Confrontation
Spike sat by the window of the library's main room, idly tapping his fingers on his chin. He stared at nothing in particular; just the usual fare just outside. The turning of pages filled the room, its source, the purple unicorn who so often pretended to study magic intently. "Twilight" jotted down occasional notes about whatever subject she was studying. Oddly enough, Spike noticed she was reading a bit more keenly than before. For some reason, "Twilight" was really trying to figure something out.
Spike couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
He gave up on staring at her and turned his attention out the window. Happy ponies without a care, as usual.
He failed to notice a pink earth pony sneaking inside the library and behind the librarian, as usual.
"Hey Twilight!" Pinkie greeted suddenly. "Twilight" didn't get startled by the sudden exclamation; she never was. "The girls are having lunch together! Wanna come?"
The fake Twilight turned to Pinkie with a polite smile. "I'm sorry, Pinkie, but I'll have to decline for now. I have too much to do right now."
Pinkie pouted. "Aw, come on Twilight! All your bestest friends are going to be there and they'll be so happy to see you!"
Twilight's smile faltered just the tiniest bit. "I know, but I'm doing something very important right now. Maybe next time."
Pinkie picked up the offending literature keeping her friend's attention and glared into its spine. "Expert Conjurations for the Aspiring Conjuror? Are you trying to summon demons, Twi-twi?"
"What? No!" Twilight balked. "I'm trying to get teleportation down." A pause. "... And it would be nice to summon non-hostile creatures."
Pinkie dropped the book hard on the table and rested her chin on it, gazing pleadingly up at Twilight. "Come to lunch with us. Please?"
Twilight stood still, her defiant frown quivering. "...Okay, I guess I can spare the time. I'll pick this up later."
Pinkie leaped up and hugged Twilight excitedly. "Yay, success and happiness for everypony!"
Twilight laughed lightly and pulled out of the hug to address Spike. "I guess I'm going out to lunch today. You wanna come with me, Spike?"
Spike shook his head. "No thanks. I'll just fix something for myself."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah,"
Twilight nodded. "Alright, I'll be back a little later." She smiled over to Pinkie. "After you, Pinkie."
Pinkie hopped towards the door that she didn't use to enter. "We're gonna have so much fun!"
"Heh heh, I'm sure we are."
The two left the library. Spike watched them go down the road, one hopping excitedly and the other cantering with, amicably talking away. That left Spike alone in the library.
As usual.
It was odd how routine everything became. Worrying, especially considering that the alone time gave Spike the one thing he didn't really want right now: time to think.
What is the impostor's plan? Spike had no idea. It had something to do with learning as much magic as possible, covering all the bases. This clone of Twilight was making sure to learn something from just about every school of magic, which made it difficult to pinpoint its main focus. So whatever it was trying to do required expansive magical ability. So what was the end goal? Open some kind of portal, maybe?
That would explain a few things. If it was trying to open a portal for a massive invasion force, then it would make sense that it was training so much. The weightlifting, trail-running, and magic practice was all preparation for an invasion, with the impostor getting all sorts of recognition for its integral role in the conquest of Equestria.
Though, as much as he wanted to believe that, he had his doubts. If the impostor was so intent on conquering Equestria, then why was it wasting so much time? It often took breaks to help the ponies and spend time with its friends.
No no, supposed friends. It had no interest in friendship. It was biding its time. It was playing the nice mare to hide its sinister intentions to catch them by surprise.
Then why put so much effort in making good with Twilight's old friends? What did that accomplish? In the grand scheme of things, how did that offer any kind of advantage in the upcoming attack? They were four random ponies that could easily be ignored, yet the impostor made a special effort on getting them to like it.
Perhaps it meant well?
No, that couldn't be the case. If it meant well, then it wouldn't start so many fights. Like the time where Gilda was going to claw Pinkie apart, or when the Diamond Dogs kidnapped Rarity...
Spike couldn't help but notice that those fights (the ones of which he was aware) were started on somepony else's behalf. The fake Twilight attacked Gilda because she was about to hurt Pinkie. It only savaged that Diamond Dog because it was upset that the dogs were trying to abduct them and force them to work the mines.
Spike massaged his forehead, trying desperately to think of some other crucial, incriminating evidence against the impostor. He needed something that proved it was evil. Its occasional slips into masculine articles? Humorous, but not inherently evil. Its reluctance to do girly stuff? Wanting to refuse quality time with Rarity was always a sin in Spike's book, but he understood that everypony had their personal tastes.
