Stories from the Nightly Twilight Thread

by Rubick_Magus

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Human, Anon, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Second Person, Spike, Other, Romance
Length: 22760

Six short stories featuring the reader dealing with varying degrees of Twilight cuteness.

Six second-person narrative stories where you will go through the various day-to-day motions that come with befriending a magical purple unicorn and her dragon assistant

Hand Fed - In which you and Spike bake cookies for Twilight.
Grabbity - In which Twilight shows you a new magical spell.
Crashing This Thread - In which Twilight is accosted by a cannibal.
Snuggle Trouble - In which Spike and you have difficulties leaving a warm bed with Twilight in it.
Fate - In which you and Twilight fight.
Culture Shock - In which Twilight teaches you about hugging.

Over the years I've occasionally written greentext stories for the Nightly Twilight Thread on /mlp/. Sans the 'greater than' symbols and some big formatting changes, these are the stories that I posted there.

Published 2016-10-01 04:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-10-01 04:20:01 UTC

Hand Fed

Sweet Jesus, Twilight, open the front door already.

Celestia must have pulled the sun a hundred thousand miles or so closer to the planet; your clothes were riddled with wet blotches just from a small walk across Ponyville. Your hands even began sweating so profusely you resorted to using your arms to awkwardly cradle the two books Twilight had lent you. They came from her own personal collection; no way you were letting these books get tainted in any way.

A pitter patter noise from the inside of the hollow tree caught your attention, and from the sound of those steps it wasn’t your equine friend. Twilight’s dragon assistant Spike opened the red wooden door a crack, shielding his eyes from the bright sun with his stubby left arm and pushing the door open with his right.

“Hey Spike, mind if I come in?” You asked while wiping another bead of sweat from your forehead.

”Hmm?” The young dragon groggily muttered in response as his eyes adjusted to the outdoor light. “Oh! Anon! Yeah, come on inside.”

Spike threw the door the entire way open, but before you walked past him he stuck his hand high into the air. As high as he could have anyway. It only came up just past your butt. With your hand you answered his call for a high five and quickly came into his home. Being marginally taller than the doorframe you needed to slightly bend down when you entered the vastly cooler library. Twilight’s enchantments kept the tree at a much more agreeable temperature.

You set the books on a small table near the entrance and stretched your arms high into the air. Another wonderful aspect of the library: the high ceiling in all the rooms. Most ponies only came up to your lower abdomen and, aside from the minotaur, few civilized creatures were remotely as tall as you. Not every building in Ponyville allowed you the luxury of standing to your full height. Spike, meanwhile, had moseyed past you and headed to the stairs across the room, where an open comic rested.

“Twilight!” You called out while taking a few steps deeper into the library. “Are you here?”

”Naw, she had to go out with her friends this morning.” Spike answered as he turned around to face you. “Fluttershy came over and said she was having problems with a wild manticore at her cottage.”

You briefly contemplated heading over to help, but walking all the way to Fluttershy’s cottage in this heat sounded like suicide. Besides, Rainbow Dash had told you multiple times how the group had dealt with a manticore before. They could definitely handle this one.

”Twilight left me in charge of the library.” Spike proclaimed in a proud manner as he puffed out his chest and put his hands against his sides.

“She left it in good hands.” You responded with a smile on your face. After quickly wiping your hands on your shirt to remove any moisture, you reached to where you set the books. “Since you’re on the job, would you put these back for me?”

Instantly recognizing where the books came from, Spike ran upstairs to Twilight’s room holding a book at both his sides. Twilight normally recommended books for you each time you finished one, but chances are you can pick out a good one without her help this time. Deciding it was time for an adventure, you began perusing the fiction section to the side of the stairwell. The purple dragon returned less than a minute later, no doubt he knew exactly the place his adoptive sister wanted them shelved. He sat himself on a step at your eye level and dangled his feet over the edge.

”Hey, Anon, can you bake?” Spike questioned while eyeing a book you pulled from the shelves.

“Yeah, Pinkie’s given me a few pointers. Why do you ask?” You answered while turning the title of the book towards Spike.

”I wanted to make some cookies.” He answered while swinging his feet back and forth.

“What do you need me for? I’ve seen you mixing stuff together in the kitchen before.” You stated while sliding the book back into its proper place.

”Twilight gets the ingredients out for me ahead of time. I uh… can’t reach the higher cupboards.” Spike sheepishly stated.
You chuckled and stepped closer to the staircase.

“Hop on. I didn’t have any big plans today.” You stated while patting your left shoulder.

”Thanks!” Spike exclaimed as he leapt from the stairs to your shoulder. After a brief shifting to find a comfortable position to sit he grabbed a bit of your hair for support. “Onward!” He declared and pointed a finger towards the kitchen.

With a grin on your face you walked into the kitchen and found that Spike already had gotten a few ingredients and utensils out before you got here.

“Why cookies anyway?” You wondered aloud as you pull out a large mixing bowl. “Wouldn’t you rather have something cold?”

”Nah. I had ice cream yesterday. Besides, the heat doesn’t bother me.” Spike stated while pointing to the salt and baking soda resting on another raised shelf. “Did you know dragons can swim in lava?”

“I didn’t, actually.” You responded while grabbing the ingredients, silently envying your friend’s immunity to high heat.

”The last part’s up there.” Spike said while pointing at another cabinet.

You walked over to it and pulled out a bowl filled to the brim with large, colorful gemstones.

”Don’t mind if I do.” Spike said as he leaned down from his perch upon your shoulder and snagged a smaller orange crystal, and popped it into his mouth.

“Yeah… I don’t think so buddy.” You responded as you placed the bowl back inside the cupboard and swapped it for chocolate chips.

”Oh come on, Anon!” Spike argued. “Gems have a richer flavor, they’re more colorful, and… uh…”

“And you’re the only one in Ponyville who can even digest them.” You interrupt. “You’re not getting all the cookies for yourself.”

Spike let out a sigh and immediately dropped his case for gemstone cookies. There’s no way he’d win that one. After hopping from your shoulder to the counter, he helped you follow the recipe.

***

”Are they done yet, Anon?” Spike asked while looking up from his Power Ponies comic book.

The scent of the baking cookies had wafted into the room you and Spike were reading in, and the aroma made your mouth water. A quick glance at the nearby clock showed that Spike’s question had the answer you both wanted to hear. As soon as you set your new book aside and began to rise from your comfortable chair, Spike had already leapt to his feet and dashed into the kitchen ahead of you. Upon entering the kitchen, you saw Spike had already opened the oven and pulled the baking sheet out.

With his bare hands.

Spike glanced over to you and saw a brief moment of panic flash across your face.

”Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt me at all!” He explains with a pleased grin on his face.

With a grunt, Spike hefted the metal sheet above his head and was barely able to reach high enough to slide it on the counter. Pulling a spatula from a nearby drawer, you slid the tool underneath each one of the golden-brown treats and set them on a cooling rack. Your tiny co-baker meanwhile wrapped his arms around your leg and began climbing up, using folds in your pants and shirt as leverage. He halted his ascension at your midsection, just as you lifted the last cookie off the tray. After briefly scouting them out, he pointed at the cookie he wanted. Unsurprisingly, it was one of the larger ones.

Taking another big one for yourself, the both of you greedily took huge bites from your respective treats. Wisps of steam rose from the innards of both bitten cookies. Slightly doughy, yet firm, sweet but not oversaturated, and for having come right out of the oven these cookies were the perfect temperature. Thankfully, despite his usual habit of inhaling food, Spike took his time and ate in small bites to prolong the experience.

While nearing the final bite of your cookie you heard the front door open and get loudly slammed shut soon afterwards. You reckoned it must be your bookworm friend. And though you hadn’t seen her yet, judging from that door slam she didn’t sound pleased.

Poking your head out of the kitchen door, you saw Twilight Sparkle haphazardly setting down her favorite light blue saddlebags, which were embroidered with her cutie mark, near the front door. Her normally orderly mane was disheveled with errant strands wildly out of place. The hair hanging down her back, typically completely draped on either side, was unkempt and had small bits of vegetation strewn within. Much like her mane, her tail fared none the better and was in dire need of a brushing. Suffering the same fate as you, blotches of darker purple fur lined her body at various spots. Most blemishes appeared to have been brought about by sweat, others by patches of mud that were hastily brushed away. Even her horn appeared marred and discolored.

Thankfully, aside from a few scratches, she appeared uninjured.

“Hey, Twilight, how’re you holding up?” You questioned from the kitchen doorway.

Twilight’s half-closed eyes grow wider and her mouth produced a small smile upon her scruffy face.

”Anon!” She exclaimed while unloading her saddlebag’s contents. “As good as can be, I guess… Sorry I wasn’t here, I had to fight a manticore.”

“Would you like to talk about it over a cookie?” You questioned while placing the final piece of yours in your mouth.

”Anon and I just made em’!” Spike chimed in while holding his half eaten chocolate chip cookie out for Twilight to see.

“Mmm hmm” Twilight mumbled as she finished pulling the last of her saddlebag contents out.

Spike made his way to a room upstairs, cookie in one hand and comic book in the other, and shut the door. You swung into the kitchen, grabbed a still warm cookie from the cooling rack, and walked back out into the main room of the library. As soon as Spike walked out of earshot, Twilight began venting to you.

”Fluttershy was too scared to be assertive to it, and until she worked up the courage the rest of us got tossed around like playthings.” Twilight explained while turning around from her belongings.

Upon reaching Twilight you stooped down on one knee to get at eye level with her. She likely wasn’t done with her rant yet so you decided to keep quiet for a moment.

”Then we all got into a big fight with a lot of hoof pointing. Nopony went home happy… Thanks for the cookie.” The unicorn uttered as her horn began glowing a magenta hue to envelop the cookie resting in your hand.

”It started when Rarity wouldn’t put her parasol down whe-HRRRK!”

Both your and Twilight’s eyes went wide when the pink glow from her horn briefly sputtered unrefined magical energy onto the floor below, and the light from her forehead dimed and faded away within the span of a few short seconds.

”A-Anon! What’s wrong! I can’t use my magic!” Twilight shrieked while remaining completely motionless.

You quickly scooted a little closer and placed your left hand against the purple mare’s head. Your thumb and index finger rested on either side of her magical catalyst.

“Hold still Twilight. Lemme take a look.”

Rotating the pony’s head to better examine the horn brought the culprit into the light: two small blue spots resting at the base of the bony protrusion. You and the girls discovered this weed’s potency firsthand less than a month ago.
“You must’ve gotten knocked into a patch of poison joke, Twi.”

Twilight stared ahead for a short moment before suddenly lurching her head into the air and letting out a deep, throaty grunt of frustration. You recoiled your hand from her reared up head. As her groaning subsided, the two of you stared at one another for five, uninterrupted seconds.

“Want me to go get Zecora?”

”No.” Twilight responded dejectedly. “It’s too hot and I’m too tired…”

After a passing sigh, Twilight stepped forward towards the treat you’d been holding this whole time.

”And I still want that cookie.”

The mare extended her small muzzle towards your right hand. After briefly sniffing the cookie you held, perhaps out of instinct, she opened her mouth and bit a portion of the moist dessert off. Her teeth scraped against the skin of your palm. It tickled, and you worked hard to smother a giggle as the unicorn took another bite of the cookie, this time her lips pressed against your flesh and gave a small kiss before she took a moment to chew and swallow.

You moved your left hand atop her head again, this time to scratch a spot behind her ear and massage her scalp. As you began your ministrations you briefly heard a small coo emanate from her. She once described your head rubs as “scratching an itch she didn’t know she had.”

Twilight moved in for a final bite, and once again stroked your skin with her teeth, and the return of the enjoyable feeling brought a smile to your face. She drew her head back while finishing the final portion of her cookie. She shifted her eyes to look up at you for a brief moment, but immediately returned her full attention to your hand once she realized bits of melted chocolate still dotted your fingers.

The crevice between your middle and index finger was the first to be assaulted by her small yet surprisingly dexterous tongue, which made hasty work of the melted chocolate lining your digits. Using controlled, quick licks she maneuvered to the base of your thumb to finish the last of the chocolate, nipping at places where it didn’t immediately come off. Good thing her flat herbivore teeth couldn’t penetrate your skin without a great deal of effort. Once content with her work, Twilight sat on her haunches and ran her tongue over her lips. She ended up lightly smearing chocolate along the sides of her mouth.

You turned your hand around to glance it over. Aside from being thoroughly drenched in Sparkle saliva, it turned out pretty clean. The two of you stared at one another for a moment, smiles adorning both of your faces. The better you got to know her, the cuter her quirky mannerisms became.

”Aaaanon?” She dragged out while looking you in the eyes and nuzzling the side of your hand.

“Hmm?”

”Wanna help me in the tub? I can’t shampoo myself without magic.”

“Absolutely.”

You stood and, after placing a hand below her buttocks and another around her waist, cradled your precious little unicorn while walking upstairs to the bathroom.

Author's Note

Posted on August 26, 2014
http://pastebin.com/3gFReqJG

This was the first story I wrote for NTT, and I wrote in the few last day of my summer vacation before college classes began. It was originally inspired by a greentext I read where a filly Twilight ate a sugar cube out of Anon’s hand, and I thought it would be fun to write a version with an adult Twilight.

In the week leading up to me writing the story, there was also quite a bit of discussion about Spike’s role in the show, and quite a few people thought he was a great character that was unfortunately utilized poorly by the writers. That discussion led to me incorporating quite a bit of him into this story, and a couple of the others I’ve written.

