The Twilight Child

by Detectivefish

Flashback the Ninth: How It All Began

It was a lovely day toward the end of spring. The sun hung in the sky, warm and open and inviting, and many ponies were spending the day relaxing, or not taking their work quite so seriously.

In Canterlot, in the castle of their royal majesties, Princesses Celestia and Luna, in one of the smaller gardens that the average castle just sort of acquires over the centuries, two mares were having a long-due reunion.

Or they had been. Princess Twilight Sparkle hadn't been saying much, leaving Celestia to do most of the speaking for both of them. After several minutes of hoping her former student would explain herself, she finally set down the cup of tea she'd been drinking.

"What is it, Twilight?" The mare just looked at her, and smiled faintly.

"Nothing, Princess- Celestia." She corrected herself, years of habit still going strong.

Celestia frowned. She had been hearing rumours, the same as everypony else, about incidents between Twilight Sparkle and Twilight Twinkle. She also knew Twilight Sparkle, and even though it had been years since they were teacher and student, the mare still found it difficult to keep secrets from her.

"It's just... I'm thinking about my daughter."

Celestia said nothing, waiting for Twilight to continue.

"I'm losing her." She said, and there was a horrifying tone in her voice, one of heartbreak and defeat. "Every step I make, every choice I follow seems to upset her further. Ever since what happened with Discord, and everything that followed... I can't seem to do anything right by her. I try to do something nice for her and... she just hates me for it. I try to give her space, and room to grow and she refuses to talk to me and-and-"

She stopped. Celestia could see clearly that Twilight was trying her hardest not to cry.

"I can't do it. I couldn't even raise my daughter properly. I tried and I couldn't, and she just hates me." Celestia just stood up, walked around the table and sat next to her former pupil.

After a while of just sitting there, she finally spoke.

"Twilight?" There was a sniff, and the little alicorn looked up at her.

"Who am I?"

Twilight Sparkle blinked, and for a moment she looked exactly as she had when she was little, and her mind raced a million miles a minute trying to solve a logical problem.

"Is this a test?" she asked quietly. Now it was exactly like when she was little. Celestia just smiled.

"I am Princess Celestia, I am the guiding light of the entirety of Equestria, I raise the sun in the morning and lower it in the evening. I have guided my little ponies since so long ago." She looked at Twilight Sparkle, and her smiled changed.

"I have seen so much, been so much. I have been a guard, a cook, a doctor, an athlete, an awful painter" There was a little giggle from her lips as she remember that incident. "I once got so bored of raising the sun and moon I once disappeared to a tiny little hamlet, and met a lovely young stallion. We even married, and eventually adopted several foals, and I loved each and every one of them, and I wept when they passed."

She looked up at the sky, the clouds lazily floating about in the sky, listening for the occasional call of a phoenix soaring through the air as Philomena searched for food.

"I've watched entire cities vanish from existance, seen works of art so beautiful that life seemed pale and colourless next to them. I have been the idol and the fancy of millions, I have broken more hearts than I could ever imagine, I have watched mad gods weep. I stood alone for a thousand years hating myself for not noticing what my sister went through. I have... I have heard the most moving songs sung in languages so old no-one remembers they ever existed, I have seen the beauty of creation and I have seen the horrors of destruction and death. I have fought gods, and monsters and the darkest nightmares of the soul." She didn't realise it, but she was beginning to shout halfway through her rant, and most noticably, there was a single tear moving down her cheek. She looked down at the awestruck (and mildly terrified) pony staring up at her.

"And... I have been your guide, your teacher, your mother, your guardian, and your student. I have watched you stumble, and fall, and make mistakes, I have watched you perform miracles I could not have hoped for in my wildest dreams." She knelt next to her former student, and smiled the warmest possible smile of all smiles she could muster.

"So believe me, even just for five minutes, when I say this in all confidence: You still have a chance to make things right with her. She will forgive you. All you have to do is try once more."

And at that she stood up. Twilight Sparkle blinked, and shook her head.

"But I... what about the Changelings? Who will deal with them?"

Celestia just stared at her.

"Your daughter comes first. The rest of us can handle a few Changelings"

Twilight Sparkle shuffled slightly.
"I don't know where she is. I don't know where to look."

