Reflections

by RQK

4 - Blaze

Twilight Sparkle huffed and wheezed and her wings ached, but she finally saw a familiar shape in the distance and perked up. Canterlot Castle clung to the side of the mountain and looked over the rest of Equestria. It stood as its center and its beacon.

And with Canterlot now in view, Ponyville could not be much further away.

She flapped her wings with greater fervor and gained altitude. With enough height, she’d be able to spot Ponyville as a dot on the horizon. The aches, while still there, fell out of focus.

Finally, she indeed saw the star that sat atop her tree-like castle at the northern end of Ponyville. Twilight cracked a smile.

She arced through the sky at velocities that would have made Rainbow Dash grin. The clouds over Canterlot and Ponyville dropped snowflakes, and as she reached the northern edge, Twilight found herself blasting through the falling snow. She quickly threw up a windshield spell to keep it off her.

Someplace far below, Twilight spotted an area where the ground had caved, forming a wide and deep well into the earth. She felt a downdraft as she flew over it, and yet she somehow felt as light as a feather.

Twilight slowed and circled once. She saw bits and pieces of snow fly in from all directions before diving into the well. She saw trees, once covered with snow, swaying in the direction of the opening.

Vague thoughts about what she had seen in the Crystal Empire crossed her mind, and Twilight made no attempt to put those together in lieu of processing the one thought that made her shudder: that cave-in had not been there before.

She shook her head. Focus, Twilight! You can worry about that once everypony is safe!

She continued on her way, leaving the strange well in the earth behind. Her sensations quickly returned to normal. She picked her speed back up and zoomed through the sky.

More and more of Ponyville came into view, and there, through the snowy fog, she saw some clouds rising from the town. She squinted in order to make them out.

Black clouds.

Twilight’s heart sank.

She flew onward, growing more fidgety with every few meters she traveled. She lit her horn and disappeared in a flash, simultaneously reappearing a hundred meters forward. The cold air bit at her but she ignored it, too happy that she had gained considerable ground.

She swooped up and then teleported again. She reappeared directly over her castle.

There, she caught sight of the flames below.

Her eyes darted to Town Hall, then to the schoolhouse, then to Carousel Boutique. She saw fire in every direction that she turned. She saw ponies running around, screaming in terror, or otherwise holding onto loved ones and staring up at the remains of their homes.

Twilight screamed.

She immediately swooped down, landing in the large plaza in front of Town Hall. She touched down just in time for the roof to crack and split and then cave in on itself, prompting her to cry out again. Several other ponies, watching in horror, also screamed and then dashed away from the late structure.

Miasmus! she inwardly screamed.

She spotted weather ponies in the skies frantically throwing rainclouds together. A few of them wore Wonderbolts uniforms, and Twilight could even make out Spitfire’s bright, spiky mane among them. With the way they zipped around from cloud to cloud, barking words at each other that she could not hear over the bedlam, Twilight figured that they had not gotten far.

Nonetheless, she swooped upward in their direction.

Spitfire whirled around on her approach and saluted. “Princess Twilight!”

“Captain Spitfire!” Twilight exclaimed. “What’s going on!?”

Spitfire shook her head. “I’m not sure, Your Highness, but—” she pointed in the general direction of Sugarcube Corner, “—Princess Celestia is down that way. You best go find her right now!”

Twilight nodded. “I will. Thank you!”

She lit her horn and teleported, reappearing in a seemingly vacant plaza. Her eyes drew up the gingerbread house-looking building that served as Pinkie Pie’s residence. Patches of roofing were missing entirely, and other parts bore scorch marks. Shattered glass windows hosted long, flaming tendrils lashing out from within.

And she had to fight back her tears.

“Twilight Sparkle!” a commanding voice called from behind her.

Twilight whirled around and found a tall and regal mare standing by herself in the middle of the plaza. Her coat sparkled a brilliant white (especially against the flames) and her prismatic mane and tail flowed in some ethereal wind. Twilight gasped. “Princess Celestia!” she cried.

Princess Celestia galloped over. “Twilight, thank goodness you’re here. Something terrible has happened.”

Twilight wanted to run up and hug her mentor, but then Crystal Faire’s voice in her head stopped her. Instead, she asked, “What happened!? Ponyville’s on fire!”

Celestia nodded. “Indeed, it is. I flew here from Canterlot as soon as the reports came in. I’m afraid the news only gets worse from here.”

Twilight frowned. “What is it? What happened?”

Celestia stood at her full height and looked at Twilight down her nose. “Your friends. They are fully responsible for this destruction.”

