TW: unable to control one’s body through non-con means, talk about previous physical and emotional abuse. It starts after Twilight blacks out. It stops after the line break.
Celestia almost laughed out loud. Almost. She allowed herself a small impish smile before she set the parchment alight. The letter burned bright blue just like all those summers ago. She watched the paper curl and twist in its dying dance among the flames. It was peaceful. Her sister’s letter burned much like the feeling in her chest.
Somehow, her student had failed. The dragon was now nothing more than a messenger at this point, chained to Luna’s manic whims. Her eyes wandered over to the subject on the table. Its eyes were open now. No amount of sleep Magic would work on it anymore. That didn’t mean paralyzing it wasn’t an option, which is precisely what Celestia did.
A whole day had passed since the Celebration. A full day with no Sun in sight. She would give her sister one more day to cease her silly ministrations before taking matters into her own hooves. It was such a shame. She was so sure Magic had chosen Twilight Sparkle. She thought that, too, when she took that silly orange filly from the Canterlot Orphanage under her wing.
Her students could’ve done so much good for the world if they’d just listened to her words. Sunset Shimmer was just too curious for her own good, needing to know everything that didn’t need to be known. “Why is that section of the library restricted?” “Does this mirror show the future?” “How come I’m not allowed to accompany you during Court?” And it went on and on. The foolish girl didn’t even last a single decade under her tutelage. At thirteen summers, eight years after the first lesson, the young unicorn fled into Star Swirl’s forbidden mirror and never came back.
On the other hoof, Twilight Sparkle was simply too brilliant, easily completing any test or research presented to her without breaking a sweat. After some thought, Celestia concluded that the reason her student didn’t do any projects was because she was wholly bored of the topics that Celestia deemed okay to study. If the alicorn thought Sunset Shimmer didn’t listen, she didn’t even know what to classify Twilight as. Stubborn and immovable in her resolve, the dragon was just content to remain a dragon.
An absurd thought to entertain.
Queen Celestia spread the subject’s feathers, marveling at how real they seemed. It truly was sad that her sister had chosen such a deranged path. She could be doing such amazing things with that mind of hers. Everything about the artificial alicorn looked to be genuine. But Celestia knew better. Wide blue eyes watched her warily.
She’d been a fool. Hindsight, the bane of her existence. Anypony could see that sending a beast to deal with another beast wouldn’t end well. But here she was, having done just that. Tomorrow, she would gather the Elements herself and deal with her sister and the feral thing that used to be her student. She could see the newspaper headlines now: Nightmare Moon Kidnaps Student of the Sun, Queen Celestia Reacts!
“We don’ have time ter go searchin’ through nothin’ for doggone rocks!” Applejack exclaimed, pounding a hoof into the ground, “Ah say storm the doggone thing! Another day with no Sun an’ the least of our worries will be apples an’ the like! The Zebras are gettin’ cold!”
“Darling, are you forgetting that even with a certain Taskmaster helping, we nearly got struck by lightning?” Rarity reminded them, looking just as unhappy as the rest. “We were allowed to leave. We must come up with a plan. Charging in blindly will not end well.”
“Yeah? Our plan right now is finding these ‘Lost Elements of Harmony’ whatever the hay that means. We don’t have time!” Rainbow Dash argued back, feathers puffing up in aggravation, “We might as well be sitting ducks! Who’s to say Nightmare Moon won’t come swooping down on us, huh?”
“But Spike said the Queen had the Elements! See? It’s in the letter she wrote the Taskmaster! Can’t we just ask her?” Pinkie Pie waved the letter around.
“An’ have the town leveled to the ground? Nah, not a chance in Tartarus! If the Queen had them Elements she wouldda done somethin’ already!” Applejack snarled. “We on our own fer this, Pinkie.”
“Don? Did you think of something?” Fluttershy’s soft voice silenced the voices in Camp as they all waited with bated breath for the old dragon’s answer.
“It seems the physical Elements do not need to be present for them to be evoked. In a chapter near the back, it says that as long as they are spiritually present at the threat, their power can be manifested. We know the Elements. Logically, we should find beings that represent them the most. Magic will initiate the spark and the threat will be neutralized.”
“Pardon me, but that sounds far too simple to be true, Sir Don.”
“One never knows until they try. Is that true, Lady Rarity?”
“Fine then,” Applejack declared gruffly, “Pinkie Pie, Laughter. Rainbow Dash, Honesty. Fluttershy, Kindness. Rarity, Magic. Me, Loyalty. An’ Sir Don can be Generosity. Any problems with that?”
