> A Mare's Journey > by MangaBro > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 - The Magic School Incident > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are 5 lands of Equestria, each ruled by Alicorns. These lands are known as "The 5 lands of Harmony." The first being Princess Celestia, who rules Equestria. The second Alicorn was the ruler of the Crystal Empire, Princess MI Amore Candenza. The third is the ruler of stallionation, a land that was far from Equestria, Princess Electra. Who had green sage colored fur, and a long emrald green mane that covered up the left side of her face. The land's population consisted of ponies, bears, bunnies, and even a small amount of dragons. It's locations consisted of tall trees, and buildings that were builded from the wood from trees, and vines. The Fourth is a male Alicorn who is the ruler of the Gellian nation. His name is Gladian. His fur is pure white, and he has a spiky mane, that was red and had yellow and orange stripes. His clothing/armor consisted the colors red, yellow, and even gold. The structures are made out of gold, metal, and diamond. The Fifth is the ruler of the Glarcier nation. Her name is Persia. She is an alicorn, who has a long light blue mane that resembles that of the winter season, which stretched all the way down to her hooves. Her armor was gray and white, which was made out of metal. Glacier land's population was full of ponies and reindeer, and was filled with ice that seemed to be in almost every house built there. It is often cold in this land. However, with the Alicorns magic to properly keep such cold conditions at bay. Making it completely habitable for ponies. All together, the five lands united and formed the Alicorn Five. However, after Luna's banishment to the moon. Celestia left the group of Alicorns. Cutting off ties with the Glacier, Gellian, Stallionation, and the Crystal Empire. However, even with their departure, For years, The land of Equestria has been at peace. With their ruler; Princess Celestia ruling over the land for thousands of years, watching over her royal subjects. Since the land has been at peace for so long, the ponies have never worried about any invaders, as they thought that they were completely safe from any dangerous creatures outside of Equestria. Magic is a very important and essential aspect for the ponies of Equestria. The world itself wouldn't be able to function without it. While it may be a blessing for some; for others like Twilight it's nothing more than a curse. Twilight Sparkle is a Unicorn who was borned in the Crystal Empire, and moved to Cantelot when she was just a filly. She'd often spend her time studying magic spells and reading books. Due to her interest in magic, her parents decided to send her to Celestia's magic school. After doing so, it was obvious to the teachers, and Princess Celestia herself, that Twilight was very skilled in magic spells. She'd cast spells that even the average mare couldn't. She was very advanced at magic for a Unicorn her age. Although it was apparent that she was great at magic, she was also smart and well-educated. She knew almost everything about the history of Equestria as well as mathematics and other subjects. She was an absolute prodigy, who was always the best at anything she did. Whether it be magic or academic related, she'd always excel ahead of her classmates. Some might go as far to call her a genius. Twilight loved the attention she was getting from Celestia and the teachers, and hoped that after graduation. Celestia would take her in as her student. The Gradution Test To graduate from magic school. A Unicorn must be able to perform the rewind spell on an rotten apple to revert it back to it's original form. First it was Trixie, who's dad was one of the four inspectors. Trixie tried her best. Even gritted her teeth hard as an act of desperation. However, in the end she was not able to perform the spell. Thus leaving her father disappointed, and not graduating. The second was Moondancer; who's magical and academic skilled rivaled those of Twilight Sparkle. She was able to perform the spell with ease and graduated. And then cane Twilight Sparkle. She walked confidently onto the stage with a bright smile on her face. Her parents stood oddly by the stage giving a huge smile to their precious little mare. Twilight gathered the amount of magic needed to reverse the apple. However, something horrible happened. After she put the magic into her horn, the magic soon began to go out of control. A bright purple aura radiated from her body. Her eyes rolled back and her body began to levitate. Twilight was conscious while all of this was happening, but she wasn't able to do anything. It was like somepony or some greater magical force took over her body and wouldn't let it go. The magic was powerful, that blood began to spew out of Twilight's horn. Twilight let out a horrifying shriek of terror, and shortly after; the outrage stopped, and she fell to the ground desperately trying to catch her breath. Twilight then looked around at the room. It was empty, it was like everypony in the room suddenly disappeared. Twilight wasn't sure what was going on, but when she saw the lifeless bones of one of the inspectors who was sitting in the chair, and the pool of blood of where her parents were once standing. The heart sinking reality kicked in, and her heart sank to her stomach. The outrage had caused the rewind spell to grow out of control, causing not only the apple to rewind, but the ponies in the room as well. While most of them had been completely reversed. The one inspector who was Trixie's dad was lucky enough to have nothing but his lifeless skeleton remain. Celestia then came bursting into room, and was shocked at the horrific scene. "I... didn't mean to..." Twilight said, quivering in fear. After the incident, the school was shut down completely. And as for Twilight, she left Canterlot after she ran out of the building, and went into a forest, that was far away from Canterlot. She was never seen again after this incident. To Be Continued On The Next Chapter! > Chaper 2 - The Wandering Mare > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's a very stormy night in the Equestrian rainforest. A mare in a black cloak gallops fiercely through the forest. Her hooves covered in wet dirt. Holding a seven foot long stick with her magic. She continued to gallop until she reached a huge rocky cave that was covered by moss and grass. Without hesitation, she walks into the cave. "Hello! I'm here!" The mare called out. However, nobody responded to the mare's call, so she calls out once again. This time with more intensity. "Hey! I brought you your stupid magical thingy! Now give me that amulet!" She yelled This time, something did emerge from the darkness in front of her. Whatever it was must've wanted to stay hidden, as only it's cloak was revealed. "Is that the wand?" It asked. "Yes." The mare responded, as she put the wand as the creature's hand. "Great work, Unicorn." The creature responded. "Yeah, yeah. Now where's the amulet?" The mare asked. "It’s right here." The creature extended its yellow paw with