Shattered Harmony

VII

  Twilight, Luna, and their armored entourage proceeded into the courtroom in silence. The roar of the excited crowd outside was quieted greatly when the doors shut behind them, but could still be heard through the thick stone walls of the castle. Luna quickened her pace and headed across the courtroom towards the castle library across the courtroom from where they entered.

   The elites in front opened the doors to the hallway leading to the library and stood aside as the rear four briefly hastened their movements to seamlessly transition their coverage through the door. The middle two moved up to where the front two had been and the rear two took the place of the middle guards. When the party passed through the door the elites holding it open quickly closed it behind them and took up the rear position, quickly getting back into sync with the rest where they began to move as one once more.

  The party maintained a swift walk through the hallway and did not stop to acknowledge anyone as they moved on, simply passing them without a greeting aside from the rhythmic sound of metal plates gliding over the top of one another. Upon reaching the door at the end of the long hallway the elites performed the same drill as before at the door to the library where they once again seamlessly accomplished the maneuver. Once inside Luna motioned them through a door to their left, the history section of the library.

  Twilight knew the library very well, her time as Celestia’s personal pupil had allotted her much time between the towering bookshelves. Passing by she could identify several different titles she’d read before, ‘The dragon situation’ the recounted story of the great general who strategized the downfall of the dragon lords eight centuries ago, ‘Lore of the gryphon tribes’ the written down translations of gryphon mythology in the pre-classical era, about the same time period as Star Swirl the bearded, and ‘Sisters’ the tale of Luna and Celestia’s period of rule up until the nightmare moon schism that ended in Luna’s banishment.

  The party continued to the back wall of the history section, which was the only section that was completely walled in by itself for a reason Twilight had never understood. All other sections of the library were in the vast open expanse of the main room while history was isolated from the rest in its own room. Upon reaching the end of the shelves they were met by the small area that held a few couches and a table where readers could relax with one of the castle’s many books, an area Twilight preferred when doing her studies because most other ponies would go to the more open areas and socialize quietly with one another while they read. Upon the wall was a large tapestry that bore Celestia’s sun hanging from the ceiling to the floor, Luna approached the wall art and paused for a moment.

  “Guards, leave us. Take watch at the door, we shall be with you in due time.” Luna turned to look briefly at each of them; they each saluted and spread out so one would walk up each of the six lanes between bookshelves in the history section, checking to see if it was clear before standing watch. Luna waited for them to exit the history section and close the door to address Twilight.

  “Twilight Sparkle,” Luna looked to Twilight, “Before we continue you must know something about who we are going to meet.” Luna’s voice was very serious, “When we became nightmare moon we were not alone in our attempt to unseat our sister, this was purposely kept hidden from the public. We had several guards who were unwaveringly loyal to us, and they pledged their lives to us as their queen of the night. The head of these guards was my personal captain of the night watch, her name was Falling Star. She was undyingly loyal to us, and she loved us dearly above all others, and it was in our name that she killed Celestia’s personal bodyguards, and many of our sister’s close friends. And it was because of this she met the worst fate of all involved in the attempted coup.”

  Luna looked away to the tapestry for a moment before turning back to Twilight; her voice was stern and foreboding. Twilight was unsure of what lie ahead of her, but she was sure it was nothing good. “The night of the coup, Falling Star and the band of separatist guards attempted to escape the castle after seeing us defeated by the elements of harmony. While our sister recovered from our battle they fled into the night only to be captured in the following days. When they were brought before our sister, Celestia had come to know her crimes, including the deaths of her bodyguards and friends within the castle. Celestia gave in to the anger she so rarely showed and used long forbidden magic to curse Falling Star.”

  Twilight couldn’t think of anything to say before Luna continued, “Though exiled to the moon, I could still see events in Equestria through the eyes of Falling Star, she and I had made the pact with the nightmare together and we were forever linked. And though we had anticipated grievous punishment for our loyal followers, even we were shocked by the revenge Celestia exacted upon her. By sacrificing two of our other soldiers using the ancient rites Celestia inflicted upon Falling Star the Sanguinis Curse, a fate worse than death. Are you familiar with the ancient curses Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked Twilight.

  “I can’t say I am.” Timidly replied Twilight, frightened as to what everything Luna was telling her would lead to.

