The soft clicking sound of hooves echoed down the empty corridor. Twilight walked slowly with her head held low. Both ears were flattened against her head, her tail was dragging on the ground. She was going to comfort Cadance for the loss of her husband. It was hard enough for Twilight to deal with Shining’s death. Now she had been asked to offer her emotional support to Cadance.
This was supposed to be a new chapter of her life. Indeed it was, but for the wrong reason. Twilight was coronated a princess less than a month ago and now she had been appointed as the caretaker for an emotionally devastated princess of love.
She knocked softly on the door to Cadance’s chamber three times. “Cadance?” Twilight called out.
The widow was likely crying or sleeping. Words of comfort and advice from her closest friends floated through her mind. The words seemed hollow and she could not figure out what to say first. After knocking again and waiting for five minutes, Twilight let herself in.
Both of her eyes scanned the room for her sister-in-law. She stepped over some empty wine bottles on the floor nicking one with her hoof. The sound of the rolling bottle cast an eerie echo into the room. When it hit the wall with a thud, Twilight flinched.
“Cadance, I—I’m here for you.” Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat. “Can—may I talk to you?”
Her eyes flitted over the bed sheets that had been thrown about the floor. The old oaken bed frame creaked as she lifted the blankets to look under the bed. Twilight turned towards the balcony. It was empty save for the shadows of a tree branch cast down by the full moon.
“Cadance? Are you here?” Twilight asked.
Twilight headed to the last room she had to check. The bathroom light slipped through the edges of the door, and there was red wine trickling out from underneath it. Several more wine bottles, doubtless from a priceless vintage, littered the floor.
She nearly slipped when the first hoof stepped into the spilled red wine. Glancing down revealed the wavering reflection of a trembling alicorn. Her heart sped up as worry gripped it in a vice.
“Cadance?” The long silence that followed created a strong sense of urgency.
Twilight tried the door handle and found it was locked. She banged it in anger with her hoof and rammed the door.
“Sorry, but I’m coming in!” She shouted.
She took a deep breath and tensed her muscles. Her heart beat even faster with each passing second. She had to get in that bathroom now. Twilight unleashed all her energy on the lock, cracking the wood around it to splinters.
The door hinges squeaked as she barged in. Her hooves lost their purchase in the wine, sending her tumbling onto her face. She slowly stood up after coming to a rest on her side. Shaking the fluid out of her mane, she looked around for her sister-in-law.
Cadance was taking a bath. Twilight began to sigh in relief before she saw a wave of red water pour out of the bathtub. The pupils of both her eyes dilated as she looked down in horror.
This was not red wine. It was blood.
She looked at Cadance, afraid to get any nearer. It felt like her heart froze completely and time stretched endlessly before her. Twilight’s first instinct was to rush in and save her. . . yet all she could think about was the watery blood.
Her eyes scanned the room frantically and her ears amplified every splash as she stepped towards her sister-in-law. She felt her heart beat once. After a few more agonizingly slow steps, it beat again.
A slow breath filled Twilight’s lungs, and she shuddered as she exhaled.
Cadance lay in a crimson sea, her forelegs floating in the water. Two vicious, deep cuts were visible running the length of her legs. The flowing faucet caused continual tides to lap over the rim of the porcelain basin.
Twilight forcibly vomited on the floor. Her muscles squeezed her stomach so tight that she barely had time to breath between the waves of nausea.
She looked back up at the tub and screamed. She felt her heart seize as her knees locked.
Floating in the tub was a lavender alicorn with a twisted smile. “Come in, the water’s fine.”
***************************************************************
Twilight spasmed in bed, causing a loud thump as her skull collided with the head of the bed. She began kicking and screaming as soon as she was awake, not stopping until she had fallen off the bed. She examined her legs, one at a time, to make sure she had not cut them.
Twilight breathed a small sigh of relief. She had not killed herself. She was not the alicorn in the bathtub.
Panicked steps scraped along the wooden floorboards. “Twilight! Where are you? Are you ok?” Spike yelled.
“In here,” she croaked.
