Family Talk
It was peaceful in the Golden Oaks Library as Twilight Sparkle slept in her bed. When she finished telling Zecora about what she went through, the Dark Mare was suddenly very tired, and who wouldn’t be when you go through that kind of ordeal just hours earlier and also stayed up from dusk ‘till dawn the night before to learn new magic? Regardless, Zecora gave Twilight reassurance that she’d always have her support and politely left. After that the transformed unicorn went up to her room into her bed, going out like a light.
She was roused from her sleep with a groan when she heard a knock at the door. “Who dares disturb my slumber?” she grumbled, crawling out of bed and stretching her limbs, giving a satisfied sigh after multiple cracks and pops.
There was another knock at the door. “One minute, I’ll be right there.” Twilight called out with slight irritation. She looked to the mirror she newly added to her room and stared at the red gem on the loose choker around her neck and the star-shaped crystal on the ring around her horn. Ainz had warned her that removing either the Element of Magic or Alicorn Amulet presently would have severe consequences on her body, but they could be reshaped into a smaller and more comfortable form; hence the more traditional-looking necklace and horn-ring.
Twilight smirked at the mirror, suddenly imagining herself wearing a majestic royal gown above a detailed, silver suit of armour akin to Nightmare Moon’s, with the main difference being the Alicorn Amulet being integrated into the breastplate. Another knock interrupted her daydream, making her growl softly. “Alright! I’m coming!” she barked, teleporting from her room to the front door in puffs of black smoke.
She opened the door to give her visitor a piece of her mind, but her anger instantly vanished and was replaced with confusion when she saw who was there. “Mom? Dad? Cadence? Spike? What are you all doing here?” she moved to the side to allow them entry and turned on the lights. When they were all in, Twilight looked outside and took notice of how dark it was. “Huh, nighttime already.” She mumbled before closing and locking the door.
Before the Dark Mare could ask why her parents and ex-foalsitter were here, her right leg was caught in a tight hug from a crying Spike. “I’m so sorry Twilight! I was afraid of what the others would think of me if I tried to comfort you. I was scared that they’d kick me out of the wedding too, and I stupidly took their side and not yours!” he cried, wiping his tear-stricken face against her leg.
The ponies in the room grimaced. The young drake was deathly silent during the packing and trip, and now he was a complete emotional wreck. Twilight used her magic to pry Spike off her leg. But instead of tossing him aside like he feared, the transformed unicorn sat down on her hunches and brought him into a comforting embrace.
“It’s okay, Spike, I understand.” She cooed. “You were just caught between siding with one person and a group. I don’t blame you for succumbing to peer-pressure as many would have done the same thing in your place.”
Spike looked up to her through tearful eyes. “Really? You’re not mad?”
“Of course I’m not. If not a baby brother, you’re like a son to me, and many children make mistakes when they’re young.”
“Told you.” Velvet commented from the table.
Twilight released Spike from the hug and stood up. “Well, seeing that you guys don’t seem very tired I’m guessing that it didn’t turn dark too long ago. So I’m going to make some hot chocolate for everyone whilst you all get yourselves comfortable.” Not waiting for any refusals Twilight went into the kitchen to prepare the promised beverage.
A few moments later when her guests made themselves comfortable around the table after finding some cushions, Twilight returned with five mugs of hot chocolate levitating in a dark-purple aura behind her. She gave her parents, Cadence and Spike a mug each; the ponies having marshmallows while Spike had small gems that were enchanted to float.
Twilight sat down next to Spike, taking a sip from her own mug before placing it down gently. “So, why are you guys in Ponyville when you should be at the wedding?” she asked.
Cadence was the first to speak. “Well, after what happened today and finding out why you were so angry, I decided to take you up on your offer. As for the wedding, I’ve decided to cancel it until we can get things sorted out; I don't want to have it without you there.” She explained.
“Your mother and I were worried about your wellbeing, so when Cadence said she was coming here we decided to join her.” Night Light said, Velvet nodding in agreement. “Personally, I’ve actually been wanting to come over just for a get-together away from the stuck-up nobles, but that’s besides the point.” Although they were of the lesser nobility, the others could be a real headache and pain, with Fancy Pants and his wife being the only exceptions.
Twilight chuckled at her father’s comment. “Yeah, they can be a real pain in the ass, can’t they?” she joked.
“Anyway, Twilight, we’ve heard the princess, Shining, and the others’ side of the story, what’s yours?” Velvet asked after a sip of her drink.
Twilight sighed and set her mug down, taking a deep breath. “Okay. Well, I guess it all really started when Celestia sent the tickets to the Gala…”
The Dark Mare went on about how conflicted she was for having to choose between her friends, the incident with the parasprites, enchanting her Smarty-Pants doll with the “want-it, need-it” spell, and other instances. Then she told them that she had no idea that her brother was getting married until just a couple of days ago, how ‘Cadence’ treated them but just shrugged off, how she confronted her, and all the sadness and pain she felt when those she cared about so much abandoned her.
