Chapter 5 ~ What Are You Doing, Twilight? (V2)
The ground cracked beneath their hooves as they stumbled closer together. Its sweet smell touched their noses, lingering there while not truly reaching their heads. Twilight only managed to catch faint glimpses at her surroundings, because her attention was drawn elsewhere.
The grass was colored like a rainbow, the ground was made of chocolate and the air tasted a bit like lemonade. Really – if it were not for those pink cotton candy clouds with scissors for hands, snipping wildly at the air it seemed like an ideal vacation spot. Under any other circumstances, she might have even found it in her to enjoy it, probably.
Trixie’s eyes were fixated on the front and sweat was running down her forehead. She didn’t truly try to grasp what was all around them, instead closed her eyes and mumbled something to herself, something about a tower and about a promise. Maybe she was looking for courage within herself, Twilight wondered as she turned to look at her.
Her friend looked so different, so strange to behold. Everything about her colors had changed, well, everything aside from cloak and wizard hat. The blue coat, the icy mane, that was not how a pony looked, they were colors like the oldest stories spoke of. Trixie couldn't possible have them, because Trixie wasn't blue.
However, Twilight couldn't deny that Trixie looked the way she did, because she felt every step, she felt stronger than ever before. Nonetheless, she still felt a bit cold. Maybe it was because she knew nothing else, the warmth she knew was a fleeting thing and always came from an outside force. Yet it wasn't the blanket-cape that made her feel warm right now, no. This time it came from within her.
Sweat was running down her body and she couldn't help but grin, even though she realized how shakey she was on her legs. Twilight felt ready to weep, wanted to cry for some adult, but she was sure that none were here to hear her call.
And they were still advancing, these clouds who had fallen from the brightest sky. In the distance, there was the echo of innocent laughter. Black top hats and moustaches of chocolate closed in on the two, the entire coloration reminded her of something.
An egg of purple with darker dots on it, a dragon baby looking up to her.
Twilight turned her head around, catching another glimpse at Trixie, who did the same to look at her with huge eyes as they remained close by each other.
"We need to get out of here,“ Trixie cried, tears flowing down her bruised and cut ruin of a face.
All Twilight could think of was to look around, search for an exit, even though the scissors were snipping and the clouds were walking forward, each and every step a mind-boggling motion. It was like there was something missing from them, something that was needed to move and yet they still stepped forward. And with every step they took, Trixie and Twilight moved closer together, feeling the warmth of each other and failing to find comfort in it.
“We can’t,” she suddenly heard Trixie speak up again. “I’m scared.”
What should she do? What could she say?
They took the last possible steps and their bodies hugged each other. As their hooves touched the chocolatey ground, it cracked and bits of sweet dirt were whirled up, left to clutch against their coats and skin. The sky was growing darker and something was in the distant, laughing at their meager escape attempt. Red bulging eyes, bleeding like mountains of fresh corpses. The image became clearer in her head the longer she lingered on the thought.
What could she do? What would the heroes in her books do?
Fight on, she remembered, and just at that moment promised herself to do just that. Whatever was going on, she knew they were in danger, and a hero always managed to find a way.
"No, we can … I'm sure we can, we just need to–“
At that moment she realized that she didn't know what to do. If they ran they'd get pierced and sliced, if they stayed the same would happen, there wasn't even going to be much of a time difference as it stood and they were both just little fillies. Children weren’t heroes, children relied on them.
Now that she thought about it, it seemed kind of unfair actually. She had just gotten the strength back to her legs, she was smart and her Papa was going to miss her. If he wouldn’t have before, at least now, since she was healed.
Yes, now that she thought about it, her body was working, for the first time in her life and she was even running along the plains. She did not know how, or why, but she could stand and breathe and if they’d go back to the hospital she could show herself to her papa.
He would be proud and happy again, Shining Armor would return and everypony would acknowledge the brave and smart filly.
And the clouds advanced one step after another.
