The first law of magic is that magic cannot be created or destroyed. Everypony knows this; in fact, just about every being knows this. Magic is not brought into existence by those who can use it, but rather it is channeled, altered by will and then released once more into the world. This holds true for all magic, from pegasus flight and weather control to earth pony strength, durability and connection to the earth to zebra potion magic. Even the primitive rituals some griffon shamans perform, all utilize the same currents of magic that flow through our world.
Though many have tried to find the origin of magic, it is an esoteric field of study that has more theories than evidence. As such, it is generally regarded as unimportant at best or the work of hacks and mad ponies at its worst.
However, there were ancient ponies of all three tribes who understood the nature of magic and its relation to the soul. That knowledge was deemed dangerous when applied and they were subsequently slaughtered by the two sisters, their great works of magic erased from history so that none may follow in their twisted steps.
Or at least, that was the intention.
For after Luna’s madness, the magic of the soul was used once more and on a much grander scale than the world had ever seen until that point. After Nightmare Moon’s defeat and the subsequent banishment of her followers to the depths of the Everfree, Celestia breathed easily, allowing herself to believe once more that she had stamped out all traces of the twisted art of manipulating the soul.
After witnessing the horrors her sister had unleashed with the knowledge they had thought to eliminate from the world, Celestia knew better than to even hold onto the memory of such magic’s existence and purged it from her mind, deeming the complete removal of all knowledge of soul magic worth the price of utilizing neuromancy on her own mind. Leaving behind only enough information to know the signs, the horrors it unleashed, and how to deal with it. Which gave her more than enough drive to stomp it out despite her self-imposed ignorance.
With the threat of her sister’s madness destroyed forever, her own knowledge gone, and all traces stamped out, Celestia’s arrogance grew.
For in that moment she had forgotten the first law of magic, that singular moment of folly would eventually seal her fate.
A mother and father leaned against each other as they stared through the window into the crib-filled room beyond.
The labor had been hard but without complication and though Twilight Velvet desperately wished to fall into the sweet embrace of sleep, she had to ensure her daughter was safe and healthy.
Night Light was slightly less tired but his nerves were no better than his wife’s. He couldn't stop himself from worrying himself into a tizzy when he had gotten word that his wife’s labor had drawn out far longer than it should have.
Both of their sufferings had been deemed worth it once they had laid eyes on their healthy baby girl who, now lay only a few feet away.
The filly herself lay on her back, legs spread and eyes closed, contently snoring away, seemingly oblivious to the other children’s cries.
The calm the child had didn't seem to extend itself beyond her as every foal around her screamed, cried, thrashed or did a combination of all three.
Strangely, the ones furthest away from the child seemed fine, lying in fitful sleep or utter calm, unaffected by the aura of fear and unease that permeated the child.
This all was lost on the parents who merely saw children being children, stress robbing them of the worry that would have bothered any other pony. Besides, they thought, there were two adult ponies standing on either side of their little girl. They were probably the source of the disturbance as they probably woke up the closest ones, it was exactly midnight after all.
That wasn't true; that was just the last time Night Light had glanced at the clock which had coincidentally been the moment their darling filly had been born.
The two medical ponies stared down at the child between them, the gears working within their mind as they tried to figure out the best course of action. She was obviously different than the other children, though you wouldn't know that without the benefit of their higher education and enhanced scanning spells they had both used.
The only real difference seemed to be her horn, which was slightly too pronounced for her age and was probably a part of the reason why her delivery was complicated. Other than that she seemed fine, her coat of lavender fur was even and pristine. Everything seemed to be in order and when she had been awake, she reacted as anticipated to external stimuli. Hearing seemed okay, eyesight worked, and they even caught her sniffing the air at one point, meaning the foal had her faculties as best as they could guess.
Only her horn and nervous system seemed… wrong.
One of the ponies, a pediatrician by the name of Tender Hoof, gulped nervously and tried her best not to look over at the parents, who were no doubt staring at her right this moment.
The neurologist across from her harbored similar dark thoughts, but was better in hiding them. Axon hushed the other doctor with a silent hoof placed to his lips.
Tender nodded once and turned a little further away from the parents, all the while imagining their gaze drilling into her. This was wrong, very wrong. She wasn't the expert, but even she could feel it. The aura of fear and unease that surrounded this filly seemed barely existent to the powerfully built earth pony nurse who had delivered her, but to the unicorn pediatrician, it was an ever-present pulse at the back of her mind. A pulse that told her to run, to hide, and to never speak of this again.
The stallion across from her could feel it as well but his academic drive pushed those thoughts from his mind, focusing on the why. Why did he feel this way? Where was this aura coming from, and how could it be stopped?
His muzzle scrunched in thought as his horn glowed brighter. Subtle shifts in his magically enhanced senses allowed him to see the pulsing undercurrent of the filly’s nervous system. There, just under the traditional nervous system, was the magical one, referred to as the lambda system. It gathered mana from the surrounding world and drew it into the body, where it could be transformed into magic with the application of will, as well as pushing that mana all over the body in order to store it for later use.
Though nopony knew why it followed the normal nervous system almost to a T, they did know that they were both intertwined and different at the same time. Sometimes, one could be hurt without affecting the other and, and other times damage to one was instantly reflected on the other, seemingly without rhyme or reason.
Which was why it was so disconcerting to find that the filly’s real, physical nervous system was nearly non-existent, seemingly replaced by the aetherial strings that mimicked and overlapped the traditional system. Though it was just a guess on the part of the neurologist, it almost seemed as though the filly’s immense magical strength had somehow either compensated for a damaged nervous system by building a magical one over it, or she was simply so powerful that her lambda system had overtaken her nervous system for whatever reason.
Axon clenched his teeth and looked up. “I am going to touch the child in a few spots to test something. Be ready to calm her down if something goes wrong.”
Tender shook her head instantly. “Please don't ask me to touch that… thing.”
The stallion growled and looked the other doctor in the eye. “That thing is a filly who might be suffering from some rare disease. Now, you will do your job, or I'll find somepony else who will.”
Panic slipped over the mare’s face for a second, quickly replaced by reluctant determination fueled by guilt. “Yes, doctor.”
Axon nodded once and brought a hoof down next to the child’s side. Beginning gently, he pressed against the filly’s side in a few places. Slight pressure yielded nothing. Not even a brief flicker of the eyelids. He frowned at that; clearly, there was some potential nerve damage there.
He pressed a little harder and was relieved when he saw one of the filly’s legs squirm and her eyelids squeeze shut a little tighter.
He breathed a soft sigh of relief and lit his horn, extending his magical sense and checking on the currents flowing through the filly’s body. What he saw nearly took his breath away.
“Something's clearly wrong with her nervous system, that is obvious. But the way her lambda system reacts makes me think it is acting as the nervous system the filly doesn’t seem to have. Whatever this filly has isn’t life threatening… yet.” He mumbled to himself.
With that out of the way, he lowered his hoof back to the ground and turned to give two very nervous parents a warm genuine smile.
The two ponies behind the glass breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed visibly, pulling their faces away from the glass and regaining some much-needed composure.
Though Axon eyed her carefully, Tender Hoof seemed to trust his judgment and gently pulled up the slumbering filly’s blanket until it sat snugly under the newborn’s chin.
“Are we done here, doctor?” Tender asked, with a more enthusiasm than what was probably appropriate.
Axon frowned and did one last cursory scan before nodding. “Yes, get that same earth pony nurse to keep her eye on this one. Maybe she will have the fortitude you don't.”
Though she was tempted to argue, Tender merely nodded once and left, more than happy to have an excuse to leave.
Axon looked down at the filly one last time before leaving. Whatever was wrong with this child was beyond his understanding, and with his colleague being so ill at ease around the child it fell on him to break the news to the parents.
He sighed as he exited the nursery and left the crying foals behind, along with the headache that had been rising in the back of his mind because of them. This wasn't going to be easy; it was not like he expected many of these conversations when he had chosen to spend his life studying neurology.
Once clean and assured the rather burly, elderly earth pony nurse was assigned to the child, he made his way over to where he knew the parents of said child were no doubt still standing, nervously awaiting the news he bore.
As he turned the corner, his eyes met theirs and he couldn't help but feel sympathetic. Having an expert get called out for your child so quick after the celebration of its birth was not something any parent wanted to experience.
He forced a polite smile to his face and made his way over.
“Hello, my name is Axon Verge and you are Twilight Velvet and Night Light, correct?”
The stallion before him nodded quickly. “I wish I could say it was a pleasure to meet you, doctor.”
The neurologist merely nodded grimly. “Well, I should start with the good news first then.” That drew their attention and both parents leaned closer. “It is neither life-threatening nor is she in any pain.”
“Not life-threatening... what do you mean by that?” The hysterical tone of the mare’s voice drew the stares of the few ponies still around this late at night.
Axon’s smile fell away and he sighed. “We should finish this conversation in my office. It would be better if we were somewhere private.”
Both parents exchanged a fearful look, and although the mother seemed more hesitant to leave than she cared to admit, she nodded reluctantly.
A short trot later saw the three in a slightly cramped office without so much as a window. Little decorations spattered the room haphazardly. Piles of various papers covered the desk and an open book covered what little empty space was left.
“My apologies about the state of my workspace, I don't usually speak directly to the public.” The doctor levitated in two folding chairs he had swiped from a nearby waiting room which was, of course, empty at this hour. He gently placed the now unfolded chairs on one side of the desk while closing and locking the door with his magic.
The parents seemed reluctant to part but they ultimately took the offered chairs and sat down. Axon moved to the other side of the desk and sat on a slightly comfier wooden chair.
“Now, I know you are eager to ask questions, however I would like to ask that you do not interrupt and hold onto your questions until I have told you all I know.” The neurologist pulled his chair up to the desk, making the wood squeal harshly as it was dragged along the tiled floor.
