Strange Magic Part 1: Twilight Sparkle
Yes, I remember back all those millennia. Word had just reached Ponyville that Princess Celestia was sick. Everyone was concerned about our great ruler, but MUCH more concerned about who would be the new leader, as Princess Luna was not trusted by many. Would she, against most citizens' wishes, crown herself Queen? This is my account of how we got our new rulers.
"SPIKE! I need that book I was reading earlier!" I yelled, more out of habit than anything. Of course. Spike had left a week earlier. He had finally grown up, as had I. I'll admit. I was getting a few grey hairs in my mane, as were all of my friends (except Rarity, but she dyed hers.). A tear came to my eye. I missed my Number One assistant more and more each day. Lifting my head, I bumped the ceiling. I had also seemed to be growing a lot lately. I mean, sure, the library had a low roof but I was now a bit taller than Big Macintosh! Then again, all my friends were growing too. Must just be a symptom of old age. Speaking of which, I was tired and my back hurt. Time for bed.
When I woke up, the pain was so bad that I couldn't do anything except slowly fade back into dreamland. When I awoke, it must have been around noon. My back pain was miraculously gone, as was my fatigue. I was in quite an uncomfortable position though, so I rolled out of bed and looked in the mirror. My horn was now pointy and LONG. Twice as long as last night. I had also grown. And it looked like my gray hair was gone. Turning sideways to look, I noticed feathers. Looking closer, I saw I now had pegasus wings growing out of my back. And then it was black.
Waking up in my bed, I decided it must all have been a dream. Suddenly a purple and green head appeared over me. "Twilight? I came to visit and found you sprawled on the floor. Are you ok?" rumbled the now slightly deeper voice of my best friend. "Spike? I had the weirdest dream... wait! You said you found me on the floor? Oh my CELESTIA!" my voice rose to a piercing squeal at the end of my statement. I then said the words I knew so well. "Spike! Take a letter!"
Once the scrolls had been sent to my five best friends, I waited. What would they say? What would happen? Then I realised. We were The Elements Of Harmony. If it was happening to one of us, it would most likely happen to us all. The Element Of Magic was the 'unknown' element. Who would be next? I immediately thought of something else. Princess Luna. We should message her. Another thought burst into my mind. Celestia was only 1537 years old. She should be living until she is at least 10,000 years. How could she be sick? It couldn't be natural. I gasped. If it couldn't be natural, then was it... MURDER? Could someone murder our dear sweet princess? And if she was being poisoned (the only logical cause of this) then Luna would be the next target. And Luna was only 1048! Would someone cruelly end such a short life? I would wait until the others got here to send the letter. Then at least I'd have emotional support.
Rarity arrived first, bending down to enter. She wasn't as tall as me yet. She must not be next. Applejack next, bending but still catching her hat on the door frame. Pinkie, but with a glazed look to her eyes, like she might be in pain. She could be the next one. Fluttershy walked in, bowing her head, with her hair parted strangely. And last, Rainbow Dash, breaking ANOTHER one of my windows by flying through headlong. I assumed Pinkie was going to be the next one, by her behaviour. Taking a deep breath, I took to the air, attempting to do a graceful soar to show my problem, but instead zipping straight into a bookcase. I shook myself off and held my wings out waiting for the questions. They came as fast and as abundant as parasprites during breeding season. 'A-a-are those real?' 'What happened darling?' 'When did you get them? Should we have a party to celebrate?' 'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO TWILIGHT? ARE YOU A SPY?' 'Ah think it's plumb strange.'
Silencing them all with a glare, I spoke. "Yes they're real. I just woke up this morning with wings and I think it might happen to all of you as well. Do any of you have weird head or back aches?" Fluttershy squeaked and blushed. We all looked at her, waiting. She stood, drawing herself to full height. We gasped. She was as tall as me and she had been crouching while walking earlier so she would fit in the room. She carefully shook her hair, allowing us to see her forehead. On it was a small yellow stump of a horn. While the others gasped, I asked again.
"Does anyone ELSE have bad back or head pain?" Pinkie Pie jumped up. "Well, I am having an awful headache but my back is still kinda sore but not as much wonder why Granny Pie was a pegasus so maybe that's why I'm part pegasus you know haven't I told you that will I be next?" The others were utterly confused, but I was somehow able to make sense of it and form her jabbering into sentences in my mind- Well I am having an awful headache but my back is still kinda sore but not as much. Wonder why? Granny Pie was a pegasus so maybe that's why... I'm part pegasus, you know. Haven't I told you? Will I be next? Surprised I realised that alicorns also seemed to have more mental power than any other type of pony. This could be a good thing if our foe was not an alicorn. I hoped he wasn't. As usual, my hopes wouldn't be fulfilled.
