Chapters Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
*Day 100*
Twilight had stopped trying to communicate with anyone outside her cell. She was alone and she was just about giving up hope that someone would come and tell her that this was all a nightmare or some misunderstanding. Someone, anyone, would come. They had to know she would never kill someone. Her friends would stand by her and find out the real culprit and they all would move on from this. It was just one big misunderstanding.
*Flashback*
“Twilight? How could you do this?” Fluttershy asked brokenly.
Twilight was shocked. They though SHE had done this? “I didn’t. I was here for my weekly order and no one was around so I went looking and everyone was here. The colt, he’s really hurt. I did what I could but he needs a doctor. We have to hurry.”
*End Flashback*
A misunderstanding.
*Day 200*
*Flashback*
Twilight was headed towards ‘Quills and Sofas’ for her weekly shipment of quills and ink. She found it was easier to make sure the amount she needed could be provided without cleaning the entire shop out which she had her first few weeks of living in Ponyville. It wasn’t her fault that she was going through quills so quickly. She had a lot of papers and research and notes to take and inevitably that tended to use quite a few quills and tons of ink.
When she entered the shop it was rather quiet but that wasn’t unusual. Most only ever used the part of the store that sold quills and they tended not to use them at the same rate Twilight herself did. However, there was something about this silence that made the fur on the back of her neck stick up. She had the feeling that something was very wrong.
“Hello?” She called out cautiously. “Anypony here?”
*End Flashback*
She had started counting the bricks in the cell for the millionth time, or maybe the trillionth she wasn’t sure she had lost count of how many times she’d counted. She rubbed her fingers raw against the hard stone, maybe if she couldn’t study she could write instead.
*Day 1,000*
*Flashback*
“Despite being questioned thoroughly on multiple occasions you refuse to admit you’re wrong doing. If you are unable to speak the truth then there is no use to anyone speaking to you. During your imprisonment you are to have no visitors, no conversation. You will be kept alive but that is all the mercy you shall receive for your treachery.” Princess Luna declared with finality. “Take her away!”
*End Flashback*
No one was coming. No one was ever coming. She was alone. She was always going to be alone. The food stopped appearing some time ago. She wasn’t sure when but they stopped when it became clear she wouldn’t eat. That was okay though, she had lots more to write. Her own blood the ink she used to exercise her thoughts. There would be time later to eat.
Author's Note
For those of you who will probably say that Fluttershy is OOC I say this: Fluttershy isn't being cruel or at least not from the precpective of not wanting ANYONE harmed. She has shown in the show that she was willing to stand up to a dragon to protect her friends.
For those of you who will probably say that Rainbow Dash would never just betray her friends, again I refer you to the show where it has been shown that Rainbow often jumps to conclusions and has a hard time admitting she's wrong.
Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
*Day 54,750*
The door creaked its’ protest at being opened for the first time in over a hundred years. The dark cell illuminated by the light in the hall. The lavender alicorn in the center of the cell took some time to process the change before darting underneath the bed against the wall.
Something foreign had disturbed It. Light was new to It and It didn’t like new things. It liked the small dwelling It had occupied for so long. The space was quiet and still. Nothing changed unless It made it. Something was here with It now. It didn’t want to share but It also didn’t want to fight. Hurt was bad It knew. It wasn’t sure what there was to hurt since It was all It knew but some ingrained instinct told her that bad things would happen if It fought.
“Twilight?”
The noise was both familiar and painful to It. It couldn’t remember what the noise was from but It knew it and the sound cut through the long lasting silence that It had grown accustomed to. The sound was bad. The sound wanted to punish It.
It recoiled and It attempted to make itself as small as possible so the noise would leave. It was good. It would show the noise that It was good and then the noise would not punish It. There were more noises but they got louder the longer they continued.
“Twilight,” the noise sounded again.
This time the noise sounded…..It didn’t know. It knew It didn’t like the way the noise sounded. It had been bad. It must have been because that noise meant It did something wrong. The noise was going to punish It now for sure.
“It’s alright,” the noise persisted. There was a sound of shuffling and a figure came into view. “You can come out.
It knew the figure, the figure would punish It. It caught a glimpse of shapes behind the figure and It inched a bit forward to get a better view. When the figure reached out to It, It pulled back and pressed itself against the wall. The figure was trying to hurt It.
“No, Twilight, it’s okay. You’re safe. It’s okay.” The figure was making noises again and the noise changed pitch, breaking in and out.
It just wanted the noises to stop. It placed its arms over its ears to muffle the sound. The figure finally stopped making noise and It looked out from under the bed. The figure was sitting against the far wall looking at the bed. It pulled back just in case the figure decided to try to hurt It but peeked out once more when the figure didn’t move.
It studied the figure. Pearl white fur, rainbow colored hair, horn and wings. It had a horn and wings. It wondered if the figure’s wings were real. Slowly, It approached. Whenever the white one moved It made sure to retreat back to the safety of the space under the bed. Eventually It was in front of the white one and It reached out a finger and poked the white one before darting back, not all the way to the bed but far enough away that the white one wouldn’t be able to hurt It.
The white one showed its’ teeth and It tensed but relaxed when nothing else happened. After It approached again It reached out and touched one of the wings. Somewhere is Its’ mind it recalled that the showing of one’s teeth was referred to as a smile. “Do you like them?” the white one asked. It wished the white one would stop making so many noises. It rubbed it’s ears in discomfort. In a whisper the white one asked, “Do your ears hurt?”
It wanted to let the white one know that the white one was right but wasn’t sure how. The noise hurt. It put its fingers on the white one’s mouth then put them on her ears and repeated the process a few times.
“Okay,” The white one whispered. “No loud noises.”
The white one liked making sounds maybe if It used sounds too the white one would leave It alone. It tried to mimic the noises the white one kept making. It chose the sound that it heard the most. “Oh-K-ay.” The white one seemed surprised, and made a strange face that made It feel happy and nervous.
“Oh-K-ay?” It repeated, confused. “Oh-K-ay?”
“Twilight,” the white one whispered.
It didn’t like how the white one sounded and pulled back. Was It in trouble?
“Oh-K-ay?” It whimpered.
