The Queen Beckons

by AlicornPriest

Part 3: The Mousetrap

1.

When Twilight awakes, she feels the cape hugging her body closely, like the wing of an alicorn close to her. However, now Twilight cannot tell which such being she means by that.

The door to her chamber opens, and Shining Armor walks in. "Hey, kiddo," he says. "How are things?"

"Fine," Twilight says

Shining Armor sighs. "Look, it was a bad idea for us to go up onto the castle walls last night. I'm afraid for you, Twilight. I heard about what happened with you and Celestia in the library."

"That's none of your business, Shining!" Twilight replies.

"What, it isn't my business how my sister and my boss and princess are getting along?" Shining Armor scoffs. "I just want you to be happy. Is that a crime?"

"If it means you're butting into my personal life, then yes!"

"Now I know something's up," Shining says. "You've never once acted like this with me. It's about the Night Mare, isn't it?"

"You don't know anything!" Twilight yells. "Maybe I just don't want to bothered. Have you ever thought of that?"

"Twily, calm down. Whatever it is I did, I'm sorry. I just don't want us to fight." He looks away for a moment, and a strange darkness passes over his face. "With Cadance gone, and you ignoring me..."

Twilight feels her entire body release its pent-up tension. "Maybe that's it," she says. "I miss Cadance, too."

"She really does help keep you grounded, you know," he jokes.

"Yeah, but I make her more fun!" Twilight replies with a laugh.

"Don't I know it!" he says. "It's practically like she's two different ponies."

"What if she is, and she's got some twin hidden away in some corner of the palace?"

"I'm pretty sure we'd know if there was another alicorn like Cadance around here."

"I guess." Twilight chuckles, and Shining joins in.

After a few seconds, he asks her, "Are we good then? At least for the time being?"

"Yeah, I guess we are." She smiles, but it doesn't reach all the way to the back of her mind.

"I know you don't want us to worry, but we do anyway, Princess Celestia and me," Shining says. "You don't have to accept our help, okay? Just... don't get in trouble, all right, Twily? We're here if you need us."

"I understand," Twilight says. But she doesn't.

"All right, then." He pauses just outside the door. "You're going to that show tonight, right? What's his name... Starbuck?"

"Yeah. Lyra Heartstrings is going to be there. I'm meeting up with her in a few minutes."

"That's good," Shining says. He cracks a smile and adds, "I remember her. Wasn't she the clingy one from your geomancy classes?"

"That's her!" Twilight says. "I haven't seen her in two years, but I remember her being nice, at least."

"It'll be good for you to spend some time with your friends," Shining notes.

Twilight frowns. Friends. Who has need of friends when there is so much to learn? Twilight knows her destiny is something great; friends will only slow her down. But she tries to nod and say, "Absolutely," reassuringly. If anypony in this castle were Twilight's friend, it certainly isn't Lyra. But Shining doesn't need to know that, so Twilight holds that back for another time.

"Good. I'd go with you, but I've got guard duty. Hey, it might be cold out there. Mind if I borrow that cloak?"

"No!" She magicks the cloak tight against her body. At Shining's concerned look, she tells him, "I, uh, borrowed this one from a classmate of mine. I don't want it to get dirty."

"O-okay, I guess." Shining turns around, but he feels that the two steps forward he'd made have become four steps back. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Sure..." Twilight says. When Shining Armor leaves, she hastily closes the door and makes sure it is locked tight. She turns to look back at the cloak. "All right, shadow," she says, "let's see what you can do!"

2.

"Princess! It's an honor, Your Royalness, it really is! I can't believe it! I'm really working for the Princess! Mom and Dad are going to be so proud of me!"

"Yes, Miss Heartstrings," Celestia says. She holds a hoof to her forehead, just below her horn, and waits for the pressure to go away. "I'm glad to hear you are ready for this mission."

"Mission? Aren't I just talking to Twilight?"

"Yes, but it is a matter of national security. Recently, I found out what is ailing Twilight, and it is concerning to say the least."

"Really? What is it? And what do I play in it?" Lyra asks.

