Chapters A certain dark being sat on his throne and pondered to himself. He had nearly tricked a purple unicorn into collecting souls for him. It had worked out as planned at first. She had killed over a dozen of her own kind without realizing the true name of who she had done it for. That was the fun for him. He had told her that his name was "Amon" and that he wanted to free her from her suffering by telling her to kill those around her. And she had done so at first. But more then that, she started to resist him towards the end.
"Her will is strong,", he thought to himself. One day he'd get her to side with him. He wanted to do more then just harvest her soul now, he saw the potential in her to be so much more then she currently was. He was the one after all that had corrupted Princess Luna. His daedric magic had tainted the mare and caused the corruption that would lead to Nightmare Moon's birth.
No matter how hard the Princess of the Sun tried to ignore it, that one event kept coming back to haunt her, to laugh in her face when it had the time. How much longer could Celestia keep it secret, how much longer could she keep something like that from being discovered by the ponies she ruled over, much less her own flesh and blood, her own sister. She had kept a very dark and troubling secret from those she cared for, moreover her prized pupil and friend among them. How much longer could she maintain the veil she had set for herself.
Even Celestia knew that "Amon" wasn't her foe's true name. She didn't even want to utter it. She knew what he was capable of. He had raped her and Luna after all. She was able to counter his tainted magic and resist long to find a way to cure herself. Luna wasn't so fortunate though. His corruption of her little sister also led to the creation of Nightmare Moon. Celestia had always regretted banishing her sister, but it was for her own good. She had to keep his real name a secret from her most loyal followers, and from Twilight.
For thousands of years, Celestia had kept a dark secret from the ponies of her empire. It was something worse than when she banished her own sister. It was something that the princess had never told anypony. Over a thousand years ago, before Discord existed, there was a being of pure malice and hatred. It sought to warp everything in its path to its image and saw most of its servants that worshiped it as nothing more than pawns. Their lives meant nothing to this being, not the countless bipedal races across the cosmos, and certainly not some species of quadrupeds on the planet it had to come to visit so long ago. This being tried to corrupt the Elements of Equestrian myth, and for that, it was banished from that world by the only being powerful enough to stand up to it.
Celestia was that being, and what she did would come back to haunt her worse than anything she had ever done before. And all it took was the slow and methodical corruption of her prized student Twilight Sparkle. It would slowly but surely twist her prized pupil's mind and her perceptions. It sought to turn her against her friends and the other element bearers for its own end game. Little did this being realize how powerful she was and much resistance it would be faced with in the end.
Madness isn't something that's easy to describe to others. It's an affliction of the mind that's gradual. It takes years for it to become noticeable at all. That was what happened in the case of Twilight Sparkle. All this time studying friendship and no one could see the underlying signs at all. The lavender unicorn was the most powerful student that Princess Celestia ever had the pleasure to teach privately. And yet out of all of her friends, the only one that had started to notice changes in Twilight's personality, was Rainbow Dash. She began reporting the signs of Twilight's dementia to Celestia without her friend finding out. She didn't want Twilight to do something rash if she had.
Rainbow Dash was told by Princess Celestia to continue monitoring the situation. Now that she knew later on everything that Twilight had done to those ponies, she felt guilty that she didn't try to stop her friend sooner. It wasn't until much later that she discovered what Twilight had done to Applejack. The tan-ish orange earth pony was barely alive when the Royal Guard had been successful in arresting Twilight, and only after what she was doing had been uncovered by Dashie and Fluttershy. Twilight attacked Fluttershy as the Royal Guard cornered her. Twilight was struck by an anti-magic spell before being rendered unconscious and then dragged from the Library.
FLuttershy was rushed to the hospital along with Applejack. Big Mac was found dead in one of the makeshift cells Twilight had constructed under the Library to house her victims. After escorting her friends to the hospital, Rainbow Dash flew back to the Library to try and help with the identification. The Royal Guard had been ordered to allow her access at all times by Princess Celestia.
The list of the ponies that were affected was staggering.
Colgate (deceased)
Lyra(Deceased)
Applejack (comatose)
Big Macintosh (deceased)
Fluttershy ( hospitalized after Twilight attacked her before the arrest )
Diamond Tiara ( Maimed)
Lemon Hearts ( deceased )
Carrot Top ( butchered, literally )
Pinkie (missing)
Raindrops ( crippled )
The rest of the list was too long for her to go on reading without becoming sick. IN all 34 ponies had been either killed, butchered, or outright maimed by Twilight's actions. How was she going to break it to Applejack that Big Mac was never coming back because of Twi? Rainbow Dash left the Library and flew up to the nearest cloud and let it all out. All that death and suffering had nearly suffocated her in there. She needed to get some fresh air. There wasn't much that she or Celestia could do to curb the news from spreading through the town.
Not that it would have helped to try and curtail it. News always did have a way of making itself known across town, Ponyville was still considered a hamlet, it was still pretty small despite some of the new construction going on, but it was never going to become like Manehattan or Winnieapplois. There had been a provision signed by the Princesses that Ponyville was to remain the way it was, no matter what the clergy thought about adding to it. The town had seen some pretty crazy things in its history. The Ursa Minor that Snips and Snails were dumb enough to wake up, the Parasprites that had tried to eat the town after Twilight's spell on them had an adverse effect, or the time that Trixie came back wanting revenge and tried to use the Alicorn Amulet, which was safely hidden again thank the stars.
This was different, however. There was an atmosphere of fear lingering in the town now. What she had done was unforgivable to the highest degree, at least until the investigation was completed, Celestia thought to herself. She desperately wanted to prove that there must have been a hidden force behind Twilight's recent actions. There was no possible way that she had committed such deeds on her own volition. Until that was determined she was now branded a monster.
Twilight was now known as the Butcher of Ponyville.
Canterlot Tower
There was no denying she had heard from Dash or the others, but there was a nagging feeling that Celestia could not shake from her mind. Could this be his handy work again after all these millennia? It was safe to say that no matter what, she'd have Dash and their other friends get to the bottom of what made their dear Twilight turn into this monster that was awaiting trial now. Celestia thought back ever so briefly to an encounter she had while investigating a parallel world with Starswirl. She had never told anypony of what the horrors of war could do to someone. The world they had visited was in chaos, the humans there were in the middle of a global conflict that spanned nations. Tia didn't know what could be worse, hearing the sound of artillery in the dead of night, or seeing the bloody aftermath of it all.
That one memory reminded her of what she had seen in the basement of the Golden Oaks Library. And it was all too much for the Princess to bear, and yet she still had to compose herself so her subjects wouldn't see the small sign of weakness or doubt. She had more questions than she did answers, something that would change very soon. But as of right now she had to focus.
There was little to say at this point. Mass murder was the most uncommon crime in Equestria. No pony had killed another in this fashion in over a 100 years or longer. It was unheard of, to say the least.
"Are you sure my Sister?",Luna asked Celestia. She could see the pain in Celestia's eyes. She had her answer in more ways than one. How could their closest friend fall so far from grace? How could Twilight of just gone and butcher all those poor souls that she had lured to Library? But what was this incessant boasting about the 'Greater good?' that she kept rambling on about. That was the only confusing aspect of the whole thing. Had something forced Twilight to do this?
"I'm positive, Luna, this is the only course for now," She explained to her sister, even though it was difficult to accept.
Luna simply nodded back at her older sister. It wasn't exactly easy, this much she could tell on her own.
Rainbow Dash sat there, waiting for the Princesses to finish their meeting with the Tribunal. It was still ringing in her head what the Princess of the sun had told her since last night. She felt a pit where her heart used to be. How? she still asked herself. How could her best friend have done something so unspeakable? The Twilight Sparkle being held over for trial was no longer the unicorn she had once been close friends with. What's more was that she claimed to of been ordered to do so by an alien race. Was Twilight suffering a mental breakdown? Is that why she did what she did? The thing that confused them the most was when she spoke in a Canterlot voice and proclaimed it was for the greater good.
But when she got to the fourth and fifth entries, what she read next truly disgusted her.
Twilight had been moved to a more spacious cell, one with an anti magically enchanted glass front.
While that was taking place Rainbow was reading a list of the names of ponies either killed or affected by what Twilight had done. Along with what appeared to note Twilight had made on the effects of the Experiments she had been conducting. It wasn't exactly light reading as far as Rainbow Dash was concerned. The notes were meticulous and downright brutal in explanation.
Test subject 1 Lyra Heartstrings
Test notes: I exposed Ms. Heartstrings to various drugs, one of which was Ketamine. I exposed her to massive amounts of it last night. I made sure the dosage wasn't enough to kill her, but she will become addicted to it unless another option is made available.
Test Subject 2 Colgate/Minuette
Exposed my old friend Colgate to a high dose of Fluorine. Her organs shut down within moments of exposure to the high dosage. Recorded that her lungs filled with fluid upon receipt of the fatal dose. Subject basically drowned in her own fluids as a result.
Test Subject 3
Caramel Appletart
Test subject died as a result of lack of food. I wanted to see how long it would take a pony to suffer from starvation before dying. Safe to say it only took four days for the subject to die from severe dehydration as a result of the lack of food.
Test Subjects 4 and 5
Applejack and Big Mac
I used my magic to force a feeding tube down AJ's throat and pumped a sufficient amount of sedatives down her throat until she was nearly drugged out of her mind. I then brought in her brother, whom I had subdued under a mind control spell, and commanded him to fuck her repeatedly.
I repeated the process the next day. This time I forced Big Mac to sodomize Applejack over and over until she passed out from the drug dosage I gave her. I don't know why but I barely feel anything towards them anymore. I used her brother as a personal slave since the mind control spell has left him permanently under my control. He no longer recognizes anything but the commands I give him.
Rainbow Dash could not believe what she was reading. She threw the clipboard down to the ground and just stared at the door to where they were holding Twilight. Before anypony could stop her, she broke down the door to the holding cell and stood outside of Twilight's Prison cell with a disdained look on her face. Dash could tell that Twilight looked as though she didn't care anymore. She was just another sack of meat to her.
"Let me guess Dash, you came back to instill friendship in me again?", Twilight said coldly.
" I can't understand why you had to be so brutal, They were are friends for pony's sake Twilight!", Rainbow screamed at the lavender unicorn.
"I had to do what needed to be done Dash, It was for the greater good of Equestria, can't you understand that?", Twilight reciprocated.
"Do you really believe that Twilight?!?!", Dash said, growing more disgusted with each passing hour.
"Listen to you drone on, I did what had to be done DASH!", Her Canterlot voice reverberated against the glass, causing an echo effect against it. " I put them out of their misery, you know that?", Twilight continued. She sounded like she was almost proud of the things she did. And that made Dash even more sickened by what she was hearing.
"You admit it then, these atrocities you're accused of?", Dash asked, more calmly than she was earlier.
"I ADMIT EVERYTHING, WHY NOT?!", she boasted, "I was the Best at my skill, and my accomplishments speak for themselves, andI know you know that," She was still being prideful, Rainbow could taste it.
"Well Make sure you tell that to the Tribunal Twilight," Dash spat back at her.
"Oh don't worry my dear Rainbow, I will my dear," Twilight was being unrestrained in her wording now.
"And they'll sentence you to death Twilight, to death?!", Dash could feel herself break now, "What you did is punishable by death Twilight!", The floodgates were about to burst in Rainbow Dash's mind any moment now.
"But it doesn't change anything Rainbow, Kill me, Torture me, IT DOESNT MATTER, YOU ALREADY LOST RAINBOW, YOU CAN NEVER UNDO WHAT I'VE ACCOMPLISHED, THE DEAD WILL STILL BE DEAD DASHIE!!!!", Her voice was booming inside the prison cell again. Twilight was nearly beside herself in arrogance.
