Spike sighed in defeat as the rest of the Mane 6, as Pinkie had come to call the group of friends, entered the Main Reading Room of the Golden Oaks Library. "Still nothing about Twilight?"

Everypony shook their heads. "I don't get it. It's like she vanished off the face of the planet," Rainbow grumbled.

Applejack shook her head. "It's a big forest, Rainbow. Maybe she got lost?"

Rarity shot the farmer a pointed look. "For an entire month, Applejack? That seems out of place for Twilight."

That put an end to that line of thought. Even Applejack knew what she had said sounded hollow, but what else did they have to go on?

One month ago, Twilight had gone into the Everfree Forest, saying she was heading for the Castle of the Two Sisters for some alone time. She had declined all offers of company, saying she just needed to be alone for a while.

Nopony had liked it, especially Spike, but Twilight had made them all Pinkie Promise not to go after her. So, while they didn't have to like the idea, they had acquiesced in the end, forcing Twilight to promise to be back in Ponyville before the sunset.

She hadn't come back. Spike hadn't been too worried. Having grown up with Twilight, he knew better than anyone that she was prone to losing track of time. Maybe she had just forgotten?

The idea seemed to hold, but after two whole days and no sign of her, all of Ponyville had become worried. So much so that most of the town had gone looking for her. But even in groups, the Everfree Forest was dangerous.

In fact, the danger level seemed to have increased tenfold. The forest had never been one to let ponies explore it unhindered. But now the Everfree was actively attacking ponies, forcing more and more to stay away from the forest entirely.

Like it was protecting something, almost. Applejack had confessed that she could feel more and more of the area's magic being drawn toward a single source. She didn't know what it was. But it was becoming apparent day by day.

Something was growing in the Everfree Forest, and the forest didn't want anyone to find it. Some ponies had already been sent to the hospital when the forest had attacked them.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, of course, knew of what was happening, but they were as much at a loss as Twilight's friends were. Celestia was beside herself in grief, worried about what could have happened to Twilight.

All they knew was that Twilight was still alive, for none had felt the stinging heartbreak that could mean her death. But they were no closer to finding her now than they had been when this had all started.

A sudden knocking at the door got everyone's hopes up, as Fluttershy rushed to open it. But it was a false alarm, as her ears dropped. "Oh. High Rose."

Sadly, it wasn't Twilight indeed, as Rose stepped into the library, her own expression as worried as the others. "Still nothing?"

Everyone nodded. Pinkie though looked at the flower pot Rose was holding. "So did you find anything out about those strange flowers?"

Rose shook her head as she looked at the flower in question. While in all aspects it looked like a rose, something just seemed to be off about it. And that wasn't all. These same flowers had begun to pop up all over Ponyville, all in ways that ponies couldn't help but find them.

Almost like they were being drawn to ponies. No one would argue that they weren't beautiful, and many ponies had indeed taken one or more of the flower home. But something about them was still off to many.

"Nothing. Daisy and Lilly said the same thing. It's just a rose as far as we can tell. But nothing like we've ever seen," Rose said. "We can't even find out where they came from or why they're popping up all over Ponyville now."

"Ya think the Everfree acting up might have something to do with it?" Applejack asked.

Rose shrugged. "Maybe. Ponies don't know much about that place anyway. Maybe the plant came from there. But why come here? Why are they drawn to ponies so much?"

No one could answer her. They were as lost as the Flower Trio were on the subject. And if Rose, Daisey, and Lilly, didn't know what was going on with the flowers, very few others would.

Before anyone could say more though, a tremor ran through the entire library and across Ponyville. It wasn't enough to cause damage, but it was more than enough to worry about everyone.

"What was that?" Spike asked.

Applejack frowned. "Earthquake. But there ain't no fault line anywhere near here. Why the hay are we feeling one?"

No one had an answer. At that moment though, Applebloom came running up, excited about something. "Applejack! Ya gotta see this!"

