Evening in the Everfree forest
Twilight fired off a magic bolt that hit the double headed hydra just below its eye. She may have missed, but it was enough for Fluttershy to escape with Rarity. It turned towards her only to have a rock slam into the side of its head. Looking down, it saw the orange mare the rock came from. Before it could do anything, something crashed into the back of its other head and it stumbled forward. It looked up in time to see a blue streak flying away.
"Twilight, how much longer until the guards arrive?" Rarity asked.
She looked at Rarity and Fluttershy who were out of breath. Rainbow Dash was slowing down as well and Applejack... wasn't moving.
The creature brought its foreleg down on Applejack with a series of popping sounds and a rumble as she was crushed into the ground.
"APPLEJACK!"
"Right here." Came the familiar voice from behind them. "Thanks for the save, Pinkie."
"Balloonjack's sacrifice will not be forgotten." Pinkie saluted the mangled bits of rubber.
Twilight shook her head. "It's going to take too long for help to get here but we can't leave or all of Ponyville will be in danger." She looked up and yelled out. "Dash. Can you keep it distracted for a minute on your own?"
"I'll try."
"The rest of you get out of here. I'm going to end this." Twilight spread her stance with her horn pointed at the creature.
Applejack walked up to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Now hold up there, Twi. We ain't leaving you here on your own."
"We don't have time for this. Get the others to safety." The glow on her horn got brighter and started to light up the area. "Dash. When I tell you, you need to get out of there as fast as you can."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine but it will be too dangerous for anypony else to be around."
Applejack grumbled but turned around. "You better know what you're doing." She started leading the others away.
The glow got brighter as she put more magic into it while Rainbow Dash continued to zip around.
Finally it was enough. "Now, Dash. Get out of there."
With all the speed she had left, she flew over Twilight's head and made her way to the others. The creature went to followed her but was distracted by the bright light on the ground.
Twilight fired and the massive bolt of energy plowed through the base of its necks and into its body where it exploded. She watched the mess of a creature thrash about while she took a moment to recover. The body rolled towards her and she started to back up but a noise to the side caught her off guard. Its tail smashed through the underbrush before she could react.
Rainbow Dash touched down next to the others. All of them were looking back at where they had just been. "Now that was awesome!"
"Oh. Oh my." Fluttershy didn't share any of the enthusiasm. "I-I know we had to stop it... and it wouldn't listen... but..."
Pinkie Pie picked her up and held her in a hug.
"Hu, she actually did it. That gal sure is something." Applejack took a moment to just listen, since the trees stopped them from seeing anything. "Hey, Rarity. I know Twilight said it's too dangerous for anypony to be there, but do you think it's safe to go get her? Make sure she's alright."
Rarity frowned. "I'm not sure what she did. But I suppose it's for the best that we check on her instead of waiting here." She tried to look up at her own horn. "I'll let you know if anything feels odd."
They made their way back to where the fight had been and found the dead monster in the middle of the clearing it had made.
"TWILIGHT" They each called out for their missing friend as they searched the area.
Rarity picked up something in her magic. "Oh dear!"
Applejack walked over to her. "What you got there?" She took a close look at the tuft of purple fur.
The others were drawn over and they all noticed the trail of broken branches leading away from the clearing. They followed the trail and quickly found more fur on a branch. They cantered down the trail, looking for more signs of their friend, until they came across a strip of flesh covered in the same purple fur. They broke into a light gallop and constantly searched the area so as to not miss Twilight if she happened to land off to the side. The trail only got worse as they encountered more stripes of skin, blood splatter, and even a chunk of meat.
"There!" Rainbow Dash pointed to a torn up, purple leg sticking out of a bush. She took off and got there first. "Twilight! Twi-" Shaking the hoof caused the hind leg to fall over and show that there was no pony attached to it. She started shaking as her mind locked up and in a panic she grabbed the leg and flew down the trail as fast as she could.
"Dash, wait up." Applejack called out as the others galloped after her at full speed. Glancing about showed the forest becoming increasingly red with blood as they passed more pieces of pony, including a liver impaled on a sharp branch.
It didn't take long for them to catch up to a frozen Rainbow Dash whose wings had locked up. She just sat there wide eyed and mouth open, the detached leg forgotten about behind her.
The others had their own reaction upon coming to the edge of the small clearing. Applejack took off her hat and placed it over her chest. Rarity went behind a bush and emptied her stomach. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy hugged each other and cried.