“Twilight,” the white one whispered. “do you remember me?”
It wasn’t sure what to do. The noises It made clearly didn’t make the white one happy and if the white one wasn’t happy then It would be punished. So It had no choice but to remain silent.
“I’m Celestia, remember?” The white one said. “Celestia.”
It tilted it’s head in confusion. Did the white one want her to repeat that sound?
“Celestia.” The white one repeated brokenly.
“C-el-tia.” It mimicked cautiously.
“Yes, Celestia.”
“Cel-es-tia”
The white one smiled. It was happy and repeated the sound many times. The white one was pleased and so that meant It wasn’t going to be punished. The white one reached for It and It retreated. It thought the white one was happy, why was the white one trying to hurt It? It moved back under the bed and observed the white one. What had It done to make the white one angry?
*Flashback*
“Princess Celestia!” a young lavender filly exclaimed with glee.
“Twilight Sparkle, my Faithful Student,”
*End Flashback*
“Pr-Pr-in-cess?” It asked.
“Yes?” the white one answered.
“Pr-in-cess?”
“Yes, Twilight?”
The white one responded to the sound. Was that the white one’s name? Maybe the white one was angry because It didn’t use the white one’s name?
“Prin-cess.”
“Yes, I’m Princess Celestia, remember?”
It was tired. There were so many new things in her little dwelling. New sounds and Princess, the light. It had also had to move a lot more recently than it had in a long time. It was exhausted. Maybe It could continue exchanging noises with Princess after a nap? It yawned and curled up under the bed where it was safe for a nap. Slowly, It fell asleep.
Author's Note
This chapter and the next few are going to be annoying/difficult to write. While I know where I want to go having to write the same phrase over and over again in order to convey how Twilight or "It" views things instead of writing other phrases that spice up the chapter and feel less annoying is as I said difficult and annoying. Its like instead of being able to say 'the purple princess' or 'newest princess', 'the princess of friendship' 'purple pony' 'the overly stressed unicorn' its just 'purple pony' over and over. I will be so glad when it's over.
Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
Author's Note
Different point of view of the previous chapter seeing how things looked from Celestia's perspective.
Chapter 5
Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun, could only stare in horror at the cell that held her once prized student. The walls were flaked with what appeared to be dried blood, the ceiling didn’t look much better and the floor was covered it the flakes she assumed fell from the walls. A quick burst of magic cleared all the dried blood from the room.
Her gaze went from the cell to the occupant. Twilight was laying dazed in the center of the room. As far as Celestia could tell she hadn’t moved to acknowledge the opening of the door or the use of magic. Twilight’s hair was a complete mess and her wings were clearly unkempt. Her coat now possessed numerous scars and the clothes she was wearing were mere tatters of cloth barely preserving her modesty. Her skin lay taught over her skeleton and her eyes were sunken in.
Celestia could almost see the moment Twilight became aware of her surroundings from her position but was too slow to stop her from hiding under the bed. It reminded her of when Twilight was a filly and new to the castle.
“Twilight?” she called out. Maybe Twilight didn’t realize who was at the door? Unfortunately all she accomplished was making Twilight curl up further under the bed. She approached and said again “Twilight?” Celestia’s heart was breaking. What had they done to her?
“It’s alright,” Celestia lowered herself so that she could look the younger pony in the eyes “You can come out.”
When Twilight inched forward she tried to reach out for the younger mare but Twilight recoiled. “No, Twilight, it’s okay. You’re safe. It’s okay.”
She could barely keep herself from breaking down and her voice cracked with the effort of trying to stay calm. Clearly, both Luna and herself had been so wrong. Whether Twilight had been guilty or not the punishment inflicted had been too much. She noticed Twilight covering her ears, all the time without sound must have made her sensitive to noise.
Twilight clearly was skittish, maybe putting some distance between them would encourage her to come out. Once she was calm and they could have a conversation and the two of them could leave and Celestia could ask Twilight’s forgiveness for wrongly imprisoning her and being especially cruel to leave her cut off from everyone and everything.
The princess of the sun decided to sit up against the far wall in Twilight’s sight. What was she going to do? She watched the young purple alicorn peek out at her and then pull back when she saw that she was watching. It was like watching a wild animal, uncertain about the creature it had encountered. Slowly, Twilight made her way closer and, after a few false starts, eventually gathered the courage to poke her.
Celestia couldn’t help but smile. It was refreshing to see pieces of the pony she once knew. Then the forsaken princess reached out and touched one of Celestia’s wings as though she’d never seen them before. “Do you like them?” Celestia asked. She noticed the wince Twilight had when she spoke as well as her second time rubbing her ears. This time Celestia made an effort to keep her voice to a soft whisper. “Do your ears hurt?”
Twilight made a show of touching Celestia’s lips and then her own ears. Celestia understood after the second time it happened but Twilight did it a few more times after that. ““Okay,” The eldest princess whispered. “No loud noises.”
“Oh-K-ay.” Twilight forced out in broken equish, her voice barely loud enough to hear and rough from dis-use. Celestia felt a mixture of joy and heartbreak at the sound.
“Oh-K-ay?” Twilight repeated, confused. “Oh-K-ay?”
“Twilight,” Celestia whispered.
It was clear to Celestia now. It wasn’t simply that Twilight was afraid of her or angry with her for being locked up, her mind was fractured. She likely didn’t even remember why she was in her cell or who she was. In Twilight’s current state Celestia would be surprised if it was better than a wild animals. Making up for her mistake would be almost impossible in Twilights current mindset.
“Oh-K-ay?” Twilight whimpered, drawing back anxiously.
“Twilight,” Celestia whispered. “do you remember me?” She needed to know. She needed to fix this. When Twilight didn’t respond Celestia persisted. “I’m Celestia, remember? Celestia.” Twilight titled her head, clearly confused.
“Celestia.” The sun princess said brokenly. Twilight was gone.
“C-el-tia.” Twilight seemed to try to mimic cautiously.
“Yes, Celestia.” The pearl coated mare answered feeling a flicker of hope.