Why was it so difficult for Spike to think of any signs of its evil? Was it because of how earnest it seemed? That whenever it encountered a serious problem, it did its honest best to resolve the issue with everypony satisfied? The sometimes absurd lengths it would go to hurt itself to cheer somepony up?
The way it consoled Spike when he felt his worst?
He shook his head violently. He couldn't be thinking of the impostor like this! It kidnapped Twilight and assumed her identity, staying hidden for months and waiting for some kind of opportunity! It was evil. Nefarious. A monster. Nothing more. It only acted nice to throw nosy drakes like Spike off the trail.
Everypony seemed to like it, though. Spike brought up his concerns with the others, but they didn't care. They trusted "Twilight", even knowing that it was hiding something from them.
But they only knew it was hiding something from them because it tried to confess.
Spike balled up a fist against his head. What was it going to say back then? Why didn't it go through with the confession? Did it not trust them? Did it know that revealing itself would land it into deeper trouble?
Because it was afraid of the others sharing the same mindset as Spike?
Spike grit his teeth with a growl. Why was he feeling so sorry? He had nothing to apologize for! All this sympathy had to be from some kind of mental manipulation. Yeah, that's it. Mind control. It was altering everypony's emotions. It couldn't really fool anypony, so it forced them to.
Spike rose from his seat with fire in his eyes. He didn't care that it was a half-baked explanation with holes in it; it was something to hold on to. He needed to believe that Twilight was kidnapped by a villain of some sort so she could be rescued.
He couldn't just sit around waiting for the impostor to slip up anymore. If it was using a spell to generate false sympathy, then complete mind control wasn't too hard to grasp. There was no use trying defeat such a foe through a battle of wills. A foe like this was defeated through action.
Nopony believed Spike when he told them that Twilight was replaced. He needed to break that facade, and the only way he could do that was by finding the real Twilight. As long as he didn't need to confront the impostor, he could win. It was for the best, as he doubted he was in the right state of mind to resist its control.
Where should he look? He knew Twilight disappeared sometime around the Summer Sun Celebration. He was with Twilight the whole time, so he knew many places to discount. If Twilight was to be found anywhere, then it would have to be someplace Twilight visited after he... lost consciousness. There was no place to safely store Twilight in Ponyville, so it had to be outside the town's limits.
The abandoned castle! Twilight and her friends went there to confront Nightmare Moon! If Twilight was separated from the group during that time, then she could still be there!
Spike gathered a sack and filled it with food. He wouldn't be coming back. Not until he found Twilight.
He almost marched right out the door, but he stopped. Despite wanting to leave as soon as possible, he couldn't bring himself to leave just like that. He shook his head and took out some paper and a pencil. Without further consideration, he wrote down his thoughts.
Pinkie accompanied me back home, hopping right next to me. "It sure was nice of Rarity to buy us all lunch!"
"Yeah," I agreed. She paid for lunch an awful lot. Good thing we came to an agreement where I paid for my food; I didn't feel right making her pay for the ten servings of food I ate. "Rarity's a nice mare."
"What kind of fun fun fun things are you going to do today?" Pinkie asked.
"The usual thing: unlocking the secrets to ultimate arcane power."
"That sounds neato!" Pinkie said, then frowned. "Wait, you're just gonna keep reading all day, like always?"
"That's not all I do; sometimes I also take notes."
Pinkie's enthusiastic hops settled into a trot. "You're just gonna study all day? That doesn't sound very fun."
"It's like building a statue: hours of tedious chipping until you get a satisfying work of art at the end."
"Oh, cool!" A smile returned to her face. "Mind if I watch you? I could watch you all day."
"Er, you wouldn't want to do that." I admitted. "It isn't very interesting to watch somepony reading a book."
Pinkie gave me a one armed shrug. "Okay. Maybe I could search for your stash."
I gave her a funny look. "My stash?"
"Yeppers! You know, your collection." She elaborated. At my continued look of perplexity, she elaborated more. "Your dirty laundry."
"But I don't wear clothes." I refuted.
"Porn." She stated bluntly.
"Ohhhh," I startled at the revelation. "I don't have any porn!"
A mother and her foal gave us some funny looks as we passed. Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Sure, Twilight, you don't have a collection of dirty magazines. Next you'll tell me that you don't like cupcakes."
I puffed out my cheeks. "We're not talking about this."
Pinkie smiled impishly. "Oh, we will. We definitely will."
I was very grateful that we made it back home. I quickly went inside with Pinkie following behind. "We're back, Spike!"
