Corruption

Arone walked down the silent halls of Chanterlot castle and took a moment to look outside. His eyes traveled from the rising moon, to Princess Luna on her balcony raising it, down to the Library building attached to the castle. He saw the faint glow of flickering light, probably coming from a lamp. Arone considered how he hadn't seen Bini in a couple of days and she had locked herself into the Library. Claiming she was doing research on a secret project.

He galloped to save time across the castle and managed to reach the double doors to the Library in record time. Arone softly knocked on the door and received no response. Arone was beginning to feel a bit concerned and opened the door slowly.

STARSWIRL THE BEARDED JOURNAL 11

Experiment 088

I have made a terrible mistake. I created a monster. It was supposed to be a straightforward experiment. Like any experiment, it had its risks. But...I never imagined it would turn out like this. The experiment went like this, I had collected dark energy from a cave deep outside the borders of Equestria. (I will not say its location to avoid contamination for others who may find this and read this when I am long gone.)

It all happened in five days. I had put five subjects into isolated cells deep within my castle. I made sure that the servants entertained Celestia and Luna as I had to give these subjects my complete attention. I put the dark energy into the cells on day one. The subjects seemed agitated but overall fine. On the second day, they started to argue with themselves. On the third day, they started to become violent. Some bashed their heads against the wall of the cell. Screaming at an unknown figure that they wanted to be free. On the fourth day, they started to die. Three died from pain. According to the biopsy.

The fifth day, the monster was created. The bodies had been removed from the cells the previous day, so there were only two subjects left. The first subject succumbed to insanity and bashed their head so many times, so hard that they bled to death. The subject...Sombra. The last one remaining started laughing maniacally. His eyes turned from the dark brown pupils he had before. His crystal coat faded away to pure dark gray with a flowing dark mane.

T-The thing melded itself with that pony and created a pure evil monster. He blasted through the cell with the new power he had obtained. I was able to hold him off with my magic. He may be powerful, but I have studied magic all my life. I wasn't able to subdue him. Only slightly weaken him despite my power.

I had used a banishing spell that took me years to master through delicate training and research. I banished him to the icy north in the crystal caves. He wrecked part of the castle. Luna and Celestia's memories had to be wiped of the event. I couldn't risk them finding out the horrible action that I had done. I created a monster.

Bini stared at the book in front of her. She had read through ten journals and finally reached the one that Rose warned the Princess about. Bini sort of understood how it was a danger. If Celestia read the entry and figured out where this "Dark energy" was, she, in her haste to destroy it, might unleash it.

Bini groaned and deeply regretted what she had read. She slammed her head against the desk in her office deep within the castle. She deserved it. She knew she should have not read that book. Those books. Damn her. She slammed it shut and threw it to the floor as if it was any other book in anger.

She shot her head up to look at the sound of hoofsteps echoing across the room.

"Bini?" Arone called out as he cautiously approached her. "Are you alright?"

Bini scrambled up and galloped towards Arone. Starting to push him towards the door.

"Yes. Yes. Alright. I am fine. Now go, go, go!" She snapped as she continued to shove him towards the door. Arone changed into his original form and flew over Bini to see the contents of the table. She picked up some of the journals to Bini's horror and read the titles.

"Starswirl's-Oh no." Arone said. Then turned to Bini with a frightened expression. "Please tell me you didn't. Please, please tell me you didn't do what I think you did!"

Bini growled and piled the books into a box before heading back towards the archive. Giving Arone a suspicious gaze.

"What exactly are y-"

"You read the journals! THEY ARE DANGEROUS!" He snapped at her. Her ears fell down and she stumbled away from Arone. He pushed his hoof into her chest to emphasize his point. "Dangerous! Celestia went on for about an hour on how dangerous they were! Did you not think when the guard came in to deliver the books and watch you do it? HUH?"

"How in the hay did you know that!?" She demanded.

"I had to give the books to the guard and I have gossip spies everywhere!" Arone said. Bini pushed him back.

"Spies everywhere, changeling? Oh, really? Are they changelings as well?" She snapped. Arone looked at her in confusion.

"I-I don't understand. I thought you were fine with me being a Changeling." He said softly. Bini turned and took one of the journals. Showing him an entry about Changelings in Starswirl's journal where he claimed Changelings were evil. Bug ponies that feed on love and have only one quest. To take over Equestria.

"I was fine with it. Until Starswirl revealed the truth of your kind." She growled with anger and Arone back away from her in confusion and hurt. "Surprisingly the only information I was able to find was from Starswirl. He was the most powerful and smart pony in the olden days. He claims they don't have hearts. Is that true, Changeling?"

"Bini!" Arone barked and slammed his hoof on the ground. "Snap out of this madness! These books clearly have a bad effect on you. This information is getting to your head."

"They revealed the truth. Go." She snapped. Turning her back to him. He reached out but hesitated and lower his hoof. Knowing that in this state, there was no reasoning with her.

Celestia went sat in her bedroom in a pile of pillows going over taxes. Occasionally thinking about the argument she had with Luna earlier about why taxes were necessary. She dipped her quill in more ink and wrote down more calculations. Her head snapped up at the sound of a soft knock. She unlocked her door and opened it with her magic.