“Firstly it seems as though your daughter has suffered from an unknown affliction. At this time it seems as though her nervous system has either not grown properly or has been damaged in some way before or immediately after birth.”
“I know the labor was a little harder this time, could that explain what happened?” The father interrupted, throwing a glance at his wife.
“I am not sure, though I don't believe so.” The doctor stopped and steepled his hooves, recovering a pipe and tobacco from a desk drawer. “Do you smoke?”
The father shook his head, as did the mother.
“Shame, terrible habit but it calms the nerves.” As he cleaned and filled his pipe with his magic the doctor continued, “I want you to know that what I say tonight shouldn't be repeated. Right now I have mere guesswork and a few minutes of observation.”
Both parents nodded darkly, the father squeezing the mother’s hoof a little tighter.
A brief flame better illuminated the otherwise dreary office and the doctor gently puffed on the lit pipe, continuing after letting out a slow exhale of smoke.
“Her nervous system is underdeveloped to the extreme, barely extending from the base of her neck and hardly connected to the spinal column. Though she has connections all over her body, they don't seem to go anywhere or connect to anything and will probably be reabsorbed by the body within the first year or two of life as her body realizes the connections are dead.”
“Are you saying she's paralyzed?” Twilight Velvet asked, panic creeping into her voice.
“No. Quite the opposite, actually. It seems as though her lambda system has adapted and now does the central nervous system’s job for it, albeit at a slightly reduced efficiency.” He stopped and took another few puffs of his pipe before releasing a slow exhale of smoke. “She will likely have a reduced sense of touch, a minor resistance to pain, and may be a little uncoordinated. Other than that, my initial analysis suggests she should not have any developmental challenges.”
Both parents relaxed, the stallion finally releasing his wife’s hoof and swallowing his panic.
“That being said, how much do you two know about a pony’s lambda system?”
Twilight Velvet spoke first, evidently more educated in this field than her husband. “I know it's the underlying magical system that enables a pony to use their tribe’s innate magical ability.”
Her husband merely nodded, adding nothing.
The doctor smiled. “Good, then I won't have to explain everything. Suffice to say that due to the loss of most of the nervous system, it seems that your daughter's lambda system has grown accordingly in order to take control over the motor control. This will dramatically increase the amount of mana her body can create and store, and she will require proper tutelage on managing this power.”
The doctor grimaced and took one last puff on his pipe before extinguishing it. “And that means flares.”
Both parents gasped.
“It's possible she may suffer from them occasionally, and if neither of you is trained in first aid and how to respond to the threat of a flare, I would advise at least one of you to get trained.”
“I can do that.” Twilight Velvet responded instantly.
Night Light turned to her with a grave expression. “Are you sure dear?”
Her courage was unwavering and she merely nodded. “My schedule is a little more flexible than yours and they will need you at the observatory. Besides, my editing career never did really take off like I had hoped.”
The stallion couldn't argue even if he wanted to, remembering the many similar conversations they had already on the subject. Reluctantly, he settled back into his chair, determined to speak with his wife further once they were home and had some sleep.
“Yes, well, I know the hospital offers free training for handling flares but you should still get in contact with the guard and notify them of this development. Though it’s not illegal to have that much power if the state is not properly informed it may reflect… poorly on the girl.”
“If that's what you believe is right, doctor.”
“Good. Secondly, this larger lambda system also has a few side effects. Judging from the way her lambda system has grown, it is slightly larger and more pronounced in her hooves and horn as that is where unicorns store our mana. This will probably guide development somewhat. Meaning, she will probably be taller, and leaner with a more pronounced horn than fillies her age. This will be normal and though she might suffer from growing pains, they won't last long and should be dulled by her own lack of a functional nervous system. Lastly, well, I am not sure how to say this, but... did either of you feel anything while in her presence?”
The stallion gulped, earning a glare from his wife. The doctor lifted an eyebrow at that and looked at him.
“Well, a little. I didn't want to admit it but it felt a little like there was a large animal in the room with us.” The doctor nodded knowingly.
“I have two theories for that. One is that her abundance of power is obvious to any who are with her and they are forced to acknowledge that power, which may come off as a sense of instinctual fear much like those who stand near a predator… or the princess.”
Both parents arched an eyebrow at that but said nothing.
“My second theory is that her mana is leaking into a form of unformed spell that takes the shape of a fear aura. Either way, those who are weak-willed will be significantly more affected and if this ability cannot be…” The doctor rolled a hoof in the air, looking for the right word. “...handled, then I would suggest keeping her out of public school.”
“Why?”
“Put quite simply, it would cause panic. Children that age rarely have the will to resist their instincts and have a tendency to lash out when faced with such stimulus.” He coughed nervously, his lack of interpersonal skills showing quite handily. “At least until she's of high school age.”
The parents exchanged a knowing look that said “We will talk about this later.” and turned back to the good doctor.
“Anyway, that's all I know now, but with your permission, I would like to continue to examine her thoroughly and watch her development. Hopefully I can figure out a way to help, or at least find out why this happened.”
“Of course,” the mother replied.
“Good, now if that's everything, I have some sleep to get back to.”
“Two things before you go. First, is she, you know… all there?” Night Light asked tentatively, earning him a sharp jab from his wife.
“Dear!”
“Yes, she should have all her faculties and her brain scans came up with no complications.”
“That's a relief. The second thing is kind of sensitive so I must ask that you won’t repeat it to anypony.” The stallion’s grave tone and stern face alerted the doctor to just how important secrecy was to the father.
“Of course, patient confidentiality is secure from even Princess Celestia.”
The stallion wavered slightly before speaking again. “My family was cursed, centuries ago, and though it hasn't come back up since my great uncle, it might explain all this.”
“I doubt a curse would last that long or do what happened, but I will keep that in mind.”
“You know that curse stuff is a load of nonsense, dear.” Twilight Velvet added sharply.
“Well, my father believed in it until his dying day.”
“Curses can have strange effects further on and it's not that unheard of for a particularly powerful one to cling to a family,” the doctor added. “Now, if that's all, I really must be getting back to sleep.”
Both parents quickly stood up. “Of course doctor, and thank you.”
“Yes, thank you for everything you've done. I have never met a medical professional quite as candid as you,” the father added.
“Hah, I will take that as a compliment and bid you goodnight. I will speak with you again tomorrow after I've gotten some sleep and had a little time to review a few medical documents.”
Both parents turned and left, leaving the doctor alone with his thoughts.
Contrary to what he had just said, he had no intention of going back to sleep. Once the door was locked again, he drew a pen and paper from the desk drawer and hastily began writing the symptoms noted, physical characteristics and anything else he thought prudent to put to paper. Once done, he held it aloft in his magic and eyed the document carefully. In his tight, neat script lay all the information he had gathered about the unicorn filly named Twilight Sparkle and her unique problem.
His eyes glanced over the page, eyeing it carefully for anything he may have missed. Noting a slight error, he frowned and turned to grab his pen when he was blinded suddenly by a green light emanating from the page he held.
In his panic he dropped the pen and inkpot he had been holding and looked back at the page, half of which was already consumed by a green flame. Before Axon could even think of a plan to save his work, the paper was gone, burned away in green fire, leaving behind not even a trace of ash.
“What the?”
Deep within Canterlot Castle, a long-dormant machine suddenly shuddered to life, alerted to the presence of something that should not be. The massive arcane contraption released a high-pitched whine for a few seconds before it seemed to right itself and stop. Once righted, the machine hummed with life, different parts spinning while others flashed a variety of lights.
Spells nearly a thousand years old suddenly sprang to life and began their pre-programmed routine. Scanning spells reached the destination, while another set determined if the information gathered was in line with its programming. Once the location was secure and the information verified, the scanning spells stopped.
Another set of powerful magic began to hum to life as it locked onto the position designated. Once focused, it flared briefly with a strange green fire. An odd mouth-like opening near the front ejected the green flame that morphed into a piece of familiar paper. Within seconds the spell was complete and shut down once more.
The flames vanished and the paper fell a few inches onto a plate that sunk down into the machine, activating yet another set of spells that found Princess Celestia’s location and mentally pinged her, notifying its creator that its job was complete, for now.
Horror, it was a word that brought forth images of movie screens, plays, and for the unfortunate few, real pain and death they have witnessed.
They know nothing of horror. Celestia thought grimly. Though she was proud of the peace she had enabled and the quiet, mundane lives her ponies now lived, she would be forever unable to enjoy such a peaceful and quiet life.
Hers was a lonely life, being the last alicorn and having no other true immortals she could call friends. The passage of time buried all her friends and loved ones. Loneliness could be conquered, and it was not the yearning for another true immortal in her life that drove her to be so apart from her ponies; rather it was the fact that she had experienced true horror. Not a recreation by an actor on a screen or a stage, she had seen and done things that could only be described as truly horrific.
Anypony with any experience in history knew the princess had experienced first hoof all the horrors brought forth by every war and conflict Equestria ever fought. Though some liked to believe they did, nopony could truly grasp what that meant in this day and age. They were naive and small, unaltered by the effects of fear and unhaunted by decisions forced upon them.
Celestia sighed, her breath leaving a slowly shrinking circle of perspiration on the window. Beyond the gilded confines of her castle she could see the first early risers getting a start on their day and heading out into the world.
A millennium ago she would have enjoyed the scene playing out before her. The morning ponies already out for a jog before work, saying their hellos to their neighbors and the few others who enjoyed the same routine.
The weary not-so-morning ponies who got up anyway, either for their health or work, used to draw a chuckle from the sun princess as she sipped away at her morning tea and watched them go about their grumpy routine.
Now, however, it only drew the faintest of interest at the best of times and uncharacteristic scowl at the worst.
It certainly didn't help her mood that her night and thus sleep had been ruined by the reminder that the horror she had sacrificed so much to stomp out still remained in her pure and peaceful world.
