It was one of those bright and shiny mornings. You know, the ones fanfictions of this caliber usually open a story with. Ponyville’s still rubbing some of the stardust out of its adorable little eyes and beginning its happy little day with a bright smile.
That obnoxious Ditzy Doo had somehow flown herself into a flagpole in a gentle attempt to grab a blueberry muffin at Sugar Cube Corner. Ridicule and laughter would’ve typically followed, but a few by standers were kind enough to skip the stereotypes and help her over to the breakfast line without further incident.
Twilight Sparkle had gotten up extra early that morning. She wanted to be the first to purchase a copy of ‘The Revenge of Geography’ and she’d done just that having timed her arrival and purchase with precision ludicroucy.
The ginger little unicorn skipped over the cobblestone road with the cheekiest grin over her face. She could already taste the sweet tart of a strawberry milkshake rolling through a silly straw and crashing into her taste buds, that is, if Spike hadn’t beaten her to it. She was savoring it for a delightful afternoon of reading, and somehow she feared the worst.
Twilight was known for leaving dated and detailed notes on various items within the fridge alphabetized by particular interest, not limited to said fridge of course, but they were also known to fall prey to a sabotaged checklist or a convenient ‘rearranging’ of the refrigerator’s contents. That little dragon had spent many years in Twilight’s service and had a knack for picking out the various lapses of memory in Twilight’s overzealous organizational skills.
Just when she’d begun to play out each and every possible factor, she caught her good friend Applejack scurrying about the streets as if her mane had been set on fire. The poor thing made Ditzy Doo actually look ordinary.
Twilight trotted over to investigate, “Good morning, Applejack! Uhm, is something the matter?”
She had undoubtedly spilled her apples, “Oh, uh, mornin’ Twilight. A-Ah’m sorry, but have ya’ seen Apple bloom?”
The unicorn jerked her neck, “Apple bloom? She isn’t at home? It’s still pretty early in the morning for her usual antics.”
“N-No! Ah’ve looked everywhere! Ah checked with Scootaloo’s, heck, even plum woke up Rarity just to ask Sweetiebelle if she knew anythin’, but neither of ‘em rascals’ve seen her,” she was desperate, “Ah just dun’ know what Ah’m gonna’ do if Ah don’t find her.”
Twilight raised a brow, “That does sound awfully strange, well, I suppose more than usual anyway. Are you sure that Apple bloom didn’t just get up extra early today with some sort of crazy idea on how to get her-?”
Applejack nearly threw off her duster, “No, Twilight! She may be a little knucklehead, but she ain’t one to worry her folks like this. B-Besides…”
Twilight leaned in, “Besides… what, Applejack?”
She’d never seen the apple farmer so distraught, so at a loss for words. Besides Apple bloom’s predictable venture, there was clearly something Applejack just wasn’t telling her, “Ah just don’t know, Twilight, Ah-”
“Not another word, Applejack,” Twilight corrected the pony’s hat with a flick of magic, “Let’s hurry over to Sweet Apple Acres and get to the bottom of this. You can tell me the rest there.” If there was any pony that could get to the bottom of anything, it was Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack would’ve become twice the egghead apprentice if it meant getting her little sister back. She nodded with a, “Thank ya’, Twilight.”
There wasn’t a second to spare and the two galloped down the boulevard and onto more crisp pastures.
There was an eerie sensation in the air blowing over the apple orchards, as if the wind itself was made of metal. It was enough to even put Granny Smith off of her rocker. Not a single pony could quite put their hoof on the matter, but what they did know was that the farm was far from welcoming that morning.
Applejack charged in through the barnyard doors, “Is she back yet, Granny?”
To which the poor old horse shook her head. She’d normally still be in bed at this time, collecting her well-deserved retirement, but she’d spent the wee hours of the morning searching for her beloved granddaughter.
“I-I’m sure she’s just experimenting with some new idea of hers,” Twilight hopelessly reassured, “You’ll see, she’ll be back soon enough.”
The suggestion barely registered, “What about Big Mac? Is he feelin’ any better, Granny?”
“No… He just keeps on mumblin’ in his sleep. Looks like he’s got a bit of a fever to boot.” The old coot led them through the barn and into the house where Big Macintosh had thrown himself onto what was once an entire couch.
Twilight covered her mouth, “He looks awful! What happened to him?”
The world’s biggest stallion looked as if he’d enjoyed a second helping of Pneumonia. His flashy red coat had soured like a rotten tomato and his eyes were beyond bloodshot. They had to place a bucket by his side just in case he decided to return anymore apples.
His throat was too sore to speak coherently, which was a rare even in itself, but he kept mumbling something about a light and some weird noises that had haunted him all night long.
“A light? What do you mean, Big Mac?” Twilight made her best efforts at psychiatry, but his words were slurred and hardly made any sense.
