Just Beyond the Surface

"You!?" Twilight was overwhelmed with shock, practically in tears. "You did this to Spike? Why!? What did he ever do to you?"

"Oh, Spike? He never did anything to me personally. It's what he did to you Twilight." Violet rose from her desk, flecks of blood shaking softly from her dress as she moved. "All those years he spent sponging off of you. Getting in your way. Holding you back. It was honestly hard to watch! All those times he ruined your hard work. All those times he second guessed and doubted you. Truthfully, It made me ill." The filly spat on the floor, her teeth clenched as if she really was going to be sick. "To top it off, he fooled the entire Crystal Empire into thinking he was some sort of hero, when you and I both know he was little more than a delivery boy! They should have been building statues to you Twilight, not to this scaly sad sack."

"So you butchered him over that!?" Twilight roared, unable to fathom what Violet was saying.

"Oh no, not at all!" replied Violet, her eyes alive with infernal mischief. "I did that to get your attention.. For all his many flaws, I know how much Spike means to you. As much as I hate him for being such a screw up and still managing to be so close to you, punishing him the way he deserves would only hurt you. And I never want to hurt you Twilight." Violet's horn glowed softly, enveloping the dagger in Spike's chest. As it did Spike sprang back to life, writhing on the end of the blade, calling for help and screaming his pain. As the magic faded from the dagger, he froze mid-scream. "He's frozen in time, just a few moments away from death, but he's still very much alive. I can keep him like this indefinitely and he'd never even know it. For him it would just be one, long, very bad dream. Of course, now that you're here I can just go ahead and let him die."

"No, don't!" Twilight screamed in panic.

Violet smiled sweetly. "Of course not Twilight, I was only teasing. With the right spells I can fix him up as good as new. This whole thing really will have just been a bad dream as far as he's concerned. Of course," here Violet's smile turned nasty. "That's only if you cooperate with me."

Twilight's eyes narrowed in suspicion. The last thing she wanted to do was whatever this clearly insane and sadistic little filly wanted her to do. However, Violet was holding Spike's life in her hooves. If Twilight were more familiar with time spells she might be able to do something, but that wasn't her area of expertise. If only Starlight were here, maybe she could try something then. But as it stood, she'd have to play along. "What do you want me to do?"

"Oh, nothing much," answered Violet. "I just want you to sit... and listen." as she said this, Violet gestured to the plastic desk.

The Princess of Friendship recoiled. The desk was soaked now not only in Violet's 'juices', but Spike's blood as well. Twilight grit her teeth and carefully slid into the plastic chair. She tried not to squirm, but the cooling filth coagulating beneath her into a disgusting sticky substance made that endeavor a difficult one.

Twilight felt sick just thinking about it, let alone feeling the cold slime against her skin, seeping into her fur.

She had to put up with it though, for Spike's sake.

"And just so you don't get any ideas..." Violet's eyes let off a green light as her violet iris's turned bright red. Dark energy lashed out from her horn, slamming into Twilight's forehead. Thick black crystals grew along the shaft of Twilight's horn, sending a wave of pain deep into her skull. Before she realized what was happening, Twilight's magic had been sealed. It didn't stop there, however. Thick black crystal grew from the blood on the desk, shackling her limbs to the cheap plastic chair, including the wings behind her back.

Twilight was trapped!

This wasn't the first time Twilight had seen such dark magic, however. "Where did you learn that spell!?" she asked. As far as Twilight knew, only Princess Celestia and King Sombra had ever used the dark magic Violet had just so expertly wielded. Well, only them and Twilight herself... Even so, such a spell should be well beyond the capabilities of a filly Violet's age.

"Oh, I picked it up along the way. You'd be surprised the many things a filly can learn over the course of a lifetime," she giggled, as if there was anything funny about the situation. Violet seemed to be proud of herself. She gave a little bow and then turned her back to Twilight. "But I don't want to get ahead of myself. After all, we haven't even been properly introduced yet. I've spent so much time learning about you, and you don't really know anything about me yet, do you?"

"I know you're a crazy pony!" barked Twilight, unable to hold herself back.