Twilight jumped a full mare’s height into the air. “My friends!? I don’t—”

“Twilight…”

“I don’t understand,” Twilight whimpered. “My… friends? Surely, this is all a mistake. They did all this on accident.”

Celestia’s muzzle remained curled into a mournful frown. “Unfortunately, it would seem that this destruction is entirely purposeful on their part.”

Twilight shook her head. “No… that’s… not possible.”

“I am still trying to locate them. It’s the six of them. The other Elements and your student.”

“I don’t believe it,” Twilight said, furrowing her brow.

Celestia trotted forward and laid a hoof on Twilight’s withers. “There there, it will be alright. But we must perform our duties to Equestria, Twilight. Your friends have betrayed us.”

Twilight whirled around to face her mentor and stared at her for many moments.

Celestia blinked and then glanced over her withers at the other end of the plaza. Twilight glanced past her and gasped.

Six ponies stood like silhouettes against the bright flames. Six mares, six friends, six ponies baring malicious grins. The sight of them made Twilight’s heart swell and then shrink again.

“Above all, trust no one,” Crystal’s voice rang through her head.

One of them, Rarity, stepped forward and swished her vibrant mane about. “Ha ha ha ha! Do you like what you see? Isn’t this all absolutely wonderful?”

“It is,” Fluttershy replied with her usual soft tone.

“I’ve never seen Ponyville so poppin’!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing in place. “This was definitely a good idea!”

Celestia stomped the ground. “You fiends!”

Pinkie Pie doubled over in laughter. “That’s funny! You’re hilarious!” she exclaimed. Her poofy mane and tail somehow turned even puffier with each breath she took.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. So… they’re being evil. And… Miasmus wants me to believe that? What is the game here?

“Why are you doing all of this?” Twilight asked.

Applejack chuckled. “What’s it to you?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, hovering right beside Applejack. “What do you wanna know?”

“This isn’t like you!” Twilight yelled. “Don’t you see how terrible this is?”

“Terrible? Ha!” Rainbow Dash laughed. “This is exactly what needed to happen.”

Twilight trembled and scanned her friends again. She looked over the uncharacteristic sneers spread across their muzzles. Fluttershy, she could not picture. Nor Applejack. Certainly not Pinkie Pie. Rarity and Rainbow Dash perhaps, but those didn’t seem right either.

“You watch,” Starlight Glimmer, her student, said. “Ponyville is just the beginning. After this… we’re going after the rest of Equestria.” She sighed, a genuine smile spreading across her muzzle. “And it will be glorious.”

Celestia shook her head and leaned in close. “Twilight, I am afraid that a most unfortunate thing has happened: your friends have indeed gone rogue and wish to bring harm to Equestria.”

“I don’t understand,” Twilight whimpered, falling to her haunches. “They would never act like that.”

“I cannot fathom it either,” Celestia continued as she placed a hoof on Twilight’s withers. “But we have a duty to perform. We must… destroy them.”

Twilight’s other senses, for the most part, faded out. Celestia’s words, a most impossible set of words, replayed in her own mind over and over again. She twitched. “Destroy them?”

Celestia nodded gravely. “Yes. Destroy them. That… is our only option.”

Twilight looked back at her friends whose expressions remained sinisterly unchanged.

“Focus on Celestia,” Crystal’s voice rang through her head again.

Twilight sucked in a breath and stood up, breaking from Celestia’s grip. Her eyes remained on her friends all the while, and her expression warped from the insecure frown from before into an indignant scowl.

“Now I get it,” she said at length.

The rest of Ponyville remained ablaze around them.

Celestia tilted her head and raised her eyebrow in curiosity. “Twilight?”

Twilight whirled. “My friends would never act like this. And moreover, you would never act like this. The Celestia I know would never even dream of making a suggestion like that.”

Celestia took a couple of steps backward, flabbergasted. “T-Twilight… I don’t understand. I am Celestia, princess of Equestria. I am your mentor. Surely, you know that?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “No. I know, as a matter of fact, that you are not, Miasmus.”

Celestia’s eyes grew wide and her jaw hung limp. Her mane, usually ever-flowing in some cosmic wind, ground to a halt.

Twilight stood at her full height and spread her wings to their fullest span. “I know who you are. I’ve been warned,” she said.

Celestia stared idly at Twilight all the while. Her eyes briefly darted over Starlight and the others and then returned to Twilight. For a few moments, the two remained locked in each other’s stares.

Finally, Celestia licked her lips and sighed. A sly smile spread across her face. “So you have,” she said, her tone now smooth and sinister.

