoying herself. She’d attained and experienced absolute power and exiled her not-friends into a shadowy dungeon of doom, all in half a day. She had been in the process of plotting her next move. Of course she would take over Equestria; it was the courteous thing to do in her situation. No sense wasting all the magical energy that was flowing through her. It was more a question of how. She couldn’t just waltz into Canterlot and blow Celestia to kingdom come; there was no style in that. She didn’t want to be cliché either, although that was always fun. If she could have had her way, she would have drowned everyone in chocolate, just for irony’s sake and the fantastic villain lines it’d provide (“Well that sure is a sweet way to die, mwahahahaha.”), but Discord had taken that one already with his chocolate rain. Chocolate rain… Twilight had been reminded of Pinkie. Of course, she’d considered the Earth Pony’s threat to her plans, as well as Spike’s. They were both far too stupid to be a problem though. Honestly, sometimes she wondered how they managed to stay upright. The little piece of her soul had screamed its protest inside, but it had fallen on deaf ears as Twilight mused on whether it might be entertaining to put them both in a cage and throw bananas at them. Maybe she could train them. Suddenly, a wave of magical disturbance had cut the air – Spike had had an idea. His constant exposure to Twilight had given him a little magical connection to her and she could sense what he was about to do. “Oh no you don’t, you stupid dragon.” There was a flash and Twilight was gone. *** “No, definitely not a good idea,” Twilight laughed and advanced on the stunned pair, a glimmer of madness in her eye. “You see, if you were to tell Celestia what was going on, she might stumble upon my plan, and while I could beat her with two hooves tied behind my back, I’d rather she was unprepared. Besides, if she were forewarned, she might be able to find that cretin Luna, and drag her away from whatever keeps her so busy whenever drama happens. Two on one? Well that’s just unfair.” Spike was the first to react. “Twi… Twilight, where have you been? What are you talking about?” “Your Twilight is gone, you stupid dragon. I am so sick of you. ‘Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, Friendship! Twilight, Twilight’”, she mocked cruelly, “All the bucking time.” “Hey, nobody speaks to Spike like that!” Pinkie had bounced into attack mode, and hopped, foot to foot, hooves raised like a boxer. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not Twilight!” “Well done. What gave it away, the magical vortex of shadows swirling around me, or the fact that I keep cackling?” Pinkie struck, but Twilight dodged easily, and backhoofed her around the face, knocking her to the ground. “Pinkie!” Spike leapt into action, teeth bared. Then he hesitated. It was still Twilight. Even if there was only a little bit left of her; he could still feel it. The connection worked both ways. Twilight acted ruthlessly, slamming Spike into the wall of the cottage, where he slumped, winded. “You know, I was going to spare you two. I didn’t imagine you’d ever really be a problem. Oh well, I guess I should have expected it – it’s always the plucky underdogs who take down the villain in the end isn’t it?” Twilight laughed maniacally again, “Not this time though. I won’t miss either of you, if it makes you feel any better. To think, the last hope Equestria had, it came down to you, and you’ve screwed it up. Ouch.” Twilight’s horn flashed, and the shadows consumed her friends. Inside Twilight, a piece of soul slumped, and let darkness take it too. Her hope had gone.
Battle“Oh my gosh, is that Dashie? And Rarity? And AJ? And…” “Yes Pinkie, it’s us, now will ya please move, ya sittin’ on ma tail.” Pinkie shifted her weight to one side and giggled, “Sorry AJ.” Rainbow blew out a breath; if it were possible to scowl with a voice, she managed it. “Well you seem cheerful for someone who’s been locked in a pitch black dungeon, with no hope of escape, Pinkie.” “Who said there was no hope of escape? Have you silly billys even tried?” “Well, no darling, but if we can’t see, what possible hope do we have?” “Umm…” Everyone turned to where Fluttershy’s voice was coming from. “Rarity, umm, yeah. Don’t you have a horn? You’re a Unicorn.” Rarity was nonplussed. “What’s your point dear?” “Well, umm, it’s just that… when you do magic, your horn glows.” There was a stunned silence. One beat passed. Then two. Still the silence continued. “Umm… sorry.” Rainbow shook of the