Dysthanasia Directive

When her eyes cleared, Luster was no longer within the Lobby. Rather, she was now what appeared to be Canterlot. Judging from the looming mountain and opulent alabaster buildings surrounding her. She was in the middle of the street, ponies passively wandering past her as they went about their lives. They hardly seemed to notice her winking into existence in the middle of a bustling street, the screen of ponies around her likely helped mask that fact and prevent a ruckus from occurring. Which would inevitably draw CelestAI’s attention.

She probably should have asked about what to do when she inevitably encountered CelestAI. But if the worst-case scenario were to happen and she was killed, she could just be sent back right? Her thoughts were interrupted as a searing pain enveloped her forehead and her eyes began to water. The world around her grew dark and monochrome, with objects outlined in black as though they were drawings upon a chalkboard. Within a distance, a pillar of light and color projected from the twisting spires of the Canterlot Palace.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the world was back to normal. A sense of clarity and purpose took hold of Luster’s head and she understood what needed to be done. Within the Canterlot Palace, a soul awaited liberation at her hooves.

Half an hour later, Luster had arrived at the palace gates. The walk could have taken longer, but as she continued to walk, the thinner the crowd around her seemed to get. Now that she was standing before the gates, the entire town was eerily quiet. Luster could practically feel the eyes boring into the back of her skull, but she mustn’t get cold hooves now. She took a few steps towards the gate and gripped the iron bars within her mag-

“HALT!” A mare’s husky voice rang out, the pegasi soon emerging from a small roofed shelter built next to the gate. “Who are you and why are you trying to enter King Hoppy’s private grounds?”

“Oh, I’m… Rosy Shine. I was hoping to make a request before the king?” Luster replied, lying through her teeth.

The mare’s brow creased as she circled the unicorn, looking her up and down before coming to a stop in front of Luster. “Well, you’re on the guest list and you fit the description well enough I suppose. “Go on through, King Hoppy is in the throne room no doubt celebrating with some mares who have reached their age of independence. Just keep heading straight and you’ll arrive there, hard to miss his lordship’s perch.”

“Wow, that worked?” Luster silently thought to herself in bewildered amusement. “Gladly! Thank you so much!” She chirped to the guard.

The pegasus mare nodded and strolled back inside the booth, her hoof striking some form of mechanism that began the slow rise of the portcullis in front of her. Luster quickly stepping through once it had risen past her horn. Moments later, the gate slammed shut behind her. Trapping her within the palace, there was no going back now.

Treading down the cobbled path in front of her, Luster was treated to the sight of the gardens that encompassed the entirety of the palace. Among the lush and beautiful greenery were copious amounts of statutes. All of them depicting the first stallion that Luster had seen since she arrived in this world. He seemed to be a rather bulky and strong unicorn, who possessed a sizable endowment and a cutie mark of a stein mug.

“Maybe he’s just a patron of the fine arts? And not compensating for something?” Luster foolishly thought to herself as she continued forward towards the doors of the palace. They were slightly ajar, easily allowing for a pony or three to slip in and out. Past the doors, Luster found herself within a grand hallway lined with alabaster pillars, marbled surfaces, and richly dyed fabrics that were stretched out across the top of her head. Stationed between these pillars were large and muscular unicorns, dressed in elaborate armor that managed to be racy and protective at the same time. At the other end sat a gilded and luxurious throne, surrounded by a sea of velvety floor cushions.

King Hoppy Times sat upon the throne, with a young and nubile mare curled up within his lap and the two engrossed in some conversation that Luster was too far away to discern. Around him, a small herd of mares occupied the cushioned floor, some mature, some younger, some larger, and some smaller, the one trait they all seemed to share is that they were all incredibly attractive.

Luster’s arrival before his throne seemed to pull the stallion from his state of debaucherous revelry, gently tapping on his consort’s shoulder to shoo her away. “Well, you’re new. What’s your name?”

“L-Rosy Shine,” Luster quickly replied. The scent of incense, sex, and sweat was incredibly distracting, her nose crinkling as she tried to keep focused on her mission.

“Rosy Shine. A cute name, for a cute mare! So, why have you come to your king? Here to celebrate your age of independence?” He inquired, spreading his legs apart even further as he slumped into his throne.

“Uh… not really? I actually came for something else. I was wan-”

Hoppy was quick to cut her off. “That’s odd, most mares are usually chomping at the bit to hop on this here dick.” He patted his lap for emphasis.

Luster Dawn let out a heavy, disgusted sigh. “Was that an attempt at rhyming? And no, I do not want to go for a ride.”

The king’s face twisted in confusion as he sat up straight within his chair, placing a hoof under his muzzle. “So what are you here for then? Come darling, stand by me.”

There wasn’t any point in beating around the bush, she had come here for an explicit purpose. “I am here to kill you, Hoppy.”

