Flashback: Hate Begets Hate
As the final event of the Friendship Games loomed, Twilight found herself somewhere she had never been before: the center of attention at Crystal Prep. But rather than it being from her work as a student, it came from being an unwitting key to victory at the Friendship Games. Yet the gaze from her principal and teammates was not one of faith, but from self-interest.
"That magic around your neck could do a lot of good," Cinch said, in a polite but somewhat hungry tone. "I know it can help us win."
"But, I don't know how it-," Twilight protested before being interrupted by an angry Indigo Zap.
"Do you want us to lose," Zap interrupted, her face stern and merciless.
"No, but-,"
"Come on, Twi," Lemon Zest said with an excitable but iron smile, "you heard the lady. Loosen up a little."
"I said I don't-"
"You don't do it," Sunny Flare interrupted, "and we lose; we'll tell everyone it was all your fault."
"My fault," Twilight asked incredulously.
"No, Twilight, it won't be your fault," Sour Sweet said sweetly. Her mouth twisted into a frown. "We'll just tell everyone we could have won, but you chickened out!"
"You'll be a loser," Sugarcoat said bluntly.
"See, Twilight, your teammates are all counting on you," Principal Cinch warned, "I'm counting on you," she said, leaning in. "Everton depends on it," she mouthed before stepping back.
Twilight's team- no, her classmates made their demands clear. Cinch reminded her what was at stake. She sighed and walked toward the other team.
All around Twilight, jeers, and taunts blared all around her, Crystal Prep's student body encouraging -no, forcing her to use her magic to cheat and ensure another victory to satisfy their egos. Slowly but surely, the pressure from her teammates and the blackmail and manipulation from Cinch wore away at her inhibitions. As she marched toward where the flag competition would start, her fear of the unknown slowly disappeared and was replaced by her hunger for a discovery she could call her own.
"Imagine all I'll learn by setting it free," she intoned, taking the pendant off her neck and holding it in front of her face. "Now winning these games depends on me," she said, rubbing her finger on the pendent like it was precious. "And what doors will open if I try to use it," she said, gazing at the pendant longingly before narrowing her eyes as the last bit of doubt died within her.
"The last event of the Friendship Games begins..." Dean Cadence said into the microphone, prompting cheers from the audience of both schools.
"But the magic's what I want to see," Twilight finished, slowly opening the pendant again.
Sunset saw her look at the pendant with hunger and ran forward, desperately attempting to stop Twilight before she caused an even greater calamity. The now English-speaking Spike sprinted toward his owner, trying to save her from her own curiosity before it was too late. "Twilight, No," he cried out, running faster than he had ever had before.
Principal Cinch leaned forward, too, as her top student opened the pendant, eager to see how magic could help her triumph over Canterlot High School again.
"Now," screamed Vice Principal Luna and Dean Cadence, signaling the beginning of the final event. With that, Twilight opened her pendant.
For a moment, little appeared to happen as a small orb of purple energy emerged from the pendant. But in a fraction of a section, the orb exploded with a ray of light, knocking the Rainbooms, the Shadowbolts, and Spike to the ground. Twilight stood erect, the burst of energy only blowing the glasses off her face and undoing the bun she styled her hair into.
Suddenly the sphere rose, and Twilight rose almost twenty feet from the ground, dropping her pendant along the way. The sphere's volume expanded, slowly consuming Twilight's hands first. As the rapidly ballooning ball of light absorbed more and more of her body, Twilight turned her head back toward her teammates and her principal, her eyes full of fear at what was happening.
"Heeeeeelp....MEEEEE!," she cried out desperately, even yanking her arm out of the sphere, instinctively trying to find a helping hand to pull her out. But her teammates, who looked at her with fear and shock, were too far away for her to reach. As the sphere fully consumed her, she began to weep as a blinding purple light consumed her vision.
Soon there was a bright flash, and everything went dark.
"Commander Tempest!" The mare looked up from reading her reports in her office to see her assistant approaching her. "I saw something cool on the telescope, look, look, look!" Grubber said excitedly, like a child who had seen a wild animal.
"What is it Grubber?" The Storm King's aide muttered in barely masked annoyance. "Another butterfly?'
