Chapters The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 0: Awakening of Retribution.
Deep within a secluded mountain on the edge of Zebra territory was a cavern, beautiful pillars and statues of ancient deities were carved into the rock that, despite being clearly worn and battered from who knows how long in neglect, still retained some impotence. The cavern extended into the depths, passing from a colossal antechamber to several convoluted corridors and finally to an inner chamber, seen from the outside, it seemed no different from the rest of the cavern except for the fact that it seemed to be flooded by a strange substance, this swirled in the air radiating an intense blue glow and stopping just at the entrance, like a huge block of ice.
Breaking with the eminent neatness of the chamber in the center of the room was a brutal scene. Zebras dressed in armor and armed with polished stone swords lay apparently dead on the floor, some were missing limbs which rested meters away, others simply had deep cuts on their bodies and there were some lying decapitated, the curious thing is that, like the rest of the room, their bodies seemed frozen in time, you could see how some, despite having already perished, were halfway to fall to the floor, the blood flowing from their wounds remained halfway to the ground, The blood that flowed from their wounds kept floating, shooting like a waterfall that never rested among the rocks, the more you looked towards the center of the room, the more you could see a pattern, going from lying witches with glassy eyes to witches that were barely conscious of the imminence of their death, all culminating finally in a figure that broke the bloody spectacle of black and white stripes.
The room was enveloped in an impossible silence, even for the unfathomable gloom of the cavern, and the battle scene remained immovable, there was no apparent reason for such an impossible phenomenon, unless one appreciated what was hidden behind the chaos. At the back of the room, right in its center, stood a pedestal, this one was much taller than the others and was in the process of being toppled, frozen in an instant when one of the bodies was hurled in its direction, causing it to fall and whatever it held. Barely detached from the base of the pedestal, suspended like everything else, was an artifact, it was much like an hourglass, in fact, you could say it was just that, made of what appeared to be gold its shape was dizzying to the naked eye, it looked like an expire which impossibly seemed to turn on itself at an unnatural angle, so that one could not even discern it was possible that it could have been held on the pedestal at one time.
Suddenly, an imperceptible sound, impossibly low but resounding throughout the cavern, anyone could have sworn it sounded like the tinkling of a cowbell, and in an instant, everything came crashing down.
A roar finally broke the impenetrable silence followed by the termination of a choked scream and a shriek of fury.
No one could know exactly how long it took her to regain her composure, but finally, and with difficulty, she managed to get up leaning against one of the pillars of the chamber, she could adjust her sight enough to appreciate her surroundings, she saw the bodies of the guards on the floor and for an instant she was alarmed thinking that at any moment more could come but she quickly realized that, if so, it would have already happened, She was shocked to also notice that the hustle and bustle that she remembered a moment ago had been completely extinguished, she looked outside the chamber and felt a chill when she saw the darkness outside, she did not understand how the torches outside the chamber had been extinguished while the ones around her were still glowing.
Unable to contain the rising terror she frantically returned inside the chamber, stumbling a couple of times before collapsing back onto the floor. The unicorn crawled in terror to the back of the room, as far away from the darkness as possible, leaning her back against the wall and placing her hooves over her ears, squeezing her head tightly as she tried to control her breathing, her gaze was fixed on the floor as she tried to silence the ringing in her ears, she didn't understand what was going on, Her mind was spinning trying to process what that feeling was, that discomfort, for a moment it crossed her mind that she could even be dead, but the assimilation of this did not last long as she was brought back to reality by the pain of the wounds that the zebras had caused her, which, although they were bleeding profusely, had not been noticed until now. The unicorn finally managed to pull herself together, being able to think clearly, trying to sort out her memories, she remembered herself infiltrating the cavern, eluding guards and finally heading to the relic chamber, but she had made a mistake, she had been discovered and had been forced to fight for her life, cornered and at a disadvantage and after that, nothing. She thought over and over again, there was nothing else, after that she fell to the ground vomiting and found herself in the same cavern, but with something wrong; lost in her thoughts the unicorn could not find correlation between her last memory and her current situation, she simply did not understand, everything was too blurry to a point where, in an attempt to reminisce, it took her a whole minute to remember her own name.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the unicorn stood up, still wobbling a bit but doing her best not to fall, quickly, finding herself more lucid, she tore part of her robes, cleaned and covered her wounds, looking at her panorama more clearly now, she advanced a couple of steps towards the center of the chamber before her hooves hit something on the ground. Turning her gaze she came upon the small hourglass at her feet, which made her jump, a memory crossed her mind, her reason for infiltrating the cavern in the first place, cautiously she approached the artifact, she looked at it deeply resting on the ground before flashing her horn, levitating it and holding it in front of her face. The clock held its immaculate golden form with no imperfection whatsoever, the unicorn found herself mesmerized by the object trying to understand exactly what she was looking at but quickly desisted, she didn't want any more headache; despite this there was something about the artifact that unsettled her, she recognized it, it was what she had come for, but something was not the same, she could have sworn that, just a moment ago, as she struggled, the artifact radiated a bright blue glow.
She quickly put it in her saddlebag while she levitated the handle of her sword again but this time without lighting the blade, her improvised preparation was interrupted by a brief flash in the room. As she examined the torches around her, she could notice how they began to lose brightness, the thundering cold of the cavern was beginning to extinguish its flames quickly, the unicorn sighed heavily while with her magic she quickly levitated some gold pieces, putting them away. The light in the room threatened to be extinguished at any moment, the mare looked around her for the last time, she looked down and saw herself reflected in the pool of blood that had covered the entire floor. Recognizing herself in the reflection, she looked up with determination as the last glimmer of light faded and the air began to fill with the stench of the bodies on the floor.
Author's Note
A small prologue to a story that has been in the pipeline for a long time.
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 14: Red under Black and White.
Celestia opened her eyes slowly, through the window of her room she could appreciate the beautiful starry sky of the early morning, the princess of the sun could not help but smile as she settled into the fluffy sheets of her big bed, she felt full, not only because of the passionate night she had just had but also because of the fact that, before long, all the stress and worry she had suffered the last few months would soon be over, she just had to be patient and she was sure that, before she knew it, she would have that desperate unicorn's head and Twilight back.
All these pleasant thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she felt something moving on the other side of her bed, she knew what it was instantly and couldn't help but frown.
Celestia then stood up abruptly, pushing the sheets aside and waking the peacefully sleeping pony.
“Ah...uh..what?”
“I thought I told you I wanted you to get out of here, as soon as you were done...” said Celestia with a slight tone of annoyance in her voice as she walked over to her dressing table and began to fix her tousled mane.
The big stallion with white fur and electric blue hair, noticing the serious tone of his princess was quite taken aback, it was nothing like the carefree and seductive tone of voice with which Celestia had convinced him to accompany her to her chambers, neither did it resemble the violent moans and breathless whinnies his princess had been making as he rode her hard, the confusion did not allow him to work out a coherent response.
“Oh emm yes, I remember your highness, but...well I thought maybe...” his stammering was abruptly interrupted.
“Take your fucking armor and get the fuck out of my room” This time the annoyed tone was perfectly discernible accompanied with a touch of demand and sternness.
Somewhat intimidated the stallion stood up as quickly as he could clumsily grabbing his armor from the floor and hurrying out into the hallway.
Celestia recovered her smile when silence reigned again in the room, in other times she wouldn't have even thought of getting involved with such an inferior specimen as that guard, but, since Bek had shown his face before her, she had found herself wrapped in endless emotions and feelings that she thought she would never feel again in her life.
The white alicorn walked to her private bathroom, shining her horn to turn on the lights and start filling the bathtub with hot water while humming the same song as always, Celestia still remembered where that melody came from, it was the one her mother used to sing to her on the nights she had trouble falling asleep, she had long forgotten the lyrics, but the tune remained engraved in her mind.
Obviously sex was at the top of the list, the recurring tingling in her crotch had become almost unbearable since everything started to get out of control, Celestia herself was surprised to realize that, she was a mare who had spent over fourteen hundred years without carnal companionship other than her own, second on her list was torture, a pastime she had become very fond of at the time, something more difficult to achieve considering the way things were going, but she was sure that sooner or later she would have the opportunity to take it up again, the alicorn bit her lower lip at the thought of that, and finally at the end of the list was something that she knew would not be possible, not for a while at least, in fact the longing for this again, was what had been bothering her the most, she wished with all her strength to see her face reflected in the mirror, not her mask of kind eyes and rainbow hair, but her true face, the one she had almost forgotten.
Celestia couldn't help but let out a melancholic sigh at the fleeting memory, caressing her face with her hooves, at that moment she realized that it was getting late to raise the sun, she quickly shone her horn, bringing her soaps and sponges closer so she could clean herself properly, she made sure to clean her belly area very well as she didn't want any trace of the stallion fluids on her fur, she couldn't help but let out a giggle at the memory of how the guard, while lost in the passion of their encounter, had begged her to cum inside her, “Poor idiot” thought Celestia, as needy as she was, and even though she knew there was no risk, she would never in a million years let herself be defiled in such a degrading way ‘Semen in the vagina is for whores and brood mares’ she thought to herself as she finished washing and levitated a towel to start drying herself.
Leaving the bathroom she quickly went back to her dressing table, seeing that on it rested both her crown and her necklace, Celestia looked at them deeply, those things had been the chains she had forced herself to wear in order to guarantee that her plan would be carried out and yet, right now she had mixed feelings, just the thought of having to wear them one more day made her feel disgusted with herself.
Luna was, once again, on the balcony of her room, once again watching over the night of Equestria and its inhabitants.
She could tell perfectly during dinner with Celestia, the way she came on to that guard so lewdly, it was disgusting to watch, and even worse was being able to hear her sister's excited whinnies echoing throughout the castle all night long that, on the other hoove, was obscene.
Luna, on the other hoove, remained cool, trying to find a way to help Twilight and her friends with the enormous task that now weighed on her shoulders, she was already drawing a precise plan to provide support and keep a low profile for Celestia, she still had to test the ground a little more, but she was sure that she already had clear ways to help Twilight, she only had to make contact with her and she knew perfectly well how to do it.
At that moment the guttural, strange voice came to the back of her mind once again.
“You're being too far fetched...” the voice spoke in a mocking, mock tired tone.
“I'm being cautious,” Luna replied irritably.
“You shouldn't have to be...!” the voice exclaimed ”Let's just go and punch your sister's snout shut!”
“You know as well as I do that if we do that we'll end up dead...”
“Just the way you are now of course you will, just look at you, it will sound ironic, but you are a shadow of what you used to be, you can't even make a simple shadow dance anymore...”
“And let me guess do you have the solution for that growing weakness?” said Luna sarcastically.
“If only you would come back up here and join me again we wouldn't have to fear that bitch anymore...”
“The answer is still no!” exclaimed Luna with annoyance ”Besides she's not a bitch, she's our sister.”
“She's a sick sadistic whore, you know that as well as I do, her being in charge is a recipe for disaster...”
“Well, you and I are no different...” interrupted Luna ”If I come back to you I won't be any different from her...”
The voice laughed uproariously, with great guffaws that echoed in Luna's mind, causing her to get a slight headache.
“Hay honey, are you seriously still lying to yourself with that? You know perfectly well that has nothing to do with it, me, I'm just a figment of your imagination, a dream you had for so long that it became real, I'm not your selfishness or your envy or your lust and, much more importantly, I'm not your evil...”
Luna fell silent at this, she didn't know what to reply, she knew she was right, at her silence, the voice simply continued, this time with a kinder tone.
“All the aspects you fear about yourself are still in you, I am just a representation of your refusal to accept that fact...”
Luna let out a sigh as she closed her eyes, she could feel the voice fade and drift away, leaving her mind silent again.
At that moment the alicorn noticed a slight light hitting her face, she opened her eyes and found the night sky slightly illuminated, the sun was slowly beginning to rise on the horizon.
She knew that this was her cue to end her sleepless night, and, although at any other time she would be delighted by this fact, as it meant she could finally go to bed, she knew she had a pending appointment in the throne room, Celestia had summoned her and the pillars first thing in the morning to discuss the precarious situation in which the kingdom found itself.
This did not please her at all as it meant that her sister was already picking her chips, something that put even more on the table the idea that the calm before the storm would not extend much longer.
Luna then went back inside her room, she had to get ready, she flashed her horn by turning on the faucet above her large sink allowing it to fill quickly, levitating her crown and placing it to the side right with a necklace.
Her mind began to wander as she immersed herself in her labor, and as always, since she started this whole conflict, her ramblings led her mind to a single thought, Bek.
She remembered the fearless and devoted soldier she met by chance, with a look so full of courage and life, and she remembered, to her horrible thinking, how, at that moment, all she could think of when she saw her was that she wanted to break her until all she could see in her gaze was agony and sadness.
Once she finished washing, she dried her face with a small towel, put on her royal ornaments again and left her room, while she tried to calm and serenity her mind.
“So does anyone know why we were called so urgently?” asked Rockhoof scratching his head.
“I don't know, but it seems to be something very serious...” began Mistmare ”At least it must be if she had us all come on such short notice.”
“With everything that's been going on lately I wouldn't be surprised, the princesses have been greatly outclassed” exclaimed Flash Magnus firmly.
“But, we have not received news about the situation at any time, if this has worsened I think we should have heard about it before” said Somnambula looking more intrigued than worried.
“Maybe the princesses didn't want to worry us, but now that everything has worsened they felt the need to ask for our help, more so now that the elements of harmony are gone” said exalted Mage Meadowbrook.
“Actually Mage has a point...” started little Stygar ”If Twilight and all her friends are gone, it is likely that Celestia would want help to replace them as protectors of Equestria, but, even so, if their whereabouts are not known, the situation is likely to be much more dire than we could imagine.”
“Please my friends calm down “Star Swirl began in a calm voice ”Please think about it for a second, we are talking about the princesses Celestia and Luna, they have faced multiple difficulties since even before we did not unite as the pillars, there is no situation or problem that they cannot solve and, in the case that this one is too much even for them, we should be here to offer our advice and support, it is our job, even retired and somewhat old we are the guardians of this land.”
Luna watched as Stars Swirl gave a pleasant smile to her old friends, calming their doubts and making everyone relax, talking about more banal things.
The alicorn couldn't help but feel a tightening in her stomach at the innocent optimism of Stars Swirl and her companions, she gritted her teeth before a fleeting thought of warning them, quickly dismissing such an unguarded action, instead she simply cleared her throat, announcing her arrival.
They all turned to see Luna slowly approaching as she gave them a forced smile.
“Oh Princess Luna, how nice to see you again!” exclaimed Stars Swirl.
“Likewise old friend, I apologize to you all for such an abrupt call.”
“No need to apologize princess, you know that if they need our help there is nothing to stop us from doing our duty” said Fash Magnus putting his foot down.
“Although, on the other hand, if we would like to know the reason for this meeting princess could you tell us why you and Celestia require our help?” said Mage Meadowbrook.
“Oh uh well...I, uh, this, I think...” Luna couldn't help but get nervous at the question, Celestia hadn't told her what to say “I mean, I think maybe we should wait for my sister to arrive, it seems to me that she could give you a better explanation of what I could do...”
Just then the great doors of the hall swung wide open, it was so abrupt that everyone was startled, turning around in exultation and gaping open-mouthed at the sight.
Before them stood Celestia, stunning as always, yet her presence was coupled with a sense of shock.
Even Luna found herself surprised by her sister's appearance, not for nothing if not for the fact that her sister had always wanted to project a modest and humble image within reason to her subjects, this was a total contradiction to that idea.
“Princess Celestia...” began Stars Swirl.
“Be ve....” said Somnambula.
“Amasing!” Mistmare exclaimed.
Celestia waited a deliberate moment before responding.
“Thank you all so much, sorry if it's too ostentatious but, this morning I felt like trying something different.”
Celestia walked the length of the room in silence until she reached her throne, gesturing for Luna to do the same, meanwhile the others present found themselves extremely puzzled since, if the emergency were so serious, they didn't understand how Celestia had time to get all dolled up like that,not to mention that she looked extremely calm.
Celestia took her time, sitting there in silence for several minutes, not only to perfectly order what she wanted to say, but also enjoying everyone's dumbfounded stares at her.
“Well, no doubt you are all wondering why such an unconventional meeting, from the urgency of my letters you must believe that this is an emergency, and you are not wrong...” Celestia said those words settling in everyone's ears, noticing how their faces went to a latent concern “Just now Equestria is going through what could be its most terrible crisis since the defeat of the Wendigos all those years ago, and it is all due to a simple pony, one that you will surely remember from coronation day, ill-intentioned and very evil who has managed to poison the hearts of our most faithful heroines...”
“Princess...” began Stars Swirl ”You're not referring to...?”
“I'm afraid so Stars Swirl, I still don't know how why but, this pony seems to have somehow convinced the very princess of friendship Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the harmony elements to reveal themselves in my hire and against all of Equestria...”
“But why would they do such a thing princess?” asked Rockhoof.
“Even I don't know the reasons for her actions, at first I thought it was just a pony suffering from her mental faculties, but now, and with everything that has happened, I have no doubt that we are facing an elaborate conspiracy plan...”
“But how is it possible that Twilight and her friends were convinced to do something so horrible? They would never do such a thing!” asked Meadowbrook in exasperation.
“I agree Meadowbrook...” replied Celestia ”Neither Twilight nor her friends in their right mind would agree to listen to let alone support the terrible ideas of a pony like that, so, I'm afraid, we are left with only one possible option...” Celestia feigns heaviness and sadness in her voice.
“Princess you're not suggesting...” said Stars Swirl worriedly.
“I fear so my friend, I believe they may be under the influence of a powerful control spell, it clouds their minds and makes them susceptible to manipulation, this only makes it clear that our enemy is more powerful than he let on at first glance and poses a much greater threat than I thought.”
“Tell us how we can help princess, please, we must save Twilight and her friends!” Somnambula was now hysterical, the idea that the defenders of modern Equestria had been corrupted until endless horrible scenarios came to her mind, each one more evil than the last.
“So we shall!” Flash Magnus exclaimed “No matter how powerful the enemy is we will defeat them!”
“You must only tell us what to do and we will comply...” Stars Swirl term.
“I thank you all very much...” began Celestia ”But alas, before we take any offensive action we must ensure the safety of Equestria above all else...” Celestia could see the confused faces of the ponies in front of her, she guessed they thought she, as Twilight's mentor and close friend, would take more drastic action to rescue her from the danger that cried out “You were once the guardians of this kingdom, until we manage to discover where this evil is hiding and what it plans to do, I must explain to you to resume that responsibility.”
Celestia's tone reflected desperation and deep sadness, this touched everyone's hearts, understanding how delicate the situation was, finally Stars Swirl spoke.
“Princess, if that's what you need from us, then we'll do it.”
Celesta held back her urge to smile, keeping a solemn expression and nodding.
“I thank you all very much, it truly fills me with peace of mind to know that even in adversity, I have the help of my oldest friend...” Celestia paused before resuming, now with a more serious and less sentimental tone of voice “Each of you will be assigned a battalion of the royal guard, you will become the commanders of the equestrian defense army, you remain in Canterlot until further notice, ensuring the safety of the castle, the commander Flash Magnus will update you with our situation”.
Quickly the pegasus took the floor.
“The most important problem we are dealing with now has to do with an irruption that occurred several days after the initial attack, some kind of winged creature infiltrated the castle, avoided the guards and ended up attacking a mare of the castle's medical staff...”
“We believe...” interrupted Celestia ”That that creature is an ally of the unicorn, we still don't quite know why she sent it, but what we do know is that the creature ended up wounded during the assault.”
“It escaped in the dark of night, but I'm sure it couldn't have gone far!” exclaimed Flash Magnus again ”My troops and I have scoured all the forests and villages surrounding the palace, and I'm sure we are close to capturing it.”
“We must understand that we don't know the extent of our enemy's power, that creature could evoke things never seen before in the pony world, we don't know what form it could take or if it would try to trick whoever confronts it...” Celestia had to make sure the conversation stayed on her terms.
“That is our first mission, we must find the creature and if possible capture it...!” Flash Magnus proclaimed.
“I really hope that is the case but...” interrupted Celestia again ”In the event that it isn't, you must take steps to ensure that monster doesn't hurt any other ponies again is that clear guardians?”
Almost all the ponies nodded in unison, except for Stygar who cleared his throat and asked timidly.
“Eh princess?”
Celestia then rested her eyes on the little unicorn.
“Yes Stygar, tell me, is there something troubling you?”
“Forgive me your highness, I wouldn't want to go against your designs but, you said that all of us will be in charge of a battalion...”
“Yes, exactly that I said, and, let me guess, you don't think yourself capable of fulfilling that task?”
“Princess all the pillars are warriors, great sorcerers and in general, very tough people, I, despite being the seventh do not possess any of those skills...”
“You need not fear for that Stygar.... “ interrupted Celestia “I know you think you are not powerful like your other friends, however you possess a kind of power that goes beyond any spell or weapon, you are an orator, the gift of the word accompanies you and you have always known how to use it, in these dark times that are approaching, more than ever a pony that speaks to the people is required, who knows exactly what to say and how to keep hope alive, that will be your work for Equestria Do you think you can do your part, as well as your friends will do theirs?”
Celestia's words embolden Stygar, who felt that finally his talent for something of great importance was recognized, he looked around, he saw the faces of his friends, all with expressions of courage, he couldn't let them down, no matter how insecure he felt about it, finally, he managed to gather the strength to answer.
“Of course I do princess!”
Once all the pillars had withdrawn, Luna and Celestia were left completely alone.
“Celestia what the fuck?”
“What, you don't like it?” asked Celestia referring to the dress as she admired herself ”I know maybe it's a bit over the top but by Equestria how good my flank looks in tight clothes..”
“Why the hell did you attach them to the damn royal guard!”
Celestia looked at Luna in confusion, before letting out a mocking chuckle and speaking sarcastically.
“I thought I made it clear sister, to protect Equestria...”
“Don't patronize me Celestia! If what you wanted was to keep everything a secret, involving the pillars only makes things more complicated for you...!”
“When our friend assassinates Bek and brings Twilight to me the only thing I'll have to worry about is keeping order, I must prepare new symbols that the people will admire since we will most likely have to discard the current elements of harmony.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Luna please, you know perfectly well, now they all represent a risk, of course the ideal would be that they could all remain loyal but we have lost too much time, right now, the most feasible thing is an immediate discard”
“You're not serious...”
“Hey, look on the bright side, we now have the previous incarnations, stronger and more naive, should be enough to wait for the next reincarnation.”
Luna again found herself at a dead end, she needed to approach from another angle.
“And what about Fluttershy, if you send the soldiers after her couldn't she cause even more trouble?”
“Dear little sister, you really have forgotten the nature of the things that used to roam this world, what we know is that somehow Fluttershy became a kind of hematophage, but, one by infection, unborn, even if she managed to regain her original appearance, she wouldn't be able to withstand the thirst, even if she tried to ask for help from other ponies sooner or later she would end up succumbing, those are our advantage.”
“So you're hoping that, by sheer luck, the guards will find her in a frenzy so she won't be questioned because the creature they're killing looks like the element of kindness?”
“I know it's not the most convenient thing to do, but think about it Who is this innocent world, would lend their aid to a monster?”
Zecora was walking through a dense forest, her sore hooves were screaming for her to stop, but the zebra ignored them.
