While attempting to cast a new spell, Twilight is interrumpted by Spike. Appearing to be nothing more than a failure, Twilight doesn't pay attention to the event, until she starts to undergo strange changes...
After an apparent failed spell, Twilight starts to experience some strange sensations. Nothing is really to worry about, until her fur becomes gold. Twilight doesn't know how to cure it, nor even know how it all started, but she has the feeling that, if it doesn't stop now, things will end bad.
"Twilight, can you repeat again why did we keep this scepter?" Spike asked, puzzled.
"It's a memento," replied Twilight, levitating her new book received from Canterlot. It was a relief that Princess Celestia had sent her to Ponyville for a week to take a break from her royal duties. That meant free time, and what is more wonderful than to learn new spells?
"Meme- what?"
"Just a thing I kept to remember the day with the evil vines, that's all, nothing more."
"It's a little disturbing... did you even see that grin?"
"Yeah, Spike," Twilight said, without paying attention to Spike's questions, "now, if you can stay silent and let me concentrate..."
"And what is the spell supposed to do?"
Twilight sighed and counted to ten, whispering each number. She looked at Spike, who was behind her, and smiled.
"Remember the spell I was practicing the day Pinkie decided it was a good idea to clone herself?" Spike nodded. "Well, it's something like that, but instead of transforming the apple" -Twilight pointed her hoof to an apple on her desk- "completely in an orange" -Twilight then gestured towards the orange next to the apple- "it splices their DNA and makes an hybrid. The book says it works in lifeless objects too."
Twilight looked at Spike, who was, telling by his face, confused. Twilight just rolled her eyes and continued in a more simple way.
"It combines both characteristics of the things in which is being tested on, for example, it can gives the apple the taste of an orange," Twilight continued, seeming rather annoyed by the look of 'Oh no, I launched her in the science speech!' in Spike's face. "You know that you can go, right? The first attempt is always messy."
Spike, quickly, put the golder scepter in the desk's right side and left without another word. Twilight sighed in relief and looked to the two objects on her desk. Stucking out her tongue just to remark the fact that she was focusing, Twilight started to channel magic in her horn.
The purple aura enveloped the two fruits. Carefully, Twilight levitated them off the desk, with her eyes closed, she started to 'feel' the characteristics of the two objects in hoof, like molding plasticine to give it a shape.
Controlling the level of magic being used, Twilight, slowly, changed some of the features of the fruits. The apple, with its red rind, started to shake in its place. Its smooth rind was soon replaced with a harsher orange rind.
Twilight started to sweat, being an alicorn, she had more power than that of a normal unicorn, but spells like that required care and focus, by losing her concentration, the magic could overflow and affect other things. Good luck that Spike had decided to-
"TWILIGHT, DO YOU KNOW WHERE I LEFT THE RUBIES?" screamed Spike, making Twilight lose her focus.
A loud boom, typical of Twilight's failed spell, echoed in the library. Spike gulped and went upstairs, only to be welcomed by a giant purple cloud of smoke.
"Ups."
Coughing, a dark shape appeared in the middle of the cloud. Walking towards Spike, the figure flapped its wings, cleaning the room. Then raised its head and yelled at the small dragon.
"Spike!"
By the voice, Spike recognized the owner as Twilight. Rubbing the back of his head with his claws, he looked at Twilight with his best innocent look; puppy eyes and a small grin. Twilight clenched her teeth at this. Knowing Spike's ways to get out of a problem, Twilight grunted and waved her hoof in the air while making her way to the stairs.
"Forget it, I'm going to help Applejack in the farm."
With that, she left the library, leaving a relieved purple dragon behind.
"Ah' have to thank yah, Twilight, those new repellents aren't cheap," Applejack said, putting her stetson in her chest with one hoof, only to put it in her head a second later.
"You're... welcome," replied Twilight, panting. Her horn was still glowing briefly, and hurt a little. Considering the amount of magic she had put in the spell, this was a small prize accompained with side-effects. She raised her head and smiled at her friend.
"An entire orchard with a repellent like-barrier," Applejack pointed her hoof towards the apple trees, the red fruits shining with 'pride'. "Ah' know it isn't all the farm, sugarcube. But now we have tons of healthy apples to harvest in the next Applebuck Season. No pests to harm it."