Twilight's mangled body was held off the ground, impaled on a large broken branch going through the side of her barrel. Her chest was pointed up but her head and hind leg were pointed at the ground, as well as a foreleg hanging on by a scrap of flesh. The other was on the ground, among the debris that followed her. Her horn was broken in half and a mangled eye dangled from its socket on the far side. Broken bones and branches poked out at random and her shredded skin did little to hold any organs in place.
Dash gasped "She's still alive!" They looked over at her then up at Twilight who twitched a few times
"No." Fluttershy mumbled. "It's just nerves. It happens a little."
"But- but look." She pointed back at Twilight and the others took a moment to watch.
The intact eye facing them blinked open and looked around. An ear twitched in their direction and the eye followed, snapping open upon seeing them. They looked at each other for a moment before her eye closed and her ear went back as she frowned.
"We have to help her!" Dash yelled out before rushing over to Fluttershy. "You know how to fix this right? What do we do?"
"I-I-I" She could only stammer. "She shouldn't... This can't be... I don't know what to do."
"Well we have to do something." She was up in the air waving her forelegs around.
Fluttershy could only look at her mangled friend in horror. "Nopony- nothing should be alive like this."
There was a series of crunching and grinding noises as Twilight tried twisting her head around.
Rarity looked ready to be sick again. "The poor dear. That must be excruciating. Is there nothing we can do for her?"
"The only thing you can do at this point-" Fluttershy put her head down "-Is put them down so they don't suffer anymore." She looked back up. "But this is too much. She shouldn't be... I don't know what's going on."
With a final crunching noise, Twilight twisted her head around to line up with her body. She moved it side to side like trying to work the kinks out of a stiff neck. She turned her head to the side a little and her mangled eye flopped towards her friends. She looked around, confused for a moment before giving up . Sparks started shooting out of her stump of a horn but quickly formed the normal aura, as if the entire thing was still there. Several fragments flew to her and found their place as the entire thing became too bright to look at. The glow faded and her intact horn was without a scratch. Next, her eye started to glow and was pulled into its socket. Some light escaped her eyelids and after it faded she blinked a few times and looked around.
"What in tarnation?" Applejack stood there just a dumbfounded as the others at the display before them.
Twilight looked over at them and her mouth started to move but nothing came out. After stopping and trying again she looked at her body. She examined the branch holding her off the ground and the numerous bones and branches that punctured her lungs. There was a wet sucking sound when she tried to breath in and blood bubbles formed when she tried to breath out. She glared at the branch impaling her before finally taking in the condition of her forelegs. She used her magic to grab the one still attached and it made a series of snapping and popping sounds as the bones were straightened out. She held it in place for a moment and when she let go it stayed there as she flexed it a few times. Her other foreleg received the same treatment as her magic started pulling the smaller branches out of her body.
With her forelegs restored, she started pushing herself away from the tree holding her up. With a final push from her magic she was free and fell to the ground with a wet plop. A kidney bounced out and landed in a coil of intestines. She looked at the wayward organ and simply rolled her eyes. The skin on her barrel stitched itself back together while her ribs made a series of cracking sounds until she had a more normal shape. She took a deep breath and started coughing and spiting out splinters.
She held out a foreleg towards her friends. "Girls, I need you to stay calm and don't panic. Ok?" The only response she got was that they continued to stare at her and blink a few times. She sighed. "Just give me a few minutes to pull myself together and then I'll explain."
She looked back at her still partly mangled body and took a moment before twisting around with more grinding and crunching sounds as her spine was realigned. She stretched out her hind leg as it was fixed in the disturbingly familiar noises. She stood up on her three legs and looked around, but every hopping step she took dragged her intestines across the ground. She lit her horn and swung her head around until she was looking at Rainbow Dash. Her missing leg levitated up and over her friends who were startled out of their stupor. They followed behind the leg and watched closely as it was fixed and reattached. With one last effort, her horn glowed a bit brighter. Her intestines and runaway kidney were pulled up inside, half of her heart was dislodged from the debris on the ground, other lost organs and chunks of flesh found their place just before the rest of her skin stitched itself together and the blood covering her was pulled inside.
Then, without a scratch on her, she stumbled away until she collapsed in a clean area on the edge of the small clearing. "Oof. Well that was unpleasant."
The others rushed over.
"Twilight are you ok?"
"We need to get you to a hospital."
"What just happened?"
She waved her hoof at them. "Girls, girls. I'm fine, I promise. Just a bit sore and tired."