"Just take some time, Twilight Sparkle. Give it some thought, and you'll figure it out" She suddenly stopped smiling. "Oh, but I've gone on for so long, I'm afraid I do have things I must attend to."

Twilight Sparkle didn't see her disappear. One minute she was there, the next she was not. She sat, not drinking the tea that had now gone cold, and just thought. She thought about everything her daughter and her had been arguing about, about this father she claimed did not exist. It didn't seem logical to her. She was certain she knew how her daughter had been born, but... on the other hoof, she wasn't so sure she was anymore. Twinkle had been so insistant, and perhaps... perhaps..

She began thinking of a way to organise a vacation schedule, and decided to return to Ponyville.

After attending to some affairs in the city, of course.

*****

Twilight Twinkle, aged eighteen
The Crystal City, heart of the once mighty Crystal Empire, was always impressive, regardless of the time of year. The sprawling streets filled with amicable ponies of the most varied colours, even by Equestria's already impressive standards, the lovely scents and smells of market-places, the glimmer of everything in the sunlight, the way the Crystal Palace seemed like a mountain (If a lonely mountain) stretching on into the heavens, the occasional noise of little sheep bleating in the distance (No birds resided in the Crystal City, for some reason). Some who visited it said the city was like paradise, which in all fairness wasn't a stretch of the imagination.

But today, there was an odd tension in the air. As if reality itself had taken a drawn breath. Some put it down to an irrational fear that while Princess Cadance and her husband were gone, some terrible disaster would fall upon the city. These claims had been dismissed as nonsense.

Currenly the only royalty in the city was Princess Shining Sapphire, the Lesser Princess, though the title was not given in any sort of derision, or scorn. She was by all accounts quite lovely and personable, if incredibly shy and awkward, which had explained why she'd spent most of her life indoors.

Right now Shining Sapphire was rushing down the steps of the Crystal Palace. Most castle architects would probably have complained about these steps, of which there were only a few. At least one pundit had speculated all the steps had been placed elsewhere in the castle, which led to some amusement at the discovery of the Endless Stairwell leading all the way up to the peak of the castle.

Shining Sapphire was rushing toward her cousin, Twilight Twinkle, though not entirely out of joy. There was a noticable aura of concern about her as she swept past the guards standing on duty. As she got closer, this concern became more valid, at the haggard look of her cousin, whose normal royal blue fur looked slightly off. And she was staring at Shining Sapphire in an odd (and the guards would have noted, disturbing) fashion.

"Twinkie!" The twenty year old mare beamed, "It's so good to see you again."

"Hello." the mare said, her voice devoid of emotion. She looked at the castle, as if sizing it up.

"You have no idea what it's been like here for the last few days, I mean first there's the fact that mom and dad are elsewher-"

"Where, elsewhere?" her cousin asked. Shining Sapphire stared for a moment.

"Elsewhere. Dealing with an ice dragon or something. I didn't even know they could breath ice. It's not in any book, but then we ponies do keep away f-"

"Wisp's dead." The mare said. For a few seconds there was a horrible silence.

"W-... what?" Shining Sapphire felt suddenly confused and frightened. For some reason every part of her was screaming at her to run. And now her cousin was saying her boyfriend (or was he more than that, considering how close they were? She honestly wasn't sure)

"Whisper Wind is dead." The mare repeated. Shining Sapphire looked at the mare, and realised something. Twilight Twinkle wasn't staring at her, she was glaring at her.

"And it's your fault!" Twilight Twinkle's horn glowed, and there was a blast of horrific red energy, which knocked the two guards out. Shining Sapphire was not granted such a luxury.

The pink and blue mare soared through the door, the blast having been strong enough to throw her straight into the massive crystal throne. She slammed into it, and was granted a horrific stabbing pain that felt a lot like one of her wings breaking.

"YOUR FAULT!" Came a wild scream. Shining Sapphire was not a fighter. She was not a caster. She was no great warrior, with no experience dealing with horrible monsters. So, faced with an enraged pony screaming at her, she decided to flee.

*****

No, stop, stop this!

Twilight Twinkle'd body smiled, as it looked about the throne room, ignoring the screaming little voice in its head. Shining Sapphire appeared to have fled.

Why are you doing this?!

The voice was that of Twilight Twinkle. Her body shook its head.

