"Well, well, looks like you've beaten Celestia!" Discord chuckled. "Thanks for doing my dirty work for me! Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking that amulet back."
"Sorry, Discord, no can do. You gave this to me so it belongs to me now. You cannot have it back," I stated flatly.
His visage darkened considerably as he narrowed his jaundiced eyes to slits at me. "You would do well not to anger me, little Twilight. You have no idea how powerful I truly am -- and I can guarantee you will regret crossing me," he growled menacingly.
"So the 'God of Chaos' sees fit to threaten me?" I asked in a mocking tone of voice. "You can have this amulet back -- when you pry it off my cold dead body!"
"Don't tempt me like that, you stupid filly! If you do not understand just how powerful I am, I shall demonstrate for you!" the dragonequus snarled, waving his lion paw at me in an attempt to turn me into a statue. The amulet flashed red, as did my eyes at his attempt. It felt as though the amulet absorbed his magic attack against me, adding to my reserves. I could feel the additional power flowing through me. I raised an eyebrow at this and gave a slight smirk. The idea came to me to see about making him angrier.
"You're a miserable old fool who doesn't know when to quit," I chuckled. "You would do well to return to whatever hole it was you crawled out of and allow me to retain possession of this trinket," I stated flatly.
"I was just testing you, Twilight! Now the fun begins!" he laughed. He waved his paw at me again and was stunned to see the amulet and my eyes flash a much brighter red than before. "Wait, what?" he asked dumbfoundedly.
"You're adding to my power reserves, Discord! Thank you so much!" I chuckled as the additional magic energy pulsated through my body, transforming it. My coat of fur changed to a chalky white, my mane and tail appeared to change into living flame, billowing a bright yellow and orange with red at the very edges of them. My eyes changed to a solid red and mystic energy seemed to seep from my eyes in a bright red mist. I gave Discord my best evil grin, which caused him to frown in concern.
Just as quickly as the frown came to his face, he grinned for some strange reason. He waved his paw at me again, causing the amulet to absorb another attack. I felt my body transforming again, now getting larger and taller. I witnessed him cast more magic at me, making me larger still as my body tried to contain the massive influx of energy. I realized I needed to expend some of it, so I concentrated a substantial amount of magic into my horn and released it as a tight beam into the sky. I paid no attention to where I released the magic as I was more concerned about absorbing too much too quickly. I had to admit, all that power flowing through me made me feel invincible and I laughed almost maniacally at him. He continued to stand his ground, grinning at me. When he saw me release that beam of magic, he started chuckling.
"You probably don't know what you just did, do you?" he asked, a smug smirk on his face.
"Tell me, 'God of Chaos', what DID I just do?" I asked, contempt dripping from my words. I was staring down at him, my body felt like it was 25 feet tall.
"That beam of magic you just shot out -- I'll bet you're wondering where it went, aren't you?" His smile widened. "I'm not going to tell you, you'll have to find out for yourself. Trust me, you won't have to wait long! Ta ta!" he laughed and disappeared.
The object of my fury left, and allowed me to cool down, returning to my original form as Twilight. I was still wearing the amulet, but I didn't pay it any mind. The words of the dragonequus still rang in my ears, leaving me to wonder just what he had meant. A few moments later, a brilliant flash of light, brighter than any light I had ever seen, lit up the sky like a thousand magnesium flares being simultaneously ignited. I was blinded instantly by this, and unable to see, stumbled around aimlessly for a few moments, having been completely disoriented. I tried to focus magic to possibly be able to see what was going on, but to no avail.
The next thing I heard was an extremely loud rumbling noise, causing me to wonder if I had set off a chain reaction of nuclear bombs. The sound was deafening, further disorienting me. In a panic, I decided to teleport away from the planet as the next thing that happened made me feel like my skin was on fire. I teleported to Equestria, the amulet flashing a bright red as I did so, and ended up in front of Twilight's tree. My fur and hair had been completely singed off and I found it extremely painful and difficult to breathe. I was blind and deaf, so I didn't notice or hear Twilight exit the Library and gaze at me in total shock.
"Oh my Celestia, what happened to you?" she asked. I couldn't hear her, so my silence confused her.
