Chapters Cold wind rustled Twilight's feathers, wove its cool tendrils through her mane, embraced her in a welcome change from the throbbing heat of the fading day. She rolled over, landing on a cloud to rest a bit. It was then that it struck her -- something here was out of place.
The sky usually wasn't this deep of a purple, even at sunset. Furthermore, the ground shouldn't be a suckling void -- not quite black but something else as though some pony had cut the sky out and the absence around the cuts was the ground. Twilight fluttered to the ground, intent on sating her curiosity. Now that she was on the 'grass' proper, she could smell rich bergamont tinted with black pepper. It was as intoxicating as it was repulsive.
The sky shimmered above her. Night had fallen while she was not watching, but it bore no resemblance to the Luna's hoofcraft. Soft swirls of rainbow swam through golden shimmer, making their way across the wine-purple sky. Every so often, something would dart across the sky, too high up for Twilight to know its identity.
Looking around, the young alicorn found that the landscape was as disorienting as any desert. No distinguishing marks showed themselves, no road sign pointed the way home; in fact, there was nothing but darkness in every direction. Twilight couldn't even be sure of which direction she had came from.
She cast a minor direction spell -- it would show her trail, all the way back to Canterlot. To her irritation, the spell fizzled the moment it was about to give her direction. Further attempts at direction spells, at travel spells, even at teleportation, proved useless. Something about this place was draining every scrap of magic it could pull from her.
Twilight ached, down to her bones. She had been walking for hours, days maybe. She wasn't sure anymore -- the sky never changed to reflect day and night like it did back home. It changed color and brightness in a mockery of time. Out of the blue, the ground changed. A tiny vole dug at at a outcropping of dahlias, fleeing as Twilight approached it. It was the first sign of life that Twilight had seen. The glimpse of hope brightened her mood. She must be getting somewhere!
A sound came from over the horizon that was like the boom of thunder, followed by another and another in a rhythmic beating. A silver blur blitzed past Twilight, sending her scrambling to protect her ears from the noise and wind. The blur looped back, dropping like a lead weight in front of the cowering princess. Twilight took her hooves off of her ears and rose to her feet.
"Hello!" she said, smiling at the massive stallion. It was the first pony she had seen in a while -- maybe they knew the way back to Canterlot..!
The pegasus stallion snorted and raised an eyebrow at Twilight.
"Utakr oß̈?" he asked, tilting his head to the left like a confused puppy. "Qæav æṏedpax!"
...or maybe not.
The stallion shrugged, receiving no answer from Twilight. In one swift, fluid move, he was back in the air, rocketing back the way he came. Twilight followed him for as long as she could but the pegasus left her behind in a trail of feathers and strong wind. Still, off in the distance, she could make out a mass of towers. As she drew closer, it became clear that what she saw was a city, guarded by a massive wall.
Two guards stood out front: one an unicorn, the other a pegasus. Their gazes trained themselves on Twilight as she approached the gates of the city. The pegasus looked to the unicorn, then back at Twilight. His expression quirked, a silent question hanging in the air. The unicorn nodded, waving Twilight forward. He took her saddlebags and threw them aside, roughly shoving her into the city as he did so. The gates slammed shut behind Twilight, audibly locking.
A single snowflake tickled Twilight's muzzle. Reinforcements arrived behind it, burning her with the sting of ice and wind. Twilight heard a soft thwhip thwhip thwhip which evolved into a clamorous pounding, bringing with it some of the coldest air she had ever felt. A carriage -- Twilight marveled at the lacy structure. The slightest wind should have torn it apart, but it stood ... somehow -- pulled by two of the largest pegasi Twilight had ever seen, blitzed past the barrier above the city walls.
For a fleeting second, she could have sworn she saw a pony-like creature staring at her from inside the carriage; its eyes like frozen fire, simmering hatred held back by a cold facade. Then, it was gone in a blast of cold wind. The breeze ruffled Twilight's cloak -- wait, cloak? Twilight looked behind her to see that, at some point, a long dark purple cloak had been clasped around her throat, covering every inch of her body save for her face and neck.
Designs rippled through the ephemeral fabric, twisting and turning like they were alive. A faint remembrance niggled at the back of Twilight's head, but she couldn't quite recall where she - ah! The meaning of the design suddenly occurred to her. It was a complicated, if bit archaic, illusion charm. That still left the question of who did this, and more importantly, when. She decided to take the thing off and examine the spell structure.
The heavy clasp had set in it, a star ruby resembling her own cutie mark. It resisted her attempts to unclasp it, and with her magic at its lowest levels since her foalhood, she couldn't very well destroy it. Twilight was left with no choice but to ignore it for the moment. She trotted along the cobbled road, hopping out of the way of missing bricks.
Dirty cheeked foals played in the street, the scars all too common on their bodies not inhibiting their joy. Their parents were rarely near by, but Twilight occasionally saw a mare or two looking after her foal. The ponies she saw were universally ragged and run down, some looking like they hadn't seen a decent meal in years. Most of them ignored her. A few watched her as though they expected her to attack.
Twilight's own reflection glinted off of the window of a closed shop. She stopped, her breath catching in her lungs. The pony staring back at her was not her. This pony had sharp, intense features made that much more defined by starvation. Her mane was overgrown and matted; her eyes sunken and dark. Notably, she was a unicorn. Her cutie mark had changed, matching the darker colors of her mane and coat -- all that was left of the original was the center star, now a pale lilac instead of the vibrant fuchsia Twilight was used to.
That answered the question of what the spell did, but not why it was there or who had cast it. Surely she would have seen, or at least felt, a spell being cast on her. Questions mounted upon questions but answers were far and few.
