//------------------------------// // Confrontation // Story: Twilight's Rage // by Biker_Dash //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle sat at an old table within the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters within the Everfree Forest. Before her was a pile of random books she had grabbed from the shelves the other day when she had arrived from the ruined battlefield. She had arrived here alone, and she desired it this way. She had her books, and if she should become hungry, she could easily find food within the forest if need be. It was to her annoyance that a visitor showed up. “Why are you here, Zecora?” she asked without looking up from her reading. “Your powers of observation shine so bright, that you would discover me so quick, my dear Twilight. I wish I could bring better tidings to you this day, but I must deliver a message of those who will parley,” Zecora replied, stepping into the room. “Again, why are you here? I do not wish to be disturbed.” Twilight already had a good guess on the reason for the Zebra’s visit. Zecora would know about all that happened yesterday, including just how much was lost. Given that, she would not come to the castle ruins unless she had been asked to do so, and the only ones who would be looking for her at the moment would be the other three princesses. Twilight guessed that Celestia had sent a messenger to Ponyville, to inquire on what had transpired, and to have Twilight come to Canterlot, so that she can return the powers to the others. “Very well, my princess friend. To you, this letter I tend.” Poking her muzzle into her saddlebag, Zecora pulled out a scroll, which she placed before her host. Sensing that her welcome here was already very thin, Zecora bid Twilight goodbye in her rhyming speech, and headed back out the way she came. Once Twilight is alone again, she took a look at the scroll. It wore Princess Celestia’s royal seal, strengthening the likelihood that she was correct in her assessment. Opening the scroll with her magic, she began to read. Dear Twilight, I offer you my deepest condolences on the loss of Spike. He was the loyalest of friends, and a dear member of your family, and we all shall miss him immensely. I wish I could offer more to help with the pain and sorrow. Remember that we are always here for you, whenever you need. Due to the recent events in Ponyville, and throughout Equestria, your presence is required here in Canterlot. I wish that this could wait, given the losses which you have endured, and the sorrow you must be feeling, but the matter is one of the highest urgency. Your mentor and friend, Princess Celestia Reading the message from Princess Celestia had done nothing but anger her more. She knows NOTHING about how I am feeling right now, Twilight thought to herself. There was a lot left unsaid in the message, though, and Twilight pondered this. Nothing was said about returning the other princess’ magic, nor had there been any mention of what she had done to Discord. Celestia had to know about his death, and she would not be pleased. She, as well as Cadance and Luna, would also be needing their magic returned, so that they may resume their full duties. Her scowl deepened as her thoughts continued on this vein. Well, maybe it was time that she faced her mentor, as well as decide what she shall do with them. With those thoughts on her mind, she spread her wings, and took flight towards Canterlot. ~ ~ ~ ~ Things had changed significantly in Ponyville. When Twilight returned to town, she said not a word to anypony. She just walked past the gathered crowd, which had gathered around the charred remains of her home. The tightest cluster was around the body of Spike, but they quickly backed away when Twilight approached. Most were too stunned to say anything by the destruction. The loss of one of their own, and now the appearance of the Princess of Magic, who had become a full size Alicorn, stunned them further. A few had offered words of sympathy, but she acknowledged none of them. She just enveloped the Spike in her magic, and headed off into the Everfree with him. Within a couple of hours, ponies from the Royal Guard arrived to find out just what happened. When they were told of the events, they quickly left for Canterlot, only to return the next morning bearing a letter for Princess Twilight. The Guard Lieutenant also had matters which he needed to discuss with Mayor Mare, as well as the Element Bearers. The news he delivered to them was unsettling. Inside Sugarcube Corner, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie sat in a corner booth talking about what they have been told by the guard pony, and what they had witnessed their friend do. “I still cannot believe what Twilight did. I can understand killing Tirek, because the uncouth barbarian needed to be stopped. But what she did to Discord… it just feels unreal,” Rarity said to them. Even after everything that happened, she still looked every bit the perfectly groomed and proper mare. It would not be Rarity if she let tragedy and strife cause her to appear anything less than perfect. Still, those who knew her best could see that she was not unaffected. “And why would Twilight not return the other princess’ magic to them? That just does not seem like the mare we know.” “Sugarcube, Ya have ta consider that Discord DID turn traitor on us. If he hadn’t gone done that, poor Spike would still be alive.” While Applejack was just as shocked by the brutality Twilight displayed, she found it difficult to feel much in