//------------------------------// // Act 4: The Big Boom Theory // Story: Friendship is Failure #17: Nine & Eleven // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// ACT FOUR September 11, that’s what read on the calendar… Indeed, Twilight had been hard at work all night analyzing the speck of sticky liquid on her tail, while Starlight and Spike were asleep. She didn’t even join them for breakfast on time the next morning, and it would be time to head to the school soon. “Think one of us should go and check on her?” asked Starlight. “I’ll go.” said Spike, and he headed for the door, only for Twilight to burst right through, smashing Spike on the door and into the wall. She looked really beat and more frazzled than ever, “I finally got it.” she yawned. “Hooray…!” Spike groaned as she slipped off the wall and onto the floor. Twilight then slammed down a small file of notes she had made from her analysis of the liquid. “What is it?” asked Starlight. Twilight yawned again, “It’s a pony-made medicine, almost like a potion. I analyzed the ingredients and mixtures, and I’ve determined that this elixir causes ponies to think and gain strength and heal of internal injuries.” Starlight and Spike looked at one another. “You mean it’s just a healing elixir?” Starlight asked in disbelief “Why would Silver be constantly drinking a healing elixir?” Spike shrugged. “But there’s more…” said Twilight “I also found traces of ingredients that, when mixed improperly, can cause ponies to experience negative emotions and fits of rage.” Now there was reason to be concerned. “If Silver’s been drinking this stuff all this time it’s no wonder she’s such a grouch.” said Spike. This still did not explain why Silver Nickle was constantly drinking the stuff, which was obviously not doing her emotions very well. Twilight no longer seemed as sleepy, and had that burning look of determination in her eyes. “Oh, no! Twilight…!” wailed Spike, but Twilight had already poofed herself outside and was already flying off in the direction of Las Pegasus. “Ugh! What is she thinking? Silver will never want to talk to her.” Even Starlight felt deeply concerned about Twilight, and as much as she wanted to go after her, she and Spike did have to open the school. “I just hope that pony knows what she’s doing.” At Silver’s head office, she was signing for delivery of vital supplies for the production machinery. “There!” she snapped “Now go away. I have work to do.” The mover ponies weren’t enlightened by her attitude, but left her in peace to get to work installing the new equipment. Silver slumped into her desk, and held her head in pain. She reached into her drawer for another medicine bottle and took another swig. “PAH…!!” she groaned, and then growled as she felt her rage growing. She decided to open her office windows to get some fresh air, and used her magic to swing the curtains open, only to once again see Twilight outside, making her scream in shock. “Oh, not you again!” she whined. And before she knew it, Twilight had poofed her way inside again; this time hovering off the floor to avoid any traps. Sliver raced to her desk to contact security, but Twilight was ready for her this time as well, as she used her magic to sit her down in her chair and hold her down in a magical field. “You and I are going to have a little talk.” Silver refused to speak and stuck her nose up high in the air. “Sorry it has to be this way,” said Twilight “But this time you have no right to refuse me.” Skilfully, she managed to keep her lockdown on Silver, but she managed to cast another small beam of aura on her which was a Truth Spell. “The spell will wear off in a few minutes, but until then you have no choice but to tell me the complete and total truth. Do you understand?” Unable to control herself, Silver answered “Yes, I understand.” Twilight nodded and then asked, “Tell me… What did your parents do to you? Why do you drink that healing elixir? Most of all, why do you hate so much that you fire ponies in fits of rage?” Try and she would to resist, Silver began to reveal the truth. “I always wanted to live a life full of play and carefree joy. I never liked worked, no matter how important it was, or how much money I could make, I didn’t like working and hoped to find some way of making it through life without getting a serious job! But my parents wanted me to be rid of such thoughts, and insisted I become a hard worker like they are. So they began to drill me, and work me hard day and night, but still they were not convinced. So being the nutty professors they were, they experimented on me, and hooked me into a kind of machine that would alter my brainwaves and change my way of thinking. They just put me into that thing without properly testing it first like I was some kind of lab rat. The