//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: Inner Demons // by Azure Sandora //------------------------------// This chapter introduces one of my favorite characters in the story. For best results picture him being voiced by Liam O'Brian (voice of Garra from Naruto). Chapter 13: You Never Say I'm Beautiful... Twilight rushed into her throne room after calling a meeting. Trixie, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo followed her closely, all of them looking confused. "Twilight, what is wrong?" Trixie asked her, "You actually seem really tense." "If Apple Bloom is able to get to Fillydelphia then she'll taint him with her sweet words!" Twilight stated, "No one is allowed to have him! He's mine! MINE!" "Who's yours?" Trixie asked. Before Twilight could answer though, the soldiers rushed into the throne room. She would have to explain to Trixie later. Twilight turned to the soldiers, now wearing black and silver armor instead of their normal gold armor. "Soldiers of Neo Canterlot! It appears that the two that escaped have begun to present themselves as a threat. Their goals are to get to Fillydelphia, but they seem to forget that we have the means to get anywhere we want! I want twenty of you to accompany me to Fillydelphia while the rest of you remain here and take care of the Element of Generosity. We can't let Apple Bloom and Spike get there first," Twilight turned to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, "I want you two to be a part of this. Scootaloo, you are to wait in Ponyville for them to arrive. Sweetie Belle, you must come with us to Fillydelphia. If Apple Bloom and Spike get to Fillydelphia, you are to give them absolute hell." "I understand, my queen," Scootaloo said with a bow. "I will do as you ask," Sweetie Belle said also bowing, but Twilight noticed that she seemed a little more hesitant. She'd ask her about that later. "What would you have me do?" Trixie asked, apparently still shamed by her defeat. No, Twilight thought, it's not your fault. "I want you to stay with me," Twilight said sweetly, but Trixie looked away. "It's my fault though. I wasn't strong enough to get by that damned beautician. I don't deserve to be your student." "Oh Trixie," Twilight said nuzzling her second in command, "What can I say to ease your suffering?" "Twilight..." "We're a team, remember? If you're going to defeat the Element of Generosity then we have to work together." "Me... defeat the Element of Generosity?" Trixie almost seemed unable to believe it, "But she's locked up downstairs. There's no way she's getting out of there?" "You underestimate Rarity," Twilight stated, "Trust me, she'll escape eventually. When she does, you're going to be the one to take her life." "I..." "Believe in yourself," Twilight urged. It took a second, but Trixie looked at Twilight and nodded. Good, she was on board, "The rest of you, prepare for the trip. We're going to move out to in twelve hours." The soldiers saluted and left the throne room. Trixie also nodded and walked out with the soldiers. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo turned to leave, but Twilight needed to talk to Sweetie Belle. "Um, Sweetie Belle, can I have a word with you?" Twilight asked. "Y-yeah, sure," Sweetie Belle said with a slight bow. She turned to Scootaloo with an apologetic expression. "I'll wait for you outside," Scootaloo said. Sweetie Belle nodded and walked over to Twilight. "Is something wrong?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I was going to ask you that," Twilight asked Sweetie Belle walking over to her, "You seem troubled by something." "It's nothing, Twilight," Sweetie Belle said, "I'm fine." "Sorry, not buying it," Twilight said, "Come on, what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything, right?" She looked down seriously. So she did have something on her mind. "Was Rarity your prisoner when Scootaloo and I got here?" Sweetie Belle asked her. "Not quite," Twilight explained, "But she was locked up by the time you got your Cutie Mark." "But she's your friend, right?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Why is she locked up?" "That mare... is no friend of mine," Twilight said darkly, apparently scaring Sweetie Belle, "She should be happy I didn't kill her." "Tw-Twilight! That's my older sister!" "And how many times a year does she act like a sister?" Twilight retaliated turning to Sweetie Belle. She looked down as if thinking. Did Twilight hit a nerve? "When you go to visit her, does she spend any time with you, or are you just in her way all the time?" "I... well..." "Wasn't there a time when you tried to be beautiful like her?" Twilight asked. It took a few seconds, but when Sweetie Belle spoke again, her voice was filled with sadness. "I... was seven..." Sweetie Belle said softly, "I borrowed some of her make-up, and I just wanted to mimic her." "And you also borrowed a dress she had, and some of her shoes, right?" "I just twanted to look like her," Sweetie Belle's voice was beginning to crack, "I did it just like how she did it." "But she didn't like it, did she?" "She... yelled at me..." she shed a few tears, but her expression was getting really angry, "All she cared about was her dress! She didn't even look at how pretty I was!" "She's never told you how pretty you are, nor did she teach you how to even put on make-up. Things that a big sister is supposed to do." "All she cares about is her stupid business!" Sweetie Belle cried, "I'm either invisible, or in the way!" "You see?" Twilight asked, "She's not a good pony. She so self absorbed that she can't even tell her own little sister how pretty she is." "What's so hard about spending time with me?