A new day had just begun in the village of Ponyville. As the sun emerged over the horizon, rays of light turned the black night into orange morning. The air was moist and warm, with a gentle breeze to accompany it. The quite village began to awaken from last night’s slumber as residents slowly emerged from their houses. Among those returning to the realm of the awakening, was a purple unicorn mare who lived inside a tree library in the middle of Ponyville named Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight was giving an unpleasant sting that immediately jolted her awake. Her head ached and her neck was stiff due to being keep in an awkward position last night. Twilight groaned. She wanted to go back to sleep but the morning light kept bombarding her eyelids with a never ending stream of light despite having slept like a foal last night, Twilight felt like she just napped for little more than an hour. Her head throbbed, like she had been clubbed repeatedly. As her senses returned to her, Twilight gave in to the illuminated sting and opened her eyes to find herself in her bedroom. Her sheets were mangled in a twisted fashion and were dampened with sweat.
She was greeted by a dusty wood-like smell that she had grown accustomed to since she first arrived in ponyville. Her bedroom was coated the rising sun’s pink and orange hue that warmed Twilight, almost as if it were comforting her from last night’s ordeal. Still, her headache plagued her like a splinter in her mind that just refused to stop poking her, and the brightness of the sun refused to let her sleep in any further. Twilight dragged herself out of bed and fumbled downstairs as she tried to regain her balance. The pain in her stiff neck began to get much worse. As she made her way down to the kitchen, her body aches began to depart from her with every step. When Twilight made her way down to the kitchen, she immediately noticed that Spike, her assistant baby dragon was nowhere to be seen. “Spike?” Twilight called out, but there was no reply
“Where is he?” Twilight said irritably. “If he’s sleeping in, I swear to Celestia I don’t know what I’ll do!” Twilight said with a growling tone. She went over to his bed, only to find it empty. Twilight became confused and impatient with hunger. As her stomach became racked with hunger, Twilight clumsily stepped back into the kitchen when she noticed a hastily written note under her coffee pot.
Twilight,
We were out of breakfast items. So I’m going to the market to grab a few things. I’ll be back in a bit.
Spike.
Reading those words gave Twilight warm feelings of affection and washed away her irritation. “Well at least the coffee is ready.” Twilight thought. “Maybe a little caffeine will help me wake up and get rid of this darn headache!” She said as she poured some coffee into a mug. The sweet roasted aroma and warm steam lifted her senses and revived her from the weight of sleepiness that was dragging her down. As she began to take her first sip, she noticed a newspaper article on the counter a few inches from the coffee pot. She looked at it and saw the bold headline;
MAGIC DOLL CAUSES RAMPAGE AND DESTRUCTION!
It was about the events that had occurred last night, when Twilight had needed to get a friendship letter to Princess Celestia. But since there was no friendship problem for her to solve, she decided to make one by making almost everyone in Ponyville mindlessly in love with her smartypants doll with a “Want-It-Need-It” spell, which backfired and caused many ponies to be injured and property to be destroyed. Despite her reckless actions, Princess Celestia had forgiven Twilight and had lightened the conditions of when to send her a friendship letter. Feelings of shame returned to her as she recalled yesterday’s events, but she soon shrugged it off.
“Well it could have been worse.” Twilight said with relief as she proceeded to throw the newspaper in the trash can. As she continued to drink her coffee, she looked up at her clock, which stated 8:46 AM. She had plenty of time to enjoy her coffee before it was time to write down and plan today’s schedule. She had forgotten to do it last night because she was stressed out and tired from yesterday’s events. As Twilight thought about what she needed to do and accomplish today, she began to pace back and forth like she normally did. As she finished her coffee, the incessant headache began to disappear and she was able to think a lot more clearly.