“He’s been like that since Ah left this mornin’, Twilight,” Applejack felt like her world was crumbling around her, “Ah mean, he was just fine yesterday. It doesn’t make any ga’dumb sense! ‘Nd then of course there’s Apple bloom,” she turned away, “Ah don’t know what Ah’d do if somethin’ ever happened to her…”
Twilight tried her best to connect the dots, “Perhaps Apple bloom accidently served Big Mac some baked ‘bads’ for breakfast, got scared, and ran away…?”
Big Mac waved a hoof in a poor attempt to register his disagreement. He tried to mutter something, but was just too dazed and confused to get the word out.
“Apple bloom might be a handful, but she’d know better, and she wouldn’t have run off scared like that,” protested Applejack, “She’d never abandon her folks!”
“That’s right! Somethin’s happened to our littlest apple and we’s aimin’ to get her back!” Granny Smith agreed with a stomp of her hoof.
“Well, I suppose you’re both right,” Twilight was still somewhat unconvinced, “But what could’ve happened to her? Has she been-?”
“She’s been kidnapped!” Applejack snapped, “Plucked right out of our lil’ bushel!”
“B-By who? And why?” begged Twilight, “Who would want to kidnap your little sister?”
“Ah duno’! But Ah’m gonna’ hunt ‘em down and rescue Apple bloom if it’s the last thing Ah do!” Applejack dashed to the front door, “Ah’m headin’ out again, Granny! And Twilight, would ya’ let us know if you hear or see anythin’? Please?”
The unicorn nodded, “Of course, AJ. You have my word. In fact, I’m going to prepare an investigation of my own. I’m sure she couldn’t have gotten very far, but you’ll be the first to know if I find her.”
Applejack nodded with a reluctant smile before darting off through the fields once more.
Twilight turned to Granny Smith, “Don’t worry, Ma’m, we’ll find your-” but a loud cry ruined the hopeful moment.
Twilight assisted the elderly farm pony through the fields until a bewildered Applejack came into appeared behind the trees. She was still having a bit of trouble regaining her hooves.
“Heavens to Betsy!”
“W-What happened here…?” Twilight wasn’t sure where to start, the hundreds of downed apple trees that had littered the field, or how they’d all been standing no more than ten minutes ago.
“W-Who would do somethin’ like this to our farm…? Just what the hay is goin’ on ‘round here!?” Applejack was as confused as a blind lesbian in a fish market. Hundreds, if not thousands of apple trees had been bulldozered to the ground. Apples and bark alike had been crunched into a pulpy mess that stretched for almost a mile.
There was no warning, no threats, not even a ransom note, just a wide open space of downed orchard. Twilight was not only dumbfounded by how quickly and efficiently the farm had fallen, but by the lack of any real evidence as to who’d done it. There wasn’t a single hoof print nor hint of anypony’s malcontent for the Apple family.
Ultimately, Twilight concluded that a magical spell would’ve been the only logical conclusion, but not just any spell. This couldn’t have been done by your average run of the mill unicorn either. This would’ve required not just any old supernatural prowess, but the knowledge behind such sorcery to perform such a feat. Besides herself and her highness, she couldn’t think of a single unicorn that could’ve done such a terrible thing. And even then, what would they have to gain from attacking Applejack’s farm?
“Ooh garsh, this’ll take a chunk out of our fall sales fer’ sure.” Granny Smith wasn’t sure how much more bad news her heart could handle.
Applejack was worse off, but she had to be there for her grandma, “I-It’ll be alright, Granny. We’ll think of somethin’ for the farm. Right now, we’ve gotta’ find Apple bloom.” It was the best distraction she could think of, trading one sore in the pit of her stomach for another.
“She’s right, Granny Smith,” Twilight reassured, “We’ll deal with whoever’s responsible for this later. Apple bloom’s safety is our first priority.”
It was around that time that a blissfully ignorant little Pegasus happened to be flying over, dripping blueberry muffin crumbs wherever she bumbled.
Ditzy noticed the embarrassing excuse for a farm Sweet Apple Acres had been reduced to, and paused, “Oh wow! What a neat circle thingy! That must’ve taken Applejack weeks to come up with!”
Twilight cautiously walked down the road returning to Ponyville. She’d promised Applejack that she’d report to her on the first hint of Apple bloom, but there was more to this mystery than simply a lost filly as horrible as that sounded.
None of it really added up. Apple bloom suddenly disappearing, Big Macintosh falling gravely ill and a destroyed farm. It was obvious that somepony had it out for the Apples, but Twilight just couldn’t figure out who might’ve had so much contempt for them. Let alone who had the power to do such awful things in such an unnatural way.
“Perhaps it was those Flim Flam brothers,” she wagered, “I suppose it would make sense given their past feud with Sweet Apple Acres, but then again this is a bit overboard. This goes far beyond business. Even beyond personal.” She just didn’t see enough of a motivation for kidnapping, poisoning, and vandalism. They were unicorns however, which if true would sort of explain the downed trees.