the black amulet and hands it to the mare. The mare picks it up with it's horn and put the amulet around her neck. A huge grin formed on the mare's face as she felt a sudden surge of power spread throughout her entire body. "May I ask, what do you need such an amulet for?" The creature asked. The mare's grin grew even wider upon hearing this. There was a sudden fire in her eyes. She looked up at the creature, and said... "To get my revenge on a certain Somepony." It's been 10 years ever since the incident at the magic school, and ever since then. Twilight never used her magic again, in fear that she'd kill somepony, or even worse, herself. And her cutie mark... she absolutely hated it. She had gotten it shortly after the incident. She hated it with every shred of her body. Even the mere sight of it made her blood boil. She couldn't go one day, let alone an hour without putting some sort of fabric over it to cover it up She cut herself off from the world completely, and spended the rest of her lonely moons living in a cabin in a distant forest that was far away from Equestria In a small abandoned cabin that was near the side of a cliff. She'd only go out for food, and materials. Even knowing that she could cast a spell that could make the things she needed appear. The fear of such an incident happening again held her back. The only company she had was her Young pet dragon she had was her pet dragon, Spike. Who was a baby at the time of the incident. Twilight never told him about the incident, in fear that he might see her differently. So he had no idea why she acted the way she did. But, he still loved her and saw her as a mother figure. Twilight also began to have numerous nightmares referencing to the incident. Either it be everyone she knew and love turn into dust right before her eyes, or just a simple repeat of the same event from before. But she'd knew what would happen, but her body would just move on its own and she couldn't do anything about it. "No!" Twilight screamed, as she bolted up out of her bed. It was once again another nightmare. A repeat of the incident. Twilight had never gotten used to these dreams. She'd even be afraid to fall asleep, and try to keep herself up just to not experience such horror again. Twilight's heart was pounding and her breathe was ragged and heavy. "Another nightmare?" Spike asked "Yeah." Twilight replied. Pulling the blanket off her bottom legs. After Twilight finally calms herself down, she gets up from her rusty bed and goes over and looks out the window on the side of the cabin that was turned to the Cliffside. The sun was beginning to rise, and Twilight decided that it would be a good time to go out and collect berries as they had been running out of fruit for the past few days. Twilight went over and opened a small chest that was beside her bed. It contained a black cloak that she'd always wear to hide her face, and to cover up her cutie mark. Just in order to not be reminded of that terrible event. Spike gave a her confused glare as Twilight put the cloak on. Spike was always confused as the why she always wore a cloak when she went out. Spike's usually always afraid to ask because to avoid Twilight getting anxious. When Spike would ask Twilight about her past or why she didn't use her magic, she would often get too scared to reply or change the subject. At this point, Spike's curiosity was too strong to resist anymore. So he walks up to her and asks.. "Hey... Twilight." Spike said, nervously touching his claws together, "Why do you always where that thing when you go out?" Twilight turned and gave Spike a terrifying glare. Her eyes were widened, she gritted her teeth, and she began to tremble. Her expression sent chills down Spike's entire body, and It was at this moment that Spike immediately regretted asking that. "Um...Are you okay...?" Spike asked, nervously. Twilight's mouth moved slightly as if she was trying to say something, but no response came out of the mare's mouth. Spike became even more anxious. After a while of saying nothing, Twilight just looked back and said to Spike.. "Yeah.. I'm fine.." Twilight quietly responded. Despite her saying that, It was obvious to Spike that she wasn’t. Nothing about her expression from earlier looked okay. "Um.. are you sure?" Spike asked once more. "I said I'm fine!" Spike was met by a sudden slap in face by Twilight, causing him to fall backwards on to the floor. Twilight immediately regretted her decision. Spike looked up at Twilight in disbelief. Wondering what just happened. Twilight put her hoof over her mouth and let out a small gasp. She couldn't believe what she just did. Twilight would often have outbursts when Spike asked her about certain things that reminded her of her past, but it never got to a point where she got physical. Seeing Spike's shocked expression while holding his muzzle from the pain. Twilight immediately regretted her actions. Once again, she had let her anger get the best of her, causing her to lash out without thinking. Twilight looked down in shame and tears began to flow down her eyes. "Sweet Celestia! I'm so sorry, Spike! I-I didn't mean it! I just..I.." Though he was slapped, he knew not to blame Twilight for that. He never knew what it was, but Spike always knew Twilight most likely had something terrible happen to her in Canterlot. Twilight never told him, but he just knew. Instead of feeling any resentment or hatred towards Twilight, he ran over and gave her a hug. "It’s okay.. mom." Spike said, hugging Twilight's leg. With that, Twilight's heart melted and her tears began to clear up. Twilight was glad to know that Spike didn't feel any anger or resentment towards her. To Spike, no matter what Twilight did. Twilight would always be his mother. "You aren't angry at me for-" "Of course not.." Spike interrupted, "If anything, I shouldn't have asked you that in the first place." "No, it's fine Spike. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I just keep... letting my anger get the best of me." Twilight replied, putting her hoof on Spike's head, "I promise that nothing like this will happen again from here on out, okay?" "Okay." Spike responded. They both embrace once again, and let go after a few seconds. They both put on their cloaks, Twilight grabbed her basket using her mouth, while Spike used his hands. They then go outside to search for fruit. They started walking along the dirt path that went straight foward into the forest. Once they entered the forest, something immediately felt off to Twilight. Usually on mornings like this, they would always hear birds chirping, or the sounds of other small creatures making noise, or even any sort of movement coming from them. But, they didn't hear anything, or see anything. The only thing they heard were the sounds of them stepping on the grass below them. It was so eerily quiet there. But, Twilight kept her composer and went deeper into the forest to look for berries. When suddenly, she began to feel like her and Spike were being watched. She looked to her left and to her right at the trees, through the leaves of the forest and there was no movement or sound in any direction she