In The Beginning

by flutterJackdash


5. Twilight Sparkle

It was all so much, so very much. She had never felt anything like it, as though her very being were trying to escape through every pore of her being, tearing her horn from her head and dragging her into the air against her will. Everything became a blinding white, the faintest cries of alarm sounding so very distant. Is this what it was to use magic? It was terrifying!

A hoof gently pulled her from her chaos, and her white-out eyes focused on another filly. A filly with wings and horn, and a crown.

“You don’t understand,” she said.

“I don’t understand what?” replied the filly with wings.

“I can’t control this!” she shrieked, pleading for help.

“No, you can’t… But it’ll be okay,” replied the filly with wings. She took a moment, gazing around the room.

She mumbled something, but Twilight could not make out what she had said. The filly turned her attention back to Twilight.

“You are… stronger than you realize. You’re scared now, I understand that. It is scary, losing control like that. It’s a good thing you can’t see right now,” said the filly, once again turning her focus to the room around. This time looking towards Twilight Velvet and Night Light.

“But you aren’t alone, Twilight. In a few moments, one of the most important ponies in your life will be here, and you’ll have control again, she’ll make it so. You can overcome this fear, Twilight. You don’t have to live thinking about this every day,” she said as she continued to stare at Twilight Velvet and Night Light.

“And… Forgive yourself, okay? You didn’t mean for anything to happen. You had no idea this would even happen, it was sort of a freak accident. A huge influx of spontaneous generated magical pegasus energy ruptured the atmosphere, spread wide, and interfered with your personal limiter. You really aren’t at fault here, Twilight, it’s just how it is.”

Twilight blinked, feeling her hackles rise steadily.

“To make matters worse, you have a powerful latent magical signature that won’t fully open to you until later in life, but right now? You’re accessing it just fine, but you don’t know how to use all that energy, so it’s just… pouring out of you. You’ve got incontinent, simply put.”

Twilight swallowed, tears slipping down her muzzle.

“Forgive yourself, okay? Everypony here is going to be okay. You’ll see.”

Twilight nodded.

The filly with wings turned away from Twilight Velvet and Night Light, facing Twilight again.

“And don’t shun other ponies… It’s actually very important to talk to others, did you know that? I didn’t. I just… I stayed in my books. I isolated so much that I left Shiny behind me, and then I went and blamed him for it too. Listen, it doesn’t have to be like that, okay? You’ll find yourself in a little town near the outskirts of the Everfree, bound and determined to save the day and make P-.. er… well, you’ll be determined to do it all alone.”

Twilight took a deep breath, listening intently.

“You can’t. It’s not possible. Trust me, okay? I know, I just do. You can’t do it alone. You have to trust your friends, when you find them. And you have to find them, Twilight, or nothing will be the same…” she said quietly, a wing twitching as she dragged a foreleg across her muzzle.

“Trust yourself, but trust them more. You can be strong enough, but never alone. Even now, you’re going to need help to come down from that mana spike you’re dealing with.”

“...spike?”

“It’s the upsurge in your own magic, it’s just coming out freely, never mind how uncomfortable it’s making you feel. In a moment, that won’t be a problem anymore, and you’ll be okay.”

“What’s going to happen… to everypony…?”

“They’ll heal. Quickly, too. The real damage is inside of you, really. You’re scared now, of yourself, of what you can do, of what you can’t control. Now you know that you can’t, and now you’re more driven than ever to study and research until you understand absolutely everything about magic so that, no matter what happens, you can control it.”

“I… Can…,” Twilight said weakly.

“Eventually, but it’s not studying that does that for you. You’ll find strength in the love and support of friends, of your mentor, and when you reconnect with them, your family also. There’s no greater strength than that, and it’ll shape you.”

“I…,” Twilight tried, but words failed her. She had begun to feel faint.

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll just say this… Forgive yourself!”