AJ gave her sister a look. "See what, 'Bloom?"

But Applebloom shook her head. "Just follow me. It's in Town Square. Ya won't believe it till ya see it!" Before she ran off.

Worried now, and not a little curious, the rest of the group soon followed her.

***

By the time they had all made it to the Main Square, a fair size group of ponies had gathered, looking at something with shocked expressions. Making their way to the front, the Mane 5 and Spike soon saw why.

A garden of roses had bloomed all over the square, covering every square foot of it in fact. Vines worked their way up and around the statue in the center. The vines themselves were black with green thorns. Nothing about them screamed friendly.

"My word. Where did all of these beautiful flowers come from?" Rarity asked as she admired the bed of roses.

Mayor Mare shook her head. "We don't know. They just suddenly began to bloom all over the square. We can't get near them to find out more."

As if to prove her point. a wall of vines shot up just as Rainbow tried to fly over the bed. Nothing she could do could get past them, and they only lowered themselves when she finally gave up and backed off.

"Since when do plants do that?" The Pegasus huffed as she landed next to the girls.

"Those aren't normal plants though," Fluttershy said, as she studied the vines, who seemed to be watching them. "It's almost like." She paused, unsure of what to say next.

"Like what?" Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. "It's like they're protecting something. Like they're waiting for something to be born, and they're defending the site of that birth. Animals do the same. But I've never heard of plants doing that."

That seemed to be the case though. Even as the crowd watched, the vines began to pull back, showing the rose garden had changed. Several of the flowers had grown to a huge size and had even blossomed into full bloom.

But one stood out among all the others. Where once there had been a barren spot of ground, now an enormous flower bud stood, taller than the statue itself. It petals seemed to be even more vibrant and luscious than those around them.

Spike looked closer at that one in particular. "There's someone in there!"

Sure enough, ponies could make out a shape curled up inside the flower. It almost looked like a pony. But that couldn't be right. Could it?

Before anyone could say something though, the figure seemed to stand up, spreading their hooves. As they did, the bud began to blossom, each petal unfolding slowly, as if whoever was inside wanted to enjoy her first blossoming. Soon the figure was revealed in all her glory.

All mouths dropped in shock. "Twilight?!"

Sure enough, it was Twilight Sparkle inside. Her legs vanished down into the stem, seemingly merging with the flower itself below her cutie mark. Her tail her wrapped around her left leg, and around her waist was some kind of girdle.

But it was Twilight's body itself that was new in some way. To Spike, it looked like her human form in the way she stood. Her front legs now bent and moved in a way her arms had at Canterlot High. Her chest was flat, but they could see it was now more filled out in a way stallions, and not a few mares, found rather sexy. Around Twilight's neck was what looked like a pearl necklace.

Twilight stretched her legs, spreading her wings like she hadn't used them in a long time, the flower she was attached to adjusting itself to move as Twilight did. "Oh. This feels so good! I didn't think it would feel so good." She finally noticed everyone's shocked looks. "Oh. Hi, everypony! Miss me?"

Rarity took a tentative step forward. "Twilight, darling. Is that you?"

Twilight giggled. "Yes, Rarity. It's me."

That finally broke the dam, as her friends rushed forward to embrace, none faster than Spike. But before they reach her, a wall of vines shot up, blocking their path.

Twilight smiled, leaning her entire form down so she could touch the vines. "It's okay. They can pass. They won't hurt me."

The vines, to the shock of all watching, seemingly obeyed Twilight's command, and retracted, allowing her friends through, though the vines watched them wearily.

Applejack was the first to ask what they were all thinking. "Where the hay have ya been sugarcube? Don't ya know how worried sick about you we were?"

Twilight nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry girls. I never planned to be away from everyone this long. But I found what I was looking for while I was gone?"

"What was that?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight stroked her flower lovingly, which seemed to shiver in delight as she did. "My purpose. I was wondering what my purpose as a Princess of Equestria was to be. I found it."

