Hands: Bad Dreams · 4:28pm Dec 16th, 2019
Two days after Twilight Sparkle ascended to Alicorn and she was crowned a princess, Shepherd found her... In the kitchen, bags under her eyes, looking miserable and alone. He frowned deeply, and sat down beside her. He wrapped an arm around her, and pulled her close. She didn't resist, but she didn't engage in it either-She was like a doll, motionless.
Shepherd: "Twilight? ... Are you all right?"
Twilight: "... Bad dreams. That's... That's all."
Shepherd: "What about?"
Twilight: "... You'd think it was silly. I-I mean... I'm a princess and..."
Shepherd: "And? So what? Tell me. Come on."
Twilight: *deep sigh* "... It was Sombra."
Shepherd: *His grip around her tightens* "... What happened?"
Twilight: "... He said he couldn't die. He was a master of the dark magics, after all. He said we weren't so different. He asked me if I wanted to be a queen. He offered to teach me all that he knew. Teach me... Teach me to keep you from dying. All of you from dying..."
Shepherd: "... What did you say?"
Twilight: "I said... I said I wasn't going to fall for it. It was cliched villain talk. Nothing more. He lost. Twice... Three times, actually. If we're counting you-"
Shepherd: "We are. Then what?"
Twilight: "... He summoned tendrils. Tendrils that choked me, tried to tear me apart. He mocked me, mocked how weak I was, and I... I..."
Shepherd: "You what?"
Twilight: "... I used dark magic. I took control of the tendrils. I used them to choke him, cause him pain... And I... I enjoyed it. I reveled in causing him pain. I let him go. He... He smiled and said he was right: We weren't so different."
Shepherd: "... And that bothers you."
Twilight: "Of course it does, Shepherd! I mean-How could I not?! It wasn't a dream! It felt too real, it felt too-!"
Shepherd: "Woah woah woah! That's not what I meant. Look... Yes. You enjoyed causing him pain. You liked that. And the moment you realized it, you stopped. Would Sombra have stopped?"
Twilight: "No... But if I keep using it-"
Shepherd: "If you have to use it again... You can talk to any of your friends about it. We'll never judge you, Twilight. You're not a bad person... Pony. And you'll never be as bad as Sombra, as long as you remember that that magic is dark. You don't try to sugarcoat or rationalize it as anything else. You need to know where you stand. And that's what we'll do for you. He doesn't have that, and he never will."
Twilight: *Nuzzles him* "... You know, I have to admit. The more I learned about your race, I wondered how you could stay kind and peaceful in such a cruel, terrible world. And then I realized... Outside of our little Equestrian bubble, it's no less cruel and terrible here. But we still try to be kind and peaceful."
Shepherd: "It's not easy. It's just the right thing to do."
Twilight: *sighs* "Yeah..."
And that was when this Twilight decided to try to expand that bubble. Most do, given time.
This was a very nice piece. I'm used to these just being funny but this was a welcome addition.
Thanks.
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Except the ones who try and armor it instead, generally leading to a lot of misery and a popped bubble.
Looking at you, President Valentine.
The Grand Archmage was standing "cocked & locked" with his Peacemaker rifle slung over his back, his Archmage's Stave in hand, Mjolnir strapped to his side, and his cloak wrapped tightly around him. In spite of the dire circumstances and the consequences of failure, instead of looking grim or prepared, there was an aura of fright emanating from him. Flutershy watched her stallion with growing unease, as did Applejack and Sunset. But it was Luna who dared asked the question.
"Beloved?" The Night Goddess asked, "Why do you look so frightened?"
"Am I good man?"
"Come again, Honeybunch?" Applejack asked.
"Am I a good man?"
"How could you ask that," Sunset demanded, "you've never caused other ponies any inconveince, try to wipe out all life on the planet, nearly destroy a friend's livelihood, or make an attempt to usurp a princess. WHy would ask that?"
Steve replied, "Sometimes, often more than I would like to admit, I get a- thrill, for the violence, the chaos that sometimes follows in my wake. Yeah, I happen to be the lord of the wind and storm; yeah, Mjolnir comes to me when called; yet, there are times when I think I enjoy the killing a little too much. Maybe way too much. Is there something wrong with me for feeling that way?"
"No…Well, maybe," Fluttershy answered, "but as long as we've known you, you've never tried to justify your actions or make light of them. You said it before, 'There are some people who are too sick, too dangerous to let live.' Equestria hasn't had many villains like that before, unless you count Sombra-"
"Tirek should have been one," Luna interjects, "Grogar definitely was. My sister has too soft a heart sometimes."
"The point being," Fluttershy continues, "while you may enjoy it from time to time, it's not like it's not like you see such violence as the solution to every problem."
"Case in point, Starlight Glimmer," Sunset added, "I was of the mind you were going to end her, then you stripped of her magic after the Tangents Incident-"
"I'm still of the mind that she needed to have her brains ventilated," Steven said, "I just wasn't in the right place psychologically for that at the time."
"I get that, and I understand it," Sunset resumes, "but you didn't do that. You stripped her of her magic for all the harm she did. And she lasted, what, three days?"
"Two and a quarter," Steve said, "she was wailing in guilt by the following Tuesday."
"You see?" Sunset proclaimed, "you don't kill ponies or people because you want to, even if can be cathartic for you. You do so for at least some purpose that isn't necessarily your own entertainment. And, you recognize that it is very controversial decision."
"Yeah, that's true," Steve admitted, "but I am a good man?"
"Yer the best, Honeybunch," Applejack exclaimed, "ya'll help around the farm when you have other things ya can do, you're as pleasant a pony as ya are a friend, and ya ain't like that proverbial hammer."
"You keep using that word," Steve uttered, "I don't think it means what you think it means."
"The point, Beloved," Luna interjects, "is you would prefer ponies to love and respect you. And they do! We are your herd and we love you tremendously! And we could not respect you if you were a cold-hearted murderer."
"I guess you're right," Steve said.
"So," Fluttershy asked, "isn't there something you have to do?"
"Y- Yes, there is," The Grand Archmage replied, hefting Mlojnir aloft, "I have places to be, thing to do, and Proletariat to kill. Sorry, girls, for the existential crisis on the verge of another global crisis. I am neither Tony Stark and Steve Rogers… but I do have a job to do and while it isn't always pleasant, if you keeps you all safe, then I'll ride my foes down to the pits of Hell and back to keep you all that way."
Luna smiles, then leans in to kiss Steve, and the other members of his herd swarm him into a group hug.
"Veni, Vidi, Vici, Grand Archmage," Luna murmurs, "make them see what happens when you rail against the Heavens."
"Right," Steve says, then to the rest of his herd, "Shy, Jackie, Sunny, keep the fire going and the bed warm. Also, get Nightingale online in case I come back injured; this is looking like a mighty big hairy fur ball."
The four mares salute their stallion before he marches out the door, a bolt of lightning awaiting as his ride into the fray…
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Most villains that claim the hero is 'not so different' from them is usually just desperately trying to justify their being a monster.
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That was the inspiration.
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"All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest mare alive to lunacy."
Or apparently drive you to sleep with your boss/mentor who is old enough to be your dad.
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Never mind that using "lunacy" as a slur would probably piss off your auntie-in-law.