In fierce desperation, Sunset uttered.
Lizeli.
Burzum.
Exclaplzo.
And so he, to her confusion, thanked her, after the magic struck her.
Before Sunset could look back at the results of the spell, those three simple words, the contingent of royal guards had already begun dragging her forward to a place unknown per their unseen princess’s pained, yelled orders. The burning library fire smelt of paper and stone and glass. Sunset could feel the tendrils of magic tightening around her heart. Hardly able to breathe, she heard his reassurances in her voice. They did little to prevent the pounding dread, the sudden epiphany that her desire for power did not warrant what she’d just done. Ironically, from but minutes ago, she hoped the spell for alicornhood was ashes.
Sunset had nearly killed her.
Hot, fresh metal covered her horn, welded by the spell itself. It glowed faintly blue as they passed the palace’s confused inhabitants. A black gem radiated in the encasement’s center, its dark appearance inviting. The guards forced her to eventually tumble into the uneven hallways deep below the palace. Bright, nauseating white lit up the rough surfaces of mossy brick. He remarked, to her alone, about the familiarity of such surroundings. Sunset opted to simply listen, unable to trust no one, not even herself
Some walking later they came to a reclusive, darkened, cell-like room, off the maps and unknown to even her. Fear rapidly filled. Sunset tried to protest them forcing her in, but metal hoofwear socked her jaw, causing her to bite her tongue and bleed. While attempting to fumble away from the wall she hit, a piercing end of a spear impaled through her shoulder, sticking inside the stone wall. Sunset’s left forelimb went limp, paralyzed. Pain froze everything–she cowered, huddled against the wall, pinned to where she sat. Quite nasty of them, he remarked.
A series of booms commanded as the wings of a white alicorn flashed into view. They outstretched, spanning the entire length of the entrance, casting shadows upon her. He spoke ill of her before recusing himself for a moment. The room’s sole illumination emanated from the golden fire burning in her left eye. Golden leg and torso armor gleamed. The fresh field of the right face’s pink, raw flesh, and a bloody, gouged eye socket, tore Sunset's heart to no end. Strands of burning gray sparked throughout her vivid, ethereal mane. Sunset somehow mustered the will to speak.
“Mother, please, I-”
“You have no right to speak!”
Celestia’s self-restraint from obliterating her shivered Sunset to the core. Folding her wings, the princess stepped forward, uncaring for her former apprentice’s hazardous predicament. The hazy hallway light flooded back in. Blood poured forth from her wound, yet Sunset could do nothing, the unmovable night stone restraining her magic. He whispered to her it was for a good reason, that it’d be alright. The elite guards, fully armored and weaponized save one spear, readied themselves. Ragged breathing escaped Sunset, hardly able to comprehend the present.
Horror tugged at her heart.
Seeing the grievous injuries she’d inflicted upon her mother’s precious face minutes ago inflicted great guilt. Curiosity for that mirror obsoleted in the face of an alicorn’s full fury. Ice raced to consume her shriveling veins. Strands of black aura gripped the edges of her vision, the dark spell consuming her still, promising permanent residency. He quickly apologized for that fact between Sunset’s thoughts. One petty fight was all it took. To shatter her life in an instant. Only now Sunset did realize her arrogance, but mercy, it appeared, was not an option.
Celestia spoke aggressively. “You betray me.”
“I didn’t-”
A gargantuan hoof smacked across Sunset’s cheek, cutting deep. Her shoulder flesh shifted, and so she gasped accordingly. She slumped fully, the spear holding her hostage at a pain-inducing angle. Inky, tentacle-like tendrils peeped through her flesh, wishing to explore the newly acquired hole in their hostess. A blast of golden magic hit, scaring them inside whilst scalding Sunset’s skin. Tears streamed–the hot, salty water was her only solace in the fright. That action was not right, he said. Not but a day ago, she and Celestia shared a nice, if tense, dinner, as a family.
