Corruption

Celestia rose just before sunrise. She completed her daily routine despite her injuries and as she raised the sun to bring forth the day, she heard knocking on her door. She used her magic to open her door and watched as Arone trotted in with a nervous smile.

"Good morning, Princess! Did you sleep well?" Arone asked as he closed the door. Celestia noticed he was wearing his usual saddle-bag when he took out some treats for her pet, who munched on them happily. Celestia flipped through medical books. Trying to decide her next course of action. It could change Equestria.

Arone seemed nervous. His eyes were darting across the room as if he was waiting for a bomb to drop on Canterlot. He wouldn't look Celestia in the eye as if he was hiding something. Can she trust him with her plan? No. She can't trust anypony. She actually agreed with the voice...Sombra. She agreed with Sombra, who was growing stronger in her head.

"I slept well, thank you." She said with a smile and adjusted the vase of flowers on her nightstand for the sake of something to do. She needed to find a way to get him away from her. "We have a busy day planned. I need all the information you can collect about-"

"Ah, actually..." Arone said softly. Using his hoof to rub the back of his neck, he cleared his throat and pointed out the window towards the direction of the Canterlot Train station. "B-Bini invited me to go to Ponyville with her to help her find some rare books in the town Library. Is it alright if go? It will be for just a few hours."

Celestia immediately brightened up. She was happy she wouldn't have to go to the extremes of drugging her poor assistant just to escape from Canterlot. Just to save her assistant's sanity. No pony can know where she is going. She spun around to face him with a bright smile and used her wing to almost push him towards the exit of her room.

"Of course. You can complete the research on Griffin's history later. Have fun." She chirped. Arone didn't find the situation suspious at the moment and smile back as he started to gallop into the corridor.

"Thanks, Princess Celestia. I will be back sometime around noon." He said. Then galloped off with haste. She dropped her smile as soon as he disappeared around a bend in the hallway and she shut her door. She used magic to lock it and opened the window. Gesturing Philomena to the outdoors.

"I am sorry, Philomena. I won't be back for a few days...weeks...Maybe never. It all depends on how my trip ends. Go. Have some freedom." Celestia said. Her phoenix chirped and gracefully flew into the sky without a care in the world. Celestia watched her as the sky slowly turned blue.

Celestia grabbed all her medical books and took off her Royal attire. Switching it out for a black cloak. She ignited her horn and grunted in pain and her body morphed into a younger version of herself. Her mane didn't have multiple colours anymore and sparkled like the sun. It was light pink and flat like anypony else's mane. She made sure to make her wings disappear and her cutie mark change to the sun and a collection of birds and clouds as her cutiemark. There. Her disguise was on.

She wasn't the ruler of Equestria anymore. She was just a mare called Sunny Skies. She teleported herself just outside the Canterlot Train station with a black cloak on and a saddlebag full of medical books. Her injuries were still there. Just hidden. She intended them to stay that way.

She had become a very good actress when it came to hiding pain and pretending to be happy. It was sort of like a mask built up over the years. Constantly redesigned and improved to benefit the ponies around them. To give them a character they want, they believed in.

She pulled out a small bag of coins and dropped them onto the ticket master's window sile where a pony with a moustache was handing out tickets.

"One ticket to Ponyville, please." Sunny Skies requested with a disguised voice.

The stallion smiled back and turned his back to grab the tickets.

"You came just in time, Ms..."

"Sunny Skies." Celestia replied as the pony handed her the tickets. He looked her over with a raised eyebrow.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you wearing a black cloak? It isn't even cold." The stallion pointed out. Sunny nervously pulled on the cloak with an awkward smile.

"I am carrying some important books to Ponyville. I don't want anypony to see them." She lied. The stallion nodded and pointed towards the train pulling into the station.

"I understand. I have certainly seen stranger things. The train to Ponyville just pulled in. Have a pleasant day, Ms. Skies. May the Sun and Moon be on your side."

Sunny Skies thanked him and boarded the train. She took a window seat as the train began to fill up. She watched as Bini and Arone gave their luggage over to a worker and boarded the train. Opting to sit in the back, near Sunny Skies. Sunny pulled out a book she had brought for some light reading and activated her horn to enhance her hearing and to levitate the book up to her eyes.

Their conversation didn't yield any results that would help her. They mostly talked about their plans for the weekend and how Bini's assistants were adjusting to the job now that they had been employed for a few months. Sunny sighed and rested her head against the window. Deciding that since the train still had two hours to go, she might as well pass the time gaining her energy from sleeping.

She fell asleep faster than she expected and was awoken suddenly by somepony shaking her. Her eyes fluttered open to see Bini Filters using her hoof to shake the young mare awake.

"Um, Ms...Ms...The train has arrived in Ponyville."

Sunny smiled and yawn and she moved her aching body up.

"Thanks. Sorry, I fell asleep." She said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Bini smiled and helped her up from her seat.

