//------------------------------//
// Provoke 
// Story: Manipulation 
// by Crescent_Blues 
//------------------------------//

Twilight Sparkle walked through the gardens of Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns in a crisp manner, her thoughts racing, while panic swelled in her chest, threatening to burst like a water balloon.

She was barely containing her little tweets of anxiety and displeasure, and had to resist the urge to go nuclear. Her thoughts raced back to the note she had found back on her desk, a little crumpled piece of notebook paper with damp and ripped edges saying:

We have your dragon. Come to the center of the gardens or he gets it.

And before she had done anything she had flipped the desk, set it back, and jumped out of the window. Because it was cool, and she was a little filly that read way too many adventure novels. Okay that wasn't it. She had done it because when setting it back she had slipped and toppled towards the window. She had put her hooves on the closed glass, and because her teacher was staring at her, pupils and irises small, pushed it open to make it look like it was on purpose, and jumped out.

Anyway, her short legs were carrying her as fast as they could across the paved cobblestones, towards the towering statue of Princess Celestia, Solar Princess of Equestria.

Just thinking the name of her mentor sent a little flower of warmth into her heart that blossomed into a little sun in her chest. She was Twilight Sparkle, personal protegee of Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria itself! She could handle this.

But still, a worm of doubt had settled in her mind, that maybe not everything could be solved with magic. Maybe she couldn't handle this. Maybe--

Her thought was cut off when her face slammed into the iron gate on the southern cardinal point to the center of gardens. Of course she was more focused on the pain in her face from the metal it had just slammed into. Hard. Twilight rubbed her muzzle.

"Or maybe I can just crash into everything..."she grumbled."Ow."

Grimicing, Twilight pushed herself up again and used her magic to raise the bar keeping the gates from swinging open, and set it down next to the doorway.Then she pushed open the gate with an unsteady hoof. She slowly walked into the enclosed circle, the hairs on the back of her neck bristling.

"Okay, I came! What do you want? Where's Spik--"

Her question was cut of when a hoof slammed into her chest and knocked her onto the ground.

"I told you she would come. Anything for her precious little freak!"

Twilight let out a hiss as she skidded on the ground. She ran her hoof across her muzzle. She looked at the scarlet glimmering on her hoof and snarled.

" What is wrong with you? Is that you Comet Tail?" Twilight sputtered as blood from her nostril streamed into her mouth.

"Who else would it be, Twilight Snarkle!?" Comet snarled in Twilight's face. " Rowan, Bats, grab the drake!" He snapped at a dark brown pudgy unicorn stallion with a blood red mane and a wreath of rowan berries and two crossed vials for a cutie mark; The other was a thin near black unicorn mare with a silvery mane and a white disk on her flank with a bat shadow and a wand going from top to bottom for a cutie mark.

The two ponies held a little purple dragon with green spines and eyes, which were wide with fear. 

"Spike!" Twilight shouted and turned to Comet Tail." Let him go! He hasn't done anything to you!”

"We know."Comet Tail smirked."But we can't seemed to get through to you, so maybe we can get through to him." He turned to Bats and Rowan." Get the knif--"

Twilight, acting on impulse had slashed her sharp horn across the cheek of Comet Tail, leaving a thin streak of blood.

Comet Tail just stood there for a moment, Bats and Rowan just staring, in a shock, a pocket knife floating in their combined magic.

Then he slowly turned to Twilight and his eyes widened, ever so slightly.

Twilight Sparkle, a filly considered who was considered calm, was about to rip out Comet Tail's throat. The lavender unicorn was standing shaky on her four hooves, her mane bristling like sea urchin at the seams. A grim snarl was plastered on her face and her ears were laid flat, her fetlock barely covering her burning eyes. Literally. Her pupils and irises, normally black and magenta respectively, were burning disks of red, orange, and yellow. Streaks of magenta fire ran through her mane and tail, crackling over her cutie mark and her horn tipped in scarlet. In five words: she looked insane and dangerous. Another good word to use: badass.

"You touch one scale on his head, one scale, and I personally send you to Tartarus." Twilight, deep in her subconscious and, at the moment, only sane part of her brain, knew that was an empty threat she couldn't fulfill. But she would try her hardest to make this fight a living hell.

Comet Tail let out a cackle. "Oh really? Bats, Rowan! Put down the drake!"

The two unicorns did so, and stalked forward, their heads lowered and their steps powerful. Their horns gleamed grimly.

Comet Tail turned towards Twilight, and for a moment his eyes flashed green and slitted. He let out a metallic cackle. " Let's teach her a lesson." His horn was in cased in green magic, which glowed pale and sickly. Bats and Rowan lit their horns, magic glowing the same sickly green.

Twilight snarled and her sclera burned a even brighter white, somewhat drowning out her iris and pupil.

And she uttered her challange:

"Bring it."