After becoming a princess,Twilight Sparkle started receiving weird letter everyday. She never thought it would lead to her whole world changing to one she can't even recognize.
After she became a princess,Twilight Sparkle started to receive letters by somepony named Onyx. They come everyday and they scare her. This stallion comes in and changes the course of everything that Twilight holds dear. Can she get things back to normal or is it here to stay?
A purple alicorn hummed as she was working on putting up some books she had gotten that day. Her mentor sent her some spell books to practice with.
Her name is Twilight Sparkle. She loved getting to hear from her mentor, Princess Celestia, but the books made it even better. One of the books was one she requested though. It was one she actually used before.
She laughed at herself as she remembered it. She had nearly gone crazy about making sure her life was organized to the T and ended up going back in time to warn herself about it. It was pretty nuts, but it did teach her a good lesson.
She had asked Celestia to send it to her so she could take a look at the time travel spell. She thought that is she could make it last longer, it could be useful. But going back has repercussions on the future.
When the books were all picked up, she looked through the other mail that Derpy had given her. It was all the normal things; jumk mail, party invites from Pinkie Pie, a coupon from the bookstore. Then she saw a letter in a purple envelope that was addressed to "My Princess".
Twilight froze up with the sight of the the purple paper and dropped it. Every time she got one brought terror to her very soul. Ever since she became a princess, she had been getting these letters. Derpy said she never remembered getting the letters. They always called her "My princess" and never called her by name. And it was signed by somepony named Onyx. Onyx talked about everything from their day to how precious she was to them.
"Twilight, are you alright?" The alicorn jumped as her baby dragon, Spike, came up from behind.
She took a deep breathe to calm down and nodded. "Yea, I'm fine." She used her magic to rip up the letter and throw it away before turning to him.
"Now, let's go get to bed. It is getting late after all." She lead Spike back upstairs and curled up in bed.
She hadn't told Spike about the letters. In fact, she hadn't told any of her friends about the letters. She didn't want them to worry. Besides, it was just letters. Not like anything can happen with letters.
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It was in the dead of night when a young unicorn teleported into the treehouse belonging to the new princess. He couldn't believe he was actually there.
He made a dim emerald-colored light come from his horn as he looked through the books on the alicorn's bookshelves. After a little bit, he found it. The book containing the time travel spell. He had heard of this spell when listening to stories of Twilight's adventures. He was happy that the mare requested it.
"Now, to make you great." He said as he studied the spell.
"Who are you? Twilight!" The young dragon screamed when he saw the stallion. He wasn't sure if he should be glad that he came down for a midnight snack. He tackled the stranger while waiting for his friend.
"Spike?!" Twilight turned on the light to reveal their guest.
The stallion had a light grey colored coat. His mane was jet black with grey streaksand was made of short curls. His shiny green eyes pierced through Twilight as their eyes met. In a different situation, he would be considered handsome.
Twilight noticed that his cutie mark was a black gem with green flames surrounding it. The gem is what made it click. "Onyx."
He smirked as he stood up, flinging Spike off of him,"I am flattered,Princess. And here I thought you were paying attention to me. He kicked over a trash bin, making pieces of the letter fall to the floor.
"What do you want?! Twilight screamed as she ran and tackled him.
Onyx dodged and grabbed her. "Simple, dear. To see you be great. What to join me?" He chuckled and his horn started to glow brightly as he started to cast a spell."
"Twilight?!" Spike ran towards them just for the magic to blow him back. He opened his eyes just to see she was no longer there. "No....Where did they go...?"
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Twilight groaned as the bright light burned her eyes. She saw Onyx standing in front of her. "What did you do?" She looked around to see a meadow.
A smirk came across the muzzle of the stallion. "I just thought you would like to see the show." He pointed up to show her what he was talking about.
In the sky was a small blue filly with rainbow mane and she was flying really fast. That was when Twilight realized what it was. It was Rainbow Dash. And she was going to make the Rainboom that gave them their cutiemarks.
"No way..." She couldn't believe it. He got the time spell to work and they were still here.
She looked over at Onyx to see his horn glowing brightly. He sent a blast at Rainbow Dash, hitting her out of the sky. Her body froze and time seemed to go in slow motion as she watched the teal pegasus fall. This couldn't be happening. "No...how....how could you...?"
Onyx looked at her. "It isn't like she is gonna die or anything. Other pegasi should be retrieving her now." He jumped very slightly at the death glare he got from the princess.
"Do you know what you did!? You could of killed my friend! You-!" It then clicked. The sonic rainboom didn't happen. The same boom that made her and her friend's cutiemarks. She looked at her rump to see her mark fading. "No...No! What is happening!?"
Onyx smiled. Everything was going as planned. "Just what was suposed to. See you in few years, my dear. Time for our new present."
Before Twilight could say anything,a bright light surrounded them. She closed her eyes, afraid of the future she was about to see.
