//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 *FIXED* // Story: "If you ain't got anything nice to say..." // by ManlyDerp //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle had unknowingly granted Big Macintosh a small mercy with her heated reaction. So scared was he, so full of absolute terror, every ounce of air had left the stallion’s lungs the moment the mare had uttered her command of “Go on.” Unable to breathe and, more importantly, unable to speak, the stallion was finally able to use his mind for the first time all day long. Though it was only for a split second, it was all the time he needed to reorganize his shattered thoughts and thus produce a response that, in his mind, would not result in him being instantly vaporized on the spot. Not on the initial response, of course... but this didn’t include what he would possibly say afterwards. This didn’t protect him from uttering his true thoughts and feelings completely to the clearly stressed alicorn. There was nothing he could do about this though; nothing he could do to prevent himself from incurring the wrath of a princess. He very well knew this, deep in his heart. … Somewhere, in the back of his frightened mind, Big Mac wondered if maybe this was for the best. With a sharp intake of air, his lungs refilled and now ready to go, the big red farmer was forced to speak once again. "... Twilight," he began his speech. "Spoiled... 'spoiled' ain't the right word to describe what you are..." Twilight remained frozen before him, giving the stallion no indication on whether or not she even heard his words. This didn't stop him from continuing; both the poison joke upon his tongue and the barrier separating the two of them from the outside world assured this fact. "I... I sorta use the words 'spoiled' and 'privileged' interchangeably in mah vocabulary,” Big Macintosh tries to explain weakly. “W-when I think of the word 'spoiled'... I think of Canterlot nobles. I think of ponies with too much time and money on their hooves, relaxing in the lap of luxury, while others break their backs and spill their blood doing what they can to keep Equestria moving forward. “When I think of Canterlot nobles, yours used to be the first face I thought of... before I got to know you, that is. You were one before becoming a princess, after all, and you still are now to an extent... "... You're not spoiled like them though, Twilight,” Big Macintosh states, looking away from the princess’ emotionless stare. “You're privileged. You’re the very definition of privileged, not spoiled. There is a difference between the two; a slight one that I never bothered to recognize, due to seeing too much of the former and not enough of the latter... "To be spoiled is to flaunt your wealth before everypony and to brag about all that you've gained. "To be privileged is to accept that you are gifted above others, but be humbled by the fact. Not many privileged ponies aren't also a little bit spoiled in mah eyes, so I never felt the need to separate the two. “I’m just as privileged as you, I’ll admit, and even a little bit spoiled. I was born into a wonderful family full of ponies who I love, after all; for better or worse I ain’t ever gonna find mahself alone in this big scary world of ours. Compared to others, who don’t even know they have a third cousin twice removed, well... I reckon I’m a bit privileged, and a bit spoiled. "Let it never be said, Princess Twilight Sparkle, that you are truly spoiled,” Big Macintosh proclaimed, looking the princess in eyes once again. “The words crossed my mind, but they were not the words etched in my heart. You're a hard working member of this community; you’re as far from spoiled as they get. “Organizin’ Winter Wrap Up, “solvin’ magical problems, “introducin’ the town to Zecora, the Saddle Arabians, the Breezies, and Celestia knows how many new creatures now that we have this here castle, “and you've even been helpin’ mah sister and her little friends learn new skills! These are just some of the many things you've done for this town. Some of the many things you’ve done to improve it for the better. “As somepony who's lived here all his live; as somepony who was privileged to be born here, I thank you for making Ponyville your home... I-it just wouldn't be the same without you, p-princess!" The red stallion tries to chuckle, and he tries to smile... but Twilight's unamused and stony face is all he receives. Slowly the laughter trails off into nothingness as Big Mac begins to sweat. With a gulp, unable to stop himself, he eventually adds the all damning "B-but..." to his glowing praise. Twilight remains still, not even raising an eyebrow. She simply waits for the pony to continue. "B-but... but, despite all this, you're still just so… s-so…” With a heavy sigh, Big Macintosh breaks eye contact yet again and mutters... “... Unstable." Gasps can be heard coming from outside of the magical dome; from the audience of mares watching and listening to all of the one-sided exchange. The banging of hooves off the magical barrier can be heard as well as Applejack bucks harder and harder against the impenetrable