currents were so painful I couldn’t even scream in agony, and there was a short out as the equipment began to go crazy and explode. My head hurt so much I thought it would explode, but thankfully it didn’t. The experiment seemed to work. I could no longer think the way I used to-- imaginative, playful, I didn’t even seem to like it anymore. I felt a great urge that compelled me to buckle down and start working hard, but I still didn’t like it, if anything I hated it more than ever. Worse than that, those currents and waves that changed me had altered my body for the worst, into a state that slowly makes me weaker, and causes me pain and headaches. …All this would very well have killed me if it weren’t for my parent’s elixir, again, which they gave to me without testing. While the medicine keeps me strong, it brings me great rage and misery and compels me to hate and loathe everything from work, to play, to life itself! After my very first dose I turned on my folks. I resented them for what they had done to me, and I let loose my full rage on them; destroying they’re life’s work and ending their stupid lives!” Twilight gasped, at the fact that Silver killed her own parents, and no pony ever knew. The two mad scientists had created a working, life-loathing monster! Silver continued with her story. “I left home as it was, with no trace of my crime. I started a laboratory which helped to recreate the elixir my parents made. I needed to stay strong from my condition or the attacks would kill me! No doctor could help me, and no potion could cure me. But I just kept on working, and building, and making more money, until finally I have the empire that stands. How I loathe and despise it all! All this work which I hate, and how I was robbed of my dignity, my pride, my dreams and happiness! …I HATE IT ALL!!!!!!!!!” She began to have a freak-out, and she fussed and bucked about on her chair. Her rage was so intense because of all the elixir that Twilight was having a hard time maintaining her hold on her. “Silver, don’t!” she cried “I can help you! Let me try!” Silver’s horn glowed, and her magic combined with her rage fired through the aura and hit Twilight hard, sending her crashing to the floor and canceling the hold. Rather than lung over and attempt to beat the living daylights out of Twilight, Silver had a nastier idea in mind, and matched straight over to her desk. “What are you doing?” cried Twilight. “…Something I should’ve done, a long time ago!” She typed into her computer, and a giant red flashing button appeared out from a hidden panel. She pounded it at once, causing a blaring alarm to sound, and an automated voice over the intercom shouted. “Danger! Self-Destruction Program Activated! Self-Destruct in one minute!” A large time began to count down the seconds as the building began to rumble and start breaking apart. “SILVER!” shouted Twilight. All through the building, all the workers and all the ponies began to panic and race for the exit and small explosions began to blast, and wires popped out raining sparks all over the place, and large bits of debris came crashing down. Silver was cackling like the completely insane creature she was made to be. Twilight was panicking, and rushed over to the big red button, slamming it hard with her hoof, but the countdown just kept on going. “Turn it off! Turn it off!!” she begged. “I can’t!” shouted Silver “Once it’s done that’s it.” And she laughed some more as the floor began to crack apart. “Finally this stupid workforce is about to be dragged to ROCK BOTTOM!!” Twilight knew Silver was completely hopeless, especially seeing as she was willing to destroy the place and hurt all the ponies in it without care for their safety. Only twenty seconds were left, and the automated voice hollered. “Danger! Self-Destruct Imminent! Self-Destruct Imminent!” Twilight didn’t have time to think or try to conjured any spells to try to stop this and knew she had to bolt it right out of there. “Come on…!” she shouted to Silver, trying to take her out too, but Silver just buck kicked her hard, sending her clear out of the window, shattering the glass. “SO LONG SUCKER…!!!” was the last thing Silver shouted to her. All the ponies down below had exited the building, but were running and flying as fast as they could. “RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!” “…IT’S GONNA BLOW!!!” Twilight realized only five second left, and she screamed and teleported herself right in the nick of time! POW!!! A huge explosion burst right through the middle of the building, and at its base, causing the whole thing to come crashing down in a massive cloud of smoke and dust, making one final explosion that rocked the land. The inhabitants of Las Pegasus saw and felt the tremors, and they could not believe their eyes!