"Always willing to help," said Twilight, her horn stopping to glow.
Applejack elbowed her friendly, a gesture that, even when Twilight was used to it, made her foreleg to shake under her farmer friend's force. Smiling nervously, she looked at the apples, sensing a weird change in the temperature.
The sun started to set in the horizon, making the sky to change its color to orange, then purple as the moon rose slowly in the firmament.
"I should go now, Spike will be worried if I don't appear. Besides, it's cold."
"Cold?" Applejack asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, and to think it was hot all the day," Twilight trotted to the farm's exit.
"Wait, Twi!" Applejack yelled, calling for her friend's attention. Twilight turned her head to see Applejack, who was running to her side. "Ah' know it isn't too much, but tomorrow yah can come to have dinner with us. Just to thank ya for yer help."
"Will be there apple pies?" questioned Twilight, raising an eyebrow out of curiosity.
"Lots if ya want," answered her friend.
"Then there I will be!" yelled Twilight, and started to laugh. "Goodbye, A.J!"
Twilight exited Sweet Apple Acres humming a song and walking towards the town's library.
Twilight Sparkle entered her house only to be greeted by the beautiful sign of a light blue party cannon pointing at her face, then, to the loud 'boom', and after that, to the pink gooey supposed-to-be-cake in her face. Refusing to become crazy, she stood in the doorway, eyes opened and burning and a fake smile.
In front of her where the four culprits; one dragon, three small fillies.
"Scoots, ya' mixed 'em!" Apple Bloom shouted, clearly furious. "How can ya' put the cake instead of the streamers? HOW?!"
"I.. I-I don't know!" replied Scootaloo.
Cursing under her breath, Twilight wiped the remains off her face. She stared at the group, looking carefully at their reactions when she put her gaze over one of them. However, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had managed, somehow, to get into a discussion about streamers, cake and... swagger?
The only one left was Spike, who was biting his lip in anticipation. As Twilight approached to where he was, Spike gazed to everywhere except Twilight.
"So... uh..., did you like the strawberry flavor or n-not?" he asked, trying to avoid what had happened a few minutes ago.
"Spike..." Twilight started, only to be interrupted by another question.
"I know, I know, you like the apple flavor more..." he continued, "I should have made an apple p-"
"Spike!" Twilight shouted, her voice stopping the constant rattle of the fillies. "How did THIS even happen? No, scratch that, what in Equestria were you trying to do?!"
"Well... it started when Scoots mentioned something about parties and then Apple Bloom said that you would be probably tired for using a spell of 'get-rid-of-the-pests' in Sweet Apple Acres and then Sweetie sa-"
Spike's explanation was cut off when Twilight pulled him in a tight embrace, nuzzling his forehead with her snout. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom 'aww'ed while Scootaloo was looking to the floor, trying to not do the same.
But something was strange, Twilight's usually warmth fur was really, really cold, like metal.
"Always thinking of me, eh?" asked Twilight, affectionately. She broke the hug and looked at Spike, who was confused.
"Heh, yeah..." he replied in a whisper.
"Okay, girls," said Twilight, turning her head to the place of the three fillies in question "it's going to be night soon and you should go home."
"OkieDokieLokie!" sang the fillies, one behind the other, bouncing like Pinkie Pie.
"And you," continued Twilight, putting her best disappointed face to Spike. He had the same puppy-like face of the morning, Twilight sighed. "Just clean up this mess while I take a bath."
"All right!"
Twilight went upstairs, her hooves weighing more than usual. Every step more difficult than the last. Did she tire herself that much?
The hot water filled the tub accompained with a relaxing sound. Twilight looked to herself in the mirror, noticing that her mane was longer than before. Normally the crest was in one side of her neck, and had an 'egghead shape', but for a reason, her crest was starting to reach her shoulder, not only that, it was even growing in the other side.
"Weird," Twilight said "I don't remind having my mane this long. I will have to visit the spa for a haircut."
Twilight closed the tap and entered the tub, eliciting a soft moan from her lips as the water soaked her dry and dirty coat. Twilight sank her entire body in the water, with the exception of her head and levitated the soap.
Raising her right forearm, Twilight started to lather it, enjoying the feel of being clean. But then, a strange realization hit her.
"Why... why does my coat feel so wrong?"