wall, her teeth gritted and her expression fierce. Her efforts go unacknowledged as Big Macintosh hangs his head low and goes on. "Just... so… incredibly unstable…” he utters slowly, his voice as small as he can make it. This is sadly not very low at all, so his words continue to be heard by all quite clearly. “You… y-you try to use logic and reasoning to solve your problems, I know you do... But that's only after you've tried to solve it through magic and it fails completely in the most spectacular way possible... Making an even bigger mess!” With these last words, a hint of anger enters the stallion’s words. “If I’m cursed to speak the truth, then by Celestia above I’m gonna speak it truthfully,” he mumbles to himself, unable to think the words in his frazzled brain. “I’m already doomed... What’s a little more fuel to the fire?” It is with steeled, tear stained eyes that Big Macintosh again looks the princess in the face. “As much as you’ve helped this town in the years you’ve been here, Princess, you’re spells and your poor judgment have caused just as much trouble and devastation! That really shouldn't be a surprise to anypony though. After all; I’ve never met a pony who relies on spells as heavily in their everyday life like you do. Spells for basic problems, spells for common inconveniences, spells for avoiding trouble… When you spellweave in a day more than any single unicorn does in their entire life, it’s understandable that one or two mishaps are bound to happen. "I understand how unicorns see their magic as a part of themselves,” the stallion explains sagely, surprising the watching girls with his knowledge. “Never did I think of a unicorn as being 'lazy' for levitatin’ things around when they have two perfectly good hooves they could use. How much of a hypocrite would that make me look? My sis and I take the soil's strength into us and use it as our own all the time when we work; to say that a unicorn or even a pegasus doesn't have the same basic right with their own gifts would be as selfish as it is idiotic. "But, that having been said... I also understand what spells mean to a unicorn as well. “Magical spells are an expression of who a pony is, deep inside; an extension of their special talents given life through their gifts. Many ponies discover that one spell that defines who they are when they receive their cutie marks, or they find it themselves later on if they are bright enough to relearn what was once lost. I understand the significance of you creating a spell from Starswirl’s notes, Twilight; what it could mean for the future of not only ponykind, but Equus itself. “But… spells are still to be held as something special. They aren't supposed to be cure-alls for every little problem a unicorn could ever have. They’re supposed to enhance their lives, and maybe the lives of others; not make them easier. “Spells are to unicorns what the soil is to earth ponies and what the sky is to pegasi; the thing that connects them together and allows them to spread harmony to one another. If they could solve everything, like completely control the weather or conjure food, then what point is there in having three tribes at all? It’s this reason why I think most unicorns don't even have the strength in them to learn more than a bushel of spells in their lifetime, let alone perform them; because if every unicorn had that kind of power inside themselves, then the mere idea of ‘harmony’ would have died off long ago. Ponies would have died off long ago as well; forever frozen in an eternal winter thanks to the Windigos. "If we were all as powerful as you, Twilight, Equestria would have never been formed. “That’s because spells are something completely different to you, Princess. I learned that fact long ago. Your special talent is magic, after all, which means you want to learn as much about it as you can. It's a noble goal, one that has obviously served you well so far... but, somewhere along the way in your training, something went wrong. You began to see spells as the solution to all of life's troubles; the exact opposite of what they truly are. "I know about your exploits, oh yes I know. I know what kinds of spells you’ve slung in the past. I've kept my ears open and listened in on all the gossip; I know which is fact and which is fiction. “I know how you tried to mind control the parasprites, trying to starve them out. How quickly did you light up your horn to do that, huh? How long did it take for you to cast that spell without thinking, turning those things into dangerous monsters of destruction? "How much actual thought did you put into your actions that day? "You tried again at Winter Wrap Up, attempting to do the job of an earth pony with your magic. Ignoring the fact of how ignorant and insulting such a thing was; you could have gosh darn hurt yourself or others with that come to life spell of yours! “But you weren't thinking that at the time, were you? "... Do I even need to mention the doll incident? "These examples are from over a year ago. So much has changed since then... yet I know for a fact that you haven't changed at all. “What was it y'all called