No response. Funny, I wonder where he was. I fixed myself a drink of some generic cola and set up by my workspace. While Pinkie walked upstairs to look for materials I didn't own, I reached out for my book to continue my research. There was a note on top of it written in pencil. I didn't write it, so it must have been Spike. Wondering what message he left, I levitated it up to read.
Hey "Twilight", or whatever your real name is. I've known you were a fake for a long time now, and I can't stand being around any more. Of course, you've known that I know for almost as long, not that you care.
Even though youYou think you're fooling me with your acting? You act all nice, but I know you're anything but nice. I don't know what you're planning, but it's not anything good for Equestria.You think you're so clever with your simple lies, but you're honestly just pathetic. I'm not an idiot. You couldn't fool me. Twilight
wasis my sister, and I know her way better than you. You seem to be as nice and considerate as she is,and you pay attention to mebut you aren't like her.I will stop you, faker. I'm looking for a way to expose you for the monster you really are. The next time you see me, you'll be in a dungeon in Canterlot waiting to get banished to the moon.
You'll pay for kidnapping Twilight.
My fears had come to life. Spike couldn't take the pressure any longer.
He snapped. He ran away because of me. I lowered the note with a fearful glint in my eye. My breath shuddered.
I shook my head clear of thoughts. I couldn't let this happen. Spike needed to be here when he reunited with his sister. I couldn't let him wander into danger to accomplish my own goals. I buried the note into my book and went upstairs. Pinkie was digging through the wardrobe I never used.
"Hey Pinkie, I just remembered a few errands I had to run. I'll be back soon."
Pinkie withdrew her head from the drawer. "Okie doki! Want me to tag along?"
"No, that's okay. I'll be back soon; just a few hours, tops." I denied with a calm smile.
"Aw," She pouted. "But I want to come with you!"
"Believe me, I'd like you to come too, but this is something I have to do alone."
Pinkie's expression fell with worry. "What is it you need to do?"
"Hey, don't worry! I just need to get some paperwork done, that's all."
"Is that it? No leaving for real, right?"
"No, I'll be back later in the afternoon."
"Promise?"
I smiled reassuringly. "Promise."
Pinkie relaxed. "Okay. Have fun!"
I waved. "Later,"
I left through the balcony door, leaping off and conjuring bat wings to soar through the mid noon skies of Ponyville. At an agreeable height, I cast my detection spell. The pulsing of my horn led me to the edge of town in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage. I wasted no time speeding away, following my lead.
Spike's signature was still on the move, going past the border of town. The only place of note past Fluttershy's cottage was the Everfree Forest! There were creatures in there that I wasn't confident in confronting. Why would Spike go there?
I didn't think about it. All I knew was that I had to hurry before something happened to him. My horn flared with power I didn't know I had, black energy flowing into my wings. I moved faster than my spell would normally allow, blasting past the remainder of town faster than I thought possible. I found myself over the forest in a matter of minutes.
It didn't occur to me why pegasi didn't usually fly over the Everfree Forest. Heavy, unnatural winds slammed into me like some kind of barrier. I righted myself from the blow, pushing past to continue onward. The wind kept buffeting me, pounding like waves in a storm.
I fought to a standstill. Each beat of my wings only kept me oriented. I didn't have a choice; I had to land. I angled my wings to lower myself, but the erratic wind struck at an odd angle. I plummeted into the trees like I was slapped out of the air by a giant. I tumbled helplessly through the branches, only able to take the hits as they came.
My wings shot out and my horn flared, a burst of air shaking the trees before I hit the ground. The wind down there was nearly absent in comparison to the treacherous skies. I dismissed my wings, once more taking on the usual unicorn appearance. There was little choice but to run forth. I cast my spell and followed the pulsing of my horn.
He wasn't too far now. I hopped over underbrush and charged through branches, taking every little scratch if it meant saving time.
As I got closer, my pace slowed. What was I going to say? He wasn't going to be very happy to see me. I didn't want to force him back home. If possible, I wanted to talk him back with me. I didn't know how.
I didn't have as much time to think as I wanted. I pushed past another bush and caught his attention. He stood still, facing me with a brown sack over his shoulder. "T-Twilight?"
I turned down the road. "Not quite, I'm afraid."
A tense silence loomed over us. We listened to the wind rustling the trees at a loss for what to say.
"From all those scratches on you, I guess you tried to fly here?" Spike asked.
"Yeah. Since you're alright, I guess you didn't run into any monsters?"
"Just the one."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, you."
I held back a wince. I wasn't about to deny it. Waiting around wasn't going to solve our problems, however. I took a deep breath and came right out with it. "You're not going to find her out here."