"You're truly insane Twilight, truly insane", Rainbow trailed off as she left the room. She had enough for one day and night. Her mind had to recover from everything she had just heard in there.
"What you call insanity my dear, I call a day's work." There was an aura of arrogance around Twilight when she spoke those words. Rainbow Dash couldn't take any more of it and bolt out of the room. She couldn't believe what she had heard in there. The Twilight Sparkle she knew was truly gone.
Author's Note
Hope you all enjoy this. i never would of consider doing something like this if it wasn't for LostNarrator, she really inspired in some regards. AND SHE CAN RAP XD.
Allow me to Introduce Myself [Twilight POV]
Dear Princess Celestia, i have learned that the only one i can trust is myself. All these years and months learning about the meaning of friendship and what do i have to show for it? Nothing. At least Pinkie understands me more then the others do. after all she's the only other psycho I've come to love and appreciate here in Ponyville. She even helped me procure some of my test subjects before i was caught. Her and i made love the other night in the basement of Sugarcube Corner. I had never realized that she had been abducting ponies for the creation of her special cupcakes. It was only a matter of time before some of our so called friends realized that their number was up. Hope you enjoyed the free samples Pinkie made the last time you were in Ponyville Princess. Its only a matter of time before your number comes up as well.
Your Faithful Student Twilight Sparkle
It was hard for Celestia to fathom that her own friend and former student would fall so far from grace. Twilight had always been adept with magic more then she was at making friends. Celestia had sent her to Ponyville to hone her skills with the latter trade. It made her smile that Twilight was starting to open up to others. It would pain her to learn that something dark had seemed to take hold of the mare. It would be much worse then the Sun princess realized. In stark contrast to what Twiliglht as before, she had nearly become a monster now.
Everything she did was so meticulous that it was like a dagger was driven into Celestia's heart. She wanted to be there for her, to shield her from what was to come. She had always been like a second mother to Twilight, but there was something more. Something that she had to hide from her faithful student for the time being.
Celestia wanted Twilight to come back to Canterlot so the Sun goddess could tell her something that was somewhat intimate. She wanted to tell Twilight Sparkle that she loved her. More then just a friend, or a student. A love that was more intimate and made Celestia feel vulnerable at times. Like her own heart would explode with the power of a thousand suns. She wanted Twilight Sparkle to herself.
In all things, there are some that shine, and others that fall far from the light of the sun. In this case, that would be Twilight Sparkle. Student to Princess Celestia, and bearer of the Element of Magic. And now soon to be condemned criminal. That would be the case if it wasn't discovered that she had been controlled by an outside force, hence resolving her of any of her actions. But that wouldn't mean she still wasn't going to have to live with the guilt of what she had been forced into doing.
So without further ado, please allow me to introduce her.
The one, the only, Twilight Sparkle.
Please allow me to introduce myself
My life wasn't always like this. I used to be sane actually. And had some very close and faithful friends. we had brought down some of the most dangerous enemies Equestria had ever faced. I was once Celestia's prized student. Brought Harmony to the land and all. Then i slowly realized the friendships i cherished were nothing but a joke in the end. There is no more of a joke then Friendship. The real progress is found in Science. That's what I've learned after all this time. That's the only thing that really matters to me anymore.
The world isnt all Sunshine and Rainbows like you make us believe Celestia, Its full of darkness and twisted things. I know what puzzles you is the nature of my game now. You tried to teach me some much, but you failed in the end. Im now just another in a long list of those you failed to protect. Luna, myself, among so many others. How bitter does it taste Princess?
The only one ive found i can trust was Pinkie Pie. As random as she could be she was also the only one that truly understand what made me tick. That and we made love every so often, mostly in between finding victims for our combined studies. When i was done with most of them, she used what was left for her cupcakes recipe. It became a very beneficial practice for us. She also never suspected she was also one of my victims. Pinkie Pie never came to the rationalization that i had used a mind spell on her to bring out her murderous side. In the end I'd come to pay for that too.
I could feel it slipping. My sanity i mean. All because i allowed myself to be manipulated by outside forces. Because of that i began to doubt that my friends truly held my best interest in their hearts. I'd be proven wrong in the end, but that doesnt matter at this point in the tale that would be unfurled before everypony.
One of the first doubts that i began to harbor was after Rainbow Dash had promised to help me and Applejack with chores at Sweet Apple Acres several months ago, and never bothered to show up. It left the two of us doing everything ourselves in the end. The two of us brushed it off and just decided to give her a pass this time. It was about this time i began my first experiments. Id say in the end it only cost the lives of 34 ponies by the time it was all said and done.
It only took a year or more before they finally arrested me for my alleged crimes. I knew my work would continue on, seeing that Pinkie was still out there, uncaught. So please allow me to introduce myself, My name is Twilight Sparkle former Element of Harmony and student to Princess Celestia. At the first instance of my true nature coming out, i killed the ambassador of Mareitania when his delegation had decided to make a detour through Ponyville. Apparently one of their party wanted to try some of the Cupcakes that Pinkie had made that day. He liked them well enough that he didn't bother to notice the Cupcake he ate had been laced with a sedative. He was my first test subject.
I let Pinkie do what she wanted to the other delegates. Safe to say none of them ever reported back, and their disappearance would not raise suspicions for quite some time. Apparently the delegate's wife tried to plead for her life, so Pinkie just smiled sadistically as she electrocuted her with a car battery.
I subjected him to various acids before he screamed about the burning sensation he was feeling from the hydrochloric acid i had injected into his femoral artery. Pinkie and I buried the body in the Everfree Forest like we've done with the others.
Ive stolen plenty a ponies soul in the last few months prior to my capture up to this point in time. If you ever were to meet me, id expect you to show some courtesy, not that i would care in the end. Death is a constant companion for Pinkie and myself. There some days i just want to Paint it all black. For some Chaos isn't a pit to crawl out of , Chaos is a ladder. Some make it to the top, while others fall off and break. Then again thats just the nature of the game at times.
You see some mares just want to see the world burn.
None of them see the beauty in what i was doing, they only take notice of the tragedy of it. The loss of life and grieving that the one's left behind have to go through. It was so pointless to me, the emotions i mean. You'd think if they believed in an afterlife then they'd be happy to be with loved ones again. I know the truth though, there's nothing on the other side. I've been there you know, to the blackness. Everypony will come to know that kind of despair. I don't fear the darkness in me anymore, i welcome it like an old friend coming over for the holidays. My friends except Pinkie don't seem to understand. But through her, they will understand. I practiced the spell before they caught me. I will transcend this mortal coil im in now, and I'll show them what it means to fear the dark.
Nightmare night is coming around again soon. Maybe I'll pay my old friends a visit then. The ones that survived the experiments will wish they had let me kill them. There is an old and ancient Unicorn saying, Mahk nicht terah dak fa, 'For the night is dark and full of Terrors'. Its a meaning they'll come to know well. Even the Princesses will tremble. And it all started after i was pulled to a dying world through a portal spell i had cast. Nopony, Not Spike, or my friends knew what i had come across there. A being of immense power and yet was dying. He had been banished back to whence he had come, but because my spell, our minds touched and i was greeted with the knowledge of the universe. I didn't realize what i had done until it was too late, there was no going back after that encounter. I had struck a bargain and it had to be met.
Whatever the outcome. When the stars where young he was one among the gods, but after he fell he chose to break the cycle they had begun. It started with a great hungerer, it would end in Utter Darkness.
Tears of the Sun Goddess[Celestia POV]
For the record, my name is Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, and the alicorn that raises and sets the sun on its celestial course. I have done many great and regretful things in my life. I banished my own sister for a thousand years after she was over come by jealousy and corruption. I watched many ponies I grew close to over several generations live and die while I stayed the same. Being an immortal is not something to be blessed with. But this latest mistake will outweigh all of the others for years to come.
Yet, of all the mistakes i have made over the last thousand years, I suppose this one will be the greatest, if not the last. My friend and former protege, Twilight Sparkle, was the smartest unicorn that i ever had the privilege of teaching after her magic surge. She looked to me as a second mother, was instrumental in returning my sister Princess Luna to my side after purging the corruption that had taken hold of her. And was also responsible for defeating Sombra and reforming the Lord of Chaos.
But now, now she is traveling down a dark and most dangerous path. And it seems that there is no way I can help her at all. Not even Luna is sure of how to proceed with a matter like this. For Twilight to be responsible for all those deaths is one thing, but to hear from one of her own friends of the notes she kept, and brutal nature in which she executed her actions is beyond staggering. According to the notes Rainbow Dash read, Twilight had kept meticulous notes on everything she did. She recorded every procedure, and even claimed that is was for the greater good of Equestria, and in the name of Scientific Progress. How could i of not seen this coming?
All I have now are the memories of what she used to be. And afterwards the only thing that brings any sign of closure will be the sounds of silence that echo through halls of my mind.
"WHere did i go wrong?", i asked my sister Luna.
"You did the best you could under the circumstances,"She answered,"How could we of known Twilight would fall this far." That was not the most reassuring answer as far as I was concerned. My Faithful student Twilight was once the brightest spot in my life. She considered me to be a second mother to her. And yet I couldn't sense this darkness that has taken ahold of her as of late. For her to commit such a crime is unheard of, if not unspeakable. Her friend Rainbow Dash nearly became unhinged when she described how cold and uncaring Twilight sounded when she interrogated her the other day.
I wish i could go back in time and do anything to prevent this for even taking place. But that kind of magic is too dangerous , even for one such as myself. The castle in Canterlot is nothing but a monument to my ignorance, its halls echoing with the sounds of forgotten laughter, and the stirring voices of ghosts long since passed. Hello Darkness my old friend, those are the only words that seem fitting of the situation right now. Rainbow Dash came to me earlier and reported that Applejack is stable and conscious, but she seems distant now, especially after Dash told her that Big Mac was gone now. Family means everything to the Apple Family. AJ told Dash she'd be fine by herself. But Rainbow refused to leave her side.
The cyan coated pegasus felt responsible somehow. She felt as if she should of been there early on, as if she could of prevented something like this from ever happening. I told her that nopony could of predicted an event of this nature. That still did nothing to really easy her pain. And i could tell easily Rainbow Dash was suffering alot from this. How could she of known that Twilight would make a dangerous choice like that and commit those horrors. What i couldnt figure out though was that Pinkie would somehow tie into all of this. It wasn't until later that I had even heard of her arrest.
"Luna, the time may come sooner than we hoped that I might transfer the governing of Equestria to you, please be ready for whatever leads to it my sister", I confided to her. It wasn't something she was ready for, I knew that much. But, i knew in the end she would do the best she could.
"I will my sister, let us pray it does not come it", was the usual answer.
Dark times do tend to bring some closer together. I heard from a second hand source that Dash wrapped her hooves around Applejack and held her tightly. her friend was stunned by the action, until the farm pony learned that Rainbow Dash had planned to propose to her when she got better. I was told by this same source that the two friends stayed with each other through the night. Luna was busy preparing the Trial while all this was going on.
I was also informed that Pinkie Pie had been found and arrested for several more disappearances connected back to Twilight's gruesome experiments. That and she divulged the location of where the Ambassadors from Mareitania had been buried. Her and Twilight had killed them in an ambush and used their remains for ingredients for Pinkie's special Cupcakes recipe. Apparently Ms. Pie had been responsible for the disappearances of 20 ponies across two separate towns. How could I have been so blind as to not to see all of this happening under my rule? Is it time that i step down and hand rule over to Luna?
