Twilight Sparkle trotted up the stairs, her eyes normal (but still had the same look of hate) as she reached the top of the stairs. "Twilight is everything alright. I got worried about you," Spike said, his arms still covered so he wouldn't touch anything.
"Fine, Spike. Just stop bugging me and let me do what I need," she said.
For a moment, a look of hurt crossed over his face but was quickly taken off as he dismissed it as something she had gotten over. Twilight looked outside into the city, seeing the turquoise barrier that was protecting the city from King Sombra; it flashed for a moment and Twilight knew that it was fading away. A perfect opportunity, she thought to herself, seeing her friends and the other Crystal Ponies all gathered around the fake Crystal Heart. She had to glare at them. They didn't care about her; nopony did, so why should she have to save this wretched empire anyway?
"Look at them…" she said bitterly. "They're all so easy."
Standing over the balcony, she had a vision of herself being the one in the place King Sombra stood at watching over his empire with a sadistic glee as the row of crystal ponies moves slowly like a flowing river through a town. She herself was different and in a way just like King Sombra, almost. Her eyes took on the green hue with the mist-like purple seeping out only for a minute.
"Uh, Twilight?" the baby dragon called to her.
"What?" she snapped, startling him and making him fall on his bottom.
"Shouldn't we be looking for the Crystal Heart for the Empire? Princess Celestia wants you to pass your test, just like everypony else and I want you to too."
At the mention of that, Spike saw her eyes take on a cold appearance that petrified him with fear. The only time he had seen that look in her eyes was when she was disappointed in him for trying to blame Owlowiscious for something that was his fault so he wouldn't be replaced; but this was different—her eyes were even colder than the ones she gave him, almost like she wanted to hurt him.
He trembled at the thought of his owner who hatched him from that egg wanting to induce pain on him. He shook the thought from his head. Twilight wasn't like that… she never was.
"What does it matter?" she said, her eyes still the same. "She would just toss me aside and pick someone else like…" her voice changed to sarcasm, "'The Great and Powerful Trixie'". Ooh, I know that little braggart would just love that, so she could show off the wonderful things she would learn and Celestia wouldn't say anything about her showing off!"
"Twilight, you know the Princess wouldn't do that. You've been her student for years and I've always been you assistant. She would never replace you."
"Don't give me that crap, Spike; you would probably leave me just like you did back at the rehearsal. Wouldn't you?" she yelled.
A look of hurt came across his face, "Twilight I wouldn't do that. What's got into you, why are you acting like this?"
"Because I know it to be true, you would leave me alone and then you would swear yourself to be that showoff's assistant and love it! And then if she didn't want you, where would a bucking crybaby like you go? Ooh, wait, I know… your prissy little unicorn's place! I bet you'd love to be pampered by her and always have someone to love you and kiss your boo-boo, wouldn't you?"
"Twilight, stop it! Are you listening to yourself?" Spike had never seen his mother-figure like this and was baffled as to why she was acting like this. Sure, he had seen her act like this on occasion but she spoke with a cold tone and said about being replaced by her mentor that she had known since she was a little filly. Looking at her, he saw how her eyes had a green hue to them and purple mist-like energy flowing from them. "Twilight…" he spoke, too afraid to say anything, and couldn't when a magical blast (one that was green and purple) shot out from her horn and blasted him against the wall.
Spike lay on the floor, his body twitching with a light smoke billowing off his small body. Twilight looked at him for a moment before her mouth twisted into a cold smile, and then she looked up at her horn…
It was magnificent.
Already I used dark magic a second time and I feel the need to learn more. King Sombra promised me to take me as his own and teach something that that wretched old alicorn-excuse couldn't! Twilight thought then looked down at the hurt dragon.
"There! Now you have plenty of boo-boos for your Rarity to kiss!" she laughed at his misfortune before his hazy, tear-stained eyes saw her leave him behind without as much as to look back. Tears welled up before flowing down his hurt and burnt cheeks… and began to cry. Twilight could care less about that worthless pile of filth and walked away from him and ready to leave this Empire. If she wanted to get better at the thing she craved, being here wasn't going to help her achieve what she wanted so she had to leave. As she left, the gaping hole in the throne room shrank until it was covered.
