Blackmail the Moon

“How…how did you do this?” Silvertongue demanded from Luna, who was only smirking her own smug expression at him. “It was perfect, the contract was perfect!” His rage, confusion, and fear all blurred together. “I commanded you to never harm me!”

“And how have I harmed you?” Luna asked, laughing a mocking tone at the now trembling stallion. “I have brought you no harm, and you never commanded me not to give you the perfect dream.”

“But I…it can’t…how long…” Silvertongue asked, his own expression sinking as a number of thoughts dawned on him. “How long has this all been a dream?”

“Only recently.” Luna explained, scoffing at the stallion. “In truth, I could’ve done this whenever I desired. Though I only just realized this when you left me with the timber wolves.” She sighed, somewhat ashamed of herself, but composed herself again. “But for so long, you had left me in such a state of panic, fear, and worry, that I had forgotten what I was capable of. And now, by your own words, as stated in the contract, I am free.”

“That can’t be right!” Silvertongue snapped, trying his best to argue the alicorn. “This is a dream, it’s not real!”

“It is indeed, quite real. Though only I can bend it to be so.” Luna said, only for her lips to girl into a much more wicked and sinister expression. “And as Princess of the Night, Matron of Dreams, I have absolute authority here.” The surrounding, ethereal plane slowly shifted, becoming darker, and there was a faint echo of what sounded like whispering screams. Even the mare’s body seemed to slowly become more and more intense and terrifying. “And among all dreams, there are always…nightmares!”

The trial of Silvertongue was on the gossiping and whispering lips on everypony in Canterlot, with some even across Equestria hearing about it. A unicorn stallion, on trial for conspiracy charges against the Alicorn Sisters. It was quite a shock to the many ponies. They have endured monster attacks, foreign forces invading them, and even some evil cross dimensional horrors. But the idea of one of their own being so cruel, and to conspire to overthrow both Princesses was just something the citizens of Canterlot would never have considered. His face was plastered across the city, with even the seediest of gambling dens placing bets on the punishment. The majority was thinking banishment to tartaras, while others were wondering if the death penalty would be brought back after its multi millennia long ban.

The once proud, once smut stallion was sitting in his dungeon cell. His body seemed to have been partially beaten and bruised, no doubt from the many loyal guards who wanted to see what they could get away with before the Princesses could do something about them. Even both the Day Captain and Night Captain were especially cruel to him, making sure Silvertongue couldn’t expose their own corruption to the alicorns. Not that it mattered, Luna was going to deal with them, as well as the rest of the Royal Guard personally. But for the time being, Silvertongue was going to be the one who suffered first. The mental torment she inflicted upon him was only a start, leading to his sleepless nights. He was in a near constant state of exhaustion, with every resting moment being filled with what felt like centuries of agony and horror from Luna’s endless nightmares.

“Looks like the verdict is gonna be tomorrow.” One of the jailors commented to another one. “You hear that, you fucking scum?” His mocking laughter didn’t seem to get any reaction from the stallion. “Well, let’s hope they banish you to tartaras. I can buy the wife and kids some nice gifts with my winnings.”

“Oh? You bet on the banishment?” The other jailor asked with some chuckling. “I bet on the death penalty, it’s still in the Royal Degree, even if it’s really old. Treason and Conspiracy is punishable by death. So I think I’m gonna have a hot meal, maybe bring the rest of the guys to that club we went to last week.”

“If I could ask you both to not take too much enjoyment from this.” Princess Celestia’s voice spoke, causing the two jailors to nearly jump out of their skin from her sudden appearance. “His punishment will be fitting. Leave us.” The guards did as they were told, saluting, leaving the alicorn to the stallion.

Celestia looked down at Silvertongue, this vulgar stallion who had tormented her precious sister. As soon as Luna was freed from the contract, she told her everything. The solar monarch could only weep, crying months of tears, uncertain feelings, and endless worry over the wellbeing of her sister. She blamed so much of this on herself, not approaching Luna when she was acting strange. Celestia wanted Luna to be her own mare, to come to her if she would ever need it, and the fact she had been suffering for so long at the disgusting hands and foul commands of this stallion filled the Princess with a rage that could almost melt the metal of his cell door. But instead, she looked at him with a coldness, a deep, silent hatred in her eyes. It would be all too easy to just kill him, roast him alive, flay him, and scatter his remains to the four corners of Canterlot’s city walls. But she was not a monster, she was going to give him an appropriate punishment.

“The decision has been made, and I am not a cruel Princess.” Celestia said, though it was clear she was holding back a lot of her anger. “You are allowed one last night of peace before you are to be banished to Tartarus. There, you will live on, forever. Imprisoned, banished, and alone.” Silvertongue said nothing, he was far too weak to do so. “I just wanted to see the most hated pony in my kingdom, and what he will do on his final night.” Nodding her head, she left him.

That night, sleep didn’t come to Celestia. She tossed and turned, feeling the weight of what she was going to do. She didn’t want to give this stallion, this bastard, the peaceful, albeit isolated, eternity in Tartaras. She would rather just kill him and be done with it. Given her vast power, it would be easy for Celestia to kill this stallion over and over again before the Sun would rise, either just leaving him dead and blaming some made up assassin, suicide, or simply that some strange accident happened. She shook her head with such thoughts. She was the Princess, the co-ruler of Equestria, and she had to respect and obey the due process. But then again, she was partially the law, she could just say the crime was so severe, that he deserved this.