the way of sympathy towards the deceased God of Chaos. “Ah know Ah’d be more than willin to commit murder, if anypony ever hurt Applebloom. Ah’m not say’n that it’s right, but Ah can understand.” “Rarity took a sip of her tea, nodding her agreement. “Yes, I have to say that I do agree with you there, Applejack. If somepony were to hurt Sweetie Belle, there is no force in Equestria that would be able to stop me from sending the culprit to Tartarus where he belongs. Considering how close she was to Spike, Twilight’s anger is justified,” she told them, setting her tea back down. With a depressed sigh, she continued, “It pains me to say this, but even her anger towards us has merit. Had Spike been with us, instead of heading home, he would still be alive today.” “Has anypony seen Fluttershy, today?” asked Pinkie. “I stopped in to check on her this morning,” replied Rainbow Dash. “She seems completely devastated over Discord’s death. I literally had to feed all the animals for her. If it was not for Scoots helping me, I don’t think I would have gotten them all.” “I’m not surprised, considering that the two of them were intimately involved.” When this drew a surprised look from Rainbow Dash and Applejack, she continued, “Most ponies did not know, but she confided this secret to me a couple weeks ago. She did not wish for others to know, fearing how some would react.” “Nailed it,” said Pinkie Pie. They sat there with their thoughts for a moment. The recent events were still too fresh within their minds, and it bothered them to think that somepony they had trusted and loved could have changed so dramatically. They all hoped that things would turn out okay in the end, but they worried that things could end up taking turns for the worse. Breaking the silence, Rainbow asked, “How are Sweetie Belle and Applebloom taking this? I know Scoots was feeling down this morning.” Applejack was the first to reply. “Poor ‘Bloom didn’t wanta get out of her bed this mornin. Ah think that she’s takin losing Spike pretty hard.” “Dear Sweetie Belle is simply devastated. Mother told me that my sister cried herself to sleep last night,” Rarity informed her friends. “I think the young filly may have had a secret crush on him, to be honest. They silently thought about this for a moment, then Rainbow Dash spoke up, asking, “What can we do to help them understand what happened, and help them get through this?” ~ ~ ~ ~ Twilight landed outside Canterlot Castle and took a moment to stretch her wings. She also took that moment to run a quick magical scan of the castle. Inside, she could detect a higher than normal presence of Royal Guard ponies, and she sensed that the ones chosen for duty today had a large number of powerful Unicorns. Under normal circumstances, she would have not thought anything about this, but considering that the guards at the entrance looked rather tense, and were watching her closely, Twilight guessed that Princess Celestia had a plan, and there was a good possibly it included the use of force against her as an available option. Twilight inwardly snickered at that thought. The princesses should know better than to think that she could be captured so easily. If they did try to capture her, the outcome would be very painful for all those involved, and it would conclude with her leaving as she chose. So, what could be her reasoning for the heavily increased security, Twilight mused to herself. She thought about it for a moment as she entered the castle. Is it that she is fearful that I might assassinate her? If that is the case, she should be able to realize that there is not a thing that she could do to stop me, if I so chose to do so. Twilight continued thinking about what Princess Celestia would have planned as she walked through the castle towards the Throne Room. As she walked, she also continued scanning, noting the number of guards, and how powerful the ones emplaced were. Overall, the guard presence seemed to be double of what would normally be on duty at the time. Scanning further, she could even tell that the various guard barracks nearby were all full. It seemed a safe bet at this point to guess that they were ready to converge on the castle if need be. She also noticed that, as she got closer to the Throne Room, many of the guards behind her were now discretely following. Upon reaching the Throne Room, the pair of guards stepped aside and opened the doors for her. As she walked in, she took note of all who was in the place, including the more than a dozen Unicorns and Pegasi hiding in wait. Discretely, she checked further, and discovered that every hidden pony carried magic nullment bands on them. Scheming as ever, Celestia, she thought to herself. Along with the three princesses, her brother stood by, as well as General Ironsides, Commanding General of the Equestrian Guard, and a mixed platoon of Royal Guard and Equestrian Guard Special Forces. On top of that, there was a full squad each of the Solar and Lunar Guard, and a half dozen of Cadance’s Personal Guard. No other nobles were in attendance here today, so Celestia was keeping certain things under wraps and secret from those who might take advantage of their weakness. “Welcome, Twilight—” “Let us cut to the chase, Celestia,” Twilight told her, cutting off her mentor sharply. “I have a pretty good idea why you called me here, so there is no need for false pleasantries. You want your power returned.” Walking around the room, Twilight plucked each hidden guard pony from their hiding spots, one by one, and removed the bands