When Rainbow Dash suddenly proclaims her love and adoration for a certain 'Miss Sparkle' and tells her friends the story of how the unicorn 'fixed' her, the girls are hesitant to take the situation at face value. However, even they can't deny it when the facts begin to build into a case against Twilight. Twilight claims innocence but her words sound like hollow excuses and obvious lies. The four of them are left wondering if Twilight Sparkle is truly the hero she once was or if she has finally allowed her true nature to show: the nature of a heartless psychopath.
[ Spoilers in the comments... So many spoilers... 
]
[ 'Miss Sparkle' occurs a few months before Twilight's ascension, early in the spring of Twilight's second year in Ponyville. According to my version of the chronological timeline, the only episodes of the first three seasons that have yet to take place are (in chronological order) "Wonderbolts Academy", "Just for Sidekicks", "Games Ponies Play", "Spike At Your Service", "Keep Calm and Flutter On" and "Magical Mystery Cure". ]
[ The cover art was made by the oh-so-generous tehmisiu. Thanks again! 
]
[ 'Miss Sparkle' placed first in (Incoming spoiler of story-ruining proportions!) Blundy's TwiDash Framed Challenge! Thank you all so much for your support! ]
[ To top it off, Twilight's Library found it worthy of being added to their shelves. I'm at a loss for words as I write this, and I probably will be when you read this too. Just... Thank you. Thank you all so much. ]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/m9vLrr7.png[/img]
![http://i.imgur.com/m9vLrr7.png[/img]](http://i.imgur.com/m9vLrr7.png[/img]){kind=link}
I guess I'll keep an eye on this.
Full of yes.
Interesting.........
Very nice! I look forward to more!
i'm actually kinda wishing i hadn't read this until the full story was due to be out. now i'm really excited to know what's going on!
More.
Would be nine if not for one simple thing; I WANT MORE!
That one word says everything that needs to be said.
You get eight mustaches out of ten
4060307 I agree more................................
4059851
I second this notion.
Viva Namida
i.imgur.com/VfvEi.gif
Please!
Looks promising!
Making Twilight a proper psycho? Well shit, I'm starting to be excited for this one
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When I got home from work I didn't expect to see... well, this! 'Miss Sparkle' is up to thirty-seven likes and fifty faves... It even managed to find its way into the Popular Stories box on the main page! My stories have never gotten this much attention before. You all made my day. Thank you so much, everypony!
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Thanks for the kind words! I hope the next segment will be all you hoped it could be.
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That's exactly why I didn't post it until a week after it was written. I'm glad you're that excited, though. I'll try extra-hard just for you!
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I tend to write random pieces of a story whenever the mood strikes, so I never know when the next scene in order will be finished. Thankfully, this one shouldn't take much longer! Once I pin down what it's missing I'll be sure to post it for you!
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Ah, but the tears are yet to come.
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I'm so glad you like it! That means a lot to me. I loved 'Listen and Learn' and 'Självdestruktivitetens Emissarie', and knowing that an author I like that much enjoys my work makes it feel even more fulfilling!
Well, I suppose I should give the viewers what they want. I'm off to write some more! Wish me luck, everypony.
Feh.
Now this is promising. When's the first chapter coming out?
Three hundred thirty views.... Sixty-six likes and ninety-one faves... Sweet Celestia, where are you all coming from?
I've never had this kind of attention on a story before. This is a little overwhelming. Not that I'm complaining, of course!
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Welcome back, Oobie! I hope you found something you like this time around.
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Thanks, Microgam3r! Don't worry, the next part should be up very soon. I'm about to walk to work, but if all goes according to plan I should be finished with the next couple of scenes tonight.
Actually, this was meant to be a one-shot but each scene is about as long as a chapter of some stories I've read... Is that a bad thing? Maybe I'll break it into chapters just to make it easier to read. I mean, I've nearly broken twenty thousand words and I'm nowhere near done. I don't think I can call it a one-shot any longer, haha.
4062404 You're a monster! A MONSTER!!!
Why would you do that?! but I want MORE!!! 
A good start, can't wait to see more.
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All in due time. I'm nearly finished with the second scene. In the meantime I'm open to suggestions for a hundred-fave thank-you special! See blog post for details: http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/296606/one-hundred-faves
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Aww, thanks! Maybe you won't have to wait for long. I haven't decided yet. Details for that are also in said blog post.
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Eh, it's better...
But I still don't like it.
4068108 Cosplay as someone with a more useful comment. GO!
(JK)
4068108
Good enough for me!
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"Cosplay! Go!" *stares*
"...Staaahp!"
No worries, Snuggly, Oobie's harmless. Thanks for having my back, though! Haha, I can't shake the image of your avatar staring at him until he gives it a shot.
