The 'enhancing' spell
Spike struggled uselessly against the magic bonds around his arms. The crazy mare that was impersonating Twilight Sparkle had tied him to a chair in the basement using some sort of purple magic chains. No amount of muscle or dragonfire could break these things, and ‘Twilight’ did something to his voice that kept him from screaming for help.
The imposter barked question after question at him, and when he refused to answer he saw sharp purple blades hovering over his eyes. Terrified, he told the fake Twilight everything she wanted to know.
As it turned out, ‘everything’ was every single moment of the real Twilight’s life starting from the Canterlot Wedding up until last night. Every letter, every story, every event. The defeat of the Changelings, the Crystal Empire, the release of Discord. Every detail Spike could think of that wasn’t written down somewhere, he told her.
It was hours before ‘Twilight’ was satisfied enough to stop asking questions. With a deep scowl on her face, the imposter stepped away from Spike and started going through the real Twilight’s shelves.
“Hey!” Spike tried to yell. “Get out of Twilight’s stuff!”
“For the last time, Spike…” Twilight hissed as she opened the gem locker. “I AM Twilight.”
Eventually, the imposter found what she was looking for. Digging through the locker of gemstones, she produced a small, round, black rock. A black opal. They were known to have a relaxing effect on dragons, and Spike occasionally ate them to help him sleep.
Twilight focused on the stone, her horn shimmering with a faint violet light. It was hard to tell if she was casting a spell unless you were paying very close attention. The opal she was carrying became…darker, for lack of a better word. Any shine on the smooth surface vanished, leaving a pure black orb.
Taking a deep breath, Twilight turned back to Spike. Her signs of age had vanished, and she now looked exactly like the Twilight Spike had talked to yesterday. The ferocity hadn’t left her eyes – it was still there, if you looked closely enough- but her scowl had been replaced with a bright smile.
“Thank you so much, Spike.” Twilight started trotted up to Spike. Her voice sounded exactly like the real Twilight, right down to the sweet tones she reserved for talking to her baby dragon. Hearing it from this imposter made Spike shiver. “I’m sorry I was so harsh with you. But…you know, with Discord loose and everything, I have to be sure that I have all the details before I try anything.”
Spike tried to squirm out of his bonds as the faker came right up to him. The enchanted black opal dangled in front of him like a pendulum. “Here. It’s late, and you’ve been a great help. This will make you feel better.” ‘Twilight’ purred.
“B-but-“ The second Spike opened his mouth, the opal was shoved into his mouth. The baby dragon was so caught off guard, all he could do was swallow the smooth gem.
Suddenly, his eyes glazed over and his body, once rigid with fear and anger, slumped in his seat. Smiling, Twilight undid the magic bonds around the dragon.
“You feel better now, don’t you Spike?”
“Uh-huhh…” Spike answered airily.
“Hmm.” Twilight looked over the dragon carefully. “Well, like I said, you’ve been very helpful. That was a nice little chat we had, wasn’t it? Just a normal little chat about how things have been going.”
“Yeah…” Spike seemed to yawn, his eyes still glazed over. “Nice chat…normal…how things have been going…”
Awfully sleepy. Eyes are obviously not right. Maybe I enhanced that stone too much, but it can’t be helped. I’ll have to keep him here until I can think of something else. Twilight thought before smiling again. “Yes, Spike. A nice, normal chat. But now we gotta clean up this mess.” Twilight motioned around, referring to the scattered papers and scrolls on the basement floor. “Could you please organize all this and put all the papers away, my number 1 assistant?”
“Yeah…” Spike nodded before slowly getting out of his seat and picking up several papers off the floor.
Twilight watched him work, smiling warmly. “Keep at it, Spike. You’re so helpful. That’s why you’re my number 1 assistant!”
“Thank you, fake…”
Twilight scowled for a second. “No. I’m the real Twilight. Don’t you forget that.”
“Right…” Spike yawned. “Sorry…real Twilight…”
Twilight just exhaled and turned her attention back to the gem locker. There weren’t many black opals inside…she’d have to get some from Rarity later.
The spell she used wasn’t a mind manipulation spell. Those were unethical. No. It was something she liked to call the ‘enhance’ spell. It basically enhanced the magical properties or other effects of whatever she cast it on. Spike was hysterical, so she enhanced the soothing nature of the black opal to calm him down. It wasn’t a mind manipulation spell. Not at all.
A knocking at the front door snapped her out of her thoughts. Looking at the languid and quiet Spike, Twilight thought quickly about what to do next.
“Stay here, Spike. Keep working. I’ll see who it is.” Walking up the stairs, Twilight shut the basement door behind her. The lock clicked and Twilight casually strode over to the library threshold. “Come in!” she greeted warmly.
The door burst open to a frantic-looking Pinkie Pie. “Twilight! I gotta know now! Did something happen here last night? Anything?”
Twilight blinked. “…no, why?”