'Oh, Twilight Twinkle. I was certain I explained this to you. You have only yourself to blame for what happens next. After all, you let us in, you opened the door to us. I am you. I am every whispered thought, every muted opinion, every buried iota of rage. I am your Nightmare.'

You're a freaking drama queen possessing my body.

'I can't help having inherited your... attributes. And I didn't 'possess' you, you let me in. It's how it works. I can't just take your body. You have to let us in.'

...That's a crappy explanation.

'I'm the personification of all your negative thoughts and opinions, using you as a host to create terror, because my fellow nightmares shall grow stronger from it. And also, because we can. But we can't just walk in and take you, we had to get you to come around to our way of thinking. We've been working at you for a while.'

So you're the reason my mother and I have been arguing so much!

'No. That was all you. But it really helped us get a foothold'

... Why go for me, then? What's so great about me?

'You really don't have a clue, do you? Are you certain you're Twilight Sparkle's daughter? You're the most powerful unicorn alive. It's almost a shame really that I have to do this. We could be wonderful together. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get back to trying to kill your cousin.'

Don't you dare! Don't you dare!

The mare walked about the throne room, scanning it impassively.

"Shining Sapphire." She called out, "Oh, Shining Sapphire, come out come out wh-"

A bright pink burst of energy struck her in the back. She hissed, and looked about the room, but could see no signs of the mare.

"Pretending to be my cousin? Bad move"

The Nightmare-in-pony-form scoffed. "Please, Sapphy. You've never fought in your life. You've never had to struggle for anything, getting it handed to you on a silver plate. How do you think you can fight me?"

There was a slight pause, followed by several bright pink bolts appearing from nowhere and slamming into the mare, who hissed and spat at each one.

"Have you got a name, by the way? And don't-" There was another bolt of energy, "-claim to be my cousin again, because we both know that's not the case."

"Alright, my name... my name..." The mare paused, "How about 'Nightmare Eclipse'?"

Wow. That name sucks!

"Really? You don't look like a Nightmare." Shining Sapphire called out, and this time a large pink net descended on the mare.

"Give me a moment." The newly re-named entity smiled, as the bright pink energy construct sank on top of her. There was a bright flash as magic met with magic, and standing in the place of Twilight Twinkle was a taller, thinner mare, her royal blue fur now barely distinguishable from the black of night. Her mane and tail were now larger, thicker, and wilder. The normal orange stripes in her hair were now darker, more bronze than orange. Her horn was taller, and sharper, her ears more pronounced. Then she opened her eye, which now glowed in an unearthly orange fashion, to say nothing of how they looked more like those of a dragon. Her Cutie Mark had changed as well, now a bright red sun was blazing across a charred moon.

"Seriously? That's what you look like?" Shining Sapphire's voice echoed, followed by the sound of her laughing.

"Shut up!" The mare roared, her voice sounding a like an older, more husky, perhaps at a stetch more seductive version of Twilight Twinkle. "Shut up, you thief! You stole Wisp from me! You stole him and you don't deserve him!"

"And you do, then? Or, Twilight Twinkle, since you insist on being her?"

"YES! He is MINE!" She roared, blasting magic in every direction. There was a pained gasp, and Shining Sapphire ran from the room, a noticable burn along her flank making her begin to limp.

"I deserve him! I deserve wings! I deserve praise, instead of scorn and being ignored! What have you ever done to deserve them?!"

Wow. Such a moving performance. Way to repeat every whiny thought I've ever had.

'Oh shut up' Nightmare fumed, 'You don't have a say in this anymore. In fact, just for that, I think I'm going to kill that stupid fat dragon you call a brother once we're done here.'

The mare stalked the corridors, following the echoing hoofsteps of Shining Sapphire.

"Stop running, Sapphy. Don't try and fight this. Trust me, you're just a filly. You can't win. Don't make this into a scene."

'Trust me'?

"Seriously?" The mare's voice echoed, a brief hint of mirth following it. "Twilight Twinkle never asks anypony to trust her. She doesn't need to. She already knows we do, even if it doesn't seem like it. Because we're her family, and we'll always be there for her. Even in the darkest night."

Nightmare Eclipse scoffed.
"What a load of manure. Where were you when Twilight Sparkle said she had no daughter? Where were you when she refused to believe her daughter had a father? Where were you when your cousin needed you most? Making out with that Changeling filth?!"

