//------------------------------// // 8. You never walk alone. // Story: The bride of sparkle // by the frank //------------------------------// 8. Twilight looked over the edge. There was no sight of her love anywhere. She turned around to face her former teacher and her former friends. Nopony said anything, and when Twilight finally broke the silence, her voice was totally emotionless. "You killed her" Celstia looked her student in the eye. She was worried, cause she saw nothing. No emotions, no crasiness, nothing. She could only hope that her neat and faithful student was still in there somewhere. And she also felt, that she didn't really need to ha a reason for her doings. "Twilight...it was necessary. She was a threath" Again silence. Twilight didn't even seem to listen. Her eyes were locked onto Celestia. And her voice had that same empty tone even this time. "You killed her. You killed my love. Now I am alone. Again. Why did you do this to me?" Celestia took a step back. This wasn't good. If sane Twilight was somewhere down there inside crazy Twilight it wouldn't be easy reach through... If she...tried to show interest then maybe she could reach through? Mad scientists seamed to be easier to deal with when you showed them proffessional interest. There was only one problem. The pony best equipped to do that type of talk was Twilight sparkle... "Twilight, please listen! It was really an impressive study! It is...really... an...extention of the knowledge about...ponys and...their lives...and..." "How?" "Sorry?" "How? In what way is it an extention of the knowledge about ponys and their lives? Is it the part about the measurement of electric amplitude in the sinoatrial node? Or the experiment on the recovery of transplated skin tissue from another host?" Now there was emotion in Twilights voice, but the emotions was superiority and contempt. "Please explain to me, oh great and powerful princess! What do you understand? The scientific profe of life? The process regaining activity in a recently inactivated hypothalamus? Cause believe me, you don't. None of you do. I am the only pony that has this knowledge! You don't understand a bucking THING! Because if you had, then you wouldn't have KILLED HER!" This was another real feeling, but to see a total lack of emotion change into a down right furious pony was no improvement. Twilights horn glow, and her mane started to burn. "Twilight, please! Listen to me! This was ..." "It was MY creation! MY love! You are not allowed to speak about it!" ""Twilight...she killed Zecora! She almost killed Applejack and Pound!" "She told me she was sorry! It was an accident!" They all looked at Twilight with sadness and a bit of disgust. She had to be taken into custody, which was painful enough for Celestia, but if this could be solved without any more violence it would be the best. She looked into Twilights eyes. They were almost completely black. But there was one last chance... If Celestia choosed the right words... "Well...say it was a accident! How long would it be before the next accident? She would be equally sorry, but that wouldn't help!" "So you decided that KILLING her was the best thing?" Celestia closed her eyes. There was nothing left to do but play the game to the end. She opened her eyes, raised her head, and spoke with the regal voice. "Twilight, her existence was an insult to life in equestria. She needed to be terminated." "You ...are calling... MY creation...MY Rainbow... an insult to life?" Twilight got more and more angry. She started to glow white. This had only happened once before, but her friends remembered it. Twilight really frigthened them now, even Celestia. Twilights fur was now glowing white, and her mane was burning flames. Her eyes looked like a well right down to tartarus. "If... she... was... anything, she was a CELEBRATION of life! HOW DARE YOU CALL HER A MONSTER? HOW DARE YOU! DIE, I TELL YOU! DIE, YOU FUCKING DICTATOR!" Twilight charged her horn with magic, and shot at Princess Celestia. She was fast, and she did hit her former teacher pretty bad, but when she prepared for the next blow, Pinkamena charged into her right side. However, though Twilight had fallen over, her magic and concentration was unbroken, and Pinkanmena soon found herself floating in the air, with a magical grip on ther troath that shut of all air. Rarity and Luna combined there forces in a single thrust against Twilight. It didn't hit, because Twilight dodged it, but she let go of Pinkamena. However, the short moment of distraction was enough for Celestia to regain all her power, and she charged her horn. Fluttershy saw this, and she started to fly around Twilight as another distraction and when Twilight finally got suspicious, it was to late. Even though she channeled all her power into a powerful blow, the combined forces of Luna, Celestia and Rarity was to much for her. Her defence broke down, and the final blow was bulls-eye. Twilight fell lifeless to the ground. Rarity, Pinkamena, Fluttershy, Celestia, Luna and Spike all formed a ring around the fallen Twilight Sparkle. None of them spoke, and most of them were crying. The Castle was burning thoroughly now, the explosion and the fight had destroyed the remaining towers and everything was now in flames. Celestia was the