“Wha- Hold on AJ! You can’t just decide that!” Rainbow Dash gawked, “This is like, a huge deal! Slow down!”
“Damn right this here’s a big deal! Listen here Rainbow, plants and the like are going to die soon. Y’all might not think that there’s a problem, but to us ponies? We’ll all starve.”
Everyone in the clearing, whether they were there to speak or not, stilled. No one moved while that declaration sunk in.
“Let us not be so hasty. There is still time yet until the food is not tasty,” a smooth voice interjected from the crowd. “The situation is dour. We shall not cower. The Zebras are not a delicate flower.”
“Mah apologies for implying so, Diviner Zecora,” Applejack responded humbly, “But this here’s still a problem if we don’t address it here an’ now.”
"If this old dragon may, Lady Applejack. Perhaps the best plan is a simple one. Your storming idea has merit. A plan, no matter how careful and meticulous, will fall through the moment something deviates."
Someone sighed, “‘Ight then. All in favor?”
Hooves, talons, and claws reached for the starlit tree tops.
Nightmare Moon was kind enough to bring her to Spike’s temporary room for a proper place to sleep. The alicorn ended up having to kneel down, heave Twilight over her flank and shoulders, and slowly walk to the room, all the while making sure the dragon didn’t end up on the floor or inadvertently gore her with a stray horn.
The room was nice enough for a crumbling castle. The bedding still smelled like Spike and Twilight curled around the blankets, drinking in the scent of her child’s shampoo. Her muscles were sore, her head ached, and all she really wanted to do was go home and read a good book next to a warm fire.
Just when she managed to doze off, her headache, which had faded into the background, came back to life like a fresh wound. It ripped through her mind like a hand through wet paper. She screeched, throwing her claws over her ears and horns as if that would ward off the pain. Alicorn Magic swept past her in a torrent of anguish and fury.
Distantly, stone smashed and the very foundations of the old castle shook. Twilight winced as aftershocks made more of the cracked walls falter and give way. A high-pitched ringing made itself known in her ears as Twilight slowly made her way toward the source. She cracked open the door that led to the Throne Room and was almost swept away by blisteringly cold Magic.
Frost coated the flagstones and many of the vines were now dead husks still clinging to the walls. Nightmare Moon stood in the middle of the room like a centerpiece, still as a statue. Blasts of ice arched away from the alicorn on the floor like some bizarre frozen flower. Twilight shivered at the sight. She didn’t know if it was from the haunting display or the temperature. It could’ve been both.
“The traveling lamp did burn it. The Sun burned it.” Nightmare Moon whispered so softly, Twilight almost thought it was the wind whistling through the castle.
Ice-blue pupils pinned the dragon where she stood. The whites of Nightmare Moon’s eyes were gone. The fur along her back prickled uncomfortably, almost distracting her from the second stab of pain from the headache.
“Did lie wasteth to the town. T nay longether serves us purpose. The traveling lamp wanteth war. Destroy the town. It doesn’t serve a purpose to me anymore. The Sun wants war.”
“What?” Twilight croaked, unwilling to believe her ears.
“Is thy headeth did fill with clouds? Doth as we sayeth. Are you stupid? Do as I say.”
“I’m not going to attack Ponyville! What did they do?” Her mouth was surely made of cotton from the way it sucked all the moisture from her as she tried to speak.
“Thee pledged thy loyalty to us. Thee shall. You swore your loyalty to me. You will [do it].”
The ice along the floor crawled along the stones, cracking and rumbling ominously. Twilight’s breath came quick and sharp, fogging the air in front of her snout. The cold slithered around her neck, gripping like a vice.
“Burneth it all, drakon, everything. Burn it all, dragon, everything.” The alicorn smiled. The fangs in her mouth looked incredibly wrong and briefly, Twilight wondered if that’s what other beings thought when she tried to smile.
The dragon took a step back and Nightmare Moon’s expression went flat. A thousand scenarios ran through her head in an incomprehensible tangle of thoughts that she didn’t have time to pick apart. Every action ended with her on the bad side of an alicorn that had nothing else to lose. Twilight’s hackle plates raised a second too late and a jet-black spell collided with her head.
Her vision blacked and when she blinked, she was still standing. She turned to leave the castle. Her legs trembled as she started to run, and she tried to flail wildly and stop. But Twilight couldn’t even force her mouth to close. Only her eyes could dart around. She was a passenger in her own body.
Her mind raced faster than her legs, going through her memory for black-colored spells. Nightmare Moon had done something. Dark Magic. Matters of the Mind. Or something, Twilight hadn’t read those books in over a decade. Frustration brimmed inside of her and her dragon body roared. Birds scattered into the sky, shrieking and calling in terror.