As Twilight began to completely free herself from sleep inertia, she felt that despite yesterday’s events, things were going to be alright. Twilight began to feel buoyant with optimism with thoughts of joy. She felt like bouncing around like Pinkie Pie. Twilight sat down at her desk, levitated a quill and parchment towards her and began to write down what she was going to do today. She planned to help Applejack on the farm, have lunch at Sugercube Corner with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, and help Rarity out at her boutique with a few of her designs. Her thoughts were only interrupted by the loud growls of her stomach. By now, Twilight’s hunger was starting to get really out of control. She wondered when Spike would return with those groceries he said he was getting.
Twilight began to get impatient. “Where is that dragon?” She thought. “ He should have been back by now.” She then started to worry. “What if he’s having a hard time deciding what to buy?” She thought. “I should probably go out and find him.” She said. “Besides, he may not have brought enough bits to pay for the break-“ Twilight was interrupted and spooked by the sound of a teleportation spell. “Hello!” She called out. “W-who’s there?” She stuttered
Twilight glanced all over her library to see who had teleported into her humble abode. She saw a tall mass concealed by shadow in a corner. “Reveal yourself!” she shouted. The mass then came forward to reveal a tall white alicorn with huge wings and dressed in regalia. It was none other than her mentor, Princess Celestia. Twilight, who had gotten out of bed not to long ago was shocked. She had not been expecting Celestia “Princess!?!” Twilight said in a surprised tone. “What are you doing here?” She asked.
Celestia said nothing, but instead turned her head as her facial expression went from blank, to one of regret and sorrow. Her pupils dilated as a tear began to trickle down her eyes. “Princess, whats wrong? Did something happen?” Twilight said out of curiosity.
“Forgive me Twilight, my star pupil.” Celestia said in a saddened tone. Twilight immediately felt a force tackle her to the ground and pinned her to the ground. She let out a shriek as she saw a pair of shackles were placed on her hooves. Twilight tried to fight back, she was powerless as she felt her horn being wrapped in a cold, heavy like material that was followed by a ring like object that made a loud click and secured the horn cover. “PRINCESS, PLEASE HELP ME!!!” Twilight screamed. But her mentor just stood there and watched her student squirm as hoofcuffs were levitated and latched onto Twilight’s front hooves. The force that had tackled her to the ground and pinned, lifted from her, as a dark coated stallion, clad in dark grey armor that covered its face stepped in to view and stood by Celestia.
“What’s happening!?!” Twilight cried. “What are you doing princess!?!” There was a short pause before Celestia replied in a stark tone of voice. “I’m sorry Twilight, but I have to put you under arrest.” Twilight was dumbfounded. She began to panic. “W-what? Why!?!” She replied hotly. “ I am arresting you for the crimes that you have committed yesterday.” Celestia replied. “B-but you forgave me for that yesterday Princess!” Twilight replied with confusion. “You said yesterday that you would forget my punishment if I se-“
“Somepony suffered a fatal injury and died in the hospital last night Twilight.” Celestia interrupted in a voice of intimidation. Twilight immediately froze. “S-some…p-pony d-died?” Twilight stuttered. The feelings of happiness that she had moments ago were extinguished like a candle light. Her heart began to race, as thoughts of guilt and fear began to take hold of her mind. “Yes Twilight.” Celestia said in an increasingly adamant tone.” Somepony suffered a puncture to the heart and died of internal bleeding.” She continued, “And that is considered involuntary pony slaughter, which is something that I simply cannot let go unpunished.”
Tears began form in Twilight’s eyes. “Does this mean you’re putting me in jail?” She asked in high pitched sobbingly manner. Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t like this anymore than you do Twilight, but this is a crime that is too serious for me to just ignore, so yes, I’m going to have to take you to jail.” She said in a cold, emotionless manner. Celestia’s words sent a cold shiver down Twilight’s spine. Her world as she knew it felt as if it was suddenly falling apart. She had unwittingly killed somepony yesterday because of her reckless actions, and now she would be held accountable. “N-no...” Twilight sobbed in a hushed manner as tears began to flow across her face at a much faster rate, like a cold river overflowing across her face. “Please princess, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!” She cried. “I know my faithful student.” Celestia said. ”But a princess I am obligated to protect my subjects and to carry out justice and punish wrongdoers!”
