I recall reading a phrase in one of Celestia's dusty old tomes.
"If the gods are for us, then who can be against us?"
Well, based on the simple law of inversion, then the inverse of the phrase must also be true.
"If the gods are against us, then who can be for us?"
Everypony is special. We all have some sort of talent that sets us apart from others. Some are skilled at music, or gardening, or shoemaking...just about anything can become a ponies special talent. Yet, every once in a while, a pony comes along who shows real promise with their talent. A talent like magic.
I was the first to be blessed with such a talent since Starswirl the Bearded. His skill had long been held as legendary, record setting. Then I came along and shattered those records. I was good.
Nay, I was better than good.
I was godlike.
I say god "like" because I still lacked the official title of a goddess. My skill and power however, was already equal to that of an Alicorn. Perhaps I had even surpassed it by this point.
I had power, but I was still nothing. I was still a student to Celestia, whom I fawned over constantly. I longed to understand her magic, to learn from her. So, in return for my lessons, I served at her beck and call. When she was kidnapped by Nightmare Moon, it was I who lead the effort to rescue her. When Discord was awakened, she tasked me with finding the stolen elements and defeating him. When the Changeling Queen reared her ugly head and tried to seize the power in Canterlot, I witnessed the god I had so lovingly served do battle with her nemesis.
She was thrown down in less than a minute.
The paradigm I had so long upheld, and strove to become, lay before me shattered on the floor. She had seemed so strong, and yet, I had witnessed her fall. It shocked me to the core.
What shocked me even further, is that she played no part in defeating the Changeling Queen. That honor went to myself, my friends, and the bride and groom. I had long been staring at Celestia as the ultimate being. A perfect goddess, who I would study under and one day succeed. I had placed her upon a marble pedestal, and even now I could see cracks forming in the stone.
Then came the reappearance of the Crystal Empire. As expected, my teacher did not accompany us. In fact, she didn't do so much as lift a hoof to help us. We conquered Sombra by ourselves. Upon return however, I was given the offer of a lifetime.
I was given the offer to become a goddess.
All my life I had dreamed of such an offer. To join the likes of Celestia, Luna, and Cadence in the great pantheon of Equestria. I was to not only become immortal, but I would finally unlock my true potential. My whole life, I had been promised that one day I would reach the top. That I would one day be the best magician Equestria had ever seen. My day had come.
I took up their offer in a heartbeat.
I felt as though a pressure had been lifted from me. It was as if my whole life, I had been kept inside a locked box. Everything about me had been contained. My mind. My knowledge. My magic. Now the walls that had once boxed me in were torn down.
My mind?
Opened.
My knowledge?
Expanded.
My magic?
Unlimited.
I felt stronger... I felt like a goddess.
I thought this would be the beginning of a new golden age for myself. I thought that now, my long years of training beneath the wings of Celestia had paid off. I thought that I would now be free, as Luna and Celestia were. I thought that now I would be a ruler, as they were. I had never been more wrong.
I may have been imbued with the wings and powers of an almighty goddess, but now I served the role of a slave. Every pony all Equestia over seemed to require my assistance. Whether it was a friend who had betrayed them, a magic spell that simply refused to be cast, or an argument over who owned a certain plush pony doll, it was I who had to answer the call. The domain of Celestia and Luna was the heavens. The domain of Cadence was love. My domain was "magic". While the other three goddesses spent their days in the comfort and luxury of Canterlot, I toiled day in and day out among the masses. I flew from Canterlot to Appleoosa to Ponyville solving the problems of the populace.
It seemed that every pony required assistance from their new goddess of magic.
It had begun to drive me mad. Dealing with the issues of my best friends had been difficult enough. Now I was expected to solve the problems of every pony everywhere. I was being spread far to thin. My entire existence was to fly about like a mad pony fixing every problem, big or small. I was not the goddess of magic. I was merely a slave to its whims.