She levitated the soap aside and picked up a brush, with which she brushed her forearm. Surprisingly, Twilight's skin started to wrinkle as the brush passed by, until the last did a rough move and part of her skin peeled off.
Twilight gasped and looked at the affected zone, finding not blood or muscles, but something really, really weird.
Twilight rolled in her bed. And rolled, of one side to another, nothing could make her sleep. She rolled again and grunted.
After the bathroom's event, Twilight decided to not tell Spike and to not freak out, she would explain what happened later.
She had to tell Spike an invented story about how she fell of the tub and got a wound, just to not scare him. In that moment, it seemed like the right thing to do, but now Twilight was facehooving herself mentally. Not freaking out was a good thing, but not telling Spike, her number one assistant?
"Stupid, stupid," Twilight mumbled to herself, placing one hoof in her forehead and smacking slightly. "You have studied friendship for months and you decide to not tell to your little brother anything. Such princess..."
Twilight snorted and lifted her right forearm. The 'wound' was covered in improvised bandages, but as far as Twilight could tell, she knew the gold was expanding under her fur. It was disgusting.
Shaking, Twilight hid her forearm under the blankets and rolled, again.
Twilight didn't know what was happening, nor how to cure it, and she didn't even tell the truth to Spike.
A small ray of sunlight fell on Spike's closed eye. The dragon grunted, bothered. Rolling over in his basket, Spike managed to mumble something.
"Five minutes more, Twilight."
Spike lifted his arm and moved his hand, like he always did everytime when Twilight was trying to wake him up. It was useless, but the attempt of 'shoo'ing away Twilight was funny.
Spike's eyes shot open when he didn't hear the typical scolding accompained with giggles of Twilight. He analyzed his surroundings and hopped off the basket. A weird odor filled the air. Spike stuck out his tongue in disgust and put two claws pressing in each side of his nose, impeding the strong smell in the air to enter his nostrils.
He then discovered the culprit; a golden scepter in the right side of Twilight's desk.
Unknown to Twilight, Spike could smell gemstones and other things that ponies couldn't. Of course, he didn't know exactly the ranges that his natural ability could reach and only did have in account things like rubies or emeralds. Gold was one of them.
But if chaos could have an odor and impregnate something so delicious like gold, the result would be that awful scepter with Twilight's head on top of it. Spike had to talk to Twilight later about that.
Speaking of so...
"Twilight?" he asked, the question falling in deaf ears.
Spike walked to the stairs and went down, finding a distressed alicorn going to bookshelf to bookshelf, reading like if her life depended on it. But as soon his feet touched the wooden floor, said alicorn rushed to him, eyes bloodshot.
Spike was startled only by the looks of Twilight. Yesterday, her right forearm was bandaged, but at that moment, her two forearms were completely covered in bandages and part of her hindlegs too.
And now... his nose scrunched up at the strong stench emanating from Twilight's body.
"Twilight, what happened? I thought you said that it w-" he was cut off before he could even finish his question. A bandaged hoof was stuck in his mouth.
"No questions, no questions. I-I... the clock is ticking! Spike, tell me you all about yesterday, what you did in the morning, everything!"
"Wmphym?" he mumbled, hoof still in his mouth.
"I can't explain now, just tell me!" Twilight yelled, removing her hoof.
Spike licked her lips, an awful taste present in his mouth. He looked at Twilight, who in return stared at him, wide-eyed. Spike gulped.
"I was with you in the morning while you were going to do that spe-"
"I KNOW THAT PART!" Twilight screamed, one of her eyes twitching. Spike froze in place. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING?! CONTINUE!!"
Spike bit his lower lip. Obviously frightened by the way Twilight was treating him. He recovered his voice and continued in his explanation.
"Then I left that weird scepter and went to go see Sweetie Belle but then I got back andpleasedon'tpunishmeee," the last part came like a whisper as Twilight leaned closer to him, staring into his eyes like a demon would to pierce its victim's soul.
However, the glare was cut short as Twilight raised her head in clear epiphany.
"That's it!" she screamed victoriously. "That explains everthing! The gold, the hair overgrowing..."
Twilight trotted to the stairs, but in the moment she was going to go up, a hand grabbed one of her hindlegs. Looking over her shoulder, she identified Spike, who was holding her.
His face was a mix of confusion and fear.
