Twilight Sparkle lay dozing across Celestia’s throne. Her head rested against one hoof whilst her rear hooves dangled over the other. On either side of her body her wings lay limp and unfurled and a gentle snore barely rustled her forelocks. The rhythmic sound of hooves on the stone floor was enough to cause her to look up, an earth pony royal guard slowly walking up the room towards her. His eyes were half closed, his gaze fixed on something that nopony could see almost as if he was in a trace.
“Your highness, we have gathered the elements as per your order,” he stated flatly.
“Took you long enough!” snapped Twilight in response, “Bring them in and then get out of my sight!”
The earth pony gave a bow and then turned slowly and left seemingly unperturbed by the tone of the new queen. Twilight sat herself up in her throne and took a moment to rearrange her cape before looking back down the hall. The doors had just opened fully and a line of five ponies and one dragon were being led in by a group of armed Pegasus guards. Each was chained to the next with large manacles that jingled with each step they made.
They all wore a different expression of shock, anger and fear. At the head of the group was Applejack, the fiery earth pony staring straight at Twilight with a burning rage in her eyes. Next was Rarity, the fashionista flicking her gaze back and forth between her fellow ponies with sadness and remorse and Twilight with glares of ice. Fluttershy came next, the shy pony looking completely terrified as she tried in vain to wish herself away from her present situation. On her back rode Spike, the young dragon seemingly lost somewhere between wishing everything was just a dream and the fact that he’d just witnessed his surrogate mother murder another pony in cold blood. Behind the pair was Pinkie Pie, having formally looked sullen and sad she now seethed with a bubbling rage that seemed to ripple through her mane like waves on the sea. Lastly there was Rainbow, the Pegasus making the blanked guard ponies on either side of her look like party animals; it seemed that her spirit had been completely broken.
“So nice of you all to pay me a visit,” announced Twilight as they came to a stop in front of her throne, “Guards leave us!”
The group looked a little weary as the Pegasus guards simply turned and left the room at the order but with them gone their attention settled back on Twilight. The alicorn stood slowly and began to make her way down the steps of the throne towards them.
“You won’t need those,” she continued as her horn gave a brief glow.
With a procession of clangs the manacles dropped from their limbs and settled in a heap on the floor. As Twilight reached the bottom of the steps a silence permeated the room, interrupted only by Fluttershy’s quiet whimpers.
“What?” asked Twilight after a moment, “No greetings? No howdy doodie? No so good to see you? And here I thought we were all friends.”
“…Friends?” asked Applejack through grating teeth, “Friends don’t go murdering ponies to prove a point! What’s going on Twilight?! Where are Celestia and Luna?!”
“Those two?” grinned Twilight with a faint hint of a chuckle, “Oh they are around, despite the lies and treacheries they have spread I just couldn’t bring myself to kill them just yet.”
They all stood in shocked silence at Twilight’s words, all that is except Spike.
“What…what has happened to you Twilight? Is it really you?” he asked slowly.
“Oh Spike! My number one assistant!” replied Twilight quickly as she hoisted the dragon into the air with her magic and floated him over to her.
She rubbed him against the side of her muzzle and for a moment there was the faintest flicker of actual joy on her face.
“Oh I have so missed having you at my side, how are you? I do hope I didn’t hit the library earlier when I was practicing my new magic abilities; there are so many books that I need to move to Canterlot.”
“H-Hit the library?” asked Spike as his face started to go white.
“That…was you?” voiced Rarity slowly.
“Huh! If you mean a giant ball of destructive magic I plan on using to level any city that defies my will, then yes it was me. I decided to try a few pot shots to test my aim, I have reports that half the Cloudiseum in Cloudsdale was completely vapourised, not too bad for a first attempt,” replied Twilight as she lowered Spike to the ground.
Again silence filled the throne room, none of them could believe what they had just heard.
“H-How…how could you?!” cried a voice from behind them forcing them all to turn.
Rainbow was slumped on the floor, tears pouring from her eyes as she tried to focus on Twilight. Her body shook like a leaf in the breeze and her otherwise tough girl attitude had completely vanished. To see Rainbow in this state almost made the others burst into tears themselves.
“How could you do this?” continued Rainbow, “How could you kill so many ponies?! How could you do this to the Princesses?! You aren’t Twilight! What have you done with Twilight?!”
Twilight simply smiled as she stepped forwards towards her. She stopped and looked down; maddened eyes meeting tear streaked red ones.
“How could I you ask?” she said slowly with a small grin tweaking the edge of her mouth, “How could Celestia and Luna perpetrate a lie for thousands of years? How could they rule over us in friendship when their rule had originally been based on fear? How could I? I am simply rebalancing what they abandoned and taking my true place as an alicorn in Equestria.”
She turned slowly, looking back at Rainbow for but a moment.
“Oh I am still Twilight only now my eyes have been opened. So sorry if this upsets you Rainbow Dash, I know you’ve had a thing for me for quite some time now…but I’m sorry to say I don’t date inferior Pegasus like you.”
Rainbow looked like the very life inside her had been drained out of her. It was true of course, over the last few months she had started to develop feelings for the fledgling princess that were more than simple friendship. Numerous times she had tried to pluck up the courage to say something but each time she had chickened out. It was something that was always on her mind, she had fought so many adversaries, overcome so many challenges and taken enough risks to fill Ponyville’s Highland Reservoir several times over; and yet she had never been able to express her feelings.
