Fear Me, for My Name is Twaith!

by Michael Hudson

Coming Home

Sunset took in a deep breath as the chariot flew through the clouds. To one side of her stood Celestia, her wonderful tutor, with a wing over her student to keep her warm. On the other side, bounced Spike, who eagerly jumped about in the chariot, excited for what was to come. She was too of course. While the extended sabbatical at Canterlot had allowed her a chance to relax and catch up with her mentor, she was more than ready to see her friends. Especially, Twilight.

Spike rattled his claws on the hard wood, his smile trying to match the sun in brightness. “So, what do you think Pinkie will have done? Huge cakes, streamers, maybe a statue in the likeness of a certain dracolich you know?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Sorry little guy, but from what I know, it’s just that first one. Besides, why would she make a statue of you when your creator is also getting announced today?”

Spike didn’t even flinch at the words, a black tongue coming across his fangs. “Well, let’s look at the track record. Every time Twilight and I have come to blows, she is the one that ends up in a wall.”

Celestia giggled at the two’s banter, looking at them from the corner of her eye. “Remember that you were even littler then, and when she finds out just how tough you are now, I doubt she’ll hold back if you two, ‘come to blows’.”

Spike’s smile finally faded as his eyes widened, the stretched skin over his jawline becoming more apparent with his frown. “Sh-she wouldn’t do anything that drastic though… right?”

Celestia shrugged. “While I doubt she would do anything you may consider severe, one must remember what has happened to my sister, who so often incites the spirit’s anger.”

Sunset watched as Spike looked at the wall of the chariot, and rubbed the top of his head, chuckling slightly as he squinted. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You know she loves you, just like us. Now, think about the food and friends you’ll be able to have by the end of today, instead of anything stupid like rivalries between companions. Okay?”

Spike nodded, once more peering over the edge as they broke through the cloudline. Before them was the small town of Ponyville. In the center stood the town hall, surrounded by dozens of ponies, all awaiting the princess and her prodigy. It was none of this though that had the three slack jawed. That was due to the cake that was almost the size of the town hall, and the pink pony that grinned on top of it. Celestia’s tongue ran along her muzzle, and she quickly whispered to the pegasi pulling the chariot, “Let us down on the cake. I want to… inspect it, closely.”

The chariot quickly swerved in the air, and changed its course for the cake. Pinkie only seemed to bounce more and more with each moment. Sunset was looking up for her friend as they arrived, even though the cloud cover now hid the pink pony, and could faintly hear, although it was growing louder, “Daaaaash!” Sunset put a barrier to protect herself from the frosting splatter, while Spike and Celestia both stretched their jaws, getting a mouthful of the yellow sugar as Pinkie got back onto the cake.“Umm, Princess, you seem to have something on your face.”

Celestia opened her eyes, the rest of her head now yellow, before her magic collected it all, and put the practical sugar cube into her mouth. She gently munched on it as she turned to Pinkie. “Not anymore.”

“Nope!” Pinkie then trotted forward and wrapped her hooves around Sunset. “It’s so good to see you again!”

Sunset hugged back, blushing slightly as she could feel more and more ponies gazes’ upon her. “It’s good to see you too Pinkie. Don’t you think you went a little overkill on the cake though?”

Pinkie leaned back, her dead pan eyes staring at Sunset. “First, you can never go too big on a cake.”

Celestia involuntarily grinned. “I can agree with this.”

“And two, this cake is to celebrate your return, and the return of my sister. I still don’t think this is big enough, but it’s the largest I could make!”

Celestia put a hoof to her mouth, her mind already coming up with solutions to this dire problem.. “I’ll need to see about changing this fact for future dates.”

Pinkie sighed, shaking her head with Celestia, but for wholly different reasons. “Though, if I were to be honest, it’s not like Marble could really enjoy the cake anyways.”

Celestia and Sunset were glancing at each other as a gray head came out of the cake, staying invisible to all but Pinkie, though Spike still waved to her. “Umm, I don’t want to push, but don’t you all have things to do?”