first to break the silence. "My faithful student....I did not lie to you before. Actually I am jealous. You searched for knowledge, and you did indeed gain a deeper knowledge than me. You have indeed given us a deeper understanding of the limits of life. Your work will not be in vain. But still..." She made a pregnant pause. "Still... what you did is...unforgiveable. You don't play with life like this. Your body will be taken to canterlot for cremation. I can not assume anypony in your family or in this community would wan't anything to do with you. And... "Then let me have her!" Everypone looked up. Who was that who dared to interupt the princess? Everpony turned around to see...the creature. She was, beyound all reason, still alive. She was burned, and bruised, but she was alive, and apparently very angry. "Give her to me. I can take care of her. I will give her... what she deserves." "Stand back, you monster! If you value your life, you..." Rarity lovered her horn, and it sparkled with magic, but she was interupted. The creature charged at her, struck her in the flank, and before anypony got the chance to react, she grabbed Twilight and flew away with her in the distance. "Where is it taking her?" Luna. "I don't know... I can't see..." "It flew into the castle!" Pinkamena was obeservant. "The castle...we must stop it!" They ran trough the burning castle, and the saw the creature standing in front of the gate into the main hall, where the fire was at its peak. It still carried Twilight, and it walked slowly, but determined towards the flaming gate. "Stop! Stop! RAINBOW, STOP!" Fluttershy called out. The creature halted. "What did you call me?" "Rainbow...Rainbow Dash...That's your name, is it not?" The creature seemed to think. "It was my name. Once. Not any more. I am not the Rainbow you remember. Perhaps I once hoped that I could become her once again. But it is impossible. I know that. And for your information...Twilight is not dead. At least not yet." "Put Twilight down, you freak! Or else..." That was Pinkamena. "Or else, what? You think you can scare me? With what? Magic? I'm still standing, in spite of your efforts. Punishment? I suffer, every moment I suffer the pain of being alive. You think you can do worse? Death? Don't you realize...I've seen death. I've been to the other side, and returned." The creature paused. The other ponies were silent. The words of the creature had to sank in. "I know death. And I prefered it. I have no fear, I know what awaits me. And I'm going back to it. I am going to my death, without fear." "We will let you die, but leave Twilight." "No. If you want to kill me, you are welcome. But then...you must kill her aswell" Again there was silence. This time, it was broken by Fluttershy. Her voice shivered with despair and crying over the creatures cruelty. "Why? Why do you want to do such a thing to her? What makes you think we could do that? Why do you hate her so much that..." "I do not hate her." The creature interupted Fluttershy. Then she looked at Twilight with eyes that were almost tearful. "...I love her." You could have heard the dropping of a pin in that moment. "Yes, I love her. That is the grandest thing I remember from my other existence. Her love for me. And her love has been the same towards me in my new existence. I do not wish her to go away." "But if...why are you going... into the fire?" "Didn't I say, I know death? Didn't I say that I know what's on the other side. It's a place where I and my love can be together. Forever. Where I can still be hers and she can be mine, and NOPONY can stand in our way!" The creature paused briefly, but continued before anypony could say anything else. "What can you give her here? Punishment? There is nothing in this world left for her. You have all abandoned her, followed her like a prey, treated her like a paria. I know. I've seen you, I heard your last words to her...Princess." The creatures words, especially her adressing Celestia drooled with bitterness and contempt. "...I know how it feels. I will take her to a place where nothing more can hurt her!" And with those words, The creature that once was Rainbow walked into the flames. Soon, they were absorbed by them. Pinkamena and Luna was on their way to run in after them, but the second after they had dissapeared into the flames, the walls fell in, and blocked the way. There was now no way in getting them out. All they could do was watch as the flames grew. ... Rainbow...is it you?" It is, my love. Have you come for me? I have. Promise you never leave me? I will never leave you. Do you see it? I see. It's beautiful. Is it for us? It is. I made it for us. Do you want to have a closer look at it? Yes. Yes, I want that. Then come with me. This is for only you and me, and I promise...it is forever. I love you, Rainbow Dash. And I love you, Twilight sparkle. .... Although their was an immediate gathering of the wonderbolts to create a rainstorm over the fire, there was nothing to do. The fire continued trough the night, and The bodies were found two days later. There was no skin, no hair and no flesh. Only two burnt skeletons lying under a cracked wall, but Rainbow had apparently held on tho Twilight into the very end. It sort of looked like a groom carrying a bride to a wedding.