Princess Twilight Sparkle
The words mingled with her tounge as she said them out loud for the first time.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle" She said again, Tasting the words she'd be hearing a lot more from now on. The coronation had just ended. For the first time in the whole day, Twilight sparkle was alone in her quarters. Well, Spike was there, but the baby dragon was sleeping soundly in his cot. It was late. The celebrations had gone on and still were in some parts of Canterlot. Celestia was still at the grand hall, socializing with the nobles who remained. Twilight had left with the excuse of putting Spike to bed and had finally got away from all the bowing and praising and small-talking. She finally was alone to do whatever she pleased.
Was this to be her life? Locked up in the confines of royalty, concerning and discussing for the tommorows of others? Attending important social gatherings and making small talk with rich ponies? To live in a castle too big to get used to? Would she ever be allowed to just go to the spa with Rarity and relax in the mud baths, or to hang out by the pool with Pinky? To have a relaxing picnic with Fluttershy or to spend a day with the Apple family or read the latest daring do with Rainbow? Would things ever be the same again?
Twilight flexed her wings. Deep down she knew that this changed everything. She hated it.
Knock Knock Knock
It had barely been 5 minutes. Impatiently, Twilight opened the door. Before her stood the princess of the night, Luna. She was accompanied by two armored stallions, one was young with gray hair and a chestnut mane, his blue eyes sparkling with the energy of youth while his smile beamed with the cockiness of fools. The other had dark brown hair and a black mane. He made an effort of standing straight and looking straight ahead with his green eyes. The first signs of aging had begun to appear on this pony, small lines near his cheek and forehead were just visible.
They all bowed.
"Luna there's no need to-"
"There is every need to, Twilight Sparkle." Luna said as she rose, shutting the mare up. "These are your two personal night guards, appointed by Celestia herself." The two stallions rose to attention on this line as if it were rehearsed. "They shall be wherever you go while you are a princess from when the sun sets to when the sun rises. They shall escort you around the castle at night and will be there at any activities you partake in." Twilight felt her heart dropping off a cliff... "You shall of course, also have day guards." ...With an anvil. "They shall be introduced to you in the morning. Good night princess." Luna bowed once again before turning away and walking down the corridor. Twilight stared after her until she had closed the door to the corridor behind her.
The guards were still standing to attention.
"Well, If you two are going to be with me for every blinking hour of the night I might as well know your names. Whose first?" the two guards only turned their eyes, their faces unsure. Twilight groaned.
"Am I your princess?"
"Yes Ma'am" The guards echoed.
"Therefore, are you not required to do what I ask of you?"
The two exchanged a look before the eldest nodded to the youngest who spoke with a boyish, confident voice:
"I am Lance Pointer Ma'am. I am honored to be before you." He said, bowing.
"Pleased to meet you, sir." Said the princess, bowing back. Lance looked up from his bow, raising an eyebrow. Twilight rose and turned to the eldest. He spoke with a deep, relaxed voice:
"I am Shield Worn." He said, staring straight into Twilight.
"Pleased to meet you." She said, bowing anyway. Despite her small talk, the guards still seemed resilient to be sociable. She yawned. She was too tired to make new friends right now. In the morning she'd likely go through this same conversation with her day guards, but until then she had the retreat of dreams. Those were things that could never be taken away from her.
"Well, good night." She said, turning to her room.
"Good night, Ma'am." The guards chorused. She shut the door quickly and collapsed on the bed. The day of celebrations had taken a lot out of her. She eased her legs and relaxed her wings. She let the comfort of the bed consume her body while her mind raced off to far away adventures in ancient ruins...
Outside the two guards stood loyally by the door. Lance turned to Shield and asked:
"Was she trying to befriend us?"
"I suppose she was. She reminds me of you in many ways."
"What do ya mean?" Shield turned to Lance, an evil grin stretching across his face as he said:
"Young, naive and new to the job." Lance mocked annoyance but couldn't stop himself chuckling. Shield's face hardened as he turned back to the corridor.
"I've been a guard for ten years, and in that time I've heard many things. Quite a few nobles aren't happy with this nobody becoming a princess. I've even heard rumors of-"
Lance stared at Shield, hanging off of his silence. "Heard rumors of wha-"
"SHHH!" Shield began to edge down the corridor, Lance nervously watching him from behind. Shield closed his eyes as he listened hard. Somepony else was here. He was sure of it. A few seconds passed. The corridor was still.
"Must have been a mouse" He said, disbelievingly.
"Oh!" chirped Lance. "So what were these rumours you head about Princess Twilight?
The black unicorn stared at the girl he had just knocked out in a tense silence. Had the guards outside heard? Would the dragon wake up? In his cot, Spike was tossing and turning, his nightmares devouring him whole. It was all he could hear, the small creature tossing and turning while the quiet roar of a party far away seeped through the open window, where a chariot held aloft by two black pegasi lay in waiting for him. The guards went back to their chatter. Silently, using his magic he lifted the young mare up, slowly moving her towards the chariot.
"no..." The dragon murmured. The girl was half-way across the room, The kidnapper knew he couldn't stop now. His back left hoof went into the chariot, the girl still floating slowly towards him.
"No..." The dragon murmured, as if he was sensing the events around him. the second hind hoof was in the chariot now, and the girl was so close. Just a little further and this colossal job would be over, and the pay would set him for life.