"Twilight, what is happening? Why are you acting so strange?!"
"Spike, let me go," she commanded.
"No! I want answers!" his grip tightened around Twilight's hindleg. Frustrated, Twilight started to force her hindleg to move. But if past experiences had told Twilight something about Spike's strenght, or she was deaf, or the recent events had made her somewhat stupid.
"Spike, LET. ME. GO!!" Twilight practically kicked her hindleg in the air to get free of Spike's grip. But doing so, the slow, unnerving, sound of her bandages ripping echoed in the now silent library.
Twilight inmediately looked behind, fearing the worst. Her assistant was staying, mouth hanging open, in shock. Between his claws was a portion of bandages, one side of them covered with patches of purple fur.
Following the direction of the bands, Twilight stared horrified at her golden hindleg.
There was a tense moment of silence, which was only broken by Spike's stuttered attempts to say something.
"Wha-? wh-?... I... I don't-"
"S-Spike, I-I can explain!" Twilight yelled, clearly heartbroken by the look on Spike's face.
"understand..."
Spike's grip vanished and he fell backwards slowly enough for Twilight to pick him up with magic.
Twilight, worried by the fact of Spike fainting in front of her, went upstairs and put him in the bed with all the love an adoptive sister could give.
Turning towards the desk where the object of her recent insanity laid, Twilight clenched her teeth and prepared herself to her full-investigation mode.
By the time Spike woke up, Twilight had made a jumble of papers, books and ink in her surroundings. Shaking his head, the memories of what had happened earlier came to the mind of a dizzy Spike.
He climbed out of Twilight's bed and walked towards the mare, not paying attention to all the crazy words and theories that left Twilight's mouth.
"It can't be irreversible, it just simply CAN'T!" shouted Twilight, snorting.
She kicked the book aside with her covered legs and was going to pick another when a small voice brought her out of her madness.
"Twilight."
Not daring to look in the direction where the voice came from, she tilted her head to other pile of books and walked towards it.
"Twilight, I know you're hearing me," the annoying voice continued.
Twilight levitated a big book of transformation spells and blew the dust of its cover. She opened the book and started reading with a speed developed in all her years of reading every book in the library of Canterlot.
However, her lecture was interrupted, again, by the annoying little voice. But this time, her eyes opened wide at the words.
"Twilight, I know what I saw."
"You do?" asked Twilight, peeking over the book to look at Spike.
"Well, not exactly, but-" Spike rubbed the back of his neck, looking to the floor.
Out of sudden, Twilight's puzzled face changed in a frown and her voice lowered.
"Of course you don't," she said, throwing the old book to Spike's chest, making him stumble and fell under its weight. Twilight grinned, only to run worried at Spike's aid a second later. "S-sorry! I... I don't know what happened and I-I..."
"Don't worry, hard scales," said Spike, throwing the book.
"I don't know what is happening to me, Spike!" shouted Twilight, anguish clearly present in her voice. "My whole body is undergoing an irreversible change but besides of that I know nothing!", Twilight exhaled and inhaled so fast that her mind become more dizzy than it was. "AAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!" she yelled, falling on her back with both forehooves in her head.
"Twilight," said Spike, taking Twilight's attention "your bandages. I saw what is under them."
Groaning, Twilight sat in her haunches and gave Spike a glance, eyelids twitching. "Does little Spike Wikey want to see? The tiny teeny nosy fuc-" however, her smile dropped again and she put both hooves in her mouth in an attempt to silence herself.
Spike frowned and crossed his forearms. Twilight's ears dropped and she sighed, all her legs being magically uncovered by a purple aura, leaving the shining and golden metal underneath exposed, as well as the 'chaotic' odor of the morning.
The gold shone bright in all its unwanted majesty, contrasting the lavender coat of its owner with the glowing golden metal.
Spike's nose scrunched up in disgust as he came closer to inspect Twilight's legs. Stucking his tongue out, he touched the gold with one of his claws.
"It's solid gold, Spike," Twilight said.
"And it's expanding," he retreated, claw scratching his chin. Until a new odor came to his nose, the mixed scent of the rubies with the repelling 'chaotic' odor. Looking at Twilight's flanks, he discovered the source. "Twilight."