Rarity crouched down so they were eye level. "Twilight dear, there were pieces of you scattered everywhere. How can you possibly be fine after something like that?"
She put her head down. "I'm going to get in trouble for this, but you girls deserve to know the truth." She looked up at them. "First I need you to promise me that you won't tell anypony about this."
They looked at each other for a moment and Pinkie led them in a Pinkie promise.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm an alicorn foal."
They were quiet for a moment as they looked her over for any outward signs.
Rarity cleared her throat. "An 'alicorn foal' you say?"
"Well, filly at this point." She stretched out a foreleg and flexed it. "I've grown a bit in the last few years."
Pinkie bounced over to her. "How can you be a filly silly?" She giggled. "You're as big as us."
She smiled at her near-perpetually happy friend. "I age slower then other ponies. And I'll be getting even bigger as I grow up."
"Ooohhh." She squinted and rubbed her chin with a hoof. "So how old are you?"
"I'll be fifty three on my birthday." She watched as Pinkie's eyes and smile grew disturbingly wide. " ...NO! Pinkie, you promised not to tell anypony. If you put that many candles on a cake, then everypony who sees it will know something is wrong."
Her smile and ears fell as she walked away dejectedly. "Ok." She imminently cheered up. "But I'll think of something."
Applejack walked in front of Twilight with a frown. "And just why have you never told any of us about this?"
"Because I'm not allowed to." She looked up into her friends eyes. "I'm sorry Applejack, but this is a secret I've been keeping my entire life." She sighed and looked away. "Princess Celestia wants us to have a reasonably normal foalhood and learn what it's like to be a normal pony. Can't really do that if everypony knows what I am. Even this is going to complicate that."
"Excuse me darling but 'us'?" Rarity spoke up. "I would assume you were referring to Princess Cadance but everypony already knows about her."
Twilight grimaced and bit her lip before relenting. "You already promised not to tell anypony. Although not twins, alicorns are born in pairs." She gave a short laugh and a small smile. "It wouldn't make sense for an alicorn to marry somepony who isn't going to live very long by comparison, would it?"
Rainbow Dash was hovering overhead as she thought about this. "So you and your brother, Celestia and Luna... Doesn't this mean that Cadance should have a sister or a brother or something?"
Nopony noticed Rarity's eyes snap open and look in the direction of Canterlot.
Twilight's face scrunched up in a frown as she growled out. "You already met her older sister."
Again, nopony noticed as Rarity gave a relived sigh. The others looked at each other for a moment.
Applejack was the first to speak up. "Beg your pardon, Sugarcube, but I don't recall ever seeing another alicorn."
Twilight stretched and sat up, bumping into Fluttershy who had been quietly inspecting her for injuries. "How many things have we come across that are as tall as an alicorn, have a horn and wings, and an affinity for love?"
There was a moment of quiet before they all burst out.
"You've got to be kidding me." Dash yelled out.
Rarity put a hoof to her chest. "To her own sister. On her wedding day."
"That's horrible." Fluttershy whispered.
Pinkie's face scrunched up. "That meanie."
Applejack stomped on the ground. "What she did was bad enough, but to do that to family? That just ain't right." She took a deep breath and let it out. "If I ever see her again, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind."
Twilight smiled at that. "I'm sure Cadance would appreciate that, but it's unlikely we'll ever see that queen again." She twisted her back and made a few normal cracking and popping sounds that would be expected of anypony. Then she flinched away as Fluttershy went back to checking her over. "Uh, Fluttershy, you're getting a little personal there."
Fluttershy backed up a little. "Are you hurt? In pain? We really should get you to a doctor."
She took a breath and put on a smile as she looked her friend in the eyes. "I'm fine, I promise. You don't need to worry about me and I don't need to see a doctor."
"But how can you be sure? You were- you were..." All she could do was look over at where they had found her.
She put a hoof on her friends shoulder. "I'm immortal. This isn't the first time something like this has happened to me." She took a moment to glance at the branch she had been impaled on. "I know it looked bad but I'm still here, and you haven't found anything wrong with me, have you?"
"Well, no." She looked over Twilight's intact form again. "I'm just worried about you."
She pulled Fluttershy into a quick hug. "And I appreciate it."
Rainbow Dash hovered over head. "So stuff like this has happened to you before?"
Twilight looked up at her. "A few times." She glanced in the direction of Canterlot. "I think there are still chunks of my skull embedded in the walls of the room where I had my private lessons with Princess Celestia."
They all cringed back from that. Except for Rarity who seemed to be lost in thought.