Twilight's ears perked up. Was that Equestrian she heard? She trotted, following the sound. As she drew closer, she could make out that it definitely was Equestrian, a soothing relief from the broken, guttural language the natives spoke. Twilight slowed down when she reached the alley from which the voice was pouring. She pressed herself against a wall, trying to blend with the rough hewed stone.
"Please! Just ... just please leave my family out of this," the stallion begged, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. The gryphon laughed, a deep rumbling laugh that made the hairs on Twilight's back stand up.
"You know better than to think that I would change my policies for one pony." The gryphon's eyes scanned over the cowering stallion; his sunset gold feathers gleamed in the fading light as they ruffled out, giving him the appearance of a mane but more like a lion's than a pony's. "You're dead, your family's dead; your legacy is dust in the damned wind."
"All I'm asking is for another chance, Sonny --" The stallion looked like he had a lot more to say, but 'Sonny' cut him off.
"We've got an eavesdropper, Bolt. You happy to have her blood on your hooves, too? A mare and her foal not satisfy you?" 'Sonny' turned her way, his heated gaze boring holes into Twilight's chest. With one smooth move, he ripped the stallion's throat and most of the surrounding muscle out, never once taking his eyes off her. Dropping the offal, he sucked the blood off of his claws. Twilight was frozen; everything in her body screamed run but her legs refused to cooperate.
Her legs kicked in just in time; she bolted for the street, looking for solace in any open shop. Down at the end of the cobbled street, she saw mostly empty cafe. Twilight sprinted for the door, tripping over the slightly raised threshold in the process. Instead of colliding with the hard floor, however, she fell into a slightly more forgiving pony. His warm fur tickled her nostrils, causing her to sneeze. She struggled off, falling backwards.
He had a mane the color of dark coffee, streaked with ashy gray. It complimented the deep chestnut of his, admittedly soft, coat.
"I'm sorry!" Twilight squeaked, squirming under the stallion's unwavering gaze. After what felt like an eternity, but was more like minutes, he said,
"Name's Zealous Wing. Who are you?" He glanced over her. With one hoof, he shoved her into the cafe, taking her place in the doorway.
"Zeal, save me the trouble that is your need to play hero. Give me the girl, and go back to whatever it is you do in this hellhole." The gryphon watched Twilight through the window, licking his beak when he caught her looking.
"Now, Sonny, you know I can't do that." He shook his head at the gryphon, a tiny smile teasing at his muzzle. "Kids these days ... or is it just you gangbangers?" Zeal took two steps forward, walking into Sonny's lunge but at the same time, using the force of it to knock the gryphon off his feet. The two wrestled for a while, but Zealous had the advantage of sheer weight. After a one-sided match grotesquely in favor of Zealous, Sonny threw the stallion aside and scrambled to his feet.
"You can't save everyone! You couldn't even save yourself!" Sonny barked, trying but failing to hide the limp in his gait. "Once you're not around, then what? She's nothing but shit!" The gryphon looked like he was going to keep fighting, but fled when Zeal lunged at him.
Watching Sonny fly off, Zeal muttered, "Yeah, yeah, get out of here you overgrown pigeon." His expression was tense and rigid, but he was clearly thinking about something. Zeal turned to Twilight. "There. You're not dead. Get out of my shop." He made a soft shooing motion towards the door.
"Zeal, honey, you can't just abandon her," a soft voice chirped. Twilight turned around and found a tall, blue unicorn standing closer than her voice would have implied. The shock of her sudden appearance caused Twilight to stumble backwards and bump into Zeal. Her mane was the color of gold, slipping across her neck and flanks like it was liquid.
"I can, in fact. You," an accusing hoof was pointed at the unicorn, "however, can but won't." Ignoring the accusation, the unicorn turned to Twilight, a dainty yet warm smile on her lips.
"He's right, you know. Can't seem to help myself for taking in strays. My name is Diamond Charmer, but you can call me Charm. Who might you be?"
Twilight sat still, caught like a deer in headlights beneath the intense gaze that Charm had. It wasn't simply that she saw through her -- more or less it felt like the unicorn was seeing something else entirely.
"I, uh, I am Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said, struggling to take back some sense of her own agency. The longer she stayed in this strange country, the more she felt like she should just lie down and sleep until she was given something to do. A fogginess was starting to overtake her mind, dulling any last vestiges she might have had of her original purpose. All she wanted to do was sleep. Dream forever until she could be reunited with her quee--
Twilight gasped. The air around her was as cold as in a meat locker. She looked around, seeing Charm's horn ablaze.
"You're not from here, are you?" Charm asked, the expression on her face implying she already knew the answer to that question. "We need to leave. Like, right now. "
"What - what was that ?" Twilight asked, alarmed at the near losing her mind to the whispering voices seeping in.
"I'll explain when we get to the shelter. You're going to stay there for a little bit, just until you have a place to stay." Twilight found herself nodding, even before she had heard the entire sentence. She shook her head, trying to clear whatever was influencing her. She wasn't just going to ... Twilight's jaw nearly dropped at the fact that her hooves were moving without her control. Something deep within her was forcing her to go along with the ponies around her.
Before she knew it, she was outside of a nondescript whitewashed building, teeming with every known race. Gryphon chicks played alongside buffalo calves; ponies mingled with minotaurs, zebras, and some races she didn't have names for. Charm moved through the crowd with ease, the sea of bodies parting easily for her. Twilight had to trot at a quick clip to keep up with the unicorn, but eventually, they were in a very 'industrial' office. It was painted a sickening shade of green over the concrete blocks -- it was the kind of color that ponies painted rooms to make them feel cheery when they were decidedly not. The usual smörgåsbord of degrees and photos hung on the walls, livening up the place more than a coat of paint or two ever could.
