True Colors

Black and Blue

Twilight Sparkle lay in her bed, covers thrown to the side, weeping. She hadn’t stopped crying from the moment Celestia had released her. Sleep was something she hadn’t even considered. It simply hurt too much. She was not in physical pain, any soreness from the day-empress’ actions had worn off, but emotional pain. She felt filthy, dirty, vile, and above all weak. Like an insect. No. Like a toy. She’d tried to resist, she really had, but it had only seemed to encourage Celestia. There was nothing she could’ve done to stop the alicorn, and there was nothing she could do now to stop the hurt. For all the magic she had learned, and knowledge she had gained, she was completely and utterly powerless. There was a sharp intake of breath as the thought sent Twilight into a fresh series of sob, further wetting her already soaked sheets. It was in this state that the unicorn found herself when a knock came at her door. She ignored it, hoping it would go away, but the knock came again. Sitting up in bed in bed, the young mare wiped the tears from her eyes. She was certain she looked quite the sight. Her mane was disheveled. Her face felt puffy, and her eyes were obscenely dry, despite the fact that they still wanted to produce tears. She was certain they were bloodshot too, but as the third knock came, harshly this time, she knew she had to get up. Stumbling off her bed, the unicorn made her way to the door, and opened it just as the fourth knock was about to come. A butler of some sort stood there with an almost-hidden look of agitation on his face. He seemed to take in Twilight’s appearance, and with a sneer he said, “Your master is awake, and wishes your presence. It would be best not to make her wait.”

“O-of course.” The young mare responded slowly, “Just…let me…make myself pr-presentable.”

The butler pony sneered once more, and walked off, uncaring. Closing the door, Twilight leaned against it with a heavy sigh. She wasn’t ready for this. Besides, the sun was still out, and, though it had to be late in the day, it was earlier than usual. That was probably why Nightmare Moon had sent the servant. Still, she couldn’t let the night-empress wait long. The last thing she needed at the moment was more trouble. Not having any mirrors in the room to help her fix herself, Twilight Sparkle settled for a passive illusion. Her horn lit as she tried to picture herself as she always looked. Mane neat and tidy, and her face bright and clean. No blood-shot eyes. No wet face, but she found it hard to concentrate. Memories of what had happened kept spilling into her head. “…And you are quite beautiful.” Celestia’s words haunted her.

Finally, after much struggle, she managed to cast the spell. No one would see what she looked like. They would only see her as she normally appeared. Sighing one more time, the unicorn put on a glassy smile, and left the room to ascend the tower.

Never before had Twilight considered the climb to be a long one, but as her hoofsteps echoed around her so too did the seconds tick by agonizingly slow. She was dreading this. Dreading meeting the night-empress, and the confirmation of what Celestia had said. “You’re a toy and nothing more.” Her mind told her in a horrid blend of her own voice and the day-empress’.

When the familiar ebony door came into sight at the top of the stairs the unicorn swallowed hard. She approached the door, and knocked on it. The wait was only a moment, but it felt like forever before the voice of the night-empress called, “Come in, Twilight Sparkle.”

The lavender mare pushed the door open with a hoof, not bothering with her magic, and entered. Nightmare Moon was focusing on a document floating before her as she sat in front of her bed. The black alicorn did not look at Twilight as she shut the door. “Twilight Sparkle, there should be a quill and parchment in my dresser. Retrieve them and take a note.” The night-empress ordered.

“Yes, m-my empress.” Twilight stuttered.

She had almost called Nightmare master, but should couldn’t do it. Master had come to be an affectionate term. As odd as it was, the unicorn relished in saying it. It had meant someone had cared for her. Enough not to kill her for stealing. Enough to teach her when she was good, and enough to protect her when she needed it. Now, she wasn’t so sure the alicorn did care for her. Nightmare had lied to her. She had said Celestia was trustworthy. Not only was that untrue, but she had sent Twilight to the day-empress. How much else had been a lie? Did it really matter whether the young mare was hurt or not? Did Nightmare teach her out of boredom? Was the alicorn even pleased with her service? Ignoring these hurtful thoughts she began to search Nightmare Moon’s dresser for the quill and the thin scrap of leather she had been told about. Her odd phrase, however, seemed to have caught the night-empress’ attention. As the black alicorn was now eyeing her instead of the document she had been so fixed on before. After locating the items she was looking for, Twilight levitated them, unconsciously hiding behind the leather parchment, and stated, “Ready.”