Twilight groaned as she sat up. She felt a bed underneath her. "Thank Celestia. Just a dream." Or so she thought before she opened her eyes.
She was in a beautiful room made of dark colors and silver. The bed she was in was huge and very soft with purple satin sheets. The room seemed fit for royalty. At first, she thought it could belong to Princess Luna, but where there was supposed to be shades of blue and moons there was purples and stars.
The she noticed she was also wearing a long black night gown with silver stars.
"What the hay is this?"
Her body froze with a jolt as she heard the door open. The pony's eyes widened as she looked at the mare that walked in.
The unicorn had a coat that looked like it used to be pure white, but she looked like she had had some hard times so it was a light gray now. Her purple mane was pulled back into a bun with several pins, but you could tell where some curls were trying to escape. Her cutiemark was a brush with a gem in the middle. The bright blue eyes gave away who it was.
"Rarity..."
"Good morning, Milady. It is time to get ready." Rarity helped her get up and took her over to a big vanity mirror.
Twilight was severely confused as to everything that was going on. "What are you doing?" She said as she was sat down on a stool.
She noticed a flinch of fright in Rarity's eyes through the mirror. "Getting you ready for your day, Milady. It is my job." She used her magic to pick up a brush and start to brush Twilight mane, which Twilight noticed was now really long.
"Job? What do you mean?" And what the hay was with the Milady stuff?!
"Your beautician, ma'am. Anything for my queen"
Twilight stiffened. The queen? Wait,what?! Her eyes went to the reflection of Rarity's cutiemark. It was just weird to not see her gems on her flank. Did the rainboom not happening seriously change everything?
She decided to get the information she needed, but she would have to play along. She sat up straight and turned her confused look on her face to one of indifference.
"Tell me. How did you get that cutiemark of your's?"
A faint smile appeared on her who-she-still-saw-as-a-friend's face. "Surely you don't want to hear that old story."
"I told you to tell me, didn't I?" Twilight kind of felt bad talking to her like this, but she needed to.
"In truth, I never wanted to be a mane dresser. I wanted to be a designer. But I lost my inspiration as a young filly. I remember how my horn took me to this huge rock, I knew it wanted to tell me something but I was never able to figure it out. I was one of the last ones in my class to get my cutiemark too.
"I realized how much I loved to play with my little sister's hair. She had the prettiest curls. You might of liked her. She had a wonderful singing voice and she didn't even realize it herself."
Twilight found something in the unicorn's speech that bugged her. "You keep saying had." She felt a chill in her spine. She noticed her friend's eyes go sad and distant as she started to braid Twilight's mane.
"She...she died 3 years ago. The first time you came to take over Ponyville. One of the soldiers set our home on fire. I had been out at the time, grocery shopping. I was going to make her favorite dinner that night."
Twilight felt her blood become like ice in her skin. Sweetie Bell was gone. She had a sick feeling in her throat at the thought of it all. "E-Excuse me!" She ran quickly through one of the doors, luckily it was the restroom. She heard Rarity call after her before leaving herself.
After she finished throwing up, she stared at herself in the mirror. "She said that I...I..." The sick sensation came back as she thought about it. Came to take over Ponyville?! What was she here?
She jumped when there was a knock on the door and a male voice asked if she was okay. "O-one moment." She splashed her face with some cold water before walking out. "Yes-"
She found herself cut-off and stunned by the stallion in front of her. The emerald green eyes that haunted her stared through her.
Twilight took a few steps back as Onyx looked down at her. So, he was still here in this changed world?
"Are you alright? It was a shock to hear from one of the servants that you ran into the bathroom." An otherwise charming smile appeared on his muzzle. She notice his curls had flattened into waves since his mane was slightly longer.
Twilight wanted to hurt him for called Rarity a servant. She was her friend no matter what happened here. She watched as he turned to Rarity and told her to leave them alone. Obviously he had a lot of power here.
Rarity gave him a bow. "As you wish, Milord." With that, Twilight was left alone with the pony she hated the post.
"So, are you enjoying your new home? Must be nice being pampered, Princess. Oh, sorry. You're a queen here, aren't you? Sans the wings of course." He noticed Twilight giving him a glare that would put Fluttershy's stare to shame.
"What the hay is wrong with you?! What did you do to me and my friends?! And where are they anyways?!"
"One question at a time please, my dear. All I did was give you a way to find your true potential."
"By killing Rainbow Dash?!"
Onyx let out a sigh, like he was bored. "No, she is still alive. Can't fly from what I heard, but who knows?"
"Can't fly...? That was her dream! And you came out and just took it from her!"
"Oh well, some dreams are impossible. Guess her dream was one of them. Now, next question. Please try to phrase them better. Also, stop yelling. I hate yelling."
Twilight let out a groan of anger before going over to the vanity mirror. She looked at the loose braid Rarity did. She must have been doing it a long time. It was just perfect. Just like her, everything to a T. It warmed her heart to know her friend was safe at least. "Where are the others?"
