Twilight lay in bed, reflecting on her busy week. She pulled Big Mac in tightly and curled up around him. The warm stallion she had turned into a plushy was one of her new best friends. Just knowing that Mac was there, close to her and unable to run away, brought her immense relief. He would join her every night, and had helped her stop having nightmares about Cadance.
Her initial trials had gone well, and her cover story for why Big Mac disappeared actually fooled Applejack. Twilight was encouraged that she bought the story of Big Mac being drafted for a war on changelings. Everypony had also bought the cover story for Lyra and Bon Bon’s deaths. It was almost too easy to trick the entire town.
Before she could transform any of the well-known ponies like Dash or Applejack, she had to thin out the town population and lay the proper groundwork. She spent the last week doing just that by capturing the less well-known ponies in Ponyville.
With a few disasters it had become believable ponies would be moving out of town. That new alibi enabled her to snatch up a few families under the pretense they were moving to Manehatten or some other city.
A record twenty ponies had been added to her dollhouse this week. They were the kind of ponies Twilight only saw on the way to visit the marketplace. It had been too easy to put their homes up for sale and say they moved out. This meant she could move forward with the most crucial stages and capture famous ponies, like the elements.
The increased population created a new problem for Twilight. While she had plenty of dolls for playtime now, Bon Bon continued to rally them against her. They wouldn’t be nearly as fun to play with if they had to stay frozen all the time. If Twilight hadn’t promised her best friend Lyra not to harm Bon Bon, she would have just thrown her away.
She decided to go check on New Ponyville and ensure they weren’t up to no good. Maybe a little time in solitary confinement would fix their attitudes. If she couldn’t make them happy, then it was all for nothing. Twilight needed them to be happy, or else she couldn’t be happy.
***************************************************************
“Bon Bon, please,” Lyra begged. “I worked so hard to get her to agree to this. She is letting us stay animated while she’s gone! When she sees that you’re tearing her replica apart she’ll punish all of us!”
“She should have thought of that before trapping us here! Just look around,” she waved. The two stood in the middle of town square. Dolls were ripping apart anything they could, and tearing down anything not fixed firmly in place. “Berry Punch, Octavia, Carrot Top. . . even Snips and Snails, and they’re colts for Celestia’s sake!”
“I know, but—”
“No,” Bon Bon snapped, spinning around to poke Lyra in the chest. “You don’t get ‘buts’. The whole reason you were getting friendly with Twilight was to help us escape, and now I feel like she’s gotten to you.”
“Bonnie. . . you’re my best friend.” Lyra fought back tears as her closest friend berated her.
“Then quit running off with Twilight all the time! Everypony in town knows you're the only one she takes outside. You either start gathering us some useful intel, or find a new house to live in.”
Lyra swallowed a lump in her throat, unsure if it was real or imagined. “She needs me. . .”
“No, we need you.”
Bon Bon pointed out over the replica city. Last night Bon Bon and Octavia had rallied all the ponies to tear down town hall. It had taken several hours, and was still a work in progress, but they had reduced it to bits of wood and plastic. Everything from the plastic windows to the fake chairs inside were slowly destroyed.
“She can’t keep us here, Lyra. We’ll tear the whole town down, we won’t play with her.”
“Please, stop, she’ll hurt you! She just wants us to be happy,” Lyra pleaded.
“You said she promised not to hurt me. If we start playing with her, if we act happy, we’ll never get free!” Bon Bon picked up the leg of a broken bench and waved it at Lyra. “Get lost!”
Lyra started sobbing loudly, and ran back to her house to hide in her room. All she wanted was to be Bon Bon and Twilight’s friend. If everypony got along, maybe she would let them all outside. She might even get over this depression she was going through, and turn them all back to normal.
She feared for the other dolls. They didn’t get to listen to Twilight over tea. They didn’t realize how badly she was hurt, or how severe her mood swings were getting. It was only a matter of time until something truly horrible happened.
Lyra curled up on her bed. It was nearly as soft as her real bed. In the corner sat her lyre, and a pile of sugar cubes that Twilight had given her. The plastic window, dressers, and closet could all open. This replica room had enough to make her happy, why couldn’t Bon Bon see that it wasn’t so bad?
The door to the basement opened, and Lyra cringed. She pulled the bedsheet over her head and began to tremble.
***************************************************************
Twilight was smiling widely as she swung the basement door open with her Big Mac plushy in tow. About half of her new friends had been co-operating, and she had continued to feel happier every day this week. It was the other half, the ones always hiding from her and refusing to play, that were stressing her out.
