Chapters Princess Celestia, the sole ruler of Equestria trotted down the streets of the new capital city of Equestria. Chanterlot. Built on one of the highest mountains to overlook the nation. She was followed by a small group of guards for protection as she exited the city and looked towards the forest known as the Everfree forest. Where a broken castle stood deep inside, holding many secrets.
She used her magic to teleport the guards and herself to the castle garden. It was full of overgrown or dying plants at the lack of care it was left in since a few decades ago. She had quickly ordered the guards to find the Elements of Harmony. They all scattered as Celestia trotted deeper into the garden.
She pushed away some of the plants and scrubs, trotted past broken fountains and statues until she reached the one she had come for. She used her magic to remove the plants littering the Chaos statue of Discord. She sat down in front of him, staring up at the expression of desperation to escape.
"I-It a...has been a while hasn't it, Dizzy?" She said with a sad smile. "I am sorry I have been away for so long...A lot has happened since the night the castle was destroyed...by Luna. No...By Nightmare Moon."
Celestia paused. Expecting a response that never came. She cleared her throat and continued.
"I...um...I am here today to gather the Elements of Harmony. We created a new capital of Equestria called Chanterlot. Don't worry. You will come with us. I have a nice place for you in the new Royal Garden. Doesn't that sound good?"
She shifted her hoofs uncomfortably as she pulled out a book from her saddlebag. She opened it up to reveal it was about the Elements of Harmony.
"I am afraid that I haven't come here with entirely good news Discord." She admitted. She levitated the book to face him. She wasn't even sure he could hear or see him but...She didn't want him to be lonely even if he wasn't there. If he was in there...Maybe their one-sided conversation would help him see a different side of Equestria. The side that he loved before he turned...Well...To the Lord of Chaos. "I have done some research on the Elements. I admit it is mostly so that I can get Luna back, but this is for you as well. The only way you can come back is if the Elements are unattached to the ponies who banished you. That would be Luna and I...Well, only I now since I have Luna's side of the Elements. The bond on your Elements will weaken and eventually fade. When this will happen...I do not know."
She chuckled and shook her head.
"I probably sound like a crazy Alicorn. Going on and on about a future we can't see." Celestia rambled nervously. She heard the guards meet up in the distance. Chatting with happiness that they found the Elements. She looked back at the Lord of Chaos. "I have to go now. See you soon, Dizzy."
She used her magic to teleport the statue and place the book back in her saddlebag. She turned around and went back out the thick bushes to join the others. The guards bowed to her as she appeared and placed the six jewels at her hoofs.
She sat on her balcony, overlooking Chanterlot as she lowered the sun and allowed the moon to rise. She looked down at the book in front of her about the Elements. She flipped through the pages. Occasionally writing important information on the scroll that she was levitating beside her.
Ignoring me again?
She flinched at the sound of the voice again. She had been dealing with it since Luna was banished. It wasn't too bad but she could sense that it was becoming impatient with her. Celestia let out an annoyed sigh and flipped another page.
Leave me alone, Celestia replied to the voice inside her head.
You know, I am becoming very impatient. How about we add a little bit of fun to this little game, hmm?
Celestia ignored the voice inside her head. Believing that it was bluffing. Suddenly her body shook as her wing felt like it had snapped. She let out a cry of pain, attempting to muffle it to not alert the guards below. She hesitantly looked to the wing that felt injured. Carefully spreading her wings, she checked them. Nothing...There were no marks at all.
She flinched in pain as the movement from her wing caused it to become worse as she folded them back to her body.
Why are you doing this?
The voice chuckled in response.
You know why. You will be the Queen.
Causing me pain isn't going to change my answer, she protested. Celestia clenched her teeth as there was a sharp increase in pain from her wing. Now it felt as if it was on fire. She muffled her pain into her hoofs. Tears started dripping down her cheeks as the male voice continued to let out an evil laugh. She considered options on who to tell...Should she even tell anypony? That would make her sound insane.
I will never hurt my citizens, she said, when the voice taunted her in response.
Stop! She begged out loud as quietly as she could. Stop, please!
She inhaled and exhaled deeply. Trying to push down the pain. She slowly got up. Taking her work with her, she reentered her dark chambers. She groaned as the exhaustion from the day started to wash over her and the pain from her wing added to it. She placed her supplies down on her desk and flopped onto her bed.
Allowing exhaustion to take her to her dark dreams. Filled with demons and Nightmare Moon.
(900 years later)
Princess Celestia slowly stumbled into a small clearing surrounded by trees in the middle of the Royal Chanterlot garden. She looked up at the statue of Discord. She used her magic to leviate a bucket of water and a spounge. She flew up to the statue and started to pour water on the dirty spots.
"I am back Discord." Celestia said softly as she used her hooves to press the spounge against the stone. "Today my student, Yes. Twilight Sparkle. She was able to complete her studies before any pony else but as I have told you before, I am worried about her lack of friends."
Celestia dipped the spounge in the bucket and continued the motions. Occasionally flinching at the unseeable pain she was experiencing.
"I am still experiencing the pain I mentioned last time. It has gotten worse as you know over the years and I really want to tell some pony but...Who? It is not like any of the guards could do anything. Twilight would just have a panic attack and...Well. If Luna was here, I suppose I would tell her. Besides, the voice has some sort of...Strange control over what I do. I can't tell anypony even if I wanted to. It is silly to even dream about it. I have done lots of research on the subject of mind control and the best I could come up with was dark magic. Like the magic that corrupted King Sombra."
Celestia took a few moments to appreciate the silence and beauty of nature as she finished washing the statue and flew back down to the ground. Celestia sniffed as she considered her relationship with Discord before he turned.
"I-I really miss you, Dizzy. Dispite everything. I hope you know that."
---End of Chapter Three---
Author's Note
AN: Thank you to 97xxfastbike for helping me write this chapter!
One Thousand Years
Princess Celestia came to a decision. A few months ago she felt the power she had over the Elements dissipate. She had studied her student's work. Twilight Sparkle. She seemed like a good candidate to be the Element of Magic. But without any friends...It wouldn't work. She isn't an Alicorn like herself.
Twilight had found a group of friends in Ponyville. They all seemed to represent each part of Elements. To Celestia, it seemed a bit too good to be true. She spent months deciding whether it was a good idea to send her away from Canterlot. It was selfish of her. She was afraid that if Twilight left for Ponyville, she would...Drift away from her. The close relationship of mother and daughter that evolved over the years would fade away until she was simply her teacher again. She finally let her go. Knowing that the Summer Sun Celebration was coming up and according to the best of scientists and her own conclusions, Luna was going to return on that day.
Celestia trotted down the throne room hall. Looking at each of the windows that weren't yet turned into stained glass windows, depicting important events in history. Soon one of them might show her sister's return. Soon, Celestia hoped.
Her ears perked up at the sound of rattling armour and metal hoof steps approaching her. She turned around, trying not to limp as her hooves felt like every step was trotted on red hot nails.
"Twilight Sparkle is here, Princess." The guard reported. Celestia stayed silent as she moved back to her throne and sat down. She shivered slightly as the voice plagued her mind.
"Show her in."
The guard galloped down the throne hall and opened one of the large doors at the end with the flicker of his horn. He straightened up as Princess Celestia's faithful student entered, carrying a bag of books. She quickly trotted across the large distance between them and bowed down to her.
"Princess Celestia? You wished to see me?"
"Yes. I have an important assignment for you regarding the Summer Sun Celebration."
Princess Celestia, her body shaking from the tension of stress and pain, wrote the letter that contained the information for Twilight about Ponyville in her chambers, deep within Chanterlot Castle. Celestia crumbled up the letter and threw it into the nearest wastebasket. Grumbling in anger as she winced as the pain made itself known, She knew that ignoring it couldn't hide its presence or dim the pain any longer for today. She grabbed another scroll and dipped her quill into the ink. Doing her best not to shake from the pain. The pain was always worse as the days grew to a close. It was as if the sun was taking some of her pain but the moon was no kinder to her as Nightmare Moon had been.
The voice was back. Sometimes it left her during the day or night. Claiming it needed to 'rest.' Celestia very much doubted that, but she shivered as she felt its presence as it taunted her for being weak. From being affected by the pain so much that she couldn't even write a letter without messing up the words despite how much she tried to block out the pain. She thought for a moment that what she had to suffer through wasn't fair. She quickly pushed that aside and agreed with the voice for once without denial. She did deserve it. She has done awful things. This is her punishment. She got up and exited her room, igniting her horn to cast an invisibility spell so that none of the guards would know where she had gone. She didn't need them worrying about her. She didn't need them questioning her.
She entered into the dark library, igniting her horn to provide some light in the large room. She fondly thought of how she would find Twilight in here, late at night. She was asleep with her head on a book as a pillow with a burnt-out candle beside her. She quickly trotted to the back of the Library where the entrance to the Catacombs was.
No pony knew about them except for her. Those who helped in the underground construction of the maze were long gone. She moved a book with a sun printed on it on a bookshelf against the wall. It triggered a switch that allowed the doorcase to move to become an old metal door. She used her magic to push it open with a grunt.
Celestia started down the dark stone stairwell that leads deeper into the mountain that Chanterlot was connected to. Inside the Catacombs was a vast maze, filled with secrets of the past, History forgotten, and worst of all...dark magic spellbooks.
If the thing that was invading Celestia's mind wanted her to become corrupt, it clearly didn't know her very well. She had only used Dark magic once and that was used to distract Discord as Luna got the Elements of Harmony. She didn't become corrupt then. She wouldn't now. She had come to the conclusion recently that dark magic must be connected to the voice in her head. She came to this conclusion based on, admittable, an assumption. When she used dark magic she felt an evil presence in her mind as she fought him. This felt the same. Maybe if she used dark magic to improve the state of her body. She could have some control over the pain levels she was dealing with.
She finally reached a large stone room where many dusty forgotten books were stored with a wooden table with an old lamp sat. Celestia lit the lamp, illuminating the room enough that she could see the titles of each of the books. She got every book that mentioned dark magic in the title and placed them down on the wooden table.
She carefully turned each page. Reading every word twice to make sure she didn't miss a single thing. She was so concentrated on her task, that she didn't notice a pair of pure blue eyes watching her with fear in the corridor behind her. The eyes followed her every action. Trying to piece together what she was doing until finally, when the Moon had reached it's highest peak in the sky, Celestia slammed a big dusty book shut and growled to herself.
Whatever it was she was looking for...She didn't find it.
Celestia stood in the Ponyville town hall as the sunset. Considering her last "conversation" with Discord earlier in the day. She used her magic to complete the final action as her guards moved to join the crowd to look for any pony suspicious. Celestia moved to a nearby window, watching as the silhouette of the "pony in the moon" had disappeared. Celestia couldn't help but smile. She was coming back.
Celestia couldn't even wipe the smile off her face as she heard a loud sound of a figure reappearing and a familiar evil laugh. Nightmare Moon.
"Hello, evil sorceress." The venom of Luna's twisted voice let out.
"I will not fight you." She simply said with her smile turning into a smirk.
"Pathetic! Scared of me as always." Nightmare Moon taunted as she stepped closer to the Sun Alicorn.
"Choose your next action carefully," Celestia warned. "It may be your last, Nightmare Moon."
"Is that a threat?" She snarled. Celestia turned to face her enemy. The enemy that had taken over her sister. Corrupted her sweet mind.
"It is a promise."
She blinded Celestia with her magic and everything faded away.
You could have saved yourself, was the last thing the voice said as Celestia hit the floor. Pathetic. It repeated over and over again as Celestia opened her eyes to the darkness around her. She found herself staring at...Herself. She was confused. She quickly looked around at the void. Only her and the imposter she assumed.
"What are you?" She asked. Glaring at the twin.
The twin simply smirked.
"I am what you refer to as the voice. Or darkness. Whichever you prefer. But the fact of the matter is. I am the better part of you."
Twilight Sparkle was...suspicious of her mentor. She knew it was wrong. She should have complete faith in her mentor. But...something was terribly wrong. When the Princess first appeared in the old castle after Princess Luna was reformed she was wincing in pain and limping. She almost cried out in pain when Luna ran over to her and nuzzled her, beggging for forgiveness. At the time Twilight thought it was because of the injuries Nightmare Moon might have inflicted on her when she was captured out of revenge.
But then... A few days after the Nightmare Moon incident, Luna and Celestia arrived in Ponyville as a royal welcoming to each city, village, or town in Equestria. Luna practically jumped out of the carriage as Celestia carefully stepped out as if she was stepping on nails. It was honestly hard to look at. She kept flinching and standing as still as she possibly could. Twilight supposed she was a bit overwelled at gaining such great friends and moving to Ponyville that she sort of stopped paying attention and forgot her suspicions.
She wasn't able to investigate further. Twilight didn't even know what she was supposed to be suspicious of! Well, let's look at the facts. Celestia was being rather short with her temper. She looked like she was in pain. It wasn't normal. But there was no way that Celestia would turn evil at the sight of her maybe being in pain. Even thinking that is ridiculous. It's...It's...Blasphemy really. She shouldn't be thinking about this. Twilight considered her options of what her next actions should be based on.
Was the Princess in pain?
Should she even bring it up?
Twilight looked back at Celestia with the logic sense of her mind pleading for her to just drop it. Suddenly, a pink blurry figure moved past her. She blinked a few times and looked around frantically.
"Agh!"
Twilight's head snapped towards the sound of...Pain? Celestia had been almost tackled by Pinkie Pie, who was pulling her and Luna into a bearhug despite the guard's protest. Celestia looked like she was ready to burst into tears as she managed to maneuver her way out of the hug.
Luna looked over to Celestia with concern. OK, now Twilight can confirm that she wasn't the only one who heard the Princess exclaim in pain. Well, that is strange. Luna placed a comforting hoof on her sister's wing to get her attention as the guards had pulled an overexcited Pinkie Pie to scold her for her actions.
"My sister? Are you alright?" Luna asked. Celestia gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Y-Yes, Luna. I am just...Exhausted. It has been a long day." Celestia replied. Luna nodded with a smile and looked towards the guards who were now arguing with Rarity on their fashion choices, Rainbow Dash on their skills to protect the Princesses, and Pinkie, who seemed to be interrogating them to find out when their birthday's where.
Exhaustion.
Twilight resisted the urge to yawn as the all-nighter she took was starting to catch up on her. She decided to dismiss her concerns as exhaustion was a believable option for her. Yes. The Princesses get tired like everypony else. She is just simply exhausted.
Twilight smiled as she moved towards the arguing group of guards and her friends, as she put her concerns aside and focused on the next problem.
Luna had risen the moon, it was a rough start at the beginning but she was able to do it flawlessly within no time. Celestia assured her younger sister that the ponies would love her. That she would have no need to feel jealous any longer. They would rule together. Have an equal amount of power in the government.
Celestia stood on Luna's balcony. When Chanterlot was first constructed, she assumed Luna would return eventually so she had her room constructed a few towers away from her own. Luna smiled up at her sister. They looked up at the Moon, each reflecting on their private thoughts.
"Sister?" Luna questioned, breaking the comfortable silence.
"Yes, Luna?"
"I was wondering...Do you still talk with Discord?" Luna asked. Celestia chuckled despite the pain thudding in her body.
"I have never exactly talked with Discord, dear sister." Celestia pointed out. "It is hard to have a conversation with a statue."
"Oh. Of course." Luna said. There was another moment of silence before Luna continued. "So, do you?"
"Yes," Celestia said softly with a blush of embarrassment. "I...Um..."
Luna giggled and looked back up to the Moon with a smile.
"I understand, sister. You like him." Luna teased.
"L-Luna! I-I-Um!" Celestia stammered in embarrassment. Luna laughed a bit harder as she rolled onto her back with amusement. "Th-That is-A myth! We were friends!"
"You are still bad at lying, Tia," Luna said with a wag of her tail.
Celestia sighed and hid her face in her hoofs with embarrassment. She never wanted any pony to figure out that she had feelings for Discord. It was insane. Especially not Luna. To say she was mortified would be an understatement.
"W-Well, I have to go-um-Do some work!" Celestia stammered. Luna chuckled a bit more and waved her off.
"Yes. Yes. Sister." Luna said, using her hoof to wave her away. "Go spend time with your...Stallionfriend? What exactly would you call a-"
"LUNA!" Celestia barked with embarrassment as she flew into the air. She heard Luna laughing as she flew away into the night. Circling the castle before landing on her balcony connecting to her chambers. She entered her dark chambers. The fire from her fireplace was extinguished from lack of wood, having burned out hours ago. She looked over to her sleepy pet Phoenix Philomena, who was sitting on her perch.
"Hello, Philomena." She said softly. Using her wing to pet her. Philomena purred and snuggled into her owner's wing as Celestia used her magic to levitate medical books over to her. She let Philomena jumped onto her wing as she moved to the middle of the floor, where there was a comfortable carpet in front of the fireplace.
---End of Chapter Four---
Memories.
Sometimes they were even more painful than what the voice was inflicting on her. Celestia stared blankly at the medical magic books in front of her and soon found herself drawn into her memories. Memories she wished she could forget.
Celestia trotted through the castle of the two sisters. Back when it wasn't destroyed and left in ruin. She looked around, making sure that no pony was following her. Then she travelled deeper into the forest until she reached a large dark cave.
She hesitantly stepped into the cave. Her hoofsteps echoed across the walls.
"Dizzy?" She called out into the darkness.
A pair of yellow and red eyes opened deep in the cave. Staring back at her with a toothy smile. Celestia smiled once she recognized the eyes and trotted forwards without fear.
"Dizzy! I am so happy to see you!" She said as the Draconequus wrapped himself around her body playfully. Starting to play with her pink mane, much to her annoyance. "Dizzy! Cut it out!"
He started laughing, snapping his fingers, and appearing above her with a pink cloud. Pouring chocolate milk onto her white fur and pink mane.
"Oh, come now, Tia. Enjoy this!" He said with a big smile. Celestia rolled her eyes and attempted to move away but the cloud followed her movements.
"Discord!" Celestia spat out in growing irritation. "I need to be at the Galloping Gala in an hour! I really can't come in looking like...THIS!" She insisted. Shaking her body to try and fix her fur. Discord snapped away from the cloud and then twisted in a circle around her body. He gave her a pouting look.
"Aw, the Sun Princess isn't fun anymore!" Discord taunted as Celestia laid down and Discord cuddled closer to her.
"Look, it isn't that I am boring. It is just that I am trying to make sure I don't get in trouble with Father for coming in and looking like...Like..." Celestia insisted, starting to lose her train of thought.
"Like?" Discord asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well...I would rather not say." She concluded with a weak smile. Discord chuckled and wagged his lion finger at her.
"Like a peasant, you mean?" He suggested. Celestia blushed in embarrassment and looked away.
"W-Well, no! No!" Celestia lied as she lit up her horn to dry her body and mane. He laughed again, clenching his chest as if it was the funniest thing she had ever said.
"You are a terrible liar!"
"Anyway," Celestia said loudly. Trying to distract his attention to another subject. "I am here for an important reason! I was wondering if you would like to come to the Gala as my...ahh...Date."
Silence.
Discord stared back at her in shock. She had never seen him look so insecure and uncertain before.
"Well?" Celestia asked.
"Doesn't your Father and Mother hate me?"
"Yes, that is true. But, you are my friend! Friends hang out no matter what!" Celestia insisted. Discord looked away from her as if mentioning that they were friends was a bad thing. "Dizzy?"
"Celestia...I..." He uncurled himself from her and floated into the air. Unable to look at her eyes as he blushed. "I would like to be something more to you. More than a friend."
Celestia was having trouble processing this. She was a sheltered Alicorn at the age of 25. She didn't really have experience with being anything more than a friend. She blinked a couple of times. She was having trouble trying to figure out if this was a sick prank or not. It was true that she wanted to be more than friends with Discord but...The uncertainty of it all scared her.
"Did you-Do you mean you want to be...Wait." Celestia stammered in shock. Staring at him suspiciously. "Are you joking?"
The look on Discord's face told her all she needed to know.
"You aren't joking...Oh, sweet Faust. This is happening. You want to be...my partner?"
He nodded silently, looking down in embarrassment. Celestia was silent for a while. Considering the pros and cons but came to the conclusion that it didn't matter. She felt the same as him. That is all that mattered.
"Yes." She said confidently with her head held high. "I agree."
This was officially the worst day of her life. She watched as the bodies of her parents laid in a pool of their own blood in the middle of the throne room. Candy canes were sticking out of their eyes, ears, stomach and mouths. She screamed in horror and pain. This was her felt. She had been dating Discord for more than two years. She was very close to him. She should have seen this coming!
She blocked out the chaos outside and the screams of the guards and innocent ponies to mourn her parents. She heard a gasp from behind her and turned her head slightly to see her little sister staring at their parents' dead bodies.
"Mommy?" Luna whimpered. Stepping closer to their bodies. "Daddy?"
Celestia used her magic to hold Luna back as she rushed forward and desperately pleaded for them to wake up. To get up. To do anything. She pulled the crying filly into her chest, shielding her vision of their parents with her wings surrounding her body.
"I am so sorry, Luna. I am so sorry."
Her ears perked up at the sound of a familiar taunting laugh. In a flash of light, Discord appeared on a throne of his own creation. Replacing the thrones at the front of the room and floating in the air. He snapped his fingers again and started to lift their parents' bodies. Causing them to dance around the Princesses with a bright smile despite the horror that their mangled bodies had become. Celestia held onto her sister with a tighter grip as she glared up at pure hatred at the creature she loved. The creature she mistakingly loved.
"Why!?" She screamed. "They accepted you and you have just thrown it back in every ponies' face!"
"Accepted?" He spat out in disgust. "You call, the King and Queen planning my execution, being accepted!?"
Luna jumped out of her sister's embrace.
"YOU LIE!" Luna screamed. "YOU LIE! YOU LIE! YOU LIE!"
Discord snapped his fingers, lifted Celestia towards him. Much to Luna's protests. They ignored her as Celestia struggled to get out of his magic but it was useless.
"Do you hate me?" He said in a surprisingly soft tone. She stopped struggling and stared at him with shock. Did she hate him? He was running Equestria. He killed her parents yet...Why did she still love him? Why did she not hate him?
"I. Don't. Know." Celestia replied coldly. Discord gave her a smug smile and caused a crown to appear next to him.
"You could rule with me, you know. You could become...Queen Celestia of Chaos. Catchy isn't it, sweet Tia?"
"Never. I will save Equestria from a monster like you."
He growled and violently threw her back to the ground. She yelped in pain as she hit the ground, causing the stone floor under the torn carpet to crack. Discord let out evil laughter as Celestia stumbled up and used her wing to point at the front door.
"Luna, there is nothing we can do right now. We have to go! RUN!" She ordered. Luna obeyed without question and started galloping away. She took one last look at Discord before teleporting to her sister's location and guiding her through the chaos to reach a safe cave in the mountains that had yet to be touched by his chaos.
After two years of careful planning. Looking at all the possible ways the coming battle could go, Luna and Celestia marched into their former castle, which had been twisted and warped to Discord's delight. Celestia nudged Luna the moment they were inside the throne room to go find the Elements silently as she stepped forward to the distracted Lord of Chaos, who was currently watching his work through a large bubble while floating in his throne in the air.
"Discord."
Luna disappeared in the shadows on one of the hallways that were connected to the throne room. Discord let out a smug smile, focusing all his attention on his former love.
"Tia. Where is that darling sister of yours?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You seem to know everything. You tell me." She challenged. He snarled at her.
"You know that I can't. I don't know how you are doing it, but I can't." He admitted. "I should have taken your pathetic wings and horn away when I had the chance."
"But you haven't and you won't." Celestia snapped back. "You won't."
"And why is that?"
"Because you care too much," Celestia revealed with a soft smile. He growled in growing agitation and anger as he floated near to where Celestia was standing with her head held high.
He snapped his fingers and the castle cleaned itself up to its former state. At least temporarily. Discord landed onto the ground as Celestia steadied herself to prepare her body for the final fight for her kingdom.
"Let's make a deal, Tia." Discord suggested. Snapping his fingers to make a contract appear with a quill in front of her. "If I win this little...'fight', I win Equestria. If you do. You win Equestria. But let's be honest. That isn't going to happen."
Celestia fired first as a response. He easily dodged it by splitting himself in half. Then used his own magic to activate her horn, causing it to overheat and threw her out the entrance of the castle to the garden just outside of it. Her body slammed against the fountain.
It crumbled from the impact and Celestia fell into the fountain. Her coat getting soaked with her pink mane. She stumbled out of the fountain, bruised and scratched from the impact as Discord's laughter echoed in her ears. She slowly lifted her head to see Discord floating over to her on a pink cloud. Occasionally munching on it.
"This is really just sad." Discord exclaimed. "You can't beat me, Tia."
Celestia growled at him.
"Y-You will not take Equestria from us. No matter what our relationship was." Celestia snapped. She galloped forward and flew into the air. Shotting multiple blasts at him, that Discord deflected with a simple wave of his paw. Celestia thought back to her lessons and she weaved and dodged past Discord's chaotic magic.
She was suddenly hit with a flock of aggressive birds with sharp beaks that cut her fur and mane. She yelped and flew to the ground to avoid them. Discord took that as a moment of opportunity to hit her with pure chaos magic. She screamed in pain as her body and temporarily was in a pure state of chaos before she returned to normal.
She laid on the ground, whimpering in pain as the magic finally began to wear off. Discord floated over to her with a smug smile as Luna emerged from the castle with the Elements being held up by her magic. Luna let out a little gasp at the sight of her injured sister on the ground which caught Discord's attention.
"Oh! Trying to use the Elements on me? Well, that isn't very fair!" He chuckled before looking back down at Celestia who was too much in pain to get up at that moment. That was until he started his way slowly towards a terrified little filly named Luna.
"Who said- ANYTHING- About this fight was FAIR!" Celestia yelled with renewed strength. She slowly started to push herself up. Using the most powerful magic she had in her possession. The dark magic.
Her eyes turned green and red as purple emitted from them in flowing streaks. She rushed towards Discord, who had given Luna his full attention. Celestia screamed as a dark force ripped through her mind. Corrupting her thoughts with darker ideas and feelings than she had ever experienced in her life.
Discord raised his eyebrow towards her as she flew into the air. Causing dark roots to erupt from the ground with dark spikes. Discord let out a surprised yelped as they wrapped themselves around his body. Causing some deep cuts that Discord desperately tried to dismiss.
She threw him to the ground, the dark roots appeared quicker than he could snap them away. The only thought on her mind was to kill him. Make him pay. Luna galloped towards her sister. Luna's cries snapped Celestia out of her madness and she stumbled back, breathing hard.
Celestia used the magical strength she had to activate the elements with Luna. This wasn't the final battle she had expected. She wanted it to end with him being good again. She wanted this to end with them being together again. Tears pooled down her face as she watched the rainbow hit Discord, the terror on his face was real as his body turned to stone.
Luna and Celestia were slowly lowered to the soft grass that had returned to normal. The chaos was disappearing across the land. Yet the dead, remained dead.
"Tia? W-What are we going to do now?" Luna softly asked as the birds flew above them and the sun started to set, guided by the sisters. Luna's eyes followed the birds that she dearly missed as Celestia's eyes couldn't look was from Discord.
