"How Would You Describe It?"
Twilight was sitting on the steps in front of Canterlot High, inspecting the ruined wondercolt statue that had been in perfect condition just a day ago. Luckily, all the marble shrapnel was cleaned up and the only sign of destruction was the two hooves that connected the statue to the stone platform. Besides that, Canterlot High appeared like not a magical bolt had struck it.
"I wonder if the janitors receive extra for these situations," she muttered to herself.
With the evening sun's light, she started reading the opened book in her lap. Her eyes skimmed the words quickly, not taking their meaning in the slightest. Her mind was elsewhere. Magic. Equestria. A whole world of the unknown. She gritted her teeth. The memories of last night kept picking at her. The experience of all that magic at her fingertips. Or were they claws? Her digits tapped impatiently on her leg. She felt restless as she struggled to keep her mind off such things. The book before her was no help.
"Ugh! Stop thinking about it!"
Her soft yelling did nothing but stir her dog, who was sleeping on the steps beside her, but was now wide awake. He was about to say something, but she silenced him with a quick upward finger. The last thing she needed was to be reminded once again of the magic that surrounded her.
"C'mon, Twilight. I think you should just accept it now," Spike told her flatly.
She slowly turned her head to him, adjusting her thick glasses with the awkward movement. "I know. I know. It's just that, before all of this, I thought I knew this world. Now it seems like I've barely scratched the surface of knowledge."
"Well, maybe now you can discover so much more than anyone else has," Spike said encouragingly.
Twilight sighed and rubbed her eyes. "You don't understand. After I unleashed the magic, I saw everything. A whole world that no one knows about. Well, at least no humans besides this school. I feel like researching it all and sharing my findings with the world...but I know that such magic should be kept secret." She paused before shaking her head. "Holding a whole other universe under a sheet seems wrong. However, after my magic incident....After I saw it all. No, it should not be shared. But it was so-"
"Amazing?"
Twilight was startled to find Sunset Shimmer smiling kindly behind her. The red and yellow haired girl then sat next to her with a friendly demeanor. Spike became excited and jumped onto her lap, panting with joy. Sunset giggled and patted him twice on the head. Despite the cute scene, Twilight kept her eyes away from her new friend.
"How long have you been listening?" she asked without moving her eyes.
"Not long. I just got done with helping Miss Cheerilee sort out the M-section of the library. I think Snips and Snails decided it would be fun to mess it up. Those two are such dorks." Sunset then looked at Twilight awkwardly. "Um...So what brings you here?"
"My transfer hasn't been completed yet and I rather not spend another night near Crystal Prep. So I just felt...inclined to visit this place. Just spend an evening on these steps and try to forget what happened here last night. Doesn't seem to be working."
"Pfft, you'll never forget it," Sunset nodded. "You can't forget something like that. It's life-changing."
Twilight turned her head to her. "It felt amazing..."
"I know right? When I transformed into a raging she-demon, it felt awesome. Painful at first, but then terrific. Like the whole world could be yours. Like you're unstoppable."
Twilight lowered her head. "I should feel terrible for thinking that becoming an evil magic creature was great."
"Naw. That'd be lying. Don't try to convince yourself that you didn't enjoy it," Sunset told her as she rubbed Spike's belly.
"Huh? Why not?"
"Because that's pointless. It isn't about you feeling bad, it's about you knowing what you could have done. I was a terrible person when I arrived here. I was awful before I was blasted by the rainbows of friendship. Unlike you, I knew what I was doing. Well, mostly. Magic is my forte in Equestria. I used to feel regretful after the Fall Formal. It kept pestering me day and night. If I were you, I would try to stop the regret first, because it's in the past now. You can't change what you've done, why feel bad about it? Just make sure it never happens again."
"I guess that makes sense. I do hope it never happens again. I'm not entirely sure I would see reason twice. Once the magic changed me, I saw everything! My mind was flooded by the science behind Equestrian magic." She started to smile with enthusiasm. "So much information! So much raw knowledge! I learned twice as much from those long seconds than I did in three years at Crystal Prep!"
"I was flooded with knowledge too. Though it was the magic of Harmony and friendship. The crown I placed on my head was an Element of Harmony and thus it gave me all that it knew. It was a lot to take in and it showed me how I was using the Element improperly. I ignored it of course, until it backfired on me. But, I digress."