Feeling something akin to a voice in her head telling her to tell the whole truth, Twilight confessed that she had thought of committing suicide, shocking everyone, but reassured them that Ainz had saved her from those thoughts. She explained that he would give her unimaginable power and knowledge if she stole the Element of Magic and got the Alicorn Amulet to stabilise her, and how she found the real Cadence in the mountain. They were most surprised when she said that she actually talked to Chrysalis whilst they were in that black dome and the truth to the invasion.
“So, Chrysalis plotted to switch places with me and conquer Canterlot despite the risk to her species because she was being influenced and manipulated by one of these beings?” Cadence asks.
“Yeah, you should’ve seen how devastated she was when she realized what she was doing. I wasn’t sure why I comforted her despite not knowing if it was a trick, but I‘m glad I did.” Twilight smiled at the memory of helping someone who needed it.
“Well, hearing that she’s not as bad as we would’ve thought, I’d actually like to meet the Changeling Queen and get to know her.” Velvet said, surprising and confusing the ponies and dragon.
“Really? Why’s that?” Twilight asked her mother.
“Oh, let’s just say that a mother’s intuition tells me that I may be seeing her quite often.”
“Honey, you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?” Velvet merely winked at her husband’s question, soon followed by him chuckling and shaking his head slightly.
“What are you talking about?” Cadence asks.
“I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.” Velvet said with a smirk as she finished her hot chocolate.
Twilight would have questioned further but her father changed the subject. “So Twily, I see that you’ve got some new books that seem very… interesting. Am I right to assume they were from Ainz?” he said as he lifted a book with his magic that looked like it’s bindings were made of dried skin.
The changed unicorn perked up. “Oh, yes they are. Ainz said that I need to study more on my Dark Magic and he said that there are other worlds and candidates that he and the others have to watch over, so because he can’t teach me all the time he gave me these books.”
“No offence to your new friend Twilight, but wouldn’t Starswirl the Bearded have written a book on Dark Magic?” Cadence asked whilst floating a book with small skulls lining the edges and a larger, angry-looking horned skull in the center. The eyes had different colored gems and the rubies of the large skull seemed to glaring into the pink alicorn’s very soul.
“I’m sure he did, but all of these daemontomes as they’re called with their skulls, screaming faces and ‘beware’ signs would just make it look unappealing in comparison.” Twilight explained. “And even if he did, Celestia has made sure that I’d never find it even by accident.”
Velvet lightly read through one of the books; this one having the cover, well… covered, in shrunken, stretched faces that were stitched together. “And he probably wouldn’t have been able to describe the spells in such detail.” She said with unbidden awe. “This book has four whole pages for a single spell and tells you everything about it; when it was created, who or what created it, in what situations it’s been used and how to use it properly in the safest way possible... I’m surprised that most of the spells in this book are centered around healing.”
That got Cadence and Light’s attention. “Really?” he asked.
“Yeah.” It was Twilight who answered. “Apparently a lot of medical mages thought that using regular magic to heal injuries, especially the really severe ones like lost limbs, just wasn’t cutting it; making them lose a lot of patients. Knowing that they could’ve saved a lot of whatever species the medic was treating, they began to search for a new form of magic that would help them save more lives than they would on their own. After years of finding nothing, one of the unicorns got so frustrated that he started to randomly shoot spells around his workplace, calling himself worthless for being unable to help those in need. It was only after he calmed down that he realised that somewhere in his tantrum his magic had turned into something else.”
“Dark Magic.” Cadence lightly gasped, earning a nod from Twilight.
“I personally find it amusing that the first pony to be recorded to have used Dark Magic was a doctor, and discovered it by accident, but as I was saying: after this realisation, the unicorn started learning more about this new magic and was shocked to discover that it was in some ways alive.”
“Wait, what do you mean by ‘alive’?” Spike asked, putting down his empty mug.
“I was just getting to that.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Anyway, this sentience simply called itself the "Gentle Darkness" and began to teach the stallion how to use his new gifts to help others where regular magic can’t. As a unicorn who mostly stayed indoors he wasn’t very physically fit, but when he started learning dark magic he soon became as strong as any earth-pony at the time, which wasn’t even a decade after the founding of Equestria.”
“Wow… that’s amazing, Twilight.” Light commented, making his daughter blush bashfully. “But, mind going a little further into how Dark Magic is alive?”