“Cel-es-tia”
Celestia smiled and Twilight appeared to take it as an invitation to repeat her name several more times. She just wanted to hold her former student close and soothe all the hurt away. Instinctively, she reached out to Twilight but as soon as she did Twilight hid back under the bed. Internally she cursed at herself for being so careless. She stared at Twilight as Twilight observed her she noticed when Twilight seemed to go somewhere else for a split second.
“Pr-Pr-in-cess?” Twilight asked.
“Yes?” Celestia answered. Was Twilight remembering?
“Pr-in-cess?”
“Yes, Twilight?”
“Prin-cess.”
“Yes, I’m Princess Celestia, remember?” Celestia was torn. She hadn’t used the word ‘princess’ since she came in so clearly it was a remembered word but she wasn’t sure if Twilight knew what the word really was or meant.
While Celestia tried to figure out what to do next and how to convince Twilight to leave her cell, Twilight seemed to settle down and let out a long yawn. All too soon Twilight was sound asleep under the bed. For Celestia this was the perfect opportunity to move Twilight. She’d be able to move Twilight into a room next to hers and not have to worry about explaining everything to someone who wasn’t really capable of understanding at the moment and staying in the cell would only reinforce her current condition. With that in mind Celestia picked Twilight up and left the cell.
Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
Princess Luna, Mistress of the Night, had seemed to feel every moment of Twilight’s imprisonment. Twilight had been her first friend since returning from her banishment and she had felt betrayed when she discovered what the younger princess had done. Twilight had freed her and it had felt like the whole time they spent as friends had been a lie. Then Luna had felt hurt and sad that someone she had been so close to had fallen so far without giving any indication that they had changed before it was far too late. She had asked her sister many times if it was true and not just some cruel joke but Celestia had been hit just as hard if not harder at the news of what her once faithful student had done.
The Princess of the Night had not simply taken a stranger’s word for it though. Twilight was vehemently denying her guilt and professing her innocence to all who would hear and Luna felt that as a good friend she was required to at least look into the matter personally. Being a princess meant putting the needs and greater good of the nation before everything else and that required you to be unbiased and be just as hard on friends as you would strangers but that didn’t mean she had to sit back while the evidence was gathered and pass judgment.
She had personally gone to the scene to look it over herself but she had not been reassured. Twilight’s magic was potent and it covered just about everything in the room even if what she was saying was true Twilight’s magic had either erased the evidence of someone else or there had never been someone else. In one last ditch effort, mostly done out of denial, she had checked the bodies and visited the young colt Twilight had claimed to have helped. Luna, through her connection to dream magic had delved into the young colt’s mind but being in a coma was not the same thing as being asleep and the only thing Luna had found regarding the incident was Twilight standing over him and pain. It had not been a pretty picture and it had shattered whatever hope had remained in the Night Princess.
She had been so angry, felt so betrayed, both that Twilight had done something like this but also that she would lie about it as though the evidence wouldn’t reveal the truth that she had, in a fit of rage ordered the guards to try and force the truth from her by just about whatever means necessary. Only the fact that Twilight was an alicorn had saved her from being tortured to death even before the trial. Still Twilight had claimed she was innocent. Despite all the overwhelming evidence, Twilight stuck to her lie. The audacity had angered both sisters and had driven them to decide that if even now she would not be honest then there was nothing more for Twilight to say and ordered that no one was to speak to her and she was not to leave her cell for anything until her punishment was over perhaps then the former princess would remember the value of honesty.
It had all seemed to happen so quickly. Looking back on it over a hundred years later and with the new facts of the case before her she could see that the case had been too easy, that something had been wrong about it all. They had all been blinded by their emotions despite claiming to be unbiased, they had all felt betrayed and in feeling so had done the same.
Twilight had been telling the truth, she had been innocent. They had tortured and imprisoned an innocent person. SHE had done that. She had earned her banishment but Twilight, good, faithful, eager to please, Twilight had done nothing. Twilight’s loyalty had been betrayed, her honesty swallowed by lies, and her kindness met with violence. Luna knew how that felt, she had experienced the same over a thousand years ago before her banishment and it had led to the nightmare.
Luna had taken the hatred of her ponies for many years before deciding that she would force them to love her and her night. Twilight had stayed in a cell without anyone, knowing she was innocent and that she didn’t deserve their punishment and instead of being filled with hate and seeking revenge she had withdrawn into herself. Even in their betrayal Twilight had refused to fall into the darkness, to betray her betrayers. It was just another way Twilight had proven herself to be a better pony than Luna herself.
Celestia had told her what she had found what she opened Twilight’s cell and, unbelieving, Luna had decided to see the disgraced princess for herself.
She had taken the first opportunity she had to head to the room Celestia had prepared for Twilight. Surely it was all an act, Twilight could not have lost herself so badly, she was just pretending to teach the sisters a lesson. It simply couldn’t be that she had lost her once closest friend.
When she got to the room she felt slightly vindicated. The door was open and Twilight was not inside therefore there must be enough of her left to try and escape, not that Twilight was a prisoner anymore but still, both sisters had assumed she would remain in the room until told otherwise. Now she would have to look for the purple pony.
She took the direction opposite the way she came and began her search. According to Celestia, Twilight was quite frail now so she couldn’t have gone far.
The Princess of the Night had been rather fortunate in her search and had discovered the wayward princess a few hallways down but the sight had only pleased her for a moment before she really took in what she was seeing.
The pony in front of her was gaunt and frail, barely strong enough to keep herself up and walking and leaning on the wall for support. Her hair was long and dirty, knotted and matted in places and it was nothing like the precise brushed hair that it owner had meticulously brushed it into the different colors blended in the most unflattering way possible. It was her eyes though that truly cut into Luna.
Dull and lifeless and yet filled with complete terror upon seeing Luna. Twilight had been the one pony besides her sister that had never been afraid of her.
Twilight’s mouth moved and it was only Luna’s enhanced hearing that allowed her to hear the one word that kept falling from the traumatized pony’s lips. “Sorry.”
Slowly, so as not to startle the frightened mare, Luna approached. “It’s okay. You don’t need to be sorry. It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Luna’s words didn’t seem to have the desired effect though. Twilight was still scared and for every step Luna took closer Twilight shrunk further away and into herself.