Why was this happening? Where did she do wrong?
His internal shadows whispered promises of answers.
In the lulling moment, she found it soothing.
“You didn’t what?” Celestia bit the air, daring her.
Reality came back to her. “I didn’t mean to unleash it, you startled me.”
“Excuses! I warned you not to use dark magic.”
“I didn’t know what would happen-” Sunset’s head rang as Celestia delivered a blow to the other cheek. Her head seethed.
A growl uttered in her throat. “I am your ruler, it doesn’t matter what I don’t say, you obey.”
“I was only studying-” Sunset tried, before Celestia stamped on her outlying forelimb, crushing it entirely. Furthaer ears sprang, trying to suppress the crushing pain.
“You conspire with ancient evil!”
“It was an accident!” Sunset pleaded.
Celestia’s ears flicked in dismissal. “There are no accidents like this, only fated ones. It seems Starswirl was right about that.”
“I’m sorry-” Another hit to her head.
“There are no takebacks for trying to kill me!”
“I’m sorry, mother!”
“You are no daughter of mine!”
“I-” Sunset’s tongue spattered and bled again as another hit forced her to bite hard.
“I found you in the streets. I gave you everything. And this is how you repay me?” Celestia’s body quaked.
Sunset looked up, vision blurry. Who was Celestia to judge her intentions, he said. She wasn’t always right; she was an imperfect ruler, unjustly punishing her heir. She refused to understand, even though Sunset was at fault for finding his ‘stupid book’. Elsewise, she wouldn’t be here. Sunset felt energy crackling through her heart, hearing Celestia’s labored breaths. It was an accident to free him into her, but who said he was evil? If her own mother didn’t give her own daughter a chance, what good was her word? He could help her. Everything hurt right now.
For nights, she ventured into the depths of archives, reading the forbidden works. Thinking she deserved to find out what her mother kept hidden from her, trying to figure out what that idiotic mirror hid. Wanting to be an alicorn, to hold power and prestige. Why did it take one mistake, one accidental utterance of words to ruin her and cause her to see the light? Sunset let her tears flow. She’d just finished the black-gemmed book, enthralled by its lavished descriptions of the magics. Then her mother burst in. Frightened by retribution, she uttered a supposedly powerful phrase, embedded in each page, not wishing punishment for being in the right.
Sunset still felt frizzled from the bursting explosion of gray-black energy.
He told her to stop meandering in her head.
Celestia glared, awaiting a response.
“Give me a chance…" Sunset weakly said.
Celestia spat. “Not in a thousand years has anyone turned on my back in such a manner.”
“I promise you-” Sunset hacked blood.
“You’ve been breaking those for a long time.”
It felt futile. “I know I’ve been-” Another suffering hit.
Celestia leaned down, bloodied, burnt-flesh face closer. “There is no possibility you didn’t do this on purpose.”
“Please…”
“We’re done here.”
“No, no, no, no…” Sunset softly wailed.
“Wall her up.”
And with that, Celestia exited, not even sparing a last glance at her adopted daughter. The guards broke formation by the slimmest of margins to let her pass. Celestia had made no move to save her from this curse. Nor to remove the blazing hot metal on her horn. She underestimates you, he told her; she thinks you too weak to break my curse; she wishes you to die here out of fear. A blue unicorn whistled–the bloodied spear shot straight out, shattering the bone completely. Sunset collapsed onto the stone ground completely. No one made a move to help her.
Hardly able to move, her body in a puddle of slick crimson, Sunset watched. Just a few minutes passed before flashes of light transported building materials. No one dared speak a word amongst themselves. Crippling silence fell. Sunset heard nothing except her damaged systems and their thin heartbeats. Scuffs of armor occasionally clanked. They hate you, he said, they don’t even take a moment to think their princess could be wrong, could be cruel. There was so much more he could offer if she allowed him to appear.