There was another pause, as the two wound up inside what looked a ballroom.

"I know what you're trying to do." Shining Sapphire said, "You're trying to make me angry. And you've succeeded."
There was a flutter of wings and the mare appeared in front of Nightmare Eclipse, her horn glowing brightly, even as the pony beneath it strained. There was an almighty flash of magic. When it cleared a royal blue mare was lying some distance away from her, faint trails of darkness emenating from her.

"Twinkie?" Shining Sapphire asked, hopefully. She gingerly walked over to the mare.

"Sapphy?" Her cousin whimpered. The princess smiled. And then, the illusion of Twinkle faded out. Sapphire's smile followed.

"Surp-ise!" Nightmare Eclipse laughed, blasting the mare backward with a lance of strange orange energy. The blast threw the mare straight through the wall, and out into the streets of the city. Nightmare Eclipse stood up, and stretched as the illusion melted away.

"Can't believe she fell for that."

Stop this! Stop this NOW! Whatever you want just leave! You've had your fun! Stop trying to kill her!

Nightmare Eclipse smiled. "But where's the fun in going back to the cold, and the dark? Especially when you're such a juicy supply of buried emotions. All that buried anger, and misery, and misplaced entitlement. And all that effort you're throwing into fighting my influence right now? Thanks for the snack!"

She began to walk, slowly of course, or otherwise there was no point being evil, toward where she'd blasted the pink alicorn. A thought occured to the creature, as to how Shining Sapphire could take so much punishment.

Because she's a Twilight. Even if not in name, by blood. And we're fighters.

*****

Shining Sapphire struggled to get to her hooves. Her head was swimming, and she was fairly certain she had a concussion. Actually, given the series of pains in her entire body, a concussion was the least of her worries. One of her wings wasn't working properly, and she was fairly certain one of her legs had gone the same way.
She tried to focus through the pain, and the horror, and the fear. It wasn't working. Her thoughts were racing. Wisp was dead, Twilight Twinkle, her cousin, her sister in-all-but-name was mad or possessed or goodness knew what and trying to kill her, and she didn't even have the time to proccess either of those thoughts. She felt tears on her cheeks, and ignored them.

She saw the twisted mockery of her cousin approaching, smiling a cruel smile. The mare's horn glowed, and she tried to summon a shield spell. The blast of magic ripped through it like it wasn't there, hurling the mare through the wall of the small warehouse they were in. Or was it a barracks? She wasn't sure.

"Goodness, cousin, you are a glutton for punishment. Most ponies would probably be dead by now. But I suppose you've got your mom's stubbornness. Why can't you just lay down and die? Can't you just do that for me?"

Another blast of love was her response, straight into the mare's face, to which the creature hissed and spat.

"Right. That is it. Time to die" She growled. Her horn glowed a savage colour, getting brighter, and brighter.

Then the mare was tackled by several muscular ponies.

*****

The Crystal Ponies may not have been aware of everything that had occured when their city had been displaced by a thousand years, and as a result some of the older ones seemed a bit 'spacey' compared to the next average Equestrian, but they weren't stupid. They blamed themselves for what Sombra had managed to get away with, and each one had privately vowed that if they got the chance they would not let another ramping madpony hurt them again. So naturally, when they saw one raving mare throwing their beloved Lesser Princess around with glee, they quickly tackled her to the floor.

"RELEASE ME, YOU IDIOTS! SHE DESERVES THIS!" The mare roared, throwing several of them in every direction, save the ones who'd already been thrown back by her screaming.

Shining Sapphire watched this, and an extremely welcome idea came to mind. She summoned what little magic she could muster through the pain, and waited for the Nightmare to get to her hooves. As she did, she thought of Wisp, of his smile, of dancing with him, of the feel of him, of how being around him had been. She thought of her cousin, of pranking Princess Luna, of talking about absolutely nothing important, of talking about Canterlot, and her dream to be an explorer.

Nightmare Eclipse returned to her hooves, just as an incredibly strong blast of magic hit her in the face. She screamed as it did.

"I HATE YOU! IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!" She waited for her eyes to clear, before seeing the slowly retreating form of the mare, heading back toward the palace. An awful grin crossed her face. Shining Sapphire was limping, and wouldn't be able to get far, not without her wings.

