Becoming Twilight

by RandomGreymane

Chapter 6

Becoming Twilight - Chapter 6 by RandomGreymane (Mike Hebel)

After catching Spike up as he dug into his bowl of Jem-O’s, (a cereal that Pinkie Pie insisted on making and boxing for him out of shards leftover from Rarity’s endless gem shaping), Twilight had him take a letter to Papyrus fixing a firm date for their next meeting in two weeks time.

That done she took her leave and headed to the schoolyard where she found Scootaloo just starting the morning routine.

“Twilight!” exclaimed Scootaloo “I didn’t expect to see you here with all that’s going on with the newspaper.”

“I gave you my word I’d practice with you every morning and practice I shall.” Twilight said smiling broadly at the filly.

“Let’s get started then!” said Scootaloo extending her wings to start the first pattern.

Twilight and Scootaloo fell into the exercise routine with enthusiasm and were soon feeling the familiar satisfaction that comes with working out.

Several times both of them noticed flashes of light from the nearby bushes. Twilight told Scootaloo to ignore them and continue working out. Scootaloo having seen the press photographers several times around Ponyville already just nodded her head and concentrated on the next set of repetitions.

When they were finished Twilight treated Scootaloo to breakfast at the local café.

“So....” Scootaloo said hesitating a bit “...what are you going to do about the newspaper guy? What’s his name? Inkblot?”

“Nothing for the moment.” said Twilight setting her coffee cup back onto the table “It’s all just words Scootaloo. The more attention I give them the more he can use them against me.”

“But won’t everypony believe what he says?” replied Scootaloo in a worried tone “I mean everypony reads that paper! What are they going to think?”

“They are going to think...” said Twilight pausing to look directly at the young filly “...exactly what they choose to think. I can’t change their minds for them I have to do that on their own. And the best way I can see that happening is by me just learning to rise about it.”

“Rise above it.” said Scootaloo smiling now “That sounds like just the right thing!”

Finishing breakfast the two parted ways and Twilight once again found herself lost in thought as she walked back to the library.

That editor is really starting to wear on me but the best thing to do is just ignore him and keep doing what I need to do. Things will even out eventually.

When she reached the library she was surprised to find Rainbow Dash waiting for her with a stern look on her face.

“About time you showed up!” said Rainbow Dash confronting Twilight “We’ve got a real problem with that newspony!”

“Look Rainbow at this time I’m going to just let sleeping diamond dogs lie...what?” Twilight stopped talking abruptly seeing the look on Rainbow Dash’s face

“They assaulted Scootaloo.” Rainbow said grimly “She was on her way back to the Schoolyard when three of those reporters surrounded her and backed her flank up to a wall and hammered her with questions until she was in tears.”

Not immediately racing to the 'Times building and setting it ablaze or teleporting it to the moon took surprisingly more effort than Twilight expected. Still...maybe just a little fire....some snakes... she thought before shaking her head to snap herself out of it.

“Is she okay after all that?” asked Twilight softly “I mean as okay as anypony can be when confronted by overwhelming force and scared out of her wits.”

“They told her she deserved it.” Rainbow finished simply.

“What.” Twilight said.

“They told her she deserved it for hanging around with an egghead princess like you.” Rainbow elaborated folding her forelegs as if waiting for something.

Something in Twilight made a tiny sharp snapping noise. And then in a flash of light she was no longer standing in front of a very smug looking Rainbow Dash.

=====================

Somewhere a dark colored mare and a white one were sitting in front of a fireplace with a roaring fire. This in and of itself was odd as it was the middle of summer. The fire though was rippling with magick around the edges and images displayed themselves within.

“Are we going to stop her?” Luna asked?

“Oh Tartarus no.” Celestia replied “Twilight needs exactly this and frankly Inkblot has been warned several times. This should be interesting at the very least.”

“Tis well that I made us popcorn then.” Luna said smiling and floating a large bowl down between them.

The two princesses continued gazing into the fire.

=======================

The Twisted Times building was a nondescript building hidden away in the warehouse section of Ponyville. It’s walls were simple wood and stone that had withstood many years and many storms.