Pinkie ran in, dashing around the library at top speed. “I finally tracked where the doozy came from, and it’s here!” Pinkie punctuated ‘here’ with a hoof at the exact center of the library. “My Pinkie Sense says that this is a super serious problem that’s gotta be resolved fast!”
Twilight took a deep breath. “Woah, woah, woah, slow down, Pinkie!”
Pinkie’s eyes darted around the library. “Where’s Spike? I gotta talk to him!”
“Why?” Twilight’s eyes noticed the Element of Laughter around Pinkie’s neck. An idea started to form.
“Because of the reason!”
Twilight didn’t bother to question that. Instead she walked up beside Pinkie and put her hoof around Pinkie’s shoulder. “Spike’s resting. He’s not feeling too good. Now calm down, Pinkie. Did you really spend all day running around town?”
“Yeah! I even went to Froggy Bottom Bog and Ghastly Gorge! But I’m telling you, the doozy’s here!”
“Well, nothing happened here last night. Maybe this ‘doozy’ hasn’t happened yet?”
Pinkie blinked, and immediately brightened up. “Oh! I never even thought of that! Boy, what a dope I can be!” Pinkie started laughing, and the element around her neck glowed a little brighter. “Can I be stupid or what?”
“Yes, you can.” Twilight laughed along with Pinkie.
Pinkie abruptly stopped laughing. “But…then should we get everybody together and warn them about the doozy? I mean, a Super Duper Doozy is gonna need all of us!”
Twilight scoffed. “Is this really Pinkie Pie? The Element of Laughter, wanting to make herself and everybody else worry about the future? Relax! When the doozy comes, we’ll handle it. Where’s the fun in worrying about the future?”
“Umm…” Pinkie scrunched her forehead in thought. The element around her neck glowed even brighter, and the pink pony quickly came to a conclusion. “NONE!” she laughed.
“Yeah, there’s no laughter in worrying about the future. Or the past.” Twilight agreed, gently pushing Pinkie out the door. “And since when does Pinkie Pie keep herself from laughing? Just relax, have fun in the now. Don’t worry about any doozies, everything is going to be just fine.”
“Okie-dokie, Twilight!” Pinkie bounced out the door, a big smile on her face. “I just gotta keep smiling and helping everypony smile and not worry about what’s gonna happen! It’ll all be alright!”
“That’s right, Pinkie.” Twilight looked at Pinkie’s eyes. A little saturated, but nothing obvious. “Now go on and have some fun. Don’t worry about the doozy or the library.”
“Okie dokie loki! See ya, Twilight!” And with that, Pinkie vanished over the horizon for the second time that day.
Twilight shut the door and let out a sigh of relief. That was easy. Pinkie and her bizarre ‘Pinkie sense’ wouldn’t bother her now. One problem taken care of. With the element of laughter enhanced by her spell, the pink pony would just keep laughing and playing and having fun. She was surprised that she could enhance the Elements of Harmony like that…
Twilight’s conscious troubled her for a second. But only a second. She was just helping Pinkie embrace her element. She was so scared and nervous, she needed to smile and relax again. Twilight was doing her a favour.
It wasn’t mind manipulation. Not at all.
-----------------------------
Elsewhere…
-----------------------------
Twilight sat in the darkness for a long time before she got her breath back. Once the initial shock had worn off, Twilight’s more rational side slowly regained control.
Okay, Twilight. she told herself, fighting to regain her breath. You’re not a filly that’s scared of the dark. You’re a scientist. A researcher. When a researcher is presented with an unknown, the thing to do is not panic. The thing to do is…is…what do I do? Nothing I’ve ever done has had this happen! None of my books talked about this! Where am I?! She was starting to shake and sweat once again before taking another deep breath. I…I need to calm down. I need to…I need to...
Getting back onto her hooves, Twilight brushed against something in the dark. A book? Lighting up her horn, Twilight saw that it was indeed a book lying on the floor. It looked familiar, but the lack of dust on it was unusual…it didn’t matter. Reading a book, no matter what the book was about, always calmed her down. Picking it up, she opened the cover and looked inside.
Her friends smiled reassuringly back. It was a photo album, with images of all their adventures together. The Dragon Migration. Applejack’s family portrait. Rainbow’s album of pet candidates. Rarity’s favorite dress of the month. Fluttershy hiding behind a tree. Pinkie doing…something. And one big picture of their group hug.
Much calmer now, Twilight started thinking like a researcher. The thing to do when confronted with an unknown is gather as much information as possible, then extrapolate a conclusion. Start with something small, then move up.
Twilight started with the book she was holding. Flipping ahead, she saw images of the Canterlot Wedding party. The… other Twilight, she had teleported in ranting a warning about the wedding. She was surprised when Twilight had told her that the wedding had turned out fine, so Twilight took out a photo album to show her. Judging from that, the wedding had turned out differently for that Twilight. But the pictures were the same as the one Twilight had been through…
This was the same book she had shown the other Twilight. She was still holding it with her telekinesis when the other Twilight had…changed, and cast a bright spell. That must be why it was still with her.
