//------------------------------// // Divine Punishment // Story: Everfree: Innocence Lost // by RampantArcana //------------------------------// Everfree: Innocence Lost When she first came knocking on my door, I did what any reasonable pony would do: I slammed the door in her face and tried to run away. However, one does not simply escape the likes of her. For a mage of her power, obstacles such as doors are not an issue. I was cornered in mere moments. As I cowered in fear, mentally saying my goodbyes to my family and friends, she did the last thing I could possibly expect. She began to tell me a story. She even started with, "Once upon a time," too, even though it was nowhere near a fairy tale. In the days to come, she came back many times, always telling another story that seemed to have little to do with the last. However, it soon dawned on me that these stories were all pieces of the same epic, an epic driven by the forgotten annals of history and written in the blood of countless ponies to come. The tale she started to spin had little rhyme or rhythm. There was little sense of chronology or causality. It was as if she were merely speaking her mind. Maybe she needed to get things off of her chest so to speak. Maybe this was her penance for her past sins. Maybe she just wanted someone to understand... My name is Broken Record. I am a unicorn court scribe in Canterlot. I write down exactly what was said in government gatherings and keep track of where discussions have been going from day to day. Why she chose a scribe to write her biography is beyond me. Maybe it is because I write things verbatim. She did mention she's used to being quoted exactly, what with all those letters to the princess. There are a lot of maybe's, but I am not one to judge, only record and repeat. So join me dear reader. See how things came to be as they are. Hear now how the peace of Equestria was lost, how a millennium of prosperity was ruined, how we became Everfree. This is the legacy of the late Terra Firma. This is the story of the night terror who even the princesses fear, she who reminded us of the atrocities a pony is capable of, the arcane horror Twilight Sparkle. Chapter 1: Divine Punishment – 4 Years ANM This place is a cesspool, she thought. In all actuality, the bar Twilight Sparkle sat at was a rather respectable joint. The patrons sat in their own groups, keeping their conversations down to a dull roar with the exception of the occasional bout of raucous laughter, no doubt amplified by the ample supply of premium cider. The tables were clean, the staff amicable, and incidents of violence were rarely heard of. Twilight sat alone on a stool in front of the bar itself, watching the ponies behind prepare drinks or put together sandwiches for the merry customers at the tables behind her. She sipped at a single tankard of cider, once again checking her mild shock at the sight of her newly colored blue hair above her hoof. Appearances had to be maintained. Once again she checked on the spell coloring her coat blue and mane red. Such an easy enchantment; it would last until morning even without her focus on it. However, it also hid her horn, and one cannot pass as an earth pony without using hooves to lift things. Refraining from using magic was a difficult task, even during Winter Wrap Up, but Twilight endured. She winced suddenly and forced herself to sit still as her right eye itched furiously. A cesspool. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she forced herself to ignore the itching eye much like one would ignore a bug bite. Oh how she wished she could be back in her library, reading yet another volume of Starswirl the Bearded's writings, but she could not ignore the itch forever. Bad things happened when she ignored it too long. When she opened her eyes again, she emptied the last of her cider and placed the tankard back on the counter with a dull thunk. She very carefully kept her expression bored and facing forward until the sound of hoofsteps came up behind her. "Well what's a pretty little pony like yourself doing all by your lonesome?" Twilight glanced at the stallion who had approached her with a practiced smile. Her eye almost burned as she took in his off-white coat and well kept brown mane. The telltale lack of wings or horn made him an earth pony. Twilight silently thanked Celestia she had chosen to impersonate an earth pony as well. It saved time, and that was something she was quite short on. A gold scale often seen outside courthouses resided on his flank. Clearly his special talent had something to do with the judicial system. So this was the pony, hmm? The burning had never steered her wrong before. But she had to be sure. Flippantly, she replied, "Oh, just enjoying a drink." The stallion chuckled. "Well how are you going to do that with an empty cup? Bartender! Another round for the filly and a tankard of cider for myself." He slid onto the stool to her left as their drinks arrived. Twilight carefully checked the other spell she had cast to keep herself to filter alcohol out of her system. Not a single flaw. She took a hold of her now full tankard and lifted it towards the stallion in thanks. The stallion replied in kind and said, "Cheers!" before they both took a quick drink. The stallion didn't give her time to say anything else. "The name's Eustice, attorney at law," punctuating the introduction with a winning smile. "Starla," Twilight lied simply, taking another sip. It was too bad she couldn't change her cutie mark, so the name would have to suffice. Anypony would assume that she simply had a gift related to stargazing. Eustice pushed more. "So what brings you around this part of Manehatten? Most visitors usually tend to hang around downtown." She quickly tried weighing her options, but the burn in her eye was distracting. She decided to stall a moment. "What makes you think I'm new around here?" "Starla dear, I know everyone in this place," Eustice said, gesturing to the tables behind him, "And I've never seen you around before. I'd remember such a pretty face." The burning was dying down a little, and Twilight let a little smirk appear on her face. She had played this role before, and he was making this too easy. "I'm visiting a friend, but she's gone out with an old flame tonight." "Now what kind of friend abandons their guest?" He gave a slight nod to her. "A mare like you shouldn't be out on her own. The streets aren't as safe as they used to be. Perhaps you'd enjoy some company this evening?" Twilight chuckled a bit and raised an eyebrow playfully, "Somepony like you?" Eustice smiled