The Tragedy of Twilight Sparkle

“Uh…Hey guys why don’t you all go back while I check out something here.”

“Darling,” Rarity piped up, “The sun is nearly setting, are you sure you would want to be out at night?”

“She’s right ya know Twi,” Applejack contributed, “Ya’ll never know whats hidin’ in them bushes at night.” Applejack finished her sentence by giving the forest to their left a nervous glance.

“What is it that you need to look at SOOOOOO badly Twilight?” Pinkie questioned.

“I heard a rustling sound in the tree’s that is sort of attracting my horn.” Twilight said “For all I know, it could be another enemy.”

“Well enemy or not, I’m coming with you.” Rainbow Dash said fiercely.

“Aww come on Rainbow,” Twilight begged, “You really don’t have to come with me you know.”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash argued, sounding offended by Twilight’s remark. “I don’t have a personality of Loyalty just to have somepony say that she doesn’t need it, I am who I am so I’m coming along, besides, when we are done, I can simply fly us home!”

Twilight considered the facts, they all made sense especially the fly home, she wasn’t going to walk back there, hell no! Besides, she could use a friend’s guidance, especially if they are a Pegasus, assuming that bad luck strikes her, she may not find anything, lose their path and probably be lost in those dark gloomy woods. But if she has Rainbow Dash, the two of them may locate their way back quicker.

“You’re right Dash.” Twilight agreed “You guys can head back, tell the Princess what we are doing.”

“You got it!” AppleJack replied shortly “We’ll be off, come on girls, let’s get goin’!”

The trio all help push the deadly party cannon along with them as they galloped off to the direction of Celestia’s castle, watching them gallop off the hill, Twilight simply said;

“Ok, let’s see what’s in here.”

They cautiously inspected the area of their surroundings as not to fall bait to a surprise attack, Twilight gave a signal for Rainbow Dash to keep a look out just in case as she investigated this strange mystical power in which her horn was being attracted violently to. She moved her head from side to side, peering into those unknown woods; she took one step forward to have a more concentrated look upon the place. She looked back and whispered loudly to Rainbow Dash who was hovering in the air, scanning at the sun dawning horizon.

“Can you see anything close to us Dash?” Twilight asked.

“Uh…Nothing yet.” Rainbow Dash responded, not taking her mind off her objective.

“Come on,” Twilight beckoned “let’s start exploring this strange presence.”

Rainbow Dash tore her eyes from the horizon and cautiously looked at the forest.

The two friends carefully stepped into the forest and where soon sucked in with the dark and the gloom of the forest.

“Can you create a light or something Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight closed her eyes and soon, a faint purple light glowed from her horn. She tilted her head towards Rainbow Dash to see her face covered in several small scratches.

“Are you ok Rainbow?” Twilight asked concerned for her friend’s safety.

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash said confidently “Perfectly fine. Now let’s see what is attracting you.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked a bit further into the woods, its dark embrace frightened Rainbow Dash but she denied the accusation from Twilight every time she saw her facial expression. They walked upon a swamp, much like the swamp where Fluttershy dropped off the frogs. Twilight’s horn, still emanating the purple light source, spat out faint pink sparks when they came upon the swamp.

“Are you alright Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked with a concerned tone after seeing Twilight’s horn spit out a few sparks.

“Hm…” Twilight muttered “It seems like the presence my horn is being attracted to is present in this large swamp…question is…why?”

“Could be an enemy?” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“Uhh, I mean it COULD be.” Twilight said “Let’s go further to see-”

Twilight was disrupted by a strange voice that greeted her, it whispered in an echoy voice;

“Twilight...Twilight…”

Twilight shrieked a little.

“Gah! W-who was t-that?”

Rainbow Dash, shocked, got up on her hind legs and shouted at her surroundings;

“I’m not afraid of you! Show yourself!” The light blue Pegasus stated loudly, kicking her front legs in the air like she was boxing.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash stood in a position looking ready to fight the speaker of the mysterious voice, the two friends looked, with a war ridden face, at the small wasteland of swamp. Nothing moved for a while before there was a sudden *BANG* followed by an eye blinding shine of bright, white light forcing the two friends to lift one of their front hooves to their eyes for protection and tilting their head away from the light. Once Twilight assumed the light started to subside, she cautiously removed her hoof while opening one of her eyes by the smallest fraction she could manage, closing her eyes as soon as she opened them in fear of the light still being present in its eye blinding state. Before she closed her eyes and complete darkness smothered her vision, she thought she saw three changelings.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash whispered giving her unicorn buddy a small nudge.

