//------------------------------// // Twilight Sparkle Ch 4 - Twilight Glimmer // Story: The Conquering of Love // by Littlecolt //------------------------------// Book One: Twilight Sparkle Chapter Four - Twilight Glimmer “Twilight, wake up,” a voice called. Twilight groggily opened her eyes and blinked. The sun shone into her eyes through the window as she lifted her head, trying to see who had awoken her. “Princess? Is that you?” she asked, looking around. The smell of smoke filled her nostrils, and she could feel waves of heat rising upwards. The library was on fire. Twilight rushed down the stairs, looking for Spike and Princess Celestia as she ran. They were nowhere to be found. She swung the front door open, and in the distance, she could see Ponyville in flames, black smoke billowing into the sky. “What’s happening?” she yelled, but no one was around to hear her. She bolted towards town, no sign of anyone to be seen. As Twilight approached the town, a dark figure emerged from the flames. Chrysalis! Twilight thought, racing forward. The changeling queen stood with a look of smug glee on her face and laughed at Twilight as she approached. “You’ve failed, Twilight Sparkle!” the queen bellowed. “This is just a little repayment for even thinking of resisting my power!” Twilight looked past the queen for any sign of life. Just behind Chrysalis, lying on the ground, unmoving, was Princess Celestia. Burn marks covered her body, and her mane was streaked with blood. Twilight ran to her. The changeling queen laughed and stepped to the side to let her pass. “Princess! How did this happen? I thought we would be safe here!” she sobbed, and knelt before Celestia. She buried her face in the princess’ mane. Celestia opened her eyes and gazed at Twilight. “I don’t know how, but she found us. We were careless.” The princess coughed. Her voice rasped as she weakly drew breath. “We hadn’t even done anything yet! Was it all just hopeless from the beginning?” “Twilight... My number one student. I wish... I could have spent more time with you. You must stand tall, now, child. You must not let my end be the end of your story,” said Celestia, her breathing becoming more shallow with each word she spoke. Tears began to form around the bottoms of her eyes. “Princess!” Twilight yelled, tears freely flowing down her cheeks. “You can’t leave me!” “Twilight... Everyone has their time to go. Remember that... and remember me,” said Celestia. Her eyes then closed, and a single tear fell from the corner of each. Twilight closed her eyes and wept silently as her mentor slipped away from her. “What a waste of breath!” Chrysalis said with a laugh. “Pathetic to the very end!” Twilight rose up, tears still falling from her eyes, and glared at Chrysalis. “You’ll pay!” Twilight screamed, charging at Chrysalis. The changeling smiled and lowered her horn. “Wake up!” she yelled, a sinister smile on her face. “Wake up, Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight awoke to find herself standing over Celestia in her room. Celestia was in her disguised form, looking up at Twilight, wide-eyed. Twilight had her pinned to the floor, her front right hoof raised and ready to strike. “What?” Twilight finally snapped out of it. “What happened?” “You were having a nightmare. I tried to wake you up, but you attacked me!” “I had the most terrible dream,” said Twilight, walking away from Celestia and shaking her head. “It’s proof that you’ve returned to reality. If you were still truly living in this dream world with your false memories, you would never have had a nightmare. The dream is crafted to avoid such things,” said Celestia as she rose back to her hooves. “Crafted?” questioned Twilight. “How does that work?” “I am not entirely sure, but I do know that the changeling queen has some amount of control over this world,” answered Celestia. “However, in the end, you are the one who is the real architect of this dream. Everything here is based on your own perceptions, with the exception of a few things where I believe Chrysalis is somehow pulling the strings. Whether directly or indirectly, I can not say. Nor am I sure of how she is doing it. That is one of the things we must find out.” Twilight nodded. “I see. Well then, we should go, we need to hurry and stop her,” said Twilight. “Otherwise, that nightmare may just come true.” “Right you are,” Celestia replied. Twilight looked over to where Spike was sleeping. She walked to his side and looked down at him. “Will he ever wake up? Is he even really Spike?” she asked, and placed her hoof on his forehead. Celestia sighed and lowered her head. “You have a good heart, Twilight. I know how much you care about him. It would be wrong to say that he isn’t really Spike, but he’s not completely Spike. This is your dream world. He’s as real as Spike is in your heart. However, I do not think that he will wake up, no.” Twilight smiled sadly and stroked Spike’s head with her hoof. “Don’t worry, he is not suffering,” said