"What is it? Um. If you don't mind me asking that is?" Fluttershy said meekly.

Twilight giggled. "I don't mind at all Fluttershy. In fact, I'm glad you're all here. It saves me a lot of trouble."

Spike looked at the flower with a frown. He didn't like this one bit. Something about all of this wasn't right to him. "Well, can you at least get out of the flower, Twilight? It's freaking me out."

Twilight frowned for a second, but it soon passed. "I'm fine where I am, Spike. I happen to like this spot. But first." She pulled herself up to her full height, the rose lifting her above the crowd. "My babies are starving. They haven't eaten in so long. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't feed them?"

Pinkie gasped happily. "I didn't know you had kids, Twilight?! Why didn't you say so earlier?! Where are they?! What do we feed them?!"

Twilight giggled happily. "Oh, Pinkie. You're looking at them. And we feed them," she said, her smile becoming predatory. "With your blood."

Quickly, and without warning, a mass of vines shot out of the ground, aimed squarely at everypony around Twilight. Too stunned by what she had just said, few had a chance to run.

And then the screaming started, as the vines forced their way down pony's throats and began to suck them dry. Some didn't bother going this route and stabbed themselves through a pony's midsection, the blood that flowed from the wounds, soon being consumed as well.

The Mane 6, being the closest to Twilight, didn't have a chance, as the vines targeted them from the beginning. Rainbow managed to at least get into the air and make a break for it. But she didn't get very far, as she felt Twilight's magic grab a hold of her.

Twilight's smile grew as she pulled the Pegasus to her level. "Oh, Rainbow. Did you honestly think you could escape? There's no place you could have run that I wouldn't have found you."

Rainbow fought against the magic holding her, but it was like fighting a mountain. When did Twilight get so strong? "Twilight, why are you doing this? We're your friends."

Twilight nodded. "You wouldn't understand why I'm doing this, Rainbow. You were never that smart. You're right though. You and the girls are my friends."

Rainbow relaxed, as she felt Twilight's magic loosen around her. Right before she felt a vine stab itself through her, all the way out her spine. She was alive long enough to hear Twilight's voice one last time. There was a love there that she had never heard from the egghead before.

"And friends help each other. You're all more useful now to my babies than you ever were alive and to me."

***

Twilight watched the life drain out of Rainbow's eyes. A part of her felt bad for doing that to the Pegasus. But the feeling was quickly crushed and discarded.

Looking down, she could see the rest of her friends. They were all dead now, their bodies held up by the vines down their throats or stabbed into them. All bore the same shocked and horrified look on their face. It made her giggle like a little school filly.

Who knew this would be so fun?

Around them, a fair few numbers of ponies were in the same way. But it was not all of Ponyville's residents though. A fair few had escaped or hadn't been in the crowd at all. Among them was Spike. Somehow, he had managed to escape in all of the commotion.

Twilight grinned. "No matter. In the end, they can't hide from me forever. And fear always makes the blood taste better."

Several of her vines, having fully drained the ponies they had attacked, dropped the lifeless carcasses and looked up at her, awaiting her approval.

Twilight nodded. "Find them. Let none escape. There will be no survivors." Her smile softened. "And tell Willow she can join in on the fun. I'm sure they're hungry by now."

***

Spike wasn't sure how long he had stayed hidden in Golden Oaks. His mad dash through town, trying to avoid all the vines that were after him, had left little time to think. Somehow, he'd managed to get back to the library, and now here he was.

From outside, he could still hear the screams as ponies were found, and eventually drunk dry by those things. But they were becoming less and less constant. Spike didn't want to think about what that meant.

He chocked back a sob. Why was Twilight doing this? To her friends, and all of Ponyville? What possessed her to even think about it? He didn't know, and at this point, did it really matter?

He knew he had to get a letter to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They would know what to do. They always knew what to do! But he risked being seen by those damn plants if walked by a window, and Spike was in no rush to see if his scales could be pierced.