Ever since that night she had seen the monstrous Fluttershy shoot out from inside the castle she couldn't sleep again, she knew that what had happened had been her fault, the potion that was supposed to bring her friend wellness turned her into something horrible.
She walked with her face fixed on the ground, there was a row of irregular footprints on the ground, these looked like those of a pony but, instead of four hoof marks, there were only three, the more she advanced the more irregular the footprints were, as if the pony they belonged to was about to collapse.
Before her was a section of the forest completely covered with animal carcasses of all kinds, from small squirrels lying on the ground, through all kinds of birds of different sizes and even a huge bear lying on the branch of a tree, hanging like a rag doll.
For a moment she thought it was because the corpses were still fresh but as she got closer she realized that most of them seemed to have perished several days ago, inspecting even closer Zecora noticed that each and every one of the bodies seemed to be completely mummified, as if it had dried out under an intense sun, however she was in a section of the forest considerably dark, the trees were so lush and barely a few rays of sunlight could pass through their branches.
Zecora then noticed something else, there was a huge trail of blood that went deeper into the trees, the blood was dry and dark, made a huge crust on the ground.
She was about to obey her body, starting to walk backwards cautiously, but suddenly a sound came, one that broke the trance of growing terror in Zecora.
Finally, as she rounded a small bend she came upon a figure lying on the ground, this one appeared to be huge, writhing slightly, during one of those movements Zecora could see a gigantic membranous wing stretch almost to the ceiling of the cave, so large it could easily wrap around an entire wagon, she could barely notice that, around the figure there were also more animal corpses in the same state as the ones outside, before this, Zecora could not avoid stepping back a couple of steps which caused her to accidentally step on the corpse of a small rabbit, making the animal's bones crunch which resounded in the cave.
Suddenly the figure's movements stopped completely, as did the sobbing, Zecora looked up slowly and felt her whole body tense as she noticed a bright glowing pink eye peering at her from the shadows, this eye had a dilated pupil, perfectly suited to the darkness of the cave, allowing her to see the zebra in front of her perfectly.
“Uh..uh...” Zecora was trying to say something, but the lump in her throat wouldn't allow her to structure words.
A sudden movement and the shadows danced until the figure stood taller than should be possible, now it was two eyes looking directly at Zecora, the figure was breathing heavily but, instead of advancing towards the zebra it retreated even further, moving deeper into what little was left of the cave until its back hit the wall.
At this Zecora finally saw an opportunity, swallowing her fear as best she could and finally speaking.
“Flutter....Fluttershy if that's you or even you still resemble you, I ask you please don't walk away...” Zecora could see that the sound of her voice made the figure tremble, which seems to wrap even more into itself, at this the zebra took a determined step forward and spoke to her friend again “Fluttershy I ask you for an apology, what is happening to you now is only because of me...” She could then see the figure relax its posture and both bright eyes looked at her strangely “The potion I made to cure your ailment...it seems that it brought a terrible consequence...” Zecora advanced until she was right in front of the figure, against all her instincts the zebra lifted a hoof and placed it on the figure, she could feel an icy skin, and dedicated a depression to her with tears welling up in her eyes “I am truly sorry for this I did to you, but you must let me try to remedy it or at least let me make up for it...”
At that moment a familiar voice was present, it was something different, it sounded hoarse and guttural, but it was undoubtedly Fluttershy's voice.
“Ze...Zecora...” the figure crouched down, perching on the zebra's head and seeming to gird itself over it.
Zecora instinctively jumped back, no matter how much she wanted to resist, there was something about Fluttershy that awakened something animalistic in her, a terror so deep and ancient that it was simply irrepressible.
“I'm...I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that something feels different.”
“I don't blame you for doing it...” said Fluttershy between sobs ‘They wanted to help me and look how they ended up...’ then the pegasus made a gesture with her hoof pointing at all the corpses around her ”I just...I couldn't help it, I could smell her inside each of them, throbbing, and I...I didn't want to...”
“Fluttershy please you must explain to me...” began Zecora confused ”What do you feel in your flesh?”
The huge figure was silent for a long moment, now that her mind was clearer a familiar feeling began to overpower all others and it, terrified the pegasus.
“It's...the blood Zecora, I can smell it, see it, hear it, and feel it inside all the beings around me, I don't want to consume it, but if I don't I feel like life is slipping away from me...” Fluttershy paused as she felt her mouth watering “Even now... smelling yours, it's all I can think about...”
Zecora swallowed saliva, tried to approach her friend again, but her body didn't move, instead she chose to comfort Fluttershy in another way.
“Fluttershy my dear friend, don't grieve for what now plagues you...” Zecora took out the small bottle with liquid she had made to light her way through the catacombs of the castle, beginning to shake it to light it “As horrible as your situation becomes, I believe that together we can find a solution...”
At that moment the light came on, illuminating the cave all at once, the flash only lasted a second before a swift movement of one of Fluttershy's wings destroyed the bottle, accompanied by a loud shriek of pain.
“NO!!!! NO LIGHT!!!”
Zecora fell backwards onto her back, frightened by the sudden violent reaction of the pegasus, she could only see her for a second but she seemed to have seen all her pale fur stained red.
“I...I'm sorry, it's just, now no matter how dim it is, if it's not moonlight...it burns, it burns horrible...”
Zecora recovered from the fright, getting up and walking towards Fluttershy again, but was abruptly stopped.
“No! don't come closer, please...” started to say Fluttershy as she retreated to the back of the cave again ”I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to hurt anyone else...”
The zebra paused analyzing the situation, trying to devise a way to help.
“Fluttershy I understand the dilemma you find yourself in, but we must start devising a solution while...”
“I already have a solution...” Interrupted Fluttershy “I'll stay here and wait for the thirst to end with me, I can already feel it screaming inside me, soon I won't have the strength to move anymore and once there all...all this nightmare will be over...”
Zecora had to do something, she couldn't just let her friend be left to faint, after all, she had promised Twilight that she would save Fluttershy and she was completely willing to carry that promise to the ultimate consequences.
Again the zebra noticed how cold Fluttershy's body was, her fur was parched and sticky, perhaps due to the blood that stained it, one of the wings was caught in the hug and Zecora felt the soft membrane that had replaced the beautiful feathers that once adorned the pegasus' wings, she could feel a rather prominent musculature and, what she found most terrifying, as she placed her ear against her friend's body, Fluttershy's heart was pounding, it sounded like a huge drum, which with each beat made the whole body tense up, she could almost hear the blood being pumped at high speed through the pegasus' veins.
It was like the first time she had felt it, when she attacked the nurse in the Canterlot castle, it wasn't just the simple feeling or the need to feed no, it was accompanied by a very embarrassing, tingling in Fluttershy's crotch, having Zecora so close, rubbing her body against his filled her mind with unpleasant thoughts, thoughts that not only demanded her to quench her thirst but also to enjoy her friend while doing so, Fluttershy felt disgusted with herself, deciding to push Zecora away with a strong push.
The zebra fell back against a ground extremely confused, looking at Fluttershy who gave her back a look full of fear, before Zecora could say anything the pegasus spoke haltingly.
“You...really think...you can help me?”
Zecora didn't know what to answer, she wasn't sure if her abilities were enough to cure whatever had happened to her friend, still she couldn't give up, if she was here it was to comfort Fluttershy and give her hope.
“No...I'm not going to lie to you Fluttershy, your new condition intrigues me, but I'll do my best to help my great friend...” the zebra got up from the floor and took a couple of steps towards the pegasus but without getting any closer ”I'm not sure I can find a definite cure for your ailment, but maybe I can provide you with some treatment.”
“A treatment...?” asked Fluttershy confused.
“Yes, something to reduce the negative effects of your discomfort, maybe that will give us time to find someone who can help you...”
“And you...do you have any ideas for a treatment that can help me...?”
“Something occurs to me I can't deny it but you must give me a little time, to guarantee that it won't go wrong.”
Fluttershy hesitated, all this had been more than she could have ever endured, it was out of any parameters she had set, she felt confused, frustrated, angry, sad and heartbroken, she missed how things used to be, before Twilight's coronation day, before that mare came and ruined everything.
“Alright Zecora let's do it then...”
“That makes me very happy Fluttershy I have no doubt, you'll see I'll manage to provide you with even a little help...”
“Yes, I appreciate that but, just in case, for the time we'll be together, I recommend you to sleep outside the cave and...well, if I'm going to be sure I won't try to hurt you I think...” Fluttershy paused as she looked around, seeing the floor littered with corpses “I think, we'll need more animals...”
Zecora frowned slightly, she was going to need to work very fast, more than she ever had, but, at least, she was sure she knew exactly what would help Fluttershy, letting out a torturous sigh and still unable to relax her body Zecora answered quietly.
“You just...let me handle it....”
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 1: Interrupted Coronation.
Twilight Sparkle was extremely excited, despite all the inconveniences and the fact that it took her a lot to come clean with her friends, she was finally ready, a little disheveled of course, but ready. Rarity was putting the final touches to her wardrobe while on the main balcony of the Canterlot palace, princesses Celestia and Luna were giving an emotional speech to the crowd of ponies and other species that had gathered to celebrate the coronation of the new regent of Equestria.
Twilight lost herself in her thoughts for a moment, recalling everything that had happened in the last months after the defeat of Cousy Glove, Tirak and Chrysalis, it had been a great adventure, and even though for a moment she thought that they didn't make it as usual, friendship overcame adversity and they were victorious and now, she was preparing to take on the greatest responsibility of her entire life, one that, a few years ago and in her wildest dreams, she never thought she could aspire to have and yet, there she was, more than ready.
Rarity was looking at her with a big smile on her face and with tears threatening to run down her face.
"Oh it's nothing dear it's just...you look so beautiful" both ponies hugged each other tightly while princess Celestia finished her speech.
"Well my dear, go ahead, dazzle them,” said the white unicorn as she let go of the hug and gave her dress a last adjustment with her magic, Twilight stood firm, took a deep breath and walked determined as Princess Celestia announced.
”Now without further ado, we would like to officially introduce the next ruler of Equestria...Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
The applause was deafening, everyone cheered and rose in jubilation, the young alicorn could see everything from above, she saw her friends, her family, her students, all clamoring her name and dedicating radiant smiles, the emotion she felt was such that she could not avoid shedding a tear before turning to see her mentor, who winked at her and smiled proudly. In a moment the former regents shone their horns in unison, levitating their crowns in the air and merging them into a beautiful new crown with Twilight's cutie mark on it, it glowed, contrasting with the sunset in the sky.
"Now begin the days of the princess of friendship...” Luna began to exclaim as the crown slowly descended.
"Blessed are you!” Celestia finished saying, just as the crown was about to land on Twilight's head.
"¡¡¡¡ LIES!!!!" A shrill scream broke with all the glorious moment, suddenly everyone present was startled, muttering in shock in search of the owner of the voice, Twilight herself found herself searching with her eyes for the source of such an unpleasant interruption and then her eyes were fixed on a hooded figure that was making its way through the crowd.
This one was completely covered with a worn cloak, dirty and leaky, yet it was impossible to discern who or what was hidden under it, those present gradually noticed her, watching in bewilderment as she stood just below the large balcony. Silence reigned for a moment and Twilight was about to raise her voice in protest but her teacher beat her to it.
"In the name of Equestria, what did you say?” asked the sun princess with a calm but authoritative tone, the figure just stood there, completely still, without even looking up.
After a few seconds of silence, the regent insisted, “If you have something to say, say it...”.
"I said it's all lies...” was heard through the bass, those present murmured in confusion while the princesses, like Twilight and her friends, became alert as they sensed that something was wrong.
"What...” Princess Luna started to ask but was interrupted by an even louder rumble.
"THIS IS ALL A DAMN LIE!!!!" the mysterious figure raised his head with fury at the same time that he removed the hood that covered him, revealing to everyone the haggard and bruised face of a unicorn; the image of her face shocked all those who were able to appreciate it at first sight, it was covered with scars of all kinds, the most remarkable being the missing half of one of her ears, an apparent burn that extended across her horn and a huge scar that crossed her face diagonally right between her eyes, the fur that she still had was a yellowish brown and her dull red mane was tied roughly in a small bun behind her head.
Twilight shuddered when she saw the eyes of the mare looking in her direction, she had never seen anything like it, they glowed in a bluish green tone and when she scrutinized them she could see nothing but anger in them, this made her alert and look for her mentor's face to take action, but when she looked for comfort in her mentor's stoicism she only found herself more shocked. Her teacher's face did not reflect serenity or confusion, not even concern, for the first time in all the time that Twilight had been with Celestia, she could not identify the expression on her face, for an instant the princess of friendship scrutinized the eyes of her oldest friend and they seemed completely empty, In a strange moment of shock Twilight looked for comfort in the princess of the night but she found an even more disconcerting panorama, Luna's face was an expression of frozen panic, her fur had turned pale and her pupils had contracted, she almost seemed to have been petrified; For a moment Twilight herself found herself in a rising panic, almost succumbing to uncertainty when the instant was interrupted by Celestia.
"Explain yourself Pony!” she exclaimed in her royal Canterlot voice, when she looked back at her mentor the purple alicorn did not find the strange expression of before, instead she looked again at the imposing and immutable regent, only to turn again to the corrupter of the ceremony.
She looked in the direction of the princesses for a moment longer before a smile spread across her face, then lowered her head, turned around and addressed the expectant crowd.
"Listen to me carefully, inhabitants of this kingdom and the whole world...” Twilight then noticed how this pony had a strange accent when she spoke, she almost seemed to slur her words.
"This day, I come before you for one reason and one reason only, to remove the blindfold from your eyes and let you see the lie in which you live...!” the crowd swirled with different reactions, some murmuring, others shouting and calling for calm and others staring in awe at the bizarre scene.
"All of this, this ceremony, this kingdom, these...goddesses they wish to pay homage to are nothing more than lying, crawling snakes!” panic was beginning to spread like wildfire as more words came out of the unicorn's mouth, some had even already begun to leave the room while others seemed to be glued to their seats. Twilight glanced nervously at Celestia only to appreciate the moment when she made a sly gesture to the guards behind her and they rushed out of the room in a hurry.
"Your peaceful kingdom was built on unspeakable atrocities orchestrated by those you call regents...!" the intensity of the speech rose with each word, Twilight was about to rush to meet them but a slight touch of her mentor's helmet on her shoulder and a furtive glance indicated her that she should stay where she was and stand firm, before this the princess of friendship had no choice but to communicate this same gesture to her friends who were watching her from below and who seemed to be the most willing to stop this chaos.
"Everything you have ever believed in is nothing but a deception, woven with malice and cruelty...” the mare finally began to say as she turned again to look at the three princesses, ”And today...I have come to put an end to it...!"
"How dare you come here today, interrupt this great ceremony and start blaspheming about your princesses!” the sun princess lifted her wings over the balcony as the unicorn once again let out a thunderous laugh and spat on the ground.
"Oh yes, princesses, I had forgotten that's what they liked to be called now...” the mare began to say as she paced back and forth across the main courtyard of the palace without taking her eyes off the balcony ‘I beg your pardon but I still remember them by the title they used to be known by...’ the unicorn finally stopped dead in her tracks, standing up straight and looking directly into Celestia's face "‘QUEEN’".
Twilight was more confused than ever, this pony was acting like a lunatic and seemed extremely unstable, but more confused she found herself when she swore she could hear how her teacher tensed and swallowed saliva; she looked up watching Celestia's face again only to find her with an uneasy expression and a frown on her face, only to look back to Luna's face and see her even worse than she was before, her gaze was now lost and her pallor seemed to have worsened.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!” exclaimed the sun princess in a roar that silenced all the panic and bustle in an instant, even the rambunctious unicorn seemed to have been taken aback by the sudden outburst of apparent fury.
After a moment of total silence, Celestia, with a look of pure determination on her face exclaimed, “Guards!” Suddenly, from all the castle doors leading to the courtyard, dozens of guards came out and quickly took up position, surrounding the mare and pointing their spears.
"Catch her..." said the alicantine finally in a solemn and calm tone while her gaze was fixed on the unicorn, who looked back at her with disdain before lowering her head.
The guards approached cautiously towards the unicorn who remained immobile, in a moment the guards were about to take her between their hooves when, in a quick movement the unicorn launched a powerful kick that sent flying those who were closer. The thrown guards whipped themselves, some against the ground, others against their own companions, screaming in pain while the others took up defensive positions. The next instant the unicorn flashed her horn and from between the mare's robes rose a long sword that startled the guards, the blade of this sword was quite thin and shone in a glow of the same color as that of the mare's horn. For an instant the guards hesitated as to what to do, that is until one who seemed to have a higher rank exclaimed, “Attack,” and then all hell broke loose.
The whole avalanche of guards rushed over the unicorn, raising a cloud of dust that for a moment prevented anyone from seeing anything, Twilight tried to adjust her sight quickly but, before she could even deduce something from the tangle of silhouettes a horrible scream froze her blood. The dust quickly dissipated and the image it unveiled caused the few who still remained in the vicinity to shriek in horror. The guards attacked the mare and she quickly disarmed them and attacked with her sword, severed legs, wings and horns began to adorn the ground and the blood flowing from them began to stain the earth. Twilight watched in horror as one by one the guards were terribly wounded and pushed aside as if they were nothing, meanwhile the unicorn dodged and counterattacked with elegant and accurate movements, almost as if it cost her no effort at all; The dance was almost hypnotic and the princess of friendship was paralyzed by the scene, so much so that she barely noticed when, from the bustle one of the guards' spears was thrown in her direction by the unicorn, Twilight could hardly have reacted to the sudden attack when the spear was repelled by a magical shield of a golden color, the purple alicorn came back to herself as she observed how Princess Celestia had narrowly avoided the attack and now went down to stand next to Twilight.
"Pri...princess Celestia we must do something..." Twilight stammered starting to hyperventilate "Don't be afraid Twilight, everything will be fine..." Celestia even turned to look at her student for comfort, her eyes were fixed on the, now, intruder and attacker.
The princess of friendship followed the gaze of the princess of the sun and found that the chaos of before had been replaced with panic, for a moment she did not find the hostile unicorn and when she managed to locate her fear she climbed one more step, somehow the attacker had slipped through the crowd of guards and had managed to climb the ledges of the castle wall, taking long and precise jumps the mare was getting closer and closer to the balcony where the princesses were. Twilight had reached her limit, she prepared to shoot a magic ray in the direction of the unicorn just as she was making a last jump to reach them, but, before she could do anything, Princess Celestia's golden shield appeared again, blocking a thrust that went straight to the neck of the sun princess.
The mare held onto the edge of the balcony, keeping her sword firmly placed against the magical shield, Twilight watched as the unicorn gave a look of pure hatred to her master, she was looking directly into the eyes of her attacker, with a calm expression that contrasted with the inferno that the celebration had become, Twilight couldn't say for sure, but for a second she thought she saw Celestia give a slight smile to the mare, which seemed to infuriate her even more and in an attempt to thrust her sword even deeper her gaze swerved and collided with Twilight's. The princess of friendship could taste the gaze of the unicorn meeting with a deep and absolute rancor that made her tremble, but, for an instant, the alicorn denoted something else in the depths of her gaze, something that almost seemed, tiredness.
Celestia shone her horn even brighter and the shield burst, hurling the pony away from the balcony and back into the central courtyard. The impact was powerful, so much so that the unicorn was barely able to compose herself enough to land safely on the ground, steadying herself and looking back towards the balcony.
Twilight was blinded for an instant by the flash of the shield and when she regained her sight she found her mentor flying again, this time in front of her and again exclaiming with authority.
"I don't know what drove you to perform this heinous act of violence upon us, but this is your last warning, desist or suffer the consequences,” the unicorn kept a fierce expression on her face without any sign of surrender.
At that moment a roar opened the way to more and more guards that began to pile up in the central courtyard, followed not only by Twilight's friends but also by her brother Shining Armor, her sister-in-law Princess Cadance and her escort of guards of the Crystal Empire. As she looked around, the attacker was finally overpowered, turning to look again at the sun princess who cried out.
"If you flee from here you will be relentlessly pursued, there will be no stopping efforts to apprehend you and make you pay for the crimes committed here today!” the mare gave her one last look of disdain before covering her face with her hood again, putting her sword away and dashing through the chaotic crowd, dodging a couple of guards and finally exiting through the main gate of the garden being chased.
Finally the hubbub seemed to fade little by little as the chase moved further and further away from the castle, Twilight's legs were shaking and she felt dizzy, trying to assimilate what she had just seen, never, since the princesses began their reign, had there been a record of one pony attacking another so brutally, feeling sick, she tried to contain what seemed like retching building up in the back of her throat, Her tornado of thoughts was interrupted when she noticed how her mentor landed again on the balcony and began to give orders to a couple of guards that had entered through the door, even so Twilight could not understand what they were saying, she was extremely dazed, it was not until the guards saluted with their hooves and left in a hurry that she managed to recover enough to understand that Celestia was talking to her.
"He...what?..." she asked absentmindedly while her eyes focused on those of her teacher.
"I asked you Twilight if you were okay...” repeated the alicorn as she approached her student and placed a helmet on her shoulder.
"I...I...I...I don't know, that was...horrible,” she finally said.
"I know, I know...” she began to say calmly "Even I was surprised, I didn't believe that a pony was capable of such barbarity, but don't worry Twilight, I assure you that everything will be..." she said the last with a smile. fine- she said the last with a strange slowness while she removed the helmet from her student's shoulder and started walking towards the door of the room, followed by Luna, which Twilight didn't notice when she finally woke up from her state of shock, both princesses vehemently headed for the exit leaving Twilight alone on the balcony. Just before walking out the door, making way for Luna, Celestia turned and looked warily at her student.
"Twilight, I'm sorry...” the purple alicorn raised her eyes in confusion in the direction of her teacher.
"I guess we'll have to postpone your coronation...” she finally said before walking out the door and closing it behind her, leaving Twilight alone and unable to process what she had just seen.
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 2: Repentance Hearing.
Princess Luna was in the throne room late at night, the day, which was supposed to be one full of joy and happiness, had been distorted and turned into a nightmare that the regent of the night had sworn never to witness again, she could not remember the last time she had seen blood flowing from a wound, nor the last time she had felt such a knot in her chest.
The unicorn that had burst into the coronation of the princess of friendship had managed to get out of the boundaries of the castle and although she was pursued by the guards and the elements of harmony, she managed to slip away and lose them in the streets of the city. Her sister had instated a state of emergency, which, for most ponies, was something completely new, never in all of Equestria's recent history had such a mobilization been needed, yes of course there had been attempts at invasion and conquest by powerful enemies in the past, but in the end they were exactly that, desires of ambition and power that drove despicable beings to seek the destruction of Equestria, this was different, this was a direct assassination attempt by a single individual who, in plain sight, lacked his mental faculties, it was, to say the least, alarming, but those were not the reasons that had Luna going round and round the length and breadth of the throne room.
From the moment the mysterious figure was unmasked and the princess of the night recognized his face her thoughts circled over and over again to a single thought.
