Metamorphosis

by Eneha

Chapter 3: Banishment

Chapter Three

Down a stream that trails off into the Everfree Forest, an old, towering willow tree provided Twilight Sparkle with an excellent get away spot. She knew better than to cross the stream and continue down to the forest, but this spot allowed her to be just far enough out that she wasn’t likely to be bothered by anypony. She felt a little guilty about hiding away like this, but all of the events over the past few days had been fairly overwhelming and a break was just what she needed.

She trotted up under the shade of the willow and smiled brightly, brandishing her books and aligning them alphabetically on the soft grass before her. “Oooo, which one should I read first?” she exclaimed, looking over all the titles expectantly. Although she had much to learn about this new type of protection spell Shining Armor had introduced her to, and she was eager to learn about magic remedies for common ailments, the back of her mind nagged her to investigate the item she had snuck into her bag earlier.

“Well,” she paused, biting her lower lip in contemplation, “I could give that a look over…” She pulled it out with her magic, hovering it over the others. Quickly she looked from one book to the next frantically, waiting for a decision to come to her. “Ok!” she exclaimed, raising the mystery book up higher than the others, “I’ll—read this ..love story.. for a while.” As she said the words ‘love story,’ she appeared to sink into herself, looking around with suspicion. She quickly tucked the other books into her bag as she plopped down onto the ground, enjoying the cool shade and gentle breeze. Using her magic, Twilight carefully slipped the book out of its cover and set it down before her.

With a glimmer of purple, the pages turned and Twilight began reading the story Celestia had given her after the wedding. It was a simple story of star-crossed ponies separated by their families. The girl was a beautiful unicorn, and the boy was a dashing pegasus—their families forbad their love due to their race. Twilight had a difficult time understanding the concept—to her, everypony was equal, but each family treated the other terribly because they were different.

In the story, the two met in secret at night, and worked together to create a spell that would grant them each their heart’s desire. The spell was difficult, but the magic of these unicorns was pure, powerful. Regardless, the spell would take a month to prepare. In the meanwhile, their families were on the verge of war, and it was getting harder for the two to meet together. The story had gotten so dramatic, Twilight was slouched over the book with wide eyes that eagerly scanned back and forth over the pages, absorbing the story. She had spent longer than she was aware reading and by the time she had begun to reach the climax of the story, it was already well into the day.

Crimson Wing, the pegasus, and Aurora Dream, the unicorn, had planned to meet one final time in secret—the night the moon was at its fullest, shining brightly down on the land to illuminate their display for everypony. When that time came, they had tricked their families into meeting in one place—the pond at the edge of town. The moonlight trickled down, reflecting off the water’s surface as everypony stood in stunned silence around the pair.

They stepped silently into the clear water, sending a gentle ripple across the surface. Once they stood over the reflection of the wavering moon, Aurora closed her eyes and gently pressed her horn to Crimson’s forehead. He closed his eyes as well, breathing deeply. The two became encompassed in a blinding, white light that swirled over their bodies.

The spell gave the pair what they most wanted—it used the tuned, powerful magic of a unicorn along with the raw essence of a pegasus, with their love being the final “ingredient.” However, the wish became tainted when they desired two fundamentally similar but drastically different things. Aurora wished with all of her heart for Crimson to be like her—like her family—so that their love would be accepted. She pictured Crimson with the horn of her kind, meeting her at the altar in marriage. Crimson, however, wanted his family’s acceptance, and deep down wished that his love could soar the skies with him.

Because they both had very clear, strong visions of the future they wanted, the spell began to spark and fizzle before erupting into brilliant emerald flames that showered down upon them. Their bodies changed before their eyes—Aurora sprouted radiant wings from her back and Crimson threw back his head as a horn began to grow. However, his wings remained. As did Aurora’s horn.

Twilight gasped, pausing from her reading for a brief moment. “Is that—is that how alicorns came into existence?” she choked before diving back into the story. This was far beyond a simple “love story;” did the Princess give this book to her for a more important reason?

As she continued reading, however, she saw that the magic had gone even more wrong than they had feared and their families saw them as abominations. Growing more and more outcast, the two wept together and grew weaker by the day. The tainted spell began to slowly corrupt the two, and their bodies began to reflect the changes within. Realizing they needed the support of their families to survive, they worked together, using the last of their magic to concoct a spell that had the power to win over their affection.

“Is this…” Twilight breathed, eyes widening even further as she slowly flipped the page. Before she could realign her eyes to the top of the page to continue reading, she heard the crackling of flames from around her and looked up just in time to see herself become engulfed in green flames. “What’s going on?!” she cried, as she was thrown jarringly into darkness.

“Twilight Sparkle,” a familiar voice echoed, “That was far too easy.”

“It’s you—!” Twilight exclaimed, leaping into the air as she frantically looked about. With a small huff, she was able to produce a shining aura from her horn that acted as a light source.

“Of course it’s me,” Chrysalis spat, invisible to Twilight, “Did you really thing I’d let you be after humiliating me in Canterlot? I won’t make the same mistake twice, you stupid foal! You’ll never escape from here; my Changelings built this tomb especially for you.”

Twilight’s heart stopped and she froze in place. “You—you can’t!” she gasped, “I—…”

“Oh, you what? You had no idea who you were messing with when you interfered; I don’t play around. But soon, I’ll trick all of your little friends into loving me while you wither away here, much like the fate you wished upon us!”

“Please stop, there’s another way! I can help you and your Changelings, I promise—you just have to trust me! Princess Celestia wouldn’t want anypony—or Changeling—to die, but you can’t just go about attacking Equestria!” Twilight begged, trying to reason with the disembodied voice echoing all around her.

“Nice try, Twilight, but you’re talking with the Queen of deception, here,” Chrysalis said mockingly. “Enjoy your stay—I know I am going to just love Ponyville, but hopefully they'll love me more," she laughed.

“No, please listen to me!” Twilight sobbed as her magic flickered out, leaving her in darkness, “Don’t do this!”

“Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle,” a soft voice cooed before fading out entirely. In that instant, Twilight knew she was alone, and she had no idea if her magic would be strong enough to save her this time. As she cried silently, her thoughts fleeted to her friends in Ponyville, and she felt sick with worry.

***

A young, lavender unicorn stood under the shade of a grand willow tree, looking down at a saddlebag full of books. A smile of satisfaction slowly crept across the pony’s face as her horn flashed green with magic and she raised the bag up, placing it on her back. She was off to Ponyville.

Comments

[Red Does Reviewing]

good i just hope twi is going to be ok

[GAPDashie]

Nooo...

Fic in progress with this identical plotline. Looks like I write too slowly.

[Eneha]

654466

If it's any consolation, I'm sure someone has beat me to it, too. It's a ridiculously huge community with a lot of talented artists and authors. (:

And I'm certain our stories would be far from identical, even if the ideas appear to be similar. ;)

[Dubs Rewatcher]

I haven't read it, but one thing I will say is that your description is written exactly like a Speech and Debate intro might be (don't worry; that's good).

[Armasyll]

So, is Twilight dead?

[Eneha]

655250

I don't believe that was said anywhere, but she does appear to be in a bit of a bind.

Although the story has a "dark" tag, I'm not intending to take it over the top and kill characters off for the sake of violence--rest assured our little pony won't go down without a fight!

[MerlosTheMad]

Did you really thing I’d let you be after humiliating me in Canterlot?

Hasbro seems to think so.

[Pinklestia]

"but the magic of these unicorns was pure, powerful." It should but the magic of these two lovers was pure, powerful."