//------------------------------// // Reflection // Story: Shards of Hatred // by ChaoticHarmony //------------------------------// ---- Shards of Hatred ---- ---- Chapter VII: Reflection ---- Twilight’s hooves clicked on the cobblestones as she plodded down the street with her head pointing at the ground. The looks that she drew from the passing ponies were filled with curiosity and were swiftly ignored by the lavender unicorn who was enveloped in an opaque shroud of emotion and thoughts. Traces of the irrational anger that drove her to abandon Spike in the street still remained, flowing freely throughout her blood and urging her to walk blindly through the many streets of Canterlot. The words that had left her mouth what seemed like ages ago repeated themselves in her mind. ”Without thinking, like you always do.” The unicorn tossed her head to clear it of the troublesome words, but they only returned after a few moments of mental silence. ”Since you can make your own decisions, you can save yourself for once.” A faint hint of remorse filled her at that, tugging at her heart in ways that have been used a few times before. Shaking her head again, Twilight snorted angrily. “He deserved it.” The coldness in her voice surprised her, but she didn’t stop. “The little baby dragon thinks he can make his own rules up, staying wherever he wants just because he’s the ‘big hero’ or something.” Little by little, the tugging feeling in her gut began to fade away. “What was going through his mind? ‘Oh, Twilight knows I’m in a huge city, it’s not like I’m lost or anything.’” Twilight kicked up her back hooves as a particularly large wave of anger flashed through her blood, stumbling slightly as her balance was thrown for a loop. Sitting down in a huff, she opened the saddlebag at her side and drew out the black gemstone, staring into her reflection’s eyes. “Well, forget him.” Her angry glare was mirrored by the smooth surface of the crystal. “He can find his way home just fine without me.” A few moments of uneasy silence passed, within which the tugging feeling in her gut returned with renewed ferocity. “Oh… but what if he can’t?” There's no need to worry, Twilight Sparkle. Fear gripped the purple pony in a vice of the coldest iron, flowing through her body as she cast her gaze around the abandoned street in search of where the voice had originated from. Wasn't that the point of letting him go? To let the little baby dragon learn his lesson the hard way? A shudder ran through Twilight as the distinctly feminine voice, filled with anger and spite, burned inside her ears with its barely contained venom. Isn't that what you wanted? Twilight stowed the little faceted stone back into her saddlebags before standing up wearily. “Wh-who ar—“ Save your breath. I already know that you're going to ask me who I am and what I want. Isn't that right, Twilight? A self-satisfied giggle followed the silencing words, sending another chill down the unicorn's spine as she frantically glanced about. Don't act surprised, my dear little pony. After all, it's only natural that I should know your thoughts. "What do you mean, 'it's only natural'? Show yourself!" Twilight's voice quivered despite her threats, drawing yet another laugh from the mysterious voice. The fear came not only from how evil the voice sounded, but from how familiar it was to her. Please, you act as if you could actually do something to get rid of me. Twilight blinked hard once, as if she was trying to rouse herself from an unpleasant dream. Instead of melting away, however, the voice merely intensified. I’m sorry, Twilight, but you aren’t dreaming. “Who are you?” Twilight brandished her ignited horn through the air like a sword, trying to find the source of her tormenter’s voice. “Where are you?” Well, Twilight Sparkle, let me show you who I am. For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath, not even the wind moved through the air. Then in the next instant, everything around her exploded into a violent shade of emerald. As the burning pain inside her chest faded away, Twilight opened her eyes that she didn’t even know she had shut. The image that greeted her chilled her blood to below freezing point. “Why are you showing me this?” Her voice was as cold as soft as a winter’s midnight snow as she watched as if through a green filter into the past, a place that she had been what seemed like a lifetime ago. The tugging in her gut returned, more powerful than ever. “Since you can make your own decisions, you can save yourself for once.” The bristling version of her past self turned away and began trotting back into the main street. Twilight could do nothing but watch helplessly as her number one assistant and best friend reached out to her in a moment of need, pleading with her to help him. Her past self turned around, an even brighter green glowing in her eyes. “Goodbye, Spike.” As the dragon’s trembling claw fell to the ground in defeat, the world seemed to implode instead of explode, all of the textures and colors flowing into one spot and vanishing in the next instant. “Why? Why did you show me that?!” Twilight blinked away the tears that had found themselves trailing down her face. “I know I hurt him! It was me!” She hurled the confessions into the sky above, as if Celestia herself would come down and absolve her of all her wrongs. “I turned him away when he needed me most!” And, Twilight Sparkle? The voice was still there, gently prodding at her to continue. Instead, she directed her anger and despair at whatever it was that had shown her the horrifying memory. “What do you want from me?! Why can’t you just leave me alone!?” The words ripped out of her throat as she shrieked them at nothing. You asked me who I was. All I did was show you. The voice was soft and gentle, much like a mother’s comforting words. However, it contained an undertone of hidden motives that were completely ignored by the distraught mare. “I don’t understand!” The tears were accompanied by broken sobs as Twilight threw herself down onto the cobblestones. “I don’t understa-a-and.” Do you wish to see how I look, Twilight Sparkle? Without waiting for a response, the voice continued. Look into your saddlebags, draw out that black crystal that you have inside of them, and gaze into its depths. There, you will find your answers. With shaking hooves, Twilight drew her saddlebag in front of her and slowly opened its flap. Not wasting time with a physical search, she casted a spell that pulled the stone from the bag and set it upon her outstretched hoof with ease, despite the shivers that ran through her body. After breathing in deeply for a moment, Twilight looked down at the glimmering stone with her curious stare of a scholar, eager despite the situation to learn exactly who it was she was talking to. There I am, Twilight. That is who I am. All Twilight could see was a green-tinted reflection of herself. I am you. The reflection flickered for a moment as Twilight drew it even closer to gaze into her own eyes. You are me. Darkness slowly started to fill the edges of Twilight’s vision, seeping into the textures and colors of the world around her like ink upon a painting. Soon, nothing was left but the cold, hate-filled eyes of her reflection. We are one and the same. The reflection surged forward as Twilight lost contact with the waking world. A cold wind picked up in the peaks of the mountains that just bordered the northern parts of the Crystal Empire, starting off as a gentle breeze but then growing in magnitude as it descended the rocky slopes. By the time it had reached the Crystal Empire, it had become a gust. It swept through the empty streets of the capitol and across the vast plains that were used to grow the many different kinds of food that the Empire needed to survive. The wind, doing as all winds do, continued to blow onward, over lakes and forests, villages and towns. Eventually this breath of fresh air, as it were, happened upon the mountain city of Canterlot, more specifically upon the castle balcony where the goddess of the sun stood watch over the land. She froze for a moment as the now-gentle breeze brushed through her mane and coat like the touch of a lover, though its message was much more sinister. Pulling herself from the problems that she was experiencing at the castle, she directed her gaze northward as worry gnawed at her already gnawed insides. “Something is wrong. Very wrong.”