A Good Student

"Twilight. You are dedicated to the study of magic, aren't you?" Asked Celestia.

"Why, of course, Princess!"

She nodded. "Then to learn this, the most advanced of spells, you will have to be prepared to give up something. Something you value more than anything else. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Twilight gulped. "Do you mean…?"
"Yes."

"Hey, Twilight!" Fluttershy called. She glided softly over to her. "I mean, um, you wanted to see me, Twilight?"

Twilight nodded cheerfully. "Yes. I'm working on a new spell, and I need the help of a Pegasus pony to practice."

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you need a Pegasus?"

"It's a flight improvement spell. Rainbow Dash doesn't exactly have a lot of room for improvement in that area, so I thought I would ask you!" She gestured toward the library. "Shall we go?"

"Sure."

Twilight waited for Fluttershy to start walking before she followed. Fluttershy. Not too loud, very gullible, and very weak spirited. You will be the perfect test subject. Nopony else would deliver the results I need. It seems that you have to go first.

"Twilight, are you okay?" Fluttershy questioned. "You've been walking really slowly, and you have this really unhappy expression."

Twilight hastily composed herself. "Of course. I've just been reviewing the spell in my mind." They reached the library. Twilight opened the door, and they both entered the main room. "Now. Where did I put that book? I don't think I have the spell memorized as well as I should." She looked around. Not even Fluttershy will be foolish enough to just follow me into the basement. "Oh, I remember. I left it downstairs. You just stay here."

Fluttershy let out a little squeak. "Are you… I mean, is it okay for me to just be alone here? Aren't you worried that without Spike here, something bad might… Happen?" Her lame excuses fell.

Twilight shrugged. "Well, I guess you could follow me downstairs and help me find that book." This is too easy, she thought. I knew all along that she would panic if I left her alone. Fluttershy, you are just making this too easy! She walked down the stairs with Fluttershy in tow. As soon as Fluttershy was inside the door, it closed.

Fluttershy screamed, and started banging against the door with her hooves.

"It's nothing to worry about, Fluttershy. That door is weird like that."

"Oh… Okay…"

"Come on down here. I think I found it." She turned on a small lamp.

"Well, don't you think we should be getting out of this creepy basement by now?" Fluttershy shivered.

"No. I have to practice this spell."

"Don't we need to be outside to practice a flight spell?"

"No. We aren't practicing a flight spell, you gullible little foal!" She turned to Fluttershy, her eyes glowing white. Some of the hairs in her usually tidy mane had come undone.

Fluttershy squealed, and tried to fly away. Magic grabbed her and pulled her down to Twilight. Chains flew out of the dark, and shackles latched around her hooves. They pulled tight, holding the desperately flailing pony in a spread-eagle. She screamed as loud as she could, even though that was not very loud.

Twilight's eyes flickered in the dim light. A tear of blood fell from her eye. "Fluttershy. I do need you to help me practice a spell."

"You will have to be prepared to give up something. Something you value more than anything else. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Twilight gulped. "Do you mean…?"

"Yes."

"My friends?"

Yes. That. In return, you will learn…"

Back in the basement-"She said, in return, I will learn…"

Fluttershy squeaked helplessly, struggling against the chains.

"A spell that gives eternal life!" Twilight's memory of Celestia and the current encounter with Fluttershy echoed each other.

Fluttershy stared at her, her eyes wide. She screamed, almost loud enough for anyone upstairs to hear. She writhed, trying futilely to break the chains.

Twilight scowled. Of all the ponies I could be talking to right now, it had to be this miserable little foal. She doesn't understand what it means to be able to live forever! How could Celestia have gotten to where she is now, without making the sacrifice that I'm about to make?

"Please, Twilight, just let me go, just let me go! I'm sorry, I'm sorry for always being in the way and being so annoying! I don't want to die!"

"Shut up! If it isn't you, it will be somepony else! I must do this…" She gazed at the floor. Lifting her head up, she shouted, "I must do this so that I can become an equal to the Princess! Just shut up and feel the pain!" A knife was magicked from a dark corner of the room. It was dull in color, stainless steel, but sharper than a surgeon's scalpel.