In an instant the dragon had leapt on the bed, and found her cowering in the corner.
“Spike,” Twilight sobbed. Just seeing him made her feel safe enough to start crying. She began to weep uncontrollably, burying her head in her hooves against the wall. Twilight wailed for her brother and sister-in-law.
Spike repeated his routine for the fourth time this week. He quickly fetched the clean blanket he kept near the bed, and covered Twilight in it. He then curled up next to her so that she could drape a foreleg over him.
“It’s okay, Twilight. It was just a bad dream. You’re not Cadance. You’re my sister, and I love you. You’ll never be alone,” Spike re-assured.
Twilight was gasping and sobbing too much to reply. Instead, she just pulled her last remaining brother in closer for a hug. She did not loosen her grip. Twilight refused to let go. She would never lose a friend again.
***************************************************************
Twilight crouched over Sugarcube Corner and ignored the recurring nightmare. The sole thought allowed in her head was the recreation of the replica bakery. Ever since becoming Princess Twilight, she had needed a hobby to help alleviate all the stress that came with the title. Every day she had to settle disputes, sit in on city council meetings, and approve new laws. Every night brought about unwanted memories.
It turned out that building a one/twelfth scale replica of Ponyville was the perfect solution. It gave her something to focus on so that she could ignore all her other worries. Once she had started building the town, Twilight was unwilling to stop. Soon she had expanded her basement to fit all of New Ponyville in it.
The last touches to Sugarcube Corner were in the kitchen. She added a small trap door to the cellar where flour was stored, a few tiny cupcake pans, and an empty bowl. Once she had finished, she closed the two halves of the tiny dollhouse and flew back to the edge of the town.
From the doorway, she looked out over the city. Ponyville was finished; from the town hall to Sweet Apple Acres. Dash’s replica cloud house floated above the town and Fluttershy’s cottage was near the Everfree. She had recreated the forest by cross-breeding several species of bonsai plants until she recreated the proper colors and sizes. Even the river running through it contained real water.
Still, something crucial was missing. The idea had come to her when Rarity insisted she come over to get her dresses tailored for her new wings. Sweetie had an intricately detailed dollhouse. Everything from the tiny stallion and mare, to the wallpaper and carpeting, was perfect.
Now all Twilight needed to complete her town were some dolls. She couldn’t play with her friends if she didn’t have any dolls. She walked over to the wall detailing her plans. First up was Lyra and Bon Bon. It may take a while to get started, but it would be worth it.
Months of careful planning had lead up to this exciting moment. Study of criminal records from the Ponyville police station had taught her much. Each time she invited a new pony to move into her dollhouse, she would change the Modus Operandi. Lyra would be over shortly for some tea, and a worried Bon Bon would be over next morning for some breakfast.
If all went according to plan, she would never have to suffer the pain of another funeral. Twilight’s nightmare would never come true.
"Twilight, Dash is here!" Spike shouted.
"In a minute!" Twilight shouted back. After turning the lights out, she climbed up the stairs out of the basement. As she did, Twilight heard Spike and Dash talking. She slowed down to listen in before opening the door into the library.
"Becoming a princess has been hard on her, Dash," Spike stated.
"I guess, but ever since the funerals she never goes outside anymore. We're worried about her."
"Celestia told me we all grieve differently. I'm keeping an eye on her. She'll be fine."
"Well if she does need anything. . . even if I am at the audition, just send somepony to get me."
Twilight locked the door behind her as she stepped into the library. “Dash! It’s great to see you,” she exclaimed.
“Hey, we were supposed to meet for flying lessons this evening.” Dash was floating in the doorway with her forelegs crossed.
“Oh, that was tonight? Sorry, Dash. I was so bus—”
“Yeah, yeah,” she interrupted and crossed her forelegs. “Busy being a princess, busy mourning, busy with a book. You never come outside or want to hang out anymore.”
Twilight smiled and walked up to her friend. “Look, I know you have the Wonderbolt tryouts next week and I don’t want to distract you from practice. Why don’t you come for lunch after your tryouts to celebrate? We can spend the rest of the week playing.”