Twilight stomped the ground. “You will let them go right now!” she bellowed. “All of them!”

Celestia chuckled. “Now, whyever would I do that, Twilight Sparkle? If you’ve really been warned of who I am and what I’m about, then even you aren’t stupid enough to not figure out why.”

Twilight snorted. “No. You want to take control of everypony. That way you can never die.”

“That’s right. And secondly, I don’t need you running off to that Tree of Harmony of yours. I don’t need you inferior beings getting in my way.”

Twilight ground her teeth together and glanced over her withers to look back at her friends. Or, at least, those which looked like her friends who she knew were under someone else’s control. She reached out to them, felt tempted to call their names, but she hesitated under the scornful glares they gave her.

She thought about the prospect where he now resided in all of their bodies, just like they were parts of his own. Crystal Faire’s explanation of him ran through her mind again.

“I know who you are, Miasmus,” Twilight said, shuddering. “I know what your end goals are. I… I want to know how you did it. I want to know how you got here.”

Celestia chuckled and then looked over at Twilight’s friends.

Applejack took off her stetson and tossed it aside. “I don’t see why not. You see, Twilight, if you really know who I am, then you must know that I was in the Badlands for quite some time.”

“I nearly died out there,” Fluttershy said. She chuckled. “I had managed to find a host, but the host was in bad shape.”

“Nothing lives in the Badlands,” Pinkie Pie said, swiping the air for added emphasis, “except, of course, the changeling hive.”

“I could not take a host there,” Fluttershy said, “for Chrysalis’ throne soaked up all magic, including my own.”

“But then,” Pinkie Pie said as her smile grew even wider, “something happened.”

“Starlight destroyed Queen Chrysalis’ throne.”

“Starlight removed the magical block over the Badlands.”

“Starlight made it possible for me to take a host.”

“And I was there at the moment she did it.”

Twilight’s heart sank as she watched the two of them speak. Their voices were familiar and yet decisively not their own.

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Good thing too. At that moment, my host was on his last legs. I wouldn’t have survived for much longer.”

Rarity frowned and dug a hoof through the dirt. “If I had been somewhere else, I would have surely died then and there.”

“After that,” Rainbow Dash said, “I took over a changeling host. I had a new lease, then. And I discarded that old, decrepit host.”

“You left him to die,” Twilight seethed.

“He outlived his usefulness.” Rainbow Dash’s smile grew until all her teeth were bared. “Trash must be thrown away once it is spent.”

Twilight ground her teeth together and stomped the ground. “You’re a monster, Miasmus.”

“I lay low after that. I spent some time learning the current state of the world,” Starlight said as she stepped forward. “I then took the hive when I was ready, although they were not my prize. I pretended to be an envoy to Canterlot from the new King Thorax.”

“Celestia… she never knew what hit her,” Celestia said and chuckled heartily.

“And now here we are. You versus me. Actually…” Starlight snickered, “it’s you versus your friends.”

Twilight whirled around in terror and stared at Celestia with wide eyes.

Crystal’s words ran through her head again. “Concentrated magical bursts will overload and dislodge him.”

Celestia threw her head back and chortled. “Oh, this is delicious! You versus the most important ponies in your life! This is turning out quite famously.” She laughed even more.

“Concentrated magical bursts will overload and dislodge him.”

Twilight froze. I don’t want to do that...

She shook her head. “No. No… I don’t think so.”

“Oh ho ho, but I think you will,” Starlight said, stepping forward. “Don’t you want to save them?”

“I do!” Twilight exclaimed. “But I will find another way. I’ll find my own way.”

Starlight continued forward. The rest of Twilight’s friends followed suit, all stalking in Twilight’s direction. “You really think so?” Starlight said.

“You might have won here in Ponyville today,” Twilight seethed, “but I will come back. And I will save them!”

“And while you’re doing that, I will dispose of these filthy bodies,” Starlight said with a smirk.

Twilight shuddered. Her eyes darted from friend to friend.

“That’s right,” Applejack said. “Just like that swine out in the Badlands.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you wonder why Ponyville was on fire?”

“If I don’t dispose of these bodies, surely the citizens of Ponyville will,” Pinkie Pie said. She looked around, making sure that nopony had wandered into the clearing since then. She nodded on confirming that it was still just the eight of them.

“But you’re more than welcome to fight for them, Twilight,” Starlight said. She lit her horn and reeled back before letting loose a magical blast.

Said blast went clear by Twilight and whizzed by Celestia. Celestia, in turn, jumped as it went by, muttering some pointed words under her breath.