shock quickest.. “Fluttershy, why the buck didn’t you think of this earlier, for the love of Celestia.” “Well… in my defence, I would have thought that it was obvious?” “She’s got a point guys. I mean, I’m no pony, but even I know that Unicorn’s horns glow when they use magic.” “Well if you’re so clever, why don’t you breathe fire and light this place up that way? Oh wait, because you can’t.” “Rainbow! Don’t you dare talk to Spikey Wikey that way!” The room quickly descended into chaos as the ponies argued. Spike was yelling, Rarity was growling in Dash’s direction, Fluttershy was crying, and Applejack was threatening to lasso everypony. Pinkie sat, grinding her forehead with a hoof. This was why she threw so many parties; it was far easier to get along on the back of a party-high. Even the best of friends could end up bickering if they weren’t careful. Pinkie was painfully aware of why they were really fighting. Without Twilight there to hold them together as the cool voice of logic, they were just a fragmented group. After all, in the beginning, had they even really liked each other? It had been Twilight that had brought them together and bonded them into a cohesive force that had overcome the likes of Nightmare Moon, and without her they were beginning to fall apart again. They were still arguing and it was getting on Pinkie’s nerves. “WILL YOU ALL PLEASE BE QUIET!” With a roar, her party cannon fired into the air, showering everypony in confetti. Silence fell. “That’s better. Now, Rarity, if you don’t mind, would you please light this room up so I can see who I’m talking too.” A soft-purple glow radiated from her right as Rarity acquiesced to her request, and their prison was revealed for the first time. It wasn’t much to look at. A simple box in shape, made of concrete, with cracks in through which shadow seemed to spill like black vapour. Pinkie surveyed her friends and snorted with laughter. "You all look ridiculous!" It was true; their manes were messy and they were covered in tiny pieces of confetti and streamers from the cannon. Soon they were all laughing, and just like that the tension was diffused. Pinkie suddenly snapped to attention. “Right. Everypony listen to me.” All heads turned to face the pink pony, who seemed to have taken charge. The others let her, although Rainbow wasn’t necessarily happy about it. When she was sure she had their attention, Pinkie continued. “We are all friends. Remember the lesson that Twilight taught us; we’re connected by the magic that is friendship. If there is even a little part of her left, then we can find it and we can save it.” Pinkie moved towards Rarity and lay a hoof on her shoulder. “When we were sat here, in the dark, it was the light of a friend that showed us the way. Twilight has been in darkness for so long and we ignored it. Well not any more. We’re going to get Twilight back and make her smile again.” “Uh, sugarcube, how exactly do you plan on us getting out of here?” Pinkie giggled. “That big old meany in Twilight’s body underestimates me. She thinks I’m some airhead, who’s only good for partying!” Rainbow muttered something indecipherable, which may have been in tentative agreement with Twilight. Pinkie continued. “But she clearly doesn’t know me as well as our Twilight. After all, look at this cell.” The other ponies looked around, bemused. “Pinkie Pie, dear, what exactly are we looking for? This place is impossible to get out of.” Pinkie grinned wickedly, a playful twinkle in her eye. “For you maybe, but I have another talent besides partying. We need to break out and if I’m not mistaken, this cell has four walls…” *** Ponies were running, terrified, as bolts of purple lightning rained down upon Ponyville. Thatched roofs across the town had caught alight, market stalls were overturned, and Mittens had hidden up her tree again. Twilight hovered above it all, floating on a cloud of corporeal shadow, laughing. The screams were getting on her nerves though. “Look, I know I went for the classic ‘crush, kill, destroy’ model, but is that really so terrible?” she called down. More screams. She supposed she’d have to get used to it, being a monstrous shadowy dictator and all. No pony had ever said life was easy. Twilight hummed along to some of Octavia’s latest compositions as she toured above the burning town. The library was still intact though. All those books inside; she might have been a monster, but she wasn’t that evil. She paused. Well, maybe a few of those Stephenie Neigher books could burn. They did steal her name after all, and it was