As her carriage finally touched down within the palace’s courtyard, Princess Celestia alighted with a slight smile forming as her hidden, inner excitement reached to new heights.

Although she had spent the better part of a day away from Equestria, there was only one pony she was hoping to meet and yet despairingly upon her arrival, Celestia could not see Twilight Sparkle amongst the gathering of Royal Guards that stood at attention, with Flash Sentry and the Captain of the Wonderbolts: Spitfire, at the head of the display.

Casting a warm and loving smile across the procession as she approached her most highest ranking military officials, Princess Celestia bowed her head towards them both.

“Thank you all so much for greeting me upon my arrival, my little ponies. It is so good to be back on Equestrian soil once more. I take it everything has been peaceful in my absence?”

Spitfire and Flash Sentry gave each other a silent, knowing glance that Celestia immediately picked up on, though chose not to pursue the matter considering how out in the open they all were, making it hardly a place to discuss a potentially sensitive matter.

However, Celestia did place a worried gaze upon both ponies as she tilted her head, silently questioning their lack of a response with a frown.

“Y-yes,” Flash Sentry began with a nervous nod, “things have been, uh, peaceful, your Majesty. I take it your presence in Saddle Arabia has managed to calm the tensions between the two nations?”

Rather than remember what had transpired on her trip between herself and the two other ponies in that isolated room in the Czar’s palace, her memories did however return to a certain veiled mare she had the pleasure in bedding throughout most of last night.

The poor mare could barely stand by the time Celestia had raised the sun over their bed.

A little grin formed on Celestia’s lips as she nodded. “They eventually came to terms with each other. I doubt very much they will head down a path of war any time soon. It was very easy to convince them for the most part,” she spoke as she trotted past the two and towards the palace’s main entrance beyond an ascending flight of stairs that wound its way up to it, “cooler heads almost always prevail; especially in these instances. Had I not arrived in time, the outcome could had very well ended in all out war.”

Celestia stole a glance over her shoulder to further note the apprehensive expression upon Spitfire’s face she was struggling to contain.

As the trio approached the door, Celestia turned, comfortable that they were a safe distance from any guard, speaking in a whisper so that only them could hear. “Did something happen?”

Spitfire was the first to speak. “There was a… problem, in the palace yesterday…”

“Problem? What kind of problem?” Celestia’s heart began to pick up its pace. A certain feeling of dread she could not quite explain squirmed inside of her like a maggot gnawing away at an apple.

Flash Sentry took a step forward, keeping his voice on level with Celestia’s own. “Two guards were murdered, your Majesty. An investigation revealed that Black Magic was the cause.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. “Black Magic? But that is impossible. All texts on all such subject matters are in my possession… the only pony capable to wield such terrible powers other than myself has been dead for a very long time.”

Spitfire spoke, her eyes roaming everywhere but upon Princess Celestia’s face, to which the Princess noted with a growing concern.

“The corpse of the assassin, Raven, was raised from the dead and although it appears it was the reanimated corpse that killed two guards; from what we understand of what had transpired, Raven was ordered to dispose of them by the one controlling her.”

Celestia simply stared, unsure as to what to say.

Black Magic... in her palace? Such an event has not occurred since the days of King Sombra.

The assassination attempt—Raven’s involvement, it was all but an elaborate lie constructed to protect Twilight Sparkle… so how in Tartarus could her actions bring about this kind of turmoil?

It was almost completely impossible to fathom as to how it could had ended up like this.

A nagging question that niggled at Celestia’s brain flew out from her lips in a cold and lifeless tone as she leaned forward towards them both.

“Who did this? Who was the one that instigated this madness? Is the culprit captured at the very least?”

Flash Sentry nodded. “Nurse Redheart was the one who raised the corpse. She has been captured and is currently being held in the dungeons awaiting your verdict, your Majesty. However, she has admitted to the act and has also admitted to conspiring with the assassin to kill you… it appears she was attempting to start an outbreak of the undead while you were away. Fortunately for us, her terrorist act was discovered and prevented at the very last minute.”

Celestia knew better than to listen.

After all, there was no real assassin, was there?

So why would Nurse Redheart admit to aiding something that technically never existed?

More over, Nurse Redheart surely did not have the magical constitution to raise a dead Parasprite let alone a fully grown mare.

“How?” Celestia lifted a brow, clearly perplexed by this bizarre phenomena. “How was she stopped?”

“Twilight Sparkle was the one who discovered—”

Celestia raised her voice, causing all the guards roaming in the courtyard to tilt their gazes up at their Princess as such an uncharacteristic tone of anger seethed passed her lips, her aforementioned dread transforming into a panic that was visible within her eyes.

No... it can't be...

“Where is Twilight Sparkle?!”

Spitfire took a few steps back, keeping her head bowed. “S-she’s resting in her room, your Majesty. A few of our best doctors have determined that her close proximity to the vessel of the Black Magic has sapped her energy and left her weak… but I have been told she will make a full recovery after a couple of days rest.”

