The Depths of a Wraith
A sound slowly invaded Cadance’s conscious as she slowly opened her eyes. Something… something was close. It didn’t sound like the changlings that brought her food and water, keeping her on the brink of death, just in case her actual body could be used for something. With how they looked at her, she didn’t want to know what, and for a moment, the sounds of sobbing made her happy. If they were crying, it probably meant that her Shining wisened up to their plan.
Except her joy was shallow, and something about the sound was familiar. It was hard to place, but she swore she could recognize it from somewhere. Her ear twitched as the draft that ran through the catacombs blew in, and she shivered from the cold. The feel of the icy touch made her eyes snap open, and she limped to the wall that the crying was coming from. “T-Twilight? Please tell me that’s you.”
Twilight lifted her head as she stared at the crystal beside her. She… she was supposed to be safe and alone down here. And yet, somehow, Cadance was here. Though, if that changeling was impersonating her and sent me here, it isn’t impossible… “I-it is, but you shouldn’t want that.”
Cadance blinked at the words, confused by what she could possibly mean, but pushing it away for more important things. “Twilight, I need you to break down this wall. There is a changeling after Shining Armor, and if we don’t stop her, she might very well take over all of Equestria.”
There was a long pause as Twilight stared at the crystal, unable to see her reflection in it as her hoof slid into the material. She wished she could simply go through, but the sight of Cadance helpless in front of her, so vulnerable if she wanted to attack… “Okay, but you need to forget I’m here afterwards. I don’t want anypony to find me.”
Cadance breathed in, a yes on the tip of her tongue. She knew better though. Twilight was hurt somehow, and she needed a friend. Not only that, but Cadance could use the wraith beside her when she confronted the imposter. “Twilight, what’s wrong? What did they do to you?”
“They did nothing. I’m the one who’ll do anything.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“She asked me if I would hurt her with your face, and… and for a split second my essence said yes.”
Cadance stepped away from the wall, an icy chill invading her core as she wondered if she was going to get out of the caves alive. She then vigorously shook her head, the image of the wraith over her friend’s corpse coming to mind. “And what do you think right now? Do you want to hurt me?”
There was no hesitation, even as spectral tears came down her face. “No! I don’t want to hurt anypony, but I can, and there is this pit in me that wants me to, and I don’t know how much longer it will take for it to win.”
Another long pause filled the air before Cadance cleared her throat. She had of course talked about the state that Twilight was in, and how much of an oddity it was with Celestia, but she never imagined she would need to tell Twilight the truth. Ever make the mare think she was something so purely evil. “Twilight, what are you?”
“I am a wraith.”
“And what is a wraith.”
“By the definition of Ghastly Aura, my mother, it is the spiritual manifestation of a unicorn’s magic. While the wraith itself is not evil, their tendency to seek ways to come back to life lead to dark magic that corrupts them. Hence why I do not seek a permanent shell, so I don’t let her down.”
Cadance wanted to agree with her, let her continue to live in her fantasy. She knew that time was up though. “No Twilight. After Ghastly, others looked over wraiths, and there has never been a case of a permanently good wraith. Even ones that never sought life again followed the same patterns, which always ended in them devouring the souls of those closest to them to fill the void in their being that the dark magic they have left within them.” She tapped on the crystal, trying to smile as a tear came down her face. “Do you know what makes you different from them?”
Twilight slowly sank into the ground, wishing she could simply leave, but her curiosity stopped her. “The fact that I will soon?”
Cadance shook her head. “No, it’s the fact that this yearning you feel usually comes while they’re raising the dead. You’ve used soul magic, a wraith’s final ability, when their need is so great that faking life is not enough, and they must take it. The fact that despite you having that pit and seeing it, you can say no. Twilight, I have no idea why you are as you are, but you are not going to kill us all, not yet. However, if you do not help me defeat the changelings now, I fear for the worst.”
Twilight slowly drifted back up, her horn beginning to glow as her aura shimmered slightly. “So… you’re saying that this is natural… but also unnatural?”
Cadance shook her head as the smile on her face was now true. “No, I am saying that I believe in you, and that no matter how much that pit calls, I know you will make the right choice.”
The wraith sucked in her lips, before pointing her horn straight at the wall. Black lines shot through the crystal, before she pulled head back, and removed the entirety of the fifty foot wall in chunks. She looked down upon Cadance, unable to smile. “I… I wish I could have the same confidence, but I just don’t know yet.” She then shut her eyes and focused her energies as she put the rocks down. “You’re right though. I can’t let that changeling hurt my friends. Not now, not ever.”
======+++++======
Slam!
Everypony in the throne room turned to the doors as they came open. The Cadance at the altar scowled as she watched herself stride in, just before that one stopped, and a black spirit flowed out of its possessed body. The imposter and Twilight met eyes, and the room dropped almost twenty degrees. Twilight pointed one hoof at the changeling and said, “Show yourself, or I will drive a spike of ice into each of your legs.”