Over and over again, she tossed and turned in her bed, mentally debating with herself about it. But eventually, she just couldn’t hold it all in anymore. Silvertongue was a bastard, a hated scoundrel who deserved only the most extreme of punishments. But Celestia wasn’t cruel, she would just make it a quick and simple death. It would absolutely be the most painful moment of Silvertongue’s life, the last sensation he would even feel would be the burning hatred of Celestia’s wrath, but then he would be ashes. Dead, gone, and eventually forgotten. Sitting up in her bed, she let out one last sigh. She felt terrible for what she was about to do, but this moment only lasted a moment. He made her sister suffer, and she was going to have some measure of vengeance on him.

Like a shadow on the wall, Celestia strove silently. Not a single patrolling guard was visible, and while this wasn’t much of a concern, seeing both jailors resting at their station brought a sense of worry on her face. And upon seeing the cell door was open, and Silvertongue was nowhere to be seen, Celestia’s eyes flared up in a rage. He had escaped?! But how? How could he possibly have escaped? He was bound, magically sealed, there shouldn’t have been a single thing that could’ve allowed him to leave. Unless he had help. The very notion that anyone would ally with this stallion filled Celestia with a violent naustia. That couldn’t be it. Igniting her horn, she let out a massive ripple of magic. She would find him, Silvertongue would not escape her wrath. When the bing within her mind echoed out, she felt where he was, the Royal Gardens.

Teleporting there, Celestia’s eyes became even wider than before. Silvertongue was there, but he was still bound, gagged, and on his knees. But it was who he was with that made the mare shiver. Luna, along with Discord, was standing there in front of the stallion. The mare was staring down at him with utter disgust, while the chaotic creature was busy snapping his fingers quietly, staring into what appeared to be some rift into some dimensions Celestia could only imagine. Was this what they were planning on doing? Banishing Silvertongue to some outer dimension, a punishment even worse than tartaras? And as she was pondering what she could do, her appearance was quickly noticed.

“Celestia?!” Luna gasped for a moment, looking at her sister nervously. “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Celestia said, slowly walking over to her sister. “How could I? With such a vile stallion still around, I feel I couldn’t get a good night’s sleep. Not until he was banished away.” She got a better look at what Discord was staring into, and there was just too much happening in this rift, she had to look back to Luna. “And what are you doing?”

“Dealing with a criminal.” Discord answered, not looking back at Celestia as he continued to look through the rifts. “Honestly, when I first heard about what this guy did to Luna, I was very disturbed. I honestly didn’t think there was any pony so fucked up.” His tone started getting more and more aggressive. “And while I don’t care enough about the wellbeing of Equestria compared to you two, when Luna told me who he had made victims of, and who he planned to target next, it made me quite angry.” His tone was more like a savage growl than formal speech. Turning his head at the stallion, his eyes were like a fire. “He was going to touch Fluttershy. And I do not forgive that.”

“So I asked him to help me.” Luna explained. “Discord is currently selecting the appropriate place to leave this stallion. And well, it turns out, there are many dimensions of absolute suffering and misery.”

“So that’s your plan?” Celestia asked, now better understanding what was happening. “To narrow down the most painful, mind shattering, and agonizing dimension to throw him in? Completely circumvent the legal system you and I both reign over, and must respect?”

“Yes.” Luna said coldly, looking at her sister with an intense gaze. “Are you going to stop me?” Celestia paused, having never seen her with such a look in her eyes.

“No.” Celestia said, slowly shaking her head. “You’re right. He has inflicted pain upon you. A pain I don’t think I will ever be able to fully understand.” Nodding a little, she took a deep breath. “Please, let me help you.”

“Help?!” Discord gasped a little, laughing a little. “Oh wow, I guess times have changed, if you’re gonna break your own laws.” Then, an idea struck his mind. “Oh yes! I believe I actually know the best dimension we can toss him.” His lips curled into a sinister smile. “A custom one, using the three of us together, we can craft the most…appropriate prison for him.”

“You would have us combine our magic together? Craft some extra dimensional space, tailor made to make sure this still suffers the most from it?” Celestia asked, to which Discord nodded. One look at Luna, and she could see just how into the idea she was. Sighing, she nodded. “Very well, let us begin.”

“Excellent, excellent!” Discord cheered, snapping his fingers. The rift besides him shifted to be more like a blank space within a seemingly endless void. “Just imagine the punishment you want for him to suffer, and it’ll be made.”

Walking over to this rift, both alicorns reached out with their hands. Igniting their horns, they let their imagination fuel the passions of this spell. The rift slowly began to ripple, shift, and mold to the new shape that was being brought into existence. This void was deep, dark, and the echoing screams carried over. Dread and fear immediately trickle across Celestia’s being. It was like her very soul was trembling in the fear of what existed within this rift. Even though they were the ones crafting it with their feelings, their passions, and their desires, there was something that made the solar alicorn’s very scared. Surely this wasn’t something Luna could come up with, right? Looking over, the way the lunar alicorn held her eyes at this rift was indeed being molded by what she desired. It had been many centuries since she had seen such a look in her sister’s eyes, and Celestia felt afraid.