Pinkie’s eyes widened, before she nodded furiously. “Celestia, you can have a half of the cake later, but don’t you think we should possibly move forward with the ceremony?”

The princess glanced over, her chest tightening as she did so. No matter how many times she went through the reasons why this should work, she could never be absolutely confident.. Now though, she had to put faith in her subjects, lest she leave Equestria forever in the dark. Celestia turned on her back hooves, and looked over the largest part of the crowd. Even Pinkie knew by the sound of the princesses hooves on the cake that it was time to be quiet.

Celestia nodded again once all was stilled, and cleared her throat. “First, might I say that I am overjoyed by how you have treated my faithful student, Sunset Shimmer.” She unfolded a wing, gesturing to Sunset by putting it behind her. “Even before she proved herself as an Element of Harmony, you welcomed her with open hooves. Where she had come from, who she was, what she wanted, all of those things were irrelevant. Instead, what mattered was the pony beneath the bacon mane.”

A laugh burst from the crowd, and Sunset’s eye twitched ever so slightly. It only got worse as Pinkie fell over, her legs flailing in the air. “Oh my Celestia, it does lo-oomph!” She had been cut off abruptly by a ‘gentle’ nudge by Sunset to quiet her down.

Celestia beamed at her subjects, their jovial nature filling her with determination. To think they would have panicked simply by meeting her was a Canterlot mindset, not what she considered the Equestrian mindset. “I’m happy you all seem to share in my sentiment, for it is this sentiment that I place my trust in when I tell you the next piece of news I have.” It took a few moments, but the laughter died out fairly quickly, before all eyes were on the princess. “Tell me, would you believe me if I told you that there was a wraith in your midst?”

Applejack raised her hoof, along with Rarity. Rainbow would have as well, but while in the cloud cover, she saw no real point. Outside of that, nopony budged, though they did murmur in confusion. Celestia nodded to herself. “Well, how would you react if I told you that there was indeed one here?”

“Why I would be simply appalled!”

Sunset’s eyes widened, before glancing at Celestia. The slightest twitch of a smile at the corner of the ruler’s lips told her everything she needed to know, and Sunset got prepared not to burst from holding back laughter.

“I mean, do you know what one of us could do?” Twilight’s head popped out the cake at their hooves, cocked to the one side so as to keep one ear stuck in the creamy substance. “We could summon an undead manticore over at the playground to terrorize the school fillies… though, Fluffy did get bored pretty quick and started letting them ride him instead.”

Celestia paled as she realized that second part wasn’t on the list.

Twilight shook her head furiously, before narrowing her eyes again and floating higher. “I could even be powerful enough to have kept the ice cream in this cake, all five layers of it, nice and cold, even though I can’t eat any of it!”

Celestia continued pretending to be worried, leaving her jaw wide open, even as she began to salivate.

“Add on top of that, having the ability to do this,” Twilight shot a wave of cold at the ground, and everypony watched as a statue of a filly Celestia, Sunset, and Twilight, curled up and sleeping, appeared on the ground, “and who knows what sort of danger I could have posed to these ponies!”

For a moment, all was quiet. Even Sunset kept to silent embarrassment, wishing her younger self was not on display for everypony else. This was eventually broken by three ponies rearing back and screaming, “The horror, the horror!” Every eye turned to them as they fell to the ground, and the ponies on the cake paled.

Doctor Hooves trotted forward and placed a hoof on one of the easily spooked flower ponies’ necks. “Her heartbeat is only that of a regularly scared ponies, meaning they were just startled. Even they don’t buy the wraith being a threat!”

A laugh burst through the crowd as a sigh of relief escaped Sunset, Celestia, and Twilight. Pinkie tapped the cake, and a column of it flattened out, before steps jutted out. Celestia paused for a moment, but upon seeing her student not even flinch, decided not to ask any questions. Soon, all five of them were heading on down to their waiting audience.