Twilight sighed and shook her head. The piece simply didn’t fit into the puzzle. There was just no way they could’ve have been the perpetrators. Sure, they were clever and had a knack for a catchy tune, but they were far from organized and would’ve left something behind. Not to mention that there would’ve been some purpose behind their actions. If they were going to go through all of that trouble to scare the Apple family then they would’ve at least left a ransom or a demand to back up their threats.
“Maybe it was that stuck up magician, Trixie? No, no, no. That makes even less sense,” Twilight was running out of marbles and she wasn’t any closer to a single lead.
Perhaps she could check the town’s records on the history of Sweet Apple Acres she thought. Maybe there’d been some issue behind the farm’s deed, or perhaps a bitter relative that didn’t get his or her fair share of a will?
Another wild possibility was just about to spring about when Rainbow Dash nearly took her head clean off, “Twilight! Twilight! You gotta’ help me!”
The bedazzled unicorn managed to regain her footing, “Oh, hey there, Rainbow Dash. Uh, what’s up?”
“Are you kidding me? Don’t you see it!?” she pointed into the widest splash of blue in the sky.
Twilight squinted, but no matter how hard she tried there just wasn’t anything there, “What am I looking at now? That poufy cloud up there?”
“No! That little star! It’s right there!”
“A star?” Twilight swallowed down a giggle, “I think I would know if there was a star shining in the middle of the day, Rainbow Dash.”
Dash quivered and snatched the unicorn up by what would’ve been a collar, “Quit joking around, Twilight. This isn’t funny. I know you can see it! It’s been following me around since last night and it won’t leave me alone!”
Twilight quickly composed herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Dash so frightened.
“J-Just look! It’s right there! No matter how far I go, no matter how fast I fly, it keeps up with me! Please! You’ve gotta’ hide me!”
Twilight desperately wanted to believe, or even understand what her friend was babbling about, but she couldn’t see a single thing. Dash’s cry for help may as well have been just another clever prank for all she knew.
Twilight tried to stir up the words to calm the Pegasus down, but before she could, Dash had given up on her.
“Oh, forget it!” and she took off under a bizarre flight itinerary, dodging and cornering in every radical way possible.
Twilight stared blankly at the wavy zigzag of rainbows darting across the sky. It was too late for regrets, too late for apologies, “Lights…? Big Macintosh said something about lights too,” she sighed, “Today just keeps getting stranger and stranger…”
If she thought she was lost before, she may as well have been a deer caught in the headlights by now.
“Goodnight, Spike.” Twilight gave him a small peck on the forehead. He may have had a few sips of that Strawberry milkshake she’d been fantasizing about, but it was hard to stay mad at the little guy.
“Night, Twilight,” Spike smiled and quickly drifted off into his little doggie basket.
Twilight’s night had only just begun and she had the world on her mind, “It’s been so quiet today. Not a single peep out of anyone after the incident with Rainbow Dash. I would’ve expected Pinkie Pie to have gotten herself involved somehow,” she thought to herself, “And not a single word from Applejack. Oh, I hope Apple bloom is okay...”
She slinked to her desk and sat down. She’d gathered a mess of tomes, documents and notes littered over her study, much of which had to do with the history of Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight wasn’t convinced that any of it was a very good place to start, or that she could get a lead out of any of it per se, but she didn’t exactly have a lot to go on. She yawned, and turned the page.
She’d spent the endless night reading up the most trivial and utterly useless tidbits on the apple orchard and by now knew just about every fun fact there was on apples.
Frustration was hardly the word, and she certainly wasn’t any closer to solving whatever mystery that was looming over Applejack’s farm. The farm’s heritage was exasperatingly spotless. She supposed it made sense though, given Ponyville wouldn’t even exist without that farm. They would’ve only stood to have made friends over the generations. Besides, who would really want to harm the Apples in the first place anyway? Let alone little old Apple bloom.
“Oh, Celestia, I hope she’s okay. I hope I’m just doing all of this in vain, and-Oh, hello there, Owlowiscious.”
Her thoughtful little study partner had perched himself just outside her window. The owl silently watched her every move without ever once moving or even blinking.
Twilight raised a brow, “Uhm, it’s a bit cold out tonight, Owlowiscious. Would you like to come in?”
He didn’t even mention a ‘who’. He simply stared at Twilight as if he were some sort of flying camera.
Twilight reeled away from her books, “C-Cut it out, Owlowiscious. You’re starting to creep me out.”
He was like a statue, just waiting for Twilight to blink.
“Oooh-kay. Uhm, I think that’s enough reading for one night,” she was afraid to take her eyes off of the bird, “I-It’s kind of late, so I think it’s time we went to sleep. Right, Owlowiscious?”
He didn’t budge an inch as Twilight slowly snuck away to the safety of her bed. She couldn’t quite put her hoof on what made Owlowiscious so creepy that night. He’d always been a great lab partner, but there was just something different about him tonight, something about those eyes. It sent shivers up her spine.