There was a few seconds pause before Nightmare began her dictation. “Legate Artillerus, I have read the recent scouting reports, and have been made aware of the rebels’ estimated location. Their close proximity to Stalliongrad is not a coincidence. Too many things have been occurring around that town for it to be. I suspect the rebels have some hold over the town itself, and I therefore forbid any military action against them. As of this moment there is no telling what they may do to the town if we attack. Their claims may be noble, but their intentions have yet to be proven likewise. I will not risk the loss of civilian life to put down a small rebellion. For now, have the soldiers continue reconnaissance until we can be more certain of the safety of our subject. Your empress, Nightmare Moon.”

As Twilight Sparkle finished copying the words, she wondered why the alicorn was sending a letter instead of speaking to the Legate directly. Perhaps it was so he couldn’t argue? Whatever the case, she wasn’t going to ask for once. Her ma-…her owner’s reasons weren’t of interest to her anymore. Wordlessly, Twilight put the quill back in the dresser before closing it. Nightmare’s magic took the letter from her, and it burst into a green flame. The unicorn quirked a brow at the odd spell, but did not question it. “Twilight Sparkle,” The night-empress’ voice addressed her. “You are behaving oddly.”

“I-I am?” Twilight gulped.

The last thing she wanted was to be exposed. She couldn’t tell what Nightmare would do to her if she knew what happened. The following statement, however, was unavoidable, “Yes. Is something bothering you?”

“No!” Twilight blurted hurriedly.

“You’re a terrible liar.” Nightmare responded. “You weren’t like this the other night. Did something happen with my sister?”

“No.” Twilight squeaked.

“Twilight Sparkle, Speak truth.” Nightmare ordered.

The young mare’s heart constricted painfully, and she clenched her eyes shut. She should tell Nightmare. She owed her the truth. “No! She won’t believe me! She’ll punish me even more for accusing her sister of this.” She argued mentally.

But it would feel so good to let the emotions out, wouldn’t it? “It’s not worth it!”

Isn’t it? She hurt you. She needs to know that. “She won’t care!”

As Twilight struggled with herself her lungs began to burn from a lack air, despite the fact that she was breathing. She was beginning to feel dizzy. She ceased being rational, and her illusion shattered as she screamed, “YOUR SISTER RAPED ME!!!”

From the moment she woke up, Nightmare Moon had this feeling in the back of her head. A foreign hurting feeling, as if something was wrong. It had bothered her until she rose. When Twilight Sparkle arrived the feeling had only become stronger, and when the unicorn started behaving oddly Nightmare knew that something was, indeed, wrong. This, though…It couldn’t be real. It had to be a lie! But it wasn’t. She had used the blood oath to force Twilight into telling her what was wrong, and she had specified for it to be truth. How could it be true though? Was this a dream? No. It was real, but…She knew her sister had been behaving suspiciously, but this was so out of the character that she knew that it incomprehensible. Her mind reeled in the revelation, refusing to accept it. Yet as she stared at the pony in front of her, broken and in tears, she knew…She knew it was true.

“Why?” Twilight Sparkle’s voice came quietly behind her sobbing.

“Why what?” Nightmare Moon risked clarification.

“Why did you send me to her!?” Twilight yelled, “If you hadn’t…If you hadn’t sent me then she wouldn’t have…”

Nightmare cringed as a new wave of tears began to stream down Twilight’s puffy face. “Twilight-” She began softly.

