Chapter 2: A Lust is Born
“Twilight....Twilight sweetie,” said the familiar voice of a mare.
The purple filly rolled slightly away from the noise already waking from her empty dreams. The carriage bumped noisily and pulled her out of the comforting grip of unworldly illusions.
Her eyes slid slowly open to the warm face of her mother smiling proudly at her. She smiled back allowing the memories of what was going on to seep back into her reality.
“We’re nearly there, Twilight,” her mother spoke again. “We’ll be arriving in just a few moments”
Twilight’s eyes studied her mother’s face, trying to read her expression. It was a look of worry badly disguised with a smile.
She turned to face out of the window; everything was grey other than the road which the carriage drove upon. The sickly sweet smell of baked goods drifted in as they drove passed the bakery. A large dark-grey pony stood in the doorway wearing a thick apron and a darker coloured hat low across his brow.
The carriage bumped vigorously several times and continued its slow pace down the road. A young colt lay by the side of the road. His eyes were devoid of all life and were just staring blankly through her as she gradually passed. Next to him an older mare was crying long black tears which fell onto his matted fur. She looked around helplessly calling to those around her but no sound came from her lips; only the sound was the steady movement of the carriage.
The carriage slowed down gradually as the road widened out into a larger network leading to the foot of a large set of stairs. At the centre of the stairway stood two well-built guards. A thick-coated stallion pulled the door open and invited them out of the carriage. Like everything else, his coat was a shade of grey.
Twilight looked up the set of stairs with a despondent look.At the top of those stairs was a task, she thought. A task to test her ability and prove whether she was worthy to enter the tutoring of royalty in magic. Her mother stepped out next, she glanced around looking at the suited pony.
“Where do we he-”
“All guests of the princess shall be escorted to their chamber awaiting the testing phase,” he spoke quickly and confidently.
One of the guards took a step forward and tilted his head up the stairway.
Twilight’s mother smiled back and began ascending the stairs, shortly after followed by her daughter.
The top of the stairs met with a long embellished room. Large decorated tapestries bearing the insignia of royalty hung down the sides of one wall. On the other were many large stained-glass windows, each showing a different story of triumph of good over evil . A thick gold rimmed rug lined the floor, floral patterns spread across it in some natural display of equality and peace.
Twilight stood in awe admiring the place. It was the most beautiful room she had laid eyes on, and despite it being of royalty she felt it outweighed even the rulers of the land and was more suited for a temple of gods.
The guard leaned closer to Twilight’s mother and whispered something into her ear. She nodded quickly.
Twilight failed to notice however, still captivated by the staggering beauty of the place. Twilight turned back to them, a large crescent smile spread from ear to ear as excitement grew inside her to adventure to the further recesses of the castle.
A pejorative look was the response she received from the guard, and her mother gave her the look which Twilight understood immediately. The look meant to maintain a sensible precept and to control her actions.
The guard turned to walk away, his heavy hoof fells were heard as he trudged back down the stairs. Twilight’s mother turned to face her, a warm glow radiated through her pleasant smile.
“Twilight sweetie, it’s just down the hallway, you see that big door?” She asked, pointing down the hallway with one hoof.
Twilight turned to the direction pointed. Roughly fifty metres down, a large purple door was visible at the back although she hadn’t noticed it before. The door, similar to the rug, had a rich golden trim with the deep purple standing behind. The thick golden trim flowed from the centre of the door next to the handles, spiralling out like a tempest of wealth catching the light with a shimmering radiance.
They both began to walk down the corridor, the exterior was devoid of colour similar to outside and only through looking through on of the large stained windows was it visible to be an angelic white with patches of grey looming over the courtyard.
The two progressed further down the hallway, both in a wordless discussion of fear and apprehension for what lay on the other side. The walk down the corridor unnerved Twilight. The insignia of royalty bore down on her, reminding her every step of the way that she was in the domain of a far greater power.
The magnificence of the door was only really apparent once they were closer. It had been encrusted with gems and even the handles of it were studded with the clearest cut sapphires. Twilight’s mother raised her hoof hesitantly to the knocker and gave two clear taps with it against the purple backing.