The fact that Twilight knew and that she had just rejected her with such a remark was like a dagger in her heart and the more she tried not to think about it the more that dagger just seemed to turn slowly. She collapsed to the floor, openly crying in a manner that left her friends completely shocked and dismayed. Each of them felt frozen in place except one.
With a cry of rage Applejack turned on Twilight, aiming a sharp hoof at the alicorn’s head. She didn’t even get close. A faint glow of magic surrounded her in mid swing, holding her still in the air. Applejack suddenly found it hard to breath, the magic field constricting around her like the jaws of a trap. In a moment her face started to go purple as she failed repeatedly to draw in oxygen. Twilight herself seemed amused by the spectacle, shuddering in glee with each fruitless breath that Applejack tried to grab.
“Twilight stop! Please stop!” cried Pinkie as she looked from Applejack to Twilight and back again, “Don’t do this! Please!”
Twilight gave the earth pony a small glance and then rolled her eyes. The magic surrounding Applejack faded and the earth pony collapsed to the ground in a fit of choking coughs. Pinkie rushed to her side, quickly checking over her friend in earnest as Applejack finally started to draw normal breathes.
“Why are you doing this Twilight?” asked Rarity quickly, the white unicorn glancing around at her friends and maintaining a good distance from the alicorn in question.
“Why? Yes why indeed,” replied Twilight, “At first I simply wanted to unveil the schemes of the princesses and reveal them for what they were. But the more I thought about it the more I began to wonder, why shouldn’t I take up the crown myself? Alicorns were always meant to be royalty, they were always meant to rule. I’m going to return Equestria to how it was thousands of years ago! I’m going to make every being fear what we ponies can become when we given the chance! I am going to rule the world and nopony out there is going to stop me!”
Twilight let slip a small chuckle, her voice having gotten darker and more forceful as she had spoken.
“And now you all have a choice,” she stated a little more calmly, “You can join me and together we will wipe away the lies and torment that Celestia and Luna have spread…or you can oppose me and face a fate worse that which the princesses will soon endure. Come now my friends, what do you say?”
“…N-No!”
Twilight looked towards the noise with a harsh glare of annoyance. Fluttershy lay next to the sobbing Rainbow Dash, a hoof gently brushing through her mane as she attempted to calm the broken Pegasus. She looked scared, petrified even, and yet she met Twilight’s glare with a resolution that made everypony stare in amazement.
“No!” she repeated after a moment, “You aren’t Twilight…and you aren’t my friend! Twilight would never do this to her friends! She loves us and we love her, she brought us all together in a way none of us can even express! I don’t know who you are…but you are not MY FRIEND!”
Twilight simply grinned and turned away from her, casting her gaze over the others, “And what say you?”
“I’m with Fluttershy!” voiced Pinkie as she helped Applejack to her feet, “No friend of mine would do this to my friends! You’re just a giant meanie pants!”
“You said it Pinkie,” croaked Applejack, “You may look like her, you may sound like her…but you ain’t her! No way am I going to let you do this to Equestria!”
“Likewise!” continued Rarity, “I would rather die than side with what you’ve become! You’re a disgrace to Equestria and all alicorns!”
Twilight didn’t react at all, she simply shifted her gaze once more; this time her violet eyes falling on Spike. Throughout the whole conversation the young dragon had been unable to even move. His mind was full of questions and fears and as he looked around his mind just couldn’t comprehend any of it.
“Ah Spike, my number one assistant,” swooned Twilight, her tone and smile exaggerated to the point of nausea, “You’re still going to join me aren’t you? I’m going to need a helping hand organising my new library and keeping my checklists in order.”
Spike looked back at her with uncertainty. Before him stood the pony who had raised him since he was a baby. She had cared for him and taught him everything he knew. She had comforted him when he was upset and he had helped her in turn when she was down. They had spent the many highs and lows of life together and had saved each other from peril on numerous occasions. But now…
He looked back at the other ponies, each of them looking back at him with worry and concern. As much as Twilight had raised him so too had everypony else he had come into contact with. They had all accepted him into their world, even after his greed had sent him on a rampage through Ponyville. They were all his family…and he couldn’t let them down.
With a small gulp he turned away from Twilight and walked confidently over to Rarity. Puffing up his chest he turned around to face Twilight once more and released his breath.
“No Twilight, I’m not going with you,” he said as confidently as he could despite the shaking his knees were doing.
Twilight gave a sigh as a look of disappointment crossed her face. She blinked slowly before a look of annoyance flashed across her face. Her magic flared to life and the previously discarded manacles that littered the floor sprung to life. Each one quickly wrapped itself around its previous host, Rarity and Rainbow actually crying out at how rough the action was. Without a moment’s pause another set of restraints flew out from seemingly nowhere and wrapped themselves around each ponies neck, a long chain connecting them all together in a line.
“Guards!” yelled Twilight in a voice that seemed to make the whole room shake.
It took but a moment for the throne room to fill with guard ponies, each of them brandishing a spear and staring menacingly at the chained party of friends.
“Fine then, if that is what you’ve decided you’re of no further use to me,” announced Twilight before looking at the closest guard, “Take them to the dungeons and lock them up. They are to be given nothing unless I say so! Now take them away.”
None of her former friends said a word as they were led off by the guards although Twilight herself had one last thing to say.
“Enjoy your last night in this world,” she said spitefully, “I’ll be sure to make your executions tomorrow as long and as slow as I can!”
Only Rainbow turned her head to look back but it was only for a moment as she followed her friends out of the throne room.