“Heh, I don’t need practice, I’ve already got it in the bag. Pinkie Promise?”
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Twilight recited. “We’ll spend the rest of the week playing once you get into the Wonderbolts.”
“Alright, see you then.” As Dash flew off she heard the pegasus whisper egghead under her breath.
Spike got the door for Twilight and closed it. “Alright, Twilight, I’m headed up to bed.”
“Okay, Spike, have a good rest.”
She went to the bookshelf to consult a few notes and passages from a spell book. All the preliminary formulas showed that her spell would work perfectly tonight. She double-checked them again before putting them back on the shelf.
By the time Twilight was done, Spike was fast asleep. He was a heavy sleeper, but tonight was not the time to take chances. She cast a sleeping spell on him and headed downstairs to prepare for her guest.
Twilight went into the kitchen and put a kettle on the stove. She took out two tea cups and some sugar cubes. She placed tea bags in both and a crushed green herb in only one of them. Once the kettle began to whistle, she carried it out to the table in the main room of the library. As if on cue, she heard a pony knocking at the door.
She walked over and pulled the door open with magic. "Lyra, come in. I'm so glad you could make it, and you remembered to bring your lyre."
"Thank you," Lyra replied. "I was. . . well. . . surprised you'd want my help."
"I've always found the lyre fascinating, and soothing. I haven't been sleeping well since. . . you know."
"Of course, I'd be glad to help you fall asleep. It's funny, nopony has ever asked me to play them a lullaby before."
Twilight averted her gaze to the floor and hid a small grin. "Yeah, you can see why I was a bit embarrassed and didn't want you to tell anypony."
"Your secret is safe with me. I didn't even tell Bon Bon I was headed out."
"You are a truly kind pony, Lyra. I wish it hadn't taken me this long to start hanging out with you.” Twilight looked up to give her a wide smile. “How about we get some tea?"
"That sounds great."
Twilight lead her over to the table and levitated the kettle. She poured the hot water into the tea cups and they waited for the tea to steep.
"So, Lyra, have you finished the fantasy novel you checked out?" Twilight inquired.
"Oh, I did. I'm amazed you found a fantasy I hadn't read yet about humans. Novels about them seem to have gone out of style decades ago." Lyra levitated the book out of her saddlebag and placed it on the table.
"You even turn your books in early. You're definitely a friend worth keeping forever."
"Shucks, you're starting to sound like Bonnie." Lyra smiled and levitated the tea bag out of her cup.
"Sugar?" Twilight levitated two cubes into her cup, removed the tea bag, and took a sip.
"No thanks. So I was thinking, maybe I could check out that vampire romance novel I keep hearing about next. The one with the mare and the vampony?" Lyra asked.
"Oh, you wouldn't like it. I've read better bedtime stories to Spike."
Lyra levitated her teacup up and took a sip. "This tea is wonderful."
"Thanks, it's a special recipe. I just invented it tonight, can you taste the different flavors in it?"
"Hmm." Lyra raised the tea cup back to her mouth and began taking more sips. "Well, it's green tea of course, a tad bitter though. Uh. . . cinnamon, and. . . somet—hing else." Lyra began opening and closing her mouth and smacking her tongue. "Muh tongue—ish numb."
"Oh dear, do you have any food allergies?"
Lyra set the cup down and began wheezing. "Ah—dun thin so." She clutched her stomach in pain and rested her head on the table. Her muscles contracted between her shoulders and neck. Small retractions were forming between her ribs as her muscles struggled to keep expanding her lungs.
"This is most troubling, I suppose I should do something. . ." Twilight took another sip of her tea, as Lyra slowly opened and closed her mouth. "Hmm, what did I put in it again? Green tea, cinnamon, lilac. . . what was the other one?"
Twilight stared at Lyra as she twitched involuntarily. She couldn't move at all by this point and her breathing came in short gasps every ten seconds.
"That's right, the other herb was hemlock! Oh dear, I do believe you're allergic to it," Twilight cackled.
Lyra's eyes went wide in shock, before drooping back to a neutral position.