"I'm afraid... I'm afraid she's subconsciously demonizing me. She's been hearing all of these rumors about a Ghost, and, combined with how she's been feeling about me, she's begun to treat me in her dreams as though I were the Night Mare herself!"

"But what does that have to do with me?"

"I need you to be a balance in her life. She relies on me for so much emotionally that this break between us is wearing her down. I need you to be somepony she can confide in, a peer, somepony to share her time with... what am I going for..."

"A friend, Princess?"

Celestia smiles. "Yes, exactly. A friend. Can you do that?"

"Oh, yes, Princess! I know I can! I'll be the best friend Twilight's ever had! I'll be like a bestest best friend in all of frienddom! I'll be--"

"I get the picture, Miss Heartstrings." Celestia nods towards the hallway the two of them are approaching. "You said you were going to meet her here?"

"I think this is the right place." Lyra peeps a head around the corner, then pulls it back with a snap. "She's out there already! What do I do?"

"Well, what is she doing?"

"Let me check." She looks just past the corner, then pulls her head back once more. "I think she's talking to herself, Princess."

"Talking to herself? Here, let's see." Celestia's horn lights up a vivid gold, and at once one of the mirrors nearby begins to contort and twist. The image changes slowly until, at last, it depicts Twilight walking back and forth. She is holding a vase depicting Celestia's face and speaking to herself.

"What spell is this?"

"Scrying. Now shh." With a wave, the two of them fall silent and watch the scene before them.

In the mirror, Twilight sets the jar down on a nearby table. She looks the painted Celestia straight in the eye for a few heavy seconds, then sighs. "What is my purpose?" Twilight asks. "Will I walk the path of darkness or of light? If I accept these newfound gifts, I will revel in the power of the universe, the fullness of my potential. And yet I do not know whether, even now, I am being eaten away by lies and effects beyond my comprehension. To accept may be to die-- but it may be to grow stronger as well. What I could be with these forces of night, I cannot fathom.

"And yet, I do not know what I am stumbling into. Perhaps I am but a pawn in a greater game, the servant of a greater cause. Perhaps I am not growing stronger, but weaker, and weakness is strength in this strange new paradigm I walk. I am throwing myself to the mercy of one I do not know and praying she will catch me. And yet, was it better before? Was I truly alive under the hoof of Celestia? Or was I a puppet then, too, a plaything to be used and forgotten like any of the others? What is Celestia's game? She was grooming me to be something, I know not what. Is the uncertainty of Celestia any better than the darkness of my new aspirations?

"No. Celestia loves me. Or loved me. She wanted only the best. But what best? What ideal? If I were to choose a path Celestia did not approve of, would she assist me, or would she convince me to change my mind? ...No. I know the answer to that question. I know what Celestia wants of me. She wants me to put away my books and scrolls and end my pursuit of my all. She wishes me to pretend to be someone other than myself. I reject that plan, then. I will be myself, completely myself, and no other. Even if I am walking into another position of servitude, I choose it of my own will. I will not accept pretending any longer."

As Twilight pauses, the gears in her brain turning, Lyra coughs, shattering the silence. In the image (which wavers as Celestia turns to Lyra angrily), Twilight jumps. "Who's there?"

"Go!" Celestia hisses.

Lyra stumbles out from behind the corner. "Sorry, Twilight. It was just me. Didn't mean to sneak up on you or anything."

Twilight smiles. "Ah, good. I'm glad to see you, Lyra." She turns to the side and mutters, "Lyra, a puppet just like me. Let us see where our strings truly lead." When Twilight looks up, she seems to stare straight at the spot where Celestia's scrying image begins. Unnerved, Celestia severs the connection and allows her superior hearing to do the job instead.

Lyra says, a bit awkwardly, "I like the cape. It looks really good on you."

Twilight blushes. "Why, thank you, Lyra. The glasses are new, too."

"Oh, yes, yeah, I knew that," Lyra stammers. "They look really nice, too."

"Thanks. Now, wasn't there something you wanted to say to me?" Twilight's hoofsteps begin to lead away, and Lyra's follow quickly as she catches up. Celestia strains to hear every word.

"Oh, right, I just, uh, wanted to say that, uh, are you going to the show tonight, too?" Lyra says.