looked in. Despite that, Twilight still felt this eerie feeling that she was being watched. Spike quickly picked up on Twilight's strange behavior and asks if she was okay. She stated that everything was fine, but both her and Spike knew that wasn't true. She kept trying to convince herself that nothing is wrong, but the more she walked the stronger the feeling became. As she's walking she begins speeding up because she couldn't shake this feeling Spike began to walk faster as well, but he didn't suspect anything was wrong. Twilight was always in a rush to find food. And since there were no fruit in sight, he thought that Twilight was starting get a little desperate. After a few minutes, they finally reach a place where there were many Bushes containing the blueberries Twilight needed. She told Spike to go collect berries that were in the the bush beside a tree that was to the left. He went over and began putting many of the fruits in the basket, and Twilight did the same. While putting the fruit in her basket. Twilight began to desperately rush them into her basket, as the feeling that someone was watching her only got stronger. She thought that if she didn't hurry, whatever was watching her jump out and grab her, or Spike at any moment. After she put the last apple into her bastet, she ran over to Spike and told him to hurry up. However, Spike didn't respond. Feeling concerned, she rushed over to the bush and saw Spike was there, but he was just staring at something in the far distance. Twilight hesitates for a few seconds before going over and looking at his direction. Spike was staring at a huge mansion that was 18 feet away from their position. The mansion made out of stone, painted In gray with candles hanging on walls. The top of the building was constructed with oak wood. looked abandoned as it had moss growing all over the edges. While Spike was amazed by the sight, Twilight was rather weirded out by the mansion. Throughout their years of living here, Twilight never saw a mansion or any sort of civilization near the forest. Nopony lived in the area besides her and Spike. And though it looked abandoned, Twilight had a feeling that somepony was in there. "It’s beautiful!" Spike exclaimed, "We should go inside!" "No, Spike." Twilight said, "We've gotten all of the fruit we need so let's go." Spike gave Twilight a disappointing stare and looked down. But, he agreed with Twilight and they went back to their cabin. After getting new and empty baskets. They went back out and collected more fruit. While they did, Spike kept glaring at that mansion in front of him. It was something about it that gave him the feeling that something in there was valuable, like he just needed to go in there. After Twilight's basket was full, she called out to Spike. But, there was no response. Twilight wasn't worried however, because of what happened previously, but she went over to check on Spike anyways. When she went to Spike's area. He was nowhere to be found. Twilight began to feel worried, and feared that whatever was causing the feeling of her being watched had done something to Spike. She immediately began rapidly looking around and calling out for Spike's name. She looked over at the mansion and just barely saw a snippet of Spikes tail go inside the mansion that she feared. Without hesitation, Twilight galloped and bursted into the mansion. Once she was inside, she couldn't see anything as it was pitch black in the building. "Spike! Spike!!" She shouted. Twilight went deeper into the mansion, and heard a slight crackling sound behind hed. But, before she could even turn around. She heard the sound of the door shut behind her. Twilight ran over and tried to open it but noticed that the door was locked. She tried to kick the door down using her back legs, but the door still wouldn't budge. "Hey! Let us out!" Twilight shouted. "Why don't you just use your magic, Unicorn?" A voice asked. Twilight turned around and saw the silhouette of a mare wearing a hat. She couldn't see the mare because of the darkness, but she knew someone was there. "Twilight! Help!" Spike shouted. "Spike?" Twilight's ears laid flat against her neck, and her mouth opened showing her teeth in anger. Before she could say anything, the lights suddenly came on. Revealing a blue, grayish mare holding Spike using her magic. Something about the Mare looked familiar, but she couldn't tell what she reminded of. Her hat covered her eyes and nose completely as she was looking down, so Twilight couldn't tell who it was "Let Spike go!" Twilight demanded. Letting out an angry snort The Mare suddenly let out a slight chuckle. "Oh, don't be like that, Twi. Don't you know who I am?" The mare asked. "What are you talking about? Of course not!" Twilight claimed. "Remember Jackpot?!" The mare asked Twilight's angry expression soon turned to shock as she realizes the mare standing in front of her. She couldn't believe she couldn’t tell before. How terrible, she had thought she completely ran away from the past, even with all those terrible dreams. But instead, the dreadful memories of the past have come back to haunt her again. The mare looked up at Twilight with a mischievous grin, and pure hatred in her eyes. The Mare who stood right before her was none other than the daughter of the instructor that was killed by her outburst of magic, as well as one of her classmates in magic school... Trixie Lulumoon! > Chapter 3 - The Broken Mare > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike, who's still being held by his tail by the Mare's strong magical grasp, looks at Twilight's fearful expression, and felt a heavy and oppressing surge of dread in his stomach. Never had he seen such fear in Twilight's eyes. "Look! I'm sorry! I didn't know this was your mansion! I swear! Just please let us go!" Spike shouted. "Mine?" Trixie asked, "This isn't Trixie's mansion. What you're in now is nothing more than a simple Illusion!" "An Illusion?" Spike asked "Of course. Did you really think a mansion would just appear out of knowhere?" Trixie asked, "Now child, let the adults talk for a bit." Twilight was confused as to how Trixie could even create such an illusion. Twilight thought thag it may have been because of practice, but when she saw the amulet on Trixie's neck, she immediately knew that it wasn't the case. Trixie was wearing an Alicorn amulet, which enhances the magic of a Unicorn drastically. Rivaling that of an Alicorn. Twilight asked Trixie how she'd gotten her hooves on it, as it's extremely rare to get due to its ability. Trixie told Twilight that she had just murdered a Pony who had a magical wand in Saudia Arabia, and traded it to a draconequus who gave her the amulet in return. Draconequuses are hybrid creatures that exist far beyond Equestria in a land called "Draconia." They have very strong magical abilities. They aren’t seen often by ponies, but they're very famous for their history with Equestria thousands of years ago, and a certain Draconequus named "Discord." Who is believed to be a myth. Twilight gasped in fear and disbelief at the very thought that Trixie would even do such a thing just to get revenge on