“How is this possible?” she kept repeating it to herself endlessly as her mind tried to make sense of what she had seen and felt. She had already noticed something strange from the moment Grogar's cowbell had been used on her for the first time, from that moment a sensation that had become foreign to her invaded her, a slight tingling in her horn that every now and then gave her the creeps, at first she attributed it to the emergency they were going through, after all, she had been stripped of her full power, but once the trio of villains was defeated and her magic restored the sensation did not disappear, on the contrary it was accentuated as the days went by. She tried to discuss it with her sister, asking if something similar happened to her but Celestia calmed her down by telling her that it was a very old and powerful artifact, that it was normal to have after-effects, without being very convinced of it Luna simply accepted it and waited for the sensation to fade with time.
But months passed and it only got worse, in the last few days, the princess of the night had seemed distant and distracted, the constant tingling in her horn had become so noticeable that now she could barely fulfill her royal duties, it felt like a half sneeze, like the prelude to something inevitable and strident but that never materialized, and the more time passed Luna found this sensation more familiar. She didn't need to reminisce to know what ancient reflection her horn was trying to replicate, it was something the princess hadn't felt in a long, long time, something she thought she would never feel again, something that just thinking about it made her stomach churn.
She investigated for a while, worried about what it could mean, even fearing that her magic had been permanently damaged by her experience with the cowbell, it wasn't until that very day of the coronation, seeing that emaciated pony, that it finally dawned on her what had been happening to her.
In the throne room, the only sound that could be heard was the princess' footsteps, engrossed in her frantic walk, just a few hours ago her older sister had ordered Twilight Sparkle and her friends to retreat back to Ponyville, telling them to stay away while the situation was under control, During all that time Luna could not help but notice how her sister, despite maintaining a stoic and solemn attitude before everyone, was slowly and subtly starting to lose her temper, and it was not for less, she was sure that her sister, despite not suffering the same discomfort as her, knew exactly what the attack of that unicorn meant and more importantly, her words.
She could hear the patrols in the distance of the city, keeping the worried citizens awake while they conducted inspections trying to locate the attacker, Luna thought that most likely she had left the city long ago, even so, she did not question her sister's caution in this matter. All her thoughts were finally beginning to calm down, maybe it had all been a big coincidence and maybe it was just a crazy pony, but this comfort was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the throne room door opening.
For a moment the princess thought it was her sister, returning after checking the safety of the castle, but the sound of heavy footsteps and the smell of dirt and grime extinguished these hopes all at once, the princess knew what it was before a hoarse, raspy voice came through the room.
“Wow...what bad taste...” the hooded figure said disdainfully as he looked in the direction of what would have been the new throne of the princess of friendship as he walked taking slow steps in Luna's direction.
“Aren't you going to greet me...?” she asked tilting her head clearly looking in her direction, Luna remained silent, she didn't expect such cordiality from the pony who, just a few hours ago, tried to assassinate her.
“Or did you...” she began to say as she pulled her hood and cloth off her face ‘...are you expecting me to bow to you?’ the princess of the night was shocked to appreciate the haggard face more closely, it was barely recognizable from the one from the last time she saw her and her voice, her voice was a reflection of her exhaustion and ailment, swallowing saliva, Luna finally spoke.
“How is it possible for you to be here?” she asked dryly and with a serious expression on her face.
“Is that what's bothering you...aren't you even glad to see me?” the unicorn began to walk taking very slow steps forward. Luna tensed slightly but didn't move.
“You tried to kill me” she replied sternly.
“I was trying to kill your sister... “she began to say with apparent nonchalance ”I was surprised to see there were more of you now, I thought you couldn't breed with ponies?”
The seemingly random comment shocked the alicorn, it seemed like a casual conversation with any pony, Luna couldn't understand why this approach so lightly.
“No..uh...I...that's not how it works now” she finally said as she followed the pony who was getting closer and closer with her gaze.
“Well, then it looks like they finally got what they wanted...” she said coldly as she began to circle the princess cautiously.
Luna kept her gaze fixed on the unicorn, looking her straight in the eyes until she stopped abruptly at the window in front of the one she was standing in front of.
“You didn't answer my question...” she began to say as she braced herself ”How come you're here?”
The mare watched the princess of the night turn on her horn and then let out a long, tired sigh, lowering her head before rising with a half smile on her face.
“The truth...I don't know...” she said when suddenly a magical blade materialized behind her back ‘But the truth is, I don't care anymore’ and without another word, she lunged at Luna.
The lunge was swift, the princess quickly rose into the air dodging, but she had no time to counterattack when the mare leapt at her swinging her sword. The unicorn attacked relentlessly, barely allowing Luna just enough time to dodge or deflect her blows with magic; she tried to stay in the air but her attempts were impeded by high blows that threatened to cut her down from above.
She lay on the ground, choking a scream of pain while the burn mark was accentuated on her skin, the impact left the burned and lacerated flesh of the mare visible as she tried her best to stand up. A pitiful feeling flooded Luna at that instant, the knot in her chest grew to the point that it became difficult to breathe, she finally turned off her horn and descended cautiously on her attacker who was breathing heavily.
Luna landed and took a couple of steps forward as she seemed to hear moans and sobs coming from the badly wounded mare.
“You don't have to do this... “she finally said in a tone intended to be sympathetic, in response the unicorn let out a hollow laugh that was interrupted by a pained cough.
“..Easy for you to say...” she said while holding her side in pain ‘For you this all ended thousands of years ago...for you, now, this is all just a bad memory...’ you could notice the lump in her throat.
“But not for me...” at that moment the unicorn stood up quickly and swung her sword in Luna's direction who barely reacted in time to move out of the way.
“For me this is still happening!” she exclaimed vehemently ‘For me not a single day has passed!’ she said getting into a guard position and glaring furiously at Luna who felt a heat rushing across her face, denoting how she now had a deep cut on her cheek that was dripping golden blood.
“I won't let them pretend nothing happened, I won't let them go on living after hiding the truth...!”
“Oh really...?” a new voice came into the room, the moment those words were heard both combatants froze, the unicorn's heart began to pound as Luna's began to break out in a cold sweat from her forehead, both turned their heads in unison to catch a glimpse of the large imposing figure now entering through the large door of the hall.
“What exactly are you going to do...soldier girl?" said Celestia who was walking majestically with her wings outstretched, stopping a few meters away from where the conflict was taking place.
The mare looked up and down the sun princess trying to determine if she was carrying any weapons or if she had brought guards, but found nothing, finally she met the gaze of the white alicorn, this one was full of the purest and coldest disdain while for her part, she was equally analyzing the mare, denoting her wounds and exhaustion.
“Well?” insisted Celestia bringing both the unicorn and her sister out of their trance.
“I said I'll kill them...” finally answered the mare as she turned to Celestia, pointing her sword.
“And may I know... “the princess began to say as she took another step in the direction of the unicorn ‘..why haven't you done it yet?’ the question puzzled the mare, who was already starting to lose control of her breathing, on the other hand Luna was in a growing panic, she hoped she could have resolved the altercation before her sister showed up, but now that here she was, she didn't know what might happen.
“I was at it..” replied the attacker with a tone that tried to replicate the nonchalance of a few moments ago, but clearly hid the unicorn's nervousness.
“But you decided to put up a whole theater with your guards and with shields and sparks” said with disdain the mare keeping her tense pose and dedicating a haughty smile ‘Hiding you behind your magic...like a coward’ she finally said.
But the unicorn could not enjoy her silence after her statement as a shrill laughter filled the room, a laughter that froze the blood of both the attacker and Luna herself, it was a laughter that at first glance seemed to be brimming with mirth but if one paid enough attention one could denote the falseness in it, it was almost like a pre-recorded and mechanical laughter, so perfect that it was impossible for it to be real. The moment was long and awkward, when Celestia finally stopped laughing she looked with a strange smiling expression at the mare.
“Oh I'm so sorry dear, I just couldn't remember the last time a pony addressed me in such a challenging tone...” she let out a small chuckle again ‘But you're right, it was very unfair of me to deny you long awaited meeting...’ the regent took a couple more steps forward causing the unicorn to raise her sword even higher in anticipation.
“Please allow me to make it up to you” Celestia flashed her horn and in an instant her large golden necklace fell thunderously to the ground, exposing the princess's chest.
“Go ahead, you wanted me to face you, here I am...” the speech of Celestia was interrupted when the mare charged swiftly in her direction plunging her sword deep into the princess's chest, Luna let out a choked scream while from the huge wound on her sister's chest golden blood began to spurt in heaps, dirtying the floor. The mare let out a bellow as she gave one last thrust of her sword, causing it to come out of Celestia's back, effectively impaling her.
For an instant the overwhelming silence buzzed in Luna's ears as she tried to recover from the Shock, but even more was the shock when Celestia's laughter filled the room again.This one was almost the same as the previous one except for the detail that there seemed to be a certain tone of real satisfaction in this one.
The unicorn suddenly found herself with resistance, she could feel her sword being slowly expelled from Celestia's body, it was as if the alicorn's own muscles and bones were working together to expel the intruder. The mare found herself putting all the weight of her body into trying to keep the sword in place, but it was useless, though slowly, inch by inch the blade began to be expelled from her body, even the unicorn could now feel an intense heat emanating from it, all while the princess' laughter still echoed in her ears.
The mare looked up angrily to see the princess' face and the instant she did, the laughter stopped. The princess's gaze had changed completely, instead of the previous deep disdain what greeted the unicorn was a look, deep and terrifying, full of satisfaction, the sight of it made the attacker's legs begin to tremble slightly, all her courage and anger was beginning to fade away in a tangle of rising panic.
“So what are you waiting for?” the princess asked quietly, almost whispering as a wide smile came across her face, the unicorn reacted and, breaking eye contact, redoubled her efforts trying to grip her sword.
Finally the blade came completely out of Celestia's chest and the wound closed immediately, the blood stopped flowing and even new white fluffy fur materialized, making it impossible to believe it was ever there. The brown mare immediately stepped back, posing just under the imposing throne, only to, upon raising her gaze, meet the sun princess, arranging her new fur with her hoof and levitating her gold necklace again to put it back on, this with a calmness and tranquility that made the unicorn shudder.
“Well...” Celestia finally said ‘That really was a lot of fun, but I'm afraid your whimsical outburst of anger is over’ turning to look at her sister, the purple alicorn waved her helmet at her.
Luna knew exactly what she wanted her to do now, but hesitated to do it, her hesitation did not go unnoticed by the unicorn, who, sensing also what was coming, charged again, but this time against the princess of the night, who in a moment of lucidity simply did as her sister commanded.
Finally the sneeze was released, that tingle in her horn that cried out for release was indulged and in an instant, the attacker collapsed to the ground. The mare had forgotten how she felt, her time traveling in this peaceful world had made her lose track and she had almost resigned herself to never experience it again, but in that instant, she remembered everything, her old memories came back to her fused to fire in her mind by the same common experience.
From there Celestia admired the mare, she could see how she lost control of her sphincters and could almost swear she saw how a couple of her teeth broke as she tried to clench her jaw. Luna on the other hand watched the scene in horror, the effort on her part was minimal, just release the thought and it happened, she didn't remember it being something so involuntary, but her body was vibrating and glowing with a grey spark, she was definitely doing it.
“Sis don't you think we already...?” she started to ask seeking comfort from her sister, but was quickly interrupted.
“Oh no no no dear sis, give it a moment longer, I don't want any more trouble” the last she said with a slight tone of annoyance, not looking away from the unpleasant sight.
Luna held the spell for a few moments longer until she could hear the mare's bones creaking, turning off her horn and feeling that renewed tingle again. The unicorn gasped as she tried to catch her breath, tears streamed from her face in droves and her body was covered in sweat, her gaze was lost and she didn't seem to have the strength to move. It was then that Celestia shone her horn, lifting the pony from her front legs and making her dangle above the ground.
“You have no idea what you put at risk today...” the princess began to say with a tone that threatened to break the solemnity in her voice ‘I have no idea how you are even alive but I don't care, this incident will be quickly forgotten and everything will be back to normal...’ at that moment an unintelligible murmur interrupted Celestia, who looked towards the pony's face, covered by her now tousled hair.
“Sorry what did you say?” she said mockingly as she moved a few inches closer to listen.
“..them....them know....” the mare finally said with much difficulty.
“What do you mean?” asked Celestia amused.
“..they already know you're a...liar...” The comment made the princess let out a haughty laugh.
“Oh tenderness Do you really think your absurd show today did any good? Do you really think you changed anything? No little one, your actions meant nothing, what happened here today tomorrow will be a mere rumor, and in nothing, just a bad memory of a bad day, you came here to die for absolutely...nothing” Celestia said the last with contempt while the unicorn levitated uselessly.
“...then...kill me at once...” said the mare with no apparent strength to continue reproaching.
“Oh no no no no no no honey, I'm not going to kill you to a...” The comment caused the unicorn to look up slightly and Luna to startle.
“Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've been presented with an opportunity like this?” both the mare and the princess of the night looked at Celestia in confusion.
“A strong and resilient pony like you, wow, I would love nothing more than to have time alone with you to...reminisce about old times” Celestia brought her face close to the mare's whispering in her ear.
“I'm going to have so much fun with you before I kill you...” the alicorn licked the cheek of the mare who only turned her face away defeated.
Luna had turned pale, her worst fears manifesting themselves right in front of her, she could see her sister's shameless expression as she reveled in the mare's suffering, completely losing the kind and calm countenance she had grown accustomed to, she had wished with all her might to never see that face of her sister again and yet here they were.
“Sister...” began Luna timidly ”..don't you think it would be better...to get rid of her at once...after all we don't want her to cause us any more trouble...” Celestia interrupted her with a nonchalant snort.
“Oh you mustn't worry about that dear sister, for the rest of the world this will be over here, no one will ever see her again and it will be a simple unfortunate event” said the alicorn without taking her eyes off the mare, now placing one of her front hooves on her chin.
“Uh...but sister...” she started to say but quickly fell silent when Celestia turned to look at her and give her a gesture of annoyance.
“As I said Luna..” she said in a firm tone ‘That's why you don't have to worry anymore, and don't worry, I'll let you spend time with her if that's what you want...’ just at that instant, a great roar startled the princesses.
Suddenly a group of guards burst into the room, shouting and clamoring for their princesses.
“Princesses! Are you all right!” exclaimed the battalion leader, the commotion took by surprise both Luna and Celestia who turned hurriedly in the direction of her guards.
“Oh yes everything is perfect...” at that moment the unicorn flashed her horn, the handle of her sword, lying on the ground was quickly lifted, her magic blade activated and wielded in a quick slash in the direction of Celestia's horn, the latter barely and managed to dodge it, making her lose her concentration, turning off her magic and freeing the mare who fell to the ground.
In a quick movement the unicorn threw herself against one of the large windows, in the moments before the impact Celestia shouted.
“Luna!!!” in an attempt to get her to use her magic again, but the princess of the night could only watch dumbfounded as the wounded mare threw herself out of the window, through the glass and fell straight into the lush gardens of the palace.
“Go get her!!! get her!!!” ordered Celestia to her guards who quickly ran out, sounding the alarm.
As soon as the room was empty Celestia turned to her sister and reprimanded her with palpable annoyance.
“Luna what the hell were you thinking...!” he started to say but stopped short when he saw the shocked expression on his sister's face, who was staring blankly and in the direction of the shattered window.
“Luna...?” he asked again, this time with a calm tone, approaching his sister and placing a helmet on her shoulder. Luna reacted to feeling her sister's gentle touch, turning her head to look at her.
“Luna...” began Celestia ‘I know what this means to you, but you must understand that we can't afford to let her go...’ she took a pause ”...she puts at risk everything you and I took so long to build.”
“I know...” said Luna as she lowered her gaze ”But in that case shouldn't we go after her right now...you know as well as I do that the guards won't be able to catch her...”
“Oh no dear it's not necessary...” he said making Luna look at her with confusion ”... she will come back to us.”
“How are you so sure?” asked Luna confused.
“Simple sister, she seeks revenge, those who seek revenge do not rest until they consummate the” she said as she walked towards the shattered window and admired the night landscape, Luna followed her placing herself next to her.
“Not at all dear...” the answer left Luna even more confused ”...In fact I hope she does, if she makes another fuss like today it will be easier to find her and capture her and as for telling I'm not worried, after all who in all of Equestria would believe her?”
Celestia began to leave the room at a slow pace, while Luna kept admiring the gardens while in the distance she heard the guards shouting orders and running through the corridors, she knew that the mare would escape without problems and, deep inside, she hoped it would be forever, that she would run away and never come back, but there was also what her sister had told her, she knew it was true and that, very soon, they would inevitably meet again.
Just before following her sister out of the throne room, Luna looked up to appreciate what was left of the stained glass window, she was surprised to notice that the unfortunate victim of the altercation was none other than that of her and her sister, the day they founded Equestria.
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 3: Storm of Precedent.
In Ponyville, a storm was raging at Sweet Apple Acres' request due to the recent drought that had damaged the crops.
Twilight had stayed up late in, what had recently, been her large library, as almost all of her things had been shipped to Canterlot she didn't even have a bed to sleep in not to mention that, due to her friendship school students, every room in the castle was occupied, luckily Starlight had set up a makeshift bed for her made of blankets and pillows so she and Spike could, at least, be comfortable.
“Tea is ready Twilight...” announced Spike as he entered the room carrying a small tray with a teapot and a couple of cups, the little dragon walking silently and stopped when he received no response.
Looking up he met Twilight's distracted gaze, lost between the pages of a book she didn't even seem to be reading.
“Twilight...” repeated Spike causing the alicorn to look up and turn in surprise.
“Oh Spike...sorry, thank you so much for the tea..” she gave him a small smile the baby dragon before looking back down at her book, she tried to read for a second before looking down and discarding the book.
“Are you all right Twilight?” asked Spike as he placed the tray at the side of the blankets.
“I...I don't know Spike, I keep thinking about what happened...about my coronation” Spike frowned, the memory was still fresh in both of their minds and there was no doubt that it still echoed deep in their minds. Spike wanted to comfort his friend, but couldn't find the words, he simply settled in beside her as he found the words.
“You heard the princess, she told us everything would be all right...” the dragon began to say but was quickly interrupted.
“But it's been two days and we haven't received any news. What if they're having trouble capturing him? What if he attacks again? What if the princesses are in danger and I'm not there to help them...!” Twilight began to hyperventilate as she held her head in frustration.
Spike, foreseeing one of Twilight's nervous breakdowns, quickly stepped in front of her, holding her cheeks with his claws and lifting her chin to look at him.
“Twilight, listen to me” the alicorn watched her friend's face.
“I know this was unlike anything we've ever seen and I know we're all worried about what may or may not happen, but please think about it for a second, even though that crazy pony managed to get close to you and the princesses, she wasn't even able to touch them, Celestia protected them and thwarted her attempts to harm them, if anyone can control this situation, it's her don't you think?” Spike gave a wide comforting smile to his older sister as she finally seemed to get her breathing under control.
“You're...You're right Spike, the princess is the most powerful and wise pony I know, she'll be able to handle this...” already more relaxed Twilight snuggled with Spike between the sheets as they drank a cup of tea in silence by candlelight, the sound of the rain echoed lightly on the castle roof, creating a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere.
After a while the alicorn finally noticed, as the few remaining candles were about to burn out completely.
“I think maybe it's time for us to go to sleep...” she said as she stretched. Spike found himself reading one of the few PowerPonies comics that hadn't been sent in the move engrossed, yet as he heard Twilight's voice it dawned on him, they really had both lost track of how late it really was.
“Yeah, I think you're right..” the little dragon couldn't help but let out a yawn as she stretched and her friend smiled at the adorable gesture.
In a moment Spike was already tucked between the sheets, curled up in a little ball while Twilight was arranging the books she had been reading and blowing out the candles one by one, just as she was about to blow out the last candle a distant sound stopped her in her tracks.
For a moment she thought it had been her imagination, she might even have been sure of it since Spike didn't seem to have noticed, but the sound was repeated a moment later, this time more clearly, causing Spike to raise his head from his pillow.
“What...is that?” asked the dragon as the sound repeated for the third time.
“I, I'm not sure...” replied Twilight with another rumble of the sound. In a moment they were both walking down the main hallway in the direction of the sound, Twilight was holding the small candle with her magic while Spike followed just a couple of steps behind her, finally turning a corner they both came upon the source of the sound, the alicorn and the dragon found themselves frozen as they rounded the corner and discovered that it was nothing more or less than knocking on the front door of the palace.
They both looked at each other and then looked at the door, the knocking, now, repeated at regular intervals, more frequent but no louder, making the corridors rumble with subtlety due to the silence of the night.
“Did...did someone stay at school working late?” asked Spike almost whispering to Twilight.
“No” replied the alicorn seriously ”Starlight confirmed it twice, everyone is either asleep in their rooms or went home...”
“So is this another one of Pinkie's late night visits?” she asked even more nervously at the insistent knocking.
“They don't sound like Pinkie's knocking...” the pony replied as she began to take small steps towards the door, Spike following soon after, walking cautiously behind her.
“And shouldn't we...should we wake the others or something?” said the dragon trying to make as little noise as possible.
“...No...” finally said Twilight just a few steps away from the door ‘It could be nothing, maybe a branch that fell because of the storm or maybe someone who needs help...’ the alicorn advanced until she stood right in front of the door and at that moment, the knocking abruptly stopped. The two shared nervous glances as Twilight brought a hoof close to the knob of the large door, turned it and opened it.
The breeze that blew into the enclosure quickly blew out the candle, leaving, for a second, the little moonlight that slipped through the thick clouds as the only source of light. Twilight seemed to notice a silhouette standing in front of the door so she quickly lit her horn in a glowing violet light.
There was indeed someone there, she was standing a couple of steps away from the door, clearly she had backed away before the alicorn opened and was now standing with half her body in the rain.
“Good evening...” started to say Twilight with a cordial tone, the shadowed figure didn't respond, somewhat nervously the alicorn insisted.
“Did you...need something?” still no response, the silence was making Twilight more and more nervous, the figure was tall, perhaps almost as tall as AppleJack and smelled bad, even with the whirlwind of smells the storm was bringing with it she was able to notice it.
The purple mare began to lose patience as her nocturnal visitor maintained an immaculate silence, not even showing signs of movement, the alicorn tried to shine her horn brighter so she could see if it wasn't a scarecrow prank or something, but just then the figure took another couple of steps backwards, staying out of range of the flash of light.
“Hey!” she said with more authority in her voice ‘Enough games! Who are you..?’ she began to ask as she strained her eyes to try and make out some distinguishing feature in the figure ”And what do you want?”
After another moment of silence the figure took a couple of steps, but this time forward, far enough to enter the alicorn's area of light, now with the dim illumination Twilight was able to denote a modicum of the stranger's appearance.
She guessed that Spike had also done it since they both froze and she could feel how the claws of the small dragon that held her turned cold all of a sudden.
“Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle...” said the figure standing in front of her, removing her hood and unveiling the familiar gaunt scarred face. Just after that something happened that left Twilight and Spike gaping, the mare in front of them leaned forward and bowed, dropping to her knees before Twilight.
“I need your help...”
Now the ones who were speechless were them, the situation had thrown them off balance to such an extent that Twilight could feel her head throbbing, her breathing became fenoetic and her vision blurred slightly, she looked down to check if what she had seen was true and yes, there she was, the mare who only two days ago had caused an altercation like no other, where ponies had been badly hurt and their sun princess threatened with death, there she was bowing before her.