She knew that nothing matter and nopony cared for her, so why should the Empire be saved? So that her master could be banished again while she just watched? He was supposed to teach her; he was her mentor now! He was going to help her become the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, even more so than Celestia and her sister Luna. As Twilight moved through the city, she ignored the calls of her friends and her brother and Cadance and just kept going. Now they suddenly gave a buck about her?
Make up your stupid mind, idiots, she thought to herself as the distance between the Empire got farther and farther away, her lungs burning with stress from the oxygen they were taking in out, her legs also feeling the same. Twilight was by no means an athlete like Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but she knew she would have to become one (just for a short time) in order for the others to not know where she was going.
The snow covers around her entire body as she felt the cold feeling rush through her veins. She had to find someplace to get warm or end up dying here… No! She wasn't going to, her master needed her and she wasn't going to disappoint him. As she continued on, her thoughts turned back to what she had told her "beloved assistant" earlier how she knew Celestia would make Trixie as her new apprentice.
"That suits me just fine!" she said to herself, finding the station where they were dropped off at and slowly started to board on the train. The conductor looked over at her, knowing she wasn't supposed to be on board.
"Miss, I'm sorry but aren't you supposed to be in the Crystal Empire right now?"
"I don't care about that place, take me back to Ponyville."
"But miss, what about your friends and…"
A blast of magic cut him off, sending a jolt coursing through his body as he crumbled to the floor of the train. Twilight look at him with the same cold eyes she gave Spike—this puny maggot was going to do what he was told! "Get up!" she yelled at the pony conductor, sending a blast of dark magic at him. He cried in pain but managed, with staggering legs, to get back up and face her.
"You going to take me back home to Ponyville, is that clear?" she said coldly.
He only nodded and began to move to the control room while she just sat on one of the seats, the dark look never leaving her face as she looked out at the white scenery. For a moment she wanted to tell the conductor to stop, and get back Spike from the castle, but she decided that the little thing probably told on her by now.
As the train got further and further from the station, Twilight thought it best to get some sleep for a while. Huddling up against the seat in a comfortable position, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep until the stop.
"She did what?" Shining Armor said to Spike, whose injuries still hurt from the magic blast she gave him. When Twilight's friend's saw her leave the Empire without looking at them and ignoring their calls, Rainbow Dash decided to ask what was going on—he heard from Applejack that she went up into the castle and told the others about it, including Cadance and Shining Armor. Each of them went inside and looked throughout the castle… they stood in shock by what they saw in the throne room.
Spikes charred body lay on the ground, his crying and shuddering had stopped moments ago while he just hugged his self in comfort all while mumbling things that they couldn't understand; it sounded like he was saying something like, "Don't leave me" or "I'll be a good boy". It broke Rarity's heart so much that her little Spikey-wikey was hurt and she wanted to know who did so she could rip them to pieces. Nopony ever touches a scale on her Spikey-wikey's cute little head!
However, when he came around and told them… their hearts all stopped at the mention of the name: Twilight. Why would she go and hurt the one thing she cared about and leave him for dead?
"Why in tarnation would she go and do something like that to Spike?"
"Whatever the reason that pony's going to answer to my hoof is she doesn't give me an answer why she would hurt my Spikey-wikey!" Rarity said, the others just looked at her, not really taking Rarity to be the violent type—Rainbow Dash more since the Great Dragon Migration—and could stand up to someone magical like Twilight.
"Um, Rarity, aren't you taking this a bit personal," Fluttershy said. "I'm sure Twilight was just under some stress about saving the Empire."
"That ain't no excuse to turn her favorite assistant into a fried turkey!" said Applejack.
"I agree with AJ!" Rainbow Dash said. "When I find Twilight, she's not going to be the only one to answer to my hoof. I swear the griffons will think she's one of their own!"
"But why would she do something to this to Spike? She's never been like this," Cadance said as she was busy tending to Spike with her healing magic, and soothing him with comforting words while he just stayed the same—crying and muttering to himself.
"But where could she have gone?" said Fluttershy.
"Last time I saw her," Pinkie Pie said, still dressed like a jester, "was her heading out of the Crystal Empire, I think."
All of them exchanged knowing looks before Rainbow Dash spoke. "What are the chances she's heading back to Ponyville."