her. Twilight felt even more guilty knowing that a pony had lost their life over somepony, who wanted nothing more then revenge for what Twilight did. Trixie laughed maniacally at Twilight's expression full of fear and dread. It was so amusing and somewhat satisfying to see her in such pain after what she did. She's been waiting for this moment ever since Twilight left. Flashback Trixie, who felt guilty at herself for disappointing her father by failing the exam. Sat outside the school and looked down aimlessly at her hooves, thinking about how great it would've been if she'd pass the test. Trixie's dad was a famous magician in Equestria. He'd done many stage plays across the land, even doing one for Princess Celestia herself. Though, he was obviously good at magic, that wasn't the thing that Trixie admired the most. Instead, it was the smiles on the faces of the ponies that happily watched him play. Something about it was so special to her. That's why she wanted to join magic school. Though she wasn't interested in becoming Celestia's student like Twilight, or studying for the sake of being good at it. She was eager to learn magic in order to be a magician just like her father. Because she wanted to put a smile on his face as well. While at home, Trixie had waited for her father to come back for a very long time. She wasn’t worried, but she was definitely curious why he took so long. There were only a few students who were taking the exam, so it didn't make sense why he took so long. She waited in anger and anticipation for a few more minutes before going out of the house and to the magic school. However, once she got there, she knew something was wrong. Almost everypony was crowded at the front of the magic school. Interested, she goes up and asks a pink Pegasus what's going on. When the Pegasus told her that someone was apparently murder, Trixie had a bad feeling. She looked everywhere in the crowd, bumping in to numerous ponies, but no matter how she searched, she saw no sign of her father. At that moment, that negative feeling that she felt upon seeing the crowd, got considerably worse when she looked up at the magic school. "Is he still in there?" She thought Suddenly, she noticed a young purple foal run through the crowd and past her with tears flowing down her eyes. It was Twilight Sparkle. "Hey! Wait!" She commanded. Twilight stopped and looked back at Trixie. Who upon seeing her face and bloody horn, knew that something had gone terribly wrong. She was shaking and breathing heavily like she saw something terrible "What’s going on in there? Is my father okay?" Trixie asked. "Your.... father?" Twilight asked "Yes! His fur is the same color as mine and so is his mane! He's one of the people in the graduation room! Did you see him?" Trixie asked. "......" Twilight didn’t respond to Trixie's question, and instead looked down. This caused Trixie to think something terrible had happened. "Come on, answer me!" Trixie shouted. "I'm sorry.... I didn't mean to..." Twilight said quietly as she ran off. "Wait!" Trixie shouted, holding her hoof out, "What do you mean you didn't mean to?" After she ran into the distance out of Trixie's view, and saw Celestia who just came out of the building look around the area, calling out for Twilight. She just knew in her heart that something bad had happened to her father in the building. So, she ran past the crowd of ponies and right past the guards who were prevening people from getting in the area, into the building. Once inside, she saw the door to the exam was opened. She took a deep breath and ran inside, only to see a lifeless skeleton in the seat where her father once was. "....Father.." Trixie whispered. Trixie stared in shock and utter disbelief as she tried to tell herself that wasn't her father. But, she knew that it was and wanted to refuse that what she's witnessing is indeed real. She walked down and went to the skeleton and firmly grabbed her father's hoof bone. It felt so eerily cold. "Hey... this is just... a magic trick right?" She asked, looking at her father's skull while holding his hoof bone, "You can't really be dead... there's no way.." Though his lifeless skeleton was right in front her eyes, she refused to believe that he was dead. She just thought it was a silly magic trick, but when she glanced around the room and saw the pool of blood by the wall. Her hope began to decrease and she began to sob while still holding on to his hoof bone. "Come on! Stop it! Trixie don't like this magic trick! Please wake up! You can't die now! Trixie hasn't become a magician yet!!" No matter how much Trixie called out, her father wouldn't move or respond to her cries. After a few minutes, she stopped and broke down on the floor, her gaze still focused on her father's skull. Knowing that she would never get a chance to make it up to her father for failing the magic test, and how he never get a chance to see Trixie become a magician just like him. Moondancer, who had never left the building and instead hid silently In a supply closet in the back of the school. Heard Trixie's cries and went into the exam room, and saw Trixie sobbing quietly on the floor close to her father's skull. "Trixie?" Moondancer asked, quietly. "Moondancer?" Trixie responded. Moondancer went down to where Trixie was and was shocked to see that her father, who had previously just praised her for passing the test is now nothing but a lifeless skeleton. She then glanced at Trixie, who was still sobbing. "Do you kn-know...what happened..to him?" Trixie asked. "I'm..not sure.." Moondancer replied "Did you see anypony.. by.. th-the room?" Trixie asked, "Please... Trixie needs to know. Moondancer thought back to the sudden commotion that occurred shortly after Twilight entered the room. She remembered Twilight running out of the room past Celestia. "All I saw was Twilight running out of the room past Celestia.... Everything else is kinda fuzzy." She said. Trixie's eyes widened, as she remembered how scared Twilight looked when she ran out of the building. The blood on her horn, and the silence and saddened look of her face before her statement that she didn't mean to. After thinking about it for awhile. Trixie didn't want to believe that Twilight could've done such a thing, but with how she acted when she saw her outside, Trixie had a strong feeling that such a thing could be true. "Trixie... we should get out of here..." Moondancer said. "I'll stay here. Trixie don't want Jackpot to be alone." Trixie said, sniffling. Moondancer wanted Trixie to leave with her, but since she was obviously grieving, she knew that it would take a lot to convince her to leave with her, so instead. She went out of the building. The royal guard noticed Moondancer and stopped her before she could exit the building, asking her what she was doing inside the building, to which she stated that she was hiding in the backroom in fear, and that another student was in the building. Without hesitation, the royal guard let Moondancer leave and went into the room where Trixie sat by her father. "Hey! It isn't safe here!" The guard said, as he approached Trixie slowly, "come with me and I'll take