Another gout of flame burst from Twilight's mouth, and the crystal butterfly evaporated. The sprinkle of ashes that remained quickly fluttered onto the ground.
"It's no use, Princess Twilight!" Applejack ground another one of the pests under her hoof. "There's just too many of 'em! What are we supposed to do?"
There was an incredibly effeminate scream a few blocks away.
"Whatever we do, it had better be quick!" Rainbow Dash pointed towards the sound. "I don't think the town can take much more, and that storm cloud Princess Twilight summoned won't keep them at bay much longer!"
"These things are resistant to magic!" Twilight shot another butterfly with a stream of fire. The gems that made up its body cracked and shattered loudly, and in moments the entire construct collapsed to the ground, nothing more than a bland pile of charred rocks. "We would need some way to get rid of them without spells!" Another breath. Twilight looked up; the sky was blocked out by her storm cloud, but the clattering and tinkling of the massive swarm had not faded. The entire town was drenched in the noise, and the few hundred that had snuck in would be nothing compared to the actual swarm.
"Maybe we could sing them a lullaby?" Pinkie asked.
"Don't be crazy, Pinkie." AJ kicked another one of the insects. "That would never work."
"Pinkie, that's it!" Twilight gasped modestly. "That wouldn't work, but I think I know something that would listen to music!" Twilight's horn flared up, and a stream of magic unfurled from it, shooting handsomely towards the Everfree Forest. A few gentle piano notes swept after the ribbon of purple energy, just audible over the clinking and scraping filling the sky.
In moments a cloud of parasprites trailed out of the treetops, careening straight for the town.
"Uh, what are those?"
"Parasprites, of course," Twilight said. The cloud of bugs rose towards the storm cloud and collided with the swarm of butterfly constructs. The sound of crunching rock was audible across the entire town. Closer to the ground, there was a better view of the bugs tearing into the pockets of butterflies scattered across Ponyville. In seconds nearly all the invaders had been gobbled up by the mesmerized parasprites.
The sounds of the horrible golems faded, and as Twilight's spell receded into the Everfree, the cloud of parasprites followed it.
Twilight wiped her forehead and let out a modest "whew". Such an amazing show of magical power had momentarily winded even her. As she caught her breath, she effortlessly dispelled the storm cloud.
There was another scream, identical to the previous one.
"That sounded like Trixie." Twilight rushed heroically towards the noise.
Sure, enough, Trixie was lying on the ground, a few chips of gemstone scattered around her body.
"Wow, she's still here?" Rainbow muttered. "I didn't think she was serious about moving into Ponyville to try and woo you."
"Rainbow, shush." Twilight's horn glowed softly, and she glanced over Trixie's body.
"What's wrong?"
"All the magic in her body...it's been drained out."
"That sounds familiar," AJ muttered.
Twilight put a hoof to her chin, focusing her elite magical sense. "It's not quite the same, though. It feels like there's been some other energy put in its place."
Trixie stirred in her unconsciousness. "Princess?" She murmured.
Twilight leaned down. "Trixie, I'm here. What's wrong?"
Trixie's eyes snapped open. "What?" Her eyes wandered onto Twilight's pristine body, and she sat up quickly and violently. "Ew, no! Not you! I meant the other Princess, the good one!"
"Say what now?" Rainbow asked.
"You know." Trixie waggled her hoof. "The smart, pretty one? Princess Rarity?"
"Oh no! She's been brain-napped!" Pinkie gasped. "Just like Fluttershy!"
"Don't be absurd!" Trixie scoffed. "The Great and Powerful Trixie would never succumb to such trivial mental magics." Her gaze drifted sideways, and she bit her bottom lip. "Being attacked by these adorable yet pretty pests has merely made me realize what should have already been obvious. Princess Rarity is so attractive and benevolent. I don't know why it took me so long to realize."
"Girls, hold her down. Maybe I can cast a spell that will--"
Trixie suddenly vanished in a bubble of blue light. There was a sizzle of magic, and similar flashes could be seen across the town.
Rainbow scratched her head. "I didn't think Trixie could teleport."
Twilight gazed at the remnants of crystal butterfly still scattered across the ground. "Somehow, I doubt Trixie was the one casting those spells."
This story should get a tv tropes page soon
Wait, this little collection of fun tidbits is actually going to have a PLOT? (Quit sniggering, you there in the back! )
AWESOME!
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote
The plot really is thickenng now.
3578896 ... You know what? It really should!
And that's why Derpy is best pony.
3578896>>3579006 For what it's worth, it's now listed under Her Code Name Was Mary Sue.
Also, poor Trixie. I can't believe Rarity would do something so horrible to her as to make her believe that Twilight isn't pretty. How can somepony live with such a terrible lie?
I'm hoping that once Twilight defeats Rarity, she will be able to heal all the victims with the magic of her pure love.
I thought for sure that this chapter would be titled: "Twilight of the Century."