Shining Sapphire stopped in front of the massive heart shaped gem, the aptly-named Crystal Heart, a beacon for the love and hope and joy of the entire Crystal Empire, rediscovered by her aunt Twilight Sparkle, and by Spike, who she supposed was a form of cousin to her, since Twilight Sparkle had hatched his egg. She laid a hoof on it, and she could have sworn she felt her pain dim slightly, as something inside it responded to her touch.

'Please...' She thought, 'Lend me your strength. Just for this one moment. Just give the strength to save her.'
Nightmare Eclipse stopped a few hooves from her, and began to laugh again.

"Time's up, cousin. Are you ready?"

There was an odd hum from the Crystal Heart, which began to glow, and then Princess Shining Sapphire began to do so as well.

"Citizens of the Crystal Empire, lend me your stength!" She declared, "Lend me your love! Help me save my cousin."

"What are you doing?" Nightmare Eclipse roared. Shining Sapphire turned to face her, her hair, despite having turned into the immaculately styled fashions of a Crystal Pony, also looked etheral, not unlike the manes of Celestia and Luna.

"Really? You don't think a pony powered by love can't draw on the love of an entire nation?" She declared, "Sure, it's not the Elements of Harmony, but I think this will do in a pinch!"

Inside Nightmare Eclipse's mind, Twilight Twinkle was practically screaming for her cousin to fire. The dark-coated mare's horn glowed, and then...

There was a bright light, which seemed to wash over the panicked crowd like a wave, and if anypony had been listening, a scream.

*****

Twilight Twinkle opened her eyes, briefly pausing to note she still had them. She smiled briefly as she noted there were no voices whispering in her ears, no screams of fury. She saw where she was. Right next to a bright blue heart that hummed in a strange fashion, and just a few hooves away from her was a broken, crumpled form of pink and blue.

"Sapphy!" She cried, getting to her hooves and rushing over to the mare. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. Twilight Twinkle didn't pride herself on any medical knowledge, but she knew Shining Sapphire wasn't in a good shape.

"Sapphy, stay with me, come on, stay awake" There was a slight moan from the mare.

"Twinkie?" She muttered, "'s... that you?" A smile overtook her face.

"Where've you been? Was... worried 'bout you..." She coughed.

"Wielding power of... Crystal Heart. Tell me cousin, what'd you think? Been thinking about that one f'r years... didn't know if it'd work..." She tried to move.

"Everypony okay?" She asked, her voice quieter. Twinkle looked about. She wasn't entirely sure, but from what she'd seen nopony else had been attacked by her possessed self. She saw Shining Sapphire's eyes beginning to close.

"Hey, no, no. No sleep, Sapphy."

"'m really tired... never liked being called 'Sapphy'. 'cept by you an'..." She went quiet. She was still breathing, but she wasn't speaking.

*****

Twilight Twinkle didn't really process the next few minutes. She knew some ponies arrived, and lifted Shining Sapphire away, she knew she stayed with her, despite their attempts to discourage her, and she knew they arrived at the only hospital in the city quickly enough, she just didn't register it on any level. She sat in the main foyer, as various medical staff rushed about like Pinkie Pie on several gallons of coffee mixed with sugar. After a while, she had no idea how long, she was aware of snippets of conversation.

"-adly injured!"

"Severe burns"

"-nal bleeding"

"-ind the damn specialists?!"

"Where're her parents?!"

"Not expected to last the night"

That last one shook her out of her own thoughts, and she noticed as she did a pony was approaching her. He looked like a humourless sort, with a clipboard, a stern expression and a tie. She was also aware of a sensation in her back, moving along her spine towards her horn, one that she hadn't felt in years. She knew what it meant.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I was wondering if I could ask you some questions?" The pony said, in a surprisingly gentle voice.
Shocked by the statement, a reaction brought on by reading all the wrong sorts of books, she looked up in terror. Before she could even begin thinking of what to say in her response, she felt the build-up of magic. There was a sudden flash of light, followed by a noise that sounded like 'bloink', and she was gone.