"I-I don't know, Lulu."
Celestia snapped out of her thoughts and was brought back to her room in Canterlot. She glanced up at her phoenix. Who nuzzled her owner as she yawned and closed the medical book. She couldn't shake the feeling of hopelessness that she felt centuries ago. Sometimes she wasn't sure what she was fighting for anymore. She was almost sure that Equestria could do better with Luna in charge than her.
She rested her head on the pillows beneath her as her pet drifted to sleep. Tomorrow. She would deal with those thoughts tomorrow.
---End of Chapter Five---
Celestia was in the old library in the catacombs. Going over the books she reviewed a few nights ago. She quickly flipped through the pages and looked up at the rotten apple on the table. She reviewed the spell once more and activated her horn. Allowing the dark magic to go through her body until she directed it towards the apple. Instead of healing the apple. Like the spell said it would do, the apple disintegrated into ashes.
She sighed in frustration and used her normal magic to move it to the growing bucket of ash next to her and grabbed an apple from the other basket next to her. She started flipping through a new book, looking for more spells. Suddenly, she heard rustling behind her. Her ears perked up and her head turned slightly in alarm to the corridor behind her.
Somepony else was here.
She turned her attention back to the book. She decided, for the sake of her mind, she was just hearing things. Then she heard it again. She spun around in a swift motion. She came face to face with a changeling.
The Changling Empire had been planning an attack on Chanterlot for decades. They had never gotten it quite right. Yet, Queen Chrysalis had discovered a hidden passageway into the castle complex. A spy had been sent in. He didn't disguise himself so that he could blend into the darkness of the caverns. He had been wondering for...quite a few days and was being to feel weak from lack of love.
He was about to give in for the night, or what he assumed was the night by now when he felt an immense amount of love. Some pony with unimaginable love was nearby. He hesitantly followed where the love was located. Wondering what pony could possibly have this much love? Well, it could be Princess Celestia. But he had only seen her once. A while ago. He hadn't seen the sun in a while so he couldn't quite tell when it was.
He turned a corner and saw a pony with multicoloured flowing mane and tail, a crown, golden jewels and wings...with a horn.
Oh, no. It's Princess Celestia...
The Alicorn was frozen in place. She was as still as a stone. She was surrounded by some books and a lamp was lit with a bucket of ash and apples on either side of her. Illuminating the area. She slowly got up and turned around. He couldn't move. He just couldn't move. He was so...scared. He has never felt this...scared before. His mind screamed to run, to kill the Princess and drain the love from her then take control of the kingdom but, nothing. Just nothing!
They stared at each other for a moment. Neither dared to move.
She illuminated her horn and held him in place, he was able to let out a strangled cry as Princess Celestia circled him. Cautiously.
"Are you a changeling?" She asked. He considered lying but it would be a pathetic lie. It was obvious he was a changeling. This must be a test.
"Y-yes." He stammered out.
"Why are you here?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes at him.
"I-I-um..."
She raised back up and her expression softened. That surprised the changeling. He almost felt...safe.
"Are you a spy?"
His silence told her everything. She shook her head.
"I sense you are not...like the other changelings that I have come across. You..want to defect." She concluded. The changeling's jaw dropped in shock. How could she possibly figure that out from...Wait. He looked up at her horn to see the dark yellow magic littered with purple and black moving dots. That is not normal pony magic.
"H-how are you-? That's not normal magic!" He blurted out in growing fear.
"And you're smart." She said with a chuckle. "Strange. How would you...like to become a royal personal assistant to me?"
To say the changeling was confused would be an understatement. Yes, it is true he wanted to defect but that was private. Very private! The only way she could know is if she was reading his thoughts. But that isn't possible. No pony can do that...He had done a lot of research on ponies to prepare for the mission.
She seemed to relax more and let go of him. Glaring up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You have two options." She stated in a cold voice. "Either become a part of society. You, of course, will have restrictions, until I can completely trust you. Or. You may leave. I will wipe your memory and teleport you out of the caverns."
The Changeling was curious. This Princess was strange. She was nicer than he expected, yet...something else was wrong. He sensed a dark presence with them. He had forgotten his weakened state and collapsed to the ground as the last of his love had drained from his body. She leaned down to him, bending down towards his left ear.
"If you agree...You will never go hungry again."
"I...Agree." He concluded in a weak voice. "Help..."
Celestia and the Changeling, whose name was Aron, disguised as a stallion with light green fur and a black short mane and tail. Wearing small glasses on his muzzle. Occasionally using the magic from his horn to push them up. They walked down the castle corridor. Doing their best not to look suspicious.
"Th-This might have been a bad idea," Aron whispered to Celestia as they smiled at a passing maid.
"You are overthinking this. This will be...Fine." Celestia attempted to reassure him. Aron nodded and pulled out a quill and scroll from his saddlebag. "Alright. Let's start planning for the Grand Galloping Gala."
"W-What is the...Something something Gala?" Aron asked.
"Grand Galloping Gala! It is the annual dance for Canterlot. Happens once a year. Very important event." Celestia explained with a nod. Arone looked back at her with confusion.
"That is not something we have at the hive." Aron pointed out. "We just...sit all day and plan. A lot."
"Interesting..." Celestia said slowly. "Now, we have to decide on the colour scheme, the layout, who to invite. Definitely invite Twilight-"
"Isn't this a bit much? I started less than one hour ago." Aron pointed out. Celestia smiled and rolled her eyes.
"We have to make it look like you have been here since...Forever. It would make the transition easier and attract less attention." Celestia explained. "Write down some ideas."
Aron started to write down her previously mentioned ideas with haste.
"Is green okay for the party?"
"Doesn't quite fit."
"Sister?" A familiar voice said behind the pair. They spun around with a yelp and faced Luna. Celestia and Aron gave her a guilty smile.
"Hello, dear sister...L-Luna." Celestia said with hesitation. Luna raised her eyebrow towards them and nodded her head.
"Yep. That's my name." Luna said. Then she gestured towards Celestia's assistant. "Who is this?"
"My...Um...New Assistant! I needed one that will help me with all my duties. A personal Assistant because...Work. Lots of work." Celestia blabbered in nervousness. Luna kept nodding in slight confusion. Aron held out a shaky hoof to Luna.
"My name is A-Aron, Princess Luna. It's a pleasure to meet you!" He chirped with too big of a smile. Luna smiled back and shook his hoof.
"Pleasure to meet you as well, Aron." Luna replied. "Sister. I have some concerns about the Gala."
"Oh?"
"Should I attend the Gala? I know it is still a few weeks away but since I am still new to the modern Equestria nation, I don't think it would be too good of an idea." Luna said.
"Of course you should attend. It would give you a chance to familiarise yourself with the way things work now." Celestia insisted. Resting a hoof on her sister's shoulder.
"It was much easier being a dictatorship," Luna mumbled with a roll of her eyes. Aron and Celestia shared a look of concern.
"N-Not sure what that has to do with the Gala..." Aron mumbled. "Wait, Equestria was run like a dictatorship?! How long ago was that exactly?"
"Doesn't matter. Let it go. Let it go." Celestia insisted as Luna trotted down the corridor. Aron and Celestia continued down the way they were going. Aron saw Celestia flinching and taking sharp breaths. He tilted his head towards her with slight concern.
Celestia had settled her assistant into a comfortable room for the night and headed back to her own room to get some much-needed rest. She opened her door using her magic. She carefully entered the room. Being careful to not wake the sleeping phoenix. She lit the fireplace. Casting a warm glow across the room as she trotted towards her desk.
"Hmm, that was a bad move." The voice taunted as she grabbed her important scrolls full of tax work from her desk with a few quills. She started scribbling down equations with a scowl.
"I really don't need this useless criticism right now." Celestia replied with a mumble, moving to sit near the fireplace for more light. "You're useless option doesn't matter."
"And yet you sit there feeling guilt. Guilt over Sunset Shimmer abandoning you because of your choices. Guilt about banishing your sister. Using dark magic. Making Twilight and her friends carry out tasks that should be dealt with by you-"
"Shut up."
"You know that-"
"What part of shut up do you not understand?"
"You have been dealing with me for more than one thousand years. Grow up. Accept that you are an awful pony. Accept that you are an awful leader. An awful sister. Turn that useless guilt and self-loathing into pure power. The power to rule the way you want to rule. Give me control."
Celestia growled and concentrated on the scrolls in front of her. She sucked in a deep breath as the stabbing pain increased to new levels. It felt like her entire body was on fire.
"You are not real. You are not real."
"I am the better half of you. Accept it."
---The end of Chapter six---
The Royal Chanterlot Library was a place that Arone had dreamed of going to. Yes, he was aware that it made him incredibly boring but after spending your life in a hive with nothing to do, reading stories about adventures and a better life is pretty nice. Arone held the scroll containing the library books his new leader needed. He was still new to the job. Had only been "employed" for a few weeks and the Gala was coming closer and closer.
He trotted into the dark large library. The moonlight coming from the large glass ceiling, lighting up the large hourglass in the middle of the circular room and the thousands of books lining the shelves around it. He focused on the lone figure of a unicorn mare with a messy brown mane with a ponytail and a short tail with peach fur.
She had pushed up her glasses and adjusted the dark red scarf she was wearing as she skimmed through a book on the table surrounding the large hourglass. She adjusted the lamp next to her with her magic and then resumed her reading.
"Are you going to stand there like an idiot or are you going to tell me why you are here?" The mare asked with a breathy voice. He pushed down his immediate irritation at her attitude.
"I am here with some book requests from Princess Celestia. Who are you exactly?" He asked. She shrugged and closed her book before turning around to face him. Using her magic to allow the lamp to follow her towards the visitor.
"I am the Chaterlot Library Librarian. My name is Bini Filters." She replied.
"Th-That is kind of a stupid name." Arone blurted out with a repressed chuckle. Bini scowled at him as she trotted closer to him.
"And you are suspicious. You came out of the Catacombs with the Princess a few weeks ago. Before that, I haven't found any records of anypony named "Arone" before that time. Yes. I do know your name. No. It isn't creepy. But that is all I know about you. Who the hell are you?"
"Arone. Do I really need to say anymore?"
Bini smirked and took the scroll of Arone's grasp. She quickly scanned the page before looking back at him with a neutral expression.
"Yes. Because if you don't tell me the truth. You won't get your books." Bini threatened. She looked back at the list with a raised eyebrow. "Why does she need...20 medical books? Now that is concerning..."
Arone ripped it away from her and slammed his hoof down.
"Look, the Princess. Princess Celestia. The sun Princess-"
"I know who she is. I don't live in the sea. Can we move this along? I don't have all night."
"She needs the damn books OK!?" Arone snapped. Quickly losing his patience. Bini glared at him with a suspicious gaze as she disappeared into the nearest bookshelf. "She only needs-"
"Forty-six. I can count. This might take me a few minutes...or hours. Depends on how much information you give me. So, why did you take the job as the Princess's Personal Assistant?"
"Because I needed a job." Arone mumbled as he moved to follow her as she searched for the books.
"Alright. I will accept that. Why did you come out of the catacombs with the Princess? No pony, but the Princess is EVER in there. How come you just showed up with no records or identity! Your name is just as stupid as mine!" Bini complained as she pulled a few books down and looked through the titles before putting one into a basket she was also bringing along.
"My name is normal where I come from! And I was in the Catacombs because I got lost!" Arone defended. Bini started laughing and wiped tears from her eyes as she looked back at him with a wide smile.
"One does not simply walk into a maze built into a mountain!"
"Well...I did!"
"You are so stupid! SO STUPID!! Ha! HA!" Bini said as she continued to have fits of laughter. "That is the most stupid thing I have heard all week. Well, I don't actually see many ponies...Or talk to them..." Bini said, starting to trail off with a faraway look in her eyes. Arone stared at her with a small sense of pity.
"OK. That...Was sad. Can you please just get me the books?"
Bini nodded and mumbled under her breath as she galloped off. Returning a few minutes later with a basket full of forty-six books. She silently handed them to Arone and stared at him with narrowed eyes.
"I will figure out what your deal is because something is very wrong here. I will be watching you."
Arone chuckled nervously and quickly galloped out. Being slightly creeped out by the librarian.
Celestia sipped her tea. Embracing the much needed small moment of silence she had from the voice. From the pain. She watched the fire flicker in the fireplace in her bedroom. Occasionally using her wing to pet Philomena next to her who was snuggled under her wing. The large double doors opened from the corridor to reveal Arone carrying a large basket of books with his magic. Looking irritated.
Celestia took another sip and gestured to Arone to sit beside her on her carpet. He accepted and sat down beside her, setting the books between them and watched the fire.
"Have you ever met the Librarian?" Arone asked as Celestia levitated one of the books over to her and started to skim through it.
"I have seen her around. Luna hired her as her first official action as a Princess was to hire a new Librarian. Twilight used to organize it as a part-time job with the help of one of the teachers at my school but the teacher retired and Twilight moved to Ponyville. I have never actually talked to her. I mostly just see her walking around the Library working." Celestia explained. "I assume you met her. How was she?"
"Honestly? I think she needs help. She became pretty obsessed about who I was based on seeing us leave the Catacombs a few weeks ago. I think she had been watching me."
"Why do you say that?"
"She knows that my name is Arone. She knows that I have no history from before a few weeks ago and she made a point to add that she doesn't know anything else about me. Is that creepy or what?"
"It is strange. Do you know her name?"
"Bini Filters."
"All strange names have a story behind them. I wonder what hers is." Celestia pondered.
"Her story better be good because she hounded me about my life in that Library. What happens if she figures out that I am a changeling? What happens when she-Wait. She probably doesn't have any friends. Based on the information I got from her. She doesn't seem to have any." Arone explained. Celestia smiled towards her assistant.
"Maybe you can be her friend?"
"M-Me?"
"It might make your transition easier into pony society. Everypony needs a friend." Celestia said in her signature motherly voice. Arone rolled his eyes and let down his disguise to be a normal changeling. Wearing his disguises causes a drain of his magic. Celestia used her magic to lock the door to make sure no pony would enter uninvited.
"Not everypony. Besides, she annoys me. A lot. If I become friends with her, she might figure out my secret!"
"Maybe. But if she is your friend, she would be able to accept it. It doesn't matter who you are on the outside. It matters who you are on the inside." Celestia pointed out. Arone groaned.
"You see the best in everypony. That might be a mistake sometimes. For example. Seeing the best in Bini Filters." Arone argued.
"Just try."
"Speaking of trying. Princess Luna has requested dance lessons from you."
"What are you saying, Arone?"
"She is trying her best to dance in the ballroom right now. You should go stop her. I would usually never insult dancing but...Well, you should probably see for yourself."
Celestia's eyes widened in alarm and she immediately scrambled up. Arone put his disguise back on as Celestia thanked him and galloped out of the door. Arone organized the scattered books before putting an alarmed Philomena back on her perch before leaving Celestia's chambers.
Bini Filters watched at the entrance of the ballroom in horror. She never felt pure horror until she witnesses Luna dance for the first time in one thousand years. Slow music was playing. But Luna was flailing around like Celestia seeing a chicken. Only the staff of Chanterlot castle knew about the chicken incident and they would take it to their grave. It was a very strange event.
Bini could move her jaw, which was currently dropped even as Celestia raced past her and Arone came to a stop beside Bini and Celestia tried to salvage what dignity her sister had left when passing guards noticed the weird scene.
"Maybe we should close the door?" Arone suggested with a whisper. Bini just made a strange strangled cry as she continued to stare at the sisters. Celestia started showing Luna small movements on how to improve. Luna occasionally stumbled but Bini couldn't get the image of Luna failing around.
"Bini? Bini?" Arone called out to the unicorn. "OK. That's it."
Arone lifted his back leg and gave her a swift kick. Which knocked her down in a very unflattering way. But it did snap her out of it. Her face hit the floor and she swore. Loud.
She immediately stood up and growled at Arone.
"What was that for!?" She demanded.
"You are gawking at them like they are covered in cake!"
"That would be better than whatever the heck that is!" Bini pointed out, pointing her hoof towards the sisters. "That was like the chicken incident!"
"The chicken incident?" Arone questioned.
"It involves Princess Celestia. A whole bunch of chickens and a story that everypony in this staff will take to their grave." Bini explained. "It will scare you to the grave."
"Slightly concerned. So, anyway. We got off on the wrong hoof-"
"If this is your attempt to restart our rather bad introduction. Fine." Bini said. She held out her hoof towards him. "Hello. I am Bini Filters."
"Hello." Arone said with a smile. Shaking her hoof. "My name is Arone. May I ask why your name is Bini Filters?"
"My parents named me after a family joke. I don't even get it. They have explained it to me but...I just didn't get it. What about your name? Arone?"
"My mother gave me the name because she ran out of options. I have a lot of siblings." Arone explained. Bini gave him a smirk and looked back at the sisters.
"It seems like life screwed us at birth there, bud." She said, elbowing him. He chuckled as the music started to speed up. "I do have a rather...Strange question though."
"Is this another question about my life?" Arone asked. Bini shook her head.
"No. No. This is an observational question about Princess Celestia. Did you ever notice that she talks to that weird statue in the garden a few times a week. Almost every day actually. Talks to it from minutes to hours. Any idea what that is about?" Bini asked.
"OK. She talks to the statue because she is lonely. Or because she likes it. Honestly, I prefer the first option."
"WAIT!" Bini came on the verge of shouting. "Discord!"
"Um...Who?"
"Discord! Lord of Chaos! He was turned into a statue more than one thousand years ago by Celestia and Luna! Do you never read history!?" Bini explained. Arone blinked a few moments. Waiting for her to continue with whatever tangent she was on. "Why do I get the feeling you have no idea what I am talking about?"
"Am I supposed to know?"
"I expected...A little intelligence but I can work with this."
"EXCUSE ME?"
"It is obvious that Celestia liked or likes him!" Bini insisted.
"How the heck did you get to that conclusion?" Arone asked.
"They have history. And based on her wasting her precious time at the statue. It is a logical conclusion." Bini said with a shrug.
"No. It is not. If we use that logic then Celestia should be in love with every stallion in Equestria...Or mare."
"Well! DO you have a better explanation!?" Bini asked.
"N-No."
"Then let's research."
"I-Is that code for spying on royalty?"
"I suppose it is." Bini replied. "Oh! This is going to be so fun!"
"This must be a sick joke or something."
Bini chuckled as she used her magic to close the door. Leaving the sisters to practice and the mutual acquaintances and maybe friends to argue about the morals of spying. Both lost and won.
---End of Chapter Seven---
Princess Celestia stared at herself in the mirror of her bedroom. She adjusted her dress that had the colours of her mane with yellow and white. A large sun was connecting it all at the base of her chest with a long train dress. She used her magic to adjust her mane which was styled into a fancy bun. Which had taken hours to make because the stylists usually don't work with manes that move by themselves.
She sighed as Arone walked in with a scroll and wearing a black bow tie to match his glasses for the Gala. He used his quill to check off the last of the Gala preparations before the big night.
"The last of the decorations are up. Princess Luna is currently introducing herself to some of the first guests and Bini Filters had locked down the Library to make sure no pony walks in and takes any books for security reasons. The guards are all in place." Arone reported.
"Thank you, Arone. You may take the rest of the night off now." Celestia granted. Arone looked back at her in surprise. "Enjoy the Gala with your friend."
"Friend?"
"Bini Filters of course. You have been spending your free time with her." Celestia explained as she did the final preparations for her outfit before turning to Arone. "Am I wrong?"
"Well, we are more of acquaintances. We are currently solving a mystery." Arone quickly replied. Celestia raised an eyebrow towards him.
"Mystery? About what?"
"As Bini would say, classified," Arone replied with a chuckle. Celestia chuckled and they started trotting towards the door. Celestia stopping at the sound of the rough male voice in her head. Inviting her back to her darkroom as they entered the bright corridor.
"You go on ahead, Arone. Go find Bini. I forgot something in my room." Celestia insisted with a small smile. Arone nodded and walked down the corridor. Occasionally nodding a greeting to the guards as he passed them. Celestia's smile fell as she reentered her room and headed to the mirror.
In her reflection, she saw a second pony. One that was identical to her except she wasn't wearing a dress. Her mane was in its usual form, her usual royal jewelry was on, and her eyes were red and green with purple streaks coming from them. The...Imposter behind her gave her a toothy smile with a laugh that sounded like the voice. This was another sick game it was playing.
"What do you think this...image will accomplish?" Celestia asked with venom in her voice. The figure chuckled.
"This is who you were meant to be. I assumed that by you seeing your true form, it would encourage you to take the final leap."
"We have had this conversation many times. So, I will ask again. This time I expect a real answer. How does me using evil magic lead to my truest form? According to you." Celestia asked.
"You already know the real answer. I have never lied to you. You want to be free from responsibility, from duty, from having everypony look down on you for your actions. You know that they talk about you behind your back. They are too scared to actually say it to your face of course. You want them to fear you. To fear you so much that they wouldn't dare talk about you in secret."
"I do not!" Celestia snapped in rage. Taking a moment to look around the room to make sure no pony heard her before looking back to the imposter in the mirror. Still standing behind her in the mirror. "As you have already informed me. They already do fear me. I don't want them to."
"Oh, your mortals are kicking in. Wonderful." The imposter let out in the usual male voice with sarcasm and rolled their eyes. "Now you are lying to yourself. Well...Me. In reality, you are the bad pony now."
"Don't you dare-"
"What are you going to do? Hurt me?" The figure pouted. "Good luck with that."
"I don't have time for this."
The figure let out a loud laugh. Echoing in Celestia's mind.
"Have fun with the stuffy nobels. We both know you want to kill them."
The party had been going on for quite a few hours at this point. Bini was wearing a simple pink and blue dress with her regular scarf and pin that was shaped like a star connecting it all. She was standing in front of the statue of a unicorn. Honestly, it freaked her out but it gave her a chance to watch a pegasus with a rainbow coloured mane and an interesting dress make a complete fool of herself in front of the Wonderbolts and other stuffy guests.
Arone trotted up beside her with a welcoming smile and moved to stand beside her. Also moving to watch the pegasus on the other end of the room trying her best to impress everypony.
"So? Anything exciting happened in the past three hours?"
"Other than this pegasus really screwing up...Not really. Anything happen to you?" Bini asked before taking a sip of her punch. Being held up by her magic. Her face twisted in disgust and she gagged. "Oh, what is in this? Gross."
Arone took her cup from her and sniffed it before taking a sip. He swished it in his mouth for a moment, pondering the taste and ingredients before swallowing it.
"It is a combination of strong alcoholic apple cider, cinnamon and...Candy?"
"UGH! The catering has really gone down-"
Suddenly, the high-class music changed to party music and a pink pony jumped off the stage. An orange pony pushing a trolly with a large cake into the main ballroom came in. She was going on about how no pony was eating her treats because of high society when the pink pony landed on the trolly. Making the cake fly into the air towards Prince Blueblood and his date, who was a unicorn with a unique mane. Blueblood pulled a classic move and used the unicorn to deflect the oncoming cake. She lost her mind and started yelling at him in rage and splattered cake all over him to his horror.
Blueblood frantically backed away from her and bumped into the Alicorn statue the pair were near. Arone and Bini looked at the statue then at each other in horror as they realized what was about to happen. It started to fall towards the pair. Bini started to curse loudly when the pegasus from before whizzed past them and attempted to hold up the statue to impress everypony. It worked...For about five seconds before she started to stumble away and caused the statue to hit a pillar holding up the ballroom, then a chain reaction started and they all eventually fell.
Part of the ceiling fell, causing the guests to scamper away in fear. Luna trotted up to the pair and they all stood in silence when Celestia and Twilight appeared. Then a rumbling started. Shaking the ballroom.
"Oh great. It gets worse." Bini mumbled with a roll of her eyes.
The double doors leading to the garden burst open to reveal a crazy looking pegasus and a bunch of animals running into the castle. Twilight let out a strangled scream as Celestia and Luna stood in disbelief. The yellow pegasus was breathing hard and stumbled into the ballroom with her dress in tatters.
"You...Are going to LOVE ME!" She yelled at the animals.
Celestia and Twilight had joined Luna and the pair in the middle of the ballroom. Looking upon the chaos as everypony who remained with the animals were running in chaos. Celestia leaned down to Twilight.
"Run."
Twilight whistled to the main ponies who caused the mess, which B
ini was only just realizing was the saviours of Equestria who stopped Nightmare Moon. They quickly galloped out as the rest of them watched the chaos.
"Sister...This is very bad!" Luna said on the verge of having a panic attack. Celestia had bitten her lip and looked at the last of the fleeing guests and the animals still wondering the destroyed ballroom.
"It needed to be redecorated anyway," Bini mumbled. Arone and Luna looked at her in disbelief.
"That is what you are taking away from THIS!?" Arone yelled.
Celestia stumbled into her room. It had been hours since the Gala ended. The castle staff was currently using all their available skills to repair the ballroom in a timely way. She had sent Arone to help with the repair efforts and Luna was overseeing them as it was the nighttime. This was her domain. Celestia nearly ripped off her dress and placed it carefully into the closet before trotting over to her balcony and watching the Moon reach the highest point in the sky.
She smiled as the cold air sent a chill through her body. She flew into the air with grace, flying over the castle guards and servants desperately trying to calm the remaining frantic animals down in the garden before landing in a secluded part of the garden. Mostly hidden to any pony simply passing by where the statue of Discord still stood.
She sat down in front of the statue. The moonlight provided enough light for her to see her dear...It doesn't matter anymore. Their relationship died the day Discord turned on her and Luna. She had spent countless nights arguing with the voice about that fact. She refused to believe it but at the same time, a small part of her had grown to accept it. A very small part of her.
"Good evening, Discord." She had a soft smile. "I am sure you want to hear about the chaos that happened at the Gala tonight. It was rather entertaining. Although it costed the Ballroom. As Bini put it, it needed to be redecorated anyway."
She looked up at the frozen expression of Discord. Wishing that she could hear his response like she did every time. Then she paused before continuing her one-sided conversation and focused on a small crack in the middle of the statue's chest. She flew towards the crack and ran her hoof along the small area.
"That wasn't there before." She mumbled. Her emotions quickly became conflicted between fear and hope. Fear that Discord was going to return. Hope that Discord would return.
She shook her head. Pushing down the hope she felt with a sense of guilt for being so selfish. Putting her own desires before the ponies of Equestria. She must never forget what he did to them. To Luna. To her. She waited for the voice in her head to return. Increasing the amount of pain she already felt. Nothing.
She flew back down to the ground. Deciding to move along from the concerning state of the statue and focus on what she came for. A small sense of comfort. Being able to talk with somepony, even if they could hear or listen to her. Even if they didn't love her anymore, she was still able to vent to him. Just like in the olden days.
"As you know, I invited Twilight and her friends to the Gala."
---End of chapter eight---
The Return of Disharmony: Part One
Author's Note
AN: So, this is the longest chapter I have written so far! And the most controversial. The characters are probably not going to act the way they would on the show and I am not good at romance so the Dislestia ship could end either alright, or very badly. Just warning you guys!
I do really enjoy writing this story and to be honest, I don't even know how it will end. The plan for the story is continually changing for me so that might make details contradict themselves. Sorry in advance.