The things she had done to protect the peaceful lives of her ponies and ensure they didn't have to see what she had were the driving force of her life these days. But if the public knew what she had done, they would have crucified her and she would hardly blame them.
They hadn't done or seen the things she had. They have never been forced to choose between life and death, and been equally as tempted to choose one over the other.
Celestia sighed once more and turned from the window, taking a gentle sip from her morning coffee that was still a little too cold for her taste. She placed the cup back down on the enchanted saucer and the pot back on its burner, waiting for it to heat up.
Meanwhile, her mind was elsewhere, away from this place and even this time. Far, far away, a long time ago in a place surprisingly close to this one, the memories returned.
And with a vengeance.
The screams of the dying, their anguish-filled screams of pain echoed through the battlefield. She didn't know which side they belonged to, but this far into the melee it hardly mattered and could barely be determined.
Early on in the war she was cocky and careless. She had the most well-trained troops equipped with the most up-to-date arms and armor with the backing of almost every successful mage Equestria had at the time.
Still her sister resisted. Luna had gone out into the countryside, to the towns and villages that popped up in the shadow of the Everfree and there she had raised a great peasant army.
Celestia had laughed at the mention of her little army, of course. To think an army of potters, farmers, bakers and other lay ponies could stand up to a well disciplined and supplied professional army was simple madness.
And what came after their forces clashed was madness on a scale the solar princess had never before experienced, or even imagined.
Renegades, exiles, and those few ponies who valued knowledge over ethics had always made their home in the vast forest that had perpetually been beyond Canterlot’s reach, but they were few and far between.
Or so Celestia had thought.
There, among the twisted branches of that chaotic wood, they had grown and prospered. Some even went so far as to form villages, covens and enclaves of their own. Celestia had always cursed her inability to govern the scattered townships at the edge of the Everfree and the stubborn independence they all seemed to have. Despite generations of isolation and no official contact with Luna or the beast she became they almost all flocked to her banner.
The wood had given them the isolation and freedom they had wanted, but it also gave them a cruel and twisted gift, perverting their bodies and minds and twisting them into beings that could hardly be called ponies anymore.
Great rock-like equines with the strength of several earth ponies thundered through the battlefield, wielding stone shoes or simple clubs that crumpled her soldiers’ field plates like a child’s toy. The strange rock like pony’s injuries never seemed fatal and their deaths never permanent.
Ponies more akin to spiders than the equines they had originally been descended in droves, wielding strange silken armor that turned aside blade and spell alike with impunity. Their many legs granted them speed and dexterity that only her pegasus forces could match. Although they could neither fly nor cast complicated magic, they were whirlwinds of death that wielded more weapons than her normal soldiers could ever attempt, with an ease that spoke of decades of practice.
The descendants of farmers and fools that had tried to cultivate the Everfree were perhaps the most savage of the lot. Some seemed barely above beasts, snarling and vicious with hides as tough as bark and a bite that was far worse. They tore through flesh and armor with tooth and claw, and shrugged off all but the most concentrated attacks. Baying like wolves they attacked in packs and dragged off those soldiers not lucky enough to be killed in the initial onslaught.
Even the very Everfree itself seemed to resist the sun princess, hordes of great beasts poured out of the twisted wood in all shapes and sizes. Timberwolf packs hounded her supply lines with an intelligence they had never before displayed. Manticores clad in silver armor broke the ranks of her ponies and then vanished before they could be dispatched. Even the woodland creatures that seemed too small to be of importance fought against the solar incursion. Bunnies, squirrels, rats and other small creatures swarmed over the army’s food, eating nearly everything and befouling anything they couldn't.
Worst still were the lunar pegasi, faster, stronger and more brutal than their feather-winged cousins; they swooped through the battlefield, picked off anypony caught unaware and swiftly dispatched their surprised foe. They were well-drilled, well-disciplined and held together every other race and sub-race the Nightmare brought to bear, carrying an air of leadership that rallied her sister’s forces wherever they went,all the while holding a nearly fanatical belief in her sister’s selfish cause.
Repelling these attacks and forcing unit cohesion after the chaotic and brutal melee nearly broke the sun princess’ army, and she was forced to reveal her ace far before she had wanted. Bringing forth the full force of her connection to the sun, she bathed the battlefield in light and flame, scorching friend and foe alike. Though her own troops were resistant to the sun’s rays, some still fell to their princess’ attack. In the end it had paid off and the creatures born in the darkness were killed or scattered. From that terrifying display of power, a fear of the light was borne in those lucky few that survived the sun’s onslaught that would last generations, the terror of the sun unbound being passed down from parent to child for centuries after the devastating assault.
With the first wave defeated and their supply lines resecured, the solar army marched onward, drawing closer and closer to the Everfree with each passing hour. Her troops’ morale was low but holding, the demonstration of power being enough to reaffirm her ponies’ faith in her abilities.
What happened after that was true horror, the likes of which made the destruction of war look like child’s play. The necromancers revealed themselves and raised a vast army of the dead that had been hastily abandoned the day before, sandwiching the solar guard between the dead and the living.
Celestia shuddered, a tear running down her muzzle.
She pushed the memory away with frantic insistence. Please don't make me remember. She begged whatever greater being might have been listening.
Please don't remind me how my ponies suffered and what I did to her.
The memories would not be stopped; even after centuries they were too vivid, and far too horrible to ignore.
Celestia whimpered and squeezed her eyes closed tighter, images of horror long past flashing before her mind’s eye.
Images of her soldiers’ limbs sloughing off their bodies while they were still alive, rot taking them before they had even been felled in battle, the bodies of their brothers and sisters in arms rising back up after a fatal stroke, only to turn on the nearest pony with a ruthlessness that could only be borne of mindlessness.
No, stop, please I'm begging you. Tears fell from the princess’ face, pooling on the floor beneath her.
Cuts that showed only the first symptoms of infection suddenly became gangrenous, having to be amputated within seconds only for the stump to become infected and a swift death becoming the only reprieve. The earth beneath her ponies died, from tip to root every blade of grass perished while torrential rains pounded flesh and earth alike, turning the battlefield into a quagmire.
The sins she committed in the face of the atrocities, the blood she had spilled in hate. All of it flashed before her eyes, reminding her of her deeds.
And then it was gone, replaced by the sound of boiling coffee cascading over the sides of the pot while her cup bubbled quietly.
Celestia shook her head and blinked away the tears. She had a job to do. She swallowed the boiling hot cup of coffee, quickly pouring herself another and then turned off the burner. With her second cup held aloft in her magic, she forced herself towards the door.
She had a kingdom to run, and no time to shed tears for past mistakes.
At the behest of Axon, the parents of Twilight Sparkle ultimately decided not to send her to a public school, homeschooling the child until a surprise invitation from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns arrived one day at their door. Said invitation came in the form of none other than their esteemed leader herself.
“P-p-princess Celestia!” Stuttered the much, much older looking mare known as Twilight Velvet, quickly ducking into a bow so deep she nearly face planted when her aged knees nearly gave out on her, her long gray hair brushing the ground as she bowed.
A calm, serene smile sprang easily to the monarch’s face. “Please stand, no need for such formality today. Simply call me Celestia.”
The aged mare scrambled back to her hooves. “Twilight Velvet, your highness.”
This caused the monarch to stop for a moment. “Oh? I had assumed you a caretaker of some kind. You seem older than the last picture I saw.”
The mare coughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. “Yes, well, raising two children can take a lot out of you.”
More than you know. Celestia thought darkly.
“So it seems. May I come in?” the alicorn said.
“Of course!” The smaller mare stood to the side and closed the door gently behind the alicorn as she made her way inside.
Once in the same room, the aura of fear emanating from the princess would have been suffocating had Twilight Velvet not spent the last sixteen years of her life living in the presence of a pony with a similar, albeit lesser, effect of her own.
The alicorn strode in purposefully, planting herself on the largest couch and indicating the chair across from her. Her powerful stride and calm features made her seem in charge even while in another’s home.
Once seated, the smaller mare smiled nervously, unused to such a forward pony who strode through her house like she owned the place.
“Where are your husband and children?” said pony asked innocently.
“Night Light was just having a nap, work has been hard on him lately. Twilight is upstairs in her room, reading I assume, and Shining Armor is at school,” the mare replied, a little too quickly.
“Oh? I had thought school would be out by now.”
The smaller mare gulped and wiped a stray strand of grayed hair from her eyes. “He had to stay late because...” She paused, considering for a second lying. Ultimately she decided on the truth, feeling guilty having even thought of lying to the princess. “He was in a little trouble today.”
The princess raised an eyebrow at that. “What happened?”
“Just a little disagreement with another colt. You know how boys can get.”
The monarch didn't seem to notice or care for the other mare’s nervousness. “He is what, eighteen now, correct?”
“Yes, last month of high school before he's off to basic,” Twilight Velvet said with a hint of pride.
“I remember his application coming across my desk, quite a bit of promise.” Though the praise was brief, Twilight Velvet cheered silently in her mind. “Speaking of promise… how is your other child doing?”
The younger mare’s eyes suddenly lost their luster that had come from hearing her son praised by the princess. “Oh, fine, just fine.” She smiled, hoping it looked less fake than it felt.
“Oh, that's good to hear. How are her studies? I heard she already graduated high school.” The alicorn’s smile spoke of knowledge that made Twilight Velvet nervous.
“She got her G.E.D. over a year ago and she is well into her second year of private lessons in magical theory.” Though there was pride in her voice, there was also fear, one born of worry that could only come from a parent worrying for their child.
The alicorn nodded thoughtfully, smiling politely. “Do you have any tea by chance? I’m afraid I'm parched.”
The sudden shift jarred Velvet and she stood up quickly. “Oh, yes, of course, your highness, I’m afraid we only have honey tea. It's Twilight’s favorite.”
“That sounds delicious, thank you.”
The younger mare bowed once more and dipped out of the room.