The windows had paneled shades, but what Twilight could see was an unimpressive view of the alleyway between this building and the next. Charm coughed, pulling the shades closed. Twilight found that her mind was slowly clearing; for some reason, this room didn't seem to drain her magic like the rest of the city did. For the first time in a long time, she felt the familiar pulse of pure power run through her veins.
"Let me be the first to welcome you to Paradise," Charm said, sitting down behind the desk. "Also, let me apologize for Zealous. He's friendlier than he looks, promise. " The unicorn sighed, putting her head in her hooves. "I'm just not sure ... well, never mind that. What did you say your name was?"
"Twilight Sparkle. Where did you say I was?"
Charm leaned down over the keyboard, tapping Twilight's name into the form.
"You're in Paradise. What's your special talent?"
"Magic. I --" Twilight was cut off by Charm's immediate question.
"Specialty?"
"All of it."
Charm dutifully recorded this on her form, muttering something too quiet to hear. She spun around and stood up out of her chair, trotting over to a much abused bookcase. From it, she withdrew two books. For a moment, Charm looked conflicted. She turned back around and asked,
"You can read, right?" Twilight nodded quickly, her smile coming back for the first time in days. Charm slid the books across the desk. "Read these, then. You're going to need to become familiar with the political landscape if you're to survive here. If you'll follow me?"
Charm trotted for the door. Twilight followed her, carrying the worn books in her magic. The unicorn delicately sidestepped around the shelter's residents; Twilight, on the other hand, was muttering a constant stream of apologies, every other step landing on a foot or hoof or wing. Before long, they were in front of an empty room. The financial strain on the shelter was reflected in every part of the building -- the room contained nothing but a bed and a desk. Twilight swore that she had seen bathrooms larger than this glorified closet.
"You'll be staying here. I'm sorry to leave so quickly, but I have other residents to attend to," Charm said, rushing off before Twilight could even respond. With nothing else to do, Twilight went into the room and took a seat at the desk. She opened one of the books Charm had given to her and began to read.
For said she,
"In your deference and your respect, you will be saved;
in silence and in trust shall be your strength."
But you refused her, and so shall it be
Of kingdoms and kings
Who shaped her to what she is
When she rises to judge your world
After the silence of centuries.
At her feet, lie languidly:
a lion with wings to carry him like lightning;
the fatigued screams of those here and those
yet to come;
the shining beacon in the hearts of the common
Scholars debate over the origin of this piece; because it is incomplete, dating it to any particular time in history is difficult. As well, magical residue has been found in the fibers of the paper, further confusing the investigation. It is generally accepted, however, that said piece refers to the present regent of Hajahact -- Queen Enigmatic Insanity, or simply [REDACTED] before her ascension -- and the 'Triad' as they are known colloquially.
Twilight was disappointed to find that somepony had ripped out every page following the first. The other book was in a similar state -- black marks crossed out, corrected, and otherwise marred the original text where pages still remained. It was clear to her that she would not glean any useful information from these books.
Still, she felt obligated to return them to Charm. Twilight grasped the books in her magic and trotted out the door. She tried to remember which set of stairs she took to get to Charm's office. The stairs seemed longer than she remembered but she pressed forward. Before her were a set of dark wooden doors, engraved with chrysanthemums in the Chineighse style.
This most certainly wasn't Charm's office, but perhaps whoever worked here could point her in the right direction. Twilight pulled the doors open, temporarily blinded by the bright light flooding the office. Thick, plush carpet embraced her hooves like it was made of clouds. The walls were lined with maroon velvet. Behind the giant desk that dominated the cavernous room, a fleeting wisp of a mare sat, her head in her hooves.
Twilight's hoofsteps were silenced by the carpeting, but somehow, the mare knew she was there. She looked up at Twilight, revealing that she was a unicorn. Her long, black mane fell over her desk, continuing down onto the floor. It seemed to be slowly flowing, reflecting in every possible color like a liquid crystal. It was then that Twilight realized, the mare was a crystal pony.
Twilight gasped. Her mouth moved faster than her mind, spitting out a half-formed conclusion.
"You - you're the beacon! I mean, uh, do you know where Diamond Charmer works? I need to return these books to her," Twilight said, wanting to curl up and die from the embarrassment. There were plenty of crystal ponies; that didn't mean they all were the beacon referred to in that book. Her internal monologue was severed by a gentle laughing.
"I wouldn't go shouting your thoughts at just anypony, dear. It won't end well," the mare said. Still smiling, she took the books from Twilight. "Did Charm give you these ratty old things to read?" She shook her head, chuckling to herself. "That mare, I swear. You can't explain these things with the ramblings of doddering fools."
Taking a second shot at a good impression, Twilight asked,
"What's your name? Mine's Twilight Sparkle."
The mare smiled again, and gestured to a chair. Twilight sat down, glad to rest her aching hooves.
"I am Shining Dawn. I wou--"
SCREE SCREE SCREE SCREE SCREE
Dawn looked over at the offending object whose screaming cut her off. In a moment, she was cold and emotionless. She looked back at Twilight, her expression completely blank.
"I apologize, but I have an appointment to keep. Diamond works on the third floor, second door. I would recommend you be quick about your delivery. It is not wise to be late to this ... event. Simply follow the crowd and you will find your way." With that, Dawn marched off, seemingly staring into nothing.
Twilight followed her instructions and returned the books. Charm was gone by the time that Twilight found her office. Having gotten rid of the books, Twilight was quickly swept away by the pulsating tide of bodies all heading in the same direction. She found herself being directed towards what she could only assume was the center of town. Masses of creatures of all species clustered around a tall platform. Twilight gulped unconsciously when she saw the noose hanging down from it.
