//------------------------------// // Conversation and Explaination // Story: I Wasn't Prepared for This // by canonkiller //------------------------------// Twilight looked up at Princess Celestia, her gentle eyes burning holes into Twilight's guilt. "I..." She stepped back from the Princess, flapping her wings in frustration, trying to wrap words around her thoughts. "You know what happened at the... the Coronation. You might not have known, but it hurt. To move, to think. I couldn't understand why there was so much pain, why everyone ran. I felt so... disembodied. Like maybe I was okay, just... feeling someone else's pain. And then when I saw everyone panicking, I panicked too, and I just... teleported. I don't know what I was thinking! I wasn't going anywhere safe, I wasn't thinking... I could have ended halfway through a rock by the end of it, but I didn't care, as long as I didn't see..." She trailed off, much to Celestia's disappointment, and began to pace. "I couldn't use magic after that. It hurt so much it nearly killed me. I thought I was going to just die when I teleported. Not to mention I had no concept of where I was, reduced to an elderly Earth Pony for all purposes, magic-less and fragile. Next thing I knew, I was being hunted, and then, again, almost died. "Through no work of study, I managed to fly my way out, and... and I couldn't go home like this! I was a monster! I had to figure out how to fix it, don't you see? I was Princess Celestia's personal protege! I had to have a solution!" "Twilight, you didn't..." The Alicorn in question turned to face her, eyes dancing with fury. "You're respected as a Princess. Deeds of old, legends, raising the sun. You might not get it, but since nopony even recognized me as an Element of Magic, when I was out saving the world, I had to work for my respect! I couldn't just hang around, some dejected lump of mangled flesh! I had to fix this, by myself! To prove myself to them, and to you!" She started pacing again, her back hooves-turned-claws scraping on the stone. "You might not understand why I didn't get your help first. After all, everyone else lets you solve their problems, so why not me? I wanted to show you I could do this, show them I was really meant to be a Princess! I don't know what I would have done if Spike hadn't interrupted; 'wow, look at Twilight Sparkle, raising the twilight, ooh'. Now I can do something! "And when I was out here, I had to keep working, show my friends what I could do, how I could solve my own problems, but I needed to live to do that. So I," her anger subsided, momentarily replaced by guilt, "I stole from them. All of them." She spat that word, 'stole', like a venom in her mouth. She paused, desperately searching her mentor's eyes for some kind of protection, a comforting word or two, but there was nothing. Twilight took a deep breath, wings unfolding again as she composed herself. "I took little things at first, things that I needed, that wouldn't be missed. Some of the animal food from Fluttershy's, those Mare-Do-Well costumes from Rainbow's, a few bolts of fabric and a mouthful of gems from Rarity's, some food and a shelf from Pinkie's - well, the shelf was on the curb waiting for the garbage ponies - two bales of hay and a saddlebag's worth of apples from Applejack's, and a few of the books I would need from my own house. "I researched everything I could, but every spell I could possibly use to reverse this needed a Unicorn to cast it, and my magic was debilitating to use then. So I stole more. Spell runes, ingredients, bowls... a new toothbrush and a comb, books, any items that could possibly help. A few nights ago, I finally figured out how to reverse the difficulty with magic I had, but the spell backfired. I was severely weakened since, which is why I had been out and about when that vampony found me, and not in Ponyville. "Speaking of which, who was the vampony?" Luna opened her eyes, having closed them to listen better. "A projected image of one of my guards. Not a vampony in her own life, merely a batpony, but she was the friendliest one I could recreate well." Twilight nodded, somewhat pleased with the response, and continued. "I can't do any magic now. Even levitating a speck of dust brings me to my knees. I was so... disappointed. With myself. I ruined nearly everything I had tried to use, thousands of bits worth of supplies turned to ash. I hated myself for it, but there was nothing left I could do. So, when the vampony showed up, I thought maybe, maybe, they'd have some way to hide me, to let me back into society as somepony else, to reimburse the ponies I stole from. That's what I thought was right." She sighed, sitting down, her wings draping at her sides. "I don't know if I was ever right." Celestia waited for more explanation, but nothing came. Her student had changed. Her coat was marked with patches of darker scales, her horn twisted like