Twilight attempted to plea to the Princess not to arrest her, but she was soon interrupted. “I’m taking you to the Canterlot Detention Center, where you will be held until your court date. I will see if I can get you a lighter sentence, but I can’t make any promises.” Celestia said in a very serious tone. Twilight’s blood went from cold, to frozen to the point where not even the sun could keep her warm. Celestia’s horn began to illuminate as she teleported out of the Golden Oak Library, taking Twilight, and the armored guard with her, leaving Twilight’s humble abode empty and silent, as if she never existed. On Twilight’s desk was her coffee mug that was half full and her incomplete schedule that she never finished.
Chapter 2: Descending to Darkness
For a few moments, Twilight felt like she was in a white void. The air was neither warm nor cold. There was no breeze, no smell, not even a sound. She felt numb all over, like she was incased in ice. But soon, the void vanished in front of her as she started to regain her senses. Twilight struggled to open her eyes.She must have blacked out when Princess Celestia teleported them out of the library. Her eyelids felt heavy, like they hadn’t been open in a very long time. As her sight became clearer, Twilight found herself in a dusty old cellar, laying on a cold concrete floor, surrounded by stone walls, all by herself. The only furnishings in the room were a wooden bench that was bolted to the floor and a metal bucket up against the back wall.The lighting was dim, the air was lukewarm and musty, and had an old sour smell too it. The room had an eerie, bleak feeling to it. There was nobody else in the cell with her.
Twilight managed to get up on her hooves and tried to make her way to the bench at the back of the cell, but as soon as she tried to lift her front right leg, it was suddenly stopped and Twilight embarrassingly fell back down. Twilight realized that she was still shackled and was immediately reminded of her situation. The steel cuffs that bond her were cold and heavy.They dug into her skin, causing her great pain that grew the more she fiddled with them. As she pondered her chains, Twilight’s body started to ache from the cold concrete floor.
Not contempt with resting on the cold ground, Twilight got back and tried once again to make her way to the bench, this time at a much slower pace so she wouldn’t trip on her bindings again. The ring of her chains accompanied the echo of her hoofs against the floor. It was irritating, yet bone chilling at the same time to her. When Twilight finally reached the bench she tried to set herself down, but as she attempted to put her hoof on the wooden surface, it was stopped by her chains short of a few inches. Twilight moaned. ”Ugh! These chains!” She grew irritable. She then proceeded to stand on her hind legs and was finally able to set lay herself down on the bench. It was no mattress, but it was better than the cold concrete floor. Twilight then started to wonder a few things; do her friends know where she is? Or about her ordeal? She started to feel cut off from the outside world, and from everypony that she ever loved.
Suddenly, Twilight started to get paranoid. She started to think about her older brother Shining Armor, who was captain of the Royal Guard. She remembered him telling her that he used to arrest and take criminals away to jail. “They’re nothing but dirty scum bags!” He told her. What if Shining Armor was on duty here today? She really didn’t want him seeing her like this. Just the thought of having to face Shining Armor and her parents, knowing that she had let them down, had sent a chill down her spine. Twilight tried not to think about it, but it was the only thing that she could do to stave off boredom while waiting for somepony to come fetch her, or at least something to happen
Finally, after what seemed like years of waiting, the metal door opened and a dark green mare unicorn with black hair walked in. She had dark blue eyes and wore a type of royal guard armor that was made of steel rather than the usual brass. “excuse me ma’am. it’s time to get you booked in.” she said in such an uncaring voice. Twilight jumped up and fumbled about with her shackles trying to get her hoofing. Twilight clumsily followed the guard out of the holding cell, and into a hallway with a black and white checkerboard floor with disgustingly yellow walls. As Twilight put one hoof forward, the rattling shackles reminded Twilight that she was in a bad place, in a bad situation. The guard led Twilight into an office with a wooden desk with two filing cabinets and two chairs on opposite sides She was then seated in front of a desk as the guard took her place at her desk. “Um excuse me,” Twilight asked weakly. “But can you please take off m-my hoofcuffs?” Did she really just say HER hoofcuffs? It was something that Twilight would never imagine herself saying at any point in her life.