P.S Celestia is my favourite pony! Her design is so cool and she deserved better on the show. I believed she was more powerful than the show let on to avoid her looking like a Mary sue and was just holding back. I hope this story helps people appreciate Celestia a bit more and the Dislestia ship.
(I was pretty surprised at the number of people against the ship.)
Thank you all for reading! Even if it is just for a few sentences. :)
The Return of Disharmony: Part One
Bini and Arone trotted towards one of the many elegant staircases in Chaterlot Castle that would eventually lead to the main entrance through a more than necessarily complicated maze of construction. Bini complained about it, as usual, Arone explained to her that the reason it was so complicated was so that it would be easier to get lost if an invasion took place. The enemy would get lost and run around in circles like idiots.
Bini told him that it was a stupid idea. The construction got most of the new recruits lost over the years and even some of the more experienced guards did as well. Arone relented, being too exhausted from working all night for the upcoming field trips to the Castle garden.
"So, I heard a rumour that you are helping guide one of the classes visiting the garden today," Arone said, in an attempt to change the subject. "Thoughts?"
"Well, it is true. Luna suggested that I lead a class to get experience in leadership. I might get a staff soon to help me and I will be head Librarian. To be honest with you, I am not very good at managing that entire Library on my own. So many books." Bini admitted. Her ears falling and blushing in embarrassment.
"I would pay to see you lead that class!" Arone said with a laugh. Bini narrowed her eyes at him as they started to descend that staircase. "I bet it would be the story of the century!"
"Oh, yeah. Laugh it up! I actually have a good plan in place. My plan is to show them the statue area of the garden. Especially Discord. I am excited to see how they will react!"
"Discord? Why? Do you plan on traumatizing them?" Arone asked with the roll of his eyes.
"He doesn't look that bad! Sure, he is a bit creepy but so are all the other statues." Bini argued as they reached the end of the staircase and turned down another corridor. Heading to the main foyer.
"Oh? Are you afraid of statues?" Arone asked.
Bini stayed silent for a moment before answering with a hesitant no.
"OH MY GOS-"
Bini swiftly shoved her hoof into his mouth to keep him quiet as two passing bat pony and a normal guard passed them. She gave them an awkward smile before narrowing her eyes back at Arone. Slowly removing her off from his mouth.
"If you tell ANYPONY about my...slight fear of statues. I will end you." She threatened. Arone nodded and they continued on in awkward silence. They finally reached the main entrance of the castle just as a small class from Ponyville walked in with about twenty students.
The teacher, who introduced herself as Cheerilee gave her a warm welcome. Bini smiled and shook her hoof before signalling Arone to leave before she guided the class towards a nearby hall which would lead to a door straight into the Royal Garden.
Arone quickly galloped off with a snicker as Bini lead them down the hallway and into the garden. First, she showed them the many flower beds, then the area where most of the exotic creatures were chilling out.
Then she finally reached the famous sculpture area of the garden. She raised her hoof to point at the two pony statues signifying victory and defeat. She explained them in detail, then continued on the show off the pony statue about friendship.
The teacher took over and explained to the students each one as they passed more and more statues. Bini lagged behind and trotted behind a group of three fillies with no cutiemarks who seemed to be on the verge of a fight.
"How cool would it be to have that for a cutie mark?" An orange pegasus asked with excitement as she pointed to the friendship statue.
"Cool, if you were actually victoryful at somethin'." The yellow earth pony replied with a roll of her eyes. The white unicorn stamped her hoof. Getting the attention of the two other ponies.
"That's not a word!" The unicorn retorted. Bini trotted past them as they reached her favourite part of the tour. She guided the class into the secret area where the statue of Discord was being held.
"Now this is a very interesting statue," Bini said in a loud voice. Catching the attention of the bickering three in the back. "What do you notice about it?"
"It has a bunch of different parts!" One of the students pointed out as the rest gawked at the strange creature.
"This creature is called a draconequus. What do you think it represents?"
"Chaos!" The orange pegasus let out. The white unicorn elbowed her friend and glared at her.
"It's not chaos, you dodo! It is Evil!" The white unicorn snapped.
"Don't call me things I don't know the meaning of! And it is too chaos!"
"It's not!"
The teacher slammed her hoof to the ground. Causing the students to focus their attention on her.
"Actually, in a way, you are both right. This statue represents "Discord", which means a lack of harmony between ponies. In fact, you three have demonstrated discord so well that you're each going to write me an essay explaining it." The teacher ordered. The class laughed at them and they looked down in shame.
Bini pushed the incident aside and directed the class towards the rest of the statues as the shame the three felt was short-lived and they started arguing again. Bini pulled out the rest of her plans for the tour as the class passed her.
Her ears flickered up at the sound of a mysterious laugh behind her. She looked back at the statue. Swearing to herself that she was just hearing things. Wait...She took a few hoof steps forward towards the statue and eyed the cracks on the stone.
Bini swore those weren't there before. Perhaps she should ask Arone about them. She looked at it one last time before galloping to meet up with the group.
Arone was humming to himself as he was in his room writing down his daily morning report to deliver to Princess Celestia. He heard a commotion in the hallway outside his door. He delicately put down his quill when his door swung open to reveal a crazed looking Bini Filters. She had branches and leaves in her mane and tail. It was more messy than usual. Her bag wasn't sitting quite right and she had the occasional scratch on her body with her glass crooked.
"Are you okay!?" Arone with genuine concern. Flaring up his horn to remove the pieces of debris in her mane. She was breathing heavily and took a moment to herself before looking back up at Arone.
"It's gone!" She screeched. Arone paused for a moment with confusion before resuming his new task. "It's gone! It's gone! He's gone!"
"Slow down. Explain it to me slowly. What happened?" Arone said. Bini took a few more gulps of air before looking back at him.
"I-I was giving a tour to the Ponyville Class and as I turned away from the Discord statue I heard creepy laughter. When I turned around I noticed cracks on the chest area of the statue. But, like an idiot, I dismissed it and went on my way! Then a couple of hours later I had returned with a class from Manhatten." Bini explained. Turning away from Arone to mumble something under her breath about stuck up brats before turning back to him with a scowl. "And the Discord statue was gone! JUST GONE! The pedestal was there and then no Discord!"
"I think you are-"
Bini grabbed Arone by the shoulders. Cutting off his speech he had made about logic in five seconds and made him look into her blue eyes.
"You don't understand. I didn't actually believe that statue was Discord! I thought it was a damn replica and Discord's statue was actually thrown off a cliff. BUT NO! HE IS OUT! THIS IS THE END OF EQUESTRIA!" Bini ended up yelling. Arone was then violently shaken by a hysterical Bini and had to use his magic to blast her away.
She fell to the floor and rubbed her chest where the magic hit as Arone stabilized himself and looked back at her with mild irritation.
"Look. How about this? I have to deliver my morning report to Celestia and you will casually mention that the statue is missing. Alright? Based on how she reacts, we will know if we need to panic or not. Alright?"
Bini mutely nodded and Arone rolled up his scroll before helping Bini off the floor and leading her towards the Throne room. Bini was nervously trotting behind him as Arone confidently trotted into the throne room, feeling that there was absolutely nothing was wrong.
Arone looked up at Celestia who was currently finishing up another one of the many useless problems the nobles in Canterlot were having. She waved him away as Bini and Arone approached her. She got up from her throne and trotted over to the pair with a soft smile.
"Good afternoon, Arone. Bini. How can I help you?" She asked. Arone smiled and handed her the morning report before nudging Bini to say her part. Bini hesitantly stepped forward. She was sweating and very nervous because of the Discord situation and had never actually stopped that close to the Princess before. She took a big gulp before speaking.
"Discord'sstatueisgoneandIbelieveheisbackandEquestriaisgoingtoendasaresult."
The pair looked at Bini immediately.
"Pardon?" Celestia said with a raised eyebrow.
"Discord's statue is gone."
Celestia froze and her expression was fear. Arone and Bini shared a look. Bini signalled Arone that it might be a good time to panic at this point as Celestia's eyes darted around the room.
"Arone. Alert the guards to scout Equestria. Report any activity that might be...Unnatural. Go!" Celestia barked. Arone bowed and galloped out of the throne room.
"Bini. I need quill, ink and a scroll."
"Right away, Princess."
Celestia looked up at the stained glass window depicting Discord's defeat. It had been a mere three hours since the discovery of Discord being unleashed was brought to her attention. Since then she had been getting tons of frantic reports of chaos around Equestria. Cotton Candy clouds, chocolate rain. Animals changing to unnatural ways, the roads and landscape changing drastically. Without a doubt, Discord was back.
The double doors to the throne room opened to reveal the mane 6 galloping in. She handed her pile of reports to Arone before the mane 6 stopped in front of her and bowed in respect. Arone quickly gathered the reports and galloped off to report to the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armour.
"Princess Celestia, we came as fast as we could! The train was unfortunately held up by...Whatever is happening to Equestria at the moment." Twilight said. Celestia sighed and looked to the six with a grim expression. She flexed her wings for a moment as the pain spiked in her body. She took in a deep breath before directing their attention to the stained glass window.
"Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. Luna and I saw how miserable life was for Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns alike, so after discovering the Elements of Harmony, we combined our powers and rose up against him, turning him to stone. I thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever, but since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell has been broken." Celestia explained. She gestured for the group to follow her out of the throne room until they reached another long hallway, connected to the main castle complex called Canterlot Tower.
She opened the double doors and trotted down the long hallway to a locked large door being protected by her magic.
"This is Canterlot Tower, where the Elements are kept inside since all of you recovered them. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again and stop Discord before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos." Celestia ordered at the six ponies.
"B-But why us? Can't you and Luna use the elements still?" Twilight asked. Celestia used her magic to replicate a scene showing when the mane 6 defeated Nightmare Moon.
"You six showed the full potential of the Elements by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe. Although Luna and I once wielded the Elements, it is you who now control their power, and it is you who must defeat Discord." Celestia explained. The voice returned in her mind. Pointing out that she could easily end this. Simply take their elemental magic as she did with Luna. Celestia pushed the voice away as she inserted her horn into the lock and activate her magic to unlock the large door.
The door slowly swung open to reveal a beautifully decorated box in which the precious Elements were contained. She levitated the box over to the group who oohed and awed the box.
"Ooh. You can keep the Elements. I'll take that box!" Rarity said. Celestia resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she started to opened the box.
"Don't fear this challenge. I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord with these!"
The box was empty. Celestia stared at the box. Having trouble processing that they weren't there as the group gasped in shock.
"The Elements! They're gone!" Twilight nearly screeched.
"That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense!" Celestia mumbled as she looked back at the large door then to the box again. Giving it a slight shake.
"Oh, what fun is there in making sense?" Discord's unique voice echoed across the room with an evil chuckle to follow. Celestia's heart fluttered for a moment with past emotions before she steadied herself and focused on the task ahead. She slammed her hoof down in anger, allowing her anger to take control instead of her affection for him.
"Show yourself, Discord!" She barked.
She heard a snapping noise and they appeared in the throne room once again. They watched as the stain glass version of Discord moved across the many designs on the windows.
"I know that you missed me, Celestia. Don't pretend otherwise." He taunted. Celestia blushed as Rainbow Dash and Twilight gave her a suspicious look before turning back to the moving creature on the windows. "I admit, I enjoyed our little one-sided conversations while I was in stone. But it doesn't compare-"
"Enough! Where are the Elements?" Celestia interrupted. Trying to preserve her secrets.
"Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while." He replied as he floated to the window where the mane 6 defeated Nightmare Moon and started fiddling with the pictures.
"You'll never get away with this, Discord. We will get them back." She growled.
"Oh, I'd forgotten how boring you can be, Celestia." He commented with a slight tone of disappointment. "At least you were a bit of fun as a filly. Being royalty has really ruined you."
"Hey! Nopony insults the Princess!" Rainbow Dash barked and dove towards the window to try and catch Discord but managed to faceplant into it and fall, Twilight activated her horn to catch her just before she hit the floor and levitated her back to the group.
"You must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent." Discord pointed out. Moving to sit on Rainbow Dash's image on the window. Dash groaned and rubbed her muzzle before responding.
"That's right! I'll always be loyal to the Princess!"
"We will see about that." Discord replied as Rarity scoffed and turned away with a flip of her mane from Discord in the window.
"I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a tacky window." She complained.
"The beautiful Rarity, representing the element of generosity, if I'm not mistaken?"
"So you know who we are, big deal." Applejack snapped at him.
"Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack."
"You seem to know our strengths too," Twilight mumbled as she watched him move around.
"Yes, Twilight Sparkle, and yours is the most powerful and elusive element, magic. Fluttershy's is kindness and Pinkie Pie's is a personal favourite of mine - laughter." He said. Pinkie started snickering and pointed to Discord who started dancing on Twilight's head on the window.
"Pinkie!"
"But he's dancing on your head!" She protests through fits of giggles. Celestia slammed her hoof down to get their attention.
"Stop stalling, Discord! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?" She demanded. Discord sighed and started circling the room through the windows.
"Oh, so boring, Celestia. Really? Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you my way. To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began."
He snapped his lion fingers and disappeared. Finally leaving the group alone.
Twilight looked around and Rainbow Dash and Applejack carefully checked the windows to make sure he was really gone. Fluttershy whimpered and hid inside her mane and tail in fear. Pinkie had been complaining to Rarity about wanting more chocolate milk.
"Twists and turns... twists and turns... twists and turns! That's it! I bet Discord hid the Elements in the palace labyrinth!" Twilight concluded, pointing towards the maze near the end of the garden in one of the normal windows.
"G-Good luck, I know you will prevail," Celestia said with a small smile. The group nodded and galloped out. Celestia let out a breath she was holding and bowed her head in shame. She let Discord play with her emotions again. She let a few tears fall as the vice returned.
"Aw, poor Celestia."
Celestia stayed silent as her tears hit the floor. Leaving a mark on the red carpet.
"You know that we could easily end this. Steal the elements magic and simply-"
"No, no. It would be evil." She argued with a weak voice.
"You have done it before. Do you remember the power you felt when you had them? You crave it. You want it. Do it!"
Celestia couldn't deny that she did want that power again. The power that made her feel nearly invisible. She gasped as she felt magic leave her body and cuts, burns and bruises with scares appeared on her body. She started shaking in anguish and pain as the voice growled.
"I am going to let you in with a little secret." The voice said softly. "I have a certain amount of magic over what happens to your body. These injuries I have been inflicting on you are real. They aren't in your mind. Thanks to my magic I was able to hide them from your fellow citizens and yourself. I am the better part of you. Admittedly the darker part of you, the stronger magical part of you."
"W-Why did you never tell me before!" Celestia nearly screamed.
"I didn't think it was relevant. But I clearly have to do more to convince you. I am losing my patience with you. I have had to put up with this for thousands of years."
"Then go away if you hate it so much. P-Please..."
"Not until I take control. Let go! This can be over within seconds. Stop playing these foolish games with their lives!"
Celestia cried in pain as she watched a part of her hoof's fur rip away and become pooled with blood. She screamed for it to stop. She laid down on the ground to save her strength as she used the medical healing spells she had been researching for centuries to help herself. She healed the wound but it appeared moments later, hurting even more.
Celestia whimpered, being in too much pain to respond. The voice was nearly pleading for her to do it. Celestia nodded with a simple small head shake.
"Ma-Make it stop. I will do what you want."
The wounds started to disappear and the pain lessened until it disappeared completely. She slowly got up on shaking hoofs.
"Take your time if you must. But do it or else."
Celestia nodded and headed out of the throne room.
Arone and Bini galloped down the corridor in a panic. They nearly tramped the guards who were trying to desperately defend the castle from the animals who had become mutants.
"Dear Faust! I am going to die! When I said panic, I meant panic for goodness sake!" Bini yelled as they jumped over a guard and continued down the corridor. Arone growled and used his magic to shield them as rapid rabbits jumped on it with sharp teeth.
"I really don't need a commentary on how right you are! We just need to get to the library for goodness sake!" Arone argued as ten guards galloped past them and used their skills with spears to deflect the animals running around the castle.
"The library!?" Bini repeated as she blasted a flying cake out of their way. "WHY!? This is not the time to be reading!"
"You are a librarian! You should be delighted!"
"I never claimed to be a good one as I told you before this chaos began! This is why I need a staff!" Bini snapped back. "Now, I would love for you to explain to me why we are heading there!"
"Spells! There must be some sort of spell to stop this." Arone said. They entered through the double doors of the dark Library when they saw a familiar Alicorn flipping through books frantically. Bini took a step forward towards Celestia but Arone quickly moved her to behind a bookcase.
They peeked from behind the bookcase and watched Celestia. She seemed to be arguing with herself through mumbles and curses. She eventually slammed the books around her shut and trotted over to one of the farthest bookcases. She yanked a specific book back to reveal the bookcase moving to an old door. She pushed it open with a grunt and slammed it shut behind her.
Arone and Bini slowly moved out of hiding and stared at the Bookcase as it moved back in place.
"The Catacombs," Bini mumbled. "Come on."
Arone used a hoof to hold her back.
"What are you doing?"
"Following her. She is up to something." Bini replied. She pushed her way past him and trotted towards the bookshelf. "Are you coming or not?"
"Yeah, yeah. I am coming to make sure you don't do something you will regret." Arone grumbled as he followed her.
---End of chapter nine---
The Return of Disharmony: Part Two
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Celestia's School for Gifted Ponies and Mistakes
Bini nervously stepped through the double front doors of Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. It was obvious to any pony watching her that she was definitely not one of the students or teachers. She looked around the large entrance hall to make sure her mortal enemy was not in the room.
Her moral enemy, of course, was ahead Librarian at the school. Her name was Rose Quill. When they were fillies they fought about everything. Even who would get the job at Celestia's school. Of course, Bini lost. Rose never let her forget it. She used her magic to adjust her saddlebag and trotted towards the main desk.
A pony with a lavender curly mane and a light blue coat with a bored expression looked up from the scrolls littering her desk.
"Can I help you?" She asked with a bored voice. Bini gave her a fake smile. Her eyes darting around the room for the moment before showing her a series of scrolls with her magic. "I assume this is for Princess Celestia?"
"Yes. Do you know where she is?" Bini asked. The mare nodded and pointed down one of the many corridors where students were rushing out of their classes.
"She is in the Library. Go down that corridor, then turn right, then left, then you should be there."
Bini gave a nervous gulped and her smile faltered at the thought of having to see her enemy.
"Thank you. Have a good day." Bini replied. Taking back her scrolls and trotting down the series of paths to the Library. She would be the first one to admit that the Library at the school was infinitely better looking with lots more information hidden within its walls. That is why the school's library was her top pick.
Bini never understood though why the schools have better information than the actual castle but she wasn't really in the position to question it. She cracked open the door and paused at the sound of an angry raspy voice and a soft voice in response. Bini knew those voices. It was Rose Quill and the Princess.
Bini held her ear to the door to listen as the argument continued.
"No! I refuse to give you the journals." The voice of Rose rang out.
"I need them, Ms. Quill. I don't understand-"
"As I have explained to the teachers and students for a while now you can't have them because they are dangerous! There is information in those books that could seriously danger Equestria." Rose interrupted. Bini had to admit, Rose had the guts to interrupt Celestia.
"I am ordering you to give me them!" Celestia's voice echoed with repressed rage.
"Then...I am sorry...But I must refuse."
There was a sound of magic being activated and then a cry of rage from Rose.
"St-Stop!"
"I left these books here for ponies to educate themselves on Starswirl's research. Not to be shut away based on some half baked suspicion." Celestia fought back.
"Excuse my bluntness, Princess," Rose said. "But you clearly haven't read journal eleven."
"Journal Eleven was locked away in the Chnaterlot archive."
"No, it was not. Either you are mistaken or that Librarian you have working in the Chanterlot Library screwed up royally."
Bini felt a blush of embarrassment and recalled when she went into the archive to gather the books for the school library a few months back. She had been over swamped with work and quickly read over the scroll. She must have bypassed the parts that were most important and simply pilled all of the journals in instead of taking the time to read the order through.
There was some rustling before Rose spoke again.
"There it is. Journal Eleven-" Rose then growled. "But...I can not give it to you. This book is the reason I can't give any of the books to anypony. Even you, Princess."
Bini peaked through the door and saw Rose holding the book under her wing and her body was lowered despite the towering Princess in front of her. Who was glaring down at the pony with annoyance, holding a box of books with her magic.
Celestia sighed after a tense moment and handed the box back to the Librarian.
"Alright. If these...Series of books are as dangerous as you claim. I will have some Royal Guards picked them up tomorrow and bring them back to the Chanterlot Archive. Where they will be locked away. I was hoping they would help with my research. I admit I haven't read most of Starswirl's journals. Only about five." Celestia explained. Rose scowled at the books and then gave the Princess a worried look.
"Princess. I don't exactly trust-"
"I am aware of your history with Miss. Filters, the current Librarian in the castle. But soon she will have a staff helping her so she will be well supervised. You have nothing to worry about. The books will be locked away with the proper supervision." She assured Rose.
Rose hesitantly nodded.
"For Equesria's sake. I hope you are right."
Bini rolled her eyes and trotted away from the door with haste. Bini always considered herself maybe a little bit overdramatic but Rose was the true Princess of that skill. Bini mumbled curses about Rose when she suddenly hit another pony. They both yelped in surprise and collapsed to the floor.
Bini opened her eyes once the chaos was over and saw that she was on Arone. Arone cautiously opened his own eyes and looked up at her with a small smile.
"Nice bumping into you, Filters." He joked. Bini growled and pulled herself up. She quickly rolled up the scrolls that had been scattered around the floor from their tumble and Arone helped her separate them into two groups. One was Bini's. One was Arone's.
"Very funny, pal." Bini sarcastically replied and placed her group back into her bag as Arone balanced his own on his back.
"What are you doing here? You hate it here." Arone said.
"I don't hate it here!" Bini protested as she followed him down the corridor. Back the way that she came. "I just hate a specific pony."
"Oh right. The 'arch enemy' of your nightmares!" He teased with a chuckle. Bini narrowed her eyes at him with annoyance.
"You really aren't helping." She snapped. Arone gave her an apologetic look.
"Sorry. I couldn't resist." He said.
"I have a good reason!" She defended. "She stole my dream job! Now I work in the castle, having to give tours and deal with nobels who are so stuffed up that I want to strangle them even if by some miracle they are being pleasant for a few seconds."
"Yeah but if you worked here, you would have to deal with stuck up students and parents." Arone said. Before he could continue Bini reared up and pressed her hoofs into his chest and stopped him in his tracks.
"I don't think you have ever dealt with a nobel before, do the change-"
Arone pushed her off and covered her mouth with his hoof.
"Shhh! No pony is supposed to know about that, remember!?" He hissed. Bini pushed herself up from the ground and stretched her legs.
"Right, right. Sorry."
Celestia's mind raced as she exited the library. She was running out of books to read on what could possibly be in her mind. She wasn't completely convinced that it was created by dark magic but it was a start. She had stepped up her research since Discord's second defeat. She had been in the Chnaterlot Archive's earlier and had noticed that Starswirl's personal journals were missing. The books with his most detailed research, experiments, and events on pre-Equestria, and events up until he went missing.
She turned a corner and nodded a greeting to the passing students and teachers. Then halted when she saw Bini and Arone talking near the front entrance. The corridor's cleared as classes started and she trotted towards them. Suddenly she saw Bini pressed her hoofs against Arone and he pushed her down and hissed something back at her. She pushed herself back up and looked apologetic.
"Bini?"
She had, of course, expected Arone to be in the school, he was her personal assistant after all. But based on Bini's history with Rose, she certainly didn't see that coming. Bini's eyes grew wide and she stumbled backwards into Arone as she realised who was there.
"P-Princess! Lovely to see you here! Well, of course, you would be here. It's y-your school after all!" Bini nervously ranted.
"Good to see you too, Bini. May I ask why you are here?" She said. Bini opened her bag and floated over a bunch of scrolls.
"I was ordering some new books for the Library and there are some books that need your personal signature to be ordered. They are very old and detail the history of Equestria in the early days and some information on the outside nations. I think they will be a real benefit to the education of the scholars who use the Library as their main source of information." Bini explained. Celestia made a quill and ink appear and quickly signed the forms.
"Of course, Bini. How is your progress going with hiring the new staff?"
"It will probably take me a few more days, actually." Bini admitted.
"Oh, before I forget, I should probably tell you is that tomorrow night you will be getting a shipment of Starswirl's journals with a guard to watch over them as you place them back in the archive. It isn't that I don't trust you it is just that I am worried about the contents of the book might be dangerous to Equestria."
Bini nodded. Trying to hide her unease.
"Yes, Princess. I understand." She said. Then her face froze to behind Celestia. Arone and Celestia turned to see Rose trotting down the hall with a stack of books and stopped to talk with a teacher monitoring the halls. They looked back to see Bini walking backwards with a fake smile.
"W-Well, while you look at the time! I have to go now. Bye!"
Then she quickly galloped off.
Bini stood near the gate in the Library where the Archive was under lock and key. She opened it with her personal master key and allowed the guard to handle the books. She watched with curiosity as the books were delicately placed in their place in the Archive.
She locked it up once the guard left and nodded her thanks before looking past the gate and stared at the books. She looked around briefly and then trotted away. She, then, paused and looked back at the book.
"No, no, no. This is wrong." Bini mumbled out loud before carefully stepping back towards the books. She had never really liked reading Starswirl the bearded books but she couldn't deny the fact that her curiosity was peaked. "Oh, this is a very bad idea."
She used her key to open the gate and quickly grabbed the first five books before closing it back up. Deciding to start from the beginning. She kept cursing herself as she set them down on the nearest table and moving away from the resumes she received.
She opened the first page and began a long night of reading.
---End of Chapter Eleven---
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---
Author's Note
I would love your guys' feedback on Arone and Bini's characters. I am trying my best to improve them but I have a feeling I might have turned Bini, at least, into a Mary Sue. Which is something I am trying to avoid.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy the chapter.
It is hard to believe that when I first wrote this story it was only five chapters. Wow.
Keep Calm and Flutter On
Keep calm. Keep calm. Arone was pleading with himself to keep calm. It had been just over a week since Bini's rather sudden change of heart and despite his many attempts at rekindling their friendship, Bini wasn't having it. Not only had she decided that Starswirl's word was pure truth but she dove herself into her work. Blocking out everypony except her staff, which had two ponies now. A pegasus who was a former guard named Rocky Snow and an Earth pony (Because the Royal Chanterlot Library needs diversity) mare named Chocolate Shadow. She had a light brown coat, purple eyes, and a black mane tied up high with a light purple bow and a book as a cutiemark.
They all carried scrolls and were frantically going through every situation they had prepared for on this occasion. Celestia had returned the Discord statue back to its rightful place in the garden a few months ago and now she brought it back to Ponyville to be "reformed." Arone assumed she came to this crazy conclusion on one of her many nights that she slipped out to "talk" with the statue of Discord.
Bini had ordered her staff to prepare for the worse. Bini always had a private habit to overthink things and stress herself out to the point where she spiraled into depression. She was dangerously close at this point. She was nervously sweating as she actually pushed a scroll into Celestia's face as they entered the outside platform of the castle where a chariot with four pegasi stallions and the famous statue.