"The other element girls? Let me think, Applejack went to Manehattan and the Rainboom never took her back home. So, she probably stayed there. All I know is Sweet Apple Acres is gone so she never went back. Fluttershy fell and well after that no one knows. And Pinkie, she works for you."
Twilight looked at him in confusion. "Works for me? Pinkie?"
"Apparently, she took over the rock farm which ended up being filled with gems. Nor that the area is under your control. The gems are for your kingdom."
"My kingdom?" This was just giving her even more questions and a headache. She was getting the sick feeling again though.
Onyx lead her over to a window so she could look out. Twilight now realized that they were in a tall, almost castle like place. Then she noticed the town beneath them. It was easy to tell that it was Ponyville, but it no longer had the same cheerful aura. It almost brought Twilight to tears.
"What am I here...? What have I done?"
A smirk came onto the stallion once again, like he had been waiting for the question. " As you might of guessed, you failed your magic test. But you still wanted to get into magic and in turn dove head-first into your studies. From what your counter-part told me, you broke into the Canterlot archives."
Then he turned to her. "Do you remember Sombra's dark magic that you used that showed you your fear? Basically, you found something like that, but more powerful. Well, actually you stole it from the library in Canterlot. Anyways, you took on this dark magic and well, that is where your story starts. You trained and trained your magics till you were ready. Ultimately, you decided that since you had this magic, why should you have to bow down to somepony who thought you had no magic at all."
"No! Princess Celestia wouldn't think that!" Twilight didn't want to believe what she was hearing. This was all just too crazy. There was no way it could be true.
"Are you going to let me finish?" Twilight just glared at him again. "So, you declared war. Your army are beings of shadows that you summoned. Your first target was here, Ponyville. That was 3 years ago."
"But, Princess Celestia wouldn't let anypony just take over Equestria!"
"That is exactly why there was a showdown. And bad timing too, but I think you planned it For that same day, Nightmare Moon came back. Which made it a three-way showdown, till Nightmare Moon joined your side. Eventually, you defeated Celestia. Then Nightmare Moon killed her."
A lump appeared in the purple unicorn. "K-killed...? No, it couldn't be..Luna would never.." She could feel the tears running down her face. Celestia couldn't be dead! She was everything to Twilight and she was...gone...
Onyx brought over a handkerchief and wiped the tears on her face away. "I'm afraid so. But in the state you were with the dark magic, you didn't care about her. She would of done the same to you if given the chance."
He noticed Twilight's face go lifeless. He couldn't blame her, it was a lot to take in. "So...I control Equestria now, huh?"
"Not exactly, just parts. After seeing what she had done, Luna dispelled Nightmare Moon. She is now trying to rule in her sister's place. Though the citizens do not fully trust her, but she is all they have against you. And some joined you for fear of Nightmare Moon returning. At least you didn't kill their princess."
He finished making Twilight more presentable. "Now,lets get Rarity in here to get you cleaned up. I'll free up your day so you can rest. Fell free to go to Ponyville. Sure you know how to make a disguise." With that, he started to walk away.
"Wait." The mare finally spoke up. "Why are you here? What are you to me?"
She noticed the smirk that she was coming to hate appear on his muzzle once again. "I use to be just your right hand. The one that set your meetings, the one you went to and everything. But somepony convinced you that you need to look better to your citizens, so now I am your fiancee." He chuckled slightly at the glare he received.
"I would never marry some horrible pony like you!"
"It is for show after all. Have I ever actually said I give a damn about you? I don't think so." Twilight watched as the other unicorn left the room. She curled up on her huge bed. This was all too much.
She let out a loud groan. "I hate that guy!" In truth, she wanted to attack him for what he did, but she needed the information he had. She couldn't survive here without what he knew. Like it or not, she had to keep him around...for now.
Twilight wiped the leftover tears away as she sat up. Her pillow was soaked and by the midday sun outside, she could tell she had been there a while. Her throat felt sore from the sobbing as she got up to look out the window once again.
Celestia...gone? How could this even be possible? Princess Celestia was the most powerful being she knew. She couldn't seem to wrap her head around the fact that Nightmare Moon was the one that killed her.
Not only that, Twilight was pretty much a tyrant here and Princes Luna was her enemy. How could things of gotten this far? Did this really all happen because the Sonic Rainboom didn't happen?
She recalled something that Onyx had said. He mentioned that it was like King Sombra's magic. She remembered back to that magic. The same magic that showed her her greatest fear. It made her feel cold and unlike herself or anyone she ever knew. She recalled the way it made her heart slow down in its beats.
As the magic came back into her mind, she felt a wind pick up. The breeze soared around her hooves, making her mane and tail whip around the unicorn's body. She watched as some strands of dark purple escaped the braid Rarity had made before closing to her eyes. It almost felt as if the soft but quick wind was going to lift her off the ground. Somehow, it made her feel peaceful.