“Sorry honey, but protocol says all detainees must be cuffed until after they've been determined to not pose a threat by staff.” Said the guard. Hearing those words had brought a cold pain to Twilight’s heart. ”B-but I’m not a criminal!” She whined. “I never wanted to be a criminal at any point in my life! Please unbind me ma’am! I promise I’ll coopera-““No can do ma’am.” the guard replied in an uncaringly manner. “You’re only going to make things worse for yourself, so I suggest you get with the program and start cooperating with us, or I’ll be more than happy to put you back in the holding cell!” Feeling frustrated, Twilight wanted to plea with the deputy more, but it wasn’t going to get her anywhere and decided to be compliant. As Twilight tried to cope with the fact that she was no longer in control of her fate, The officer reached underneath her desk and pulled out a form and quill then asked Twilight all sorts of personal questions such as her name, date of birth, place of residence, criminal record, and any other things of that nature.
“Um, excuse me ma’am, but how long have I been in that cell?” Twilight suddenly asked. “Well Princess Celestia dropped you off four hours ago, so I’d say almost 3 hours.” The Mare replied with a small amount of emotion. “But you were out cold, so we put you in that holding cell until you regained consciousness. For a second, we thought we were going to have to rush you to the hospital, but now you seem to be fine, well physically anyway.”
Twilight pondered for a second. Why did she pass out when Celestia teleported her? Normally when she teleported, she wouldn’t even feel even an ounce of nausea. Perhaps it was because of her emotional state, she went into shock and the energy from the teleportation knocked her out. Just as she thinking. Twilight saw the deputy reach back under her desk and pulled out a folder containing several documents. One of which was a list of the crimes she was being charged with. “Now Mrs. Sparkle.” The deputy began. “You are being charged with the following.” She paused then continued. “ 1 count of involuntary pony slaughter, 1 count of using a class 3 banned spell, 3 counts of filly abuse, 9 counts of assault with magic, 2 counts of property destruction, and 1 count of endangering other ponies lives. If found guilty on all of these charges, you would receive a maximum sentence of 30 years of incarceration.”
Twilight was stunned with disbelief. Her pupils dilated and she became paranoid. She knew about the involuntary pony slaughter charge, but nothing about the other sixteen charges. Her stomach turned with uneasiness, and she began to sweat nervously. “They’re going to put me away for 30 years!?” Twilight thought. At this point, she felt betrayed, as if the world was not what it seems. It was as if her life was beginning to crack and break apart, like a piece of broken pottery.
“Alright then,” the guard said. “If you have no further questions, lets take you down to the shower room in the basement where you will be required to shower.” ”But ma’am,” Twilight replied. “I’m already clean, I don’t need to a show-““All detainees who are brought in are required to undergo a shower!” The guard rudely interrupted. “B-but I-“ Twilight tried to continue, but the guard cut her off once more. “Please don’t argue with me young lady.” The guard replied hotly. “You’re in jail now missy, so you have to obey any order that a deputy gives you, or there will be consequences!”
Twilight didn’t bother replying. She was already in a lot of trouble, and she knew better than to question authority. She let out a sigh. ”Okay officer, lead the way.” She said with a defeated mindset. The two mares walked out of the office and back into the hall way. The floor was a faded red and stained grey checkerboard pattern, and the walls were painted white, giving it an institutional vibe to it. They soon came to an elevator door. The guard pressed a button and the doors opened. They entered the elevator, as the doors shut behind them. The elevator then took them down several floors into the bowels of the Detention Facility. Twilight felt as if she was being lowered into a dark pit, where she couldn’t escape. When the doors opened, it looked as if they travelled has back in time. Unlike the previous floor that they were on, which was fairly institutional but modern looking, this floor looked straight out of the medieval ages with it’s cobblestone floors, and dark brick walls. But the thing about this place that struck twilight the most was how dark it was. Although there was actual light sources, the light they produced was so meniscal that they were like guiding beacons through her dark descent. Some of the lights were either strobing of flickering. “Geez, this place looks old!” Twilight exclaimed. “Well this place is almost 1000 years old, and this is the only floor in the detention center that hasn’t been renovated.” The guard replied.