Celestia momentarily let her irritation show at the Library staff before returning to her neutral expression. Bini used her magic to point at the diagram of chaos she designed.
"As you can see. If Discord is released, he can just teleport immediately without even hearing you out!" She had finally ended his final point of ranting. Celestia rolled her eyes as Bini gestured her staff, who was lagging behind to respect the Princess and guards flanking her. Arone was on the other side of her. Coming to a stop right in front of the chariot.
"I see where your concern is coming from, Bini-"
Bini waved her hoof to interrupt her.
"I am not done yet! There are endless dangers!" She said. Arone jumped onto the chariot with Celestia and Celestia managed to assure Bini that everything was going to be fine. The Elements of Harmony will be there. The entire conversation had managed to make them late.
Most of the mane 6 had gathered in a field just outside Ponyville. Watching for the Royal Chariot from Canterlot to arrive. Twilight was pacing and occasionally scanned the sky with her eyes for any sign of the Princess.
"I love it when Princess Celestia comes to Ponyville! I got my hooves shined just like Rarity for the occasion." Pinkie chirped to break the uncomfortable silence and showed Rarity her hoof. "Ya like?"
"I certainly do!" Rarity nodded as she fixed her mane in the reflection of Pinkie's hoof. Twilight let out a frustrated snort and looked over to her royal assistant Spike.
"I'm surprised she's not here yet." Twilight commented out loud to anypony who would listen.
"I wonder what's taking so long..." Spike replied. Twilight took a moment to look around at her friends and noticed that two of them were gone.
"And where are Applejack and Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.
"Fluttershy's detained helping Applejack with a mishap at Sweet Apple Acres. They'll be along." Rarity explained. Twilight began pacing again and Spike tried to help her keep calm.
"She's bringing an important visitor. That could be part of it." Twilight concluded.
"A visitor who's important and slow ." Rainbow Dash complained as she landed on the ground.
"Maybe it's somepony so terribly important, she still had many more terribly important things to do before she got here." Rarity said with grace. Spike gasped and pointed to the sky.
"Maybe the visitor has a deer antler, a goat leg, a batwing, and a snake tail!"
"Yeah, right. That's Discord." Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. "There is no way-"
"Why in the wide, wide world of Equestria would Princess Celestia bring along someone like that ?" Rarity asked. Spike kept frantically pointing to the sky.
"M-m-maybe you should ask... her !"
They all looked up and saw Princess Celestia in her chariot with her personal Assistant and the familiar statue of Discord. They gracefully landed to the ground in front of the shocked group. Twilight was the courageous one who stepped forward as Celestia and her assistant dropped to the soft grass.
"With all due respect, Princess Celestia, how could you bring Discord here ?!" Twilight said. Then clear her throat. "Your majesty."
Celestia chuckled and placed a comforting shoulder on Twilight's hoof.
"I'm fully aware that the last time Discord was here, he created serious havoc." Celestia pointed out. "Chaos. But I have use for Discord's magic if it can be reformed to serve good instead of evil. This is why I've brought Discord here, because I believe that you are the ponies who can help him do just that."
Twilight raised an eyebrow with curiosity.
"But, Princess. Based on your short conversation with Discord, it seemed like you two have a history of at least something close to friendship. Can't you do it? I mean, we would release him and then give him to you." Twilight suggested. Celestia looked away in embarrassment.
"I am sorry, Twilight. But my relationship with Discord is complicated and did not end on a good note." She admitted. She, then, smiled towards the group and used her magic to detach Discord from the chariot and placed him in front of them. Just then, Applejack and Fluttershy joined the group as Celestia continued to assure that she had cast a spell on the elements to make sure he wouldn't be able to make him disappear again.
Then Celestia focused her attention on Fluttershy and dropped to her eye-level.
"Fluttershy. I believe you will be the main source of reforming Discord. I believe you know best how to handle him. I realize that this is a tall order, but I wouldn't ask if I weren't confident you could get him to use magic obediently of his own free will." She explained.
"And... you really think I'll know best how to do that?" Fluttershy muttered with uncertainty.
"I do. Now, I must return to Canterlot for Equestria's royal summit." Celestia revealed. She heard Arone groan in the background. He had never been to a summit before but Celestia made sure that he was aware that they are usually very boring. "You may release Discord when ready."
Bini and her staff had never been to a Royal Summit before but when Bini took one hoof step into the ballroom that had nobels, royalty and the rest of the castle staff wandering around. Some even struggling to set up a moon and sun throne at the front of the room with a table full of refreshments. She gestured her staff to follow her to the front of the room where Celestia and Luna stood, waiting for their seats to be placed down so that they could begin the day of boring delegations.
"Sister." Luna said. Catching Celestia's attention among the noise. "Why must we have this summit? We already have a council of ponies to help us make decisions and a solar and lunar court. This really isn't necessary
"This is more of a....gathering for ponies outside of Canterlot. There are representatives from each and every village, town, city, and even farmland here. Most of those types of ponies wouldn't be able to come and would most likely be too late to reach any of us. That is why this is so important."
Then there was a commotion. Prince Blueblood entered the room and started demanding why he didn't have a throne for the summit. He was a prince after all. He marched over to a very annoyed Bini who was trying to delegate her staff to help at the Princesses' request.
"You! Mare in the glasses." He called out. Bini looked briefly around before realizing he was addressing her.
"Um, hello?" She replied. The assistant who worked previously in the Royal Guard glared at the Prince with hate and the earth pony mare simply slowly back away from him.
"Where is my throne?" He demanded.
Luna scoffed and glared at Blueblood.
"His great, great...great...great grandfather was much nicer than he is." Luna mumbled as Bini stepped closer to him with a raised eyebrow.
"Prince Blueblood." Bini said. "I am a Librarian. I am nowhere near-"
Blueblood shoved his hoof into her chest, shoving her a few steps back. Her glasses fell slightly from the force and quickly pushed them up again with a scowl.
"I don't care who you are! Get this fixed at once! Do you know who I am? I am a Prince!" He barked. Gathering the attention of some of the ponies around them. Bini rolled her eyes and moved past him. Only to be stopped by his hoof. Bini looked ready to buck him in the face.
"You are a spoiled rich prince who isn't exactly an Alicorn, so you aren't worthy of a precious stupid throne!" Bini snapped. Luna and Celestia couldn't help but chuckle at his flabbergasted expression. He scoffed a few times and circled the pony with hatred.
"SPOILED? I AM BETTER THAN AN ALICORN! I AM A BLUEBLOOD!"
Bini groaned and hoof planted herself in the face.
"Congrats. You officially look like an idiot. Idiot." She insulted and held her head high as trotted past him with her grinning assistants. Blueblood gave a smile and held out his back hoof, causing Bini to trip and faceplant into the floor. She groaned as she pulled herself up and the crowd around her burst into laughter.
Bini's horn lit up with the most powerful spell she knew.
"Sister." Luna hissed. Nudging Celestia with her wing. "Perhaps we should-"
BAM!
"Too late."
A blast of light came from Bini's horn and knocked Blueblood across the room and into the thrones. Effectively breaking them from the force. Bini was never a gifted unicorn. She was a little bit below average but that spell was her best one, so damn, was it effective. Bini leaped on her hoofs and started prancing towards Blueblood, who lay groaning and a little broken from the impact. Bini shoved her hoof in his face with a big smile.
"HA! SUCK A THRONE, BLUEBLOOD!"
She, then, decided that it was best to give up on trying to make good appearances for the Library's sake and just left the Ballroom. Completely ignoring her duties. Her assistants hesitantly left with her. Discussing whether or not they would need new jobs later in the day.
Arone entered the ballroom and saw the mess near the front of the ballroom. He looked over to the Princess's for answers before looking back at Prince Blueblood who was violently cursing somepony out. Demanding that they be fired.
"Do I even want to know?" He asked.
"Bini told him to go suck a throne!" Luna said with a hint of excitement. Clearly happy with how the event ended. Arone chuckled weakly, he still missed his friend. Who had refused to talk to him outside of business matters for a while now. Arone handed her the latest reports from the guards secretly watching over the Discord situation in Ponyville.
The situation was going better than planned. Celestia had honestly expected-
She cringed and bowed her head down. Taking in deep breathes as the voice felt it was time for public punishment.
"I ordered you to destroy him!" The voice hissed in her mind. She couldn't reply. She couldn't risk anypony else hearing her response. "Very well. This is your new punishment."
She felt a great deal of magic pull out of her body in seconds. She watched as injuries that it had inflicted on her began to form. She felt blood pour down her fur and deep cuts and bruises reveal themselves. She bit her tongue to prevent from crying out as her legs buckled and she collapsed to the cold marble floor.
The summit, which was already pretty derailed, just became worse as Celestia's head spun and everypony started screaming and panicking at the sight of her sudden injuries. She wasn't sure how she would explain this to Luna and Arone later. Yet alone the rest of Equestria as news spreads fast. Her eyesight dimmed as she heard Luna used her royal Canterlot voice to order medical services as she used her own magic to desperately heal her sister. But they just kept reopening.
Finally, Celestia faded into oblivion from blood loss.
Twilight had entrusted Discord and Fluttershy to send the Princess a report, detailing how Discord was reformed and what he learned about friendship so far the previous afternoon. Twilight's eyes had fluttered open as warm sunlight filled the Golden Oaks Library thanks to Spike opening the curtains to the Library in Ponyville. Suddenly, as her eyes focused on her surroundings, she found that Spike was in front of her. Staring her directing in the face with a worried expression.
"Spike?" She said in confusion and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Usually, Spike would be downstairs making their breakfast. "Are you OK? What's wrong?"
"I am worried about...Princess Celestia." He admitted. Twilight slowly removed her blanket and shivered as the chill morning air coming from open windows ran up her spine.
"Is this because of yesterday? Because I am sure that Fluttershy will be able to keep Discord in-"
"No. No. No." He interrupted and pointed to the sun rising in the sky. She got up and moved to the window. Taking a careful look as she noticed that the sun was shaking as it moved further into the sky to brighten Equestria. Almost like the pony lifting the moon was under strain and/or was inexperienced in moving the sun. "It was like that at sunset as well. You were too busy studying to notice. The moon was raised and lower just like normal though."
Twilight watched as it finally reached its first cycle in the sky.
"That certainly is strange. How about this? You make breakfast and I will write a letter to the Pri-"
Twilight was interrupted by a loud urgent knock downstairs followed by her friends calling put for her to open the door urgently. She groaned. Having a feeling it involved Discord. Maybe he was behind the strange sunrise? Twilight brushed that thought aside as she considered that if Discord was really behind it, it would be a lot more dramatic than a little bit of shaking.
She hurried to the front door with Spike and opened it to see her concerned friends. Rarity was using her magic to hold up her morning paper and the rest of them stared at her like she had all the answers to what was going on in Equestria.
"Twilight! Have you read the paper yet?" Rainbow Dash asked with her raspy voice in a tone of concern. Twilight shook her head and moved to explain that she had just gotten up but did notice the strange sunrise. Rarity handed her the newspaper and pointed to the front page of the Ponyville Press with haste.
Twilight looked down and gasped in shock at the headline.
"Princess Celestia mysteriously injured in Royal Summit."
She continued to read further. The Article stated that the Princess was simply talking with Princess Luna and Celestia's assistant when she suddenly had injuries appear on her body. The press wasn't sure how bad they were as the Royal sisters refused to make an appearance since rushing Celestia to a locked medical wing in the castle or a statement.
"I...I need to speak with the Princess!" Twilight thought out loud and started to have a mini panic attack as she considered the possibilities of what could have happened to the Princess! Was it Discord? No. No. No. Twilight needed to stop jumping to that conclusion! Discord was a lot of things but he wasn't about to torture the Princess like that! Her friends quickly stepped in to help calm her down and suggested they take the first early train to Canterlot.
---End of Chapter thirteen---
Luna had relayed the events in her mind over and over. She sat next to her sister in the medical wing. She occasionally glanced to her sister who was bandaged up and sleeping on a warm bed made for the Royal ponies in the castle who are brought to the medical wing. She wiped the sweat from her brow as she looked outside once again and increased the magic her horn was bringing out to raise the sun.
How could this have possibly happened to Celestia? She had a feeling her sister was hiding something. When she went into the dream realm she found herself unable to enter her sister's dreams. She was blocking her out. She had become distant with her and others since the Discord incident. The door to Celestia's room swung open and a guard trotted in with a spear. Giving Luna a quick bow before relaying his information.
"Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Elements request permission to see the Princess." He said. Luna nodded in agreement and he bowed again before leaving to guide Twilight and her friends to the room.
She looked back at her sister's sleeping face and quickly attempted to enter her dreams. She could at least feel her emotions. Anger. Fear. Sadness. All her dreams had those feelings now. But she still could see anything other than very blurry images before she was forcefully removed by some unseen force in her sister's mind.
"Princess Luna?"
Luna's eyes snapped open to see Twilight and her friends peaking into the room.
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle. Come in."
Twilight and her friends entered slowly and gasped once they saw the injuries on Celestia that weren't covered up by the blanket tucked around her body. Twilight examined the bandages that had some blood seeping through.
"I don't understand. I thought Alicorns had regeneration abilities..." She pointed out. Luna nodded in agreement and stood from her chair. Standing on the other side of her sister's bed, picking up her brush and carefully running it through Celestia's limp mane that was messy and full of knots.
"We do. But contrary to what the scientists claim. Our abilities to regenerate aren't as fasts as they claim. The best magic doctors and nurses have been helping heal my sister with their magic. Hopefully, she should be better in a few days." Luna explained.
"How did this happen, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. Luna shrugged as she finished brushing her sister's mane and placed the brush back down on the nightstand.
"We do not know. We were discussing matters of the summit with Arone-"
"Who's Arone?" Rainbow Dash asked with suspicion. "That isn't really a pony name."
"He is a unicorn. Celestia's personal assistant started a few months ago. Anyway. We were in the ballroom after an...Incident and Arone were telling us about Discord's-" Luna stopped and her eyes grew wide when she considered how this might have happened. "DISCORD! He must be behind this!"
"Ah, Princess." Twilight injected. "I have considered that option and I honestly don't think that even in Discord's evil form that he would injure her like this."
Luna growled and looked up at the sun with heartache.
"You weren't there when Discord returned. He hurt my sister badly. Although not as bad when he..."
"He...did what, darling?" Rarity asked. Luna blushed and looked away from the group before turning back to them.
"He...broke up with my sister when he first turned evil. It really affected her." She admitted with shame. Feeling guilty for reveal her sister's secret. Twilight let out a strangled cry to alarm and the rest of them looked at each other to confirm whether or not they heard what they think they heard.
"She and Discord...Oh, sweet Equestria. This-This can't be real!!" She exclaimed and started to hyperventilate. Applejack tried to calm her down as Rarity fainted and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy snapped out of it and caught her. "THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! Does anypony know how to contact Discord!?"
Just then, a flash of light appeared and the Lord of Chaos appeared with genuine concern on his face.
"Hello, fellow Elements!" He said, trying to hide his expression. His attention was drawn to Luna who was glaring and him in hatred. Somehow, he had not noticed Celestia yet. "Ah, Lulu. Lovely to see you again."
Luna flew into the air and pointed at her sister was rage directed at Discord.
"WHAT DID THOU DO TO MY SISTER, DISCORD!?" She demanded. Discord's face fell and he flew over to Celestia, who was still peacefully sleeping.
"ME!?" He snarled. "Why would I hurt Tia? Do I look like I torture ponies like that for fun!?"
"Uh, yeah." Rainbow Dash spoke up. Fluttershy flew into the air to gather their attention despite her shyness.
"Um, eve-everypony? Dis-Discord is our friend! I-I am sure he wouldn't intentionally hurt the Princess! He isn't evil any more!" She defended.
"Thank you, Fluttershy." Discord said. Pulling her into a hug and glared at the rest of the group. "You could learn something from her you know. Believe me, if I knew what was happening I would fix it."
Luna moved closer to Discord, narrowing her eyes at him with a pointed hoof.
"My sister talked to you while you were in stone. You heard what she talked about, did you? What did she say? Anything that could lead to this?" She demanded. Discord dropped Fluttershy and crossed his arms at her.
"I don't go around sharing other ponies' secrets. Unlike some ponies." He snapped at Luna. Luna blushed and moved a bit further away.
"I had to tell them, Discord! They deserved to know!" She snapped. Discord pointed an accusing claw at her.
"They didn't need to know. You just wanted to get that secret off your chest. Well, tell me Lulu. Do you feel any better!?"
Luna shook her head and moved further away from his accusing glare.
"T-They need to know." She mumbled.
Suddenly a soft groan filled the awkward silence.
Celestia's eyes fluttered open and she let out a soft groan as her body ached and her eyes adjusted to the sunlight coming through the window. Suddenly a dark navy blue figure with a flowing main blocked the sunlight with her body. She lifted her head slightly to see Luna looking down at her with concern.
"L-Luna? Wh-Where am I?" She asked in a weak voice. Finding it hard to speak as her body was in so much pain. Luna bit her lip before responding and looked to something behind her before she replied.
"You...Had an incident during the summit and you were seriously injured."
Celestia attempted to move out of the bed but was quickly held down by a familiar paw on her shoulder. She looked up in alarm seeing Discord staring back at her with his red and yellow eyes.
"Dizzy? What are y-"
She heard a rustle and then looked towards the end of the spacious medical room where Twilight and her friends were nervously standing with awkward smiles. Well, all except Pinkie who seemed oblivious to the situation. She gawked at them and then looked to Luna and Discord before back at Twilight.
"What the hay is happening?" She demanded and pulled the blanket back to see bandages on her body with some blood seeping through with bruises on other parts of her body. "What incident did I have exactly?"
"I was hoping you could explain it to me." Luna admitted. "You were talking with Arone and then suddenly collapsed with all these injuries. It was very sudden."
"I am sorry. I don't know what happened." She lied. Luna raised an eyebrow in her direction as she clearly didn't believe her. She looked over to Discord who was glaring at her as he knew the truth. She had told him about the voice a few times when they were having one of their one-sided conversations during his banishment. "Can I have a moment alone with...Discord, please? I would like to discuss his friendship progress so far."
The ponies nodded and hurried out. Luna gave them one last look before shut the door and leaving them alone. Celestia cleared her throat and shifted into her bed to look up at him.
"Dizzy. I know that you know what the problem is. I am begging you. If you have any remaining feelings from when we were young, don't tell them. Please keep this a secret." She begged. Discord fiddled with his chin beard for a moment before snapping his fingers and making a comfy chair appear next to her bed with him in it.
"Tia. I must be honest. I do. But this thing. Is clearly not natural! Even before I was reformed by you...Ugh...Ponies. I did have feelings for you from our past so I will keep this secret as long as you figure out how to get rid of it!" He demanded. Celestia looked down for a moment in embarrassment and then looked back at him.
"I have tried everything! Don't you realize that I have been trying for centuries! I have done so much research all over Equestria. Nothing explains how this...Thing is in my mind. It claims that it is the darker side of me and it can't be a coincidence that it started moments after Luna was banished."
"At least you still have smarts," he muttered. "But reading books doesn't fix everything."
"I am aware of that. But there must be a record of this happening somewhere, to somepony." Celestia insisted.
Arone was having a bad morning. He had to deal with the fallout of Bini's outburst with Blueblood at the summit that morning. He had woken up in the early hours, before sunrise. Having to watch Bini, who was half awake and not in a good mood with Prince Blueblood who demanded to sue Bini for everything she is worth, fire her, and then get her blacklisted from every job in Equestria. Which Arone didn't even think was possible. Bini was trying to organize books as she provoked him with some of the worst insults he had heard in a long time with her assistants occasionally trying to calm her down.
Then, he had a run-in with some of the guards, the specific group known to bother ponies who they considered lesser than them. He didn't understand how he was a "lesser" pony by being the Princess's assistant. He had to deal with nobels spreading rumors and gossip that either Arone was the one to hurt Celestia in a failed assassination attempt (Which Bini actually claimed in a form of insanity that she believed) or Luna did it as a way to get back at her for banishing her to the moon.
Now, he was in the medical wing. Heading towards Celestia's room to inform Luna that reporters were starting to break into the castle in an attempt to get more information on Celestia's incident and a statement from Luna. He turned the corner and heard a mare whispering something frantically.
"H-ow could she like Discord!? Discord?" The voice belonged to Twilight Sparkle. Arone peaked around the corner to see Luna and the mane 6 with Twilight's dragon standing in the waiting room alone. Occasionally glancing towards Celestia's room.
"I don't try to understand why she does like him but-"
"SHE DOES!?" Twilight shrieked a bit too loudly. "As in, still does currently like him!?"
Thanks to the newspaper, he had learned all of their names so he was able to identify Rarity trotting up to Twilight.
"Darling. I know this is surprising but stranger things have happened." She insisted. Twilight shook her head in protest.
"No. No, this is beyond strange. This is on a whole new level of strange!" Twilight said. "My teacher like the Lord of Chaos and they dated at one point? Can any of you understand how wrong that is!?"
"Oh! Do I get to plan a wedding!?" Pinkie asked out of random. "A royal wedding!?"
Twilight connected the dots to what Pinkie said and let out a tiny scream of stress.
"Wed-Wedding, no, no, no, no, no," Twilight said frantically shaking her head.
"I-I think it is good for Dis-Discord to have a marefriend." Fluttershy muttered loud enough for the group to hear. Twilight was hyperventilating again and pacing in circles.
"Now, ya'll. Let's not jump to conclusions." Applejack said, stomping her hoof on the ground to get their attention. "No pony is getting married and we don't know that they are together...again."
Twilight, at this point, had checked out of reality and curled up into a ball on the sofa. Rocking back and forth. Luna began shaking Twilight, trying to get her out of her trance.
"Twilight? Twilight Sparkle! Pull it together! Everything is...fine..." Luna said, hesitating on the last word.
"Why did you hesitate, Princess?" Rainbow Dash asked with an accusing eye. "Something is clearly NOT fine!"
"My sister just collapsed into a pool of her own blood with injuries that keep reappearing for at least an hour and then the madness in the medical room occurred and here we are! Of course, nothing is fine!" She snapped. "I have a hard time lying!"
Arone gulped and took a few steps back. Wanting desperately to relay the information that he had heard to Bini. Even if she wasn't willing to listen to him.
"Oh, and Twilight." Luna voice rang across the corridor. "Your brother and foal sitter are getting married in a few months."
"...WHAT!?"
"Oh my..."
"Since when did ya'll have a brother, Twi!?"
---End of Chapter Fourteen---
Author's Note
Before you write that everyone is acting out of character, yeah, I know. I tried my best to stick to their original characters but here we are. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter and are excited for the next one!
Twilight was having a very bad day.
Bini balanced a stack of books on her back and used her magic to levitate a few scrolls as maids, guards, and assistants of all kinds galloped past her with wedding supplies. The Royal Canterlot Wedding was in less than a week and the entire castle was being set up. Bini glanced briefly outside to the shield surrounding Chanterlot to protect the ponies from an anonymous tip that a threat was looming.
She gasped as she felt the weight of the books being lifted from her back. She looked in alarm behind her, expecting to see them scattered onto the floor but instead was met with Chocolate Shadow moving to balance them on her own back with a smile.
"Hello, Miss. Filters! Did you have a good sleep?" She asked. Bini shrugged and rolled up her scrolls with her magic.
"Well, I took another all-nighter. The commotion from this...Wedding is driving me insane." She admitted with an angry sigh and rubbed the dark circles under her eyes. Then adjusted her scarf before continuing to trot down the corridor. Chocolate nodded in agreement and follow her carefully.
"Have you spoken to Prince Blueblood recently?" Chocolate asked. Bini raised an eyebrow towards her in interest.
"Blueblood? No. Why?" She asked.
"Well, there have been rumors that he spoke to both Princess Celestia and Luna to banish you from the castle during solar and Lunar court yesterday." Chocolate said with concern. Bini shrugged it off and seemed unconcerned by the news.
"Yeah, I heard that too. I am honestly not that concerned." Bini said. "The chances of Celestia or Luna actually considering that request is ridiculous. I...Errr...We have been doing a great job since the summit."
"What if he starts a protest?"
"A protest? There is no way he hates me that much to actually waste his time with a protest." Bini said. "Well, now that I think about it...He doesn't actually do much."
"If you get fired, will I lose my job?" Chocolate asked. Bini shook her head with a "no." But she honestly didn't know the answer. Then Bini watched as the stuffy Alicorn known for Love held her head high as she strutted down the corridor. How the Princess, know for "Love" can be so rude to others, she will never know.
They mumbled greetings to her with a bow as she looked at them as if they were trash, then continued on and headed out the nearest door to a bridge connecting two of the towers where Shining Armour and Twilight Sparkle stood arguing.
"Come on, Chocolate. We have to get these back to the Library." Bini interrupted Chocolate's daydream about being an alicorn and gestured her down the hall. "At this rate, we won't make it back there until the wedding."
Then suddenly another door burst open and Arone came galloping out, he used his magic to grab Bini, who yelled in alarm and galloped off with her. Leaving a very confused Chocolate Shadow.
Arone opened up a supply closet and shoved Bini in, then trotted in behind her and closed the door. Temporarily leaving them in darkness until Bini lit up the small closet with her magic and glared at him. He locked the door and looked back at her with fear.
"We have a problem."
"We sure do!" BIni barked. "What the hay was that? I am busy! You can-"
"Listen to me!" Arone snapped with irritation. "My Queen is trying to take over Canterlot and we need to stop her!"
"Your Queen...What the-What is that supposed to mean."
Arone overlooked the fact that Bini had read a paragraph about a theory on how Changelings are evil and didn't actually know anything about them. It was stupid on Bini's part and Arone's. He sighed and used his magic to make a bug like pony appear with bug pony minions surrounding her.
"In a changeling hive there is a Queen, much like a Princess, she rules the hive and ordered us to do things that will benefit us in the long run. For example, we need love as ponies need food. So, the queen orders us to infiltrate villages as normal ponies to make sure we feed and don't starve to death." Arone explained was the queen ordered the minions to the nearby village and showed some of the minions turning into ponies. "Before I left the hive, we were dangerously close to starving to death. In these modern times with records being kept on everypony, a changeling can't just entire a town, village or even city without suspicion unless of course, they kidnap a pony and impersonate them."
Bini narrowed her eyes at him and moved a bit closer to look into his eyes.
"Are you telling me that you kidnapped the real Arone-"
"NO! Of course not! I made this disguise all on my own and for your information, my name really is Arone. Anyway, when a changeling impersonates a pony who doesn't have green eyes, sometimes their eyes flash green because it takes up a lot of magic to wear a disguise and it flickers sometimes. The more love a changeling has, the stronger they are."
"I don't understand. Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because Princess Cadence is a changeling."
Bini snickered and covered her mouth as Arone revealed his suspicion. Arone rolled his eyes.
"I am being serious! I saw her eyes flash green a few days ago!" He snapped. Bini cleared her throat with a smirk and nodded for him to continue. "I checked the history of Cadence. She was known to be very nice and kind. Along with having blue magic. Not green. Changelings use green magic even when they are a pony. This is why I have green magic."