it?” Mac asks Twilight with a grunt, not expecting an answer from her still form. "Flutterbat, was it? The result of you yet again trying to bend others to your whim through the use of your magic? "Magic magic magic... It's what makes our world function and survive, and it’s the end result of the bonds we share with one another. As the Element of Magic, and as the Princess of Friendship, a pony would think that you, of all ponies, would be the one who understands and respects this natural order of life above all others. One would think that you would be the one to shed light on the darkness. "This couldn't be further from the truth though. Right, Twilight? "You're the one who abuses this gift most of all. "... Why you became a princess at all I don't rightfully know. I don’t think you’re mentally mature enough to handle such a thing; I don’t think you can rightfully handle all that responsibility on your own yet, or the extra power that comes with it. “But… I suppose there was nothing that could have been done to prevent this. It was inevitable; it’s what you’ve been groomed all these years into becoming, after all. "Maybe that's why you are the way you are, Princess. Why you instantly resort to your powers first when times get tough... “Your upbringing. “A unicorn filly, growing up in the heart of Equestria; two rich nobles for parents, with a captain of the royal guard for a brother, a princess for a foalsitter, and the genetics to become the strongest unicorn in existence? “Sounds like a made fillyhood to me. “Sounds like a made life to me. "... I can't blame you for such a thing though; it be like complaining that you're purple. Nopony can choose such a thing, only what they make of it. “In that respect I can blame you. “I can certainly blame you for how you've abused the gifts you were given. Look at Spike for one thing,” Mac comments, waving a hoof at the dazed dragon wrapped in Rarity’s forelegs, beyond the barrier. Twilight doesn’t turn to look. “Your assistant... you hatched him from an egg? Practically raised him yourself? You're his guardian, his caretaker… “... Yet you allowed him to become a greed fueled monster on his birthday?! You allowed him to become some kind of horrible beast against his will, putting the lives of everypony he cares about in danger?! “What, “the, “actual, “horse, “hell, Twilight?! What the actual horse hell?! Why, I bet the little guy still has nightmares about the whole thing! “Is not knowing how dragons react to greed really a valid excuse for you, Princess?” Big Mac accuses. So wrapped up in his rant, so engrossed was he, the stallion didn’t even notice when he had returned to his hooves, nor did he notice when he stepped forward. The earth pony now stood inches away from the alicorn’s face. Despite the mare’s increased height upon ascension, Big Mac still towered over her. He glared down while Twilight stared up with cold, unmoving eyes.  “Did Celestia, of all ponies, really not warn you about such a thing,” Mac asks, tapping Twilight on the chest with a hoof. “... Or did you simply not care enough to ask? “When I look back and see how you've 'solved' your problems in the past, Princess? I… I honestly believe it’s the latter. You care about the little guy, I know you do... just not enough to deviate from your studies, it seems.” A weak smile appears on the stallion’s face as he continues to stand over the mare. "But I suppose everything is alright in the end, isn't it? After all, it's 'destiny', ain’t it? “You were destined to be magically gifted at birth. “You were destined to see that rainbow and become Celestia's pupil on the spot.   “Destined to be forced to move to Ponyville. “Destined to meet mah sister and have her and her friends become your very first companions. “Destined to find the Elements of harmony on the day Princess Luna was set to return. “Destined to aim said elements at the bad guys and fire, solvin’ every problem imaginable. “Destined to become the Princess of Friendship for the joined efforts of your friends. “Destined to have this castle hoofed to you on a silver platter, warts and all. "Destiny… Everypony has a destiny. It’s planted on our flanks, for Celestia’s sake. To deny that it exists is to deny a central portion of our culture; to deny a central portion of ourselves.  “Can you really deny that you’ve been given a charmed and privileged life then, Princess? I know you can’t… but then why do you resort to shortcuts so darn often? You should be the most confident mare in existence; the mare who was given every tool imaginable to become the best that a pony could ever be. “But you slack off so often; with taking care of Spike or taking care of others respectfully or, heck, even just taking care of yourself. Just look at yourself right now! You’re a pony whose obviously hit her limit long ago! Did you honestly not know when you needed to stop? Did you honestly think that your friends wouldn’t have been happy to lend you more than the little bit of help they’ve already given to you? Even I would have happily lent you a hoof, just as I have in the past! If it would have assured that you wouldn’t have ended up