"You might be right, Dash, but what would she be headin' back home fer?"
"Maybe she wants to be ready for a party when we save the empire," Pinkie Pie said.
The Elements of Harmony facehoofed at the party-maker's mentality, then Rainbow Dash looked at her. "Pinkie Pie, this is serious! Twilight nearly burned Spike, the dragon she cared about so much, almost to a crisp, and all you're worried about is a party? Can't you stop acting like a foal for once and act your age!"
"Rainbow, that's pushin' it a little, don' ya think?" Applejack scolded her lightly.
"I don't care if I hurt her feelings, she needs to act up. We have something big on our hands, and we need to find Twilight and ask her why she did this."
"But where did she go?" Fluttershy said.
"If my guess is right she probably went back to Ponyville."
"What about the Empire? Celestia's expecting her to pass her test," Rarity said, and look in horror as the barrier that protected it began to diminish and fade. In place of it, some of the crystals in the Empire began to shroud into the color black like before. Shining Armor saw this happened and could watch as King Sombra soon appeared before them. "Soon, it's all going to be mine again," he spoke in a cold voice while the glow of the Crystal Ponies coats reverted back to their faded look.
"Sombra, this isn't your empire anymore," Shining Armor said to him. The dark unicorn laughed at this.
"It will always be my empire! Soon it will have somepony to take my place when I am gone, and they will become more powerful than me. They will do me proud!"
The mention of somepony "taking his place" when he was gone got their attention. All of these questions were not coming into their head and they wanted answers… and the only pony who was liable to give them was Twilight. Shining Armor looked back at the Empire; he couldn't leave it unprotected, even for a second. He looked back at them and said, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you need to find Twilight and bring her back here."
"What about the Crystal Heart?" Applejack asked.
"I'll keep looking and if I don't succeed… Celestia help us all."
Knowing that this was something majorly disastrous, they all agreed and left the Empire and made their way back to the station they came from—the train already there and they quickly boarded it. Rarity asked the conductor if they could be taken back to Ponyville, who was willing to help as long as they didn't hurt him.
As the train got moving, each of them had thoughts about why the conductor would think they would hurt him. "You don't suppose Twilight had something to do with this, do you?" Rarity asked while they were pondering on it. They looked over at Spike, who was sound asleep, and wondered why Twilight was turning into like Trixie. Thinking of the blue unicorn gave a bad taste in their mouth. Though, Twilight was nothing like Trixie—one, she wasn't a braggart and two, she was stronger than her in magic.
In Ponyville, in her tree library home, Twilight sat in the candlelit darkness with a mountain of books stacked high like the Celestia's castle, in front of her. Her mind buried into the books, taking in the things she wanted—needed—to learn. As she studied, a voice called to her from nowhere: Twilight, my apprentice.
My master, she greeted to him.
Cadance's magic barrier around the Empire is fading away, thanks to a piece of my horn. Now once it's gone, you will be able to come back home, and watch as your empire grows stronger and stronger as time goes on.
But what about Spike? What I did to him back in the throne room, I shouldn't have… he's always been loyal to me and I never wanted him to leave my side. Please, master, I don't want to be separated from my number on assistant!
She could hear him give a slight chuckle before his voice had an apologetic tone to it: You shouldn't have to worry about your pet dragon, Twilight. When the time comes, you can decide if he's willing to stay by your side like he always has, or be with those so-called friends of yours. My dear, right now you should be more concerned with making yourself stronger… the time for Spike will come later.
Yes, master.
King Sombra's voice faded away while Twilight looked at the picture of her and her friend's they had taken together that one day. With hatred in her eyes, she blasted the picture into a burning mess before throwing it into the fireplace. As she watched it burn, her coat was slowly starting to fade from its light purple to a dark purple.
"I don't need friends," she said to herself and went back to her studies. Unknown to her, an owl watched her from a closed window and flew off.
Well, there's another chapter for you, everypony. But I feel like this story isn't turning out the way I want to… Like I said I have no experience with MLP (even though I watched all the seasons, and read some fanfics) but when it comes to making my own, I'm lost on it. Do you like the story? If you do, give me some tips or something I can use to make this story better, and if you think the whole thing needs a rewrite—let me know and I'll be happy to do it for you.