Twilight waited until she was safely tucked away before she turned off her lamp. It was times like this that she really missed her night light.
She couldn’t describe the fear. It was like an unrelenting paranoia that wouldn’t allow her the peace to turn away from Owlowiscious. The two just stared at each for what seemed like hours. Twilight couldn’t even shut her tired eyes lest she miss something. The fear grew and grew until she was nearly trembling underneath her covers. He’d simply remained at the window, starring straight through her soul. He hadn’t made a move since he’d appeared, not even a single peep or the blink of an eye; and then those eyes grew.
A set of black almonds stretched around his little head and before the shaking Twilight knew it, she wasn’t even looking at Owlowiscious anymore. It wasn’t even an owl anymore, but a lanky and slender silhouette caught in a blinding light that filled her bedroom. It was as if the sun was sitting right outside of her window.
“W-What’s going on!?” Twilight would’ve said, if her mouth could move. Not only was she quite literally speechless but her entire body had been completely disabled. No matter how hard she tried to kick her hooves or wriggle away, they just wouldn’t budge.
She tried to call out to Spike, but the words still wouldn’t come. Conveniently, he was missing the entire affair.
A thousand screams rattled about inside of her caged lungs as they entered her room. Twilight could’ve locked a thousand doors with a thousand padlocks, and not a single one would’ve stopped them.
Upright slender white figures carrying bulbous round heads passed straight through the walls as if they weren’t even there. They had no definition, no discerning features. All that they brought with them were their eyes. Those eyes pierced her heart and filled it with terror. They were enormous black voids and they’d all caught Twilight in their web.
Three of the beings entered the room and scrambled for Twilight’s bed, followed by what was once Owlowiscious. Owlowiscious had become the tallest of them of crept to Twilight’s bedside.
Twilight didn’t want to look into the thing’s enormous almond eyes, but it didn’t exactly give her much of a chance to turn away, or even close them shut for that matter. It looked right through her soul with a cold expressionless gaze as if to analyze her. It reached in and plucked out each and every vulnerable fault and weakness without restraint and read her like a book.
Her body was completely paralyzed, but she could feel her sheets and blankets being pulled off of her. Her only safeguard had been torn away from her hooves. The fear was overwhelming; enough to drive any pony utterly mad. She wanted to cry out for help, but her throat was choked and the best she could muster was a quiver of her lips.
Twilight knew the other three were still nearby. She could feel them jittering about at the foot of the bed, tinkering and preparing whatever devious intentions they’d brought with them. She wanted to catch a glimpse of what they were doing, but the corners of her eyes couldn’t have stretched wide enough. All her peripherals could catch were the looming set of black holes starring into hers.
The terror was downright unimaginable, inescapable, she felt as if her heart was about to burst through her ribcage at any moment.
Spike was still absent. His slumber hadn’t noticed a thing and these invaders seemed intent to keep it that way.
Twilight was on her own, and there was seemingly nothing she could do to stop them, but perhaps a spark of magic could scare them off.
She dragged out all the magic she could muster and charged a spell. At least a barrier would keep her protected for now, but before she could work her magic, a gentle touch extinguished the fire at the tip of her horn.
Its face hadn’t gotten any more expressive, but somehow the simple cold touch of its gangly finger had a profound affect. She managed to calm her nerves a bit, and an electronic voice shouted into her mind, “Do not be afraid, little one. We will not harm you.”
Somehow, someway, Twilight found a hint of relief in that pounding heart of hers. An ounce of reassurance that was short lived unfortunately.
A ripple of goose bumps blanketed down her body as she was swept away literally through the wall of her room. She was clearly moving, but it was as if she’d never gotten up.
Within a soft moment, the welcoming comfort of her bed beneath her stiffened to that of a marbled plastic. The blinding light that had once filled her room was now painted over the walls, and the brilliant sun sitting just outside of her window now sat directly overhead like a dentist’s lamplight.
She tried to remember when everything had changed so drastically, but it was as if there’d been a gap in memory, and yet she hadn’t been able to close her eyes even once.
Another grey being entered Twilight’s constrained vision and gazed down at her. Although she couldn’t move a muscle, he seemed to already understand her fright.
The voices kept popping into her head without warning. Their words alone were almost more jarring than the cold table they’d left her on, “Remain calm, little one,” as if she even could, “Do not be scared.” Twilight still had no idea what was going on, nor did she poses the faculties to even ask.
Apparently her tour guide caught a hint of such sentiment, and waved his palm over her head.
Twilight let out a gasp, “W-What’s happening!? What are you!?” She was still paralyzed from the neck down, but at least she could voice her grievances.
Her captors didn’t share her concern, nor gave her any reasonable reply. They didn’t even acknowledge her complaints and resumed their work. An operation of which she hadn’t the slightest clue of, “What is that thing? What is he holding?!”