  “The sanguinis curse affects the body, and transforms the afflicted into a vampire, forcing them to thirst for the blood of their fellow pony. The curse also requires a special crystal to bind the soul of the victim, rendering them unable to die unless the crystal is destroyed. Many have foolishly taken this path as a means to immortality only to see what it truly does to one’s body and soul before they end up destroying their own binding crystal to end their torment, Falling star has not been allowed such a way out.  After cursing Falling Star she was locked away in the castle undercroft with the remaining traitors. After days of searching for sustenance among the dark expanses of the undercroft, the changes began.”

  “We watched through her eyes as the hope of her fellow prisoners waned in the darkness, as the hunger from consuming only lichens and drinking offal from the undercroft streams had started to take their toll. And the entire time the curse began to take hold of her. After two days fangs began to rapidly grow out of her mouth, painfully pushing the two teeth in the way out of their sockets. After four days the thirst began, though she didn’t know why she was, she began thirsting for the blood of her comrades. We watched from her mind as four more days went by until she could bear it no longer. She voraciously attacked one of her friends and tore into his neck as he flailed and screamed, she was greatly distressed by her actions, and she even began to shed tears as she was driven to commit the horrifying act. She would never of taken a comrade in arms’ life, but the curse forced her on to commit this same atrocity over and over until all of her remaining comrades lay dead, drained of the lifeblood their bodies needed to continue. Every time she would kill one when overcome by the thirst she would cry over their body for hours.”

  “She tried killing herself many times to prevent the deaths of her friend’s and comrades at her hooves, but her attempts only inflicted grievous wounds and caused her more pain. She would call out to her comrades, telling them to try and run, and screaming apologies to them, she only wanted them to understand that it was not her choice and constantly yelled echoing cries through the undercroft for them to try and escape, but they never did. The bloodlust would send her on the hunt, possessing her and moving her to repeat the unspeakable act until all of her friends were gone.” Luna’s voice was audibly saddened.

   “When Celestia had the castle built in Canterlot she ordered a lone cell, sequestered away beneath the castle, and hidden from all except her. After the chamber was completed, she went herself to retrieve Falling Star from the old castle’s undercroft. When she found her, she was horrifically emaciated, and she lay in the same place she had for ten years since the Canterlot castle had started being built. Her mind would have been completely destroyed were it not for my efforts from the moon. We would enter her dreams each time she slept, and assuage the nightmares of our lone soldier as she lay in agony. When Celestia came for her she was little more than bones. Had she any strength in her body it would have been used to strike out at Celestia, but there was none to be scrounged from her starved form. Celestia took her from the old castle undercroft and placed her within the new cell beneath Canterlot castle. Within the cell there was only darkness save for a small chute that went to the surface in the roof of the cell, beneath it was catchment bowl. The cell lies directly beneath the execution block. Our sister, while deciding to keep Falling Star as her eternal prisoner, had at least given her a means of sustaining herself.”

   Twilight stood in silence as Luna continued, still unsure as to how to react to anything Luna was telling her. For so long it had only been Celestia that Twilight had any interactions with among the princesses. Luna had only been back for a year and hadn’t really made any attempts to be sociable aside from holiday functions and occasional conversations. To have so much interaction with her as of late was still alien to Twilight. And after everything that had happened the last few days, she wasn’t sure of where she stood when it came to Princess Luna, not anymore anyways.

  “This brings us to where we are now, over the past year we have been keeping Falling Star from being driven mad with thirst by offering our own blood to her until the day we might have negotiated her release. Knowing that she would of only sought to destroy Celestia for what she’d done to her we never never brought it up with Celestia for fear of how she would react.”

   Luna turned around, facing the tapestry once again, “But it seems that we must no longer worry about Celestia’s opinion, or any retribution by Falling Star. We communicated with Falling Star this morning, and her reaction to the death of her most hated enemy was as expected... overwhelming joy… she was bluntly cruel in the face of our sorrow, but has agreed to keep her feelings about our sister to herself. Do not confront her about how you felt about our sister when you meet her Twilight Sparkle, she will respect you and recognize your authority. No harm shall come to you at her hooves, but she will not share your sympathies over passing of Celestia, and will react harshly if she is brought up, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

  Twilight could pick up worry in Luna’s voice as she went through her explanation. She was also very unsure of how to react to everything being thrust upon her all at once. If the pony they were going to free would have tried to kill Celestia if the opportunity arose, how was she any better than the assassins they’d dispatched in the prior days? She was immensely confused as to how she should feel about everything; her head was practically spinning as her thoughts swirled, unable to form into anything coherent.