The day that I died[Lyra POV]
Several Months ago
I had just left the house to go meet my friends Colgate , Lemon Hearts, and Moondancer. We finally got her to come out of her shell and visit us here in Ponyville. We had a fun day planned for her, but that was cut short when we heard news that Pinkie Pie had been seen dragging something into the basement of Sugar Cube Corner. Turned out that it was just her party cannon. She had been told by the Cakes that she should keep it down there instead of her room where the babies might get ahold of it or something. Apparently somepony had been convinved that she was stashing dead bodies down there. But she never seemed like that type of pony. At least not to us.
Before we left i made sure my wife Bon Bon knew i'd be gone for a little while. Told her i was catching up with some old friends. She asked if i could pick a few things up at the store when i was done. I told her i would, i know how worried she gets when im out late. She's afraid ill end up with my picture on a milk carton or something. Her parents were more open to us being a couple then mine were. It's one reason i moved in the first place, but my folks came around when they saw how happy her and i were together.
"Hey, you know who we should get?," i aksed my compadres, " We should see if Twilight wants to join us, i heard she lives in Ponyville too," I knew Twilight when she used to live in Canterlot. She was kind of a shut in like MoonDancer, but we got her out of her shell too at times. I also realized that if she had come to MD's party during the Summer Sun celebration, she would of never found the elements of harmony and beaten Nightmare Moon. But that was then, most of us had forgiven her a long time ago for it. She just didn't know it until now though. MoonDancer seemed really nervouse though when we neared Twilight's Tree House. The Golden Oaks Library seemed to radiate with light sometimes when i'd pass it on the way home. Never noticed it before.
"Let's get back to where we were going," MoonDancer said to the rest of us. I could still tell she was anxious about something. I just didn't know what it would be until a few days later. That would also be the same time that ponies started to disappear around town. Me being one of them. The strange thing about it though would be that i'd survive the ordeal, just in another state of being.
Colgate seemed nervous too, and i understood why. We both woke up in the basement of the Golden Oaks Library, only this part was not what i had expected or even knew existed. It looked as if somepony had dug out a massive substructure underneath the original foundation and roots. It was almost like those old bunkers you'd hear of in war movies. We looked at each other with mutual fear and shock overcoming our systems. Colgate tried to use her magic but was knocked on her flank. That's when we both realized there was a strong anti magic field in place to prevent just that from happening. I realized that we were what looked like old style prison cells. I looked to my right to find a few other ponies i knew unconscious in adjoining cells, including MoonDancer. It looked as though there were about 30 cells altogether. Whoever did this had been building this substructure for some time without the Princesses knowledge.
"Lyra, what are we gonna do?," Colgate was almost panicking when she spoke to me. I wasn't sure what to do to be honest, but i had to do something to calm down my friend.
"I don't know Colgate, but now is not the time to panic ok?", I really did my best to reassure her to stay calm. I knew Bon Bon would call the authorities if one of us was missing for a certain amount of time. I also prayed to Celestia that she hadn't been captured and trapped down here like the rest of us.
There are some days i wish i had hands, then i'd choke whoever locked me and Colgate up in these cells. I tried to keep her calm as much as possible. I couldn't say i blamed her though, I'd be freaking out too if I wasn't always so calm in situations like this. Usually I'm super hyper, I can't recall all the times I'd beg Bon Bon for candy without laughing. She'd always scream "NO LYRA!", but I'd still steal hers anyway just for grins. When I'm with friends I'm more mellow, never understood as to why. Neither did Bon Bon, but i know she loved it.
By Celestia I hope she's alright. She's probably going out of her mind with worry. I noticed Colgate's ears perked up as she noticed a pony walking towards our cells. It.... It can't be?!
As I blacked out I could hear Colgate screaming something. It became muffled as i realized too late that both of us were being dragged somewhere by unicorn magic. I awoke to find myself strapped to an examination table, about a space over from me was Colgate, her eyes wide with fear and horror. It was then i realized who she was so wide eyed about. Standing between us was Twilight. There was nothing i could do as i watched her levitate a syringe full of anesthetic and inject it into Colgate's left calf. Within moments she was unconscious, and ready for whatever Twilight had planned next.
I could only watch as she took another syringe, this one filled with a green liquid, and inject Colgate again. My friend began to convulse violently and then went slack. Twilight had her also hooked up to a heart monitor, the kind you found in the Ponyville, or Canterlot Hospital. I could see a flat orange green line run across its screen. That's when i realized that whatever Twi had given her killed her. And then it sank in that i was her next experimental test subject. I also noticed a book lying on the medical tray she had sitting next to Colgate's now corpse. It was open to a resurrection spell, i knew this because we had all gone to the same school as friends. It was one of Starswirl's oldest spells. Both of us had been huge fans of his, so without her looking, i glanced it over and memorized the spell.
As she injected me with whatever she had planned to expose me to, i closed my eyes and recited the spell under my breath. My whole body went slack and i could feel the spell take hold. It would take some time before i was able to regain my body's form. Until then she just thought i was dead from whatever she injected me with. Little did i, or Twilight, know was that two of her friends were on their way here with the Royal Guard. Apparently Rainbow Dash had been relaying Twilight's odd behavior lately to the Princess.
Of course Twilight didn't know that once one used the Resurrection spell, It was rendered useless. So if she tries to read it, it wont work on her. The Spell is bound to the caster for the duration of its use. For now i was to be counted among the dead. It wouldn't be till later that i'd realize how lucky i was to be that skilled in magic talent. The others on Twilight's list wouldn't be so lucky.
Broken Loyalty [Rainbow Dash POV]
How did it ever come to this? How could I have not seen what was going on with my friends? For those wondering, my name is Rainbow Dash, and i was the fast pegasus in all of Equestria. Now that I got that out of the way, this isn't the most sobering tale. Several months ago, or it mighthave been a year, I never keep track, one of the best friends I ever had took a turn to the dark side. Nopony had known for almost, yeah it was a year, that Twilight had been abducting ponies for bizarre experiments and recording the results. I only started to suspect something when my marefriend, I went there, had gone missing. I had kept it hidden for years how I really felt about a certain orange and tan earth pony until I had talked to Flutters about it. She strongly thought I should tell the pony in question how I felt about her, and just wait for the reaction.
Were the feelings i had for AJ real?
Why does it hurt more when i think about what was happening to Twilight then with what had been done to AJ?
Am I in love with both of them?
Damn, where's Applejack when I need her , I muttered to myself out of earshot any pony that might be lurking nearby. All the other times I had come to the farm looking for her were of an intimate nature. This time was very different than back then.
So as i went to Sweet Apple Acres with that goal in mind, i was approached by Applebloom and her friends. They said they couldn't find her sister anywhere on the farm. Applejack had reportedly gone to feed the chickens and never came back to the house. That's when i realized something was up because Big Mac was missing as well. I had the trio of fillies return to town with me. Maybe Twilight knew where Aj had gone. I knocked on the door to the Golden Oaks Library and there was no answer. I knew Spike had been called to Canterlot for something to do with the Princesses, but i also knew Twilight had stayed in Ponyville while he was gone. She's always answered the door before. I decided to get the rest of our friends just in case something bad had happened. I mean there was that one time she nearly got possessed by an evil spirit and in no thanks to her Smarty Pants doll. But this had to be different, i just knew it.
Unfortunately, the only one that showed up was Fluttershy, Rarity was out of town, and Pinkie Pie had just up and disappeared on everypony with no explanation why. I don't know why i was feeling so uneasy. I was usually the strong one, always rushing into danger at a moments notice. I've faced off against the likes of Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis' Changeling Army, even Discord to name a few, I've even kicked a full sized dragon square in the snout when his snoring was causing black smoke to envelop Ponyville. But this, this really was an entirely different affair. I swear by Celestia's name all these big words would make my brain hurt any other time, especially when Twilight was around. I was always calling her an egg head when it came to stuff like this.
I told the CMC to wait here while me and Flutters went and got some more help. It didn't take me long to get to Canterlot, after all i was the fastest pegasus in the world by the way. As soon as i got to the castle i was stopped by a pair of Royal Guards and asked to state my business. I told them i needed to see Celestia right away. One of them noticed finally who they were halting, and told me to follow him. This place never ceases to lose its awesome factor to me. Celestia's castle had been the site of the Changeling invasion and even now it was still something to marvel at. All of the scuffs that this place had taken and it still resonated with such power in architectural design.
" What may i do for you Rainbow Dash?", the most regal alicorn ever asked me as i entered the council chambers.
"I think something is up with Twilight," I had no other way of putting it. How else was a i gonna put it, 'Oh hey Princess, I think Ms. Egg head is conducting dark rituals?'. That sound more cheesy then the first i thought of it.
"Whatever do you mean by that?" Celestia asked me matter of factly. i knew she and Twilight had been close once. There had even been rumors that the princess might of been a fillyfooler, but those were rumors i opted to ignore out of respect for her.
"I've been noticing changes in Twilight's personality, little things here and there. She never answers the door to the Library at all now. I know Spike had to come to Canterlot for something, but this is the fourth time that this has happened now.", And just as i commented, Spike walked in to the room with a dour look on his small pudgy face.
"I can vouch for what Rainbow Dash is saying your majesty.", he had an aura of despair around him when he said those words. Maybe he just missed Twilight or something, i don't know, but i dont blame him. She was like a mother to him and all. If there was something wrong i know he'd try to help her no matter what the case.
"Before i left, Twilight seemed really distant, like something was bothering her but she wouldn't tell me,", I could Spike seemed really sad when he said that. He'd do anything for Twilight. Like i said earlier, she was like a mother to him. Just as Spike was about to say something else , A pair of Royal Guards came in. The news they brought them with was from Ponyville. Three more ponies had gone missing. Lyra, MoonDancer, and Colgate. I knew them, well two of them anyway. Lyra was kind of weird by pony terms, but she seemed ok to Fluttershy. The two of them apparently would have lunch with her wife Bon Bon. Colgate was one of Twilight's old friends from Canterlot, but they barely spoke lately. MoonDancer was one i had only seen once in town, but never spoke with. What was more odd was that i felt like i was looking at Twilight, only with a different color scheme.
It only took the words from the Princess and we were back to Ponyville to delve deeper into what was happening. And boy were we in for a shock. I was to say the least. I dont know what was worse, the angst i was feeling as we approached the Golden Oaks Library, or the cold unrelenting dread that i might discover one of my friends in the basement of this place, with Twilight doing Celestia knows what to them. Spike stayed in the Capitol. i didn't blame him. He still had some stuff to take care of there. That and i dont think he wanted to see his image of Twilight he always held on shattered in front of him. Gotta hand it to the little guy at times.
Celestia's horn glowed as she used her magic to force open the door to the Library. As we stepped inside, it didn't look any different, except for a newly installed reinforced Steel door that lead towards the bottom of the library. And then another steel door that lead to another expansive room below. A room that shouldnt exist. As we forced open the final door, it lead to long hallway lined with prison cells. And an examination room at the far end. Where i could see what i feared the most. Applejack was unconscious in one of the cells, various needle marks were evident where IV tubes had been hooked up. The door to the cell caved under the pressure of my back hooves as i bucked it hard. I ran and held her head in my fore hooves. I could faintly hear,"rr Rainbow? Is it really you?", to which i answered, "yes AJ, i'm here now." There was so much rage filling inside me right now.
How could Twilight think this was ok? And to my Fiancee of all things. With the Princesses permission i pulled Applejack out of that cell and took her up to the surface. I rushed her up to see Twilight standing at the door of the Library with a look of anger and confusion. Before i could anything she teleported in front of the door, nearly blocking it. That was also when i watched Fluttershy do something brave and stupid at the same time. She tackled Twilight to the ground so i could get AJ out of there. As soon as we were out of the library, the nurse ponies had arrived. I handed AJ to them and went back for Flutters. And with good timing too. Twilight had knocked her off of herself and was about to attack her. I bucked her in the jaw and watched as the Royal Guard came in at the right moment and arrested her. Apparently Celestia was still in the bottom of that bunker, counting all the ponies that were dead or affected by what Twilight had done.