Once alone, Celestia cast her eye around the room, analyzing every minute detail. The house was relatively small, given the size of the family and it was built in that tall, tower-like manner that had been fashionable around fifty years or so ago. That meant only the kitchen, living room and bathroom were on the main floor. The second floor, Celestia knew, had the master bedroom, a second bathroom, and a small office. The third would have two bedrooms with a small common area. The fourth was an attic, probably only used for storage.
The room she currently occupied was pleasant and had a very lived-in vibe to it. Bookshelves lined one wall from floor to ceiling, wrapping all around a large window that gave a generous view of the street, while several potted plants, all fake, dotted the room at irregular intervals.
The couch was comfortable but worn, and was probably as old as the house. The rest of the furniture seemed to carry this theme as well, everything bearing a distinct age to it. Celestia glanced briefly at the books she could see from her spot on the couch. Nearly every single one she glanced at was either a work of fiction or a book of spells or magic. Though most were mundane, she noticed one very different, and probably illegal book that sat on the bottom shelf. Its spine faced the inside of the bookshelf, making it impossible to know what it contained had the distinct purple pages not given it away.
Celestia frowned, she knew books made with such pages were almost always used to contain spells that were either banned or simply frowned upon. She made a note of it and moved on, noticing a faint whistle from the other room. A second later she had to stop looking around as the sound of hooves approached from the kitchen
The steps were close together and erratic, indicating an undercurrent of nervousness that Celestia could sense a mile away.
She looked up as the other mare entered the room. “I’m terribly sorry, Celestia, but it seems as though the tea has gone bad. I am afraid I didn't notice until after I had boiled the water.”
Alarm bells sounded in the alicorn’s head. “The honey tea has gone bad?” The princess arched an eyebrow that served only to make the other mare sweat.
“I’m afraid so, it's dreadfully hard keeping food from going bad in this house. It’s the damned old wood they made this place out of.” The mare shook her head and sat back down across from the alicorn. “Anyway, is there a reason you were stopping by? I hope it wasn't just for a taste of my tea or I'd feel dreadful.” She forced a small laugh.
“No, I was actually hoping to extend an invitation for your daughter to join my school. May I meet her?” Celestia asked.
“Oh, of course!” the smaller mare said quickly.
Both mares were suddenly distracted by the sound of hooves descending the stairs. Both turned to see a quite surprised stallion standing on the landing and looking at them.
He blinked twice and dropped quickly into a deep bow. “Greetings, your highness.”
The alicorn smiled. “Please rise, sorry to wake you.”
The stallion rose and waved a hoof dismissively. “No, no. I just heard the sound of tea as I was lying awake in bed.” He walked over and placed a gentle kiss on his wife’s cheek. “Any left for me, by chance?”
With the two of them so close the startling age difference became readily apparent, making Celestia narrow her eyes in thought. Weren't they supposed to be the same age? Maybe one or two years apart but this Twilight Velvet appears to be ten years the stallion’s senior.
“I'm afraid the last of the tea went bad. Sorry honey.” The stallion frowned deeply at that and he glanced upwards for a moment before catching himself and looking back down, a sudden look of guilt on his wife’s face.
“Your name is Night Light, correct?” Celestia interjected.
The stallion looked away from his wife and towards the alicorn. “Yes, my apologies for not introducing myself, your highness.”
“Pardon my bluntness, but how old are you and your wife?”
Velvet’s face fell, avoiding eye contact. Her husband’s eyes suddenly seemed to fill with an intense disdain. “We are both forty-two, or at least we should be the same age if it wasn't for it.”
“Dear, please.” The mare placed a hoof on her husband’s and gave him a pained smile.
After a second he withered and let out a breath. Celestia dismissed the entire interaction, having learned all she needed.
“May I please see your daughter now?”
Velvet stood up suddenly. “Yes, of course.” She turned to her husband. “Why don't you go buy some more tea and pick up Shining? I’m sure he will be out of detention by then.”
The stallion stood his ground for only a moment before turning towards the door. “Yes, dear.” He turned once before reaching the door and shot Celestia a strange, almost pleading look. Then, he was gone.
Velvet coughed and moved towards the stairs. “I will go get her now your highness; please make yourself at home.”
The alicorn merely nodded, remaining seated.
The smaller mare quickly stood and disappeared up the stairs, leaving Celestia to her thoughts.
The alicorn’s nose perked up to a nearly unnoticeable smell. One that seemed hidden behind the smell of the home. Sniffing a few more times Celestia stopped suddenly. Her muzzle scrunching up in disgust, her fears realized. Beneath the smell of books and home cooking there was the distinct smell of death.
She didn't have long to ruminate on this information as her host came back down the stairs, another much younger, taller mare clinging to her side.
The second pony had to be Twilight Sparkle, however, she was much too tall for a mare of sixteen. Standing nearly a whole head over her mother with sharp, angular features accentuated by a long spiraling horn. However where her mother was slightly round, Twilight Sparkle was painfully skinny, skin stretched tightly over a skeleton that seemed to be trying to escape the hold her flesh had on it. Deep bags hung under her eyes, giving the mare a haunting gaze. A plain black dress that seemed one size too small covered the mare’s cutie mark and draped a few inches down her legs before coming to an abrupt stop.
Her lips were drawn tight and she stared worriedly at the alicorn the entire time she approached. Her legs were long and would have been shapely and enchanting had it not been for how painfully skinny they looked.
Last was her hair. Purple fur so dark it was nearly black covered her body. Short, neatly cut mane and tail covered the rest of her body. Her hair was a deep blue with an equally deep magenta and pink highlight running through them.
Though Celestia was unaffected by it, she could still feel the powerful aura of fear that the mare emitted.
“Hello Twilight Sparkle, I’ve heard so much about you,” Celestia said with a smile.
Instead of returning to her seat, Velvet stood beside her daughter, shifting nervously as she watched the interaction.
“All good things I hope,” the youngest mare said without humor, in a voice two tones deeper than what Celestia would have guessed from a mare her age.
“Of course! Which is why I am here to invite you to study at my school.”
“No,” the mare replied instantly.
Celestia pretended to be surprised. “Why do you say that? You hardly gave it any thought.”
The mare looked down. “I frighten ponies, besides I don't want to abandon my current studies.”
Celestia frowned. “You know we could work something more private for you if you would like. I have a tower without an occupant that would suit you perfectly, plenty of books, even a world-class telescope would be all yours and plenty far away from anypony who might bother you.” Celestia leaned in and smiled. “Why I even have a vacant position for a personal pupil that I think you might be able to fill quite nicely.”
The lanky teen frowned and seemed to think about it.
“Give it some thought and send your response to the castle tomorrow. I find sleeping on an important decision helpful.”
“Fine.”
“Now dear, don't be like that. This might be a wonderful opportunity, think of it. Your own place, plenty of books and the princess as your teacher,” Velvet said, bumping her daughter with a hip which did nothing to extract the mare from her funk.
“I’ll think about it,” the young unicorn replied.
“That's all I can ask, thank you.” Celestia beckoned with a hoof to the two chairs across from her. “Please sit.”
The two mares reluctantly did as asked and made their way over.
Velvet sat without trouble, her daughter, however, was a different story. As soon as she was free from being so close to her mother, her hooves became less coordinated and she stumbled into the chair with all the grace of a china cabinet being thrown down a flight of stairs.
Celestia looked at the teen with a questioning gaze. “Are you alright?”
The lanky girl just snorted in annoyance. “It's just my condition acting up, makes me clumsy.” Under her breath, she added. “Like I need help with that.”
“Condition?” Celestia asked inquisitively, feigning ignorance.
Velvet answered before her daughter could. “Yes. She was born with a damaged nervous system. Her lambda system took over and has stopped her from being paralyzed or anything like that, but it has damaged her coordination a little.”
Celestia stared at the mare for several long seconds before seemingly accepting the explanation. Meanwhile, the gears were turning within the monarch’s mind. Although my fears were already confirmed, this just furthers my assumption. And unless she accepts my invitation I will be forced to act. The strange sense of deja vu I first received when I saw her is not leaving me and worse still the mere sight of her brings thoughts of the war to my mind. This is an ill omen indeed, I must act quickly. Once she settled on a plan of action, she lit her horn and disguised a flash of magic as simply levitating a few magazines into a neat pile. The magic formed a message that was sent to her guard captain waiting outside.
“Tell me more about this condition of yours, Twilight.” Celestia accentuated her point by deliberately looking at the lanky teenage mare before her.
She didn't back down one iota, merely narrowing her eyes and meeting the challenge. “The condition still doesn't have a name but it damages a pony’s nervous system pre-birth, forcing the lambda system that usually controls magic to take over its job.”
Celestia almost smirked. It seems as though I have struck a nerve. She held back a giggle at her own joke.
“Oh, is that all that happens?” Celestia challenged.
Twilight’s eyes narrowed further while a frown spread across her face. Several tense seconds of silence passed.
Then a knock on the door drew everypony’s attention. “Oh, I’ll get it.” Velvet stood up quickly, however not quickly enough and the being behind the door simply pushed his way in.
Twilight Velvet stood there shocked for a moment, absolutely sure she had locked the door behind her.
There in the doorway stood a golden coated unicorn stallion with a grim countenance and full armor. He ignored the elderly mare before him and stared past her.
“Ma’am, there is a situation that requires your attention,” he said in a gruff voice.
Celestia nodded and stood up. “Wait outside, I’ll be right out.”
The guard saluted and left just as quickly as he appeared.
Celestia turned to the lanky unicorn and flashed an apologetic smile. “I’m terribly sorry, Twilight, but it seems as though I’m needed. Please give my proposal some thought, I believe you would be quite happy with the facilities my school could provide you.”
Twilight Sparkle smiled back hesitantly. “Thank you, I will consider it with my family tonight.”