So, this is how this magic feels?
Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a dull roar. The unicorn's eyes widened as she saw that the wind was now accompanied by black flame. The flames danced around and caught her on her side, but she noticed the fire was cold. It was kind of calming.
"No!" Twilight screamed and pulled away, making the wind and the fire stop. She just couldn't do it. It was the same kind of magic that took Sweetie Bell away. The same magic that changed her and made her team up with Nightmare Moon. How could she use magic like that?
"Wait a minute. The first time I saw that magic..." Twilight started to pace as she thought about the situation, at least some things didn't change. She remembered seeing the beautiful white alicorn use the magic she just used. "Princess Celestia used that magic! That jerk of a unicorn said that I took the magic from the Canterlot archives. Not even sure I want to know how I did that in the first place. But does this mean the Princess knew this magic too? But it didn't corrupt her...yet I was..."
Twilight looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. "What happened to the other me?" What exactly made her turn to dark magic and where was the other Twilight?
"If I am here and I'm from the Rainboom timeline, then where is the corrupt Twilight from this time? Is she in my head? And if so, does that mean I am in her body?"
She turned quickly as she heard a knock on the door. "C-come in." She let out a sigh of relief when it turned out to only be Rarity.
"I came to see if you needed anything, Milady." It left a sour taste in Twilight's mouth to be called that. She didn't deserve the title.
"I,uh...I was thinking of going into town, but I don't need to go out looking like this. I need a disguise and your help."
"Help from me? But Milady, why me? I've seen you disguise yourself before. It isn't really my forte." Rarity looked back and forth from Twilight and the ground. Twilight wasn't used to seeing her friend behave like this.
"Because I know that you can design something awesome. Trust me, I know. Or, are you not up for the task?" The unicorn smirked. She just knew that even in this world her friend couldn't pass up a challenge like that.
"Of course I can, Milady." A glimmer of confidence appeared in the designer's eyes. Twilight even noticed her chin go up as well. She looked so much like the Rarity she knew back home.
It was the first time she realized how much she missed her time. She missed waking up to the breakfast that Spike made. It was horrible, but he always did his best. She remembered it was Thursday. Today was the day that she would help Fluttershy with the animals. She realized she was drifting into the daydream and had to snap out of it.
Twilight smiled as she trotted over to Rarity. "You don't have to call me Milady, you know?"
Rarity's crystal eyes grew wide. "I-I don't?"
"Of course not. You're my friend, Rarity. Just call me Twilight." She watched as a soft smile danced across the white unicorn's muzzle.
"Yes, Mi-I mean, Twilight. Now, let's get you changed." She took a deep breath and cast the spell.
Twilight looked at her changed self in the mirror. She noticed she looked a lot like Octavia from her time, but without the bowtie. Plus, her cutiemark was an inkwell.
"I was thinking you could call yourself Inkwell if needed." Rarity looked quite proud of the work she had done.
The other unicorn nodded at her. "Thank you so much. I'll try to be back soon,okay? And don't tell Onyx that I left. None of his business anyway." Rarity replied with a simple nod as Twilight ran off.
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One thing was for sure, Ponyville was not the same at all. No one was happy like she had come to know them. She did see some happy ponies trying to be cheerful and livelier, but she could tell it was an act to try to brighten the spirits of other ponies around them.
She couldn't believe that she caused all of this sadness.
No! It wasn't me! It was corrupt Twilight! I didn't do anything!
As she tried to snap out of those thoughts, she bumped into somepony. "Oh, I'm sorry I-"
Twilight was shocked by the pony in front of her. Not only did the Earth pony seem more cheerful than the others, but her lily-pad green eyes had a certain sparkle to them. Her orange coat was a beautiful contrast to the duller colors around her. Her yellow mane was cut into a bob with longer bangs that framed her face. On her rump was a cutie mark of flowing green strings and a red music note that Twilight remembered to be a Semiquaver.
But even with these changes, she knew the mare in front of her.
"Ain't a problem, sugarcube." Applejack said as she helped her back up. As she did,Twilight noticed a guitar strapped to Applejack's back. "Ya looked a lil down. You okay?"
"Um,yes. Thank you. It is nice to meet you. I'm new in town. I'm Inkwell. And you are?" Twilight really hoped that that didn't sound too rehearsed.
"Name's Applejack. And before you ask, I don't live here. I'm just a traveling bard. I play my music where ever the wind takes me and I try to make other ponies happy." Twilight couldn't help but giggle in her head. It didn't look like Applejack changed much.
"You said you travel. Do you have any family or something?"
"Family? The other Apples moved years ago to get away from Queenie. Ain't quite sure where they went off to." Applejack just shrugged like she didn't have a care in the world, even with everything that was going on around her. "Anyway, best be on my way. Need any help before I go?"
"Actually, could you tell me which way the Everfree forest is?" The buildings and atmosphere were so different that she lost where she was. She thought it would help her get her footing back.