"Yes!" Grubber said with no hint of irony. "But while I was looking at the butterfly, there was this Big Bang in the badlands! And then all this purple stuff came from the ground, and it went 'SPLOFF!" and "KABOOM!"
Tempest ignored her aid's exclamations and ramblings, genuinely curious about what he was talking about. She trotted out of her office and over to the spy telescope on the balcony, to her shock and interest, she saw a massive blast had taken place in the Badlands, with a mushroom could and a column of purple energy blowing high into the atmosphere. Many of the Storm Kingdom's subjects stopped what they were doing and looked in amazement at the blast. Tempest knew thaumic energy when she saw it, and she decided to analyze what the thaumic event had been. She pushed a button and said, "Telescope, can you determine the blast's energy?"
With a ding, the spy telescope produced a result. "The traumatic event produced up to 1576 Gigathaums of power." Tempest Shadow's eyes narrowed into both fury and panic. She had only received a small amount of magical education before that stupid Ursa destroyed her life. But she knew the average pony, even unicorn, only possessed up to 1000 Kilothaums. There was only one being that could harness that kind of power.
An alicorn.
"Grubber!" Tempest commanded.
"Yes, Commander!" The dwarf replied, his duty overcoming his sinful nature, immediately standing up tall and straight like a true warrior. Tempest let a small smirk form on her face: Grubber was a fool, but he was committed to his duty, which was one of the reasons she hadn't dropped him off the airship. Yet.
"Summon by personal forces!" The purple ex-unicorn ordered. "We have a potential disruption on our hands and with the invasion months away, we can't have any potential outliers." Tempest looked back toward the site of the blast. The mushroom cloud and energy had cleared, revealing a pony at the center of the blast.
Twilight felt more dizzy than usual when waking up after a long night of studying. Usually, she could still pull herself up, but she couldn't stand up straight for some reason. Then, she realized she couldn't feel her hands or feet. And that something was jutting out of her backside. And her mouth wasn't shaped right either. And something was protruding from her forehead. And her ears were in the wrong place. And all she felt around herself was some weird searing heat.
In a panic, she opened her eyes. All she could see through her blurry vision was some yellow landscape. She fearfully reached for the glasses that she kept in her pajamas. Only to find her pajamas weren't there either. Or any article of clothing. All she felt was a fur that was more fluffy than Spike's.
Despite the desert-like heat, coldness flowed through what was supposed to be skin she no longer felt. It felt like a fur coat had been grafted onto her body. Through her blurred vision, she saw a hoof-like structure where her fingers were supposed to be.
"AHHHHH!" She bellowed in a panic. 'WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHERE AM I?! WHAT AM I?!" Twilight was broken from her panic when she felt a weird rumble. She turned toward the rumbling and saw half a dozen black blobs marching toward her.
"Excuse me, sir," Twilight asked politely. "I don't know what's going-"
"Silence, pony!" One of them said in a gruff authoritarian voice. "State your business here and the reason for causing a thaumic event."
Twilight cocked her head in confusion. "I don't know what your-" Twilight was silenced by what felt like a massive pole slamming into her face with the force of a punch. Not enough to knock her out but enough to daze her.
"Since you refuse to cooperate," another voice said with evil menace said, "you are now a prisoner of the Storm King."
"But I didn't do-," Twilight was struck again, this time on the body, causing her to let out a massive wheeze. "No, please don't-," Twilight was finally silenced when one of the "soldiers" put on a mask on her, loaded her up with chains and started dumping her into some chariot.
Twilight felt herself crying in panic and dear. She didn't know where she was, what had happened to her body, and now she was going to jail. Despite being unable to see correctly, she couldn't help but feel the soldiers taking great amusement at her pain.
"Commander Tempest!" The mare looked up from her desk and saw Thundershock, one of the personal guards, entering her office with a kneel.
"Yes, Thundershock?" Commander Tempest replied.
"We have captured the intruder," he grunted. "She's in the dungeons."
"The one at the center of the blast?" The military officer asked. Thundershock nodded. "Good. Allow me to interrogate the prisoner."
The prisoner trapped behind bars was indeed a pony. Not just in appearance but temperament. She was whimpering and moaning about pain like a little child. It reminded her of Tempest herself before she learned what the world was and adapted.