A smaller being brought over what looked like a medical case held up by a pole. It seemed to travel with him over to the table where Twilight laid. He opened it and pulled out what looked like a roll of tin foil.
The tour guide shot his voice into her mind once more, “Do not worry. We are going to run some tests and collect samples from you. You will not be harmed.”
“Some tests?! For what?”
Whoever this being was, at least he was trying to calm her. His bed side manner could’ve been better however, because what happened next threw Twilight into a scream.
The physician dangled an end of the rolled up tin foil over Twilight’s stomach and unrolled across her skin, taking her skin with it. Her belly literally unzipped itself, exposing a host of intestines, organs, and the fastest beating heart they’d ever seen.
As gruesome as it seemed, there wasn’t even the slightest hint of blood. Her body behaved itself quite nicely, presenting the best example of a living functioning equine digestive system ever witnessed by their kind.
They could see her lungs deflating and wrinkling under her shouts and screams to stop. It hadn’t actually dawned on her that she wasn’t feeling any pain however. One could presume there was probably too much shock scurrying around in that little head of hers to have noticed, but one could hardly blame her either.
“Stop crying. This will only take a few minutes,” the physician complained, to which the tour guide shot a glare. He took the hint and began his measurements.
Twilight cried and screamed for them to stop. For all she knew, they were going to dissect her like a class specimen, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.
Not even her magic could save her. Every time she even hinted at the use of a spell, her tour guide simply placed a finger over the tip of her horn and buried the spell as if he were putting out a candle.
“Please! Please stop!! I beg you! Please stop!” she sobbed, over and over again. She reached out for her spell book one last time. She didn’t care what she charged as long it shoved them both away.
Before she could pull the trigger, the room bathed in a white light, and for once a familiar face entered the picture, “Do not be afraid, Twilight Sparkle. We will not harm you.”
Twilight put away her pink pistol and glanced over to what could’ve only been Princess herself, “P-Princess Celestia..?”
The Alicorn was clad in her traditional golden armor and crown. Twilight would’ve been safe to assume it was her, if not for her cold unchanging expression, “Remain calm, Twilight, my dear. You are safe here.” Her mouth didn’t move. It didn’t even quiver, and she spoke in the same way Twilight’s captors did, injecting words straight into her mind.
It was as if for every ounce of comfort Twilight got, there was an entire pound of suspicion that came with it. Yet it couldn’t have been anyone else but her beloved Princess standing right there by her side, her sparkling chromatic mane flowing even without the single hint of a breeze. Celestia tenderly brushed her muzzle against Twilight’s, and then placed an armored hoof over her cheek to distract her from the horrible calculations occurring within her abdomen. “Do not be afraid, sweet child. Your Princess is here for you. This will only take a moment and you will not be harmed.”
Twilight was too distraught and emotional to be picky, “P-Princess, please save me. Get me out of here, I’m scared!”
The Princess wiped the tears from the poor thing’s eyes, “It will only last for a bit longer, my child,” the Alicorn then turned her attention to the main attendant and gave him a blank stare as if she were relaying a thought.
The tour guide apparently received the order, because he immediately took up a long needle within his hand and placed it at the entrance of Twilight’s nose. There was clearly some sort of marble like object at the end of it that Twilight wanted nothing to do with. He wrapped his other hand around her skull and held her firmly, “Be still, little one,” and gently inserted the rod into her nasal cavity.
Twilight winced and gasped. They told her it wouldn’t hurt, but she still felt the tears and what was probably a piece of bone cracking within her nostrils. She groaned as another hopeless tear ran down her cheek. She felt a metallic click practically behind her eye sockets, and without hesitation the needle was removed, minus the marble however.
“It is almost over, little one.” the tour guide reminded, putting the rod away.
Twilight was tired of screaming, and was little more than a crumpled ball of wet tissue paper. She turned again to the only glimmer of hope she had in the room, “Please, Princess... I beg of you, please save me. I-I don’t like it here,” but the alicorn just stared back vacantly, completely unresponsive to her loyal subject.
Twilight dared to look down at her abdomen, where she fully expected to see her entrails strung out over a rack.
The physician pulled out his last instrument from the pony’s gut and placed it into his medical cabinet. He brought back the sliver of tin foil, stretching it out over the perfectly cut wound and rolled it up again, zipping up her torso in the process. The operation was as miraculous as it was nonsensical, like something out of a cartoon.
Twilight hadn’t felt very much past the sensation of zipping up a raincoat. It might not have hurt at all, but it didn’t bring her any more comfort to have seen her own insides, to have seen fear beating itself out of her own heart. She closed her eyes as tight as she could and turned away. She didn’t want to know what they had in store for her next.
The tour guide returned with what looked like a simple napkin and cleared away the tears and a small bubble of blood oozing out of her nose. He shot another thought her way, “Our tests are almost complete. Please open your eyes,” he requested coldly.
She groaned and whimpered, following his directions in the same way a beaten victim may have done at the end of their line. She focused in on the floating ball of light overhead, hoping they’d keep their promises.