"Why, yes I am. I think it's going to be great. I hope you'll be sitting near me so we can talk about it together."

Now it is Lyra's turn to blush. "That would be fun."

The voices get fainter. Celestia casts a spell on herself to allow her to hide within the many shadows dotting the corridor. She slips from one to another, staying behind the two mares.

Lyra is still talking. "I'm sure you don't remember our old classes together."

Twilight almost sounds shocked. "Why, of course I do! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't remember something like that?"

"We're... friends?" Lyra asks.

"Of course we are!"

"But didn't you tell me when we were working on that project, 'Look, I'm just going to do it all by myself, please leave me alone?'"

"Well, you shouldn't have believed me, then." Celestia catches a smirk on Twilight's face, but it quickly leaves her view. "I may not have sounded like it, but I really did enjoy having you working with me."

"You did?!" Lyra asks.

"Who wouldn't? You're a very kind, interesting pony, Lyra."

Lyra's response can only be categorized as "incoherent babbling." After some of that, she asks, "You really think so?"

"I know so," Twilight replies. "I'm glad that we'll be friends. You're so much cooler and nicer than I am."

"That's not true at all!" Lyra says, almost shouts. "You're the coolest pony in this whole castle!"

"Please, Lyra, don't exaggerate. I know I'm not the most extroverted, or the kindest. I can get pretty crabby when I don't get enough sleep, or when I get interrupted from my reading. I'm not a nice, friendly pony like you."

"But everypony wants to be you, Twilight!" Lyra almost stops herself, but says, "I want to be you."

Twilight stops. Something seems to be going through her mind, but Celestia cannot tell what. She turns and looks directly at the shadow where Celestia is standing. She recoils for a moment, but reminds herself that there is no possible way Twilight can break through her spell. Finally, Twilight does respond. "I need to show you something. Are you ready?"

"Uh, sure. What is it?" Lyra asks.

Twilight lifts up her cape with a hoof, then throws it with one swift motion. As it passes over Lyra, Twilight, and eventually itself, they disappear, until at last the hallway is empty but for an awestruck Princess lurking in the shadows.

3.

The two of them land in an empty blackness, stretching out into a yawning infinity. There is no sound but the heartbeats and breaths of the two ponies. Twilight's is even and collected, but Lyra's begins to pick up as she takes in her surroundings. "What did you... where are... what..." Lyra spits out.

"Relax, Lyra. This is a safe place," Twilight tells her.

"That only answers my second question!" Lyra shouts.

"Okay. What I did was move us to a more private environment. I've learned a new magical ability that lets me do it."

"And my third question?!"

"All you said was 'What,' Lyra," Twilight replies. "I don't know what that means."

"What do you want with me?" Lyra cries. She throws herself to the ground and weeps.

"I don't want to hurt you, Lyra! I just need to tell you something, and it needs to be away from Celestia's prying eyes."

"O-o-okay..." Lyra says.

"I know what you're up to. I know what Celestia is trying to do with you. I won't say that I'm mad at you, because you're just trying to be a good subject. But you don't have to subjugate yourself to her! You can be free, away from her puppet strings! I want you to join me and my new mistress. Join our side! We'll turn against Celestia and restore the rightful queen to the throne!"

"You-you're scaring me, Twilight. I don't understand," Lyra babbles. "You're talking about treason and magic and darkness a-and I just don't understand."

"You have to say 'yes,'" Twilight insists. "I can't let you tell Celestia any of this!"

Lyra's eyes grow wide, and she bolts into the shadows. Twilight only watches with a sober expression. Once Lyra falls to the ground, unable to continue, Twilight moves to her location with a single step. Space folds around her in this empty unworld; Lyra sees it all, her mouth painfully dry. Their eyes meet. Lyra's are water; Twilight's are fire. "I didn't want to do this," Twilight says. "I thought you could be trusted. I thought you could be persuaded."

"Don't do this, Twilight. You said you liked me!"

"And you thought I was telling the truth? You actually believed me?" Twilight laughs, and the whole darkness echoes with it. "Don't be foolish, Lyra. You are nothing but an overactive, mindless, lovesick little puppy. You are nothing, an empty vessel; it's no wonder Celestia turned to you to brainwash me and keep me from the truth!"