they possessed. When she gathered them all, she came back to the center of the room, and melted the bands into slag before her. “As we all can plainly see, I have reason to doubt returning your magic to you is a good idea.” “Since you wish it to be this way, why is it that you have not returned our magic to us, Twilight Sparkle?” Celestia asked curtly. Twilight gave her a contemptuous look before she replied. “Isn’t it obvious? You have clearly shown yourself unfit to lead Equestria, Whereas you are not fit to lead, you should not have the power which goes with such leadership.” “What are you saying, Twilie?” Shining Armor asked, stepping down towards her from his spot next to his wife. Of all the things that his sister could have said, these words were the most unthinkable thing she could have stated. And yet, there she stood, talking about what could only be considered high treason. “I can’t believe I heard those words come from you? You’re Princess Celestia’s protégée, Twilight! You’re supposed to be a hero, and here you are before us talking like you’re planning a coup.” Staring down at her brother, she told him, “I suggest that you do not meddle in affairs that are above your status, Shining Armor.” Twilight was not surprised that he would say this. Shining Armor may be her flesh and blood brother, but he was loyal to a fault to Celestia, and that made him a potential opponent, should anything happen. She did not wish to fight him, but if it came down to it, she would not hesitate to do so. “And what of Princess Cadenza and myself?” asked Princess Luna, stepping forth. “Are we included in this belief of being unfit to lead?” Luna boldly walked right up to Twilight, feeling no fear, only regret at what she saw happening all over again. “I ask of you, Twilight, that you reconsider your actions. I speak from from experience when I say that the path you are on will only lead to your downfall.” Taking a seat, Luna pleaded with Twilight, “Please. Do not make the same mistakes I made. I do not wish to see what happened to me happen to you as well.” Twilight gave a snort of contempt. Walking past the princess, she paced as she explained her reasons to them. “Let me start with why the three of you are unfit. Princess Celestia, let us start with you. What makes you incapable of leading this nation? Your numerous failures before and during my brother’s wedding for starters. How many times did you fail to see what was plainly before your eyes? Even after I attempted to bring to light that something was seriously wrong several times, you chose to keep yourself blind to the evidence before you. On top of that, you allowed that bug bitch Chrysalis to defeat you in a rather short battle. Your blindness and weakness nearly cost us dearly that day. “How about your choice to free Discord? Did you honestly believe that he could be reformed?” she spat in angry contempt at saying his name. “I think his betrayal is plenty evidence enough of how poor a judgement call you made. And in trusting him to stop Tirek, you provided that bastard demon an ally against us!” Her pacing quickened as she grew angrier. “Shall I continue, Princess?” she spat out venomously. Everypony was shocked by her accusations. The roomfull of guards shifted nervously, prepared to jump into battle to protect their rulers if it should become necessary. Princess Luna just stood up to walk out of the room, tired of it all, and knowing that nothing she could say would turn Twilight from her chosen course. “Figures, the weakest one would go hide now rather than face the truth,” Twilight mocked. Luna whirled around as if stung by an angry wasp. While she had put up with many slanders and much hatred since her return, there was just so much that she could tolerate, and the usurper had just crossed that line. “That’s it! I have had it!” she yelled. Marching straight into the powerful Alicorn’s face, she asked, “And who in Tartarus do you think you are, anyways? Do you really believe this pile of shit you’re slinging?” As she said this to Twilight, her personal guards hurried to surround Twilight with their spears leveled at her, ready to slay her in an instant, should she raise one hoof to their liege. “Luna! Please stop!” cried out her sister, not wishing for this to escalate further. Unfortunately, her words fell upon deaf ears. “So says the one that hid, crying, when the Changelings attack,” Twilight taunted, her voice filled with contemptuous sarcasm. You could have heard a feather drop, the sudden shocked silence was that complete. The silence was broken by what would be known as the hoofslap heard across Equestria, when Luna reared up, and slapped Twilight across her muzzle. The response to being hit was immediate and ruthless. Twilight grabbed Luna with her magic, and flung her across the room, where she hit a pillar with a sickening crack. The Lunar Guard reacted instantly, but still too late to save Princess Luna from being thrown like a ragdoll. They attacked as one, with the intent of converting the rebellious princess into something more akin to a pincushion with their lances. Twilight Sparkle had no intention of dying today. In a flash, she was instantly twenty feet above the guards, who had collided with one another once their opponent disappeared. Not wishing to waste time, a simple blast from a fire spell was launched from her horn straight into the clustered Lunar Guard squad. Ignoring their tortured screams, she now focused on Celestia. That focus was broken though by numerous blasts of magical energy and thrown