"I am Tempest Shadow! Who are you, and what is your business here!" To Tempest's annoyance, the prisoner seemed to be looking in every other direction except hers. "Look me in the eye you-"
"I can't see!" She whimpered. "I'm sorry, OK, I lost my glasses. My name is Twilight Sparkle." The name "Twilight Sparkle" was familiar, but she couldn't quite remember. Something about a student who had become a princess. Her thoughts turned back to the prisoner in front of her, whimpering. Tempest pondered whether this prisoner had poor eyesight or whether the prisoner was making up a sob story to elicit sympathy. But based on the unfocused gaze of the captive, it was clear she didn't know what she was doing.
"Very well," Tempest said with a sigh. She lit up her lightning.
"What are you-," Twilight began, only to yell when what felt like two knives were being plunged into her eyes. A bright light filled her vision, and she let out a terrified and anguished wail. Suddenly, the bright light ended, and Twilight opened her eyes. To her confusion, she realized she could see perfectly. She could see the prison's iron bars, the dungeon's hard rock, and her own hooves.
"Did you, did you fix my vision?" Twilight asked, her fear giving way to wonder. "Thank you so-" Twilight paused when she saw who, or more specifically, what was in her cell. It was some...horse creature. A unicorn, or what would've been a unicorn, since its horn was chipped off. Her eyes, which looked at her with no pity, were a deep blue. The creature was covered in a dark orchid color and a rose-colored mane in the shape of a mohawk. And it wore some black armor that almost looked like some kind of jumpsuit.
"WHAT ARE YOU?! WHY DO YOU HAVE HORSE THINGS?! AND WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HORN?!" Unwittingly, the human-turned-pony struck a nerve, and the creature zapped her with some electric energy that burned her inside out. "STOP IT! STOP IT, PLEASE!" Twilight cried in agony. To her growing terror, this horse thing seemed to be taking joy in her misery and doing it more. After a few moments, the creature finally stopped, and Twilight fell to the ground in agony.
"Enough games, pony," the creature said with a seemingly calm tone that contained no small amount of menace. "You've trespassed on the domain of the Storm Kingdom, and you possess a tremendous amount of power." Her horn started lighting up menacingly. "Tell me your business, or your friends will find nothing of you but ash-"
"I don't have any friends!" Twilight bellowed. "Nobody likes me!" The creature was broken from her mockery by hearing the mare's miserable tone, her shattered horn shutting off. "My so-called family hates me, my classmates hate me, my teachers hate me. Everybody I've ever known hates me and doesn't listen to me!" She didn't know why she suddenly treated her captor like a therapist she could vent to. But the pony thing claiming she had friends...struck a nerve. With it, all her pent-up anger and rage at everything suddenly...erupted. "I don't have anyone or anything in my life! Please do what you want with me! It's not like anybody cares what happens to me!" She suddenly started crying over everything and anything that had gone wrong. The cry continued for several minutes, her interrogator being courteous enough to let her get everything off her no-longer-existing chest. When she stopped crying and calmed down, she finally noticed the creature's cruel expression was replaced by something sterner and...understanding.
"I see now," The mohawk-wearing mare said with what looked like understanding and a little empathy. "You've been mistreated your whole life and cast out from your home after you were seen as a liability."
The former human looked surprised at how the mare had gone from being a "bad cop" to "reading her like a book." "Kind of," Twilight said uneasily. "But yeah. Everybody's always looking at me like...I'm a problem." She looked down in shame. "I was doing this contest, and everybody cared more about the trophy than me, and I nearly died-' Twilight once again began crying, her misery and anguish from that awful contest erupting again.
"I've been there," the mare said, this time with even more lament and remorse. "One day, you're playing with your friends. The next...you lose your horn, and they treat you like a menace. You pack up and leave..and they don't even bother to say goodbye."
Twilight was stunned that she started feeling sympathy toward the creature who, just a few moments ago, was torturing her. "I'm...I'm sorry," Twilight said with honest concern.
"I don't need sympathy," Tempest barked. "I learned how tough life was, and I adapted! I found someone who recognized my strength and would help me regain what I lost and get revenge on the fools who abandoned me!" An opportunistic smile formed on her face. "How would you like to sign up for the Army of the Storm Kingdom."
"Me?" Twilight cocked her head in confusion. "I'm just a loser who can't do anything right."