“You are doing a wonderful job, Twilight Sparkle.” The Princess threw in her two cents. Such words may have otherwise been of great relief, but her tone was dismissive at best.
A sharp pain crept up the pony’s spine, shaking her out of her dismal obedience. Another physician had just inserted a separate needle into her most private of regions. She let out another scream and bawled her eyes out, but the tour guide only responded in frustration having just wiped away her blubbering tears.
“He is only collecting egg samples from you, little one,” he casually remarked, “We are almost done, but you must keep your eyes open.”
“No! I don’t want to! Just get that thing out of me and leave me alone!” she cried out.
“You are not making this very easy for us, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Celestia said, “Be a good little pony and stay still. There is only one more procedure.”
“No!” Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs. She just wanted to go home, but their game of operation wouldn’t allow it. The physician acted as if he hadn’t even noticed Twilight’s cries for help, and removed the needle from between her legs, dousing it into a small plastic bubble by his side.
The tour guide had had enough. He faced the physician as if to give him a request, and then turned his attention back to the sobbing little unicorn. He stared into her eyes and passed his hand gently around her head, which went completely still in seconds. She could move her mouth and scream all she wanted, but her head and neck belonged to him.
“I am going to insert a device behind your eye ball. Please remain calm.”
“W-What?!”
He grabbed another device from his bag of goodies, and brought over what looked like a laser pointer connected to a long cable. He spread out her eye lid and aimed the device directly over her pupil.
Twilight begged and pleaded, but he had had enough of her sobbing apparently. Horrified, she stared into the small red light and felt her vision blur. Her head jerked with a pop, and suddenly she was a lot closed to the device than before, as if she’d just been lifted off of the table. She shrieked upon realizing what he’d just done to her. The direction of her eyesight was now completely under his control.
“Breathe deeply,” the tour guide directed. His hand was still and he made sure to take care of the poor unicorn’s eye that was left hovering outside of its eye socket. All she could see was that wobbly red light and a mild silhouette of a hand.
The device squirted a clear liquid over the eye to keep it clean and lubricated, to which she gave another piercing scream. The sting was unimaginable and yet she had no eyelids to protect herself with. All she could do was cry and scream for them to stop.
She saw the movement of a shadow working behind that of the tour guides’, apparently arriving to assist in the procedure. No words were exchanged of course, and before she knew it her vision flagged as if she was suddenly falling out of the sky. It was enough to make her throw up all at once.
Her abductors however, for all of their kind words and suggestions didn’t seem to honestly care for her wellbeing very much or they wouldn’t have casually left her dangling eyeball sit across her face.
What she was left with was the ultimate humiliation, the final spit in the face. No one should ever be left to see what their own eyeball looks like outside of their face. It was like starring into infinity, like being in a small elevator walled with mirrors. Not even the agonizing contrivance clamped around her connecting artery could distract her from such a horrible sight.
The last thing she remembered was emptying her dinner all over the table before everything went black.
Twilight’s body jolted violently and she awoke to the taste of dirt, cobblestone and rotten hayseed. Her eyes were groggy, and before she could confide in her pillow of the nightmare, she realized that she was lying at the doorstep of her tree house. Not only was she outside, but she was lying in the street in the middle of the day.
She jerked backwards onto her rump and placed a hoof over her face. Thankfully, she still had both of her eyes and her stomach was on the inside of her body. She paused and took a deep breath. “One thing at a time, Twilight. Keep it together,” she shook her head. Far too much time had gone missing, and even if it was just some awful nightmare – Why wasn’t she still in her bed?
She shuttered at the implications. What in the world had she just stumbled out of? Twilight didn’t want to believe it was anything more than a dream, and then a string of lingering pain hit her once again. Her abdomen felt as if it had been turned inside out. No amount of pressure from her haunches could soften the blow.
Twilight felt a bubble of liquid creeping over her lips, and the taste was unmistakable. She wiped the streak of blood dripping from her nose with a hoof, and just when she attempted eye contact with the fluid, a dagger tore into her eye.
She cried out and nearly smeared the blood all over her eyelid in the process. Just moving her eye at all came with the same biting pain she’d apparently come to know all too well. It was just like in her dream, if she could even believe her theory any longer.
“N-No!” Her breath quickened. Those horrible grey things had definitely left something behind her eye, and she felt every scrape of its movement against her sclera. It was just too horrible to be true, but the pain was real. Occam’s razor had utterly betrayed her.
Twilight hopelessly whimpered as another tear streaked down her pruned cheek. It was just too overwhelming, too horrific. Who would even believe her? And what if those things ever came back for her again? She dreaded the thought more than anything else and she knew that no matter what she did, there was nothing she could do to stop them from ever coming back.
No amount of barricades or magical weaponry could save her now. She gazed up at her wooden door. She just wanted to go inside and crawl into the deepest corner she could fine, but before she could reach the handle, “Twilight! You’re back!”