Grabbity

It took far longer than anticipated, but you finally shoveled a pathway to the main road. The snow made the library so beautiful it almost felt like a crime to upset the scenery. Winter was in full swing, and even ponies had trouble maneuvering through the massive amount of snow which fell the previous night. You hurriedly headed towards the entrance to Twilight’s home; it was much chillier outside than you expected. Partway through shoveling a nasty cold front blanketed Ponyville, and even your winter gear wasn’t nearly enough to curb the cold’s numb embrace. You lost feeling in more places than you cared to count, but on the bright side at the cold forced you to work quicker.

Your fingers barely registered any feeling as you pulled the doorknob and quickly ducked under the doorframe into the library. You closed the door with more force than necessary, catching the attention of Spike at the center of the library.

”Anon?”

“Just a sec, Spike.” You responded while placing your coat and shovel in a nearby closet. “What’re you up to?”

“Ugh, Twilight’s making me do math.” Spike answered as he looked up from his worksheet as you came closer.

Twilight’s assistant rested with his stomach on the floor, and in his right hand he held a quill recently dipped in a nearby ink well. Crouching down to see what he had in front of him, you found a sheet of parchment with exactly one hundred basic math equations on it. A small pile of assorted flash cards also rested near the dragon’s side. Spike had excellent penmanship and could read quite well given his age. However, he did not know much in the way of simple math or history. Twilight sought to change that.

“Good to see Twilight’s keeping you busy.” You remarked as you pointed at an addition problem where Spike had forgotten to carry a one.

”Uh… thanks…” Spike said as he looked at where you were pointing, his brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what he messed up on. “Oh, thanks for shoveling for me.”

The snow shovel was far too large for Spike to adequately handle, and after seeing him struggle earlier in the morning you volunteered to help him out.

You rose from your squatting position and began to walk towards the kitchen.

“No problem. I need something hot to drink.”

”Wait, Anon, you need to go find Twilight.” Spike declared as soon as you started walking away.

Now that got your attention.

“What?” You asked with a hint of worry in your voice. “Did Twilight go somewhere? I didn’t see her leave while I was outside.”

Spike shook his head from side to side.

”I meant Twilight’s hiding in the library and she wants you to find her.”

”Hide-and-seek?” You questioned.

”Yeah” Spike responded as he shifted himself to face towards you.

You weren’t quite sure how to reply. This was something you could see yourself doing with a bored Pinkie Pie, or perhaps Applejack’s sister and her friends, not necessarily Twilight. You wondered why she didn’t just ask you directly. Then again, she did make things unnecessarily complicated on occasion.

“Twilight also said if you find her in fifteen minutes you can keep any library book.”

With that, all doubts about Twilight’s methods went completely out the window. In its place a deluge of thoughts filled your mind concerning what you could take. Despite spending so much time with the element of magic, you didn’t know too much about how enchantments and spells worked. Perhaps one of Starswirl’s many treatises on it was in order. Reading a textbook, however, might not be the most engaging activity. Maybe some fiction would do…

There weren’t a great many places she could be on the first floor of the library. A quick glance into the kitchen and the closets quickly eliminated the few spots Twilight could be. After finishing your sweep of the first floor you headed for upstairs, all while contemplating what to claim as your prize. You could nab the latest copy of Daring Do to screw with Rainbow Dash. Better yet, take a random volume from the library’s dictionary set just to see Twilight’s reaction. The thought of your unicorn friend having a panic attack over a hole in the collection put a smile on your face as you reached the top of the staircase. This one’s in the bag.

***

Well, Twilight can hide infinitely better than you expected.

After combining over the basement twice you hadn’t seen any sign of her. As you give one last peek behind her kooky science machine you let out a grunt of frustration. Just as Twilight garnered no useful data when testing for Pinkie’s strange precognitive powers, you too had come up empty handed. Without a doubt, there was little to no time left and you had no clue where else to look. The search on the upper floors was equally thorough, and you had even checked outside to see if she had clung to the tree’s branches.

While hurriedly walking up the basement steps a thought suddenly crossed your mind, one which should have been there from the beginning: You were hunting for a unicorn. This one, in particular, was well known for her magical prowess. Once again your mind raced with thoughts, this time over what spells she could have used to garner an advantage. Was she capable of an invisibility spell? You don’t recall ever seeing her working on one… Granted, if she succeeded you wouldn’t have been able to. She possibly could have shrunken herself to hide where you would never look. If poison joke did it to Applejack, Twilight likely had the skill to figure out how to replicate it.

As you opened the basement door, a thought of accidentally kicking your tiny friend across the room sent a shudder through your body. That also may have been due to how cold you were; you brought your hands together, blew into them, and started rubbing them together.
Regardless of whether she was using magic, you had exhausted all sensible locations she could be. With so little time remaining, it was time to adopt a new strategy. Under normal circumstances you wouldn’t stoop this low, but with a free book on the line Twilight had forced your hand.

“Hey, Spike.” You whispered across the room, being much quieter than needed. “Follow me.”

Spike’s bored expression instantly changed to one of curiosity, and the dragon quickly abandoned his math worksheet to follow you. Chances are he was looking for any excuse to get away from it. The two of you entered the kitchen, and you reached into a cupboard far above Spike’s clutches to pull out a slender red ruby. The gemstone didn’t last longer than a second once you tossed it down into Spike’s waiting hands. He already began munching on it by the time you asked your question.

“So Spike, I don’t suppose you can tell me where Twilight is, can you?”

”Well Anon.” Spike responded as he looked up to you with a toothy grin marred by bits of ruby doting the teeth. “I actually didn’t know until a few seconds ago.”

…What?

Your brain couldn’t process Spike’s message quickly enough. Your eyes closed themselves in reflex as a purple hoof immediately filled your vision and pressed your nose.

Boop.

The soft yet firm frog of Twilight’s hoof gently applied a bit more pressure as you slowly opened your eyes to see what happened. The hoof, astonishingly, came from above. As you gazed upwards you met a pair of purple irises, and above them was a smile so wide it almost looked painful. Twilight’s hooves, aside from the fore hoof imbedded on your face, were planted against the ceiling. Her head was no more than a few inches above yours. Oddly enough the hair of her tail and mane did not droop towards the ground but rather hung upwards, seemingly unaffected by gravity.

”Time’s up and I win, Anon!” Twilight proudly declared as she pulled her hoof from your face. “I can’t believe you didn’t check the kitchen, did you forget?”

Though dejected over the loss, you can’t help but smile that Twilight used her magic in such a creative fashion.

“Sort of. I looked through the doorway.”

”I was right above it.” Twilight replied.

As a demonstration, she walked above the entrance and pressed her body as flat as possible against the ceiling. Content that she had adequately explained where she hid, Twilight looked down at Spike, who was now chewing the last bit of ruby you had given him.

“Spike.” She began, her voice faintly less playful than a moment before. “Tell me, with a fraction, how much of your worksheet you finished.”
Spike’s face contorted from one of glee over your predicament to a completely blank expression as he stared back up at Twilight. For a few, brief seconds the room remained dead silent as the purple dragon pondered if he had ever even heard the term “fraction” before.

”Two.” Spike finally answered.

Twilight let out a short, lighthearted series of giggles before calming herself down, though a smile still adorned her face.

”That’s fine. Maybe we can cover fractions next week.”

Spike, slightly embarrassed at his lack of knowledge, took that as his cue to get back to his homework. As her number-one assistant walked out of the kitchen, Twilight again began speaking to you.

”So, Anon, what do you think of my new spell?”

“Very impressive, Twilight.” You said as you leaned against a nearby counter, hoping to avoid straining your neck from looking up so much. “You could have just showed me though, why all this?”

”Well… I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off…” “Twilight responded while sheepishly looking away. She quickly gained her confidence back as she continued talking. ”I got the idea when you and Spike talked about comic books last week.”

“So you’re like Spider-Man now? You can climb on walls and shoot webbing?”

”Nope, not quite”

In response, the unicorn bent her knees and hopped a few inches off the ceiling. She returned right to it as if she had jumped off the ground. Your mouth stood faintly agape as you tried to comprehend what you just witnessed.

”You brought up Superman and how he could fly without wings. I wanted to see if I could replicate that.”

“So you’re flying up there?”

”No, I learned a flight spell probably take decades of constant research.” Twilight answered with a slightly dejected tone. “I did figure out how to reverse gravity for myself though!”

You snickered in response to that statement. The way Twilight said that last sentence showed just how much she delighted in discovering of the wonders of magic. Where others saw a tool, or a means to an end, she saw a beautiful craft where the process was just as stunning as the result.

“That’s amazing, Twilight!” You praised. “You do have a way of getting down though, right?”

”Absolutely.”

Twilight’s horn lit up in a magenta glow and brought a scroll of parchment from the ether. Little space on the paper went unused, it was filled with scribbles, notes, and crossed out mistakes. After scanning through the document she levitated it to her side and the light from her horn increasingly got brighter. The mare rolled over onto her back, and her mane and tail splayed out disorganized across the ceiling.

“Mind catching me?”

“Not at all.” You stated, walking beneath Twilight and positioning your hands so fall would be over quickly and comfortably. “Ready when you are.”

Now comfortable you were set, her horn released the spell she built with a flash. After a brief moment, however, only her hair dropped towards the ground rather than her entire body. Alarmed at the spell not properly working, Twilight quickly righted herself onto her hooves as a look of uneasiness spread across her face. She began skimming over her notes to find out where she had miscast. Her multicolored mane fell against your face as she stood up, forcing you to move so you could see again.

”Uh… Hold that pose. I might still fall.”

For an entire minute you held your arms out in the event that Twilight fell as she reread her notes.

”Alright…” Twilight mumbled, holding off on completing her sentence for a few seconds. “I don’t think I’m going to fall to the floor anytime soon. The blood’s rushing to my head though.”

“Want me to pull you down? You question with a grin on your face, happy at the premise of holding one of your best friends.”

”Please do.”

After taking a few steps to the side to position yourself, you reached up and pressed your palms against her midsection and belly.

”Meep!” Twilight screeched as she wiggled from your grasp and pressed her body against the ceiling within the span of a second.

She wasn’t out of your reach, but you lowered your hands at the thought of having accidentally injured Twilight.

“Twilight, I’m sorry, did I hurt you?” You quickly asked with a voice full of worry.

”Anon!” She scolded. “Your hands are cold!”

A quick rubbing of your hands confirmed Twilight’s complaint was true. Your hands were ice cold even a quarter of an hour after being inside. No wonder she was able to feel it even through her coat. An idea of how to circumvent the issue quickly came to mind, and you excused yourself from the kitchen. Twilight propped her forehooves against the doorframe and watched you head over to a nearby closet. From there you pulled a simple yellow blanket and headed back to the kitchen. Though she gave you an inquisitive look, you didn’t bother humoring her with an answer as you unfolded the blanket below her. Holding the loose cloth in both hands, you reached up and pressed the fabric against Twilight’s sides as you pulled her towards the earth.

As you drew Twilight down you cupped the blanket around each of her legs and snugly clasped the ends of the fabric together at her stomach, creating a Twilight burrito with only her head sticking out. Though not unfamiliar with carrying Twilight, the sensation of the mare falling upwards created a unique feeling. It was appropriate to say you were holding Twilight down rather than up. You faintly tightened your grip as you brought her into the central room of the library as the ceiling was much higher here than in the kitchen.

“Take me to the spell books over there.” She mumbled while raising a hoof to a bookshelf across the room. “I used some of them for reference.”

Upon Twilight’s command you walked over to the library’s collection of sorceries. After a quick search she levitated two from the shelves. Books in tow, Twilight motioned you to head upstairs; she didn’t want to disturb Spike. Upon entering her room you stood in place for a moment. The unicorn’s desk was small, and it would be uncomfortable to squeeze the two of you at it. The wooden floor didn’t strike your fancy either.

”It’s okay, we can lay on my bed.” Twilight remarked, realizing the small dilemma you faced.

Seeing how your arm was getting tired, and since Twilight probably wouldn’t mind, you held her against your chest and lay down on the bed, gently sandwiching her between yourself and the sun and moon themed comforter sprawled over the bed. Just like when you held her, the feeling of the pony’s weight pushing up against your torso was a feeling you wouldn’t soon experience again. Thankfully you weighed more than her, and could keep her pinned with little effort. The situation made you feel a bit crass. To an outside party, the position the two of you held certainly would have appeared lewd.

The excuse ‘keeping your friend from floating into the stratosphere’ likely wouldn’t work either.

You rested your arms on either side of Twilight’s body, and maneuvered your body so that your head was side by side to the left of hers. Meanwhile, after fidgeting to get comfortable, Twilight set up her reference books ahead of her against a pillow and set her own notes to the side. For nearly an hour, both you and Twilight remained silent. The loudest sounds either of you heard came from the two of you breathing and the occasional scratch of an inked quill on paper.

Suddenly, a realization hit you that you could be stuck holding this purple pony for a long while. Who knows how long it would take for Twilight to reverse the spell? Even at sunset you might still be here! You weren’t averse to holding a dear friend so close, but you couldn’t exactly accomplish much of anything resting atop her. The only source of entertainment was the spell books in front of you, and you couldn’t make heads or tails about their mystical contents.

“Hey Twilight,” You asked, breaking the monotony. “When you get the time, can you teach me about magic?”