I requested to Celestia that I be given a kingdom of my own. I would have my own subjects, my own towns, and a border on my influence. I would be restrained from having to skitter over all Equestria, solving every single problem that ponykind could throw at me. I finally had a limit. I would only be spread as far as the walls of my kingdom. It was refreshing to think that I would finally be able to relax.
I was granted the kingdom that I deserved, but it all felt wrong. During my days of wandering Equestria solving problems, I had felt a something I had never felt before. I felt power. I felt a sense of dominion over those ponies. I had been a goddess to every pony in Equestria. Now, I was nothing more than a princess in a tiny kingdom. I realized that I had placed myself back into the same box that I had escaped from with godhood. I resolved that I would no longer be contained.
For too long I had been the student of Celestia. I had served her faithfully, although I had witnessed her defeat. I knew just how impotent she truly was. With my promotion to godhood, I had been made her equal... nay, I had been made her superior. I resolved that I would never again be contained. I was a goddess. I deserved far better.
I returned to Canterlot's palace for the first time in years to take part in a trial. A pony I had once known, the "Great and Powerful" Trixie, had returned to Ponyville and retrieved the Alicorn Amulet. She hadn't caused any trouble with it yet, but the artifact was considered contraband, and thus her mere possession of it was a crime. She had been brought before the Royal Court to face justice.
It was justice that I advocated. After all, I was the element of magic. Shouldn't I be the one to decide what magic the mortals could use? I believed the amulet should be turned over to me for safekeeping in my kingdom. The others refused. They all proposed different solutions, but I turned them all down. This was a matter for me to decide, not them. Did I interfere with the sun, the moon, or love? So why did they interfere with magic?
The meeting was adjourned, and Celestia took me aside. She spoke to me as though I was still a filly. I would not be contained any longer. In a fit of rage, I unleashed the full force of my magic. Every window in the hallway shattered beneath the power I exuded. I caught every single shard, and sent them hurtling into my teacher. Seconds later, I stood over her corpse.
It was... Exhilarating.
I'd never used magic in such a way before, nor with such force. I felt powerful once more.
Cadence attempted to avenge her fallen aunt. I broke her forelegs and made her kneel before me. Then, I beheaded her with the same glass I had used to slay Celestia. I had felled two gods. I had unleashed my true potential at last.
Luna tried to resist me as well. However, she fared far better than her sister. She managed to escape with her life. She fled the palace, and fled Canterlot. I chose not to pursue her. Her intentions were as clear as day. Luna was no coward. She was hardly a match for me on her own, and she knew it. Her only logical course of action was to find a way to match my power. I knew then what she planned to do. She intended to rally the other Elements of Harmony against me.
It was a clever idea, but one that was doomed from the start.
The other element bearers were rallied, and converged upon Canterlot to face off with me. They managed to activate the elements, summon the rainbow of light, and unleash Harmony upon me. And yet, for all their power, they were still inferior to me.
I broke their assault with a single spoken word.
"Enough!"
The rainbow they had intended to kill me with was twisted back towards them. As the element of magic, I was in control of it after all. I hurled it back at my former friends, and willed it to explode. In the battle of wills, mine pitted against the might of Harmony, mine triumphed. The collective might of all five elements burst out in fire and smoke. The six who faced me were thrown back. I assumed this was the end.
I was wrong.
They had lived. This was an error I could easily remedy.
Applejack and Fluttershy lay together on the stone floor. With a simple heating spell, the same kind I had used to boil water in the past, I incinerated them.
Rainbow Dash managed a sonic rainboom in close quarters. A truly impressive feat, even for a pegasus as skilled as her. I merely slapped her off course. She hit the wall and split her skull.
Luna closed in on me, intent to kill. I broke her legs, then ground the bones until they were no more than gravel. Then, my slap came back around, as I hit her with the back of my hoof.
Rarity made a ludicrous charge at me with a chunk of metal. Her efforts were laughable at best. I teleported the distance between us, and rammed her impromptu sword through her heart.