"I ain't even from here and I know that is a bad idea. Heard that even if you tried to go in there, you can't."
"Why not?" This definitely peaked Twilight's curiosity.
"I heard that if you try to go in, a yellow light or fairy or somethin' leads you away from the danger and out of the forest. Kinda spooky if you ask me. Well, I'll try to catch ya later, Inky. Hope to see ya before I leave." Applejack winked at her before going over to a group of sad looking ponies and strumming her guitar.
That is something interesting at least. Well, might as well check it out. Certainly didn't have a fairy or anything back home. Twilight smirked and went on her way to the forest.
Twilight was soon on the outskirts of the Everfree. At least this looked the same. She looked around where she was. A few tears came to her eyes when she realized where she was. She was where Fluttershy's cottage used to be.
It took everything she had to not cry. Where was Fluttershy? She still fell down in the race and Onyx said that she was never seen again.
She let out a scream of anger. If that stupid stallion hadn't caused this, her friends would still be okay. They would be safe instead of in pain, heartbroken, and maybe even dead.
"No! She isn't! I would know if she was!" She raised her chin up. She couldn't let herself get down and had to stay confident. Surely, she could try to find a way to fix all of this. "I have too check out the changes it made. And that fairy thing is a good place to start. Maybe it can link together or something."
The unicorn took a deep breath and ran inside. She ran as fast as she could through the forest. There was many places she remembered from her adventures with the others. She closed her eyes for a second as she remembered it, only to be interrupted by a roar.
Twilight stopped and gasped. In front of her was the manticore, though it was not like when she encountered it with the others. His fur was darker and mangy, matted with elements of the forest. His kinder face was twisted and seemed bloodthirsty. This manticore wasn't going to play around this time. His body shook as a growl rumbled from deep inside his as he showed his sharp, yellow fangs to his prey.
Twilight quickly teleported into a tree when the beast swiped at her. Luckily, she kept her unicorn powers with the earth pony disguise. She quickly realized that it was a bad move as he threw his angry paw at her branch, snapping it like it was a mere twig. The unicorn tried to fly, used to the wings from back in her time.
"Son of a diamond dog!" She groaned in pain after her body collided with the ground. It took all her strength to get back up and to look at the snarling monster. "No...I can't die here...I can't!"
The wind picked up around Twilight's hooves once again. Normally, she would be against this, but she had no choice. Her life was in danger. She had to survive here to fix everything. "I won't die here!" Her eyes started to get an eerie dark glow around the irises as she felt the power gather together in her horn. She had never felt power like this before. The pain numbed as she got ready to blast the manticore to Tartarus.
Twilight was interrupted though by a yellow light flashing by and knocking the beast to the ground. She was knocked out of the spell and the pain slowly started to return.
She looked at where the light landed. As the dust that was stirred up cleared, it revealed a pegasus pony. Her long pink mane and tail were tangled and shaggy, like she had been cutting it herself. There was twigs and flowers intertwined too. Her eyes were colds as she stared down the monster. Her cutiemark was a lantern with a pink glow surrounding it.
"How long will it take for you pitiful ponies to realize that you need to stay away from here?" Fluttershy's cold eyes glared back at Twilight before looked back at the manticore that was getting up. "Stay right there. This shouldn't take long." She flew up quickly, barely avoiding the scorpion tail aimed at her head.
Twilight was in shock seeing her once shy friend fight something so huge. It wasn't like with the bear. It was serious. She wanted to take him down and she wasn't going to stop.
Shouldn't you help her?
The day-dreamer snapped out of it and readied her spell again. It felt strange to feel the darkness surging through her. A foreign being inside her that belonged in her body.
Yes. That is it. Let it take hold of you. Use it!
A gasp escaped from her muzzle. Was that her voice? As the darkness faded once more. The unicorn finally subsided to the pain from falling out of the tree. Her head got light and her legs could no longer hold her up. She collapsed to the ground just after the manticore did.
Fluttershy landed next to Twilight and looked down at her. "Took a lot of damage." Her eyes widened only slightly as the disguise hiding the unicorn faded, revealing the 'Queen' underneath. "Well, that is something you don't see everyday."
The mare sighed and put the other on her back. Her morals made her at least want to tend to her wounds. She wasn't just going to leave her there.
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Twilight woke in a place of pure white. There was no floor, no ceiling, no walls. "What the hay...?"
"Don't be so surprised, goody-goody. Surely you've been wondering where I am?" Twilight looked to see...well,herself. Her eyes were dark and malicious. It was the corrupt Twilight of this time. No! Twilight wouldn't accept her as herself.
"So this is pitiful Celestia's student, or should I say slave? That is what I've been getting from your head at least." The corrupt Twilight chuckled as she circled around the other, looking her over. "I expected more from the one that was able to take over my body."
