//------------------------------// // CH 51.2 Reluctant Spectator // Story: Twilight's Nightmare // by Nightsclaw //------------------------------// “Why are you doing this?” Starlight whispered so quietly not another soul could hear it.  Trixie just stood there, eating up all the attention she was getting. Her classic cape and hat somehow failed to look ridiculous atop her guard armour.  The sea of ponykind filled almost the entire throne room. Lavender fabric added a unified appearance to the crowd even as it clashed with some coat colours. Almost every pony had a leg band, sash, cloak or vest proclaiming their loyalty to Twilight.  Their expressions were just a little too happy for having so recently survived the blighted invasion. I know a cult when I see one, Twilight.   “Trixie Lulamoon, approach.“ Twilight commanded a thrum of power lacing her words.  "Why, Trixie?" She breathed out as her friend was called forward. How can you be so calm?. This was not some needed medical procedure, no this was an experiment plain and simple. She is going to cut up your soul and modify it. A single mistake, and you’re dead. Starlight’s magic rattled in her core. It surged. Hours of talking, pleading and rationalising had done nothing.  As Twilight’s praise went on, the gathered ponies ate it up. The newly formed town militia and the few remaining night guards smiled even as they remained at perfect attention.  Rainbow’s cocky smirk looked out from beneath her goggles. The sleek flight suit practically glowed with all the protective magics on it. Twilight’s Mark prominently upon her puffed out chest and the hungry blade attached to her leg advertised she was not just ready for a celebratory airshow.  Twilight’s Captain Candice, the pony that just turned up out of nowhere, stood at rigid attention, some of Rarity’s best work covering her apparently healed body. Haunted eyes, the only thing breaking the mask of perfect formality.  Looking fairly good for a piece of pony charcoal… Inside the mare, thick bands of magic wove back and forth. The energy stitches looked like the only thing holding flesh to bone. What did she do to you? Emerald Shade blinked, then snapped her gaze to Starlight. Deep green eyes like a wall of thorns glared back. ‘You will not doubt my master’ they screamed.  Why am I the only one that doubts her? Can’t they see this is not how our Twilight acts? Just listen to her word choices. She sounds just like Luna… Starlight looked, truly looked at Twilight's body posture. It was regal. Refined. Archaic.  Luna can change her form. She proves that each Nightmare Night… Who are you?  A flurry of red dragged Starlight's eyes away. Twilight’s daughter, and the crusaders she enthralled, shot past, their cloaks trailing behind them as they slid to a halt. Only magenta magic stopped them slamming into the wall.  Little Star’s shadow rippled, permitting a little thestral colt to climb out. Like the rest of the foals, he was decked out in toys turned into lethal tools of destruction. Starlight flicked her eyes between the two groups of personal guards. One had Twilight’s mark on them, the other the rearing pony motif.  Like mother, like daughter.  Trixie struck a pose just as if it was one of her shows. “The Great and Powerful Trixie accepts. She will stand with Ponydom’s greatest defenders.” Twilight loomed larger somehow without growing. She leant closer, intense eyes, almost sensual. “Then, I welcome you to my service, Trixie Lulamoon.” Glowing magenta eyes blazed white.  Starlight watched, just not in the same way as everypony else.  Three dozen analytical and passive detection spells transmuted her view to a complex moving diagram crisscrossed with equations and false colour highlights.  Twilight's presence, her very soul, reached out of her body as her large Alicorn wings imprisoned her best friend.  Magic, enough no mortal pony could survive, swirled and danced. A raging tempest of power. A shiver crawled down Starlight’s spine. She had felt that power, Twilight so casually wrapping the temporal viewing spell with her energy, pouring more and more in from her seemingly infinite wellspring. “You, are, mine.” Twilight did not shout or even raise her voice, yet the words hit Starlight like a physical blow. Something in her just knew, even as she tried to reject it, Trixie, her Trixie, now belonged to another.  Moments later, the small light that was Trixie's soul winked out.  "No…" Starlight started before her brain kicked in. Think Starlight, think. You know how much power Twilight has. She would not stand a chance. She switched her attention to the notations related to Trixie’s body and health. Medical spells and even a few necromancy ones leapt to the forefront of Starlight’s mind. Breathing is slow but steady. Heart stopped. Stopped!? Blood flow and oxygenation are good. Starlight remembered to breathe. Alright, how? Oh, I see a life support spell. Twilight’s wings shifted, parting just enough to let Starlight’s magic see a bit more.  Magenta veins of magic flowed through Trixie’s body. It coiled around and thickened each set of leylines. One unicorn, one earth pony.  A ball of power embraced Trixie’s single well spring. Then, with small touches, rotated it. Twilight pushed more and more power in. She crushed it tight, keeping it confined, allowing it a faint glow to become a glaring beacon.  Twilight's eyes met her own, still just two pools of glowing white and yet somehow they seemed to say 'I hope you are taking notes, my student'. Those beautiful, those terrible eyes turned back to their task, dismissing her.  A cloud of vital green flowed from Twilight's hoof as she placed over Trixie’s heart.  The showmare did not even flinch as the energy forced its way into her chest. Here Twilight was, doing the impossible, again. Doing something that should, by everything Starlight knew, disintegrate Trixie. Who the buck cares what the laws of magic say or even reality itself? As if in answer, Twilight opened her wings, returning a now larger Trixie to the world of the living. Trixie dropped to a bow. Twin stripes of lavender were now clear in both her mane and tail.  “Rise, my chosen.”  Trixie elegantly stood to her new height, now at least half a hoof taller. Even her armour seemed to fit better now, as if originally made for her new stature.  The crowd erupted into cheers as a sinking feeling dragged Starlight’s heart down.