"No, that's not the truth!" Lyra interrupts. Each word comes from her as a desperate attempt to save her life. "Celestia doesn't want to brainwash you! She just wants you to have a friend!"

"Of course she wants me to have a friend. Friends are time, energy, focus. They will keep me from discovering the truth. But I will find it. I will know it. It is my destiny!"

"Stop it, Twilight! I... I love you!" she cries out.

"No, you don't. You love my power. You love my genius. You love my body. You love the idea of love. But you don't know me; you don't understand me. This is me now! Do you love me now?" Twilight says. She rears back, and the darkness about her cracks and thunders like a great pegasus-crafted storm.

"Please don't kill me..." is Lyra's only response.

"Oh, I can't kill you. If I did, Celestia would know it was my doing, and I must remain out of her suspicion. No, I won't kill you." Before Lyra can sigh in relief, Twilight adds, "But there are many other methods of silence I have learned from my dark mistress." She turns to her cloak and says, "Shadows?" Then she points to Lyra's prone form. "Enter."

Like a swarm of locusts, shadows pour forth from her cape. They orbit Lyra's head, and she screams. Her horn lights up, and she swats desperately at the spinning shadows. One by one, they pour into her ear, and before long, her eyes glaze over with a dark veneer. The magic fades, and every muscle in Lyra's body relaxes.

Twilight speaks, slowly at first. "Lyra, my thrall. Can you understand me?"

"yes" she says.

"You will forget everything you have learned in this world. Do you understand?"

"i do" Lyra says.

"For all intents and purposes, you will continue to serve Celestia. However, two things have changed. First, you and I must act as though we are a happy couple. Second, should I ever begin a command by calling you 'Lyrica,' you will obey it without question. Am I clear?"

"as crystal"

"Good. Now, you will wait sixty seconds. After that, you will return to normal. Understood?"

"yes" Lyra says.

Twilight whisks her cape and returns the two of them to an empty room in the castle. When they return, she falls to the ground and retches. "What have I done?" she asks. "What have I become?"

After the determined sixty seconds, Lyra's eyes return to their normal golden luster. When she looks at Twilight, they flash black, but otherwise appear normal. "Twilight, my love!" she says. "It's so good to see you."

"And you, Lyra," Twilight replies weakly.

"You haven't forgotten the show tonight, have you? Our very first date," Lyra adds with a knowing smirk.

"R-right," Twilight says. She goes to the door, but on a whim, she includes, "Lyrica, follow."

"as you request" Lyra intones. The two of them walk down the hall, without so much as a word.

4.

Celestia sees Lyra and Twilight walk in just as the show begins to start. Her mind jumps to the question at hand, but she cannot ask it without revealing that she was spying on her. She also immediately notices how close the two of them are: they can hardly keep their hooves off of each other!

"Did we miss anything?" Lyra asks.

"Not at all; the show has just begun," Celestia replies. "You two seem to be getting along well."

"Aren't we, though?" Twilight says. "Lyra asked me in the hallway if I'd like to start going out with her. I said yes, of course. Won't this be a great first date?"

The words echo sharply through Celestia's thoughts. She opens her mouth, but Lyra cuts her off. "Shh! The show's starting!" she says.

The two curtains pull to the side, revealing Starbuck and Trixie standing together on stage. Starbuck calls out to the crowd, "Fillies and gentlecolts! Thank you all for coming tonight to our humble show! We will be doing a special presentation for all of you tonight, entitled, 'Screwball in Wonderland.' The part of Screwball will be played by my daughter, Trixie, while I will be playing the Rabbit, the Farrier, the Tall Horse, the Small Horse, and... well, everypony else. We hope you enjoy 'Screwball in Wonderland!'"

The audience stomps their hooves against the ground in appreciation. For a second, the stage goes dark. When it lights up once more, only Trixie remains on stage. "Oh, what a beautiful day!" she says. "Look at all the beautiful trees and flowers!" Her horn alights, and the images appear around her. Her father appears, dressed up in a white cloak and bunny ears over his own. "That Rabbit," she says. "He looks so strange!"