“Sure, and I might as well use my current situation to explain.” She took a deep breath and released it to keep herself calm. “First off, you all know that we’re taught to be completely honest with each other, right?” they slowly nod, not sure where she was getting at. “Well, the Gentle Darkness takes it to the extreme; giving you the blunt truth that the world isn’t as peaceful as Equestria and doesn’t leave out any details.” She paused. “After I started learning Dark Magic, I’ve been hearing voices. At first I couldn’t understand them, but as I learnt more, I found out what they were and how to limit my range.” Looking up to their confused faces, Twilight finished. “They were Shadows.”
“Shadows?” her mother asked.
“After I found Cadence and brought her back here, I was up all night studying the books that Ainz left me, and about an hour before we crashed the wedding was when I started to hear the voices. I started to panic, of course, thinking I was going crazy and hearing things, but Ainz was able to calm me down and explain that I was hearing the Shadows of everyone in Ponyville.” Twilight stood up and trotted to a position where everyone could see her shadow. “We discussed that Dark Magic is like a living being via the Gentle Darkness, so the same could be said for our shadows.” And right before their eyes Twilight’s shadow moved from beneath her to a few paces away.
She smirked at the shocked expressions on her family’s faces and gave the swirling mass of darkness on the floor a nod. Suddenly, the shadow shoot up and began to mold itself into a pony-like shape until it was a perfect silhouette of Twilight except for its glowing green eyes that had a purple miasma seeping out of the corners.
Cadence, Velvet, Light and Spike were in complete awe at the acts of magic they just witnessed, having never seen anything like it before. They were snapped out of their stupor when Twilight spoke up again. “I believe that our shadows actually symbolize that all living things have a darker side to them, and that part of us manifests as our emotions; anger, sadness, greed, envy and so on.” The shadow turned back to normal and returned to its place beneath Twilight as she continued. “Ironically, you could be the world’s greatest liar but your Shadow would always be whispering the truth.” She went back to her cushion and sat down. “Despite that, however, unless you feel guilty about what you’re doing your Shadow will be relatively quiet.” Twilight turns her head to and smiles down at Spike whilst rubbing his head with a chuckle. “But if you do feel guilty, than boy is it loud.”
“Wait, so you only forgave me because my ‘Shadow’ told you that I was sorry?” Spike asked.
“Weeeeeeell, more or less. Your Shadow has a direct connection to your heart and soul, so it says what you truly feel. I felt from your shadow that you were truly sorry for what happened at the rehearsal, and for that, I forgive you.” She gave him an affectionate nuzzle on the cheek.
Velvet and Light smiled at the scene before them; despite her physical and magical changes, Twilight was still their caring little filly. Cadence would have commented, but she had to stop herself as she tried, and failed, to hold back a yawn. It proved to be contagious as Twilight’s parents and Spike yawned as well, and the young princess lightly blushed from embarrassment when her former care started giggling.
“Hehe, I guess everything that’s happened was a lot more tiring than I thought.” She said, the other ponies and baby dragon nodding in agreement.
“Well you guys are more than welcome to stay the night,” Twilight offered, “Mom and dad can stay in the spare room, and Cadence can sleep in my room. It’ll be no problem, so I don’t want to hear any excuses.” Before any of them could respond, Twilight picked up the empty mugs in her magic and sent them to the kitchen before walking up the stairs to the guest bedroom that was next to hers.
“Well, best hit the hay before she starts forcing us into bed.” Light joked, the others chuckling as they stood up and climbed the stairs to their rooms.
“Alright, everything’s good to go.” The Dark Mare told her parents as she walked out of the room before hugging them. “Night mom, night dad, hope you sleep well.”
“You too, sweetie.” Said her mother, before she and her husband entered the room. Twilight closed the door for them and went into her room where Spike and Cadence waited. When she entered, Spike was already asleep in his basket at the foot of Twilight’s bed, but Cadence was still up with an uncertain look.
“Is something wrong, Cadence?” Twilight asks.
“Well, there’s only one other bed here, but I don’t think that we’ll be able to fit on it together.” Cadence admitted.
Twilight waved a dismissive hoof and smiled. “Don’t worry, I planned on you having the bed.” Her horn glowed and shadows from all over the room left their places and started to merge together in the middle of the floor and take shape, and a few seconds later Cadence couldn’t believe what she saw. “I figured that you wouldn’t be too comfortable on a bed made of pure darkness.” Twilight finished with a yawn as she pulled back the ‘sheets’ and crawled in.
Cadence was brought out of her stupor and giggled lightly. “Yeah, you’re right about that.” She said, climbing into her temporary bed.
“Good night, Cadence. Sweet dreams.”
“Good night, Twilight. You too.” And with that, both mares fell soundly asleep and into the land of dreams.
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Nice. Twilight may have Darkness but she hasn't been corrupted by it like Sombra.