I could see the pain and the tears forming in her eyes as i approached and informed her of the situation. We had Twilight in custody now, and could start sorting through all of this mess properly. She thanked me, and still reminded me that this is just as hard for her to bear as it was all of us. As we went from cell to cell identifying all of her other victims, i heard a faint whisper of my name, " R a in bow .... Rainbow .....", It was unnerving, was this place now haunted again? That's when by some other world force i was guided to the tray that held all of the needles and instruments Twilight used in her experiments. I asked the princess about a book i was looking at on the tray. It surprised her, it was one of Starswirls oldest tomes of spells. And it was open to a resurrection spell. Everypony knew that while rare, to kill another pony resulted in the death penalty. Had Twilight expected to be caught and cast this spell on herself to have the last laugh?
That whisper again," Raainbow," and it hit me, what if she got careless, left it open and one of her victims saw it and used it themselves. It stated in the tome once the spell was used by a unicorn it wouldn't work for anypony else. There was also a list held to a clipboard of all the ponies that had under gone her bizarre tests. I noticed that first name at the top was Lyra Heartstrings.
Remember the Bargain you struck.
Twilight had never told anypony the truth of what she had been doing, she knew that. It was one of the most difficult things ever. She always knew she could confide in Applejack in the past, but this was not something she felt safe sharing with anypony. The whole point of the experiments was to collect the magic, or essence, that some ponies carried in themselves. The most powerful came from unicorns, hence why why they were easier to examine. She had let the idea that she was doing this for the greater good of Equestria, and the promise from this creature that their goals were similar, go to her head.
But at the same time she was questioning this 'things' motives in the back of her mind, something else began to form from the thoughts, something quite disturbing really. That was when she came to a frightening conclusion. What if it was simply using her for its own ends?
There was one question that remained unanswered for the time being. Was anything going on right now ever real? Was she really being manipulated by a being named Amon, or was it something much much worse then that? She swore she could hear other voices echoing around her like a heavy mist made audible.
Oh, what have I done , Twilight thought to herself.
It wasn't until much later that Twilight realized how dead wrong she had been. She had committed the ultimate travesty in the name of scientific progress, and it was going to cost her everything, including her own life. Killing any pony on the level she did was a felony that demanded the Death Penalty. Banishment wasn't enough in the eyes of the Princesses, because the pony could just move to another part of the country that was out of their jurisdiction and continue whatever they were doing. No, the Death Penalty sent the message that Killing another in a gruesome way was morally reprehensible, and needed swift action.
For years it waited, all the while losing its power to maintain itself. This force of Darkness had been banished to the Abyss years ago, its enemies believing it to have been defeated. The Void allowed it to reach cross to another mind and find a way out because of that creatures arrogance in its own beliefs.
And Celestia knew this as well, it would just take longer for the Sun goddess to come to that understanding. She wanted to help Twilight so desperately, She even considered tracking down the being responsible for putting Twilight in this position and ending its life. She cared for her like a second mother. Twilight even told her that once, many years before being sent to Ponyville to meet her friends and all. She realized that Twilight may end up having to sacrifice herself to save them all. To give her life for Equestria, to which Celestia would never forgive herself if it had ever come to that.
Too bad that Celestia too had been fooled by this 'Amon" creature. The Princess never even realized that Amon wasn't even it's true name. It was just a form that had been created to sow chaos and discontent everywhere it went. If only she knew the truth of the matter. She would of acted much differently back then.
But the concern at present was what to do with Twilight. There had to be some way that she could help her former student, even during a situation as grim as this. As Celestia pondered what to do. Twilight was in her cell, fear gripping her mind like a vice.
As she sat in her cell, waiting for the end to come, the voice continued to speak to her. It's voice echoing from the beyond, tesing her sanity. She could hear him, as clearly as if he were in the same room with her. His voice was that strong and yet so cold and distant at the same time.
I shall deliver you from this world, free yourself from your suffering.
And so he plotted to use her as a vessel to regain part of what was lost.
I am your salvation Young one.
And so the cycle began again.
And yet the voice Twilight was hearing in her head was so chilling, and yet so clear to what it's aims were. That's when she heard it. A name. A singular word coming to her from the nether. It was almost like hearing it from whispers in the dark. While all this was happening a light jade green Unicorn with a white and turquise mane appeared near the court room. It took all by surprise that it was one of the alleged victims that had died. The final preparations for the Trial were under way. And everything would change soon. As much as she had agreed to help this thing there was still a part of herself fighting against what she knew this thing would bring to Equestria.
As she sat in her prison cell awaiting the final decision of the Tribunal, there were a thousand thoughts coursing through the unicorns mind right now. Everything she had done had been for the greater good of her country, hadn't it? Only now was Twilight having second thoughts on what she had done. There was no coming back from this. She had committed genocide in lamens terms. All those she had killed, their deaths were empty she realized. She couldnt exactly say im sorry to the others. Amongst her thoughts though, she heard a voice, faintly speaking to her from across the nether. It was the same voice she had when this all started. The voice that no pony else could hear. The voice that had commanded someone to collect essence in the name of the dark one. Twilight hadn't told Spike or her friends what she had been hearing,
They'd think she was crazy or something. This was something she had to keep to herself. Even if it meant sacrificing everything she knew and loved. She would become his tool in this world. Everything she knew would be changed by his command, his presence. The cycle would be broken. Her new master was calling to her now. Yes, Twilight's new master. She was under going a change that no pony could even comprehend. At the last minute, the guards came to escort her before the Tribunal to answer for her crimes against her fellow ponies. They'd witness her transformation first hoof, and all would behold their end. She'd be the tool of their destruction.
ANd yet she was fighting it, and losing. Losing everything that made her Twilight Sparkle. As they brought her to the Tribunal, she saw that the Princesses, Rainbow Dash, Flutterhsy, and Applejack were there. She could see the pain and hurt in their eyes. The looks in their eyes as to why or how she could of done something that horrible. As much as she had told Rainbow Dash that she didn't care about them anymore, her friends, it had been a bold faced lie in the end. She did care, she had lost track of it though. And there was no getting it back. Her old life, her friends and the many adventures they had been on was all in the past, and was beyond her grasp now.
A force with energy of a thousand suns suddenly surged through the unicorns being. She could feel something take hold of her now, Something that seethed with the rage of thousand super novas and yet was as cold as the void itself. Malice. hatred. It felt like that those emotions were amplified ten fold inside Twilight's mind and body. Her eyes became a deep crimson, with red wisps of magic trailing from her irises. As Celestia stood there, shocked at what she was witnessing, the others were scrambling for the doors. All but her friends that had come. They frozen in terror at what they were all seeing.
"SHE IS MINE. SHE WILL BE THE MEANS AT WHICH I AM REBORN ANEW, AND ALL I SHALL BREAK THE CYCLE ON THIS WORLD,", Came a voice that sounded nothing like Twilight's, but it emanated from her lips none the same. It had been learned that when this all began over a year ago, she had opened a portal to a mysterious place on the other side of the universe. There she had inadvertently touched the mind of being that been banished, a being that was dying and needed a new source of blood to survive. She didn't realize until much later that it had faked being nice and sympathetic only to be able to bond with her in return for helping it. This being had been defeated by a trio of races that had come together in peace and cooperation.
In the blackest moments, she bore witness to a dying world that this being had been sent to. She had done those things to those ponies to collect their essence for it, so it could remake itself in the image that it preferred now. What Twilight didn't know, or any of the others for that matter, was that this being had been around since time immemorial. Twilight realized too late that she was being manipulated by this being, whose name it wouldn't tell her yet. Celestia came to the realization that Twilight was not in control of herself when she committed those experiments on those ponies. That it was all being orchestrated from the shadows by something far more cunning and deceitful then even King Sombra had been. A being that had nearly corrupted three alien races in a bid for domination of the cosmos.
"Celestia,", Luna turned to her sister," What is happening to young Sparkle?", The PRincess of the night was filled pure terror at everything that was going on. Not since being Nightmare Moon had she herself felt this much malice inside one creature.
"I dont know, I have never felt anything like this before my sister." Celestia could only look upon Twilight in cold terror as she said this to Luna.
"it.. It commands me... So much hatred, so much malice, and yet so much knowledge," Celestia could hear Twilight's voice stammer.
"IT wants essence, it collects it, harnesses it, uses it to remake others in its image, its visage." Twilight was trying to fight through this influence that was taking over her. She had to. Despite everything that had happened, she had to fight this force. It had tempted her with the knowledge it possessed as well as faking nice to get her to help it. It had offered her the unlimited knowledge of the universe. She decided there was one recourse, she couldn't fight this thing forever. She knew it, and so did Celestia. She could see that the Twilight she loved was still in there, fighting against this monster.
The monster revealed itself to her.
It was both beautiful, and yet twisted at the same time.
It's name was Amon, The Fallen Xel'naga banished back to the Void by Artanis of the Protoss.
And an evil that if left unchecked would transform this world into one of utter desolation. An evil that she had just lied to her own sister about not knowing. She had seen his like thousands of years ago, and banished him from Equestria for attempting to corrupt the Elements of Harmony. It was a tale Celestia didn't like to remind herself of. The battle had nearly killed her in the end if not for Starswirls help in containing the monster. It was a tale best left for another time and place.
Amon lived. And he'd use Twilight as a means of revenge if nothing else.
To be honest, not even Celestia knew it's true name. Amon was just a cover if you will. And not everything is as it seems. This being had been weaving a game of lies like this for eons. And soon all the players and pieces would be set in place. Somewhere out in the vastness of space lay a region known as the Eye of Terror.
And in it a Prince of sorts waited to make it's move. All he had to do was wait for a certain messenger to relay back to him whether or not they could proceed. He was after all a master manipulator and a God among the Forces of Chaos. He had more patience then any of his so called "Brothers" to say the least.
After all His name was Slaanesh, and his herald...
Was Pinkamena.
Rainbow Dash was asleep, having the most unpleasant dreams. She was standing in front of Twilight, bearing an ax in her hooves, ready to cut down her former friend for all her earlier transgressions. The acts Twilight committed were something that Dash couldn't erase from her thoughts, no matter what Twilight did to redeem herself. And even then it wouldn't have mattered. According to Twilight, this being that was calling itself Amon, made it seem like it was intent on destroying Equestria. Rainbow's dreams left her feeling conflicted. Part of her still wanted to help Twi, and the other wanted to smash her head in with a brick what she had done to Applejack.
"This thing was what caused Twilight to hurt so many ponies that were once her friends," Rainbow thought to herself. She wasn't in control of her own actions. Dash understood that, but she also understood that Twilight must be feeling so wracked with guilt that she didn't think she would be forgiven like this. Rainbow wanted to put a hoof around her friend's shoulder and tell her that everything would be alright.
But she knew part of that was a bit of a lie. Things weren't going to return to normal as they wanted. They all had to live with what had transpired. And the looks AJ would give Twilight spoke volumes of how much trust had been destroyed. Even if AJ acted like things were ok, they really weren't. Rainbow could only stare at AJ until even she got sick of being around her.
"We'll see you later Applejack," and with those words, AJ returned to her farm chores. And to take care of some paperwork she had been working on late last night. She was a headstrong mare and a hard worker. But even she slowly realized that Rainbow Dash was right. What Twilight had done wasn't within her powers to control. She had been used as a puppet for a much darker power. And she decided to give Twilight the air she needed right now.
Her emotions right now were conflicting with each other. On one hoof she cared for Applejack like she was more than just a good friend. She was a pony that Rainbow could share her bed with just to stay warm on a cold night. On the other hoof, she had known Twilight for so long that she developed feelings for her. She wanted to show her softer side when she was around Twilight. It felt so comforting to be around her and feel wanted in return.