The alicorn turned and left, pausing at the door and looking to the elder Twilight. “Which would be free by the way, I am willing to waive the tuition in order to have such a brilliant young mind.”
“That's very kind, your highness, you will have our response shortly.”
Celestia smiled one last time and left.
Outside the Sparkle house, Celestia strode through the street, a single guard at her side, following silently. All around the ponies pretended not to notice the monarch, knowing better than to give the impromptu appearance any fanfare. A block later they were joined by a second guard who appeared from an alley.
He was identical to the other guard, save for being an inch or two shorter than his colleague.
He moved swiftly up to the princess’ side, allowing her to whisper quietly enough for only him to hear. “I will have to bring in the expert if she does not accept my offer. Ensure she knows of the contraband spell book in the family’s living room. Use illegal magic as the excuse and go in hot in the middle of the night.”
The guard grit his teeth. “Are you sure that is necessary, your highness? You made her quite a generous offer back there.”
“She will not accept my offer. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't even write to me.”
“What makes you think so?”
“She has almost never left home, the few times she did were disastrous. Beyond that, I believe myself to be good read of character, and she didn't so much as entertain the idea even after I waived tuition and offered her personal tutoring. Her eyes did not even have a spark of interest the entire time, and worse still, I don't believe she respects me at all. Best to simply solve this problem with the use of a specialist and be done with it.” The alicorn remarked, a small tremor of annoyance running down her spine.
“Are you sure that's a good idea, your highness? The guard would be much quieter.”
“Yes they would, however, I like to keep my stallions’ hooves clean of blood wherever possible and her hooves are already irreparably stained. Besides, the royal guard will be doing its job by keeping out onlookers and ensuring the scene is secure discreetly while she does the dirty work. Even if there is a little collateral damage, nopony will remember anything other than what the official report says.”
The guard earned a sharp glare from his colleague and gulped. “Are you sure it will even come to that? Despite her being a shut in her family doesn't seem wealthy and you did give them a pretty nice offer back there, no tuition, housing... She'd be crazy to pass that up.”
Her smile faded, replaced by a grim look of determination. “Hopefully not, however beyond the lack of respect I sensed, her heart contains much fear and anger. If it's up to the filly, she will not leave.”
The guard nodded and took position across from his colleague.
Hopefully it does not come to that, unleashing my little ‘specialist’s’ power is not something I do lightly. With that grim thought firmly in mind, Celestia trotted towards the castle in the distance, the nagging feeling of deja vu never leaving her.
It had been almost twenty-four hours since Princess Celestia had come into their home and suddenly offered them a reprieve from that thing his wife called their daughter, and still nopony agreed with him. Night Light looked out the window and frowned. It was an incredibly nice day outside, the sun was shining, birds were chirping, and it seemed like everypony was outside enjoying it.
Except for his family, of course.
Twilight found direct sunlight to be hard on her skin and had opted to spend the day reading again. Shining Armor had a mountain of homework which he was probably receiving help with from his sister. His wife was tired, laying on the living room couch and resting her eyes.
All the while Night Light was bound by duty and circumstance. He couldn't just up and leave his family and enjoy the day only he seemed to enjoy, especially when they remained unconvinced by Celestia’s offer.
He sighed, quietly wishing he had his pipe on him, but the last time his wife had caught him with it she had laid into him about setting a poor example for his kids.
Night Light laid his head in his hooves and snorted. One of his kids was the top of his class and could have left early for basic training if he wasn't trying so hard to woo that Cadenza pony. Night Light wished him luck in that front, but he frankly didn't see it. Cadenza was an enchanting pegasus mare with ties to the princess, and Shining Armor was a short, scrawny young colt with the cursed sister.
The stallion continued grumbling while leaning on the windowsill, all the while watching the passersby that trotted up and down the street.
In Night Light’s mind there was no doubt she was cursed, or a monster or something! He didn't know exactly what it was, and no one listened to him when he talked about it... but he knew something was wrong. All he did know was that whatever his daughter was, it wasn't good. Shining had been growing up fast and strong with powerful magic until he got closer to his sister. Then his growth slowed to a stop and all attempts to put on muscle failed. Even his magic had faltered somewhat, and though he was still the strongest shield caster in his grade, he had difficulty with any advanced spells that most of his classmates could cast with ease.
The stallion ground his teeth together as his anger got the better of him. Worst of all was his wife, she had aged faster than he had thought possible; going from a few grey hairs to a full head of it within five short years. She had passed it off as just a little premature grey, but her family had no history of it and if that wasn't all, her joints had started to bother her. Which, in itself, wouldn't be significant if she didn't have a history of keeping in shape and eating properly. A few years ago she even had to get reading glasses! She had perfect vision before their second child, and now she had reading glasses. It didn't sound like much but Night Light knew better; he had seen the prescription she was supposed to be wearing and it was clear they were not simple reading glasses, but still his wife stubbornly refused to buy the glasses she needed. Was it an attempt to stop him from worrying, or something else? The stallion stopped his train of thought, noticing how hard he was grinding his teeth and the odd looks a few passersby were giving him. Night Light frowned and got up, closing the window and stepping down on the floor.
It wasn't going to help anything if he sat there getting angry again, he had to convince his wife that Celestia’s school was the great opportunity it truly was and he was running out of time to do that.
He walked slowly up the stairs to the second floor, contemplating what possible angle would convince his wife or even just anything he could say that would change her mind. As his mind raced, he landed on one unfortunate conclusion: he had already tried everything he could think of! He had argued until he was almost even bluer in the face than usual and all it took was one word from his daughter to shut it all down. A simple no from that brat had been enough for her. His well thought-out arguments, damned by those two letters.
The stallion stopped on the stairs, his forehoof stopped in mid air as an idea occurred to him.
If all it took was a word from Twilight then she was the one that needed to be convinced, not his wife. Sure he had tried before but he had been… short with her. It was hard to have patience around the thing that had stolen the life from the mare you love and stunted the growth of the son you cherish. He quickly trotted to the top of the stairs and down the hall.
Until he came within a few feet of Twilight’s door, then he stopped. Hesitating slightly as he fully realized what this plan meant. He would have to remain calm the entire time despite his feelings, and be convincing enough to get her to leave. Though he was pretty sure he could do one he doubted his ability to do both at the same time.
It couldn't be helped, he had to do what he had to do and no amount of doubt was going to stop him.
Get in and out quickly, find out why she doesn't want to leave and convince her otherwise. Don't be authoritative unless absolutely necessary.
The stallion breathed in, then out, then opened the door, steeling his resolve and calming his temper.
The instant the door started opening, Night Light could feel the pressure of Twilight’s aura. It was strong and made him want to turn and flee, forgetting about this entire thing. Between his experience and his willpower, he pushed through it and walked into the room.
The first thing that hit him was the smell of dust and books; though not oppressive, it also wasn't welcoming. It reminded Night Light of a second hoof book store he used to frequent. It was stifling and musty, and the only thing that kept him coming back was the rock bottom price of everything… which stopped mattering soon enough as mold contaminated most of the books and the building had to be condemned.
Directly ahead with her back to him was the mare he sought. She sat on a wooden chair, her magic glowing faintly, a book no doubt in front of her face, just out of Night Light’s view.
To his right was the large bed she had traded with her brother when it became apparent that she would grow taller than him and would need the bed far more than he would. The bedding was made perfectly, everything exactly as it should be, the pillow placed at exactly the middle of the bed underneath the tightly tucked blanket. A small, ratty doll hidden halfway under the blanket was the only other thing on the bed.
Night Light nearly chuckled at the sight, that doll was almost as old as Twilight, and here it still was after all this time.
To his left was a wall of bookshelves packed tightly with various tomes of magic and other areas that the room’s owner found interesting, ranging from theoretical magical wave theory to mycology.
Between the stacks of books on what little wall space that was not occupied by shelving hung a few posters. One was of an elderly bearded unicorn with an elaborate hat and cape that depicted stars and constellations in incredible detail. He stood tall, a confident smile on his face, and a fierce glow around his horn.
Another depicted a white stallion in gold armor standing proud atop a pedestal with a rising sun behind him and a single word below him, ‘Serve’. The last was of some dreadful metal band Twilight liked, called ‘The Full Metal Mare’, the poster depicting the helmeted head of a mare with red mane poking out between the few chinks in the helmet, the only thing not clad in blackened steel was her jaw exposing a row of sharpened teeth and a serpentine tongue. Night Light had no idea why anypony would enjoy such music, but his wife had been quite insistent that they allow her to keep the poster and all the records Twilight had bought, despite his disappointment.
The mare in front of him still hadn't moved, the only sign of the fact she was alive was the faint magical aura around her long horn that flickered briefly, turning the page of whatever she was reading.
She was hunched over the large oak desk that lay against the wall underneath a window that was completely covered by a set of blackout blinds. Night Light faintly remembered an argument about those blinds, his wife insisting the even a little light bothered Twilight’s skin.
Night Light cleared his throat. “What are you reading?”
The mare hardly moved to the sudden intrusion, merely stopping mid-page and placing a bookmark where she had left off and swiveling her chair around. “A book on advanced rune theory and ancient earth pony magic.”
Night Light merely nodded. “Interesting.” he remarked without enthusiasm. “I was hoping to have a conversation between just you and me.”
The stallion sat down on the bed, frowning slightly when he noticed a small puff of dust to lift off the blanket, indicating the bed had not been used in a while. Putting that thought aside, he patted the part of the bed next to him.
The gangly unicorn looked at her father, then the bed, and smiled nervously before plopping down next to him, a little more gracelessly than he did.
“Sure, dad. Do you want to talk about astrology? I read a really good book all about star magic patterns the other day. I bet I can finally understand what you have been researching all these years!” The mare’s eyes lit up, an innocent smile spread across her lips and for a moment Night Light couldn't help but imagine her as the tiny innocent filly she used to be.