"Hmm, well I'm afraid I've given you a lethal dose, but I'm not a barbarian. I suppose the least I can do is test out a new immortality spell on you. Here, let me help you with that."
Twilight wrapped her magic around Lyra's chest and expanded her lungs for her, helping her breath. "I wouldn't want you passing out before the best part, now would I?"
She levitated a spell book down onto the table from a nearby shelf. "You were so kind to come over here and play me a lullaby, you even turned your book in early! You have passed my test. Now you can be my friend forever."
Twilight looked back at her and saw she wasn't smiling. "Aren't you happy?" After a moment, she began to laugh. "Of course, you can't smile. Let's get this over with before you suffer any more, sweetie."
Twilight expanded Lyra's lungs for her again, supplying a precious few more seconds consciousness.
"Now, I'll be honest. You've got the honor of being my first new friend. I'm not sure if this spell is painful, but you've been such a good sport I'll do my best to make it quick. It’s quite simple, really. Flesh is weak and even alicorns can die." Twilight looked away for a moment before continuing. “With a few spells I wrote, I’ll be able to give you a body that never ages or dies. You’ll never leave me. I’ll never have to say goodbye to a friend again.”
Lyra's head was laying on its left side, squishing an ear. She stared straight ahead, the tea set taking up most of her vision. Above her, or to the right of her slanted world, stood the mad purple alicorn. Lyra tried to scream for help, but couldn't lift a hoof.
She felt the hemlock as it had slowly paralyzed her. Now it felt as if a rockslide had pinned her beneath thousands of pounds of gravel. Not a single muscle in her body responded to her commands. Even the muscles keeping her lungs working had ceased functioning. Were it not for the few breaths Twilight was giving her, she'd already be dead. Even with them, her heart and brain would not last much longer.
Lyra had time to ponder what sort of sick joke this was as Twilight's horn began to glow. She could still feel and think. Lyra was trapped there, watching, as the purple aura slowly crept over her right hoof.
Her hoof went ice cold. The entire limb went rigid and began to feel smooth. A shiny mint green foreleg rested on the table, and appeared to be made of plastic. Lyra wanted to be shocked, scared, or any emotion she could. Twilight provided her with another breath as she stared at her leg.
"Good, Lyra, this is going well. I was worried it might not progress so smoothly, let's finish up your other legs then, shall we?"
Lyra's mind flashed back to Bon Bon. She cared deeply for her roommate. She feared now she would never see her again, or anypony else for that matter. She wanted so badly to hug her one last time, or to bake one last batch of her favorite chocolate covered cherries.
The icy cold plastic spread over all her legs, turning them numb. Where the paralysis on her lungs felt like compressing weights, her legs felt weightless. It was like swimming in a frictionless liquid. Her mind raced, trying to make sense of the various sensations flowing through her.
"Good, I suppose I'll quickly finish your mane and tail, then start the chest cavity. It's only fair to warn you, this is where it may get unpleasant." Twilight scribbled down a few notes and resumed the spell.
A chill ran down Lyra’s spine as her flanks were covered in plastic. She could feel her childhood fear of claustrophobia returning to her. It felt like she was being wrapped up in plaster. The numb plastic feeling was replaced by one of pressure and fear. Lyra screamed as loudly as she could in her mind as the plastic finished sealing her inside her new skin.
A tear rolled down Lyra's cheek as a chunk of ice formed in the pit of her stomach. The plastic was seeping inside her, turning her abdomen into solid plastic.
As the liquid flowed through her, a fire burned in her lungs. Her vision was fading black, and she wondered how long it had been since she breathed. Her heart was pumping so slowly, and she was so sleepy. She imagined herself yawning as the plastic touched her diaphragm, sending a tickling sensation up her spine.
"Hang in there, Lyra, you're doing great."
Another tear rolled down her cheek, staining the last patch of thin fur that would soon vanish like the rest of her beautiful coat. The last jolt of pain she would ever feel occurred when her heart stopped beating. Her lungs had been turned to solid plastic, no longer were they able to return blood to the heart.