The lavender unicorn interrupted her, “You told me she could be trusted! I said I was scared, and you yelled at me for it! You-”

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Nightmare yelled over the unicorn, making her stop, but continued softly, “I told you before you that your well-being is my responsibility. I had no reason to suspect that my sister would do this you, but I intend to find out why. Now, I need you to return to your room now. Lock the door, and let no one in. I will come to you myself when my business is finished.”

Twilight stared at her silently, mistrust and anger in her bloodshot eyes, but offered no argument. Instead, the unicorn simply walked out of the room without a word. When she was gone Nightmare Moon let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion. How could this even happen? Where should she even start? The answer was simple; with her sister. The darkening sky outside told her the sun was setting. Standing up, the alicorn made her way to her balcony. She would raise moon first, but then she would confront her sister. This was in excusable! There was no reason for Celestia to have raped some pony! None at all. What was more, she had decided to rape a pony that belonged to Nightmare. This wasn’t her first crime either. The day-empress had been increasing taxes, and ignoring subjects in need. She had been disregarding many of Nightmare’s suggestions, and been attempting to keep her dark about everything. A righteous anger began to replace the confusion within the obsidian alicorn, and she had every intention of letting it loose on her sister.

The few servants she encountered on her way to the royal dining hall hurried out of her way. It was not that she looked angry, nor any action she was committing. However, she radiated an air of malice. One would not have to know her to realize she was beyond furious. When she arrived, she opened the dining hall’s door slowly. There was Celestia at the head of table, waiting for her food. Nightmare Moon’s ire rose at the sight of her sister, but she maintained enough control to enter the room and close the door carefully. “Nightmare.” Celestia said warmly.

“Celestia.” The night-empress responded, her restraint lowering her voice to a whisper.

“Is something wrong?” The older alicorn asked.

“I should say something has been wrong for a long time now, dear sister.” Nightmare spat.

An annoyed look crossed Celestia’s face. “Is this about Stalliongrad again?” She guessed.

“This is about more than Stalliongrad. It’s always been about more than that town.” Nightmare replied.

“What are you going on about?” Celestia asked.

“Let’s start with the taxes, shall we? You raised them several months ago, and mentioned nothing of it to me.” Nightmare began.

“It must have slipped my mind.” Celestia lied.

“Just like how it slipped your mind when I inquired about the state of the royal treasury? You said we didn’t have enough to spare for Stalliongrad.”

“We don’t.” Celestia replied.

“It’s full!” Nightmare yelled.

“And we can not afford to support a town that can not support itself. They’ll drain at the treasury, slowly but surely, and we’ll have nothing left for ourselves.” Celestia explained.

The night-empress snorted. That was cruel, even if it made sense. They shouldn’t ignore ponies in desperate need. “That kind of reasoning is why there’s a rebellion!” Nightmare argued.

“No.” Her sister responded firmly. “There is a rebellion because the foolish ponies believe they have a right to govern their own fate. To have a hoof in the government. To have mercy in the law.”

“Do they not?” Nightmare Moon snarled.

Celestia stood and angrily stated, “Were it not for the ponies governing themselves then Discord would never have been born!”

The alicorns’ argument froze for a moment. The spirit in question was not powerless, even how they left him. In such close proximity he could likely hear them, especially since his name had been dropped. The walls seemed to lean in. Ignoring it, Nightmare growled, “And neither would we.”

It was Celestia’s turn to snort as she replied, “My point still stands. They can not rule on their own.”

“They do not have to rule on their own. There can be compromise. They can be sated with an important seat in the government. We would not have to step down.” Nightmare argued.

The day-empress shook her head, “We would have to satisfy them by agreeing to carry out certain changes. The first of which would be a more lenient law, but that phrase is an oxymoron in itself. True justice can not be achieved with compassion. A pony who has killed in self-defense has still taken life, and the blood must be repaid. Had he not killed he would have died, but perhaps his assailant did not wish to kill him. Perhaps he only needed money to support his starving family, but the ‘victim’ refused to part with it. With the assailant dead his family will surely die, and the ‘victim’ will have inadvertently murdered several more ponies. Do you see? If you use mercy and understanding you must consider all sides, and nothing satisfactory will come of it! The order we have worked so hard to achieve will descend into chaos once more!”