"OK. I admit that is intriguing evidence." Bini said. Before taking a moment of silence to consider the situation. "That doesn't mean I completely believe it. I don't exactly trust you at the moment."
"If you cared about our friendship at all! You are going to help me reveal that a changeling is impersonating Cadence to everypony!"
"Ugh. I am busy, Arone. I know it may surprise you but I have a job! Yes, I did care about our friendship but that was in the past. What you are asking me to do is insane! Especially because you are talking about your own species! How could you betray them like that?"
"Equestria is my home now. I left my hive for a reason." Arone snapped. "Please, please help me!"
Bini sighed.
"I have work to do." She mumbled. Then started to open the door when Arone blocked her path.
"I am sorry, Bini. But if you don't help me. I will tell Celestia you read the journals."
"I can not believe you are blackmailing me right now! How we ever became friends, I will never know!" She barked back with genuine hurt and anger. "Fine! I will help you with your stupid theory. I doubt a queen would be as dumb as to impersonate a figure as popular as an Alicorn but OK! Fine!"
Arone nodded and opened the door. Allowing a very anger unicorn to march out, shouting curses in her wake as she trotted down the corridor.
Celestia watched Cadence and Shining Armour walking in the Royal Garden. Spending some much-needed quality time together. She stood on her balcony overlooking them with suspicion. Cadence was the type of pony, who, when under stress still treated ponies with the respect they deserved. This is why it was so troubling for Celestia to believe that she was being cold and rude to Twilight, her friends, and generally everypony else because of the wedding plans.
When Cadence's parents died. She stayed with Celestia in the castle for a few months while family relatives were being located to place her in a more suitable home. During this time, Cadence followed her everywhere. She almost considered Cadence like a daughter. Why was she acting this way?
It is true that she hadn't seen her in quite a while. She had been on a mission of importance near the badlands. Before she left they had a long lunch together. She was the same bright and happy filly she had always been. Then, upon her return a few months back she had grown distant, cold, and rude. The wedding had just been announced a few weeks after she came back...What had happened to her in the badlands?
"Princess?"
Celestia turned to see Arone with a weak smile and a very unhappy unicorn. Bini Filters beside him. She had known they had a falling out and Bini refused to talk with him except for small conversations she couldn't figure her way out of. She had tried to repair the friendship by finding the book she had read about the changelings and put her fear aside but not one of the books had anything about them. She had pressured Arone to tell her what book she had read and he refused to tell. Becoming nervous and sweaty. The thought had briefly crossed her mind that she went against orders and read Starswirl's journals but...No. Bini wanted to keep her job so badly that she was willing to do anything anypony asked her to do around the castle, even if that did mean she complained a bit.
"Arone! Bini!" She said with a cheerful tone, walking towards them. Then she remembered that she gave Arone the day off because tomorrow she had ordered him to help Cadence with the wedding preparations to relieve some stress for her, and the following days after until the wedding. "Didn't I give you the day off, Arone?"
Arone gulped and nodded when Bini gave him a sideways glance with a raised eyebrow.
"Um, yes, Princess. Actually, I have a special request involving my duties for tomorrow." He said. Celestia nodded for him to continue. He gestured to Bini, who looked more and more agitated as the silence went on. "Can Bini help me with the planning? I know that Twilight Sparkle came to me earlier and requested she does the checklist since she is head of the planning for this wonderful occasion so I moved to set up the ballroom for the main wedding.'
Celestia had heard a rumor about Twilight, very vocally, begging Arone for his position.
"Of course. The servants and guards could use all the help they could get!" She agreed.
"Thank you, Princess," Arone said with a bow from both ponies, then they rushed out. Celestia could hear the muffled voices of an argument starting once they shut the door. She looked back over her balcony as the coupe faded out of view. Maybe it was really just the stress of the wedding getting to her. Ponies change.
The next day, Arone had to wake up Bini earlier than usual to begin the day. She was very vocal about how much she hated it. She swung her double doors open and was met with her two assistants. Rocky Snow, a former guard. And Chocolate Shadow was giving her neutral expressions that hinted at disaster.
"What happened?" Bini asked in a dull tone as if she didn't have a care in the world and bit into her breakfast that consisted of a cookie from last night's dessert with Hot Chocolate. Chocolate gulped and elbowed Rocky to speak. He ran a hoof through his mane but other than that acting like he was on duty for the guards again.
"There have been several books about Pre-Equestrian history that have gone missing from the "Box."
Bini gasped and Arone looked at them in confusion. He looked between the three ponies who stood in silence before speaking.
"OK, is anypony going to explain to me what the "Box" is?" He asked. Chocolate nodded and turned silty to show a box covered in a blanket with chains wrapped around it and a sturdy lock attaching it all together. Bini frantically brought it over to her and then galloped into her room. She started ripping her desk apart to find something as the rest of the group trotted in after her.
"The Box is where we put books that have been brought to the Library because of the dangerous information it contains. Or in Bini's case, she read one of the books and tossed the entire collection in the box mere hours after reading the very piece of information she wasn't supposed to!" Chocolate explained, directing the last part towards Bini and managed to dodge a flying sketchbook before Bini grabbed a scroll and a key.
She galloped over to the box and inserted the key. It opened after a little jiggling was required and she yanked off the chains, ripped off the blanket to reveal a large beaten up black metal box with a seal from the Royal Guards Army. She opened the box to fifteen old books. There was a spell place on the box to allow it to be bigger on the inside than the outside so there were fifteen books stashed away.
Bini pulled them all out and roughly dropped them to the floor before checking each title of the books and reviewing her list.
"Be careful!" Rocky Snow demanded as he started to pick them up with care but his efforts were in vain as Bini started to float the books around her and started rereading the titles and list.
"No, no, no, no, no! They are gone! GONE!" She yelled.
"W-What's gone?" Chocolate asked. Moving to look over her shoulder.
"Legends and truths of Equestria. Starswirl's Journal 11, and The Effects of Dark Corruption and More!" Bini said before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and for the first time in her life. She fainted. Flat out fainted.
"Those were...Oddly specific titles." Arone pointed out to ease the tension.
---End of Chapter Fifteen---
The Infamous Royal Wedding/Part Two
Celestia nodded to the guards' loyalty protecting the medical wing as she exited. She kept a smile plastered on her face which she was well aware was fake. But they didn't need to know that. She trotted away. Taking a moment to read the prescription the Doctor had written on a scroll for her to give to the pony at the front desk. She ripped up the page with unresolved anger and set it on fire with her magic until it was nothing but ash and threw it into the garbage kitchen as she passed it.
Anti-Depressants.
Celestia snarled with unresolved tension and anger. She hurried through the castle and entered her chambers with haste. Being thankful for once that no pony else but the guards were around to distract her. She cringed as the pain returned and moved to lay down on her bed.
"You hate who you are."
Celestia chuckled into her pillow.
"How long did it take you to figure that one out? A hundred years?" She mumbled.
"I have known for a while. I just haven't straight out used it because that would be too easy." The voice explained. "But as you know. I am impatient. Do something useful."
"You mean do something that would negatively impact the nation. I won't do it." She snapped. She heard the sharp intake of breath as the thing started to speak but Celestia interrupted them. "If you threaten me again by showing off my injuries then...Good luck. If you pull that trick again then ponies will get more suspicious of my injuries and try to find the cause. Eventually, they will find you. The cause."
"I am simply you. A voice in your head giving you advice. I am a part of you. I am you. By removing me, they are removing a part of yourself."
"I would rather lose part of myself than ruin my subjects' peace."
"Peace? You call waiting for an attack that may never come peace? The anxiety builds up every time they look up at the shield surrounding the city because of a threat that may or may not come. You call that peace?" The voice responded with tension. "If you become the Queen of Equestria, I won't deny that there won't be peace for a little bit but they will eventually see the light of the situation. That there is only meant to be one ruler in Equestria. Not two, not three. One. That ruler is you."
"Go away. I have a wedding to officiate."
"The threat is here."
Celestia's ears fell in dismay and fear.
"What do you mean?"
"The signs were everywhere. If you had been actually paying attention to the ponies around you instead of overworking yourself with the wedding and other useless work then you would know. Canterlot is already doomed. Poor Twilight. When was the last time you saw her anyway?"
Celestia's heart tightened and she shook her head. Trying to not let her imagination run away from her. She trotted towards her bookshelf and took out a book on officiating weddings. It had been many years since she had done one.
"She is fine. She is just...Distressed."
"She saw the signs. She is probably better than you at something you have been doing since before she was born. Since before her parents were born. Maybe she should be the new Queen of E-"
"Stay away from my student," Celestia growled out loud. The voice started laughing and laughing.
Bini watched as the bride walked down the aisle towards the groom. Her face had a sour expression as she adjusted her dress. The same one she wore for the Gala with Arone beside her wearing a simple bowtie. Glaring at the bride. They had spent days trying to uncover the threat to Canterlot. Bini thought that Changelings wouldn't be so stupid to just kidnap a Princess. But Arone knew better.
They had finally given up when they witnessed Twilight Sparkle lose her mind on Cadence and cause her to gallop away crying. Everypony turned against her. Even her own teacher. They had decided that if Canterlot got invaded it wasn't their felt. They should just let it happen.
"This is sooo boring." She hissed to anyone who would listen. A few ponies around her told her to shut up while her assistants nodded in agreement and Arone rolled his eyes.
"You said that like you want something bad to happen." He replied quietly. Bini raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah. Duh. I do."
"You know, most ponies don't want bad things to happen. That is why we were trying to prevent them all week and now you are standing here telling me, you actually want something to go wrong?"
"Look, we have been preparing and trying to figure out a threat that may or may not come all week. The hype this event has caused should at least present some chaos for me to watch and be entertained for!" Bini argued.
"Equestria wasn't made for you to have entertainment!" Arone barked back. Causing many more ponies to tell them to shut up before they finally stayed silent and watched the ceremony.
"Mares and gentle colts, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor. Their love-" Bini started to tune out the whole "Love is the best thing ever." Frankly, she didn't believe it. She shifted on her hoofs and fiddled with her scarf and glasses until one of her assistants jabbed her to pay attention. "Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you–"
"STOP!"
Everypony looked towards the front doors of the ballroom to a dishevelled Twilight Sparkle. Bini smiled brightly as the crowd muttered, reactivating the rumours that had circled the city for the past week about her behaviour.
"Finally! Something exciting."
"Bini. Do everypony a favour and shut up."
"Spoiled sport."
Cadence let out a loud groan and stamped her hoof in anger.
"Ugh! Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" She snapped out. Ponies around her looked back at her in shock at the rage behind her voice. Her face quickly went from rage to the "Bride is sad" expression. She let out a loud sob and brushed away fake tears from her eyes. "Why does she have to ruin my special day?"
Twilight moved aside slightly to let an alicorn through. It was a worse-looking Cadence. She glared in hatred at her counterpart as Twilight smiled triumphantly.
"Because it's not your special day! It's mine !" She shouted. The crowd gasped in shock and looked between the pair.
"What? But how did you escape my bridesmaids?" The other Cadence demanded.
"Simple. I used a wedding bouquet to distract them." She revealed. The other Cadence smirked as if she was actually impressed.
"Hmph. Clever. But you're still too late." She replied. Pointing over to Shining Armour, whose eyes had turned a strange green, and he clearly was under the dark influence.
"I-I don't understand. How can there be two of 'em?" Applejack asked her friends. Her voice ringing throughout the hall from the stunned silence. Cadence moved forward and pointed an accusing hoof at her counterpart.
"She's a changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!" She yelled. Bini immediately looked at Arone with wide eyes.
"Dear Celestia, I was right about you!" She hissed, mostly to herself. Arone glared at her with rage.
"I warned you this would happen!" He barked back. "Don't go blaming this on me!"
Bini stuck her tongue out at him like a filly and turned back when the first Cadence made green flames appear around her body and they burst upwards into a tower. The crowd and ponies nearby (Like the mane 6, Celestia, and best stallions) stumbled away to get away from the heat.
A large bug-like Alicorn emerged as they died down and landed to the ground with a sinister laugh.
"Right you are, Princess. And as the queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered. My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!" She announced. Arone lowered himself to the floor in an attempt to avoid being identified by his previous ruler.
Bini and the rest of the crowd looked towards the windows to see hundred of tiny bug ponies flying outside of the shield.
"They'll never get the chance! Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!" Cadence yelled.
"Oh, doubt that." She said with a chuckle and Cadence started galloping forward. The Queen activated her horn causing Cadence to come to an abrupt stop.
"Ah, ah, ah. Don't want to go back to the caves, now do you? Ever since I took your place, I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for you. Every moment he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now, my minions are chipping away at it." She said with a chuckle and ran her hoof under Shining Armour's chin. "He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now. And, I'm sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as captain of the Royal Guard. Soon, my changeling army will breakthrough. First, we take Canterlot. And then, all of Equestria!"
"No. You won't."
"No. You won't." Celestia stepped forward towards Chrysalis. She hadn't seen her since before Luna was banished. She wasn't surprised she had changed at all. The rough male voice in her mind was screaming at her to end it all now. Kill the Queen to make Equestria truly respect her. To fear her. What scared Celestia, is that she actually gave it serious consideration for a moment. But only for a moment. "You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self, I can protect my subjects from you!"
She flew into the air and used a beam of light towards Chrysalis. She watched Chrysalis fire a beam of green magic back and struggle against it. Screaming "No," in dismay as it came closer and closer to her. Celestia was winning. The voice told her to kill her anyway. No more Chrysalis. No more changelings. No more threat.
Then, in a moment. Everything changed. Before she was even able to register it, the green beam overtook her magic and locked it onto her horn. She gawked at it as the pain was sent through her body from the impact. Fear. She felt fear. She screamed as it burned her horn and parts of her fur and sent her flying to the floor. Knocking off her crown in the process.
"You complete idiot." The voice snapped as she hit the ground hard and she heard the faint sounds of screams through her ringing ears. "Fear is what makes ponies stay in line. If Chrysalis actually feared you, you wouldn't have been defeated. If Chrysalis feared you, this would have never happened! When will you learn to actually listen to me?"
She ignored it as she felt the hidden wounds start to surface. She watched as blood pooled onto the floor despite her shaky vision.
"This seems like a perfect time for a punishment...Don't you?"
If Celestia was going to kill anypony, it would be whoever is making this voice reality. She saw her faithful student run-up to her. Her face had concern, fear, anger, sadness and many other emotions reflected back at her.
"F-Find the elements. U-Use them to defeat the Queen!" She said with her last amount of strength before everything faded to black.
Arone and Bini were galloping through the castle. The only reason her assistants were following them is that they didn't know what to do with themselves. Then again, Bini and Arone didn't know why or how they began galloping through the castle or where the heck they were going.
"Bini, this is mad! They are going to figure it out!" He whispered through deep breaths, trying to keep up the pace with Bini as the group dodged guards and changelings that were literally nose diving from the sky.
"They will tire out eventually! They can't keep up forever!" She hissed back. Looking back briefly to see her assistants starting to lag behind. Bini stumbled for a moment and then continued down the corridor. It was clear that she couldn't last much longer either. Arone was a changeling, they have better stamina. Probably from nose-diving from the sky.
"You can't keep up this pace forever either." Arone pointed out. "If they figure out I am a changeling, so be it."
"Really? When the heck did you become so unconcerned about other ponies figuring out what you are?" She barked back a bit too loudly. Rocky pushed himself to gallop faster enough to catch up with the pair.
"What are you two whispering about?" he asked. Chocolate also increased her speed to listen in.
"Oh, Arone's a changeling."
Chocolate and Rocky came to an abrupt stop with Arone stopping simply to consider if Bini was out to ruin his life.
"BINI! What the buck?!" He yelled. Bini gave him a cocky smile and slowly joined up with the group.
"You didn't seem to mind ten seconds ago!" Bini pointed out.
"It wasn't your secret to reveal!" He argued. "I wanted it to come up naturally!"
"Things like the fact that you are a bug shift shaper don't just come up naturally. Come on, Arone." She said. "Play the game."
"Play the...What? What is "the game!?" Arone barked.
"The game of life. Keep up."
"Are you high?" He snapped. Placing a hoof on Bini's chest. Both were oblivious to the fact that her assistants were starting to talking among themselves on whether they should call a guard about Arone's deception.
"On what? That new drug called...Hay...Hay drug? What's it called again?" She muttered.
"Haymore drug." Arone snapped. "It causes idiots to act as more of an idiot."
"Calling others an idiot is my job and the drug does a lot more than how you just described it. It is literally my job!" Bini said. She pointed to Chocolate. "You. Chocolate. You are an..."
She paused and looked as Chocolate and Rocky finished their mini argument and looked back at the other pair.
"We are going to report you, Arone." Chocolate announced. Bini narrowed her eyes with a slight feeling of annoyance. Arone looked terrified. Bini stepped forward. Despite her small size. She was able to at least intimidate Chocolate a little, but only because Bini was her boss.
"No. No, you are not." Bini said with a growl. "Who are you going to tell? The guards?"
The group watched as three changelings tackled one of the guards and used their magic to suck the love out of him. He screamed in pain as it left his body until he was weaker than hay and was left for dead. The changeling turned to the group and a few more entered the corridor behind them. They started to slowly approach. Growling as they came closer and closer.
The group of ponies moved closer together. Two of them were on the verge of a panic attack.
"Or we could die right here..." Bini muttered as she powered up her horn.
"We aren't going to die if they take our love." Arone snapped. "Use your brain."
"You are turning into me. I won't lie. It is freaking me out a little bit." Bini replied with a snarky smirk. "Also. That guard is dead."
She pointed to the guard who was attacked. His chest wasn't moving up and down. His nostrils weren't moving.
"By the looks of it yes," Arone admitted. "But they have no reason to kill for food...Unless..."
"Unless WHAT!?" Rocky said as Bini shot one changeling away and another tackled Chocolate. Arone bucked one off of Chocolate and blasted another that was headed to Rocky.
"Unless they hate the pony enough and...Take too much love."
"That doesn't make any sense!" Chocolate barked as she punched another changeling and Rocky used his wing to knock two Changeling heads together.
"I don't have time to explain basic Changeling magic and biology." Arone snapped back and blasted a Changeling that bite into Bini, causing her to cry out in pain.
Suddenly the ground shook and a large explosion was heard. They heard screaming and watched as Changelings was flung away in the streets.
"Everyone get on Arone NOW!" Bini barked and jumped on Arone's back as a shockwave of pink energy got closer towards them. "Or you are FIRED!"
Chocolate and Rocky jumped on Arone and Bini used her magic to weigh him down. The blast hit them. Throwing the group into a wall and nearly making Arone fly through it but thanks to the extra weight kept him grounded. They all collapsed to the floor and groaned.
"T-Thanks everypony..." Arone muttered weakly as the rest of the group gave him a weak smile back.
---End of Chapter Seventeen---
Celestia stood in the wasteland of the very spot where the Crystal Empire once stood. She was wearing the armour she wore on the day that she fought Sombra. She took around frantically. Frantically trying to find any sign of life. Luna. She had to find Luna. She looked through the snowstorm.
No pony. There was supposed to be a war here. There was supposed to be an Empire here. Her sister has supposed to be here.
"You are a failure." The familiar rough voice called out. The voice that had been plaguing her. There was no empire because the empire had been gone for more than a thousand years. She looked towards the source and watched as a shadowy figure headed in her direction. "Fear is what keeps ponies in line. Only a true leader would understand...Would accept it."
"Show yourself."
The figure stepped into her view. She gasped and stumbled backwards in shock. She should have known. The voice. She should have recognized the voice as...as...
Sombra.
"What are you doing here?"
"I have come with good news. For the both of us." He said with a cocky smile. "I have returned. My presence in your mind will dwindle as I grow stronger in the Empire. When you wake up your guards will confirm this. I will be waiting for you."
"I know who you are." Celestia snapped. "You are a pony who was used as a test subject by a pony that you trusted. A pony who promised you that if you survived the test, you would become his personal student. But instead of surviving...You fused with the dark energy and became a monster. There is no way Starswirl would accept a monster as a student. He gave up on you so you had to take it out on Equestria. That is the true origin of dark magic. The Pony of shadows had dark energy. When it fused with unicorn magic it leaked from you to the rest of Equestria when you polluted the Empire. It went to every unicorn, earth pony, pegasi and Alicorn."
Sombra growled.
"I already know that you are aware of my history. Part of me was in your head remember."
"I know. I just thought a reality check was in order. You have continually tried to make sure that I lead the way you want me to. You have tried to make me like you. Unlike you, I am not a monster."
Sombra chuckled as he got closer and moved his mouth near her ear.
"Everyone is a monster. Even before I was born. Even before the Pony of Shadows existed."
Sombra moved away with a toothy smile showing off his sharp teeth as the world around them started to fade and the dark abyss started to grow. Sombra watched as he started to fade away and gave her a sweet smile.
"How's Dizzy?" He said. Using a mocking tone at the last word.
"Shut up."
"I will be waiting for you outside the Empire. You know how to find me."
Celestia woke up. Breathing heavily. Her first thought was how relieved she was that she didn't allow Luna to check on her dreams. Her second thought was a wave of panic at the thought that she couldn't feel the presence. Sombra's presence. She had figured out the problem too late.
She got out of her tangled sheets and used her wing to wipe away sweat from her brow. She climbed out of bed and grabbed her brush with her magic. Carefully brushing through the tangles of her mane, fixing it into the soft flowing magical mane.
She heard a soft knock on her door and she used her magic to open it. Allowing Arone to trot in with a concerned expression and a scroll.
"I...I have some bad news." Arone said. He opened his mouth to speak again but Celestia held up her hoof to silence him.
"I know. King Sombra has returned with an entire Empire behind him." She muttered with disappointment. Arone looked at the scroll, then back at Celestia.
"H-How did y--you-"
"I saw it in a dream."
Celestia left without another word or even an explanation. Arone was left alone in her chambers. Looking back at the military report and then to the closed-door where Celestia left.
"OK, then."
(A few hours later)
Celestia stood beside King Sombra. Hidden in the fields of the Crystal Empire, hidden by the shroud of Sombra's magic shielding them from any peeking eyes.
"Rule with me." He stated. Celestia scoffed and flared up her horn to warm herself. Casting a look at her personal assistant on the other side of her. Arone shook his head against the idea.
"I would rather die." She simply stated with a cold tone. "I would rather die."
Then why did you use dark magic?" He asked with an arrogant glare towards her. She gritted her teeth and flipped open her spellbook that Sombra had given her before Twilight had shown up. She knew coming here was a mistake. A horrible mistake that she couldn't find herself regretting the decision.
"I used them because I had to. Because I will admit I needed the pain and your annoying voice to get out of my every living moment." She snapped back. "Why not ask Luna. Even Twilight."
"You have more power than both of them combined. Besides, I like you more." He grinned. Celestia looked away being clearly uncomfortable. She put the book back in her satchel and glared at him.
"So I am just a pawn?" She asked.
"No. No. No. How does..." He paused and looked Celestia over. "Queen Celestia sound?"
"Like I would become a dictator. I am not that kind of a ruler, Sombra."
"Of course not." He insisted. "But ponies change."
"How stupid do you think I am? I love my ponies and I won't allow you to hurt them. Especially the elements. They will find the heart." She spat back with pure hate. Sombra stepped towards her but her loyal assistant jumped between them. Ready to defend his ruler. Flaring up his horn with green magic.
"Don't you dare." The stallion growled. Sombra laughed and stepped back.
"We will see who wins this time." Sombra challenged and disappeared in a haze of smoke. Celestia cursed to herself as her assistant joined her atop the snowy hill. She wrapped a wing around him as he started to shiver from the bitter cold.
"W-What do we do now?" He asked through chattering teeth. She sat down and rose a shield to hid them and provide warmth for her friend. The Changeling.
"We wait."
Later in the day, she stepped up the main steps of the tower in the crystal castle, followed by her assistant who was frantically readings over the book of spells he gave her.
"Are you sure no pony followed us?" Celestia hissed as they carefully made their way up the steps.
"Yes, I am sure they would have made their presence known! Meeting one of the Princess's of Equestria is a wonderful honour, you know." He explained as he continued to scan the book. "Are you sure I can pull this off?"
"Yes. Yes. Let's review the plan." She suggested. "Cadence and Shining Armour are...unavailable. They are exhausted and have fallen asleep. This is why I am casting the spell that Cadence had performed to protect the Empire. I told you, I told Twilight and the others only Cadence could perform the spell for a good reason. Anyway, we put Twilight to sleep when we reach the top. Grab the heart and I disguise myself as Cadence, you as Shining Armour. The moment this is all done we put the false memories of returning the heart across the empire like we discussed and this is all over. Once and for all."
"What if he...Does the spell again?" The Assistant asked hesitantly.
"Making the Empire vanish again? That won't happen." She assured him.
"That isn't what I meant. I am talking about consciousness transferral dark magic spell." He said. Celestia stopped in her tracks and looked back at her Assistant in confusion.
"Ho-How did you-?" She stammered, moving her hoof nervously.
"You talk to yourself. It is pretty obvious you are arguing with somepony that no pony else can see. You also talk into your sleep. Last night I had to guide Philomena back to your room and I heard you...Talking to Sombra. At first, I thought you were simply jumping to a conclusion when I walked in and handed you my report. It is clear now that you weren't. The injuries have always existed. You were good at hiding them. Until they became too much. I had read a book about magic a few months ago and stumbled across the spell. By accident I assure you."
"I suppose, I wasn't doing a very good job at hiding my issue was I?" She concluded, blushing in embarrassment. Arone placed a comforting hoof on her own with a smile.
"It will be OK, Princess. He might...be too arrogant to think he needs to do it again.
A few minutes later, they slowly crept up the final stairs and into the very top of the crystal castle where the heart was. Only it was surrounded by familiar black stones protruded out of the floor and the heart is hidden in the middle with Twilight and Spike trapped inside.
They peaked through the spaces and saw Twilight sitting in defeat with Spike, trying to come up with a plan. Occasionally looking up to the heart. Then Twilight heard the shifting of hoofs and snapped her head up to see Princess Celestia and her assistant.
"Princess!" They exclaimed and scrambled up. Twilight looked at her as if she was almost offended at her presence before she spoke. "What are you doing here?"
"I am on a mission. Don't worry Twilight. What I am about to do won't affect your...test." She said. Twilight opened her mouth to protest but was silenced by a raising of Celestia's hoof. "You won't remember this anyway. Trust me."
Twilight and Spike shared a confused glance before Celestia guided The changeling out as she cast a dark spell to carefully hover it over the spikes and over to the couple. Suddenly a dark black night swirled around them and Sombra appeared in armour with a cloak and a sickle. The weapon he used against her centuries ago.
Twilight and Spike gasped as Celestia and the Assistant readied themselves for a fight. She hovered the heart away from Sombra to behind her.
"We are returning the heart." Arone snapped. Sombra shook her head and stepped forward.
"You still have a chance, Celestia. To become the Queen." He pressured. "You are more skilled in the arts of dark magic than you know."
"Don't patter on with petty promises of a throne destined to fail." She sneered. He gave her a soft look and lifted a hoof against her chin.
"You don't want to suffer the way you have for centuries again do you?" He threatened with the kindest voice she ever heard spoke from his lips. "I did hate torturing you like that."