The two stood in silence for a moment. Either nothing was happening on the other side or the door was too thick to hear through. Twilight glanced back up to her mother, who was looking around for another form of getting their attention.
She approached the door again and placed her hoof on the knocker. The door was quickly pulled ajar and a blue corpulent head and neck shot out and began studying the two of them.
“You must be Ms Sparkle, I presume,” the voice was light and flowing as if that of a singer.
“Yes, I am,” responded Twilight’s mother.
The two of them advanced on the gap in the door which had been pulled wider, where upon the blue pony seemed to only see Twilight for the first time.
“Well hello, Twilight my dear” the voice sounded rich as before. Twilight opened her mouth to respond. “Excellent, excellent do come along, the test shall be beginning shortly.
Twilight walked through the door and glanced around the scenery. A large seating area was visible at one side of the room, on the highest row sat 6 smug looking ponies each with clipboard in hoof.
The stained glass windows had followed through into this room as well. Its light illuminating the polished floor with pristine white finish.
“I’m sorry, Ms Sparkle but only the subject may enter the testing room,” said the blue pony.
She nodded slowly and only her smile passed through the door before it was closed. Twilight glanced around nervously. A double door on the other side of the room opened and two brown coated stallions came through. They were pushing a cart which held a purple spotted egg.
When the cart came to a stop the two stallions walked away panting. The six judges began to stare down at her.
“Well then,” the blue pony spoke with ardour. “The test may begin immediately, all you have to do it cast a basic memory spell and awaken the dragon sleeping inside”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed on the egg. That’s all! She thought to herself. She approached the egg slowly and began to recite the incantation in her mind. It was a basic one, however the method of applying it to different creatures varies, and a bird differs from a dragon largely so some parts of the incantation had to be switched.
She tried several different combinations each one falling short on a single part of the spell. She mixed them around and tried to reword it many times over but each one lead her further astray from the spells intended purpose.
She looked up at the judges; some were already shaking their heads and were likely writing scores for her failure. Taking a deep breath, she decided to take one last attempt. This spell wasn’t designed to be a memory spell however if harnessed in the right way, it could use her her applied knowledge of dragons through literature and use it to awaken the dragon this way.
She focused hard on these words, extracting personal experience and applying it to a spell was difficult without practice. Such practice she had only had a hoof-full of times Once she was happy with the wording, she swallowed all fear of failure as, even if she messed this up, she had achieved being noticed by the royal academy.
Her horn shone brightly and a magenta light surrounded the egg, it rocked violently and cracks appeared however Twilight didn’t notice, her eyes were tight shut in reciting the incantation.
After a loud crack she opened her eyes and stopped the spell. The blue pony was standing next to the cart with a look of shock on his face. Twilight ran over in excitement but was held back by one of the judges who had come down.
“What spell did you use?” he asked in a very firm voice.
“An applied memory spell,” she said hesitantly.
He shook his head and let her passed; she slowly approached the cart and peered inside. The purple dragon had hatched however wasn’t moving.
“He’s a still born,” said the blue pony comfortingly. “It’s not your fault, Twilight.”
She didn’t hear him. She only saw his eyes.
His eyes screamed belligerency as they stared in her direction. he fell backward onto the floor, and scanned the expression on everyponies face, a look of dis-contempt, even hatred toward her, for killing a baby dragon. Her breathing sped up quickly.
Getting up she walked toward the window and looked outside. Her breath quivered as she shook violently. I’m not meant to be here she thought.
* * *
She awoke with a start. Restraints prevented any further movement more than the panting for breath.
Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light, a large steel table was visible on the far end of the room only so because it caught the dim light hanging in the centre of the room. A waft of candy floss caught her attention, she inhaled its pleasant aroma and she smelled another unknown smell but paid no attention to it.
The candy floss meant one of two things Twilight realised. One, there was a candy floss maker in the room. Two, Pinkie was close by.
She inhaled deeply. “Pinkie...” She said quietly. Only the steady sound of dripping was heard. She shouted louder this time, “Pink-” a searing pain shot across her side cutting her shouts abruptly.
