Herald of Dawn

Over the years, Celestia had forgotten just how treacherous the land could be to any but its proper steward. She was able to follow Enigma's convoy for a second or two after they crossed out of Equestrian airspace, and then, the land became a figment of a demented imagination. She was continually impressed that the pegasi pulling Enigma's carriage could navigate such a place. Celestia remembered when this was all smooth stone, left over from the lava flows.

Well-honed senses alerted her to a pegasus coming up on her right. She turned around and found one of her own guards hovering behind her, just behind the official border.

"Your Majesty, we found this among the Queen's luggage," he said, holding out a small stack of papers. "We were able to copy and return it before she noticed it gone."

Celestia took the papers and glanced them over. What she saw made her blood run like chilled water in her veins. It was a clinical report describing the effects of a disease the Queen was researching; it was no disease that Celestia had ever heard of in her long life. It was of the wasting, deleterious sort, effects including black pus exuding from all orifices, the rotting away of the cutie mark, and ending in eventual death.

It began much simpler than that.

Affected creatures -- Celestia took special note of that word. It would seem that this was not an equine disease -- would begin to forget who they were and why they existed. They would slowly, but surely, become content and complacent with their squalor; this complacency was what transformed the disease from one curable to one fatal.  Faint scrawl in the corner, no doubt the lab tech's note to Enigma, mentioned that it could be cured with modern medicine, but it was designed to destroy it.

Celestia teleported herself and the lab report back to her throne room.

Lying in wait for her like lionesses, two of the Elements stood holding a Changeling between them.

It seemed her little ruse had ended.

Rainbow Dash was the first to move, throwing the Changeling at Celestia's hooves. Her gaze made Celestia flinch but not move. She was pinned to her place by that smoldering glare just waiting for a chance to spark into a hellfire.

"Where is she?"

It was not a question -- it was a demand, clothed in the foreknowledge that the Element of Loyalty would sooner search the world than leave Twilight out there alone. Applejack stood off to one side, muscles tensed to stop Dash if she tried to attack Celestia.

"I have my guards out looking for her; you need not worry Rainbow Dash," Celestia began. Her train of thought was interrupted by a booming roar that she would have expected only from a dragon.

"Where is she!?"

The words tore themselves from Rainbow Dash, the last word cracking into a shrill screech. Sensing that she was not going to be able to dodge the question, Celestia opted for honesty.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle is imprisoned somewhere within the Hajahact Empire --" The moment she heard the words, Dash was in the air; she careened through a stained glass window with the force of a runaway train. Celestia's planned warning died in her throat as the remaining member of her impromptu audience jumped through the broken window and chased after the dwindling blue streak.

"Sister! How couldst thou let them leave! Wilt we let yet more fools go to their death?" Princess Luna broke her pensive silence. Her jaw was hard set and her stare could have cut glass. "Thou and I wot Hajahact is but an abattoir! With the enforc'd aboulia, they will go like prey to the slaughter. "

Luna's burning presence simmered, no doubt dampened by the thought.

"We hast nay choice. We wilt give ov'r the iron one."

"Dear sister, we cannot do that! We put Equestria at grave risk if he is released!" Celestia protested, pounding the floor with her hoof. Luna shook her head, having resigned to what had to be done.

"Dost thou see anoth'r option? I doth not."

Celestia and Luna trotted down the empty corridor. The room at the end of the hall was designed to hold a dragon, but had found new life in imprisoning the pegasus known as Iron Ire. There were more magical and physical restraints in this one room than in the rest of the dungeon combined.

One could never be too cautious with a pony whose special talent was causing absolute devastation.

The noise in this room had grown with exponential speed as the click-clack of unlocking locks rang out. Bound in deceptively simple chains was a metallic-coated pegasus. The barrel of his chest alone was two or three Royal Guards put together, let alone the rest of him. As soon as he saw the princesses, he calmed down, a barely-concealed smirk teasing at his muzzle.

"Sunnyass and Luna! What is worthy of the pleasure?" he asked jovially. His gunmetal mane draped over him like a cloak, concealing the bright, calculating look in his eyes.

Luna glanced over at Celestia, a sheepish look on her face.

"Haply thou ought stand outside? The steel one dost not take so much offense to our presence."

Celestia conceded the point, and stepped out of the room, waiting for her sister to deal with the monster. She briefly wondered about her own sanity; was Twilight truely worth setting this pestilent beast loose upon Equestria? She violently shook her mane, as though the action would cleanse her thoughts of such doubt.

Of course she was worth it. Burning the world was worth it, if only to have her precious Twilight back where she could reach her. Still, the blood of thousands was upon her hooves now. She had the scourge of Equestria chained up, but she gave him up for Twilight.

A small but vocal part of her hoped that Twilight wouldn't hate her for this.