Twilight mumbled a couple of unintelligible words as she took a couple of steps back, at the lack of a coherent response the unicorn spoke again.
“Please your highness...I ask that you listen to what I have to say” the brown mare looked up slightly, looking Twilight straight in the eyes while still revering the.
She was finally able to pull herself together, sorting out her thoughts and finding herself with a new feeling slowly replacing the fear, anger.
“Because...?” he began to say in an angry tone that finally came out as a bellow ”Because in a thousand Equestrias would I listen to anything you have to say!!!?” The sudden rise in her voice surprised Spike, even Twilight herself was surprised at herself at such a display of fury, only to realize that these were more than justified, what stood before her was, in her eyes, nothing more than a criminal.
At this resolution the alicorn realized that, most likely, they were not safe so she quickly flashed her horn, raising a shield that blocked the entrance door. This far from upsetting his visitor kept him in exactly the same place, undeterred.
“You made an attempt against my life and against my princesses' lives...” incriminated the pony ‘Give me a single reason not to hand you over to justice’ Twilight kept her gaze fixed on the visitor's eyes, who did not look away and did not even change her facial expression, it was as if her face was frozen in a grimace of melancholy and exhaustion.
At this sight the alicorn could not help but feel her anger subside, seen this way this mare did not seem to be able to provoke all the suffering and fear she had seen her consummate, she looked like any pony, with the difference that, apparently, she seemed to carry something too heavy on her shoulders, something that seemed sincere.
Twilight then ventured a couple of steps forward, placing herself right in front of the shield.
“Who...who are you?” he finally asked without breaking eye contact, it took the mare a moment to find the right words to answer.
I'm...I'm .... I'm a soldier..” she finally said ”And I have a story to tell you...”
Twilight pondered for a few moments, turning the idea over a thousand times, until finally, in one simple motion, the shield at the entrance disappeared.
“Twilight are you crazy?” shrieked Spike in shock.
“It's okay Spike..” she whispered to him as she stepped aside to let him pass ”Easy..”
The mare rose heavily from the ground and walked towards the inside of the castle, her wet and muddy hooves stained the entrance immediately and the unpleasant smell immediately filled the nostrils of the hosts, Spike couldn't help but hold his nose and Twilight made a disguised grimace. When the visitor was fully inside Twilight used her magic to move the door which closed with a thud.
Silence reigned for another long minute, the three looked at each other before the alicorn broke the silence.
“Okay, follow me..” Twilight started walking down the hallway in the direction of the library with Spike at her side while the unicorn kept only a couple of steps behind her.
The walk was tedious and the silence even more so, Spike fiddled with his claws nervously as Twilight walked with her eyes straight ahead while trying to ignore the cold sweat trickling down the back of her neck, she was beginning to wonder if she had really made the right decision, this pony was undoubtedly dangerous and allowing her to enter so easily into the compound where not only her friends, but also her students were staying could have been seen as complete stupidity. Still there was no incident, apart from the heavy, shuffling footsteps of the unicorn no other sound came from her, finally arriving at the library and inviting her to enter.
The mare stood in the middle of the room while Twilight with her magic levitated new candles from the other side of the room, lighting them and arranging them in a perfect wide circle, after that she levitated several pillows, arranging them on the floor creating three comfortable seats, two on one side of the circle and the other at the other end.
“Well, have a seat...” the hostess finally said.
“No...” replied the unicorn curtly ‘I prefer to stand’ Twilight was surprised at the rudeness but decided not to insist, taking a seat with Spike at her side.
Again silence filled the atmosphere again, the unicorn just stood with her head down and her gaze lost, seemingly absent, finally the alicorn, in a gesture of impatience but also concern cleared her throat loudly, catching the mare's attention.
“Ahem! You eh, you can start whenever you want.”
The unicorn swallowed spit and looked directly at her hostess, taking a moment longer and closing her eyes for a second, she began to speak.
“You...you were born and raised in this land you call Equestria, you lived surrounded by prosperity and plenty, in perpetual and seemingly uninterrupted peace...” the mare paused as she leaned to the side, supporting herself on her right legs.
“But what would you tell me if I told you, that all that peace, all that fullness, were built on a sea of death and lies...?”
Twilight could tell how the mare slurred a few words, her pronunciation was coarse and crude even so, she seemed to have a wide lexicon.
“What do you mean?” the alicorn finally said.
“I mean that all this...” she paused gesturing towards the huge library ”This whole kingdom, all this harmony, it's all a sham, built to ensure order and control...”
“Control over what?” asked Twilight increasingly intrigued.
“Over everything” he replied as his gaze lingered in the distance ‘Over ponies, over dragons, over griffins, over any creature that flies, walks or swims, this peace is just a prison...’ before Twilight could question him he took back his words forcefully.
“And this prison has jailers, the ones responsible for creating it in the first place..” the alicorn braced herself in anticipation, already expecting what was coming next ”Those whom you call princesses, those who call themselves Celestia and Luna..”
She thought she was ready to hear it, but the power of the words caught her off guard, her mind could not even begin to size up the amount of reasons why those words were, plain and simple, ridiculous, never in a million years, never ever, did Twilight Sparkle think she would hear someone attribute something so absurd and impossible to the ponies who had sacrificed the most for the welfare of Equestria, who had fought so hard for their people and for defending what was right, simply, it was absurd.
“Listen...” the purple pony began to say trying to keep her composure ”I don't know what you're looking to achieve or what your motivations are, but you won't achieve anything by slandering and lying about...”
“It's not lies!” Shouted the mare in a tone almost too loud that probably would have woken someone up if only the library wasn't so far away from the rooms.
The sudden outburst put Twilight on the defensive, almost making her jump out of her seat along with Spike who, in shock, had taken flight. Both Pony and dragon looked in the direction of their visitor who again had that angry expression on her face, gritting her teeth and scowling.
“Listen...” she finally said sighing ”I know it sounds crazy, if I were you I would think the same thing, but please, I beg you, listen to everything I have to say, hopefully, it will shed some light on your doubts.”
The pony's change in attitude made Twilight regain her composure, she seemed to be making a great effort to behave herself in his presence and not give in to her impulses, the alicorn considered that valuable enough to stop questioning and listen with unclouded ears.
“Very well...I hear you then,” Twilight said taking her seat again while Spike just stood beside her.
The unicorn took another deep breath, relaxing before continuing.
“You may think your princesses are old, that they've lived for a long time, and you wouldn't be wrong, but you have no idea how long, in fact, they've been walking this world...” the mare looked nervous, tense, as if battling to say every word.
“What if I told you that the princesses you praise to this day are over ten thousand years old?” Twilight didn't answer, it didn't seem like it was a question that would need to be answered, still the alicorn did the math in her head and found it illogical, according to the historical records of Equestria, Celestia and Luna were born during the time of Star Swirl the Bearded, being his apprentices and pupils to later ascend as the rulers of Equestria, something that happened no more than nineteen hundred years ago.
“Your princesses belong to a millenary race...” Twilight's thoughts were interrupted ‘A race that came from the stars and that inhabited this land centuries and centuries before ponies even existed...’ now if the alicorn was more than confused, one moment she was talking about the history of Equestria and now she was mentioning beings coming from the stars, this sounded more and more like madness.
“ Their reign over this land lasted for millennia, they molded the land to their liking and ruled over any creature that was born and lived under their hooves, until...”
“Stop for a second, if that what you say is true how is it possible that no other supposed being besides Celestia and Luna has ever ever been seen throughout history, or even a mention of it...What happened to them?” he finally asked.
“As I told you, this happened a long, long time ago...” she answered vaguely before continuing ”Neither I, nor anyone else who has ever heard this story knows why or how or who, the only sure thing is that, at some point the beings messed with something they shouldn't have, something dark and more powerful than them, whatever it was, destroyed them, wiped them all out in an extermination of unimaginable proportions, or well...almost all of them.”
Twilight was beginning to become engrossed in the story, she could even feel Spike settle back down on the ground and sit up, giving her full attention to the mare.
“The only survivors of this celestial massacre were two, at the time small, who, upon being stripped of their divine right, began an odyssey to regain their supremacy...”
It all sounded too incredible, but more incredible was for Twilight to realize that she had relaxed, she was no longer tense or frightened in the presence of the unicorn, somehow her words and the tone in which they spoke cleared any suspicions the alicorn might have had.
“Here is a wide time gap in which I possess no information about what happened, I will skip to the time when I became part of this story...” the unicorn cleared her throat ”I was born in this realm, just like you, but.... it was a very different place than the one you know, when I was born this realm was known by another name, it's hard to pronounce it in its current language but a more or less accurate translation would be “Empire of Crimson Dusk” or failing that “Empire of Crimson Dyed Dusk”. ..”
Twilight didn't know what to say at the turn the story was taking, the mention of the supposed name of ancient Equestria brought her nerves back, dormant deep within her.
“I am not sure how long ago that was, but, I can deduce that it was about three thousand five hundred years ago...” the mare looked at the ground, as if trying to assimilate that amount of time ” I, like many back then, did not even know my mother, I was snatched from her arms as soon as I was born...my mother, one of the unfortunate souls caught in the sickly machinery of the world...”
The mare looked wistful for a moment, looking for a moment like she would sit down but regretting it at the last moment, steadying herself again.
“I ahem, I was born on one of the breeding farms for manpower, upon being born a unicorn I was lucky or unlucky enough to be redistributed to the farms for infantry, once there I was raised by the imperial army along with several others to train and eventually become...”
“Wait wait wait wait!” exclaimed Twilight in a daze ‘What the hell are you talking about...breeding farms? Manpower? Infantry?’ the alicorn didn't understand the correlation between the beginning of the story and the barbarism she thought she understood the mare was now spitting out.
The unicorn watched the friendship princess in confusion for a moment before it dawned on her what information had been omitted.
“Oh excuse me, I think I got a little ahead of myself...” the mare took a moment to reorder ”During the time of the empire Celestia and Luna were in the middle of a campaign of conquest, a turf war against the griffins and dragons or at least, their ancestors...” Twilight gaped.
“Also, back then, wild beasts created by an ancient being of darkness Grogar, threatened to invade the empire, killing and destroying villages and crops, the princesses Celestia and Luna...” the mare paused ”Sorry, I don't feel comfortable calling them by that name...”
“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.
“Back then they were known neither by those names nor by that title, for my entire life and the entire duration of the empire they were known as the queens Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon...”
The alicorn turned pale, so far everything that mare said could be attributed to a delirium or an excess of imagination, but now with this Twilight's nerves were starting to get out of control, it wasn't because of Nightmare Moon, after all it was a recent legend, any pony had heard of it, but the name Daybreaker, Twilight had only heard it once. The time Starlight Glimmer was summoned by the map of friendship to Canterlot castle due to a dispute between the two princesses, in which Starlight herself exchanged her cutie marks in an incredible way and ended up trapped in a nightmare with Celestia, she had told her that there she met an evil version of the same that answered to the name of Daybreaker, she had also told her that the princess seemed very shocked to see her and that she seemed extremely worried.
How was it possible that this pony, that she had never seen in her life, knew such a specific detail? did she guess? no, impossible, the probabilities were very slim, so Twilight had to get the frightening and demented idea that everything she was hearing now was real.
“As you can guess...” continued the mare snapping Twilight out of her trance ”Even for beings as powerful as them the conflict had overwhelmed them, they did not possess enough volunteer soldiers to fight on so many fronts at once not to mention the great loss in crops and raw materials, this war threatened to destroy their emerging empire... until they devised a solution.”
Twilight was afraid, she didn't want to hear this anymore, she didn't want to know more, but, faced with the minuscule possibility of veracity in what she was hearing she couldn't back out.
“The queens instituted that all families of earth ponies, pegasus and unicorns must give one of their children to serve the empire, said children will be educated in obedience and devotion to fulfill different functions, being the main one to be part of the armed forces to fight the invaders and conquer new territory, these sons and daughters would be forced to procreate new offspring and this in turn replaces the previous one, managing to get, in a relatively short time, a vast army with which, finally, they could face their enemies.... ”
Twilight was hyperventilating, sl sweat covered her face, her mouth was dry and she could feel nausea building up in her stomach, Spike for his part was white and his gaze was lost, it was hard to tell if he believed the story as much as Twilight did, but it was obvious that he was disturbed by the excess of detail in it.
“Ahem me, well I was born in something that the queens baptized as “breeding farms”..... once the Mares reached a certain age they were subjected to a physical exam, the purpose of which was to find out if they were fit for breeding or if their bodies were already too injured to fulfill that task, in the case of passing the exam they were dismissed from their positions and ranks, no matter how high the rank or how important the labors were, taken and locked away in the farms, so that, from now on, their only purpose would be to be inseminated to give birth to the next generation that would serve the empire...”
Twilight could have sworn the vomit rising in her throat, it was impossible, it was disgusting, it was...obscene, she simply couldn't size up what she was hearing.
“Stallions on the other hand, well they were only kept in service until the day they died...” as strange as it seemed the unicorn couldn't help but smile slightly.
“And....what about you?” a muffled voice was heard coming from Twilight. The unicorn looked up bumping into the crumbling face of the princess of friendship, who looked as if she was going to faint.
“I...?” the unicorn widened her smile absentmindedly ‘I didn't pass the test...’ she finally said.
“I was discarded as a breeding mare and reinstated in my duties, I must thank the dragons for that, it was one of their injuries that left me unable to bear children...” the unicorn looked sideways at the little dragon who barely managed to raise his gaze to see her and winked at her.
Noticing that her attempt to lighten the conversation had no effect on her hosts the unicorn cleared her throat again and lowered her head, losing her smile.
“And what were they...?” asked Twilight haltingly, which caused the mare to look at her with a confused expression.
“Your duties...what were they?” she finally asked.
The unicorn took a moment in silence to answer.
“I already told you...I'm a soldier...” Silence reigned again and both mares gave each other long looks until Spike's voice finally came through.
“So, if you were born over three and a half thousand years ago...how come you're here now?” the question threw both of them off, more so Twilight as it dawned on her, how could she have missed such an obvious questioning, for a moment she was hopeful believing that was the reason she needed to dismiss all that sick crap, she thanked Spike for recovering from her initial shock as he had now laid his cards on the table.
The unicorn looked at the dragon with a solemn look before letting out a sigh and replying.
“Truth be told, even I can't quite figure it out yet, but perhaps it can be explained by this...” the mare tucked a hoof between her robes which made Twilight and Spike stand on alert for a second, fearful and attentive, but the panic was dispelled when a flash of gold peeked out from between the robes.
“In my last assignment...” he began to say while holding in front of Twilight the impossibly shaped golden hourglass ”I was sent to distant lands, lands that are now known as the zebra territory, back then they were nothing more than a couple of isolated tribes though with a lot of potential, I was ordered to steal and bring to the empire an artifact that, according to legends, was able to freeze time...this is that artifact.”
Twilight analyzed the clock up and down, trying to understand what exactly it was she was seeing but, besides the peculiar shape of the artifact, the alicorn couldn't sense any trace of magical power coming from it. Before the alicorn could protest the mare continued.
“I found the place where they guarded it, I infiltrated, but something went wrong, I was discovered and cornered in the chamber where the treasure was guarded, there was a battle and then...nothing, the next thing I remember is that I woke up in that same cavern disoriented and confused, and by the time I went outside...everything was different” suddenly the mare's tone was filled with melancholy and she lowered her gaze to the ground.
“Nothing was as I remembered, the smell of the air, the position of the rivers, even the mountains seemed to have moved, it took me a long time to realize that the artifact had activated, freezing me for who knows how many years until for some reason it simply lost its power and deactivated...”
Twilight continued to admire the watch, even taking it with her magic and holding it close to her face, the engravings on it were beautiful no doubt and it looked like a very ancient language, one that even she could not decipher.
“As soon as she understood my situation I decided to return to the empire, even though I didn't know if she would still be there I had no other place to go, I set out on my journey, learning about the new world I had come to, meeting its people and marveling at the peace that had been achieved, I thought that...perhaps and despite the war the queens had accomplished their goal of unifying and establishing an absolute and prosperous reign...”
Twilight had put aside her watch to pay attention to the story, which was already giving airs of being soon to end.
“I heard many stories while traveling, about two kind princesses, the betrayal of one of them, her banishment and how the elder one unified with harmony and diplomacy a prosperous kingdom, it all sounded very strange to me, but I dismissed it thinking that they were simple misinterpretations, after all, it had been a long time...” the mare began to tap the ground lightly with one of her hind hooves, apparently without noticing.
“Until I....finally arrived at what they called the Castle of the two Sisters, although I confused directions and got lost on the way I arrived, it was strange, to see the palace of the regents in that condition, when I left it had just announced its construction, I know I should have gone to Canterlot, but there was something in the back of my mind that bothered me and which required answers...” suddenly the voice of the unicorn seemed to break starting to stammer.
“And I...I found them...then I knew” the mare raised her gaze and looked into the eyes of the princess of friendship.
“I knew that everything, all the death, all the suffering, all the anger, had been for nothing...the former queens had managed to erase all history and rewrite it at their convenience, becoming the benevolent princesses that everyone loves and admires...and I...”
Twilight could tell tears were beginning to form in the unicorn's eyes.
“I just...I couldn't take it...” the mare gritted her teeth trying to hold back the sobs ” It wasn't fair...that the world would forget us like that...that they would throw us away like we were nothing...after all we gave for them...” Tears began to fall down the mare's face who was trying to wipe them away by passing her clothes over her face.
“That's why I...decided to kill them, out of revenge, out of retribution, for all those who died and now, no one remembers...”
Silence reigned, this time more than ever as the mare held back her tears and stood firm again. Once Twilight realized that her story was over it took her a long moment to fully recover, she had no words for this, absolutely none, her mind tried to assimilate all the information she had just received and compared it to everything she had ever known, she turned it over and over with a blank stare, in the end the only thing she could whisper was.
“It's impossible..” despite the fact that she said it in a low voice it echoed throughout the room, reaching the ears of the unicorn which tensed slightly, observing the blank stare of her hostess she could deduce the conclusion she had reached.
“What you say is impossible...” said Twilight again, no matter from which angle she wanted to analyze it everything her guest had told her was, without a doubt, crazy, it went against everything she had learned, everything she had lived, the very reality in which she lived, it simply couldn't be real.
“I understand you...” heard the alicorn who, surprised, looked up to see the smiling face of the unicorn who was looking down at the floor.
“I understand that this goes against everything you've ever believed...if I were you I wouldn't believe me either..”
Twilight finally managed to pull herself together enough from her tangle of thoughts.
“You...you, you, don't even have any proof that what you say is true...” she finally said as a sigh.
“Well, that's not quite true...” said the unicorn causing both hosts to look up.
“Though for how little they mean they might as well be nothing...” suddenly the unicorn flashed her horn causing her robes to tremble slightly, a couple of clicks were heard and finally, the mare's robes fell to the ground.
Twilight's disbelief was replaced with a new wave of shock as she saw the visitor's naked body, finding herself unable to believe her eyes.
The alicorn lost all the air left in her lungs, the image of the emaciated mare disturbed her to such an extent that she found herself looking away because of how grotesque the scene was.
“It's...horrible...” she finally said as the unicorn arranged her neatly folded clothes on the floor.
“Uh...what...” the mare asked in confusion before looking down at her own body.
“Ah this...no no, this isn't the test... “she said nonchalantly as she took a couple of steps towards Twilight who, out of instinct, also takes a couple of steps back, then the mare takes a step to the side turning, presenting her flank to the alicorn.
Instead of a cutie mark adorning her side the mare had what was undoubtedly a mark made with a hot iron, the design was uniform, somewhat wrinkled by the contraction of the skin but very clear. Twilight covered her mouth with her hooves, she could perfectly recognize the shapes mimicking the design, it was a large ornate circle, with a uniform pattern, inside you could see two very recognizable figures, it was a sun and a moon in almost uniform harmony, with the difference that the moon was much larger encompassing most of the circle.
“This is my mark, which identifies me as a member of the imperial legion of Queen Nightmare Moon, it is an unbreakable union that binds me to my regent for all eternity...”
Twilight had to take a step forward to fully appreciate it, she tried to fool herself, trying to convince herself that it was something else, but it was undeniable, she spun around the mare and found that there was another mark on her other side, letting out a gasp of anguish when she noticed that, no matter how hard she tried, she could not discern any real cutie mark underneath the scar.
“Why....why?” asked the alicorn meeting the mare's face which was staring straight ahead.
“Well, the queens decided that they would each have a legion of their own, so, in case any of them were captured or controlled there was still a legion completely loyal to their...”
“No!” exclaimed Twilight startling the unicorn who turned around in surprise ‘Why!’ she asked again pointing this time to the mark on her side.
The unicorn finally understood what he was referring to letting out a surprised gasp.
“Oh...why?” the mare pondered for a moment, looking back to the front, letting out another sigh she finally answered.
“I was born as cannon fodder, less than a pony...non-ponies have no right to a cutie mark...”
Those words were the last straw, Twilight's dizziness reached its limit and she dropped face first to the ground, lying completely still as Spike went to her aid.
“Twilight! Twilight! Are you all right?” the dragon asked over the course of a minute as the alicorn kept her gaze averted, her guest held still in place, expectant and prepared for the worst.
Finally, after Spike checked to make sure Twilight was still breathing and one more moment of awkward silence the princess of friendship finally spoke.
“I'm...I'm sorry...” she said dryly.
“Oh you don't have to apologize, nothing that happened to me...” quickly the mare was interrupted.
“No..I mean, I'm so sorry I can't believe you...” The comment made the unicorn's eyes widen.
“I'm sorry I just...it's impossible... “the guest searched for her hostess' gaze but only found her staring into nothingness, pale and with her mouth half-open.
The mare thought about saying something else but stopped herself, there was nothing more she could say, her listener had made up her mind about what to believe and as much as she regretted it and found it hard to admit, it was to be expected. Letting out a sigh of disappointment the unicorn whispered to herself.
“One has to be strong, to deny what is in front of him...” She then crossed the room, grabbed her clothes and began to dress quickly.
Spike watched the situation dumbfounded, he couldn't believe what that pony had just told them either, Twilight was right it was impossible, even so he found himself worried and dejected at the disappointed attitude of the unicorn, he could see her adjusting her heavy robes as she flashed her horn to refasten them, just as she seemed to be about to head for the exit she turned to them, flashing her horn once more, from between her robes she pulled out a small piece of folded parchment which she held out to Spike.
“What....what's this?” the little dragon asked confused.
“It is my second test, go there if you still wish to know the answers...” the unicorn gave a serious and deep look that gave Spike a shiver ”But, be warned, if you are going to venture into the darkness, be careful, what dwells there, was left so that no one will ever know the truth...”
And without further ado he turned around in the direction of the exit, Spike looked at the piece of paper for a moment, then at Twilight who kept her gaze blankly repeating over and over again.
“It's impossible, it's impossible, it's impossible....”
Then Spike, not quite sure why, took off after the pony.
“Wait!” he exclaimed reaching her down the hallway, she didn't slow her pace but did raise her head slightly.
“You're not still trying to convince her? Isn't that what you came for?” asked the dragon in exultation.
“I have no more to tell you little dragon, I respect that she doesn't believe it, like I said, if I were her, I wouldn't believe me either...” the unicorn turned down the hallway towards the front door with the little dragon a couple of steps behind her.