======+++++======

Sunset stepped into the library, smiling to herself as she saw a purple tail swishing back and forth. “Now, what would Celestia say if she saw that you had ducked out of your own party?”

Twilight glanced over to her friend while raising a single eyebrow. “And what about you?”

The yellow mare shrugged. “She expects it more from me.” She then laid beside Twilight, looking at the light romance novel in front of her. A fire set themselves almost immediately to her cheeks, before she coughed in an attempt to remove the annoying blush. “So, what has you reading that sort of junk?”

Twilight flipped the page with a grin. “I found out about the genre from Rarity, and after giving me a sweet example of a countess and the floating demon she knew, I thought I should look into it more.”

Sunset’s eyelids slowly moved to half closed as her mind worked on ideas for exactly why the diva may have chosen such a regal example. “Oh really? Well, I would suggest stopping. Those stories go the same way everytime. If the two main leads don’t end up getting together, it’s only because the author is trying to play to all their fans, and not piss any of them off, so none of them get together.”

A small bit of laughter escaped Twilight as she closed the book for the moment. “First, the author could instead write a tale for each pairing, and I’d love to see that. Secondly, you and Rainbow Dash share the thought that I should stop reading these, though she always follows up with wanting me to focus on the beautiful sunsets we share, and not her either. I don’t know why she feels like she has to especially rule herself out though when it comes to my focus.”

Sunset’s eye twitched as she ground her teeth. “I have no-” She stopped, spotting a gray spirit over Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight, who is that?”

The wraith glanced over, before jumping up and hugging Marble. “Oh, this is Marble Pie. She came with me from Pinkie’s home after I fixed some stuff there. While she needs to get out of this really weird habit of hers of calling me master, don’t you think she is just the cutest?”

Sunset blinked, before a massive grin appeared on her face and she shut her eyes. “Excuse me for a moment. I’ll respond when I come back.”

Twilight watched as her friend galloped towards one of the side rooms, waving a hoof as the door slammed. “We’ll be out here!”

The door shook for a moment, a loud bang echoing from within, before smoke began trailing out. It would be a few hours before Sunset came out, her mane smoldering still. By then, she was blissfully alone for her time pretending to stab Rarity and Rainbow on her friendship planning map, before making a doll for the Marble character so she could then smash it with a hammer! While this morning she had been excited to sleep in her bed again, she got none as she… relaxed.

Author's Note:

First Ponyville, THEN THE WORLD!

So, since this was used more so to actually have Sunset come back more than anything, instead of just appearing back, I'm going to use this as a chance to say thank you. Twaith reached fifty-THOUSAND words a chapter or two ago, but that isn't even quite true, as the five sequels I've made make up another seventeen THOUSAND words. This puts Twaith at seventy thousand words, before this chapter even, in eight months. Not only does this make this the largest story by a large margin, it also makes up a seventh of my overall word count, at the time of this chapter.

And through all of it, you guys have been amazing. You've supported me, had fun discussions, made jokes, all that good stuff, and it has just always kept me going. So once more, thank you. I'll be coming out with another chapter later this week, and then, if I get off my lazy ass, hopefully will also be when I announce here the Twaith group that I will be creating, because at this point, I think it just makes sense for the AU to have a meeting ground. I'll see you all then, and hope you're excited for the end of the month. A new year will bring new faces, new dangers, and new tales to tell, and I can't wait to share them with you all.

Comments

[dangerbrony]

Poor Sunset. Everyone keeps edging in on her territory.

[The Slending Angel]

Lel.

[Tatsurou]

Okay, that was both cute and silly. I especially loved how Celestia was all ready to drop the 'big bomb', only for everyone to already know and for Twilight to prank her like that.

[SeventhBrony]

Poor 'Bacon head"

[Ulrezaj]

6731941
Not quite, remember Shining got a reaction from her just from being in the same room.
And since this is an AU... Anything could happen.