Twilight’s eyes grew wider the instant the words left your mouth.

”You really want to learn about magic?!” She excitedly asked while looking up from her notes.

As Twilight turned to look you in the eyes you began nodding your head. To further emphasize the point you began rubbing the pinna of her right ear.

“I had to take science classes when I was younger. Seeing how common magic is here, I figured I should learn about it.”

”You know, pegasi and earth ponies almost never bother learning the fundamentals about magic. Lots of unicorns don’t either! Can you believe it!?” Twilight exclaimed with a distraught tone. “A good place to start is the Central Energy Theory, which states that magic is the base of all energy. All energies, like light, temperature, and gravity, have magic as their base.”

It brought a smile to your face to know Twilight was so willing to drop what she was doing to teach you, but you had to remind her of her gravitational predicament.

“I’d love to learn from you Twilight, but shouldn’t we be focusing on finding a counter-spell right now?”

”I’m stuck” She quickly responded. “Besides, a refresher couldn’t hurt for me either. Magic can be shaped into any energy, but only creatures with naturally formed, magically conductive matter can properly channel it and cast spells.”

Twilight opened her mouth to continue, but stopped just as the first syllable began forming. Her horn began glowing and a raggedy textbook floated from a drawer at her desk to the bed in front of you.

‘The Fundamentals of Magic’ the title read.

The book saw much use over its lifetime. The binding was frayed and some of the pages looked ready to fall out. The hard cover had been stained with a number of substances if the strange colors adorning it were any indication, and the corners of the book were dulled and rounded rather than sharp and pointy.

“Anon.” Twilight softly said while looking you straight in the eyes. “If I didn’t read this book, I don’t think I would’ve loved magic as much as I do now. I didn’t understand a lot of it as a filly, but I’m sure I wouldn’t have been Celestia’s student had I not gotten my hooves on this. I want you to experience the same joy I had when reading through it, Anon. And I want you to have it.”
You hardly knew what to say as Twilight levitated the book into your waiting hands.

“Take good care of it, Anon.” Twilight requested as she turned her body around to wrap her fore hooves around your neck for a hug, which you eagerly returned.

“You bet I will, Twi.”

Into the waning hours of the afternoon Twilight continued educating you on the basics of magic, and you eagerly remained attentive through all of it. In time, you together noticed the effects of the botched enchantment fading away. Slowly but surely the planet once again pulled the mare towards it. By the evening, Twilight already had a few ideas on how she could possibly fix the counter-spell. And rather than having any average book in the library as a prize, you got a heartfelt gift from your best friend. Sometimes, fate has a funny way of giving you something better than what you hoped for.

Author's Note

Posted on December 27, 2014
http://pastebin.com/tQJMuEHj

For the longest time, I’ve wondered if Spike has ever had any formal schooling. Twilight was a filly when he hatched from an egg, so I always felt he was around the age of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I always felt that Twilight would push Spike to get an education.

The magic spell Twilight cast was based on the second episode of the third season. In it, Twilight casts an anti-gravity spell so she and Spike can slide up the underside of a massive staircase. I figured it would be fun to write a story concerning her looking into those kinds of spells.

I heavily borrowed elements concerning how magic works from this writefag’s ongoing story: http://pastebin.com/u/AchingScaphoid. This is hands down the best ‘Pony on Earth’ story I’ve read, though I will say he wrote Twilight to be a bit smarter than she really ought to have been. In all seriousness, read it. It’ll keep you busy for a long while.

When I wrote the first part of this story it was before Thanksgiving and I had the story take place in autumn. With school out for winter break, I finally got around to finishing it and I felt it necessary to keep it seasonal. I intended to post this on Christmas, but my internet unexpectedly went down for a good portion of the day and I figured it could use a little more proofreading.

I originally planned a longer discourse with Twilight discussing more details about magic. In one part Twilight talked about how pegasi needed magic to fly, and in another she discussed the process of invoking a spell and realized what her magical mistake was halfway through. I ended up scrapping a good portion of it because it felt unnecessary and only bloated the story. Speaking of which I felt the ending was fairly mediocre. I racked my brain over what to do for a few days, but I kept coming up blank. When I began writing the story a month prior I never had an end in mind, I just wanted to write Twilight into a bundle of blankets while roping in that spell she used in the show.

Crashing This Thread

Not the most ideal place for the trade-off, but you’ve seen worse.

The airstrip you stood on rested above a city recently bombarded by artillery. Scents of the burning wreckage wafted into your nostrils. Rising plumes of light gray smoke still rose into the cloudy sky above, matching the dreary colors the weather brought in. A roaring engine in the distance got your attention, and you stepped out of the door of the navy blue plane onto the dirt runway. The Special Forces team accompanying you had already taken defensive positions around the plane.

You walked a few steps ahead of the squad to meet the occupants of a rapidly approaching land cruiser. As the jeep continued bumping over the rocky terrain, you latched your thumbs between your blue shirt and belt and spread your legs a little wide. You had to look intimidating to these Eastern European anons. After coming to a very abrupt stop, the men hopped out and shoved a very nervous purple unicorn across the brown landing strip towards you. Looks like they held up their end of the deal.

“Twilight Sparkle, I’m NTT.” You said while hefting a large white briefcase towards the driver at her side.

The driver eagerly took the arranged payment: Lewd pony pictures. His satisfied look quickly changed to one of concern as he watched the mare nuzzle your left hand.

”She wasn’t alone.” The man stated, which brought a look of confusion to your face.

You looked past the driver to see 3 hooded, tied-up men being led out of the vehicle.

“You don’t get to bring friends.” You said to Twilight while scratching the underside of her chin.

”They are not my friends…” Twilight whispered, noticeably shaken. A member of the squad quickly took the upset mare inside the plane.

”Don’t worry, no charge for them.” The driver stated.

“And why would I want them?”

”They were trying to grab your waifu. They work for the cannibal. The masked man.”

“Lecter!?” You excitedly stated before turning to the Special Forces unit. “Get them on board, I’ll post it in!”

***

Once the plane rested at a high enough altitude above the nearby mountains you decided to put your plan into motion. One way or another you’d get information out of these guys. You brought the bound mercenaries into the middle of the plane and had them flanked on either side by the soldiers. Twilight sat further towards the front of the plane behind you, hiding behind the seat while looking towards the commotion.

“The flight plan I just filed with the thread lists me, my men, and Twilight Sparkle here. But only one of you!” You explained as you yanked your handgun from its holster.

With a flick of the wrist, you motioned for one of the soldiers to open the plane door. With a loud squeak, the door opened. The pilots flew at a low enough altitude that there was no noticeable difference in air pressure.

“First one to talk gets to stay on my aircraft!” You screamed over the rushing winds.

The first thug was dragged over to the doorway, his head stuck out of the doorway.

“Who paid you to grab Twilight Sparkle!?”

The howling air drowned out most sounds, but the man definitely said nothing. You cocked your pistol unnecessarily and fired a shot through the open door. No doubt it would motivate these other anons to spill the beans.

“He didn’t fly so good! Who wants to try next!?” You said while motioning towards the second goon.

Further down the plane, Twilight rolled her eyes at the improper use of ‘good’ but continued watching. The soldiers grabbed the second hooded man and placed him in the same position as the first.

“Tell me about Lecter! Why does he wear the mask!?” You screamed as you pressed the barrel of the pistol to the man’s head, cocking the gun for emphasis. “Lot of loyalty for a hired gun!”

The third prisoner suddenly spoke up. His voice was loud, but sounded like someone speaking into an empty cup and wasn’t intimidating in the slightest. It sounded kind of autistic.

“Or he's conjecturing why someone would discharge the bullet from a firearm into a man before propelling him out of an aero plane.”

As a soldier closed the airplane door, you turned your attention towards the third bound man.

“Wiseguy, huh? At least you can talk. Who are you?” You questioned, wondering why he sounded like a tryhard English major.

“It doesn’t matter what our identities are due to anonymous culture. What matters is the blueprint for attainment of our goals.”

Tentatively, you reached a hand forward and slowly pull off the black sackcloth around the anon’s head.

“Not a single soul took interest in my character ‘till I put on the disguise.”

A hideous sight lay before you; the man had donned a flesh colored mask around the lower half of his face. It certainly wasn’t a breathing apparatus, but he it did have some thin metal bars stretching across his mouth. You couldn’t tell if the mask made him sound funny, or if he was just doing it to stand out.

“If I pull that off, will you die?” You asked with a clear tone of fascination.

”It would be tremendously agonizing…”

“You’re a weird guy.”

”For you.”

“Was getting caught part of your plan?”

“Of course!” Lecter replied, far louder than you expected.

”Twilight Sparkle repudiated my proposition in approved of yours. I intend to ascertain what manner of topics she articulated to you.” Lecter responded as he looked towards Twilight, licking his lips and flashing his teeth.

”Nothing!” Twilight nervously interjected. “I said nothing!”

A loud rumble shook the plane, you paid little attention to it as it was likely just air turbulence.

“Well congratulations, you got yourself attention!”

”Sir?” One of the soldiers interrupted, but you paid him no attention.

“What’s the next step of your master plan?”

”Crashing this thread. With no survivors!” Lecter announced as a multiple thumping noises were heard outside the plane.

Taking the noises as his cue, Lecter stood up and broke the rope which bound him and came at you. Gunfire ripped through the windows of the plane and downed two of your men. Those guarding the other mercenaries began beating up the still bound men rather than shooting at the people who were a threat for some goddamn reason. Fortunately for you, all the flying bullets conveniently missed you. In a physics defying moment that made even cartoons look realistic, however, a cargo plane flying above somehow managed to pull the plane you were in forward, tipping the nose towards the ground hundreds of feet below. You fell towards the front cabin, careening past a wide-eyed, panicking Twilight.

Lecter dropped down the cabin, using the seats as an improvised stepping stool. The plane had lurched so far forward you heard the wings tear off. The tail of the plane was blown open, and the wind came lurching into the hull with a sickly moan. Twilight screamed as the last man alive from your squad fired a pistol up towards Lecter, but he was quickly killed by the approaching men. Lecter’s mercenaries rappelled down into the plane, bringing a body bag which had a pony the same shape, color, and build of Twilight.

”A-Anon! He’s going to eat me! He said he’d suck my bone marrow out and-AAAAAHHHHH!” The mare let loose a scream of pain as Lecter injected a needle into her flank, drawing blood through a surgical tube towards the dead doppelganger.

Your waifu’s screams grew shorter and more pained as she lost more blood. Lecter wrapped Twilight in a harness, and saw another one of his men preparing to exit the plane.

”No, they anticipate one of us in the debris, my colleague!”

”Have we started the fire?” The man asked.

”Affirmative, the passion intensifies!” Lecter answered while looking towards the screaming unicorn in his grasp.

“Compose yourself Twilight, now is not the interval for terror! That is for our bedroom!” Lecter explained as he pressed the button on a controller, releasing the plane with you, your men, and the remaining mercenary.

Gravity’s embrace took control of the plane as you fell towards certain death.

Who would’ve thought you’d die with some terrorist Eurofag in a falling plane? You weakly flip off the only other person still alive in the aircraft just as the wreckage hits the ground.

***

With a start, you awoke gasping for breath. You’ve had that same dream for months now, with only slight variations making it any different. Twilight rested peacefully beside you, and to sooth your still worrying mind you checked her flank for any pricks made by needles.
There weren’t any, of course.

After a glance out the window you guessed it had to be 1 or 2 in the morning, and you snuggled up back beside Twilight. You made a mental note to send Luna a letter about this in the near future.

Author's Note

Posted January 31, 2015
http://pastebin.com/DHRsTxvD

For the better part of a year NTT was plagued by a person who would constantly spam how much he wanted to dismember Twilight and eat her. He believed that, as an alicorn, she would regenerate her wounds and that she would enjoy the experience. He refused to put on a tripcode so people could filter his posts out because he wanted to remain anonymous, but people could always identify “Lecter” from his distinct posting style because he’d consistently use long, complicated words seldom used in normal conversation. It was funny at first, but it quickly became bothersome because he simply wouldn’t stop talking about it and constantly derailed threads with his very presence. It got so bad that some content creators stopped writing for the thread, citing him as the main reason for doing so.

Thankfully, he eventually stopped posting, but the threads got noticeably less traffic than before he appeared.

I wrote this story in an hour during a thread that Lecter was once again ruining. People were making a bunch of CIA/Bane jokes so I just rolled with what they had.

Snuggle Trouble

With a grunt you brought a hand to your eyes to shield them from the almost painful sunlight shining upon them. Eyes shut tight, your body’s other senses gradually began gaining picking up the slack. The cool air still lingering from the night before hardly even bothered you thanks to the heavy blanket draped over the bed. As your mind sluggishly returned from the confines of sleep you groggily wondered why the bed was softer than usual.

Oh yeah.

It wasn’t yours.

A faint recollection played through your mind, and for the briefest of moments you considered it the remnant of a dream soon to be forgotten. Yesterday, due to an impending storm, your hostess extended you an invitation to stay the night. Rain still heavily pattered against the nearby window and the wind continued howling through the upper branches of the Golden Oak Library; barely anything compared to the torrential downpour hours earlier.

You carefully moved the hand shielding your forehead to the side. For better or for worse, your eyes were getting used to the light. You had to open them at some point in the near future. Being awake, of course, didn’t necessitate you getting out of your warm, comfortable position.