"Twilight." Rarity spoke up. "Not to insinuate anything but, should we be worried about your brother?"
"Shining?" She frowned and furrowed her brows. "No. Why?"
Rarity fussed with her mane for a moment. "I just happened to notice an odd pattern, that's all." When she finished and everything was still quiet, she looked at the others who were waiting for her to continue. "Well it's just that. There's Celestia and her sister Luna, who became Nightmare Moon. Cadance and her sister, who became that dreadful queen. Now we have you and your brother. Should we be concerned about him doing something... undesirable?"
Twilight gave her a smile and shook her head. "Shining Armor has dedicated his life to protecting others, it's in his very nature to do so, he earned his place as captain of the royal guard. When his time comes, I have little doubt that he will become the most powerful and stalwart defender of Equestria this world has ever seen."
"Oh good." She gave a small nod. "For a moment there I thought that-"
"Myself on the other hoof." Twilight interrupted as she put her head down and looked at the ground. "I enthralled a town over something as insignificant as being a bit late with a report. Spike keeps a tally of how many problems I've solved compared to how many I've created." She looked up and rubbed her chin with a hoof. "I think I'm in the positives." She stretched and took a couple steps. "If there's anypony you have to be worried about right now, it's me."
Fluttershy walked over to her. "It can't be that bad, right?" She smiled at her. "I mean, the princess trusted you to stop Nightmare moon and Discord."
"That's because she knows that if she points me at something long enough, it will go away." She looked in the direction of Ponyville. "Ponyville is still here though. Although the extra bits being sent to help rebuild things probably helps a lot."
Applejack put a leg over Twilight's withers. "Now don't be so hard on yourself. You ain't the only pony to cause a ruckus now and then. And I'm sure the whole town appreciates the you being around to lend a helping hoof." She looked around at the others. "Ain't that right girls?"
There was a chorus of affirmatives.
Twilight smiled. "Thanks girls. Hopefully things work out and I don't turn into some evil overlord bent on world domination."
Pinkie pulled her away into a hug. "Don't you worry. If you start learning dark magic then we'll be there to stop you and make you our friend again."
Twilight pried herself loose from the hug so she could breath. "Pinkie, I already know dark magic. Princess Celestia taught me."
"Ooohh." She looked up and thought for a moment. "Well if you start learning necromancy so you can raise an army of zomponies, then we'll be there to stop you and make you our friend again."
Twilight perked up and settled into a lecture tone. "Actually some medical spells use a mild form of necromancy to keep dead tissue functioning until the patient can be healed properly."
Pinkie's face scrunched up. "Ok. Well if you become an evil overlord bent on world domination THEN we'll be there to stop you and make you our friend again." After a moment, she grinned and rubbed her hooves together. "Although... If you did become an evil overlord and we were still friends, then could I throw a super ginormous Equestria wide party?"
She laughed and gave Pinkie a quick hug. "We'll have to see if it's in the budget."
Applejack nudged Rarity and whispered to her. "Should we be worried that her first thought is about the budget, after she takes over?"
"Oh as if you've never thought about taking over the world." She gave her a tap on the shoulder.
"I most certainly have not." She looked away with a small frown. "Except for that one idea of turning Equestria into an apple orchard."
"So what do we do now?" Fluttershy asked.
"First-" Twilight started walking and gestured for the others to follow. "-we are going to tell the guards that we took care of things here. Then I need to write a letter telling the princess about what happened here. She'll probably want to talk to all of us. The rest of you should probably get some rest." She turned her head and looked at Pinkie. "Except I'm sure you want to throw some 'yay, we saved Ponyville again' party."
Pinkie bounced a bit higher. "Absolutely."
"Of course you do." She looked forward again as they kept walking. "I trust there will be room for one more."
"Always. Who are we inviting?"
Twilight giggled. "Just make sure there's lots of room and extra cake."
Rainbow Dash drifted up beside her and looked at her back. "Hey, Twilight. If you're an alicorn, then shouldn't you have wings?"
"It will take a few years but yes, I should start growing wings soon."
"Woo hoo" She did a loop and flew off. "New flying buddy."
She quickly rubbed her forehead with a hoof as she quietly said. "I am not looking forward to that process. I still remember the headaches from when my horn grew in."
Applejack gave Twilight a light bump on the side. "I know you don't want other ponies to find out about you, don't want to be treated different." She glanced at the others. "But I think you got nothing to worry about with us."
She nodded and looked around. "Thanks girls. Let's go home."