They did not however withstand the fury of a princess.

Appearing in a ball of light and plasma Twilight stepped forth through the front door of the newspaper building without opening it as if it was made of the same material the business sent out every day.

Walking up to the front desk Twilight’s hooves left burnt marks in the polished wooden floor with each step.

Not even looking up from her work the receptionist said “Can I help you?”

“WHERE. IS. INKBLOT.” Twilight said accentuating each word with a flash of plasma sparking across her body.

Continuing to peer into her office papers the receptionist said “Mister Inkblot is in a meeting. Do you have an appointment?”

“ARRRRGH!” Twilight screamed. With a burst of her magick the entire desk and the papers were gone leaving the reception-pony sitting on the floor staring up with wide eyes.

“OH MY SWEET CELESTIA!” the mare said quickly backing herself into a nearby corner. “He’s....he’s through there! Up the stairs at the end of the hallway! Please don’t hurt me!”

Grunting and shaking her head slightly Twilight reached out with her magick and ripped the indicated door from it’s hinges sending it flying against the front wall of the room.

As Twilight walked down the hallway she took moments to look into the rooms as she passed. As she did so the occupants of each room took one look at her and immediately started flooding out of the building. Most of them opted to take the windows as an exit.

Reaching the top of the stairs, burning hoofprints in the carpet behind her, Twilight found that the second floor of the very large building was entirely devoted to a single office which was more of an apartment than anything.

“INKBLOT. HERE. NOW.” Twilight bellowed using the traditional voice spell that she so often prevented Luna from using in public “NOW INKBLOT!”

Twilight listened and she could hear whimpering behind the extremely large desk set in the center of the the room. Slowly walking up to the desk Twilight put her hoof to the right of the desk and, wings suddenly extended, used her foreleg to sweep the desk to the side and out of the side of the building.

Ignoring the crashing noises and screams of surprise from outside Twilight enveloped Inkblot with her magick and lifted him into the air before her so she could get a good look at the pony that had caused her so much trouble.

The colt in front of her was older and well dressed in clothes that even Rarity would have had to admit were the height of fashion. Looking with fear into Twilight’s eyes Inkblot wisely said nothing.

“INKBLOT! I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT ME. I REALLY AND TRULY DON’T. I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT ANYPONY FOR THAT MATTER. WHAT I DO CARE ABOUT IS THE FACT THAT YOU ACCOSTED A FRIEND OF MINE. AND WORSE YET A YOUNG FILLY!”

Twilight paused to take a breath before continuing.

“YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO THESE THINGS. YOU WILL HENCEFORTH NO LONGER BE THE MANAGING EDITOR OF THIS ESTABLISHMENT. FOR ONE YEAR YOU SHALL NOT WORK IN ANY POSITION RELATED TO YOUR SPECIAL TALENT AND YOUR CUTIE MARK AS OF THIS DAY SHALL NOT BE SEEN IN PUBLIC UNTIL YOUR YEAR IS UP! AS A PRINCESS OF EQUESTRIA I SO DECREE!”

With a burst of will and magick Twilight placed an invisibility spell on Inkblot to hide his cutie mark and capped it off with a timer spell set to revert in one Equestrian year.

Her rage spent Twilight set the businesspony to the floor. Suddenly what she saw was an aging businesspony past his prime. A pony that was no longer worth her time and effort.

Reaching out once more with her magick she put out any fires in the building and repaired any broken pieces of the building itself minus the desk she had turned to dust. Inkblot’s desk she left outside.

He won’t be needing it any more anyways. Twilight thought as she teleported herself home to her room.

========================

“Well that went better than I’d hoped.” Celestia said reaching out to end the spell and extinguish the flames “I half expected her to turn the entire building to dust.”

“Her mastery of her emotions has gotten considerably better. I’m not the least surprised she didn’t do more damage.” said Luna finishing the remaining popcorn “She is at heart a gentle pony after all.”

Grinning and nodding Celestia grabbed a nearby pillow without warning and hit Luna in the face with it.

Not missing a beat Luna returned the favor. “LUNA SMASH!” she said laughing at the same time.