Twilight ignored her. "I saw visions of pony goddesses lifting the heavens. Sun and moon were equals in the sky! I saw-"
"Twilight?" Spike interrupted.
"Oh, sorry..."
"Like I was saying," Sunset continued, "all that knowledge really affects the mind. I thought I could take over a nation with mind controlled high schoolers. How dumb is that? I was completely mad!"
"I thought I could dissect a whole world for magic," Twilight said with a wave of her hand as if she still wielded dark powers.
"It's exhilarating to say the least. You won't ever forget that feeling. I'll say this, you'll be tempted by the feeling."
"I'll remember the guilt then..."
"Yes. Remember the guilt. The amazing feeling that comes with such magic is nothing compared to what you feel afterwards. All my sins, all those I've hurt, every tear that I help make will never leave me. I don't punish myself by keeping those horrid memories, but instead use them to break any temptations."
"Seems like a heavy burden..." Twilight sighed.
Sunset rested a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Not at all. Twilight, you have friends now. Keep them and nothing will be heavy, I promise. They'll share some of the weight. It's what friends do. Don't worry, they've already forgiven you, just like they've forgiven me. And I was a jerk to them before I even transformed. You got it lucky as the one who was forced into something you didn't want."
"No, I did what I did on purpose. Principal Cinch started it, but I wanted to use the magic too. Not for the Friendship Games of course. I felt like I was making a grand discovery for science. I kinda did too."
"It doesn't matter. All that's in the past. Your past is not today. It doesn't define you. You now know the power you can wield, but you won't wield it. Princess Celestia told me a long time ago that it was having all the power in the world and still not abusing it that was the first step to wisdom. I know that I can go steal some Equestrian artifact and bring it back here and become all-powerful again, but I won't. I'm better than that now. Besides, I think after one failed try at ruling the world, I would make a better plan."
Twilight couldn't help but giggle at Sunset's sense of humor. "Huh, never thought about it like that."
"After some weeks, you really start to reflect on your life's story. I'm still a student at this whole 'friendship' thing, but that's fine. I think life is a lot about being a student. You learn, discover, and realize something new every day. It'll never end. I know we both love learning new things, even if we go through a magical mishap."
The sun was setting low on the horizon and their daylight was running out. Spike stretched in Sunset's lap before running over to Twilight's backpack and snuggling himself into its largest compartment. Seeing the dog stretch made Sunset do the same.
"Aw, well, good talk, Twilight. I know it will still take some time to adjust to this newly discovered world. Just keep your spirits up and know that you have real friends now."
"And my counterpart is a pony princess of friendship," Twilight added.
"Exactly," Sunset laughed.
Sunset stood up and began to walk towards her car. Twilight hesitated before yelling for her to stop.
"Hey, one last thing..."
"Yeah?" Sunset asked expectantly.
"This may be a dumb question...but would I have, you know, won with my power?"
"You mean like defeat everyone and rule the world after a grand magical battle?"
"Not quite like that, but yeah," Twilight said bashfully.
"Heck no." Sunset said simply. "You would have been kicked into Tartarus before you could finish a geometry problem. The Princesses would have defeated you so fast. Just be glad I got to you first."
This answer left Twilight stunned. Tartarus? No, she shouldn't even start thinking about that stuff. So instead she just smiled and rubbed the back of her neck nervously.
Sunset laughed with a roll of her eye. "Just kidding. If I didn't save you, they would have. They've got a knack for it."
"Then I guess you didn't worry about me destroying too much stuff?"
"Nah, I helped you because I knew you would be in the worst for it. I stopped you before it became you."
"Thanks."
"For what?" Sunset asked with a shrug. "I just did what I thought was right."
"No, for just being here, now. You sound like a wise leader. I've never heard another teenager speak like you do. You seem so experienced with all of this."
"I'm not." Sunset blushed. "I've just had more than a few good role models in my life. I wish I listened to them sooner, but there's nothing stopping me from listening to them now."
"Well, as of right now, you're my role model."
"Thanks. It means a lot to me. I uh....should start going now. My car's lights aren't the brightest."
Twilight packed her books and nodded. "I understand."