"Only crazy for you Twilight," replied Violet batting her eyelashes as she looked back over her shoulder, making Twilight gag. "I went to a lot of trouble for you. Changed the color of my fur, my mane. I even thought about changing the color of my eyes, but that didn't seem necessary after I made other changes. Truthfully, I think part of me wanted to get caught, and that's why I didn't change my eyes. It would've been fantastic if you had recognized me, especially how I look now," Violet gave a little twirl, sending more flecks of blood dancing from her dress and into the air. "I would've been really very pleased! In the end though, I guess my disguise was just too good." she gave a coquettish wink.

"You keep talking like I should know who you are, as if we've met before," Twilight's brow was knit in confusion, "But I've never even laid eyes on you until earlier today!"

"Yes and no, Twilight, yes and no. Maybe this will help you understand." As she said this, Violet undid her long pony tail. With her magic she instead gathered up her mane into a pair of pigtails. The blackness slowly melted from her hair, dripping like filthy water as it fell to the floor. It changed to a shade or purple, run through with a streak of teal. Her fur, also, shifted from grey to light pink as the previous color ran off of her hide like bad dye. Violet smiled brightly as a cutie mark blossomed on her side.

Twilight recognized her instantly.

But it wasn't possible!

"Starlight!? What? Why? How are you a filly!?" Twilight asked in bewilderment.

"Please don't call me that. I gave up being 'Starlight' a long time ago," said the filly in answer. "I'm Violet now. And you know as well as I do that age spells exist. It took the better part of my life, but I finally mastered them!" she cried emphatically, letting her long mane droop around her neck and shoulders. "I had to Twilight. I had to so I would look the way I was when you first saw me! When we first met... Back before everything that happened..."

"I don't understand," said Twilight, who truly didn't. "We met in your village."

"Again, yes and no," was the filly Starlight, no, Violet's answer. "That's why I wanted you to sit here and listen. I know it's going to be hard for you. I almost don't believe it myself. But what i'm about to tell you is the truth. Let's start at the beginning. It's why you're here now, after all. Time for a lesson in friendship and magic!" as she said this, she brought Twilight's teaching wand towards the blackboard and tapped it against the black slate. The lesson from earlier had been erased and replaced with a series of new pictures.

The History Lesson began.

Once upon a time there was a filly who had only one friend in the entire world.

They did everything together and were the best of friends.

But then one day, something happened that would change their relationship forever. The filly's friend received his cutie mark. The filly knew what would happen next as soon as he ran off in glee. His parents, and it seemed the whole village, praised the filly's friend and cheered him. He would be spirited off to a school for gifted unicorns, while his friend would be left behind.

I'm sure this is a familiar story to you so far, but this is where things take a turn I think you may find interesting.

You see, as thoughts of despair and abandonment were going through the filly's head, she could hear them being echoed outside the window of her home. It was a unicorn, one that looked strangely familiar. She was speaking angrily to an alicorn, and what looked like a baby dragon.

They were just standing there, out where everypony could see! It seemed the other villagers were so distracted by one of their own earning his cutie mark that they didn't notice the unlikely trio.

But the filly did.

She didn't think there were any Alicorn's in Equestria aside from Princess Celestia, and she lived far away in Canterlot. The filly decided to investigate. After all, she had nothing better to do now that her only friend in the world had been ripped out of her life.

The unicorn was ranting something about cutie marks and how they tore friendships apart. The filly could relate to that, having just experienced such an event first hoof. So she drew closer... When suddenly there was a whoosh of magic! A portal seemed to open out of thin air and the trio were sucked into it...

As was the little filly.

The world seemed to twist and spin around her.

She was only a little filly and couldn't handle the trip. She blacked out.

In the end, this turned out to be fortunate, for when she at last awoke she found herself in a truly disorienting situation. She was up among the clouds. She panicked at first, certain she has died... or if she hadn't she soon would! It took her some time to realize she was in no danger and that she was standing on what seemed to be solid ground. A road in fact, that seemed to float on top of the clouds. The filly realized she was in a pegasus city... or perhaps it was some kind of flight camp? There were young pegasi all over the place, practicing flying and having races.

But that didn't hold her attention for long. No, not when she found the alicorn and unicorn from before close by.

They were still having some kind of argument.