At the end of our meeting, we decided (ok, I decided) that six alicorns in quiet Ponyville would be too much. Besides, it would be better if we could go through this with Princess Luna to help us. And so, in the middle of the night, we all flew off to Canterlot. The three of us with wings gently air-lifted the other three on the trip. Though I was still a beginner flyer I managed to beat Rainbow Dash in flying. So alicorns had more flying and mental ability than non-alicorns. Gasping, I almost dropped Pinkie. That must mean... would the alicorns have more magical ability then? I would ask Luna. She might know.
"Twilight, you're one of my very few friends and so I'll help you. But please," she looked at me with tears in her eyes "don't disturb Tia. She's dying. The terminally ill should be able to die in peace." Looking down at her right then made me realise how much a filly she truly was, inside her tight 'you-don't-bug-me' shell. I got my courage up, asking the question I knew I had to. "Luna, I'm going to have to ask you to allow me to see Celestia. I know you don't want me to disturb her, but I believe the Elements Of Harmony need to say goodbye to their mentor."
We decided it'd be best if we went in one at a time. I went first. Oh, how I regret that. It was a shock, to say the least. Her mane, once so vibrant and full of life, had turned a light grey and lay limp across her pillow. Really, all of her had turned grey. Her coat, and, when she looked up at me I saw even her eyes were grey. I had planned to explain about what was happening. I had planned to say I would miss her. I had planned to stay calm and not worry her. But my plans flew out the window. I threw myself on the edge of her bed and cried. I could tell she was too weak to even comfort me. She was trying but she couldn't. I rushed from the room, tears partially blinding me. I was so broken up I didn't even notice Fluttershy was gone. If I had noticed, maybe we could have saved her.
Later that evening we all met up for dinner. We were all there except for Fluttershy. We figured she would be eating dinner with Angel, whom she insisted on bringing even though he might be in danger here. Oh, how wrong we were! I was in control of myself now. I figured that alicorns had stronger emotions as well seeing as it had taken me a full hour to calm down. I was told that I had reacted the worst, with Rarity being a close second. I was confused as to why Rarity would be so emotional, so I asked. We sat down around her and she began her story.
"You see, as a young unicorn I was very talented with my magic. I cast my first successful spell when I was two. Yes, even younger than Twilight. And so my father enrolled me in Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns at three. I was the youngest student on record, making me Celestia's favourite instantly. I was finished at her school before Twilight even enrolled. I was a graduate from the most prestigious school in Equestria. I could have been the most famous unicorn solider around. But I decided I wanted to be a dress-maker instead. Well, that displeased my father. He was a war veteran, and he wanted his only child to be in the Army as well. He was about to go off to war again, you must remember this was during the Great War, between the ponies and the griffons. So he taught me the most powerful war magic he knew, just in case. He was killed in that war. And I've remembered the spells ever since."
We sat in silence for a moment, considering the life that Rarity had, much more difficult than any of us had imagined. Losing her only parent at such a young age! Suddenly, a familiar Southern voice broke through the silence, like a rock being thrown into a still pond. "Ah'm so sorry for ya, Rarity. Sorry 'bout yer Pa an' all." Rarity whipped around, facing Applejack.
"NEVER be sorry for him. He was evil. I'm glad he died when he did!" Once again, we were shocked into silence. I thought of what to say, but came up with nothing. I didn't have to anyway.
"You...HATE your own father?" Fluttershy's amazed whisper surprised us again. She had somehow appeared, unnoticed while Rarity told us about her life. "What was so bad about him?"
Rarity shook with rage for a moment, and then took a deep breath to calm herself before answering. "When I was younger, before I went to Celestia's school, he used to tell me a...well, I suppose it was meant to be a bedtime story. He told me of how, in the Griffonic War, two years before my birth, he broke into a house in Griffonia. It was a civilian home, and he had not been ordered to attack it. But he broke in anyway. He..." she paused for a moment, tears flowing clearly down her face. "He found them, huddled in the house's only room, with no fire in the fireplace, no source of heat but a ragged blanket. He told me... of how the male tried to protect his wife, and she tried to protect their child... He... used a magic blade, one of the spells he taught me, to... behead...the parents. But the worst part... was how he DESCRIBED how he killed their child. He told me he created a... well, I suppose the word for it is mace, with his magic and he... beat him. To death. He told me how the child had screamed, how 'it' screamed for mercy and he refused. It begged him. The...assault went on for ten minutes, until my father got tired of the crying and hit him in the head. That's my most prominent memory of my father. And I'll always hate him for it."
Once everyone had torn themselves away from a sobbing Rarity, seeing see couldn't be comforted, we tried to fall asleep, but it was difficult, at least for me. With Celestia dying in the same building as me, and the images of war and violence fresh in my mind, I finally drifted off to sleep, long after midnight.