Twilight felt Trixie’s tail nervously whipping across the ground, while her own remained close to her body, unmoving. She was too afraid to do anything, to say anything. There was nothing she could do, and neither nurse Redheart nor her papa would ever find out that she got good in the end.
An unworldly scream echoed across the plains as the creatures' mouths opened, each revealing a thousand teeth like nails, and eyes like abysses of a violent blackness stared at them before the creatures leaped at them, their motions broken and abrupt.
Twilight could only close her eyes, praying that Shining Armor would come to save her.
"Candy!“
The yell easily overshadowed the screeching noise the candy attackers made, and as Twilight opened her eyes she saw an aquamarine unicorn with a cyan mane with white highlights. Her horn stood out strangely, since it hadn't been there before. She noticed and understood that because something else was there, a smile so wide it looked like it hurt this foal so much.
Lyra smashed through one cloud head on. Time seemed to stop and then the chocolate dissolved into ashes and the body into strings. But the filly did not stop, instead galloped on and jumped over her friends. She immediately made a turn upon landing and bucked another cloud that came too close to them. Only then did she look at Trixie and Twilight.
"Run!“
She didn't need to say it another time, and Trixie reacted but a split second faster than Twilight.
Their worries dissolved somewhat, there was a path before them now and so all three started into a gallop. But as they did that, Twilight Sparkle felt it almost immediately, the scissors at her tail. She didn't care how much of it she'd lose however, she just needed to hurry up. All they needed to do now was get out of her.
So they went at their quickest speed, the weight of their tiny hooves enough to transform the ground into chocolate sprinkles for the grass. Once or twice she felt herself running straight into a puddle but the mess that made of her coat was the least of her worries now.
She heard the stomps, heard her own sharp breaths, but what she didn't hear was the sound of them being followed. While she didn’t really know how that could be, she deduced that they must’ve been too quick for the beasts. After seconds, maybe even minutes of running she started to giggle. The sharp sound of scissors, teeth like rusty and rotten nails, and the violent swirls on the horizon. They had escaped that.
Her giggling became laughter, a maniacal guffaw that echoed across the plains louder and louder. Sadly, that left her almost incapable of breathing and resulted in a sharp pain, stinging in her side.
"What're you doing?“ Lyra asked mid-run, looking at her with a frown on her face.
"There's nopony following us,“ she answered truthfully, barely able to contain her laughter.
That made the others stop, and Twilight immediately broke down on the ground. The tears kept flowing despite herself, and the laughter did not stop either. They looked over the fields to find that Twilight had been right. Almost a second later Lyra let herself fall to the ground, and started to laugh too.
"Never again,“ she complained.
Twilight looked at the far off mountains, the sun above them and the clouds. The darkness was gone all of a sudden, maybe it'd vanished when Lyra appeared. Maybe it had been scared of the foal.
With what had just happened, she didn’t know what to make of this world, but she really hoped they wouldn't suddenly fall down. She remained there on the ground, slowly regaining her composure by Lyra’s side, while Trixie just stood there, looking around.
Yeah, never again, Twilight thought, and a second later she jumped up again.
Staring at her surroundings she noticed something that had escaped her grasp before. Not just the mountains, the fields and the clouds, everything here was wrong.
"Where are we?“ Twilight asked. And how did we get here?
The question hit home instantly and even Lyra got up again, only now hitting the realization that they weren't in Canterlot anymore. The way she turned her head made it look like she hoped to find a shield with all the answers on it. Only silence was there with them at that moment, however. Silence, until the second question fell.
"Why do you have a horn?“
Trixie stared at Lyra, who stared at her in return. "I've got a horn?“ the green filly asked, touching her forehead.
For a moment she didn’t seem to know what to make of it though. And then tensed up, and Twilight noticed how her gaze fell, how she visibly shrunk, before she broke out into another laugh.
"I've got a horn. I've got a horn,“ Lyra sang, stretching her arms out to the sky before she jumped up, much to both Trixie’s and Twilight’s surprise.