  “Twilight Sparkle, we realize this must be extremely difficult to understand right now.” Luna seemed to know of Twilight’s inner distress, “But we will need her in the time to come. There is no pony we’ve ever met that is so fiercely loyal, or as skilled in the ways of subterfuge and combat. And though she held no love for Celestia she is still loyal to her homeland... and to us. Besides, it was we who led her to this fate… we owe her, her freedom. Let us go to her.” Luna looked to the tapestry on the wall; lifting it with her magic, she revealed the wall behind it.

  Twilight had wondered if Luna was mistaken as to the location of the door before Luna approached it and placed a hoof on a brick that was slightly smaller than the others, pushing on it, it receded into the wall. The bricks in the wall began to move back in a circular wave moving out from the brick Luna had pushed. As they would disappear from the center they seemed to fall off the back, until enough brick’s had moved Twilight could not see where they went. Once a larger portion of them had come away from the middle Twilight could see them swirling in the large, dark hallway behind the false wall.

  After a minute of the brick’s retreating into the space they’d once obscured a large section of the wall was now an open threshold full of bricks swirling in the air. A moment after the last one came free they began to form two stands on either side of the hallway, they stacked up a few feet high and had a depression in the tops of them. As the last bricks settled, fire appeared atop the stands. Moments after the first fire came to life in the dark it was followed by a chain of fires leading down a ramp to a turn in the passage. Luna beckoned Twilight to follow and started into the dimly lit hall.

  The pair reached the first turn and saw even more flames lighting up as they continued down the hall. After a few moments the last of the torches were lit revealing a large grey door at the end. The claustrophobic tunnel stretched for a very long distance, and judging by Luna’s description, did indeed head in the direction of the execution yard. Twilight felt a knot binding up her stomach as they approached the door, her uncertainty was eating at her every step of the way, and she was showing it. Twilight was scared of who she would encounter within the confines of Celestia’s secret prison, and she wasn’t sure of how they would react to her presence. Luna on the other hand was the same as always, dignified and graceful.

  After a few silent moments the pair reached the door, Twilight’s heart was pounding in her chest, the mix of fear and anticipation within her was becoming overwhelming as Luna approached the lever for the door’s locking mechanism. “Remember Twilight Sparkle,” Luna’s voice echoed in the tunnel, “you are in no danger from Falling Star. We can sense you doubt our judgment but we ask you to trust us. However we ask that you brace yourself for what you are about to see, those afflicted with the sanguinis curse have…” Luna paused, “frightening, appearances.” This did nothing to soothe Twilight’s anxiety. Luna reached a hoof out and pushed back the lever beside the doorway; a horrid screeching noise filled the hall and echoed deafeningly up and down the tunnel as the mechanism began to go to work, Twilight threw her hooves up to cover her ears and practically fell over before she was able to shift her weight to lean against the wall. The terrible screams of the gears ceased and the low rumbling of the machine in the wall took its place as the door began to pull into the left wall.

  Inside there was nothing but black, barely lit by the flickering flames in the hall behind them. As the door opened further a long shaft of light could be seen, a bright pillar of white created by the light on each particle of dust that passed through it, a pillar that ended into a pool of crimson, with drips still trickling in from the opening above. Nothing could be seen aside from the pillar of light in the room. As the door opened wider, only the doorway of the room became dimly lit by the low lights of the small flames, and when the door was completely open there was no pony inside that could be seen.

  “Falling Star,” Luna beckoned the dark, “present thyself.” Two red reptilian eyes slowly opened just beyond the shaft of light.

  “Yes my queen.” Replied a coarse female voice from within the cell, the words chilled Twilight’s blood. She tried desperately to keep her heart from breaking a rib and escaping.

  “I am not your queen Falling Star, there is no need to address me as such.” Luna replied sternly. The eyes closed for a moment before opening again, but this time they were higher than before and were moving toward them.