It seemed I had just fallen asleep when I heard hooves running up and down the halls. Listening, I noticed that the running seemed centered on the princess's quarters. I threw myself out of bed, galloping down the hall. As I drew nearer, I heard sobbing. Rounding the corner, I had a perfect view of them covering a figure with a sheet. I knew exactly who it was. Shaking with sobs, I looked for the familiar figures of my friends. I saw most of them, forming a tight circle around something. Drawing nearer, I saw what had them all excited. Pinkie Pie stood in the center, wings spread out and hair parted, showing off her ruffled magenta feathers and spiralling pink horn. In spite of my sorrow, I still had to smile a little. We were one step closer to defeating our unknown foe. Little did I know we had also taken one step back.
In the morning I got the details. Princess Celestia had died suddenly and painlessly in her sleep. Around the same time Princess Luna came down with what appeared to be the same illness her older sister had just died from. No one had heard from Fluttershy since last night, during Rarity's story. Rarity and Applejack were both in bed, immobilized with pain. The funeral was to be held in the Canterlot Royal Gardens the next day. And I was in the depths of sorrow so deep that even my friends could not pull me out.
The next few days were a blur. Attending the funeral. Crying. Rarity and Applejack arguing about who became an alicorn first. Lying alone in my room, staring at the ceiling. Teasing Rainbow that this was the one race where she didn't come in first place. More crying. Wondering where Fluttershy was. Crying until I had no more tears to shed. But I would learn over the next week just how many more tears I possessed.
Finally, I decided that should Equestria be attacked, I was needed. I pulled myself together, at least externally, and visited my friends. Pinkie was teaching Rarity and Applejack to fly. I suppose she was a natural flyer, thanks to her bloodline. Rainbow was in her bed in complete darkness, screaming in pain at any noise above a whisper. Fluttershy was nowhere to be found. I could sense, deep down, that we had 6 days until the attack. I went to talk to our current most valuable friend. One who lived up to her name. She was indeed, a true...rarity.
It took some convincing, but Rarity finally agreed. We were to start war training the next day, as we assumed Rainbow Dash would be finished her transformation by then. We all could sense that the attack would come by week's end. We just weren't sure if we'd be ready for it.
The next morning, I was wide awake hours before practice was to begin at 6:30. When we started, I worked harder than I ever had before. Was it to avenge Celestia's death? Was it to get even with whoever caused the pain and suffering I saw in Luna's eyes whenever I visited her? Or was it because I knew somepony I loved might be on the line?
For 5 days we practiced creating an energy blade and duelling with it (harder than it sounds), curses, magical explosions, and even the most forbidden form of war magic: mind magic. I learned how to communicate with others using my mind, how to enslave a pony's brain, and how to kill a pony with a simple voice command. I was sure I'd never use that last one, but you never know.
At midnight on the sixth day, my peaceful slumber was broken by a familiar scream. I had heard it only once before, when we began the labyrinth to defeat the god of chaos, Discord, and I had hoped to never hear it again. It was Fluttershy's scream of fear.
I was out of bed, flying down the halls before I was even fully aware of my surroundings. I was quickly joined by the rest of my friends, all rushing to save her. They were running to save a friendship. I was running to save true love. There was a distinct difference between us. I the time it took them to run down a hall, I had already run down it, cast a mind communication spell, and prepared a shield for us. Suddenly, a voice filled my head. Slow down, Twi! Even I can't keep up! The mind communication. Rainbow was telling me to slow. I stopped, waiting for them to catch up. Once they rounded the corner I was off again.
As we entered the room, we saw what we knew we were going to- Fluttershy's crumpled form, lying on the floor, with the form of a mystery pony behind her. Taking the defensive formation that Rarity had taught us, I lowered my head and scraped the floor with my foot, voicing my challenge. A familiar voice rose from the shadows. "A physical battle? How crude. I would much prefer a magical one." I heard Rarity's slight whimper.
He stepped out of the shadows, revealing the white body and blonde hair we all knew so well. The shock must have shown on my face, because Prince Blueblood looked at me. "Surprised, Twilight Sparkle? You thought my magic was weak, didn't you? Limited to basic spells and levitation? Well, the 'weak' routine helped me in my takeover of Equestria, didn't it? You never once suspected me. It worked for BOTH of us. Didn't it, my sweet?"
Confused, I looked around. There was nopony else in the room. Who was he talking to? Suddenly a figure I had ignored earlier moved. The shadowy pony stepped down off the pedestal where the statue of Princess Celestia had previously stood. "Well, indeed it did, darling." purred a female voice. The blue mare drew closer until she was standing next to Blueblood. Her two-tone blue mane had an accessory MUCH different from the one I had last seen in it. In the place of her purple, starred, magician's hat was a small, dark crown. One I had last seen on a special friend of mine.
