Equestria's Corrupted Monarch

It had been 2 days since their last attempt at talking to Twilight. Fluttershy sat at a long, wooden table in one of the Canterlot Castle's many meeting rooms with four of her friends, each looking more defeated than the last. Pinkie Pies hair was deflated and flat, and her fur was pale with sadness. She rested her pouting head on the table in defeat. The sight made Fluttershy want to cry.

Next to Pinkie, Rainbow Dash was sitting deeply in her chair, her hooves crossed over her chest and a pouting look across her face making her look like a filly that was in time out.

Rarity and Applejack sat next to eachother across the table from Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow, talking to eachother.
"I just wish she could see how much help we can offer! Sure, i ain't the most booksmart mare in Equestria, but that don't mean I'm dumb!" Applejack looked annoyed, but not at Rarity. The white fashionista gave her orange friend a look of understanding and sympathy.

"Darling no one thinks you're stupid. Especially not our Twilight. She's just taking this whole thing hard. You know how she gets when the princesses put a challenge on her; she works and works until she finds a solution." Rarity patted Applejacks shoulder with her hoof, causing the farm pony to look at her, "We have always been here to help and she knows that, but maybe this feels more like her studies from back before we met her. She just needs some more time to realize we can help with more than just beating up bad guys and helping run the School of Friendship. The fact she has trusted the school to us for the time being shows that she does trust us, and doesn't think we are incapable."

Applejack smiled warmly at her friend, Rarity was actually quite smart and insightful when she wanted to be. "You're right. I'm sorry for blowing up like that."

Rarity returned the smile, "Think nothing of it dear."

Rainbow groaned from across the table rolling her eyes. "Twilight knows how awesome we are! And I dont just mean me, I mean all of us together as one! Why wouldn't she let us help? The princesses left us in charge too." The rainbow mare ended with a harumph.

The five mares heads snapped to the giant ornate door of the room as it opened. A bat pony guard bowed next to the door as their sixth friend stepped into the room. The five friends all sprung up excitedly, they hadn't seen Twilight outside of the castle library in days!

Pinkie Pie was the first to zip forward and embrace the princess in a hug, "Twilight you're finally out! Oh my gosh I haven't seen you in like..." the pink mare held up her hoof and quietly counted to five, causing Twilight to raise an eyebrow, "five days! Oh Twilight you gotta let me throw you a 'You studied for five days straight' party!"

Rainbow was the second to zip to the purple alicorn's side, she held her face uncomfortably close to Twilight's, "finally! Wanna go flying Twi? I'm sure your wings are super sore!" A cough from the table caused the pegasus to turn her head, where Rarity was giving her a stern glance. Rainbow turned back to Twilight and gave an awkward smile, "oooor, we can help you with your book stuff! Heheh, ya!" Rarity face hoofed at Rainbow's obvious un-enthusiasm.

Twilight gave each of them a level smile, moreso like a princess addressing her subjects than a friend. "Thank you girls, I do appreciate the concern and the... invitations. But I am still quite busy. I've just come to stop by to give you all a surprise! Come, follow me."

The element bearers each exchanged a confused glance, except for Pinkie who gasped excitedly and poofed her mane up back to its full glory. They got to their hooves and followed Twilight out the door of the meeting room.

Pinkie hopped excitedly beside Twilight and bombarded her with questions of where they were going and if there would be cake. Twilight kept her uncomfortably calm smile and just answered "you'll see Pinkie!"

Fluttershy felt her hooves tingle, something felt wrong.

Twilight led her friends to one of the spare bedrooms and opened the door. There was no furniture in the room, aside from In the center was a large glass box.

The alicorn princess walked into the room, her friends trailing behind feeling more and more uncomfortable by the minute.
Rainbow finally spoke what they were all thinking, "Twilight what the hay is going on? What is this box and why are you being so secretive?" The pegasus landed next to the box and gave it a tap. The glass gave a 'ting' noise and rippled slightly at her hoof touch. She sprang back a bit in surprise, feathers poofed out.

The rest of the girls stepped in towards Rainbow, wanting to come see if she was alright but not wanting to get close to the box.

"Girls girls, calm down! You're overreacting! Come on let me show you, it's really nothing to worry about."
The girls seemed a bit soothed by their purple friend's words. She sounded more like her self now. Maybe they were imagining it before?

They stepped towards the box and Twilight turned towards them. She had a large smile on her face that she always had when she was about to explain an amazing discovery she made.

"Now, this box is enchanted with illusion magic! It kind of simulates a situation you wish to see or experience! I found it in the basement store rooms, Celestia had a lot of neat artifacts in there."