It was only then that the filly realized why the unicorn had seemed so familiar. It was herself! Or, more accurately, an older version of herself.

She didn't understand all that was happening while she was seeing it, how could she? But she could tell that both were very upset and her older self was very angry. Her older self was threatening to tear up a piece of parchment, and while that didn't seem like it should be so bad, the filly got the sense that if it were done then something terrible would happen.

However, as she watched, the Princess seemed to talk the other Starlight down. She made her realize that all the things she had been so angry about were things that she could fix herself, if only she tried. Even only she opened herself up to friendship!

You, Twilight Sparkle, convinced Starlight to not change the past, and instead forge a brighter future for all of Equestria! Then the filly saw the most beautiful sight! It was you silhouetted against what the filly would later learn was a Sonic Rainboom. It had been this that you were fighting so hard to make sure came to pass, and the sight took the filly's breath away.

And then you, your dragon, and the older version of the filly disappeared through the same magic portal and were gone.

And the little filly was left behind.

Violet looked down at her hooves, her eyes hidden in shadow beneath her bangs. "I was stranded. At first I tried to get home, return to my old life. A friendly pegasus took pity on me and offered to fly me home, but when I got there I found there was another me, already living out my old life," said Violet sadly. "But you know, it wasn't so bad. Unlike that other filly, who was clearly as angry and friendless as I had been, I no longer harbored those emotions. I knew where that path would lead. No... even more so, it was because I had seen something that gave me hope! I had seen you making friends with that older version of me! I knew then that the two of us, Twilight, we were destined to be friends! We were destined to be together!"

This had been a lot for Twilight to absorb. She didn't entirely believe what she was hearing. "So you're Starlight Glimmer from another timeline who was stranded in our past? Okay, say I believe that, and that you're not just some kind of insane changeling or something... why are you still a filly? You said something before about using age spells, but why?"

"Like I said before, I did it for you. But if it bothers you," As Twilight watched, Violet's horn began to glow. Then her entire body began to flicker and change. Her dress split apart at the seams as her body swelled and grew. In moments a pony who looked exactly like Starlight Glimmer was standing before Twilight.

Well, almost exactly.

Now that she was 'older', Twilight could see the differences. Her mane was longer, and hung loosely in greasy strands from her head, as if she hadn't had a bath in ages. Her fur seemed matted down and filthy, though that might have just been from Spike's blood. Even the lines on her face were different, as though she had lived a very different and much harder life.

What truly caught Twilight's attention, however, were the scars. While these hadn't been apparent when she was a 'filly', they were all too notable now. It was as if, at some point, ever part of her body had known the kiss of a blade. Nowhere was this more apparent than on her flanks... There was something wrong with her cutie mark. It was far more disfigured than the rest of her body. It looked like a knife had been taken to it, gouging and cutting away at the flesh, leaving red exposed muscle where skin should be. The purpose for this was obvious... The cutie mark's shape had been altered and distorted, changing it from the familiar mark that would normally grace Starlight's flesh. It took a moment for her to realize, but as Twilight studied the horrible wounds further, she could see just what pattern the wounds were intended to mimic...

Violet had carved Twilight's cutie mark over her own.

Twilight didn't want to think about the pain it had cost or the dedication it would have taken to peel and shape the flesh until a bright red version of Twilight's six stars graced Violet's flank. Just looking at the glossy, glistening exposed muscle made bile rise up in her throat.

But while Twilight looked on this alternate version of Starlight with disgust, she herself looked on Twilight with a smoldering gaze that could only be described as wanton lust. Violet almost appeared to drool as she began to walk slowly towards Twilight. As the scarred unicorn spoke, it was in a deep husky voice, heavy with longing. "Twilight, whatever you want me to be, however you want me to be, I'm more than willing. I'll be whatever you want, so long as you'll have me..."

Violet draped herself over the desk in front of Twilight as if she were offering herself to her. Her eyes were half lidded and she was panting. She slowly stroked one hoof down her scar covered chest, to the tenderness just bellow her belly. The sight was more than enough to turn Twilight's stomach. "I thought we were destined to be friends!?"