*****

Ponyville. Midday. As far as later spring noons went, this one was pretty average. True, there were no huge parties going on, mainly because Pinkie Pie was apparently taking it easy until her new foal was born, but the weather was fair and the winds were standing still. It was actually really relaxing, the sort of day spent in a loved one's embrace, or looking at clouds, just generally having a good time.

There was a brillaint build-up of light, followed by a loud 'bloink' noise, and a royal blue mare was deposited in the middle of the Ponyville town square. Then there was quiet again, save for the sound of an incredibly deep breath.

Twilight Twinkle lay there for a moment, not thinking about any one subject, her mind leaping from thought to thought to thought.

"'m sorry." She said quietly. Her front hoof moved back and forth, not really doing anything. She tried standing up and getting indoors, but her legs didn't seem to work. Actually, on consideration, nothing seemed to work. She just kept muttering that she was sorry for a few minutes.

After a while a shadow fell across her.

"Are you alright?" A mare's voice asked. That gave her a small motivation to look up. She saw a mare dressed mainly in white looking at her, her face framed by ginger hair and a puzzled, but disinterested, expression.

Twilight Twinkle gave this question far more thought than it really needed. After several minutes of debating, including whether to ask the mare to lock her up, she decided on a solution.

"I'll live." she responded, without any emotion. The ginger mare, who had a Cutie Mark of an hourglass nodded, content with this.

"Then I'll let you get on with living. I'm sure you know what you're doing." She said, calmly. "I've learnt not to meddle in the affairs of others years ago." she added, though it sounded like she was saying it to herself. She began to walk away.

"There isn't an ounce of curiosity in me." The ginger mare stated to the world.

Twilight Twinkle went back to hating herself. Until there was the sound of rapid hoofsteps, and the ginger mare returned with a smile on her face.

"Actually, sorry to bother you again, but do you need some help getting up?"

Twilight Twinkle considered this, giving her hoof an experimental twitch.

"Yes." she finally said. The mare helped her to her hoofs, and smiled, which flickered when Twinkle had trouble standing.

"Do you want me to help you get somewhere?"

"Yes, home. Looks like a giant tree." The mare frowned, and looked about.

"I think I know the way." She smiled. As the two walked along she turned to the mare.

"By the way, I'm..." She frowned, "Well, it doesn't matter, really. But most people just call me the Doctor. Or 'hey, you' sometimes, or 'Halt'. Halt's a good one, haven't had anyone yell a good 'halt' at me in years. Not that I miss adventuring"
As the mare continued to babble about nothing in particular, a thought came to Twilight Twinkle. She wasn't sure where it came from, but it seemed like a good idea, an incredibly good idea, better than trying to get forgiveness for what she'd done from her mother.

'Run. And keep running. And don't stop until you're far from here'

She nodded at that thought. It was a good idea. All she needed to pull it off was time.

*****

The Crystal City saw the return of Princess Cadance, who had apparently felt what had happened to her daughter, and the Crystal Heart, even several hundred miles away, and it was a terrifying sight to behold.

"WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!" She boomed, making several ponies cower in shock. One pony bravely informed her of what had happened (or at least gave her the cliff-notes version), and she rushed to the hospital. She was quickly shown to the room her daughter was being kept in.

"We've done what we can to fix the injuries, but... they were quite extensive." The doctor informed her, "We'll do our best, but frankly, we're not sure if she'll wake up at this point."

There was a noise from Cadance, a noise that drove the stallion talking to her to swear off his job forever afterward. It was the noise of a mother's heart breaking, as she just stared at the sleeping form of her daughter. However, before he did, the stallion coughed.

"She said we were to tell you something..." he said in the quiet, "That... 'Twinkie's lost. So lost, and she doesn't even realise it'" Princess Cadance's stare didn't leave her daughter.

"That's- that's all she said." Cadance just nodded, but said nothing. She just sat there, staring. After a while, she began to weep.

Comments

[Detectivefish]

2490803
That was the plan, spread the flashbacks out a bit, but because I spent so long on the Hearth's Warming the plan required a teeny-tiny adjustment.
(Did consider moving the chapters about, but on the other hand, I prefer it the way it is)

[fuckyoudeletemyaccount]

The fact that you can pump out such large chapters at such rates, yet maintain such quality... it astounds me at times, to say the least.

[Detectivefish]

2572647
Want to know something?
The fact that I can terrifies and amazes me.