The impromptu pillow fight lasted for quite some time until a guard knocked on the door reminding Celestia of her duties.

Smiling briefly at her sister Celestia’s magick glowed just as she shut the door behind her. Pausing to listen all she could hear were the muffled sounds of her sister’s laughter underneath the 100 pillows that had suddenly rained from the ceiling.

==========================

“So...I made him a blank flank.” Twilight said sitting at Sugarcube Corner watching Scootaloo consume the cupcake she’d just bought the filly.

“Awesum!” Scootaloo said her mouth filled with cake “That’ll teach him!”

“Exercises tomorrow as usual?” Twilight asked sipping her iced coffee.

“I think...I think we can wait a week on that.” Scootaloo said looking down at the table then up at Twilight “Rainbow Dash said I should admit sometimes when things bug me aaand this one shook me up a little. I’ll be fine in a week.”

“A week it is.” Twilight said finishing her drink “I will catch you later then.”

====================

Later that night Twilight once again met Luna but this time physically out on her porch where they looked up through Twilight’s telescope.

“That one I don’t know about...” said Luna peering into the eyepiece “It might be one of the stars Tia created while I was imprisoned. It’s strange Twilight but I do not now know every facet of the night sky. It’s a part of me and yet the sky has so changed since I’ve been gone that it feels...unfamiliar at times.”

“All of this still feels unfamiliar to me...” Twilight said softly looking into her teacup “Even the tea doesn’t taste right.”

“Hmm...foods will taste a bit different to you over time.” Luna said takng a sip from her own cup “You are an alicorn now and we are slightly different creatures.”

Twilight stared into her cup silently.

“Hmm...I know that look Twilight Sparkle.” said Luna “What occupies thine thoughts my friend?”

“Will my other friends become like me?” Twilight asked.

“Truthfully we don’t know.” Luna said “The last time there were a full set of the bearers of the elements they did not have them for long nor bond with them as you have. Only one of them lived to any great age and that was likely due more to clean living than the element he bore.”

“So it’s not possible for them to...evolve...as I have?” Twilight asked.

“Dear Twilight clean out your ears. I said we don’t know.” Luna replied in mild exasperation “While it is possible for anypony to evolve, and especially possible for the bearers, you have to remember how special you are. You are exceptional just as Cadance is. That is why you are an alicorn now. Your friends may very well join us as sisters but not any time soon.”

“Still...I can’t help but wonder what all this will be like in 100 years” said Twilight voicing her thoughts “let alone 500 or 1000.”

“Thou...you...have no idea.” said Luna correcting her speech “The world sometimes will whizz by and sometimes crawl. And there will be times from day to day that you know not of what will happen or where you will end up. But it does give you a great advantage that you especially should enjoy.”

“What’s that?” Twilight asked while putting down the half finished cup of tea.

“Knowledge. You my dear” said Luna “have a potentially infinite time to study...well...everything. An infinite time study butterflies in the field.” she finished with a smile.

“Or pain.” Twilight said grimly.

“Oh for the...listen!” said Luna sharply “You are no worse a pony today than you were yesterday! Trust someone who’s been consumed by her own darkness. You will be fine.”

“I think that what worries me most about it Luna was that I enjoyed it.” Twilight said quietly.

“Well that is indeed something to watch out for.” said Luna with a slight cough “However there is such a thing as being justified in your anger. We all love. We all hate. It’s when they overwhelm us that it doth cover our gaze with clouds.”

“Y’know...there are some of ‘thine’ speech patterns that transcend time.” Twilight said with a faint smile “Still I can’t help think what would have happened if I’d truly lost it.”

“Twilight. You DID lose it.” Luna said emphasizing her words carefully “Tia and I watched and not once did you think of anything but kicking Inkblot’s flank. But in the end you didn’t. And that’s what matters.”

“Afterwards it occurred to me that the two of you might be watching.” Twilight said taking a sudden interest in her hooves “Would you have stopped me?”

“No.” said Luna.

“No?” asked Twilight “Not even if I killed somepony?”

“No” said Luna smiling.