  “You will always be my queen.” The form of Falling Star came into view at the fringes of the light. Her coat was an iron grey, stained black around her mouth by the remnants of old meals. Her hair was a wiry and thin veil of silver, barely clinging onto her head as it hung unevenly around her face. And her wings were ragged, mere skin and bone that came to a jagged, spiked point at the end of the wing, much like that of a bat. Her facial features were gaunt and jagged from malnourishment, dripping with the blood of her last meal. Her eyes were sunken and drained, even though she looked Twilight in the eyes as she shambled forward they appeared distant and hollow. Twilight had always told Spike there was no such things as zombies, but now she wasn’t so sure. The visage of the pony in front of her made her want to scream and run, but she fought it back for Luna. She was young when she was cursed, were it not for her imprisonment and atrophy caused by prolonged starvation she would look no different in age than Twilight or her friends, but instead she was a walking corpse.

   “And you must be Twilight Sparkle; Luna has told me much about you. I am Falling Star, it’s my pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The voice of the pony before them was ragged; years of inhaling the same dust over and over had taken its toll, and every time she spoke Twilight could see her two fangs that protruded from her top row of teeth. Falling Star bowed before the princesses and struggled to rise to her hooves.

  “I’m embarrassed to have to meet you in such a condition, but as you can imagine, I’ve not exactly been well accommodated during my stay.” Falling Star’s words were void of humor, and what sounded like it could have been a joke, was a very grim appraisal of her past thousand years of imprisonment. “At least I’ve not gone blind, the light up above gives me enough to keep my sight from going,” Falling Star coughed, “I’ll be back to my old self after I’ve had a chance to recuperate.” Twilight couldn’t help but feel sorry for the figure in front of her, at one time she was a traitor, she had murdered many of those Celestia had held dear, and would have seen to the death of her beloved mentor a thousand years ago had the opportunity arisen, but she was unsure that anyone deserved such a punishment.

  “So…” Falling Star began again, “I’m to understand the crown falls under attack?” Falling star winced in the light of the fires in the hallway, it was more light than she’d been exposed to in the past millennia years and her eyes were having difficulty adjusting.

  “Yes,” replied Luna, “We have come for you so as you may assist your country in the days to come. From what we have gathered there is rebellion gathering in the North, and with the assassination of our sister we believe they are of sufficient power that they are confident enough to make such bold moves against us. With our sister’s passing we are left vulnerable, the citizens are frightened, and we are unsure of where our enemy will strike next, but we are sure that this isn’t just an assassination.”

  “Well then, it seems we’ve work to do then, what shall you have me do my queen?”

“After a thousand years of being locked away and in no condition to do anything, she asks immediately where she should go.” Thought Twilight, in awe of Falling Star’s readiness to do anything for Luna.

  “For now you shall stay in the castle and regain your strength my friend.”

“Her friend?” thought Twilight again, “Luna barely referred to Celestia as her friend.”

  “Then when the time comes you are ready, we shall summon you for assignment. Come then, let us go.” Twilight cautiously followed behind the pair in front of her, Luna helped prop up Falling Star as she struggled to move in her weakened state. By the time they’d made it halfway across the hall Luna was carrying Falling Star on her back, who could barely keep her eyes open. Twilight continued behind them, deep in her thoughts.

***

  “Ah, Falling Star, I remember her well.” Commented Spike, “After she recuperated, she actually wasn’t that bad looking; it just took some time for her youthful look to return.”

  “Once she was back up to strength she proved to be quite the valuable asset, even with her almost constant need for blood. I remember her carrying around flasks and jokingly offering it to other ponies in the camps after her secret was out.” The two shared a brief, but genuine laugh; the first one either had had in years.

   “It was that night we found out the caravan we’d sent up north was ambushed not far outside of Ponyville. They sent a guard back with his horn snapped off as a message to Canterlot.” Twilight nodded with her old anger faintly detectable in her voice.

  “Then the funeral business the next day, hell of a mess that turned out to be.” Spike added in.

  “Yeah, they almost finished what they started the day before, it was just a shame for them that the royal elite were present, bastards didn’t even stand a chance against them.” Twilight grinned when finishing her sentence.

  “It’s almost sad to look back on… almost.”