you to your parents." Trixie turned her attention to the gaurd, her eyes bloodshot, and pointed to her father's skeleton. The royal guard instantly knew what she meant, and stopped and stared at her for a moment. "Hey." Trixie stated, "What happened here?" The royal guard then tells her that a magical accident occurred, and that he was told by Celestia, that a young unicorn's magic had gone out of control. When Trixie asked who the Unicorn was, he stated that he didn't know the name, but he knew that her fur was Purple. Upon hearing this, Trixie felt a enormous surge of anger throughout her entire body. She went with the royal guard outside, who offered to take her to Celestia to get her into a foster home, or a foal sitter. She spotted Celestia talking to two royal guards. "Did you find Twilight?" Celestia asked. "No ma'am. We searched all around Canterlot and no sign of her." The royal guard responded. Trixie's heart sank to her stomach, she felt so angry. The fact that Twilight left without a care in the world, and without punishment angered her to her core. From that day foward, Trixie developed a deep hatred for Twilight, and moved away from Canterlot to Saudi Arabia, where she lived for 6 years before moving to Horseshoe Village. While she was there, Trixie trained her magical abilities for her Twilight's next meeting. She wanted nothing more but to see her suffering. Present Day Twilight was paralyzed with fear as Trixie glared deeply into her eyes, and in first time in 10 years, Twilight felt actual fear. Spike desperately shouted at Spike to Twilight to do something, but Twilight was too shocked to move or even respond. Trixie laughed in amusement seeing the fear in Twilight's eyes. "Hahaha!" Trixie laughed, "For a Unicorn who was so talented with their magic, it seems like you can't even see an obvious trick, nor can your dragon!" "Oh, how the mighty have fallen!" Trixie added. "Trixie....I..I.." Twilight couldn't even make up a simple sentence. She felt her legs shake uncontrollably as she continued to stare into Trixie's menacing gaze. She knew that she if didn't do anything, she would surely die along with Spike. But, when she did ignite her horn, something was holding her back from even making a slight movement to any object in the room. She tried do use her magic once more, but her horn barely ignited. It was at this moment that she knew why. She hadn't use her magic for over 10 years. Trixie laughed once again, this time even shedding a tear. "How sad. Trixie expected more from the mare who was the best in magic school." She taunted, "Trixie wonders. Is it the incident that's preventing you from using your Magic? Or, has it just been that long since you've actually used it?" "Incident?" Spike asked. "Wow. You haven't told your dragon about what happened ten years ago?" Trixie asked, "What a snake you truly are!" Spike had never heard from Twilight about any sort of incident. But, he knew something had happened to her. Even knowing that, he wouldn't have guessed that it was so terrible that it would drive somepony to go this insane. "That was an accident, Trixie! I'm sorry for what happened to your father, but It wasn't my fault!" Twilight shouted, tears flowing down her eyes. "You're...sorry?" Trixie asked, her grin fading away, "you're....sorry? HAHAHAHA!!" Trixie began laughing uncontrollably. Her voice now very raspy, like she had sore throat. Twilight and Spike stared at her in shock. Twilight felt so guilty looking at what Trixie has now become. The look in her eyes were that of a fanatic. And her creepy, broken laugh telled Twilight that she had gone through so much pain. After a while, Trixie stopped laughing, and gave Twilight terrifying glare. Her eyes dead now bloodshot and her face dead pan. "You.... do you have any idea what I went through... for ten years? You... took the only.. pony I loved away from me.... and you're...sorry? That's all....? NO APOLOGY CAN FIX WHAT YOU'VE DONE!!!" Trixie shouted. "YOU WILL REAP WHAT YOU SOW!! TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!" Trixie then suddenly made Spike disappear out of thin air. "Spike!! Trixie! What did you do?!!" Twilight yelled. "Oh..don't worry about him! I just put him in the middle of the forest! He'll be fine!" Trixie responded, with pure insanity in her voice. "Forget him!" Trixie yelled, her voice now raspy and bloodcurdling, "Now it's just you.. and me!" To be continued! > Chapter 4 - A Mare's Revenge > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In a desperate attempt to get away from Trixie, Twilight turned tail and ran to the door. She put her trembling hooves to the doorknob and tried to twist it but her hooves were trembling so much that she couldn't get a good grip on it, and it was locked shut so she couldn't open it even if she wanted to. Trixe laughed at Twilight's failed attempt to open the door,"It’s useless! This mansion under the control of my magic! You couldn't leave even if you wanted to!" Despite Trixie's words, Twilight desperately tried to do everything she could to open the door. However, it still wouldn't open, and Twilight was left with no choice but to use her magic, but she once again stopped herself from doing it. Trixie laughed once again, seeing Twilight in such fear and agony pleased her so much. At this moment, Trixie had Twilight exactly where she wanted her to be. Nowhere to run, nor nowhere to hide. This was the perfect chance to make Twilight pay for what she did. So, without hesitation, she yelled out the magic words "Jauk'o yuno!" Before Twilight could do anything else, the room suddenly... disappeared, along with Trixie. It was just a black and endless void. With the only thing being visible was herself. Twilight stopped what she was doing and stood still. "What is this?" Asked Twilight. All of the sudden, Twilight let out a scream of agony, as she felt a sharp object pierce through her flank, then another to her left backleg. She looked down and saw that her flank was bleeding, but there was no object there that indicated she was stabbed, same with her backleg. Twilight had no idea what spell Trixie could've casted that would cause this. "Is this an illusion?" Twilight thought "Close, but not quite.." Trixie appeared Twilight turned and saw Trixie standing right in front of her. Her horn radiating a dark-red aura. "Behold, Trixie's great and powerful funhouse, where everything is under my command!" Trixie shouted with much confidence. Twilight's ears laid flat against her neck upon hearing that. She now realized what Trixie had done. This wasn't an ordinary illusion spell, it was the "Imagination" spell. Twilight had read about when she in magic school. The spell allows a Unicorn to use their mind to create anything they want. The only unicorn that was able to cast it was Starswirl the bearded, a powerful unicorn that invented many great spells back when the five lands were united. No Unicorn has been able to use it since then, let alone an Alicorn. So how could a Unicorn like Trixie be able to cast so casually? "Isn't it obvious?" Trixie asked, "With the power of the Alicorn amulet, I can cast any spell I want!" Trixie's