A sudden knocking at a nearby window, caused him to jump up. But looking up, Spike sighed as he saw that it was only a mare at the window, looking as frantic as he was.

"Please, let me in," she begged. "I've been looking for any place to hide, and I don't know where else to go. They're everywhere."

As if to prove a point, a vine shot up behind the mare, but she was able to deflect it with a hoof. That was enough for Spike as he jumped up and ran for the front door. "Head for the front door. I'll let you in," he said, gesturing to where the door was.

The mare nodded and disappeared from the window. Spike waited a moment at the door, and when she knocked again at it, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Celestia. I thought I was the only one..." He stopped, staring in shock at what was behind the door.

The mare giggled, swaying her snake-like body back and forth. "Twilight was right. Ponies in this town are idiots. They fall for the mare in distress gag every time."

Spike didn't say anything, still shocked at what he was looking at.

The mare herself only consisted of her upper body. From her waist down was a snake-like body. But that wasn't what broke Spike's mind. The snake-like body connected to a monstrous creature, like nothing he had ever seen before. Four legs and a large, slavering set of jaws were all he could see, but that was enough.

Before Spike could even think to run once more, the mare spat a fireball into the library behind him, cutting off his retreat that way. She smiled. "Don't even think about it. We're still hungry, and Twilight said we could have you especially."

Spike stood there, paralyzed with fear, even as Golden Oaks Library began to burn behind him. He could only think to say one thing, as the jaws of the monster closed in around him. "Why?"

The mare smiled. "Twilight was searching for what she was meant to do as a princess. We helped her find it. It was far more than you lot ever did for her. Same with Celestia. Take comfort in that Twilight is in a better place now, as you die. Or don't. It doesn't matter to me."

That was the last thing Spike ever heard, as the jaws bit down around him, and he finally learned something that he wished he had never learned.

Dragon scales could be pieced, and it hurt like no tomorrow.

***

By the time Willow made her way to the Town Square, all of Ponyville had gone quiet. Her smile grew, for she knew what it meant, and she couldn't be happier.

Twilight herself was all but glowing from all the blood that she had fed on. She was humming some wordless tune, as Willow came up to her. Both smiled at each other, as Twilight leaned down and took Willow's hooves with her own. The two shared a passionate kiss for a time before separating.

Twilight looked around at the sea of dead bodies around her. "Did you find Spike?"

Willow nodded, as her monstrous companion licked its lips. "I found him. Tasted like chicken of all things. Didn't expect that."

Twilight nodded. A part of her hurt for doing that to her Number One Assistant. But she had long since grown out of petty concerns like that. The world was her garden. Sacrifices had to be made. She could just make out the smoke rising from Golden Oaks. "Did you have to do that, though?"

Willow shrugged. "I had to do something to keep him from running away. Plus the look on his face was just too good to pass up."

They both broke out into helpless giggles at that. Twilight couldn't really argue with that. And besides, she owed Willow so much now. She could indulge her a little.

Willow patted her monstrous companion, her smile becoming a smirk. "So, what now?"

Twilight grinned as she stroked her flower petals, sending a shudder of delight through them. "Now? Now we begin to think about the rest of Equestria. Ponyville was just the beginning. I want to spread my children across the land."

Her expression darkened as she looked at Canterlot. "And nothing will stop me."

Author's Note

Just to be clear. This is set pre Season 4 but after Equestria Girls 1. In case it wasn't clear. And yes, Twilight is now an Alura Une from the Castlevania franchise and has complete and total control over Discord's Plundervines. But Twilight is different in a big way from her inspiration.

She is in no way a lure. In fact, Twilight is the brains behind the Alura itself, not just bait to lure in a meal.

A lot of things weren't explained here, and there's a reason for that. I plan to have a prequel that shows what happened to Twilight, and her relationship with Willow.

Speaking of Willow though, here she is.

Cover art was done by DiscordTheGE.