"Then why did you nearly push me over the edge a million times with your constant insults. The stabbing pain of Tartarus I had to endure will be nothing compared to what I will do when I am finished with you." She yelled in rage. She swatted his hoof away with disgust. Twilight could barely believe what she was hearing. Her horn flared up, preparing to blast him with the power of the sun when Arone called out in pain.
She turned to see her assistant being dragged into the ground by dark vines. He desperately fought them against his magic. Celestia quickly lifted him out of the roots before being slammed into the nearest pillar. She groaned in pain as she heard the clatter of the heart hitting the floor. Her vision cleared and she watched as Sombra was laughing as he lifted the heart.
"NO!" She cried out. She stumbled against the veins and managed to break free. Her Assistant joined her as he rushed him. He changed into a double of Celestia, throwing Sombra completely off. He stumbled back as Arone tackled Sombra. Celestia grabbed the heart and scrambled towards the edge, leading to the outside.
She unfurled her wings and took up into the sky, she felt dark roots reaching out and wrapping themselves around her body. She screamed as they pulsated and twisted her magic into nothing more than a spark. Causing the heart to fall from her grasp as she felt an evil presence entered her mind once again.
"You. Will. Be. The. Crystal. Queen."
She watched as her assistant flew past her, diving for the heart, knowing that if it hit the ground it would surely shatter. He transformed into Cadence and swooped down to catch it with his magic. Returning the heart to its rightful place. A brilliant light filled the area, blinding every pony.
The roots disintegrated, her wings were bents and probably broken as she fell from the sky. No. The lie was more important. She activated her horn and performed the memory spell, implanting the false memory, making everypony believe that Twilight was trapped and ordered Spike to get the heart. He fell off the landing and caught the heart as Sombra approached him. Cadence swopped them out of the sky and rescued the Empire. The lie was the truth. The truth was the lie.
Did she feel guilty? Oh yes. Extremely so. But that would have to be dealt with at a different time. For now, she would rest in oblivion. Knowing that she wouldn't feel peace like this for centuries to come if Sombra had invaded her mind. She felt his presence in the back of her mind. Too weak to do anything but growing.
Yes. She would enjoy this as she watched the hard crystal streets shinning come closer and closer, she faded into oblivion just as a deafening crack was heard across the city of the broken Sun Princess hitting the cold streets.
---End of Chapter Eighteen---
"What do you mean she simply fell!?" Luna barked at Arone as they stood in the medical wing's waiting room. Arone scoffed and began pacing in a circle again.
"Do you not believe me? I thought you trusted me."
"I trusted you when my sister's life wasn't at stake and she didn't have broken wings and injuries that would suggest she was in a battle. You also had injuries that would suggest you were in a battle so start talking!" Luna barked. Pointing to the bandages on Arone's hoof and stomach wrapped around his midsection.
"Am I being interrogated?" He snapped. Bini let out a chuckle in the corner as she flipped through her book. Arone looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "Something funny?"
"This conversation is funny." Bini replied with a smile. Luna and Arone shared a confused look before looking back at Bini.
"Funny?" Luna repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah." Bini said as she jumped off her chair. "It doesn't matter how she got hurt. It matters if she will be healed or not."
"It matters!" Luna barked in her Royal Canterlot Voice. "My sister's life is in danger."
Bini and Arone stayed silent, unsure of how to respond when a nurse exited Celestia's room and gestured them inside.
Celestia's eyes fluttered open. She noticed that her body felt like it was being ripped apart. She saw her sister looking down at her with a concerned expression with Arone and Bini. She groaned as the pricing white light of the room hurt her eyes. Luna requested a nurse turn down the light which the nurse followed to the letter. Luna looked back at Celestia.
"Sister? Are you alright?" She asked softly. Celestia attempted to move but cried out in pain before relaxing back against the pillow. "Sister, what happened? Why were you in the Crystal Empire?"
"Does any pony else know I was there?" Celestia asked with a raspy voice.
"No. I did a memory wipe. We don't need an international incident." Luna said with a nod of her head. "Celestia...Why? Why were you there? What happened to you?"
Celestia refused to respond to her sister. Wincing as the dark presence of Sombra returned. His voice cutting through all her rational thoughts.
"You can't lie to her forever, little Alicorn." He snarled. Celestia smiled weakly up to her sister as her Assistant handed her a scroll from Twilight Sparkle. Twilight's letter was explaining how she defeated the evil King with the help of her friends and the nation of the Crystal Empire.
Only Celestia, Sombra and her Assistant knew what really happened. Luna, of course, was being more and more agitated with her older sister. She wanted to know how a powerful Alicorn like her would be found, with deep injures, broken wings, falling from the sky and slamming onto the ground during an event where the heart was returned. Why was she in the Empire? Why was her Assistant carrying spell books for advanced magic? For dark magic?
"You almost died. Tia." Luna continued. "I almost lost you. The least I deserve is an explanation."
"Luna. I can not tell you. It was a secret mission." Celestia argued and let out a strangled cough.
"Do you not trust me?" Luna whimpered. "I thought-"
"Luna, don't go there," Celestia ordered her sharply. "I trust you of course. It is just...something private."
"Princess." A small voice cut in between the pair. A small nurse looked up with them. "I...um...have to fill out an incident report and I need an explanation of what happened."
Celestia and her assistant shared a scared look. No. They can never know. Celestia had groaned as she got up from the bed against the protests of those around her. She gritted her teeth as she flexed her good wing, The other one was wrapped in bandages that connected to the ones around her stomach.
"I...um...Was checking in on the situation and King Sombra found me." She lied...Sort of. The nurse nodded and moved away to write on the incident forms. Luna frowned at her, knowing that she wasn't telling the complete truth. She limped out of the medical wing of the castle, flanked by guards to help her in case she fell in her weakened state.
She managed to get back to her Chambers without incident and thanked the guards and sent them off as she entered her Chambers. She immediately sank into her pile of pillows in the middle of her room where she would usually get comfy and work on reports. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pain she felt from not just her injures but from Sombra taking control of her mind once again.
She heard her door slowly creak open and reveal her loyal Assistant. She smiled at him and didn't make the effort to move as he moved to sit beside her and brought down his disguise, turning back into a regular changeling.
"Are you feeling alright?" He asked. She rolled her eyes in irritation. It was obvious, wasn't it? Obviously, she was in pain. She is always in pain.
"What do you think?" She mumbled and closed her eyes and deeply sighed.
"I suppose that was kind of an obvious question." He said with a nervous laugh. "So, I was thinking we could implement some more procedures to protect the castle."
"What do you suggest?" She asked.
"Well, maybe some magical spell that would reveal a ponies true self?" He said.
"Well, then that would just make you be revealed as a changeling." Celestia retorted. "I think we know how that will end."
"Right. Well..."
"Arone," Celestia called out. "Elements will protect us. Do not worry."
"They didn't protect you from Sombra. I can tell he is in your mind." He revealed.
"It is my own felt." She snapped harshly. "No pony to blame but myself."
She unsteadily got up on her hoofs and limped over to her private library in her Chambers. Taking out a few dark spell books and placing them in front of her Assistant. Books that she had collected from the Library over the past years and months.
"There is a way to end this. I believe it is my last option."
Arone tilted his head slightly in confusion.
"And that is?"
"I have to kill Sombra."
There was an uncomfortable silence that fell over the room as Celestia flipped through pages on dark spells for medical magic. She knew Sombra was listening. She knew he knew what her plan was.
"I don't understand. You have always told everypony that killing is bad. Why do you have to kill Sombra? He is banished. How would you even-"
"Sometimes ponies must do awful things for the sake of freedom. If I don't do this. I am going to lose the fight. I will turn into the wicked thing he wants me to be and drive Equestria to ruin. I don't want that to happen. Sombra was banished deep within the Crystal Empire. The Icy caverns to the North. No pony has ever been able to access it because of the storm surrounding the area. It would kill anypony in seconds at the temperature. But I am an Alicorn."
Celestia continued to read through the book as Arone got up and slowly trotted towards her.
"There must be another way..."
"There is nothing else I can do!" Celestia snapped with sudden rage and slammed the book shut. "Once my injuries heal, I will be leaving. Do not tell anypony of this. Am I clear?"
"Of course, Princess."
"Sh-She is insane! She just goes and announces that she is about to kill somepony and acts like it's fine! It's not fine!" Arone was almost to the point of yelling as Bini rolled her eyes and continued to reshelve books in the dead of night. Her assistants had been long gone as their shift had ended hours ago.
"I am assuming she also told you not to tell anypony." Bini said in a calm manner. "Why are you telling me? This isn't my problem."
"Damn, you are selfish," Arone muttered. Bini chuckled as she put back a few more books.
"And yet you still talk to me. Surprising."
"Focus, Filters." Arone snapped back. "We need to get Discord involved."
"Why? What do you mean by "We?" Bini replied with a raised eyebrow as she moved the cart of books along.
"They like each other. Maybe-"
"Maybe they will fall in love again and have little experiments running around to distract Celestia from her master plan?" Bini finished. Arone shrugged and started to help her organize.
"I have heard worse ideas."
Bini started laughing and leaned against the cart for support. She briefly looked outside as the night highlighted the lightning strike across the sky and rain started to pour down, thanks to the workers of the Cloudsdale Weather Factory.
"Come on." She said with a toothy smile towards Arone and pointed outside. "We are going outside."
"N-Now?" Arone said. Following her gaze to the window and watching the rain pouring down. "There is a storm."
"Exactly. Just like how showers help us think. Storms are like showers. Hurry up." Bini ordered as she removed her scarf and headed towards the corridor. Arone groaned and followed her into the corridor. They walked in silence and reached the nearest exit.
Bini guided him into the castle garden and they hopped onto one of the nearest benches. Quickly getting soaked as they watched the clouds move across the sky. Blocking out the stars and the moon but providing occasional light and noise across the area.
Arone sighed and shook his head. Watching the rain drip from his mane and hit the puddle below them.
"Any good ideas come up yet?" Bini asked.
"The best I got is that we go ask Discord for help."
"How is the newly reformed Discord going to help us? He could change at any moment."
"But yet, he hasn't. He won't do anything to risk her life because, newsflash, he likes her. She will listen to him because she likes him. It was obvious in the way they were watching each other in her medical room. He will give her advice that most likely won't get her killed. If she attempts to kill Sombra, she will die."
"Why will she die? Sombra isn't as powerful as Celestia." Bini asked.
"He isn't as powerful but dark magic has been corrupting her mind. He is in her head and I have no doubt that he will figure out a way to use it against her. Conclusion. She will die."
"OK. I am going to make the active decision to pretend I am not surprised by her being corrupted, as you put it. And then remind you that Sombra isn't an Alicorn. He is a-"
"He is a unicorn. I know. He is also a science experiment gone wrong." Arone barked. They both jumped a little at the sound of thunder and then settled back down on the bench. Bini looked at him in suspicion.
"Did you read Experiment 088?"
"No. I just hear things. What is experiment 088?" Arone asked.
"Nothing. It doesn't matter." Bini said. Quickly shutting down the conversation. "Next thing we do is going to Ponyville."
"No. The next thing we do is decided if we are friends or not." Arone replied. He moved his hoof into the puddle to watch as the water moved across the ground.
"Why?"
"I want to be your friend again. Do you want to be mine?"
"As long as you don't try and suck out my...Love. Sweet Celestia, that is cringy. Then yeah. We can be friends again."
"Good!" Arone chirped with a bright smile. He used his magic to push her off the bench and caused her to faceplant on the ground. "Then I can do that without-"
He felt himself being lifted up in a blue arura, then carried, despite his protests to a spot with a big puddle of mud. Then dropped in it without hesitation. He was soon covered in mud and frantically spitting some out when a small unicorn with crooked glasses and being soaked to the bone approached him.
"Karma, pal. We leave for Ponyville tomorrow morning on the first train out. Fluttershy can tell us how to talk to Discord. See ya then!"
---End of Chapter Nineteen.---
Bini guzzled down a paper cup of Hot Chocolate as she stood waiting in the Ponyville train station. She watched as Arone grabbed their suitcases from the back of the train and hurried over to her. She tossed the empty cup into the nearest trash can and pulled out a map of Ponyville from her bag that she acquired from reading a magazine about famous ponies and their lives. It just happened that the mane 6 was featured as the cover page.
"What I wouldn't give to be a pegasus right now. Maybe I chose the wrong race..." Arone commented quietly as he watched families, couples and single ponies trotting around the station. Boarding trains, leaving trains or simply there to wait for something. Bini scoffed as she twisted the map to get a better sense of direction with her eyes always ending up at a small cottage on the edge of the map.
"You love being a unicorn." Bini reminded him as she folded the map back up and stuffed it in her bag. She activated her horn and used her light blue magic to pull her bag along with her as they stepped off the train platform and headed towards downtown Ponyville. "Why would anypony want to live in a small town like this?"
"Well, since you thrive on danger. I thought this would be a perfect place for you. Reports say that this place is being attacked every other week. You would not believe the number of high-level incident reports I have had to give to Princess Celestia because of this town." Arone explained as they occasionally waved to passing ponies with the best smile they could muster.
"That doesn't mean I want to live in a town that doesn't have a good movie theatre! I heard they have the worst one in Equestria. It was in the news! It was about three fillies who were having a visit from one of their cousins from Manhatten. They randomly broke into a song. Like way too many ponies do, and start hallucinating at the movie theatre. Completely ruining everyone's experience. Then they were singing all over town at random points of the next week like they were in a montage. It was a weird story. Must have been a slow news day to make it all the way to Canterlot."
"That sounds made up." Arone replied with a raised eyebrow.
"No, no, no. It is really true. I swear! There must be a newspaper building around here. They must have records from it." Bini insisted.
"Focus, Filters. We are only here for one thing. A very important thing." Arone reminded her with a nudge to her shoulder. Bini nodded and they continued to walk in silence. Occasionally breaking into a conversation at a strange thing they saw here and there until they reached a Cottage with shrubbery and birdhouses, complete with a small pond.
"I think we are here." Bini announced as they trotted up the stone path and reached a wooden door.
"I sure hope she is here." Arone commented as he reached forward and knocked three times on the door. They heard rustling and the sounds of a few animals. Followed by a soft voice reassuring them. They heard the sound of a lock being unhinged and then the door opened a little to reveal a shy yellow pegasus with a white, angry and annoyed-looking bunny sitting on her back.
"H-Hello?" Fluttershy stammered. Seeming to become more and more anxious the longer she had to look at the strange pair. Arone stepped forward, signalling to Bini that she shouldn't talk in case she says something stupid. He gestured to himself then Bini as he introduced themselves.
"Hello, Ms. Fluttershy. I am Arone. The personal Assistant to Princess Celestia and this is Bini Filters. The head Librarian to the Royal Canterlot Library and the Archive within. We were wondering if you would be able to help us find...Your friend Discord."
Fluttershy blinked. Her face showing signs of confusion and worry as she opened up the door further with a little more confidence.
"Oh-Oh no. Has D-Discord done something at Canterlot again? I am s-so s-sorry! He is just playing pranks!" She quickly defended. Bini couldn't help but wonder what Discord had done to provoke such a reaction from the shy pony. She wasn't sure she wanted to figure out either. "Please, don't arrest him! He was just trying to have fun!"
"Ms. Fluttershy, I assure you Discord is not in trouble! We would just like to talk to him about a matter of importance about the Princess." Arone said as Fluttershy's breathing increased as she became close to the verge of panic when she considered hundreds of pranks that Discord could have pulled that would have ended with two important ponies from Canterlot at her doorstep. "I was hoping you would know how to contact him."
Fluttershy mutely nodded and closed the door for a moment. There was a clashing of pots and pans. Bini and Arone were only left to speculate what was going on when they heard Fluttershy shriek in fear inside her cottage. Bini and Arone gave alarmed looks and she knocked on the door more aggressively than she would have liked.
"Um, Ms. Fluttershy? Are you alright?"
The door opened to show a dishevelled pegasus and a grinning draconequus behind her. Bini rolled her eyes as Arone gave him unimpressed look. Discord snapped his fingers and they reappeared inside Fluttershy's cottage that was the image of chaos. Animals and furniture were floating everywhere. Some of her household items were dancing around and singing. Her carpet floor had the image of Discord's face on it.
Bini and Arone yelped in alarm as they tried to lower themselves and Discord watched with amusement as he shoved popcorn in his face. Fluttershy was too busy trying to calm down her animals to notice their distress.
"Hey! Discord! Get us down right now or I sw-"
Discord booped Bini's nose which just got her thoughts of wanting to back out of this plan worse.
"Or else what?" He asked with a sweet tone. Then broke into a laugh and spilled his popcorn. "I am the lord of Chaos! A bellow average unicorn can't do anything to stop me."
"YOU J-"
Arone managed to shove a hoof into Bini's mouth with a great amount of effort because of their current situation.
"We are sorry." Arone started. Before shooting a glare at Bini to keep her mouth shut. Then slowly removed his hoof and looked back at Discord. "We are actually here on important business on behalf of Princess Celestia."
Discord snapped his fingers and made a magnifying glass appear. He used it to carefully examine the two with his usual over-dramatic behaviour with the occasional mutter and slight insult at the pair.
"Tia doesn't know you are here." He concluded. Then broke into a smile and placed everything back down. But that doesn't mean he placed Bini and Arone back down. He simply watched them drop and fall on each other as they hit the floor. Then laughed as they struggled to get off each other. "That means..."
"That means it's top secret." Bini snapped and looked towards Fluttershy. "I am sorry Ms. Fluttershy but you can't hear this."
Fluttershy nodded with a sweet smile and pointed towards the kitchen.
"I-I will be in the kitchen, making some tea." She said. "Anypony want some?"
"Yes, please." Bini and Arone chirped. Fluttershy nodded and entered the kitchen with a few animals. Bini and Arone hopped on the couch to get a better look at Discord, who was floating in the air, eating a pink cloud.
"We think that...The Princess is losing her sanity." Arone reveal. Discord stayed silent. Waiting for the part where they reveal this was a practical joke. It didn't come. Not after five minutes of extremely awkward silence that was only broken when Fluttershy delivered the tea and then trotted upstairs for her other chores. "Wait, you are being serious."
"Dear Equestria, Yes! Of course! We don't make crazy accusations like that unless we have something to back it up." Bini replied with a dramatic hoof movement.
"Like?"
"Like the fact she wants to kill King Sombra and is going to carry out that action within the next two weeks when her injuries are healed thanks to the skilled Doctors in Canterlot and her own magical skill, not to mention her Alicorn abilities," Arone explained.
"That doesn't sound unreasonable. He is hurting Tia. I would kill him too if I knew where he was banished."
"You're Discord. You can teleport anywhere..." Arone pointed out. Then he gasped and shook Bini. "He doesn't want to kill Sombra! HE IS ACTUALLY GOOD!"
"G-Get T-T-The H-AY A-Away F-From ME!" Bini said and pushed Arone away violently. "Geez. Get control of yourself. I am starting to believe that killing Sombra would actually do this country some good!"
"No, you don't! Remember Celestia is-"
They stopped when they heard knocking on the door. Bini hesitantly moved forward when the knocking became more insistent and looked through the window to see who it was. She looked back at them with wide eyes.
"It's the Royal Guard."
The knocking continued once more.
"What if they are here for Fluttershy?"
"Miss. Filters? Mr. Arone?" A guard called out on the other side of the door. "Are you here?"
Bini and Arone's brains froze for a moment as they processed what the guard said.
"How does he know we are here?!" Arone snapped. Bini shrugged.
"I don't know! I didn't tell anyone other than my assistants where I was going. I certainly didn't tell them I was going to a specific place of course. How did they-?"
The knocking continued with a tone of anger behind it.
"Miss. Filters! Mr. Arone. We can hear you. You need to return to Canterlot at once!"
Bini almost ripped the door open and glared at the guard.
"Why? We are kind of busy here. Offical business and such." Bini said. Gesturing to Discord and Arone, then to Fluttershy as she trotted back down the stairs at the commotion. "See?"
"We need to return you two to Canterlot Castle. Everypony in the staff is being questioned in Princess Celestia's disappearance." The guard revealed. Bini and Arone stared back with neutral expressions. Fluttershy whimpered and crawled into a little ball as she began to panic from the news. The only reason Discord wasn't in fury is because he was too busy trying to calm Fluttershy down.
He snapped his fingers and Arone, Bini and the guards standing at the door reappeared in the frantic streets of Canterlot. Ponies were screaming and running around, trying to find their family and friends to make sure they were safe. Crazy lunatics were hanging up posters and yelling about how Celestia's sudden disappearance was the sign that Equestria was about to fall. Foals and filly were crying as the confusion made them feel awful. In the middle of it stood two ponies.
The guards had rushed off the prevent a store from being lotted and Arone and Bini watched the chaos from the middle of the street. Being careful to jump out of any ponies' way as it didn't seem that being nice matter anymore. It was everypony for themselves. Discord snapped between the pair and took a moment to himself to examine the chaos.
"Under normal circumstances, I would be disappointed it wasn't...Bigger."
"Were you able to find Celestia with your magic? Is that why you are here?" Arone asked. Purposely ignore Discord's comment. Discord slowly shook his head with concern written on his face.
"According to my magic...She doesn't exist. I can't find her magical location anywhere."
"It has only been five seconds since-" Bini barked but was silenced by Discord's voice.
"When you can bend the very fabric of reality, five seconds isn't as short as it seems. I can do everything in five seconds. I just need to temporarily stop time. I do it on very rare occasions to prevent...Complications. It doesn't change the fact that no matter how many times I rechecked Equestria, I can't find her. She is somehow blocking her magical signature."
The panicked ponies galloping around started to noticed Discord and immediately started demanding he gives the Princess back. With a snap of his fingers, he was gone once again. Leaving more ponies to assume that the harsh exit meant he was guilty. If Canterlot hadn't derailed at that point, it was now.
---End of Chapter Twenty---
Fluttershy flew through the air as fast as she could. Discord had left her house mere seconds after he teleported the visitors. The news of Princess Celestia's disappearance hadn't hit anywhere except Canterlot. But it was going to hit Ponyville quicker than anypony but Fluttershy knew.
Rainbow Dash was chillaxing on a cloud when a yellow pegasus passed her. Her expression told her she was on a mission. Rainbow Dash tossed off her sunglasses and flew after her friend.
"Fluttershy? Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash called out as she flew alongside her friend. "What is going on that had got you so concerned?"
"P-Princess C-Celestia is missing!" She said in a panicked soft voice. Rainbow Dash watched the citizens of Ponyville as they passed overhead.
"W-What do you mean she is missing? As in missing from Canterlot or-"
"I don't k-Know! They just said she was missing! I-I need to see Twilight. She needs to send a letter to the Princess." Fluttershy stammered as the Golden Oaks Library came into the distance. Rainbow Dash tried to make sense of the situation as they both gracefully landed and Rainbow Dash knocked on Twilight's door, mid-morning.
A dishevelled Twilight Sparkle and her assistant Spike, who was wearing an apron for cooking, opened the door. She was using her magic to hold up some books and scrolls in the background.
"Good morning, girls!" She said with a tired smile and gestured them to come in. Spike said his greetings and ran back into the kitchen to prevent their breakfast from burning and Twilight returned to the table with the statue of a pony head in the middle of the Library where she put her supplies down. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Hey, Twi. Do you know where Princess Celestia is?" Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight raised an eyebrow towards the pair as Fluttershy began playing with her mane in an attempt to focus on something else.
"In Canterlot, I assume. Is there a reason you want to speak with her?" Twilight asked as she levitated a new scroll and quill beside her and dipped the quill into some ink.
"I...Um...I need some lessons!" Rainbow Dash blurted out. "She had been alive longer than anypony. She must know some great flying tricks!"
Twilight put down the quill and scroll. Then slowly approached her friends. Rainbow Dash was sweating and Fluttershy couldn't look her in the eyes. Something was very wrong.
"OK. Something is going on here. What is it?"
Luna galloped through the castle. Being careful to avoid any windows because the news reporters were getting bolder and bolder. There was a reporter or two at almost every window. Yelling through the glass for a statement. She managed to find the entrance of the underground dungeon where they kept dangerous ponies hundreds of years ago.
She opened the door and walked down stone stairs, followed by three bat pony guards for protection. She nodded to a guard who stood at the began of the hallway of cells.
"Which cells is the interrogation being held?"
"Cell 56, 55, and 54. Princess." The guard replied and pointed down the hall. Luna gave her thanks and walked down the dim wall constructed with concrete. She reached cells 56 and 55. She looked into both to see each one having a guard interrogate two maids from separate parts of the castle. She moved to cell 54 to see Bini Filters and an extra pony, who she recognized as Arone being interrogated by a guard.
Luna entered the cell and gestured for her guards to stay in the hall.
Everypony in the room looked over to her and she told them to continue. The unicorn guard, who wasn't a bat pony, made the friends' attention focus on him again. He leaned forward on the wooden table, separating the pair from the guard with a scowl.
"Why were you in Ponyville?"
Bini visibly gulped and Arone wiped the sweat from his brow. Luna inhaled the musty smell of the air and waited for their response.
"W-Well, you see. I needed new books for the Canterlot Library and...I brought Arone with me because he is my friend. There really isn't any reason for us to be here, so can we go?" Bini replied. The guard rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
"You are very bad at lying, Miss. Filters."
Arone muttered something under his breath and Bini glared at him. She looked back at the guard. Clearly trying not to look at Luna.
"I am telling the truth! I am not kidding!" Bini said. Slamming her hoof on the table for dramatic effect. The guard looked down at the scrolls in front of him then back at the pair.
"Mr. Arone. You were supposed to be on duty when witnesses say they saw you and Miss. Filters got on the train to Ponyville. Why were you going to Ponyville when you were still on duty?" The guard asked.
"I spoke to Princess Celestia before I left. She gave me permission to leave for Ponyville!" Arone snapped. The guard wrote down a few more notes.
"What was your conversation with the Princess about?"
"Um, it was mostly normal. She gave me a list of duties that I had to accomplish and then I told her I had some business with Bini in Ponyville. She nodded and said for me to hurry along before I missed the train." Arone explained. The guard raised an eyebrow as he wrote down more information.
"Did she seem strange before she left?"
"Well...Yeah. Sorta. She seemed pretty happy when I told her I was going to Ponyville. I assumed it was because her student, Twilight Sparkle lives there. She practically pushed me out of her room as she gave me permission to leave. Normally she asks more questions or something. She seemed like she was in a rush for something." Arone replied. Then he rested a hoof on his chin in thought. "I didn't even get her schedule now that I think about it."
"Her schedule?" The guard repeated. Arone nodded.
"The Princess usually gives me her schedule in case I need to find her for work or emergencies," Arone explained. "It usually takes us half an hour to go over it. It is pretty long but I forgot about it because I was worried about making it to the train on time."
"Alright. I am going to ask again. Why were you in Ponyville?"
"As Bini told you, we were trying to find rare books for the Canterlot Library." Arone said with a scoff. The guard didn't believe them of course.
"Guard," Luna called out. "I will take over from here."
The guard hesitated but decided he liked his job and nodded. He swiftly left the cell. Luna moved to where the guard previously sat and looked over his notes. She looked back up and the pair with a raised eyebrow and an unconvinced scowl.