becoming this absolute emotional wreck of an alicorn before me now, I would have done all that I could to prevent another Smarty Pants incident from happenin’! “Maybe… maybe this is just the stigma left over from your Canterlot days; from the days when you were a noble competing among nobles. Don’t you dare claim that you weren’t playing the game; nopony willingly plays the game of high nobility, but we all do in one way or another. “Maybe you are the way you are because seeking shortcuts and cuttin’ corners is just the way things are done at the top; the proper way for a pony to act. Your use of spells, your neglect to study anything unrelated to your current field of magic, your constant need to have all the answers... I don't think you'll ever be able to shake such deep Canterlot roots... and maybe that's a good thing. “Maybe it’s a good thing that ponies will always have these stereotypes to fall back on when it comes to understanding who you are. After all, while the rest of Equestria celebrated your assentation into an alicorn, I felt as if I was the only one who was scared to death. You, of all ponies, being given even more magic and more power over others? That was just a recipe for disaster, I reckoned. I prayed that others would one day see the same thing that I saw out of that turn of events; see the train wreck in the making. I don’t think it’s happened yet, I don’t think ponies see, but I know they will eventually. Knowing you? I’m certain it’ll happen someday. “I’m certain that, one day, Equestria will see the wonderful, privileged, hard working, shortcut seeking, kind hearted, mentally unstable, magical, horribly powerful, knowledgeable, scary as all get out mare whose doll I once stole out of spite for who she really i-” Pop Big Macintosh blinks blankly as he suddenly realizes that he has somehow lost the ability to move his mouth. Looking down, the stallion tries to mumble something around his new zipper shaped lips, but this proves ultimately futile. He tries to use his hooves to unzip this purple zipper, but Twilight slaps his forelegs away with the tip of her wings; this action being the first thing she has done since the stallion began his rant. "... I know that probably hurts," Twilight says emotionlessly, ignoring the complaints of her friends from beyond the magical barrier for her actions. "I know you want to keep on talking, that you have more to say…” The alicorn’s eyes harden as she hovers in the air and stares down at the stallion. “... But it’s my turn now, Big Macintosh.” The princess jabs her hoof at the earth pony’s chest. “You’re not the only pony who lost their filter today, buddy,” she explains with a growl; the first sign of emotion she has displayed since the barrier was formed. “You’re not the only one who can’t censor themselves anymore. “So... I believe it’s only fair for me to get a few words in now, don’t you think? “Words like how I think you’re a Celestiadamn workaholic like your sister. Or words like how I calculated your life expectancy based on this kind of lifestyle! Spoiler alert; it’s not as hot as what you probably think it would be. Hate to break it to you, Mac, but you’re no Granny how-the-hay-are-her-bones-not-dust-by-now Smith and I don’t think you’ll ever be at the rate you’re going. I don’t even want to think how the stress you’ve dealt with today has affected those already dwindling numbers... “Or, let’s talk about your whole ‘never talking and instead bottling everything up’ thing, hmm? Lets talk about that little chestnut and how it’s doing absolutely nothing but hurt everypony around you! “I know how much family and friends mean to you, Macintosh... but let’s talk about how, due to your silent actions, it’s now statistically unlikely that you’re ever going to find true happiness for yourself… ever. I’m not talking about now, with the poison joke on your tongue; I’m talking about how you’ve lived your life up to this point. “You’re never going to form true bonds with others by keeping everything to yourself, not even ones with your own family. You don’t need to look much further than at your frantic sister, or poor Cheerilee to see how what I’m saying is right. “... And, on the subject of making ponies miserable... everything you just said to me? Every little, tiny, painful, personal secret that you just vomited all over me? That you kept all this time in your sick, twisted, opinionated mind?” Falling backwards, Big Mac weakly tries to crawl away from the slowly approaching alicorn, only to then cut his hoof on the broken glass around him. He pauses after this, remembering that there is nowhere to run inside of the purple forcefield anyways. With a muffled scream, Big Mac turns around and discovers that he is inches away from Twilight's face yet again. He shrinks lower to the ground as the princess rises and rises until she is absolutely towering over the normally large pony. Curling up into a ball, Mac looks away as Twilight raises a hoof into the air. She swings it downwards, as if she is about to smack the farmer as hard as she can.          “...” “...” … Big Mac eventually looks up again when the blow never comes. What he sees instead is the purple hoof simply hovering in the air before him, pointing at him not accusingly, but numbly. "... You're right," Twilight admits, her voice neither devoid of emotion or holding a great fury within it. Instead it was small. Small, weak… and sad. "Y-you're absolutely right, Big Mac." Though his mind burned from the pain of being unable to talk, Mac simply lays there and watches Twilight silently. "It was destiny and luck, not hard work and determination, that got me where I am today," the princess admits in a small voice. She looks away and continues. "That's... something I've been thinking about a lot lately; where I would be if fate wasn't always on my side like it seems to be... "Where would I be if Rainbow Dash never performed her sonic rainboom? I would probably have gone to a public school, never properly developing my skills and never becoming the spell slinger I am today... I'm sure Spike would have been born eventually; maybe the pony who accomplished it would have actually done her research on dragons... unlike me. "... Where would I be if I wasn't born with the magical talent I was gifted with? What if I was born a pegasus or an earth pony? Would I still have one day met and became friends with all these wonderful ponies? Would I even still be the same pony myself? “Would I still have been able to claim my Element of Harmony and become an alicorn... or would that destiny have fallen to another, more worthy, pony...? "Where would I be if I wasn't a princess today? How different would things have been if I could not have acted as a conduit for the princesses' magic? Celestia's gambit... giving all of the alicorn magic in Equestria to me for safe keeping... Would she still have done it, I wonder, if I wasn't deemed… useful, in her eyes? “... I don’t think she would have. “At first I had thought the reason she trusted me with her magic was because I was somepony worth trusting, because I had earned said trust from her through my actions… “... but it was only later, when I faced Tirek, did I understand along with him what my fellow princesses had done. "Celestia, Luna, even Cadence... they didn't give me their magic because they felt I would be able to protect it, oh no... they were simply giving the baseball bat to the biggest bully on the playground." A saddened smile crosses Twilight's lips as she returns her attention to the silenced Big Mac. "My talent is magic. Giving me their magic meant that I would become the most powerful creature on the planet," the princess explains factually. "That was Celestia’s true goal, her gambit. “My mentor, the pony I trusted above all others, even my family and friends… s-she made me into a blissfully unaware weapon and set me loose on the bad guy... “No instructions. “No outside aid. “Forbidden from seeking help from even my friends... for what I only now realize was for their own protection. “With not even the slightest hint as to what was going on in her mind… “... Celestia didn't trust me... s-she… didn’t trust me…” No pony in the room missed the tear that fell from Twilight’s cheek, nore the loud echo it made within the crystal walls when it hit the ground. “... A-and… and I can't blame her for not. "Mac,” the alicorn goes on, looking the stallion in the eyes once more. “You, are, not unfounded in your beliefs. Nothing you said to me, nothing you’ve said to anypony today has been outright wrong, because they are your opinions. These are your innermost thoughts; what you’ve held so closely to your heart all this time, fearing what uttering them would do to a pony. Having kept all these thoughts and feelings to yourself for so long; having kept silent for the sake of everypony around you, to those who you truly care about…” Big Mac’s eyes widen as Twilight wraps him in a warm embrace, resting her head softly against his tired shoulder. “You’re a noble pony, Big Macintosh,” she whispers softly to the big red farmer. “Of the truest sense of the word, you are noble. “And I am rash. “I am impulsive. “I have more magic than anypony has any right to have, and an even shorter fuse to boot. “On top of that, I famously can't handle stress well... I mean... just look at me!" With the wave of her hoof, disengaging the hug, Twilight gestures to the entirety of her disheveled, and slightly smoking, self.          "This is the result of my very first act of being a proper princess! My first real task, without resorting to asking Luna or Cadence for help... and I'm having a hard time simply staying sane! Even with my friends helping me I still find myself slipping further and further into the icky black hole that is my fluffing mind! I can’t blame Celestia for not trusting me when even I can’t trust myself! "I... I just don't know what to really do anymore," Twilight admits, lowering herself down to the ground again and curling up into a small ball. "I'm trying to stay true to myself and focus on my friends, but then I'm letting the ponies of Ponyville down. I try to focus on them and I end up abandoning my friends and silly vital things like eating and sleeping. "And you know what the darndest thing