Celestia opened her mouth, barely able to form words as she moved forward. “Twilight, what are you do-” She stopped, looking over to the Cadance beside her as she shook her head.
“No, no, I won’t hide. However, as I know what will come next, why don’t you stay put. I mean, otherwise, how are you going to know where your precious,” Cadance immediately was beset by a strange, green glow, before switching to Trixie, fox tails and all, and soon after taking the form of the filly princess of the night, “friends are?”
Twilight froze in midair as the temperature in the room continued to lower. She was almost shaking with anger, having had to see the full extent that this changeling had caused her dear Cadance while possessing her body so she could even make it up here, but she was too smart. If the two of them had been lost, only she would know. Above the din of ponies gasping, she muttered, “Okay,” as she slowly nodded.
The little Luna smiled, before her horn glowed and her green aura became intense enough to push everypony downwards like she was increasing the gravity. Green, fiery magic came over her form, and part by part, her long, holed, black legs showed themselves. Her short, webbed wings sprouted from her back, just moments before head same to form, and a small crown rested upon it, just behind the alicorn’s large, crooked horn. Just as it finished, and the pressure came back to normal, Chrysalis glanced to Celestia, already primed to attack her, and used the magic around her to send it straight down.
The magic crashed into the stone tiles, and a second before Celestia fired, smoke and debris filled the room. The moment her solar beam went forward, the princess knew she had missed. Her eyes scanned the area around her before catching one silhouette. While she recharged though, another one appeared beside that, and another, and another. With each new form came more of her high pitched laughter that mocked the princess for having been so careless.
Sunset scowled as she tried to look through the dust, before turning to Fluttershy, who had been standing beside her. “Fluttershy, I need you to-” She stopped as the same green fire that had come from the queen changeling now enveloped her friend, and she stared into the ugliest bug she had ever seen. She didn’t hesitate as she scowled, a jet of flame escaping her horn and slamming into the imposter within three seconds. Looking into the dust, she wished she could clear it.
Rainbow Dash was one step ahead of her though, and had already flown upwards, Just as she cleared some of the fog from Sunset’s vision, she heard buzzing in her ears, and wildly swung for the thing beside her. She caught the changeling square in the jaw, but could see two more in her peripherals. One became nothing but a screaming bonfire in the next second, before a chair smashed against the other, the remnants of Rarity’s magic clinging to the shards as they sent the drone away.
Twilight wasn’t able to cheer for her friend’s victory as she saw at least half of the crowd turn into these abominations. Looking out of the window, she could see more and more of the swarm descend upon a no longer guarded Canterlot. If Celestia couldn’t beat their queen, it would all be over, and she couldn’t help unless she wanted to lose the two friends she had abandoned last night.
On Celestia’s part, she made a good case for why she would be able to do so as a shield of sunlight burst away from her, sending almost a dozen drones spiraling away, and ridding herself of the dust that clouded her vision. Chrysalis was not done with her tricks though, and the moment the two saw each other, the queen let out all she had. In a precise, pulsating beam of energy, she fired. It was no more than maybe two centimeters in diameter, but Celestia knew she wouldn’t be able to dodge it. Instead, she met it with her own beam.
At first, Twilight felt her spirit lift, her essence growing brighter as the two magical energies met. Chrysalis only smirked though as Celestia’s legs buckled. She had thrown up a hastily prepared counter, and she could feel it slipping. If she stopped focusing for even a moment, Chrysalis would have her.
Unfortunately, no matter how many fireballs Sunset threw, there were always more drones, and one now saw a chance for promotion as its horn glowed.
“Celestia, look out!” Twilight slammed her hooves over her mouth, but it was already too late. Celestia glanced at her beloved wraith, just a moment before the drone’s magic smacked her in the cheek. It was another second later that Chrysalis’s beam made contact with Celestia, and exploded. Most of the occupants of the room were thrown back from the blast as every bit of stained glass was ripped from its frame and rained upon the denizens below.
And in the center, was Celestia, marred by dirt and blood as she tried to stand. Chrysalis laughed for a moment, before slamming her hoof into Celestia’s muzzle. “Nice try, but the one who is prepared is the one who always wins. Any last words?”
Twilight looked around the room, watching as drones came in through the windows. Even Sunset was pinned by a good few who had the unfortunate fate of continuing to be immolated. She couldn’t reach the queen though. None of them could, and that would mean no pony could save Celestia.
Except for me. If I intervene though… but I need to.
I can fulfill that. Just let yourself fall.
But what about-
Just force the information out of her. Step into your need, and you can rip souls from ponies. Why not a bit of their knowledge too?
… Twilight shut her eyes for a moment, and saw the pit she had danced with before. She had used it to save Sunset, and to make Marble stay on this plane. If she were to save them all though, she would not be able to dance with it, but instead need to commit, even if this was the same side of her that wanted to kill.