At the top of the platform, she saw the silhouettes of three figures: two were distinctly pony but the last looked like a ... gryphon? Between them was a dark shape too bunched up to determine whether it was alive or not. It wriggled once or twice, being swiftly bucked by one of the ponies. Twilight had no doubt in her mind what this was. She felt the bile in her stomach rise up at the scene.
A loud bell was sounded, once, twice, three times. The crowd fell deathly silent -- you could almost hear their hearts beating. Twilight pushed to the front of the crowd, silently pleading that she was wrong. Above her, the shape was bucked into standing up, the bag over its head being ripped off in the process. The gryphon flew down and grabbed the noose. Twilight's blood ran cold in her veins at the look the gryphon had on his face; it was one of sick sadism, revealing the quiet joy he was taking in doing this foul deed.
One of the ponies took the forefront. With a voice that could have blown a house apart, brick by brick, she shouted, "We, the Three, shall be taking the place of our Queen Enigmatic Insanity in these proceedings!" She grabbed the captive in her magic and held him aloft. "This traitor invaded our blessed country, no doubt an emissary of Equestria's! He spied upon our secrets, and killed our guards. We, again, protect the interests of Hajahact, of you, our beloved populace! For this treason, he shall die! Let he be an example to any who would spy upon our country!"
Twilight had a hard time not putting her hooves over her ears while the unicorn mare was speaking. It felt like she was standing in front of a speaker turned to its highest setting. The voice was all around her, vibrating her insides. Eventually, the mare's tirade was ended and the captive set down on the platform.
It was over quicker than it started. The pony, a dark coated unicorn stallion, was noosed and shoved unceremoniously off the platform. The height was nowhere near enough to break his neck -- he just hung there, choking and gurgling until he finally fell still. Twilight openly sobbed, earning her glares from the creatures around her. She looked up, searching for some indication that this was all a nightmare.
What she found was the gryphon staring down at her, his eyes wide and his lion-like feathers blowing in the breeze. In a moment, he was upon her, seizing her in his claws and carrying her up to the platform. In her last few moments before losing consciousness, Twilight remembered who he was.
It was Sonny.
Celestia waited with withheld breath. The Pegasus guards she had sent out would be back soon, hopefully bringing some news of Twilight's whereabouts. It had been weeks since the youngest alicorn had been seen, anywhere, and many assumed her dead. If her guards couldn't wrench Twilight from wherever she was presently, then Celestia had no choice but to call in favors owed to her by the leaders of the surrounding countries.
They would have to search their territories just as hard as she had hers. Cadence would be the easiest to request a search from, but the others would be harder. Chief Thunderhooves would protest the request, pointing out that an alicorn among buffalo would stand out like a pineapple among potatoes. Still, she would ask it of him.
The Gryphon empire was going through a particularly brutal coup d'état , so there really was no one to request a search from. Once a victor emerged from the fray and things settled down, however, they could expect a visit from one of her diplomats. As for the Hajahact empire ... well ...
Celestia walked into an adjoining hall, lined with portraits of leaders present and past. She primarily used it to familiarize her diplomats with some of the more 'intimidating' leaders they would have to face, so they wouldn't pass out, or flee, at first meeting. Rarely did she ever come here for anything else, but she had to see the face of her jailer, her enemy, and potentially Twilight's captor.
As she walked, she eventually came across the painting she was searching for. An elegant, purple-colored kirin stared down at her with a look of judgement. Thick scales sprawled across her face and back, parting to allow for a flowing brown mane. Two black horns forcibly split through the scales covering the kirin's head, one nearly matching Celestia's own horn for size, the other only about the size of a normal unicorns. The smaller was tucked beneath the larger in a straight line between the kirin's ears.
The ruler of the Hajahacts was all muscle and might, concealing a shrewd and cunning tactician. Traditionally, the two had stayed on their own sides of the border, unless one or the other needed to recover something. Recently, Celestia had initiated a trade deal with the militaristic country, involving the exportation of Equestria's criminals -- not the irredeemably corrupted ones, no those went to Tarterus but your average, run-of-the-mill drug pushers and other rabble. Petty criminals, you see. -- to Hajahact.
This deal had a two-fold benefit, as far as Celestia was concerned:
One, it allowed her to report, truthfully, to her subjects that only the worst of the worst were criminals in Equestrian society. This was true, in a wholly superficial sense. Crime wasn't completely eradicated from her utopia; rather, it was simply pushed somewhere else, like somepony using a leafblower to blow the leaves to another pony's lawn instead of cleaning them up properly.
Two, it meant that she didn't have to use the resources in building, and maintaining, a prison system. Why bother when you can just get a whole fleet of trucks and ship the criminals somewhere else, where the infrastructure for such a thing was already in place? Instead, these resources were put to use making Equestria happier for everypony else, which only further bolstered the utopia she was crafting.
In return for taking away the garbage of society, she promised to not make any inquires into what, exactly, the kirin was doing with all of these criminals, since in Celestia's last visit to Hajahact, she had not seen even a single jail. It was a shady deal, to be absolutely honest, but it was a needed one. Nevermind that if she had bothered to ask, more than likely, she would not get a decent answer. What else could be expected from a kirin with Enigmatic right in the name?
Celestia shook her head. Of all the things to name a child, her parents had settled on Enigmatic Insanity. It was a mouthful, and frankly, given that a pony's name often times reflected the wishes of their parents, it raised some disturbing questions about what Enigma's parents were wishing upon her.
She couldn't help but feel that the portrait's expression had changed somewhat. Before, it had a condescending and judgmental feel to its features; now, it seemed as though the kirin was hiding something behind that faint smile, taunting her with a silent chant of "I know something that you don't". Celestia couldn't help but glare at the portrait.