"Slaves don't have opini-" Twilight's eyes widened and she bit her lip. "Eerrhh, what do you want?" she said, worried for how the innocent mind of Spike would end after all the event. 'I'm so going to use that memory wipe spell,' she thought.
"Your cutie mark," Spike answered, pointing at Twilight's flank.
"What is wrong with iiiiiiii-?" Twilight said without finishing her sentence as a new and disgunting feeling washed over her body. In both of her flanks, the skin that was tattooed with her purple and bidimensional star started falling in pieces, leaving a protruding ruby with the form of her cutie mark take over. "Oh no no no nono nononononoono, ya ain't doin' that!" said Twilight, voice changing to the one of Applejack for a second.
Desperately, Twilight picked up the fallen pieces of lavender coat with her magic and tried to put them in their respective places, hoping to hide the ruby.
"Twilight! Twilight, just calm down and-"
"Just CALM DOWN?!" Twilight shouted, the gold taking over her entire hind legs, small white diamonds shaped like sparkles appeared, surrounding the red star-shaped ruby. "You want ME, to SIMPLY. CALM. DOWN??!!"
Twilight stamped her forehooves in the floor, teeth clenched in anger, only to retreat back in surprise at the sight of two flowers protruding from between the tables that made up the wooden floor. "What in Equestria?" she said, looking at the flowers curiously. "I don't know any botanic spells to do this. Unless..." she gasped, "unless this whole transformation fiasco is giving me new powers! That is!"
"Is what?" asked Spike, confused and scared at what had just transpired.
"The scepter! That goddamn- eerhh, scepter is made with Discord's chaotic magic!"
"Aaand?" questioned Spike again while Twilight trotted to the place where said scepter was.
"Well, little sl- Spike, since this unfortunate event happened for your stupid and bad-made actions, I will let you know," Twilight began, shaking her head after what she said and cursing herself for the personality slips. "Seemingly, the splicing spell of yesterday's morning, instead of fusing the apple and the orange's DNA, fused my body, as well my personality, with some traits and characteristics of the scepter that Discord made."
"Personality? How is that even possib-?"
"I don't know exacty, but the chaotic origins of the object in question has probably something to do with that."
"That explains the odor..." Spike murmured.
"What odor?" asked Twilight, eyebrow raised.
"Nevermind," Spike replied, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling nervously.
"What odor, Spike?" Twilight asked, venom in her voice.
"I-It's nothing, Twilight, just-"
"What. Odor. Spike." she said, coming closer to him. Her gaze judging every part of his body as he stood in place, shaking a little as one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria, suffering from sanity slips, came face-to-face with his, snouts touching dramatically.
However, the tense moment was interrupted when a knock was heard at the door, along with a familiar voice.
"Buck!" shouted Twilight, pupils shrinking. Biting her lower lip, she spoke up again. "Slav- Spike, think something!"
"I'm trying!" Spike replied, rubbing his temples in concentration with the face scrunched.
"Spike, is Twi there?!" yelled Applejack, still waiting outside the library. The apple farmer was carrying a cart filled to the top with red and juicy apples, along with three apple pies as 'samples'. She knocked again, but no answer came.
'Probably she is out or somethin', sure because of what she did...' thought Applejack. But her train of thought was quickly dissipated when a little nervous dragon opened the door, allowing her to enter. "Thanks, Spike."
"You're welcome."
Twilight Sparkle's POV:
My mind is still processing what had happened over the past thirty eight hours. It started like a well-earned break from my royal duties, and then it went downhill just because Spik- no, I, messed up a spell. It isn't his fault, I should have examined my surroundings before casting the splicing spell and made sure that Spike was gone for good.
But little Twily can't do that, right? She is just an inmature mare that needs a change of min-
Ugh, it's becoming more hard to fight this. It's like there are two personalities trying to take over my mind, one is mine, the other is an invasor. And is stronger.
I have to fix this before is too late. I have been mistreating Spike since this whole thing started, he is not a slave! He is just my Number One Assistant, but there isn't too much differen-
Aaand there is again, a personality slippage. I have to study and analize the frequency of these changes in my behaviour, it will distract me from the discomfort generated from being under the bed. At least the pattern and results would be something different to study after reading all those book of the history of splicing spells. My brain cells forgive me, I spent the entire morning reading about them.