“Well why the hay not?” asked Twilight with a confused expression on her face.

“Twilight you already know the answer.” sighed Luna “Remember what I said? Things are more than you could possibly imagine what ponies perceive them to be. 500 years from now nopony is going to even recall Inkblot let alone that you threw a desk through the side of a building. Trust one who knows.”

“So have...*ahem*” Twilight said trying to phrase the question politely.

“Killed? Yes. More times than I can count.” said Luna staring directly into Twilight’s eyes. “And you will too. Though probably not for many years if the fates are kind to thee.”

Twilight sat and let the thoughts whirl around in her head like a building tornado until it was interrupted by a gentle hoof to her nose.

“Boop.” said Luna with a smile.

Twilight couldn’t help but start to laugh uncontrollably until her inability to breath brought her back to reality. All the while Luna watched with a smile on her face.

“Well my dear this has been quite the evening but I must needs lower the moon else I gain another 1000 years of imprisonment.” said Luna winking at Twilight “I shall catch you on the morrow.”

“I shall look forward to it.” said Twilight “And thank you. For everything.”

“What are sisters for?” said Luna grinning. As Twilight watched Luna began to fade into the darkness. Her form melting until only her eyes and smile were brightly visible. Then those too were gone.

In the remaining darkness Twilight gathered the telescope and other items and brought them just inside the door then headed off to bed the exhaustion of the recent events putting her to sleep before her head hit the pillow.

=================

Twilight was standing in a field. A field of butterflies and flowers.

She couldn’t recall how she got there but she happily sniffed at the flowers and named them one by one as she did so.

“Queen Anne’s Lace...Tulips...Ponybells...” she said sniffing each in turn “...I don’t know this one.”

The flower was red and shaped like a rose but with black edges. Peering closely Twilight reached out with her magick and plucked it for further examination.

Without warning a scream sounded from the flower increasing in pitch until Twilight had to clap her hooves over her ears to block out the noise.

“Now you’ve done it.” said one of the nearby Tulips it’s voice penetrating the wailing.

“DONE WHAT?” screamed Twilight.

“Summoned the zombies.” said the flower matter-of-factly.

“THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS....zombies?” Twilight said as she suddenly noticed ponies appearing in the field before her.

One look told Twilight that she was, as incredible as it seemed, facing zombie ponies. The rotting flesh falling from their bones and fluids dripping from gaping wounds in their sides coated the ground as they shambled towards her. Each step trampling flowers and grass until the ground beneath them was a mixture of nothing but muck and gore.

Panicking Twilight tried to teleport but found that she couldn’t. Strangely her hooves refused to move as well. As the zombies grew closer she could hear them moaning and talking.

“You deserrrve this.”

“Killlerrr!”

“Patchwork Princessss!”

Frantically trying to user her magick to free her hooves Twilight suddenly noticed that the lead pony looked familiar. It was Inkblot but not as she’d last seen him. One eye was missing and the socket dripping a rancid smelling volume of green and yellow pus. One of his hind legs was broken and dragging behind him. Festering wounds covered his body where his once fine clothes were torn and shredded.

“I wasss the firsssst.” he moaned “The first of your deaaaaad.”

“FIRST OF YOUR DEAD!” echoed the mass of marching zombies.

Twilight still struggling to free herself felt the first bite on her hind leg and screamed. The bites continued. Legs, flank, neck. With one sharp swipe of his hoof Inkblot knocked her sideways into the mass of seething zombie flesh.

The sudden shock woke Twilight. Sweating and panting she was safe in her bed. Looking to her left Luna stood there with a sad look on her face.

“Twilight. I’m only going to say this once.” she sighed “Stop torturing yourself. You didn’t kill him though you could have.”

Once again Luna faded into the darkness.

Comments

[BenRG]

That is the consequence of being a moral and mortal (if long-lived) being with great power. You will always fear that you are going to abuse that power. Of course, it is that fear that stops you from doing so but that doesn't make the fear any less.

[Commander Darklight]

Thanks luna thats only slightly creepy

[vampnyx]

Twilight......remind me never to piss you off