A pink figure moved from a corner of the room and rapidly sped toward her. Twilight followed it with her eyes; it darted radically, making small jumps from shadows advancing on her.
Twilight coughed and felt her side flair up once again she grimaced at the pain. Looking around quickly she realised that she could no longer see the pink figure. The sweet aroma was stronger than before. The light rocked gently from side to side illuminating various parts of the room however leaving others in total darkness.
A breath ran through Twilight’s mane from behind, she quivered as Goosebumps spread down her neck. She tried to turn her head but the brace held firm. Another breath went passed her again, this time next to her ear, the heat of a body could be felt all down her back.
“Try not to breath too heavily now Twi,” the voice said from behind her. It was definitely Pinkies however it was different, it spoke slower, clearer and in a more seductive tone. “You broke your rib during the fight if you recall”
Flashes of memory lanced through Twilight’s mind, recalling the most recent events, the breaking in, Spike, the fight and no more after confronting the brown Pegasus.
The memories poured in and rectified most of her confusion.
Pinkie walked round to the front of her, her fur was subsequently darker than usual and her mane was straight and hung down over her shoulders. Twilight stared in her direction studying her new form. Large blood smears were traceable running across her fore hooves and on her chest, but her eyes were the most changed. They expressed the deepest desire for hatred, a lust for answers and a struggle in of themselves. She looked like a different pony, and if the eyes were anything to go by, she was.
She moved quickly and placed a hoof over Twilight’s side, she inhaled sharply at the sudden application of pressure.
“You’ve broken two ribs and from what I can tell, you also have a mild concussion,” she spoke in that tone once again.
Twilight studied her, she felt as if Pinkie was a brand new. A completely rewritten mind place into the body of a friend she once thought she understood. The thought scared her, how little she actually knew somepony.
Pinkie looked up into Twilight’s eyes.
Keeping her voice low Twilight spoke quietly, “why do I have to be in these restraints?” she asked, pulling on the ones on her fore hooves.
Pinkie shook her head as if day dreaming, “just a precautionary measure, I wasn’t sure of the extent of your head trauma so I wasn’t sure about taking any chance.” She began untying the braces, her quick hooves moving nimbly from each one to the next.
Twilight moved out of the vice like grip of the metal structure slowly, testing how far she could manoeuvre to each side before the familiar pain spread over her side. The floor felt icy cold against her hooves as she stood on the stone slabs, only then did she feel the chill in the air.
“We’re in the basement of Sugarcube Corner,” said Pinkie, noticing the movement of her eyes, “I’m sorry about Spike”
She nodded in response. This was the first time she really considered the event since waking, the companion she had grown to love and care for like a sibling was now gone, forever. She felt saddened but by no means was unable to carry on. Her she thought back to the brown pegasus, in mind, relieving the moment he was taken from her. She shuddered as she remembered his final expression.
“Scum like him deserve to die,” said Twilight meaningfully. Pinkie nodded knowing who she meant.
“ I saw what you did to his companion,” Pinkie said, tapping her hoof against the floor. “You’re a murderer now Twilight, your no different from him”
Twilight looked down at the ground, a frown emerged across her brow. “ I killed to avenge him,” she said sullenly.
“But even then you didn’t succeed,” Pinkie moved to Twilight’s side. “Would you like to?” she asked. “Would you like to avenge your beloved dragon?”
Twilight raised her head and faced Pinkie’s, the light caught her eyes and made them shine brightly, her pupils dilated massively to mere pinpricks as a deep smile spread across her face. That look scared her, it was unpredictable to Pinkie’s nature however for once she was afraid of what her friend was thinking, a party popper or shouting of surprise but due to the new unearthing in her psyche the possibilities of what she was thinking were terrifying.
Pinkie leaned in quickly and kissed her on the lips, Twilight’s eyes widened and she felt a hot blushing flare up on her cheeks. She closed her eyes and went with it, allowing herself to be under the influence of that insane mare.