Soon enough, trowels scraped a heaping of wet concrete along the full length of the entrance wall. They carefully applied to leave no weakness in structure or allow a crack of light to phase through. A foundation perfectly gray, bland bricks and stone were surgically lined, one wall to the other. A second layer of concrete slathered over. The next row of stonework lined. Such was their design to blend in perfectly with the hallway. To be never questioned so that she may never be found.
Sunset mumbled to them, attempting to change any pony’s mind. But they refused, preferring to submit to their ruler’s will. Taller and taller, the newly constructed wall rose. They labored furiously. They took shifts between holding guard and building. All to efficiently lock and block her in faster. Sunset found herself thinking she had no way out other than accepting his help, despite him being a dark spirit. Tears flowed endlessly, Sunset begging them to reconsider. But none listened. Once marked, forever disowned, he said, no matter what.
The last lime of light died as they fitted the last piece of the puzzle. It slid in without hesitation. Sunset felt a patchwork of spells cast that were to strengthen its integrity. They do it to spite you, he suggested. Satisfied upon their completion, the new wall muffled their escape to an almost deafening level. Sunset lay unmoving, enough time having passed for her bleed to have coagulated. Her breath whimpered. Damp darkness sighed back to her. She could hardly process what they’d done to her.
Alone.
Abandoned.
Trapped.
All for one mistake.
She was going to die.
Unless…
Lizeli.
Burzum.
Exclaplzo.
She summoned him, now that only they remained.
A ghostly light burst forth from the gem. It projected a waving, silvery mist. The room illumined as if it were a forest under moonlight. The edges of the substance rippled. He stepped forth from the side closest to Sunset. The phantom occupant of the night stone stood before her. A crystal sheen coated his vibrant orange coat. Silver eyes and a matching white mane gleamed. For a being so old, he was relatively young. A mysterious air of unease surrounded him. Yet an irregular beat thumped in Sunset’s chest at his handsome appearance.
One fact did surprise her.
“You… are an earth pony?
“Always have been.” He spoke in a cheerful, light voice, with a slight inquisitiveness.
Sunset did not want to waste time bleeding, but information was needed. “What is your name?”
“Forlex. Pleased to meet you, Sunset Shimmer.”
“And you know my last name, how?’ She raised an eyebrow at his friendliness.
Forlex shrugged. “One of the side effects of being a possessing entity.”
“Right…” She shivered some. “I’d prefer to know why.”
“You’d have to ask Celestia.”
Not the best pony to be stuck with, but he was unnervingly, refreshingly honest. “You must’ve been wickedly powerful for them to seal you away.”
He shrugged. “I did some pretty ungood things back in the day. Ya know, kingdom conquering, genocides, accumulating spell knowledge, slavery, the like. Basic warlock shenanigans.”
“And you’re soooo much better now?” Sunset pushed.
“Not really, just more relaxed. No aversions to killing, really.”
This did not raise trust any further. “You sound pretty different from the sinister voice as I was berated.”
“Yeah, kind of thing I can’t change until brought forth into this manifestation,” he explained.
“I like the comfort,” Sunset admitted. “But the way you judged others, spoke to me, is pretty sketchy.”
Forlex blinked. “You expecting anything else from an ancient stallion cooped up for a millennium?””
“I don’t like that answer.” She wanted to be healed, to escape, but she had to be sure.
“I can tell,” Forlex acknowledged. “You’re bleeding out, and I’m a spirit of dark magic inside of you.”
Everything felt strangely mellow about Forlex, threatening as he may be. Sunset wiped her eyes dry, moods shifted. “I feel… chill around you.”
“Maybe you like me?” Forlex swished his silvery tail.
His unexpected casualness elicited a small giggle. “After lighting up the royal archives, nearly killing my mother, nearly killing myself, being condemned and disowned by her, and being walled alive to die for treason without trial?” she questioned.
“Yeah? Go on.”
That surprised her. “Huh… well, it’s a relief?”