By the time Luna had made it to Twilight’s side she had curled into a protective ball on the floor and still the apology fell from terrified lips. Uncertain how to proceed, Luna took a seat on the floor beside the trembling mass and continued to murmur words of reassurance, determined to wait until Twilight realized she was neither in danger nor in any sort of trouble.
Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
It was roughly a half hour of panic before Twilight exhausted herself into unconsciousness. Once she finally had Luna was quick to pick up the far too light mare, the night princess made a mental note to send someone to go get a meal for her and headed back to Twilight’s room.
This wasn’t something an apology would be able to fix. Luna was sure that given time what had happened to Twilight would eventually get better, she may never be the same but she wouldn’t be forever broken by this, after all Luna had spent a thousand years on the moon and she had recovered given time and as an alicorn time was something Twilight had plenty of. No the question wasn’t ‘would Twilight get better’ the question was ‘could she ever forgive everyone for what they had done’. Luna wasn’t sure. Twilight had been a forgiving pony before but that was over a hundred years ago, before she had been betrayed by everyone, before she had endured torture.
The hallways back to the room, which was right next to both Luna’s and Celestia’s rooms, passed by in a blur. The night princess placed the emancipated pony in the bed and covered her with as much gentleness as she possessed. If there was one thing Twilight deserved at the bare minimum it was gentleness. Then Luna brought over a chair and sat vigil at Twilight’s bedside, determined not to leave until Twilight woke.
She knew Celestia was bound to come in as well, there was no way Celestia could live with herself if she didn’t try to repair the damage she had helped cause even if in the end the three of them were no longer friends, even if Twilight ended up hating them, she deserved nothing less then their best at trying to fix this mess that had been created. At the moment Celestia was trying to discover just how Twilight had gotten so thin. If Twilight had simply refused to eat or if the guards had stopped bringing food. The sentence had been no communication at no point was Twilight to have been starved as she clearly had been. Celestia was trying to figure out if it was self-inflicted or not and why they had not been notified about it if it was or if they had purposefully withheld food who was responsible. To Luna it made no difference, to her it was clear who was responsible for Twilight’s poor health and she was ashamed to admit that they were. They had never personally checked on her, relying on reports from guards and taking them as fact, the ones they had read at least.
The Night Princess hadn’t felt rage this bad since before her banishment. It had all been a ploy to get Twilight out of the way and they had all fell for it. It had taken the real culprit confessing right in front of them to realize they had imprisoned the wrong pony and to make matters worse he had gotten away.
**Flashback**
Both Luna and Celestia were in the Throne room, a rare occurrence unless some calamity was about to befall the nation. They had decided a few years prior that they would have joint sessions in the autumn since the time between day and night, also known as twilight, was longer at this time of year and they felt that it would help show ponies that they were indeed equals, that they ruled side by side. It was almost time for proper night fall the beginning of true night when it happened.
There, in the capital of Canterlot, just moments before the final rays of sun left Equestria for the night, a large explosion rang out, destroying the silence that had fallen over the city. The source had also destroyed several buildings, killing quite a few ponies, though at the time the royal sisters were unaware of this fact and simply knew something was wrong.
They quickly left the room and headed outside to determine the source, both extending their senses as much as possible to determine whether or not it was magical in nature. Neither could sense the type of powerful magic that would be necessary for this. Some of guards had already begun to act heading in the direction of the explosion the pegasus guards moving farther quicker since they could simply fly over any obstacle. The newest captain of the royal guard had finally appeared and saluted.
He was an earth pony and like all who joined the guard was wearing gold plated armor that disguised any real distinguishing features, the armor enchanted his coat to a pale white, the only thing that really gave away the difference between a regular guard and the captain was the engravings on his armor that displayed his rank. His name was Quick Shot and he was still getting used to the new position having just been promoted a week before. Still, no one became captain without a bit of experience even if Equestria hadn’t seen war in several centuries.
“Your Majesties, the explosion seems to have come from the market district.”
“Do we know what caused it?” Celestia asked concernedly.
“Not yet, the only reason we know what direction it came from is because a pegasus guard was doing patrol up in the air space above the castle and happened to be looking in that direction when it happened. He said it’s taken a few buildings down. I’ve sent a few guards to go ahead and check for more threats while the rest of us mobilize to search the area more thoroughly.”
“Very well, I shall accompany you. Something like this does not happen by accident in Canterlot. Surely this must be a trap of some kind,” Luna said decisively.
“Be careful Luna, we don’t know what we’re dealing with just yet,” Celestia cautioned.
Luna had nodded and then taken flight, first following the guards that had already left for the site of the explosion then outstripping them. She was the first to arrive on the scene and hovered in the air for a few moments before landing just taking everything in. About four buildings had been completely demolished, leaving nothing but rubble. Two more were severely damaged but not completely collapsed. Luna suspected this was because the two were further away and warehouses so each had taken damage to only one wall leaving the other three walls of each building to support the weight. The dust was still settling and it caused many to cough. Some looked fairly alright with only a few scrapes and bruises but many others were seriously injured.
“One of you notify the hospital that there are injured on their way.” Luna instructed one of the guards. To the others she said. “Begin rounding up the injured and transport them to the hospital as quickly as you can. Those of you with the ability to cast healing magic focus on the most injured first and try to stabilize them for transport.”
The guards quickly did as instructed while Luna herself began to inspect the site more closely. She had just begun to search the rubble of the first building when a flash of magic caught her attention. A bright ugly orange spell was headed straight for her! With a practiced motion she brought up a shield and the spell broke upon it but it soon became a battle of attrition, the spells came at her with such speed she was unable to do anything but shield herself and so could not switch to the offensive.
Some of the guards witnessed the coming spells and searched for the source. There stood something they never thought they’d see. Another alicorn. The fact that there was now another alicorn was something no one had ever thought they’d see but the guards lived in the castle with two of them (three if you counted the prisoner) what really stunned them was the fact that it was a stallion. No one had ever seen a male alicorn before and they were frozen in shock.