Your hand drifted down to your chest, where you felt slight pressure against your ribcage. After brushing the underside of the linen sheets your hand came across the fuzzy body of your bedmate. On what you presumed was Twilight Sparkle’s shoulder, you lazily began stroking your fingers in circles around the contours of her small muscles. Small, purple hairs tickled your fingertips as they slid along the natural outlines of her body. It must have tickled her too as you felt her small frame shifting on the opposite side of the bed. The short purple hair lining Twilight’s back pressed and rubbed along your torso as the mare shuffled to find a comfortable position. Though not wearing a shirt made you colder through the night, feeling her silky coat brush against your skin made it all worthwhile.

Twilight let out a drawn out sigh, slightly muffled as her muzzle rested beneath the covers. After a few moments following her movements you slowly began trailing your fingers across her elbow towards her barrel; a thorough tummy scratching was in order. You decided first to rub your hand along the smooth underside of her belly starting from her forelegs. Not a third of the way through, however, your hand abruptly stopped from bumping into something hard. So unexpected was the stop that you brought your hand back up and down with the slightest more amount of force in an attempt to move whatever it was aside.

Had your unicorn friend brought a book with her to bed last night? It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility: the two of you had spent the majority of the previous day reading in the library. You didn’t recall spending too much time awake after crawling into bed. Didn’t you two fall asleep fairly quickly? Memory is by no means a perfect vessel, but the groggy state induced by just waking up certainly didn’t make remembering things any easier.

You opened your hand to examine whatever it was impeding your massage. Something firm and round came into your grasp. It was fairly flat and came to a thin, dull point that ran the entirety of the curved length. It wasn’t entirely as round as you first expected. Instead a series of these round obtrusions ran along a surface which a bit like leather or rubber. After grasping one of the fins and lightly jostling the offending object, it became clear what you were dealing with even in your dozy state. A series of light grunts, an interrupted snore, and a set of claws lightly pawing at your hand all but confirmed your suspicion.

“Ugh… sorry Spike.” You quietly muttered as you brought your hand back towards you, barely managing to exhale the phrase.

Your remaining breath left you in a sigh. Too bad your brain hadn’t felt like remembering. Last night, just after you settled the wool blanket on the bed and crawled under the covers, Spike moseyed in while carrying the pillow from his basket bed. Spike enjoyed sleeping while it rained, but the excessive thunder strikes and violent winds no doubt unnerved the young dragon. You couldn’t blame the small guy for wanting to be with others.

As much as it pained you to do so, you cautiously opened your eyes to the morning sun. Unexpectedly, the bright morning sun you anticipated was heavily dulled and grayed out by the overcast sky above. Your eyes had little trouble adjusting once you finally exposed them.

”Ssokay…” Spike slurred together as he began stretching his arms and legs alongside his pony sister. “What time is it?”

”Can’t tell.” You responded with a glance toward the window. The clouds above didn’t yield any clues as to the position of the sun. “Don’t think it’s that early.”

You rolled to your back and mentally prepared yourself for the most difficult task of the day: getting up. With gentle care you shoved off the covers and sat up in the bed. You brought your hands above your head and stretched them towards the ceiling.

Good, Twilight hadn’t budged at all. You didn’t want her waking up just yet. She could be a grumpy little pony if she didn’t get enough sleep.

Slowly and steadily you swung your legs over the edge of the bed and stepped onto the wood floor, luckily it wasn’t too cold. Thank God you had boxers on too – wouldn’t have been appropriate with Spike underneath the covers. Your clothing still was strewn about the floor in front of the nightstand so you leaned down, grabbed your t-shirt and put it on. Pants, you decided while standing up, could wait. A blanket from the closet on the ground floor would be much comfier.

You walked to the footboard of the bed and turned to face the smaller of the motionless lumps beneath the covers.

“C’mon Spike, let’s get breakfast.”

”Eh… I’m not hungry.” Spike answered as he shifted beneath the sheets to again find a cozy position.

”I bought donuts from Sugarcube Corner yesterday.”

Spike clawed at the covers to bring them below his head. He looked at you with renewed interest and his eyes showed no sign of the sleepiness you expected.

”Any gems on those?”

“Pinkie made one just for you.”

A smile formed on Spike’s face and the dragon flung the sheets covering him into the air. Spike’s desire for sweets blocked out any discomfort from the cold air bombarding his now bare scales. Twilight, however, didn’t enjoy the sudden change in temperature. The gust of chilled air swept beneath the comforter of the bed and caused the unicorn to shiver in discomfort. As Spike attempted to push himself to a standing position on the soft mattress Twilight, still sleeping, reached out with all her hooves for anything to alieve the cold. Upon coming into contact with the warm dragon, Twilight wrapped her forehooves around Spike’s torso and her hindhooves pinned his legs in place. A slight smile adorned Twilight’s face as she unconsciously pulled Spike in for a tight hug against her belly. She mumbled a small, incoherent phrase and adjusted her head to press up against Spike’s.

You, grinning like a madman, couldn’t take your eyes off of the duo. In less than three seconds, Twilight had forced Spike to be the small spoon in a mandatory cuddle session. Though he squirmed and struggled, Spike couldn’t find the strength to escape from Twilight’s vice-like hold. He had just enough room to maneuver his head towards you to pleadingly stare for help.

For Twilight’s sake, Spike was kind enough to stay quiet through the ordeal. He too knew just how much sleep the mare needed. Just to remind him you brought a finger up to your lips and shushed. It immediately hit you that ponies had no fingers, so he might not even get the gesture.

“Just stay quiet, I’ve got an idea.” You said as you maneuvered towards a chest below the window across the room.

You knelt down and opened blue and gold trunk. Hidden beneath a few copies of Twilight’s favorite books and various odd trinkets was something the unicorn held dear since she was a filly. It was old, ragged, patched up, and the red button serving as its right eye was falling off, but Smarty Pants was such a treasured memento she never could let go. Twilight once told you the doll came with a notebook and quill accessory and that she pretended they were doing homework together when she was younger. You wouldn’t be surprised if the old toy helped motivate her to become the studious pony she is today. Spike chortled at the sight of the doll as you came back to the bed and dropped to your knees to better examine the bundled-up pair.

These ponies certainly were more flexible than their counterparts back from earth. Seeing how Twilight’s forehooves bent around Spike made you want to look at a pony anatomy book. Maybe there’ll also be information on how these ponies can pick things up with only one hoof too. You shook your head at your momentary lapse in concentration and refocused on how to free your friend.

After setting Smarty Pants on the bed you gripped both of Twilight’s forehooves and gently brought them apart. One you pressed and held against the bed while the other you slowly pried away from Spike and lifted above him. Some ponies, Pinkie in particular, seemed extremely dexterous and could stretch their legs at a respectable angle to the sides of their bodies. With no idea what Twilight’s limit was you only pulled just far enough for Spike to scoot his upper body away from her reach. After letting go of Twilight’s hooves you quickly slid Smarty Pants in to take Spike’s place. The momentary look of confusion on Twilight’s face swiftly faded back into a smile of contentment as she once again held something close to her. Successfully pulling off the switcheroo reminded you of Indiana Jones from the beginning of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Your mind yet again drifted off as you wondered if there a Daring Do equivalent of it.

Spike grasped at the sheets with his now free claws to wrench himself away, but even so his adoptive sister’s hindlegs still prevented his escape. Seeing how Spike still needed help you took a look at Twilight’s rear limbs. They still had the dragon’s legs and tail pinned down, but her hindlegs didn’t seem to have as strong a hold as her forelegs did. Reckoning a simple tug would get Spike free, you placed your hands beneath Spike’s arms and tugged him out of Twilight’s hug to set him on the floor.

”Thanks, Anon.” Spike whispered as he stretched his arms into the air and yawned as he walked to the door.

“Donuts are on the kitchen table. You’ll know which one’s yours.” You responded as you began readjusting the messy bedsheets to accommodate the one occupant the bed still had. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

The mere mention of donuts made the dragon audibly lick his lips as he left the bedroom and closed the door behind him. For a moment you paused from tucking the purple unicorn back in to listen to the pitter patter of his footsteps heading down the stairs. Soon the only thing you heard was the gentle breathing of the sleeping pony. She was certainly comfortable, but there was one more thing you needed to do before you went down for breakfast. Pulling the covers aside and kneeling over at the side of the bed brought you once again face to face with your favorite mare.

“Sleep tight, Twilie.” You whispered as you brought your face in and gave her a quick kiss on her lips.

Barely a moment after your lips left hers, a still sleeping Twilight’s hooves spontaneously wrapped around your head and pulled it close to her belly.

Dammit.

Author's Note

Posted on July 6, 2015
http://pastebin.com/pFChh0Wn

This story still remains my favorite one I've written so far. I’d bounced around the idea for this story for some time and it went through a few changes before I settled upon doing it this way. Originally, it involved Twilight wanting to be the big spoon and waiting until Anon was sleeping before moving in for snuggles. The perspective of the story was then meant to shift to Anon in the morning while trying to pry a spooning Twilight off of his head.

The Princess Spike episode that aired a few weeks prior motivated me to write out this story (alongside the drop in shitposting the thread thankfully had). The screen caps of sleeping Twilight were adorable, which were unfortunately the only good part of that episode. I decided to make Spike the object of Twilight’s intense hugging because the episode bothered me so much. Twilight hugging Anon’s head also didn’t seem particularly comfortable.

It came out this way by complete accident, but the premise of Anon sleeping over due to a storm is quite similar to what happened in “Look Before You Sleep.”

Fate

It’s your fault.

Even after all these years you still couldn’t forgive yourself for the way things turned out.

Celestia cautioned you about thinking this way multiple times, but the memories seemed to grow more vivid with each passing day.

If only you had paid more attention.

If only you had fit the obvious pieces together.

If only you watched her closer after she went through that door beneath the Crystal Palace.

The combined forces of black magic and stress had gotten the best of both your friends. Spike had visions of you and Twilight abandoning him. And poor Twilight became hysterical over hallucinations of Celestia disowning her alongside you and her other best friends resenting her. At least, that’s what she told you and Spike as the three of you climbed the seemingly endless staircase to the tower’s summit. You didn’t doubt her then. And neither you nor Spike thought of the mirages as anything but brief, terrible nightmares; nothing but one of the final desperate defenses created by Sombra to stall those who opposed him.

In the months following the king’s defeat she slowly and steadily changed. Toward her friends, she became judgmental and critical about their actions. Traits previously overlooked in her friendship gradually became unavoidable talking points. She hated Pinkie’s recklessness and harshly dealt with the clones she created from that pond. Applejack’s intelligence was mocked when her family reunion went poorly. Rarity and Rainbow’s occasional grandstanding began irritating her far more, and Fluttershy’s inability to maintain self-confidence clashed with Twilight’s increasingly blunt nature. Rarely did you ever come to her friends’ defenses in your private conversations with her.
You just nodded your head thinking it would all work itself out. She was just frustrated, you said.

Trixie’s uprising with the Alicorn Amulet was violently put down by an angry Twilight Sparkle. In private to you, she lauded how her magic was far more useful than whatever help she could get from the other element bearers. You should have stepped in earlier. You could have made sure she didn’t do something reckless.

Perhaps the biggest catalyst was Spike’s insistence that he leave and serve Applejack after she saved him from a Timberwolf. Twilight tried to act indifferent towards his words when he first spoke them. As soon as he left the library, however, she cried for hours. And once that debacle was over she started becoming more controlling. More authoritative. She was afraid of Spike abandoning her.
You could have reassured her more. If only you let her know just how special she was to you and Spike.

Celestia and Luna’s decision to reform Discord struck a terrible blow to her faith in her nigh immortal rulers. At first she, like you, was rightfully shocked. Why had the sisters agreed to unleash a being that had twice already caused untold amounts of pain? Her outrage grew to sadness, and she lamented about their poor decision making for Equestria’s future. Her distress grew into spite towards the Alicorn rulers, even after Fluttershy had befriended Discord.And you nodded your head and agreed with your best friend, even after seeing chaos incarnate reformed.

Celestia advised her protégé against working with Star Swirl’s final spell. Celestia knew she wasn’t yet ready for whatever it was the ancient wizard had worked on. Her advice came as an order and Twilight spat upon the parchment the mandate came on.
She changed for the worse when toiling nonstop for weeks over that invocation. In her desperation to unravel its secrets she lashed out against both you and Spike, her two closest friends.

She was just overworking, you believed. She got cranky when stressed.

But as her berating worsened your excuses began running out. They disappeared the moment Twilight incinerated the kitchen table in a bout of rage over a trivial argument.

Later that night, while Twilight sat distracted with magical tomes and mysterious runes, you and Spike crept away in fear from Golden Oaks Library under the cover of darkness. With the meager items you took came the elements of harmony. As you stepped on the train to Canterlot you wondered whether you took the enchanted stones on your own volition or because they had influenced you to do so. You didn’t bother questioning it for long. The only thing you wondered, even to this day, was whether you had abandoned Twilight when she needed a friend the most. She became an alicorn soon after. She hailed herself a queen.

The distant beat of war drums shook you from your meditative trance. Even from your lofty perch in Canterlot Tower the sounds of war carried themselves well. You shifted your gaze to the window to see the movement of Shining Armor’s troops hundreds of feet below, silently cursing yourself for letting Twilight’s army get so close without prior observation. A red-orange sunset outlined ponies hastily making their way through the city streets to assume defensive positions.