She needed to think. She needed help or to at least let someone know what was happening. It was hard to subdue a dragon, but it was possible. There were enough beings in Ponyville to accomplish that. Unbidden, something arose in her memory. “...if you ever need me, just find a Timberwolf and ask them for Angel. I’ll be there right away.”
Well, that was already a problem. How could she call for a Timberwolf when she couldn’t even control when she blinked or not? Annoyance made her want to hiss. Her dragon body roared again, more high-pitched and feral. That made her pause. Her body snorted. Twilight took a metaphorical deep breath. Time to do something utterly bonkers… again.
She concentrated every scrap of her brain on the time she was first punished for bad posture. All of the pain, embarrassment, and shame. Her body keened, which wasn’t exactly the sound she was trying for. She shifted to another memory, the first time she got to eat jewels. The crunch of the gems and the flavor bursting along her tongue. And finally, her body howled in deep joy.
The nearest trees manifested the wolves she was calling for. Twilight didn’t recognize any of them, but that wasn’t her biggest problem. Her most glaring issue now was trying to make enough sounds to have them warn someone before she got to Ponyville. She made her body keen again as the wolves yipped and barked in question.
Her body spewed flames when one of the wolves got too close. The wolves yelped and several of the wolves dropped away to deal with the flaming foliage. Twilight was ready to scream, but she ruthlessly cut that emotion out before her body could so much as growl. If there was one thing Twilight excelled at, it was forcing everything to the side to be dealt with later. Probably best not to brag about something like that.
It took far too long but finally one of the wolves vanished in a clatter of sticks and drifting leaves. She’d done it. The rest of the wolves gained a strange steely glint in their ethereal eyes. Soon, a whole pack of them was corralling her, nipping at her heels and dropping away when her body exhaled flames. If her body wasn’t trying to deal with the wolves, it was trying not to run into trees or stumble on roots.
Twilight wanted to flinch every time her shoulder clipped a tree or her body mowed over small rocks. Her body howled with joy again at Twilight's lifted mood. The wolves howled with her. It was a strangely regal sound that echoed from the cliffs to the trees.
An hour after Spike’s breakdown, his room door swung open. Thorax screamed, abandoning all attempts to remain inconspicuous, and throwing Spike’s blanket over his head. Spike jumped to his hooves, eyes darting from his Uncle’s face to the stairs behind him. Shining Armor swelled like a balloon in the doorway, eyes blazing.
“And what have we here?” the stallion rumbled.
“Get out!” Spike stuttered, “This is my room!”
“What is that thing?” Something hot sparked in his chest when Shining Armor referred to Thorax as a ‘thing’. It gave Spike the courage to raise his voice against the Canterlot Royal Guard Captain.
“My friend! Now get out!”
Shining Armor’s eyes hardened and he advanced, a glowing red spell on the tip of his horn. Red spells were never a good sign. Red spells were mostly blasting curses, but a select few were used to calm ponies down. He highly doubted his uncle wanted to calm Thorax down. All of this flew through his mind in a split second. Heart in his throat, Spike dove for the balcony doors, shoving them open with a loud bang.
“Thorax! Run!”
The changeling flew, looking and sounding much like an overgrown fly making a bid for freedom. Spike slammed the doors closed just in time for the spell to shatter the panes. Glass rained down on his head and Spike froze where he stood, not wanting to get hurt. Thorax fled, disappearing behind a nearby house and Spike could breathe again.
“Shining Armor of House Sparkle!” A deep voice boomed, “What in Celestia’s Sun do you think you’re doing?”
Grandfather stormed into the room, Grandmother just behind him. Night Light picked up all the glass in a swirling wind before neatly setting it back into the frame of the balcony doors. The shatter lines were still present, but it looked sturdy enough. He hurried to Spike, checking him over, turning his head to make sure the glass hadn’t cut him anywhere.
“‘What was I doing’?” Shining Armor parroted back, “I was getting rid of a threat!”
Twilight Velvet drew herself up, turning her nose up at Shining Armor, “That is quite enough, Lord Sparkle. I do not know where we went wrong with you, but attacking the Heir of your own House is unacceptable.”
Shining Armor laughed, which obviously didn’t help his case since the scowls deepened, “What? No no no, I was trying to get that thing that escaped. A black bug thing. Nasty business.”
“That spell would’ve brained Thorax if that hit him!” Spike cried. It would’ve done a lot more than brained him if it actually hit. He’d seen what happened to the door.