Celestia. “As long as you keep him in your heart, he will be happy here, and someday you will see the real Spike again.” Twilight nodded and turned away from him. “So, what do we need to do?” she asked, burying her feelings of sadness. “We need to go to Sugarcube Corner and see Pinkie Pie. She holds the key to our salvation, though she does not know it. Not really, anyway.” “Then let’s go, we need to finish this as quickly as possible,” said Twilight. She looked back at Spike one more time before walking down the stairs and out the door. Celestia followed right behind her. “So, what am I supposed to call you, now?” asked Twilight as they walked along the path. “Ah yes, no offense, but I don’t think Twilight Orange suits me very well,” Celestia said with a laugh. “Well, did you have anything in mind?” “How about Twilight Glimmer?” Celestia asked. “The twilight glow happens when the sun is just starting to rise over the land, and since I am now a mere spark of my former self, I think Twilight Glimmer is fitting.” Twilight just stared silently at Celestia. “Is it no good?” asked Celestia, blushing. “You’ve... really been thinking about this, haven’t you?” asked Twilight as a smirk formed on her face. “Oh, don’t tease, Twilight!” Celestia said, bowing her head in embarrassment. “I’m not! It’s very good! I like it! Really!” said Twilight. They both laughed. “Okay, then, Twilight Glimmer. What do we do once we get to Pinkie Pie’s?” Twilight asked. “Shh! Someone is coming,” said Celestia. She nodded ahead of them. Two ponies could be seen approaching with some speed. “There you are!” the first pony, Doctor Hooves, shouted as he ran towards Twilight. “We’ve been waiting for you!” “Waiting... for me?” asked Twilight, one eyebrow cocked upwards in confusion. “Of course!” came another voice from just behind him as Mayor Mare stepped forward. “We can’t start the celebration without you!” “Celebration? What?” Twilight asked, still confused. “To celebrate your victory over the changelings! It’s the talk of the town, and we’ve quickly thrown together a party to honor you girls! You saved Equestria!” said the Mayor. She glanced over to Celestia and raised an eyebrow. “Oh my. Who’s this now? I’ve never seen you before,” she said. “This is my cousin, Twilight Glimmer. She’s here to visit after the wedding,” said Twilight as they all began to walk towards the town square. “We were actually on our way to see Pinkie Pie, and...” “Oh, well you’re in luck, Pinkie is already there at the town square with the others!” said Mayor Mare. Twilight grinned nervously at Celestia, who just calmly nodded her head. When they arrived at the town square, they found a large gathering of ponies, possibly the entire population of Ponyville, encircled around a stage that had been erected. As Twilight entered the crowd, it parted to make way for her. Loud cheering erupted from the gathered ponies as she made her way toward the stage. “We love you!” the crowd screamed. “You saved us all! You’re the heroes of Equestria!” Twilight blushed, even though she knew this was a dream. She hadn’t really saved anyone. Twilight, Celestia, and the Mayor walked up the stairs and onto the stage. On the stage, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack waved to the crowd. Fluttershy was hiding behind the podium, peeking one eye out. Towards the back of the stage, eying everyone nervously, was Pinkie Pie. Her mane still looked more frazzled than usual as she scanned the crowd. She saw Twilight as she came up on the stage and ran over to her. “Twilight, I’m so glad you’re here!” Pinkie said, practically bowling over Twilight. “I’m glad you’re here, too, Pinkie. After this, we need to talk,” said Twilight. Pinkie nodded in agreement, then glanced at Celestia. “Who’s your friend?” said Pinkie with a suspicious tone in her voice. “I’m her cousin, Twilight Glimmer,” answered Celestia. She smiled at Pinkie and extended her hoof. Pinkie shook her hoof slowly, squinting her eyes. “Okie dokie lokie...” she said nervously. “Twilight never mentioned you before, I wonder why not.” Her eyes narrowed. “I never mentioned my brother, either, if you recall,” said Twilight with an awkward smile. “Fair enough,” said Pinkie with a forced smile. Mayor Mare had taken to the podium, forcing Fluttershy to relocate. She was now hiding behind Rainbow Dash, who sighed and rolled her eyes. “Citizens of Ponyville!” the Mayor started, “We are gathered here today to honor these six brave ponies, who have once again saved all of Equestria from the clutches of evil!” The crowd erupted with cheering, only to go silent again when the mayor raised her hoof. “Not only have these six amazing citizens of this very town saved our Princess, Luna, from the darkness that had a grip on her, and stopped Discord from throwing all of Equestria into chaos, but now they have repelled an invasion by a changeling army!” “We didn’t really do much!” said Applejack. “It was mostly thanks to Cadence and