"NO!!!" Cried the baby dragon, waking with a jolt while the pair of guards rushed in. The kidnapped hurried Twilight into the chariot. She dropped on the floor with a thud
"GO! GO! GO!" He yelled, The pegasi needing no instructions to know that their time here was up. They had flew away before the 3 had gotten to the window. Shield turned to Lance:
"We need to tell the Princesses." Lance nodded, and the pair darted out of the room. Spike followed after, knowing exactly who he needed to tell.
Twilight kept her eyes shut, and her body still. Now that she was conscious again, she needed every bit of help she could get if she was to escape her captors. The element of surprise was invaluable. Her kidnapper snorted.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle. You must think you're so great. You get a couple of friends and boom, pretty princess. Some people have it so lucky..." He said, his voice trailing off. They stopped.
"There's a storm cloud up ahead" Came another voice. "What should we do?"
"Fly through it. We need to make good time if we're not to get caught."
"But he said..."
"I know what he said, but just imagine it. Relaxing beside your seaside villa on a sunny beach, Beautiful mares at each limb. That'll be our life once we're done with this mate. No more hard work for crazy loons or any of this bad stuff. If we don't go through this cloud, that'll never happen. We'll be locked away in a stinking prison cell for the rest of our lives. Is that what you want?"
"No..."
"Then go through the storm cloud." still no movement. "NOW!"
Twilight once again felt the chariot moving. Before long rain was pelting down on her. She was new flyer. She wasn't that good at it. But if she was going to make a move, she realized she had to... had to... Something had happened. The rain still engulfed her, the chariot was still moving but something was there that hadn't been there before. Twilight realized she was as cold as ice.
"Wh-wh-What's-"
"Keep moving! Nothing's happening!" Her kidnapper's voice trembled, though where he was shivering from cold or fear, or both, she couldn't say. Through the rain splatter and the trembling breathing, Twilight thought she heard something else, as if the wind itself was breathing. Whatever it was coming from was getting closer, though Twilight kept her eyes firmly shut, afraid to open them. The wind's breath became louder, and began to sound croaky, as if the creature breathing was on the verge of death. What's worse, Twilight was hearing more than one of these voices. They were surrounding the chariot.
"W-w-we need t-to turn around."
"KEEP MOVING"
CRACK The loud roar thunder made the Pegasi squeal, only followed by their mortified screams as whatever was there began to attack. Twilight's eye's shot open, she leaped off the chariot and began to dive bomb through the clouds below. The fate of her kidnappers did not concern her, she didn't even spare them a thought. For when she burst through the lowest cloud, She was greeted by an overhead view of an island with a single tall triangular tower standing formidable and dark as waves crashed against the sandy shores of a place that everyone and their cousin in Equestria had heard of.
Rotterdamn Prison.
Rotterdamn was the place you talked about to nasty little kids to set them straight. You told them nasty tales of the vicious creatures who wander the grounds, gruesome tales of escapees meeting grizzly ends and worse, you showed them pictures to prove that these horror stories were no work of sadistic fiction. The tales of monstrous, shadowy guards were all true.
Of course, when you grew up you realized all was not as it seemed. Rotterdamn was a real prison, yes. But it didn't have soul sucking monsters or a vicious executioner. It was just a prison for the worst of the worst. Everyone knew that.
A creaking voice. Twilight turned towards the source. The shadowy figure came at her, fangs bared. She flew to the side, and looked after her attacker. She saw more of the creatures emerging from the crowd.
Everyone was wrong.
Knowing that the hell hold beneath her was her only sanctuary from it's spawn above her, Twilight continued her fast dissent. She was heading for the ring of forest that surrounded the tower and was itself surrounded by the shores. The voices of the creatures who were chasing her died down, but even as she slowed down and landed softly on the muddy ground, they never stopped. She heard their terrible voices surrounding the island.
"Repentors. That's their name. Nasty little blighters." Twilight turned to the source of the weary young voice and, much to her surprise, saw a green alicorn with a messy black mane and tail sitting atop a low fat branch of a nearby tree "They suck all the good memories out of you until you're as insane as... well, me! Ha!" He jumped down from his spot and landed before Twilight. He was taller than her, only slightly yet still, he seemed to be looking down on the young mare, anticipation in his eyes.
"60 seconds left before the cycle of hell begins. 22 hours filled to the brim with your worst nightmares." Twilight backed away as he walked menacingly towards her. His cold stare and ravaged mane were visible only on the left due to the angled moonlight. He spoke quickly, words spilling out of his mouth and over Twilight's head. "Listen carefully princess is you want to survive. The tortures ahead were made to make you suffer in the worst way possible, they will abuse your fears, your lusts, your loved ones and everything in between. However only in one situation will you be in any mortal peril so if you should hear drag across earth, the snapping of twigs, the hissing of a name only horror stories tell... Run for your life... make it through the night and you'll live. You can forget this horrid mess and go back to your big comfy castle on your big plushy cloud." Twilight backed against a tree and, feeling a sudden surge of courage, went into the alicorns face, her eyebrows lowered and her face stern.
"WHO ARE YOU!" she shouted.
"You haven't guessed?" he replied instantly, smirking cheekily at the young mare. "I am the ghost of Rotterdamn. Toodaloo."
Then, the most astonishing thing happened. The alicorn faded into dust. It started at his legs, his hooves disappearing into little green specks. it was mere seconds until the disintigration reached the head and twilight saw the last of the strange dust wriggle away into the forest.
She hadn't recovered from the shock before the world started to change.