Lyra felt as if a minotaur were stomping on her heart over and over, until finally the plastic swallowed it whole. It was then Lyra realized something else, her entire head had gone numb too. She could feel nothing, her entire body was weightless and blissful.
"Very good, Lyra. I hope you enjoyed yourself, I know I did." Twilight began scribbling more notes in her journal.
"Total time 45 seconds, core temperature and vitals stable until complete conversion. Subject successfully paralyzed by 110mg hemlock, concentrated. Noted slight bitter taste to tea. Delivery method effective, requirement to manually breathe for the victim leaves much to be desired. Further adjustments to the spell should allow for quicker transformations.
"Last step, darling, and you'll never have to be alone again."
Lyra felt herself levitated from the table and laid on the ground. She could feel her body stretching, warming up where Twilight bent it with her magic. She felt so rigid, yet when Twilight touched her she was molded like soft clay.
A sensation of gentle pressure covered her entire body evenly. Her eyes were still fixed forward, so she could not see what Twilight was doing. As she watched the bookshelf in front of her, it started getting taller. Next she noticed it was getting further away too. Lyra realized she was shrinking, Twilight was shrinking her.
A large purple hoof stepped in front of her, then another. Twilight's enormous head bent down into Lyra's view. She smiled at the tiny green mare, then levitated her back onto her hooves.
"Yes yes yes! It worked perfectly, oh Lyra, I'm so happy. Now we'll get to be together forever. Come on!" Twilight was giggling like a school filly. "Oh, almost forgot." She levitated the lyre in front of Lyra, then shrunk it down to match her size.
"Okay, now we're ready!" She carried Lyra and her instrument down into the basement. She felt a slight tingling as they passed through the lower door.
The lights flicked on and Lyra saw something horrifying. The entire basement was filled with a miniature replica of Ponyville. Every building, tree, plant, and park bench was meticulously crafted.
"I'm just so excited I don't know where to start!" Twilight exclaimed. "Well, as you're my first resident, I guess a little embellishment is in order. You see, over on this wall is my plan."
Lyra's gaze was directed to the wall. On it there were names, photos, buildings, and hundreds of strings. It was too much info for her to take in at once, yet she could tell every single pony Twilight knew was listed on it.
"This is my schedule and checklist. Now, I know how lonely you'll be with just the two of us, so I've made an exception for you. Normally I would have to be slightly more meticulous to cover my tracks, but I just wouldn't feel right until I re-unite you with Bon Bon."
Lyra was hovered in front of a small sticky note. A green string attached it to Lyra's picture. On the note, it simply read 'Bon Bon, breakfast Tuesday 8 am. Gas line explosion, Bon Bon residence, 0830.'
"See, Lyra!" Twilight chuckled. "Since you were such a good sport, I'll keep my plans with Bon Bon tomorrow. You'll get to see her first thing in the morning! Oh, I do hope she enjoys my tea."
Lyra wanted to scream and beg for Bon Bon's life. She loved that mare, she didn't want anything to happen to the one best friend who had always been there for her. Lyra wanted to cry, and almost thought she could feel a tear rolling down her hard plastic cheek.
"Oh, Lyra, I'm sorry." Twilight levitated a small cloth up and wiped Lyra's cheek. "I know you're sad now, but it'll be okay. Look at what I made you." She jotted a quick note before levitating Lyra to her new home.
Lyra was floated in front of Bon Bon's house. Twilight hovered her inside expertly. "Remember when I visited you to loan you that fantasy book? I scanned your house and I've recreated it down to the last detail! The bakery in the kitchen, the small counters to sell sweets in the parlor, even your bed and music stand! Once your best friend joins you here tomorrow, the three of us will have so much fun playing!"
Lyra was set down, facing out the window. Her lyre was levitated gently next to her.
“Oh, I’m so excited. I can hardly wait to show you what I have in store tomorrow! I would hate to leave you here, worrying all night. I’ll tell you the big surprise. I’m going to test my ‘come to life’ spell on you and Bon Bon! We’ll get to spend all morning playing together.” Twilight headed towards the door to leave the basement. “Good night, Lyra.”