“I-Is it safe to-” Twilight began, eyes still shut.

“Yes, it’s safe.” Rainbow Dash said, a little quieter “Look!”

Twilight carefully opened her eyes to see three changelings on their knees but sitting upright.

“What do you think they want from us?” Rainbow Dash asked still whispering, not taking her eyes off the stationary changelings.

Twilight’s horn gave a short, small and quite colorful burst disappearing in sparkles.

“Apparently,” Twilight explained to the awe struck Pegasus next to her, “The three changelings are what my horn was being attracted to.” refusing to take her eyes off the changelings as she spoke to her friend.

Twilight caught a motion from the corner of her eye; she turned to see Rainbow Dash and a grin that spread across her face.

“I didn’t know you had something with changelings.” Rainbow Dash said, trying to keep a straight face, her eyes slowly started to water. “BA HAHAHAHA!!” She could not control herself and landed in a pile on the ground laughing, tears dripping from her face.

Twilight, not offended by a lot, sarcastically spat;

“Oh HA HA, laugh it up Rainbow!”

Twilight caught the gaze of the three changelings and realized that they had business to attend to. She kicked the Rainbow Dash rolling on the floor, all senses blocked by gales of laughter, lightly and snapped.

“Rainbow!”

This commanding word tore through the cloud of laughter that blocked her senses. Rising up from the muddy floor, Rainbow Dash questioned;

“What? Why did you k- oh.”

Rainbow Dash stopped as she, too, caught the gaze of the changelings and realized that they had been bickering while the stationary changelings sat, watched and listened.

Dash began with a few simple command phrases for the changelings who remained silent as though they were giving Dash the silent treatment. Dash tried to be nice and kind, she even attempted a nudge by spreading her wings obviously ready to zoom to the changelings to tap them but those wings folded shut as Dash caught the warning, glaring look from Twilight, before the tranquil changelings bust Dash’s bubble by simply remaining in one position as Dash screamed at the three;

“Alright, listen up!” Dash shouted, raising a hoof in a threatening manner. “I don’t know who you are or who you might be, if you know me well, I stick up for my friends, your stillness is representing a sign of danger, just tell us what you want! If you even attempt to lay a hoof…” She stopped and looked at the changeling’s arms realizing that they probably don’t have hooves. “…or whatever you have on my friend, you will all get your flanks-”

Twilight placed a hoof on the angry blue Pegasus’s out stretched hoof, making a small attempt to power it by adding a small force into it. Dash turned to see the calm and compassionate face of Twilight, realizing her demand, Dash placed her hoof down. Twilight then simply commanded;

“Let me try.”

Dash’s bewildered face turned into one ready to fight.

“I’ve got your back Twilight.” Dash reassured, “If they lay a hoof…whatever they have on you, they will get it.” She finished her reassurance by giving the Changelings a disgusted look. Twilight gave a simply nod to Dash’s offered help, she took one step forward onto the muddy ground, cleared her throat quietly yet spoke in quite a loud voice;

“Speak, if you can: What are you all?”

Dash was pretty surprised when the changelings responded to Twilight’s simple command, rather than her threat, by finally moving.

“All hail Princess Twilight!” The first Changeling in line shouted, placing his head onto the ground. “All hail the Princess of the Sun!”

“All hail Princess Twilight!” The middle changeling announced. “All hail the Princess of the moon!”

“All hail Princess Twilight!” The last one hailed. “All hail Princess Twilight, you shall be Queen hereafter!”

As all three changelings bellowed their announcement, they each made contact between their forehead and the ground beneath them.

“Huh?!” Rainbow Dash questioned Twilight in confusion, “Princess of the Sun…AND moon?! Queen hereafter? Does that mean you will replace the roles of Celestia and Luna?!”

Twilight, dumbfounded, opened her mouth to ask several questions that generated faster than the speed of light, but could not produce and words. She didn’t need to say anything for the three changelings seemed to have their attention drawn to Rainbow Dash.

“Hail!”

“Hail!”

“Hail!” Cried the three changelings, bowing towards Dash’s direction.

Dash, a little shocked at the sudden hailing, spread her wings and took one hoof back as if she was going to fly away instantly.

“Lesser than Princess Twilight and greater!” The first one began.