Twilight was confident launching the assault while daylight still shone. Unsurprising, considering the fiends and beasts of her armies vastly outnumbered your allies below. From a worn tan bag at your side you drew a weathered pair of brass binoculars to better assess the forces she marshaled. The balcony you were perched upon was at the highest point in the city, and it allowed you to see everything. Minotaur brigands and griffon mercenaries stood at the forefront of the many lines. Promise of payment and the thrill of battle made them expert frontline soldiers. Behind them, ponies in darker steel armor marched in perfect formation towards the base of Canterlot’s walls. Dozens of siege weapons slowly rolled forwards behind them. If Shining wouldn’t let them scale the walls they would have no trouble going right through them. Flying pegasi and drakes were too numerous to count for both factions. Each side was desperate to scout for any exploitable weakness.

The black and purple armored unicorn commanders near the back formed the backbone of her army. They carried out the will of their queen without question. For the ability to cast even the smallest tinge of powerful shadow magic, each of these mages underwent a ritual which linked their lives to their ruler to better carry out her will. With dark Alicorn magic guiding them they were capable of feats far beyond any spellcaster of similar age. Orders could be telepathically sent to grunts at a moment’s notice. Weapons and ammunition could be enchanted with the elements. And they were notorious for summoning monstrous, demonic familiars to fight at their sides. Their large number and uninhibited magical prowess suggested exactly what you hoped.

Twilight Sparkle was coming.

And if you severed the head of this army, the rest of the body was done for.

There would never be a better chance to stop her. Over the past year, moles in her army reported she had grown increasingly obsessed with finding the elements of harmony. For what purpose, no one was certain. As you and Spike went into hiding she hadn’t a clue where you had taken the elements. From what spies could gather, the faintest suggestion of your presence somewhere invoked a massive search by her armies. Appleoosa itself was occupied in part because of similar rumors. Twilight herself oversaw the buffalo tribe’s enslavement under the pretense that they were entrusted with the magical elements.

Though it would come with great risks, to draw Twilight out it was decided that her spies would be given the whereabouts of the elements. The plan hinged on a lot of variables, as with Twilight’s astonishing military victories she had the strength and confidence to threaten Canterlot itself. The plan was desperate, risky, and perhaps the only chance to end her reign. Your natural resilience against most magic, particularly your inability to be spotted by any reconnaissance magic she would likely use, meant you stood the best chance at fighting her.

And you would have to do it alone.

You spun on your heels and hurried to your unequipped armor at the center of the balcony. Without it you had no chance of standing against her might. Fighting the element of magic necessitated the choicest equipment and Celestia and Luna spared no expense with this gear. Magic-nullifying properties of this rare obsidian-black metal made it an incredibly desirable smithing material. The lightweight yet surprisingly durable nature of the material made it all the better when wearing armor forged from it. A collection of the finest blacksmiths in Equestria had come to Canterlot to develop the fearsome looking protection you began putting on.

The chest piece was designed to both frighten enemies as well as deflect the majority of a striking weapon’s force away from the body. A series of overlapping, V-shapes over the ribcage provided ample protection alongside making your figure look far more imposing. Comfortable tailored leggings and boots made from the dark ore ensured you had solid footing and ample protection at your joints. The light metal ensured you had unrestricted movement, were capable of high running speeds, and could move silently if you didn’t want to be heard. The black gauntlets, much like the leggings, offered unobstructed movement for your arms, hands, and fingers. For your head a shadowy and ominous helmet had been designed. The small slits for eyes in the headdress unnerved many foes as it clashed with the open design needed for large pony eyes. Sufficient protection was given to the neck, and did not restrict you from turning your head. The helmet opened near the mouth so you could more easily breath, and across it and the eye slots was strewn a simple, enchanted black cloth. You could see through it just fine, but an opponent could see no flesh. Gloomy, jagged horns protruded vertically from either side of the headpiece. Not only did they instill terror, but they also gave the illusion that you were a Minotaur; a deception which worked. Rumors had spread fear through the rank and file ponies in Twilight’s army about a Minotaur completely immune to magic.

On your left thigh the black longsword rested in its scabbard. Years of training since the night you parted ways with Twilight granted you great proficiency with the weapon. Numerous scrapes and dents marred the once beautifully polished surface of the black shield you owned. You picked up the simple black crest shield and secured it on your back. Your footfalls lightly clinked against the marble flooring as you absentmindedly walked to the balcony overlooking the rest of the hall to gaze across the room. Echoes from your steps met with the dull noise of the opening battle from the besieged city below.

Years ago Twilight and her friends came to this hall at Celestia’s call to stop Discord with the elements. Stain-glass windows on the western walls cast beautiful colored streams throughout the room. Constant maintenance made the immortalized images of Discord’s banishment, the redemption of Nightmare Moon, and Sombra’s foiled attack on the Crystal Empire perfectly clear. Ornate marble pillars at the sides of the room held the red tinted ceiling in place high above. Long ago, expensive bouquets of exotic flowers were placed in perches lining the pillars. Onset of the war had resulted in fake flora taking their place. Banners of varying colors and patterns hung from numerous precipices alongside the pillars and walls of the grand room. An exquisite and very expensive red carpet with a flower pattern at its side ran over the gray and white floor.

At the far end of the room stood an impressive vault which stretched nearly 15 feet high along the wall. Images of a blazing sun adorned the vault which was surrounded by a golden, jewel-adorned frame. Stone statues of two imposing unicorns flanked both sides of the vault, and inside there rested the elements of harmony. Former bearers of the elements possessed the peculiar ability to sense when they were nearby. As it was a sensation even the ruling sisters could not magically replicate, to fully lure Twilight into the trap Celestia had locked the elements away inside the vault.

Nary a moment after the fighting escalated into a full battle below, you heard muffled screams and battle cries from the adjacent chamber. Stationed below the balcony you stood on and through the majestic double doors in the hallway leading to this room were some of the finest archers, knights, and mages that the Equestrian Guard had to offer. Shattering glass could be heard from behind the doors.
Twilight was smart. She would instantly suspect a trap if nobody was guarding such important, powerful artifacts.
The telltale buzz of magic permeated the air.

Alongside Shining Armor, you had instructed the ponies to guard the tower and snipe enemy griffon or pegasi flyers trying to swoop over the city.

Crossbow bolts being armed and fired could be heard.

You told them they could relay enemy positions to officers below. You told them they could make a difference.

Clanking of blades against steel were audible.

You hadn’t told them to expect her.

Sporadic crackling of flames and bolts of electricity resounded through the hall.

You prayed that one of them would strike a lucky blow. You knew it wouldn’t happen.

The balcony shuddered as a body was slammed hard against a wall.

Intense feelings of guilt once again occupied your mind as you muttered a silent apology to those ponies you condemned to die.
The doors below crashed open as the charred body of an earth pony guard was telekinetically hurled against them. Intense heat had melted the armor to his skin and a vile stench rose from the corpse below the balcony.

After all this pain that you had a hand in creating, perhaps now you could finally set things right.

The tingle of unicorn magic could be heard, and the doors which were so violently flung open were gingerly closed. Hoofsteps, slightly muffled from the rug below, echoed through the room as their owner walked forward beneath the balcony. As you expected she came alone. Intelligence suggested she wouldn’t dare allow her subordinates to touch the elements. From the shabby tan bag slung at your side you withdrew a white crystalline rock etched with bright red magical runes. As instructed by the princesses, you tapped each of the symbols in a specific order.

Celestia and Luna both put on remarkable acts. You hadn’t suspected a thing until the wedding when Queen Chrysalis battled Celestia and won. Luna’s strange absence from the whole fight only added to your doubts. Movement of the sun and moon, alongside other necessary tasks like Luna’s dream walking, took so much strength that neither Celestia nor Luna were particularly powerful. The princesses could still put nearly all magical users to shame, but the millennia old sisters exerted so much power maintaining the heavenly bodies that they had little hope of surviving a fight against the new queen. Twilight, the element of magic, had no such obligations; she was more than capable of besting either alicorn.

They were too important to risk direct confrontation, but they could provide assistance by other means. With their combined strength they deemed it possible to cast and maintain a magic nullifying field. Not only would it cancel out Twilight’s magic, but the forces responsible for pegasi flight were also removed. She would not be able to fly away. Somewhere in the city, hidden away in a chamber you did not know the location of, the co-rulers of Equestria fell into a deep meditation as they began channeling the incredibly taxing spell necessary for your survival.

The colored arcane symbols in your white crystal faded away, confirming the top of Canterlot Tower was enveloped in an invisible aura which defied the nature of this world. Twilight continued her slow walk towards the vault at the end of the room, seemingly unfazed by the newly cast spell. A flash of fear briefly spread across your face. Was she unaffected by it? Maybe she hadn’t sensed the change yet. Regardless of whether she was affected or not, you needed to confront her anyway. Your hands gripped the handrail of the balcony and you looked down towards the mare as she walked out of the shadow of the balcony directly below.

Your right hand moved to the hilt of your sword and you readied yourself to leap from the balcony and plunge the sword through her. As soon as she came into the perfect position for your strike, however, you hesitated. Against your far better judgment, you wanted to talk to her. Doubts and questions have wracked your mind for years. The relief of having a few of those possibly erased caused you to let her pass unimpeded. There was always the small hope you could stop her without resorting to violence. Risking all the time spent in rigorous preparation and planning would be worth it if you didn’t have to hurt her.

Using your left hand for leverage, you swung both your feet over the railing and plummeted to the ground. The clanking of your armor echoed loudly through the vacant room as you hit the ground. Your body instinctively went into a low stance to better spread the force of impact from the fall. Some 15 feet ahead of you, Twilight immediately stopped walking and stood still, not bothering to turn her head. To appear less threatening you did not wield your sword or shield, you stood to your full height and observed the mare, steeling yourself in the event she tried anything.

Twilight looked as beautiful as the day you met her. Ascending to the status of alicorn had changed her physique slightly. She stood slightly taller than you last remembered. The horn atop her head had grown marginally longer and seemed a bit pointier as well. Elegantly crafted silver armor worthy of a queen covered the mare’s body. Beneath the light shifting of her protective clothing you noticed a thin protective layer of chainmail protecting the joints. From what you could see there wasn’t a single scratch or dent in her attire, most likely because her magic was so powerful nothing came close enough to harm her.

Along the bones of the wings that rested at her sides ran more silver mail, no doubt lighter in thickness to still allow her flight. The sharpened mail appeared segmented and telescopic to still protect her wings when unfurled. She wore firmly secured shoes on each hoof. At the fronts of each shoe finely cut amethyst gems were set in place. Strewn across her shoulders and chest was a necklace not unlike that which Celestia and Luna both wore. The six pronged pink star of her cutie mark was embedded along the front. Despite being jewelry it did a fine job at shielding the vital tissue along her neck. Her distinct tail and mane were allowed free in the open; she styled them in the exact same manner as she always had. Atop her head, Twilight wore nothing aside from a simplistic, spiked gray tiara.

For nearly ten seconds the two of you stood perfectly still, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

“I’m giving you one chance to surrender, Twilight.” You firmly stated.

Upon hearing your voice Twilight whipped her body around and the two of you locked your eyes upon one another. You knew what to expect, but a small frown formed beneath your helmet regardless. The beautiful purple color of her eyes had transformed to a dark hue of crimson. Her irises were magically altered from the round expression filled ones of a normal pony to those of slits like a cat. Most noticeably, the sclera of her eyes had an otherworldly green tint. Extensive use of the dark arts, according to Luna, profoundly changed the user’s eyes.

Her slightly agape mouth highlighted the subtle change from her hardened nature just seconds before.

“Anon…” She softly muttered to herself while continuing her staring. “I always had the feeling you were the black knight.” She continued, more audibly. Her voice was cold, confident, and frighteningly similar to the mare you once called your best friend.

”How’s Spike?” Twilight asked.

There seemed to be genuine concern in her voice, and after hearing it a small smile crept across your face. There was still some good inside of her.

“Safe.” You responded, trying your best to show as little emotion as possible in your answers.

Wherever the princesses were casting their spell from, Spike was with them helping out in any way he could.

”Good…” She trailed off, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.

“Your friends, are they alright?” You asked in return.

Ponyville had remained under Twilight’s control since the beginnings of the revolution. Nobody was entirely sure what had become of the former element bearers.

”Fine.” She quickly stated while looking towards the nearest lavish pillar at the side of the room. It was the first time she had taken her eyes off of you. “Uncooperative at times, but fine.”

“Is that so?” You questioned. You made no effort to show it, but it was a huge relief to know that they were alive after all this time.

”With proper motivation they’ve helped. They lack vision, Anon, they always have.” She retorted as if stating an obvious fact.

“What are you talking about?”

”The magic of harmony is gone, Anon.”

“Because of the gemstones?”

”No.” She quickly responded while shifting her head to cast a menacing glare towards you. “But know that you are forgiven for snatching them away. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, I learned an incredibly valuable lesson from researching the elements and my friends.”

A small smile formed on her face as she closed her eyes in remembrance.

“That being?”

”Nothing matters, Anon.”

Given the actions showcasing her increased heartlessness over the past few years you fully expected a nihilistic outlook like that.

”All this happened because it was fated to be.”

That, however, you didn’t anticipate.

“There’s no such thing as fate, Twilight.”