“Uh..but where will you go now?” asked the dragon taking flight and fluttering around her.
“Well, I still have a vendetta to fulfill...” the words stopped Spike in his tracks.
“You? You're going to try again...?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes. What choice do I have?” the mare said reluctantly.
“You could just go!” exclaimed the dragon causing the unicorn to stop just a few steps from the door.
“Yes! You could just leave and never come back, live the rest of your life away from Equestria...because, if what you say is true and princesses are indeed that powerful...you, you don't stand a chance...”
The unicorn stood still without turning to look at the dragon for a moment.
“What's your name dragon?” she asked surprisingly.
“Uh....Spike.”
“Well Spike let me tell you one thing, all my life I served and fought for someone else's interests, all my life had purpose because of the dreams of someone other than me...” she paused.
“For the first time I am deciding what I want to do with my life and in what ideals to turn it into...if those ideals lead me to death at least I will know that I died because I decided so...” the unicorn shone his horn opening the door and letting in again the steady breeze of the storm, putting on his hood and starting to walk again.
Just before he stepped into the darkness of the night Spike spoke one last time.
“Wait!” his words stopping the mare again.
“What...what's your name?”
The unicorn turned slightly with her face covered to look at the dragon, debating the answer for a second.
“Bek” he finally said, the dragon quizzically replied without thinking.
“That's not a name” realizing how rude he sounded embarrassed but his visitor didn't seem to mind replying.
“Well that's my name...goodbye Spike the dragon, apologize to your princess for me..”
And without further ado, he walked out the door, losing himself in the distance.
Spike watched her walk away through the open door, he would be lying if he said he didn't feel almost the same as Twilight, the whole thing had been surreal and the chances of any of what that pony had told them being real was simply impossible, still Spike looked down at his claw in which he held the piece of paper, for a moment he thought about opening it but the idea was promptly dismissed, he had already suffered too many headaches that night, in one swift movement, he flew to the door and locked it.
Author's Note
I'll be the first to admit that this chapter could have been called perfectly:
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 4: Forgotten Answers.
Spike's awakening was bitter, after such a complicated night the little dragon at least hoped to have a restful sleep, which translates to a minimum of 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep, but no, as much as he tried to hold on to sleep it was sullied by the sound of frantic movements and compulsive murmuring.
When the dragon finally opened his eyes he found Twilight, who was walking from one side of the library to the other, around her levitated several books open on different pages, it didn't take the dragon long to realize that they were some of the books of Starlight's small collection, curiously, they all shared the same theme reflected in their covers, history.
“Mhnnn...Twilight?” the sleepy voice of Spike snapped Twilight out of her morning mania, at least long enough for her to turn to look at her friend.
“Oh good morning Spike Did you sleep well?” the question was asked with an oddly nervous tone.
“Uh...yeah. And you?” Spike replied as he got up from the makeshift bed and walked over to his friend.
“Sureeeee...!” the alicorn replied with an excess of enthusiasm ”Why wouldn't I be? It was just a rough night is all.”
Spike could clearly denote the symptoms of psychotic Twilight, he wondered if perhaps, despite the fact that they both went to bed after their visitor's departure, she had been able to get even a little sleep.
“Oh that's..great, and emmm...now what do you do?” he asked trying a calm approach.
“Oh nothing it's just, a little research, I felt bored all of a sudden and said why not?”
“Oh, okay and what's your research about?” Spike was trying to remain calm in the face of an outbreak that seemed to be more serious than usual, he didn't blame her for it either, but he wanted to make sure it was still manageable.
“It's just a little pony history refresher, for no particular reason..” Twilight let out a nervous chuckle and went back to concentrating on her books.
Spike looked around the room, noticing the packing crates, previously sealed by Starlight, completely destroyed, as well as hundreds of scrolls on the floor which held what Spike could deduce was a timeline, he took one between his claws and analyzed it.
“Hey Twilight...” she said nervously.
“Yeah Spike” she said in a cheerful tone that sounded fake.
“I wanted to ask you something...regarding last night...” the calm voice of Spike was abruptly interrupted by a clatter caused by Twilight dropping the books she was holding with her magic.
The little dragon was startled as the alicorn turned sharply taking frantic steps towards him, glaring at him.
“Nothing happened last night Spike!” she shrieked as her eyes widened like saucers.
Startled at his friend's reaction Spike tried hard not to show his latent concern, he had never seen her like this, not even in her worst moments, he could see in her eyes how much the late night visit had affected her, he took a deep breath and continued.
“Twilight...” he said calmly, which caused the alicorn to relax her posture and her expression to change to a more worried and downcast one.
“I...I'm sorry Spike, it's just...agh!” the mare cried out in frustration ”I, I don't even know what's wrong, it shouldn't be anything wrong if it's not true but....What if it is? If everything that...pony said is true, then yes there is something terribly wrong...”
“And don't you think it would be better to talk it over with our friends, maybe that way...”
“NOOOOOO!!!” the alicorn shrieked shrilly.
“We can't tell anyone about this Spike-anyone!!!”
“But...why?” asked the dragon clearly confused.
“Spike this can't be known, not until we know if what she told us is true, if we start telling it there will be panic, please just see me, I'm the freaking friendship princess and the very idea of this being even the slightest bit real is driving me crazy.”
As much as she wanted to debate it, Twilight was right, this news could endanger all of Equestria if it spread the wrong way.
“But then...what are we supposed to do?”
“We need to find proof, real proof that verifies the story she told us...” Twilight paused, trying to remember.
“Bek,” Spike interrupted.
“What?”
“That was her name...” said Spike remembering the last words his visitor had said to him before saying goodbye and then he remembered.
“She told me to apologize to you for her...” Spike ran to the sheets on the floor rummaging around for a moment before returning to Twilight.
“And she also gave me this...” he said as he showed her the small folded piece of paper.
“What's that?” asked Twilight taking it with her magic.
“I don't know, she told me to follow him if we still wanted the answers...”
Twilight unfolded the small paper quickly, analyzing it for a moment.
“Spike...” the mare began to say, catching the dragon's attention.
“I haven't the slightest idea what this is...”
“What!” The dragon exclaimed as he moved to Twilight's side to look at the contents of the paper.
Indeed its contents made no sense, it was just a bunch of randomly arranged lines, circles, rectangles and arrows, accompanied by a bunch of illegible notations.
“But what...?” exclaimed Spike taking the parchment ‘What the hell is this?’ the dragon got as close as possible to the inscriptions trying to read them but it was impossible.
“Maybe, she got the wrong paper...” the dragon mentioned.
Twilight let out a long groan, the only possible clue they could have had was just a bunch of scribbles.
After a moment's digression the alicorn shook his head and exclaimed.
“No! It must mean something, we just have to decipher the what...” Twilight began to say as she resumed her pacing back and forth.
“We need help...” she said looking at the ground thoughtfully.
“But, you said we couldn't tell anyone...” replied Spike quizzically.
“We don't need to explain anything Spike, we just need to find someone who is able to tell us what's in here.”
“Alright... “the dragon began to say ”Who do we know who is smart enough or knowledgeable enough in glyphs, ancient language or Equestrian history...?”
Both dragon and pony looked at each other and before long they were running out of the library and in the direction of the main entrance. The halls were beginning to fill with students heading to classes and in the midst of the commotion, Spike and Twilight ran into Starlight.
“Oh Spike, Twilight, good morning!” Effusively exclaimed the unicorn missing her friends' misaligned appearance.
“Starlight, perfect just who I wanted to see...!” said Twilight in a louder tone than she would have liked ”Do you know if Sunburst is still in town?”
Starlight, confused at the seemingly random question replied.
“Uh...if he'll be staying in Ponyville until your coronation takes place..”
“Great! do me a favor, could you tell him I'd like to have a meeting with him when we get back, Spike and I have to leave to attend to important matters.”
“Uh..yeah sure I'll...”
Without waiting for Starlight to finish her response the alicorn resumed her run followed closely by the little dragon, just as they were about to turn down the hallway the unicorn's voice stopped her in her tracks.
“Twilight wait!”
The mare turned to look at what had been her first pupil, her look must have denoted her concern and lack of sleep since Starlight asked.
“Is everything...okay?”
Twilight thought longer than she should have, prolonging a silence that emphasized the strangeness of the situation, after deep thought Twilight gave a faint forced smile to her friend and replied.
“Yes Starlight...everything is fine...” and without further ado she ran off.
Starlight thought for a moment, she didn't understand why her teacher seemed so upset, yes she had seen her shocked after the attack during her coronation but now she looked even more disturbed, she quickly dismissed the idea, it must not be such a big deal, after all, if it was, she would tell her.
Spike and Twilight flew over the streets of Ponyville, speeding through the sky, out of the town limits and into the Everfree forest, their first stop being Zecora's house.
The zebra scanned the inscriptions and symbols on the paper carefully, Twilight and Spike remained silent, sitting in the living room of the hut, after a long moment the healer looked up and wore a confused expression.
“Twilight Sparkle and Spike the dragon, I understand what your concern is, but on this paper I only see lines and squiggles for no reason” the zebra said solemnly in her usual harmonious tone.
“But is there really nothing you can deduce from these symbols, nor from the strange text?” asked Twilight impatiently.
“This text might be readable...” began Zecora as Twilight's eyes lit up ‘If the dirt and water hadn't made it unrecognizable’ the alicorn squealed in frustration.
“Zecora please, you're the best decipherer we know of can't you really tell us anything?” asked Spike in a calm tone.
The zebra watched the dragon and then the scroll for a moment before letting out a sigh.
“I could provide you with an alternative, however in it I will tarry...” the zebra began to say as she set the parchment aside and began to pull things off her shelves ”An old technique I know of to reveal ink, if it was used long before disuse the writing will not have become extinct.”
Twilight and Spike looked at each other hopefully before the zebra continued.
“But as I tell you, the process takes time, if you want an answer you will have to come back another time.”
At this Twilight pondered for a second.
In a tangle of quick movements Twilight took the old parchment and, in a couple of minutes, had perfectly replicated all the shapes and symbols, bypassing the unintelligible text and handing the original to Zecora.
“How long do you think it will take you to decipher the text?” asked Twilight as she put her things away.
“There is no way to speed up the process, however I would have it by tomorrow afternoon if I don't take any breaks.”
“I really appreciate it Zecora...” began Twilight as he and Spike retreated, however their departure was interrupted by the zebra.
“Twilight Sparkle?” the alicorn and dragon spun around.
“Forgive my boldness but what do you need this knowledge for?”
Twilight went cold at the question, she could explain, tell her, but she had made a promise to herself, not to mention that surely having to tell everything slows down the process and this one needed to be as efficient as possible.
“Oh it's just...for an ancient history study” she replied devoting a smile.
The zebra looked at her with a quizzical expression yet said nothing more to question the, she simply said goodbye and they both started their way back to town.
They both still had one more stop before returning to the castle and, although this second pony was a most peculiar choice, Twilight wanted to be sure to cover all possibilities.
Walking through the streets of the village, they advanced in silence, Twilight lost in thought and Spike not wanting to interrupt the, finally a cute little house adorned with yellow and purple flowers, a small garden in the front welcomed the guest and, in the middle of it, a curious contraption, both the alicorn and the dragon knew what it was, after all they had traveled to the more modern cities of Equestria where seeing them was no stranger, however, to any small town pony who had not traveled much in their lives, it was still a rarity.
The pair of friends walked carefully across the yard, avoiding the toys strewn on the grass and passing by the bright blue phone booth. Stopping on the porch and knocking gently on the door.
A few moments passed before the door opened and a squint-eyed gray pegasus greeted the pair.
“Oh Princess Twilight Sparkle how nice to see you here!” exclaimed Derpy giving them a wide smile.
“Just tell me Twilight Derpy you don't need to be so formal...” the pegasus scratched her head quizzically before letting out a giggle.
“Oh excuse me princess, I always forget that you and I knew each other from before” Twilight couldn't help but let out a sigh at Derpy's apparent disinterest to stop referring to her as ‘princess’, her thoughts quickly went to a small lavender colored unicorn foal peeking out from behind Derpy.
“Mommy why is there a princess is at our door?” asked the little girl with a shocked expression on her face.
“Oh sweetie! Well she's here because...because...oh excuse me could you tell me again why you came?” Derpy scratched her head again looking back at Twilight.
“Actually...” started to say the alicorn ”We were coming to see your husband.”
“My husband?” asked Derpy quizzically.
“Yes, we need to talk to him about something very important” said Twilight with a serious expression.
The pegasus seemed to grasp the situation quickly before exclaiming happily again.
“But of course! He's in the garden” Twilight and Spike turned to the garden and saw nothing, no trace of the pony they were looking for, in a moment Derpy screamed effusively, so loud that it scared the princess and the dragon.
“Honey!!! The princess is looking for you!!!!” for a moment, nothing happened and the next, the phone booth shook violently, there was scuffling and things falling and finally it opened, revealing a brown earth pony wrapped in wires and full of oil stains.
“Huh, what, when, where?” the pony looked confused and Derpy, in a tone again too high again exclaimed.
“Look love, the princess came to see you, she says she has to talk to you about something important!” for a moment Twilight cursed Derpy's indiscretion in shouting that so nonchalantly but then it dawned on her that it didn't really matter, since no one knew what she was talking about.
The family invited them in, sitting down at the dining room table and offering them delicious muffins. Finally the doctor sat down at the table with Twilight and Spike while Derpy and her daughter Dinky played in the living room.
“Very well Princess Twilight, tell me what can I do for you?”
“Well doctor Hooves, sorry to bother you like this in your house but, we need to know your opinion about something” quickly Twilight took the parchment out of her bag, unrolling it on the table and showing it to the doctor who began to analyze it, placing a monocle on it.
After a minute the doctor looked up.
“Where did you get this?” he asked without much hesitation.
For a second, again, Twilight didn't know what to answer, Spike being quicker with his response.
“Ehhh...it's about a very old document...yeah, Twilight and I, we're just trying to figure out what it means” the answer seemed to satisfy the doctor as he looked closely at the details of the forms again.
“Well...I'm really not too sure...” the answer re-boosted Twilight's nerves.
“I would say it could be some sort of code cipher but some of the shapes overlap others and are symmetrically distributed, so if it was a code, it would be a very bad one...” the doctor continued as he moved along the entire length of the scroll.
“It could also be the artistic representation of something, like a cave painting, but the symbology seems very modern to me, like the arrows or these arcs between the rectangles...” The more the doctor talked, Twilight and Spike's hopes of getting a clear answer faded.
“Finally the wildest thing I can think of is that it could be a double polarity quantum proton circuit diagram, but if that were the case it would be an incomplete work” that last deduction left the alicorn and the dragon with a poker face, they had not understood a single word but they were sure that definitely, that was not what it was about.
After a while more of rambling on the part of the doctor they came to the conclusion that they could not get anything out of it, even so the doctor asked them for a copy to continue analyzing it, Twilight gladly gave it to him before retiring along with Spike.
“So what do we do now...?” he asked somewhat dismayed.
“I don't know Spike, so far it's all been fruitless, looks like you were right this morning, maybe she gave us the wrong grimy piece of paper” the alicorn's expression reflected anger and frustration, the thought of this ending up stalling like this irritated and worried her in equal parts, Spike noticing this decided to keep his spirits up as best he could.
“But, we must not give up hope yet, we still have the last option!” she exclaimed trying to keep her friend from being consumed by her thoughts.
“You're right...” said the alicorn after a moment ‘Sunburst, if anyone can shed light on this mystery it's him’ at that moment Twilight took off running in the direction of the castle followed closely by the dragon.
The sun was already setting over the horizon when they both arrived at the castle gates, greeted by the smell of dinner for the students being served in one of the great halls they didn't have to do much to deduce where Sunburst was.
“Twilight! You're back!” exclaimed Starlight as she paced a bit on the bench at the table.
“You're just in time for dinner, sit down and I'll serve you...” the unicorn started to say but was interrupted.
“I'm sorry Starlight but now is not a good time, we need to talk to Sunburst, now.”
The yellow unicorn turned in surprise with a spoonful of soup still in her mouth.
“I..?” he spoke with his mouth full.
“Yes, you must come with us it's important..”
“Twilight, what's wrong?” asked Starlight now worried, Twilight seemed to be making a very big effort not to lose her cool, she answered her student as best she could.
“It's nothing Starlight, we just want to talk...” twilight's voice was less than reassuring ”Please sit back down and enjoy your dinner..”
“No!” exclaimed Starlight loud enough for some of the students sitting nearby to turn and look at them.
“I know there's something you're not telling me, since this morning you've been acting strange, if whatever that important thing is that's what you're getting like this, then I need to know too...”
The alicorn looked around, she noticed how the small discussion was starting to make some of the students nervous and others curious, she didn't want to make a fuss and worry more individuals, so, resigned, she simply replied.
“It's okay...”
The four of them, Twilight, Spike, Sunbusrt and Starlight were in the latter's room, sitting around a small desk, the scroll lay sprawled across it and Sunburst was inspecting it keenly.
“So you're telling me it's not a cave painting...?” the unicorn asked the princess.
“No.”
“Not even a code...?”
“No!”
“Nor is it the schematic of a quantum dual polarity proton circuit?”
“NO!!!! I don't even know what that is!” exclaimed Twilight with frustration and exhaustion in her voice as she plopped down on the desk with her hooves covering her face.
Everyone in the room looked at each other in concern at their friend's apparent nervous breakdown, finally Starlight asked a question.
“But Twilight why is this so important, where did you get this?”
The alicorn kept her head down, she knew she couldn't say it, say she admitted she received the pony that had caused so much panic and then just let her go, she knew she would be judged, no, she needed to keep up this charade a little longer.
“It's just...” she started to say ”I thought this would give me the answers, answers to something really important...” Twilight gave Starlight a tired look, a look full of frustration and anger but one that also reflected a deep fear deep down.
At this Starlight's heart shrank, she couldn't see her teacher like this, it hurt. Quickly the unicorn approached the table and inspected the scroll up and down, turning on it to the left and then to the right until finally, placed in a diagonal position on the scroll an idea came to her.
“Wait...” she began to say making everyone look at her.
“I've seen these symbols before...”
“What?” asked Twilight almost jumping up from the table.
Starlight turned to the small collection of books on her dresser, flashing her horn and pulling them all down one by one inspecting them, after a moment the unicorn exclaimed.
“Aha!!!” turning to the others and placing the book on the parchment stridently.
“Equestrian Architecture..?” asked Spike quizzically.
“The Definitive Historical Guide to Structures of Yesterday and Today” said Starlight proudly ‘It's one of my favorite books, I've read it a million times and here...’ she began as she flashed her horn making the pages turn quickly until she stopped at a section marked ‘Symbology’.
“Looks to me like we'll find the answers.”
Everyone appreciated the images, noticing that many of the shapes and figures that appeared were almost identical to those on the scroll.
“It's amazing...” began Spike ”This is a blueprint! How did we not notice?”
“Technically it's an architectural schematic...” replied Starlight ‘And I don't blame you for not noticing, it's very poorly done, the alignment is irregular the drawing is crude and the callsigns are confusing, it almost looks like it was made by a 9 year old foal’ laughed Starlight as Twilight analyzed the scroll more closely.
“So it's a blueprint...a blueprint...but of what?” asked the alicorn having regained lucidity in her thoughts.
“I think I can help with that too...” said Starlight as she flashed her horn again, advancing even more pages in the book, Twilight couldn't help but widen her eyes like saucers when the swirl of pages stopped at a new section that read ‘Great Planes of History’.
Starlight turned a few more pages until she stopped on one with a large picture drawn on it, the picture depicted the front of a castle, a castle they all instantly recognized.
“The castle of the two sisters...” said Twilight almost as a whisper.
“Yes... “Starlight began to say ”Look, here are the original plans of the throne room, if you compare them to the first set of symbols on the scroll... they are almost the same.”
The unicorn placed the book's schematic next to the scroll, she was right, although somewhat messy and crude, it was an exact replica.
“What about the rest of the blueprint?” asked Sunburst intrigued.
“It's other parts of the castle...” replied Twilight.
“I scouted it a while back...” she pointed her hooves at the scroll ”If this is the throne room and here's an arrow to the right, then this here is the outer hallway, and these zigzag lines look like stairs, so these are the lower levels of the castle...”
Twilight followed the, now, clear line on the blueprint, turning down hallways, down stairs until finally ending up at the other end of the scroll where a huge X stood out.
“This is deep in the castle, in the old cellars...” said Twilight letting silence flood the room for a moment.
“And what's in there...?” asked Starlight finally, causing her teacher and the dragon to exchange nervous glances for a moment before the alicorn looked back down at the scroll and said.
“The answers...”.
Author's Note
Regarding Zecora's rhymes, it may have been a little lost in translation, I apologize, I swear it does rhyme in Spanish.
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 5: Buried Secrets.
When Twilight summoned all the elements of harmony to undertake a strange excursion into the depths of the forest, she received many questions.
Her friends were somewhat uneasy due to the bizarreness of the situation, a couple of days ago they were shocked by the attack against the princess and Twilight herself, only to find themselves now with a nervous and sleepless alicorn asking for help to explore the ancient castle of the two sisters, it was certainly a situation that deserved an explanation, however Twilight managed to dispel the doubts and concerns enough for them to follow her through the village and then on its outskirts to where they were now, walking in silence.
“So...what are we doing?” asked Rainbow Dash breaking the silence as she fluttered absentmindedly around her friends.
“I already told you Rainbow, I need your help to check a deep section of the castle...” replied Twilight without turning to look at the little pegasus.
“Yes you already said that but I mean, why exactly are we doing it...” replied the rainbow haired mare.
Twilight didn't respond, with Rainbow Dash resigned and with silence threatening to take over again Applejack spoke up.
“I...I'm sorry Twilight...” the tall farm pony began to say ”But I think what Rainbow really means is, you've been acting very strange...”
Her comment was followed by Rarity's voice, as if Applejack had given the conversation the green light.
“She's right dear, you do look disheveled and dirty, no offense intended but have you even slept lately?”
“Yes! You look like a melted cupcake that fell on the floor!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she pranced around in front of the alicorn.
Twilight's countenance was serious, keeping her eyes straight ahead with her eyes sunken and full of dark circles under her eyes.
“I'm fine girls...everything will be fine ...when we get this over with” the last she said almost as a whisper, but one that was heard by all present who shared worried looks, pausing for a second before continuing the silent march after their friend.
Finally, after a couple of hours of walking the ponies and the dragon were in front of the ruins of the gigantic castle.
“Well, here we are Now what?” asked Applejack trying to give an air of nonchalance in her voice.
“Follow me” said Twilight dryly heading for the bridge that led to the main entrance.
As she walked Twilight couldn't help but reminisce about the first time she had been in that castle, the night she had joined and meet the ponies who, now, were her best friends, the friends she had gone through a thousand troubles with, the friends she had saved Equestria with, the friends she had come to love and trust like no other pony or non-pony, those friends she was now hiding a possible truth from, possibly the most important truth in the history of Equestria.
As the six ponies and the dragon entered through the front door a shiver ran down the alicorn's spine, she didn't know if it was due to her lack of sleep or her nervousness, she turned to see her friends, stopped due to Fluttershy standing transfixed right on the threshold.
“Come on Fluttershy you've been here a million times before!” exclaimed Rainbow with a tired face.