Twilight glared at the other. "Princess Celestia is not pitiful! And there is more to me then you think! You know nothing about me!" Then something clicked with what she said. "Wait, have you been going through my head?"
The dark-eyed unicorn rolled her eyes. "I already said that, didn't I? Not much else to do since you took over my body and most of my magic." Her look of boredom disappeared to give way to one of anger. "You shouldn't be here anyways. Haven't you had your fun getting my royal treatments? I bet an idiot like Rarity wouldn't even notice. It is even like her brain is made of hair."
"Don't you dare talk about my friend like that?!"
"Oh yea, she is your friend in your time,huh? Same with that rock farmer. You need to get better friends."
"Shut up! They mean the world to me. My friends are everything and I would be nothing without them. Like you can talk!? The only friend you have is Onyx! And you sent him to change everything,didn't you?!"
The corrupt Twilight was unfazed at the tears developing in Twilight's eyes. "No,I didn't. Onyx did that all on his own. But if your sad mind needs somepony to blame, then by all means blame him. As for him being my friend, no. He is just there for me to look better to my subjects."
"Subjects that hate you! You destroyed their world and they will never forgive you!"
"Guess you will have to handle that for now,hm? While I get my powers back at least." Twilight couldn't express how much she hated herself right now.
"You're in my head. How are you gonna get your powers?"
From the corrupt one's muzzle came an evil laugh. "Like this!" Before their eyes black started to break the white. It traveled like ink in water. It didn't get too far though. "Soon enough. It will all be mine again!"
The corrupt Twilight got right in the scared one's face. "And you will not be able to stop me. You will sit there and watch through our eyes as I kill your old 'friends' one by one."
"You won't. Because I won't let you!" She headbutted the dark Twilight in retort. The headbutt broke them both out of the space they were in.
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Twilight sat up quickly as she was kicked out of...of well, her head. Though, sitting like that made her injuries from earlier pain her entire body. She let out a sharp wince.
"You need to lay back down. You are still healing." The unicorn turned to see the yellow pegasus that she still remembered as shy. Instead, there was a cold, rough looking mare. She also realized she was in a wooden hut with overgrown plants everywhere. She was on a hammock that had a lot of wear.
"So,uh....Thank you for helping me. I'm In-"
"No, you're not." Fluttershy looked up from her herbal medicine she was making. "Your disguise fell. You're Twilight Sparkle, the so-called queen."
Twilight gulped. No way this could end well. "I,um...Well, you see."
"Don't bother. Did you lose your memory or something? Surely the evil that had made the darkness that has corrupted my forest would of defended herself." Even with her new detective skills that made Fluttershy not fear her, she still didn't trust the unicorn.
"Yes. My memory. It must of happened with the fall." Twilight was getting a hang of this just rolling with it thing.
Fluttershy went back to mixing her medicine. "You won't do much good lying to me. I'm the one making your medicine. I could just slip something in and make it easier for everypony else." The thought of it just made the purple mare gulp. "Now, tell me the truth."
Twilight took a deep breathe and let it out in a sigh. She had no choice,did she?
Fluttershy shook her head and went back to work on some of her powders and potions. She liked whatever she was using. It made the hut smell divine. There was notes of mint and lavender mainly,so Twilight guessed it was what she used to cover the other smells from the herbs like(Twilight looked at one of the bottles) poison joke pollen.
"So, you expect me to believe a story like that? You are a time traveler or something and now you're in the Queen's body." Twilight wasn't a big fan of the attitude that she was receiving.
"In a way, yes. I'm still Twilight,just a Twilight from a different time." A snort-like chuckle came out of the pegasus.
"Sure you are. And in that time, you are sweet and good. Everyone is different and everything is wonderful." As she said this Fluttershy made her eyes look kinda like sweet Fluttershy's, but it was just to mock Twilight.
"Well, yea. Everything is different there, even you. Ponyville didn't look like this, that is for sure."
"Even me? So, you know me back in your time?" That actually made the yellow mare turn away from her work to look at the other. It looked like she was actually curious now.
"Yes. You lived in Ponyville, not in the forest. You were shy and kind. The animals all depended on you. It was your talent. Actually, you were my friend too. No, you still are my friend even here." Twilight stomped her hoof down on the end table, despite the pain.
"Animals? That was my talent? That is interesting. I guess I am still good with them, they brought me here after all." Twilight noticed a sad, distant look in her friend's eyes."
"Fluttershy..." That was something that brought the other's attention to her.
"I don't recall ever telling you my name." She came over to the unicorn and looked her in the eyes. "If you are from another timeline, like you say you are,prove it."
Twilight gulped. How does she prove something like this? She took a deep breath and calmed herself like Cadance showed her. "In my time, you had a cutiemark with 3 butterflies. Our friends are Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. You have a bunny named Angel, who is actually kind of mean to you. Princess Celestia is my teacher and is still alive. She rules alongside Princess Luna, who we changed back."