Pinkie Pie put up the longest resistance, and laughed the whole way. While infuriating, she was not above death. She fell beneath a torrent of hoofbeats that reduced her to a bloody pulp.
As the last of my former friends fell into death, I breathed a sigh of relief. The throne room became quiet and peaceful again. I was at last alone to reflect upon my actions. I knew I should feel remorse. I had slain my teacher, her sister, my sister in law, and all five of my closest friends. What did I have left to live for?
Magic.
I strode out upon the balcony that Celestia had once stood upon as she raised the sun. Igniting my horn, I cast my spell. The sun rose over the horizon. With a second spell, I smote it with the moon in a lunar eclipse.
Ponykind now had only one god.
A great, monstrous goddess who had slain all others in a quest for power.
But I was the goddess they had asked for.
I was the monster they made.
t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSKVEu3usguy02siN8xdS35VEKSGseyQ1li0Uudhc8Y3aY5EnVe1w
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loved it.
Mother of Mata Nui O_O
Well done sir
that was awesome
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Seems overdone and a little tacky. Honestly I feel she should be practically fall apart now or beyond clear thought, because if Friendship is Magic, then where does that leave her now if there is no friendship?
2967033 think Twilight and Makuta would get along?
2967263
That depends if twilight can master at least 21 of his 42 rahkshi powers
2967278 I think she could do it
2967283
All she has to is master the shadow hand for starters
2967292 would shadow hoof count?
2967297
If hooves could grab and absorb thing then maybe
So basically, Twilight always had these ambitions and she just pretended to be a good proper student until she acquired real power. Huh. Makes sense actually.
2967305 well, she proves to be a match, I think they would get along swimmingly
2967201 5 friends, just went against 1 enemy, using the 'magic of friendship' ultimate nuclear cannon weapon. And easily lost with the enemy just saying "Enough" and completely destroyed that weapon, it's ammo, and everything about it. There is no magic in friendship.
2967322
Either way we both know how their "alliance" would end
Did you know that I am the founder of the bionicle crossovers
2967355 wait........what? WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THERE WAS ONE!
Interesting, but it still feels jarringly OOC for Twilight to let power go to her head like that, so much so that it feels like an AU tag is required. Also, this story needs a tragedy tag for the way it ends; everyone ultimately loses, especially Twilight.
Welp, the whole story was very interesting till this chapter. No matter how i try, i can not imagine Twilight thinking like that without outside influence, especially the complete indifference towards slaughtering her friends killed the ending. Thumb up for the most of the story, thumb down for the meh ending.
Was it worth it Twilight?
2967447
I was actually unaware that there was a tragedy tag. Fixed.
And here was I, hoping for a surprise ending...
My feelings on this story:
i.imgur.com/teSlO.gif
Ahh, awesome!
Will there be a story following this one? I want to read mooore *_*
This pretty much sums up this whole chapter in a nutshell.
I liked the chapters building up to this one, but as I said before, it's way too OOC and makes no sense. I'm unlikely to make a vote on this story. Power doesn't corrupt that easily. Weak-minded people who can't figure out whether their desires are evil or not are the ones who would be corrupted easily when given power. Twilight Sparkle is far too logical and loving to fall so easily to corruption like this. Smart, loving people are the ones least likely to be corrupted by insane power. Celestia never went evil in spite of her power level.
2976890
Celestia was also never mortal. She never had a transition phase. She never went from realizing that she had been constrained by mortality to realizing the infinite possibilities.
I really enjoyed this! Short and super sweet.
It's technically well written in regards to grammar, the descriptive language is quite good in many areas as well, it's certainly never fell into bad. But the story itself, couldn't get behind it, both in how it was executed overall and there were some other issues I had with it and it's execution. My apologies if this seems rude or unpleasant.
Oh Stephen I see what you did in the first couple of sentences...
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNNNN!!!!
Damn, this story was awesome!
Sequel?
2976890
To be honest, that's where I think your wrong.