“This way.” The guard ordered. They walked down the dimly lit corridor. The grey floors and dirt brown walls, had it a grim and depressing feeling. This was one of the scariest things Twilight had ever experienced in her life. Eventually, the mares reached a barred door. The mare levitated a key, unlocked the gate like door, and led Twilight inside. The shower room that was just as medieval looking as the hallway, aside from the plumbing that looked out of place. The left wall was lined with 4 shower sprinklers, each with a single valve and connected by a pipe that beamed across the room. On the right was a badly scratched large mirror with several cracks. There were several drains on the floor, which was grungy and covered in grime. But the worst part about this room was the smell. The air was salty, and smelled as if somepony had defecated, which probably happened at somepoint. “Do I really have to shower in here?” Twilight asked. “Get used to it honey, you’re going to be experiencing this for next 30 years.” The guard chuckled. Twilight cringed. She didn’t really want to shower in here, but she didn’t really want to risk any consequences and decided to push forward.
“Well, I’m going back up.” The guard said. “You shower up and another deputy will be with you shortly.” ”You mean you’re leaving me here?” Twilight asked. “Yeah.” The guard answered. “My shift is almost over and I gotta drop your information off at the booking center up ahead.” The deputy then smiled and unlocked Twilight’s cuffs. At last Twilight was unbounded and her spirit lifted. The guard then exited the room and locked the door behind her. As Twilight heard the echo of fading hoofs, she stepped up to one of the showers and tried to turn the valve with her magic. She concentrated as hard as she could, but nothing happened. Frustrated, Twilight slammed her hoof onto the slippery shower floor, but she lost her balance and landed on her flank “Oaf!” Twilight grunted. She got back up facing the mirror. It was then she realized and remembered that a magic suppressor was placed on her horn, effectively stripping her magical abilities. Twilight was one of the best students to come out of Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She was a talented magic user, it was what characterized her throughout her entire life, and now all that was taken from her. Twilight started to tear up again, but tried to hold it in and proceeded back up to the shower.
Since she couldn’t telepathically turn the valve, Twilight clenched the valve with her jaw and turned her head to the right. A small trickle of lukewarm water poured across her head. She turned her head, and more water began to fall. Twilight gasped, some water got into her eyes, nose and mouth. The water had a rusty taste to it and it felt slimy running down her body. Was this water even clean? Or was the purpose of this shower to make dirty like a filthy criminal? She couldn’t stand it, and after a few minutes of standing underneath the flow of water, Twilight turned the valve to the left and shut off the water. Twilight shook her body to dry herself like a dog, but she was still damp was starting to get cold. Twilight felt to goose bumps popping all over her body, as the cold dungeon air froze her body.
After waiting for what felt like hours, Twilight began to get impatient. ”Didn’t that mare say that an officer was supposed to come get me?” She said to herself. “Well where in bloody Tartarus are they!?!” She wondered. Minutes later, Twilight began to hear the sound of heavy hoof steps. That must be the officer. Surely they had brought a towel with them!
As the sound of hoofsteps grew louder and closer, a huge figure manifested itself from the shadows as it came into view. Twilight’s eyes widened, as the sound of tumblers turning echoed, her heart felt like it was ready to jump out of chest. The barred door made a deep ding sound as it was unlocked and opened, and out from the shadows, emerged a huge muscular unicorn stallion, clad in steel armor. His coat was dark greyish color with a slight red tint to it, and he had yellow eyes that pierced into Twilight’s soul. He had a sour, unfriendly facial expression, with his mouth shut tight. As He gazed at Twilight sternly, his mouth gradually began to form a sinister grin.