Twilight looked at the child who now was dancing around Trixie, finding it in her to smile.
There was magic in this place, she understood. Whatever was going on, they were on some kind of magical place where they were all actual unicorns again, not just the powerless, useless bags of worthlessness. Twilight had no idea where they were, nor what was going on, but that, that alone was the most awesome thing ever.
The blue filly didn’t seem to find it as amazing as her other, technicolor compatriots, and as Lyra danced in circles around them, all she had to offer was a look of minor annoyance, and careful glances in every direction.
The smart part of Twilight at least acknowledged that neither she nor Lyra did anything like that now, but they had just escaped death and, well, Lyra had a horn. That would've maybe made a good enough cause for a party, not that Twilight knew how to throw one.
Thing was however, she had read about parties. Loud things with everypony having fun, which was about just the thing she needed and wanted right now, now that everything was clearly going to be okay. The foal couldn't quite imagine a lot of ponies together without there suddenly being problems but then again, her papa had never allowed her to have a party.
She had heard that Shining Armor had done a lot of of those before he'd left and her father had not been pleased. That thought alone drowned her laughter, because she didn’t want her father to be mad at her, she didn’t want to do more bad stuff. So a party was out of question.
"Here you stand, hunted by the emperor of horrors, in an impossible place, where clouds are made of candy and long for blood, where your worst fears linger in every shadow. And you ponies decide to dance. I admire just how much effort you put into your management of the situation.“ The voice spoke, sarcasm dripping from it like honey from a spoon.
Yet, what caught Twilight’s attention was that it wasn’t just sounding from within her head, but instead echoed across the entire land.
"What?“ Lyra asked, obviously surprised, Trixie just gazed around.
"Lyra, was it? Let’s get the introductions out of the way; I'm the ghost Twilight talked about. You can call me ... A wise goat? Yeah, wise goat. I like goats, they’re funny.“
The explanation wasn't enough to tell them anything, though.
Twilight took it upon herself to ask the important question, "And who are you, Mister Goat?“
"Not important.
Twilight grumbled at how he shot her down immediately.
Right now, the only thing that matters is you Twilight Sparkle. That Magia, it’s old and it hasn’t been in direct contact with our home for, I don’t know, millennia. It's just been in this world and ponies shouldn't be able to enter here. Which, together with all the other evidence, leads to only one conclusion: Twilight Sparkle, you, out of all the beings in the universe are the only one with a talent for a dead thing. For some strange reason you're still connected to magic.“
Twilight blinked, a question echoing through her head, but it was Lyra who spoke up before it could come out of her mouth, "Wow, Twilight is a magician!“
She would've been glad to see that wise goat herself at this very moment. She just had Lyra to stare at now and the way she grinned did nothing for any kind of suspense that the voice tried built up. Still, there were more questions, but before she could ask any of them the voice spoke up again.
"Sadly, it doesn’t actually matter anymore. Though Loonie did her best, this is quite the horrible outcome. After centuries of nothing, magic has found another connection to this world, and soon enough, both it and our own will meld together. They’re probably coming, and I have no idea how you little ponies could escape from this place. No matter how talented you are, or how creative, I doubt that–“
"Can I cast a spell?“ Twilight asked, thinking of something.
"What?“
The filly finally rose from the ground, however, Twilight couldn't elaborate as the screeching echoed over them. Her eyes went over to the distance, where she saw the sky itself move in strange, indescribable motions and clouds were raining down like droplets of rain. They were in a world of magic, she had a connection with it, something was happening, and she had no idea what any of this was about, but Twilight Sparkle decided at that very moment, that if she was really a unicorn, a wizard now, she would do something.
"We need to run,“ Lyra said and turned, making for another gallop.
"No!“ shouted Twilight, stopping her friends in their tracks. "I'll handle this.“
This was the moment she gathered her confidence. If the voice was right, then maybe this would be just like the stories she had read. She was about to become a hero, she was about to save them all. This was the first step, and so she took a deep breath, lowered her head and closed her eyes.