The only interesting thing there was the weird theory about platypuses and jellyfishes. I mean, I have never thought of that!
Changing my weight to my left side, I watch as my mane grows and changes color, the tips becoming golden like my skin. Like every part of my body, even the feathers in my wings are being colored this way. I wonder how long it will take to the process to finish. I do a quick check on the lower side of my body and yep, all is golden down there.
It's a little depressing. I just want to cry, but for some reason I have been smiling all the time since I hid under the bed.
I sigh, Applejack is down there, in the kitchen, being distracted by my personal sla- I take a notepad near my bed with my magic and write with a quill the approximated time difference between this episode and the previous. Ten minutes, this is getting out of my hoof.
There is this little annoying voice called 'logic' in my mind that is saying that this plan isn't going to work. It have many flaws, first of them all? Applejack isn't stupid, she will know that Spike is hiding something, she will even sense it! Of all the ponies, it has to be the one that can feel when others are lying. And besides...
... she brought pies.
I start to drool, the sweet scent of the baked apples filling my nostrils. My analytic mind says that Applejack isn't there because of the dinner we had accorded, but because there must have happened something that made her come to my house. Probably something in which she picture me as the culprit... there is a high probability that is related to my new-developed chaotic powers.
I come to the conclusion that, if Applejack believes I am the culprit of whatever that happened, she would come here expecting to find me (or not expecting to find me at all, if she thought that I would run away, just so I wouldn't confront her), and in the hypothetic case I was hidden somewhere, the scent of the baked goods would get me out.
Well thought, AJ.
Applejack's POV:
Ah' have to say that, when a day seems normal, is 'cause there is goin' to be trouble.
It first happened the day after Twi's visit. Mah' trees were... well, normal, and mah' apples were doin' apple things, like, just hangin' in there, in their branches, shinin' and bein' red.
But after bucking one orchard, doin' some baking and fillin' a cart with apples and apple pies, the strange stuff happened. Ah' was approaching one of the many orchards in our farm, when the green leaves of our trees became pink cotton! Can yah' believe that? Meh' neither.
And the apples... the apples became cookies with chocolate chips.
Pinkie would love to see that.
It was minutes after that Ah' realized that these were the same trees Twilight had applied her spell into. Unicorns and their witchcraft, Ah' knew Ah' couldn't trust 'em, with their sharp horn-thingies. Ah'm sure it's a weapon.
But Twilight Sparkle is mah' friend, and just because she did somethin' to mah' trees Ah' wasn't goin' to judge her, so I decided to come to her house and ask her how much ol' Pinks paid her to do that prank in me. Ah' mean, trees becoming pink cotton? That is far, far away than just paintin' mah' apples with polka dots.
Do yah' know how much time Ah' spent washin' 'em?!
But back to the matter in hoof.
So, after knocking the door and having a small talk with Spike. Ah' was in Twilight's house, specifically, the kitchen. Mah' cart was in the main room, but the three pies were on the table, ready to be eaten. Emanatin' that sweet apple scent that only our baked goods can emanate. Jus' like I planned. Ah' hope Twilight hadn't run somewhere, because if she was hidden... Ah' would gladly hear her explanation.
Spike was in the other side of the table, lookin' nervously to random places.
"So, Spike, where is Twilight?" I asked, munching a piece of pie. Celestia, it was delicious.
"Uh? Oh, yeah! She isn't here at the moment," he replied. "She went out to buy some supplies."
Ah' could clearly tell that he was lying. Hellooo, Element of Honesty somepony? Ah' continued, wanting the truth.
"Do yah' want to know somethin' that happened in the morning, Spike?"
"Eh... uh, yes?"
"Some of mah' trees became cotton candy," I said, eatin' other piece of apple pie. I watched how his expression changed to one of terror, like a prank had just been uncovered. "The ones who Twilight used her spell in," oh boy, that face, that face.
The last time I saw that expression was in that event with Rainbow and Pinkie and that Celestia-colored cake. Still wonderin' why the three of 'em are smaller now. Ah' will discover that, too.
"Errhhh, have you noticed how hot had been lately?"
"Where is Twilight, Spike? Ah' want mah' trees back to normal!" I yelled. Ah' didn't want to, but Ah' can't tolerate somepony doin' shenanigans and messin' with mah' apples.