"Help -- me," I rasped, not knowing whether anyone or anypony had heard me.
Twilight recognized the voice -- well, somewhat anyway -- and got Spike to send a letter to the Princess. She teleported to our location immediately and took stock of the sight of me. A look of deep concern traced her features and she used her magic to heal me, to some degree. I was able to see and hear again, but my breathing was still somewhat labored. My voice was quite raspy.
"Princess -- Celestia -- I -- need -- water," I husked. Water was immediately teleported to me, a bucket of which was dumped on me and a glass of it was poured down my throat, causing me to cough violently until I was able to catch my breath. "Thanks -- *cough* *cough* -- Thank you -- Princess -- Celestia." I coughed again.
"So, who might you be, my little pony?" she asked, concern still masking her features.
"Got the -- bad end -- of a fight -- with -- Discord," I stated, still gasping a little for breath.
"Princess, this pony wears the Alicorn Amulet!" Twilight gasped. "The only pony I know who had it was Trixie!"
"Are you Trixie?" asked the Alicorn.
"No," I replied. I coughed a few more times.
"If you're not Trixie, where did you get that amulet?" the Alicorn asked, her tone a bit more impatient.
"Discord gave it -- to me -- but he -- wanted it back -- and I -- refused -- to -- give it -- back," I rasped.
"So he attacked you, causing you these injuries. That doesn't seem like him -- he usually uses psychological or magic attacks, not physical ones," Celestia mused.
"He used -- magic against -- me -- but I -- absorbed too much," I offered.
"Hmm. He fed you too much magic, which your amulet absorbed and transferred into you. So excessive absorption caused these injuries to you?" asked the Alicorn, her curiosity leading her down a dangerous path.
"No," I replied flatly. "I released a -- large amount -- of magic -- but I don't know -- where it went -- then a -- little while -- later -- a big flash -- of light -- blinded me -- then a loud noise -- made me -- lose my hearing -- and then -- I felt my skin -- on fire -- so I -- came here -- for help," I explained, my breath starting to fail me at this point. "Help me -- I'm dying."
The Solar Princess took a moment to contemplate what I had related to her. Her concern seemed to deepen, but I saw her visage darken somewhat as her frown deepened.
"I seem to recall Twilight telling me that a certain pony traveled here not too terribly long ago. She wore an amulet similar to the one you have. You have told me you got into a fight with Discord and also claim to have been given that amulet by him. Twilight told me that her visitor, who looked like Trixie at the time, was at one time in a copy of my student's body. I recall a much earlier visit from a pony who looked an awful lot like Twilight, but had a red streak in her hair where my student's is pink. You must be from the human homeworld of Earth, but if what you tell me about what just happened before you left is true, I believe you may very well have destroyed not only your homeworld, but your Sun as well. I most certainly hope that is not the case, but I do not have any way of verifying whether or not you have a home to return to."
I gasped for breath, unable to speak. I tried to cough, but a little bit of blood spit from my lips. Twilight was aghast at the sight.
"Princess, please help this pony! I can't bear to watch a pony die before my eyes!" the librarian exclaimed.
Reluctantly, Celestia lit her horn and used a little more healing magic on me. I could feel my lungs stop burning and I seemed to be able to breath a bit more easily. "Please keep in mind, whomever you are, that I do this not for your benefit but for mine. I am still reserving judgment on you, as I need you to perform one act of magic for me. I need for you to use that amulet and your magic to create a portal window to your homeworld so that I may see for myself what damage has occurred."
"Yes, your Majesty," I stated and hung my head. I was still without my hair, but at this point, I figured it probably didn't matter. My amulet flashed red as did my eyes as I cast the portal window to Earth. What lay before our eyes brought a gasp from Twilight and Celestia and tears to mine. The Earth had been reduced to a burnt husk of a dead planet -- no water, no ice caps, nothing.
"Did you destroy your Sun?" the Alicorn asked harshly.
I changed the location of the portal window, trying to locate where the Earth's Sun should be. I was unable to locate it. "Your Majesty, I don't know where it is -- I do not see it anywhere," I stated flatly.