The alicorn stallion had a completely black ethereal mane. Unlike the two royal sisters whose mane seemed to flow in a non-existent breeze, his mane and tail struck violently into the air behind him like a flag waving in the middle of a tropical storm. He was shorter than Princess Celestia but taller than Princess Luna. His muscles were slight but well defined, more pronounced than the sisters but by no means bulky. His eyes were a cold gold that had further orange mist surrounding them making them look even more sinister. He, unlike the princesses who only wore regalia for protection from an attack he was in full body armor, making it impossible to determine what color his fur was. What stood out most though, besides his gender, and caused shivers to run down the spines of just about everyone there was the pure maniacal grin he wore as he attacked Princess Luna.
One unicorn guard, incredibly foolish but completely devoted to the princesses he had sworn to protect, sent one of the strongest spells he knew at the one attacking his charge. It barely caught the male alicorn’s attention. He effortlessly conjured a shield to protect him but the spell did it’s job. In that split second Luna was finally free to bring down her shield and go on the attack.
Spell after spell the two alicorns tried to get one over on the other trying to defeat their opponent. Luna was trying to keep the damage away from her subjects but there was only so much she could do, and there was clearly a threat before her. Resounding explosions rocked the entire city and the two alicorns took to the sky to continue their battle.
During the entire fight no matter what Luna said or did he refused to say a word. He just kept that unnerving grin on his face. Right up until Celestia had appeared in a flash of golden light and joined the battle. Only then did the strange alicorn back away an show the slightest bit of fear. Luna didn’t know if it was the idea of fighting both of them at once or if it was Celestia in particular that he didn’t want to fight but it was gone before either sister could press their advantage. Then the grin was back only this time it seemed to say ‘I know something you don’t’.
“I didn’t think I would be facing both betrayers at once,” He said.
“We have betrayed no one. Who are you? Why have you attacked us?” Celestia demanded.
He laughed as though he had heard the funniest thing in the world. “Betrayed no one? You imprison an innocent pony for years and someone you claimed was a friend, but you betrayed no one.”
“What are you talking about?” Luna inquired. He was lying, trying to trick them so he could defeat them while they were distracted, but something cold began to settle in her stomach at what he was implying. No one openly spoke of Twilight these days, over a hundred years and most who knew her were dead. It was mostly the guards, the sisters, and Cadance who knew of Twilight by now, not because they had erased her from history but mostly because everyone simply referred to her as ‘the betrayer’ or ‘the fallen princess’.
He gave a cruel grin that told them exactly how much he relished what he was saying, “Twilight didn’t kill all those people. I did. I needed her out of the way while I worked on ascending and then increasing my power. I had to make sure she wasn’t around to stop me before I killed you. I was trying to get you to execute her, after all the only way to guarantee she wasn’t involved is if she wasn’t alive. I made sure to kill them slowly and painfully, I wanted her to try to save them to erase my magic and then I suppressed most of the memories from the colt she managed to save. Of course I couldn’t risk him waking up and remembering the truth so after Luna came to search for the truth he ‘succumbed to his wounds’.”
He was a true villain, monologuing and everything only while the sisters were struck with horror at the implications of what he was saying he had used the time he was talking to perform a teleport. It spurred the sisters into action, preparing for an attack and searching for where he had gone. After half an hour of searching they had found no sign of him.
They met at the spot of the initial attack and they needed to share no words. Luna would remain to watch of the evacuation of the rest of the injured. Celestia had something more important to do: Free an innocent mare.
Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
Luna had been sitting beside Twilight for close to two hours before she was joined by her sister. It was with silent, once proud grace that she entered the room bearing two tray laden with food. Luna noticed a couple bowls of broth and some dry crackers among the food Celestia had decided to bring. The rest was food more fit for a princess but still light, mostly finger sandwiches and salads. Celestia didn’t say it but for the first time in a long time she felt no desire to eat sweets, she felt too guilty to enjoy it especially since Twilight wouldn’t be able to partake. Going from not eating to eating too much would make her sick. The doctors had recommended broth for a week or so, nothing heavier than a few crackers until she could work her way back up to solid foods and then full fledged meals.
“Anything?” the sun princess asked softly, so as not to wake the youngest in the room, as she settled the trays down on a nearby desk.
“I found her a few hallways down, she had left the room but panicked when she saw me,” Luna paused wondering if she should continue or not before deciding she should be honest “I’ve never seen her frightened of me before.”
“I don’t know if it was you she was scared of Luna,” the eldest princess tried to reassure. “I don’t know if she even remembers us.”
“Then what was she afraid of?” The younger sister demanded in a harsh whisper.
Celestia narrowed her eyes and responded calmly and a bit coolly. “Do not make this about you Luna.”
“I’m-” Luna started before the words really sunk in. She was making it about her. She had decided to take offence because Twilight was frightened of her. So what? Twilight had endured trauma a lot of things probably terrified Twilight right now, what made Luna special? “I’m sorry, you’re right.”
“We need to focus on Twilight right now,” Celestia replied firmly. And find that alicorn stallion. She thought silently.
Celestia had only ever felt this conflicted once before, when she had to decide to use the elements against her own sister. Then, just like now, she was torn between her nation, her ponies, or someone she loved. She wanted more than anything to be by Twilight’s side and help her become the mare she used to be once more but she also had a duty to find the alicorn that had attacked her ponies, her city, her sister, her Twilight.
Even though Twilight had been ‘safe’ in her cell and had not been attacked she had been targeted a hundred and fifty years ago. Twilight may not have been injured or killed by the alicorn’s hand but his actions had directly resulted in Twilight’s torture and imprisonment with the intention of having her killed. He had committed treason against the crown, every one of them, and he would pay dearly for it.
“Did you send the letter to Cadance?” Luna asked after several minutes of silence.
Celestia winced at the reminder. It had been the first thing she had done after taking Twilight out of her cell. Cadance had quickly replied with a very long letter that amounted to an extremely angry ‘I told you so’. Celestia had no doubt she was already on a chariot to Canterlot and it would not be the last of the princess of love’s rage. Still it was anger well deserved, after all the only thing Cadance was truly guilty of was believing that Celestia would only do what was right and not coming for the trial.