horn ignited once again and thr scenery changed. Instead of it being complete darkness, they were both now at a river that seemed like it stretched out forever. The sky was dark red, similar to the aura on Trixie's horn. The black clouds moved slowly across the sky, covering the black moon with the now red silhouette of nightmare moon. "Calm down, Twilight. None of it is real.." Twilight thought to herself. "Telling yourself it's just an illusion won't do you any good." Trixie said. "Wait.. how did she.. right.. she's in control here.." Twilight thought. "Correct!" Trixie said, "Now, enough talk, how about we get to the good part?" Trixie they made a short double edged sword appear by her side. Twilight panicked and tried to move, but her body wouldn't move as a little as an inch. Trixie made Twilight stay in place by using the advantages of the imagination spell. Twilight suddenly felt her body jolt backwards onto the ground. She then made spreaded all four of her legs apart to make sure her stomach was exposed. Twilight tried her best to resist, but it was futile. Trixie was in control now and there was nothing she could do now. Her legs were nailed down by four small steel rods. It was unnecessary to do so as Trixie could just make her stay still, but she wanted her to suffer as much as possible. Trixie then placed the the tip of the sword to Twilight's stomach. "Shall we begin?" Trixie asked, smirking. Admittedly, Twilight didn't want to die, but at the same time, she saw no other way out. Even if she did somehow make out alive, what good would it do? No matter how much she'd hide or how long she'd live, the past would always come back to haunt her and Spike whether she'd like it or not. That's what she feared most. If her actions would be the caused of Spike getting hurt, or even dead. She'd rather die then see her little dragon get hurt. But even if she did die, Spike would be alone with nopony to take care of him. If something bad happened to him, she wouldn't be there to protect him. So what could she do? Die and pay the price? Or live. The second option was almost completely out of the equation, so there was only one choice left. "Trixie.." Twilight said. "Yes?" Replied Trixie. "Whatever you do, don't hurt Spike, okay? He had nothing to do with this.." Twilight stated. "Yeah, whatever." Trixie said. "Yeah right! Like I would ever!" Trixie thought. "Thank you..." Said Twilight, as she closed her eyes. Trixie then struck the blade deep into the middle Twilight's stomach. Twilight tried to scream, but she was in so much pain that only a gasp came out of her mouth as Trixie took the blade out of her flesh and drove it in to her stomach once again. For Twilight, it hurt so much, but for Trixie, it was like a huge weight was lifted off her back. This feeling of joy and satisfaction; she's never felt anything like it. It only grew stronger with each stab to the Unicorn's stomach. Twilight would have to endure this for a long time. And even after it seemed like it had been hours, the truth was that only one second has passed. One second in Trixie's world is equal to 16 hours. Twilight could do nothing but endure the torture. Meanwhile, Spike finds himself laying face down in the middle of the Equestrian rainforest all alone. He'd stand up on his small feet, with the first thing on his mind being his mother, Twilight. However, it seems that he'll have something else to worry about, as he hears the sounds of Timberwolves growling deep within the trees To Be Continued! > Chapter 5 - A Mare's Reunion > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's been an agonizing 6 hours in total since Trixie began torturing Twilight Sparkle. Not even as much of a second passing. At this point, she had killed Twilight a total of 25 times, and revived her using the advantages of the imagination spell. Some deaths were quick, while some were brutal and agonizing. it seemed like Twilight was about to meet her end once again as her vision began to fade. Just as Trixie was about to deliver the final blow, a figure appeared out of nowhere. It was Shining Armor, Twilight's brother and a powerful unicorn in his own right. He had been searching for his sister for weeks ever since he was told by Celestia that his sister that he hadn't seen ever since he was a young colt. Since Trixie was too foolish to make her spell invisible to the pony eye. Shining Armor had heard the commotion in the mansion and had arrived just in time to save Twilight. "Who are you, and how did you even-" "You made the foalish mistake of not making your illusion invisible." Shining Armor interrupted. "Why you little-" Trixie was suddenly cut off by a powerful blast of magic by Shining Armor, which sent Trixie flying backwards, and destroying her spell. He then used his magic to create a shield around Twilight, protecting her from any further harm. Meanwhile, Twilight gazed upon the powerful unicorn protecting him. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on where she'd seen him. "You won't be taking anymore lives, Trixie Lulamoon." Stated Shining Armor, taking a step foward, "Especially not my sisters!" "Sister?!!" Twilight's ears perked up immediately after hearing that statement. She hadn't seen Shining Armor since leaving the Crystal Empire. It was a long time ago, so she didn't remember much of her time at the Crystal Empire, but Shining Armor wasn't that hard recognize once she focused more on his blue mane. However, she couldn't wrap her head around how Shining Armor found her. The chances of anypony suddenly finding her in the middle of this forest seemed highly unlikely. If he was sent by somepony to find her. How did he and why did it take so long? Surely, he would've came to find her years ago after hearing the incident. Twilight had so many questions. Even with Shining Armor protecting Twilight, Trixie didn't back down, as she still had the powerful Alicorn amulet in her disposal. She was not going to give up this perfect opportunity to torture the one she resented the most. However, before she could even cast a spell; The two Unicorns suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving Trixie alone and angry in the mansion. She deactivated the illusion spell of the mansion and stood aimlessly in the clearing of the forest, filled with an immense rage in her heart. She'd spent years waiting for the chance to make Twilight suffer, and even if she had did so for over six hours, she still wasn't satisfied. Her resentment was too great. The only way this burning rage inside her could disappear is if Twilight suffered for eternity. "Ah yes! Perfect! Why didn't I think of that sooner?!"A huge grin spread across Trixie's face as she came to the realization. Death was too easy of a punishment for Twilight in her eyes. The only way she could fully be satisfied is she lived the rest of her days knowing that Twilight was still suffering. "Next time I see her. I'll make her and her brother suffer forever! Along with her pathetic little dragon, Spike." She thought. Meanwhile, Twilight and Shining Armor were now in a dark cave far away from their previous location. Shining Armor used his