And another part wanted to tell AJ that she was in love with Twilight, at least she was before all this had taken place. It was painful enough to have to lie to Applejack and tell the earth pony that she loved her, when she really didnt and was just pained and confused over how to go about explaining how she truly felt.
But was truly terrifying right now was the dream she was having. It was the fourth one in a week that had stayed the same. But this one was a little different from that one. She had a hard time trying to figure it out. As well as why Luna wasn't in any of her dreams to help her out.
The other dream was much different though. Dash found herself in the weather factory in Cloudsdale, standing over some massive machine. She could hear the word "pegasus device" echoing ever so faintly through out the dream. In the dream she turned to she Scootaloo, bloody and battered, at the bottom of the construct. She was chained to the center of it, most of the color drained from Dash's face when she realized that she had put her there. She turned to see herself standing next an exact copy of herself. Her mane was frayed, and there was blood all over her hooves and suit. She was wearing a suit, the kind that that director of the weather factory wore. She then snapped wide awake, sitting up straight in her cloud bed. The rainbow maned pegasus found she was drenched in own sweat. That dream left her feeling so uncomfortable right now.
She turned to see Scootaloo fast asleep in the guest bed she had set up. She had agreed to let Scoots spend the night after everything that had happened. The small orange pegasus didn't feel safe staying in town, especially around the library. She had decided that the two of them would go check on Applejack in the morning. She was still in the Ponyville Hospital recovering from her ordeal. Rainbow Dash had a special day planned for the three of them, if the doctors agreed to release AJ for a bit. Rainbow Dash had something special she wanted to ask Applejack, and she decided to do it with Scoots as a witness. The two friends had developed something more then just friendship in the last few years.
As painful as it was to admit this to herself, Rainbow Dash could be stubborn at times, but even then she knew that she was never a liar. Even still doubt began to creep in. Was what she was feeling towards Applejack even real? Yes Twilight had done something horrible, but after she discovered what had really transpired she began to doubt herself. She had suspected that Twilight might of developed feelings for her, but she was always to distracted to really notice.
It wasn't until a recent altercation that Dash began to suspect that Twi felt something towards the pegasus.
LIttle did Dash know, but there was a dark force behind the dreams she had been having as of late. A force that sought to warp her mind and reality and force her into its service. It was getting worse for her each and every night she tried to go to sleep in her cloud home. Her nightmares were becoming darker and more twisted with each passing hour. One nightmare she'd be in the Weather Factory, frozen in place, and forced to watch Scootaloo die, and another she was in Sugarcube Corner, with Pinkie dragging her unconscious body into the basement where she'd find herself strapped to a metal table. She'd be forced to watch as Pinkie pulled out a butcher's knife and cut her wings off without even a sign or remorse.
In the nightmare she'd listen to Pinkie go on and on about harvesting organs for Special Cupcakes. It wracked her brain with fear as she was helpless to stop her friend from murdering her. Each night caused Rainbow Dash to begin losing her sanity. She'd wake up and not noticed that her mane was a mess and her coat was stained with sweat and started looking unkept. The first to take notice was a newly released from the hospital Applejack. The tan farm pony could see something was up with her marefriend. She decided to go over and ask Dash what was wrong. Rainbow looked up from the branch she was napping on to see AJ approaching her. She decided to tell Applejack about her dreams, her cold and vivid nightmares, even though she thought she saw Pinkie glaring at her, while holding a knife, creeping through an alley way close to the two of them. She passed it off as a hallucination caused by fatigue after what she'd been through every night.
"Dash, you look mighty unkept Girl," Applejack said as she pulled a brush out of her satchel that the hospital had given her, and started to brush down Dash's rats nest of a mane. She pulled her friend out of sight of everypony else and did the same to her coat. When they had started dating awhile back, Applejack had become accustomed to Preening Dash's wings as per pegasi dating rituals. Before everything with Twilight had nearly gone to Tartarus, Twi and Rarity had caught the two of them in the act. It was quite something to see Rainbow Dash get a Wing Boner for an earth pony, Applejack most of all. Their friends were supportive, even if it didn't make sense to one of them. But something started to bother Rainbow Dash as AJ was helping her clean up. Where was Pinkie?
Rainbow Dash pushed her away when she got to her flank. Applejack was a bit startled at first. She smacked Rainbow in the back of the head.
"What in tarnation was that for Rainbow?!" Applejack was a little angry when Dash had pushed her away like that.
"I don't need you brushing my ass like that,"Rainbow was a bit curt when she said that. She didn't mind one of her "friends" brushing her mane, but when it came to another area of her body she'd do it herself when she got home. Something that both AJ and Twilight didn't know was that Pegasi were known to have the loudest orgasms when it came to sex. And the largest discharge of fluids if you know what I mean. It was enough to fill a 4-gallon bucket.
It had been a few days since the truth of the matter had been revealed. This Amon figure was obviously a threat, and they knew that Twilight felt guilty for being used the way she had been. She had convinced Celestia to let her take care of this, and that if she needed help, she was sure she'd convince her friends to aid her. Even after the deaths of all those ponies, there was still a trace of humility in the lavender unicorn. After the two had spoken, Twilight had disappeared in a blinding flash of white and purple light. Apparently she had teleported to where this Amon was residing, in an attempt to resolve the situation. She was powerful, but this thing was purported to be as strong or stronger then King Sombra.
No pony had known that Celestia had fought with Amon over a thousand years before any of them had been born. She had caught him trying to corrupt the Tree of Harmony, in which the elements had been returned to after turning discord to stone. No pony knew though that it was Amon who had poisoned Luna's mind with doubt's about Celestia allowing her to rule beside her, and that no pony was relishing in her beautiful night she took the time to craft. Luna was a shell as far as he was concerned. She was a tool, just like Twilight was now, and that all it took to bend her to his will was to introduce the ever smallest doubt about Celestia's loyalty and affection towards her sister. From that moment on Luna began doubting Celestia's trust in her and her overall ability to govern the ponies of their Kingdom.
No pony realized that Nightmare Moon had been an indirect creation of Amon's. Celestia came to suspect just that after banishing her sister to the moon all those thousands of years ago. And because of that she also quietly doubted her herself and regretted that very action for all these years. She had loved her sister with all her heart and yet it didn't make it any easy when it came down to making such a snap judgement call like Banishment.
What none of them realized was that Amon wasn't this being's true name. It used many names over the centuries to corrupt others into entering its service. But its name was well known to Princess Luna. Any mention of it's real name was enough to cause a pony to slide into madness and despair. When I say it, I do mean it. the being in question is genderless most of the time but prefers the male prefix. In fact, you the reader may have already met this being what with "him" being a Daedric Prince and all that. When he was done with Twilight there'd be nothing left to salvage of her sanity.
His many names have been documented by the way. Amon, Tzzentch, are just two of the many he's used. His true name can only be uttered on his summoning day. And that's approaching. Twilight Sparkle's soul will become just another tool for him to use if her friends and Celestia cant find a way to save her in the end. The horror of what started in the basement of the Golden Oaks Library may just ended. But a new chapter is starting.
"It'll be ok.. everything will be ok." Twilight thought to herself as she opened her eyes. It was dark at first, nearly pitch black. Then somethnig started to take shape. She could just make out the barren landscape she found herself in right now.
She always thought it would be ok. She thought she'd make it out of this without any lasting scars. Boy was she mistaken. It had slowly eroded her sense of self, this thing calling itself Amon. IT warped her thoughts to serve its needs, and if it couldn't get what it wanted out of Twilight, it would find another that was more palable, one that it could corrupt absolutely, without interference from those it called friend. That one being Rainbow Dash. IT wasnt going to be easy to get Dash to turn on her friends and loved ones. Twilight couldn't help but feel trapped in this dimension Amon called his prison. It was a fluke he was able to sense a mind as powerful as hers from this far away. The Void as mysterious as anyplace she had ever had the grace to know.
As she lay there on what seemed to be the barren ground of this place, she couldn't stop herself from remembering the happier times ini her life, and how bleak it seemed to get them back because of what he had tricked her into doing. She had the blood of those ponies on her hooves, and that wasn't a feeling that would be going away if, and only if, she made it out of this alive and in one piece. Twilight looked up to see Amon towering over her, she felt so small when comparing their relative size differences. It was something that only had to the uneasiness of the situation. She had no idea that he was planning to break their bargain and cast her aside for another that was easier to manipulate in her place. If it didn't work with Rainbow Dash, at least she'd be broken. Her sanity would be destroyed if the bonding process failed at all. Little did Amon realize though, that Equestria was under going a crisis as he and Twilight matched wits before attempting a battle of power.
Celestia was struggling as of right now to maintain any semblence of order in her Kingdom. Luna was trying to help as much as she could, as were the remaining Elements of Harmony. The Griffon Kingdom was on the verge of declaring open war after it was mentioned that Celestia was going to have one of their highest ranking officials arrested for openly assaulting one of her ambassadors to their Kingdom. That Ambassador was Rainbow Dash. She was sent to speak with Gilda about trade negotiations, which sounded like something meant for any other pony other then Dash. According to reports, Gilda struck Dash as soon she entered the Griffon Borders. They had agreed to meet near the closest outpost near the border, to make it somewhat neutral Territory. The thing is, Gilda was nowhere near the outpost, nor had any prior knowledge Dash was coming to see her.
It was revealed in the end to be a Changeling that had taken on Gilda's appearance and met with Dash. There seemed to be a rise in Changeling activity within the past 5 months.. It seemed to much of a good thing to think the Changelings would never show their faces again. And all this was going on while Twilight and Amon were occupied with one another.
The Void
"I offered to free you and your kind from your suffering, and this is how i'm repayed,"Amon was furious with this creature standing in front of him. He had offered her the knowledge of the universe in exchange for remaking her world and species into his own image. Of course he had no intention of sharing control of it though. That's just how beings of his like were, They'd cooperate up until they felt the time to turn on you and slip a metaphysical knife in your back. She could feel her pulse start to race and the air fill with tension as they prepared for their final battle. Amon would come to see how powerful this creature was in the coming moments. THere was no way he was prepared for the pain she had in store for him. Twilight whipsered to herself,"Im sorry Princess, but i have no other choice," and with that she tapped into her vast potential, and harnessed the dark magic that she had hiding away after her use of it in the Crystal Empire when Sombra' was trying to retake it several years ago.
She brought the full weight of her abilities down upon him. Amon held her for the longest time before realizing she had used a forbidden spell that even Celestia would be surprised to know Twilight knew of and had mastered under her mentor's muzzle. Amon started to feel disoriented, until he came to the all too late realization that he had been cleaved in two by this "unicorn" and began to feel the life, and his own psionic powers, leave him as he collapsed into nothing but a withered husk. She didn't even give me the chance to the search out her friend Rainbow's aura, he thought to himself as he evaporated into nothingness.
All Twilight could hear was a faint," Curse.... you......" before she was left in this place alone. She had just enough energy to find her way back to Equestria, after that she would need to recover. That was if she didn't still get executed in the end. Her respite would be short lived no matter what happened to her in the next few hours. No matter what the verdict she was ready to face the music as it were. She had to wash her hooves of this stain in her mind. She knew she was guilty and had already accepted what her fate would be. She had killed others, even if she had been manipulated, she was still guilty in her own eyes. She had cost the lives of one of her friends from Canterlot, and had also killed Applejacks brother Big Mac. That was the worst of it though. She killed a member of the Apple Family, and they regard members of their family as precious no matter what.