Somewhere in the depths of her mind, a thought niggled at her, the thought that Enigma had something to do with this. Celestia hoped that it was a baseless fear, that it was all in her mind. Equestria was in no way prepared for war, especially with one of the Elements missing.
Celestia walked back out to her throne room and waited.
Shadows crept slowly around the room, being cast by a gently swinging light bulb. Twilight tried to catch it in her magic, but found that what little ability the land left her with was gone. It was all gone. She sobbed, her head in her hooves. Slowly, though, it dawned upon her that she was alive.
Why hadn't Sonny killed her?
He had certainly intended to, that much was made clear to Twilight but why didn't he? It was obvious he had no problem killing other ponies ... Twilight looked around the room. She had shackles on her hooves and neck -- there was no way for her to stand up but she could move her head. The room was empty; cold concrete punctuated by dark stains that Twilight hoped were rust. A single metal door was on the wall directly in front of her.
If she focused, she could almost hear hoofsteps. The hoofsteps drew closer until it seemed they were outside the door. The handle creaked, flecks of rust falling off the tumblers. The door swung open. Just beyond the threshold was a crystal mare. She balanced a tray neatly in her magic, floating it over to Twilight. On the tray was a sandwich, a few crackers, and a bowl of soup. The mare came over and unlocked the shackles binding Twilight's hooves.
"Wh-who are you?! Where am I?" Twilight cried, grasping at the mare. The mare shook Twilight's hooves loose, her deep frown never wavering.
"I am afraid, child, that we are already acquainted. I am Shining Dawn. I have come to feed you, and then make you presentable to the Queen," Dawn said, gesturing down to the tray. "She will be back late tonight, but she will want to see this. To be honest with you, I was going to let you go. Pretend I had never seen you, and scrape every last trace of the encounter from my mind; you know how it goes. But that brute just had to have you ..."
Seeing Twilight's worried expression, Dawn quickly backpedaled and said,
"No, no, don't worry. He didn't hurt you. Rivers saw to that. She, above all of us, wishes only to please her Queen. What better gift than the prized student of a loathed enemy? You can start to see how I was outvoted." She laughed, undoing the shackle around Twilight's throat. "You really should have hid yourself better. Oh well."
Twilight scrambled to her hooves, barely missing the tray. Dawn put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.
"Don't try to run. There are six guards outside the door," she whispered. "If I see an opportunity, I will get you out, but for now, play your part. " Twilight nodded. In such a weakened condition, there was no way she could simply fight her way free. She was forced to trust her life to this mare and hope that she wasn't making a bad decision.
She ate the food that Dawn brought, and then followed her out, her head hung low in a show of submission. The guards all watched her as she slunk by. She was glad that Dawn warned her -- just one of these monstrous ponies would be the end of her. Twilight had to wonder if there were steroids in the water or something of that sort.
Dawn trotted off at a rapid clip. Twilight marveled at the architecture. The whole building was reminiscent of cathedrals built by Celestial and Lunar cults. Sunlight filtered through tall stained glass windows, casting gem-like light across the floor. The ceiling was much further up than she expected; it gave the building a cavernous sort of feeling.
At the very end of the room, two floor-to-ceiling windows utterly dominated the wall holding them up. Twilight recognized Queen Enigmatic Insanity from her diplomatic briefings but the pegasus depicted on the other window was unknown to her. She shivered under his gaze -- she had never seen somepony with so much hate in their eyes. His fur was a color shared by a restricted technology -- guns, Twilight thought. He was the color of a gun.
She had never seen one up close, but she had read about them and their potential for chaos. Twilight wondered to herself if the creatures in this country had guns. She hoped that the Queen was wise and had restricted them here. So much death could be caused by just one gun; she couldn't imagine an entire country having them.
Twilight rushed to catch up with Dawn. The mare was waiting for her in front of an open door.
"I thought you were going to be out there forever!" Dawn joked, gesturing for Twilight to go ahead. Dawn followed after, closing the door behind her. She gestured to the bed where a gown was laid out for Twilight. It had the soft purples and oranges of a rising dawn. Stars sparkled at the collar of the dress where the darkest blues lay.
Out of habit, Twilight tried to levitate the dress in order to put it on. To her shock, she had full control of her magic again. The energy ran through her ley lines, throbbing at the base of her horn like a loyal hound, waiting for the command. Twilight turned on Dawn, letting loose a blast that should have killed the mare. The magic fizzled, exploding in a shower of sparks.
Dawn laughed at her. Seeing Twilight's confusion, she kicked aside the rug on the floor. Beneath it was a complicated spell matrix, carved directly into the stone.
"Any energy amount greater than 13 watts of alicorn, or about 56 joules, trips this here enchantment. You have the ability to levitate things and cast a light spell. Nothing more," Dawn explained.
"Is that why --" Twilight began.
"You can't use magic in the city? Yes. Also because of this, Pegasi can't fly, and Earth ponies can't use their strength either. Exception being the Queen's Guard but I think you knew that. If you ripped up the foundations of this city, you would see hundreds of thousands of these matrices," Dawn interrupted. "Now get dressed. The Queen should be back any minute now."
Twilight did as she was told, slipping on the silky dress. Dawn cast some sort of spell on her mane, rearranging it into a pinned up style with a braid crown. Her tail was left as it was. She looked to Dawn for approval. The crystal mare nodded, sparkling in the light. She turned to the door and opened it. Outside were two unicorns. They wore armor that looked to be made from carved darkness. It altered and bent their faces and bodies into a more draconic shape.