***************************************************************
Twilight could hardly sleep that night. For once it was a giddy excitement and not a fear of loss that kept her awake. She woke up and went to prepare for her breakfast with Bon Bon. As soon as the two ponies had moved into New Ponyville, in her basement, they could finally play. It would be a nice way to spend the day.
Twilight hurried to get everything ready as Spike prepared to leave for a shopping trip with Rarity. She often talked him into carrying all her bags. Even though she could easily levitate them, Spike enjoyed doing it.
“Mornin’ Twilight, I haven’t seen you smile in a while,” Spike stated.
“Yeah, Spike, I am feeling a bit better today,” Twilight replied.
“So you finished your scale model of Ponyville? Think I can see it sometime?”
“Maybe, but for now I’d like to continue to use the basement as a place I can go to be alone. Celestia has recommended I start holding a longer ‘Twilight Court’ where ponies can come petition my advice. Mayor Mare is even going to allow me broader control of the town. The job is tough and I really like the peace and quiet downstairs.”
“That’s great,” Spike cheered. “I’m glad you’re finally moving on. You were so worried your friends were going to leave you.”
“It's fine Spike,” Twilight giggled. She forced a smile. “They’re gone now, but I can’t let that ruin my life. After all, you and me are going to live to be thousands of years old. I’ll just have to get used to funerals and making new friends.”
“Wow, you’re taking the thought much better now. I can’t wait to see what happens to the Cutie Mark Crusaders when they have kids. I just hope they invent fireproof timber for building houses by then.”
Twilight laughed at the mental image his comment invoked. “You’re too much, Spike. Run along or you’ll be late to meet Rarity.”
“Okay, see you later!” Spike ran out the door, taking her quite literally.
She checked the clock on the wall. It was twenty minutes to eight, just enough time to prepare a meal for Bon Bon. The library didn’t open until nine, so they would have plenty of time together.
Twilight had selected wormwood to use this time. It would depress her nervous system, preventing the earth pony from fleeing and allowing them time to chat. She had decided early on to experiment with several methods and spells for incapacitating ponies. Twilight would have to stick to her carefully laid plans to slowly lure every pony in town into her dollhouse.
The smell of burning pancakes brought her out of her reflections. Twilight realized she’d been cooking the whole time her mind wandered. It was ten minutes to eight, and she hastily took the eggs, hay pancakes, and some orange juice to the dining table. After setting the table, she levitated the wormwood over and crushed it to a fine dust in her magical grip. She added it to the orange juice and mixed it into the eggs with some pepper.
A frantic knocking sounded at the front door. Twilight’s frown disappeared. Either Bon Bon was early, and panicking, or some other pony had dropped by to ruin everything.
Drawing the door open slowly with magic, she was relieved to see Bon Bon. “Hi, is everything alright?”
“No, Twilight, it’s not! Lyra wasn’t home this morning. She always tells me when she’s going out. Even her lyre is gone!” she frantically whined.
“Calm down, why don’t you come inside and tell me what happened? We can still have our breakfast,” Twilight cooed.
“No, there’s no time! What if something bad happened? She acts so immature for her age, so naive. Something terrible could happen!”
“Bon Bon, relax.” Twilight commanded, her eye twitching. “I’m princess for a reason. Come, calm down, and I’ll leave to get the elements looking for her. You can stay here and relax at the library.”
“Okay,” she whimpered. “But, what if she went into the Everfree looking for humans again?”
“She’ll be fine, come in.”
The two ponies went to the dining room table and sat down to eat breakfast. Each began to work on their meal. Bon Bon was in a hurry to finish and find Lyra, cleaning her plate before Twilight was halfway done.
“How was the meal Bon Bon?” Twilight asked.
“Delicious,” she yawned. “I must not have got enough sleep,” she added.
“Oh, well feel free to lie down if you’d like.”
“No, I want to go find Lyra,” she objected.
“And I told you, I’ll handle it.” Twilight’s eye twitched again.
“Are you alright, Twilight?”
“I’m fine! Ugh, are you always this difficult?”