To make it worse, she had used a spell to bring out Pinkie's other personality without her friend knowing it. That was an utter and direct violation of a pony's free will and personality. What she didn't know though was that her friend Lyra had seen and read the ressurection spell that Twilight herself had planned to use if she had fully succumb to Amon's will. Thank Celestia that never was allowed to even happen.
Twilight looked around and realize that she had never left the void world where "Amon" had been. She turned to hear a faint echo of laughter. Laughter that got louder until it seemed to be right near her ears. She winced at the sound of it until she was literally on her haunches.
"I thought you should know," he said, " You might be strong but you are nowhere near as strong as another I've met, to fully banish me." Standing in front of her was a being clad in scarred and burned armor with horns protruding from some sort of helmet. She could barely stand up while in his presence. The aura he gave off was so malignant that she left she was going to pass out.
"Why am I sensing so much Dark magical energies come from you," she said. She felt like she was suffocating under the weight of so much evil energy. The aura coming from him was 100 times worse then Sombra's. She had to find a way to get out of here and warn her friends. She realized that this was the being that had caused her to harm so many others.
It was more then enough to make Twilight sick to her stomach. She was in the presence of one of the most sinster forces on both the ethereal planes and that of Equestria's sister world, Nirn. Yes their on the same planar level. Travel between the worlds existed during the reign of the Snow elves. They had traded with The Royal Sisters quite often. Travel ceased when they were forced underground by the constant warring with the Nords. The Royal sisters were able to save some of them in exchange for ayslum. Even now there was a Snow elf colony up in the northern reaches of the Crystal Empire.
It felt so much like home that they were extremely grateful. The disappearance of the Crystal Empire didn't affect them at all. Even Sombra had no knowledge of their existence. Celestia maintained trade relations with them even now. Thats when she remembered reading about the beings known as the Daedric Princes. Celestia had given her a tome to study for a test that had come from an acquaintance of the Princess. That acquaintance must have been a Snow Elf.
Twilight came to stark realization of just whose presence she was in. And fear ran through her spirit for the first time in quite awhile. She managed to utter a name out of earshot.
"Molag bal," she muttered. She was actually frightened for what seemed like the first time in her life. What she had felt before was nothing compared to this. She wanted badly to escape this place. As he proceeded to talk to her she conserved her magical aura until she knew she had the energy needed to teleport out of here. She just hoped that he didn't notice.
"I revel in the suffering of others. Its how I gather the energy of their souls for my realm of Cold harbour. In fact, I've even got the soul of one of your ancestors believe it or not. " She could tell by his tone that he wasn't even trying to lie to her at all. Yes he was getting a sick pleasure out of tormenting her like this. But it was the one moment where has was brutally honest with her.
"I don't believe you!" She screamed, and with that he summoned the soul of her great great great great Grandmother, Potema Sparkle. She couldn't believe it, she was looking at her own 4 times great grandmother. But more then that she recognized the Amulet around her neck.
The Alicorn Amulet.
The day i was Reborn [ Lyra POV]
Being on the other side wasn't the most pleasant thing. I could look around and see dozens if not hundreds of other ponies that had passed on , both naturally and unnaturally. As I turned around i spotted a familiar red stallion with an orange and yellow-tinged mane. It was Applejacks brother Big Mac. I could tell he was as confused as i was with our current surroundings.
I used what time I had here to explain to him what was going on. It wasn't easy but he seemed to understand with how he was looking at me now. I looked him dead in the eyes and focused everything I had into the following words. To be honest I didn't blame Twilight for what she was doing. There was a part of me that felt she was being manipulated in some sense. If I had never met Bon Bon, Twilight would have been the first mare I would have asked out on a date.
The really sad part was that she no clue how I really felt towards her at all. It was one of the few regrets that i'd ever had in my entire life. What would her life have been like if I had coaxed her out of that shell of hers. How Adventures would we have shared together that she had experienced with the others. I decided that if and when I finally got back there that I'd open up to her and share how I really felt about her back before she had left Canterlot.
"Big Mac," i asked him, " Do.. you think we're on the other side, you know, the spirit world?", It was a short and simple question that had a simple response. We both looked at one another and came to the same conclusion that yes we were. Or at least i would be for a short time before the spell began to take hold. He looked at me as i started to fade in and out as if he were dreaming, even in a place like this. I used what time i had to explain what was happening to me.
"TO make this quick, Twilight got negligent and left a spell book on the medical tray. It was open to a ressurection spell. Before she could act i read it and cast it under my breath. Her and I were friends at Celestia's Gifted School for Unicorns, though back then she was a bit of a shut in at times. Even though my talent was music and the Lyre, her and I were actually on par in terms of ability." I knew the time was getting shorter now. I turned back to him before completely fading to here him say," Tell Applejack I'm ok," he paused," and that I'll see her again when the time's right." And with those words I disappeared from his sight, and found my hooves touching solid ground. I looked up to see that I was near the Library again, and everypony was looking at me slack jawed as if I had just risen from the dead.
That was when i heard an all too familiar voice behind me, " Lyra?!?!", and turned around to come muzzle to muzzle with Rainbow Dash. The pony that I was hoping to see first, the second on my mind was Bon Bon. Rainbow Dash reached up and put a hoof to my muzzle and softly booped it before jumping back a bit to realize that, by some fluke, I was really standing there in front of her.
"It really is me Dash," I poked her back, softly hitting her in the shoulder. She was one of the few of Twilight's other friends that knew me enough to be friends with, the other one being Applejack. Before i realized it she was now hugging me, her tears wetting the fur covering my shoulder. I hugged her back and asked her if I could see Celestia. As we took the train to Canterlot she told me about what happened to some of the others that weren't as fortunate as I was. Everypony had assumed that I was dead along with the others. As we neared the capital, she asked me how i escaped. I told her that was the reason I had to see the Princess. I Reassured Dash that I'd explain it all to both of them. She smiled back at me, though I could tell there was still some pain behind it.
She threw her hooves around me and pulled me into a hug. She was relieved that I was ok, and yet at the same time she had that look like it would have been better if I had not come back. She told me that things would be easier if I talked to Princess Celestia. Alot had happened to Twilight and that maybe she'd respond better if there was another friend of hers there. She wasn't very responsive from what Rainbow Dash was implying. It seemed she had drifted into a coma soon after what had transpired back in Ponyville. She was wracked with guilt over what she had done that she'd never considered the option that she had been influenced into doing so many bad deeds.
As we approached the Castle, two royal guards initially stopped us, but when Rainbow approached and told them it was urgent we talk to Celestia, they stepped back and escorted us both in. With a hard knock of their armor clad hooves the door to the Princess' royal council chambers opened to reveal a very distraught Celestia cradling a now unconscious Twilight Sparkle. Apparently, a lot had happened while i had been dead. I walked over and tentatively put a hoof on Twilight's left shoulder. She groggily opened her eyes and looked horror-stricken when she saw that I was standing in front of her, and not currently dead as I had been.
"no," Twilight uttered, she looked like she had seen the angel of death. She tried to back up and began cowering in the corner of the room. My heart felt like it was breaking into a thousand pieces seeing her like this. I did the best I could to make sure this wasn't traumatizing for her.
"It's ok Twilight, your'e not hallucinating, It's me,",I leaned down next to her and extended a hoof to show her that she wasn't dreaming. Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. I pulled her into a hug and told her that I'd help her through this. I wasn't even mad at her. I let her know that.
I put a hoof to her cheek, and got down on all fours to hug her. Rainbow Dash had told me what was happening to her, that all those experiments were a result of her being controlled by an outside force, a force that would no longer be bothering us anytime soon...or ever again. They had brought her to Celestia's royal chambers so she could recover. The trial had been over since after I had revived. Apparently the Court and the magistrate came to the belief that despite the severe loss of life, It had been agreed upon that Miss Sparkle was not in control of her own actions, hence the death sentence was commuted. She'd have to under go psychiatric treatment once a month to ensure that her mental barriers were stronger the next time something tried to take control of her.
A Broken Tiara[Diamond Tiara POV]
Author's Note
Enjoy. Ill be updating this when i can.
A Broken Tiara[Diamond Tiara POV]
If i'm a Diamond then why do I feel so rough?
Diamond Tiara was so used to getting things her way that it never once dawned on her that she'd find herself in a hopeless situation. She had always relied on her parents or their personal butlers to do things that she deemed stupid or boring, but today she was going to find out what life was like for the less fortunate, even those that were in horrible situations. She had never considered how close she'd come to dying, or those that survived being mutilated or maimed. Or the fact that she'd never see her friend Silver Spoon ever again. How would she cope with a loss like that?
Diamond Tiara was a room down from where Applejack had been admitted, but couldnt look at any of the ponies that had gathered in her hospital room. Among them of course were her mother and father, Filthy and Spoiled Rich, as well as Princess Celestia, the CMC, and two reporter ponies that had come in from Canterlot. No doubt here to record the reason for her admittance. She couldnt bring herself to look at those three fillies though, something inside her had broken that day. The cold reality that she could of died right then and there if not for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's actions sunk in like a rock sinking to the bottom of a pond. She finally turned and asked all but Celestia, the CMC, and those two reporters to leave. Her mother of course scoffed at the notion, but was assured by the Princess that there was nothing to fear.
Even before her parents left, everypony in the room could tell she was having a hard time composing herself, much less trying to put a brave face forward. Diamond Tiara had never had to endure anything like this before. Out of all of this, it had forced her to come to grips with the behavior she had displayed towards the Cutie Mark Crusaders, especially in regards to Scootaloo. Of all the ones to torment, she had found a disturbing pleasure picking on her the most. Now with what had just transpired in the basement of the Library, she scolded herself for how she had treated her. Seeing as she was now crippled herself. There was a strong chance that she would never be able to walk again, and that she would be confined to a wheelchair the rest of her life.
With her parents gone, she gestured for the CMC to come a bit closer. She pulled Sweetie Belle, of all of them, into a close hug and cried into her shoulder. She apologized right in front of them for how she tried them all these years. She had been expected by her parents to behave a certain way towards that were considered a bit lower class then others. It hadnt taken her until now to realize that was not how to act at all.
"I... I'm so sorry for how I treated you all," she had to pause to let her mind focus. She silently realized how horrible she had been to mock Scootaloo for her not being able to fly, since she herself was now crippled. She decided to recount the events that lead to her ending up in that house of horrors that they had found her in.
Earlier that week
"I'm so bored Silver, let's go find out where those blank flanks are and see what stupid things their 'crusading' for today," She could feel that this wasn't the 'right' thing to do, but that day she didnt care. She was bored and teasing the CMC felt like something that could make herself cheer right up. They never even got half way into town before she felt something render her and Silver unconscious. Then again this would also be the day that she would change her out look on life.
Moments later she woke up and found herself in a large dark room, with several others extending several feet in every direction, and a walkway in between them. She looked over to see a few ponies she had seen around town, but never conversed with. She saw Lyra, Colgate, and Lemon Hearts shoved into adjacent cells, and down further she could make out the frame of Applejack on what looked like an examination table. She looked back and saw a lavender unicorn with a dark purple mane, with a streak of crimson running through it, standing in front of her. Silver Spoon was nowhere to be seen, Had she escaped and not told Diamond? She got her answer when she was dragged by magic to the same area that Applejack was being held in.
Her blood ran cold, for next to Applejack was the still body of a small grey earth pony with rimmed glasses on. Silver Spoon's eyes were turned up and her face was contorted into one of fear. The lavender unicorn saw the look on Diamond's face. For some reason this seemed to amuse her to no end.
"Oh Dont worry Little one, You'll be joining her soon," The lavender mare mused,"Then you'll learn why those that bully others belong in Tartarus," She sang. Diamond could only stare at her in horror as a mallet was levitated into the air by the purple and lavender unicorn's magic aura, and brought down full force onto her back legs. She tried to squirm, but was held in place with straps. She had been bound to the exam table just as Applejack was. AJ was too drugged though to full notice who was strapped down next to her. When she was coherant enough, she could only let out on inaudible whimper and a single tear streaked down her right cheek.