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Why can't she care about me as much as she cares about her business?" "I'll always make time for you," Twilight said softly. Sweetie Belle looked up at Twilight. "You will?" "From now on, I'm your big sister," Twilight said now wrapping Sweetie Belle in a tight hug, "I'll love you like Rarity should have." "Am I pretty?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Sweetie Belle, you're beautiful." That did it. Now Sweetie Belle would do whatever Twilight asked her to do. Someone desperate for love... That's the perfect blind soldier... "...ple Bloo..." "...pple Bl...m..." "Apple Bloom, wake up!" "S... Spike?" Apple Bloom woke up to the sound of Spike's voice. She was inside a red room now, and she was surrounded by books. Was she in a library of some sort? "Where are we?" Apple Bloom asked. "Someone found us and helped us out of the moat," Spike explained. "Someone... helped us?" Apple Bloom asked. "Good, you're awake," a deep voice said, catching Apple Bloom off guard. She looked up and saw an unusual pony walk into the room. He was light brown with a short dark brown mane cut in a sort of bowl shape. He wore circular glasses and black and gold Canterlot garments, and he looked really serious. When he walked in Apple Bloom got a good look at his Cutie Mark. It was a golden spell circle that looked like a clock. Looking at him made Apple Bloom feel weird. "Were you the pony who saved us?" Apple Bloom asked. The mysterious pony nodded. "My name is Lezard Chronostar," the pony said, "You and your dragon friend flowed from the castle. You're lucky I found you." "Um, thank you," Apple Bloom said, suddenly feeling flushed. Lezard nodded and went over to a bookshelf. "You are the unfortunate victim of Chronomancy, aren't you?" that surprised Apple Bloom. What the hell was Chronomancy? "Whatsomancy?" Apple Bloom asked. "The magic to control time," Lezard explained, "I must say, whoever did this to you was a genius. To be able to accelerate someone's aging process is astounding." "Wait, how do ya know Ah'm not really an adult?" Apple Bloom asked, turning to Spike. "Don't look at me," he said raising his hands, "All I did was help bring you here. I didn't say anything." "Your friend is being honest," Lezard said, "I know because my specialty is Chronomancy, as shown by my Cutie Mark here," he said turning to the side showing Apple Bloom, "Also, when we were carrying you, I noticed that your dress was meant to cover your lack of a Cutie Mark. I doubt an adult pony wouldn't have a Cutie Mark." "Ah see," Apple Bloom said looking down at her dress, at the fabric that covered up the truth. Here was a pony who actually knew the truth, and it hurt to be reminded of what happened to her. "You said that you specialize in time magic," Spike said, "Can you change her back?" "I'm afraid not," Lezard said looking at Spike with a saddened expression, "Even with my knowledge of Chronomancy, accelerating somepony's age is beyond me. To be able to turn the clock backwards would require a whole new level of understanding." "It's okay, Spike," Apple Bloom said, "Ah already braced mahself ta be a grown up ferever." "You're strong," Lezard said, "How old are you really?" "Before all this, Ah was ten and a half," Apple Bloom stated. "I see. Tell you what, I can see what I can do, but it may take a while." "Sorry Mistur, but Spike and Ah can't stay. We gotta make our way ta Fillydelphia. The pony that helped us escape is countin on us," Apple Bloom said, now feeling sad for Rarity again. Who knows what Twilight did to her. She just prayed that Rarity would be alive when she went back to rescue her. "Fillydelphia? Does this have anything to do with the commotion in the castle?" Lezard asked. "You know what happened?" Apple Bloom asked him in response. "Not everything, but I do know that sometime yesterday a purple pony named Twilight Sparkle walked into the castle with a dark blue pony and two fillies. After that there was a sudden shift in the magical balance." "That sounds about right," Apple Bloom said looking down. "Would you mind filling me in?" Lezard asked. "It ain't a pretty," Apple Bloom said, "But since ya asked, and you did save us, Ah don't see why not." Apple Bloom told Lezard everything that happened, including what she knew about Twilight. He listened intently, every now and again asking her to clear something up. He took a lot of interest once he found out that the pony who helped them was one of the Elements of Harmony. He knew a lot, and the more that Apple Bloom talked to him, the more she began to trust him. One thing she shared with her family was the ability to see whether a pony was trustworthy or not. Lezard seemed trustworthy. "I see," Lezard said with a nod, "So that was the same Twilight Sparkle." "Do you know her?" Spike