is, Big Mac? You're right about another thing; I do rely on magic too much. I learned a valuable lesson from Trixie's last visit here about when not to use magic, but I still rely on it heavily. Even now, as a princess, I'm still making the same rookie mistakes! Flutterbat was entirely my fault, assassinating Spike's confidence at the Equestrian Games was also my fault. I have a responsibility, as an alicorn with great power, to use said power for others... but instead I simply use it as a quick-fix solution for when times get too hard. If my mind slips any further today, I know for a fact that I’ll again resort to it to solve everything currently wrong in town. The end result of such a dangerous thing? Probably Ponyville exploding... again. "So, no, Big Macintosh," the princess finishes, standing up before the stallion. "You're not unfounded in your beliefs; you're not in the wrong. When I gained these wings, I was scared of the new power and responsibilities I gained with them. I didn't, and still don't think I'm worthy of them. Sometimes I don't think I'm worthy of the life I was gifted with either, and I feel as though I may never be worthy enough for it... "But I promise you, and everypony here, that I, will, try. I will never stop trying. The crown upon my head is heavy now, but I will grow into it with the help of everypony, not just the ones who sit upon a throne of Friendship here in this death castle. “I will continue to make mistakes, Big Mac. Oooohhhh I will more than likely make mistakes until the day I die... “But I will always try to do better the next time. Always. “... Whether you think I'm worthy of that next time though is entirely up to you…” Fizzzz... The sound of leaking magic soon fills the room as the barrier trapping the alicorn and the farmer together begins to shrink away. The zipper lips Big Mac was ‘gifted’ with also begin to fade in and out of existence as the glow of Twilight’s magic weakens. “I… I think I’m… completely done now, girls,” the alicorn speaks up to the gathered mares behind her, still separated by the slowly deconstructing field of magic. “T-that… that right there was the absolute last of my sanity points… I… h-heh… don’t think I’m gonna last much longer here as a sane individual…” Looking over her shoulder at her gathered friends, Twilight gives them all a warm smile as her eyes begin to water over. “I-I-I don’t think I-I’m, heheh, I’m going to be able to make any more ‘smart’ decisions today. T-t-think I’m gonna do… somethin’. I don’t know… But it’ll be… somethin’... heh…”   Nopony has the heart or the courage to tell their now seriously spent friend that she is currently rambling nonsense at this point. Moving as cautiously as she is slowly, Applejack walks forward, around Twilight, and grabs her brother’s foreleg with her mouth. She tries to drag him away from the still very, very unstable alicorn next to him, but his stupefied form doesn’t make things any easier for the earth pony. “Heh... heh…” Twilight continues to laugh to herself sporadically, her wings and tail dragging themselves on the floor as she begins to trot in a random direction into the distance. “Heh… h-heh… A-a-almost done. Aaaalllllmost done with… everythin’... hehe… “... Oh!” she suddenly shouts, turning her head back towards Big Mac. “Almost forgot!” she says with a large, actually honest looking, smile. “Don’t fret about Miss Smarty Pants, Mac; I already knew that you had her for a long, loooooonnnngggg time now! Even from before Gabby Gum’s column on it!” With her face still beaming, she adds “I didn’t know why you held on to her though; my theories included the possibility of lingering magic, but the fact that she’s not on your person right now proves this theory false. Another thought I had was that she was secretly a collector's item! The state of her in the Gabby Gum’s photo proved this theory false as well though. Other ideas formed in my head... but hearing that it was out of spite now kinda bums me out a little bit. “Like, seriously… but I don’t blame you! If you saw me as a Canterlot noble like you said you used to at the time, then I would one hundred percent understand why you did what you did! Celestia knows there’s a few old classmates of mine who I’d love to get back at someday…” Twilight suddenly slaps herself playful in the forehead with a hoof, her smile still bright and colorful. “Opps! I wasn’t supposed to say that part out loud! Hahah! Silly me!” Closing her eyes, simply soaking in the imagined ‘good times’ all around her, Twilight cheerily says, “You can return her to me whenever you’d like, Big Mac. Whenever you feel that your thoughts about me have changed! It’ll be a nice indicator that I’m really improving myself and that I’m slowly becoming a true princess of Equestri-”   It was at this moment that Twilight’s magic finally gave out completely, and so too did the zipper lips spell upon Big Macintosh’s muzzle. With his ability to speak unfortunately returned to him, the pony quickly extinguished his burning mind by interrupting the princess, telling her that “I’m never returning that doll to you… ever.” The room falls silent