horn to create light. Twilight was exhausted and traumatized from all the torture she endured, and collapsed onto the ground. "You alright?" Shining Armor asked. "..I..uh..I..can't... what..why?" Twilight spoke in gibberish as her brain was almost completely broken from dying so many times. Her eyes couldn't even look straight and she was breathing heavily. "He...neigh..neigh!" She whined. "What did she do to you?" Shining Armor thought. "Snap out of it, Twilight!" Shining Armor raised his hoof and smacked Twilight in the face. Twilight eventually came back to her senses and looked deep into Shining Armor's eyes. "It’s me." Shining Armor said, "Your brother." "I've been searching all over for you!" He added. "Shining... Armor?" Twilight questioned Tears began to flow down Twilight's eyes and she fell back onto the ground, "I'm sorry," she blurted out, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry for everything." Shining Armor raised an eyebrow and asked, "For what?" Twilight's heart dropped to her stomach upon hearing Shining Armor's reaction. She had assumed that he'd at least heard of the incident form somepony, or from Princess Celestia; How couldn't he? He should be the first pony to know about it. "Did Celestia keep it a secret?" Thought Twilight Twilight glanced at Shining Armor, who was smiling; waiting for Twilight to give an answer. Twilight was hesitant for a moment, she didn't want Shining Armor to have any resent for her like Trixie does now. But if she didn't tell the truth, who would? So, she trusted her gut, wiped her tears, and told him the truth of what happened at that school. Shining Armor was surprised by the horrifying truth. Never would he have thought that his own sister would be the cause of his parent's death. However, he wasn’t angry at Twilight. Instead, he was angry at Celestia for not telling him the truth. He thought if she had told him sooner, maybe he wouldn't spend those past years completly in the dark, wondering about his parents "..sorry..." Twilight apologized, another tear flowing down her eyes. Shining Armor stepped closer to her and wrapped her in a warm embrace. "There's nothing to apologize for," he murmured into her hair. "I'm just glad you're safe." For a moment, all Twilight could do was stare at him. She had been so convinced that he would hate her for what happened with Trixie, but here he was, hugging her with nothing but fondness in his eyes. Overwhelmed with happiness and guilt, Twilight cried and rested her head In Shining Armor's embrace. Shining Armor patted her back, reassuring that everything was fine. They both let go of each after a few seconds, Twilight's eyes still teary from all the crying. "Damn Celestia." Shining Armor mumbled, "If only she had told me earlier I-" Shining Armor stopped himself and took a deep breath, which calmed him down. "It must've been... so hard for you.." Twilight said, "I didn't mean to kill out parents Shining Armor." "Yeah, it was." Shining Armor looked down, "But, I'm not angry at you, Twilight. I know it wasn't you fault." "However, there is one thing I need to know..." Shining Armor added, his gaze looking deep into Twilight's teary eyes, "That Mare we saw back there, why was she trying to hurt you?" Shortly after hearing Shining Armor's question, Twilight stopped and looked down. Remembering that terrible incident. She felt a sudden and loud ring in her ears as if her eardrums were about to burst at any moment. Shining Armor's calls for her to respond were completely muffled by the loud ring in Twilight's ears. Then, she let out a bloodcurdling shriek. All of the sudden, Twilight felt her horn activate on its own, and her body began to levitate. She frantically waved her hooves around in the air, trying to get down, but it was futile. It was like she had no control of her body anymore. "Twilight! What're you doing?!" Shining Armor asked. "I don't know!" Replied Twilight. Twilight saw the blood dripping down her horn, and had a sudden flashback to the incident 10 years ago. "No no! Not again!" Twilight yelled, "Shining Armor, get away, quick! It's going to kill you!" Shining Armor leaped back and activated his magic, creating a light blue aura around his horn, "Hold on, Twilight!" Black wings began to form on the sides of Twilight's body before Shining Armor shot her down using a powerful spell. She landed onto the ground sideways, grunting in pain with her eyes closed. Shining Armor immediately went to check on her. "Twily!" Shining Armor shouted, "Are you alright?!" "Stay.... away.. Find... Spike.." Twilight mumbled before completely going unconscious "She's been through alot.." Thought Shining Armor, "Damn it, why didn't I help her sooner?!" To Be Continued! > Chapter 6 - A Mare's Curse > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike was paralyzed in fear as he saw eight pairs of glowing green glowing eyes staring at him from the trees. Spike felt his body quivering uncontrollably as he stared at them from afar. All of the sudden, the eyes disappeared and there was nothing but silence for a moment. Spike thought they had just gone away, but he was soon proven wrong when sixteem Timberwolves suddenly lash out of the trees and start charging straight at him; their eyes filled with murderous intent Terrified, Spike began running uncontrollably for his life, his heart pounding in his chest. Behind him, a pack of timberwolves bared their teeth and growled; their eyes glowing menacingly in the darkness of the forest. While running, Spike constantly stepped on many sticks, causing numerous cuts on his tiny feet, and even ran face first into branches, but Spike didn't feel any pain from the intense adrenaline he felt, nor did he care. His life was in danger, so he knew he couldn't stop running. After spending so much time running; he sooned reached the end of a rocky cliff. Now, his was mind racing. Spike searched for a way out, but he was surrounded. The timberwolves kept getting closer, their howls sending shivers down his spine. There was only one way out of this situation; to jump off, however, Spike was hesitant to jump as he thought that he most likely couldn't survive the fall. It was a 7 meter fall to a river that's current was quite slow, but was going east. Spike knew he couldn't swim and would drown almost instantly, however, with the Timberwolves slowing creeping towards him, ready to pounce at any moment. He wasn't given much choice but to trust his gut and jump off to avoid a painful death. Spike took one more look at the river and took a deep breath. He then turned his back and jumped off. The timberwolves, now left with nothing to do, back away from the cliff and ran back into the forest. Spike, who was now falling in the air; closed his eyes in anticipation of the deadly river in below. The only thing on his mind being his mother, Twilight Sparkle. The moment Spike's body hit the water, he immediately tried his best to swim up to the surface with his small feet, however, his small feet couldn't bring his body up to the surface, no matter how hard he tried. After spending a few more seconds flopping his feet; his vision began to fade away and his