Now, she saw almost every citizen of New Ponyville swarming around Town Hall and the nearby buildings. She gasped when she realized they had completely demolished that section of the replica. Twilight had spent a week getting every single detail perfect, down to the knots in the wooden flooring.
“How could you!” Twilight screamed.
The miniature ponies all looked up at their captor. Her horn was glowing, and her wings were spread out in mid flight. She landed directly in front of them in town square.
“You’ll pay for this!” she bellowed down at them.
Bon Bon stared up at the vicious looking alicorn, unafraid of her bluff. “Or what? You’ll throw all your friends away? You need us! You keep trying to make us happy, to make us love you, well it’ll never happen!”
“I. . .no! I’m your princess, I demand you show me more respect, especially you Bon Bon!”
“Ha!” she mocked. “You promised your precious Lyra not to hurt me.”
“Leave her out of this! She’s the nicest pony here. I spent days on each of your houses, you should be grateful!” Twilight glanced around. All the dolls were watching the exchange. Even Lyra was peaking out from her house in the distance.
“No, I’ve been trapped in this hell for a week.” Bon Bon advanced towards Twilight with a feral grin. She could feel the argument turning in her favor in front of everypony. “You can freeze us, lock us up, or capture a hundred more ponies. We’ll never be your friends, and you are too big of a coward to hurt us! You need us more than we need you!”
Twilight slowly took a step back before something clicked in her mind. She knew what she had to do. “I’ll throw you away, Bon Bon! I’ll only keep the happy ponies!”
“Keep backing up, coward. You wouldn’t dare kill any of us, you wouldn’t dare throw us away! Cadance and Shining chose to leave you, they hated you, and you can’t afford to lose us to—”
“Bonnie, stop!” Lyra called. She had left her house and ran to the circle of the crowd watching the argument.
“No, Lyra. We have rights! She won’t even negotiate, she just flies off the handle and runs away when we upset her.”
“That’s a lie!” Twilight’s wings started twitching, and a vein on her forehead began to pulse. “I will punish you! I only want nice ponies as my friends!”
Bon Bon laughed, pushing Lyra out of the way as her roommate tried to stop her before she said something they’d both regret. “What like you ‘punished’ Vinyl and fixed her right back up afterwards? Either let us go or kill us, but you’re too big a coward to do either!”
“That’s not true!” Twilight screamed. Her horn flared to life, bathing the town in a purple glow. All the ponies were knocked over and frozen. Twilight grabbed her friend Lyra and fled the basement. As she fled, she animated Lyra and almost tripped on the plushy of Big Mac.
“Twilight?” Lyra gasped. “Whoa!”
Once at the top of the stairs, Twilight sat down with her back to the wall.
“Twilight, are you okay?” Lyra already knew the answer. She had heard the argument that occurred in town square. If only Bon Bon had listened.
“N-no,” Twilight cried. “I f-feel so e-e-empty. I worked s-so hard to get lots of friends a-as fast as I c-could. I didn’t want to b-be lonely anymore. I didn’t want y-you to be lonely either.”
Lyra climbed up onto her knee as the mare cried. “Twilight, its okay. They’re just having trouble adjusting, I bet they would all love to be your friends but they’re scared.”
“Scared?” Twilight’s teary eyes were replaced by a grimace full of rage. “Why would they be scared! I worked so hard to bring them here, I made every single house perfectly! No, if they want to be scared I’ll give them a reason to be scared.”
“Twilight. . . what do you mean?” Lyra looked up to meet her gaze.
“Pain. My early studies showed it to be the best motivator, I’m just going to have stop being so nice. If they don’t want to be my friends, I’ll release them!” Twilight chuckled as she realized she had no choice but to call Bon Bon’s bluff. “After I’ve killed a few, I bet the others will be extra nice to me.”
“No, Twilight, you don’t want to do that!” Lyra begged, trying her best to hug the mare’s foreleg and comfort her.
“I have to, otherwise everpony will know Bon Bon is right. I just have to pick one of them that isn't my friend, isn’t happy. . . and kill them.” A wide grin spread across Twilight’s face as a twinkle appeared in her eye.
“No, please. Just—lock them up or something! You don’t have to kill one!”
“Yes, I do, Lyra. If I don’t, they won’t be my friends. If I don’t have friends who are there for me, I’ll end up like Cadance.” Twilight’s smile turned to a frown and she seemed to be on the path to another fit of tears.
Lyra hoped she could keep Twilight’s mind off of inflicting revenge by discussing Cadance. “Twilight what do you mean? I know how Shining died, but Celestia wouldn’t say much about exactly how Cadance did. . .”