Dawn tossed her head at Twilight, stepping aside to let them in. The two stepped in, their gait mechanically militaristic, or perhaps just constrained by their heavy armor. One of them stepped towards Twilight, his horn alight. She felt her hooves become heavy, realizing that she had been put in shackles. The two unicorns then lifted Twilight in their magic, carrying her out the door like she was naught more than a glorified statue.
Twilight fought for hours, once she realized this wasn't to be over with soon. The moment they stopped, the unicorns cast a petrification spell. Twilight could breath, and see, but she was silenced and immobile.
She could only wait.
Celestia rose to her hooves, wings extended out in an intimidating display. She took several careful steps towards the only ruler who cared pay her a visit:
Enigmatic Insanity, Queen of the Hajahact Empire.
Two pegasi stallions stood beside the kirin, one on each side. Celestia would have sworn she had seen mountains smaller than those few ponies assigned to guard the Queen. Every hoof step was an earthquake; every wing beat, a hurricane.
Celestia's own Royal Guard stood at attention, flanking and boxing in the Princess. It wasn't that she didn't trust Enigma, but she didn't. Murdering Celestia in her own throne room wasn't beyond the ruthlessness of the Queen.
As the two regents came within speaking distance of each other, the Royal Guard in front of Celesta stepped aside. Enigma's pegasi stepped back, leaving Celestia and Enigma to speak.
Neither spoke for several minutes.
Celestia cleared her throat.
"It is my pleasure to welcome you to Equestria, Queen Enigmatic Insanity," she said, the lie bitter as it rolled off of her tongue.
In all honesty, she didn't find pleasure in welcoming the mare anywhere that wasn't the deepest depths of Tartarus. Yet, she was not rash enough to rush into a conflict with the barren country bordering Equestria.
Even with the Elements, a war against Hajahact meant a long drawn out conflict that would murder many of her little ponies.
The loss of a single one was unacceptable.
So Celestia continued to play the political game. She would even consider trading Iron Ire -- the thought of the steel-eyed pegasus made her blood cold -- for Twilight's release.
That she, the Princess of the Sun, imprisoned the lead general of the Hajahact Winged Guard, would no doubt be a factor in these negotiations.
It was a gamble to assume that Twilight had ended up somewhere in Hajahact, but a safe one as far as it concerned Celestia. She only hoped that the Queen would break before Twilight died out there in those vast lava fields.
The Queen's gaze was cold and glassy -- her eyes had about as much life to them as the wares in a fishmonger's stall. Were it not for the slight, tiny breaths she took, one might think the kirin dead. Celestia's breath caught in her throat as Enigma's guttural voice all but mutilated the words coming out of her mouth.
"To my knowledge, Princess Twilight Sparkle is not within my country's borders."
Celestia drooped. Her emotionless facade buckled under the weight of that twelve word sentence.
That same incandescent mane that once flowed with the grace befitting a royal now draped across the burdened princess like a security blanket. The light of the sun radiating from within her dimmed, as did her hope.
In her heart, she knew that Enigma was lying to her.
Despite the Queen's best efforts to conceal it, Celestia could have sworn she saw the ghost of a smirk curl up on Enigma's face. The kirin was laughing at her. Knowing the monsterous mare, it was probable that Twilight was already dead.
Celestia put a hoof to her throat, attempting to crush the lump swelling within.
No.
She couldn't afford to think like that. She had to remain positive.
She would find her precious student.
She would prevail.
Hours of negotiations lead to nothing. Enigma simply would not let her write out the release of Iron Ire, the single most vital element in the continued dominance of the Hajahact military. Initially, it was for a purpose that Celestia would not let the pegasus go -- she tried to extract from him the secrets of warfare. Now, it was simply so that the Hajahact military would continue to be crippled by the loss of their lead general.
When Enigma's guards came to speak to her, Celestia was rapt. They whispered in the Queen's ears, but she could make out the word 'Twilight' like it had been screamed. Celestia decided that the best course of action was to play dumb, pretend that she had not heard what she did.
When Enigma got up to leave, suddenly refusing to continue negotiating, Celestia prepared herself for what was to come.
When she followed the Queen's convoy on the sly, Celestia knew that she would have Twilight in her hooves by the end of the night or she would die trying.
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.
Twilight was paralyzed. Her eyes burned but she was unable to blink. She could only wait. After what seemed like hours, she heard a loud clomp-clomp-clomp ricochet from somewhere outside. The doors flew open. Twilight could not see the pony for the swarm of guards around them.
Click-click-thump
The sea of bodies parted, allowing the pony through.
Queen Enigmatic Insanity all but sprinted to her throne. The 'Triad' lounged at her feet, content to do nothing until they were forced to. Sonny eyed Twilight hungrily, occasionally licking his beak. Enigma ignored her and them for the better part of an hour, piles of paperwork consuming her attention.
Fwip. Fwip - fwip- - fwip
The pounding of wings deafened the room; the winds caused by the clamor ripped the doors apart. Sunlight filtering through the stained glass caused the massive pegasus to glow with a radiance that could blind. With one hoof, Enigma gestured for the shades to be drawn. As soon as she could look upon him, Enigma gasped quietly.
"I - Iron?" The once dignified Queen staggered forward like a drunk, her hooves extended out towards Iron Ire. "I ... I thought you were gone for good. Come here. Please. Don't leave me." At his Queen's command, Iron darted forward, catching her in his forelegs. The two stared at each other like they were afraid if they looked away, the other would disappear.
Enigma sighed softly.
"Well Twilight, your precious mentor came through for you." She turned to her guards. "Release the girl. Take her --" Her orders were cut off by Iron's hoof.
"We have the advantage here, lover. Why should we give it up?" he asked, smiling wryly at Enigma. Enigma shook her head.