cheekily, "Maybe. I am an attorney after all." He sipped his cider. "No safer place than with an upstanding pony of the law." Twilight liked this stallion. It was too bad her eye was burning again. A year ago, she might have engaged him in a academic conversation, maybe become friends, maybe a special somepony. But now... The eye called, and it would not go unanswered. The next hour was spent carefully dodging around Eustice's queries and encouraging him to talk more and more about himself. Twilights charade became easier and easier as the tankards continued to be refilled. Finally after the fifth drink, Twilight suggested moving to more comfortable surroundings. The now eager and giddy Eustice quickly paid the bill for both his and Twilight's drinks and trotted after her as she walked between the tables. She pretended not to notice the small congratulations for Eustice as she added an extra swagger to each step. Her eye was on fire now. It would have to be soon, and she couldn't afford to let anyone else follow them. As they exited the bar Eustice swayed slightly as he asked, "So where would you like to go? I have a rather cozy place if you'd like." Twilight turned to him with a minxy smile. "How about my hotel? There's bound to be less... distractions." Eustice eagerly nodded, clearly intoxicated enough to not ask why she wasn't staying with her "friend" she was visiting. Small favors, Twilight thought as she began to lead the way. Heading down the streets towards the hotel she had spotted hours ago, Twilight kept an alert gaze forwards, eyes flicking between the ponies enjoying late night strolls or on their ways home. The moon was past its peak, and the streets were emptying. Turning a corner and nopony in sight, Twilight trotted ahead of Eustice to an alleyway. She paused for a moment and shot him a sultry smile before entering. Out of sight from the street, Twilight quickly went to work, her face adopting a look of pure concentration as she raised spell after spell of insulation around the alley,. She wouldn't want anypony intruding. Eustice rounded the corner after her and blearily looked at her face. "Huh, thought I saw something." Twilight stopped casting and turned back toward him, the smile back on her face. She slowly walked up to him and put her mouth right up to his ear. "You know what I want right now?" she whispered huskily. This had to end. The fire in her eye was almost unbearable now. The seal was demanding its dues. She quickly put the finishing touches on her wards while her face was out of his line of vision. Apparently the enchantment couldn't completely mask casting spells. He might have seen a flash of light or even her horn itself. She made a mental note to perform some tests before next time, but couldn't start planning what. It burned. Burned in her eye, burned in her mind, yearning for release. But she needed to be sure. She couldn't live with herself if she wasn't sure. Eustice gulped and whispered back, "No, what?" Twilight slowly brought herself face to face with him, almost close enough to kiss. Then she abruptly threw him against the wall on her left with telekinesis. Eustice let out a cry of pain, then groaned as he crumpled to the ground. Apparently head injuries were terrible to mix with intoxication as he suddenly became violently ill. He groaned again as Twilight loomed over him. "Wha-? What the-?" Twilght grabbed him again and brought them nose to nose. "Look at me!" she commanded. Eustice moaned again and closed his eyes in pain. Twilight shook him violently. "Look in my eyes!" she yelled. Finally, Eustice looked her in the eyes, a dazed expression on his face. Twilight quickly cast the spell and dove into his mind. Light flashed all around her as she rushed forward, moving deeper and deeper. Ponies and rooms rushed by, but she paid them no heed. She knew what she was looking for, and the burn in her eye told her she was getting closer. Finally she stopped. Images, thoughts, and feelings rolled over her. A filly with a cream coat and blond mane smiling back at her. She was giving Twilight a cup now. Twilight was flirting with her. A night of passion. A night of need. The need slowly changing to something sinister. Twilight watched her scream. Blood was flowing from the cream coat as Twilight roughly shaved her mane. A knife in her hoof. More blood. She needed this. It filled her with ecstasy. Twilight's heart sang in her chest as she felt the filly's heart stop. Then the panic set in. What to do? What to do? But she knew what to do. She had planned for this. She knew how the justice system worked. No one would find her body, and even if they did, it was all an accident. A terrible, terrible accident that had nothing to do with her. She could get away with it. And she could do it again and again, like with that blue mare with the red mane named Starla, sitting at the bar. Twilight screamed as she pulled her mind back to herself. Shaking her head, she reminded herself that they were not her thoughts. She had never met that mare in her life. She was Twilight Sparkle, not Eustice the ponykiller. It was frightening as well. She'd never come across a pony who had been planning to kill her as well. Twilight breathed deeply, trying to calm herself. Another groan from behind reminded her of where she was. Apparently she had thrown Eustice again in her shock. "Help..." he cried weakly as he began crawling toward the street. "Please... someone..." He paused in disbelief as a pony passed by the alley without a single glance. Twilight walked up to him breathing heavily. He looked back at her from the ground, his expression becoming manic. "No. Please stop, I'll do anything." Twilight snapped. She threw him again away from the street where he collapsed in a heap, moaning and crying in pain. "DID YOU STOP FOR HER?" It was getting worse. Ponycide was horrible enough. "WOULD YOU HAVE STOPPED FOR ME?!?" Nopony should have to deal with the loss. Fury coursing through her veins, Twilight marched up to him. "Eustice, I find you guilty of ponycide!" she roared at him. Serial ponykillers... nopony should have to deal with that. Nopony should have to deal with the guilt. Nopony but her. "In the name of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, I sentence you to death!" Eustice yelled in terror. Then he screamed in pain, yelping only as a pony in torment can. The alley was filled with multicolored lights and fire, but nopony on the streets noticed a thing. The burning in Twilight's eye started dying out, and all the while, she tried to ignore how her heart was singing just as Eustice's had.