Necrosis

Dear Applejack,

I find myself writing to you a lot since that letter I had Ditzy deliver on Hearth's Warming Eve. That being said, I still don't know if you even read them, or just throw them away. But I'm comfortable not knowing, as I fear writing back to me could endanger you and your family. This letter will be brief, but probably the most important one I'll ever write to you. For this will be my last letter to you as Twilight Sparkle. By the time you read this, I'll no longer be her. I've reached the point of no return once again. The Cult of Necrosis is dubbing me a Queen. As such, I've decided to take up a new name. Twilight Sparkle need not commit any more sins.

Over the past week, I've found writing to you helps soothe my mind better than writing in my journal does. As such, I shall miss that. Therefore, this letter, as with all the other letters as well as the contents of my journal, will contain nothing but the honest to goodness truth.

I'm scared, Applejack. I'm completely terrified. Not of Celestia or Luna. Not of losing to them... I'm frightened of what I'm becoming. I don't recognise myself. I play the part of confident leader, but I just want to scream. I wish I'd taken you with me. Your honesty would have made the perfect anchor for me. Now I'm adrift in a sea of lies and deceit. My Cult a school of sharks circling the sinking ship that is me. I'm drowning in my own foolishness, Applejack and I find myself thinking of you. Not Rainbow Dash, Trixie or any of the others who I've shared my heart with. I'm lying, even to them. I tell them I love them, and in a way I do. But the love I feel for them isn't anything like the love I feel for you. You are the sole survivor of Twilight Sparkle's legacy. The one thing untainted by my poisonous words. Because of this, I love you. More than anypony else. What remains of the real me belongs to you, Applejack.

I love you,

Twilight Sparkle.

A shiver ran down my entire body. I'd let my mind go, hoping to convey the truth without tainting the letter. What lay on the paper startled me. Partly because I knew it to be true. I loved Applejack. The others were just... fillers. I rolled the paper up into a scroll and wrapped a black ribbon around it. I then covered the bow in candle wax and pressed my insignia into the wax. Taking a minute to let it dry, I called Ditzy over. The grey pegasus had been very close to me lately. She meant quite a bit to me also. Probably because even as a part of the Cult, she was still as innocent as before the entire event. The closest thing to pure that was within my reach.

"Another letter Twilight?" she asked. I smiled at her and nodded. I gave her the scroll and she took it, placing it down at the foot of the bed.

"You've been writing to her a lot lately." she enquired.

"She's the only friend whom I didn't involve in all this. I feel I owe her these letters at least." I lied. Ditzy just kissed my cheek.

"It's a shame, I was hoping to be there for your ceremony." she said.

"You can send the letter after the ceremony if you want to be there that much." I offered. She giggled and hugged me closely. "It's a shame we didn't get to know each other that well before all this. I'd have loved to have a friend like you." I said.

"What do you mean by like me?" she enquired.

"Playfully innocent through thick and thin. Like you are now." I replied.

"I'm glad you see me that way. Most ponies used to look no further than my eyes. I'm not a fool. I just have bad vision, which causes me to have ditzy moments. And my bubbly personality doesn't improve the situation. Everything about me just screams stupid. It's nice to know you can see past the surface." she said. I smiled at her and placed a hoof over hers.

"It's not that hard to find if you know where to look. I saw the real you in your daughter. She's a bright young filly with good manners, a kind personality and the maturity of somepony twice her age. Schools don't teach that kind of stuff. I just have to look at how well you've raised Dinky to see what kind of pony you truly are." I said. Ditzy grinned from ear to ear at me and gave me a long passionate kiss.

"You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear somepony say that. Dinky is my only daughter and to have you of all ponies say such a thing makes me the happiest pony in Equestria. I knew I made the right choice in joining you." she said. Though being reminded of the situation stung, I smiled anyway. She didn't mean anything by it, she just wanted to express her happiness at my compliment.

"Ditzy... what do you think about this whole thing? Was I right to divide Equestria and ruin the peace that's lasted for over a thousand years?" I asked. She thought for a moment. Admittedly it was a funny sight, given her eyes. And after what I'd said, I doubt she would have held my laughing against me, but I chose not to act upon that desire.

"I think that while it looks like a complete mess right now, when everything is said and done, only good can come of this." she replied.

"How so?" I asked.

"You know how with certain friendships, when they have an argument that divides them for a time? Then something happens and they're brought back together, their relationship stronger than ever. What you've done is just like that, but on a much grander scale. When the war is over, whoever wins, those who survive will be the stronger for this. In all things evil, there is always good in the outcome." she said. I was stunned to hear such wisdom coming from her mouth. Those eyes truly did conceal who she truly was.

"Like a forest fire, and a single sprig survives?" I asked. She just nodded.

"You and I may not survive, but something good will come of this." she said. There was a moment of silence as I closed my eyes and felt her presence next to me. "Speaking of which, you'd best get ready. You're going to be crowned Queen in two hours." she said.