“Attacking a guest in our home!” Grandmother exclaimed angrily, “A young pegasus at that! That is not any better, Shining Armor. I do not want to hear your excuses. You may see yourself out and think about your actions. Come back when you have news about your sister.”
“Scion Sparkle can take care of herself,” Shining Armor said through gritted teeth, “You do not understand. There was a bug thing in Spike’s room and I was neutralizing the threat. I wouldn’t hurt Heir Sparkle, ever.”
“Thorax is not a thing!”
“I have heard enough,” Twilight Velvet declared angrily, “Go for a walk, Lord Sparkle and come back when you’ve thought long and hard about your actions. House Sparkle protects their own. Despite personal opinion,” the unicorn forcefully tacked on when Shining Armor drew breath to argue.
The Captain stomped outside, throwing over his shoulder, “Don’t come crying to me when monsters attack your residence then, Mum. This town is harboring more than the usual ponies, I can tell you that right now.”
“We will keep that in mind,” Grandmother responded curtly. “I expect a proper apology delivered to Young Spike as well as useful information on the whereabouts of Scion Sparkle.”
“Fine. I’ll see how you all act when Twilight finally turns up. Probably hiding like she normally does.”
“Enough with the lies and slander. You’re thirty-four summers, stop acting like a newborn colt. I believe your mother had the correct idea. Kindly, come back later.” Grandfather snorted.
Shining Armor slammed the door closed so hard a few leaves drifted loose from the ceiling.
“Utterly ridiculous,” Grandmother muttered under her breath, “He is behaving like a petulant child. Are you well, Young Spike? Glass is terribly dangerous. I do hope poor Young Thorax is alright and isn’t frightened off.”
Spike dusted his mane with his hoof, assuring his grandparents all the glass had been taken care of. “Thorax flew home. He got a little scared. He screamed.”
“What an abysmal first impression to make on such a young colt,” Twilight Velvet sighed, pressing a prim hoof to her forehead, “Nothing to be done about it now. Tea, anypony?”
“Splendid idea, dear. Clean up in here and then join us at the table, Young Spike.”
Spike nodded, scraping at some loose papers to get his grandparents up and moving out of the room. The moment the door shut, Spike sprinted over to the balcony doors and peered out, half hoping he would see Thorax. On the other hoof, he really hoped Thorax hadn’t stuck around and run the risk of becoming a changeling splatter.
He sighed when nothing of note caught his attention. Hopefully, Thorax was well on his way back to the forest and to safety. Turning back to his messy room, he ended up shoving many of the books and papers under the bed. Out of sight, out of mind. He looked out to the forest treeline. He missed his mom.
It wouldn’t be long, he reminded himself. Mom was strong and could do anything. She would come back home soon.
Angel burst through the bushes, squeaking and yowling, threatening to poke any being that came too close to him that wasn’t Fluttershy. The hippogryph hastily apologized to the manticore and chimera that Angel nearly injured.
“Angel, please be careful,” she reprimanded, “Did something happen?”
The jackalope squealed, chattering and signing so fast Fluttershy only caught snippets of what he was trying to impress onto her. Her friend barely even drew breath to breathe properly. She received wave after wave of panic, exhaustion, and urgency. It made her feathers prickle and itch. Something had happened, that much was clear.
“Angel, bunny. Please slow down. I can’t understand you. Breathe please.”
Angel breathed in and out in an exaggerated manner, finally slowing down his signing enough for Fluttershy to decipher, “I’m calm now, geez! Listen! Your big ol’ dragon friend, the purple one that’s all funny looking, that one. The big meanie did something and now she’s on a warpath! The Timberwolves said she’s just runnin’ and runnin’ to Ponyville. She’s setting things on fire, too!”
As Angel spoke, flashes of images went through Fluttershy’s mind. Timberwolves fleeing from purple flames. A snarling dragon that was Twilight with strangely empty eyes. Ponyville burning. Sweet Apple Acres burning.
“Are you even listening to me?” Angel demanded, stomping a furry white paw into the ground, “Serious business here! The Timberwolves don’t have enough power to keep her away for long. Are you going to do something or did I run all this way for nothing?!”
The jackalope looked ready to take a running charge into Fluttershy’s feet horns first.
“We’re going to do something. Don’t you worry, Angel. Thank you. I’ll make sure to get this news to the right beings. Go rest up and drink some water, alright?”
“I’m ready to sleep for a week! I’m tired!”
“Now a week is a bit much-”
“Are you just going to stand there, you bird?” he demanded, signing above his head with his back turned to her.
Fluttershy sighed, “I’m going now. Thank you, Angel.”
“Yeah, yeah. Shoo!”