"Changed back? From Nightmare Moon? Now, I know you're crazy." Fluttershy rolled her eyes before turning back away.
"It is the truth! We released her with the Elements of-Wait! The Elements! I could use them to set everything right. But I need the others. I don't even know where to find them." Twilight starting her usual pacing. Her mind was so wrapped up in thoughts, she was able to ignore her injuries. "Well, we never met up with Nightmare Moon so we would of never made the Elements into their jewelry form."
As Twilight talked to herself, Fluttershy went to the window of her hut to look at the forest. She tried to think about Twilight and what she said. She wasn't sure she believed the whole time line nonsense but one thing was for sure, this frantic, broken mare wasn't the Queen.
The pegasus then heard a bird call. Landing on her window was one of the messenger ravens, Edgar. In his beak was a letter for her. Fluttershy took it from the raven and sighed. "Fine, I'll go." With that the bird flew away.
"Hey, Sparkle. Put your other form back on. You are coming with me. I have somewhere to be and hopefully somepony else can take you. You're not staying here."
Twilight's sadness showed in her purple eyes. She really was different from the Fluttershy she knew and cared for. But she knew she had no choice. There was one thing she needed to know though. "Fluttershy...how did you end up out here? Like this? You fought off a manticore like it was nothing."
"When I was a filly, I fell from Cloudsdale. I was saved by the animals here. When they saw I couldn't fly and that I had no where to go here, they took me into the forest. I had to learn how to protect myself or I would of died. Soon enough, I had to protect others. Your dark magic seeped into the forest and corrupted everything in it. Foolish ponies try to come into the forest. I just help get them out. That is my talent." With that, Fluttershy went to leave. Twilight hurried and used her magic to look like Inkwell again before following.
Twilight knew a few of the places they went by as Fluttershy led her through the town. Eventually, she took her to a tree that the unicorn knew too well. It was her home, or it used to be. Now it was just an empty looking tree house.
As she was brought inside, she saw many ponies in there. There was even a few she used to know. There was Lyra, Minuette, DJ Pon-3, Palette, Cloud Kicker, and Cheerilee. Applejack was also there, talking to Cheerilee. She looked up and her face brightened when she saw 'Inkwell'.
"Well, hey there, Inky. Didn't think ya would be here."
"Yes, who is this, Fluttershy? We have discussed having others in here." Cheerilee wasn't like usual either. Her cheerful attitude was changed to one of seriousness and hate.
"This is Inkwell. Another one that wandered into the forest. I was hoping one of you could take her to Pinkamena." Twilight's head perked up at the name. She remembered that she was told that Pinkie was a rock farmer on this time.
Cheerilee sighed. "Palette, you were heading that way. You can take her." The blind unicorn nodded and tried to finish what she was doing.
Applejack smiled at Twilight. "Cheer here is one of the leaders here. They are a group that try to help other ponies get their life back together."
A chuckle came out of the DJ of the group, who was one of the ones looking at a map. "You're one of us too, Applejack. Remember?"
"Shucks, I just help transport things every now and then. I don't do much." Twilight noticed the country girl's cheeks turn pink.
"Ignore her. Inkwell, wasn't it?" DJ walked over to Twilight. "Call me DJ. Don't worry, Pinkie will take care of you. She takes care off all the orphans in town. Besides, I'm sure she could use the help." She smiled at her. Twilight noticed that the smile was very cocky. Even in this world, the musical unicorn was so sure of herself.
Fluttershy coughed to interrupt. "You said in the letter that you needed my help. This better be good."
Lyra Heartstrings was the first pony to speak up. "We are running out of medicine and we know how good the stuff you make is. So, we were wondering if we can start using some of your powders. Redheart is doing what she can, but we don't know how long it will take." With that, Fluttershy went with Lyra and Cheerilee to discuss the deal.
Palette walked up to Twilight. "I guess we should head out, hm?" The purple mare noticed that her friend was no longer wearing glasses in this world. She was curious as to why, but didn't say a word about it and went with her.
---------------
It didn't take long till Twilight and Palette reached the rock farm. Twilight saw little ones running around, playing and a few where even doing well, whatever you do on a rock farm.
She did recognize one filly though. It was little Scootaloo. Twilight never did remember seeing her parents in the first place, but she did remember that she was told that Pinkie took care of some of the orphans. That was when she finally found Pinkie.
Her bouncy pink hair was now straight and clipped out of her face so it wouldn't get in the way. The gleam of cheerfulness in her eyes was now gone and was replaced with a sadness. The normal smell of sugar that always followed her was no more too. Instead there was a hint of soup broth, possibly from that day's lunch. On her flank was 3 gems made of the same blue and yellow that her balloons were.
"Excuse me, Pinkamena." Palette spoke up as she trotted over to the pink earth pony. "First off, we will be getting some more medicine soon. And second, we have somepony that would like to stay with you." She moved out of the way to show the 'earth pony' behind here.