[the other sans]

“I’ll need to see about changing this fact for future dates.”.”
Rainbow would have as well,,

1. Extra full stop and closing quotation mark. Haha! The ends have been doubled!
2. Extra comma.

Oh Bacon hair, how we love you so in this totally hilarious outcome. But I now do wonder how or even if Marble would be in a relationship with Twaith.

[Exaxxion]

Woot woot cel-e-bra-tion time come on!

[Fireeaters]

I wonder how you'd cook the middle of a huge cake before the outside burns...

[DarkPinkie]

Sunset is just letting off some steam and dealing with her frustrations... I hope.

[ShadowLDrago]

Spike rattled his claws on the hard wood, his smile trying to match the sun in brightness. “So, what do you think Pinkie will have done? Huge cakes, streamers, maybe a statue in the likeness of a certain dracolich you know?”

*snort*

Spike didn’t even flinch at the words, a black tongue coming across his fangs. “Well, let’s look at the track record. Every time Twilight and I have come to blows, she is the one that ends up in a wall.”

Really?

Celestia giggled at the two’s banter, looking at them from the corner of her eye. “Remember that you were even littler then, and when she finds out just how tough you are now, I doubt she’ll hold back if you two, ‘come to blows’.”

That's a good point.

Spike’s smile finally faded as his eyes widened, the stretched skin over his jawline becoming more apparent with his frown. “Sh-she wouldn’t do anything that drastic though… right?”
Celestia shrugged. “While I doubt she would do anything you may consider severe, one must remember what has happened to my sister, who so often incites the spirit’s anger.”

What happened?

Sunset watched as Spike looked at the wall of the chariot, and rubbed the top of his head, chuckling slightly as he squinted. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You know she loves you, just like us. Now, think about the food and friends you’ll be able to have by the end of today, instead of anything stupid like rivalries between companions. Okay?”

That sounds fun.

Spike nodded, once more peering over the edge as they broke through the cloudline. Before them was the small town of Ponyville. In the center stood the town hall, surrounded by dozens of ponies, all awaiting the princess and her prodigy. It was none of this though that had the three slack jawed. That was due to the cake that was almost the size of the town hall, and the pink pony that grinned on top of it. Celestia’s tongue ran along her muzzle, and she quickly whispered to the pegasi pulling the chariot, “Let us down on the cake. I want to… inspect it, closely.”

Yeah, "inspect".

Celestia opened her eyes, the rest of her head now yellow, before her magic collected it all, and put the practical sugar cube into her mouth. She gently munched on it as she turned to Pinkie. “Not anymore.”

Well played.

Pinkie leaned back, her dead pan eyes staring at Sunset. “First, you can never go too big on a cake.”
Celestia involuntarily grinned. “I can agree with this.”

Makes two of us. Though it's deadpan.

“And two, this cake is to celebrate your return, and the return of my sister. I still don’t think this is big enough, but it’s the largest I could make!”
Celestia put a hoof to her mouth, her mind already coming up with solutions to this dire problem.. “I’ll need to see about changing this fact for future dates.”.”

I'm sure. Though you only need one ."

Celestia nodded again once all was stilled, and cleared her throat. “First, might I say that I am overjoyed by how you have treated my faithful student, Sunset Shimmer.” She unfolded a wing, gesturing to Sunset by putting it behind her. “Even before she proved herself as an Element of Harmony, you welcomed her with open hooves. Where she had come from, who she was, what she wanted, all of those things were irrelevant. Instead, what mattered was the pony beneath the bacon mane.”

Oh my Celestia it DOES look like bacon.

“Why I would be simply appalled!”

Really?

“I mean, do you know what one of us could do?” Twilight’s head popped out the cake at their hooves, cocked to the one side so as to keep one ear stuck in the creamy substance. “We could summon an undead manticore over at the playground to terrorize the school fillies… though, Fluffy did get bored pretty quick and started letting them ride him instead.”