body began to feel weak. Eventually, Spike closed his eyes and fell unconscious; his body now floating face down above the water. After a few hours, Spike regained his consciousness and slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry for a moment but his eyes were able to focus after blinking a few times. He knew it was nighttime as there was no more light shining through the tall trees which covered the sky. It didn’t take long for his sense of touch to come back and realize that he was laying flat on his back on the side of a rock. He then heard the sound of running water as his sense of hearing came back. He couldn't believe it, he was somehowbstill alive. It was a miracle. Spike let out a groan of pain as he sat up, his whole body felt extremely sore, like it had been struck by a thousand needles. When Spike looked at his arms, he noticed that they were numerous scrapes all over them; same went for the rest of his small body. Spike was confused at first, but thought back to when he was being chased by the Timberwolves "Hello! Is anypony there?!" He called, but no voice called back. Spike then felt this feeling of loneliness and despair. He was all alone in the dark with nopony to help him, in a forest full of dangerous animals. If that wasn't bad enough, there was still his precious Twilight to worry about. What if she's... no, that can't be...Spike tried his best to stay optimistic, but with the situation he's in right now; as well the situation Twilight was in when he was teleported in the middle of the forest. That face... Never had Spike seen Twilight so scared before, notheless that she killed someone. Spike almost didn't want to believe it, but there was no denying the truth. Twilight's face said it all. Spike didn't know what feel, Twilight was his mother, and he wasn't even sure if the other mare was telling the truth. But the look on Twilight's face only added to his suspicion more. The thought that his mother murdered someone was just... too brutal to believe. Is that why she was always mad when Spike confronted her this morning? Spike was unsure, however, he kept it as a possibility. Tat-tat, tat-tat Spike knew that sound all to well, the sound of hoofsteps moving closer. Spike instantly got up, hoping it was Twilight nearby. However, he was soon proven wrong when he saw the mare from earlier, Trixie, slowly walking. Adrenaline kicked in again and Spike hopped off the rock to another rock nearby, and hid behind it. It didn’t fool Trixie however. She said casted a search spell to find Spike's location. "I know you're here, Spike." Trixie said, her voice filled with malicious intent. Spike's scales shot up upon hearing that. "Don't worry... I didn't come to hurt you.." Trixie said as she stopped walking, "I just want to talk." Spike was too shocked to say anything back. Trixie took a few more steps foward before coming to sudden stop. "Wa-what did yo-you do.. to mom?" Spike asked, shaking in fear. Trixie perked her head slightly, "Twilight? She's fine.." she said, a smirk widening across her face, "But, that's what's interested Trixie, Spike." Trixie walked closer to the rock. "You're still... so attached to your mother even after hearing what she did. I'm curious, why is that?" Trixie asked. "Wha-what are you talking about?" Spike asked. Trixie let out a short laugh, "Don't play dumb, Spike. You know what I'm talking about.." She said in an angry manner. "Shut up!" Spike shouted, "That... that can't be true. My mom would never do something like that!" Trixie again let out a laugh in amusement at Spike's response, "My my, you really do trust your mother, don't you?" She asked, "Well, if it wasn't for her, Trixie wouldn't be how she is now." Spike had enough and ran out from behind the rock, and gave Trixie an angry glare that had a slight hint of fear along with it. "Back there... she... said it was an accident... right?" Asked Spike. "Yes... and..?" "Then why are you still after her?! If it wasn't her fault, then there's no reason for you to still be after her! Just leave her alone already!" Spike shouted with anger. Spike felt a feeling that even himself couldn't describe. He couldn't believe what he was doing. Standing up at essentially the most powerful unicorn in Equestria right now. What was he thinking? Spike took a few steps back, and then... it happened again... Trixie just.. laughs manically.. with seemingly no emotion on her face. Spike took a look into her eyes.. they looked terrible and insane. The eyes of a true fanatic. Spike was so taken back by this that he took a few steps back and just stood there, staring in complete shock. At this moment, Spike thinks that he has truly witnessed the worst of a pony. Twilight... did this? That can't be... thought Spike You... really don't get it... do you? "No matter how you look at it, and whether the incident was an accident or not. That truth is that the one that I loved is dead! Why? Because she is a curse... and that won't ever change. You can't run from this truth, or come to terms with reality. The only thing me and your mother have in common.. is that we both think the magic in this world is a curse.." "..Magic... a curse?" Spike couldn't really understand what Trixie was saying. Magic is what keeps the world together, right? Yet, it's also been the cause of wars and many deaths... including my father. Believe it or not, your precious Twilight thinks the same thing. So, as to why I want to kill your mother, it's not only for this burning desire for revenge.. but i want to get rid of cursed and horrid creatures like her.. a favor, basically. Your mother is a curse, and it's only a matter of time before her magic kills you too. So why do you defend her..?" Spike opened his mouth, but couldn't really make up a response. In all honesty, he didn't know. Spike was always taught by Twilight that magic was a great thing, however, whenever he asked why she didn't use it, she would say something like, "Oh, I'm not too good at it." This could only mean one thing, Spike was lied to by his own mother for seven years. All because she didn't want to admit the truth. Spike fell back and stared into the night sky, hoping that all this was just a dream. He truly couldn't handle the idea of being lied to be his mother, and magic not being as, "Awesome" as he thought. I'll admit, I'm no better than your mother Twilight. But then again, is she any better? Lying to you this all these years, and giving you false hopes and dreams about magic while constantly running away from her me, her past!" Trixie stated. Spike moved slightly upwards, "You're wrong.. the only cursed one here is you!" He shouted. Trixie ignored his statement and just walked past Spike, "You'll never understand, dragon." She whispered as she walked by. Spike sat there and looked at the silhouette of Nightmare Moon on the bright moon for hours. While doing so, he had a thought. Celestia's magic is what made her sister resentful in the first place... maybe it was true. Spike's just a naive child, so he doesn't really know for sure... but one thing is for certain. His relationship with his mother will never be the same. To Be Continued!