"No problem. I dozed off myself." Bini paused and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Do you know anypony in Canterlot?"

Sunny paused and shook her head.

"Ah, no. I was there for a vacation. I am travelling around Equestria. I don't really have the time to...Um...Get to know anypony well enough." Sunny Skies lied. Bini took it for face value and they continued towards the exit of the train slowly.

"Alright. It's just that I feel like I know who you are...I just cannot pinpoint it."

"That makes sense. I get that a lot." Sunny replied as they reached the exit and hopped off the train.

"Maybe we will meet again. See ya!" Bini said abruptly as she spotted somepony selling drinks near the station.

"Perhaps. Have a good day," Sunny said with a bright smile. Bini grinned and waved to her once more before galloping towards the pony selling drinks in the distance. Sunny blew out a sigh of relief and hurried through Ponyville towards Everfree Forest.

(Present Time)

"Celestia would never allow a dangerous threat to live within Canterlot like...A Changeling." Luna spoke up in Arone's dreamscape. Arone, still in his changeling form, sighed and started to pace.

"Believe what you want. I am not showing you my memories."

"I will not be...distracted by this...This...Deception. If I have to. I will make you show me your memories."

"That is a violation of my privacy."

"My sister needs to be found. Bini lead me to believe you had information."

"You pride it out of her head. She wouldn't give up that information unless she had to. You will regret this for generations to come." Arone snapped. Luna ignited her horn with tears and pointed it towards Arone.

"Yes, I will."

Luna fired a blast at Arone. He dodged it and fired at Luna. His mind was racing on a way to wake up. That was the only way. She can't find out what happened. Arone dodged another blast and changed the scene at his will to the inside of the Changeling hive. Arone raced through the corridors that changed and shifted much like himself. Leaving Luna lost and angry.

He galloped through the corridors that he hated and came to the conclusion that he had to shock himself awake. He prayed to an Alicorn society he didn't believe actually existed and charged a giant magical blast. He backfired it onto himself. He screamed in pain and was suddenly back in the interrogation room.

He slowly moved his weak and aching body out of the chair and took in his surroundings. Luna's eyes were rapidly moving beneath her eyelids but he could tell she was on the verge of waking up as they became less and less erratic. Bini was still asleep, beside him. He used his magic to levitate her over to him and rest her on his back. He unlocked the door and galloped out. Alarming the guards.

He quickly dealt with them by blasting them with his horn and used what strength he had left to teleport out of the underground area and into his own room. Bini groaned as Luna's magic began to wear off as he dumped her to the nearby bed and began to frantically pack his things.

"W-What happened?" Bini mumbled as she closed her eyes once again. Wanting to go back to sleep from her exhaustion.

"It will come back to you...Is there anything you need from your room? We are leaving." Arone said as he shoved some bits into his saddlebag with a map of Equestria, a few magic books and other essentials.

"L-Leaving? Why?" Bini asked as she pushed herself off of the carper flooring and groaned as she cracked her back.

"Luna isn't going to let us get away with our secrets."

"Remind me why we can't tell her about-"

"She would use that information to dethrone Celestia." Arone interrupted. "Celestia is just temporarly...Gone. What did you show her?"

"Only parts of the events from last night. We should bring Chocolate and Rocky with us." Bini said as she began to wake up completely and looked outside. "They might be interrogated for information to use against us. They might tell others about your identity."

"Fine. We could use all the help we can get. Go get them. Be careful." Arone ordered as an alarm went off and they heard the sounds of guards rushing through the castle for the wanted ponies. Them. Bini teleported away and after a few tense minutes of Arone watching the chaos of the castle outside, Bini came back with her two assistants.

They wobbled away from Bini in disorientation from teleportation.

"What was th-That for?" Chocolate asked as she rubbed her head.

"I don't understand. Where are we going?" Rocky asked. Arone slipped on his saddlebag and Bini looked over to her own. She had forgotten it was still on her back from all the chaos. Bini teleported two bags that had the cutiemarks of her assistants on them. Filled with essential items like food, books blankets, a fire starters kit and money.

"I don't know yet. We just have to get out of here."

Suddenly the locked door to Arone's room was kicked down by two guards and they spilled in with spears pointed at them. Rocky yelped and Chocolate screamed. Bini and Arone touched horns to make their magic stronger. They both grunted as the magic flowed through the room and hit the four main ponies. The guards shielded their eyes as they teleported away in a blast of light.

Sunny Skies flared up her horn to illuminate her old bedroom in her old castle. She was thankful that Nightmare Moon's destruction and the thousand years afterwards didn't damage her room too badly. She walked over to the collection of pillows in the middle of the room. She removed them and the carpet underneath, revealing a button on the floor. She pressed down on it and the floor opened up to reveal a staircase leading to a dark abyss below.