"Why, look at the time! I must be going!" Starbuck says. He hop-gallops his way around the stage, and Trixie follows uncertainly.

As the play continues, Celestia occasionally turns to look at Twilight. She appears to be watching the show with characteristically rapt attention. Celestia sees Twilight's cheerful innocence, and it heartens her greatly. For just a little while, Celestia thinks that everything is back to normal again. She almost says something to Twilight during the intermission, but she holds her tongue and lets the two lovebirds enjoy their time together.

Eventually, the play comes to an end. Screwball awakes to find that Wonderland was all a dream, and she returns to her avid playing in the field. The curtain closes, and the audience stamps their wild approval. Celestia sits up to cheer, but strangely, Twilight does not. If anything, she seems to be even more absorbed in the darkened stage. After a few seconds, the stage lights up once more, and the Sidereal Starbuck returns. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” he says, “I am proud to present a new story for your enjoyment; consider it an encore of sorts. We hope you enjoy 'The Banishment of Selene!'”

“Selene...?” Celestia asks. She sits up and peers at the stage.

“Have you heard that name before?” Twilight asks her.

“In a sense,” Celestia replies. Any further answer is cut short by the beginning of the play.

Starbuck stands in front of all of them, clad in cool violet coat paint and grand prop wings. He begins his monologue:

Behold! I am Selene.

I, who hold the sea and sky in motion;

I, who keep dominion over night and day;

I, who guard all tribes of ponies faithfully;

I, Selene, am ruler of all.

I rule with a strong hoof and a heart of gold.

I purge evil from my land, yet love all equally.

I am loved beyond all others as fair, just, and kind.

I, the good, the beautiful, the wondrous.

I am Selene.

At “loved beyond all others,” Celestia sits up further and stares at “Selene” as if she were searching for answers. Starbuck continues:

This is my kingdom:

pulled from the dark of discord,

triumphant over the rule of shadow,

growing even o'er the Plague of Ancients.

We survived, longer than the Homin,

longer than the Didema,

longer than the koboldkind.

From the ruins of Unicornia,

out of the ashes of the first Canterlot,

order restored from chaos' reign,

all by my wing and hoof and horn.

“How could he know about all of that?” Celestia wonders. Discord, Sombra, the Plague of Ancients—as far as she knows, not a single history book lays mention to any of those things. And what pony had met the Didema or the Homin? But it is far too coincidental to be fiction...

As Starbuck speaks, Trixie sneaks in from one side of the stage. Celestia's heart breaks further: this character is her, without a doubt. Trixie's mane has been dyed a solid pink, and her coat is an alabaster hue. No one but Celestia would recognize that old appearance, but it is her nonetheless. Nopony has seen her image in the stained glass of the Royal Vault. How could Starbuck know? She considers that he might not have written this one as he did the previous one, but that only raises more questions. And when Trixie speaks, it only cements her discomfort:

I am the Thief, the Pretender,

the Jealous One. I see Selene's success

and hunger for it. I cannot rest

until I see her torn down to her core.

I have with me a gem of pow'r;

violet as spring,

as treacherous as poison.

It will drain her of her powers,

steal her soul,

consume her and leave her to die.

Then I will bear it, control it,

and the love of Equestria will be mine.

Celestia looks down at her peytral, where the selfsame gem rests quietly. Another strangely similar detail—but wrong, oh how wrong!

Trixie points to Starbuck, the gem aloft:

Halt, Selene! Not another step.

Starbuck replies:

Why do you do this, child?

Why do you stand against me?
Celestia mouths along with Trixie's next lines:

Did you really expect me to sit idly by

while they all basked in your precious light?

To Starbuck in this darkened mirror:

Do not do this, little one.

What can I do or say to ease your mind?

Back, back! Stay back!

No! So close, yet so far!

There can only be one Princess in Equestria,

and that Princess WILL BE ME!
“No!” Celestia stands up, and, without realizing it, her magic flares. The lights in the theater grow brighter, brighter, then explode into darkness. For a few moments, nothing can be seen or heard except Celestia's grief-wracked sobs. In time, she pulls herself back together and restores the lights to normal. A guard approaches her from the side and asks, “Your Highness, should we stop the play?”