"Very well then, little pony. I don't know your name, but considering what you have done, that matter is unimportant. I request you remove that amulet immediately and allow me to retain possession of it."
I complied with her request, removing the amulet and hoofing it to her. "Your Majesty, I understand the severity of my crime, but I request leniency and mercy," I said meekly, prostrating myself before her. I knew I was in for the ultimate punishment.
"Ordinarily, I would be tempted to show mercy upon you, little pony -- but your crimes are far too severe for any leniency or mercy. I am afraid I must pass a judgment upon you that requires your execution," the Alicorn stated solemnly.
"Please, Princess -- please spare him or her! I cannot bear to think that you would sentence this pony to death despite whatever it is he or she has done! I thought we were above the "eye for an eye" method of administering justice!" Twilight begged. "I wish to learn more about this pony -- if nothing else, why not sentence him or her to spend the rest of his or her life behind bars -- at least this pony will still be alive and I can learn all there is that he or she knows!"
"Twilight, if you weren't my faithful student, I would reprimand you for such a request. However, I feel that you are essentially correct. Taking a pony's life diminishes us all and would serve no useful purpose. Tell me, my little pony, what is the name you wish to go by?"
"My human name is Michael Walker," I replied flatly. "I would like to give you my deepest gratitude for sparing my life."
"Michael, I will try to visit whenever I can. I feel that you have a wealth of information and I would like to spend as much time as possible getting to know everything you know," the librarian said softly.
"Twilight, I will try to comply to the best of my ability. I am deeply sorry for what I have done, but I had no idea Discord would choose to do what he did. It was never my intention to cause my Sun to go nova," I said sadly.
"That's enough pleasantries for now, Michael. You are to accompany me to my dungeon, where you will spend the rest of your life. Your horn will be surgically removed so you will lose your ability to use magic, though if enough time passes and I feel confident enough in you, I shall allow for the restoration of your magic. You are to relate to my faithful student everything you know about your homeworld and yourself. You will be treated fairly, but do not expect to become part of our society. May Faust have mercy on your soul," the Sun Goddess stated, a deep sadness tinging her words.
I felt my body being lifted by Celestia's golden aura, then was teleported to her dungeon, placed into a cell and shackled to the wall. This was going to be an uncomfortable incarceration, but I was willing to accept it. Twilight would visit every once in awhile and ask lots of questions. She wanted me to write things down for her, but without my magic, I couldn't do it. Being shackled to the wall also prevented me from using my hooves to write things down, so I was relegated to using my mouth to do that. It was extremely time consuming, but I was able to eventually teach Twilight the alphabet to my language.
Many years passed and Twilight eventually stopped visiting me, having satisfied her thirst for my knowledge. My body had begun to deteriorate, given the circumstances of my surroundings. My world had become the cell I was locked in, my mind having receded into the depths of madness. My speech had regressed to basic grunts, groans, cries, and screams of pain, anguish, hopelessness and despair. It was on one such day that Princess Celestia came to visit me.
"Michael, how long has it been?" she asked, smiling warmly at me.
"AAAAAHHH!! UNGH!! AAAAAHH!" I replied. I had lost my ability to talk coherently, my mind a jumbled mess of pain and sadness.
"Here, let me help you," she said softly. I felt my body being enveloped by her golden aura once again, but it didn't feel warm -- in fact, it felt cold as ice.
"AAAAH! AAAUUUGH! WAAH!" I protested, pain coursing through my body like never before. Tears started streaming from my eyes.
"Not much longer now, Michael. I do this for your own good. You go to a better place now, you have suffered long enough," she said softly as her magic took the last of my life force away.
"AAAUUUUGGH! Ungh ..." I wailed as I took my last breath. My body convulsed a few more times, the pain wracking my body causing my muscles to spasm and jerk irregularly. After a couple of moments of this action, my body fell limp, still shackled to the wall. The Alicorn used her magic to unshackle my body, then she teleported to her throne room with my lifeless body. She called upon two of her Royal Guard unicorns to take my body and dispose of it in the most expedient manner possible, which meant having it incinerated.
"Rest easy, Michael, one day you will thank me for what I have done," Celestia said silently to herself.
FIN