Both Cadance and Shining Armor had heard of the accusations against Twilight but at the time they had been learning how to juggle ruling the empire and being parents to a newborn alicorn. Cadance had expressed a desire to be there for her little sister but reluctantly admitted that since they didn’t know how long the trial would last that at least one of them needed to stay to make sure nothing collapsed while they were away. It was decided that Shining Armor would make the trip to the capital to be there for Twilight while Cadance would remain in the empire but that she had full faith that Celestia would discover who was behind the mass murder and punish them accordingly.
The trial had been short, Celestia admitted to herself, looking back on it. Even in cases where a pony confessed to the crime it usually lasted a few days. It took time to go over all the evidence and how remorseful the perpetrator was. There were quite a few things Celestia usually considered before reaching a verdict and the sentencing. Yet it hadn’t happened for this case. For whatever reason all she could remember about the trial itself was wanting it over with. She had a few vague memories of speaking with Spike the night before the beginning of the trail, promising that there would be character witnesses, that Twilight’s various heroic acts would be taken into consideration for sentencing and yet she hadn’t called for them. Luna hadn’t either, she realized, now that Celestia really thought about it. They had called for the evidence to be brought forth, they had talked about it for an appallingly short time, then they had asked what Twilight had to say for herself.
She had been willing to be open minded about the trial and unbiased and yet when she had entered the court room she had decided Twilight was guilty. Why?
“What do you remember about the trial Luna?” Celestia asked deep in thought, searching her memories for the relevant information.
The midnight blue princess frowned in thought. “Feeling betrayed, mostly. Wanting to punish the one who had betrayed me, teach them that I wasn’t someone they could cross without consequence. I was angry and I wanted Twilight to pay.”
“But do you remember the trial itself?” the alabaster sister asked insistently. “Did we call character witnesses? Did we bring up all the good Twilight had done for Equestria? I know we asked what Twilight had to say for herself but do you remember asking for an alibi? A motive? Anything? Any contradictory evidence?”
Luna searched her memories, slowly shaking her head. “Now that you mention it sister, I don’t believe we did. I remember the evidence against her and arguing with you that she should be executed in private during the break. I remember speaking to Twilight just before we sentenced her. I also remember saying that we should forget all about this incident after the trial, that Twilight was imprisoned now and we didn’t have to worry or think about it anymore.”
“But Twilight was only supposed to be imprisoned for two hundred years. Eventually we would have let her out, we should have discussed the matter a few times over the years like we do for any criminal before their release. Yes her imprisonment was significantly longer than a standard ponies but we always discuss their progress, keep an eye on them to see if they’re still a danger to society. We didn’t even keep a close enough eye on her to see if she was eating. We didn’t even give her anything to do . Anyone placed in confinement is supposed to be allowed to keep themselves mentally stimulated since they can’t have physical activity, we can’t risk letting them out. Twilight was left in her cell with nothing .”
The younger princess began searching more recent memories. Celestia was right. Something wasn’t adding up. All the guards knew the protocol so how had Twilight slipped through their fingers? Cadance and Shining Armor had repeatedly asked for updates about Twilight, even if they weren’t allowed to speak with her but every time they were brushed off and forgotten about. For the first few years Spike had almost incessantly demanded to speak with Twilight and then to see her but he was redirected to a guard to deal with. Twilight was supposed to be locked away and forgotten about. Almost compulsively. Why?
“Send for a doctor.” Luna demanded suddenly.
There could be only one reason for their behavior. Someone had been using mind magic on them and neither had noticed or if they had they didn’t remember it. The fact that they were now noticing the behavior meant it was trigger based. One to activate it and another to remove it. The most troubling matter was that Alicorns had a natural resistance to mind magic, in order to pull something like this off it had to be someone close to them who was with them most of the day. It painted a sinister picture. The royal guard had been compromised.
Author's Note
I want to make this clear. This is not a chapter erasing blame. Even IF Celestia and Luna were put under some spell (or maybe just getting too old) they are still responsible for their actions. Just like if someone got drunk and then drove a car and got in an accident it would still be their fault. Their decision making skills may be impaired but they still made the decision. This is a chapter moving the plot forward nothing more. You may still freely continue to hate/blame the sisters or you may decide they deserve some slack after reading this. I won't judge or tell you how to feel either way because even as the author I both sympathize and rage against the mistreatment.
Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
Author's Note
So this story does have an anthro tag so I feel at this point I should explain how I envision that. To me they are basically people with fur and pony ears like when the Rainbooms ‘pony-up’. Basically, an ‘earth pony’ is a regular human with fur and pony ears. A Pegasus is a human with wings, fur and of course pony ears. A unicorn is a human with a horn on their forehead, fur and pony ears. Any questions about that feel free to ask.
Second note: I’ve looked this chapter over a couple of times and I know there are typos somewhere but every time I go back to correct it I can’t find it anymore. It’s super frustrating so if you spot them let me know. I don’t need any grammar Nazis but I’m open to improvement. That being said if something is suggested that may change the intended message the suggestion will be ignored sometimes this are phrased certain ways on purpose and other times it was simply the only way I could think of to express the thought.
Third: what do you guys think about referring to the anthro characters as ponies? Should I stop? If I do what should I then refer to them as.
Chapter 10
The sister’s weren’t sure who to trust at the moment. It could be that one, or all of the guard had betrayed them. Reluctantly, they called for a doctor. The doctor would be able to tell them what the spell they were dealing with was if they could tell him what to look for. That being said with the guard compromised for all they knew all of their staff could be either effected by the spell or in on it willingly. They were however, confidant that the spell was no longer active. The proof of this was that they had been able to remove Twilight from her cell and continue to focus on her.
“It must had been that alicorn. What he said.” Luna concluded. “After he told us the truth we were able to get Twilight. The truth must have been the trigger to end the spell.”
“But how was he able to put one on us without us realizing?” Celestia questioned.
She was certain Luna must be right but she felt as though they only had one piece to the puzzle and they weren’t even entirely sure how many pieces there were or what the picture was supposed to look like. The alicorn had said that he had wanted them to execute Twilight but they hadn’t so it hadn’t been a full mind control spell. Why not? Clearly he had been in a position to do so and the skill to avoid being caught doing so. What about the guards? Were they spelled? Were all of them? Just a handful? Was it just the guards? To what end? How had someone ascended without their knowledge?