asked. "Not personally, but she's a legend among the unicorns who attended Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," Lezard said. "Is that where you went to school?" Apple Bloom asked, getting a nod from Lezard. "Graduated with flying colors. That was where I got my Cutie Mark. Twilight was known among us as the unicorn who failed the entrance exam, but passed the ultimate test. We were all envious of her, some of the students even loathed her." "Were you one of 'em?" Apple Bloom asked Lezard. "I don't believe in hate. I actually thought she was lucky. She was basically made royalty. I should have known though, that the Princess had an ulterior motive." "What do you mean?" Spike asked. Lezard got up and walked over to a bookshelf, "I assume you know the legend of the Queen of Darkness." "That's the legend that's talkin 'bout Twilight," Apple Bloom said. "I assume that Princess Celestia knew what Twilight was, and she wanted to keep an eye on her. She was probably hoping to rescue Twilight from her darkness." "She was... tryin ta protect us by makin Twilight her student?" Apple Bloom asked. Lezard nodded. "It seems though that Princess Celestia's plan didn't work out. She was consumed by her darkness and became the very thing that the Princess was hoping she wouldn't." "But why?" Apple Bloom asked, "Ah know Twilight, and she ain't this?" "The Twilight you knew was the product of her darkness being repressed away for twenty-one years," Lezard explained, "Once it got free though, it literally consumed her and instantly made her into the pony she was meant to be." "I don't believe that!" Spike shouted, "Twilight isn't a bad pony! She may be fussy sometimes but she's one of the nicest ponies I know!" "You can say that even after seeing what she's done?" Lezard asked. "That wasn't her! The Twilight I know wouldn't hurt anypony!" "Darkness changes a pony," Lezard stated, "Your friend may have been one way before, but the pony you know is gone. At least, that's what I believe." "Well, we still gotta get to Fillydelphia," Apple Bloom said, "At the very least we still gotta try ta save her. Ah don't wanna see nopony suffer, not even Twilight." Lezard was silent for a long time, as if thinking. What he said next though changed everything. "If you really feel that you can change her destiny, then you'll need help." "Uh, come again?" Apple Bloom asked. "I have a lot of magical capabilities that would be useful. Also, even if you are in a grown up's body, you're still mentally a ten year old. I can't let you go off by yourself without supervision." "Ah ain't no kid," Apple Bloom said turning her nose up in the air, making Lezard chuckle. "My apologies. I imagine it's probably strange having somepony say that to you in your current state. Well then, I won't tag along as a guardian. Instead, think of me as an ally." "On the condition that ya won't try to play the age card on me, and ya won't keep me in the dark on anything just cause Ah'm only ten." "You and I are equals in this journey, I assure you." "Well then, Ah don't have a problem with it," Apple Bloom said turning to Spike. "I guess he can tag along, but no talking about Twilight like she's a monster," Spike demanded. "I promise to keep my opinions to myself, and I'll do everything I can to assist you in your journey to bring your friend back." "Then let's save Equestria, together," Apple Bloom said. Lezard nodded and the three of them departed immediately to Ponyville. The following night, Twilight was outside the castle preparing her strongest spell yet. It was so powerful that she needed to spend the rest of the day charging for it. Once she got better she would be able to summon even larger things than what she planned on bringing forth today. "Are we almost ready?" Trixie asked walking up to Twilight. "Almost," Twilight replied. Once she had gathered enough power, she shot her magic into the ground. Trixie looked in awe as Twilight's latest spell took affect. Rising out of the ground were skeletons of old pony soldiers. As they reached the surface, grey skin and black armor began to materialize on them. There had to be at least fifty of them. "What in the world..." Trixie said softly. "Necromancy," Twilight stated, "With this, getting soldiers will be easy. I'll have control of all of Equestria in a matter of days," she walked over to the newly raised soldiers, "The Elements of Harmony may live! I order all of you to travel with General Scootaloo to Ponyville, and search for the whereabouts of the Elements of Kindness, Loyalty, Laughter," Twilight's eyes narrowed thinking of the final Element, "and Honesty. If they are dead, confirm it! If they live, bring them to me, so I may kill them myself!" The soldiers all saluted in unison and trotted off to find their leader. "Should we trust Scootaloo with so many soldiers?" Trixie asked. "All I want her to do is have a good time," Twilight said walking back into the castle, "It's no fun playing by yourself, now is it? Tell me, where's Sweetie Belle? She needs to be ready to move out." "She's in the dungeon," Trixie replied, "I believe she wanted to speak to the Element of Generosity before we left." "Interesting," Twilight said smiling, "This is good." "But you saw how she wavered, Twilight. What if the