Guilt pulled on his heartstrings for a moment, but he forced it down. Maybe one day he could forgive her for what she's done, but that had to start with her leaving and stopping her from doing any more damage to his family.
The mare beside him looked away, shuffling nervously in the silence. “I even got the book right here. I think it was by Star Seeker, do you know him?”
The stallion sighed. “Yes, I know him, he's a brilliant astrologist. But that's not why I wanted to talk to you.” The mare slumped, knowing full well where this conversation was going. “I wanted to ask why you didn't want to go to Celestia’s school. It sounded like a pretty nice offer.”
The mare deflated a little, resting her head in between her long forelegs. Then after a long silence, she spoke. “It seems fishy.”
Night Light’s temper threatened to boil over at the comment. That's it!? It seems a little fishy? He quickly got his anger under control and smiled weakly. “What is so fishy about the princess offering you this once in a lifetime opportunity? You are undeniably a genius, she would be crazy not to try and get you into her school.”
Twilight blushed and fled into her hooves a little deeper, hoping her father didn't see her rosey cheeks. “I want to finish my studies. I am almost done so maybe I could go to the princess’ school after that? I don't want to just leave everything i've started, especially after you guys already paid for it.”
Night Light breathed a sigh of relief; he was on to something. Twilight had always been a terrible liar, and she was clearly not hitting at the heart of why she didn't want to go. Pressing on, Night Light placed a gentle hoof on his daughter's shoulder. “Is that the real reason you don't want to go?”
After a few tense moments the mare’s shoulders sagged. “No…” she replied miserably.
“Then what is it really?”
Twilight gulped. “I like the mare who delivers my assignments and books. She doesn't run away, she's nice, and besides mom and Shining, she’s my only friend. If I left then I would never see her again. I would go back to being that freindless monster again, I don't want to be all alone daddy, please don't make me.”
Night Light felt the slightest tinge of guilt when he noticed he wasn't included in her list of friends, but stowed that for later, like those other bothersome feelings. Maybe he had been a little harsh... perhaps… No, he shook his head. This has to be done.
The stallion leaned in closer. “You know she's using you, Twilight.” The mare’s body suddenly grew rigid.
“W-what are you talking about? No she isn't. She's my friend!” But the conviction wasn't there.
Night Light pressed his advantage quickly. “I've seen the assignments she gives you, Twilight.” The unicorn under his hoof tensed even more before forcibly making her muscles relax. “She gives you assignments that aren't even the same subject.”
The unicorn mare sniffed hard. “I don't know what your talking about.”
The stallion sighed and gently rubbed her shoulder. “I’ve picked up your assignments, Twilight I know.” The mare remained tense, and silent. “Remember Tuesday last week, when she came around? She gave you her history homework, Twilight.”
“I’m taking history on the side, I’m studying the Third Griphonian War—”
“Don't lie to me, missy. It’s my bits you spend taking these courses. I know what I’m paying for.” The mare sobbed quietly, her hoof covering her eyes. “See? She isn’t your friend, Twilight.”
The sobs suddenly stopped and the hoof covering her eyes whipped to her side. “What does Moon Dancer have to do with anything?”
Night Light didn't flinch from the mare’s anger. This was going exactly as he had hoped. “Think about it, Twilight. I bet there are plenty of ponies at that school. You could make some real friends.”
“I have real friends, Night Light!” She snarled back at him, rising up to her full height and glaring down at the stallion.
The stallion just snorted. “Your family doesn't count and Moon Dancer certainly doesn't either. You know I’m right.” The mare wilted slightly and Night Light pushed one last time, a little too hastily. “The school is a big place, I bet there is somepony there that will put up with you.”
The despair and sadness that had slowly crawled into Twilight’s features vanished in an instant. “Put up with me?” She whispered, icily.
Night Light cursed his poor choice of words but chose to double down. “Your condition dear, I bet there are ponies there that are learned and able to look past it.”
The mare got off the bed and pointed to the door. “Get out.”
The stallion snarled. “You don't get to tell me what to do in my own home. Now sit down and let's talk about this.”
The mare just shook her head slowly. “You don't get it. If my own family can't even ‘put up with me’, what chance is there that a bunch of random ponies will?”
The stallion stood up and took a step forward, only to be stopped when he noticed his forehooves were encased in a faint bubblegum colored aura. “Don't you dare.”
Tears ran down the mare’s eyes. “Please, just go, daddy.”
The stallion grimaced and pushed forward. “No, now we are going to sit down and talk about this like adults or so help me—”
A sudden shove of magic and the stallion found himself sprawled out in the hallway, the door slammed shut a second later. He was back on his hooves in moments and banged on the door.
“Get out here right now!”
He slammed his hoof a few more times against the wood. “You have until the count of three before I come in there and drag you out.”
He waited a few seconds but the door didn't budge, the house was quiet save for the faint sound of sobbing on the other side of the door.
“Three…”
“Two…”
“One…”
The stallion lit his horn, only to be stopped at the last moment when a stark white hoof grabbed his shoulder.
Night Light spun around, his horn still alight with power and a snarl of rage still across his face. It quickly changed when he noticed his wife’s eyes looking back into his.
“We have to talk, Night Light.” The stallion wanted to argue, wanted to yell and scream, but he knew better. The tone his wife had spoken in was one he never wanted to hear but seldom had to. It was one she reserved solely for when she was extremely angry.
Burying his anger, he let out a deep sigh. “Yes, dear.”
Celestia sighed deeply and stopped, eyeing the door in front of her with a grim resolve. It has to be done. She couldn't deny the necessity of using her ‘specialist’, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it.
She shook her head and swallowed hard. No. Her indecision and hopeless optimism had cost her enough opportunities to sweep this little problem under the proverbial rug. If only she had the resolve that burned within her sixteen years ago. Than she would have been able to rid herself of that monster without the guilt that had plagued her.
No matter, the past was the past and she could not affect it, now matter how much she wanted to.
She nodded to the guard standing silently to her left. "Open the cage, Sun Spear. I have need of the prisoner."
The guard nodded back. "Yes your majesty." With a pulse of his magic the door was unlocked, the stallion pushing it open for his princess.
The alicorn quickly stepped through, allowing the door to swing shut behind her, a small click indicating she was locked in. Not like that truly mattered to a being of her power; she had been the one that had put such redundancies in place, after all.
The room wasn't terribly large, a single magical torch burning to her right was enough to illuminate it completely, allowing the alicorn to see the entire cell easily. Directly in front of her was a small control panel with several buttons and a single lever, standing atop a pedestal of alicorn-convenient height. Behind that was a black wall of glass that separated the alicorn from the source of her anxiety.
Celestia stomped her hoof and sighed. There was no getting around this. She just had to get this done and move on before she wasted any more time. The deja vu that had bothered her since she saw that mare had grown into an incessant ache at the back of her mind that spruned her on. Not even her pre memory wipe journal she had left behind contained any information pertaining this strange girl or her condition which made the alicorn nervous. She detested the feeling immensely and looked forward to seeing the mare dead and the feeling gone.
One press of a button illuminated the room beyond the glass, a single magical torch burning opposite of Celestia, revealing an identical room on the other side of the glass save for the fact that there was no way out and there was an X-shaped table with a pony lying on it.
Celestia looked down on the mare firmly tied to the table by thick, enchanted straps of leather.
Her fiery red and gold hair were in disarray, her fur equally as unkempt. Her entire body lay limp in her restraints, her eyes closed and an almost peaceful look covered her face. Celestia paused and stared at that face. It was one she rarely saw on the unicorn, and had never seen on her when she was awake.
The alicorn sighed and moved her hoof to the next part of her preparation, but stopped suddenly, images of all the ponies her little specialist had killed flashing before her eyes. Her hoof wavered, and for a second she nearly moved away.
Come on, Celestia, indecision doomed your sister, you can't let it take anything more! But her hoof still wavered, undeterred by her mental pep talk. Do it! You failed once when she was young, you can't make any more excuses! With a firm hoof Celestia pressed the button and began the next stage in the process.
Glyphs interwoven into the rock walls and floor of the room flickered to life and several fields sprang up around the unicorn that permeated her body with magic, all to make the inevitable mind spells Celestia would have to work into the unicorn’s psyche that much easier.
First Celestia suppressed Sunset’s desire for killing, focusing it to include only the targets Celestia had in mind and not potential innocents. Next was a geas to complete her mission and listen to the orders Celestia would give her.
The alicorn stopped for a moment, her horn powering down as she allowed herself a slight breather. Neuromancy wasn't a fancy or particularly showy school of magic. It only illuminated the caster’s horn in a faint aura while surrounding the head of the target in an identical glow. It was, however, a rather strenuous school of magic that demanded the caster have an enormous pool of mana at their disposal and decades of study, meaning only a select few unicorns could cast it, and fewer still even knew that neuromancy was even possible. It did have a few side effects, such as the target would suffer a mind-shattering amount of pain if they were awake and capable of fighting the effects of such a spell.
Celestia re-lit her horn and quickly got back to work, shaping her specialist’s mind to allow no possible slip-ups. After she was certain the unicorn would not disobey orders again, Celestia checked over her work, scanning the neural pathways of her subject until she was absolutely sure. She refused to have a repeat of the first time she tried this.
Now secure in her spell casting, Celestia gently pressed the next button, stopping one of the passive fields within the containment cell from keeping the unicorn from waking. Before the mare could wake up, Celestia pressed the last button that activated another set of glyphs which flashed once after a second of warming up, teleporting in just the right amount of sedative to keep the patient quiet and receptive, and a healthy dose of rejuvenating serum to reactive muscle groups that had long since atrophied during her long stasis.
The mare flinched and shook when the teleport fired, but Celestia knew that was just a minor side effect of her heart restarting while a bunch of foreign liquid was teleported into her veins.