“I think it was the entrance.” Luna supplied after some thought. “I was fine at breakfast as far as I know.”
“The entrance to the court room? I’ve never heard of something like that happening before but it would make sense if it is just the guards. No one besides the cooks have access to our foods or drinks.”
“Or someone who disguised themselves as a cook and it just took time for the spell to activate.”
“I just wish I knew what the point of it all was.” Celestia lamented. “I feel like we’re miles behind him, stumbling in the dark for whatever scraps he left behind.”
“I think as soon as we finish testing ourselves we should move to test the Night Guard, they’ll be more discreet in looking into this, in the mean time we work on healing Twilight.”
“And try not to get flayed alive by Spike and Cadance until we can prove it wasn’t our fault.”
**
He had reddish brown fur, a white mane that fell to his shoulders in a windswept manner, parted by a horn (he kept saying that it was in style even if it wasn’t), and kind green eyes. He wore a traditional white lab coat most doctors wore but underneath, his regular clothes mismatched just as much as the rest of him. His shirt was a bright, blinding orange t-shirt covered in pineapples and his pants were a pair of loose green jeans. All in all he sometimes caused ponies to stop and stare at his bizarre appearance if they didn’t know him well. Despite this he was the best doctor in all of Canterlot and so everyone ignored his rather eccentric choices in clothing.
Initially, he assumed he was there to look over the one in the bed since it was clear she was not at all well however he was quickly corrected.
“You will look Twilight over in just a moment Dr. Heart, at the moment we need you to test the two of us for certain spells that may have effected our judgement,” Celestia stepped in quickly.
“Very well,” Dr. Bleeding Heart agreed with a bow. “If you will just describe your symptoms I will have a better idea of what to look for.”
So the two sisters listed everything they had noticed that hadn’t seemed right ever since Twilight’s trial. Their refusal to allow anyone to check on Twilight, how they had simply forgotten about her, how quickly her trial had gone and how they had focused more on what had happened than the actual truth of the matter. They told him how they had given orders that she not be spoken to by anyone and had, for the past hundred and fifty years, brushed off any mention of her.
Bleeding Heart frowned. He knew how to look for mind controlling spells, but he had never encountered one that behaved in this way. The only change in behavior they were describing involved the former princess. In his (admittedly limited) experience, mind magic effected several behaviors regarding situations not specific people. He cast a general spell to detect any kind of mind magic residue. It wouldn’t tell him what spell had been cast or by who (they’d need a sample to compare it to) but it would tell him if it had been used on the person in question and how long ago it had been cast.
As soon as the spell left his horn the two princesses glowed a brilliant white. The white color indicated that mind magic had been cast on them but been broken and the brightness indicated how recently the spell had been cast, unfortunately it couldn’t tell him how many times they had been put under the spell or what it was.
He immediately informed them of the results and the limitations of his findings. Unable to do anything else for the two rulers he turned his attention to the one in the bed.
Casting several rounds of spells informed him that she was malnourished, dehydrated, anemic, had severe muscle atrophy, numerous scars (possibly self inflicted), and perhaps most worryingly a serious build up of magic at the base of her horn below the magic inhibitor she still wore.
Of all the problems his newest patient had this was the most concerning. Most of her symptoms could be fixed with some TLC, steady meals, exercise and the like. He wished she was awake so he could assess her mental state but perhaps some time with a psychiatrist would help with that.
All ponies possessed and used magic, currents that ran through their entire bodies that were pure magic much like veins. The concentration of those currents often determined what you were born as just as much as genetics. Earth ponies had no concentration point and so used it passively, meaning they had little to no control over it with no way to direct it, mostly it augmented them, making them stronger and increased their stamina and endurance.
Pegasus had their concentration points in their wings which enabled them to fly. Those who possessed both high concentration points and high magic were able to use their magic to increase their speed and to throw lightning through their wings. That’s not to say they had no magic concentration else where, they also had it I. Their feet allowing them to walk on clouds and control weather.
Unicorns were the only ones (besides alicorns) who could actively use and control the magic running through them. The concentration points where most of their magic led was in their horn allowing them to cast spells, however just like energy, magic replenished itself.
To most it would be explained to young foals in a similar manner as running a race. At the start of the race you have a lot of energy but at some point you’re going to start getting tired. How quickly you tire depends on a lot of various factors but regardless of when it happens, if you stop to take a break you slowly get your energy back. It was the same with magic. Earth ponies and Pegasus all used their magic near constantly in various ways that applied to them.
Unicorns were different. They consciously used their magic but not not constantly. They didn’t use magic all the time but their magic was always trying to replenish itself. When a unicorn used more magic than they replenish it resulted in magic exhaustion. Much like if a pegasus flew too fast for too long or an earth pony worked too hard or too long. They could increase the speed and amount of magic they could hold in their core by practicing their spells and using their magic often but that led to their horns releasing ambient magic.
It was simply magic that was just there and couldn’t be held by the unicorn because their core was full. The amount of magic released depended on the unicorn in question. The more a unicorn used their magic the faster their magical core regenerated magic and the larger and more demanding the spells cast the larger their core.
Inhibitors worked by blocking all magic from flowing out of the horn. This meant that a unicorn couldn’t use their magic but also meant that the ‘excess’ magic or run-off magic that ran through the horn that wasn’t used to cast magic but allowed for the use of magic was also cut off. The core didn’t stop generating magic though and so if a inhibitor was placed on a unicorn it could lead to a dangerous if not deadly buildup of magic to both the unicorn in question and the people around them. Thus it was common practice to simply cut off the horn of a unicorn convicted of a violent crime in which magic was used. Both to protect the convict and those around them.
“Have either of you tried to remove the inhibitor?” Bleeding Heart asked cautiously.
Luna and Celestia exchanged a sheepish glance. “Not yet.” Celestia admitted. “We wanted her to be awake and aware when we did it.”
