Survival is Hell, not Magic

“I’m still not sure how these things are going to be formatted so I’ll start with the numbers first. Twilight Sparkle, Day 33, log 2. The wing surgery is coming along nicely. I still have no idea how to work the damn things but I’ve got flight books around here somewhere. The Longsword works wonders compared to the old Gauntlets. Apparently the magic the surgery used took a lot out of me so I’ve been asleep for nearly three days so nothing much to add to this.” The Log said.

“She doesn’t even seem even a little shaken...” Cadence said softly.

“She’s used to it, she told me it’s become like routine for her. Survival I mean. When I first saw those things I freaked out. She just curses her luck and either avoids or kills it.” Spike said.

“Did you notice her hair and her eyes?” Celestia asked.

“I don’t think she noticed it yet.” Shining said.

“Is she blind?” Luna asked.

“No, she can see better now actually... The mutation seems to be helping more than hurting as far as we know.” Spike said.

“Her home though, you said she made pretty much everything in there?” Shining asked.

“Made or salvaged it.” Spike replied.

“I saw a bunch of Royal Guard equipment, know anything about that?” Shining asked.

“Well she is wearing guard pants, she probably scavenged some stuff from one of the armories around the city.” Cadence said.

“She said she had been experimenting with armors and weapons, but she didn’t say anything else.” Spike said.

“That looks like the product of one of these experiments.” Celestia said, noticing the gauntlet over Spike’s hand.

“She put a spear in it and it’s got a blade, I don’t know how she did it but it’s genius.” Spike said.

“So you have no idea how it works?” Luna asked.

“It’s connected to my nervous system, how though I have no idea.” Spike said as he turned the valve and took it off, showing an unharmed hand underneath.

“We’ll have Twilight to ask that soon enough. Play the next one.” Shining said.

“I haven’t seen it before, but it looks like some of these Ghasts retained a tiny bit of their intelligence. Not enough to do anything really, but enough to remember huge things in their previous lives. I saw one of them flying around on wings wearing a Wonderbolts Uniform. I called it a Ghost because it scared the hell out of me and came out of nowhere, but I just blew the steam tank with my magic and it fell. I’ve given up on the idea of a glove for my left hand now, everything is just too clunky. Maybe a shield or something? I don’t know. Twilight Sparkle, Day 35, Log 3.” The log said.

“You’re right, she’s talking about these things like they’re everyday activities.” Cadence said.

“When you’re in a situation like she is right now, that is everyday activities..” Shining said lowly.

“Spike, what does she mean by Ghasts and Ghosts?” Celestia asked.

“She calls the normal monsters Ghasts and the ones that use wings Ghosts. She calls the one that I ran into a Spectre.” Spike said.

“Fitting I guess, Ghastly names for ghastly creatures...” Cadence said.

“She seems to be doing most of these in her home, but that first one was outside somewhere.” Celestia observed.

“She told me that she almost got attacked after that.” Spike said.

“By your description of these things I don’t think I could stomach the sight of one.” Cadence said.

“Spike, she never once mentioned food or water, like where she would find it or if she found any...” Celestia said softly.

“She had about five days’ worth when I was there preserved with magic, but she only needs to eat once in awhile. She said it would last months and that her first meal after the incident was fifteen days after.” Spike said.

“I see...” Celestia said, soundlessly starting the next one.

“Shit!” The recording instantly started with the camera falling down onto the ground to show Twilight being tackled off of the roof by a Ghast. The camera landed and gave them a view of the ground, Where twilight had rolled on top of the creature and had literally ripped it’s head off.

She stood up as the longsword blade extended and she put the steam rifle on the ground to gain pressure. Three Ghasts charged her at the same time, but she leaped straight upwards ten feet. She used her magic to retrieve the steam rifle and she shot off three spikes, impaling the heads of the creatures to the ground. She smiled slightly as she turned the rifle off when suddenly a Ghost came out of nowhere and smashed into her, knocking them out of frame.

After a few moments it showed Twilight being chased through the air by the Ghost. She used a blast of steam to halt herself and land on the ground with a roll. She jumped and slashed her blade at the Ghost, slicing a wing and an arm off. It smashed into a wall just barely out of frame. Twilight exploded the steam tank on it’s back to ensure its death. She cracked her back and her neck and retracted the blade, but before she could retrieve her dropped rifle she was blasted out of frame by what looked like lightning.