Starlight frowned and unlit her horn. She and the other five, nonetheless, still advanced toward Twilight.

But that’s not how I do things! There has to be another way!

Twilight stomped the ground. “Starlight! Friends! You… you have to fight him! You have to push him out!”

“They can’t hear you, Twilight,” Celestia said, her tone sharp. “You want them? You had better fight for them!”

“You have to fight it!” Twilight called again. “Remember! I know that our friendship is stronger than some parasite! I know that, deep down, you can hear me in there! I know that you have the strength to fight him!”

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity broke into gallops while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash lifted into the air. The five of them simultaneously bore down on Twilight. She let out a shriek before teleporting away.

Twilight reappeared above the plaza. Her five closest friends searched for her in every direction. Starlight, however, looked up and then fired a beam in Twilight’s direction. Twilight dodged that and the rest of Starlight’s ensuing barrage.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy swooped up and sped in Twilight’s direction.

“Please! Stop it!” Twilight cried. “Fight it!”

The two pegasi kept on going and Twilight teleported out of the way just as they reached her. She reappeared in the same spot and whirled to watch them speed away. She ground her teeth together and felt tears well up in her eyes.

While the two circled around, Twilight turned to see Starlight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity sprinting up the street.

And Celestia watched from afar.

Twilight dove into the streets, weaving around burning building after burning building. While Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed her from overhead, Twilight outpaced her ground-based pursuers. While her body raced along a relatively straight line, her mind raced in several directions at once.

Ohhhh, what do I do? she mentally cried.

Her wings ached and Twilight groaned.

She darted around a corner only to scream when a chunk of burning roofing suddenly fell across her path. She dove over it and watched it splatter against the ground.

Twilight looked back up and noticed that Fluttershy had disappeared. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, remained hot on her trail.

Twilight rounded yet another corner only to backpedal when she saw Pinkie Pie standing at the other end of the alleyway. Pinkie Pie, in turn, went wide-eyed for a moment before giving a shrill battle cry and charging in kind. Twilight flew in the opposite direction and out of sight.

What do I do!?

Twilight heard a terrified scream from the next street over and she subsequently arced over the nearest building, keeping an eye out for Rainbow Dash all the while. She found a grey earth pony trapped between burning debris. Twilight gasped. “Octavia!?”

Octavia Melody looked up and gasped as well. “Twilight! Help!”

Twilight swooped down and snatched Octavia off the ground. “Are you okay?”

Octavia wriggled as she hung from Twilight’s grasp. “Yes. I am alright! Thank you!”

“I’ll get you someplace safe. Hold on!”

No sooner had she said that did a blast of magic pass by the both of them which prompted them to yelp. Twilight snapped her head around to find the Fluttershy had reappeared, now carrying Starlight in her forehooves. Starlight unleashed another blast which also sailed right by them.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Twilight yelled.

“What in the blazes is going on!?” Octavia cried.

The aching in her wings returned for a few moments and Twilight even faltered in her flight.

“It’s…” Twilight stammered, surging onward, “it’s very complicated!” She swooped down toward a clear area. “Listen, I need help.”

Octavia shifted uncomfortably. “O-okay.”

“It’s not their fault. There’s a creature named Miasmus, and he has my friends and Princess Celestia under his control! He’s using them to try and take over. You have to warn everypony about what’s actually going on!”

“O-okay!” Octavia replied. “I’ll do what I can!”

Twilight touched down just long enough to gently deposit Octavia in the clearing. “Thanks!” she yelled. She shot into the air again just in time to dodge a few more blasts from Starlight. She didn’t even check to see where Octavia ran off to.

One of Starlight’s shots came right at her and Twilight threw up a barrier. It formed just enough to block the shot but not enough to hold together, and it shattered in her face which propelled Twilight backward.

Twilight flipped through the air, frantically flapping her wings in order to right herself. Her wings pulled and protested but she forced them to comply. Eventually, she righted herself just enough to dodge another blast.

Twilight looked up and locked eyes with Starlight just long enough to gauge the malicious sneer on her face.

I… I have to use magic. I’m going to have to!

Twilight fired a few shots off. Most came close but only one actually forced Fluttershy to dodge.

Twilight dove backward, throwing another barrier up in the process which Starlight’s incoming attacks splashed against. Fluttershy responded by hauling Starlight over the barrier’s edge so that Starlight could attack past it. Twilight threw a few more volleys, but each of those, like the ones before, hit air.

Twilight turned forward only to find Rainbow Dash now charging from the opposite direction. Charging too fast, even. Twilight gasped.