“I see. Well I recommend you replace the inhibitor with a limiter. I can do that for you now but you need to try and get her to start using magic as soon as possible. The limiter will help keep her magic from essentially exploding out and allow her to release her excess magic slowly so as not to harm her or others. We can start small so that we can build up to larger bits of magic without harming her.”
“Please do so.” Celestia requested.
Magic was a large part of who Twilight was, maybe granting access to it once more would help bring her back.
Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
Carriage heading for Canterlot
The Princess of Love shifted anxiously inside her personal carriage as it flew over the land of Equestria and towards the Castle. Next to her, inside the carriage was her husband Shining Armor. His white fur was now flecked with silvery gray and his mane had started to dull a few years back. Shining Armor, despite being well over a hundred and fifty years old, had only just started to appear to be in his mid-fifties to early sixties.
For reasons they weren’t entirely sure of, Shining Armor’s aging had slowed, not stopped, but slowed significantly. There were a few theories, of course, but nothing that could be proven and replicated. Princess Cadance was certain Twilight could’ve done it had she been free.
One theory was that Shining Armor had extended his life by defeating the dark specter of Sombra. Another was that Princess Cadance, as an immortal alicorn, by marrying him she had extended his life. Then there was one that said that it was her love for him that kept him alive (the crystal ponies were fond of that one). The final mainstream theory was that his aging had slowed due to them sharing magic during the changeling invasion before their wedding.
Cadance was of the opinion that only the first theory had any merit and even that was up for debate. The rest implied she had either knowingly or unknowingly done something unnatural to keep Shining alive and as she knew she hadn’t intentionally done anything, that left unknowingly and it didn’t sit well with her.
The problem was that there were no references to Luna or Celestia ever being married. Therefore there was no evidence to draw on one way or another and Cadance wasn’t exactly on speaking terms with the two eldest princesses to ask.
Outside the carriage flew a young dragon just on the cusp of adulthood with purple scales and a green underbelly as well as bright green dragon eyes. Once upon a time he had been a small baby dragon that served as Twilight’s number one assistant and best friend. He had grown quite a bit since then. Not so small now, he barely fit inside the average pony’s home and he now sported large impressive wings that easily kept him aloft and with pace of the carriage.
It was a long journey from the Crystal Empire and they had been flying since they had received the second letter, the first having marked the preparations for their travel. The Pegasus that pulled the carriage had been flying most of the night and now, just as dawn was creeping its way over the horizon the city of Canterlot was coming into view.
Twilight
Despite being asleep for so much of the day, It rested. It liked the warm whatever that It had drank. The whatever reminded It of- something. The white one hadn’t been angry with It either for leaving It’s room. In fact the white one had given It- It strained to remember the word, for there was a word that belonged to what It had been given. The word went along with the foreign feeling It had. That too had a name. Though tired It felt-a missing word again.
There was a time It knew what lots of words were but right now they all were nowhere to be found. It felt-sad. There was a brief moment of joy when It remembered the word and it’s purpose but the feeling did not last. It was, It pushed for the word It so desperately wanted, broken. It remembered that word. It knew that word. It knew that better than broken was fixed . It would need to be fixed. It would have to fix Itself .
Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
Twilight sat alone in her cold dark cell. It wasn't always dark of course but it was currently night at least she assumed it was night and therefore all the lights were off and this far down in the dungeons no heating was available for prisoners no matter what their status used to be. She squeezed her wings against her as tightly as she could to conserve warmth and wrapped her arms around herself. She’d been in this cell for- she had lost count but the longer she stayed the colder it seemed to get. Perhaps they were trying to freeze her to death for her supposed crimes.
*Flashback*
“For the murder of no less than twelve innocent ponies you are hereby sentenced to two hundred years imprisonment,” The Princess of the Sun, Celestia said coldly. “Perhaps then you will see the error of your ways and be able to confess to your wrong doings.”
“Please,” cried the newly crowned princess. “I didn’t kill anyone. You have to believe me. You know me.”
*End Flashback*
A shiver ran down her spine. A meal was brought every once in a while. She had lost track of time rather quickly with nothing to do or occupy her mind with. No matter how many times someone brought food, every time she tried to talk to them they refused to answer. After a few meals were delivered and they hadn’t responded to her she had started refusing to eat. It hadn’t gotten her a response they simply took the food away. If she didn’t have the tray on the flap when they arrived then she didn’t get a meal until it was returned. She found herself getting hungry far less often and simply laid on the lumpy bed in the cell aimlessly waiting for time to pass.
Broken Minds and Healing Hearts
*Day 18,250*
*Flashback*
He was barely alive when she came across him, both of them were covered in blood by now. His breathing was shaky but he also seemed to be the least injured out of all the victims. She ran through all the healing spells she knew and finally his breaths grew more stable. She breathed a sigh of relief. At least one of the victims was going to make it out of this tragedy alive. The colt opened his eyes, a beautiful sky blue, and gave her a weak smile.
“Thank you.” He whispered.
She tried to ask him who had hurt everyone but he fell unconscious before she could get a response. For a moment she considered teleporting the both of them to the hospital in Ponyville but disregarded it. The poor colt was barely stable and if she teleported him now she might accidently kill him, especially since she wasn’t entire sure what his injuries were. She could try to move him but again she wasn’t sure what was wrong with him. What if moving him hurt him more? Reluctantly, she lowered him down onto the blood covered ground. She needed to find help. Then he could be brought to the hospital and when he woke he’d be able to tell them who had done this nightmareish thing.
*End Flashback*
She laid under her bed. It was safe there. It felt like someone was there with her. Comforting her. She had run out of room to write at some point. The letters, numbers, and symbols jumbling together. The once gray walls were now a permanent rusty brown
*Day 27,375*
A lavender alicorn lay in the center of the room. She was nothing but skin and bones and she clearly needed a bath. Anyone looking into the cell would be forgiven for thinking the occupant had died if it wasn’t for the smallest rise and fall of its’ chest indicating it was breathing. The color of the walls that had a few years prior been a rusty brown were now peeling in some places. The alicorn that had forgotten it’s name decided it might like it’s dwelling. It couldn’t remember why it was there but knew it was being punished for something. Perhaps It would remember if it thought about it hard enough but It had no desire to.