“That’s easy,” Twilight cackled. “She couldn’t stand the loss of her husband. I had gone to visit her, you see, and I found her in their bathroom. At first I thought she was sleeping. I walked in and noticed all the wine bottles. She either liked the vintage, or wanted the alcohol to thin her blood.
“I broke into the bathroom, where I found her. She was floating in a pool of her own blood, dead. I was paralyzed. I had to stand there and stare at her. Then I ran. I couldn’t even bring myself to tell Celestia. I ran and hid in my room, and that’s exactly where she found me once a guard reported Cadance’s death.”
Lyra gasped and fell off Twilight’s knee making a soft thud on the wooden stairs. After a week, she was still surprised at the issues that her captor was trying to work through. All Lyra knew for certain, was that she was likely the only thing standing between Twilight and a total breakdown. She struggled to think of someway to de-escalate this situation, but nothing in her life had prepared her for this.
“I’m not going to let the same thoughts get me. I’m not going to ever get that lonely! Once I’m done, they’ll have to be my friends, you’ll see!” Twilight stood up and started to head back towards the basement.
“Twilight, wait!” Lyra screamed.
A loud knock on the door interrupted Twilight. Before she reached the front door, a stallion had walked in. Twilight glanced at the door leading down to the basement. She couldn’t see Lyra, who had already hidden. Twilight turned to address the visitor with only one thing on her mind.
“Filthy, Diamond, what brings you two here? I’m busy and not in the mood for any more propositions, save it for the city council,” Twilight smirked.
“Really, Twilight, must a Princess be so rude? I thought as Celestia’s pupil at least some of her manners would rub off on you,” Filthy Rich replied.
Lyra peeked out from behind the book. She could see the muscles in Twilight’s legs tensing, and her tail flicking around quickly left and right.
“Apologies,” Twilight lied. “You’re right, I should get you two some tea. Excuse me, while I get started. Please, make yourself comfortable.”
Lyra watched as she trotted into the kitchen ever so gracefully, leaving Filthy and Diamond sitting at the coffee table.
This was her chance, Lyra could tell them to run. Would the punishment be worth saving one life? She had seen how upset Twilight had gotten and knew exactly what was going into his tea. She knew exactly what her captor planned for him. ”I just have to pick one of them that isn't my friend. . . and kill them.” A chill ran down Lyra’s spine, surprising her. Before she could decide what to do, Twilight came back out.
“So, Filthy, to what do I owe the honor?” Twilight asked. Lyra could see her wings twitch as she tricked the stallion.
“Well, me and Diamond are moving out of Ponyville. Several of our renters have gone missing and it’s no longer profitable. Fifteen of them, to be exact, this week alone. Don’t you find that odd?” Filthy asked.
“Odd? You were probably overcharging them.”
“Well, if I were prince of this town and I had buildings blowing up left and right, I would be ashamed of myself. It’s your fault they’re leaving, you’ve done a horrible job.”
“Really, Filthy, you wound me.” Even from a distance Lyra could make out a vein popping out on her forehead. Could Filthy really not notice he was playing with fire?
“Yes, I do not hold it against you though. In fact, I had only one simple dealing to conclude with you and I’ll be on my way.”
The kettle began to whistle and Twilight went to fetch it. She returned and poured him a cup of tea.
“Twilight, fetch me tea.” Diamond demanded. “It would only be proper.”
FIlthy nodded. “Grab her a cup now, Twilight.”
“Yes, serve me tea.” Diamond repeated, a wide grin on her face.
Lyra couldn’t see it, but could imagine a smile on Twilight’s face hiding a sea of rage.
“Here you go, Diamond,” Twilight cooed. “Tea for you and your wonderful father.”
“Thank you,” Filthy replied. The ponies began sipping tea from their cups. “Now, to the matter at hand.”
“Yes, please hurry, you don’t have much time.”
“Huh? Oh yes, we have a train to catch. Well, I reviewed city ordinance and according to the city codes, you were supposed to pay rent to live in the library. You owe me three years back rent.”
Twilight chuckled softly as she sipped her tea. “How is the tea? I don’t suppose it could shave any bits off what I assume is a ridiculous bill?”
“The tea is quite bland, actually. And the ‘bill’ is for twenty thousand bits,” Filthy stated.
Twilight looked between him and Diamond who had nearly finished their tea. She smiled, knowing the charade could end now. They had less than a minute of useable oxygen left.
“Twenty thousand! Whatever shall I do?” Twilight burst out in a fit of laughter, rolling around on the floor with her wings outstretched.
Filthy gasped, not believing the delirious fit of laughter he was witnessing. “Dear Celestia, are you alright Ms. Sparkle?”
“Da—Daddy?” Diamond coughed. She dropped the tea cup and it shattered. She sat on the floor choking.