A minute after what I said, Ah' feel a tingle sensation in the air (and around mah' pies, that glutton), this is it. Magic is bein' casted, that means... Not in mah' guard, Twi!
Ah' stomp my hooves in the table, hopin' to desconcentrate Twilight and catch her in the act. But in the second I did so, the two apple pies FLEW!
Twilight Sparkle's POV:
Well, that didn't work.
I mean, I don't know what I expected. Well, I did know what to expect, pies floating to my drooling mouth while my sla- oops, mental annotation for the record, distracted Applejack. But this, this wasn't expected. I even planned this, with a checklist and all!
Coming quietly to the main room, just standing a few feet outside the kitchen? Check. My body wrapped in a blanket to hide my features? Check. Unexpected burst of anger from Applejack that made me lose concentration and thus giving wings to two pies? Check.
Wait a moment, that last one wasn't there at all.
I sigh, just like the plan of the morning, this new plan wasn't flawless. I know that Applejack can not only sense when a pony is lying, but she can also sense when magic is being casted.
Some earth ponies, specially ones who don't want to be robbed by unicorns, take classes to learn when magic is being casted by unicorns (well, it isn't that hard to feel, come on, reality is being warped!). It helps them to feel if they're being cheated, like when playing a game of cards or something similar. It helps in fights too, because if the opponent is being unfair, one swift punch in the base of the horn would deactivate his ability to cast spells for an amount of time, depending in the kind of punch.
The more you know...
But now, I have to duck and avoid a flying apple pie that is going straight forward to my face.
Heh... Soarin' would love to see that.
"TWILIGHT!" I heard Applejack shout.
I'm screwed.
As the chaotic scene happened, Spike, still frozen in the other side of the table, received face-first a big, hot and sticky pie in his face, he stumbled and fell off his chair after seeing, for half of a second, the other pie flying towards a wrapped-in-a-blanket Twilight. Unfortunately for him, his head met the floor first, covered with the scattered remains of the apple pie.
The fall, mixed with the warm mass spread all over his face, muffled the scream that followed the sudden apparition of Twilight, who was supposed to be hiding, preferably far away from Applejack.
Taking advantage of the incident, Applejack leaped off her chair, turned around and tackled Twilight, pinning her to the ground. The alicorn, taken by surprise, thrashed and kicked, her attacks going nowhere due to the blanket around her body.
"Stop!" shouted Applejack, her forearms firmly holding Twilight. "Twi', come to yer senses!"
Twilight Sparkle's POV:
What is this place? Did I die? Did Applejack actually kill me?
Oh, there is something, is fog. Good.
Where in Tartarus am I?
Twilight, who was wrapped humorously in the blue blanket like a cocoon, stopped her fight and looked at Applejack in her emerald eyes, her own unfocused and distant. "And where would be the fun in that?" she inquired with a childish voice, one similar to Pinkie Pie's. Then she grinned, a wide and sadistic smile, followed by a cruel laugh.
"Tw-Twi... are yah' ok?" asked Applejack, worried by her friend's change of actitude.
"Ok? I have never feel this good before!" Twilight replied, freeing her golden forearms to push Applejack aside, who fell a few feet away. The farmer gasped in surprise at the sight of not only being pulled away so effortlesly, but at the limbs of her friend. "Like it?" questioned Twilight, standing up and showing her wings.
Applejack analized briefly her friend, trying to take account of all the changes; golden eyes, wings, mane and tail, red cutie mark, ruby incrusted in her chest, near all her body was golden, excepting for the head. Thoughts racing one mile per hour in her head, she managed to get to her hooves, stuttering a question of the many she was thinking of, "W-what h-happen-ed?"
"I became better, that's all," replied Twilight, proudly examining her metallic forehoof.
The confusion in Applejack's face was quickly replaced by anger, her nostrils steaming. There was something really bad going on, it wasn't Twilight, it was inside Twilight. "What are ya' doin' to Twilight?!"
Twilight Sparkle's POV:
I walk through this -seemingly- endless black landscape. The fog maintains itself in the level of my hooves. I have discarded my theories of where I am or what is happening; it can't be the Purgatory, because in that case, there would be a crow to guide me in the afterlife to my celestial trial, nor I am a ghost, cause I would have appeared at my death's place.