Seems kind of strange Twilight would slip up so severely after so long. She plays the role of hero perfectly and then mindrapes Dash into being her marefriend and just expects that everyone's going to accept it without question? Something's amiss.
This is sounding kind of fishy. Especially once I googled "psychopathy" to refresh my mind on what it's about and realized that Twilight exhibits none of the signs of one--she's not reckless, bold, overconfident, etc. It could be acting, but that would require a level of acting ability that no one could possess, especially given the fact she'd have to play the "role" for a decade (considering this would have to go back to her time as Celestia's student). She'd have stumbled and imploded long before this point.
it's a win-win, either way. Either there's some conspiracy shenanigans going on (which substantially raises the likelihood of a [Grimdark] ending to Tough Love levels) or evil!Twilight will get a great villainous breakdown.
.......... problem with this story........... pretty sure a psychopath wouldn't bear the symbol of a divine tree of balance symbol on her butt. think the elements would kinda NOT choose someone with such a negative personality trait. its not even one that conflicts with her element, it is something that simply makes lies of what she does.
meaning the element would never go to her......... prettu sure that a weapon against inbalance could kinda sense inbalance.
The only explanation I can think of that doesn't involve crazy Twilight is Rainbow Dash died and she Frankensteined her and her brain isn't all there. If it involved illegal magic I can imagine why she kept it secret, and maybe needs something from the Canterlot archives...
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This is so much fun! Part three should be up in a few days...
By the way, Arzoo, you and Pinkie came to the same conclusion and we're pretty sure RD ruled that one out.
Is Twilight going to show up with one of Rainbow's eyes?
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No comment... yet.
Well, as much as I'd love to stay up and read more of your theories, I have to be up for work at three in the morning EST. Maybe I'll see you all then. Good night, everypony!
The next chapter can not be here soon enough.
im confused but i want to read the rest of this so ill wait
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Ruled it out how? She's not exactly a reliable witness.
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The third scene is giving me some trouble, but I won't allow that to slow me down. I hope to post it on the thirteenth.
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Good point!
And it couldn't be Chrysalis because...
Seriously. she's been shown to mind-rape ponies--while disguised as other ponies no less--and she's got the perfect motive to fuck up RD and Twilight.
I'm starting to get that horrible gut feeling that this is gonna end with Twilight getting her horn cut off and then it being revealed that she's completely innocent.
It's actually a clone/construct, the real RD is on the train with twilight, calling it now
Oh, it's growing difficult not to confirm or deny these theories. I suppose that doesn't count for ones I've already mentioned, does it? Speaking of which...
4072083
I didn't delve into it because I had planned for their reasons to become apparent in the next segment, but since it's such a small detail I may as well explain it now.
'Miss Sparkle' takes place after the invasion but before Discord's reconditioning. Going by my own thoughts on the series' chronology I'd say it would take place in the second spring since Twilight arrived in Ponyville, after 'Hearth's Warming Eve' but just before 'Hearts and Hooves Day'.
This, of course, means that Discord is still trapped in stone, since I think he was released the following summer, just before Twilight's ascension to alicornhood. The Elements of Harmony know that since he broke out once, he can probably do so again; after all, if he broke a curse placed upon him by the nigh-infallible Princesses, what results could six normal mares hope to achieve with the same spell? If he had broken free, though, they think the signs would be much more obvious.
As for the changelings... Princess Celestia might be too polite, but she's also a wise and at times ruthless ruler. After the failed invasion, Equestria has been keeping an eye on the movement of Chrysalis and her changelings; as far as the Princesses, and thus Twilight, and thus her best friends know, the bugs are still south of the Badlands. Besides, while the changelings do have hypnotic and appearance-altering magic, the four of them don't think it looks anything like what currently effects Rainbow Dash. Even if there were some changelings running around, the girls suppose it would be unlikely for them to be behind her condition.
Of course, I didn't say it couldn't be Chrysalis. I just said the four of them found it unlikely.
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I suppose we'll find out soon. The train should arrive tonight or tomorrow!
All right.
You have my attention.
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Because every mental illness is with us from the moment we are born.
I can actually see Twilight as a psychopath.
Psychopaths are usually pretty charismatic upfront, yet are cold and lack empathy for others, and can even say something that could seem cruel or cold but make up for it with the next sentence. I'm thinking Twilight's eye for detail and ability to sort of work things out without too much emotion could act as a sign of her true side coming out.