Rainbow Dash tackled Twilight with the force of a freight train. Twilight gasped for air but found that the impact had left her without any. Her mind went blank and her body took over, trying to worm its way out of Rainbow Dash’s grip.

The two of them fell out of the sky, but Twilight regained enough of her senses to channel some energy into her horn and teleport herself a few meters away. She flapped her wings to steady herself and found that they felt stiff.

And then something pulled inside her wings and they no longer responded to anything she did.

Oh no! Twilight mentally cried. Not a cramp!

Twilight tried to get them to respond but found herself falling too quickly. The image of Starlight flashed across her mind and Twilight decided to use one of Starlight’s tricks: she wrapped magic around herself and levitated herself to a halt.

No sooner had she leveled herself did she feel something wrap around her leg and yank her down. Twilight yelped and flipped over to find Applejack standing in the street on the other end of the lasso.

Applejack yanked Twilight to the ground. Twilight landed with an audible thud and felt some of her air go back out again.

She flipped over to make out Applejack galloping toward her. She tried to stand up, but her legs wobbled in place. And then she felt no less than two weights press into her back and she looked up to see that Pinkie Pie and Rarity, both of whom she hadn’t seen appear, had thrown themselves on top of her.

Applejack stopped just short and stood over Twilight. Rainbow Dash landed next to her.

Fluttershy showed up seconds later, deposited Starlight on the ground, and then flew over to them. She landed on top of Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Twilight’s bones cracked and groaned in response.

Starlight laughed and then stalked over. A malevolent grin spread further across her face with every step she took. The other five mirrored her expression, each chuckling and giggling under their breaths.

Twilight ground her teeth together as she looked over their faces. They looked back at her with malevolent sneers. She tried to stand up, but the combined weight of Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity kept her from moving. Her entire body throbbed and the world seemed to spin.

Could she even do magic? Twilight pointed her horn at Starlight and tried to focus some magic into it, but nothing came out.

“Girls…” Twilight croaked. “My friends… You have to fight it… I know you’re in there somewhere. You have to fight it…”

Starlight giggled and lit her horn in response.

“You have to fight it…” Twilight slurred.

Starlight stopped just short of Twilight and chuckled. “Farewell… Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight looked up at Starlight. She searched for any sign that the mare she knew, a student and close friend, lay inside anywhere. But all she saw was Miasmus.

Twilight closed her eyes and let her head hit the dirt. I… failed…

Comments

[EchoWing]

...holy crap.

Miasmus must DIE.

[terrycloth]

So... she knows how to fix them, but she decides not to because... reasons?

And instead she tries to talk sense into them even though she knows that can't possibly have any effect because they literally cannot hear her.

[lavender]

Umm... Why is Golden Oaks in Ponyville.
It was quite irreversibly blown up in the said same episode Twilight got her Castle.

[RQK]

8139980 Yes, hence why I referred to it as a "blasted out tree" in the text. ...Actually, the actual problem is that while the library was destroyed during the fight with Tirek, it was later excavated during Castle Sweet Castle to make that ornament for Twilight's new home. So... it shouldn't even exist, period!

This has been fixed. Oversight on my part.

8138314 I dunno. Twilight seems like the type to cling to those ideals of friendship and I want to think she'd be a little reserved on using magic if it could possibly hurt them. Hmmmm, I'll have to think on this.

[terrycloth]

8140194 Maybe the 'it could possibly hurt them' needed to be more obvious, I guess. I mean, it sounded like she just had to hit them with a stun blast.

[King of Madness]

Come on, Twilight! I know you don't want to hurt your friends, but Miasmus will kill them if you don't! Use your common sense, girl!

Oh, well. At least, things are starting to pick up.

[honeyhoneyhoney]

DUN DUN DUN :P

[Alondro]

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Good thing too. At that moment, my host was on his last legs. I wouldn’t have survived for much longer.”

So in other words in Flurry Twit had told them all the fact a short time earlier, they could have just played the "Why Don't We Just Shoot Them?" card and ended this side-plot in an instant.

And this, my friends, is Narrative Contrivance.

[EverfreeSparkle]

My didn't Twilight just throw a powerful, but none-lethal, spell at him? Overload him with that.

[Razzy]

That went to hell quickly.

Figures the useless crayonlings would get possessed without problems.

[Csquared08]

Uh oh. That went way worse than expected.

[Awesometacular]

Why was Fluttershy carrying Starlight? Can't Starlight self levitate?

[RQK]

9907148
Would Miasmus know that she can self-levitate?