Fluttershy started to cry. She knew there was no way out of this.

With a look of grim determination on her face, Twilight Sparkle set to work. She stepped forward, horn glowing. With a flash, nothing seemed to happen. She wielded the knife. "It's funny, that something so small could cause such pain." Her eyes were no longer glowing, but were bloodshot and watery.

The knife eased its way toward Fluttershy's stomach. Twilight paused. There was no going back. The knife slowly penetrated the abdominal cavity, gently tearing through the fur and skin. Fluttershy whimpered. Down the knife went. It cleaved the muscles in half. Just before the blade hit her small, nearly invisible vagina, Twilight stopped. There would be time for that later.

Fluttershy had accepted defeat. As the knife separated her skin and organs, she prepared to be separated from her body. She closed her eyes, the feelings of life fading. Then it stopped. Even as more blood poured out of her stomach, making intricate patterns along the organs that were now hanging out. She felt herself jerked back into her body.

"Curious? It's a practice form of the life spell that I intend to perform on myself. It will keep you from dying for quite some time. Similarly, the pain will not fade as it would if you were losing consciousness." She went back to work with the knife. She stabbed it into Fluttershy's right wing. Straight through the bone, cracking it slightly.

Fluttershy cried out, sobbing incoherently. She was in more pain than she had ever felt in her life, and it was only getting worse.

"Stop crying." Said Twilight, her hair covering her eyes. Hearing the continued moans of agony, she shouted. "Stop crying! Now!" She twisted the knife. The wing went limp. She twisted it a full ninety degrees. Compared to the flow of blood from her stomach, it was minimal, but enough to set her crying even harder.

"Now!" Twilight slashed the wing clean off. The tip of the blade was buried in Fluttershy's back, right were the wing was. Twisting it around and around, she drilled into her back. When the blade had made a substantial hole, she turned it and used it to strip the skin off of the right side of her back. The yellow hide fell to the floor, quickly being soaked in blood.

Fluttershy shrieked in agony. She could feel more pain than anypony else had ever felt. And she wasn't fading.

The blade flipped around to the other side. Instead of cutting the wing off, Twilight simply started bending it in half, to see how many times it could be done. Once. The bone snapped, causing Fluttershy to cry softly. Twice. Two snaps. The bone started to penetrate through the skin. It could not fold in half a third time.

Twilight walked toward the spread out Fluttershy, tears of blood pouring from her eyes. She stood beneath her. The blade flashed, slitting Fluttershy's throat.

"Now, you won't cry anymore." She whispered. Blood rained down on Twilight. She sat down. Opening her mouth, she accepted the load of warm, crimson liquid. Something is missing, thought Twilight. She brought the blade up to Fluttershy's soft anus. She drove the knife roughly inside, just missing the actual hole.

Fluttershy's lower abdomen tensed sharply, and the now abating flow of blood was augmented with warm urine. Twilight positioned her nose beneath the flow, accepting the generous offering.

Fluttershy tried to cry out, but her vocal cords were severed. I just want to die, she thought. The pain was so intense that that was all she could think.

"I know what will cheer you up." Said Twilight. "Some fooling around never did anyone any harm, did it?" Her voice was cheerless, inexpressive. The chains lowered Fluttershy down onto a table and held her there. Twilight walked over. She softly licked at the untouched vagina. After all of the intense pain, the gentle touch was euphoric. She moaned soundlessly.

"It won't be all nice and stuff from her on in." Twilight walked away. After a moment, she returned, wearing a strap-on about the size of her own hind leg. Twilight mounted Fluttershy, easing the first few inches in. Then, she shoved almost the entire length inside Fluttershy's virgin vagina.

Fluttershy didn't know whether she was in agonizing pain or agonizing pleasure. Warm tingles rushed up through her, almost washing away the pain.

Almost.

After a few strokes, Twilight dismounted. She removed the strap-on. She turned, and started bucking against Fluttershy's perineum. All bones in the vicinity were broken after a few bucks.