Black Magic does not work like that, you foal! Celestia struggled to contain what she thought, her teeth grinding together.

Celestia wrestled to contain the confused panic that rushed through her veins, causing her entire body to quake and for her wings to erupt open wide in quite the unwarranted and threatening manner.

“I want the dungeons heavily guarded and I want Nurse Redheart interrogated to make with absolute certainty she is telling the truth.” Celestia turned, using her magic to fling open the palace doors.

“B-But,” Flash Sentry looked on at Princess Celestia, clearly confused by the order, “she has admitted to her crimes, your Majesty. She merely awaits your—”

“Did I not make myself perfectly clear, my little pony?” Celestia pushed her muzzle close to the cowering Flash Sentry’s face. “Interrogate her. Make sure your information is correct. I do not want to go sentencing a pony under false pretenses.”

Because clearly, somepony here is feeding you lies... and I fear I know who.

Celestia slithered her burning gaze towards Spitfire. “You will interrogate her personally, Spitfire. I don’t care how you do it. Beat it out of her for all I care.”

“B-beat her?” Spitfire repeated, dismayed at such a prospect. “But, P-Princess, there is no need for such vio—”

“Do I need to repeat myself, again, Spitfire?” Celestia stomped a hoof upon the ground, huffing through her nostrils angrily.

Both Flash Sentry and Spitfire shook their heads, bowing low towards the Princess, their eyes narrowed upon the floor as Celestia took off into the palace, both trembling and wide eyed as they observed with each and every hoofstep, Celestia’s shoe imprints had been left indented into the stone… as if it had been branded by an impossibly hot, smoldering iron.

____________________

Twilight Sparkle laid silently upon her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she lifted a shaking hoof up to stare at it with half lidded, tired eyes.

“I've washed them twice but I can still feel the... I can still feel the blood on them...” Twilight whispered, her voice hoarse. “What I did was… everything… I’ve k-killed… the blood... everywhere...”

Once again Twilight’s face scrunched up as more tears leaked from her bloodshot eyes, unable to escape the unending despair of the past twenty-four hours she longed to erase from her memory.

What started off as an investigation into Celestia’s attempted murder quickly transformed into an inquisition Twilight herself led into a bloodied ruin.

Her emotions ran wild in her desperate attempt to find somepony-anypony to blame.

Raven’s husband was the obvious choice, but failing that and resolving herself to the reanimation of Raven's body with magical powers beyond her control...

Why did she even think that was a good idea in the first place?

What did she hope to achieve?

How could she not realize that it would go horribly wrong?

Reflecting upon her myriad of mistakes; questions only now coming to the forefront of her mind that ought to had been considered before her foray into dark powers, Twilight Sparkle knew if she had gone about it all in an entirely different manner, perhaps the families of those two guards would not be suffering for the loss of their loved ones.

“Th-their screams… I can't stop thinking about them.”

But nothing compared to the guilt of what she had done to Nurse Redheart. That alone would forever scar whatever Twilight Sparkle used to think of herself.

It terrified her how simple it was to submit herself to darkness so easily.

“I’ll never… I’ll never use magic again…” Twilight whimpered as she pressed her hooves to her eyes, crying hard as the desperate screams of Nurse Redheart forcefully continued to echo against her eardrums.

Twilight Sparkle had actively enforced her will upon Nurse Redheart’s mind; she poured every ounce of Black Magic into the mare’s body, to actively dominate it and to control her every action.

Nurse Redheart was rendered into a mere puppet that Twilight utilized to cover up her own crimes.

She forced Nurse Redheart to confess in her stead.

A part of her was relieved that the plan had worked, but yet, a much larger part of what was left of her innocent soul condemned every notion of what she had accomplished.

The Magic of Friendship, to which she had studied so ferociously, was almost but a flicker of light compared to the shining and intoxicating power she could still feel festering within her heart; tempting her to use more of its vile energies to fuel her everyday function.

And what was far worse than this niggling temptation she resisted, was that her total submission to darkness had permanently changed her eye color.

They remained a dark shade of red Twilight had to cover up with a minor illusion spell; to make her eyes appear once again their usual brilliance of amethyst.

It was a stigmata to forever remind her of her corrupted deeds; a mark she would be forced to conceal for the rest of her days.

I feel so... wrong.

As Twilight Sparkle turned to rest on her side, she drew her hooves away from her eyes and quickly gasped.

There in the doorway stood Princess Celestia, an expression of sadness wet with silent tears that fell from her eyes like broken diamonds.

Twilight Sparkle remained still as she struggled to restrain her despair, her glowing red eyes despondent at the visage of the one she loved expressing only what she could described as total anguish. “P-Princess…”

Celestia remained exactly where she was, as if entranced by those crimson orbs staring back at her.

Her words were hollow and lifeless as the Princess spoke, unable to drive any emotion behind them.

“Twilight Sparkle… what have you done?”

Author's Note

The corruption begins.

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