Prologue
It’s so rare that ponies actually want to talk with me. While yes it’s true that I am asked questions all the time it is only once in a long while that I can actually talk. Admittedly I do have a lot of answers so it’s understandable why I am often asked questions. But everything has a Price. So many of them don’t know what they are asking for. Take Magic for example. She asked me a very interesting question about The Sun and The Moon and The Heart. The question broke her almost completely. And that’s not even the most interesting thing that has ever happened to me. In fact; I was once...
Oh? You wish to know more about what happened to Magic? Are you sure, it really is quite sad? If you insist. I just hope that you are ready to pay the Price. Now, where to begin. How about at the Beginning?
There once was a young mare named Twilight Sparkle. Young Twilight was many things. Smart, brave, dependable, loyal; she was all this and more for she was Magic. Like The Sun and The Moon and The Heart she was elevated to near godhood. I would call her a god but she still has a ways to go before then. In fact progression to godhood is a long and laborious proce…
I got off track didn’t I? That happens sometimes. Now as I was saying she was recently elevated to near godhood and though she was considered equal with the others; she still felt beneath The Sun and The Moon. She felt as a child next to its parents and like most children, she felt that she had to continue to do more and more in order to make up for failing even once. She sought The Sun’s approval like a chicken longs for the sky. So when Twilight Sparkle was asked to study an ancient and magical artifact by The Sun herself, well, how could she say no? Thus truly begins our story with a knock at her door.
“TWILIGHT! IT’S HERE! Want me to bring it down there for you?” A young voice called out from above.
“No Spike, wait for me to help you. Ooohhh I’m so excited! Did you know that this is the first time that The Mirror has ever left the Canterlot Divinations Labs?” Twilight Excitedly stated as she ran up the stairs to her new project. Nearly fell right back down the stairs on the way up doing so.
Fortunately Twilight had just put the finishing touches on her laboratory. Cleaner than the Cake’s kitchen with more scientific instruments than most collegiate labs. Yes the Personal Laboratory of Twilight Sparkle was clean and organized. Perfect timing too as I had just arrived.
“Careful Twilight, you don’t want to hurt yourself before you even had a chance to start working.” Spike chided his caretaker, or sister, or mother, or... You know, I am nearly omniscient and even I don’t know what their relationship is like. Just goes to show that you can still learn more even when you think you know everything. In fact, I remember one time when I…
I did it again didn’t I? Drat, well if it happens again feel free to interrupt me even sooner. Now after a very careful combination of levitation and Spike, I was moved down into the lab.
“The Mirror of Fate” The look on Twilight’s face when she first saw me. I could tell that I impressed her. At six feet tall and four feet wide with a very slimming black trim I was a force to inspire awe in all that gazed at my reflective beauty.
“Are you sure Twi? This looks pretty plain for an ancient magical artifact. Rarity has mirrors that look more magical than this” And of course the dragon wouldn’t like me. Probably not enough gaudy gems or gold on me. I swear dragons are the worst art critics.
“I’m positive Spike, I can feel the magic inside of it. Quick bring me the Arcanameter.”
“Right Away!”
And with that Twilight began to study me. I shall skip over the boring part to save time, suffice it to say that even after a month of study she lacked new information about me. I could have told her anything she wanted if she asked; Yet she had ask something before I could show her anything. It was infuriating really. Gets boring doing nothing but sitting there for a while.
I wasn’t the only one frustrated though. Twilight herself looked as though she would attempt to break me. I say attempt as I am quite invulnerable, thank you very much, though it is quite painful to be shattered even temporarily. I was worried about her though, she had approached her third day without sleep and was starting to look like a farmer trying to clear three acres worth of crops on her own.
“Twilight, maybe you should go to bed.” It was at this point that I began to appreciate Spike. Sometimes I’m not sure who the more mature one is in their relationship.
“Not until I figure this Mirror out Spike. Until then I will be down here. Now for my next test I will need an audiometer, three glass prisms, the forty-two millimeter laser, and a cup of uncooked noodles!” I was not looking forward to whatever it had been that Twilight planned to do with those objects. As I mentioned earlier even I do not know everything and there are somethings I do not wish to know. Luckily I was spared by a question. A question that would eventually lead to Twilight’s downfall.
