Twilight could now manage to barely open her eyes and listen. However, she couldn't "feel" anything, per say. She tried raising a hoof, but a spike of pain jolted down her forearm and into her spine, shaking her to the core.

Now all she could feel was pain. A screaming, agonizing, pain. It came from the top of her head and pulsed down her neck into her back. It was kind of electric. But it also felt like a burn.

Whatever was in the distance was getting closer. Deep in the recesses of her mind Twilight could feel the vibrations. It was four legged. A start.

Twilight bent her spine upwards, forcing the pain down and sat up to face the colt in the eye. She shook her head.

"Well, I'm Matterhorn. Equestria's finest cow wrangler. But enough chat, you look pretty beat up. Can you walk?"

Twilight threw her two front hooves in front of her and willed her body to stand up. But, she fell flat on her face. She tried to grunt in distress, but she could only get out a muffled "Mpph, mph!"

Matterhorn nodded with concern and used his magic to levitate Twilight onto his back.

"I'll get you to Dr. Redlung, our plantation's doctor. Just sit tight, ya' hear?"

The fast run to Matterhorn's farm was a long and bumpy one. Every bump sending sparks of pain through each of Twilight's bones. Her wings had it worst though. Each one felt as if it was slowly being ripped off by some strong, merciless, giant.

As soon as Matterhorn got home he ran into Redlung's office, plopping Twilight down on the operating bench before Redlung could even question anything.

"Ah' found her in the desert! She can't walk, she can't talk, and she can't move!"

Redlung nodded. She moved closer to Twilight's body as she carefully used magic to guide ten needles into her for an IV. As she was eyeing Twilight she noticed something. Beneath her leather catsuit there was a purple light pulsating.

"Out! Get her OUT!" Redlung shouted, immediately ripping the IV needles from Twilight's hooves.

Matterhorn nodded, getting an anesthesia mask off of a shelf, applying it to Twilight's face.

"No. Wielder's never die..." Redlung replied, cutting into to Twilight's neck, spewing blood everywhere. "But they come pretty damn close!"

The blood fountain came to a sudden stop as Redlung levitated gauze over her patient's wound.

"We've gotta drain the aura from her body. It'll kill her and then we can resuscitate"

Twilight wanted to object to this, but soon everything faded to black as she felt herself slip away.

Just when she thought it was all over... A sudden shock reverberated through her rib cage, shaking her awake.

Twilight could feel a liquid flowing through her neck. She felt a rush. It wasn't adrenaline. It was something much more.
Something deadly but beautiful. Something that ended the universe.... Then nothing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun came through the cabin window and directly onto Twilight Sparkle's throbbing head, heating up the aura flowing through her.

Twilight slowly began to come to, realizing that she wasn't in a desert but in a bed.

Twilight groaned in frustration at the repetitive sound of countless desert birds making noise.

Twilight screamed and extended her hoof towards the window with the birds nest behind it. The nest bundled together in the middle, the birds included, and then shattered into oblivion as it's subatomic structure was ripped in half.

The mysterious oldmare cleared her throat. "I'm Old-Lady Matterhorn! Queen-Bee of Matterhorn Plantation! My granddaughter Redlung saved your heinie!"

Twilight sighed. "I guess I should say thanks. I mean, saving a Wielder is risky business"

Twilight Sparkle looked at the ground. "I'm trying to recover something that I lost..."

Old-Lady Matterhorn cocked her head. "Well, err, I'm sure you'll.... remember...?" She replied, trailing off.

Twilight nodded and used some aura to reach into her mind and pull any intel she could out. But, all she got was the word "library".

Old-Lady Matterhorn laughed. "It's a family library, honey! Nopony but Matterhorn blood's gettin' in 'der!"

"He's out working. Something you should be doin' since we saved your life." Old-Lady Matterhorn said, stiffening up in her rocking chair.

---SOME TIME LATER---
"Here ya' go! The only book in the family collection to mention Wielders. I reckon most 'us normal pony folk don't know much about 'em" Matterhorn said, plopping a hardcover purple book onto the candlelit desk in Twilight's cabin.

"Thanks, Horn" Twilight replied "But I don't know much about Wielders either. I just woke up knowing the name..."

The two stared at each other for a moment before Twilight finally broke the silence. "Let's start, shall we?"

Twilight flipped the cover and it hit the table with a loud boom. The book was ginormous. The title page was missing, but it was easily identifiable as "Starswell's Paranormal" to any avid reader.

"Alright... 'Advanced Magic Powers', Page 343...." Twilight navigated the table of contents with ease and flipped to the page mentioned.

"You don't think there's more of 'em like ya', do you?" Matterhorn asked to pass the time it took to narrow down the correct paragraph.

However, the question caught Twilight off guard, as she stopped reading to look up at him. "I don't know, Horn... I don't know"

"Yeah. Real lonely...." Twilight replied, her voice trailing off "But, let's start reading...."

PAGE 343
Over the course of my vigorous studies, I have found some, but not many, unicorns with powers greater than I. However, they appear to wield the rare "Destruction" Magic rumored to be used by the Dark Lords many years ago. Fortunately for all other ponies, most "Wielders" (If you will) are of the peaceful nature. They pose no threat to Canterlot nor any of its provinces.

"Is this seriously it?" Twilight became frustrated, and began violently flipping the pages. "There has to be more..."

Twilight looked up at Matterhorn and sighed. "I... I need to know... Where's the closest town?"

Matterhorn put a hoof to his chin and pondered the question. "I reckon that it'd be Buffaloburg. But they don't have too many books there."

"Yeah, she's fairly new on the range. Some folk from the Apple family tried to settle it. But 'dem buffaloes ain't pushovers. Pfft. Shows 'dem crop-smashing bastards right if I may say so ma'self"

Twilight looked up at Matterhorn and stared intently at him. "Did you say.... Apple Family?"

"Yeah. Big competitors of us Matterhorns. But they about gone now. Bufflo's picked 'em off real good. Ah' heard only one got out alive... And that she's purty too."

Twilight's jaw went agape. Apploosa belonging to the buffalo? Apple family dead?

Suddenly, memories of another life flashed before Twilight's eyes. Images of nature, apples, and a blonde mare. They all blended together, and when Twilight tried to separate them, her aura drained faster than ever.

After five minutes of hallucinations, rambling, and downright seizures, Twilight came to a conclusion. Whoever that pony was, she was part of the key. The key that hunted her dreams every night and kept her awake. The key that caused so much pain... It was her job to find it. No matter the cost.
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"Twilight? Miss Twilight?" Redlung called out, pointing a flash light into Twilight Sparkle's half open eye. "You alright?"

"Okay... maybe she ain't alright..." Redlung moved down to her neck where aura flowed. She gave it a quick pinch to block the flow and then let go, sending a rush of aura to Twilight's brain.

"Oh my goodness, thank Celestia you're alive!" Redlung shouted, hugging Twilight. "Now, can ya' speak?"
Twilight coughed some more before uttering two words: "Apple... Buffaloburg..."

"Dammit, Matterhorn! What in tarnation have you been telling this filly? I thought the Apples weren't to be mentioned again!" Redlung scolded.

"She just wants to find more ponies like her! It ain't mah fault that she's lonely!"

Redlung tightened up. "But it will be your fault when she's murdered for thirty pieces of silver!"

Matterhorn picked Twilight up and carried her out of the cabin and let her down on a wagon before setting off.

"You'll get yourselves killed!!" Redlung screamed, trying to protect her family from more bloodshed. "We've seen this too much...."

Sparkle

by RyanPAPP

Chapter One: Setting Off