"No, you're a creature whose potential has been wasted!" Tempest said. "I can sense the power within you. It is more significant than any creature I've seen. The problem is you've been surrounded by fools who don't see the greatest within you."
"Really?" Twilight replied a note of hope in her voice and happy someone recognized her potential. "But I'm jail, so I can I-"
"I can see you did not intend to trespass on the property," Tempest said, sounding like a reasonable judge and not at all like a brutal interrogator. "You were brought here by accident. The fact that you didn't have glasses with you proves that. So consider that charge dropped."
A smile suddenly broke out on Twilight's face. "You want me to join you?"
"Join me, Twilight Sparkle," Tempest said, a wide grin on her face, "and not only will you have power and glory on your side, but I can help you get revenge on those who wrong you." She extended her hoof like it was a hand. Twilight thought it over for a few moments. She remembered those brats who treated her like garbage, that backstabbing little bitch who blackmailed her, and her so-called idiotic family that stuck her in that idiotic school. She didn't have to think twice. She extended her hoof.
"Alright," Twilight said with a cruel smile. "I'll sign up!"
"Wait!" The two ponies turned around and saw a pink pony had suddenly entered the dungeon. "What are you doing?" Pinkie Pie asked the two. "Why be meanie-meanpantses who want to take over the world when you can just party and make friends?!"
A weird smile came to Tempest's face. "Oh my gosh, all my mental problems just disappeared. I no longer seek conquest and subjugation to fill the void in my soul. I've just realized friendship and parties are the way to go, thanks to my buddy Pinkie Pie."
"She's right," Twilight. "Being evil is...bad. Let's be good instead. Being bad is mean."
"Hooray!" Pinkie chirped, throwing confetti into the air. "Now it's time to throw you my first Overcome-Your-Despair-and-Psychological-Problems Party-"
"OK, Pinkie, thank you for that wonderful and rich story. It was a good read. You can stop-"
"But I was getting to the good part." Pinkie Pie protested before holding up her tablet and continuing to read. "As I was saying, 'The party lasted for up to 700',"-
"Pinkie!" Sunset warned with a glare. Pinkie Pie let out a sad sigh and put the tablet down.
The Rainbooms were sitting in Applejack's garage, doing some band practice, when Pinkie Pie revealed another potential theory about where and what happened to Twilight the Human. In reality, Pinkie had written some corny wish-fulfillment fanfic.
"I'm sorry, guys," Pinkie Pie lamented. "I really wanna know where Twilight The Human is so I can throw her a Sorry-You-Nearly-Got-Asploded-By-Magic-And-We-Want-To-Be-Your-Friend-Party."
"We do, to Pinkie," Fluttershy said, putting a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder. "But I'm sure Juniper will find her."
"But it's been like six years!" Pinkie Pie whined.
"Y'all mean a few months!" Applejack replied.
"Well, it feels longer. "Pinkie whined. "It's like one of those fanfics that are good but never get finished because the author is a meanie-meanpants who never updates even when he promises to."
"Yeah," Rainbow agreed harshly. "Those guys are jerks! They tell a great story and never finish it! It's so unfair."
"Darlings," Rarity said patiently. "Fanfic writers hardly ever get paid for their craft. Most can't afford to spend all day in front of a computer, and they have other responsibilities besides our entertainment-"
"Those jerks should pay us!" Rainbow argued vociferously.
"Yeah!" Pinkie agreed.
Fluttershy timidly raised her yellow hand. "Um, that doesn't make sense."
"You don't make sense!" Rainbow argued back, causing the animal lover to squeak.
"Guys," Sunset said, interrupting the argument with an authoritative tone. "I know we have these wacky ideas about where our Twilight is, but speculating about where she isn't going to do anything but make us worried sick. We gotta be patient and hope Jupiter's satellite works." She put on an encouraging smile. "Let's focus on practice." The other Rainbooms decided she was right, picked up their instruments, and began practicing. While Sunset put on a brave face as she began strumming her guitar, a nagging and melancholy thought popped into her brain.
"Is June's device really gonna work." Sunset suppressed the thought and continued playing.
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Hey! You're back!
...But for how long?