Shining Armor, it’s just a shame they couldn’t be here to see this here celebration!” Mayor Mare smiled, and nodded in agreement. “Yes, here’s to Shining Armor and Princess Cadenza, as well! But it is still true that these six ponies, presented with such overwhelming odds, faced the danger head-on! We could all do well to follow their example! Never back down! So here’s to Ponyville!” The crowd cheered again, even louder. “Now let the festivities begin!” yelled the mayor. Music started playing and the crowd began to disperse into groups, some dancing, others preparing tables for food, and some others just mingling and talking. Twilight slipped behind the curtains on stage, waving for Celestia and Pinkie Pie to follow her. The three snuck out the back, down an alley, and began to head towards Sugarcube Corner. “Whew...” said Twilight as she breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought we might not be able to get away from there.” “We’ll have to move quickly,” said Celestia. “Our absence will surely be noticed.” “You got that right,” said a voice from around a corner ahead of them. The three ponies jumped back as Applejack came walking into view. “Would somepony tell me what’s going on, here?” asked Applejack, a serious expression on her face. “What are you three up to, and why’s it so important that you gotta keep it a secret from your friends?” Oh horsefeathers, what now? Twilight thought to herself. “Applejack, we don't have time to explain. I'm sorry,” said Twilight as she walked past Applejack. The others followed right behind her. “Now just hold on!” said Applejack, jumping back and blocking Twilight's path. “There's somethin' fishy been goin' on around here. Who's this new pony you're with, anyway?” “AJ, can you please just trust me?” Twilight asked impatiently. “Not sure if I can, Twi'. I got this strange feeling in the back of my head that somethin' bad's gonna happen. I don't want you to get hurt. Why don't you come back and join the party?” Twilight groaned in frustration. She looked to Celestia for an idea, but the princess simply shook her head. Applejack snorted at the exchange and stomped towards Celestia, until their noses were practically touching. “Who in the hay are you, miss?” demanded Applejack, her eyes narrowing. “I am Twilight Sparkle's cousin, Twilight Glimmer.” said Celestia, her eyes locked onto Applejack's. “Never heard of ya.” said Applejack as her eyes began to glow a faint green. Celestia pulled back from Applejack slowly, wide-eyed. “Well, maybe Twilight's just been a bit too busy to mention me. I mean, we haven't seen each other in years, right Twilight?” said Celestia nervously. Before Twilight could answer, Pinkie Pie jumped in and put a hoof over Applejack's shoulder. She shook her head and clicked her tongue in disappointment. “Applejack, Applejack, Applejack...” said Pinkie. “You're gonna spoil all the fun!” Applejack's eyes returned to normal, and she looked at Pinkie Pie with confusion. “Fun?” she asked. “Look, we're not supposed to tell anypony, it's supposed to be a surprise. I would have thought you'd understand the importance of surprises!” said Pinkie. “Remember when you threw me that surprise birthday party?” Applejack laughed nervously. “Oh yeah. Right! Yeah, that was... somethin', wasn't it?” “Oh yeah, definitely something! Look, just don't worry about it, you'll find out what's going on, but we just can't tell you right now, that would be a whole lot of no fun!” said Pinkie with a gleeful smile. “Right... Gotcha,” said Applejack. “Sorry. I don't know what came over me, truth be told.” She nodded her head and tipped her hat to Celestia. “Nice to meet ya, Glimmer. Any cousin of Twilight's is a cousin of mine,” she said. “Wait, that ain't right...” Twilight smirked. “Okay, Applejack. Sorry about all of this. We'll see you later,” she said. Applejack nodded and walked back towards the town square, whistling as she went. Once Applejack was out of sight, Twilight fell to the ground, worn by the stress. “Did you see her eyes?” asked Celestia as sweat gathered on her brow. Twilight and Pinkie both nodded their heads nervously. “I don't know what that was all about, but I'm telling you, something really weird is going on around here.” said Pinkie. “Weirder than you know...” said Twilight as she regained her footing. “We'll explain everything once we're in your room.” “Right,” said Pinkie. “I have to show you the Colorscope once we're there.” “Colorscope?” asked Twilight. “You'll see,” said Pinkie. “It all came to me in a flash when we got home from Canterlot. I don't know how or why, but I had some sort of power. Power like an Earth Pony shouldn't even have. It's been a very rough couple of days, let's say that.” Pinkie shook her head, her usual cheerful attitude very obviously affected by everything that had happened. The three arrived at Sugarcube Corner without being noticed, and headed up to Pinkie's room. It was there that this story would truly begin.