3579796 I can, rarity is the despicable progenitor of all things evil, vile, and horrid in the whole of Equestria. In other words, she is the very antithesis of our benevolent, graceful, glorious, breathtakingly beautiful, smart, humble, Princess Twilight Sparkle.
3580174
Hmm, I dunno about that. Rarity is certainly benevolent, she allows Fluttershy to lick her hooves after all. The magic that she re-appropriated from Twilight has certainly made her glorious. She is absolutely gorgeous, and she is smart enough to outwit your precious Twilight. But humble... no, she's not humble. You can have humble. Humble is for people without talent.
3580219 There are a few grammatical mistakes in your statement, allow me to correct them for you. You do not even have to thank me, I shall do it out of kindness of my heart.
rarity is malicious, she forces Fluttershy to think she wants to lick her hooves.
The magic that she misappropriated from Twilight, has certainly made her vainglorious.
She is absolutely hideous, and she is devious enough to momentarily deceive your precious Twilight.
Humble is for people who are too magnanimous to flaunt their talents.
3580358 Oh, so stealing magic is bad now? I know a certain dragon who would agree. Oh, but I suppose it's alright when the hero steals, eh? Funny that, I wonder which of them is the villain? Twilight certainly looks more the part than Rarity. Half dragon half pony, she looks a fright!
3580484 Princess Twilight was not happy with what she had to do, she had no choice, the dragon's smoke was choking Ponyville. She did not kill the dragon, she merely allows it to live on inside here. It is no longer a menace and is now helping to make Equestria a safer place. The dovahkiin look only adds to the beauty of Princess Twilight Sparkle .
3580576 Well Rarity had little choice herself. All that magic going to waste, such a shame. You know, it's a bit like the time she went up north to obtain some leather from the reindeer tribes.
She chanced upon this odd creature, made mostly of smoke, but he appeared to be a unicorn. He was quite mad, and flew at her in a rage shouting something about crystals. I suppose he was looking at her cutiemark.
Naturally she drained him of his magic, which was essentially all he was by then. His power does come in handy now and again, the crystal butterflies for instance. The design was rather ingenious, the creatures are reflective of most energy and can also gather energy for the mistress.
The idea came to her one evening while she was passionately making love to Fluttershy. She has a rather large mirror above her bed and was enraptured by watching Fluttershy's cutiemark as she thrust. Diamond winged butterflies, it was brilliant.
Huh. Interesting variation of the original. Would've been nice to see the setup, though. Especially if the butterflies are some manner of Von Neumann enchantment, assembling duplicates of themselves from the ambient magic...
In any case, Rarity appears to be stepping up her game. Twilight had best act fast, or it'll be her against the world...
3580763 That is so evil, killing off all the Reindeer Tribes, committing genocide to make clothes out of their skin. Of course she cannot come up with an original idea of her own that does not stem from her own avarice, pride, or vanity. She only came up with the crystal butterflies by combining Sombra's crystal obsession with the first image that came to her head while looking at herself in the mirror. It is a miracle in and of itself that she can tear herself from her own reflection long enough to wreak the havoc that she does upon Equestria. rarity is not in love with Fluttershy, Fluttershy is just a possession to her, less important to her than her "precious" gems.
3581174 Oh, but possessions can be cherished, wonderful things. What is love but a desire to be possessed by another, after all? A shy creature such as Fluttershy would never have had the courage to speak of a crush for her beautiful friend. So Rarity, being the generous soul that she is, took that burden from her.
There really is no mind control going on, all she had to do is come for her and whisper hotly in her ear "You are mine, now. You have no choice in the matter, submit." It's rather surprising the things a pony will do of her own free will when she thinks she has no control.
3580808 They suck magic from ponies; there's not enough ambient magic in Ponyville to make vampire crystal butterflies with. and then afterwards they put some of Rarity's evil magic in the ponies instead. its like Karin but way way more evil because Rarity is mean
3578912 OOC: I'm as surprised as anyone
3580174 No that wouldn't be good enough for Twilight; shes easily "Twilight of the millennium" or "eons" or "all time forever".
3581424 OOC: They say you can only be hypnotized (IRL) if you let yourself. Hell of an excuse, amirite?
3579796 ... I don't think it's really an example of that. Twilight isn't the author.
Another thing that is so nice about this fic is the fact that there's a bonus in the comment section on every chapter featuring: Steel vs Neko
Can it get any better than this?!
3581951 That is correct. Fortunately Cleverpun fixed that. Guess I'm not the only troper around.
3581424 Libido control is even more devious than mind control. Once that itch, that burn, that desire, takes over, then no matter what ones brain says, ones body refuses to listen. When rarity, that wanton harlot, took away poor, simple Fluttershy's modesty and innocence, and took control of her libido with her lust filled words and actions, it was nothing short of turning Fluttershy into a mindbroken puppet.
3562357
I regret nothing.
*floating in empty space*
okay maybe.