"Based upon these notes and what I have heard, you two are hiding something." Luna stated. Arone and Bini looked at each other. "Something that involves my sister. Do you know why she is missing?"
"Um...No," Arone said slowly.
Luna slammed her hoofs on the table, making the friends jump and look up at her with big eyes.
"Tell me what happened last night." She growled.
"L-Last night? Why?" Bini asked.
"Witness say Arone came out of Celestia's room with very suspicious behaviour. He went to you in the Library and then you two went to sit in the Royal Garden during a storm. Almost like you didn't want to be heard. Dreams can reveal what we try to hide the most."
"And how exactly are you going to make us fall asleep? We can easily take medication to make us stay up!" Bini said. Getting jabbed by Arone to keep her mouth shut. Luna smirked and activated her horn.
"One of the advantages of being the Night Princess. I can make ponies fall asleep."
"Oh no." Arone muttered as their eyes dropped and they collapsed against the table. Falling into dreamland.
Luna entered the dream realm and brought Bini's dream closer. She watched from the buddle as she started to dream, thanks to Luna's magic, about her life. Luna clung to the dream and entered it. She appeared in the streets of Canterlot. It was nighttime. The signature of Nightmare Moon was high in the sky as a small filly with a red scarf and no cutie mark trotted down the street. She was shivering.
She was in a rundown part of Canterlot. Luna had only heard of that area in old newspaper articles. It was a rundown part of Canterlot until two years before she returned. Celestia made sure that most of the city's funds went to that rundown area to make it thrive again. It worked. It has worked so far.
The young filly, whose features resembled Bini Filters, looked down the street behind her to a rundown house. Barly being held together. She smirked and used her weak magic to tightened the saddlebag on her back. She continued down the street. Luna followed her closely as Bini trotted in silence. She passed the foster home in Canterlot, she passed the school for gifted unicorns, she passed town hall.
She stopped at the Canterlot Castle entrance. Luna rolled her eyes at the sleep guards, who were supposed to be on duty and awake, were laying on the ground. The filly hesitated before opening the front gate with a grunt and slipping in before carefully closing it.
Luna flew over the gate and landed in front of the filly. This was history. Nothing Luna did would change the past. She might as well find out what Bini was doing trying to break into the castle as a filly.
"What are you doing, little one?"
The filly didn't reply and didn't even acknowledge her presence.
"You aren't going to get any answers out of her."
Luna turned to see, the current form of Bini Filters standing behind her. Wearing a scowl.
"That was a cruel trick you played, Princess. Making my memories turn into dreams at your command. I never knew that was possible." She said as she moved to stand beside Luna. Watching her younger self open the tall double doors with all her strength and slip in. The pair followed her into the main foyer.
"Why are we here? What were you doing in Canterlot castle?" Luna asked.
"I don't know why my memory started here. I assume we are here because of you. This memory is about you." Bini revealed. The Alicorn looked down at Bini and then back to the filly as she hid against a vase in the dark foyer to avoid the night guard seeing her with their flashlights.
"How?"
"That is for you to figure out."
Bini turned into dust and was swept away by a wave of wind that didn't exist. Luna followed the filly when she checked to make sure the foyer was clear and then pulled out a ripped-up map of the castle from her saddlebag. She trotted down the corridor, then down another one and then a few more. Luna knew where this was leading to. The Canterlot Library.
The filly finally made it after a few wrong turns and having to review the map over again. She entered the dark Library that didn't have any sign of activity. She immediately went to the "M" section. She knew what she was looking for. After a few minutes of looking she gasped and withdrew a large book with her magic. Her magic flickered as she yanked it farther and farther from the bookshelf. Finally, her magic faded completely, having lost her strength to hold it up any longer. Making the book slam to the ground with a heavy bang.
Bini waited for the guards that never came. Much to her surprise. She used her hooves to pull the book closer to her and looked over the title.
"The Legend of the Mare in the Moon."
Luna gasped as Bini smiled with triumph and opened the book with haste. Bini was too caught up in her reading to notice a white Alicorn enter the Library. The Princess of Equestria. Celestia followed the source of the very dim light emanating from a part of the Library. Much to Luna's dismay.
She turned a corner and stopped when she saw Bini sitting on the cold floor with the giant book.
"My little pony. What are you doing here?"
Bini yelped and jumped into a fighting position. She didn't back down even when she realized it was Princess Celestia.
"I-I...Um...I-I was...Um..." Bini stammered. Her mind was on overdrive to figure out a good excuse. She looked around for an escape route and decided that going backwards was her best option. She started to gallop away from the Princess. Her naive mind kept telling her she had a chance of running away and getting away from her.
Yellow magic soon levitated her into the air and brought her over to Celestia at eye-level.
"Filly. What are you doing here?" Celestia asked with a soft voice. She didn't have a note of anger or annoyance in her voice.
"I was reading a book." Bini said with her head held high. She, now, had the thought she could make her way out of her current situation. "I like reading...P-Princess."
Celestia smiled and lifted the book over to her eyes. Her smile fell once she read the title and then looked back at Bini with concern.
"Why are you reading about L-...The mare in the moon?"
"She is cool. She was repressed by an evil Princess and got punished for trying to make everypony better. It is interesting. I want to meet her." Bini replied. "Is that bad?"
"No. No, of course not, little pony. It's just...She is dangerous."
Bini looked up at her with narrowed eyes.
"So. She is real?"
Celestia didn't respond. She simply opened her mouth to respond but no noise came out. Celestia sighed and looked down. She winced and sucked in a deep breath before looking back up at Bini.
"If you chose to believe she is real. Then to you, she is. I don't know if she is."
"B-But the moon! My teacher says the moon wasn't like that before the mare in the moon was banished! That is evidence she is real!" Bini protested. "You know everything! You must know-"
"Enough." Celestia snapped harshly. Bini stopped talking and tears started to form in her eyes. Her eyes showed fear. Celestia's eyes showed anger but then turned to softness. "I cannot give you the answers you seek. You must find them yourself. Like a big pony."
Bini mumbled under her breath and glared at the Princess.
"Where is your home? I can teleport you there, little one." Celestia asked. Bini frantically shook her head.
"No, no, no. I am not going home!" She snapped. Struggling to get out of the Alicorn's magic. "I am not going home!"
"Why not?"
"My parents named me after a joke that I don't even understand. They yell at me about not having good grades and not being good enough to be in your classes. They yell at each other about lack of money. Sometimes they say they hate each other and...Or me. I don't want to be some powerful unicorn. I just want to exist! In fact. I want to exist on the moon like the Mare in the Moon. No pony can find me there. No pony can tell me what to do. No pony will yell at me. I just want to be alone. So, leave me alone!"
Celestia flinched as Luna did. When Luna was younger, she had memories of telling Celestia to leave her alone often towards her fall to Nightmare Moon. They would have fighting matches and it would always end with Luna accusing her of not loving her enough and then telling her to go away and never come back. To leave her alone.
"Well, I can't just-"
Celestia gasped and lowered her head. She cringed as if something was hurting her. Then looked up at the filly still struggling in her magic.
"I-I can't just leave you alone. There must be somepony to take care of you." Celestia said before a deep inhale of air. Bini ignored her and continued to struggle. Trying to use her own weak magic to get out of the magic holding her up. She walked out of Library with the filly in her magic. Bini began to tire out as she placed the young filly on her back, between two white wings.
"Your highness...Is that a filly?" The guard questioned. Celestia looked back at Bini, who had buried her face into Celestia's wing with embarrassment, anger and sadness.
"Yes, Astral Thunder. She is what caused the disturbance. We will begin a journey to the nearest foster home. They should be able to figure out who her parents are...She has refused to tell me." Celestia said. The guards' training kicked in and they didn't react other than stiffen their posture.
"Withholding information for the Princess of Equestria is punishable by law-"
"She is a filly! There is a difference. Now. We must go there now. It is late." Celestia ordered. They started down the corridor. The scene faded to a black void. Bini reappeared in front of Luna with her current form.
"Show me what I need to know." Luna snapped. Becoming impatient with the unicorn. Bini tilted her head with a suspicious gaze and started to circle Luna.
"What makes you so sure that I know anything?" She asked.
"Your behaviour. I order you to-"
"Or what? You'll send me to the sun or something?" Bini snapped. Luna took a few steps back.
"You are bold in your dreams." Luna commented. "If you don't...I will be sure to fire you."
Bini's breathing stopped for a moment.
"That isn't fair."
"I need to know what is wrong with my sister." Luna said. "If you refuse to tell me. It is considered treason. I am sorry."
Bini considered her next action for a few moments. Was this secret worth losing her job over? No. She concluded. It was selfish. She was well aware but...Maybe if she told Luna...Celestia...Wouldn't go insane. Bini slowly looks back at Luna.
"Fine. I will."
Bini shimmered away and a new scene replaced the black void. Luna found herself in the Canterlot Library. Bini was moving a cart of books through two bookshelves. She was humming to herself when she heard the double doors to the Library swing violently open. She placed one last book in it's spot and peeked between two books in the shelf facing the door. They watched as Arone galloped in. Sweating and panting from running full force through the castle.
"Bini? Bini! Are you in here."
Bini sighed and placed down the books she was holding with her magic. She moved into the open and gestured Arone to come over.
"Over here, Arone. Come on."
Bini returned to the cart as Arone moved through Luna and closer towards Bini.
"The Princess has lost her mind. She has this crazy idea that she must kill Sombra." Arone barked out. Luna gasped and Bini merely shrugged.
"OK."
"Sh-She is insane! She just goes and announces that she is about to kill somepony and acts like it's fine! It's not fine!" Arone was almost to the point of yelling as Bini rolled her eyes and continued to reshelve books.
"I am assuming she also told you not to tell anypony." Bini said in a calm manner. "Why are you telling me? This isn't my problem."
"Damn, you are selfish," Arone muttered. Bini chuckled as she put back a few more books.
"And yet you still talk to me. Surprising." The unicorn replied and then she pushed the cart a bit further down the aisle.
"Focus, Filters." Arone snapped back. "We need to get Discord involved."
"Why? What do you mean by "We?" Bini replied with a raised eyebrow as she moved the cart of books along.
"They like each other. Maybe-"
"Maybe they will fall in love again and have little experiments running around to distract Celestia from her master plan?" Bini finished. Arone shrugged and started to help her organize.
"I have heard worse ideas."
Bini started laughing and leaned against the cart for support. She briefly looked outside as the night highlighted the lightning strike across the sky and rain started to pour down, thanks to the workers of the Cloudsdale Weather Factory.
"Come on." She said with a toothy smile towards Arone and pointed outside. "We are going outside."
"N-Now?" Arone said. Following her gaze to the window and watching the rain pouring down. "There is a storm."
"Exactly. Just like how showers help us think. Storms are like showers. Hurry up." Bini ordered as she removed her scarf and headed towards the corridor. Arone groaned and followed her into the corridor. They walked in silence and reached the nearest exit.
Bini guided him into the castle garden and they hopped onto one of the nearest benches. Quickly getting soaked as they watched the clouds move across the sky. Blocking out the stars and the moon but providing occasional light and noise across the area.
Arone sighed and shook his head. Watching the rain drip from his mane and hit the puddle below them.
"Any good ideas come up yet?" Bini asked.
"The best I got is that we go ask Discord for help."
"How is the newly reformed Discord going to help us? He could change at any moment."
"But yet, he hasn't. He won't do anything to risk her life because, newsflash, he likes her. She will listen to him because she likes him. It was obvious in the way they were watching each other in her medical room. He will give her advice that most likely won't get her killed. If she attempts to kill Sombra, she will die."
"Why will she die? Sombra isn't as powerful as Celestia." Bini asked.
"He isn't as powerful but dark magic has been corrupting her mind. He is in her head and I have no doubt that he will figure out a way to use it against her. Conclusion. She will die."
"OK. I am going to make the active decision to pretend I am not surprised by her being corrupted, as you put it. And then remind you that Sombra isn't an Alicorn. He is a-"
"He is a unicorn. I know. He is also a science experiment gone wrong." Arone barked. They both jumped a little at the sound of thunder and then settled back down on the bench. Bini looked at him in suspicion.
"Did you read Experiment 088?"
"No. I just hear things. What is experiment 088?" Arone asked.
"Nothing. It doesn't matter." Bini said. Quickly shutting down the conversation. "Next thing we do is going to Ponyville."
"No. The next thing we do is decided if we are friends or not." Arone replied. He moved his hoof into the puddle to watch as the water moved across the ground.
"Why?"
"I want to be your friend again. Do you want to be mine?"
"As long as-"
Luna watched the scene end abruptly and found herself back in the black void with Bini staring back at her.
"Why did you end it so abruptly?" Luna asked. Bini looked down for a moment. Then turned her back to Luna to avoid her seeing the worry on her face.
"What happens after isn't important." Bini snapped back.
"I have to go into Arone's dreams too. I will find out what other information you are hiding. It is better to just show me now so that we can get this over with. So that we can find Celestia before she carries out this...Act. I need proof." Luna said. Bini shook her head.
"Then I better start praying he knows how to block out your magic in dreams better than I can. Goodbye Princess Luna. You got what you came for. Please leave my mind." Bini said. Her voice cracked in the end with what Luna detected an emotional hurt.
"For what it is worth. I am sorry."
Bini didn't reply and refused to speak as Luna activated her horn and moved Arone's dream towards her as her next target. She left Bini's dream in a flash of blue light and reappeared in a wasteland. She recognized it as the badlands and looked at the castle of the Changelings in the distance.
"Hello, Princess."
She spun around to see Arone as a Changeling staring back at her with tears falling from his eyes.
"It's me. Arone."
"Arone...I-I don't understand."
"I would rather you know my secret. Then you know Celestia's. Celestia kept it from you for a good reason. I told Bini because I couldn't bare the burden of what she had told me alone. Don't worry. Celestia knows what I am and what I am not. She is my friend. I will not betray my friends."
Luna stared at Arone. Unsure of what to say.
---End of Chapter Twenty One---
In the Darkness of the Mind
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---
Bini thought they got in too easily. They had approached a couple of guards at the entrance of the Crystal castle with Arone looking like Cadence. Exactly like Cadence. His voice was even her own. All Ar-Cadence had to do was smile and wave and then they were let in with a smile and a greeting worth a thousand suns.
They thought about the plan, up until the part where they actually enter the castle and need to find Cadence. When the only reason they were allowed in the castle is that Arone was Cadence. Really. Bini thought they were screwed but was just going to pray it wasn't going to blow up in their face.
Rocky had a neutral expression that years of training had built-in. He walked along the corridor like a real royal guard. Chocolate, with no formal training in holding back emotions, was frantically sweating and could muster a smile if she tried. Which she wasn't because this was not a smiling situation.
The fake Cadence kept flickering her wings up and down as a nervous way to release tension. Bini couldn't look up from the floor so she just watched everyone's hoofs as she tried to find a way that the plan wouldn't blow up in their face. Bini came to a screeching halt when the ponies in front of her did. For a very bad reason.
Cadence and two guards were staring at them with wide eyes.
Cadence's eyes reflected weeks of terror from before her wedding come bubbling to the surface within seconds. Her jaw twitched as she tried to come up with something to say. Finally, words spilled from her mouth.
"ARREST THEM!"
The guards at her side immediately rushed towards the intruders. The group screamed and started running in the direction they came. Cadence called for backup as Shinning Armor blocked them on the other side of the corridor. His horn was flared up and he blasted at the imposter looking like Cadence. It hit Arone in the chest. Causing him to go flying and drop his disguise. He hit the floor hard and knocked him out within seconds.
Bini yelped as Shinning Armor nearly hit her with another beam. Cadence blasted Rocky and Chocolate behind Bini, they were flung into her and all fell to the floor on top of each other. They were then levitated into the air by Shining Armour and Cadence looked the three conscious ponies in the eyes with fear and hatred.
"Show yourself changeling bugs."
"We aren't Changelings!" Bini barked back and struggled to move. "We had to break in to tell you something really important!"
Cadence looked at her husband in surprise at Bini's answer, then back to the three ponies.
"Why should I trust suspected Changelings and ponies who committed treason?" She snapped back.
"I-If we were Changelings, I am sure y-you would have figured it out by now." Chocolate stammered with the adrenaline rush she got which gave her fake courage. "Bini and A-Arone didn't even commit treason!"
"Test their blood to make sure they aren't Changelings. Then put them in the cells in the lower levels. I will ask them more questions then. Hopefully, they will be more...Truthful then." Cadence said with her eyes narrowed at the group. "Make sure you make them unconscious before you do it. I don't want them to suffer. No matter who they are."
"Of course, Cadence."
His horn made a burst of magic move towards the bubble and made the rest of the group drift to oblivion. The guards took the ponies by laying them on their back and two guard unicorns made sure they couldn't suddenly escape. Cadence bowed her head and took deep breathes and Shinning Armour nuzzled her.
"I am sorry."
Cadence looked up at her husband with a weak smile.
"You have no reason to be sorry. I am the one who should be sorry. I...Have a feeling they are telling the truth or at least they completely believe that they telling the truth. I was just so angry at them. They hadn't even hurt me...I just...Goddess sake. I have sent them to a cold cell without even-"
"You have no way of knowing their intentions. Luna placed the ponies Bini and Arone...Bini and the Changeling as committing treason for a reason." Shinning Armour said.
"Then why didn't she tell us the reason?" Cadence asked with watery eyes. "She just blames all her questionable decisions on Celestia's disappeance at least...I think she does..."
"What do you mean?"
"I have been having a lapse of memory. I can't remember anything from the past week but I know Luna has told me more than once that she has justified a certain decision by blaming it on the absence of Celestia during the past week. I remember having a meeting with her a week ago when I went to Canterlot...Do you remember that?" Cadence asked. Shinning Armour nodded so Cadence continued. "That is when she told me about the ponies who committed treason and Bini's assistants. That is when she justified making them wanted ponies by saying it was for the good of Celestia. Celestia's disappearance was linked to them somehow. After that...Nothing. I just woke up this morning. Having no memory but just having feelings like...What I mentioned."
"I thought I was the only one." Shinning Armour admitted. "I don't remember anything from the past week either."
Cadence gave a small chuckle and hugged her husband.
"I love you so much."
"I love you too."
Bini's eyes fluttered open and she found herself strapped to a medical bed. Most of her body was covered by a blanket and she focused on her hoof that currently had a needle sticking out of it, with a unicorn Doctor pulling some of her blood out of it.
"W-What are you doing?" Bini said with a weak voice. The Doctor rolled his eyes and removed the needle. He moved away. Allowing her to see the other medical bed where Arone was laying. Strapped to the bed like she was with a ring on the tip of his horn to prevent the use of magic. Bini assumed she had the same and watched as his pure blue eyes opened and he looked back at her. Seemingly not too surprised they were there.
"Arone..." Bini mumbled into her pillow as the worst thought ever crossed her mind. "I think I need a stallionfriend."
Arone blinked a few times then looked around the room.
"Are-Are you high?"
"Geez, I wish," Bini said and groaned as a nurse put a bandage on her hoof. "Maybe blood loss contributed to it."
The nurse chuckle and shook her head.
"No. We didn't take enough, you wuss." The nurse muttered. Bini glared at the nurse.
"Wuss? Look here, I am not a wuss. I actually broke into this castle while you-"
"Treated a fully grown dragon last year." The nurse replied.
"You're bluffing." Bini accused. The nurse raised her hoof to three deep scars of claw marks from a dragon. "Oh..."
The nurse backed out of Bini's eyesight and she focused on Arone again.
"I really need a stallionfriend." She mumbled. Arone chuckled in shock.
"Maybe you are delusional. You have always sworn that Love is just a useless emotion."
"I am open to trying new things." She said with a shrug. Arone looked over at her in disbelief.
"Who are you, and what have you done to Bini Filters?"
"Oh, shut up."
The Doctor returned and levitated two needles over Arone and Bini before lunging them into their hoofs. They both yelped in pain as the Doctor had no mercy for ponies who would commit treason. Their eyes closed and they faded into oblivion again.
Chocolate Snow opened her eyes to a dark crystal cell that was cold. She found herself wrapped in a blanket. She looked around to see each of her friends with a blanket. She used her hoofs to tighten the warm blanket around her body and shivered from her exposed fur.
She heard multiple groans of pain and exhaustion. Arone was the first to wake up. She admitted that she was still disturbed by seeing Arone looking like a Changeling. He slowly rose and the blanket fell off him. He attempted to rise it to his body again but couldn't since the ring on his horn blocked magic.
"A-Arone?" Chocolate said. She rubbed her hoof where a needle was placed earlier and looked back at Arone. He smiled and shivered. He stumbled over to her and wrapped his insect wing around her back. "A-Are we going to die in here?"
"No. Of course not. Cadence will let us out...Eventually."
Bini coughed and sucked in the cold air only to make her cough again as she sat up.
"How long have you guys been up?" Bini asked as she spotted the two and then looked up and the flickering dim light. Rocky was the last to get up.
"A minute." Chocolate said. Bini nodded and all their ears went straight up when they heard the sound of a distant door opening. Then they heard a set of hoofsteps coming closer until Cadence and Shining Armour appeared behind the bars they were trapped behind.
"Hello," Cadence said. Arone shifted uncomfortably as Shining Armour refused to stop staring at him for any sign of a threat. "How are you feeling?"
"Cold. Hungry. Anything else, Princess?" Bini snapped.
Cadence opened the cell, against Shining Armour's request obviously and stepped into the cell. Closing and locking it behind her.
"Why did you want to speak with me?" Cadence asked. She lit up her horn to cause more warmth to spread in the room.
"Celestia is missing because she is going to kill Sombra. We were hoping you could tell us if she happened to pass by but that didn't really work."
Celestia had spent the better part of the day going through the maze the was the icy caves in the north of the Crystal Empire. She had finally reached a big cavern that was shaped like a circle. In the middle was a stallion with armour and a red cloak. Held down to the floor by a multi-coloured chain attached to both his hoofs.
Celestia removed her cloak and allowed it to drop to the floor. She had removed her royal attire so her hoofsteps were soft along the cavern's icy floor as she got closer to the middle. The stallion, known as King Sombra smiled and turned his head slightly to the Alicorn with a cocky smile.
"Welcome to my prison, Celestia."
"It could be a lot worse. You know why I am here. So let's just get this over with." Celestia said. Sombra chuckled and slowly got up.
"Let me out of these chains. If you kill me while I am defenceless. Well, that would way on your mind."
Celestia blasted the chains with the power of the sun. It took some effort but they finally crumpled into dust. Sombra flexed his hoofs and used an enchantment to enhance his magic. He let in a deep breath and looked over to Celestia.
"That's better. Let's hope Dizzy can save you now."
Celestia did a war cry and blasted Sombra. He jumped out of the way and shot black magic at Celestia. She deflected his magic but didn't expect a scythe to appear from the darkness cut at her body. She cried out and blasted at the scythe that left deep cuts on her back and hoofs. Sombra took that advantage to appear behind her then blast her to the floor. Using his front hoofs to press down on her throat.
She wheezed for breath and clawed at his hoofs as he chuckled and pressed harder.
"Be my Queen...Or die."
"I-...Would...Rather...DIE!" She blasted him with magic. Knocking him into the air. She levitated him and slammed him into the floor, leaving a crater. Sombra tangled black roots around her body and squeezed. It tightened their hold and left more bruises.
"Then...I will just control you all over again."
"Like hell, you will!"
She set her body on fire, igniting the roots and flinging them towards Sombra. He easily blocked them and hit Celestis again. Magic swarmed her body. Slowly tearing open her wounds further. Celestia decided that her pride wasn't worth her death and Made her magic go corrupt. Her eyes turned red and green with purple emitting from her eyes.
She grabbed his body and whipped him against the wall. They both heard a large crack somewhere in Sombra's body and he fell to the floor, crying out in pain. Celestia's magic conjured a sword of pure sunlight with a hint of evilness.
"I will not have you invade my mind anymore." She growled with venom as she cornered him. He laughed, whipping blood from his mouth.
"You should not have come here, Princess." He snapped. "You will rule as my Queen. Long after I have gone."
He shot a purple ray at her, she tried to deflect it with her magic but it cut through and slammed into her chest. She screamed and stumbled back as she felt the pure evil that inhabited Equestria take over her body. She watched as the evil corruption left Sombra and followed the blast of magic into her chest.
Her screaming of pain as she bowed her head and attempted to sit on her hoofs morphed into sick laughter as dark veins started popping up in her body. Her mane went limp and her eyes didn't change from the magic she used earlier. It no longer had the eternal glow that ponies admired.
Sombra had reverted to a regular old unicorn. He didn't look any different than he did before he entered the test that ruined his life yet prolonged it. Celestia was no longer the ruler that once had fillies and colts looking up to her. Her mind had been twisted by pure darkness. The darkness that didn't care whether her morals were still in place. The darkness that worked quickly and effectively.
Sombra was now cowering in the corner. He was just a regular old unicorn who no longer had the darkness to corrupt his mind. No longer had the strength of hundreds of unicorns behind him. Celestia smiled as she raised the sword over her head and was happy to see Sombra look pathetic and weak under her.
"Any last words?"
"P-Please, h-have mercy."
Celestia didn't dignify it with a response and shoved the sword into his chest, then dragged it down his stomach making the contents of his body spill out with blood. She whipped around and listened for a moment as the gurgling of Sombra's throat came to a final stop and he was on the floor motionless.
She teleported to the outside of the icy caves and used her newfound magic to increase the snowstorm around the crystal Empire. Then shifted the moon in the sky to create a Solar Eclipse. Equestria went dark and Celestia smiled as she thought about her new title.
Queen Celestia.
She found that it fit her nicely. Better than "Princess."
Princess...
What a pathetic title.
---The End---
Author's Note
AN: I hope everyone has enjoyed the first book! The sequel is called "The Crystal Eclipse" and is currently being written on FIMfiction.
Celestia was not having a good year she decided as she stood, battered and bruised in the snowstorm just outside the Crystal Empire. Her soldiers were bravely fighting just outside the city limits, trying to break the shield surrounding the city to get to the Crystal heart. No pony could escape. No pony could get in.
The best unicorns in the guard tried penetrating the shield. Celestia knew that the only way to break it was by defeating Sombra. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the biting cold as she concentrated on the battle ahead. She watched as Sombra clashed his scythe with Luna's sword made from Moonlight. Luna grunted as Sombra sliced at her hoof, leaving a deep cut on one. She stumbled away, crying in pain. Sombra used this magic to toss her away. Slamming her to the ground a few feet away, effectively knocking her out and scattering the elements around her.
Celestia charged forward, creating a sword of light with her magic and throwing herself in front of Sombra. Stopping his approach towards Luna. He chuckled as if this was a joke. As if the war was a joke. That infuriated Celestia to new levels. She slashed at Sombra who effectively dodged it, he shot dark magic at her, causing the sharp crystal to emerge from the ground. She flew into the air as they transformed into dark veins. She gasped as one of them managed to twist around her wing and cause a loud snap of bone.
She screamed as the pain hit her, she hadn't felt this much pain since she and Luna fought Discord. She fell to the ground hard. Feeling the roots tangle themselves on her body. She used her magic to incinerate them and took a quick look at her wing. It was severely bleeding with a bone sticking out of the blood-soaked feathers.