lances, as the remaining guard forces attacked. Shining Armor immediately jumped into action when the fight began. Pointing to the first four guard ponies that he saw, he gave them one task, instructing them to get Celestia and Cadance out of there immediately. Next, he sent three more guards to go around the perimeter, and check on Princess Luna, and if she was injured so bad that she could not be moved, they were to guard her with their lives. With the safety of the princesses taken care of, he turned to assist Ironsides in fighting this battle. Already, the fight was going badly for the guard. The Pegasi who tried to attack were quickly cut down, either by magic attacks, or from direct hits from Twilight’s hooves and horn. The Unicorns and Earth Ponies on the floor fared little better, as their attacks failed to connect. During the battle, Twilight could see that Celestia and Cadance were close to escaping from the carnage. ”CELESTIA!”, Twilight boomed in rage, and fired a telekinetic blast directly at her, slamming her into the ground. The guard ponies immediately wheeled around to defend their ruler, but were cut down by lances which Twilight had magically thrown at them. By now, more Royal Guard had arrived outside the Throne Room doors. Over fifty ponies, fully armed and ready for battle had converged, and the Lieutenant in charge led them in. They charged inside yelling out a battlecry that would have instilled fear into the hearts of most foes. This just pissed off Twilight more. “Fuck this!” she said to herself, and let loose with a magical blast directly at them. The blast that hit them incinerated the biggest majority of them instantly leaving nothing left but ash. Those on the very outskirts were not so fortunate, whereas they felt the heat from the blast, and the resulting shockwave, before they died. The energy released went through the Throne Room entrance, obliterating it, as well as destroying the long hallway outside the doors. Shining Armor could see that this was a losing battle. Making a snap decision, he had General Ironsides throw him with his magic. By now, most of the guard ponies were dead or seriously wounded, and he was desperate to end this battle. His one hope was that his sister would be distracted enough to not notice him flying at her. The General’s aim was true, and Shining tackled Twilight in mid air, causing them to tumble to the Throne Room floor. Rising to her hooves first, she grabbed him with her magic, saying to him, “I warned you, brother!” and slammed him to the floor with a meaty smack. “YOU TRAITOROUS WHORSE!” Twilight turned her head just in time to see the lance hurled at her from General Ironsides. Had she not moved her head, it would have caught her right below her ear. Instead, it sailed past her, just nicking a couple hairs from her mane. Grabbing him by his neck, she lifted him off his hooves, and dragged him to her. Forever the fighter, he struggled to break free, but as powerful a Unicorn he was, he was no match for her power. “You murderous witch! I hope you burn in Tartarus for your—” He was silenced for good when his head was suddenly pushed three inches to the side as his neck was held firmly, severing his spine and instantly killing him. The room was a hall of carnage. Dead and wounded guards lay all over the floor, and the destruction to the room was heavy. Near a side exit sat Celestia. When Twilight had launched her magic bolt at her, she hit the floor hard, dislocating her hip. Between Celestia and Twilight stood Cadance, wings flared and a scowl or determination upon her face. Even without magic, she refused to step aside, instead choosing to defend her aunt to the end, if need be. Dragging Ironside’s cadaver by his head, Twilight walks over to where her former foalsitter stood. “Step aside, Cadance,” she commanded. When Cadance refused to do so, Twilight simply took one of Cadance’s forelegs in her magic, and snapped it below the elbow. When Cadance fell to the floor, crying out in pain, Twilight simply marched past, heading straight for her former mentor and ruler. Princess Celestia tried to sit up as straight as possible. If Twilight was going to kill her this afternoon, then she would face her death with dignity, as a ruler of Equestria should. But she was unable to stop the tears from flowing from her eyes, nor the tremor in her voice when she asked, “Why, Twilight? Why have you done this?” Tossing Ironside’s body aside, she levitated a lance from the floor, and placed the point at the base of the fallen ruler’s throat. “You DARE ask me that? If you had sent me after Tirek in the beginning, like I had suggested, then NONE of this shit would have happened! Instead, you had to come up with another one of your schemes, and in the end, Spike was the one who payed the ultimate price!” she replied angrily, tears streaming down her own face. “I should kill you, here and now, but instead, I think you should live with the consequences. No more shall you lead this country into one disaster after another. Your rule is at an end.” “Twilight… your eyes… what is happening to you?” asks Celestia, trembling in both fear and sorrow. “I’ll give you a week to set up the changeover. I suggest that you comply with my suggestion, this time, Celestia, because if I have to, I will end you,” she told her with a finality that allowed for no argument. “I will now head to the House of Nobles, and inform them of the change in management.” With that, Twilight walked from the room, the irises of her eyes now glowing a bloody crimson.