Lyra watched as Filthy examined his daughter. She was laying on her side and kicking her legs wildly, stretching her neck out and forcing as much air into her lungs as she could. A horrible combination of coughing, choking, and sheer confusion muffled her screaming.
“Diamond! What’s wrong?” He continued to look his daughter over.
“What’s wrong? You’re attitude!” Twilight screamed between laughs. “Oh, it’s so easy! If everypony is this stupid I’ll be done in no time! I can even prove Bon Bon wrong!”
Filthy looked from his daughter, who was on her side gasping for air like a fish, to Twilight. “What did you do to her!” He yelled. “Wha—Bon Bon?—What did yo—you. . .evil slu—”
Twilight regained her composure and stood up. “You can come out now, Lyra.” Twilight looked around and didn’t see her. “Fine, don’t come out. Wouldn’t want to spoil the best part anyway.”
Lyra saw Twilight standing over the two ponies. They both lay on their sides clutching their throats and writhing in agony. They were breathing large, rapid breaths, and yet they still appeared to be suffocating.
“You’re probably wondering what was in the tea. It’s only fair I tell you, after all, you won’t be with us much longer. It was cyanide. Quite a lovely poison, fast acting, debilitating. I’ll definitely have to use it more often.
“You see, those fifteen renters of yours were turned into dolls, by me. Ungrateful, spoiled little brats just like your daughter. I built a perfect replica of Ponyville, each one got their own dollhouse, and how do they thank me? They tear it down.
“They are good ponies who are doing evil things, whereas you are just an evil pony. You, and your daughter. I’ve heard all about what she does to the crusaders.I can’t make everypony happy if there are mean ponies, like you two, making them sad.”
Filthy looked at his daughter and reached out, squeezing her hoof. Her eyes had rolled back into her head and her lips were blue. She had stopped breathing. He turned his gaze back to Twilight. His lungs were on fire, yet he could easily breath. It was getting so hard to focus, so hard to move, and his heart protested each painful beat.
“Cyanide,” Twilight explained. She circled around the two asphyxiating ponies. “It blocks the hemoglobin in your blood, which is what allows you to carry oxygen. Just a little dose and instantly, your blood becomes tainted. It spreads, and you suffocate from the inside out. Take as many breaths as you want, it’s too late now.
“You’re not worthy, but you’re in luck. I know just what to do with you.”
Twilight fired up her horn, quickly covering Diamond in her magic. In seconds the unconscious pony had been turned into a miniature porcelain doll.
Just as Filthy’s vision started to fade he felt the icy spell spread over him too. He passed out for a brief moment before recovering, trapped in a plastic shell.
“Well then, I had hoped to avoid this but you are the first two ponies not worthy of my gift of eternal life. You will help me prove a point to all the disobedient ponies downstairs.”
Twilight went into the kitchen and came back out with an appliance. She carried it and the two new ponies in her grip. She walked towards the basement and called out. “Lyra, where are you?”
Lyra quietly walked out from behind her book. “Here,” she whispered. “What are you going to do? You’re not really goin—”
“I should have done this days ago.” Twilight’s rage faded, replaced by sorrow for a brief moment. “I want to tell you in advance, Lyra, I’m sorry.”
“For wha—” Lyra was cut off as she was frozen.
“You mentioned the other ponies pick on you, are jealous of you because you get to leave the basement. I’m going to show them you’re not above the rules. I bet this will make them trust you again, so they won’t be so mean to you anymore.”
Twilight grabbed her and carried her down to the basement. She opened and slammed the basement door behind her.
After plugging in the appliance, she set down Lyra, Filthy, and Diamond. She then collected the scattered ponies. Twilight levitated the dolls, and set them in a circle around the hot plate.
Big Mac was the last to be floated over. Just over twenty ponies surrounded the hot plate as it heated up. Twilight had evenly spaced them in a perfect circle around the plate.
“I’m very disappointed in all of you,” Twilight began. “After all the hard work to find out if you were worthy. After all the planning to ensure a smooth capture. I granted each and every one of you immortality just to be my friend!
“You were my friends before, why won’t you be my friends now? I’ll tell you why. It’s ponies like Bon Bon and Filthy, mean ponies who are poisoning the minds of others!
“I promised Lyra when she got here not to harm Bon Bon. Do all of you even realize how many times Lyra has begged me not to punish you? If it were not for her, I’d never have even let you stay animated overnight!
“This is how you repay Lyra, the one pony who is actually nice to me? You tear down the buildings I spent weeks building! This is how you repaid me who only wants us all to be happy? With insults and temper tantrums! I’m doing this all for you, for us!”