"What of Singer Chaser? The only way I will get her back is with Celestia's blessing. No, we are going to return Twilight Sparkle to her rightful place."
"It's no longer your decision to make," Ire chided, whistling loudly. In an instant, the two of the Triad were to their feet. Dawn refused to rise. Her glossy mane sparkled in the weak light as she drug herself to her Queen's hooves.
"Until the day I die," she said, kneeling before Enigma. "I will protect the regent to whom all things are owed." Enigma pulled away from Ire, glancing around the room.
"Traitors! Every last one of you!" she screeched. Her eyes glowed a soft purple, the magical field surrounding Dawn and pulling her to her hooves. Twilight could only look on in wonder. She had never seen anypony sight-cast before, but that was exactly what Enigma just did. It matched the reports to the tiniest detail. She found herself wishing she -- wait.
Did her hoof just move?
Twilight wiggled her legs, realizing to her relief, that she was free! Thoughts of escape sparred with thoughts of being the first pony to have first-hand experience with a true sight caster.
Her thoughts of scholarly grandeur absolutely pummeled thoughts of her own self preservation.
Twilight scooched closer to the fray, watching as the Queen threw ponies (and one gryphon) around the room just by looking at them. She had to abruptly jump forward, almost under Enigma's hooves, as the floor exploded in brilliant blue flames. The burning wall effectively segregated Twilight, Dawn, and Enigma from the rest of the room.
Twilight felt the familiar prickled of magic on her skin, and then, all went dark.
In a burst of fire and smoke, the youngest alicorn was unceremoniously dumped on the Canterlot Castle grounds. Twilight looked around. Enigma was nowhere to be seen. It looked like it was just her. She struggled to her hooves. Above her head, unknown to her, a guard was on lookout. The speed with which he ran back into the castle would have made light jealous.
His speed was nothing compared to that with which Celestia broke through the door and part of the wall.
"Twilight! " she said, Canterlot Royal voice shaking the foundations of the castle. Celestia jumped from the balcony and tackled Twilight. She stared at her student like Twilight was a precious gem, to be coveted and kept safer than a dragon's horde.
Her mind having caught up with her emotions, Celestia stumbled to her hooves, trying to grasp some semblance of courtly presence.
"Twilight. You have been missed," Celestia said, a tad more icily than she intended. "Come with me. We have much to discuss." With that, she turned and trotted back into the castle, repressing every urge to skip like a schoolfilly.
She had her beloved student back.
It only cost the lives of an untold number of ponies.
Celestia couldn't objectively say that it was a worthy trade, but to her, it was.
Twenty minutes and some very deep breaths later, Celestia was sitting in her room with Twilight at her side.
"She sightcasted! Unicorns aren't supposed to be able to do that!" Twilight enthused, waving her hooves around. Celestia hadn't seen her student this worked up in a long time. She tried to calm Twilight down, to no success. She could only wait and listen.
After about an hour, Twilight finally settled down, having said her piece. Celestia finally had the chance to ask a question that had been on her mind for a while.
"Twilight, what happened to your wings?" she asked, trying not to spook Twilight into another hour long monologue. Twilight looked down, seeing the clasp of her cloak glittering back at her. She had forgotten she was even wearing it. Free from the magical constraints of Hajahact, she made an attempt at breaking the clasp.
To her surprise, the clasp slid apart, dropping the cloak to the ground. It sparkled faintly, a blue-grey pile of mesh. Celestia looked between the cloak and Twilight, then back again. Carefully, she lifted the cloak in her telekinesis and watched as it shifted to fit her size. The clasp then went from a star ruby to a gleaming opal.
Sensing no dark magic from the clothing, Celestia slipped the cloak on and clasped the opal around her throat. She looked down at herself and gasped.
Her ribs were grossly distended, the individual bones clear as day. Mud matted her fur down. Blood caked around what were obviously untended wounds. Thick scars spidered over her back and neck, their pattern suggesting ... cracks? Celestia trotted over to a mirror, examining every inch of herself.
A mare much older and tireder than her stared back from beyond the mirror.
"She does a poor impression of me," Celestia thought, forcing a laugh. Her heart grew heavier as she continued to stare at herself. Faintly, she became aware of Twilight's voice.
"Princess? Are ... are you going to be okay?" Twilight asked, her voice trembling. Celestia unclasped the opal and let the cloak drop to the floor.
"I will be fine. Twilight, what all do you know about Queen Enigmatic Insanity?" Celestia asked, surreptitiously pushing the cloak aside with a gold-clad hoof. She trotted over and sat beside her student, waiting for what was to be no doubt a barrage of words. To her mild surprise, Twilight had very little to say.
"Well, I know she's a kirin, or sometimes that's pronounced qilin. I also know that she inherited the throne from her late mother. Other than that, there wasn't much to find. It was as though she didn't exist," Twilight said, shrugging. "But you mentioned that the country of Hajahact has some very secretive tendencies, so maybe that's it."
"That is because Enigmatic Insanity doesn't exist. Her name is Divine Wine. She is, at her genetic core, a unicorn. Kirin are made. They are not born," Celestia explained. "Now you were saying that she sightcasted? Did any of her spells result in fire?"
Twilight nodded excitedly.
"She put up a wall of blue flames, but that was all I saw before I was teleported here."
Celestia sighed, resting her head on her forelegs. Slowly, she stood. She gestured to a guard, who rushed to her side.
"Awaken Princess Luna. I have need of her counsel," Celestia ordered. A short while later, Luna trotted in, rubbing at her eyes with one hoof.
"What is it, dear sister?" Luna asked, suppressing a yawn.
"Iron Ire has seized control of the capital."