“That...that...that...that...that doesn't matter, every time I come near this place I can't help but feel terrified.”
“You do know that the tree of harmony grew here don't you?” asked Pinkie with a smile on her face making Fluttershy relax a little.
“Exactly sweetie!” continued Applejack as she walked towards Twilight ‘The tree, the purest display of Equestria's magical power, germinated right underneath these ruins, from that logic, nothing bad can come from them...’ the muscled pony gave a forced smile to the lanky yellow pegasus as she approached the alicorn and bent down to whisper to her.
“There's nothing wrong here or is there Twilight?”
The alicorn turned to look at her friend with a worried expression.
“You've been very cautious about our reason for being here and I respect that, but if there is something dangerous at the end of this journey we need to know so we can be prepared” Applejack watched as her friend seemed to sink deep in thought, falling silent for a long moment before devoting a response to her, which for the first time all day seemed sincere.
“The truth...I have no idea Applejack...” confessed Twilight ‘I don't know what we're looking for or if it's dangerous, I don't even know if we're looking for something...’ the alicorn's breathing began to get out of control, being noticed by the cowgirl who, making use of her protective side tried to reassure her friend.
“All right, all right, easy Twilight, tell me what do you do know?” the earth pony gave her a smile and a comforting hoof on the shoulder but the alicorn's response did not return the same warmth, she looked at her with her empty eyes, with an expression that could only be described as the beginnings of paranoia.
“What do I need to know...” was all she said before resuming her march and walking away from Applejack's hoove, she's worried and rethinking about this little excursion she simply sighed and followed her friend.
As the mares made their way through the dark ruined corridors; Pinkie Pie and Rainbow were joking, nudging each other and laughing, Rarity was doing her best not to dirty her fur or mane with the cobwebs and abundant dust, Fluttershy was walking shyly as far away from the walls as possible, remembering the amount of trap doors and secret passages the place had, finally Applejack was walking steadily right behind Twilight who was holding the scroll with the outline of the castle with her magic, modified with Starlight's help to make it less confusing. Every now and then Twilight would glance over her shoulder, meeting Applejack's serious gaze upon her, only to try to ignore it and turn her eyes back to the front.
After turning through many corridors and going down many stairs the surroundings began to darken, to such an extent that both Rarity and Twilight had to light their horns to illuminate their walk without fear of falling through a hole in the floor.
“Iugh!” exclaimed the white unicorn as she noticed she had stepped in a ball of dust and dirt ”Yuck!...I didn't know this castle was so big...and so deep!”
“Me neither” said Pinkie as she walked around with her mane covered in cobwebs.
“This is...a little spookier than I remembered” mentioned Rainbow Dash as she flew carefully avoiding the loose beams in the ceiling.
“I'm sure it's just an excess of dust and spiders Right Twilight?” asked Applejack in a somewhat inquisitive tone to the unicorn leading the walk who, again, offered no answer, causing the farm girl to frown.
Finally, rounding a last corner, the group found themselves in front of a room that, once upon a time, must have been a wine cellar, elongated and with an arched ceiling, some old and rotten barrels still lying inserted in the wall.
“Good, we're here!” cried Twilight as she shone her horn brighter, illuminating the room completely.
They all scanned the room from top to bottom, finding the fact that it looked exactly the same as the other rooms they had passed.
“So...is something supposed to happen?” asked Rainbow Dash after a moment of silence.
“Ach I don't know, it looks like the same horribly dirty and stinky picture to me” said rarity with a certain tone of indignation.
“Are you sure you followed that map right Twilight?” exclaimed Applejack looking accusingly at the alicorn who was frantically looking back and forth muttering.
When she received no response again the farm pony became fed up, shouting in a palpable tone of annoyance.
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” The shout made everyone startle.
“Can you tell us once and for all! What pens are we doing here!”
Twilight looked at her friends with a dismayed expression stammering before replying.
“N...no..I...this...should be here, should be here...”
“Let me get this straight...” began Rainbow ‘You summoned us for a supposed emergency, begged us for help, dragged us through the forest and into the interior of a ruined castle And you didn't even know if what you were looking for was here?’ the pegasus began to hover over the alicorn.
“Truth be told dear is this so much mystery for this? I'm honestly very disappointed...” began Rarity before denoting her alicorn friend's increasingly less peaceful expression, calming down and trying to approach from a more considerate angle.
“Dear is this because of what happened at your coronation...you've been really weird since then...we're worried about you” the white unicorn stepped forward.
“Being honest...it scares us a little...” finally said Fluttershy, stepping closer as well.
From one moment to the next the room was filled with voices, a barrage of questions and complaints reached Twilight's ears and she was still dismayed and speechless. The voices gradually rose more and more one on top of the other at Twilight's apparent refusal to answer, until suddenly a cheerful voice interrupted all at once.
“Hey Twilight why didn't you tell me that graffiti artists existed in the past, that's super awesome...!”
The comment threw everyone off, everyone turned to see Pinkie in the deepest part of the room, inspecting the wall.
“What Pinkie thing...?” the alicorn finally said.
“Yes! Someone put graffiti on this wall” Pinkie pointed at the wall as the rest of them approached.
It was subtle, barely noticeable, but the pink pony was right, on the back wall of the room was a series of lines that appeared to be painted, the color was off-white and semi-transparent, obviously worn impossibly by time.
“It's a door!” the pegasus flew at the top of the wall realizing that the lines met in a rough arc, being the near perfect silhouette of a huge door.
“Or at least the drawing of one...” said Applejack as she touched the wall pressing lightly.
“And look!” Rarity exclaimed as she pointed at the ground with the light from her horn, revealing a series of marks on the dusty ground that appeared to be a trail of footprints leading to the wall....
“But how is that possible?” said Fluttershy intrigued at the seemingly meaningless scenes.
Twilight approached, examining the footsteps closely, these, seemed to go through the wall and continue on, the alicorn began to press her brain in an attempt to comprehend what she was seeing when a new shrill booming voice manifested.
“Twilight!”
The mare jumped due to Pinkie having yelled almost in her ear.
“What, what's wrong?” she asked in exultation.
“Look!”
Everyone stared in wonder, shocked at the sight, somehow the lines on the door had begun to glow in a golden hue that lit up the room in an instant.
“What...?” said Twilight in a whisper.
“Come closer again” said Applejack just as impressed.
The alicorn approached the wall again and it glowed again, the closer Twilight got the more the door glowed.
“But what is this?” said Rarity marveling at the beautiful glow.
“I have no idea...” replied the alicorn as her paw touched the stone wall.
In that instant the flash became even more powerful, there was a sound of stone moving and in an instant the wall had become a dark passage plunging into the earth.
“I can't believe it...” said Twilight quietly, it was real, it was impossible but it was real, at least the beginning.
“Where does this tunnel lead to?” said Applejack taking a couple of steps and peeking out.
“A super secret passageway, that's twenty percent cooler!” exclaimed Rainbow flying right over Applejack to also peer into the opening.
“And where do you think...what...what does it lead to?” asked Fluttershy with a nervous tone in her voice.
“I don't know...” said Twilight as she moved towards the entrance ‘But that's what we came here to find out’ and without further ado, the alicorn took a step inside.
The moment she crossed the threshold of the entrance, Twilight's whole body shuddered, it felt as if an electric current ran through her entire body from the tips of her paws to her horn, all her fur bristled and she felt a deep shiver that made her nauseous, the impact left her completely transfixed right where she was, completely still until she heard a voice call out to her, the voice sounded distant and muffled.
“Twilight! Twilight! Are you okay?” Applejack was tapping her shoulder from behind trying to wake her up.
The alicorn thought her face must have been all a painting since when she turned to see her companions they all put a frightened expression on their faces, in the end the only thing the purple mare managed to say with her dry throat was.
“Come down.... come down carefully...”
Twilight was sure that all her friends and her dragon brother had felt the shiver as they crossed over the threshold, she could even swear she heard Fluttershy cough.
“Hey Twilight...” spoke spike to the alicorn in a low voice as he walked beside her.
“What's up Spike?” she asked back also trying to be quiet.
“I just remembered something else the mare told me when she handed me the scroll...”
Twilight looked at the little dragon who was starting to turn green from nausea and was having a hard time keeping up, seeing this the alicorn flashed her horn and pulled him up onto her back to help him.
“What thing Spike, what thing did he say to you?” she asked still whispering.
“He told me...beware if you wish to know the answers, what dwells there was left for no one to ever know the truth.”
Spike's words made the mare even more nervous who, for the first time since the adventure began, had the idea to consider and give up.
The mares continued to descend for a long long time, Rainbow Dash had even offered to fly down to see where the stairs ended or if they even ended up in one place, but Twilight prevented her, in her opinion, it was safer to stay together.
The further they descended the discomfort they had felt from the doorway intensified, soon they began to feel dizzy and disoriented, their vision became blurred and their legs felt weak. Just as Twilight was about to give up on her descent the light from her horn reached what appeared to be the bottom of the stairs.
After checking that all her friends were well enough Twilight refocused her sight on the dark panorama in front of them, the only thing that could be seen was darkness, the light from the horns only let her see a cold rocky and uneven ground under her legs and the wall behind her back, Twilight considered it, She waited to hear something, any of the usual sounds of a cavern, but there was nothing, it was an absolute silence, finally and after being sure that the alicorn did not hear anything that could be dangerous she shone her horn even more, flashing and finally letting everyone see the place where they were.
The place was, as she had deduced, a huge cavern, the distance covered by the light allowing to see several stalagmites of different sizes protruding from the floor which extended in all directions to beyond the light, the ceiling, was so high that it also escaped any hint of light that the alicorn could generate, giving the impression that the cavern had no end.
It took them all a moment to assimilate the magnitude of the space they were in, until finally the silence was broken.
“What is this place?” asked Applejack approaching Twilight.
“I don't know, I've never seen anything like it...” replied the alicorn unable to stop staring into the void.
“Why is this...under Celestia and Luna's castle?” asked Rarity with an exhausted voice.
“I don't know...” Purple Mare said again.
“What's this strange feeling that's making my tummy churn?” asked Pinkie with a pout, she seemed to be the least affected.
“I don't know either...” she finished saying, in the same emotionless tone.
“Well, then what do you do know?” asked Applejack again.
Twilight looked in all directions, she wasn't sure what the next step was, it wasn't until she found herself looking ahead, along the wall they were on, that she noticed that the ground seemed to sink further ahead.
“I think, I think it's this way....” she mentioned and without waiting for her friends, she started walking.
The others followed, and sure enough, a few meters further along the wall the ground began to slope steeply, taking them even deeper.
Little by little the terrain became rockier and more difficult, with loose stones and a steeper and steeper descent. At one point the advance is interrupted by a call from Rainbow.
“Hey! stop!” everyone stumbles to a halt trying to keep their balance on the sloping ground.
“Fluttershy is not well, we must stop” everyone turned to look at the poor skinny pegasus who could barely stand, sweating profusely and almost crying.
“There's something very wrong with this place, we must go back!” exclaimed the blue pegasus holding her friend so she wouldn't collapse and fall.
They all looked at each other with concern, except Twilight who maintained a stoic look.
“Maybe...maybe you're right Rainbow Dash...” finally said Applejack.
“What!” exclaimed Twilight angrily at her friend's blunt comment.
“Twilight please look at us, this place is hurting us, we should go back and think about it more carefully” said the farm girl as she took a step backwards to go towards Fluttershy.
Twilight looked for support in the eyes of one of her other friends but found the same kind of frightened and uneasy expression on all of them, none of them seemed willing to continue, in a moment of anger the alicorn gritted her teeth and screamed at the top of her lungs.
“OK!!! If you want to run away like cowards do it, I don't care, I came here looking for the truth and I'm going to get it!...I need to know!” said that Twilight turned on herself and with Spike still on her back she continued walking down the slope.
Her friends were stunned at their friend's violent reaction, shocked by the fact that the discomfort and anguish she had been carrying for the past few days had finally exploded, for a moment they watched the alicorn walk away from them at a determined pace, taking the major source of light with her, they all exchanged looks of concern and fear, this time more for their friend than for the place, until they finally nodded to each other with determination, even Fluttershy, at the intense exchange of non-verbal communication, nodded heavily.
In a moment Twilight heard the footsteps of her friends again, but instead of hearing them walking away as she expected, she heard them slowly approaching, her anger was slowly replaced with guilt, thinking that she was forcing her friends to accompany her to a horrible place that they clearly did not want to go to, but this thought dissipated with the idea that finally everything would be solved, if she really discovered what that cavern was hiding she knew that everything would be all right, they were close, she could feel it.
After descending the steep terrain for another long time, the mares finally reached the bottom, an icy floor that made more than one of them shiver.
Twilight's shivers intensified when she saw the entrance of the tunnel, she could feel it, it was as if every fiber of her body was begging her, begging her to turn around and run away, she knew that her friends felt it too, she could hear their hearts racing in the silence of the cave.
Slowly and one by one Twilight's friends followed her along the tunnel, which stretched for a long stretch, keeping its circumference even at all times, something that came as a relief to all of them fearing that at one point it would begin to narrow.
For a moment they lost track of time, it almost seemed as if they were not moving, until finally the tunnel ended.
It was very abrupt, so much so that it even took them a moment to realize that they were indeed no longer in it. The passage had given way to another cavern, which could have been just like the previous one if it weren't for the fact that the floor was completely polished, so much so that even the light from Twilight's horn was reflected in it giving it even more intensity to its light, the wall in which the tunnel was embedded was also polished almost as if it were an opaque mirror, they were all speechless at the spectacle that the place offered before Twilight noticed that, in the distance, there seemed to be irregularities in the floor.
They looked like bulbous and blunt stalagmites which rested in the distance of the enclosure, the alicantina began to walk towards them, curious and intrigued while her friends stood at the entrance of the tunnel cautiously.
The next thing they heard was a scream.
“TWILIGHT!” they all shouted in unison as they ran in the direction of the light emanating from their friend's horns.
The scream made them tremble it was full of panic and dread, it took them no more than a minute to get to where Twilight lay, back against the ground, covering her face with her hooves and with Spike at her side trying to calm her down.
“What's wrong!!! What's wrong!!!” yelled Applejack approaching Twilight who wouldn't stop screaming.
“No!!!NO!!!NNNOOOOOOOOO!!!”
“Twilight please!!! tell us what's wrong!!!” the answer came not from Twilight but from Spike who, with a pale face and tears running down his face pointed his claw forward.
Applejack turned her head slowly as the rest of her friends did too, they all found themselves surrounded by the strange bulging stalagmites, which rose up so high they were lost in the darkness, at first none of them understood anything, it wasn't until Applejack slowly approached that it finally dawned on her the horror.
“What....the fuck ...”
Each and every one of the mounds were composed of thousands of bones, highlighted by hundreds of pony skulls stacked one on top of the other, their empty sockets staring back at the farm pony as the rest of her companions fell to realizing what it was that surrounded them.
“They're...they're...they're...bones...” said Fluttershy with her heart pounding out of her chest and the air in her lungs leaving her.
Rarity was lying there vomiting uncontrollably on the floor, staining her fur and mane.
Pinkie pie stared with contracted pupils completely still, anyone who looked at her at that moment could have noticed how her fur paled and her mane deflated little by little.
Rainbow Dash almost fell to the ground as her wings failed her for a second at the terrible sight, managing to recompose herself just in time as obscenities spilled out of her mouth.
“What the...what the fuck is this!” she exclaimed finally finding her voice.
They all stood like that for a grotesque moment, no matter which way they looked there were endless black eyes meeting them, the first to regain her composure was Applejack, who, fearing the worst, prepared to pull her friends out.
“We must...we must get out of here... “she managed to say as she pulled herself together and began to walk towards Twilight.
“Twilight Twilight, get up, we have to go now...”
The alicorn didn't react, she just lay there on the ground, face covered and muttering to herself.
“Twilight for Celestia's sake react at once!!!” the purple mare at last seemed to come to her senses, looking straight into the farmer's eyes.
“We have to get out of here, we have to help the others and go....” suddenly, in the impenetrable silence of the cavern, a noise was heard.
It was massive, guttural, at first none could discern what it was, it sounded as if thousands of drums were beating against a flat surface generating an avalanche of consecutive dull noises, all the mares woke up from their collective terror and tried to look for the source of the sound, but due to the immensity of the cavern and the echo it created it was impossible to know its exact origin.
Silence reigned again and they all looked at each other without blinking, the next thing they heard was a scream.
The most horrible scream any of them had ever heard, one full of anguish and pain, it only took them a second to realize that they knew the sound of that voice.
For everyone to appreciate the scene was slow motion, the image was so horrible that it almost caused a collective fainting spell in everyone, a colossal hand that had grabbed Fluttershy by the leg, this one was like a dragon's but without scales, skeletal, smooth, of a pale white hue and with extremely long black claws, the hand was raised in the air and in an instant Fluttershy was carried towards the darkness of the cavern's ceiling, screaming horribly for help.
“FLUTTERSHY!!!” Rainbow shouted shooting out like lightning in the direction where her friend had disappeared, following her screams.
“RAINBOW DASH NO!!!” shouted Applejack futilely as the blue pegasus disappeared into the shadows.
Suddenly the drumming resumed, even louder this time, rumbling the entire cavern and knocking over some of the bone mounds.
“TWILIGHT HAS SOMETHING!!!” the alicorn managed to hear, looking at her farmer friend who was crying uncontrollably pleading.
Twilight had no time to think, in a single moment she gathered all the magical force she could and fired a powerful beam in the direction of the ceiling, the spell took two long seconds before it impacted in a powerful explosion that illuminated, for the first time in who knows how long, the entire chamber.
As expected the entire chamber was polished, the ceiling was carved in the shape of a dome creating a perfect hemisphere that shone brightly, but whatever hung from the ceiling, that broke something inside Twilight, broke something inside all the mares and the poor baby dragon, something the alicorn knew well, they could never get back.
It was colossal, spanning almost the entire ceiling of the chamber, for an instant none of them understood well what they were seeing, it looked like a centipede but this one was completely white, its entire body was covered by that pale and whitish membrane, each of its limbs stretched beyond the six joints and ended in those grotesque and long clawed hands, it was curled on itself creating a spiral pattern that twisted and crawled.
Just before the flash of magical light was completely extinguished Twilight could see a blue flash swoop down swiftly and stop in front of them.
One of Rainbow's wings was on fire, possibly from the explosion, her face was frozen in a grimace of lost determination and on her back she was carrying Fluttershy.
Without waiting a single second or saying a word, the element of loyalty shot off in the direction of the exit tunnel, followed by Pinkie and Rarity, but Twilight didn't move, she just couldn't, her legs wouldn't answer her “How could this happen?” she wondered “What have I done? ”, she thought she would die, she could see Spike in her blurred vision shouting something she couldn't hear “We never should have come” she could have stayed there petrified forever if it wasn't for Applejack ramming her pushing her, the blow was so forceful that her legs regained the feeling of shock, almost without thinking and with nothing else on her mind other than the thought of escape, Twilight finally started to run.
The ponies and the dragon ran and flew faster than they had ever thought possible in their widows, as they went through the tunnel to the other cavern they heard a colossal roar behind them followed by the rumbling of thousands of drums which, they now knew, was the sound of the thing's claws scraping the rock of the cavern.
They all tried to push away their panicked thoughts at the thought of the monster blocking their way up the stairs, luckily they managed to split them without any trace of the beast, starting to climb them quickly.
They could all hear her, moving from side to side with her hundreds of paws, at one point the climb was too strenuous for Rarity, who stumbled and almost fell into the void, luckily Pinkie managed to grab her with her tail, throwing her on her back and resuming her run, boasting a strength that no one knew she had.
The group finally made it to the top of the stairs, entering the passage to the exit and up the ledge to the door, all seemed soon to be over but suddenly the deepest despair filled Twilight's ears.
“THE DOOR IS GONE!!!THE FUCKING DOOR IS GONE!!!”
Twilight looked weakly over Applejack's shoulder to realize that it was true, the door, the magical entrance through which they had entered that nightmare had disappeared Rainbow and Pinkie was frantically pounding on the wall while Fluttershy and Rarity lay motionless on the floor.
Suddenly a great force threw Twilight forward barely giving her time to break her fall.
“OPEN THE DOOR TWILIGHT OPEN IT!!!” shouted Applejack at it as, in the distance they heard the screeching of the thing approaching.
Twilight staggered towards the door trying to focus and placed a hoove on the wall, nothing happened.
Everything became a tangle of desperate screams and pleading towards Twilight who could barely stand and didn't understand why it wasn't working, as the beast's screams grew louder and now they could hear it crashing again and again into the tunnel entrance, slowly they could hear something crawling along the ledge towards them as Rainbow and Pinkie burst into tears and Applejack completely lost her composure, grabbing Twilight again by her shoulders and screaming at her.
“WHY DID YOU BRING US HERE?!!!!WHY DID YOU CONDEMN US?!!!!”
Twilight could barely hear her, her own thoughts overpowering the avalanche of the moment Why had she done it, because she wanted to know the answers, because she wanted to know if it was true, no, the reason was much simpler than that, she just wanted to prove, she wanted to prove that that pony was wrong, she wanted to prove that what she was saying was pure lies, even now, that she had seen the truth head on, she couldn't believe it, it was just...impossible.
Just as the thing's fingers peeked around the corner slowly stretching out to reach them a greenish light illuminated the tunnel, they all turned immediately and found the passage open and right at the entrance a familiar face.
Starlight Glimmer couldn't process what she was seeing, not the secret passage, not the faces of her friends, not the hellish shrieks coming from the bottom of that tunnel, she just stood still as they all passed her in a frenzy of fear, she only reacted when Applejack's thick voice shouted behind her back.
“CLOSE THE DOOR CLOSE IT!!!” Starlight shone her horn brightly as a huge pale hand crawled what would be the last few feet before it could reach her, in an instant the entire wall shook and the passageway closed leaving the monster on the other side, as its shrieks slowly began to grow more distant, until it disappeared completely.
The lilac unicorn turned to see her friends, they all looked horrible, their faces, inexpressive, their fur, dirty, their looks, full of fear, but she felt more fear when she saw how Fluttershy was missing the whole lower part of her left hind leg, it seemed to have been torn off and the poor pegasus was unconscious, while Rainbow Dash was tying a tourniquet made with Applejack's hair ribbon, who was hugging herself, Rarity was also unconscious and above her was crying a Pinkie Pie with a smooth mane and gray fur.
“How...how did you know where we were?” asked Applejack almost as a whisper.
“Zecora...” said Starlight pointing to the entrance of the room where a petrified Zecora stood at the scene.
“She came to warn me and we followed the original map to find you...”
“Warn you that...?” said the farmer with heavy breathing.
“The text that accompanied the outline...” then Zecora interrupted, for the first time not speaking in rhymes.
“Beware those who venture into the darkness, for this despite being forgotten is never destroyed, beware those who wish to know the truth for a life full of pain and agony awaits them, whoever ventures must be aware and eternally remember the words of the great tyranny of the sun and the moon...” Zecora paused before finishing “When evil reaches certain dimensions, blessings are of no use.”
Hearing this all Applejack could do was cry.
Twilight was sitting in her chair in the friendship map room, her gaze was lost among the magical holograms projected by the artifact, waiting patiently, next to her was Spike, who could do nothing but look worriedly at his greatest friend, who seemed completely lost.