”Starswirl’s spell, the one Celestia insisted I hold off on working with, says otherwise. He wasn’t the only one to figure it out either, Sombra did too.”

“And you’d know that how?”

”Do you remember the nightmare door during our stay at the Crystal Empire?”

You nodded your head in approval. A wretched feeling in your gut signaled a growing worry over what she might reveal.

”I thoroughly researched the magic behind that door as soon as I was able. That door wasn’t showing us fear but a gateway to the future. Sombra knew fate was unalterable, and he built the gate as a way to see if he would be overthrown.”

Twilight sat down on her haunches on the red carpet as she began lecturing. It reminded you of more pleasant times with her.

”He cursed the land to vanish for a millennium hoping to avoid what he, no doubt, saw what was to become of him. It didn’t work, of course.”

“That…” You hesitantly began speaking. Stuttered phrases and a change in voice betrayed your stoic outward appearance. “I don’t believe any of that.”

”I was the same way, Anon.” A sigh escaped her lips before continuing speaking, looking you straight in the eyes. “But neither Starswirl nor Sombra had access to the elements of harmony.”

“What’s so special about those jewels?”

Twilight held her head a little higher as she began explaining why, proud of what she learned.

”Those gems were born from magic and bonded to me and my friends. Originally I hoped I could circumvent needing the actual elements, but the magical connection between them and my friends withered away years ago.”

In all likelihood, you thought, probably due to the lack of harmony between her and her friends, assuming they even were still friends after what Twilight has done. Knots twisted in your stomach as you slowly began to anticipate what she had planned.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

”I know how to use the elements without my friends. Once I get my hooves on those artifacts I can unweave the threads of destiny!” She exclaimed. “With alicorn magic I can control them to change everything! It could take us back to before this was all fated to happen!”
The word ‘us’ caused the uncomfortable feeling in your gut to flare again.

”You and me, Anon! We can make everything right! We can make it even better than it was before!” She again excitedly proclaimed as her words echoed through the chamber. A pleased yet frightening smile adorned her face as she took a few steps towards you.
Your head drooped downward and you began staring at the carpet below. There was no possible way she was telling the truth, was there? You didn’t, and couldn’t, believe her.

“The elements of harmony don’t work like that, Twilight.” You decreed, doing a fine job of masking the sadness which began to well up inside you.

“You think that saying everything was preordained makes all this okay!?” You yelled while waving your hand towards the battle outside. “Do you seriously think everything you did was somehow beyond your control? God knows how many ponies you’ve killed Twilight. After everything you’ve done-“

”It can all be undone!” Twilight retorted with scorn on her face. “I’ve planned for that! The spells I’ve prepared have taken all those things into account. I’m powerful enough to use the elements without Applejack, Rainbow, or any of the others.”

“Wishful thinking.” You snapped back. For the sake of Equestria you couldn’t allow her tempting words to make you falter. “I won’t say it again. Surrender now, Twilight.” You said as you reached a left hand to grab hold of the shield strapped to your back.

”Anon.” She steadfastly stated while almost pleadingly looking you in the eyes. “Help me open that vault. We will be above fate. We can make a better future for everyone.”

Both you and Twilight gazed at one another, together hoping that the other would stand down. Once fifteen seconds of silence had passed you spoke up.

”You can’t cast magic here, and you can’t fly away either. It’s over, Twilight.” You declared, still not reaching for your sword in hopes that she would let you restrain her.

Twilight closed her eyes and sharply exhaled at your rejection.

“I already know.” She huffed in return while bringing her muzzle downwards to the edge of the red carpet.

In one swift motion she bit the edge of the carpet on the floor, reared her head back, tore the fabric, and pulled with such ferocity that you were flung off balance.

There was barely any time to brace yourself once you realized what she was doing. A loud clang resonated through the room as your armored frame ungracefully collided with the tiled floor. A cry escaped your lips partly due to the shame of letting your guard down and also because of the brief burst of pain. Twilight launched herself into a sprint as soon as your back hit the ground, intent on quickly ending the fight. She leapt into the air as she neared you and sharpened blades protruded from the silver shoes of her forehooves. With your back against the floor you had a perfect view of the mare leaping towards you, and you rolled to your right to narrowly avoid the razors from slicing into the joints connecting your armor. Large flecks of marble chipped away from where the blades stabbed the floor before returning to their hidden sheathes. Mid roll you twisted your legs to halt your momentum and brought yourself into a crouching position.

”Did you think I was defenseless?!” She shouted, bringing your focus to the queen once again coming at you.

She had already spun herself around in front of you by the time you registered where she was. You immediately brought your shield up and held it with both hands just as Twilight brought up both her rear legs and bucked. Even with both arms bracing for impact you were still shunted a couple feet backwards towards the wall, the force she put into the buck was greater than any sparring partner you’ve trained with before. Celestia and Luna said nothing about increased physical strength as an alicorn. No doubt some kind of dark magic heightened her physical prowess.

Twilight gave you little time to think as she whirled back around to face you and charged with slightly unfurled wings at her sides. You weren’t sure what she had planned, but you needed to make sure she couldn’t keep you on the defensive for so long. After quickly shifting your shield into your left hand you backpedaled a few steps to the wall to buy yourself a few precious moments before Twilight reached you. You swiftly brought your right hand to the hilt of your sword and firmly gripped the handle. With a grunt you swung the black sword in a wide arc in front of you at the charging alicorn while pulling it directly from its scabbard. Unable to stop her momentum to avoid your sword, Twilight deftly ducked beneath the swipe and rolled to her left. She came to a halt beneath a bouquet of fake lilies at one of the pillars.

The moment she reoriented herself, you brought your sword back and thrust forward, intent on piercing her neck. Twilight, with her wings still slightly flared to her sides and eyes focused on your sword, stepped backwards to avoid the stab. You stepped forward as she stepped back, again plunging your weapon forward to yet again drive her back. Unwilling to try the same maneuver a third time, you brought your sword high above your head and swung downwards. You believed this would force the queen to either leap away from the wall, and allow you a follow-up attack, or continue backing up.

Twilight did neither.

In a move you never expected to see from a pony, she reared herself on her hind legs and brought her left forehoof up to stop your sword’s predictable path. Obsidian metal from your sword met the silver alloy of her shoe and let out a loud clang that echoed through the hall as your blade was brought to an abrupt halt. Your balance was thrown off and Twilight capitalized on the moment of weakness by thrusting her right hoof forward towards a gap where the armor met near your shoulder. The outstretched blade from her hoof was only stopped with an incredibly lucky grab from your left hand. You grasped her leg and halted the edge just as it reached your armor.

Both of you let out annoyed grunts from exertion and frustration. Despite both pushing harder neither of you could break the grip of the other. Twilight continued balancing your longsword’s sharpened side while your secure hold on her leg never wavered. After five seconds of being locked in the position together, Twilight spoke up to you. Her voice still carried with it the assertiveness from before, though with a degree of tiredness from the fight.

”Cutie marks, Anon.” She let out in a huff.

“What?!” You angrily spat out while tightening your grip on her foreleg.

”Starswirl researched cutie marks throughout his whole life. And I’ve read his findings. They’re all brought about by fate.”

“No.” You firmly retorted. “They just come because of a love or talent. Some ponies don’t even do what their cutie mark says they’re good at.”

”I’ve seen magic that can change cutie marks.” Twilight said, wincing slightly from your stronger grip. “It changes them because it’s tied to their lives and forms their purpose.”

While looking Twilight in her eyes you began twisting your hand to the side, intent on breaking the bones of her foreleg. Twilight felt what you were doing long before anything broke, however, and with a cry she twisted her body to the side and brought you both sprawling on the floor. Unwilling to get stabbed by any of her flailing hooves, you rolled away from Twilight while hugging your shield and sword to your body. Twilight had done the same but in the opposite direction, concerned about you landing a blow while prone on the ground.

Upon getting to your feet you kept your shield raised and slowly began circling Twilight, who in turn began doing the same while assuming a defensive posture. This time it was you who spoke up.

“Remember when you traveled back in time to warn yourself about what would happen the following week? We went to get one of Starswirl’s spells.” You asked while accusingly pointing at Twilight with the tip of your sword. “The exact same thing happened to your earlier self. Time travel can’t change anything.”

Upon hearing your allegation Twilight let out a very annoyed grunt while giving you a heated look.

”I know that! The elements will make it work!”

The elements of harmony were her answer to everything, it seemed.

”Once I get to them I’ll show you just how powerful I am.” She announced while unfurling her wings to their full lengths at their sides. True to her alicorn physiology they were slightly longer than typical pegasi wings.

Atypical of her wing structure, however, were the numerous silver plumes intermixed with her purple feathers. By the time you realized what they were it was too late.

She shook both wings once to the side in an oddly specific manner to bring the throwing knives into place, and her right wing swung towards you first. The deadly projectile sped towards your chest with alarming speed, and had you not already been in a defensive stance with your shield up it would definitely have struck true. The thin blade bounced off your shield and fell to the floor below, but before it touched the ground Twilight had already launched another blade from her left wing. The distance that Twilight had put between you was exactly what she wanted. She had waited until you were both in the center of the room before she began her barrage and there was absolutely no cover for you to use.

You blocked what projectiles you could but there were simply too many, and she was too skilled not to exploit this advantage. Numerous blades struck your armored shins, legs, and upper arms, but you were so focused on protecting your face that you were unable to shield your right knee as one of her knives struck into the connecting plates and pierced your flesh. A cry of pain left your mouth as your right leg buckled forward and you were left kneeling. Blood spurted onto the floor where your wounded knee hit the tiled floor, forming an unsettlingly large pool. Your sword loudly clattered to the ground as you instinctively griped the embedded knife and tore it from your flesh. Silently, you let out a prayer that it wasn’t laced with poison.

With no time to assess your wounds, and no idea how many daggers Twilight still had with her, you reached into the old, tan pouch at your side and pulled out a half dozen white, glossy, marble-sized pellets. You activated them all at once by squeezing their small embedded triggers and the effect was immediate. Dense white smoke puffed out of all the orbs at once, shrouding your position as knives continued shooting past you. After silently dropping to the floor to avoid any more flying blades, you rolled the remaining smoke pellets all around to encompass both you and Twilight in the dense fog that now engulfed the better part of the room. Quietly, you shifted to the right to avoid any blind-firing by Twilight.

”You can’t hide from me, Anon!” Twilight proclaimed, giving away her position in the smoke not only by her voice but also with the flapping of her wings to disperse the clouds. The smoke was being blown away so quickly that you left your sword on the ground to move closer to the noise of the wingbeats.

Twilight was confident that she could finish you off and was moving further into the cloud toward the point where you went down. The intense flaring pain from the cut made moving softly and rapidly a challenge, but you needed to stay in the smoke and away from where Twilight expected you. The red carpet at the center of the room muffled your footsteps even more as you began stalking the alicorn. Twilight continued beating her wings to keep her sight clear as she trudged forward to find you. As you neared Twilight, a loud clacking noise echoed through the room when she stepped on the handle of your black sword.

Pain streaked through your right leg as you launched yourself towards Twilight while holding your shield in both hands. The smoke obscuring her peripheral vision worked in your favor as you came to Twilight in a full charge, brought your shield back, and swung it forward with as much force you could muster into the left side of her unprotected head. Disoriented and reeling, Twilight unceremoniously tumbled to the ground while groggily stumbling away from you. She collapsed to the floor almost ten feet from where you had bashed her, and you wasted no time in moving atop her.

The tiara she was wearing was broken in two and dented almost beyond recognition. Twilight brought both of her hooves up to her face in an attempt to ease the pain, and her wings remained unfurled and strewn about at her sides. You grabbed her left wing’s forearm with your black gauntlets and atop the humerus you planted your foot. Sickening as it was, you needed to make sure she couldn’t outrange you any longer. With a sickening snap you pulled hard and broke her wing, eliciting a screeching howl from the disordered mare.

Twilight nearly blacked out from the horrific pain, but as you moved to break her other wing she became acutely aware of the situation around her and violently struggled. You had anticipated this and positioned yourself to avoid her flailing limbs. As you prepared to break Twilight’s other wing, however, your worst fears came to fruition. Sweat dripped down Twilight’s face, which was locked in a painful concentration and following a bright magenta flash Twilight teleported from your hands.

You whipped your head up and searched the room, cursing yourself as your own smoke was working against you. Twilight’s loud and uncoordinated movement, no doubt caused by the pain she was in, thankfully alerted you to where she was: near the western wall beneath the stain-glass window detailing Discord’s second petrification.

”It’s over, Anon! Your seal is weakening!” She declared, her voice more angry with her confidence shaken, but she knew that the advantage was unquestionably hers now. The smoke cleared just enough for you to see an incredibly devious smile form on her lips. Neon-green energy swirls began pooling around the base of Twilight’s horn and she closed her eyes to better focus on casting the spell. You charged across the room straight towards the alicorn. The pain from putting pressure on your wounded knee was almost unbearable, but you had no other choice. There was no time for anything aside from stopping Twilight from casting that spell, and you prayed for the princesses to be strong enough to maintain the waning nullification field for just a few precious seconds longer.

Coils of the arcane green haze began slowly working their way up the contours of Twilight’s horn. Twilight was audibly groaning at the effort she needed to exert to overcome the celestial duo’s remaining magic. Just as her spell neared completion you slammed into Twilight and wrapped your hand around her horn. A loud, audible gasp erupted from Twilight as the two of you both were thrown off balance but remained standing. Multicolored sparks fizzled from where your magic resistant gauntlet connected with her horn.