She carefully trotted down the stairs. The entrance disappeared just as it had appeared. Leaving Sunny alone. She dropped her disguise to return to her own self. She reached the end of the staircase and pushed open an old stone door to reveal her old laboratory where she used to practice magic spells with her mentor, Starswirl the Bearded.

This was the perfect place for her to hid until her injuries healed. The little room that had been hidden for thousands of years contained some of the most powerful time spells in Equestria. Celestia didn't dare bring them to Canterlot. They were better off hidden away. Celestia brought over medical books and she began mending her broken wings, cuts, bruises and lashes from the battle against Sombra. Usually, it would take months for her to heal even with the help of unicorns but she was alone. She could use whatever magic she wanted.

She knew Sombra's presence was watching her as she worked. As the darkness flowed through her veins and attached itself to her heart. She smiled as she felt fear. It wasn't her own fear but Sombra's. She cried out in pain as Sombra's presence in her mind started to work against her. The magic he had control over started to reopen injuries. She must get it out of her head. At least temporarily.

She stopped the spells and rushed over to Starswirl's private collection of magical objects. Safety guarded under a magical lock that could only be broken by Starswirl himself, or a mature Alicorn. It took great strength but Celestia snapped the lock and opened the metal gate to the room that contained lost magical artifacts.

She flew through the room. Memories of many lifetimes ago flooded her head as she looked for the exact item. There. She stopped and stared at the glass bottle filled with black smoke that had started it all. The bottle that Starswirl used to create King Sombra. She swiped it and brought it back to the main work area.

She stared at it for a few minutes before opening Starswirl's journal, that she had brought along. She skipped past Experiment 088, knowing that its contents didn't matter anymore. What she needed was Experiment 101. The experiment to separate the darkness from the subject. Sombra had used dark magic to implant part of his consciousness in her head.

When Starswirl made the spell he had thought too big. Separate the dark magic, dark energy of whatever it was considered in the olden ages from the subject. Sperate all of it. It failed of course. He was written it down anyway and with that, he finished Journal 11.

Celestia followed his notes as she read them. Her magic flared up and she started forcefully ripping it from her mind. Screams echoed across the castle of pure pain. The spell was never meant to be used on the pony casting the experiment. Screams echoed in Celestia's head. Sombra was screaming from the sepration. Just a little more. His voice was fading.

She slowly stopped screaming in pain as the final part of the experiment finished and her magic held a small part of Sombra's consciousness. She knew it didn't completely work. That she would never truly be rid of the dark magic until she killed Sombra. But that is a start. She let it go and watched it disappear into the ceiling. Finding its way back to the master.

She collapsed from exhaustion onto the table and drifted to sleep.

She woke up mere hours later. She flew into her room once again and looked outside for the time of day. The moon was in the highest point in the sky. Celestia cursed herself for falling asleep when important work had to be done. She flew back down into the ancient room and pulled out a variety of time spells.

Her injuries were slowly healing. Her wings had healed before she completed the dark experiment and now her deep cuts were next. If she forwarded in time then she would be completely healed and then would move to the next stage of her plan. Kill Sombra.

She smiled again and watched her magic flare up with a bright yellow light. Causing timepieces created by magic and other symbols to swirl around her. She combined a variety of spells into one and blasted it towards the sky.

At that moment, everything in Equestria was suddenly a week forward. It was the same time of night of course, but just a week forward. Celestia's ears were ringing from the discharge of magic as she tried to center herself again. She looked over her body to see that all her injuries were healed. It worked.

Bini's eyes fluttered open during the dead of night and she looked around the room that was obviously part of a hotel. The last thing Bini could remember was Arone, her assistants and herself preparing for the long journey ahead to the Crystal Empire. Which should have taken five days to reach on hoof and the occasional teleportation spell.

She stumbled over to the nearest window to see the streets of the Crystal Empire. Bini tilted her head slightly in concern. She didn't understand how she lost five days of memory. She galloped over to the calendar in her room that was crossed off of every day that passed. She lost all her memory for a week.

She heard rapid knocking on her door and a familiar voice calling out.

"Filters! It is us. Arone, Rocky and Chocolate."

She opened the door and stared back at her friends who looked like they also got up in a hurry.

"Do you remember anything from the past week?" Arone asked.

"Noooo." Bini said slowly and cautiously. "How did we get here?"

"I don't know." Arone admitted. "But let's make the most of it. We need to speak with Princess Cadence in the morning."

"We are wanted criminals! We can't just request to see a Princess even if we weren't wanted for treason." Rocky said. Chocolate nodded in agreement.

"Well, we have to figure something out!"

"We could...Break in?" Chocolate suggested.

Bini, Rocky and Arone looked at each other before looking back at Chocolate.

"Yeah. that works." Bini concluded.

"Or-" Arone snapped at Bini. "I could just change into Cadence and let you guys in. Simple."

"I like that plan better." Rocky said.

---End of Chapter Twenty Two---