“Not all cases are so, sister, and, in the end, would any resulting pain not be worth our subjects’ happiness?” Nightmare asked.

“You would abandon order for simple mortals who live and die in mere moments to us?” Celestia inquired darkly.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed. This was not the Celestia she knew. They had fought against Discord because the ponies had been unhappy. This open denial of what they wanted was in direct contradiction to the reason the Celestial Empire had been formed in the first place. One particular unhappy pony flashed before the night-empress’ eyes, and she asked quietly, fury beginning to build once more, “Does your definition of order justify raping an innocent mare?”

Celestia’s eyebrows raised in surprise at the question, but she answered readily, “No, but she was hardly innocent. She strayed where she wasn’t supposed to, and your punishment was far too light. Simply stripping away rewards for misbehavior? One must strip away rights, too, sister.”

There it was. The day-empress hadn’t even tried denying it. Nightmare’s horn lit up and the room became heavy as an immense amount of energy filled it. The furniture of the dining hall all lifted up in the glow her magic, and the black alicorn growled in an unnaturally loud voice, “Don’t call me sister.”

Celestia flinched, though barely noticeable. Not at the display of magic, but at the power behind the words. Two unicorn royal guards burst in shouting, “Empress, we felt a large mag…ic…fluctuation.”

The speaking guard’s words died on his lips at the sight, but he did not have much time to gawk. At the intrusion, Nightmare abruptly dropped all the furniture, and stormed out of the room.

Twilight Sparkle lay in her still messy bed distracting herself with a book. She was, technically, still under Nightmare’s punishment, but at the moment she didn’t really care. She was too angry and too hurt to do so, nor she was actually paying attention. It was an action to occupy her mind, nothing more. She furiously read the text in front of her aloud, trying desperately to keep herself focused, “Each different spell is fueled by one of the six sources. They are faith itself, emotion, blood*, stamina, ‘personal fuel,’ and magic batteries. *NOTE: Blood is the only source which possesses it’s own type of magic. All blood fueled spells are classified under Blood Magic, and no other spells are.

“Personal fuel varies from pony to pony, hence it’s name, but is typically the presence of something important to the pony in question. What it is can normally be determined from the Cutie Mark. Despite what one might think, personal fuel can not be used as alternate fuel for any spells. Rather, there are certain spells that can only be cast with personal fuel.

“Magic batteries are a synthetic energy source created by ripping another magical energy source, such as blood or emotion, directly from a pony and sealing it within an object. Once inside, the energy changes in an unknown way, and can be used to power most spells, instead of their intended fuel, at cost of reduced power. Any object can be made into a magic battery, but they are typically gemstones. This is due to the echo effect which, in the case of magic batteries, increases the amount of energy stored within. It is important to note that objects can be repeatedly used as magic batteries, but if used too much the object will shatter like an old wineskin, releasing the energy it stored violently. Another point of interest is that larger objects can hold more-”

Twilight’s reading was interrupted as her door bust open, the lock breaking, and Nightmare Moon trotted in. The young unicorn jumped, breathing heavily, and eyed her owner warily. The black alicorn snorted, clearly angry, and for a moment Twilight feared for herself. She had been reading a book despite her owner’s punishment at the beginning of the week. Nightmare, however, didn’t seem to notice, and ordered brusquely, “Come.”

“Why?” Twilight asked mistrustfully.

The night-empress gave an annoyed glare before dodging the question, “I will explain. Come.”

With that, Nightmare cantered out of the room. Twilight sat on her bed for awhile longer. She didn’t want to go. She was afraid. What did her owner want with her that was so urgent? Surely, she was angry with Twilight, but for what she didn’t know. Nightmare had said she was going to investigate her claim. Maybe Celestia had denied it. Maybe she hadn’t, and they had discussed what to do with the young mare. Either way, the unicorn was certain this was trouble, but she didn’t have much of a choice, did she?