“I don’t understand,” Bon Bon replied.
“Look, I brought you here to have a breakfast, just us two friends. All you seem to care about is Lyra, don’t you want to be my friend?”
“Uh, no offense, but this is the first time you have ever invited me over, Twilight. I don’t need friends. What I need is to find Lyra.”
Bon Bon stood up and started to walk towards the door. Her legs went limp and she quickly stumbled, hitting the counter and falling to the ground.
“Heh, we’re not friends,” Twilight cackled. “That makes this so much easier. You see, I need to head over to your house and plant some evidence before the gas line explodes.”
Her victim moaned. “Gas? Twi—I don’t feel so good.”
“I can fix that, but now I’m not sure I want to. Lyra was so sweet and polite, and here you are running your mouth. I can fix that too.”
Twilight rummaged through a nearby closet and returned with some pliers levitating in her magical grip.
“What—why are you talking about our gas line? and Lyra?”
The curtains around the kitchen closed, and Twilight latched the doors shut. A quick dampening spell and her preparations were complete.
“What I’m talking about, Bon Bon, is leaving your teeth at the scene of your death. I’d leave you there for being so rude, but Lyra was so nice. . . I think she deserves her best friend.” She cackled softly as she watched the mare twitching. “Maybe you’ll have a change of heart, once I change your heart!”
Bon Bon was slowly struggling her way across the floor. She felt nauseous and her senses and muscles were barely reacting to her commands. “What, don’t do this! Is this all because of your brother?”
“Don’t bring my brother into this!” Twilight jammed the pliers into her mouth and ripped out a pair of molars. She dropped them into a bowl as Bon Bon screamed in agony.
“Wha—the buck—Twilight. If you wanna kill—me you psych—itch, just use magi—nd get it over with!” she mumbled.
“Oh, I might do that for a friend, yet I’m enjoying this too much now. I wouldn’t want to waste any magic, either, I still have to turn you into a doll.” Twilight ripped out her upper incisors.
Bon Bon was crying and drooling blood. “Plea—sowwy—so sorwy. . .” She continued to sob as she lay on the floor, giving in to her despair.
“Sorry you were rude, or sorry that this hurts?” she shouted while tearing out four teeth at once.
It took her a minute to recover from the pain and reply, during which Twilight waited patiently. With a slurping sound, she started to speak. “For bein—rude. I was juz sho worrie—for Lyra.”
“Apology accepted. Now, let’s get out the rest of those teeth.” Twilight dropped the pliers to the floor.
Bon Bon’s eyes went wide in horror. She could feel Twilight’s magic gripping all her remaining teeth. She felt the pressure building against her jaws as she pulled. Her mouth opened, trying to beg for mercy. When the pressure became too great, she closed her eyes.
The teeth popped out with a quick, sharp pain. Bon Bon waited for a moment to open her eyes. She heard a loud cracking sound. When her eyes opened, Twilight and the teeth were gone. She closed her sore gums, which seemed to have been numbed a bit by the spell.
Her body felt like a sack of wet dirt as she dragged it across the floor. It took all her focus and energy just to move a foot. Her head ached, her heart was beating irregularly, and she felt ready to vomit. Whatever Twilight had done to her had left her vulnerable and in great pain. She looked back in fear when she heard another loud crack.
“There, I’ve planted your teeth at—Bon Bon! Look what you’ve done!” Twilight yelled. “You’ve smeared blood all across the kitchen floor!”
She marched over to Bon Bon who was a bloody, sobbing mess. “So—sowwy, pwease—just end it,” she begged.
“Alright, I need to take some notes first. If you don’t make another peep, I’ll make it as quick and painless as I can.” Twilight levitated a journal over to her.
Bon Bon, wormwood trial. Herb left victim unable to defend self or escape while remaining fully alert and able to respond to verbal stimuli. She scores a nine on the Glascolt Coma Scale. Irregular heartbeat and breathing, but stable. Not suitable for use on unicorns, will work effectively for other races.