Sunset waved a hand goodbye and ran off to her car. With the last rays of sunlight, Twilight packed her book and swung her backpack over her shoulders. The statue was still as destroyed as ever, but the fact that it was there no longer upset her. It was in the past now. The amazing feeling she had when she transformed was just a feeling. There was no true value beyond that. All she could do now was move on, just like Sunset did before her. Heck, maybe this will just turn into a joke for me to laugh at in the future? That hope lifted her heart and she headed towards home. Just like the journey home was long, the journey to moving past all this was even longer, but she was not alone, and that would make all the difference.
"So what was that all about?" Spike asked from the backpack.
Twilight thought a moment before answering. "We all have troubles in our lives, Spike. Some great, some small. But the guilt remains the same, no matter what. But it's not about how much guilt you feel, it's about how you use it to guide yourself into being a better person. It's harsh, I know, but it's much more favorable than the alternative. I understand it now...And it all becomes so much easier when you have friends to fight back the regret and the pain. Spike, I understand it all now."
~
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Wonderful little story! You get an upvote!
6468968 thanks mate!
Makes me wonder how Pony Twilight really feels about her power, unlike Sunset and Human Twi she has same level of power they got short term ALL THE TIME and has had Quadruple the amount. We've seen her little slip ups but how does she deal with being so powerful all the time? What keeps her restrained, and if Human Twilight sought her opinion on what happened, what would it be?
Yeah, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I probably wouldn't take it very well either. Wonderfully heartwarming, have my upvote!
6468998 maybe it was a type of restraint Celestia failed to teach Sunset properly. Maybe a tale for another time.
We need an aftermath.
Nice! It felt a bit unpolished, but the story was very good. I could definitely imagine this scene in my head and both girls were very in character. And I like the reference to the futility of Sunset's original plan. Great story overall.
6469127 I will admit, I wrote it all in a couple of hours, so that is probably showing. I'm not the best, but I'm always improving.
Even thought I haven't seen the movie, it was a great story to read.
6469157 I really enjoyed this i'm also working on a similiar story except with pony twilight kind of like extended version of the movie
A very thoughtful epilogue. Of course, the scars, and the temptations, will remain forever. Once you have started down the dark path, even if you turn back, the things done, the things thought and the things felt will always influence you and dominated your destiny.
I see what you did there.
I don't like to nitpick but why can Spike still talk? He lost that ability once Twilight turned back to normal
6468998
I like to think that the body becomes accustomed to it. It should only feel odd if it's different, so it's not too different for Twilight. And we have stories that ponder how Twilight might have dealt with containing multiple alicorn magicks.
6469685 No, Spike was still talking after Twilight returned to normal. Remember the following bits:
Sugarcoat: At least they didn't manipulate Twilight into releasing all the stolen magic and turning into a power-crazed magical creature that tried to rip the world apart just to win a game.
Pinkie Pie: Wow! That's a lot to take in when you say it all at once.
Principal Cinch: That's ridiculous!
Spike: Nope, that's pretty much what happened.
Dean Cadance: And don't forget to tell them about the talking dog. [giggles]
Spike: Because that would never ruin your reputation.
This was a really nice written epilogue. Good job
6469764 funny thing, that was actually going to be in the author's note, but I decided it would be better if Twilight said it instead of me.
This feels like a nice addition to the movie's ending. It's all very natural, like it's the obvious end-point for both their character arcs.
It feels like an actual episode, with the Aesop and everything.
Well done!
6469934
6469928 Thanks guys, appreciate it.
I don't believe that. Not that she wouldn't be defeated. But I think you overestimate the Princesses powers.
Is there a second movie with those humanized ponies? One with as native human twilight?
6470076 I believe this is from the third one, called "The Friendship Games"..
6469934 you can say that again.
Nice job for an epilogue. Good job! Thumbs up for you!
Couldn't have made a better fic myself. This was truly believable. When anyone be they good or bad gains such great power, it must feel so fantastic to feel like they can do anything they canted to and nobody could stop them if they tried. But if one use it improperly and end up losing that power, it'll be a heavy burden to live all the bad stuff they did (or the good they could have done but didn't). Lucky for Sunset and Twilight, they have their friends who make the burden easier to carry.
Personally, Midnight Sparkle is my favorite MLP villain. She's just so interesting. It's like they took the script for the first movie's climax and turned it upside down. I'd be surprised if SciTwi wasn't an ensemble darkhorse anymore after that.
6470108 Okay.
"Is that all?" asked Spike.