Then, she just took it all in. The gushes of wind around her, blowing the sweet scent of this world into her nose, the grass that brushed against her legs and the chocolate that felt soft beneath her hooves. She heard them in the distance now, falling, crying, marching, snipping, wailing, hurling themselves towards the three who didn't belong.
All those things made up this world, but she felt something else, too, something warm, something nice. It came to her as she concentrated, even though she hadn't felt it or anything like it before. It still was oddly familiar, though. That was the feeling Twilight Sparkle wanted to take in, and so she did, with a deep breath she let it wash over her.
For a moment longer, it was like she was lying on the beach, wave after wave of sugary water washing over her, the warmth making her feel all fuzzy inside. Yes, it felt like the embrace of a parent; so warm, so nice, like a good friend returning home, like a peace of mind found only in the most remote of places.
"What are you doing, Twilight? Your horn is glowing,“ she heard Lyra's astonished voice. "Ohmigosh, you really are a magician!“
That was the moment. A wind started to blow around them, lifting the little child off the ground. She felt the warmth, she felt the peace, she felt the strings of magic unravel around her. They engulfed her, and took new shapes, and with these a new strength came to her muscles, a power like she had never felt before. Every part of her body felt so much better than before, like she was never going to be sick again. Twilight felt herself so happy, she was finally okay.
With a surge she stomped her hooves on the ground and suddenly, rain was falling down on them.
"We're back,“ Lyra exclaimed loudly as the ghastly wind vanished.
Twilight only barely heard her. She found herself touching the ground again, feeling the warmth moving through her body. Everything was fine now, she had saved everypony, she was a hero. Twilight Sparkle was finally a pony that would be praised and loved. Weird, she almost regretted transporting away.
Only then she opened her eyes again, and for a moment she saw the alley, she felt the blanket against her back, the rain, stinking like chemicals, ruining her mane. Twilight took a deep breath and then opened her mouth to breathe out but something other than air came out. Blinking, she looked at it, wondering what was going on. She needed to go to the hospital, everypony would be happy to see her there.
Her papa would be there, too. He'd definitely hug her and tell her that she did well.
Then she was thrown into another world. A hell of pain and hurt. She collapsed onto the ground, into the red and brown stuff she just vomited out, and there was only enough strength in her left to twitch miserably.
The last thing Twilight heard was Lyra shouting her name, and all she saw was an ugly, small, piebald pony wearing a wizard’s attire, looking at her with a mixture of resentment and pity. After that, the sound faded and her world was overcome with the most familiar blackness.
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Trixie resenting Twilight, well that's nothing new, one might even call it cliche. I hope Twilight and the others can still get there magic working.
Eyyy Gad! Put it into Rarity coloration and my eyes are falling out. Fix please?
Good chapter otherwise, though.
> something other than air came out
derpicdn.net/img/download/2012/10/2/111720__safe_meme_sweetie+belle_template_exploitable_ponyville+confidential_sudden+clarity+sweetie+belle_meme+origin.jpg
images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/25000000/Toto-I-have-a-feeling-we-re-not-in-Kansas-anymore-toto-the-wizard-of-oz-25001749-500-311.gif
Who's Loonie?
Well, this is a rather sudden change of character.
I'm still kind of confused. Is Twilight bringing back the normal Equestrian magic, or is the other, magical, acid-trip, universe seeping into Equestria.
Dat cliffhanger though!
5338826
im pretty sure the voice is discord with the "wise goat" thing so loonie is probably luna
5403216 I agree with you on this one.
Discord(?) doesn't.
I'm guessing Loonie/Dreamy = Luna, and Old Goat is Discord.
5338830 OR IS IT?
#bringingbackoldcomments
Hey look in the sky all manner of terrors fly, but whats this that caught my eye in this time of need? A brilliant pony with horn abound charging air with magic all around until a horrible retching sound takes it all away. Sadly in the end my good ol' friend upon the chance of which it grants a horrible knockout, a poor timed clockout has taken us away onwards!