“No... no, that won't be necessary.” She stands up, brushes off her pillow, and turns to the crowd. “I apologize. I'm afraid I... lost my composure.” Without another word, she hurries from the theater, leaving Twilight with a look that could only be described as “triumphant.”

5.

Twilight follows Celestia back from the show. In the dark halls, Twilight is a ghost, completely unseen, while Celestia blazes amid the darkness. But there is not a sound through the entire castle, save Celestia's edged breathing. The two of them pass through the corridors until they arrive at Celestia's chamber. Celestia closes the door behind her. The two of them are alone.

Celestia reaches beneath her bed and pulls out a small box. Twilight does not recognize most of the objects: they appear to be a child's toys, paintings, or mementos. At the very bottom are two small idols: the first, six marquise-cut gems arranged in a pentagon; the second, a statuette of Night Mare Moon from the Nightmare Night celebration. The two of them go on her nightstand, followed, after a moment of thought, by the peytral about Celestia's neck. With those three set before her, Celestia kneels down and begins to pray. “Selene...” she murmurs. “I haven't heard that name in such a long time. I associate it with a very different pony altogether. You were good and sweet, and I loved you... I still do, you know.” Twilight hears the falling of tears against the soft carpet, sees the glistening in the moonlight. “You had no idea how much you meant to me. I watched as you grew more and more unhappy, but there was nothing I could do.” She begins to sob, broken. “I betrayed you! I let you be consumed by the darkness, and I saw the fear in your eyes! I saw your final moments, as I locked your essence in the moon, and I regretted every last second I had spent with you that I wasted! Every time I look up and see your face, I am reminded of my sin. Every time I see the faces of our subjects, I regret that you cannot be here to see them smiling. I only wish...” But here she shakes her head. “...No. If I were to relive that moment, I would do the same thing. It was not you I fought, but Night Mare Moon. And she was a cruel mistress. I will willingly suffer for a thousand years over and over again if that is what it takes to protect my charges. If that means I will never know rest from my guilt... so be it.”

Twilight is shocked and appalled. So she freely admits it! Now, more than ever, it is obvious that Celestia must be stopped. While Celestia's back is turned, Twilight reaches for the peytral with her magic. It lifts slowly, then drifts towards Twilight. When the peytral is halfway across the room, Celestia notices its absence. She turns and sees it floating through the air. “Who's there?”

The jig is up. Twilight steps from the shadows, her eyes agleam. “Hello, Pretender.”

“Don't--! Please don't call me that, Twilight.” Celestia says. “Whoever wrote that play was sadly misinformed.”

“You don't understand,“ says Twilight. “I wrote the play tonight.”

“No! That doesn't make any sense,” Celestia says. “Why would you make up something like that?”

“Don't lie to me!” Twilight shouts. “I know it's true. I know what you did to her! She told me so!”

Everything falls into place. “Twilight... You serve Night Mare Moon? How... how could you?”

“Because you lied to me!” she screams. “Because you treat me like a pawn! Because you don't love me as I love you!”

“Oh, Twilight. I'm sorry,” Celestia says. She steps closer, though Twilight recoils, and beckons Twilight into a hug. “Twilight, I have had many students, but none of them quite like you. I do love you, Twilight, as my most faithful student. You have no idea how much you mean to me.”

Twilight must fight to hold back tears. “So, you will be my new mother?”

“...No, Twilight. I can't. You have a mother, and I won't--”

“Why do you keep lying to me?!” The peytral rockets towards Twilight and falls into her hooves. “Why do you keep trying to change me?”

“I am helping you to achieve your destiny--”

“I already know my destiny,” Twilight says. “I will focus and improve my magic until I am the most powerful unicorn on the planet. Then I will use my powers for the good of Equestria. Why would you interfere with that?”

Celestia looks down to the ground, then up to the moon. “...It's true. I had many plans for you. Do you want to hear them?” Twilight says nothing, so Celestia continues. “When I saw your power on Entrance Exam Day, the day you got your cutie mark, I saw your potential. I took you on as my personal student, partly so I could help you focus your power, but also, I fully admit, to keep you isolated from other ponies. This was all for one goal: One day, a few years from now, I would send you to a town called Ponyville, where you would meet five wonderful mares just like you and learn the magic of friendship, something which you would never understand in your ivory tower.”