Pinkie's eyes grew wide and she 'ooo'ed and 'aww'ed. Rarity looked almost as wide eyed as Pinkie, no doubt thinking about all the outfits she could envision brought to life before having to use her expensive materials to know if they would be a hit.
"Oh Twilight what a lovely gift! May we try it? Who gets to go first?"

Twilight touched her horn to the glass door and it popped open. "You can all go at once! It's got a sort of non-euclidean sense of space so you can all experience your own things without overlapping!"

The girls all winnied in wonder and excitement, exchanging excited glances before rushing towards it.
"Oh man I can't wait to see myself as the Wonderbolts captain!" Rainbow flew in without a second thought, flanked by each of her excited friends.

Fluttershy entered last, staring at the glass that surrounded her on all sides. The rippling texture was much easier to see on this side of the glass, and suddenly her hooves itched with worry again. Her body screamed at her to get out. Before she could even act on that, the door slammed shut behind her and Twilight touched her long horn to the door.
Her friends heads shot to the door as it shut and locked them in.

Rainbow flew from wall to wall, obviously not seeing the problem yet. "Cmon cmon! How's it work Twi?"

Twilight sat outside the box, giving each of her friends a very relaxed and self-assured smile. She lifted her long hoof and brushed it against the glass. "My my, I didn't realize how easy it would be to get you all in there. Your trust in me is so sweet!" She chuckled innocently. "I never realized just how good it felt to betray the ponies you love so dearly."

They each looked at her in horrified confusion as if unable to understand what she had said, before approaching the door and tapping on it. Applejack gave Twilight a disgusted grimace before turning around and bucking the door as hard as she could.

"What the hay are you talking about Twi? Betray us? Why would you do that?" The orange earth pony looked angry, she was the first one to really digest the words.

Twilight felt impressed by her mental fortitude. She took note of that mentally before speaking again. "Why? You know that's a good question. I guess the answer is as simple as: because I feel like it."

The other four ponies were starting to catch up, and Rainbow shoved her face against the glass, "heh, good one Twilight! You really got us good haha! Man I haven't been this freaked out in a while, you must have found some kinda book on pranking in that dusty old library!" Despite her words, her voice shook with uncertainty, as if trying to convince herself that this was all a joke.

Rarity pointed her horn down as Rainbow finished speaking and shot the door with a blast of bright blue magic. Her friends closed their eyes from the blinding light of it. Rarity lifted her head back up, shaking from exertion, to find not even a dent on the enchanted glass walls. She started panting, her breaths becoming loud and quick as her eyes shot around the container. "Twilight please! Let us out this isn't funny!"

The princess hummed thoughtfully. Rarity appeared to be claustrophobic. It was interesting all these new weaknesses she was noticing in the ponies she had fought beside and saved the world with. Another mental note was made with the new information.

"Well it's not suppose to be funny Rarity." She turned her head to the now sweating Dash, "it's not a joke either Rainbow. I don't want my rule to be so uninteresting and mundane as Celestia and Luna's was. Sure, they had Luna's banishment, but ponies literally forgot all about her after a couple centuries. She was nothing but an old foals tale. Unimportant and forgotten. I want to make sure that every pony remembers my name. Twilight Sparkle, the Queen of Equestria!"

Her friends still gave her a puzzled look, Pinkie cocked her head. "But what's that gotta do with locking us up? You're scaring us Twi..."

Fluttershy's skin crawled as Twilight's smile grew and took on a look of demented pleasure.

"I want my rule to be all about me. I've earned this honor a thousand times over for the service to Equestria I've brought! I deserve to do things as I see fit. It's why I was crowned ruler of Equestria after all! Even the leaders of the nation saw how influential and powerful I am. They saw what I deserved and handed it to me. So I won't let that go to waste." The alicorn slowly walked around the box, her friends continuously turning within the box to make sure their backs were never to her.
"But I know as loyal as you all are, as much as you all love me, you will betray me when you find out exactly how I want to do this. Your small minds can't comprehend what I must do, and you'll try to stop me."

The princess stopped again back in front of the glass door and she gave all five of her former friends a long look, drinking in their fear and anger. She lifted her hoof and charged her horn. "So, I've taken it upon myself to stop this before it begins." And with that, she slammed her hoof to the ground and dark red magic shot from the ground, enveloping the glass box and pulling it into the ground.

She heard her friends high pitched wails and screams, their hooves on the box trying in vein to free themselves.
Then the box was gone. The ruler of the kingdom let loose a gleeful laugh, and teleported after the box, ready to start the punishments of her closest friends who had never done a thing to hurt her.