It may have been a prank update, but at least it doesn't look like this story had been abandoned. I do wonder though how close we are to the end. It feels like the end is starting to get close at parts.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! You got us!!! You bucking got us!!!!
Wow, I actually thought the first part was serious; you did a good job making it seem like we're finally seeing what happened to Twilight before revealing that this is a fanfiction in a fanfiction. And because you skillfully did this in a way that makes this chapter canon, you had your characters comment on fan fiction fans being impatient with authors not updating their stories. I was amused as someone who saw good fan fiction never updated after being close to the ending. I can understand Pinkie Pie and Rainbow's frustration, even though, as Rarity pointed out, fanFiction riders don't get paid for their craft; they can't stand a computer all day and have other responsibilities. I laughed out loud when Pinkie Pie and Rainbow suggested that the fan fiction writers share paid the readers, and Fluttershy said that doesn't make any sense. That's fan entitlement, and it's funniest.
Great job making an April fools chapter that makes comments on fanfiction updates.
I love you and I hate you author... I love you and I hate you.
(In other things, you excited me and what a good fanfic Pinkie was written hahaha).
(also, a fanfic within a fanfic? hilarious hahaha).
oh, it's back
It's not what your hoping for Cinch.
butterfly?"*
"SPLOFF"*
mushroom cloud*
Well, this sure explains why they're Ben having difficulty finding her.
and fear.*
How did she fix Twilight's vision!?!
claiming she had no friends...*
I'm in jail*
She's making a huge mistake doing this!!!
Twilight said.*
Wait, so did everything we just see was just of her imagination!?!?
do too Pinkie,"*
where she is isn't*
Well, took me nearly 3 weeks but finally caught up to where the story currently is. Aside from the huge pile of mistakes this story has, I'm looking forward to what's coming next.
11595766
Thank you for taking the time to look through my mistakes while offering constructive criticism.
I will spend one weekend making the corrections.
11595889
Happy to help.
So when Twilight was threatening to drag Sunset to Tartarus if she didn't hear her out on trying to give the Shadowbolts another chance, do you think she was actually serious about that threat or was it only an empty threat to scare Sunset into listening to her?
11735767
Mainly about Sunset remembering when she was the big screw-up.
Considering how Cadance's obliviousness to the suffering Sci-Twi went through at Crystal Prep is shown on display here, do you think Sunset would've had an easier time hiding her true colors from Cadance and manipulating her than she did with Celestia and Luna if she had somehow ended up attending Crystal Pre instead of Canterlot High?
11770628
I've had an idea of fanfic where Sunset ended up at Crystal Prep.
And in my headcanon...even Cadence couldn't ignore Sunset's abuse.
Unfortunately, Sunset is more vicious and has brutal plans for Cadence.
11783957
Not really. Sunset learning magic would've been an interesting story arc.
So, how come no one has considered using time travel to go back in time to stop Sci-Twi from opening her magical device? Considering pony Twilight and Starlight have done time travel before, what's stopping time travel from being used to bring Sci-Twi back?
When are you gonna make new chapters? Because I want to know what happens next.
Hi I was such a big fan of a fic during 2020, do you mind if i continue it? I don't think I'll post it on this website if i do, probably would be like a03/wattpad. I'll give you full credit.
Or i could write a fic inspired by yours.
11791096
If I say I am done with this story, I will announce hence. I still want to work on it, but my mind is elsewhere these days.
11791096
Can you please tell me a yes or no answer? I'm a little confused by your wording.
11791114
no.
So, considering how you have expressed frustration at some MLP stories for how they tend to demonize the more low tier jerks like Gilda and Lightning Dust and coddle the redeemed big villains like Sunset, Discord, and Starlight, what was your process for how you went for writing Suri Polomare here? Considering Suri's worst actions in canon aren't as bad compared to the crap Sunset, Discord, Starlight, and the Shadowbolts did when they were villains, what was your thought process for showing why Suri isn't someone who is deserving of redemption the same way they are without falling into the same trap that other fanfic writers do when handling Gilda?
Not complaining, I do like your stories, just genuinely curious on the thought process is all.
11793567
Suri just strikes me as someone who would definitely be a nasty Queen Bee.
11793571
Fair. Do you think Suri actually cared about the fact that Sci-Twi could possibly be dead/missing or does she just flat out not care at all? The fact she never learns her lesson and continues to be a terrible person suggests the latter.