Diamond Tiara opened her eyes to see the twisted grin that formed on the lavender mare's face. That was the last thing she recalled before waking up in that dank cell again. Then she heard something else, and looked up to see a cyan pegasus with a Rainbow Mane picking her up and handing her to a yellow pegasus. When she looked back she was stunned to see a handful of Royal Guards accompanying the pegasus back down into the basement of where ever she had been held.
All she could mutter was a soft," Thank.... you...", to the yellow pegasus that was now carrying her up to light. Fluttershy handed her over to the awaiting nurse ponies that had come at behest of the Royal Guard. That was when she turned back to see an angry Twilight about to charge up a spell. And she did something she had only ever done once, she tackled her friend to the ground as she called out to Rainbow Dash. And Diamond Tiara could only watch everything unfold, feeling helpless for the first time forever.
She admitted to herself as they carried her to hospital, 'I'm nothing. Nothing but a broken Tiara,", and she kept thinking that even as she was recounting the events that brought her here. Sweetie Belle told her to think positive though, she told Tiara to at least accept the fact that she survived. As visiting hours ended, she asked if one of them could stay to which the nurse on duty obliged. She wrapped her hooves around Sweetie Belle and silently cried into her shoulder as the two lay there on the hospital bed together.
Author's Note
This chapter is done. Next will be started soon. I just have a few other things to get done. I have a ton of Let's plays of mods for Left4Dead2 to get through. If anyone wants to join in some Zombie slaying, leave a comment on this or any of my other stories.
Exonerated
There was one thing constantly ringing in the back of her mind. Why did they forgive me? It screamed for an answer, to be revealed to her in some way shape or form. But would the answer she got be believable, or would it be part of something meant to mask her emotions, to reveal an even deeper resolution that was knawing at her conscience. After everything she had done, did she really deserve it though? Part of her sanity wanted to bury all of this and move on with her friends, but at the same time, the other half wanted to confront and drag out into the light of day to wither and die. If her friends could find it in their hearts to forgive her, could she at least forgive herself?
After all, she hadnt been in control of her own actions at the time, but that didn't absolve her of feeling guilty over it. She still felt like she deserved some kind of punishment for what she had done to all those ponies, including her Canterlot friends. They were still her friends after all. She still couldn't get the look on Colgate's face out of her mind. That look of horror haunted Twilight everywhere she went now. She could see it in the eyes of the few that had been rescued by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
And it sent a chill down her spine every single time she caught them staring at her.
The only real question to ask , is could she forgive herself for what she had done?
Even after all she had done, they still forgave her. Even if part of her could not forgive herself. Especially in regards to what she put AJ through. Twilight couldnt even look at the farm pony when they brought her to visit her in the hospital. Applejack looked right into her eyes and hugged her. Hugged her. How could she just let it go? Twilight had forced her own brother to violate her peace of mind and her body before disposing of him. And Applejack had decided to let bygones be bygones and hug her. Twilight didn't return the gesture, she just stood there next to the hospital bed trying to take it all in. And she was having a hard time doing so. And Applejack could tell by the look on Twilight's face.
She let go and turned away from her. Twilight decided that was the best time to leave. Rainbow Dash stayed behind to check on AJ. She too had seen the mixed reaction in Twilight's eyes when AJ hugged and forgave her for her actions. All she could do on the inside was sigh. Twilight had been misused by a powerful force, and she still blamed herself for the reactions that came about because of it. Rainbow turned back to the hospital bed and looked AJ in the eyes. It was one of those,'I'm bucking serious', kind of looks that she had always gotten when something was looking to be difficult.
This is gonna be tough, Rainbow thought to herself.
"How do I break this to you,", She started off.
"She still feels guilty about what she did," She told Applejack as they both watched Twilight leave the hallway. She too could tell it was hard for Twilight after she had just hugged her out of the blue.
Why? Twilight thought, Why did she forgive me like that. I did horrible things to them when I was under his control, not only did I disrupt the harmony of ponies that I had fought for against monsters like Sombra and Nightmare Moon, I also ended up being far worse then any of them. Twilight couldn't think right now while she was still in their presence, she had to get away from here. Celestia had told her she had been admonished of her crimes, exonerated in legal terms. But it was all still there in her mind.
The Experiments, the things she had done to her Canterlot friends Lyra and Colgate, of what she had done to Applejack. Part of her now understood how Luna must of felt during her exile on the moon, and the guilt that came with it when was reformed by the Elements of Harmony. Another part of her mind wanted to bury it all and move on, but the part that wanted to bare it all, decided it was best to do so in the company of Celestia and Luna. It would be a long and difficult road, but Twilight decided it was best to it all said and done. She didn't want to be haunted by her actions for the rest of her life. She knew that no matter what she'd still get looks from the other residents of Ponyville, and it was only a matter of time before some of them took matters into their own hooves.
As of this moment there were a thousand thoughts coursing through her mind, and all of them just as important as the next, but still all jumbled in her mind. It wasn't something that was abnormal for her, given the fact she was overly anxious now more then she usually was, given some of the circumstances she'd been in before. After her encounter with Amon, after everything started to fall apart in her life. All she could do was constantly wonder why. Why was AJ so forgiving of her actions? The answer seemed just on the tip of her tongue, but still just out of reach.
It didnt seem to make any sense to her, after the news of what happened in Canterlot reached Ponyville, everypony in town town seemed indifferent towards her, but there were still some that showed they were still fearful of her. Even when they had no reason to be. She had after all been exonerated of her actions, even though she knew the guilt wouldn't subside as fast as a few hoped it would. She just wanted to get home and go to bed. She had expected to find caution tape everywhere, but she was sorely surprised when she got there.
Now it was only a matter of time before she could truly forgive herself for her actions. As she stood there, Dash still holding on to her, she finally understood what it must of been like for Luna for all those years during and after her banishment. How much guilt was the princess of the night really dealing with then and now? It was a question she was going to get an answer to at some point down the road. Right now, she closed her eyes and embraced Rainbow back.
She had a friend to console right now.
Author's Note
Was listen to a cover of song when i got the idea to write most of this chapter because of it. Something about it just fired up my creative juices.
Heroes get Remembered
I dont know what's worse, she thought, these damn wings or the looks they keep giving me. Of course all this was being said internally, she didn't want to look like a crazy pony talking to herself, and especially when she was clearly within earshot of ponies like Lyra and Bon Bon. Lyra she trusted, she'd known her a long time before she met her friends. But that Bon Bon pony always seemed like she was listening to everything that everypony in town would say. There was something about her that Twilight didn't feel right with. Something cloak and dagger-esque. And that didn't sit right with her at all.
The more she thought on it, the more she failed to realize that her and Dash were now right in front of her new home. She was still getting used to living in a Castle. For the longest time Twilight had thought that she would inherit the castle of the Two Sisters, since her and her friends had cleaned it up a bit in the last few months. And yet she still couldn't believe it had been a year or more since the confrontation with Amon, and the events in the basement of her old home. It didn't sit right with her how they all had forgiven her. Most of the town had moved on and accepted that she hadn't been in full control of her actions. Lyra had personally forgiven Twilight for had transpired, but a few others in town weren't as willing. Diamond Tiara couldn't walk because of her, and AJ had done an about face on her when she started to suspect Dash of cheating on her with Twilight.
All that kindness that had been shown while she was in the hospital had turned into nothing but bitterness.
Not even a year later, and Twilight was still feeling the guilt. Everything in Ponyville had somewhat returned to normal. But every so often she would still get looks of disdain from some of the other town residents. She had found herself staying closer to Rainbow then she used to. It was enough to drive a wedge between the rainbow maned pegasus and Applejack. Not that it wasn't going to happen eventually. Apparently Rainbow had been hiding her true feelings for Twilight all this time, and allowed herself to think it couldn't of worked between them, when in reality it might of been what was needed to prevent all this from happening. There was no way for her to know then what she knew now. And it pained her none the less, Keeping these emotions to herself all this time, when the pony she truly loved was so close to her.
It wasn't that hard for her to just up and tell Twilight now, since the mare was standing right next to her. She turned around to face Twilight, her mind swimming from all the thoughts that were waging an unrelenting war in her head. She pulled Twilight into the upstairs part of the Tree Castle when they finally got inside of it, mostly to avoid all the stares Twilight was still getting, and looked her deep in those lavender eyes of hers.
"I have something that I've been needing to tell you for quite some time Twilight,", was she really going there Twilight thought? Dash had been dating Applejack before the whole incident in the Library, but now that she had been elevated to princess hood because of Celestia, now Dash was here confessing her love to her? Was this really happening or was it some elaborate joke being played at her expense. These thoughts were running through Twilight's mind faster then she could keep up with.
The Incident in the Library though was soon forgotten when Lord Tirek decided to resurface and make an attempt at usurping the Princesses rule. She defeated him with the combined powers of her alicorn magic tacked onto that of Celestia, Cadence, and Luna. She was still getting used to having her own castle now, but the Library was stilling a haunting reminder to her. She wanted to return the favor in regards to how Rainbow Dash really felt towards her, but if she told the pegasus she needed time to think about all of this, would she think Twilight was out right rejecting her? This was all too much for her mind to process, that she just ran into her bedroom to cry.
As Dash just stood there, speechless, a soft voice echoed from the bedroom, "I just need some alone time Rainbow, I'm not rejecting you if that's what your'e thinking." Before Dash answered, a smile crept across her muzzle, " It's ok, I'll be back in a bit then ok?", to which Twilight replied," Ok," and with that Rainbow flew out the balcony window to go get some food. Her stomach was screaming at her to get some hayburgers and fries, with a Daisy and lemon shake to wash it all down with.
While she was doing this, Twilight was in her room thinking over everything that had happened to her. Was she really worthy of being a part of Equestria's royalty she kept thinking. What had she done lately to deserve it. There was a saying that she had heard when she was just a filly, still in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. If you get known for being a hero, you'll live long enough to become the villain. Something in the back of her mind clicked. She would find out if Dash truly loved her, or was just doing it to feel sorry for her. She would find out if that old saying held any true meaning.
Moments later, she could hear the beat of pegasus wings and looked to see Rainbow Dash landing back on her balcony. This was it she thought. Does Dash really love me, or is it all a ploy, she thought.
Do this and you'll prove yourself to her, or risk losing this mare forever. Rainbow looked at Twilight, her mind overcome with the idea that Twilight must of been sharing as well. If the two of them progressed down this road, what would it do to them, but overall, what would happen to the relationships with their friends? Twilight decided to make the first move, planting her lips right on Dash's when she seemed to be distracted. The pegasus' heart melted right then and there as she returned the embrace they were now sharing with each other. They decided to move this into the bedroom, unaware that a certain pink pony was floating outside of Twilight's Castle bedroom window, that was until they heard an over exaggerated gasp, and looked in time to Pinkie trying to paddle away with her hooves like the air was nothing but an ocean.
Twilight told Dash to let Pinkie go. She didn't care right now if the whole town found out. Part of her didn't care if it wounded AJ's view towards Rainbow either. All she could focus on was the mare in front of her right now, lying on her bed waiting to be ravaged in every way possible. She felt like a filly in a candy store ready for a treat for being good for this long. After all.
Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers, right?
Their Haunting me in my Dreams
Author's Note
Ill be updating this as much as I can. Got the idea behind the rest of this chapter after listening to Holy Diver by the rock band Dio.
I miss Ronny James, RIP.