Twilight jumped on Fluttershy's wrecked but still moving body and started to hump her. She shoved her own crotch into the torn up mess that was previously organs. She felt the blood squish around between her legs. She grabbed one of Fluttershy's limp legs and positioned it between her own. She lowered herself roughly onto it, feeling the pleasure of being penetrated for the first time since Celestia had taught her back in school.

Twilight came, her juices mixing with Fluttershy's blood. She moaned in ecstasy. Once she had her fun, she dismounted. She crawled up between the yellow pony's unresisting legs, and started to feed on the torn mess of entrails. She had never had meat before, and, even though she hated to admit it, it was the best thing she had ever eaten.

She stepped back. Her horn glowed, and the chains lifted Fluttershy back up into a vertical position. "Well then. It has been… Fun." Her voice trembled. "But… It's time for this to end." Her horn glowed. With a flash of red light, Fluttershy's lower torso covered the back wall.

Fluttershy stared at her destroyed body with a look of unbelieving horror. She tilted her head down. It tilted a bit to far down, and fell completely off with a small river of blood. The pink mane landed in the puddle of leftover urine and blood.

Well. It seems that the first test was mildly successful. Subject survived having half of her body torn off, had an abnormally large amount of blood, and seemed conscious until the very end. Time to wash up and record these figures.

"Twilight Sparkle!" The door to the basement was open. Applejack stood there, looking startled. "What in tarnation is going on here? Do you mean to tell me that you… you…" She became incoherent with shock.

"Oh, Applejack, this isn't what it looks like." She started up the stairs, slowly. "No, of course not. In fact, it's much worse." Twilight grinned evilly. Her pupils were different sizes. Her mane was a total mess, and she was soaked in blood, sexual fluids, and urine.

Applejack turned to run. She would have escaped, had her legs not been torn completely off. Applejack's torso fell to the ground, a stunned look on her face. "Oh, this is just great. Now I have to perform another of those life spells!"

"Not so fast." A hoof-full of blue powder was thrown from the doorway. It coated Twilight's face. She felt her horn go limp.

"What the hell is this?"

"A concentrated form of poison joke." Said Zecora, her usually calm demeanor overcome by revulsion and anger. "This will stop you from using any more magic."

"Oh, will it?" Twilight's horn flared. The powder was blasted away, leaving her horn completely intact. "You think that I would just walk around, knowing that there was that devilish little plant to worry about, and not have a spell that cures it?" Her horn flared once more.

Zecora's head twisted around to an unnatural angle. Her eyes looked in different directions. Then, her head split off, a river of blood pouring from both the body and the severed skull.

"Nopony… Nopony…gets in my way." Twilight walked up the stairs. She sat down next to one of the bookshelves. Now. Back to business. Applejack and Zecora aren't exactly quiet ponies. This is the middle of the day. Ponies probably saw them. That means that they will be missed before long. I will have to hurry and finish off Pinkie, Rarity, and Rainbow. There won't be time for me to do it slowly.

With a small spark of magical energy, Twilight cleaned most of the blood off of her mane. Nopony would notice it unless they got close. Now. I need a plan to get them all together. Think. Then she had it. Since nopony had seen Fluttershy that day, it would be a simple matter to call her friends together in a room to organize a search. She would not need to actually gather anypony else. All she needed was those three.

"Twilight. You must do more than sacrifice your friends. You must wipe away the fact that they were ever your friends. Simply ending their lives will not do the trick. You will have to destroy them." Celestia leaned over the cowering Twilight. "If you truly wish to master magic, and become equal to me, you must do this."

"So, Pinkie, where did you see her last?" Asked Twilight.

Pinkie considered. "Hmm… I guess it was last night. We were hiding under a porch. You see, my tail had been a-twitchin' earlier."

"Well, I was going to help Rarity and Rainbow Dash find her. We're meeting at Carousel Boutique in about ten minutes."

"Okie dokie lokie! I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Oh, and Pinkie, I don't want this to be blown out of proportion, so I'd like you to keep it to yourself until after we decide on what to do."

"So, everypony, what's going on?" asked Rainbow Dash. She was lazily lounging on a couch. "Are we going to search for her or what?"