“Lesser than Princess Twilight…” Dash’ voice trailed off as she thought for a second, “How does that make sense?” She questioned.

“Not so fortunate, yet much more fortunate!”

“Your daughter will become Queen yet you shall not! Hail Princess Twilight and Rainbow Dash!”

As the three changelings finished their prophecy by touching the muddy floor with their foreheads, Dash’s mouth was open and ready to bombard the changelings with questions but Twilight’s thoughts were ready and she left Dash’s mouth agape by questioning the changelings.

“Speak you nonsense makers!” Twilight interrogated, “Tell us more! By the death of Celestia, I know the duty of the sun shall be passed onto me, but how about the moon? Princess Luna lives! A happy and content Princess…and to command both! This opposes the prospect of belief. Say: From where have you acquired this strange knowledge and why my horn has been attracted to here so you may greet us with prophecies? Speak! I challenge you!”

The changelings remained motionless just like the way they were when Dash threatened them, a bright light slowly began to emanate from them, just like the light Dash and Twilight saw when the changelings first made their entrance. As the light intensified, the two friends covered their eyes once again.

“Oh for Celestia’s sake!” cursed Twilight.

“Ugh.” groaned Dash.

The two friends only expected a blinding light, but they received a powerful surge of wind this time, shocked and caught completely off guard, the two friends both screamed;

“Ahh!!”

Before the surge of wind threw them backwards in the air, they sprawled into the muddy ground beneath them, Twilight’s head suddenly felt really light. She opened her eyes to find that her vision was all blurry. Giving an attempt to rub her eyes, she realized that she no longer had any control over her body, she gave a low groan before the closed her eyes, unconscious.

Twilight’s senses flickered to life. She opened her eyes to see Rainbow Dash at about the same level that she was in. She raised her body up and her hoof flew to her head immediately, she had a headache. Groaning at the discomfort and nausea the headache produced, she scanned her surroundings. There was nothing different except fading blue sparkles where the changelings had been before. Getting onto all fours, she heard a small squelching sound of mud behind her, Dash regained consciousness.

“Ugh, Celestia be damned.” Dash cursed eyes closed, “My head hurts…T-Twilight?”

“Are you experiencing the headache?” Twilight asked examining the flecks of sparkles resting on the floor.

“Ugh…yeah…n-not capable of doing that though.” Dash responded, her speech a little slurred. “Can you do someth-OW!!”

Twilight’s concentration tore from the sparkles to Dash as she heard her cry of pain. “Must have tried to fly.” She thought to herself. Twilight closed her eyes and screwed up her face, in moments, an aura appeared from her horn. Dash’s pain ridden face was soon masked in a normal one as the spell Twilight performed cured her headache.

“Better now?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah…” Dash responded getting on her hooves. “Yeah, much, MUCH better, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Twilight responded, waving the word of thanks away.

“W-where did they go?” Dash asked looking around for the changelings.

“Probably dispersed into thin air,” Twilight responded, her attention turning to the flecks of sparkles, “Into thin air and the wind.”

“W-were they really here though?” Dash questioned. “Or have we simply been sleeping in dreams or drifted off into insanity for a second?”

“Uh…Not so likely.” Twilight simply put. “Come on Dash, let’s get back to Celestia before the others get worried, we have no idea of how long we have been unconscious or sleeping for so we’d better get a move on, let’s go.”

As they galloped back to their entrance to the woods, both Twilight and Dash thought about that encounter, both of their faces lost in thought, confusion and questions. Was this really true? She questioned herself. Did this REALLY all happen? Could she believe in the knowledge she acquired today? Will she REALLY become a Princess…let alone a QUEEN? She took one brief glance at Dash’s airborne figure, it told the same story as Twilight’s, a face riddle with questions dying for the individual to be answered.

They slowed down to a trot as they saw the exit within their vision

Twilight tapped Dash’s hind hoof and broke the ice that seemed to form around them by saying;

“Scootaloo shall become Queen.”

“You shall become Queen.” Dash replied, looking at Twilight’s gaze.

“Moon and Sun,” Twilight sighed looking ahead as they approached their entrance, “When was it not?”

“The very words.” Dash replied. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off as her ears twitched a bit and instead of saying was she was going to say, she asked Twilight, “Do you hear that?”

Twilight and Dash both stopped dead in their tracks and pricked their ears, they soon heard the muffled shouting of both their names by, what seemed like, Applejack’s voice.

“Twilight! Rainbow Dash!” The distant voice called to them.