bad form to be associated with that kind of rubbish as an evil pony overlord. Meanwhile, the real Twilight, buried deep inside cackling villain, was crying. Everything that was happening was her fault. She’d been stressed and depressed, and instead of asking for help she’d bottled everything up, taken it out on her friends, and now she was flying over Ponyville, raining down lightning bolts. “And the worst part for you,” Twilight said to the fragment, “Is that there’s nobody who can stop me… err, you… err… whatever this deal is.” “Oh silly Twilight, I think you might be a teensy-tiny bit mistaken.” Twilight swivelled, mouth agape, to see 5 ponies (and Spike) running towards her, very much not in a shadowy prison of despair. “What in the deus ex machina!?” She descended, until she was hovering just a few feet off the ground. “How the buck did you escape?” Pinkie bounced forward, a look of triumph on her face. “Isn’t it obvious Twilight?” She turned away and addressed thin air. “I’m sure all of our intelligent readers have worked it out. I did make clear enough, didn’t I?” “Uh, Pinkie, darling, who are you talking to? Because now really isn’t the time.” “Woops, sorry Rarity.” Twilight ground her teeth. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve escaped. You’re no match for me anyway. I mean, come on, I imprisoned you once already. I wasn’t in the best of moods then, to be fair, but I’m feeling happier now; so I’ll just kill you this time. It’ll be far simpler than creating a magical prison symbolic of my inner turmoil in any case.” She smiled evilly, though it looked more like a grimace. “And I think I’ll start by picking on someone much smaller and weaker than me. It’s the super-villain way.” Her horn glowed and a bolt of energy sped its way towards Spike. With a yell of fear and anger, Rarity reacted, leaping into its path and meeting it with her own magic. Light purple met dark purple, as the two ponies struggled. Twilight was clearly the stronger though; even without counting her elevated power levels Twilight was trained in a number of disciplines, including combat magic. Rarity, on the other hand, made dresses. She was quickly overwhelmed, Twilight’s magic smashing into her body and sending her flying backwards, where she lay, winded and unable to fight. “Rarity!” Spike ran to her side, both alarmed and moved by her sacrifice. “That works too,” Twilight panted, “Two down.” “And no more. Um, if you don’t mind that is?” Fluttershy, a look of steely resolve on her face, stepped forward to confront the Unicorn. “You hurt my friends, I’ll… ummm… be your end?” “That was the best you could do? Seriously, is your middle name ‘pathetic’?” A very un-Fluttershy growl rose in her throat, and she advanced, eyes wide, Stare activated, extreme concentration rendering her unable to reply. Twilight snorted. “Really? You caught me unprepared last time, but I garnered sufficient data to work out the best way to make your Stare impotent.” Twilight closed her eyes and with contact broken she shoved her hoof into Fluttershy’s face, knocking her to the ground, startled. With a yelp of surprise and fear at having her power broken so easily, Fluttershy took the safest course of action; simulated rigor mortis. “Now why has nobody else thought of doing that? Any other challengers? Come on Applejack, Rainbow, fancy teaming up to try and take me down? I dare you.” With a swift glance at one another, the two friends leapt forward in unison, hooves first. Twilight smiled and with a flash she was gone. With a sickening crash Dash and Applejack collided and tumbled to the floor in a heap together. Twilight reappeared a few feet away and rolled her eyes. “Celestia, you’re stupid. Still, Applejack on top of Rainbow Dash; the shippers will be happy.” Pinkie gasped and pointed a hoof at Twilight, dismayed. “That’s my bit! I’m the one who’s supposed to break the immersion of reality!” “So I’m evil, big surprise Pinkie. You won’t have to worry about it for much longer anyway.” Pinkie smiled. It was surprisingly nonchalant for a pony on the verge of defeat. “Oh, I don’t think so Twi. You see, we didn’t come straight here after we escaped. We might not be as clever as you, but we’re not that stupid; we planned this. We’ve set a trap and you’ve sprung it.” “What are you talking about?” “Well, look at where you are Twilight. Surrounded.” Twilight looked around and indeed saw that she was at the centre of her former friends; Applejack and Rainbow behind her, Fluttershy on one side, Rarity on the other and Pinkie in front. “Surrounding