"He wouldn't ..." Celestia started, slowly trailing off. "We will have to alert the old Guard. I assume you have kept track of whereabouts they are?"
"Indeed, sister," Luna said, nodding curtly. "Doth we ne'd summon them?"
"Try to, please. If there was any day we could use their aid, it would be now." Twilight glanced between the two princesses, her brow furrowed.
Innocently, she asked, "Why not just use the Elements?"
Celestia paled, her heart thumping hard within her. She tried to face Twilight, but found herself glued to the floor. There was no way to say this amicably. Best scenario, Twilight would not just go after her friends, and would instead try to find a reasonable solution. Worst, she would bolt, and Equestria would drop down to three of six Elements.
Truth usually served her well.
Slowly, Celestia turned around to look at her student.
"We are not sure where Applejack and Rainbow Dash are right now. Shortly after your disappearance, they went looking for you and never returned. Rest assured, we have the best of the Royal Guard looking for them, but right now, the Elements are not an option."
Celestia turned several shades more pale as her own words dawned on her.
"The land. The illusion. It's going to warp," she muttered softly, falling back on her hindquarters. "Piteous fools." She shook her head, stumbling back to her hooves. Celestia turned to look at Luna. Her eyes were hard set, a grim frown becoming all too comfortable on her face.
"I will go out there and rescue them. Luna, in my absence, initiate the Alpha protocol. Prepare our troops for a war. If our ponies begin to question your actions, lie to them. Lie and maintain the peace. I will try to return as soon as possible," Celestia said, trotting out of the room before either of the two had a chance to dissent.
She made her bed -- now she would go and lie in it.
Light scattered off the golden armor borne by a mannequin. Truth be told, she should have polished it more than she did, but there was no time for that now. She slipped the armor, piece by piece, off of the mannequin and onto her own body; the magical metal flowed over her coat like liquid, fitting as close to skin as it could.
Celestia flared her wings, testing for proper clearance. Her mane slipped through the back of the helmet in a smaller version of her tail. Lifting the loose end in her magic, she pulled it into a tight bun, giving the appearance of a spike coming out of the back of her head.
If anything, Celestia thought, this alone might jog Enigma's memory. She chuckled weakly. If this armor was what woke Enigma up out of her trance, well then, she'd never take it back off.
Just in case, of course.
Celestia frowned. She was never fond of the metal extension of her horn -- yes, it made a decent sword in battle, but it was in the way otherwise. Shaking her head, she teleported to the border. For a reason that Enigma was never clear on, teleporting didn't work once you were officially over the Hajahact border. Something about a 'security risk'. It made sense, but it also was a bit paranoid.
Who would defy tradition and attack the capitol?
Twilight was stunned to silence. She looked intermittently between the door and where Celestia once stood. Finally, she shook her head.
"What is going on, Luna? Why did she tell you to lie to ponies?"
Luna sighed, sitting down on her hind legs.
"There are things that the common pony need not know of. Tell me, Twilight, what dost thou know about politi-" Luna was cut off by a sudden burst of fire. Iron Ire landed neatly on his hooves, the Queen floating mutely behind him. Her eyes and hooves were wreathed in brilliant blue flames. Her mane and tail hung limp, like she was nothing more than a puppet in the Queen's skin.
Twilight put a hoof to her throat, trying to quell the choking feeling building up. The feeling spread across her skin, an uncomfortable prickly feeling that was somehow cold and sharp. She could feel it draining the magic from her, but something whispering in her ears insisted she couldn't resist it.
Bow to the Queen, it said. Bow to the Que--
The voice fell silent, dominated by the sound of Luna's hoof colliding with Enigma's chest. Twilight felt the drain cease temporarily then return when Luna pulled away for another hit.
"Awaken, damn you! Awaken!" Luna shouted, her voice blowing out every window in the room. She slammed her hooves into Enigma, again and again. Iron Ire smiled, winking at Twilight. Without warning, he spread his wings and flew out through one of many smashed windows. Luna, so consumed by pummeling Enigma, did not notice his absence. Twilight thought briefly of pursuing him, but the thought crossed her mind too late.
By the time she responded to pursue him, he was already too far gone to chase. It was a futile effort to try. Instead, she focused on the task at hand: waking Enigma up.
A soft sigh, and a gasp punctuated the silence.
Enigmatic Insanity was fully awake, staring at the alicorn who had just hit her several times. The fire was gone for but a moment from her eyes.
Once confused, now she was righteously furious.
"You are not nearly as wise as your sister," she deadpanned, her anger rolling off of her in waves but her face completely neutral. "You understand, however, that I am required to take this as a declaration of war. Thus will also Eastern Gryphonia, the Minotaur empire, Saddle Arabia, et al."
Twilight blocked Enigma's path, repressing the urge to flee.
"Now, come on. Can't we just talk about this? Luna has a perfectly good reason for hitting you!" Twilight exclaimed, occasionally shifting her position to keep Enigma from getting away. Luna raised a hoof, gesturing for Twilight to move.
"Queen Enigmatic Insanity is correct. If she were to do such a thing to me, I would also be required to take it as a declaration of war. Such is the way things are," Luna said.
Finally able to get past Twilight, Enigma walked to the door, then turned around to face Twilight.
"Your Princess may not have educated you, but let me impart upon you thus: things are as they are because they are. We have no right to change them. You would be wise to heed," Enigma paused, placing a hoof to her lip. "Ah, yes, Luna! You would be wise to heed Luna's example. Now, if I may be excused?"
With that, the kirin trotted out of the room.
Twilight laid down, putting her head in her hooves.
When she became a princess, she was expecting politics but not like this. How was one to rule if all things were already decided by subtle gestures and those things left unsaid?