some mockery of an Alicorn's. Her face was divided in half by fur and scales, and the eye inset into the latter had the uncanny resemblance to that of her assistant. The very top edge of her tailbone showed through her tail, the surface marked with smaller scales, and her two back legs had expanded into a dragon's talons from the flank down. Her two wings, sprawled across the stone, had a surface similar to the color of her coat, a nearly invisible transition to the scaled flesh. Their underside, though she could not see them, she knew to be the color of Twilight's mane, a deep purple-blue that streaked with her coat's lavender where the bones ran underneath. She had seen a change in her student far more grotesque than that of her beloved sister into Nightmare Moon. But now, she could see past the fact that Twilight had a new skin. Twilight had a new heart as well. This pony, weak and alone, had sought for answers by herself, so different from the pony that Celestia had seen with her friends. She was scared, worried, all for good reason. Ponies did not take kindly to difference. She could still remember the uproar at the official introduction of Princess Cadence, previously ensnared within Canterlot Castle, allowed out only under a disguise and the protection of undercover guards. The neigh-sayers had rioted for weeks, charging at the gates and yelling slander at the Royals above. It had taken nothing less that Luna's untamed fury to scatter them, and nopony regretted the decision. Thousands more had appeared at Twilight's ascension. The Unicorn, one known for fearing judgement, had been kept in the dark about such events; had never seen the anger at commoners for somepony just like them, but not them, becoming a ruler. This time, the three Princesses had to work together to clear them from the gates, and all available guards had been put on active watch for such ponies. She remembered the triumphant faces of the mares and stallions around Pinkie and Spike, their murmurings ringing keen in Celestia's ear. "She won't need that assistant of hers anymore." "She'll have ponies to do that for her." "What was the little runt's name? Scale? Scorch? Spine?" "I bet she dumps him off on somepony else first chance she gets." A few of them had gotten into the assembly, working so smoothly and subtly she hadn't noticed until it was too late. "She's a monster!" "It's just like Nightmare Moon!" "She's not an Alicorn!" "Run, before she attacks!" "Twilight." She flinched slightly at that, her shout having been quiet only among the voices in her head. "You were wrong. Your friends would never judge you. There was one reason, and one alone, that they didn't come after you. "We told them you had died." Twilight flinched, visibly, staring up at the Princess. "...Why?" "Ponies were upset that you had become a Princess." Celestia admitted. "They thought that, as a common pony, you should not be allowed the ascent. They saw nothing more than the color of your coat. If they had known you were still alive, they would have sought you out, and probably attacked you. Ponies are not as good everywhere as they are in Ponyville. In order to protect you, we couldn't tell anypony you were alive. Not even your friends, or Spike." "They... were upset? Ponies?" Twilight said. "Why didn't you tell me?" Cadence managed to respond before Celestia, extending a hoof towards Twilight. "I was the same way. You were one of the few ponies that knew I even existed. Since the Crystal Empire's history isn't known by many, I was kept in Canterlot Castle until a few months before the marriage, when I was introduced to the Canterlotians. They responded with fury, incomprehension, wondering why I had been held from them for so long. They couldn't understand Celestia and Luna's fear that somepony would follow in Sombra's footsteps and attack me. I was devastated, and as the Princess of Love, I felt their hate more than anypony." "Twilight, I meant only to protect you." Celestia continued. "I thought I was doing the right thing, too." The four stood in silence for a little while, Twilight looking up at the passing stars. "H-how long have I been gone?" Celestia looked up from her hooves, her student having never turned her face from the heavens. "I lost track of the days after five of them. It all just blends together." Celestia grimaced. "A month." "That long?" "We had to find you, figure out how we were going to catch you. We thought you'd succumbed to the dragon instinct, one wild. But when crime reports started coming in from Ponyville, en masse, we guessed you were nearby. It took every whim we had to put this in motion. The only reason we're here alone is because nobody wants to work on hunches." "What am I going to do? Everypony think's I'm dead. I can't go back without making any progress." "Twilight," Celestia shook her head slowly, focusing her thoughts, "I haven't been able to find a