“What harm could possibly come from getting a little sleep Twilight?” I was a stupid mirror. I decided to show what would happen. Spike and Twilight watched in surprise and awe as I showed them Twilight going to bed and getting a good night’s rest before waking up with a brand new idea. Since this was a rhetorical question that just happened to be said in the same room as me I didn’t have to show them. I choose to and I bore the price. What I paid doesn’t matter. I was unaware at the time that as this was happening; all of the instruments attached to me had started spiking.
“That’s it! Spike you’re a genius! All I have to do is ask a question and then I can study what the Mirror is doing! Now I need a good question that would give me good results, maybe if I…” Twilight was getting into a roll at this point. I began to fear that she would never sleep again instead of going to bed like I showed her. I didn’t want her to work herself to death.
“Twilight!” Spike interrupted, “I am just as interested as you are in what this means, but you have to get some sleep. Otherwise I will tell Celestia that you are not taking care of yourself.”
“But…” Twilight tried to come up with a counter argument to that but her sleep addled mind combined with her desire for The Sun’s constant approval wore her down. “Fine”. That word flipped a switch in the young mare as it seemed all of her exhaustion seemed to catch up with her.
“Wow, maybe you were right Spike. Sleep does sound pretty good..” She was out before she even left the room.
“Twilight? Twi? Figures.” Spike left and shortly returned with a pillow and blanket for the sleeping princess. “See you in the morning Twi”
Twilight woke the next afternoon to the smell of lunch.
“Finally you’re up, you’ve been out for almost twenty-four hours!” A voice near Twilight head exclaimed. Spike had in his hands a daisy sandwich and a glass of water. Noticing that his friend was about to say something, he preemptively interrupted her. “Ah, food first then complain about having to sleep.”
Twilight begrudging ate the food and inwardly felt much better after doing so, though she would never admit it out loud Spike was right.
“Now, are you going to clean up or am I going to have to force you to leave your lab.” Spike threatened. He would to, all he had to do was threaten to give Smarty Pants to Big Mac and Twilight would normally go after him.
Twilight, feeling better after food and sleep thought that a nice bath followed by preening her feathers actually sounded good. But she had an idea. Why couldn’t she have just left here.
“Don’t worry Spike, I’ll go clean up in a bit. There’s just one last thing I want to try. You can even make sure I leave after this, okay?” Twilight stated. She was being sincere. Had what she was about to do failed she would have gone upstairs, groomed herself, and even get a date. But that was not what happened. Spike agreed to her terms and sealed her Fate. Nothing could be done now.
“I reacted to your question Spike, so I am going to ask it one myself. It’s going to have to be something big so I can get a good amount of data. Since yours was rhetorical then I can assume that the question doesn’t have to be something that has actually happened. Furthermore I am hypothesizing that the more the mirror has to show the more results that I would get. So a rhetorical question that has a large effect based on it’s answer which would lead to more date.”
Why didn’t she stop.
“I’ve got it! What would have happened if I never met the Princess?” Damn. That question ruined her. As it was addressed to me I had no choice but to show her; and I showed her everything. All the different presents and all the different futures and all the different pasts. I showed her. And all it costed was her Soul. She never heard Spike call out to her. She didn’t feel her body as she hit the floor. She was already gone and scattered. Broken and waiting to be fixed.
And that’s how Magic was broken. Sad, wasn’t it? She fell to her own curiosity and there wasn’t much I could do. But I could do a little bit. Anyway, back to that other more interesting story that I mentioned earlier. As I was saying; I was once the perso…
Oh? You want hear what I did to fix her? That is somewhat interesting I suppose. It involves betrayal, romance, adventure, and mystery. It’s not for the faint of heart. I’m warning you though that that story doesn’t have as much me in it. Still want to hear it? Again the Price won’t be cheap. Well then, if you’re sure. Let us see what happened after Magic was broken.