The scenery was set. The decorations were justly themed in my own colours with a few blacks, greens and even some red. Ponies wore robes of varying shades of grey, verging on black. I'd donned my armour, letting it take on it's new default form. The purple glowed with vigour today. My friends all wore robes in their own respective colours. Rarity had styled hers in a light grey with intricate purple swirls throughout. Rainbow Dash had an assortment of colours on her robes, much like her mane, but they were a few shades darker. Pinkie's looked almost red, but the pink could still be detected. It was almost like the inside of a watermelon. Trixie had taken the opportunity to wear her own hat along with her robes. It made sense, since she was the only other necromancer. Fluttershy's was perhaps the biggest change of them all. Her robe did not match her in the slightest. It had taken on a sort of pinkish orange hue. To top it off, she'd cut her mane so it was just shy of covering her eye, but I could still see the grim expression on her face. She still hadn't forgiven Midnight for killing Rarity. Midnight herself wore a dark blue cloak with feathers stitched into it.

It was almost like a creepy wedding, only there was no groom at the end of my aisle. My guards, including Fire Reign had donned their own armours. They were a black offshoot of the night guard armour, but more... skeletal. Fire Reign stood ready with my new crown. I'd heard tell she hoof wrestled everypony for the right to present it to me. At least I could be sure of her loyalty.

Walking down that aisle was more difficult that I'd imagined. As I'd written in Applejack's letter, this would be the Death of Twilight Sparkle. I was walking to my death. It was a slow, painful trek. Eyes were upon me, their hopes were the shackles bound to my body. My world, my prison, my death. That's what this ceremony was to me.

As was second nature to me, I grinned with feigned excitement. I'd reached the steps and began to climb. The weight of those shackles tried to bring me down, but I carried them all the same. As I ascended the steps, I began to wonder; why must I become queen? They all obeyed me before, why must I change who I am to suit them? The answer came to me as I touched the top step. Twilight Sparkle should not be the source of my enemies' pain.

I stood before Fire Reign and bowed down. She smiled and began to place the crown over my head. I knew immediately that it was of the same design as the armour Rarity had made for me. I heard it combine with my helmet, felt it's magic work to alleviate me of some of my own. With that bit of relief, I rose once again and turned to face the crowd. My kingdom. "Now come the days of our Queen! May they be blessed! ALL HAIL QUEEN TWILIGHT!!" the pegasus called out. The guards, and the civilians present all saluted and returned the last four words in a loud chant.

"ALL HAIL QUEEN TWILIGHT!!

ALL HAIL QUEEN TWILIGHT!!

ALL HAIL QUEEN TWILIGHT!!

ALL HAIL QUEEN TWILIGHT!!"

The chant went on for a full minute. All the while, I had my eyes closed, waiting for them to settle down. I could feel the uneasiness my friends were developing after seeing my sombre expression. Once everypony was quiet, I opened my eyes and looked straight ahead, down the aisle. My mind allowed me to see myself as I used to be, smiling at me with gratitude in her eyes. She waved at me and turned to leave, disappearing from sight.

"Words... have never been enough of an expression of gratitude for me... But they are all I have to give. So I hope you will all settle for that. I thank you for this honour, and promise to do everything in my power to set things right. Make things the way they're supposed to be." the crowd began to clop their hooves together in a round of applause. "However," my voice echoed around the mountain, silencing everything. "I will not do so as Twilight Sparkle. For her to become queen would be like trying to surpass Celestia and Luna. That was never my intention. However, it is necessary in order for us to succeed. So Twilight Sparkle no longer exists. Your new Queen's name is Pandora!" I declared. I allowed the armour to morph into its true form, the metal bending and warping to suit my figure.

It was done. Twilight Sparkle would be remembered as Celestia's student. I would be remembered as the one who brought Equestria to its knees. I was surprised for the first time as Fire Reign shouted out from beside me. "ALL HAIL PANDORA!!" The chant began again, but this time, it didn't stop.

As I turned toward my friends, an explosion came from above. Something had managed to break through the mountain and enter into the cave. It landed with loud thud in the middle of the aisle. Looking closely at it, it was clad in black, a hood over its head. It stood on two legs and held two swords. Who was this? What was it?

Without hesitation, my uninvited guest ran towards me. The guards stood in his way, but with a single swing, he blew them all back with the force of the move alone. He then continued his assault towards me. Fire Reign went to intercept, but I held her back, drawing my own sword from over my back. Holding it in my magic, I met the black figure half way down the stairs. Our weapons clashed. While I wasn't used to swordplay, I had a keen eye, so I could at least parry. I'd have to correct that weakness when I got the chance.

Surprisingly, The sword wielding being continued to climb the stairs, forcing me back up. He was strong, whoever he was. Suddenly, he broke from the sword lock and tried to run around me. I erected a shield around my body just as the swords came down. He was caught off guard. I took that time to counter with a wide swing. He blocked it, but the force I'd put into the swing created a gust of wind that blew his hood off. I froze in place. The figure clad in black stood down from his assault and looked at me for a moment before snarling at me in disgust. He then retreated within the hole he'd come from. I stood there, completely shocked. I couldn't believe it, but my eyes had never betrayed me before.

Trixie and the others came up next to me, each with their own shocked expressions. Rainbow Dash was the first one to speak. "Twilight...was that...?"

I excused the slip of my name that one time, given the circumstances. I was too upset to correct her. "Yes, Dash... There's no doubt bout it. That was Spike."