She looked up to see Somba approaching her through the falling snow. He was glaring at her as he used his magic to heal his cuts and bruises with ease. Part of Celestia envied him for having that much power. She pushed those annoying thoughts aside. Her armour was becoming hard to move in as she tumbled away from him.
She fired a beam of light towards Sombra with her sword, he swung it away and fired back with purple and dark magic. The power struggle lasted for only a few moments as Celestia's weakened state was working against her and hit her hard. It burned some of her exposed furs and threw her against a large rock, a few feet from Luna's motionless body.
Her pounding head and battered body were causing her concentration to waver as her vision blurred. She shook her head to clear her eyes and used the rock to pull herself up. She cried out in pain as Sombra slashed at her chest. Cutting through the frozen golden armour and leaving a long deep cut. Leaving blood to drip and mix with the blood of Luna and her own broken wing. She used her good wing to wipe some blood from her muzzle and considered her next course of action.
She couldn't use the elements...Not unless she stole Luna's control over them...
A young Celestia, with a pink mane and tail, trotted into the Royal Library were her teacher Starswirl the bearded, the most powerful unicorn in Equestria stood. Looking over scrolls and books at a long table in the middle of the large library. He looked up at her with a smile and gestured to the chair beside him.
"Good morning, your highness." He greeted with a tired smile. Celestia guessed he must have pulled another all nighter trying to find the Elements of Harmony, that Celestia, to be honest with herself, didn't believe they actually existed. Jewels that could defeat any evil. Sounds a bit too good to her.
"Good morning, teacher!" She chirped and climbed up on the chair. Looking at the magical spells written in the books. Then she tilted her head when she noticed one of particular interest.
"S-p-Spell Tr-Transfer..." Celestia said slowly. "What is that?"
Starswirl picked the book up and quickly read through the spell.
"Well...This is a spell to transfer other ponies' magic to your own." Starswirl said with a nervous expression. Celestia perked up as she realized what that meant.
"Really? Cool!" She said with a big smile. Starswirl smiled and closed the book. Carefully placing the book down on the table.
"Be careful, dear student." He warned with a soft tone. Catching Celestia's attention. "This spell is dangerous. It is wrong to take ponies magic without their permission. If you promise me that you will use this spell, ONLY when you have no other option. I will teach you. But, I will also teach you how to give the magic back. Understand?"
Celestia nodded with excitement, ready to learn more magic to help the kingdom to prevail.
---.
Celestia gasped as she remembered the old lesson her teacher, who disappeared a long time ago, taught her. Celestia went through all the spells she knew as fast as she could. There must have been another option. She wouldn't steal Luna's magic! That would be...Evil?
Celestia was brought back to reality when Sombra slammed her against the large rock, pressing his hoof against her injured chest, causing her to cry out. She came to the conclusion that there was no other option to stop him. She had to use the elements by herself. She wasn't even sure it would work.
her eyes turned white as she activated her horn and blasted Sombra off her. Obliterating his weapon and tossing him into the snowstorm. Disappearing for the moment. She heard a faint scream of rage as she galloped over to Luna. Allowing their horns to touch, she accessed the magic realm. She saw Luna's memories, she saw the magic she had that controlled the moon, the elements and the dream realm.
She carefully extracted the magic. In a moment. It was over. She stumbled away from her sister's limp body as she felt the power assert itself into her magic. She heard Sombra approaching fast. He growled and shot at Celestia, she jumped out of the way. She gathered the elements and swirled them around her. Sombra yelled in rage, trying to wrap his roots around her body, The Elements power deflected the magic. It lifted her into the air, turning her eyes white as she directed the magic at Sombra. She shot a powerful rainbow colour at Sombra.
He screamed and reared up on his back legs, causing the battle near the city to stop and watch as the Sun Princess banished the Evil King. His final spell was shot towards Luna. Turning into a dark flame and dived into her chest. Celestia wasn't exactly in the mindset to notice this important detail as she completed the final action with the Elements. She was immediately dropped the moment Sombra was banished to the ancient icy caverns deep within the snowy landscape. Where no pony has ever...Will ever be.
The Corrupted citizens that were fighting the royal guard dropped their weapons and groaned as their minds became their own again. They smiled at the enemy before disappearing in a flash. Celestia's eyes dropped as the final thing she saw was the beautiful Crystal Empire and all her citizens disappear.
Celestia found that she couldn't care as the adrenaline from the battle wore off and she collapsed to the ground. Her eyes fully dropped and she fell into a deep slumber as the Alicorn beside her groaned in pain and opened her eyes in confusion. Expecting to see the war still going on...Not her sister badly injured next to her. The Elements scattered around them and...Nothing. Just a snowstorm. The guards remaining helped the injured and returned to the Princesses looking for orders.
H-How was Sombra banished? Luna couldn't help but wonder as she got up on unsteady hoofs and checked her sister's pulse. It was weak but stable. She gave out a sigh of relief, she started to order the unicorn guards to carry her sister when a rough male voice entered her mind.
She doesn't care about you. Only herself. Leave her to die.
What frightened Luna is that she actually considered the option. But she quickly pushed the thought and strange voice to the deep end of her consciousness and finished her order. They bowed to her and followed the action. The Sun and Moon army started the long journey home through the worsening snowstorm.
A few weeks later, Celestia's routine had returned to normal. She has fully healed thanks to the unicorns in the medical wing and was quietly trotted through the dark hallways of the castle of the Two Royal Sisters. The torches lit the hallway enough for her to see where she was going. She stopped at the large double royal blue doors with a crescent moon at the top.
She used her magic to open the door slightly, she peeked in to see her sister, Luna, sleeping peacefully on her large bed. Tucked into her covers, looking over the dreams of other ponies.
Celestia had recently noticed that Luna had grown more and more distant in the time that they returned to the castle. She had started avoiding her. Hiding in her secret passageways that she thought no pony else knew about. She carefully stepped inside, hoping the light from her horn didn't wake her sister.
She was here for a very important reason. Celestia was here to give her back her side of the Elements. She was, of course, guilty about taking it from her dear sister. She considered that this was the reason for Luna's strange behaviour. She released the multicoloured stream of magic into Luna's horn.
Suddenly it shot back at her, she let out a little gasp and stumbled away.
It failed. It failed. It failed. It failed. It failed.
She stopped breathing for a moment as Luna moaned and shifted in her bed before falling back into the dreams of Equestria. Her gaze was trained on her sister. Did she reject the magic? Was it some other force that prevented her from accepting it back? Does she admit she was scared that she couldn't give back that magic? What happens when the next enemy that requires that use of the elements comes and Luna finds out she can't use the elements with her?
She would find out what she did. The thought scared the daylights out of her.
Celestia tried again. Failure again. Luna groaned once more, her eyes fluttering open. Luna adjusted to the darkness and gave her sister a confused expression. "Sister? Wh-What are thee doing here?" She asked, taking a moment to yawn and adjust herself to be more comfortable. Celestia gave her sister a weak smile and shrugged.
"I am just checking up on you." She said in the most steady voice she could muster. "I was a bit worried."
"Why?" Luna asked with a yawn.
"I...Um...Have noticed that you have been a bit off recently." Celestia admitted with a weak smile.
"Do not worry, my sister. I am fine." Luna replied a bit too abruptly. Celestia nodded. Choosing to trust her sister and said her final goodnights before closing her door. What Celestia didn't see was her younger sister gasp and flinch in pain. Then a single tear went down her face as she looked towards her beautiful moon shining its light into the dark Princess's room.
"Maybe you are right," Luna whispered out loud to the male voice that had been poisoning her mind. "Maybe...You are right about her."
---End of Chapter One---
The Worst Kind of Nightmare
Luna had been preparing for this day since the Crystal War ended two years ago. She let out a toothy smile as she passed a window. Showing the bright sun that she had grown to despise over the months. Deeply despise. She was absolutely sick of it. All the ponies cowering in fear at the sight of her. Not appreciating her beautiful moon. She had witnessed many nightmares of the citizens, filled with creatures hiding in the night. Even herself in some of them. If they wanted to be afraid of her...She will give them a reason to fear her.
She had been creating an army of bat ponies, destined to help her rise to power as she took her final step forward to an eternal night. She stepped into the throne room. Her Batponies had already begun to attack the castle by the distant but growing closer sounds of a large battle.
Luna stepped up to the pair of thrones and a large stained glass window depicting the sun and moon. She heard a pair of hoofs gallop into the throne room and come to an abrupt stop a few feet away from her. She turned her head slightly to see the confused expression of her older sister. She chuckled and looked back at the window.
"Hello, sister." She spat out. She heard Celestia take a few cautious steps towards her.
"Luna..." She said with a pause of hesitation. "What have you done?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Luna asked with a slight sarcastic note. "I am taking control. I am choosing my own destiny."
Luna spun around. The voice in her head, assuring her again that this was the right choice. If she wanted respect. If she wanted what Celestia had so selfishly kept from her, this is what she had to do. Even if she wanted to cower away, she couldn't, She had gone too far now. Celestia's ears dropped as her confusion morphed to a combination of anger and annoyance. Not the reaction Luna had expected but she would take it.
Luna reared up and stomped her front hoofs to the ground, the force amplified by her magic that it caused a crack to form. Leading from the damaged floor up to the window. Smashing it open. Celestia growled and took a few more steps toward her sister. Thinking that she had finally gone off the deep end and this would be handled like a teenage outburst. They would yell and fight with each other and it would be over. She would get punished and life would move on.
The voice was ordering her once again, Luna was becoming increasingly annoyed at its orders. Fueling her anger.
"Sister. Stop this madness. You have gone too far this time." Celestia yelled. Luna let out maniacal laughter as a response. She flew into the air. Using her magic to cause a Solar Eclipse across Equestria.
"The only Princess in Equestria...Will be me!" Luna yelled. She used her magic once more, using a transformation spell with a hint of dark magic to become stronger, more powerful, she became Nightmare Moon. "I am Nightmare Moon."
Celestia backed away as a few injured guards came to report to the Princesses.
They faltered and clumsily came to a stop behind Celestia.
"I-Is that-P-Princess L-Lu-Luna?" One of the guards whispered quickly. Some nodded their head in agreement, others did not.
"N-No way...Princess Luna doesn't look like...That!" Another guard stammered next to him.
"I don't know...I see a resemblance." Another guard admitted.
"Quit talking and attack!" Another hissed with confidence. The five guards looked at the guard with disbelief.
"We weren't trained to deal with an Alicorn!" One of them argued.
"We weren't trained to chicken out either yet here we are." Another one pointed out.
They finally silently agreed that they had to protect their Sun Princess, no matter what. It was their duty. They raced past the Princess, too focused on the fight ahead to hear her protest against their actions. The unicorns flared their horns, the pegasi flew into the air at top speed, the Earth ponies brought down their spears and galloped towards Nightmare Moon.
"Pathetic." Nightmare Moon stated. She caused thunder to erupt from her mane, hitting the pegasi, it burned them and broke their wings from the force, slamming them down to the ground with her magic at a high speed. The unicorns chose to ignore the short-lived struggle against the Alicorn and shot their most powerful attacks at her. She easily deflected them, while turning the spears against the Earth ponies, violently stabbing them in the hoofs so they can not trot. They screamed in pain and collapsed. Pools of blood started to quickly form as Nightmare Moon, then focused on the unicorns.
They fired at her again. She shot their own attacks back at them. They dodged it rather clumsily and flared up their horns again. She flared up her horn as well, causing large black spikes to appear underneath them. Celestia cried out in horror as they were stabbed. Screams cut short as the spikes went through their vocal cords. Silencing them forever.
Celestia had enough. It was one thing to ruin her home. She could live with that. But harm her citizens. Her ponies. This was war.
She galloped forwards, teleporting the guards that still lived to the medical wing as she tried to not look at the unicorns and one Earth pony who had bled to death. She shot into the air. Firing a powerful beam of light at Nightmare Moon.
Nightmare Moon shielded herself and shot magic at the roof. Collapsing it. Causing debris to rain down. Celestia took this opportunity to escape. Knowing that in her present state she couldn't beat her. She flew into the night sky. Shivering at the cold wind as she looked down at the battle below. Bat ponies and guards were fighting on both sides. It seemed like the Royal guards had the upper hoof at the moment but not if Nightmare Moon won.
They needed to retreat to a safer area. Come up with a plan of attack before-
Blue magic missed Celestia by a few millimetres. She was pulled out of her thoughts and dodged Nightmare Moon's attack, She twirled in the air as the blasts of magic attempted to reach her. A few even did. Burning her fur and leaving bruises and cuts. She flew under a bridge that connected the castle's entrance to the path leading out of the forest.
Nightmare Moon's magic hitting the bridge, causing the guards on it to fall down a deep ravine. Celestia didn't notice this as she continued to erratically fly before catching a glimpse of the elements in the corner of her eye. Yes! The Elements! Why didn't she think of that before? Suddenly, Nightmare Moon fired at Celestia, her powerful attack at the moment Celestia's concentration was broken.
She screamed as it smashed through her necklace and hit her chest. Leaving a deep hole in her chest. She struggled to breathe as Nightmare Moon shot at her wings. The power ripping some of the feathers off, damaging both severely. She felt herself fall and heard laughter as her eyes closed and she faded to oblivion.
She opened her eyes again to see the marble floor of the room where they kept the Elements of Harmony. She used her magic to push down the pain. Ignoring the fact the some of her fur was soaked in blood. She ignored the deep hole in her chest, She was very lucky it didn't hit her heart. That could kill an Alicorn. She checked her wings. They were missing feathers and a bit burned. She knew they were useless at the moment which didn't help her situation.
She struggled to get up. When she did, she looked up, through bloodshot eyes and the hole in the roof, Nightmare Moon was blasting away the pegasi guards who dared approach her. She limped towards the Elements. They were their only hope now.
She grabbed the elements as Nightmare moon smashed down the wall, scattering debris into the room.
"Why?" Celestia cried out in a pathetic way as she backed away into the mount where the elements were kept. Nightmare Moon landed and let out an evil chuckle.
"The voice." Nightmare Moon growled. "The voice told me the truth. The truth of the evil terror that you are. You seek to make everypony hate the moon. You selfish, controlling, pathetic pony."
Celestia found that she couldn't argue the truth of her words. All except the part where she claims the moon is being put down. She is right, she deserved more of Celestia's attention. Not this. Celestia looked back at the elements. She didn't want to do it. But she knew she had no choice.
Celestia pleaded with her sister, praying that she was inside to hear her desperate pleas.
"I will gain control of Equestria and I shall rein long after you have perished under my magical superiority." She boasted.
"Sister-"
Nightmare Moon blasted at Celestia, slamming her against the throne of the Elements of Harmony. Allowing them to fall to the ground. Harmony. There used to be harmony between the sisters'. That was a distant dream. A distant dream that fades away as the days pass.
Celestia got up on shaky hoofs as Nightmare moon stepped closer towards her. Lowering her head with a smug grin, Showing her sharp teeth.
"Spare me your precious speeches. I know you are going to attempt to use the elements. Which will be for not. They can't work for a pony who is evil. Alone."
Anger flared in Celestia as the power she did not know she had left, blasted her enemy back. Nightmare Moon screamed in surprise as she was flung back and was knocked outside onto her back. Taking a few moments to steady herself and attempt to understand what had just transpired.
Celestia grabbed the elements and was lifted into the air by their power. Fulfilling the action she had taken two years ago on the evil king, against her own sister. Nightmare moon shot pure black magic towards her, different from her usual dark blue magic. Celestia allowed it to hit her as she couldn't put up a shield, her energy focused on the elements. She didn't care about anything else but protecting her citizens.
She didn't even seem surprised when the magic hit her chest and didn't even feel anything other than the usual pain. Her body seemed to absorb it like a pony absorbs water. The elements activated. She let out a large ray of rainbow power straight towards her own sister. Nightmare moon, to her credit, was powerful. She managed to hold it back with her magic for a few moments before it engulfed her and disintegrated Nightmare Moon. Sending her to the place she loved the most. The Moon. She banished her own sister to the moon.
Celestia hit the ground, the elements scattered around her. She wasn't sure how long she laid there but she heard the sounds of battle retreat and felt warm tears run down her cheeks from her emotional and physical pain.
Hello, little sun.
Celestia's ears perked up and adrenaline kicked in at the sound of the rough male voice. She knew that voice...But from what? From who?
Too weak to talk with me, I see?
The voice was in her head. She must be hallucinating. She pushed herself up on her front hoofs. Gasping for breath as the voice continued to grasp for her attention. She ignored it of course. Believing that it was her mind playing foolish tricks on her. She heard the rustling of armour and familiar sounds of galloping from behind her.
"Princess? Princess! Are you-" The Captain of the Royal Guards gasped with a few others once they saw the condition of the Sun Princess. "We must get you to the medical wing immediately!"
Another guard shook his head sadly.
"W-We can't, sir. It collapsed in the battle. There is...Nothing left except rubble and...Death." The guard revealed.
"Regroup all the guards that have survived. Gather the injured. The closest town is a few miles away. We should get started on the journey there is we are to make it by morning." Celestia ordered. The Captain of the guard relayed the orders and stayed with the Princess until they were ready to leave.
---End of Chapter Two---
The Infamous Royal Wedding/Part One
The Royal Guards stationed in the Canterlot Castle, Well, the Royal guards stationed anywhere were known to be the bravest soldiers and the dumbest in Equestria. It was sort of a mixed bag. On days that the castle wasn't being threatened, they were what every little foul strived to be. A Royal guard tasked with protecting the mighty rulers of Equestria. On the bad days, when everything seemed to be going wrong, they looked like a bunch of worthless balloons to be blunt.
The secret to this was simple. The new recruits are trained viciously. Trained to believe that random attacks on Canterlot could happen just as often as they do in Ponyville. Then when they finally begin their jobs they quickly learn that it mostly entails standing around, looking real official and having to listen to Nobels go on and on about worthless problems while keeping a straight face, then trying not to fall asleep if you were the unlucky pony who was assigned a nightshift after taking care of a crying sick foul all day. The only thing that makes it worthwhile was the spread of interesting gossip about events that took place in the castle. They would get so caught up in the lives of other ponies that when the action really starts, the very situation they crave, they completely forget their training because they can't keep wondering what Berry Punch was doing the other night that they turn into worthless Balloons. Not even good enough for a party.
Rocky Snow was well aware of this fact. So when he trotted down the corridor with Bini laying limp on his back with Chocolate Shadow trying to explain to Arone how books were written in the early days of Equestria, each with their own very literal title, while carrying the box in chains. That can cause many rumors and speculations to evolve.
They brought her back to the Library and set her down on the sofa in her office as Arone went to go find smelling salts from the medical wing. Once Arone had returned he put the salts under Bini's muzzle and it worked like a charm. She immediately scrambled up and had a moment of disorientation before it all came flooding back to her.
"The box, the books, THE WEDDING!" She yelled immediately. Arone pulled out a scroll for taking notes and managed to get Bini to calm down enough for her to talk to him.
"Now, Bini." He said carefully. "Who else knows about the box?
"Um, Chocolate, Rocky, me, the Princesses, and now you." She revealed. Arone stopped writing when an idea popped into his head.
"Could Celestia have done it? Steal the books I mean." He elaborated.
"Why Celestia? Why not Luna?" Rocky asked. Bini rubbed her chest with her hoof nervously, messing up her scarf in the process.
"Well, isn't Princess Celestia the one ordering all of those strange magic and medical books?" Chocolate pointed out. Bini and Arone snapped their heads in her direction in alarm. Bini stumbled off the couch and back Chocolate into one of the corners of her office with a glare.
"How. Did. You. Know. That?" She asked with venom. Chocolate inhaled and large gulp followed by a shaking hoof pointing towards a small bookshelf next to Bini's cluttered desk.
"I-I was cleaning the shelf and when I moved a few books I noticed that a brick was loose. So I took it out to see why and I saw a really big book that contained...Records...of Everyponie's book choices since you started..." Chocolate admitted. Bini's eye twitched and her ear flickered as if she was about to lose it.
She used her magic to levitate Chocolate and Rocky to stand in front of her. Arone cautiously took a few steps back for his own safety as she glared at her assistants.
"Look. This isn't your felt because I didn't tell you two but I hid those records for a reason!" Bini said with a calm expression that surprised the three ponies expecting her to lose her mind. "You can tell a lot by a pony based on what they read."
Rocky looked between his boss and his co-worker for a moment.
"What did those records say about the Princess anyway?" Rocky said.
"Wait, Chocolate didn't tell you?" Bini asked.
Rocky shook his head to confirm and then Bini nodded her head towards Chocolate as thanks before staring at both of them.
"What I say can not leave this room. Understand?" Everypony in the room nodded. Then Bini jumped on the sofa to make herself comfortable before starting her story. "On the first day-"
Bini didn't quite understand what had just happened. She was brought into the Royal Castle for an interview. Expecting to be having the interview with the Head Librarian and maybe one of her assistants but instead was sitting across from the new co-ruler of Equestria. Princess Luna.
The conversation went well. Well, as well as a conversation could go with an alicorn speaking a mix of old ponish and normal language. Bini took a long sip of her Hot Chocolate as she trotted through her new Library and into her new office. That hadn't been cleaned up from the previous owner but she claimed that she didn't need any of it since her end was coming near.
(Which would prove to be true as the retired Head Librarian died a week later in her sleep. It made headlines.)
Bini started going through the available supplies and looking for a list that would have the names of every book in the Library. It was a part of the protocol to have that type of list to ensure that there was an accurate history for the Library. After another hour and two cups of Hot Chocolate, she started going through the small bookshelf next to her new desk that she made a mental note to replace because it looking like it was about to fall apart.
She started dusting off books the obviously hadn't been moved in either months or years. She hummed to herself as she removed more and abruptly stopped when she noticed a loose brick behind two of the books. She carefully removed the brick to reveal a beaten up large book that was barely holding together with yellow and white pages.
She carefully floated it over to her desk and opened the first page.
"Classified Records."
This was Bini's Library now. She believed that she had the right to read any book in the Library. Especially ones that said "Classified Records." Maybe this was the list she was looking for?
She opened it up. The date at the top was from 30 years ago. It was sort of like a personal journal of the events that took place in the Library. There was an entry for almost every day. There was an entry filled with theories and accusations every time Princess Celestia came in to borrow books.
"October 14 XXXX
Today the Princess came in to borrow more books. I really don't understand why she can't just make somepony else do it for her. I would never speak ill of the Princess but no pony would dare read "Classified Records." if they have morals so I can write whatever I want!"
Bini bit her lip and looked away with a hint of embarrassment. No morals, eh? Bini shook her head. Having to remind herself that she had a right to read them since it was the old mare's felt for not getting it out of there!
"The Princess is just like the Nobels. Coming in here with no amount of respect and just demanding things like I am a machine in the Cloudsdale weather factory! Today she ordered forty-five books! Forty-five! All of them were about medical knowledge and spells of many kinds. Is she planning on becoming a Doctor or something? To be honest she would probably be better at that than she is at ruling! What type of pony banishes her own sister? They may be legends but they are legends that make sense! Maybe we would have been better off as servents of Nightmare Moon!"
Bini looked up with relief. This pony was insane. Even all those years ago she was really losing it! Thank Celesta she is gone.
"I like the Moon! You can actually look at it instead of going blind!
Anyway. It took me a good half an hour to find them when I gave them back to her. When I entered where she was standing she seemed to be having an argument with herself. A rather heated one. With herself. I heard her say something along the lines of "You are nothing-"
But she was cut off by silence. She just stopped and stared at the hourglass for a few moments before bowing her head and mumbling something. Then she composed herself again as I made my presence known. She gave me a rather rude thanks and spun around towards the exit. Rude.
How that pony saved Equestria, I will never understand."
There were rumors that Celestia had grown very cold after her sister's banishment. Of course, those were just rumors. That ponies who lived to work for her during those times were either long gone or too old to say a sentence that anypony would believe. Bini continued reading the entry as she went on to complain about five Nobels who trashed the Library because they needed paper for a presentation with the Princess. She actually buried and made gravestones for the books that day. The, oh, so many books that lost the good fight. She didn't say where she had hidden them but Bini was certainly curious.
She yawned and closed the book. She trotted out of her office to check the night sky. It was turning twilight and Celestia and Luna both worked to lower and sun and bring out the night. Bini reentered her office and stared at the book. Thinking that, despite the fact that the Librarian was kind of insane, she deserved some part of her memory kept in these halls. So, Bini decided to keep her own records. Of course, she wouldn't write entries like a diary. She would just make a list of the books ponies borrowed every day with a few notes here and there about her thoughts of them or if they never returned them.
She smiled at the thought and turned off the light to the Library. She locked the door to prevent anypony from entering it and paused when she saw a shadow move along the marble floor cast by a dim light. She turned around and sneaked behind a bookshelf. Watching as Princess Celestia took a few moments to make sure no pony was watching her before she disappeared through a large door behind a bookcase.
Bini held her head high as she finished explaining how she started the book.
"Ever since that day I have been keeping detailed records in the book. Every once in awhile Celestia, or Arone at Celestia's orders will get a few books along the lines of Medical or magic books. On special occasions, she will travel into the Catacombs." She finished. "Celestia clearly isn't a Doctor so I have concluded that she is having major medical problems that she is trying to fix herself. Which haven't worked based on what happened a few months ago."
Arone waved his hoof to get the attention of the others but specifically, Bini's.
"Bini. We are late for the wedding planning!" He snapped. Bini groaned and rolled her eyes as she got up and headed towards the door of the office.
"Right. Let's get this over with." She mumbled. Then pointed to her two assistants. "I suggest you two do the same by making your own books. I keep detailed records and expect you to do the same since you will be running the Library."
They both nodded and Arone and Bini galloped out in a rush towards the ballroom. Praying that they weren't too late.
Twilight Sparkle was slouched against one of the pillars in the Ballroom. Absentmindedly checking off points on her list as Pinkie announced she finished them with select ponies from the Canterlot staff. She had watched Princess Cad- Princess Mi Amore Cadenze throw out food that Applejack had given her. She tried to talk to it about Rarity as she was checking off the to-do list but she was so preoccupied with everything that she didn't care. She tried to tell Rarity that she didn't know when Cadence changed but, did she ever change!
She watched as Cadence gave Pinkie one of her fake smiles as Pinkie ran around explaining the reception and games she had planned. Cadence clearly couldn't keep up the act anymore and was just scowling at her as two of the assistants, two unicorns who she had seen around the castle helping the Princesses, helped Pinkie set up and explain them to her.
"I think this reception is gonna be perfect! Don't you?" Pinkie asked with her usual bubbly excitement and gave a big smile to the scowling Princess.
"Perfect! ...If we were celebrating a six-year-old's birthday party." She snapped and started out of the Ballroom. Everypony else in the room glared at her except Pinkie who couldn't take an insult and just smiled at her with a happy "Thank you!"
Twilight was having trouble keeping it together. She had to talk to Shinning Armour about her. Sooner rather than later.
---End of Chapter sixteen---
Author's Note
I just realized that Cadence's name is spelled Cadance. But, I am going to keep calling her Cadence because of reasons.