Suddenly the door opened with a bang, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash entered the room, Applejack walked firmly in Twilight's direction, barely did the alicorn have time to turn around when she received a powerful blow right in the face, a blow that sent her crashing to the floor and which made Spike get up in a fury.
“Applejack what the hell...!”
“SHUT UP SPIKE!!!” the shout intimidated the little dragon who instinctively backed away.
The huge earth pony grabbed Twilight and pulled her up roughly forcing her to face her.
“WHAT THE FUCK TWILIGHT, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT, WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU TAKE US?!!!”
Twilight's face was bruised from the blow, her nose was bleeding profusely and her eyes had regained some of their lost luster, still she didn't respond which infuriated Applejack even more.
“FUCKING TWILIGHT FUCKING RESPONDS!!!FLUTTERSHY LOST A FUCKING LEG!!!”
Applejack was about to unleash another punch to Twilight's face when something stopped her, out of nowhere Twilight started sobbing, her face filled with tears and her voice cracked as she finally issues a response.
“I...I...I...I...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...” she cried uncontrollably unable to contain herself.
“I...I didn't know...but...but...but...I wanted to know...and I almost got them all killed...I'm sorry.....”
Applejack couldn't continue her assault, she let go of Twilight letting Twilight collapse to the ground, hugging herself as she continued to cry.
The scene was heartbreaking, even so, none of her friends approached to comfort her, they all had annoyed looks, although Pinkie, who still had smooth hair, could not help but let out a few tears.
“Alright Twilight...” said Applejack with a calmer but still stern tone ”No more lies, you will tell us what the hell is going on and how the hell you knew about that place.”
“Yes....” she started to say raising her voice.
“It's okay...I'll tell you all about it.”
The moment was suddenly interrupted when Spike, with a belch of fire, filled the room with green sparks for a second, before anyone could recover from the surprise a rolled and sealed scroll fell to the floor among those present.
Twilight paled even more when she saw the seal that adorned the scroll, still she used her magic to lift it, open it and place it in front of her, a moment passed before Twilight dropped the scroll to the floor, her eyes had lost their sparkle again and her gaze was lost in nothingness again.
“Twilight? What's wrong?” asked Applejack, there was no answer.
“Twilight?!”
As her friends surrounded and tried to help the catatonic mare the message on the scroll was perfectly visible.
“Dear Twilight
I am writing to give you good news, you will be happy to know that, after several days of arduous search, the dangerous unicorn that attempted against our lives during the day of your coronation, has been captured and handed over to the relevant authorities who will take care of her, this means that the danger is over and we can resume the matter of your coronation immediately, soon I will ask you to return to Canterlot to reorganize the event and finally put everything in order to carry it out, I send you cordial greetings and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Love, Princess Celestia”.
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 6: In the Shadow of the Sun.
After Twilight told them the impossible story the scarred mare had shared with her, everything made sense, or at least her friends stopped treating her like she was crazy.
Fluttershy had had to stay in Ponyville, receiving medical attention due to her injuries, Starlight had assured them that she would personally take care of her, which had reassured them all to some extent.
The alicorn was sitting against the window of the train, staring absentmindedly at the night landscape with the mountains in the distance. The carriage was empty, hardly any ponies were taking the midnight train, they were the only ones there.
At one point Twilight looked away from the window, watching her friends; In the row of seats on the other side were Rainbow Dash and Applejack, the little blue pegasus was lying on the lap of the farmer pony, sleeping, the orange mare was also sleeping, leaning against the window, one of her hooves was standing on Rainbow's head, tangled in her mane, Pinkie Pie, right in the place in front of her friends, was sleeping occupying a whole seat, stretched out exaggeratedly on the backrest, her fur remained a very dull pinkish gray and her mane, though slightly fluffy, still hung cold and lifeless, finally, Rarity, sitting a couple of seats in front of the alicorn was wrapped in a very thick turquoise blue coat, a black beret adorned her head and she wore sunglasses, Twilight didn't know if she was asleep or not, but noticing that she didn't make any sound or give any indication of movement she guessed she was.
The trip lasted several hours, when finally the whistle announced their arrival at the capital, the sun was not yet peeking over the horizon, keeping the place under calm blue and purple tones.
“Could someone remind me...why we decided to come so early?” asked Rarity, recovering her usual complaining tone for a moment.
“Because we have to find out what happened to the unicorn...” replied Twilight without turning to look at her friend.
“Yes that I understand but...that doesn't explain the terrible travel schedule, Celestia hasn't even raised the sun.”
“Exactly” replied the alicorn seriously confusing the white unicorn and the rest of her friends.
“Celestia will be busy for quite a while making the sun rise shortly so this is the perfect opportunity to get answers as to where she is...”
The plan they had hatched still worried the group a bit, even Twilight wasn't entirely sure, but, a feeling in the back of her head told her that there wasn't much time to act.
“Are you sure this is a good idea Twilight?” asked Applejack behind her back, the alicorn took a moment to answer.
“I was researching, writing to all the detention centers and psychiatric institutions in Canterlot, asking for some scarred unicorn mare, no one knew how to give me an answer...” they all fell silent.
“No one knows anything about her, as if she was never captured, so after weighing the options, the only place she could be is...” Twilight was trying to speak quietly so as not to attract the attention of the ponies that were passing them by, as they rounded a corner the mares stopped as they stood before the imposing royal castle which loomed imposingly with the horizon just behind them.
In the deepest part of Canterlot castle, in the ancient catacombs, used in very ancient times, walked a smiling princess Celestia, her radiant smile contrasted with the gloomy environment around her, she was not escorted by any guard nor wore her usual necklace and crown, she walked through the dark corridors shining her horn and almost jumping with each step as if she was dancing.
The great alicorn turned in several corridors, again and again, further and further away from the habitable areas of the castle, finally arriving at a rickety, but very solid, dark wooden door, Celestia shone her horn making its wood glow and an unlocking sound was heard. to later push lightly with her hoof giving way to a room.
In an instant the alicorn shone his horn more brightly, creating glowing spheres which flew in different directions, placing them on the walls and causing the room to fill with a uniform and intense light.
“Good morning sleepyhead!”
“I said, good morning...” the princess' tone had changed to one that seemed bitter and annoyed, with a serious expression on her face, the unicorn must have taken a few moments to make the pain bearable before responding.
“Ouch, ahem...wow, I had forgotten what it was like to be woken up like that...” the mare kept her head down, her face covered by her matted red hair and with a tone in her voice that indicated haughtiness.
“A thousand apologies it's just that I don't have much time and I wanted to come and give you the good news” Celestia said as she forced a smile again.
“Wuu, great, you'll tell me you finally got rid of that horrible vaginal infection you got from fucking diamond dogs? hahahahahahahaa....” another punch to the mare's stomach that made her let out a gasp, if only she had eaten something recently, she was sure her stomach would have returned it by now.
“That's funny, I didn't remember you being so eloquent...” started to say celestia letting out another punch this time in the direction of her ribs, which crackled with the impact ” No no no no, I came to tell you that today I will give notice that you were finally captured and referred to the authorities.”
The unicorn forced herself to let out a raucous laugh.
“Wow is that the best you could think of, even I can see how unbelievable that is, you're going to be flooded with questions and you'll have to present evidence and...explanations” the mare found it hard to breathe.
Celestia turned and walked to the other side of the room slowly as she continued to speak.
“A very insightful observation my dear, but don't worry I already have it covered, I will say that during your transfer to a psychiatric facility you resisted, there was an altercation and unfortunately you ended up dead” the princess began to search for something amongst the large amount of medieval machinery.
“Something more credible but there will still be questions...” the mare reiterated.
“Questions that will be quickly ignored and filed away my dear, nothing to worry about, maybe it will last a little longer but, as I told you, they will eventually forget it, that's how ponies are nowadays...” the alicorn was shining her horn, pushing aside large chunks of rotten metal and wood.
“I see then that your work paid off...” the unicorn began to say ”When I left your empire was crumbling, your enemies were overwhelming you and your people were revealing themselves... How did you manage all this?”
“I'm so glad you asked!” exclaimed the princess as she continued rummaging ”It's been so long since I've been able to have this kind of conversation... My sister doesn't like to reminisce about the old days, you know?”
“Are you talking about Nightmare Moon?” he asked with an irritating tone, the princess couldn't help but grit her teeth before answering him.
“We go by a different name now...” began Celestia.
“Ahhhh right!” false surprise emanated from the mare's mouth ‘I forgot, your real names may be somewhat..shocking to your paper pony society What were they?...’ she pretended to ponder ”Ah yes! Celestia and Luna, seriously now whose idea was that? they sound like names chosen by a foal!”
The regent didn't respond to the provocation, instead she continued to rummage through the muck until she hit upon what she was looking for.
“Answering your question...” said the princess as she walked back to the mare with a wooden bucket levitating at her side ”It's true that I found myself in a difficult situation for a while and it took me even longer to realize what I was doing wrong...” Celestia dropped the bucket shatteringly in front of the pony, revealing that it had huge iron nails inside.
“I realized that the more I oppressed the freedoms and attempted against the lives of the ponies the more discontent there was and the more airs of rebellion arise among them...” the alicorn said this while with her magic she lifted two of the nails from the bucket, she held them in front of her face and they began to redden.
“No matter how much terror I instilled in their hearts it ended up turning into courage and bravery, so I decided to do something completely different...” the princess related this with a thoughtful expression, her gaze lost on the nails that were increasingly glowing as if they were being fanned by invisible embers.
“It took me a long time and many generations but I finally managed to cleanse my image from being a tyrant to a savior...” once the nails were hot enough Celestia levitated them in the direction of the mare's hind legs, more specifically to her inner thighs, holding them just a few centimeters from her skin.
“Of course it required many sacrifices on my part, including my dear little sister, poor thing had to bear the guilt of years of torment and, to make it believable, I had to impose a real punishment on her” the alicorn drove the slamming nails deep into the mare who, despite gritting her teeth couldn't help but let out a cry of pain as she felt her muscles burn inside.
“Your damn obsession with yours...” said the mare with a hoarse voice while still gritting her teeth in pain, the celestial princess looked surprised.
“...Yes...” she finally replied as she pulled the nails out forcefully eliciting a gasp from the unicorn ”Looks like she shared more with you than I thought, how sentimental of her...” Celestia admired the wounds she had inflicted on her prisoner, taking a long look at the pair of holes but pausing as she noticed how, despite the fact that these did not close, the external burn seemed to fade quickly.
“I see you still retain some of my sister's power...” she said as he levitated two more nails from the bucket and began to heat the ‘But it's nothing compared to what it was before...your connection is weakening’ he quickly drove the four red-hot nails this time into the unicorn's belly, making her squeal again.
“Soon you won't be able to heal any more wounds and not only that, soon your old wounds will start to reverberate in your body...” she began to say as she drove the hot iron even deeper into the mare's insides this time leaving them there ‘The more time progresses you will start to feel more and more pain until finally your body can't take it anymore...’ the princess pulled another six nails out of the bucket.
“Can you imagine that, dying of pain...” she inserted the nails into the mare's armpits, who held back her scream as best she could, mustering enough strength to respond.
“Ughhhhhh.....I can't imagine a better way to die that would make you smile like that...” said the pony finally looking up a bit and pinning her eyes on Celestia's who was smiling widely.
“You're absolutely right, I would love nothing more than to leave you here until you finish aging and die in agony...” the princess paused making a strange grimace ”But...unfortunately, you're a risk that threatens everything I've worked so hard to achieve, so we'll end this quickly.”
The alicorn flashed her horn and a heavy clatter went through the room, in a moment a huge iron brazier was placed at the regent's side bursting into flames and igniting violently.
“Look I wouldn't want to have to kill you so quickly, so we'll make it more fun, after all what I told you the other night was true...” Celestia drew large iron rods towards her from across the room and began placing them into the fire one by one “It's been ages since I've had the opportunity to have fun with a pony like you, one worthy of enough time and effort for a good play session.”
The mare watched impassively as one by one the rods were placed among the embers and began to heat up.
“But don't worry, even though it will hurt a lot, I've decided that in the end I will give you a quick death...”
“Oh wow and to what do I owe this incredible gesture of benevolence?” the unicorn couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
“Well, I figured it was the least I could do for a pony who sacrificed so much for me and my kingdom...too bad the kingdom you helped build will never know of your sacrifice” the princess said this last with a mocking tone, taunting the unicorn who gritted her teeth in anger.
“Indeed look!...” exclaimed Celestia enthusiastically as she lifted a couple of the rods from the fire and showed them to the mare, these, now with the glow of the embers, showed that on their tips they had designs to mark, one of the rods had the word in large letters ‘WHORE’ and the other read the word ‘TRAITOR’.
“I hadn't used either of these for a long time, it will be good to finally put them to use again” the princess placed the rods back in the fire.
“However our fun will have to wait, particularly today I have endless tasks to accomplish, very important tasks, so perhaps you should wait for me until sundown, I hope you don't mind.”
The unicorn didn't answer just kept her gaze fixed on Celestia's face, with a frown and a furious look. Celestia gave her a smirk and a smirk.
“Oww don't be sad, look on the bright side, in the end, you'll end up dying at the hooves of someone of your time” the princess couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his comment, turning around to start retreating.
“You know, believe it or not, it does comfort me...” the regent heard from behind her back, turning to look at the mare.
“For a moment I actually thought you had changed, I saw your face, with that smile talking to your beloved ponies and for a moment I doubted...it's good to know you're still the same sadistic bitch you always were...” the unicorn let out an emotionless laugh and spit some blood on the ground with disdain.
Celestia looked for a long moment at her prisoner, noting that she was exhibiting a wistful smile before turning and walking out the door.
Just as she crossed the threshold the sun princess was startled, standing in front of her was her sister Luna, who had a serious expression and was wearing her princess ornaments.
“Wow! Luna, you scared me!”
“I'm sorry sister, I came looking for you because it's almost time for you to raise the sun “Luna didn't react to her surprised gesture and laughter.
“Yeah yeah sure, don't worry, I was on my way” Celestia noticed how her sister had a somber expression and apparently looked over her shoulder in the direction of the cell.
Silence reigned for a moment before Celestia exclaimed with resignation.
“Don't take too long, remember we have to get everything ready for Twilight's coronation” the alicorn said as she stepped aside making way for her sister, just as Luna was about to enter the room Celestia called out to her again.
“And Luna...”
“Yes Celestia...?” the princess of the night turned to look at her sister.
“Don't break down,” she told her with an authoritative expression before turning and walking away down the hallway until she was out of sight.
Luna stood for a moment in front of the door pondering whether or not it would be a good idea to go inside, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she finally took a step into the room.
“Oh! Back for your crabs?” exclaimed the unicorn with her head down.
“It's me...” said Luna as she slowly approached.
“Oh great, what I was missing, miss sweet ass and snake tongue” the mare let out a sigh of annoyance as she shook slightly trying to ease the pain of the nails embedded in her body.
Luna flashed her horn carefully pulling out all the iron pieces and dropping them on the ground, this caused the unicorn to whimper slightly before falling silent.
“Why?” the alicorn finally asked, to which the chained mare replied eloquently.
“Well I messed with your sister's pussy and then she got mad and then...”
“I mean why, why did you do it?” the question immediately fell to the unicorn who let out a sigh and cleared her throat for a second before answering.
“Why?.....why?...you know I don't even think I know very well.”
“No, you don't!” exclaimed the alicorn aloud ”I want you to tell me why you kept fighting, you could have had a good life, away from this shit, the war is over...”
At that moment the princess of the night was interrupted by a scream that echoed throughout the room and even outside.
"¿¡OVER!? ¡¡¡BULLSHIT, FOR ME THE WAR CONTINUES!!!" Luna was so thrown off by the shout that she couldn't respond immediately.
“I fought!!!I fought and suffered as you ordered but I couldn't win!!!And when I finally returned home what did I find!!!A fucking lie formed over the corpses of my comrades!!!With a people who don't even know of their existence!!!”
“It was.... It was a bad time” Luna said with her head down not daring to look at the mare.
“A BAD TIME?!!!To you it's just that, just a bad time in a distant memory!!!To you all those deaths meant nothing!!!And why would they?!!!You're a goddess...”
Luna tried to protest but she was met by another caterwaul of screams.
“At least on the battlefield I had friends!!!....” the unicorn writhed furiously in her chains, pushing at the wall with her hind hooves stretching in Luna's direction.
“The leader of my personal guard seriously chooses to die here?” asked Luna trying to appeal to the mare's nostalgia.
“I learned to fight against all kinds of beasts!!!!! I endured indescribable pain because I believed in your cause!!! I BELIEVED THAT IF I FIGHTED HARD ENOUGH, IF WE GAINED VICTORY, EVERYTHING WOULD GET BETTER!!!”
The unicorn seemed to lose her breath and strength, dropping back down as she hung from the ceiling, after a minute her broken voice filled the air again.
“I shouldn't have come back...” she began to say as tears streamed down her face ”I should have died like the others...they were all gone...they were good ponies...they were all good!!!”
Luna felt her heart compress in her chest at the scene, there was a lump in her throat and she felt unable to say anything, letting silence reign for a long moment until the pony spoke again.
“Have you even seen my dreams...?” she asked suddenly looking at Luna and noticing a dismayed expression on her face ”Heh...of course not...you don't have the courage...”
The alicorn stood still where she was, this as a cold sweat began to be reminiscent of her forehead.
“Every night I dream I search for their remains on the battlefield, the parts they lost to your enemies...they were all my family....and they are gone.”
Luna finally mustered enough strength to continue her approach as the mare sobbed silently.
“The least I could have hoped for was that a monument would be erected in their honor, out of respect for all the lives they sacrificed...but they couldn't even give them that, they just buried them where no pony could ever find them and left them there to die...”
Luna raised a hoof in the mare's direction, intending to wipe the tears from her face, but the moment the unicorn felt the brush of her touch she jerked back in a blind rage.
“DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME DAMN YOU, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, YOURS AND YOUR BITCH OF A SISTER!!!”
Luna recoiled in fright as it looked like the pony's chains would come off the wall.
“YOU AND SHE DESERVE TO DIE YOU AND SHE DESERVE TO DIE!!!” the mare continued to thrash and scream at the top of her lungs for quite a while until she finally ran out of strength and collapsed from exhaustion.
Luna stood still just a couple of steps away from the distressed mare, not knowing what else to say she simply let her emotions take over.
“Bek...” she called to the unicorn who looked up weakly.
“I'm sorry...I'm really sorry...” tears were beginning to fall down her perfect face, staining it and making her lose her composure.
The mare had expected any reaction but this one, she simply stood silently watching the once one of the greatest tyrants the world has ever known collapse on the ground crying like a little foal.
“What good are your tears to me...” the mare finally replied with a scornful expression and a lost look.
In a moment Luna flashed her horn pulling something out from behind her wings and showing it to the captive, who couldn't help but open her eyes in surprise.
“I figured...you'd want to at least have her around, when...it happens...” the princess said with a sympathetic expression.
The unicorn said nothing simply looked back down at her sword and Luna could tell she was smiling slightly.
“I'll leave it, where my sister won't find it..” Luna levitated the hilt to the other side of the room, climbing up the wall until she placed it in a recess near the ceiling that hid it perfectly,far from the pony's reach but also from Celestia.
“There, now at least you won't leave this world without her...” said Luna finally looking back at the mare whose face was drooping to the floor without looking at her.
After another moment of silence Luna finally let out a sigh and started to leave the room, just as she was about to cross the threshold she stopped dead in her tracks and looked over her shoulder.
“If it's any consolation, I still carry them all in my mind, so they will never truly be forgotten...”
“That's no consolation...” replied the mare without looking at her ‘That you remember them is the worst insult...’ and without further ado Luna left the room and closed the door.
Luna walked through the corridors in a daze, her head spinning a thousand times over the situation between her hooves.
Right there, locked up and hidden in the darkness, was trapped one of the ponies she had come to love the most, doomed to suffer a horrible death at the hands of her older sister, it was unacceptable, any pony would do anything to stop this barbarism and fix the situation and yet she did nothing.
She did not want to provoke Celestia's fury, she knew it was not a simple matter of a difference of opinion or a simple reprimand, to do so was to play with fire, a vengeful and powerful fire that, if she was not careful, could sweep away everything in an instant.
Therein lay her dilemma, the reason for the feeling of helplessness that gnawed at her, the reason why she could not muster the courage to save that wounded mare who knew nothing but war, she was simply too much of a coward.
While the princess was walking aimlessly through the corridors of the catacombs, lost in her thoughts, she heard a voice in the distance. At first she thought it was her imagination but the sound became clearer, it wasn't just one voice it was five and it wasn't just five voices, it was five voices she recognized.
“I told you Twilight, we're lost.”
“We're not lost Applejack we're taking a back way to avoid running into any guards” Twilight replied to her farm girl friend as she tried to locate herself in the complex maze that was the catacombs.
Princess Luna watched them intently from the shadows.
“Well, I'm no expert on catacombs...” said Pinkie Pie in a more muffled voice than usual ”But even I'm sure we must have gotten somewhere by now.”
“Haghh! I can't believe it!” exclaimed Twilight frustrated ‘You say that as if it wasn't hard to locate with outdated maps and blocked roads!’ the alicorn looked nervous, despite trying to keep order the group of friends were becoming increasingly dissatisfied, it got to a point where the discussion began to take on more aggressive overtones.
“I knew this trip was a waste of time, we were supposed to be on a rescue mission and now we need to be rescued” exclaimed Rarity indignantly.
“How are we even going to know if she's somewhere in the castle if we can't talk to anyone?” asked Rainbow Dash as her tone became more haughty.
“And even if we do find out, we have no idea how we're going to get her free” Pinkie Pie concluded with a pessimistic tone.
“And if Twilight can't figure out that our plan doesn't have a leg to stand on, then maybe she's not fit to lead this operation” said Applejack finally, looking directly at Twilight.
Faced with the avalanche of discouragement Twilight couldn't take it anymore and exploded, with a furious look that made her friends take a step back she exclaimed.
“In condition...of course I'm not in condition!!!! Do you think I'm functioning well after everything we saw!!! All you do is complain, complain, complain!!! For fuck's sake!!! Do you think I have all the answers!!! Obviously not!!!!!!” After that Twilight dropped to the ground disconsolate and on the verge of tears.
“I have no idea what we are doing...I have no idea even if what we are doing makes any sense...” the alicorn's friends looked at each other embarrassed and saddened at the injustice exposed, silently before their friend spoke wiping her eyes.
“All I know, is that we must do something, we have witnessed secrets important to all of Equestria and as its protectors we must do all we can to bring these secrets to light...” Twilight rose from the ground with determination in her eyes.
“That is why we must rescue Bek, we must find her, we must give her the voice and support she needs to let the whole world know what the princesses have been hiding from us, the secrets they decided to bury...”
At those words Luna's eyes widened with surprise and panic had these ponies discovered everything? How was it possible? This was very serious, if the elements of harmony were already aware of her secrets, this would get out of control very quickly.
“I think I can help you with that Twilight Sparkle” the princess' voice echoed in the compound causing the five mares to become alert and move into a defensive position.