And my thoughts on the elements choosing Twilight are this: psychopaths are usually disgusted by things we wouldn't find abnormal, yet could stare for hours at something someone else couldn't bear to look at. Perhaps in Twilight's twisted mind, she found friendships to be abhorrent, yet the elements, knowing she could become something great if she were to actually make friends, used their own power on her. Perhaps that's why it took until the very end of their fight against Nightmare Moon before the Element of Magic appeared to Twilight; she needed to realize that having friends just might not be too bad. (I.E. a friend will be there when you most need them.) She became harmonious in order for her to become harmonious by the power of the elements. The Element of Magic is nothing without Twilight, and vice versa.
Just my thoughts on the subject. Whether or not it would be canonical makes no never mind to me, the story in and of itself intrigues me. I look forward to what you have in store for us next!
~Wingless~
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We've seen the kind of trauma Twilight has undergone during, say, her trials with Discord or the Canterlot Wedding arc. Canon is light and fluffy, but fanon is here to fill in the gaps and tear away veils. Even just including canon events, the characters have been through more than any of us can imagine. It's not much of a leap to say that the events have effected them all in ways the cartoon can't show. Maybe Twilight, unwilling to feel abandoned once again, has preemptively broken off her emotional connection to others and lives in a world of logic, fact and survival instinct. Maybe Rarity is afraid of heights from her botched routine at the Best Young Fliers Competition. That's all up for interpretation and I intend to take full advantage of that to bring my portrayals of these ponies to life.
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But enough about your avatar.
Just kidding! I think it's pretty great.
Thank you for your response. I suppose I shouldn't say more than that, haha.
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Oh, don't get me wrong, I am on your side.
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I know. I simply linked you since I assumed you'd be interested in the conversation, and since I already replied to lordofmyth's comment in a rather less helpful manner two days ago and it was your input that inspired me to clarify my thoughts.
4076426
I see!
Well, I retract my previous comment then.
i was kinda hoping it was her but maybe it was her under the influence of a spell herself
Why do I hope that Twi is lying?
You deliver as always. Now for my usual feedback. MORE!!
This is confusing me,...
4076797 lying or not, still hoping this stays as a twidash in the end.
4076376 takinga psychological turn ith them is difficult at best I would say. largely because they ain't human. not less human, just they developed in a very different way. psychosis could well be very different for an equine than a human.
other than that if she was a psychopath then the elemens would weaken. having unnatural emotions would probably cause the element to either weaken to compeltelyl abandon a bearer. for friendship requires the capacity for healthy emotion.
though I am not beyond the concept of some kind of mental instability being part of twilight. then again I think that all of equestrian has some level of instability, minor or otherwise. how else can they deal with a world where you can accidentally stumble upon some citrus/amphibian hybrid and not go mad?
more seriously, I have a concept for twilight being bonkers......... its far more complicated that her having something wrong with her head. tis that something is right with it.
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I'm not as happy with my portrayal of Rarity in this story as in my last one. The thing is, since I've been writing 'Miss Sparkle' in a hurry I haven't been able to pin down exactly what's wrong with her. Care to elaborate? I'm always looking to improve!
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So it seems everypony wants Twilight to go batshit and make the citizens of Ponyville her bitches. We'll see.
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Aww, thanks. I'm happy to hear that I haven't started boring anypony. Never fear, I'm hard at work on the next chapter!
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What fun is a story with a predictable ending?
Then my work here is done.
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While I agree that psychosis could be different, I don't think it has to be. Ponies and humans are very similar in every aspect but their appearance, after all.
As for the elements, I believe that the proper mindset as a whole is key: embodying the Element they bear while being in absolute harmony with the other bearers. I don't think an Element would abandon the bearer completely, though, else they would have lost them during the Return of Harmony arc. The Element of Magic, though, is different. A few ponies in 'Miss Sparkle' have their theories about the topic.
Oh, and while we're on the topic of mental instability, I think it's important to every world. How else can we stumble upon a fox flattened by a semi truck, surrounded by its keening pups, and not go mad? I'd rather meet one of Twilight's experiments.
4077321 not really, more like no matter how this all turns out, i don't want anyone to die, and i'd love it if twidash wound up being the end ship. i've never had a serious problem with some sorts of evil twilight, especially if i don't read it, and just see the results. i'm weird that way. like, i don't mind if she did make dash the way she is right now, since i didn't read that she did it. all i'm reading is an unusual twidash shipping story. does that make sense?
4077321 points towards the rainbow eyes epsidoes.
no, a mindset is not part of it at all. cause if you think about it, Fluttershy had the right mindset for kindness. yet she had to overcome her own virtue to truly help another. if it was nothing more than mindset then it would be more one dimensional in purpose, and there would be no error in letting it take over.
and if you think about it, it would have to be different. largely ponies have similarities mentally yet major differences. would a species that is an herbivore species likely produce serial killers? not saying it would be imposible but first it would have to byupass millennium of development that tell them blood equels panic.