Twilight turned to the call, fearing the worst by default. Thankfully, it was only Spike.
The little dragon scampered over followed by a squad of guards and the royal Princess herself, “Twilight! Oh man, I was so worried about you! I thought you’d disappeared just like Apple bloom!” he nearly tackled her to the ground with a teary eyed hug.
“Spike…” she was still gripped by shock, but seeing Spike again was just enough to make her feel better, at least for the moment. If she was going to barricade herself away in her library, then there was nobody else she’d want helping her nail the door shut, “Oh, Spike… You have no idea how happy I am to see you!”
Princess Celestia approached the two, “Twilight! What happened to you? We were all worried sick, my dear.”
Twilight turned to her Princess with the worst of suspicions, “Get behind me, Spike.”
“W-What? Why?”
The unicorn stood up, grasping at her eye once more as she defied royalty, “I know all about your experiments, Princess Celestia!”
The guards were taken aback by the response, and whispered amongst themselves.
“Experiments…? Whatever do you mean, Twilight?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about! You were there with those… those grey things with those… those horrible eyes! You stood there and watched as they-!”
“E-Excuse me, Twilight Sparkle, but I honestly haven’t the slightest idea of what you’re talking about.” Celestia held back a confused giggle. She placed a hoof over the unicorn’s shoulder, “Please, tell me what’s wrong, my dear.”
“Get away from me!” Twilight tossed aside her security and backed away, “You've had my loyalty and trust all of this time, but you’re a fraud! They strapped me to a table and opened me up while you just stood there and lied to me, telling me I wouldn’t be harmed and that I’d be-Gah!” she could barely mask the pain stabbing its way behind her eyeball, “You just stood there and watched! I know that you’re working with them. Abducting ponies and bending them to your will. You’re probably behind Apple bloom’s disappearance too!”
“Twilight, calm down!” Spike begged behind the unicorn, but was ultimately ignored.
“Twilight, please! You’re speaking in riddles,” Celestia honestly didn’t know what to make of such accusations, “Just tell me what happened to you.”
“You know very well what happened to me!” Twilight had grown sick of her lies, “And I’m going to make sure you never harm anypony ever again!” She readied the strongest spell she could think of. “Twilight, stop!” cried Spike, but she’d already pulled the trigger and an enormous pink laser sealed her fate.
“You think she’ll be okay? It’s been a couple of weeks already and she still looks horrible.”
Two royal guards strolled through the halls of a dreary Canterlot spire.
“The Princess’ll be fine. She only had a couple of scrapes and bruises.”
“No, I mean… she looked really upset. I’ve never seen the Princess look so depressed before. Gosh, I really wanna’ do something special for her. You think maybe she’d feel any better if I brought her some flowers or something?”
The veteran sighed, “I doubt it’d make any difference, kid. Just stick to your post.”
It really was pointless. No amount of flowers, cakes or even bananas could mend that big broken heart. Being of royal descent, she knew that inevitably the day would come when she’d have to say goodbye to her beloved student, but Princess Celestia never thought the day would come so soon.
“Spike, you have to believe me! I know what I saw! I know what I felt! The Princess has been lying to us all this time. She’s pure evil!” Twilight reached her hoof through the bars of her cold cell, but the little dragon was weary of her touch. One couldn’t really blame him however. She looked like a psychopath with the streak of blood flowing down her face.
“Twilight…” he couldn’t bare to see her in such a condition.
The pain from the break was excruciating. They took great care to be as careless and as vengeful as possible. The warden as his guards had strapped down Twilight while she kicked and screamed for help, and snapped off her magical horn with a pair of bull-horn cutters. The punishment hadn’t even satisfied them, but protocol demanded that any and all rogue unicorns have their magic extinguished permanently.
With an open nerve bleeding out of her skull, she had no idea how she was even able to process a thought, let alone speak. All she could think about was Spike’s wellbeing, “Spike, please! You can’t trust her! She’s evil! She’s kidnapping ponies everywhere and having these… these tall grey things do all sorts of horrible experiments to them! Y-You have to believe me!”
Spike adored Twilight Sparkle. She was more than just a supervisor or a librarian, she was his very best friend, but he just wasn’t sure if he could follow in her Coup, “B-But, why would the Princess do something like that to you? Or anypony?”
“I-I don’t know! They said they were just running tests, but they were terrible! They opened up my stomach and stuck needles inside me! They even took out my eye!”
It was like she’d lost her marbles completely. Nothing she said made any sense. Twilight was easily the most obsessive compulsive pony he knew, but she’d never said anything this ridiculous, “But… Gee, you look okay to me, I guess. I-I want to believe you, but…”
“You said it yourself, Spike. I was missing all night and all morning! I’m telling you that they took me somewhere and did the most awful things to me. I couldn’t even move! They had me strapped to some kind of weird table and even though they kept telling me they wouldn’t hurt me, they did! And the Princess, she-!”