11793588
Not really. She'd feel bad for two minutes before going back to being rotten.
11793590
Thought so.
In a sense, would you say Suri is a dark reflection of what the Shadowbolts and even Sunset could have been like if they never went through their character development? Both were bullies in school, but the Shadowbolts and Sunset actually do feel remorse, want to make amends with the people they hurt, and become better people to embrace friendship, whereas Suri just continues to be a horrible person without learning anything until she eventually becomes hated by everyone and ultimately ends up alone.
11793594
Pretty much.
10524945
So, who do you think would qualify as the "Sunset Shimmer" of the Shadowbolts? Considering the pony counterparts of the Mane 6 have Starlight as their "Sunset Shimmer" and the Rainbooms have the actual Sunset, does anyone at Crystal Prep qualify as the "Sunset Shimmer"? Or alternatively, the original 5 Shadowbolts are all the "Sunset Shimmer" collecively?
11793636
In my story, I am making Sunny Flare the central character. It's not a strict parallel, but I see her as the "wants to make up for being terrible" archetype.
11793637
Pretty interesting choice to have Sunny Flare as the most prominent of the Shadowbolts. Considering how Sunny has the least amount of characterization among the 5 with most fanfics tending to use either Sour Sweet or Sugarcoat as the most prominent of the five Shadowbolts, it's an interesting change of pace with Sunny as the most prominent this time.
Considering how you have had the pony counterparts for the Shadowbolts show up in this story so far, the pony and human counterparts of Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity interacting, and also had human counterparts for the likes of Suri, Coco, and Sapphire Shores, how likely are the chances of the pony version of Juniper and the original human Sunset Shimmer of showing up in this? Do you think Sunset even thinks about her human counterpart at all?
11797958
No to all of the above. This is not the focus of the story.
Considering how you have been approaching the Shadowbolts so far, what do you think of this potential scenario: What if the Shadowbolt 5 decided to transfer to Canterlot High after Sci-Twi did and realizing how bad an environment Crystal Prep is?
11808263
Still, makes you wonder why she never threatens to beat up Pinkie in Sunset's Backstage Pass when she was causing trouble in getting them kicked out of the music festival several times and constantly getting distracted (even when doing a simple task like keeping watch for the Dazzlings). She also never threatened to beat up Sci-Twi in Friendship Games when she was causing trouble with her magic device. Same for when Rainbow Dash was ruining the cruise for everyone in Spring Breakdown.
11808263
11808292
Because...
Having seen magic kill someone, Sunset is taking this very seriously, hence why she reacts badly to Pinkie's recklessness.
Considering you do have Twilight constantly threatening to send Sunset, Flash, and Human Pinkie to Tartarus or a dungeon for their screwups and if they didn't listen to her ideas, do you think she also threatens to send the rest of the Mane 6 and Spike to Tartarus or lock them up in a dungeon if they do something she doesn't like too?
11783966
So you also think would've been nice seeing more of Sci-Twi studying the magic too? Considering we saw her doing so in Friendship Games, do you think it'd have been nice to see Sunset and Sci-Twi having a moment of studying magic together?
Kinda surprised you made a big deal about Sunset knocking out one guard before she left for the human world to the point where said guard refuses to forgive her. Like considering how the main series itself never really takes the guards seriously (outside of Shining Armor) with Rainbow Dash having no problem making fun of them in A Bird in a Hoof, I do wonder what made you decide to suddenly make a big deal out of Sunset knocking out one guard (which would've happened over a decade ago in that guard's perspective in Equestria so kinda odd he'd still hold a grudge years later)?
Out of curiosity, will there be a chapter later on with some more light hearted antics with the Rainbooms and them taking a break from researching? Like I get they are trying to find a way to get Sci-Twi back and are stressed about that, but that doesn't mean there can't be some filler chapters of the Rainbooms getting some relaxing time, especially with putting Sunset in a pretty light hearted context when she isn't being stressed out about magic problems. Heck, Amphibia does show the downsides of obsessively researching too much in the episode Fight at the Museum where Anne keeps researching so much that she ends up getting tired and having to learn to relax a bit rather than being all work and no play in the episode.
Exactly one year has passed since the last update...