Twilight let out a cry of anger and pain as she shook her head to and fro, desperate to remove what was obstructing her spell. You shifted to Twilight’s left side to avoid the thrashing of her unbroken wing, and you positioned yourself as best you could to remain at her side and away from where her hooves could reach you. The gauntlet gripping Twilight’s horn began heating up and quickly reached unpleasant temperatures. Sparks flew with more regularity and a thin trail of black smoke rose from her horn. The temperature grew so unbearably hot if felt as if your flesh was being cooked, and you let out a scream of frustration as you wrapped your other arm around Twilight’s flailing neck. Letting go of her horn could mean your death.

The two of you lost balance and began falling to the side, but you continued to hold Twilight’s upper body and utilized the momentum to drive Twilight’s horn into the stone wall, cracking the magically sensitive material. An explosion of mystical green instantly erupted and Twilight’s failed spell filled your vision as you were sent flying backwards. The black armor and your own resistance to magic drastically reduced whatever damage you would have taken from the blast, but they did nothing to cushion the copious blows you took while tumbling and rolling across the vast room.

On your back, you finally came to a rest in front of the golden vault which protected the elements. A deathly quiet permeated the chamber. You looked over to where the explosion took place to see the unmoving body of your opponent. Despite your dazed state you forced yourself to quickly check your body for any new injuries. Already you could feel the sting of numerous bruises forming, alongside your wounded leg being even worse for wear. You forced yourself to your feet only to almost immediately drop to the floor thanks to your bad leg.

After downing the vile contents of a flask to comfort your wounds, you crawled across the room to where Twilight rested. She never moved as your armor loudly clanged against the floor. The stain-glass window above her had shattered. Most of the glass had flown out the window, but a good portion of the broken shards littered the floor around Twilight. As expected, you saw she was in terrible shape while leaning over her. Her horn had all but disappeared, nothing but a jagged edge where it met the skull had indicated she even had one. Her once beautiful mane was disheveled and frayed from heat, and the distinct smell of burnt hair permeated the air. Specks of blood matted ends of her coat and mane together, and they could also be seen splattered against the wall and floor blackened from the explosion. Her eyes were shut tight, the left of which had an incredible bruise from where you had hit her with the shield.

Her silver armor likewise was marred from the blast. Not only was it discolored, but many plates of her garb were bent at odd angles and exposed her raw, burnt skin below. Twilight was a crumpled heap, but you heard a small audible mumbling as you drew your head near. You took your helmet off, set it aside, and brought your ear down to Twilight’s neck. The noises you heard from her weren’t incoherent speak as you anticipated, but it was actually her uneven and raggedy breathing. She couldn’t possibly have much time left.

From your pouch you pulled a small vial containing green fluid, a product of Celestia’s finest herbalists and doctors. You pulled the cap off and brought it to Twilight’s mouth while tilting her head back to accept the concoction. The bitter blend wouldn’t heal her wounds, and at this point little could be done for them, but it did an incredible job of masking pain all throughout the body. Her breathing became less labored and she slightly moved her head from side to side, trying to judge just how severe the damage done to her was.

“Twilight…” You whispered as you cradled the pony in your arms to ease the burden on her body.

A long pause filled only with the injured mare’s breathing passed by until she, eyes still shut tight, looked towards where she heard your voice.

”Why, Anon?” She muttered back. Her voice was incredibly raspy, hoarse, and you wouldn’t have understood what she was saying if you hadn’t been so close. It reminded you of a time long ago when you cared for her after she lost her voice from an infection.

”I could have fixed everything…” She trailed off, lightly gurgling. You brought a hand to lightly stroke her cheek once you saw blood pooling in her throat.

“It wasn’t going to work, Twi.” You answered. You didn’t show it, but you weren’t too sure of that any more. How much of what Twilight said was true?

Before the fight you were sure Twilight wanted nothing more than all of Equestria under her rule. It definitely seemed that way at first. When did her goal change to altering the past, you wondered. Was it her purpose from the beginning? You would never understand how, and if, her magic could work, and siding with Equestria only made it all the harder. Just as you resigned yourself to never truly understanding Twilight’s motivations, Twilight tried lifting a hoof towards your face but made little headway.

There was just one last thing you needed to know.

“Twi…” You muttered, pausing for a confirmatory grunt from Twilight. “Do you remember when we came to the door beneath the Crystal Palace? The one you said predicted the future.”

Twilight snorted in affirmation.

”Celestia disowned me. My friends all hate me. Spike has to believe I abandoned him… It all came true, Anon.” Twilight reminisced, sadness quite evident in her tone.

After a moment of hesitation you continued.

“I looked into the doorway too, Twi. I never told you, Spike, or anyone about it. I saw you leaving me.”

”And here we are. It’s coming true.” Twilight quietly responded.

“No. Not you going away forever or dying. You said you didn’t love me anymore.”

Twilight sharply inhaled after hearing your words. She coughed for a few moments as her breathing increased in difficulty. It wouldn’t be much longer now.

“I need to know, Twilight, even after all this time apart… Do you still love me?”

Twilight craned her head to look at you and, slowly but surely and with great effort, her eyes slowly opened. The purple irises you knew and loved filled her bright, round eyes and had taken place of the malicious red tint from earlier. The green glow from her eyes was gone and a healthy white color was left in its place.

”Yes…” She weakly uttered, tired from the exertion needed to simply speak. “I never stopped…”

Cheers and rallying cries erupted from the beset city below and through the broken window. The attacking army had fallen into disarray with their command structure broken. As the sun settled below the horizon, with you hugging your best friend and whispering sweet nothings into her ear, Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes for one final time.

Author's Note

Posted on November 22, 2015
http://pastebin.com/8VQX04md

This story came about after we had an evil-Twilight themed thread. Quite a few people talked about how they would continue following her, even with such a drastic change in her attitude and outlook towards the world. I didn’t think it would be an easy pill to swallow, so I decided to whip up something where Twilight and the reader were at odds with each other.

The first draft I wrote had no introduction, but it just didn’t sit well with me if there wasn’t a reason for Twilight doing what she was doing. I wanted to make Twilight’s “turning” to be somewhat believable and I knew I could write pages of backstory to set up the action. I also didn’t want to rush it in a few sentences and make the reader roll their eyes at how out-of-character she was acting. I like to think I ended up with a fun, middle-of-the-road explanation, but I know it just won’t work for everyone. I’m always up for more suggestions and comments about it though, so please leave a comment about what did/didn’t work and what you think I could’ve added.

This story required a bit of editing from the original pastebin version, and I had to change a number of sentences and words around. I guess I didn’t proofread it as well as I thought I did.

Culture Shock

“Hey, Spike, where are the reference books?”

“Hmm?” Spike groggily replied while turning his head towards you. He stood rubbing the sleep from his eyes near the entryway to the kitchen. “Over there, next to the window.” He said, pointing across the room.

The red and black encyclopedias sat on a high shelf, but you were just tall enough to grab the hefty ‘W’ book from its lodging. Dust wafted through the morning sunlight as you brought it to a nearby chair and sifted through the pages. The rhythmic tapping of Spike’s feet grew louder as he walked towards you. He scrambled onto the armrest to get a better look at what you were reading.

“Nopony’s used those books in a while. What do you need them for?” Spike asked.

A few seconds of page turning later, you finally found what you were searching for. You shifted the book towards Spike to get a better view and tapped on the topic you were skimming over.

Washboards.

More specifically, you were reading about how to properly use one. You hadn’t even been in Equestria for more than a week, but your only set of clothes all had an uncomfortable layer of grunge built up on them. Thankfully, you were staying in a library where you could look up this sort of thing.

“A washboard? For what?” Spike questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“I need to wash my clothes, they’re getting dirty. I saw there was one with some buckets downstairs.”

“You wear clothes all the time but you don’t know how to wash them?” Spike asked. “Were you rich or something?”

“I wish.” You responded. “Don’t suppose you know what a washing machine is, do you?”

“No, but it sure sounds useful.”

“Believe me, it was.”

“Why do you even wear them all the time? Twilight and I don’t wear any. Even Rarity doesn’t wear them much, and it’s her job to make them.”

The both of you hopped off the couch and began heading to the kitchen: Spike for breakfast and you towards the basement door for laundry. It took a few steps to think of a more tactful way to say that your genitals would be hanging right around eye level for ponies.

“Everyone wore clothes where I’m from; you’d never see someone naked.” You stated. “They’re for warmth too.”

You paused as your attention waned from the book and you watched Spike as he began preparing breakfast. From a low cupboard he grabbed a bowl, filled it with oats, and set it at Twilight’s place at the table. From another cabinet he took an armful of gemstones of all colors, shapes, and sizes.

“Want anything, Anon?” Spike asked over the clatter of jewels being dumped on the table.

“Would fried eggs be too much trouble?” You requested.

“No trouble at all!” He enthusiastically responded with a mouthful of crushed gemstone. “Want any gems with ‘em?” Spike munched on a long purple crystal as he started shoving a stepstool in front of the stove.

Already you grew tired of them, but so far eggs were your only source of protein available. Using your finger as a bookmark you closed the encyclopedia and pulled the basement door open with your free hand.

“I’ll pass.” You answered while shutting the door behind you.

While walking down the curved steps toward your makeshift bedroom you couldn’t help but wonder just what nutrients Spike actually gained from eating those rocks. For that matter, what kind of jaw strength would one need to actually bite through one? You added those questions to the hundreds of others that have been swirling through your head as of late.

You maneuvered around your unkempt bedding and past the various trinkets and belongings that happened to get transported with you to this new world. At the other end of the room was a door which you put your shoulder against and gently shoved. With a loud squeak the door opened and you entered. While much smaller than your bedroom it was still quite spacious between the laundry hampers, bright white wash-bins, water pump, and a lone rope for drying suspended near the wall. Plenty of room for a quadruped like a pony, you noted, to comfortably move around without bumping into things. This laundry room, same as your bedroom, had a wall lined with small, enchanted, luminescent stones which emitted a pleasant light when someone was near.

You placed your opened book on an upside-down hamper and began following the instructions it listed. You grasped the water pump and twisted it towards a red marker, which you hoped meant that warm water would come out. You held a hand below the faucet and felt increasingly warm water flow with each pump. You held a bar of soap beneath the stream to build up suds in the soapy water and had to pull your hand away from the increasingly hot flow after a minute.

The clothes would need a fifteen minute soak, according to the book, so you stripped away each article of clothing and dropped them into the soapy water one at a time. You sloshed the clothes around for a moment to work the water in before drying your hands and heading back into your bedroom. You hopped on the mattress and searched the side of the bed for the book Twilight had lent you. She had told you that the princess of the land wished for you to know more of Equestria’s history and customs before heading out into the world. Not the most thrilling read, but definitely more entertaining than a textbook back home. Unsurprisingly, history became much more enthralling when magic and fantastical creatures were involved. After a quick breakfast of eggs you smoothed out the bedsheets to lay back and read for a short bit.

***

Ten minutes later the sounds of the basement door opening and hoofsteps took your attention from your text. A brief surge of dread welled up and you briefly scrambled to cover yourself with a bedsheet before your hostess arrived, pulling it off the bed in the process.

“Anon! I couldn’t help but notice one of the library’s encyclopedia books was gone.” Twilight Sparkle cheerfully exclaimed as you finished covering your lower half. You weren’t surprised that the librarian recognized a book was gone, even one so unused. Despite being here for only a few days you saw just how much the purple bookworm treasured each tome.

“Yup. Got it over here.” You replied while pointing towards the nightstand you left the book on.

Twilight trotted across the room towards the opened book near you, eager to see what you needed it for.

“Anything I can help you out with?” Twilight giddily asked.

“Just washing clothes, nothing too stressful.” You replied.

You shifted your feet over the side of the bed and watched as Twilight’s eyes glossed over the open pages.

“Really? Darn, I was hoping to have something for my next friendship report.”

“Friendship reports?” You questioned.

“Yup!” Twilight brightly retorted, shifting her attention from the book to you. “Princess Celestia has me write reports to her each week about all the problems me and my friends deal with. I’ve only got five days until the next one’s due, so I’ve gotta start on it.”

Assuming that history book she gave you was even remotely true, ponies’ emphasis on unity and friendship wasn’t so peculiar. Apocalyptic events like wendigoes being unleashed in an eternal winter would force any species to adapt.

“I’ll let you know if anything comes up. Did you need anything else?” You asked.

“Well, after I saw the book missing I wondered if the reference books weren’t getting checked out because they were in a place where ponies couldn’t reach. So I’m rearranging the books! I’ll keep a tally on whoever comes in for the next few weeks to see if they get noticed.” Twilight answered.

“I’m guessing you need the book back?” You said, handing the book over to her. “I’ve already read what I needed to multiple times.”

“Thanks.” Twilight responded.

A purple glow encompassed the book as the unicorn levitated it from your hands. Twilight turned around and walked towards the stairs and you stood up to check on your laundry. Your hands fiddled with the cloth to form a makeshift knot to keep the bedsheet from slipping down.

“Oh!” Twilight practically shouted just as she reached the first step. “I completely forgot.”

The pony trotted back towards you, book in tow, and set the book down on the nightstand where it was before.

“Hmm?” You grunted, completely focused on working with the linen around your waist.