Pinkie broke of the kiss abruptly breathing lightly, “how about we avenge him together?” She said, refusing to make eye contact.
“Alright,” Twilight spoke quietly. “But I want you by my side.”
“I’ll be next to you but his blood is yours to take.” Pinkie began staring into one of the darkened corners of the room.
Twilight turned to see what she was facing; she squinted and stared into the darkness. At first she could see nothing. There were too many shadows. She stared there for perhaps three seconds, sorting through shapes and forms set deep in the dark. Something was moving in there...maybe...no. She frowned, concentrating, and a single white flash lurched in her eyes.
Twilight recoiled, and it was now, with her eyes scrunched shut and temples throbbing, that her became visible. The larger light in the centre of the room flicker on, the form in the corner became entirely visible.
The brown pegasus was tied up, thick leather braces over this legs and fore hooves, his wings moved around freely however. He had a thick gag tied tightly across his mouth, it dug deeply into his cheeks and droplets of saliva gathered running down them. His eyes darted widely around the room, he was clearly afraid and for good reason. If he hadn’t already realised, there was a set of blood-stained surgical tools next to him and the floor next to his feet was stained in a crimson red mist.
Pinkie walked toward his trembling stature, she walked slowly and menacingly with each step purposefully loud. Twilight admired her confidence in this; she’s clearly done it before she thought. She began to walk toward him as well, trying to copy what Pinkie had however slower and quieter.
Pinkie leaned in close to him, staring straight into his eyes. “Was it all worth it?” She asked. “Was killing an innocent worth what I’m about to do to you?” The same deep smile spread across her face.
She loosened the gag by his mouth and picked up one of the smaller scalpels. His breathing sped up as she held it in front of his face, his eyes focused upon the tool which would soon penetrate his flesh.
Still smiling, he pressed it against his chest- but not enough to puncture his skin- his entire body tensed in apprehension for the first cut. “It’s awful how death can come as a surprise,” with that she picked up a second scalpel and stabbed it firmly into his leg. He let out a moan of pain as blood ran down from the wound.
Twilight picked up the other scalper and took Pinkies place in front of him, “It’s even worse when it takes those closest to you,” she ran the knife across his chest. It wasn’t deep but a line of blood poured down his abdomen. His breath quivered as the numbing pain spread across his body.
Pinkie cut the gag over his mouth, slightly slicing part of his cheek in the process.
“You’re Red-Mane,” his voice sounded weak and rough from the gag. Pinkie cocked her head to one side.
“Tell me of this, Red-Mane” she twiddled the scalpel between her hooves.
“You’re a killer, the killer of travellers from the east-,” he coughed dryly. “You kill those regularly,” his voice broke toward the end.
Pinkie turned around and swore to herself, she wasn’t completely anonymous after all she thought. She whispered into Twilight’s ear before heading toward the stairs. “I’ve got a call to make,” her voice rang through the basement. A door banged loudly and silence filled the room. Twilight closed her eyes and listened to his ragged breathing.
“What you going to’ do?” he asked, worry in his voice.
She turned to face him, a dark smile spread across her face. “When I kill you, and you're breathing out your last,” his breathing sped up considerably and his eyes widened in terror. “I want you to remember my face.”
She picked up one of the larger knifes and held it to his neck, his eyes grew wet as he stared down on her. She hesitated, I’m no better than him if I do this she thought. I’m just killing for personal gain just as he was. Her hoof quivered slightly. She looked up into his eyes.
“But I know what you are,” she ran the blade through his neck, “You never knew him.”
Gargles of fading life were heard as like a perpetual phase, more blood coated the floor. She stared at his eyes; they grew glassy as few tears rolled down his cheeks. His final expression was of pain and misery.
“I did this for you Spike,” her voice trembled, “always for you.”
She dropped to one knee and stared down at the floor. The steady dripping of blood made a small pool in front of her; small splashes hit her hooves coating them in ichor. I’m a murderer now she thought. I’m a fugitive, a criminal... She raised her head and looked up into the eyes of the brown pegasus as a dark smile covered her bloodied face.
...and I’ve never felt better.