solution." "Hm?" "The spell draws from the energy of those who touch the barrier. Myself, Luna, Cadence and you were to be the only ponies to take part in the transformation. When Spike reached out, his essence bonded with ours. It's irreversible." "I'm going to be like this forever?" "We can change enough to bring back your magic, but yes. You will look like this." Twilight stood up, looking back up towards the stars. "A pony's skin is not its soul. You told me that once, do you remember? There was a colt in the castle with a mangled wing, and he liked me." She tilted her head, ears tilting towards the Princess. "I thought he was gross because he was different. He was really nice, though. I regret not spending more time with him now." Celestia remained silent, her ears pinning back. "Is that how others are going to see me, now?" Twilight sighed, meeting the eyes of her mentor. "As a defect? A blemish? Will anypony take the time to figure out that I am real inside?" "You may stay at Canterlot Castle until you feel up to returning." Celestia muttered. "Would you like help gathering your things?" "I'll need help transporting them." Twilight admitted. "If you want to come back to the cave, I'll be done in a jiffy." "Go on ahead. We'll catch up." Twilight spread her wings, soaring away above the trees. Celestia watched her vanish before turning to her companions. Luna's hadn't turned away from the moon, as if seeking some solace in it's pale light. Cadence's head hung solemnly as she fought some inner battle. "How are we going to keep her away from the rioters?" Cadence whispered, looking up from her vigil. "They'll tear her apart." "Nopony will know she has returned. She can use the Crystal Caves to travel around the castle during the day, and your guards," she turned to Luna, "will not mind her at night. Perhaps you can help her with her magic until she returns to a normal schedule." "I will do my best." The dark Alicorn said. "Cadence, I want you to work on her magic and find a way to get food down for her. I know that those caves are a difficult place for you to be in, but you need to do this for Twilight." Cadence nodded, slowly. "I'll try my best to face my fear." "I'll make sure nopony hears of her return, and aid her with her advanced magic, once she is able to cast it. Now, I think we'd better help her move. There isn't much moonlight left." ----- Twilight soared above the Everfree, the lights of Ponyville fading behind her and the glimmering beacon of Canterlot looming ahead. There was no doubt the Princesses were awaiting her arrival; hundreds of minor teleports to move her belongings had taken no toll on the Alicorn's power, and a final one to move themselves would not affect them. Her wings tingled in the cold air, a kind of adrenaline she had never felt before. The dawn was nearing, but no light shone on the horizon. "What would happen," Twilight whispered to herself, "if I just ended it now?" She looked down at the ground, no vertigo assaulting her despite her height. It would be so easy to just... drop. There wouldn't even be anything left to bury from her altitude. "Anypony who would have missed me has done so already." She folded her wings, letting herself free-fall half of the way to the ground. Fear took over, and she snapped her wings open, momentum flinging her back into the air. "I guess I'd be letting Celestia down." She tilted her ascent back to level, redirecting towards Canterlot. "And myself." She flew the rest of the way in silence. ----- Cadence appeared as Twilight neared Canterlot, silently guiding her down below the glimmer of the city lights. She vanished into an icy waterfall, ducking behind the sheet of ice. Twilight followed her, wings silent in the chilly air. Cadence had landed on a small ledge, a narrow cleft leading into the dark behind her. Twilight backwinged and managed to hook her claws on the edge of the platform, a talent that had taken days of practice and a few bruises. Cadence smiled, if not a bit sadly, and stepped back to let Twilight into the cave. "This will be the entrance you use when greeting one of us formally, or going out for flights. In the summer, the waterfall hides the entrance, and is far enough away to not soak you when you pass." "Oh. Good." Cadence continued, following Twilight into the darkness. "We've got all of your stuff a little ways through the tunnels, to make sure nopony sees it by accident. I'll light the torches," her horn glowed, and pink fire flashed into existence in the small brackets previously hidden by the dark, "but you only have a little while until they go out. The main cave will stay lit." "Alright." Twilight trotted ahead, turning back to wave a short goodbye at Cadence. The Alicorn smiled back, nodding her head before walking outside and taking to the sky. Twilight edged her way through the tunnels, making her way slowly but surely to her new, hopefully temporary, home.