Thanks to the wormwood I was able to converse with Bon Bon, though all I learned was how rude she was. The application of pain quickly caused her to submit to my will. It would appear that pain is the best way to ensure compliance in combative subjects. I will now attempt the altered version of the spell.
A very soft whimpering continued as her floating quill scratched the last couple words onto paper.
“Alright, I’m rather exhausted and I still have to show up at the scene of your death to help the investigation. Looks like you’re lucky, I’ll make this quick after all. I plan to use this as a combat spell, if necessary. I need you to struggle to make sure it’s effective.”
Twilight charged her horn and aimed at Bon Bon’s face. Her eyes went wide with terror as the unicorn’s horn turned black. A large blob shot forward from the horn, hitting her in the face.
“Now, I’m going to use a spell that should return most of your mobility. Try not to break anything while I’m taking notes.”
Bon Bon felt a tingling sensation in her spine. She was suddenly in full control of her body again, and she gasped violently for air. The thick black fluid was pulled into her throat. Everywhere it touched went numb and stuck together. She reached her hooves up to try and wipe it away from her mouth as she spat it out. Her hooves became stuck instantly.
Subject reacted violently to spell, subduing self nearly instantly. Studies into changeling magic to improve spell efficacy advised.
As her hooves tried to pull the goop off her face, she felt it spreading down her neck and legs. Where her mouth and nose had once been, she felt something akin to plastic. The magic had hardened on her face. By the time she came to this realization, she could feel her lungs turning numb. The plastic slowly crossed into her blood vessels.
Subject quickly asphyxiated, however the spell seems to be preserving her longer than intended. This would allow a unicorn advanced in magic additional time to devise a counter spell.
Icy fluid flowed through her veins. Her skin was already numb down to her shoulders and she could feel the spell covering her flanks. Meanwhile she felt thousands of tendrils throughout her body. Bon Bon twitched for a last time before the spell had taken control of her entire body.
Her vision returned as she felt the last patches of her skin go numb.
Time of conversion: 22 seconds. Shows great promise over other spell. Perhaps I will ask them which hurt more when we have our playtime tomorrow.
Bon Bon was unable to move and pondered what had happened. She couldn’t feel anything but a cool slick coating where her fur should have been.
“Oh, you have to see this, Bon Bon. You look wonderful,” Twilight exclaimed. “Here, let me get a mirror.”
Seconds later a mirror was lowered into her field of vision. She saw her reflection, only it was wrong. Her skin had a glossy sheen to it, and her legs wobbled slightly. She almost looked like a glazed candy or perhaps something that had been polished.
She watched as Twilight poked her with her hoof, then stomped on her. Bon Bon’s side was very bouncy. She could feel the hoof, but felt no pain. Did she get turned into rubber?
The library rumbled as something in the distance exploded.
“Dang, the spell must have gone off early. I guess we’ll have to cut our playtime short. I never imagined the spell would turn you into latex, that’s really odd. I wonder if it has something to do with your genetics. Maybe it was the inverse sine wave calculations I had to do to stabilize the transmutation matrix?”
Bon Bon watched in the mirror as she began to glow, and shrink. Twilight wasted no time turning her into a tiny doll. She then bounced her on the floor, giggling as Bon Bon flew through the air. The library was a whirl of color until she came to rest on the floor.
The door to the library flew open as someone ran in. Twilight quickly canceled the spells in the kitchen, and focused on a spell to cover up the blood until she could clean it properly.
“Twilight,” Dash shouted. “A gas line ruptured and took out three houses!”
“What? That’s horrible!” Twilight exclaimed. It was only supposed to take out Bon Bon and Lyra’s house. Oh well.
“Yeah, come on we’ll need your magic.” Dash looked around the kitchen and saw the half-finished meal and the empty plate.
“Oh, Spike and I had breakfast earlier. I’ll follow you.” She levitated Bon Bon into her mane as soon as Dash turned around, and followed her out of the library.
Twilight whispered to the passenger in her mane. “Oh isn’t this exciting! You get to come with me and witness your own death! Then, when we get back, I’ll introduce you to Lyra and you can tell her all about it.”