Forlex nodded. “I’d bargain so.”
It’d been so long in darkness, dew dropped on her. “What do you get out of it?”
“‘I’m trapped in you, as part of your magical conduits, until we work something.”
“There’s always a catch,” Sunset growled.
“Mmhm,” he conceded. “That being said, I don't know how to exit you.”
If she had a drink, she’d commit to a spit take. “So you’re just stuck with me?”
“More or less,” he admitted.
“And your stupid horn thing makes sure I can’t do magic?”
Forlex clicked his tongue. “Sure, I can shoot out stuff, do a little magic for you, or hold your flesh together. But that’s it, physically."
“That’s just great.” She really wanted to kick him, but she was a crippled mess. And he was pretty much a ghost. "So we’re stuck together?”
“You’ve got no one else,” Forlex said. “Like I said, they hate you now, won’t give you a chance. Celestia is rather evil herself sometimes.”
Sunset bit her lip. “And you’re not?”
“Never claimed I wasn’t.”
“Very manipulative speech there.” Apprehension tickled.
“The demon you know, ya know?”
“That… is true.”
“So,” Forlex reached out a hoof symbolically, jumping the griffon. “Partners in villainy against Celestia?”
Irritation flared in a snap. “Such actions would only cement the arrogance that took nearly dying to realize I was wrong about just a few hours ago!” Sunset gulped for oxygen.
“And?” His tone rang as genuine.
“Which your book did!” She pointed at her locked horn.
“Heyyyy, never said I never took precautions with that thing before she trapped me. Nor did I ever advise my spell in the margins!”
Sunset wanted to argue, but Faust, he was right.
How could he be so frustrating… and so charming?
He smiled, reading her face, of course.
She found herself grumbling, if not blushing a bit for no good reason.
“You are impossible.” Sunset spat.
“I’m waiting for you to make up your mind.”
“While I’m dying?”
“Your choice as to what to do, what to offer.” His hologram form sat down, yawning.
Sunset felt conflicted. On one hoof, Celestia locked this devious deviant away for a reason. There was much she did not know, except not to dabble with dark magic. Yet she was now knee-deep into it, mistake or otherwise. She’d been sentenced to death with no trial by her mother’s words and anger. She’d nearly killed her. But that shouldn’t be an excuse when understanding and redemption were key things she’d taught to her. Lessons she’d ignored for power she realized too late she didn’t deserve. The end result was a flurry of hypocriticisms tearing them apart.
If she wanted a chance to atone, she must live. Forlex’s mysterious dark magic held the key to her survival. The multitude of unknowns about him were cause for great anxiety. Nonetheless, something about him caused to feel the smallest flutter buried in her concerns. That, and she was dying. A contract of some form was the implication. She longed, more than ever, to regain her mother’s love or make her see the errors of her ways. It’d be an arduous journey for them both. But it would be worth it for her in the end.
Sunset swung her gaze to him. “I have a proposal.”
Forlex cocked his head. “Go on.
“For healing me, I offer friendship.”
“Hmmm…” He contemplated. “A most unusual offer.”
“What more could you want?” she quizzed.
“And not what you could want?” Forlex countered. “No vengeance, justice, power, greed, lust, no?”
Sunset steadied her breath. “Let’s start small."
“Not sure I like it…”
“If we’re friends, we’ll find something we both eventually like, no?”
“Hmm….”
By the sparkles in his mane, Sunset knew she’d already convinced him.
“... deal.” He walked to her, misty aura moving in tandem, putting his hoof inches from her crushed one.
“To friendship, and the future?” Sunset spoke.
Forlex’s eyes twinkled. “And perhaps something more, if it happens, Sunset?”
“Perhaps so, Forlex.” A second irregular rhythm rapped.
She agonizingly reached her hoof out to touch his.
Lizeli.
Burzum.
Exclaplzo.
He smiled at her, the dark tendrils swirling to work.
She felt a heated smile curl up in return.