The mare’s eyes squeezed shut and her limbs twitched; it would take a few minutes but she was slowly waking back up. At the back of Celestia’s mind she was vaguely aware of the fact that this was one of the longest times she had kept her little specialist on ice and was curious if she would survive being ‘dead’ for so long.
Just as that morbid thought crossed Celestia’s mind, the unicorn’s legs twitched and her face twisted into a grimace. Perhaps my fears are unfounded. Celestia thought grimly, standing patiently behind the glass.
After a few minutes of twitching and shifting expressions that ranged from pain to confusion and anger, the mare woke up. Her eyes shot open only to see the same stone roof she always woke up to. She tried to look at Celestia, but the leather strap around her neck stopped her from moving more than a few centimeters.
The unicorn groaned and rolled her head to the side and in a gravelly voice she asked, “How long?”
“One year, six months and three days,” Celestia replied cooly.
There was a long pause before the unicorn gulped. “Damn.”
Her chest suddenly heaved, the feeling of something getting stuck in her throat stopping her from speaking. A hacking cough broke the relative silence and continued on for several long seconds before the unicorn hacked up a ball of phlegm and spat it onto the ground.
Celestia’s muzzle crinkled in disgust and she looked away from the disgusting bodily fluids.
Sunset tested each of her restraints one at a time before slumping back down in defeat, her chest heaving as the rest of her body began to wake.
“What is it this time?” Sunset asked breathlessly.
“Possible necromancer. You’re going to have to kill her and dispose of the body. You will not be allowed to kill or seriously injure anypony else but you can stun and restrain as you see fit.” Celestia turned and began to pace as she spoke. “Also, her family is to be subdued and sent to processing as quickly as possible.”
“You know I’m not exactly good at subterfuge and silence, Celestia.” Sunset remarked grimly.
“I know, but if this mare has started to tap into her necromantic powers then you will make an excellent guage of her power.”
The unicorn growled but said nothing, knowing she was being used like a canary in a coal mine. After a few seconds her anger abated and grim reality set in. “How long will this take off my sentence?”
“Fifty years.”
The mare whistled at that. “Wow. That is a long time, she must be a big one. This oughta be fun.”
Celestia frowned, disgusted by Sunset’s blatant blood lust, which the unicorn could just barely see from her odd position.
“What? Aren't you going to enjoy this? I know I will.”
“I don't enjoy killing, it is merely a necessity.”
The unicorn laughed a harsh and barking cackle. “You will enjoy the fact that she's gone. I know that for a fact. You are always much less tense after I’ve killed somepony that's pissed you off.” Celestia’s frown of disgust deepened and she stopped pacing. The unicorn grinned and pushed on. “See? We both enjoy killing, I just don't fool myself into thinking it's anything but cold-blooded murder.”
Celestia turned away from the glass, not allowing the mare to see her face. “I don't kill, you do. That's the whole reason I brought you in, instead of executing you.”
The unicorn craned her neck as much as possible to look at the spot she assumed Celestia was still standing. “Tell me, Celestia, is the sword at fault for the will of its wielder? Does the sword kill, Celestia?”
The alicorn’s face contorted in rage but she forced those feelings down. “You move out in four hours.”
As the alicorn walked to the door the unicorn began laughing, a harsh and cackling laughter that echoed in the small room, all the while taking a perverse amount of pleasure in getting under the alicorn’s skin.
Celestia stopped at the door and, for a moment, she considered simply throwing the lever and simply being rid of the foul creature. The alicorn let out a breath of air and stepped through the door, slamming it shut behind her and cutting off the mad cackling of the demon she left behind.
Maybe next time.
Night Light was not having a good night. He sat on the step of his house with a pipe in hoof and a frown on his face. His wife and he had finally gotten the chance to get rid of the creature that had been draining the life out of her for the last sixteen years, and she had sided with the creature in its demand to stay in his home and had the gall to not even respond to the princess. She just let the whole day go by without sending word!
Twilight had been even less receptive to his arguments and had ended up getting him put in the proverbial dog house for his efforts.
If only that damnable doctor Axon or whatever had fulfilled his promise. Instead, he had vanished a few days after that creature’s birth and every other specialist they saw said the same thing.
“There is a little damage to the spine but that’s understandable given her complicated birth.”
He lit his pipe, brought it to his lips and pulled gently on the tobacco. It burned his lungs and tasted faintly of the herbs he had ground up in it, adding a little much-needed flavor to it as well as some chemical calming.
Until he released the smoke he thought of nothing, enjoying the respite from his worries and simply enjoying the flavor and act of having a smoke outside his own home.
Once the smoke had left his lips his worries returned with a vengeance. He simply couldn't put up with that thing his wife called their daughter. His wife had taken a break from her work when she was born to better support the seemingly wounded foal, but as she grew, his wife never did return to her work, devoting more and more time to helping the thing that was draining her of her very life the entire time.
She had aged quickly, too quickly. She looked older, yes, but her body was also older, gaining the problems of age far before she should have naturally. Joints bothered her and she had already been forced to take supplements for her weakened heart.
The stallion stopped and puffed on his pipe a few more times, ensuring the flame didn't go out yet.
And now when Celestia had come into their lives and finally offered an out, their little monster had declined and his wife and son had agreed with her! He could almost forgive his wife, she truly believed Twilight was not the monster that he knew her to be, but Shining Armor?
His pipe cracked in his magic and he tossed it aside.
His son was a shining example of what all stallions wish their son to be. Strong, courageous, and intelligent. He had a good heart that was tempered by a good head on his shoulders. Yet he had still not been able to see the signs that Twilight was a cancer and had defended her despite Night Light’s logic.
He sighed in defeat.
Maybe they were right.
Then, when he was at his lowest, a light appeared. Unfortunately for him, it was a really bright one that was pointed at his face.
As he was blinking the spots out of his eyes, something hard connected to the side of his head and he felt his body ragdoll to the ground. Groaning in pain, he hardly noticed as the limiter was placed on his horn and his legs were shackled together.
Something gripped his mane and forced his head up into an uncomfortable position.
“Aaugh, what’s going on?” he asked the lights flickering in front of his eyes.
A harsh feminine voice laughed in his face. It was brutal and unkind, and seemed to say without words that this was only the beginning of his pain.
“Didn't you hear it was garbage day, Mister Sparkle?” the voice asked and dropped the stallion back to the ground where he landed in a heap. “And you didn't even bring out the trash, shame on you.”
“Who are- oof.” With the wind now thoroughly knocked out of the stallion, the mysterious assailant just laughed.
“Don't you worry about that. I'm just a garbage mare doing her civic duty.”
By the time Night Light came to his senses and regained his breath, the mysterious mare was gone and the door to his house stood open.
He blinked in shock and wiggled enough to yell into the door.
“Wake up Velvet, get the kids and run! There’s a crazy mare in the !—”
A sudden golden bolt of magic shot from the doorway and, just like that, the stallion was gone. He appeared an instant later at the hooves of a guard who quickly got to work knocking the poor stallion out and prepping him for the painful task of having his memories wiped and rewritten to fit the cover story.
“Such a loud mouth, always waking up everypony at this hour, tsk tsk.” The mare glanced at the book in her hoof, the worn purple pages faintly illuminated by the golden light of her horn. “Yes definitely illegal, only a minor fine though. Oh well, good enough for me.” The mare tossed the book over her shoulder and walked slowly up the stairs, listening to the sound of commotion one floor up.
She heard the frantic hooves beating across the hardwood floor and the door opening to a room. A second later she caught the fleeting glimpse as a mare ran in front of the opening at the top of the stairs.
“Gotcha.” A thin lance of golden magic shot from the mystery mare’s horn and thundered up the stairs.
The older mare tried to dodge, but the premature aging and weak joints meant she couldn't react in time and only barely made it out of the path of the lance of magic. It zipped over her shoulder and gouged a deep red line in her flesh, biting through the skin and muscle beneath with impunity.
A cry of pain could be heard throughout the house, but the older mare didn't stop, much to the mysterious mare’s pleasure.
“Yes that's right, fight fight fight! I want to feel you squirm beneath my hooves before I crush you.” She crested the top of the first set of stairs just in time to hear the older mare reach the floor above her.
The mysterious assailant smirked and followed the blood trail down the hall and up the next set of stairs. By now she could hear three sets of hooves and feel the aura of fear one of the owners of those hooves emitted.
“Oooh, that tickles. It is going to feel so good killing you.” The mare giggled and made her way to the top of the, stairs only to bump nose first into a shimmering blue wall of force formed just over a foot into the room.
The mare poked the barrier with a hoof and smirked.
“Who are you and what do you want from my family?” the voice of a brash young stallion called out.
From his vantage point, Shining Armor couldn't quite see the mare on the stairs save for the yellow furred hoof that poked out of the darkness. He tried his best to look intimidating and strong, which was slightly hard for him considering even his mother was taller than him.
“Well, before I beat your father, I said I was the garbage mare... but I think that joke has run its course.”
Shining ground his teeth. Behind him, he heard his little sister gasp in shock while his mother yelled.
“Don't you dare touch him!”
The mysterious mare’s teeth glinted in the darkness as she smiled. “Oh, he's fine, just taking a brief tour of the dungeons and receiving a first hoof lesson on neuromancy. As for who I am and what I want... the first doesn't matter and the second is her.” The yellow hoof poked out of the gloom and pointed towards the lanky purple mare towering over her brother and mother.
Instead of shock the lavender mare merely grimaced. “Why?”
“Why? Well, to Celestia, you are a danger. To me, you are just a fun little challenge.” A sudden light from the mare’s horn illuminated her face a second before a glowing yellow pin appeared and slammed into the shimmering blue shield. In that second realization struck the three ponies and they all thought the same thing. Sunset Shimmer, the butcher of Canterlot, was here.
However that wasn't the only thing to occur in that moment as Shining Armor buckled instantly, cracks appearing all across his shield, centered on the point of contact with the golden tack.
