//------------------------------// // Defying Gravity // Story: The Sorceress // by MrTyreste //------------------------------// There were many reasons to hate the spirits that now called Twilight's form their home. Had it not been for the favor Lust had owed Suffering, he would have demanded something more of his element. Greed, however, was not so lenient or kind. She had been a Pegasus who only cared about herself and no others. From gold to the affections of other mares' stallions, Greed cared only for what the world could offer her. But for the first time in her existence, she was to offer something. The rain had stopped and the sun began to set as Twilight's world melted around her, only to reshape into a cliff overlooking the old wastelands and plains just before the Buffalo territory. Greed hovered above her with that sinister grin on her face. "Wanna know the best thing about being a spirit?" She cocked her head to the side and glared at Twilight, a smug look in her eyes. "No rules." She flashed across the plains in a second and came back holding a satchel of bits. "Sheriff Silverstar's latest paycheck. About a hundred bits lie cozy in this cloth." She giggled as she tossed the bag down to the ground. "Hey! You can't just take that!" Twilight's eyes widened in shock as she snatched the bag up from the ground and summoned her teleport spell. Yet for some reason her magic failed her. "And who's going to stop me? You? This is your test, little filly. Don't screw up!" Greed scolded her before turning her attention back to the town. Twilight hated this. First she was forced to kill another pony, and now she was being told to steal from ponies she had never met before. All this to fulfill some contract she didn't fully understand, even now. She wanted to protest, she wanted to scream, she wanted to turn tail and run away from this curse right there, but something inside stopped her. Something inside her wanted this. "I want a thousand bits on this cliff before midnight, got it? And to help you along..." Greed flared her wings and just as they spread a pair of black, bat-like wings made of pure magic burst from Twilight Sparkle's sides. Twilight jumped in shock as she turned around frantically to view the new additions to her body. "What is this? How did you? Why did you?" Twilight's mind was reeling as she circled around trying to view these new wings before Greed put a hoof to her nose. "I can already create my own wings, though." Greed snorted with laughter. "Oh what, those pieces of shit from the Best Young Flier Competition? These are better, faster, and have no time limit." She smugly smiled as she directed Twilight to the nearly asleep town. "Now, go down there and swipe me another 900 bits." She demanded. "No, I can't..." Twilight stared down. "It's,,,I'm the personal student of Princess Celestia, for me to do something like this..." "It's wrong? Let me tell you something, that pony was wrong to rape you but he did it. It's wrong to hurt somepony, but they still do it. It's wrong for ponies to be robbed or hit, but it still happens." Greed snarled. "You've heard of the golden rule, haven't you?" Greed circled around her. "The pony with all the gold makes the rules." She grinned. "Think about it, fancy saddles and dresses, new furniture for your library, a new bed for that little dragon, coats, jewels, new books, and everything in between." Twilight did have to admit that it sounded nice. She was needing some new shelves and desks considering the decreasing state of her library in Ponyville. "Your status as the Princess' lapdog didn't mean a damn thing to that pig when he was balls-deep inside you, so why should it matter now?" Twilight felt a twinge of sadness and anger creep into her, but she didn't cry. Greed was right. She deserved something for all this, for being used. Without a word Twilight's horn sparked and her armor clasped onto her body. She took off running to the edge of the cliff until she shot into the air and through the sky to the first building in Appleoosa. "Don't do this Twilight..." A faint voice in her head whispered to no avail. Twilight had already forced open the window and set herself down inside. She looked around for what she could think to be a place to store money when a saddle bag caught her eye hanging from a coat-rack in the corner of the bedroom. She flew softly over to the bag, and produced about fifty bits from its contents. "Hey! What are ya'll doin in my house!" A mare shouted from the doorway. Crap crap crap crap Twilight thought to herself as the mare reached for a broom by the door. Without thinking Twilight zapped her and sent her flying across the room towards the window. She shouldn't have interfered, a familiar voice entered her head as the pony was sent flying out the window and into the street below. A loud crack was all the sound she needed to confirm what she thought. The mare had fallen to her death. "What have I..." Twilight began to say until a darker, more twisted voice came from her lips. "Stupid mares need to know when to back off." The ponies from the town began to crowd around the body of the lifeless mare in the street. Twilight Sparkle only flew out the window to find her next target. ------ "Twiley!" Shining Armor gasped as he shot awake from his dreams. The tower that he and his wife, Princess Cadance slept in was remarkably comfortable and quiet. That is, unless Shining Armor was worrying about his sister. "Baby, what's wrong?" Cadance moaned from her still sleepy stupor. "It's Twilight. I can't stop thinking about her." Shining sighed with great concern for his sister. "Shining, it's going to be fine. You were there when they caught the stallion who hurt her and he's being detained as we speak. It's all over now." His wife assured him, but Shining could find no comfort in that. "Just please try to relax, please? For the baby?" She motioned down at her stomach. Cadance had been with foal for a few months now, and it was a very stressful time in their lives. Shining knew it, but still he couldn't help but worry about his little sister. "Cadance, I'll be back in a little while." He kissed her on the lips and trotted out of the bedroom. "I love you." "I love you too, Shining Armor." She sighed as she fell back to sleep. Shining Armor's study was hardly used, but it served him well for emergencies. He lit a candle on his old desk and without wasting any time he produced a piece of parchment and a quill of ink. Dear Princess Celestia, I am writing this letter to inform you of current events involving your personal student and my little sister, Twilight Sparkle. My underlings have informed me that the culprit of the acts inflicted upon her was found murdered earlier today. I have not spoken with my wife or anyone about this, but I have fears regarding who killed this stallion. I have had dreams, my Princess, dreams of her taking on a strange form and armor, and killing other ponies. I pray this is not true and only a reflection of my fears. I ask that you do not respond to this letter, but instead send for Twilight immediately to return to Canterlot, and if necessary the Crystal Empire for closer surveilance. I sense something is very wrong with her, and if we don't act on it, something bad is going to happen. Please, help my sister. -Captain Shining Armor He placed the letter on the desk in an envelope, preparing to send it off in the morning. He took one last look at the letter before blowing out the candles and trotting out of the room, shutting the door behind him. "Please be ok, Twiley..."