What?

Twilight shook her head furiously, before narrowing her eyes again and floating higher. “I could even be powerful enough to have kept the ice cream in this cake, all five layers of it, nice and cold, even though I can’t eat any of it!”

Oh man that's got to suck!

For a moment, all was quiet. Even Sunset kept to silent embarrassment, wishing her younger self was not on display for everypony else. This was eventually broken by three ponies rearing back and screaming, “The horror, the horror!” Every eye turned to them as they fell to the ground, and the ponies on the cake paled.

Oi...

Doctor Hooves trotted forward and placed a hoof on one of the easily spooked flower ponies’ necks. “Her heartbeat is only that of a regularly scared ponies, meaning they were just startled. Even they don’t buy the wraith being a threat!”

Phew.

The yellow mare shrugged. “She expects it more from me.” She then laid beside Twilight, looking at the light romance novel in front of her. A fire set themselves almost immediately to her cheeks, before she coughed in an attempt to remove the annoying blush. “So, what has you reading that sort of junk?”
Twilight flipped the page with a grin. “I found out about the genre from Rarity, and after giving me a sweet example of a countess and the floating demon she knew, I thought I should look into it more.”

Really?

Sunset’s eyelids slowly moved to half closed as her mind worked on ideas for exactly why the diva may have chosen such a regal example. “Oh really? Well, I would suggest stopping. Those stories go the same way everytime. If the two main leads don’t end up getting together, it’s only because the author is trying to play to all their fans, and not piss any of them off, so none of them get together.”

She's not exactly wrong.

A small bit of laughter escaped Twilight as she closed the book for the moment. “First, the author could instead write a tale for each pairing, and I’d love to see that. Secondly, you and Rainbow Dash share the thought that I should stop reading these, though she always follows up with wanting me to focus on the beautiful sunsets we share, and not her either. I don’t know why she feels like she has to especially rule herself out though when it comes to my focus.”

I see...

The wraith glanced over, before jumping up and hugging Marble. “Oh, this is Marble Pie. She came with me from Pinkie’s home after I fixed some stuff there. While she needs to get out of this really weird habit of hers of calling me master, don’t you think she is just the cutest?”

Shouldn't it be Mistress since Twilight is very much a mare/filly/whatever=

Sunset blinked, before a massive grin appeared on her face and she shut her eyes. “Excuse me for a moment. I’ll respond when I come back.”

Take your time?

The door shook for a moment, a loud bang echoing from within, before smoke began trailing out. It would be a few hours before Sunset came out, her mane smoldering still. By then, she was blissfully alone for her time pretending to stab Rarity and Rainbow on her friendship planning map, before making a doll for the Marble character so she could then smash it with a hammer! While this morning she had been excited to sleep in her bed again, she got none as she… relaxed.

Seems she has a psychotic streak.

[Prism Phoenix]

Bacon hair, seriously? In the land of herbivore ponies who coexist with the sentient cows there, bacon doesn't even exist! I can maybe put up with it in the human world, but in Equestria it's just not even funny.

[Dragonwaz]

6735001 Dragons exist as well as Griffons. I can buy ponies tangentially knowing of bacon. Though Celestia outright joking like that would be less likely

Celestia’s tongue ran along her muzzle, and she quickly whispered to the pegasi pulling the chariot, “Let us down on the cake. I want to… inspect it, closely.”

This, just this

I need to make some top 10 lists for my favorite moments for different characters this would definitely make a Celestia list.

[Michael Hudson]

6740835 Yay! Thank you.

[videocrazy]

their jovial nature filling her with determination

Reading this fills me with determination!

[Carrara]

6742952
Was this meant as an Earthbound reference?

[NecromanCREEEEEE]

6780297 My good sir, you just made the internet mad at you.

It's Undertale.

[kingthe13]

7196536 well in her defence undertale was inspired by earthbound sooooooo yeah....
Also undyne rulez