A faint whistle could be heard coming from the mare known as Sunset Shimmer. “Impressive. I’ve popped barriers made by ponies twice your age with half the effort. A quick lesson before I beat you and your mother unconscious and then murder your sister; the modern shield spell is designed to refract force larger than a hoof. Once you go smaller, the damage done multiplies exponentially.”
Time seemed to stop. Sunset’s horn was alight with magic, a second tack appearing where the first had vanished and pausing mid-flight towards the barrier. Shining Armor was halfway on the ground, his horn glowing brightly with power as he tried to reinforce his shield. Twilight had lit her horn in an attempt to do the same, but it was too little too late; this, Velvet knew with grim finality. She also knew that judging from the angle of the pin, once it broke through the barrier, it would continue flying until it hit her daughter standing beside her.
In that moment she decided to do the bravest thing she had ever dreamed of.
Time slowly increased in speed. A millisecond after Sunset’s spell was launched, Shining Armor’s shield broke and the stallion blacked out from the pain, tumbling into a heap on the ground. Half a second after that and the pin would have flown through Twilight Sparkle with enough force to obliterate the mare.
But Twilight Sparkle was no longer standing where she was a few seconds ago. In her place stood her mother, fearless and without regret. Her hooves on the shoulder of her daughter, shoving her out of the way.
Panic flooded through Twilight’s mind and her spell fizzled. She looked back as she fell, her eyes catching her mother’s the moment before the golden tack hit. In those eyes there was peace. Peace and an apology, her lips moving to whisper “I love you” one last time. But she didn't get the chance, for an instant later the spell flew through Velvet’s and obliterated the lungs she would have used to speak those three words.
Then, time went back to normal all at once.
Twilight Velvet’s body flew into the wall in two distinct pieces, her only saving grace being that her heart and spine were destroyed in an instant, so to her there was only a pinch and then nothing.
Shining Armor was already in the sweet embrace of unconsciousness and didn't have to see that particularly brutal moment. Twilight Sparkle, however, was not graced with sweet oblivion quite yet.
“NOOOOOOOOOO!” Raw mana and directionless spells poured out of the enraged unicorn’s horn, forming into a great mass of purple that shot at the golden unicorn.
Sunset Shimmer was hardly able to throw up a shield before the veritable wall of destruction would have vaporized her.
The enraged unicorn screamed harder at her vengeance being denied and poured on more power, bringing her incredibly large reserves of magic to bear for the first time in her life in an attempt to simply overwhelm the other unicorn. Everything caught within the six-by-six foot blast was obliterated.
The house buckled under the sudden redistribution of weight, but didn't fall... yet.
The flow of power suddenly cut off and the lanky unicorn stumbled. The sudden shock of so much mana leaving her body pushed her dangerously close to joining her brother in unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, her lambda system began to desperately pull in whatever mana it could in an attempt to refill Twilight’s nearly empty reserves.
She panted, watching as the shimmering sphere of golden magic disappeared to reveal a completely unharmed unicorn mare beneath it.
Twilight’s mind whirled, she had just obliterated half of her own house to kill the psychotic mare, and still wasn’t able to do the job.
Thinking quickly, Twilight suddenly asked. “Why does Celestia want me dead?” Keep her talking Twilight, just keep her talking until your magic has healed itself and you can hit her again.
“You are a necromancer,” the mare replied simply.
“Necromancy is impossible!”
“Tsk tsk, Twilight. Some would say that living without a nervous system was impossible too, but yet, here you are.” The other mare recoiled as if slapped. “Yes, I know about your little condition, and I know it only got worse as you grew older. You shouldn't be able to move or even breathe, but yet here you are!”
The mare waved a hoof at Twilight’s body. “And necromancy isn't impossible, just really, really difficult, and only able to be learned by a select few.”
Twilight’s heart fell in her chest. “You don't mean…”
“Oh yes, you can learn the magic of the soul. And to top it all off, you gave the old bitch the silent treatment for an entire day. That's usually enough to earn a quick death.” The golden mare smirked.
Keep her talking Twilight just a few more seconds! “Why are you here? I thought you were killed by the guard five years ago—”
“Blah blah, my patience is running thin, and I have one last thing to say to you. Which you will be surprised to know is a compliment.” The golden mare smirked when she noticed the panic on the other pony’s face. “Your spell use was impressive, your overcharge of mana bolt was simple and elegant, easy to cast and just as easy to dump more power into. I like it. You know another good spell that’s simple but can be used quite elegantly? Telekinesis.” The mare’s smirk grew into a huge wolfish grin as her horn lit with power.
“Wha-hr.” Twilight’s confusion melted into pain and the power gathering at her horn disappeared into nothing as a tightness erupted in her chest.
She looked down in horror to see the faint outline of golden magic radiating from within her body.
“With telekinesis, I can grab your heart and hold it like I am right now, stopping you from doing anything and making your body utterly panic without killing you.” The tightness increased threefold and Twilight’s legs fell out from under her. “Or I can give a gentle squeeze and pop it like a grape, like this!”
The tightness quintupled and the lanky unicorn was vaguely aware of a faint popping sound and several panicked seconds before oblivion took her. Her last thoughts before death were of her mother.
Then, there was nothing.
The lavender corpse tumbled to the side, its dead weight carrying it into an uncoordinated heap.
The golden unicorn mare’s smile faltered. “Damn I should have said something like. ‘And I always loved making wine.’ or something like that.” She shrugged. “Oh well. Time to dispose of the body.”
She looked around at the ruined home and noted the fires all around the blast hole surrounding her. “ Well, I can't use the botched raid excuse.” She paused and tapped her chin. “I could just leave them here and maybe knock down the building.” Suddenly the mare growled. “But the bitch did say this one was the only one allowed to die.” She angrily kicked the purple corpse.
A sigh escaped her lips and she cast a glance at the splattered remains that had been Twilight Velvet mere moments ago. “She is gonna have a bitch fit about that. Oh well, back to work.”
With a flash of her magic, the unconscious colt at her hooves was gone, appearing a moment later in the exact spot his father had been in mere moments before, with a familiar guard ready and waiting to prepare him for the same treatment his father was undergoing right at that very moment.
Next, she gathered up the pieces of Twilight Velvet and cast a spell that made the flames licking at the house to suddenly roar to life. “That should take care of that, but what about you?” Suddenly the mare’s eyes flew open. “I got it! You accidentally unleashed an enormous blast of magic that killed your mother and knocked out your family, then in a grief-stricken panic you fled into the hills in the middle of the night and then… drowned yourself! And I was there, trying to help because I saw the fire!”
With a grin and a flash, the lavender corpse and the golden mare were gone.
A millisecond later at the edge of Canterlot, the corpse and the mare appeared. Below them was a cliff and below that ran the deep, quick running Canter River.
The golden mare stopped and levitated the corpse before her. The corpse’s cold empty eyes stared into her live ones, making her feel that much more alive. “That was pretty good, but not good enough. Maybe in the next life you'll best me.”
Then, without another moment wasted, she tossed the corpse over the cliff. It spun end over end, pinwheeling through the air until it landed with a splash in the river below.
“Perfect.” Then the golden mare was gone.
So was the corpse two seconds after that, carried away by the powerful current.
Sunset Shimmer thought her victory complete, and when Celestia got word, she would believe the same.
However, Sunset Shimmer’s arrogance was born of ignorance; to her, there would be no surviving what had happened to Twilight Sparkle, and she was partially correct. Celestia’s arrogance was born of a belief that she could truly stamp out an entire branch of magic.
But she forgot the very first law of magic.
Magic cannot be destroyed.
Several miles away from Canterlot, a corpse tumbled gracelessly down a river, tossed around by the uncaring current. A current that threw the corpse into a hidden tributary shrouded by the branches of several fallen trees. Trees that marked the entrance to the wild wood of the Everfree.
Now instead of simply washing up on the shores of Lake Canter in a couple of days, the corpse was bound for a destination few knew of and even fewer still spoke of.
Ponyville was not a name mentioned in polite conversation. It was one whispered in hushed conversations, followed by a quick sidelong glance to see if anyone else heard.
The cursed town that had been swallowed by the Everfree was rumored to be inhabited by everything from demons to vampires to the lingering dead, damned to walk the earth forever for the sin of siding with the cursed sister.
Twilight, in life, had cared nothing for these rumors or conjectures, but in death… Well, that would change.
The corpse, now on slower currents, drifted lazily down the hidden tributary, deeper and deeper into the Everfree.
Though damaged by its fall and subsequent travel down the river, it still vaguely resembled Twilight Sparkle. Though a chunk of her mane and most of her tail was missing due to getting caught on a stray branch, and a few parts had taken particularly nasty hits by a few sharp rocks, it still undeniably looked like the corpse of Twilight Sparkle.
Most importantly, above all that, the corpse still contained the overactive lambda system that had guided the development of her entire life. A system that was, strangely enough, still operating and pulling in ambient mana, feeding it to the mare’s ruined body.
This system was powerful, and with it suddenly being drained the way it was, it had sucked up nearly every drop of ambient mana it could get ahold of, including Twilight Sparkle’s very soul. Even that was not enough to bring the mare back to a state of unlife, however. For that, it needed one more ingredient.
An ingredient that fate had decided to give her in the form of a tumble into the unknown waters of the Everfree.
Now, within the twisting and chaotic forest, Twilight Sparkle’s soul-fed lambda system drank greedily at the font of wild magic that permeated the forest, gorging itself on the veritable buffet of powerful magic that flowed into it from every direction.
Within minutes it had grown fat with the potent mana of the soul as well as the chaotic magic of the forest. There they mixed into a strange type of energy that was the stuff of assumption and legend; a type of energy that would give rise to a type of being Equestria had not seen in nearly a millennium.
A twitch came from the corpse, then another, and another.
Then a lavender hoof reached out of the water and gripped the mud-slick river bank.