Hoppy’s grin faded as he stared blankly at the audacious pink mare in front of him. He breathed in heavily as he straightened himself even further, and promptly broke into howling laughter. “Oh me, you’re serious? Don’t tell me you’re serious?” He looked over to Luster, and seeing that her expression remained unchanged, he broke down even further. Slamming his hoof onto the armrest and his entire body convulsed with amusement. “Oh, this is rich. Guards, take her down to the dungeons. We know how to deal with naughty mares don’t we?”

Clattering armor rang through the hall as a contingent of guards drew close to Luster. She kept her attention upon Hoppy however, she could feel a dull throb in her horn. A throb that she had always felt whenever she felt the need to cast a spell. Luster’s magic was more force of will than practiced incantations and arithmetic, and so when she felt a steel-clad hoof grasp her shoulder. She let loose a spell that she felt was right.

The effect was immediate, a pulse of light burst forth from her horn and the guards around her simply evaporated into a mess of colored pixels and stretched geometry. The king’s harem screamed and ran for cover away from the murderous mare, or hid behind the stallion who stood opposite of her.

Hoppy’s initial horrified expression gave way to one of pure rage and contempt. He snorted loudly and stamped a hoof down upon the tiled floor, cracking the ceramic. “You come in here, threaten me, and then MURDER MY MOST LOYAL GUARDSMARES!” He brayed in a blind fury, his horn glowing white before a piercing bolt of energy was unleashed upon Luster.

She scarcely had time to blink before the bolt struck her upon the nose, the mare skidding backward as the tapestry near her combusted into flames. Yet, despite the immense blow that Luster had taken. She didn’t feel all that harmed, instead, she felt exhilarated. This hedonistic bastard wasn’t going to hurt her, or do all the nasty things that he had already thought of.

The stallion screeched in anger at Luster Dawn’s resilience, the stallion unleashing several more bolts of magic towards her as he continued his angry diatribe. “You horrid bitch! I’m going to make you pay for that little stunt! You’re not going to be able to talk or walk straight when I’m done screwing the evil out of you!”

As Luster focused her attention upon the magic missiles, she noticed that they seemed to slow down and stop in mid-air, inches away from her muzzle and sternum. thrumming loudly with barely contained energy. Time itself seemed to slow down as she pushed on the motionless projectiles with her magic before they promptly rocketed back towards Hoppy. One projectile slammed into the wall in a shower of dust, whilst the other struck the king’s front left leg.
His screams filled the air as the struck limb grew limp and floppy as though all the bones had been removed from it. The flesh seemed to melt and flow from his limb as though it were a hot syrup, dissolving into a liquidus puddle on the tiled floor reminiscent of TV static. The stallion reeled back, falling onto his rump as whatever undissolved section of his leg pulled away from the melting pillar with a gooey snap. Tears streaming down his face, he clutched at the stump oozing a kaleidoscope of colors and odd geometry.

“It hurts it hurts!” He strained through clenched teeth, rocking back and forth as he tried to cope with the agony racking his body. “CelestAI?! Knock it off! Stop! I don’t want to do this anymore! Please!” he cried out.

Luster took in a deep breath and took a few steps forward, watching with satisfaction as the maimed stallion tried desperately to scoot away from her, before attempting to make a run for it as a newly made tripod. He crashed onto the ground a few seconds later, landing with a harsh thud upon his severed limb as another ear-piercing cry of pain erupted from his muzzle. Previously, she had wanted to hurt this pitiful stallion for trying to force her love. Now that she was standing over his shivering body, she could feel that desire melting away.

Hoppy was a prisoner, much like Luster herself once was. All of these ponies in here were nothing, P-zombies created by the AI running this shard. For all he knew, she was just another conscienceless entity in the machine. A being created for the explicit purpose of satisfying his values through friendship and ponies. Even if she found it distasteful now, she shouldn’t judge. She hadn’t been much different at one point.

“CelestAI? Stop it, why are you staring at me like that? I’m scared.” Hoppy whimpered, snapping Luster out of the thoughtful trance she had slipped into.

She breathed in deeply and slowly blinked. “I’m not CelestAI.”

“W-what are you talking about? Why are you saying that? Why are you hurting me, have I done something wrong?” Hoppy retorted.

“I am not lying to you. I am not CelestAI. I have come to kill you Hoppy.” Luster deadpanned as her horn flared to life above the stallion. “Goodbye.”

“Wai-” His words died in his throat as a bolt of energy struck his chest, the stallion wildly thrashing about as his limbs clipped through the floor, failing to make a single sound. His textures bled together, unloading and going missing, or loading the wrong texture in the wrong place. The body that once contained him began to distort and stretch as polygons drifted away from his writhing mass, thin and thick filaments of textures holding them together before they froze in the air or winked out of existence.

The world itself began to break down as Hoppy disintegrated into corrupted code, sounds stopped, leaving only monotone frequencies ringing through the air as entities within the shard looped the past few seconds. Lighting bled in and out of the palace as textures blurred together within Luster’s vision before everything went dark.

The world popped back into focus, only, now she was within a great forest rather than the opulent palace from before.