once again as Applejack helps her brother out by inserting her entire hoof into his flapping mouth, somewhat silencing him. Sweating profusely, the two farmers, along with every other pony in the room, slowly turn their heads to look at Twilight. Twilight remains frozen where she stands, her eyes still closed and her smile still beaming. After a few moments, with her face staying in the same position that it was in, she takes a surprisingly large breath of air. “... Don’t ask… don’t ask… don’t ask...” Twilight mutters to herself quietly, though each repetition of the words grows louder and louder until she is all but screaming them to herself. “Don’t ask. “Don’t ask. “Don’t ask. “Don’t ask. “For the love of Celestia, pony, don’t ask. “Don’t ask. “It won’t end well for anypony, don’t ask. “Don’t ask. “Don’t ask “Don’t…” Twilight inhales deeply. After a moment, she slowly opens her eyes and looks at the stallion before her. “... I’m going to regret this,” she admits right away. “But… why?” All eyes fall on Big Mac. Applejack tries to ram her hoof further down her brother’s throat, but Twilight’s magic gently pulls her away. Helplessly floating in the air, no longer able to mute Big Mac, the orange pony can only watch scaredly as the stallion gulps loudly and says… “B-because you won’t want her back... because… she's been… well...” With his already red colored cheeks turning a shade darker, Big Mac looks away. “... slobbered on a bit...” Silence reigns for a few moments after this was admitted. In this silence; Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie’s faces all slowly turn a sickly shade of green as the words begin to process completely in their minds. Applejack’s though only turns angry red. “Y-you,” she fumes, having found her voice. “Y-you… I found that damn doll in Apple Bloom’s room you sick Fu-” “W-what?” Mac quickly cuts his sister off… … only to then realize what it was that his words might have suggested to her. “Oh!” he quickly shouts. “Oh, Celestia above, no! Nope nope nope nope hay nope!!  Winona! I meant that I let Winona slobber on it! I let her play and rip it once! I didn't do that. Horse hell below; I didn't do that.” Almost instantly all the mare’s faces in the room lose their green and red colorings as Mac explained himself better. Twilight though remained as still as a statue. “... I... see...” she says after a time, looking down at the ground. “I see… You... indirectly... ripped and ruined my fillyhood friend… K...” Big Macintosh begins to mutter a few things quietly about Twilight, this time mostly compliments and nice things he was unable to say earlier during the heated moment. Things about saving the world and the like. These words were ignored as Twilight continues to stare at the ground. And then… she began to laugh. “... Heheheh…” And laugh. “Heheheh…” And… laugh. “Heheheh… heheheh… hahahaha!” Everypony watches in morbid curiosity as Twilight lays flatly on the ground and begins to smack her hoof repeatedly against the crystal surface, laughing all the while. At some points it gets loud, at others soft. Sometimes they sounded like the simple set of giggles one gets when they hear a particularly juicy knock knock joke. Other times... Other times it sounded like the maniacal laughter of a demon... though nopony dared say this fact out loud. “W-w-w,” Pinkie Pie rambles for a bit, trying to find her own voice again. “W-w-what’s s-so funny, Twi?” Twilight stops laughing as she disappears in a flash and reappears instantly standing up over where she just was. She smiles at the party pony widely before looking at each of her gathered friends with the same ‘cheery’ expression. Everypony takes a nervous step away from her. Returning her attention to a very frightened Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle happily answers, “Heh… oh… nothing… just… well…” Everypony is instinctively drawn closer together into a shaking huddle as they slowly watch as one of Twilight’s once twitchy eyes decides that it has grown bored of the current conversation and has instead found the ceiling to be quite the entertaining thing to look at. The other stares straight ahead at its master’s friends, not having gone rogue like its twin had. With a derped expression upon her face, Twilight continues to chuckle as she explains how “I… I just thought… that… my… inevitable descent into pure madness today... would be… just a teeny tiny bit… more… “... Justified… “... Oh well!” And then Twilight exploded, transforming into a wicked mare of flame and darkness. A pure orb of white hot fire now greeted the remaining four mares and one talkative stallion as Twilight disappears into its heated embrace. Five sets of eyes watched in horror as their friend transforms before their very eyes. In an explosion of harsh light, a changed alicorn emerges from this magical ‘cocoon’ of heat and magic, floating high above the gathered ponies upon wings of pure white plumage. Her mane was a radiating thing of the hottest embers imaginable, and her eyes were glowing pinpricks of ominous red light. “... My power flurries through the air into the ground…” ‘Nightmare’ Twilight