Your concentration was interrupted as the top of Twilight’s head came into view. Her striped mane and horn shifted back until her large round eyes were looking directly up into yours. A small smile adorned her muzzle.

“Good morning, Anon!” Twilight exclaimed as she closed her eyes and pressed the left side of her head against your naked abdomen.

The fuzzy coat suddenly forced against you almost made you laugh, which you stifled thanks to the awkwardness of the situation. Twilight and you had never even touched one another before, and the sudden closeness proved quite shocking. She held her head still for a brief moment before speaking.

“I know Equestria isn’t much like your home…” Twilight murmured.

She began to slowly rub her head up and down your torso. Her exceptionally smooth coat felt heavenly against your bare skin. You rested one hand against your side while the other held onto your bedsheet pants, which you hoped wouldn’t fall down because of Twilight’s rhythmic movements. Your brain was simply too raddled from the situation to know how precisely to respond. That history book had nothing like this in it.

Was it some kind of animal thing? Was she marking you as her territory?

Twilight continued talking in a hushed tone; she crooked her angled head along your right side and pressed her neck firmly against you.

“But if there’s anything I can do to help make you more comfortable, don’t hesitate to ask.” She finished while rubbing her head up and down your side.

Was she coming on to you? Maybe it was it her pony time of month or something?

Despite being barely audible, you then heard Twilight take a deep sniff.

You hadn’t expected things to get more awkward, but Twilight had just upped the ante to being a little creepy. Your face contorted to a cringe as the purple unicorn continued rubbing your side for a moment longer before pulling away. With a small smile she looked up at you. Your eyes darted away to avoid eye contact, but instinctively came back to meet Twilight’s as you saw a frown form in the corner of your vision.

“Uh…” You grumbled, desperate for anything to alleviate the uncomfortable silence which followed Twilight’s head rubbing.

Your brain roused your body from its sudden stupor and you finally began moving again. For better or worse, you had no time to think about what to do as your eyes focused on Twilight’s increasingly worried expression. You unconsciously reached a hand out and lightly patted the top of Twilight’s head twice, careful to avoid making contact with her horn.

As soon as you pulled your hand away Twilight almost instantly broke down into a panic. Her ears quickly splayed back against her head and her mouth was agape. She did not make eye contact with you and frantically began looking to either side, as if there was someone or something that could mitigate her anxiety. She began slowly backing away from you and heading towards the staircase, mumbling apologies that you couldn’t make out.

“S-Sorry! I’m so sorry, uh, Anon, I…”

Unsure of what exactly to do you walked forward towards the frightened pony and tried to hold your hands up in a non-threatening manner. Words eluded you as you began to bend down to get to her eye level and sort out what exactly had happened. Unfortunately, Twilight suddenly remembered she could perform magic. In a bright flash of purple she disappeared and just a second later you heard a loud crash in the kitchen at the top of the steps. You had seen Twilight use her magic to pull scrolls and quills from the ether before, but teleporting was not something you knew she could do.

“Twilight!” Spike screamed over the noise of precious gemstones tingling against the floor. “Are you okay!?”

You hurried as fast as you could up the stairs, which really wasn’t very quick as you were wary of tripping over your bedsheet robe. You reached for the door handle once you came to the top, but stopped just as you were about to open the door because you heard Twilight speak.

“Spike! Anon doesn’t know what a hug is!”

What.

“What? Don’t be weird, Twilight.” Spike returned.

“It’s true! I went down to give him a good-morning hug, but he just stood there and he got really confused!” Twilight explained.

You could hear Twilight’s hooves hit the floor as she hopped off of the table.

“You should probably go down and square things away; maybe where he’s from they just don’t touch each other.” Spike suggested.

“Oh no.” You heard Twilight react with unease. “What if it’s something mean in his culture? I can’t believe I didn’t ask him first. He might think I’m an awful pony right now! Then he’d probably want to leave and who knows what would happen to him if he went around Ponyville and then I’d have to tell Celestia I failed her and I might have to go back to-“

“Twilight!” Spike again screamed at the incredibly panicked mare. “Just clean yourself up and go downstairs, he’s a nice enough guy. It’s probably nothing.”

Twilight let out a massive sigh of relief which even you could hear through the wooden door.

“Thanks, Spike, I’ll go down ri-uh, wait, what do you mean get clean?” The unicorn questioned.

“You’ve got oats in your mane.” Spike answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Oh…” Twilight sheepishly uttered as she trotted out of the room, leaving a small trail of fallen oats behind her.

Your bare feet made barely a noise as you walked back down the steps to your soaking laundry. You should have known that Twilight was just being friendly to you. Twilight not only gave you food and shelter, but even access to her books and tools of her own. It’s not like you have any friends you can depend on here, so she’s probably just trying to fill that void. You almost slapped yourself once you realized that you were literally just reading about how much ponies valued friendship in that book Twilight gave you. You dipped your hands into the soapy water and pulled a sock against the metallic part of the washboard. Maybe you could turn this whole situation around for the better. Talking with Twilight about pony history and culture sounds far more fun than reading about it. If she wanted to be your friend there’s no real reason to turn her offer down.

Regardless, you thought to yourself while rubbing the sock against the board, there’s no reason you can’t have a bit of fun with this.

***

Jeez, where the hell is Twilight?

You’d expected Twilight to come down within a couple minutes of the conversation, but she still hadn’t almost an hour later. After a thorough washing, rinsing, and then re-rinsing soap from your clothes you were finally finishing putting them through the wringer. They still needed to dry though, and you hoped that it wouldn’t take too long on the nearby clothesline; constantly adjusting the sheet around your waist became annoying real fast. Just as you started pinning the clothes to the line you finally heard the basement door creak open. A rhythmic, slow beat of hoofsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. They were so slow that you leaned back to peek out of the laundry room doorway to see what was keeping her.

Twilight had practically stopped partway down the stairs because her attention was fully committed to an unfurled scroll in front of her. Halfway down she tripped, let out a yelp, and flailed her hooves around to reorient her balance after falling a few steps lower, all the while the scroll in her magical grasp was flung across the room and came to a rest a few feet in front of you. With your boxers clasped to the clothesline you came out and scooped up the parchment. It was almost three feet long and was completely covered in writing, words and phrases were crossed out in almost a dozen places and had corrections squeezed next to them. Your eyes drifted to the top of the paper to see what was so important that Twilight had almost tripped reading it.

Anon, I’m terribly sorry about what happened earlier. Please allow me a moment of your time to explain.

Aw, she had written you an apology speech. No wonder she took so long coming down here.

“Uh… No! Don’t read that!” Twilight blurted out once she noticed where her speech had ended up. She quickly hopped down the remaining steps and jogged over to you. “Anon! I just wanted to say, I’m so, SO sorry about-“

“Apology accepted, Twilight.” You interrupted while rolling up the scroll and handing it back to her. A wave of relief instantly washed over her and she visibly relaxed when she saw your smile. “Did you really spend all that time writing a speech for me?”

“Yeah…” Twilight embarrassingly responded, idly kicking her left front hoof against the ground while blushing. “I got really worried that you were upset.”

“It’s all good, Twilight, no harm done.” You assured her. “But what exactly were you doing rubbing your head on me?”

“Do you not know what a hug is?” Twilight questioned.

“Not a clue.” You lied, shaking your head from side to side. It took all of your willpower to keep a straight face, but you somehow managed.

Twilight put a forehoof up to her mouth and cleared her throat before speaking, evidentially prepping herself for a lecture.

“Hugs have been in pony communities since the earliest recorded civilizations. Somepony hugs another to show how much of a good friend they are.” Twilight stated.

“Alright. How do I hug?” You say, lightly chortling to yourself.

“Easy! You just rub your head against another pony’s body.” Twilight specified. “Typically against their head, but I couldn’t exactly reach yours earlier.”

“Okay then.”

“Now, why don’t you try it one me, hmm? It’d be good to get some practice in.” Twilight recommended. She closed her eyes and angled her head slightly to the side to encourage you. A small but noticeable smile was on her face.

And with that you immediately burst out laughing. Twilight looked back up at you with a stunned expression.

“What’s so funny? Anon, when Princess Celestia comes she’ll probably greet you with a hug, we need to make sure you don’t embarrass yourself. She’s tall enough to reach your head too!” Twilight pointed out over your snickering.

“Sorry, Twilight, but I already know what a hug is.” You said once you calmed down.

“What? Why’d you act so weird about it earlier? I know I’m shorter than you, but… What was the point of pretending you didn’t know, for that matter?” Twilight probed, becoming increasingly distraught with each sentence. “D-do you think I’m a bad friend?”

Her eyes began wetting up when she finished talking and she looked directly up at you for an answer.

“No! No!” You quickly assured her. “You’ve been an incredibly good friend, letting me stay here and all that. Humans just hug differently.”

“Really? How?” Twilight asked.

In one swift motion you hurriedly knelt on your knees and wrapped your arms around the mare’s neck, pulling her head close to yours and pressing your bodies together. Twilight let out a squeak of surprise at the contact. You began rubbing a hand against Twilight’s crest, feeling the silky texture of her dark blue mane against your fingertips. Your other hand rubbed against Twilight’s scalp and gently pressed her head aside yours. Twilight’s surprise turned into contentment and she shifted her head against yours, lightly bobbing it up and down. After a few peaceful seconds the two of you pulled away.

“That’s not too different, you know.” Twilight commented while resting on her haunches.

“Humans don’t really do the head rubbing thing. We’re not very soft.” You replied.

A flash appeared from Twilight’s horn and a quill and scroll unfurled on the floor in front of her. She began documenting a few details of your hug ‘demonstration’. It wasn’t the first time she had taken notes about you, and it surely wouldn’t be the last.

“Plus, you know, hands.” You added while standing up.

Twilight stopped writing and looked to her side in thought.

“Are most humans about your height?” Twilight asked.

“For males, yeah. Females tend to be a bit smaller.” You answered.

“Mmmkay.” Twilight muttered. “Can we do it one more time? It’s for research.”

“I don’t see why not.” You cheerfully replied.

“Good. Just get ready.” Twilight said, rearing on her hind legs.

“Ready for wha-OMF!”

The little unicorn stumbled forward into your arms; whether it was because she lost balance or purposely closed the distance you couldn’t tell. Twilight tried her best to wrap her forelegs around your back, but simply couldn’t because of her anatomy. She settled for lightly curling them at your sides. The tip of Twilight’s muzzle rested a few inches below your chin against your chest. You wrapped your arms around Twilight’s barrel and lightly gripped her shoulders to support her standing. Twilight pressed herself closer to your chest and rested the full length of her neck against you. You could both feel and hear the pleasurable hum emanating from Twilight’s throat.

“This is nice.” The lavender pony remarked. She closed her eyes and rubbed the left side of her head against your breast.

You didn’t say anything in response, but expressed your feelings by moving a hand up through her mane and scratching behind her ear. If she was anything like a horse from earth, she’d probably appreciate it. The unicorn’s reaction was immediate and she tried her best to move her head more firmly against your fingertips, pressing her forelegs against you for leverage. Both her reaction and a low moan confirmed your suspicion. After a half-minute of ministration the two of you silently acknowledged one another to break the embrace.

“Thanks, Anon.” Twilight said in a pleased voice, still on emotional high from the pleasant massage.

“That enough data for your book or whatever?” You replied with a laugh.

“Yeah, we’ll have to compare and contrast our cultures, more often.” A rosy-cheeked Twilight said. “And, um… Is it okay if we do that again sometime?”

“You enjoyed it that much?”

“It’s different from a pony hug, but yeah.” Twilight confirmed.

“Sure, Twilight.” You said, bringing a hand to her mane and ruffling it. “It’ll be our special little greeting.”

A very pleased Twilight playfully swatted at your hand with a forehoof. She began walking towards the steps to head upstairs and you to the bed to continue reading. Just as you were about to pick up the book, you suddenly remembered you had a question to ask.

“Hey, was you smelling me earlier something else that ponies do?”

Twilight froze in place and her face became as red as a tomato.

Guess that wasn’t really a cultural thing.

Author's Note

Posted on August 9, 2016
http://pastebin.com/AY9sFKbD

After proofreading the story a few times I felt like I may have overdone it a bit with the descriptions of preparing/soaking the clothes, but I left it in anyway. I originally planned on having Twilight help Anon with washing them, but I ended up axing that idea and that part of the story is a small remnant of it. Anon needing to wash his clothes was a rather long-winded means of making sure he had his clothes off for when Twilight started getting touchy-feely.

Many thanks to the Anon who suggested having Twilight get all touchy-feely for a greentext prompt. I ended up combining it with another idea I had on the backburner and this came of it.
My first plan was to have Twilight in heat to explain her need for hugs and rubs, but I discarded it after I figured it would feel more genuine if hormones weren’t to at least partially blame. That, and ponies in heat is already quite common to see in these kinds of stories.

My second idea was to have Twilight screw up a spell that would leave her acting like a cat, but I also tossed that idea because it again would feel fake if magic was to blame for her wanting physical affection.

I ended up going with the concept that ponies are naturally extremely social and it’s expected that they be on good terms with one another, lest wendigoes and winter set in. I figured making Anon new to Equestria would also make things more fun to read.

Partway through writing it occurred to me that in Applejack’s Day Off the spa had dryers for heating towels up. While it wouldn’t mean washboards and air-drying clothes would be gone, I’m really not fan of Equestria having technology like that. It ruins the fantastical setting.