Spike glared viciously at me. "What makes you so sure?"
"Depends; where are you going to look?"
"I don't need to tell you." He grunted defiantly.
I sighed. "Spike, I really want you to think about this. Where are you going to look for her?"
Spike growled softly. "The Castle of the Two Sisters."
I nodded at the small bit of progress. "Okay, then let me ask you this: assuming I took her place and still needed her alive, why would I keep her near a landmark as prominent as that?" Spike ground his teeth in silent desperation. In his silence, I continued. "Assuming I put Twilight in some remote prison, assuming she isn't under heavy guard, how could you possibly find her? You wouldn't be able to find her without extraordinary luck, and I doubt you brought enough food to keep up your search for long. Adding in the dangers of traveling through a monster-infested forest, you'd fail long before you got close."
Spike sat heavily on the ground, hopeless. "No... she can't be gone... I have to find her..."
"There's only one way to find her, Spike. Only one person in the whole universe knows where she is." I sat in front of him and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "I know where she is."
Spike looked into my eyes, tearful eyes pleading. "W-where is she?"
I pulled his head into my chest for a hug. "She's right here with us. Her spirit follows me."
Spike clung against me. "She's... she's d-dead?"
"She's not dead, Spike. She's just... displaced, I guess. Her soul is still within this body, but she lies dormant."
Spike's grip relaxed slightly, angling himself to look up at me. "Why are you telling me this? Why are you being so nice all the time?"
I smiled tearfully, stroking him affectionately. "I don't want you to be hurt, Spike. I want you to be happy."
Spike narrowed his eyes distrustfully. "Then why did you replace Twilight? Why did you take her away from me?"
I didn't shy away from his hardened gaze, but my smile faltered. "I didn't want to. I was forced into this position because of a wizard's curse. I've been trying to pick up the pieces since."
"How should I believe that? You've had a long time to think of some kind of excuse."
I sighed. "I suppose you don't have to believe me, but that's what happened. An angry wizard tore my soul from my body and trapped me with your sister."
Spike lowered his head against my fur. "So you didn't have a say in this, huh?"
"No, I didn't."
"You-you're doing your best."
"I am."
"Are you going to bring her back?"
I tightened my grip on him. "I will bring Twilight back. I promise you that."
We lingered there for a few moments, Spike and I holding each other. I was trying to comfort him, and I think he was holding onto me like a surrogate for his sister. It would explain the tightness of his grip and the wetness on my fur.
He found the strength to let go after a few minutes and pulled away. I stood up beside him. "Let's go home, Spike. Would you like to ride my back?"
Spike smiled. "I'd like to."
I levitated him and his bag onto my back. We walked down the road at a relaxed pace, taking it easy for the first time in days. Things were looking up for the two of us.
Stats
Page generated in 0.215 seconds
Total duration
985 users online
364,051 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/8/1/63806__safe_pinkie+pie_animated_filly_rainbow_the+cutie+mark+chronicles.gif
Oops -- it might look nice on the surface but confiding in Spike like that was a huge mistake.
Nice. Now comes the conversation when he goes "ok, then why in tartarus name didn't you tell the princess??!" or something like that xD
7069116 So the secret gets out, but at least...uh... Dave has some one in his/her corner when things get rough. Of course the Wedding is coming up so that could be bad, but on the other hand s/he is not a Changeling, so that will help the defense.
Good but short.
FINALLY
7069116 Don't care. I'm dying of feels here man.
I just . . . . It's so sad.
Hmm. Spike never was much of an actor from my observations, but I am not certain he is actually going along with this.
Oh, so Twilight's Soul is still there. How can she be certain? Also, I am still hopeful that Twilight was actually conscious the whole time.
Whew, that was a long time coming. Spike was kinda getting one-note there for a while, and it was getting old.
Seems like this sub-plot is mostly solved, hopefully Spike can help him when he'll have to interact with people familiar to Twilight before "her" moving to Ponyville.
What could go wrong?
... yeah I'm totally calling shenanigans.
Angels are singing.
Bang, right in the feels
Good. Now Spike can help with the whole "Shining Armor" issue.
7069184
The scrying spell pointed right back to twilights body when Not-Twilight cast it some chapters ago. Going with the assumption that it points to souls that means that Not-Twi is correct about Twi still being in her body. Or he still doesn't have a clue where she is and he's just lying so Spike won't be even more worried.
nice scene in the end.
7069116
What else could have been done? Spike knows that Twilight isn't herself.
It's back...
YES!
Awwww. I love what you do.
Pinkie Pie is awesome!