Trixie's voice invaded my head. Surprised to see me again? When you 'ran me out' of Ponyville, you figured that was the last of me. Didn't you? Well, I'm going to enjoy destroying you. We'll do it like we did to the old mules, the Princesses. She cut off the mind communication with a high, musical chuckle. "Are you wondering how all of this works? How we killed them?" Without letting me respond, she continued. "I cast a spell on an alicorn, particularly one of great strength. It sucks their life essence, their energy, their POWER out of them and gives it to us. Making us alicorns of the same strength as them. Of course, your little friend was only necessary so you couldn't use the Elements Of Harmony against us. She was the most gullible, the weakest, so she was the obvious choice." She chortled. "Imagine Blueblood, in love with HER!"
I knew exactly what they had done. Blueblood had done something; brought her flowers, maybe, to convince her he was in love with her. Once she was enamoured, Trixie had cast the spell, causing her to slowly weaken. And here she was before us, in her natural form, a pegasus, a bit on the small side, weak and helpless...and beautiful.
My head exploded with noise: the villains laughing at me, Rarity telling me to get my head in the game, the other gasping, shocked. Trixie stepped closer to us. I knew immediately what she was doing. In under a second I had teleported Fluttershy to me and put a high power force field around us. But just as I put up the field, I saw Trixie's glowing horn...and her glowing smile. I knew I had mere seconds.
Her eyes rolled wildly in her sockets, focusing on me with great effort. "SAVE MY BABY! BLUEBLOOD! SAVE OUR BABY!" My heart sank as I realised she was still living in the fantasy. No matter. I had to tell her this. I leaned down, putting my mouth to her ear, and in a tiny whisper, like the one she used when we met "I love you, Fluttershy." Then I kissed her, tenderly, gently. I watched the light fade from her eyes. My first kiss. My first kiss was with a pregnant dying girl. I guess not ALL first kisses can be perfect. But at least mine was with the perfect person.
Casting a spell to keep oxygen, blood, and nutrients flowing to her unborn child, I leapt into the fight. My blade clanged against Bluebloods' as he tried to bury it in my skull. A vicious battle ensued, me nicking his ear, him chopping off half of my mane. We stumbled up next to Rainbow Dash, fighting Trixie while the others tried to distract our foes with their blades. Her gaze flickered towards us, locking her eyes on me. I saw her horn glow a little brighter. I leapt aside, causing Bluebloods' energy sword to crash into the floor. With a flick of my head, I slit Trixies' throat. Her dark, flowing blood coated my hooves. She was...DEAD. Dead, because of me. She lay there, blank, accusing eyes staring at me. I felt exhausted, like someone was...sucking the energy out of me. She had still cast the spell! I sank to my knees, unable to stand. I would be joining Fluttershy soon.
Blueblood walked over to me. Looking up at him, I saw him cast a spell. He had put a force field around us. He rose his blade, ready to kill me. I had one last chance. "Lunar... sunlight." It took almost all my strength, but I said it. A look of sheer terror crossed his face. Then a trickle of blood started flowing down the corner of his mouth. He fell, never to rise again. The mind magic voice command. It had worked. There was just one more spell to perform... before I was consumed... by the black...
When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by white. I bright light glowed above me. A mare's figure was by my side. Fluttershy? Was I dead? But... no. This mare had too dark a coat, and was wearing a hat. I blinked, bringing her and the rest of my friends into focus. Applejack. Rarity. Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash. They were safe and sound. I had protected them. Seeing me awake, Applejack leaned forward. "Ya'll did a good job on that there last spell, sugarcube. Congrats." My mind was fuzzy. Last spell? When I killed Blueblood? I had already known that was a success. But... no. There was something else... The memory was difficult to retrieve... I sucked in a breath. Did the last spell mean...? Lifting the covers, I saw my stomach was a small bulge. It had worked. I was going to be the mother of Fluttershy's child.
But that was long, long ago. Nowadays, I raise the sun and moon, and watch my twins grow. They play with Cotton Candy Swirl, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie's daughter, and with Apple Blossom, Rarity and Applejack's daughter. Solar Moonlight, my little princess, looks like Fluttershy; she has her mother's mane and tail, and ability to communicate with animals. The sun sparkles on her white coat and pink and yellow striped hair. Lunar Sunlight, yes, I named him after the words I used to kill his father, looked like... HIM. He looked like a yellow Blueblood with Fluttershy's eyes and a pink streak in his mane. I watch, enjoying their young years, knowing I'll have to explain to them in a few years why they don't look like me, why they don't have a father. But for now, thanks to that strange magic, my life is perfect.