Filthy was surrounded in a purple aura and floated over the hot plate. He was held just inches above it.
“Not every pony is worthy to be here. From now on, if you don’t want to be my friend just say so!” she screamed. “I want friends, fun, bliss, not arrogant snobs!”
Filthy was set down on the hot plate, his plastic hooves melting to it instantly. A sizzling sound filled the air with acrid smoke. Everypony had been positioned around the hot plate so they could look nowhere except directly at him, Diamond included.
“Now, for the demonstration!” Twilight laughed maniacally.
Her horn glowed purple briefly, animating Filthy Rich who immediately screamed in pain. He rambled incoherently, alternating his shouts and his profanities. He tugged at his hooves sharply, trying to free them from being melted to the plate.
Twilight smiled as he had grown an inch shorter, the plastic pooling and sizzling on the hot plate. She started clapping her hooves at the spectacle.
“n-no!!” Filthy screamed. “margh—n-n-not D-diam—ond!”
“Oh, now you want to be nice to me?” Twilight asked. “Where were your manners when you were demanding twenty thousand bits? Or when your daughter ordered me to get tea?”
Twilight levitated the porcelain doll that was Diamond Tiara next to the hot plate, where Filthy could easily see her. Every pony in the town had a perfect view of the ceramic filly.
The melting stallion tried his best to stifle the screams and speak to his daughter. His legs had melted and the hot plate was causing smoke to rise from his abdomen. “Ti—Tiara—sorr—sorry. I lov—lov—”
Filthy was interrupted as Twilight slammed her hoof down on Diamond. She shattered into hundreds of pieces under the weight. Filthy screamed louder than a pony without lungs should be able to, his voice wrought with pain. Twilight brought her hoof down again and again, turning Diamond into dust.
Lyra watched in horror, wishing she could close her eyes. Questions raced through her mind: how could Twilight do this to them, To a filly? How could she make us all watch? Why would she freeze me? Lyra began to cry for the stallion who had only seconds to live. She raged against her prison, wanting to stop Twilight and look away.
Filthy had melted up to his neck now, forming a large circular puddle on the hot plate. Twilight flicked a switch on the side, turning the hot plate off. She used her magic to help it cool quickly.
Filthy lay there in the puddle, looking around with his head. He tried to speak, but only raspy moans escaped his lips. He was nothing but a talking head melted to a hot plate.
Around him sat the frozen residents of New Ponyville, who had nothing to do but to stare at the gasping head all night.
Lyra thought she could hear sobbing. It sounded like Twilight, but she couldn’t see. She was suddenly yanked into the air and watched the room spin around. Big Mac hovered up next to her as they left the basement.
Once Twilight reached her bed, Lyra felt movement return to her as she was set on the night stand. She immediately scrambled away from Twilight, falling off the nightstand.
Lyra was caught in a purple aura. She looked around for a place to hide once set down. Her eyes were wide and her plastic pupils dilated. She could not get the image of the innocent Diamond dying out of her mind. Even Filthy, for his faults, didn’t deserve that.
“L-lyra, I’m s-sorry. I had to prove Bon Bon was wrong! I h-had to!” Twilight stuttered.
Lyra didn’t feel like talking right now. She ignored the crying alicorn and continued to look around. She noticed the drawer of the night stand was cracked open. With a quick leap she dove through to hide in the drawer amongst a couple books and some quills.
“Please, talk to me? You’re still my friend right? You don’t hate me?” Twilight asked, her voice quivering. “Lyra don’t. . . Please. . .”
Twilight could hear a barely audible whimpering coming from inside the drawer. She felt an emptiness overwhelming her as the one doll that liked her hid. Twilight had done what needed to be done. Filthy needed to die. He was rude, and Bon Bon needed to be taught a lesson. Despite other pressing issues, her mind could only think about Lyra’s approval.
She got up and found a small blanket she had crafted and a pillow fit for a doll-sized pony. Twilight dropped the pillow into the open drawer of the nightstand. She hung the blanket half-way in. Once she saw Lyra pull the blanket inside, Twilight smiled weakly and climbed in her own bed.
She levitated Big Mac over to her. She enlarged the plushy of the farm-pony until it was just the right size to cuddle. Twilight squeezed it like a vice, sobbing into his mane. It was happening all over again. First her real friends, and now the dolls were abandoning her. Soon she would be alone, and then she would have no choice but to end it.
“I had to. . . I had to. . .” Twilight repeated the mantra softly into Big Mac’s ear.
A part of her resolved to try harder tomorrow. The rest of her mind was lost in despair as she wept into the mane of her favorite stallion.