7069302 well, there's 0 chance not-twilight is lying, as it was clearly stated earlier that's what not-twilight believed, now, whether or not it's ACTUALLY true has yet to be determined
That seems a little bit anti-climatic for something that we've been getting a build-up to for a while. On the other hand, I guess, Spike is still a kid so confirmation that Twilight is still alive and well kinda sorta is probably enough to emotionally overwhelm him.
Good chapter, and it tells a complete story.
You know, this is what I like to call the 'Disney moment'. The moment where everything is looking up, looking great for everyone, and then suddenly something bad happens and it all comes crashing down.
7069442
As much as I'm glad it came to this, yes... it feels a little anti-climactic.
7069473 you know discord is coming soon right lol
7069302 Heh. I was theorizing a while ago that the spell was similar to DND Scrying or teleportation, where familiarity with the subject was important for precision and accuracy. Without actually having a reference for Twilight herself, it wouldn't be able to point at her, just her body, being the main reference point Twiclone has.
Almost anti climatic...
A lot of thing were cut short. I hope you will pick up the piece a bit more in the next chapter.
7069442
7069479
7069608
Add another one on the 'feels anti-climatic' pile. I'll let it go for now, since I can see Not-Twi wanting to keep things short to more quickly get them out of the monster filled forest, but I hope there'll be a more in-depth conversation back at the library.
7069648 Thinking back about it, the whole thing felt rushed from the start.
She just manage to catch up to him easily, there is no moment of denial, no breakdown, just a few line of dialogue and acceptance. Even if the clue where there, with all the emotional build up, I doubt Spike would just react almost calmly like that.
Same with Twinot.
7069671
That's what makes it anti-climactic. It doesn't have to be a big deal with danger, or Spike trying harder to expose Twinot, or anything like that... just more to the scene we already got.
I mean, we technically have: sobbing, anger, accusations, explanations... but it just... lacks that impact, somehow.
What Twilight's body dies or is near death. Maybe that would bring her back
Nice chapter. But huge build up and a anti-climatic ending is sorta a let down, but a nice chapter overall!
7069111 this gif... Shall haunt my nightmares.
Hopefully spike talked him/her into telling their friends.
7069729 It's because of the subtlety. there was no "one moment" to highlight. like two surfaces rolling onto each other instead of one impact.
Since that plot point is resolved, will the fic be coming to an end soon? Spike's distrust was the driving action for most of the action in the story so far. The only conflict left to resolve is getting Not!Twi and Twilight back in their rightful places.
Dangit, I was so expecting this chapter to end with him telling Spike his name. I really look forward to Spike finally being able to talk to Twilight more freely, perhaps now that he has a compatriate to share the workload they can figure out the whole 'soul displacement' thing before the third season!~
Thing is, she is the pony who is friends with the mane six, not Twilight. So getting Twi back could backfire.
Nice nice, I think I'm happy with how it worked out. To be honest I thought she would try to tell them about herself again.
I think it was a good choice to just tell Spike about it for once, and again I'm happy about Pony Twilight.
Maybe he could later get the body of Twivine or how she is called, suddenly I like the idea to look still similar to her in the end.
Sorry but I can´t stop asking about him staying in their world, maybe allowing a sequel to happen.
I can image her to get Twilight back in the end, and him lying in the body of Twivine unconscious on the floor in the end of this story (if a sequel should be possible, I don´t know how flexible your story is) I´m just thinking about if he should still have the muscles, or if Twilight should keep them.
Aww! They finally made up!
Awww
Twiclone finally let it out!
Not gonna lie I find it funny how people have been complaining about this stories pacing for a long time now and that this subplot between Spike and notTwi has been dragging on for so long. And THEN when you finally give the audience what they want they still complain. There is just no pleasing everyone.
7070631 Personally, I think the conversation between Spike and Fakelight was a little bit too short. Else, I found the execution done well.
YAY! New chapter!
Thank you, author!
THE TRUTH PREVAILS! You have no idea how happy I am that Not-Twilight came out to Spike.
The feels, finally twiclone can talk to someone
very nice chapter, as already was said - right in the feels`))
P.S. better than Pinkie Pie only Princess Luna
P.P.S. I believe what into next chapter we will see what Pinkie found porn in Twilight`s house... And will give our "Twilight" The Talk. Or at least trying to do that.
This was a really nice chapter, but please don't wait that long to update again. ^_^ I just love your story so much, but of course I understand that life gets in the way
7069442
I feel the same. This confrontation has been building for the whole story so far, 34 chapters, and then it's just glossed over with basically no conflict in about 700 words.