Sparkle's deepened voice rumbles nonsensically as she gazes inwards at her great and terrible blaze. After only a moment has passed, her laughter picks up tenfold as great balls of fire begin to satellite around her white warped form. “Twilight!” scream Rarity Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, Applejack suddenly having vanished and Big Mac being too afraid once again to speak as he stared up at his personal grim reaper. The alicorn of death brings her gaze downwards, staring right back at the only stallion in the room. She smiles largely, her teeth sharp and shark like. The balls of heat spin faster and faster around her being. “I’ve got a lovely bunch of fireballs…” she softly sings to herself as dark thoughts cross her mind. “Twilight!” yells the one mare who had not called her name out already, having silently moved to a different corner of the room. Pretty Pony Death Princess Nightmare Twilight Sparkle doesn’t even turn her head towards her friend as she passively waves a hoof behind herself. “Not now, Applejack. I'm busy killing your brother…” The room shakes violently as the crazed magic within the equally crazed mare reaches a boil. Her long white horn becomes engulfed in red hot flames… … And then the room shakes again as Twilight comes crashing down to the ground, her wings having been suddenly tied up due to a well aimed lasso throw. “Who dare-” the psychotic pony once known as the town librarian begins to screech, but the words die on her lips as she suddenly finds orange hooves wrapped around herself. The alicorn sputters weakly as Applejack hugs her even harder. The three remaining mares watch in awe as Twilight’s mane slowly begins to cool off, and as her purple colors return to her. With a nod of heads to one another, the three friends silently agree on what needs to be done. Together, Rarity Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie join Applejack in embracing Twilight. “Oh Twilight,” Fluttershy whimpers lowly. “W-we’re so sorry we didn’t stop you sooner…” “Twilight,” Rarity sniffles to herself. “T-this should have never happened. W-we should have been there for you. Can you ever forgive us?” “I-I’m sorry for calling you a meanie pants,” Pinkie Pie cries gently into Twilight’s once again purple coat. “P-p-please don’t leave us for cuckoo land. I-it’s not a nice place to go! Trust me…” “Twilight,” coos Fluttershy. “Twilight,” softly speaks Rarity. “Twilight,” weakly says Pinkie. “... Er,” awkwardly mummbles Applejack to her friends as she continues to hold on to the alicorn. “Girls? That’s… nice and all, reassuring her like that… But Twilight needs somethin’ waaayyy more important than words right now.” Raising an eyebrow, Rarity turns her head towards where the farmer is hugging their friend on her body. “Whatever do you mea-” The unicorn quickly halts her question though as she finishes turning her head around and sees for herself what she means. While Fluttershy, Pinkie, and herself were all hugging their friend in the appropriate places for a pony to hug one another; the back, the barrel, the flank, etc, Applejack was instead hugging her just a tiny bit… higher than the rest of them. To put it plainly, Applejack’s orange hooves were currently wrapped around Twilights throat. Pushing against her windtunnel. The restored pony princess neighs softly in her forced sleep as Applejack gently places her on the ground to rest. The remaining ponies in the room watch her do this with absolutely terrified expressions on their faces. “... Yeah,” the younger of the two farmers admits with a shrug. “Y’all vastly misinterpreted the point of that embrace…” “A-a-a-applejack,” Rarity shakily tries to ask. “D-d-did you just… just…” “Choked out an alicorn princess with mah bare hooves?” Applejack quickly finishes for her neutrally. “Eeyup. Was that probably the most blasphemous thing a pony could have ever done in their life? You betcha. Am I now goin’ to horse hell? Well I’ll save y’all seats if I do, so don’t you worry your pretty little heads over it... “Now, the big question; do I rightfully care? “... Shoot, you girls know me. The moment Twi wakes up will be the moment I begin my new lifelong goal of apologizing to her every single day for it. I’m sure that I’m gonna feel just terrible about this tomorrow… “Right now though? “... Right now I can’t deny the fact that I feel strangely… empowered by it all…” Her friends are silent. “... I have never been more ungodly scared of mah mama’s filly of a little sister then I am right now,” states Big Macintosh plainly and honestly. Applejack begins to chuckle. This freezes everypony in the room. Moving smoothly over the sleeping form of her purple friend, and weaving just as smoothly through her yellow, white, and pink friends, Applejack smiles brightly as she approaches Big Mac. With that same smile etched to her face, the younger pony simply says… “Good. Now I don't need to fret none over havin' to do this to ya'..." Wham! Darkness fills Big Mac’s vision as his sister spins around on the spot and bucks him in the head, causing his consciousness to slowly and mercifully slip away from him.