Pinkie looked carefully at her. Her eyes felt like they could pierce through the disguise. "Hey, don't I know you?"
Twilight gulped. She forgot about Pinkie sense. She begged that it didn't work here. She had gone so far, it couldn't just be torn down before she could do anything. The pink mare's eye looked like they dove straight through Twilight's being. The distressed unicorn saw the other's eyes widen slightly then return back to normal size and a sweet smile danced across the bubblegum pony.
"We could always use more help here. You are no where near a filly so it will be nice to have an older pony to share some of the work with." This confused Twilight, but she let it roll of and decided to go with it.
"Thank you so much."
Pinkie handed Palette a small bag of bits. "I know it isn't much, but it is all I can do. It is for the medicine." The blind unicorn shook her head in protest.
"No need, Miss Pie. We all just want to help out anyway we can. It is for the little ones after all." Twilight zoned out as the two argued over the fact of payment.
She watched as a group of young ones played. Her eyes went straight to small Scootaloo. She remembered how Sweetie Bell was gone and she didn't know where Apple Bloom was. She knew that that meant there was no Cutie Mark Crusaders. Part of Twilight was glad to see Scootaloo playing with others though. She seemed like the same spunky little filly.
"I have to head out, Inkwell." Palette said as she turned to Twilight. "I'll come back back tomorrow to check on how things are going." Twilight was saddened to see her old friend go. She missed her already. It was hard to remember that the blind one didn't even know her anymore.
Pinkamena could sense the sadness from the new member of her household. "Come with me, my dear. You can help me with supper. Tomorrow, you'll help with the rock farm."
~~~~~~~~
A sharp breath came from Rarity's mouth as Onyx Dust yelled at her. "What do you mean you don't know where the buck she is!? She should of been home by now! Useless!"
What scared the pearl unicorn wasn't the words or the voice so loud that it rang in her ears. It was the fire in his eyes. When Onyx got angry, Rarity could swear that she saw fire flickering in his eyes. She had seem him perform magic before and it came out more like a fire then a beam, much like Twilight's. Even his cutiemark included a vibrant flame.
As Rarity thought about it, the ash-colored stallion resembled fire. He could be calm and interestingly beautiful to be around. In the next second, he could be deadly and wanting to do nothing but destroy. Though all the time he was essential to the needs of everyone. Twilight needed him to be her right hoof and to someday be her husband. He made the townsponies trust him and in turn trust Twilight.
"I'm sorry, Milord. I know she wanted to explore the town. I think she might of had someone she was looking for." The mare could feel that she had backed up enough that she was against the wall. It was as far as she could go to get away from the dangerous pony.
A smirk danced across Onyx's muzzle. The poor thing is probably searching for her friends, well what used to be her friends. This is just priceless. She'll come back all broken soon enough. I told her that they weren't the same anymore.
"So, did she tell you where she was going?" His interest was riling him up.
"N-no. Twilight never said-" Rarity instantly regretted what she said. Even more when she felt some of Onyx's magic narrowly miss the top of her head.
"I'm sorry. Did you forget your place? Did you just called the queen by her name?" Rarity froze as she saw Onyx turned into somepony she didn't know. His dynamic jade eyes darkened, though didn't lose their life. The calm fire erupted to one of hatred. She had only seen this once before.
A servant by the name of Bon-bon was found in his library stealing some sort of information. Rarity was unlucky enough to be a witness of this. She had been carrying some texts that was left from the library in town for him when Bon-bon was caught. The same cold fire came to his eyes and instead of a voice of anger there was one of cold, murderous intent. He made Rarity watch as fire surrounded and lit up the dual-colored mane. She expected to hear screams, but the black fire seemed to mask any noise she could muster. Almost like he didn't want anyone to hear.
There was nothing left of the poor Earth pony. Rarity knew that she could never forget this moment. Onyx had even told her that he hoped she remembered what she had learned from that.
Another blast hit Rarity's hoof, making her fall to the ground. "You need to remember what you learned here, you worthless waste of space. You are a servant and nothing more. Keep in mind who you are for I am not very forgiving. If you had not been so loyal and helpful all this time, I would easily do away with you as I have done with traitors before. Do not think I will spare you again."
Tears fell from the mare's eyes as Onyx walked away. She didn't even know if she wanted to stay there anymore. As long as there was that side of Onyx was around, nopony was safe. Twilight...no, the Queen probably was in danger to with him around. But if he had this power, then why follow her?
"No," Rarity said softly to herself as she tried to get up. "Don't think about it. Do not feel towards them or there will only be pain. Do not let yourself get dragged down. For my little Bell wouldn't want it that way."
She moved her head slightly as she said her small mantra that she said to keep her chin up. If you listened carefully, you could hear the small bell she had woven into her bun. It was tied into her mane to remind her of her little sister. She had to keep it up for her. She had to keep a secret from nearly everypony she knew. And it was all for her.