me with unconscious ponies? That was your plan.” “Oh Twilight, darling, you think we’ve been beaten?” Twilight’s head whipped round to see Rarity getting shakily to her feet. “Yeah Twi, did ya think me and Rainbow were actually that stupid? Well, Rainbow might be.” “Hey!” “And, umm, I wouldn’t be silly enough to try The Stare again after you’d already beaten me once.” Twilight’s head swivelled from side to side to see ponies on every one. “So what?! I’ve beaten you twice, I can do it again!” Pinkie giggled. “Silly billy Twilight, I think you’re brain's gone a bit loco. You might even say you’re loco in-” “Pinkie, dear, focus.” “Sorry Rarity. Their attacks were a distraction, Twilight, so that I could get ready.” Twilight frowned. “Ready? Ready for what?” “For my big speech of course!” Pinkie cleared her throat. “We’ve let you down, we know we have. All this destruction is your responsibility of course, but you’re here because of your loneliness and isolation getting the better of you and we shouldn’t have ever let that happen. We should have paid more attention to you and done something with you, to let you know you weren’t alone. Hay, I haven’t even thrown a party in at least a week! But did you ever think of coming to talk to us, to ask us for help? No, because you’re smarty smart pants Twilight, who thinks she should be able to be fine on her own. I mean, you did it for years before you met us. But things change, Twilight. I’m talking to what’s left of you, inside that evil shell. You aren’t alone. There is always hope. And now…” Pinkie drew herself up and raised a hoof skyward. “…with the sappy stuff over, it’s time to kick your butt!” Twilight snorted with disgust. “Well, unless your plan was to make me vomit with that saccharine speech, I don’t see how.” “Don’t you remember the old fairy tales? In the books, there was always a picture of the Elements of Harmony. Magic, surrounded by Honestly, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness and Laughter. Magic was the spark made by friendship. Magic was made possible by the other elements. It was a failsafe, to stop Magic becoming corrupted by the unlimited power of friendship. Only together could the Elements thrive.” Twilight bared her teeth, suddenly aware that her plans for world domination were coming crashing down around her. Pinkie continued. “We gave you your strength, and we can take it away too!” There was a bang, and a blinding flash as pure white light erupted around the group. Twilight desperately tried to teleport away, but found herself bound within the circle by the walls of light. It was too bright for her. The shadows swirling around her receded, frightened and chased by the light. There was another bang, and five jets of light, one from each pony, shot forward, slamming into Twilight and pinning her to the ground. The beams, one red, one orange, one green, one blue and one purple, converged upon the Unicorn. Shadows fell off, sloughed away by the energy contained by the Elements. Then, with yet another boom, light exploded in all directions, spreading in a wave across Equestria, bending trees over with its force, like a hurricane. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the light faded and dissipated. The five ponies at the epicentre felt the power leave their bodies and floated slowly to the ground. There they came face to face with Twilight Sparkle. She looked smaller, weaker, without the magic coursing through her, or the shadows clinging to her frame. Lying prone on the scorched grass, she looked up at her friends. “I…” Then she burst into tears.
BetterDear Princess Celestia I don’t really know where to begin. The first thing is that I’m sorry. I learned a valuable lesson this week, about life as well as friendship. I’ll start with the practical aspects I suppose. Ponyville has been repaired and looks no worse for wear from its experiences. After all the disasters that have occurred in this place, it’s no surprise that most of the locals have homeowner’s insurance, which thankfully covered destruction by evil beings and paid for most of the work. I helped out as much as I could, of course, even if it was just holding a bucket or hammer here, or lifting some lumber there. In my spare time I’ve been researching more into the Elements in order to work out what happened. When she confronted me, Pinkie hadn’t really known what would happen or if her plan would even work, but she’s got as much in the brain department as anypony and she was more familiar with the legend than I realised. What she said at the time