Still, there is a nagging sensation in the back of my mind saying that I am forgetting something.
The back of my mind...
My ears perk up out of sudden, catching a sound too low for me to hear clearly.
It all happens to fast that I only catch a glimpse of the scene. The creak of rusted metal, my hooves leaving the floor, the fog being blow away as a big cage falls on the ground, with me inside. My face collides with the bars and I let out a cry of pain.
Is in the moment when I am rubbing my temples that I notice my purple hooves. For split of a second I am happy.
And then I hear a bone-chilling laugh that echoes in the infinite blackness.
"Do you want to see?" a voice said, similar to mine.
"Who are you?" I ask.
My question is rewarded instantly by a pony-like being stepping out of the shadows and into my line of vision. It was like somebody had compressed smoke and color in a mold, but the first tried to escape, making the illusion that the being was disintegrating in the air.
Its glowing pink eyes look at me, freezing me in my spot. It smiles and laughs.
"My, my, my," it says. "How is that you don't know me?"
I hear its horrible laugh again, piercing my eardrums. I try to cover my ears, but the laugh is still here, resonating.
A bright flash of light inundates the blackness and I open my eyes to see a rectangular screen behind the creature, iluminating its entire body. My mouth hang open as I see the gaseous creature in front of me, the dark purple smoke composing its body, the blue fire that forms its mane and tail, the ethereal wings and the glowing horn in the top of its head.
That thing is me.
"Oh, but you hadn't answered my question yet," she says, bringing me out of my stupor. "That is a little rude coming from a princess."
"W-wha-?"
"What, princess, are you doing right now?"
"I don't u-understand..." I said, "I'm here..."
"Are you? I thought you were fighting your friend out there."
I stop breathing for a second. The not-me-that-is-me points to the screen behind her. I look to see the interior of the library, but my vision changes when a orange hoof collides with the screen, sending a sudden wave of pain to my head. When I look again to the screen, I see a furious Applejack a few feet again from me.
I smile and yell, "Applejack, it is me!"
She doesn't hear me. And golden hooves attack her. The other me smiles and tilts her head to the screen.
"Tsk, Applejack, I thought you had learned to not being stubborn."
That... that is my voice.
I put two-and-two in place and comprehend that I am not in control of my body, that... thing that is in front of me is controlling my movements. I look horrified to the screen, my body is in top of Applejack, while my hooves are punching her in the face.
I scream, one of my golden hooves falls in her snout, there is a sickening crunch and I see blood dropping from her nose, cheeks stained with tears.
"NO!" I jump inside the cage, but the bars hold me. "STOP! PLEASE, STOP!!"
I load a powerful spell and charge it to the bars, preparing myself for the impact. But the suction sound produced makes me look to my target; the once-rusted bars are now shining dark purple bars, having the same illusion of disintegration from the other me.
I clench my teeth in anger, but that won't stop me. I tackle the cage with my entire body repeatedly, the screams of Applejack filling my ears.
Blood starts falling from the base of my horn, but I don't care, I need to save Applejack.
I hear her laugh again and when I open my eyes, she is in front of me, fangs showing.
"Nopony can hear you, Twilight," she says. "Why don't you just accept it and embrace me?"
I cringe my nose and look at her hooves, from the borders is falling... ink? I look at her, mildly surprised. A disgusting grin is plastered all over her face.
"No."
The next thing that I see are the shadows under her hooves taking solid form, throwing and holding me firmly in the bars, one of them slowly smothering me. When I see her face again, her expression had changed considerably, the grin of before replaced with a frown.
"Then I will take you by force," she says with a serious tone. "After all, I am you..."
"Don't say it!" I try to shout, but it came out as a muffled scream.
"And you..."
"Don't!"
The shadows starts encapsulating me.
"Are part of..."
"NO!!" I scream.
My horn glow fiercely and the blackness around me dissipates. I see her cowering in fear, her horn glowing with a pink aura, her lips forming words that I don't hear, the sound of a bomb detonating filling my eardrums. Waves of pink like a sonic rainboom expanding in the blackness, erasing from existence all in its path.
I see the bars of the cage disintegrating in small pieces from the explosion, followed by a white void. All the things around me start to disappear in oblivion, vanishing, I can't see her.
The last thing I get to see is a glimpse of the screen; Applejack's bloodied face.