“Oh wow! Now that’s a dimension of agony if I’ve ever seen one.” Discord chuckled, clapping his hands a little. “But I feel it’s missing something. Let me help you out.” Extending his hands, he let out his own will, thoughts, and feelings into this rift.

The interior of this rift was now shifting. Remaining the darker colors, but other blends were mixing in. Now it was less of a deep, dark void, and slowly becoming more like a vast and infinite space. Celestia couldn’t believe the sheer beauty, and yet horror that could exist in such a dimension. Her thoughts couldn’t help but imagine the pain and agony that Silvertongue was going to be subjected to. Looking at him for a moment, she could see the broken and defeated look on his face. Not a single thought of escape was on his face. For a fraction of a second, she almost felt pity for him, knowing that once in, there would be no escape. Would he simply die after a few seconds? Minutes? Decades? Eons? Did Discord and Luna plan to have him somehow live forever in this state of perpetual pain and suffering?

Shaking her head a little, she accepted that this was going to happen. Even if she felt something, some semblance of sympathy and mercy, she knew neither Discord nor Luna would allow this to end now. And that’s only if she felt anything that remotely resembled mercy. Within her heart, looking deep inside her very being, Celestia felt nothing for this stallion. He no longer even felt like killing some evil bastard. It was more like taking out the trash, something that is simply done, not even thought about. Was that how Silvertongue, this stallion who had brought so much suffering, so much pain, so much misery, to have it all end as a simple matter of fact. He was going to go into this void, he was going to be banished from this world, never to return. And that would be it. He couldn’t hurt anyone, he couldn’t cause any more misery on anyone, ever again.

“It’s done.” Discord commented, nodding, content with what he had helped create. “I must say, this is the most devious and wicked dimension I have ever seen.” Looking over to the princesses, he smiled. “Ready?”

“Just a moment, I just want one more word with him.” Luna said, kneeling down to look at Silvertongue. Looking in his eyes, she could tell the countless nightmares she inflicted on him had left him almost soulless. “Silvertongue, or whatever your name truly was, before the Sun rises, you will be gone, and I will forever be free from you.” Tears started to slowly pour down her cheek. “Everypony you hurt, every life you have destroyed, ruined, and shattered, will be free of you. There will not be a single soul in this world who will remember you, and you will be nothing but a bad, forgotten memory.”

Stepping to the side, Celestia and Discord let Luna be the one to cast Silvertongue into this void. Lifting him, not with magic, but with her own hands, she dragged the stallion to this rift. There were faint flickers of doubts and worries. Maybe he would spring to life, grab her and drag her screaming into this place with him? Or perhaps he would try and make a run for it? Or even try and get the alicorns to kill him, rather than banish him into an eternity of torment. But Silvertongue made no such actions. He said no words. Even his eyes were almost as hollow as the void he was being banished to. All his plans, all his schemes, they have all been broken, and there was not a single thing he could do about it. And now, only pain awaited him.

“Goodbye, Silvertongue.” Luna said, lifting and then throwing the stallion through the rift. “Begone, and be forgotten.”

Entering the void, the stallion felt every surge of pain, fear, sadness, and all the negative, dark, and agonizing emotions that he had inflicted upon others. Even in his seemingly death-like state, the sensation was too much for him. His eyes sparked with life again, and looking at Luna, all he held was the pain, the fear, and the overwhelming sorrow. Discord, staring into the void, smirked the most sinister expression, while Celestia held only the same stoic expression as before. But for Luna, she watched him, her tear filled eyes continued to see as Silvertongue fell all the way through this endless void. She gazed at the stallion’s now eternal suffering, up until Discord, content with the screams, decided to close this rift, sealing the bastard stallion away, forever.

When the portal closed, that was it. Though it wasn’t a flash of light, booming sound, or anything that could be seen or heard, something was strangely felt. It was like the very existence of Silvertongue was erased. He wasn’t just banished, he was forgotten, removed from all manner of space, time, and dimension. It was as if he had never existed, especially among the countless victims he had. All across Equestria, countless ponies dropped to their knees, or lay in their beds, letting out a loud scream and cry of all that agony finally coming to an end. The nightmare was over, he was gone, forever. Luna, who had suffered so much, could feel the joy of what she had experienced washing away. Dropping down on her knees, her own crying screams echoed out across the city.

Snapping his fingers, Discord gave her a nice, soundproof bubble to let it all out. Celestia reached out and placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. Getting on her knees to join her, Celestia cried too. Holding Luna in a loving embrace, the alicorn sisters let out all their intense, sorrowful emotions. Discord chose to be respectful, and gave the sisters the time they needed. It wasn’t until the Sun rose over the horizon, that the three of them left the gardens. And as time would move on, Luna would work through the trauma that remained within her. And with the help of Celestia, along with the best therapists in Equestria, slowly but surely, Silvertongue was fully forgotten by his final victim.