Element of Generosity is able to-" "She won't," Twilight said stopping to look at her second in command and disciple, "There's nothing Rarity can say to Sweetie Belle to convert her. At best, the most she can do is push Sweetie Belle further away, and closer to us." "I hope you're right, Twilight. It would be a shame to lose one of our soldiers before we even begin to fight." "Would you trust me," Twilight said holding Trixie and smiling, "I know what I'm doing." "Y-yes Twilight. I trust your judgment," Trixie said looking down. "Now, let's wait for Sweetie Belle at the chariot," Twilight said walking off, confident in her plan. After the talk she had with Sweetie Belle, there was no way Rarity could get Sweetie Belle on her side. Sweetie Belle slowly walked into the dungeon. She had no idea why she had to see her, but she still felt like something was wrong. She had to confirm a few things before she made her decision of who she would side with. She turned the corner and saw Rarity. She was locked up in a cell, both her forelegs and back legs were in shackles, and she even had chains wrapped around her waist and neck, keeping her close to the floor. She was still wearing that weird armor, which gave her the look of a fallen warrior. "Rarity," Sweetie Belle said softly walking up to her cell. Rarity looked up at Sweetie Belle with those sad eyes again. "Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, "Oh my... what happened to you?" "Twilight cast a spell to make me older," Sweetie Belle explained, now getting excited, "and look," she turned to her side to show her sister her flank, "See? She even gave me my Cutie Mark." "Sweetie Belle-" "I can sing too. Twilight taught me that I my singing can cast spells. Isn't that amazing?" "Sweetie Belle-" "She said that she was going to teach me how to cast all sorts of spells with my singing. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. I could always sing-" "Sweetie Belle-" "-but I never made the connection. If I had known that I could have gotten my Cutie Mark ages ago." "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity shouted, stopping Sweetie Belle, "I don't know what Twilight has been saying to you, but we have to get out of here!" Sweetie Belle looked really confused, "Why would I want to do that?" "Because she's evil! Something... happened to her, and she's become this monster-" "How can you say that about your friend?" Sweetie Belle asked, incredulous that Rarity would call Twilight something like that. "That pony is NOT my friend! Look at what she's done to you!" She finally said it. Sweetie Belle frowned looking at her sister, "What she's done to me? What's wrong with it?" "It's not you, Sweetie Belle! You're not this!" "So is it the fact that it's not your style, or that it's just me you have a problem with?" Sweetie Belle asked harshly, shocking Rarity. "What are you talking about?" "It never fails," Sweetie Belle said shaking her head, "No matter what I do, you find some reason why it's wrong! Even now, you hate what I am just because it's not you!" "Sweetie Belle, you know that's not true-" "You know DAMN well it's true!" Sweetie Belle shouted, surprising Rarity, "Whether it's because I used your favorite make-up kit, or you didn't want me wearing that particular dress, I always do something wrong!" "Those time were-" "And then when I ask you to take time to teach me the proper way to put on make-up, you're always too busy with your stupid dress making business! You don't care about me, and your no Element of Generosity! All you care about is yourself!" she broke down in tears, "All I ever wanted was to be just like you, but every time I try to do that you shoot me down!" "S-Sweetie Belle," Rarity said now with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I promise though, when we get out of here I'll make things right." "It's too late!" Sweetie Belle spat, "I don't want to be your sister anymore!" Rarity looked genuinely hurt by that statement, "You... you don't mean that..." "Twilight is my sister now! I don't need you anymore! I HATE YOU!" "Sweetie Belle, stop that! You don't know what your saying!" "I mean every word! You can just rot in here for all I care!" "Sweetie Belle, you can't leave me here! Please, help me!" "Forget it! You're dead to me now!" With that Sweetie Belle turned and totted out of the dungeon. She heard Rarity calling out to her, but she didn't care. Rarity had proven everything Twilight said to be true. When she got outside she saw Twilight and Trixie waiting for her. "Did you have a good talk with your "sister"?" Twilight asked. For some reason, Sweetie Belle was overcome with emotion. She ran over to Twilight and embraced her, now unable to control her tears. "You were right! She doesn't care about me at all!" "I'm sorry Sweetie Belle," Twilight said softly, "I wish it were different." "You promise, right?" Sweetie Belle asked, "You'll be my sister now?" "Of course," Twilight said, "You'll never feel lonely again, Sweetie Belle." As they all went into the chariot, Sweetie Belle stayed close to Twilight. She was the only pony Sweetie Belle could trust. She was her real sister. As the ride went on, Sweetie Belle leaned into Twilight and snuggled next to her. "I love you... Twilight Sparkle."