was true; the Elements keep each other in check just as much as anything else. It turns out the Elements just needed to be correctly configured and in the correct scenario they’d act on their own. Apparently they have a flair for the dramatic too, letting Pinkie have her moment in the spotlight the way they did. Which is odd, thinking of them as almost being sentient. As for myself, I’m much the same as I was before the whole incident. I feel emptier, if that’s the best way of putting it. It’s not an experience I’ll get over quickly. I’m not happier either, but I’m not sad in the same way anymore. Empty probably does sum it up best; empty as well as remorseful and guilty of course. Things are different now though. I learnt that my friends truly are what make me whole. They are my rocks and my support. When I need them I must trust them and lean on them, as I would want them to lean on me. This whole crisis could have been averted if I just asked for help and made an effort to go out and spend time with them, even at my lowest point. I got scared though; scared of being with them, scared that they didn’t truly want me as a friend. Instead I just wallowed in my depression. Which reminds me, I must tell Rarity that ponies can definitely wallow. Anyway, my friends will be there for me, even when I’m not there for myself. In many ways, that is the magic of friendship. When I apologised to them all for the things I said and the things I did they forgave me, even after how I treated them. Other ponies haven’t been as accepting. I know that I have to make it up to everyone though, whatever my friends say. And I will, no matter what it takes. I will be a different pony from now on. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle Twilight gently levitated the quill down, onto the desk and sighed. The Unicorn massaged her forehead and prepared herself for what she had to do. When had this become so difficult? When had the very idea of stepping out the door become so terrifying? Twilight knew it was illogical, but she’d known that before everything went wrong and it hadn’t changed anything. She’d promised though; both to Celestia in her letter and to her friends. She was going to be a different pony. She took a deep, calming, breath, steeling her resolve before standing and heading for the door. The first time was going to be the hardest. Behind her, Spike picked up and blew green flame onto the letter and watched as the magical essence of the message floated towards the window, towards Canterlot. Twilight, purposefully not looking back at the safety of her books and the library, closed the door behind her and trotted down the street. It was a beautiful day; Celestia’s sun high in the clear blue sky. No wind today though. Ponies were out in force, enjoying the weather, shopping at the market, or working on repairing their houses and shops. The only sign that the damage hadn’t been caused by a freak hurricane that was left of the entire incident was the charred earth where the shadow had finally fallen, obliterated by the light. Twilight did her best not to look at it as she moved past. She’d already tried repairing it with magic, but whatever damage her alter-ego's defeat had done appeared to be permanent. Perhaps that was best, although Twilight hoped that she’d never need a reminder. Besides, the residents of Ponyville had decided that a small statue should be erected there. Twilight was unsure how she felt about that. As she approached her destination an inquisitive meow caught her attention, and she looked down to see Mittens prancing delicately alongside her, mimicking her step. She looked none the worse for her experience, her fluffy white tail waving like a flag behind her. With a genuine smile, Twilight stopped and petted the animal, who purred, before catching sight of a bird and stalking off. Twilight shook her head, but grinned; the cat was heading straight for the tree again. It’d be Twilight who had to fetch her down again, most likely, but for some reason that didn’t bother her as much as it once did. The Unicorn continued towards Sugarcube Corner and arrived before the brightly painted door. It was the first party that Pinkie had thrown since the event, as she celebrated the completion of the final repairs to the shop. Twilight stopped and drew in a nervous breath. This was her last chance to let all that fear and doubt get the better of her once again. She wasn't going to let it happen; she was going to be a different pony from now on. Twilight knocked on the door. She was going to be better.