"Friends, and so much more!" cried Violet, a manic grin spreading across her face as she looked up adoringly at Twilight. "You see, I've been watching you since we were both little. I've been shadowing you every step of your life's journey. I know you now better than you know yourself! I devoted my life to finding you, to learning everything I could about you! I watched you as you studied in Canterlot. I thrilled as you made new friends and defeated Nightmare Moon! My heart leaped as you became the Princess you were always meant to be!" Violet's eyes were glowing as she pulled away from Twilight, kneeling down before her, never breaking her adoring gaze. "But I never dared interfere. I never dared reveal myself to you. Even so, I learned so much!"

Violet rose again, sliding her hooves across the blood stained desk. She was getting uncomfortably close now, her face was mere inches apart from Twilight's. "I know how you crease your brow when you're reading a particularly challenging book. I know how you like to study late into the evening, eyes never leaving the page. I know how you like to have a warm beverage on a cold day, and exactly how many marshmallows you like in your hot cocoa." Violet's voice dropped a few octaves as she leaned forward to whisper in Twilight's ear, her warm breath sending a shiver down Twilight's spine. "I know how you smell after a hot day, when that beautiful brow or yours is glistening with perspiration. I know how your mane shines after a nice, long soak in the bath. I know what it sounds like when you're sleeping a deep, untroubled sleep. I know everything about you Twilight. I long for you to learn about me just as intimately. I figured out some time ago that we were meant to be more than friends. Twilight... I want you to be my special somepony..."

"Not going to happen," was Twilight's firm reply.

"I thought you might say that," replied Violet, running her tongue over her teeth as she pulled back. "But that's why I planned all this out so very carefully. I wasn't just researching you, you see. I know all about my rivals as well!"

"Rivals!? What rivals?" asked the Princess, perplexed.

"You don't have to be coy with me Twilight," Violet replied with a knowing smile. "You have your regular circle of friends, but you've been adding new 'friends' of a particular sort lately. Comely young unicorns of a particular disposition towards magic. Oh, they may start out as rivals, or even enemies, but eventually you add them to your little harem." The look on Twilight's face was pure denial, but Violet wouldn't give her the chance to voice it, raising one hoof to her lips to silence her. "Deny it all you like, but the facts are the facts. Trixie Lulamoon, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, and even your fillyhood friend Moon Dancer; all of them are unicorns that share your love of magic, and each of them you've gone to some effort to befriend. Even if you don't realize it yourself Twilight, you've found yourself attracted to a certain, shall we say, type of mare. Admit it... You're attracted to powerful magic users who aren't all that hard on the eyes." Violet gave her a little conspiratorial wink.

"That's ridiculous!" cried Twilight, struggling against the crystal that bound her to the desk. "Even if it were true, what does that have to do with you hurting Spike!?"

"Oh... you think Spike is the only one who's been dealt with today?" Violet grinned wickedly, showing teeth that suddenly appeared far sharper than they should be. "Starlight was the first. It was only fair for her to bare the brunt of my vengeance, seeing as how she was responsible for my current situation. I was tempted to destroy her outright before you even met her on the off chance that would send me back to my own time-line. But I couldn't have that... Then we would've never met either! Or at least, the Twilight I would meet wouldn't be you, and the me you met would not be me." It seemed that this thought saddened Violet, but then a manic gleam came back to her eyes. "Then there was Moon Dancer! Don't worry, she died quickly enough. Not painlessly, but quickly. Then Trixie... ah Trixie. It was a real pleasure to finally get a hold of her and make her pay for her past sins," Violet giggled, but it quickly turned into a deep and menacing laugh. "Sunset! Now, Sunset was a bonus! I thought I'd have to go to that stupid little parallel dimension of hers to take care of her, but then she showed up here out of the blue! Did you know she actually attacked me!? Can you believe it!? But in the end, she's the one who died!"

Twilight listened to all of this with a look of mounting horror on her face. Was this true? Had all of this gone on right under her nose!? "What? How? When!? You were here with me all afternoon!"

Violet's grin only grew wider as she looked down at Twilight, her eyes glowing with mischief behind her long bangs."Well, yes, I was," as she said this, Twilight could hear a chorus of giggles coming from the dark corners of the room. One by one, fillies that were identical to how Violet had looked a moment before stepped out of the shadows. Each looked exactly the same, except their dresses were all slightly different colors... But they all shared Violet's grin. "My mirror pool clones, however, have been very busy."