Twilight looks puzzled. “But how is--”

“I'm not finished. With the help of your friends, you would become the champion of Harmony and protect Equestria from major threats. At the same time, you would grow wiser, kinder, more balanced as you learned the true meaning of friendship. And one day, after some time, you would misuse an ancient spell, reaffirm the depths of your understanding of friendship, and ascend to the Cosmic Plane, where you would turn into a princess, to rule beside me, my sister, and Cadance in love and friendship.

“Yes, I hid all of that from you, but it was because you had to learn it for yourself. I know it's difficult to understand, but everything I did, I did for your benefit.” Celestia looks at Twilight, but Twilight is almost stone-still. “Are you all right?”

Twilight laughs, and it echoes through Celestia's chamber. “You may be willing to say anything to get me back in your good graces,” she says, “but you've finally revealed what I need to know! The Elements of Harmony are in Ponyville!”

Celestia gasps. “No, Twilight, you mustn't--”

“And if the Elements are there, then what else can I use for Selene's return?”

“Twilight, you cannot wield the Elements of Harmony. In this world, they will not respond to a heart filled with anger and resentment.”

“We'll see about that.” Twilight lifts the peytral up above her. “By destroying this gem, I release the powers of the moon!” She throws the peytral to the ground, and it shatters into a thousand pieces.

The world explodes in violet light. Purple waves of magic flicker and dance in every direction. When the light show is over, Celestia can only say, “You have no idea what you've just done.”

Twilight suddenly seems very afraid. “But I only--”

“You are out of control, Twilight. I'm sending you to the medical wing for magical decontamination and a psychological evaluation.” She tries to smile, but it comes off as exceptionally tired. “This is the Night Mare's doing, Twilight. You'll get better yet.”

Twilight rushes out of the room, away from everything confusing and threatening. She looks behind her and does not see Celestia following. With a sigh, she slackens her pace. Eventually, she finds her room, where she falls into an uneasy sleep.

Author's Note:

Whoo! That was crazy. But guess what? The party's not over yet! Go check out the Third Nightmare right now. Right now, do it right now!

Comments

[the7Saviors]

The story is great so far but I'm confused about a couple of things. Firstly, Twilight... IS a filly in this story right? I mean she was waxing poetic something fierce which seems weird for the age I think she's supposed to be. Maybe it's the glasses? I don't know. Second, is there no Twilight Velvet in the story? I don't think she was mentioned but Twilight is awfully fixated on Celestia being her mom. If I had any other questions I can't think of them right now but yeah good story otherwise.

[AlicornPriest]

8540846
The current time is exactly 3 1/2 years before the pilot, but you'll find that out later. Twilight is a filly, yes, but she's always been precocious, and while the reason why she seems unusually erudite is explained in the following Nightmare, I don't think it's too OOC for her to be waxing poetic here. But yes, it's supposed to sound out of place.

As to Twilight Velvet... you know, I don't recall. Feel free to come up with your own explanations. My best guesses? I think I may have been following the "Twilight moved into the castle" fanon. Also, there's a certain amount of hero worship going on here. Yes, Twilight has a mother, but Celestia is the perfect mother. Like Shining Armor said, everypony becomes enamoured with Princess Celestia one way or another, and they eventually figure out their emotions regarding her. She really is a force of personality. It may also be a bit of myself being cast into Twilight here. When I find a mentor who truly cares for me, more than my parents ever did, I tend to get a little fixated. Lastly, and the reason I know I actually had in mind while planning the story, is that this story is heavily derived from Hamlet, and this is the ponified version of the relationship between Hamlet and Claudius (with a bit of Gertrude thrown in there). Where Hamlet rejected Claudius for not being his true father, Celestia inverts this, rejecting Twilight by refusing to be her mother.

Honestly? I didn't include Twilight Velvet (or Night Light, for that matter) in this story because I forgot about them, and they didn't map well onto characters in Hamlet.