The other Twilight had cast a spell Twilight didn’t recognize. It resembled the time travel spell, but…felt different. Twilight couldn’t describe the difference, but there was one. Slight, but still there. Instead of teleporting her to the future, it had teleported her…here.
Somewhere where Changelings lived in Ponyville, and the library was abandoned.
Was this the future? It seemed likely, not just because of the similar spell, but the other Twilight had looked visibly older. But she was surprised to see the photos. Memory could be unreliable, but why act so shocked about events that already happened?
Twilight remembered a conversation she once had with Rainbow Dash about Daring Do’s comic series. She was talking about a storyline where Daring Do experienced an ‘alternate future’, where Ahuizotl managed to steal the 3rd sacred Sapphire of Killponyjaro and everything was radically different. Twilight had argued that there was no way a single change in the timeline could make that much of a difference…
Twilight groaned. Why was she thinking about a comic series, when there was an entire world of questions just outside the door. Changelings were living among ponies. But how did it happen? Why? How did the Changelings come to Equestria? Did the events of the wedding happen the way she remembered them, or was there a critical difference? If so, what? When?
So many questions. And there weren’t any answers that could be found in this empty building. Twilight looked up at the door. The idea of an entire world about which she knew almost nothing frightened her, but there was only one way she could learn.
Okay. Twilight got up to her hooves. There’s nothing I can learn here. I’ll just…I’m just going to casually take a walk. If I keep it careful and casual, I might be able to learn more about this place. ‘What’s happening? I’m new here. Can you tell me where I can find the library?’ Stuff like that. Long as I pay attention, I can figure things out. I just…I just need to step outside and…
Taking a very deep breath, Twilight walked up to the front door, which surprisingly wasn’t boarded up. Judging by the splinters, there had been boards there but they’d been broken. Probably a squatter or a curious filly that wanted to check out the abandoned building.
Just…just keep it together, Twilight. What’s the worst that could happen? Not wanting to drag this out longer than she had to, Twilight forced herself to open the door.
The sunlight blinded her for a second, but she quickly regained her vision. Ponyville (or wherever this was) gradually became clear. Twilight had to rub her eyes clear, but once she did, she saw that one of the ponies on the street had locked eyes with her.
A familiar white coat and purple mane told her that this was her friend Rarity, and she almost felt relieved. But as the finer details became clear, she could tell this wasn’t the Rarity she knew. Her face was more wrinkled, more angular, more older. Just like the other Twilight. Right beside her was a Changeling that seemed to be carrying all her bags. And the way both of them were looking at her…
“GUARD!” Rarity suddenly screamed. Twilight looked to see that every single Changeling in the street was looking at her.
Twilight immediately slammed the door shut. Apparently, that was the worst that could happen.
A furious, all-consuming buzzing filled her ears like a horde of parasprites. She knew that dozens of huge wings were approaching the building, coming after her. And judging by the shocked, enraged expressions of Rarity and the Changeling, they weren’t coming to welcome her to Ponyville.
Panic set in once again as one of the Changelings started banging on the door. Boarded or not, there was no way she could hold up in here. She had to get away. She had to get somewhere safe. But where could she go?
bzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!
Twilight didn’t have time to think. She just closed her eyes, cast the first spell the thought of, and prayed that it wouldn’t kill her.
When the Changeling guards finally smashed through the doors, they were greeted with an empty library and the remnants of a hastily cast teleportation spell.
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MOAR! Oh God, I'm an addict, aren't I? Also, FIRST!
Well I'm very excited to see how Shining reacts to Twilight the 'Rebel'.
im not sure if i like this story or not
help
I wonder what else will be not mind manipulation...
3106551 LOL I can just imagine it right now.
... Why did the black opal dim, but the Element of Laughter glow? Oversight, or purposeful, significant difference?
3107359 The spell enhances the properties of the stones themselves. Color is one of them. Besides, how would something black 'glow'?
3108481
It would... lose it's "blackness". That's kind of the property of "glowing". I didn't say anything about "glowing black", but it could go the opposite way: The Element could have dimmed as well.
Whatever. The distinction jumped out at me, but I guess I'm wrong about it being significant...
3110277 Maybe 'glowed' was the wrong word. I guess I was imagining the colors of both stones becoming more pronounced. The bright blue element would become more blue, while the dark black opal would become even more black.
3106617
Best thing would be to read until you know if you like it or not, really. I've gotten 50,000 words into a story before being sure if I like it.
3113141 good call
handled that like a scientist
Poor (canon) Twilight...
What else will Terrorlight do that is "not mind manipulation"... Guess I'll have to read the next chapter!
3106531 Don't worry, you're not alone.
Bucking hell, how thick was the koolaid this Twilight drank???
Oh no