The Darkness huh? So when's Twilight gonna get a darkling to follow her around in this story?
Did I see hints of Chrylight?
more
anymore
7546450 Darkling?
7646218 yeah the creature from The Darkness, the video game. When you described the Darkness in the story it sounded very similar to the same entity in the video game. I thought you were taking that directly from it, but I guess I was wrong
7646218 moareeeee
moreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
"hey, Shane?"
"what?"
"I think we got us a zombie problem?"
"what do you mean, bob?"
"well, there's a whole lot a people chasing down this guy in this funny looking purple armor all while saying 'more' in slurred speech an such."
"Huh? well fancy that."
7735403
good story, and why do I feel like the rest of the mane 6 are going to try and make up with twilight, or somehow the whole town find out and turn against the rest mane 6.
good story I hope for some moar,
So I've read all there is to read here and I really enjoy the premise. That being said, I enjoy most wedding "what-if" stories I find and am even writing one, so take that as you will. The story is rather rushed in places and in some extreme cases takes the idea of pacing, throws it onto a bus bound for Sacramento, and then blows the whole city to mars. Her talk with Chrysalis was kinda weird but not all that bad overall. All-in-all, I would love to read another chapter or 12 so long as the pacing improves somewhat.
7826260 ...huh
Thanks for the input, I'll work on that
7826587 np
good story, why do I have feeling there going to end up with twilight in middle of a love fest between the changeling queen and the alicron of love....
This is a nice take. Also, nice job for giving Celestia, Shining Armor and the Mane Five collective boots to the head for their stupidity and nonexistent concern for Twilight.
7883442
First video I found, in case you're wondering.
7884559 I love that meme
Wow nice! can't wait for the update!
everyone, Matcor1337 I think I found the cure for the zombie problem
hey MatCor, when's the next chapter? i love it!
7910756 Whens the next chapter
This is amazing such a masterpiece and that's saying something from me as I'm not that easy to impress so I shall follow you and will add this story and read it for years this is indeed my new favorite story please make more.
dark magic is not inheretently evil. it all depends on the will of the user. on another note this is a great story.
8139428 That's exactly what I want Twilight to show in this story. Just because someone's learning dark magic, it doesn't mean that they have to be evil.
8141940 where there is darkness there is also light, where there is chaos there is order, a balance must be kept fore without one the other will wither and fade. in some books i have read the antagonists were people who used light magic and where dedicated to order at any cost. while the protagonists used dark magic only as far as they were willing to go and still reamain human or pony. point is that light is not always good and dark is not always evil. each one serves a purpose. hell even chaos magic has a purpose. it changes and advances and propels us forward through life.
8141940 I for one don't think there such thing as dark magic or light magic,
magic is more or less like the force it grey,
it can be evil or good, depend on who using and why,
good story hope for moar
7884559 Really? REALLY? That was pretty funny.
more
It's been said quite a few times already, but I'm gonna say it again because while one person saying something can show their feelings, a chorus of people saying the same shows the desire behind it.
This is so far a great story. I'm very much enjoying the whole "darkness is not inherently evil" and Twilight finally mare-ing up after realizing how the others have treated her. I think that's the reason why I never cared for alicorn twilight before. Always felt like she earned it by being a pushover when it came to her friends and mentor despite how it seemed. Thank you for pointing all that out beautifully btw. Curious why you chose him to be her new teacher, but from the way you've made him out to be more of a cool guy you'd see in Evil-anon from Wreck it Ralph rather than how he was in the game... well, my interest is peaked.
In short and to reiterate. You had my curiosity by the end of the first chapter. But now, you have my attention.
8241412 Thanks for that, it means a lot. I am working on the next chapter as of now and there's something that I'd like to mention: after some consideration, I've decided to replace Nemeroth with Horus, and will go into detail on why when I post the chapter. Just a heads up.
Took me a bit to remember the name but I found it! I love this fic! Please continue!
That's always been a gripe of mine. In a city filled with nobles, and how large post-feudalism houses can get, i find it very difficult to believe none of the nobles are decent stand up people.
Also Twi! You fool! Healing magic of Dark Nature is Necromancy! And damnit, i don't care, Necromancy, no matter how noble, is evil.
And I'm a tad jarred by how Cadence and more so her parents are like "Dark Magic... cool" and not at all questioning this.
... is that a Twilight X Chrysalis joke?
Dark magic doesn't seem to have had any consequences.... Yet.
I feel Chaos magic may go wrong, but we shall see.
8297017
Nah. Resurrection is Necromancy, Dark healing magic isn't evil in the slightest.
Dark and Light magic can be used good as well as evil. It's how you use it makes it good or evil, or even neutral.
i got that reference
https://youtu.be/90UPb4i3SxQ?t=3
A TTS Reference I See