One of the clones squealed. "It's so nice to finally meet you Twilight!"

"We love you Twilight!" gushed another.

"We all love you Twilight," the clones chorused as one, fawning over the bound alicorn.

"So you understand now, don't you? You don't have a choice anymore Twilight!" roared the original Violet, the pupils of her eyes shrinking to manic points. "I've eliminated all of my competition in one fell swoop! Now you have to choose me to be your special some pony!" She threw back her head, laughing manically.

"You're crazy! This is crazy!" Twilight tried to squirm free of her restraints, to no avail.

"Only for you Twilight! I'm only crazy for you!" screamed Violet insanely. "I waited for years for this! Studying every scrap of magic I could find so that I could be worthy of you. I've mastered aging spells, time spells, and dark magic all for you! I sacrificed my flesh and blood, my mind, my very soul to make you mine! I made a secret home for myself in the roots of this castle of yours, just so I could stay close by your side! I scraped through the dirt and the mud, salvaged everything I could from what you threw away. All so I could better myself for this moment! After all my work and sacrifice, how could you possibly deny me now? Can't you see my devotion? Can't you see my sacrifice!? Can't you see how I did this all for you!?"

"You did this for yourself, you sick monster!" cried Twilight, angry tears in her eyes. "How could anyone love you after what you've done? You killed my friends!"

A look of shock bloomed on Violet's face. Her clones looked equally dismayed.

Violet didn't seem to understand what she had done wrong. "Is it... Is it because I'm old now? I know that my looks are a little r-rough b-b-but... But I thought if anyone c-could look past my appearance it would be Twilight! You're so kind and considerate, surely you wouldn't let a few scars get in the way of our love? But no, no that's wrong, isn't it? You like pretty unicorns. Pretty little unicorns. I'm stupid, so stupid!" Violet pulled at her own mane, ripping out hanks of her hair. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I should've known better! Did you like me better when I was young?" The glow enveloped Violet's body again, and once more she was a filly, her skin and fur completely unblemished. If anything she seemed to be a bit younger than she was before. "I can be any age you want! I can look how ever you want! Just please, say you'll be mine! That's all I want, I swear, and then this horror can all end. I'm... I'm messed up, I know that Twilight. I've done horrible things in the name of... of love! Yes love! We've all done silly things for love, right? But I can change! See, I can change!" The color of her fur and mane began to flicker wildly between different colors. Violet smiled imploringly, reaching her tiny hooves towards Twilight.

"Young or old, you're sick Violet. I could never love you!" Twilight shouted emphatically, tears running down both cheeks. "I could never forgive you for what you've done. But... but if you let me go, if you fix Spike, maybe we can get you the help you need."

Violet's head drooped. All of her clones looked down at their hooves as well, thier eyes hidden in the shadow of their bangs. "You think I need help?" They all said in the same monotone voice.

"You're the one who needs help Twilight," said the original Violet in a hoarse whisper. "After all I've done you still deny me? Then I guess you leave me no choice." The clones scrambled around. Some brought in a green doctors smock and gloves and helped the original Violet put them on. another group tied a backless gown around Twilight's throat. A final pair wheeled in a trolley that had several surgical tools lined up neatly on its tray. Everything was already drenched in blood. It seemed Violet had been busy. "Along with my magic studies, I studied up on pony anatomy as well. Did you know that everything there is about you, your entire personality, is all up to a very specific part of your brain? I really didn't want to do this to you Twilight... But if you refuse to see the truth, if you refuse your destiny, then I have no choice but to act. I'll make you love me Twilight! Even if that means turning you into nothing more than a doll!"

With a black charcoal pencil, one of the clones drew a dotted line across Twilight's forehead. Violet grinned all the more maniacally as the surgical tools were lifted into the air by her magic. A series of knives, hooks, chisels and tiny hammers orbited around Twilight's head. A thin whirring proceeded from the oscillating dressing saw as it buzzed to life, and brought its gore soaked blade towards Twilight's forehead.

"Don't worry Twilight, it's only a full frontal lobotomy! You'll be fine!"