"Of course not," replied Twilight, rubbing her hands together. "I learned that when I regain my powers, I'll have to strike first at Sunset Shimmer and her friends. Only then will I be ready to start down my path to ultimate power. Right, Spike? Spike?"
The dog was nowhere to be seen, but he could be heard while running as fast as his four legs would carry him. "Principal Celestia! Twilight's going crazy again! Help! Help!"
"I was kidding, Spike!" she shouted as she ran off in pursuit. "Kidding! It was a joke! Come back here, you mutt!"
6469696
Well it's clear how the magic effects Twilight is different as an alicorn, I mean it literally made her explode in unicorn form. I'm sure her perspective is different as she was irreversibly changed, but just having power changes how you think and feel even if Twilight doesn't have to deal with her brain going haywire from more magic than it can take. Still I would like to see the Two Twilight's interact, find how they are the same and how they are different.
6470075 who knows? Midnight Sparkle may not have been that powerful to begin with. For all we know, she could be less powerful than Sombra who was rid with quickly by the sisters.
Besides, Sunset was just joking.
6470107
Third?!
6470323 I guess I just don't like it when people make the Princesses look awesome when they are not. What I mean is that the magic of enjoying someone's character is overcoming their weaknesses. There's no fun in displaying someone as strong as a super saiyan just punch down normal people.
6470323 Not to mention there's four of them to the two that took Sombra.
6470075 Don't forget that one of the princesses is the other Twilight Sparkle.
6470467 Which is a reason why people shouldn't assume alicorns are gods.
Good followup on the movie.
Heh, nice.
6470481 In my headcanon, they are more or less demigods, at least the main four are. The OG Alicorns were angel like beings that were in service to The Maker.
6470694 OG?
6470699 Orginal Gangster, but basically, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Cadence, are more or less demigods, yet not infalliable
6470703 Whatever.
6470706 Alright, still, they aren't gods, just very powerful, and immortal
6470751 Okay!
Not bad. I like the moral of the story; it's a good one to live by indeed, and it's said by the best person to say it.
It's very rare that I see a story where Sunset Shimmer is the one giving advice. Usually, she's the one with the insecurities. It makes for a nice change of pace, honestly. And that aspect alone adds another layer to this tale.
In the grand scheme of things, there is no distinction between students and teachers. We all have much to learn, but we also have a lot we can teach others. Sunset may still be a friendship student, but that doesn't mean she can't be the word of wisdom every once in a while. I'd really like to see more of that.
...
Oh, and the rest of the story was good, too.
6471485 Thanks mate, appreciate it.
At first I really didn't like that Sunset was so laid back like " dude transforming into a raging monster is awesome don't sweat it" but in the end you managed to make a good conclusión out of it and despite all is nice to see Sunset come full circle instead of beeing still in her luna phase of " I make a horrible mistake so I must punish miself and be miserable to atone for it"
Now write one with a mature rating >:^)
6472345 I'm not that kind of guy.
Havent seen the movie yet...(im kinda figuring whats going on though)
Looks like we got another Raging Demon turned good
Maybe thats what happen to humans when they come in contact with magic? (this is now my headcannon LOL)
Anywho on to your story!
I felt you nailed Twily and Sunny's personalities here. Sunny gets to pass on her knowledge, how sweet. I haven't felt this proud since...well since pony Twily reverted Sunny :)
Although~
I do thing the "Raging SheDemon" version of Sunny and Twily would but up a good fight for the equestrians...and normal Earth too.
6469696
6470303
Power-wise, I think Twilight's ascension didn't affect her mentally all that much. Prior to her ascension, she was already the most powerful non-alicorn/Discord spell caster in Equestria (and has been for most of her adult life. Depending on where you put Cadance power-wise, Twilight was at one point the second/third most powerful pony in Equestria prior to Luna's return). Her ascension didn't change that dynamic much; she's still more powerful than any mortal pony but is closer in power to the other alicorns and Discord is still more powerful. The most significant change would be the addition of wings and learning how to fly.
I'd say Twilight's biggest hangup is in her relationship with Celestia; she's gone from being her student to being her social equal. Unless your head canon states that Twilight's from a noble family, that's something she just has no experience with.
TL DR: Being magically more powerful than all but a small handful of beings is something Twilight's used to. Being of equal social standing to her lifelong mentor, not so much.