A floating Ghast surrounded by unstable magic came into frame then. It wasn’t even conscious by the look of it as it sort of hung limply in the air. A group of Canines leaped onto it from where it came from, only to be disintegrated by the unstable magic.

“Alright Fine! I’ll fucking kill you!” Twilight yelled from off frame as she shot into frame. Her body was covered in a purple aura and the magic opened to the creature it was surrounding when Twilight’s magic entered the sphere as if it was pushing the unstable magic aside. She decapitated the thing, but the magic didn’t die with it. It shot into the corpses around the area and made them all explode, covering the area in toxic mist.

Twilight’s feet appeared as she landed on the roof, but she fell to her knees and her hands and face came into view as she coughed and hacked and finally vomited.

“Oh, shit... That was on? Well we can count this as a Log.” Twilight’s voice came as the camera was picked up. When her face came into frame it showed that half of her face had been carved up, but it quickly healed as a small magic barrier kept it from ruining her clothes.

“Twilight Sparkle, Day 36, Log 4. P.S. never go out there without a mask even if your insides are already acid.” She said, ending with a bit of a cough as she swore at forgetting her mask.

“Her wounds healed instantaneously... and was her blood glowing?” Celestia asked.

“It does that, and that’s another perk of the mutation.” Spike said softly.

“And she does things like that everyday?” Cadence squeaked.

“No, there’s usually more according to her.” Spike started. “That was the roof of her house the camera was on.” he continued.

“Oh...” Cadence said.

“I have no idea where she learned to fight like that... And that steam rifle you called it? That technology isn’t estimated to exist for years.” Celestia said.

“There are books on the theory of it, you know Twi... She solidified that theory on black holes in three days when people have been working on it since the beginning of astrology, what’s a steam powered rifle compared to that?” Shining said.

“Please, play the next one.” Luna said.

“I’ve been experimenting with my blood lately, trying to see if anything else changed besides it having acidic properties.. Nothing worth mentioning there. I finished that spear gauntlet even though I don’t have anything to use as a spear or a use for the glove itself but it’s still worth doing. I’ve upgraded the longsword’s mechanism a bit so that the retraction and extension of the blade is much easier now because of it though. I figured out a way to kill spectres very easily though, as long as I don’t get close my magic spikes that the steam rifle shoots go right through the energy and that energy usually followed mine back to me, giving me a nice boost. Twilight Sparkle, Day 38, Log 6” The log said.

“She looks like a wild thing now...” Luna said softly.

“She acts like it too...” Cadence agreed.

“Not exactly. She’s forced to change like that. If she didn’t she’d be dead.” Celestia said flatly.

“This is really affecting you sister...” Luna said.

“Of course it is! She was technically my Daughter after her parents passed away... When I thought she was dead I was sad, but she told me not to blame myself for it... Now that she’s alive I had hope, but seeing her like this? Forced to be a feral survival machine?... It’s almost worse than death.” Celestia said.

“Trust me princess, she’s not actually like that all the time... She was just like the Twilight I know and love. She just had to show it in different ways.” Spike said.

“Don’t worry sister. She will come back to us, and she’ll be fine...” Luna said.

“How are you girls taking this?” Shining asked Twilight’s friends, who were silent the entire time.

“She’s stronger than all of us put together when she wants to be. And that Egghead won’t stop until she at least tries to fix everything... That’s just who she is.” Dash said.

“Please, jus’ play thuh last one.” Applejack said.

After the last log they all sat silently for a full five minutes before Spike broke the silence.

“The second that barrier turns blue I’m going back in there to help my best friend. Until then, we need to prepare because My commander, who was a captain of the guard, fell easily to a Spectre. We need to prepare against those things and get ready to clear the city so Twilight can come back to us.” Spike said.

“Shining, assemble your best guards. Spike, come with me and take that glove she gave you. We’re going to try and replicate it as best we can.” Celestia said. THe tow nodded and started walking.

“What about us?” Pinkie asked.

“I imagine you’ll want to join Spike in saving her, Shining will teach you.” Celestia said. Shining nodded and led them away.