Remember 'Lesson Zero"? Well, she became insane just because of ONE late report. Multiply that by what happens if she starts to get stressed like Tartarus after going all over Equestria to solve problems, and you should be able to visualize her becoming corrupted.
And, she isn't that loving, and even doubted Shining Armor at first in 'A Canterlot Wedding'. Also, it makes her even more vulnerable when she is taught dark magic by ones she love( Nightmare Moon corrupting Luna slowly?) and her thirst for knowledge would undoubtedly end in Equestria's downfall because of Twilight's corruption and badassery.
3212647
Twilight's weaknesses are scary levels of OCD, combined with an irrational fear of getting on Princess Celestia's bad side (which is what explains all of her freakouts, except the Rapidash one). It's a mental health issue which takes control of her and gets rid of her logical side. I know first-hand what OCD does, it causes a lot of pain as long as the fear caused by it isn't suppressed.
As for her doubting Shining Armour (and Chrysadence), that's because they weren't behaving like they normally do, because of Chrysalis. That's her logical side talking to her.
This was just awesome! Evil op Twilight ftw!
3212921
If I may intrude upon this discussion for a brief moment.
What I was aiming to write with Twilight in this chapter was a textbook example of her logical side taken to its ultimate extreme. It's logic without empathy.
3212921
Okay, I admit, you do have a point there.
However, you do have to notice that the Twilight in this story was corrupted by the fact that she was the Princess of Magic, and that she believed she could rule over Magic.
She was also stressed before she had a kingdom, remember? So that and her thirst for power probably also contributed to her being this evil pony in this story.
3221629
Oh, I think that clears things up.
Could've mentioned it earlier y'know.
3221629
Cold logic, devoid of emotion, that describes the shell of Twilight in this story very well.
3222567
In general, I feel no reason to step in and explain my work. It is what it is, and whether people love it or hate it is not up to me. I can only produce the art, not force it upon you.
3228079
Wow, that sounds so profound
but I agree with you!
Why does Galadrial's temptation speech come to mind at the end?
Oh well, I liked the story.
Poetic.
In one way, this is a gripping story.
In another way, for all of Twilight's insecurities and foibles, the show never indicated she possessed this level of arrogance- quite distinct from the fear that drove her in situations like "Lesson Zero". When this isn't the character we know, it's difficult to invest in her fall. Blammed.
You know...maybe I missed it and if I did I am sorry but this has been bothering me ever since I have read this story.
WHERE
IS
SPIKE!?
You know, this little guy Is he with her? Did he run off? Did Twilight kill him and bathe in dragon blood? Is he off world? Is he encirling her throne like a massive wyrm?
3221629
2976890
Primarily to JDC, this is what I think of a justification for Twilight.
Those who dare to thwart her will (and by extension, her already greatly stressed mental state) could be seen as enemies to everything she has ever said, ever done, worked, fought, or strived for, including the whole of Equestria.
Maybe that's not what the author intended as a mindset for Twilight, but that's just how I read it.
3351281
Actually, I thought about devoting a chapter to Spike, but decided against it as I felt it would be difficult to give him a real role in either battling Twilight or siding with her. In the end, I just opted to assume he was...elsewhere at the time.
I actually making the last chapter a friendship report, written by Spike and spoken by Twilight, but that brought all the issues of, "Was spike there? What has he been doing?" So I just opted to take him out.
3363348
Ok, thank you. I hope I didn't sound too mean, I just happen to like Spike and I found it weird that this fic went several chapters and no mention of a giant purple dragon at her side.
I'll will always like author's who choose a different way of telling stories. I love this story because it builds on the chapter before it, giving more detail.
Quick yet important question.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/94846/7/the-monster-we-made/sorrow
What happened to Luna? And how did Twilight think that she killed her when she doesn't have a corpse? And What did Pinkie Pie mean by that above statement?
She was on a godlike killstreak
8712295
OH MY GOD THAT'S HORRIBLE WHY DID YOU MAKE ME LAUGH?