She drifted down into the pit of her essence, and placed her hooves on a thin spire that remained in there, before the darkness flooded around her.
Her eyes snapped open, and she found herself staring into Chrysalis’s. Twilight’s eyes immediately narrowed, and she hissed, “Tell me where they are, or I may not spare you.”
The queen stepped back, taking her hoof off of Celestia’s neck now as she blinked. Her shock soon turned to anger though, and a strangled gasp came from Celestia as she slammed her hoof back down. “I’ll tell you when she is dead.”
“You will tell me now, or else.”
“Or else-”
Chrysalis never got out the last word, but instead felt two hooves try to shove themselves into her kidneys, moments before the wraith sent her flying into the ceiling. She was then pressed against it, gasping for the air she had lost. When she tried to close her mouth though, she found she couldn’t, and watched as her green magic began to flow from her mouth and towards the purple mare holding her against the ceiling.
Twilight opened opened her own mouth and felt her first, true taste of another. The magic was immediately intoxicating, and she felt herself getting stronger the more she stole. It wasn’t her soul though, but merely the stolen power from her victims that she drained now. The darkness within her cheered as her essence began to glow green, filling with the queen’s power. The magic let her see deeper though. To her laughing at Shining Armor as he started losing his willpower, and musing to herself about how easy this had all been.
Next though wasn’t so easy. She saw herself in a wasteland, staring out from her victim’s perspective. She tried to walk with confidence, but Twilight could feel the weight of guilt pushing down on the monarch. The darkness from the pit tried to cover it, but Twilight slammed upon her stone perch, banishing it away as she looked deeper.
Her people starved, were in pain, and she could do nothing. A drone then came up and told her the two happiest pieces of news she had ever found. There was a princess in Equestria having a wedding, and Canterlot had easy to infiltrate catacombs that almost nopony knew about. She had her way in, and a solution, and pecked the soldier for his good work.
Twilight blinked as she looked back to Chrysalis, who now shed a tear. Twilight watched the droplet as it travelled, before it fell from the changeling’s fanged muzzle. From that muzzle came the last of the green energy. Following just after it, only a few seconds away from entering Twilight, was something gray. The darkness in her screamed for her to take it, and for a moment, she thought maybe she should. It would appease this pain in her, and let this all be done with.
It was quite possibly the scariest moment of the wraith’s life, and she slammed her mouth shut just before the soul entered her. A primal bellow followed after as all the energy she had just drained from Chrysalis demanded to be internalized, or released, and Twilight wanted none of it.
The wraith became nothing as she continued to scream. All that made a pony even know she was still on this plane was the snap of air that came before she launched a changeling through one of the openings in the room. Once all but Chrysalis were gone from the room, she moved on to the rest of the town. She let her anger and fear fuel her magic as she blasted, punched, and bucked every changeling in the town. Even now though, she remembered why they did this. The image of them starving in the wastelands saved them, as her magic made sure they would survive their trip. Besides, killing any of them now would make all she feared a reality, and she couldn't allow that.
Twilight was done by the time Chrysalis crashed to the floor, and Celestia glanced up as she felt a chill run over her. Staring into bright, green eyes, she tried to say something. She couldn’t in her state of shock though, and watched as Twilight shut her eyes, tears falling from them just as the wraith placed a note beside the ruler.
Before anypony could truly react to all that had just happened, Twilight faded away, wanting nothing more than to be away from the room that held the ponies she trusted more than any other in Equestria.
I just noticed that by complete accident, this story ark will be done on our fiftieth chapter! Also, a fairly accurate representation of Twilight at the end.
The beginning of it, at the least.
Important stuff:
This bubble makes it so that these chapters have technically not happened yet, that they hold no bearing on the funny, silly chapters that are to come, and when the bubble bursts, I will be moving these five chapters up to the end of the story, and the chapters will begin including the events of this.
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Yikes.
No.
I'm as confused as you.
Do you have any idea how much of a mistake you're making?
Oh dear...
Oh dear.
Twilight finds somepony down in the catacombs who seems a bit nutty, later realizing she was just talking to her self. After all, no one has any idea how to get down there for the exception of the ones who found out, or have been there for a while...
I am not sure but I have a feeling
would be a bad thing
And yes I know I am a terrible person for even linking it.
When I read this, the first thing that popped into my head was Twilight picking up Cadance and just beating the hell out of Chrysalis with her.
6858607
Yes. Yes you are.
Although it's true.
me think the all of twilight friend will be going on a trip to find her
but the site of Cadance helpless
contact with Celestia,
andand explodedas the wraith placed a note besides the ruler
1. Sight.
2. Extra And.
3. Beside.
Hmm... How did Twaith manage to get all of Chysalis' memories except the location of her other friends? That's quite curious indeed...
me think twilight will be seen again in the crystal empire, or near it being attack by what his name
6858678 ...that is hilarious! !