Hurriedly, Twilight leapt out of bed and galloped after her owner. She was too slow to catch up, but she suspected where the night-empress was. She arrived at Nightmare’s room to find the alicorn levitating objects into a saddle-bag. There were scrolls, water-canteens, and food being stuffed away, as much as could fit. Looking to the side, she spotted an already full pair of saddle-bags sitting on Nightmare’s dresser. They were a beautiful black, and their clasp looked identical with the night-empress’ cutie mark. “Here.” Nightmare’s voice called Twilight’s attention back to her.

There were the plain old saddle-bags the empress had been packing levitating in a dark-blue aura. Twilight grabbed them with her magic, and stared at them hesitantly. Was she being kicked out? Nightmare Moon grabbed the more-unique saddle-bags in her magic, and rested them over her flank. No, the lavender unicorn wasn’t being kicked out. Her owner wouldn’t be coming then. “Where are we going?” She asked.

“The Stalliongrad region.” Nightmare Moon answered.

Region. Not the town then. Why? The black alicorn threw Twilight’s thoughts off track as she removed her crest and crown. The naked alicorn looked different somehow. She was still very much the lithe powerful empress of the night, but the removal of the two objects made her seem less distant. Twilight shook her head, trying to focus, as she asked, “Why are you removing your regalia?”

Nightmare gave her an unimpressed look before answering, “It takes a certain level arrogance to walk into wild and enemy territory ornamented. I do not wish to be disrespectful.”

Wild and enemy territory? Disrespectful? To who? The enemy? What enemy? “Why are we leaving?” Twilight asked.

Nightmare, apparently growing impatient, took the saddle-bags from Twilight’s magic with her own, and set them on the mare’s flank before answering, “Because the conversation with my sister was enlightening, and I need to figure out whose side I’m on. You are coming because you belong to me, and because, I suspect, it’s dangerous for you here without me. Now come.”

The black alicorn began walking to her balcony, and Twilight followed, too confused to be suspicious anymore. “Side? What side?" She wondered in her mind.

Nightmare Moon stepped her forelegs onto the balcony railing and unfurled her large wings. The black feathers seemed to absorb the moonlight, making them almost appear a ghostly shade of white. The alicorn took an audibly deep breath before asking, “Are you ready?”

Twilight, realizing the empress’ intention, replied worriedly, “I can’t fly!”

“I am aware of that.” Nightmare responded.

The young unicorn suddenly felt a cool caressing sensation sweep across her, and she found herself floating. Before she could panic, however, she was deposited on her owner’s back, and the sensation left her. Twilight instinctively wrapped her forehooves around Nightmare’s neck, and the alicorn advised, “Don’t move much, unless you prefer falling.”

Twilight could feel Nightmare’s muscles tense just before the alicorn leapt off the balcony. The ground came rushing up, and the young unicorn buried her face in the back of her owner’s neck. However, before they could hit the ground the black alicorn’s wings caught an updraft, and they soared into the sky. After a few moments to question why she had not died yet, Twilight lifted her face away from her owner‘s neck, and stared at her surroundings. Nightmare was gracefully gliding along the wind currents, barely flapping her wings, and the canopy of the Everfree lay below them. Above, however, was far more beautiful. Though Twilight Sparkle knew she was staring through her owner’s mane, the starry field blended near seamlessly with the night sky above. “Wow.” She blurted.

A slight chuckling vibrated from below her, and Nightmare’s voice replied, “You took the word out of my mouth, Twilight Sparkle. It feels good to fly again.”

Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter, especially after pranking y'all earlier. However, a significant amount has happened in this chapter. Personally, I feel I learned a bit about the Spectrum version of Celestia while writing this. I think I'll be able to portray her better in the future. Also, I just wanted to clear this up. Despite that he's mentioned, Discord is not playing a part in this story. At any rate, what do you guys think?