"Yes." Said Twilight. "But first, there's some information that I'd like you all to know." She walked into the center of the room. "I need you all to help me with something." Her horn flashed.

Rarity stared. "And what was that for?"

"It was a life spell."

Spike ran down the street. He had seen the mess in the library. But Twilight was nowhere to be found. He eventually came upon the boutique. That's weird, he thought. I didn't know that Rarity liked to hang red curtains over the windows. As he got closer, he realized that those were not curtains.

Spike pulled out a scroll. Writing a quick message, he blew the ashes in the direction of Canterlot Castle.

Rarity screamed. "Oh, how could you, Twilight? Oh, my boutique, my hair…"

Twilight was dragging her through the mess that had been the organs of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. "Oh, you'll get much worse in a second!" Her eyes were glowing red. Her voice was warped, as if it was being heard from underwater. However, it was as clear as the most finely tuned bell.

Spike shoved the door open. "Rarity!"

"Leave, Spike. I don't need you anymore." Twilight said. With a crackle and a spark, the flesh was peeled from Rarity's legs.

"Twilight! What is going on?"

"Spike. I don't love you." Rarity's left hoof was twisted until it was dislocated. "I never loved you." Rarity screamed in agonizing pain as her ovaries were pulled out of her anus. "You are just a burden to me Spike." Rarity was pulled into three pieces. Her head landed next to Spike.

Twilight cast a spell on the deceased head. It reanimated. "Help me Spike! She's causing me such pain!"

Spike stared in shock. "Rarity!"

"Oh, but you can't help Rarity." Said Twilight and the undead cranium in unison. "You're useless. You've always been useless. You were only a weight to lift, even before you were born!"

"Please stop, Twilight! This isn't the real you!"

"Oh, isn't it? ISN'T IT?" A beam of energy launched from her horn. It grabbed Spike and held him suspended in the air. "Hear this Spike, and hear it well, for it may be the last thing you ever hear." She walked over to him. "As the one who brought you into existence, brought you up, and taught you everything you know, I hereby remove the memories of my existence from your brain!"

White light consumed the room. When it faded, Spike was outside on the street. Twilight approached him. "So, do you know who I am?"

Spike stared at her. "No. Who are you?"

"The one who will cause you great harm if you do not leave this village and go home!"

"Home? What's a home? And for that matter… Who am I?"

What's going on? Thought Twilight. I just removed the memories of me. How could he have lost knowledge of what a home is, and who he is? She gasped. It struck her. Without Twilight, Spike was just an empty shell, wandering down Main Street. He would not be able to get any food or shelter. Spike would be dead within a few days.

"Such an impressive display! I never would have thought of destroying his mind. I guess that it's pretty much the same as killing him, isn't it?" Celestia stood behind her.

"Why did you make me do this? Why do I have to sacrifice so much?"

"Because to live forever requires you to be able to endure more suffering than anypony else. Do you know what I treasured most? My parents. Luna and I also had a younger sister. Luna loved her more than anything else. Luna tore out her heart with her own hooves."

"I can't go on with this guilt…"

"Yes, you can. You have proven yourself to be more capable than any other pony in Equestria in thousands of years."

"What about Discord? What did he love most?"

"He loved order. If anything happened on a whim, or unexpectedly, it threw him."

"Will I become like him? A torn, soulless being whose only purpose is to cause others to feel pain? If he gave up his order, and created discord for all of Equestria, then does that mean that I will incessantly try to break up friendship?"

Celestia nodded. "You saw that I took you from your parents at a young age. When you give up what you love most, you will have to embrace the opposite." She advanced. "Give up a finite existence with these friends. Exist forever. You have what it takes."

Twilight looked up at Celestia. "If that is what it means to be immortal, then my work here is not finished." The knife, inside the boutique, levitated. It flew out of the open doorway, and drove itself toward the pair.

Celestia's front was coated in a thick wave of blood.

"Oh, my faithful student, why must you do this?" She asked as Twilight's limp, torn body fell to the ground, a knife stuck between her ribs.

"Because I'd rather die with my friends, than live forever with madness."