Within a few seconds, Arone walked in with a grim expression. He dropped a stack of reports at her hoofs and started out of the room without even a word.

"Arone, wait."

Arone paused and looked back at the Princess with tears in his eyes. He tried his best to hide them but was failing miserably. Celestia got up and wrapped a comforting wing around her assistant. Who, after the many months of working with her, considered a friend.

"Is something wrong?"

"Do you remember how I told you about Bini finding out I was a changeling and being surprisingly alright about it?" He asked. Moving further into her wing as a foal would with their mother. "She had a change of heart."

"A change of heart?" Celestia asked with concern. "What happened."

Arone explained to her what happened in the Library, of course, he had to bend the truth a little bit since, despite Bini's harsh words, he didn't want her to get in trouble.

Bini stared at the resume and then back at the Earth pony carefully balancing books on her back as she wondered the Library. They had been wandering for a good ten minutes before Bini realized that the pony named Moonlight Sweeper was completely unqualified and lied on her resume. She had a simple task. Reorganize ten books in five minutes. Yeah. That wasn't happening.

"Mrs. Sweeper?"

The Earth pony with a long orange mane tied up into a bun. A yellow coat. Yellow eyes and an 8-bit ball as a cutiemark who was a pretty bad liar galloped over to Bini and pressed a hood against her cutiemark. Completely ignoring the fact that Bini was the one who called out her name and didn't give her orders yet.

She pointed to the blank scroll and dry quill that represented her cutiemark.

"What does that mean!?" She asked in amazement. Bini gave an irritated sigh and moved away from the pony.

"It means I am good with...Scrolls." She replied. The pony raised an eyebrow at her.

"Do you not know what you are good at?"

Bini did not know what her cutiemark meant. When she got it, she had lost her memory. One moment she was hurtling downhill in a small wagon with her best friend. The next she was in the hospital with a broken hoof and her parents saying how proud they were that she got her cutie mark. She honestly had no idea what her cutiemark meant.

"All I know, Ms. Sweeper is that you have lied to me and are therefore not qualified for this job. OUT!" She barked. Pointing her hood at the exit. The moment reminded her a little bit of when she threw Arone out a few days ago. He had been avoided her and she couldn't say she felt sorry. Starswirl was one of the most powerful ponies to this day...Well, accept for Celestia and Luna, so if anypony was able to identify a threat, it was him.

Ms. Sweeper glared at her as she left the room and bucked open the double doors with attitude. A pony named she recognized as one of the former guards named Rocky Snow entered with the traditional Royal guard purple short haircut and light yellow coat with a spear and a shield as a cutiemark.

He placed the resume on the desk with a flap of his wing and smiled at Bini across the table. She picked up the resume and quickly read it over before looking back at the former guard with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright. Rocky Snow. Your first and the last occupation for a job you had up until a few weeks ago. Why were you let go?" She asked. The guard's smile flattered for a moment and his wings flexed nervously.

"I...Um...Ate Princess Celestia's cake."

Bini looked back at him with wide eyes of disbelief and cleared her throat before she pulled it together.

"Um...Alright." She said, a little taken aback by his response. "What makes you think you are qualified for this job?"

"Well, I am interested in learning new things!" Rocky said with new confidence. "And I really need the money. I am running behind on rent."

Bini held up her hoof for a moment and trotted over to the front doors. She opened one of them slightly to see a line of ponies who looked more stupid than the last standing outside her library, guarded by some of the royal guards. She groaned in exhaustion and shut the door. She promised Luna she would hire somepony by the end of the day and it was almost sunset. Honestly, Rocky seemed like the best option so far.

She turned to her new staff assistant with a smile.

"Congratulations. You have the job."

She, then, bucked open the double doors to gather everyponies attention.

"Thank you all for coming but interviews for the Royal Chanterlot Library staff position but all positions have been filled this week. Come back next week for another try!"

The sounds of disappointment rang across the hall as the guards made them leave in an orderly fashion. Bini smiled as the day and started to end and she turned back to her new assistant. Then halted when she saw him conversing with Arone. The Changeling.

There was no way she was going to let the changeling corrupt her new staff. She knew the truth of what he was now. She wasn't going to back down.

"Hello, Arone." She growled. Arone gave her a nervous smile as she trotted over to them and pointed to the highest balcony where Celestia was seen with Luna raising and lowering moon and sun. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Actually I have a day off! I heard you were hiring and came to see who you picked for this week!" He chirped. Bini gave him a cold glare and pointed towards the door.

"Great to see you too. Now, I have work to do so I suggest you leave." She insisted with a cold voice. Rocky and Arone shared a look before Arone said his final goodbyes and hurried out. Rocky ran a wing through his mane as Bini slammed the door shut.

"That was a bit...rude. Wasn't it?" Rocky pointed out.

"We have a history." Bini mumbled then handed him a stack of books and gestured him to follow her. "Come on. Let's get started on your training."

---End of Chapter Twelve---