Spike hated himself for doubting her words. He felt like he was betraying her, “Twilight, I-I’m sorry, but…”
A royal guard strolled down the musky prison hallway, “Sorry, kid, but visiting hours are over. Time to go home,” the guard patted him away from the cell.
Spike didn’t want to leave her side, but his resolve was too weak and his emotions were too muddled to fight back.
Twilight reached out her hoof to him as far as she could. The blood on her face had begun to seep into her tears, “Spike! Please…!”
The guard glared back at her, “You should be ashamed of yourself. The gallows are too good for the likes of you, traitor!”
Spike gave his best friend one last look before the guard dragged him away.
Twilight could swear she caught the twinkle of a tear in his eye, but the iron door slammed before she could say goodbye.
Her lonely hoof sank back into her cell and she slumped against the wall. Her face was covered in a wash of crimson tears. She whimpered and cried softly to herself in her lonely cage. There was nothing left for her here, nothing left but a quick end and she knew it. The execution didn’t even bother her anymore however, because while the tormentors may have stripped her of her dignity, at least they’d had the decency to leave her heart intact.
Twilight easily submitted to the rope. She was battered, broken, and wasn’t even a unicorn anymore. No one would believe her story anyway. Not even her faithful assistant Spike believed her. Whatever devious conspiracy was taking place behind the curtain would go another day unnoticed.
The Princess hadn’t even bothered to show up for the performance, which only confirmed her suspicions. Twilight had attempted to expose the fraud for what she really was, a monster that preyed on the fears of unsuspecting ponies. It was only natural to find herself being swept under the rug. All she had to look forward to now was the trap door.
Little did she know that the Princess had been watching all along. She sat at her window sill at Canterlot’s tallest spire overlooking the market’s stage. She’d taken quite the blow from Twilight’s blast, and definitely needed time to heal, but none of it compared to the aching pain in her heart. Twilight's spell had nearly burned off an entire wing among other things, but the Princess would've gladly given both for her faithful little student.
She didn’t want to sign the death sentence, but the zealous court had demanded justice and an example needed to be set. The law was the law, and her loyal high priests and senators would not stop until they’d had their retribution. It was the heaviest quill she’d ever wielded, and she signed the decree in her own tears and shame.
The Princess knew her place whether she liked it or not, but she also knew that her favorite student was taking her final breaths.
The door to her chamber creaked opened and a priest entered, “Good evening, your highness. I know you haven’t been feeling very well lately so I brought you your favorite delight! A chocolate covered banana split sundae!”
Celestia ignored the priest.
“Oh, what’s the matter, my Princess? Another threat has been resolved and your throne is safe once again! Come now, have a bite to eat, my dear,” the whelp scurried over and presented the desert to his highness, “Go on, it’ll make you feel better!”
She took the plate and threw it out of the window, “The only thing that could make me feel any better… would be to stand in that unicorn’s place.”
A small crowd had gathered for the show. None of them really understood the fine details of Twilight’s treason. All they knew was the clean and cut story that she’d supposedly attempted to assassinate the Princess. They didn’t know why, they just knew that she did.
Spike did what he could to comfort Twilight’s hysterical parents, but there was no end to their grief. They shouted for her release, claiming that she’d been framed. There was no way such a sweet little unicorn like Twilight Sparkle would’ve ever harmed the Princess, or anyone for that matter.
Fortunately for them, Spike would’ve had himself hung before he’d ever tell them the truth.
They hadn’t even given Twilight the courtesy to wipe the blood and tears from her face. The executioner tied up Twilight’s hooves and made sure that the noose around her neck was tight. He called her a traitor, and shoved her over the trap door.
Her parents begged for guards to spare her, to take one of them instead, but their loyalty to the Princess superseded any mercy. They didn’t even allow Twilight a final speech before the executioner reached for the lever.
“Wait, please!” Spike cried out, “Twilight!”
The trap door fell as did Twilight’s trembling little hooves. She nearly felt the vertebrae in her neck snap. It was enough to pop her eyeball out all over again.
Twilight gasped for any amount of air, but her throat was sealed. She dangled helplessly, reaching out her legs to even the smallest of stools, but all that sat below her was gravity’s claim.
Her parents sobbed uncontrollably, held back only by Spike’s dwindling feebleness until he just couldn’t take it anymore.
The crowd, who had initially came for the performance, cried out as the tiny dragon stormed the stage only to be kicked off by an aggravated guard.
“T-Twilight!” Spike shouted at the top of his lungs as two more guards held him back at spear point, “I-I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!”
Twilight coughed and gagged for dear life as the crowd roared and cheered. She fought as best she could, but she was nothing without her magic.
Spike died inside as he watched her dangle and flail about for a few more seconds until her body finally gave up. That miserable drowned out look in her eyes dimmed and that little spark disappeared forever.
The sun set later that evening, and it never wanted to rise again.