Their Haunting me in my Dreams
What was it that was keeping that nagging thought in her mind? Everytime she tried to come up with a decent answer, it always escaped her like a bird escaping a bird cage. There was nothing she could do to lessen the impact of the question that was weighing heavily on her mind right now. It felt like her life was a lemon and all she wanted was the down payment back. Twilight racked her brain all night, not even bothering to notice the looks she was receiving from those around her.
She could never stop asking herself why. Why did it hurt so much, this pain she was feeling now. It was like a knife to the heart. She could see it in their eyes on the way to her castle. A castle she still felt over shadowed by. It was something she didn't expect. And one she didn't fully want. As much as it pained her to think about it, aside from the horrible experiments she performed in the basement, that Treehouse had been her home for the longest time. A part of her still missed it, and there was another part that wanted to forget what had taken place and just move on. And that side was getting stronger the longer she stayed in this castle that was now her home.
A quiet foreboding silence was all she could feel in her heart as she walking through the hallways of her castle. Of echoes in the darkness of what had once been a place full of life and yet now was nothing more than a haunting reminder of what had been ripped away. She could see them out of the corners of her eyes, waiting in the shadows for a chance to latch on and drag her soul down to Tartarus where it should have belonged. Instead, she was here and they weren't. The victims of her alleged crimes. The souls of the loved ones that had been torn asunder because of what she had done in the Fallen One's name. She still blamed herself even though the Princess and her friends had forgiven her and absolved her of her crimes. But they couldn't, not until their silent thirst for retribution was fulfilled in some way.
They called out to her in her dreams, or more so in her nightmares. She could feel them sink their jagged teeth into her coat, their rotten and decaying hooves grasped at her, looking for a spot to grab onto so they drag her down into her cursed cell that was waiting. And every time she woke up in a cold sweat. She felt like she was drowning every time she went to bed now. Everywhere she went when she dreamed, she could see them. Twilight decided to keep a journal detailing her nightmares. It was something she hadn't done since she was a small filly living in Canterlot.
Journal #1.
Everywhere I turned, there they were. Everypony I had butchered in his name came to grace me with their presence one last time. I could feel an unabiding emptiness in me. I could hear their screams echo through my mind, leaving behind a haunting melody each time. Always asking me why I did it, why I was the one allowed to be alive while they were all cut down in their prime. And I never can find a sufficient answer for any of their queries.
I couldn't answer any of their questions, how could I, they were dead because of me. There was nothing I could do at the moment that would have brought them any comfort what so ever. I had ended their lives under the misguided idea that I was improving Equestria. Nothing could have been farther from the truth of the matter. I killed them. I killed them and was absolved of my actions because I was being controlled by an outside force. But that didn't make it feel any less real. I should have died. I was ready to die for what I had done to them, especially to my friends Colgate and Lyra. Even though Lyra did survive in a way.
I was completely negligent for leaving that spell book open like that. I don't blame her, though, I guess a part of me did do that on purpose now that I think about it. She and I had been close when we were in school together. I was the one that introduced her to the Lyre after all. It was only natural that I subconsciously left that page open without fully knowing I did until much later.
There were times that she felt like going insane if it meant that she could give them what they wanted most. That was until one of the spirits visiting her finally spoke and told her that the majority of them had decided to forgive her for what she had done to them. That he and the others had come to understand that she wasn't in control of her actions at the time. That it was time for them to move on to the next plane of existence. The one that told her all of this was, of course, Big Mac. He also told her to tell Applejack to let go of her pain and anger she was obviously harboring towards her friend right now. Their parents wouldn't want her to hold it in like she was. Even though it was considered a dream, she told him that they'd think was a crazy pony if she suddenly revealed she was in contact with the ghosts of those that were butchered.
He told her to tell Applejack that Pa was waiting for her when the time came for such that she needed to speak to them again. Twilight had come to the realization that she had a book on spirit summoning and decided to give the book to Applejack when the time presented itself. It was going to be hard but she had to convince AJ that she was still her friend and didn't want to see her in the condition she was in now. Because of what happened not only in the Library, but between her, AJ, and Dash, she felt compelled to correct this in any way she could think of.
The dreams were coming back to her in such frequency that she almost felt numb to them now. Everything was a blur when she was trapped inside her own mind like this. It was enough to drive anypony else insane just thinking about them. In her dreams, she could barely tell what was even real anymore. She swore that she could hear faint giggling echoing through the recesses of her fractured mind.
But whats more was the thought that continued to nag at her.
It was getting to the point where she couldn't even tell what was real and what wasnt anymore. It was clawing at the back of her mind. Was Twilight dreaming or just hallucinating? She felt like tearing out her mane right now. The silence was overwhelming, if not outright disturbing. Twilight wanted so badly to wake up right now and hope that what she was hearing was just an auditory hallucination.
The thought nagged Twilight now more then ever. What was wrong with her? Why was her mind so empty and black as of late? She swore she could feel something trying to drag her into the blackness at times. That there was some hidden force that waited for the opportunity to pull her down there and rape her. Long lost words with no comprehensible meaning were starting to form in her thoughts.
Was this why she felt so hollow as of late?
There were times it felt as thought something otherworldly was watching her, and wanting her in some sick way. There was always a pounding in her head now, followed by these dark dreams as of late. She kept telling herself that none of this was real, that she'd wake up to her friends surrounding her, comforting her. But was that all wishful thinking?
Come to think of it, was anything that occurred between her and Amon even real? There was something that was keeping her here, in this dream state. The only one with power over the dream realm was Luna. But she was nowhere to be found in Twilight's nightmare.
Is Luna forcing me to stay like this? Twilight started to ponder. Her mind was dark, black, and devoid of anything remotely happy. Was what she felt towards her own friends even real? If it was there should be at least some sign of it in here.
As she tried to call up a happy memory, it was replaced with another twisted version. this one was of her four year anniversary of dating Rainbow Dash. But instead of the memory of the two of them sharing a moonlit dinner, it showed a drunk Rainbow Dash back hoofing Twilight for asking if the pegasus had forgotten their engagement.
Every memory was now like a shattered mirror that dangled from the hallway of her mind. She tried to look at them, but every time she did, one of them shattered. It was like some outside force was playing with her mind, twisting it in every direction possible. Twilight picked up a shard and stared at it, trying to remember the memory that was encased in it.
What she saw was a twisted version of Pinkie's birthday party. Inside this twisted version the Pink Mare was standing over the corpses of her friends, a twisted smile forming over her muzzle. The atmosphere of the memory made Twilight feel like she was in a crypt. It felt cold on her fur. Even though it was taking place in her mind, everything about this felt very real to her. As if she were in a waking dream.
She also felt like something was silently watching her, waiting for her to misstep and fall through the ever encroaching darkness. At times it terrified her how empty or distorted her own mind could be. Why was everything in here so demented she thought to herself. Even after everything that had taken place with Amon, and then Tirek, why was her own mind still like this.
Could everything that had taken place been her fault and no pony else? Had she been so far gone mentally that Amon was just an aspect of her own personality that she had wanted to ignore? Everything that had happened in the basement of the library had to be meticulous. Everything had to be measured out and executed like a finely honed knife.
Had everything in the Tribunal with the voices in her mind, and the interdimensional portal, been nothing but a smokescreen? Had Celestia secretly known it was Twilight's doing all along and simply used her own magic to create a series of false memories for the mare to experience?
That was when she started to feel a tug on her tail, and looked down to see Applejack crawling towards her out of the darkness, her fur now a pale orange color. And her eyes. Applejack's eyes were completely hollowed out, two blackened orbs peering at Twilight as the mare crawled towards her. She could hear the sickening smack that this thing's hooves made as it continued to crawl towards her.
The smell was that of rotten flesh, and overpowering towards Twilight's senses. She had to put a hoof over her nose to block out the smell as "Applejack" got ever closer to her. She felt like she was going to wretch.
"Why...", the earth pony croaked.
"But..", before she could even finish the eldritch horror that looked like Applejack cracked a sickening smile before disappearing back into the blackness of Twilight's mind. As she did so, she also spoke.
" Three of our friends are now dead because of you sugar cube,", the voice echoed from the blackness.
She could feel the breath of another pony behind her. a breath that was cold as the grave. Along with it, there was also a familiar giggle. It sent a chill down Twilight's spine.
" I'm going to have so much fun with you now Twilight," the chipper voice spoke," Since i always love to make my friends Smile."
Out of the blackness came the visage of Pinkamena, a butcher's knife clutched in one hoof. The most sickening grin spread across her face as began to speak, the words that came from her mouth containing a trace of rage.
"Let's put a smile on that face."
There it was again, the voice, or should we say voices. They were speaking in tandem now. It was enough to overwhelm Twilight's nerves. But was more of a shock was the way this thing was staring at her now. It was hard for the Princess of Friendship to come to grips with the idea that there were things out there worse then Sombra, Nightmare Moon, or even " Amon". What Twilight didnt realize right away was that there was another presence in here with them.
This creature started to close in on its prey, even as a familiar presence started to make itself known.
The grin on Pinkamena's face began to widen in an unnatural line across her face. Twilight felt like was she was being restrained by the forces now occupying her mind. Forces that were beyond her control. This mockery of Pinkie continued to creep towards her with that sickening smile on her face. There was no way of getting out of this Twilight thought. That was until she heard a voice. A voice that was all too familiar.
Princess Luna.
"Begone thy demon,", the Princess shouted towards the abomination.
"This isn't over,", It spat out in a distorted tone that further mocked Pinkie's voice.
"Princess, is that really you?", Twilight said, wondering if this still part of some trick of the mind.
"Yes, dear Twilight, it is me."Luna answered.
"What's happening to me, Luna?", Twilight was to say the least, both relieved and scared at what was going on within her own mind as of right now.
"You have been in the hospital since the end of the Tribunal Twilight," Luna reassured the alicorn,"everything that happened with Amon was nothing more then a false memory that was created after you suffered a magic surge, one that nearly tore apart the fabric of reality as we know it."
Know that she thought about it, she recalled seeing something that frightened her to no end. She swore she could see a winged humanoid verion of herself with obsidian black wings laughing maniacally. She couldn't recall anything else at the moment.
"I killed.. them Luna, so many ponies that trusted me... and i killed.. them.."Luna could see the guilt in Twilight's eyes as she said this.
"But you didn't,", Luna said as she lifted Twilight's head to meet her eyes.
"what?", Twilight felt confused at hearing that.
"My sister and I believe that you were tricked into doing those things by another pony," Luna had a hint of resolution in her voice.
"Who?", Twilight asked. She couldnt believe what Luna had said, but the more she thought about, the more the Princess made sense in a manner of speaking.
"Her name is Pinkamena," Luna spoke, disgust present in her voice," She is a split personality of your friend Pinkie Pie." Even though this was the dream realm, she could see the color leave Twilight's face. She had seen this side of Pinkie before, when the mare had thought her friends were trying to disown her. Pinkie's mane had deflated and gone straight. And she had an almost murderous look as described by Rainbow when she went to go collect Pinkie for her birthday party.
" What's more," Luna began," my sister and I fear that a cult may have formed in Ponyville that worships her as a God,", Luna was extremely serious when she said this. The look in her eyes was enough to kill a pony ten times over. Twilight had been unaware of anything that ever occurring in the past. Short of the Nightmare Cult that had rooted out by Princess Celestia over two decades ago. According to a history that she had done a report on.
"I fear for what may happen if she tries to take control of either you or Pinkie again,", There was still that dead set honesty ringing through out Luna's voice as she kept speaking. It was enough to unnerve Twilight, even if she was still in the dream world.
Twilight wasnt sure what to think at that moment. Even though what Luna was telling her was true, she still dreaded it. She didnt like becoming somepony or more over something's pawn, and worse she was stuck here in this realm, with no way to help Pinkie if Pinkamena tried to take over the party pony's mind again.