Slowly Luna advanced towards the ponies entering the light range of Twilight's horn with a solemn expression, seeing the imposing figure of the princess of the night the purple alicorn panicked, for a moment all the worst scenarios went through her mind, she imagined herself and her friends being arrested, She even thought for an instant that Celestia would have her wings revoked for having betrayed her trust, while she was thinking about that Luna stopped just a couple of steps away from them, looking at them without saying anything.
“I can help you find what you are looking for...” at the princess's non-hostile and seemingly passive response they all relaxed and Twilight was the first to raise her voice.
“What?...What do you mean princess...?”
“I know where Bek is.”
The words of the alicorn froze everyone's blood, suddenly what until now could have been described as a terrible nightmare ended up consolidating and taking shape, there they had Princess Luna, according to Bek's story, one of those responsible for the horrible barbarism they had witnessed, confirming the existence of the pony they had come to look for and that, indeed, she knew her.
“She is in these very catacombs, trapped in a cell fitted out by my own sister for her specific confinement...”
The more Luna spoke the more intrigue and fear the mares felt, this was really happening, the words, seemingly meaningless in an impossible story, took on validity and shook the world of the elements of harmony.
“If you come to rescue her you need to know that the door to her cell is enchanted with a powerful magic that can only be activated by an alicorn...”
They all looked at each other quizzically for a moment being interrupted by Pinkie.
“I think we have that covered...” said the pink pony before being interrupted by the princess.
“You don't understand, the spell was cast by my sister, so she is able to sense when it is activated, if you open that door you must be quick to help her get out and escape the city before my sister comes down to investigate.”
They all went cold, suddenly the trip had taken a sinister turn, the way Luna describes Celestia left a hole in the ponies hearts.
“They need an escape vehicle and a safe route away from the beaten path...” the alicorn kept saying, more to herself than to Twilight and her friends, finally her ramblings were interrupted by the same purple alicorn looking at her with a seriousness never before seen in her eyes.
“Princess Luna...” started to say Twilight making the alicorn stop and look at her with her deep eyes ”So...everything is true...?”
The princess didn't need any further explanation, she knew exactly what she was referring to, after a long pause and without stopping staring into Twilight's eyes the princess of the night answered.
“Yes” cold and forceful.
Twilight's mind threatened to collapse at the revelation, her last glimpses of stubbornness that screamed at her that everything she had seen and heard was impossible dissipated, for the first time since receiving the unicorn's visit her mind cleared of any doubt and fear, clearing the way for understanding and finally, allowing her to begin to process the information. She couldn't say for sure but she was sure her other friends felt the same as the room seemed to be freed from a heavy shackle.
“Well...” said Twilight recovering the solemnity of her voice, something that surprised all her friends and even her ”How do we stop Celestia from coming down here?”
Luna recovered quickly from Twilight's sudden change of attitude and continued.
“In a few moments my sister will make the public announcement of the criminal's capture in front of the entire city, there is the perfect time for you guys to break into the cell and rescue her..”
“But what if the princess sensing our intrusion decides to quickly end the announcement and come down here?” asked Applejack regaining her thick country accent.
“I'll see to distracting her as much as possible” replied Luna determinedly.
“I don't guarantee to be able to do it for long, but I'll give them as much as I can.”
“Okay, now how do we get her out of town?” asked Twilight to her friends.
“Let me have the transport procurement!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash enthusiastically, Twilight couldn't help but smile at her friends' renewed spirit, gaining confidence and continuing.
“Okay now the route back to Ponyville...”
“We can go through Everfree Forest!” squealed Pinkie, her mane, though not fully recovered, had taken on a brighter hue as had her fur ”It's full of old roads that hardly anyone uses these days, we'd get to Ponyville by tomorrow afternoon!”
At the plan in progress Luna felt hopeful for the first time in a long time.
“Alright, follow me, I'll show you where the cell is and a shortcut to an exit that leads to the main street.”
All the ponies followed the princess down the corridors back to the shadowy dark wooden door, once the directions to the exit were explained and Rainbow along with Pinkie ran off in the direction of the exit to find an escape vehicle, Princess Luna prepared to leave.
“Alright, don't forget, when you see the door glow white that will be the signal for you to enter, you must be very quick to free her and get her out of the catacombs, once my sister knows you are on the outside she will send guards in search of you, under no circumstances must she know that you were here that is the most crucial thing Understood?”
Luna's nervousness was palpable, she really was doing this, she really was acting behind her sister's back, once again conspiring in the shadows, her thoughts were interrupted by Twilight who was looking at her with concern.
"Princess Luna, not that we don't thank you for this but, if everything she says...is true why are you helping us?" the question threw Luna off, truth be told, even she wasn't sure why she was doing it or maybe she did know, but she didn't want to accept it.
“It's because this is my fault Twilight Sparkle, I caused all of this with my actions, the least I can do is try to fix it...” She paused in deep thought.
“Twilight Sparkle, I have one more favor to ask of you...” the princess began to say drawing the alicorn's attention.
“Sure princess, anything...”
“When you manage to get her out of this and you are already safe queiron that you help her leave everything behind, I don't care how you do it just convince her to stay away, to leave and never come back, only then she will be safe...”
Twilight looked seriously at the princess's face, trying to deduce if this was a trap but found no falsehood in the request.
“I will princess...I will.”
And once that was said, Luna smiled, turned and walked briskly away.
Luna had quickly climbed back up to the castle which was beautifully lit due to the radiant sunlight streaming through the windows, she ran through the corridors in the direction of the balcony that led to the outside of the palace, dodging guards and cleaning staff deftly.
“I told you not to take too long, the crowd has been gathered for over five minutes...” celestia's expression relaxed as she saw how agitated Luna was, giving a mischievous smile.
“Couldn't you wait any longer and have fun with her, what a dirty little sister, but I respect that, after all she was your former whore.”
Luna did her best not to answer the nasty remark as Celestia walked in the direction of the balcony and she followed.
As soon as Celestia stepped outside, with her wings outstretched and a comforting smile on her face Luna flashed her horn slightly, sending a spell into the depths of the castle that made the large wooden door glow with a very faint white light.
“It's the signal!” exclaimed Applejack.
Twilight approached the door shining her horn, the moment it touched the wood it let out a purple flash, causing it to click and swing wide open.
“Here she is!”
Meanwhile, upstairs, Celestia was giving a very elegant speech about security and how peace had been restored when she felt a shiver run down her spine, she knew what it was instantly, but she couldn't give her sister warning, she was still talking.
Downstairs Applejack and Twilight were doing their best to free the mare while Rarity watched the escape route.
“These chains are welded to her hooves Twilight, we need tools to open them.”
“No time!” Twilight looked up at the joint that attached the handcuffs to the ceiling, it looked worn, quickly Twilight fired a bolt of lightning with her horn, destroying the anchor and releasing the entire chain.
Upstairs Celestia was getting more and more nervous, she did her best to quickly finish the speech, receiving applause and cheers as she retreated into the room, immediately turning to her sister.
“The door” she said coldly as she walked out into the hallway followed closely by Luna.
“Are you sure sister?” she asked feigning surprise.
“I'm sure, I felt the seal unlock” she said as she came down a staircase at full speed.
“But, it's a spell you haven't used in a while, you may have forgotten the feeling...” Luna struggled to keep up with her sister who was getting closer and closer to the entrance to the catacombs “Or maybe...I forgot to lock the door.”
Celestia stopped abruptly, turning her head slowly to look at the princess of the night.
“What thing?”
The terrified look on Celestia's face made Luna swallow saliva, unable to answer.
“You forgot to lock...the door?” repeated Celestia with a stern tone.
“Well I...maybe I did close it, but...maybe I didn't close it properly...”
Both mares struggled to drag the heavy pony out of the room, who could barely stand on her legs, before they could get out the door the unicorn complained.
“No...no, wait...”
“What, what's wrong?” Twilight asked confused as she watched as faintly the chained pony pointed in one direction, as she followed it with her eyes Twilight noticed it was pointing to a hole high up on the other wall of the room, she quickly flew there. sticking her hoof into the opening and pulling out the hilt and looking at it for a second before turning back.
Celestia was running down the halls with fury in her eyes as she was chased by Luna.
“No need to get upset sis, I just said it was a possibility, because I'm sure I shut it down well....” both alicorns turned down hallways and down stairs.
“It could very well be nothing, I really don't think we should go to....”
“Shut the fuck up Luna!!!!” Celestia's shout stopped Luna in her tracks right in front of the entrance to the catacombs,it was only a second before Celestia spoke.
“I don't care if you left the fucking door open or if someone else opened it the point is it's open!” Celestia shifted towards the entrance with the intention of going down before stopping and turning to look at her sister.
“Put all guards on alert” she ordered before moving deeper into the darkness.
Twilight led the group while Applejack carried Bek on her back and Rarity was right behind her, running as they followed the route Princess Luna had provided, turning at intersections and going down long corridors, finally they caught a glimpse of a light, picking up their pace and finally making their way outside.
“This is the escape vehicle!” asked Twilight in excitement.
“It's all we got!” exclaimed Rainbow in response.
While in the distance could be heard the cries and complaints of an old pony, clamoring to have his wagon back.
“There's no time!” cried Pinkie as everyone rushed to get into the wagon.
Finally Celestia after a frantic run to her prisoner's cell stopped short in front of the open door, the lights inside had been extinguished and now only the large iron brazier illuminated the interior, the alicorn very slowly peeked inside the cell, She hoped that everything had been a simple slip without consequences, but no, the only thing that greeted her was an empty room, the space previously occupied by her prisoner was completely abandoned, only the mark on the ceiling where the chain had once been attached and some dried blood on the floor remained.
The ponies were driving frantically through the city,Applejack and Rainbow Dash were pulling the wagon with all their might,both wearing balaclavas,while the rest stayed on board trying not to fall. Bek lay on the wooden floor unconscious while Twilight struggled to check her vital signs, which was difficult with the heavy goose mask Pinkie had given her to hide her face, Rarity had a carnival mask and Pinkie Pie an absurd clown mask, the alicorn found the situation ridiculous and prayed with all her might that the masks did not have the opposite effect and make it easier for them to be recognized.
Everything seemed to be going perfectly, up to the point where Twilight thought they had made it, but suddenly on the final stretch towards the exit of the city the situation took a turn for the worse.
“Halt!” they all shouted almost in unison.
“Twilight...!” began Applejack.
“What do we do!!!” term Rainbow.
Twilight thought about it for a second, adrenaline filling her body, finally she exclaimed.
“Don't stop!!!” and so they did.
The carriage didn't slow down a bit, ready to ram the guards that were blocking the exit, they looked confused at first, then worried and finally scared to see that the mares had no intention of stopping, for a second Twilight wished they would move away with all their strength, luckily, they did.
Luna was running through the corridors of the catacombs with a worried expression on her face, she was sweating thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong and wished with all her might that none of them were the case.
In the middle of it all was Celestia who was completely still even looking in the direction where the afflicted pony used to be, she seemed not to have even noticed Luna's presence who, without courage to try to enter the hellish artificial furnace could only speak to her from outside the room.
“The...the guards have already been informed of the situation, they are on high alert and have blocked all the exits of the city” her cordial tone was rudely interrupted by the deep voice of celestia who spoke as if she was on the verge of a rage attack.
“Someone released her...”
“What?” asked Luna feigning surprise and trying to remain stoic.”
“Someone helped her out” Celestia was still staring at the wall.
“But...how is that possible?” Continued Luna taking a step back as she noticed the heat inside the room increasing.
“She must have convinced someone that she was telling the truth...” said Celestia as her necklace and crown could be seen glowing in the intense heat but not melting.
“But...” began Luna determined to continue with her plan ‘If that were the case who in all of Equestria would be crazy enough to come here?’ the younger sister left this question in the air, knowing that it would put her sister on alert, she had to keep her conspiring, pensive, to gain as much time as possible.
Celestia remained silent, her thoughts beginning to fill her with paranoia, she knew this was a possibility, but she didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to blindly believe in the ravings of a crazy pony, she had underestimated the unicorn's persuasion skills and now, the problem had escalated a bit more, creating new possible variants and further threatening everything Celestia was trying to protect, now, she would be forced to take more extreme measures, measures that were just as or even more risky than her current situation.
The mares had managed to evade several guards and even though the guards had followed them into the forest, they had managed to lose them by going into the trees.
They had been running for most of the day, the sunlight filtering through the treetops was already dull, heralding the impending dusk.
“All right!” exclaimed Rainbow taking flight ”We made it!...now what?”
“One thing's for sure...” began Applejack as she unhitched herself from the wagon ”We won't be able to show up in Canterlot again for a while so as not to arouse suspicion.”
“That was..the best wagon chase ever!!!” shouted Pinkie excitedly, jumping off the side of the wagon and landing squarely in the water, splashing a little.
“And is she..okay?” asked Rarity as she saw the unicorn on the wooden floor.
Twilight approached Bek, inspecting the, after a moment she let out a sigh of relief and stood up.
“She's unconscious, looks like she was just very tired” she said and a relieved expression came over everyone's face.
“That's very good...now can we talk about What pens was that place?” asked Applejack putting her hat back on.
“I'm not quite sure, it looked like one....” Twilight didn't want to complete that sentence, she knew what those horrible things they had seen were, she had read about them in many history books, but she always thought they were exaggerations written by some ponies with too much imagination “ a torture room” she finally said.
They all fell silent at the idea, they all knew what the word “torture” meant but, like Twilight, they had only heard of it in references to a time when ponies were less civilized, a time that seemed so far away that it had never had an impact on any of them.
Shock took over the atmosphere for a moment before Rarity cleared her throat and contributed to the conversation.
“So where are we taking her?” she said quietly snapping her friends out of their trance and making them really question that tricky conundrum.
“I...I don't know” Twilight finally answered ”It's not like we could take her to any hospital or general help center, they would recognize her instantly and report it to the guard..”
“We could hide her somewhere for a while...” began Applejack thoughtfully ”I could make a space for her on my farm perfect for her to recover...” Twilight interrupted her.
“No, Sweet Apple Acres is a busy place, no matter how careful you are it's likely that some pony will see her and notify to the royal guard.”
“Maybe, we could convince her to stay at Fluttershy's cabin just outside of town...” said Rarity with some hope.
“The way things are now I doubt Fluttershy's animals would enjoy the company of a pony who looks like an ex-con while she's agonizing in a hospital bed” said Rainbow Dash curtly.
“We must make sure we get a place so we can keep her safe and guarded...” started to say Twilight, just as she was about to come to an appropriate resolution a shrill sound made them all go on alert.
For a moment the sound of the river water was all that could be heard, but in an instant all the surrounding bushes began to shake violently, it seemed that something was approaching and all the mares positioned themselves close to the wagon.
The beings were strange and bulbous, appearing to be giant toads with arms too long and legs too short, emitting grunts and gurgling gurgles as they approached the mares holding weapons made of sticks and sharp stones.
“Twilight what are these things?” asked Applejack as she backed up another step, bumping her flank against the wagon.
The alicorn searched her memories for any creature that resembled the ones in front of them, it took her a moment but she finally exclaimed.
“They are goblins!” they all looked at her quizzically ”Creatures that long ago assaulted the caravans that used to go deep into the forests, Celestia herself started a campaign against them expelling them and making them flee to the Everfree forest...”
Twilight's long explanation was interrupted when a goblin, who seemed to be even more wrinkled and bulbous than all the others, spoke in a voice that seemed to gargle.
“Prraaa Www ponies....ahgs ajjjjjj ponies hand over everything they have...” the strange voice made them all shudder but as they analyzed the situation a bit more they came to the conclusion that, if they stood up to them, they could be victorious.
“We won't give them anything!!!” shouted Rainbow Dash emboldened.
“Yes!...” continued Applejack ”Why would we even give them any of our stuff?”
“Because if you put don't give us stuff you put lose pink pony waaagh...”
Hearing that they all became aware of the sound of a muffled scream behind them, turning around they were met with a scene that made their blood run cold, right on the shore of the lake there were two other goblins, both of whom were wet and holding Pinkie Pie firmly covering her mouth, the pink pony was flailing and writhing violently trying to free herself until one of the goblins raised his hand and rested a dagger made of rock against Pinkie's neck who instantly went still.
They all watched in horror as the goblins moved even closer to the wagon.
“Pinkie no...” said Twilight with tears threatening to spill from her eyes as the lead goblin spoke again.
“Ponies stay very still Bluaghhh... if you ponies move pink go away...”
The friends had no choice, heeding the goblins' gestures they dropped their saddlebags, climbed down and away from the wagon, surrounded by a small group of four and with the goblins holding Pinkie right beside them, as the goblins began to dismantle the outside of the wagon, ripping off its wheels and emptying the mare's bags.
“Twilight...” whispered Applejack to the alicorn, causing the alicorn to look up at her.
“Bek is still on board...”
Twilight watched in fear as the goblins began to climb up to peek inside.
At one point the goblin leader, rummaging through Twilight's saddlebag, fell silent and then exclaimed with great joy, he raised what he was holding and it was seen that it was the hilt of Bek's sword, which glowed under the little light that still seeped through the branches, all beings came to see and began to jump while saying things like “Brilliant!” or “Nice!”suddenly a coarse voice interrupted the festivities.
“Get your filthy hands...off her...”
All the goblins turned to see a brown unicorn rise from the back of the wagon, scrambling down the side and taking a couple of steps towards the small crowd, the goblins looked on in curiosity and some surprise as the wobbly pony leaned against the side of the wagon, dragging the chain attached to her front legs.
They all watched in silence as the unicorn, panting heavily, managed to utter more words.
“She is too good for you...I will not let you sully her...”
The goblins looked at each other for a second in confusion before exploding into what seemed to be grotesque laughter, in less than a blink of an eye a move was made and before the unicorn knew it, she had a large spear thrust into her chest.
The goblin leader sneered one last time as he exclaimed in a thick voice and he and his group turned around going back to looting.
“Ponie stupid...asnghueaggg...”
But shock was replaced by fear when suddenly, Bek seemed to move and not only that but he slowly struggled to his feet unnoticed by the goblins, finally standing upright.
“Hey...” the unicorn said weakly again, suddenly causing the goblins to startle and look at her in confusion.
“Seriously, they don't want to do this....” At that moment Bek tried to use his magic but it didn't manifest, just then he remembered that he still had on magic override ring.
“Ho no...” she didn't have a second to react.
All the goblins rushed at her, with the exception of the leader, knocking her down and starting to attack her, some thrusting their spears at her again and again while others just hit her.
For an instant it seemed as if tdn was about to end in a sepulchral silence but suddenly a powerful scream of rage filled the air.
The unicorn spun on herself and it could be seen how the expression on her face reflected an indescribable rage.
The goblins charged at her again but this time they were repelled, skillfully the mare disarmed the creatures, piercing them with her own spears or striking them with her hooves so hard that you could hear their bones break on impact, even going so far as to use her own shackles to power her blows.
Finally the last of the goblins fell with a broken neck and the unicorn then, breathing heavily, walked in the direction of the leader, he had a strange expression of horror on his face, you could see how his legs trembled and gave way and fell backwards to the ground.
The two exchanged silent glances for a moment before the unicorn pointed her hoof at the hilt of the sword the goblin leader still held in his hand. Noticing this the leader quickly extended his arm, offering her the trembling object.
The unicorn shone her horn, in a green flash that raised the hilt in the air, the mare inspected it closely, noticing how it had a small ark made by the goblin's claws, in a second her expression turned back to anger and, before the goblin could say anything, the magical blade of the sword decapitated him.
The head rolled on the ground with a disgusting noise, stopping right in front of the two goats that were still holding Pinkie in terror, they looked up and met the unicorn's gaze which only gave her a frown and, in an instant, Pinkie fell to the ground and both goats ran away terrified to the depth of the forest.
All was silent again, none of the mares felt able to move after what they had seen, they just stood there, appreciating the massacre and the responsible pony standing in the middle.
“I uh...I'm so sorry about the mess” was all she said before turning around and starting to walk away.
This finally managed to snap everyone out of shock, Twilight being the first to react, running after the mare as she dodged the goblin corpses.
“Stop!” shouted Twilight, causing Bek to stop though without looking at her.
“I...we, we, came to rescue you” she began to say nervously.
“I know...and I thank you very much, now I must get back to finish it...” she tried to get going again but Twilight stepped in front blocking the way.
“We didn't get you out of Celestia's dungeon to immediately try to return so she can kill you!” she shouted imposingly looking into the wounded mare's eyes, surprising a little noticing that her gaze reflected nothing but tiredness, she let out a sigh before answering.
“And so what was the reason you pulled me out of there?” the question threw Twilight off a bit, it took her a minute to sort out the words.
“I...well, we thought...” Twilight remembered the request Princess Luna had made to her “...we did it so you could go far away to a safe place...”
A shrill laugh interrupted Twilight's ranting, making her startle.
“HA! a safe place?...” the mare began shrill but her voice quickly faded ‘...That you still don't get it? there is no safe place, not while they are still alive...’ she paused again ”...That's why I must kill them.”
“You can't kill them!” exclaimed Twilight startling the unicorn.
“This is just a...sick excuse to justify you! You know you're not capable of killing them! You know you're going to die!”
The display of truths unsettled Bek, the alicorn's deduction skills were impressive, she now understood why the solar bitch had chosen her.
“Yeah...so what?” replied Bek listlessly.
“So what!!!” began Twilight increasingly upset ”You won't accomplish anything with that, you'll get your death but you won't accomplish anything, nothing that will help the rest of Equestria...”
The alicorn's words piqued Bek's interest, he wanted to know what she was getting at.
“If you die no one can ever know what happened, no one can ever know the truth!”
The unicorn's expression finally changed, her features relaxed and Twilight could see a genuine gleam of hope in her eyes.
“If it's all true then...” continued Twilight ”Then everyone deserves to know...”
Bek couldn't believe it, truly her pathetic attempt to tell the truth had worked, the princess of friendship herself had believed her and was now sticking up for her, the mare felt her heart shrink feeling a great and liberating relief, finally, after a long time, she was not alone.
“Okay...” said Bek finally, taking a couple of steps back and sitting down on the floor.
At that moment the others came over, rolling over to the pony and joining Twilight.
“So is she going to help us?” Applejack asked Twilight.
“Yes” Bek answered quickly ”If they truly believe my story, then I will do everything in my power to help them reveal the to the whole world...” Bek looked at the ground thoughtfully.
“So now we have a super pony on our team?!!!! twenty percent cooler no doubt!!!” exclaimed Rainbow as she flew back and forth causing Twilight to remember that the unicorn was badly injured.
“Oh for Celestia's sake, we must get you somewhere to treat your injuries...” she began to say worriedly.
The mare frowned slightly at the mention of the name but restrained herself as she understood the idiom.
“It's not necessary” Bek said as he stood up again.
“But, you have a lot of injuries, they need to be treated or you could die...”
“I always heal” he said in a nonchalant manner before turning and heading back in the direction of the wagon.
At this they all looked at each other again thinking about what to do next.
“Still ahem...” began Rarity ”You obviously need to rest, you need to be taken somewhere safe so you can get properly...just think of a suitable place...”
They were all silent for another moment until Twilight finally spoke with resolution.
“I think I already have the perfect spot...” they all looked at her curiously before Bek interrupted once more.
“That's great but...” the mare stretched making some of her bones thunder ”If you don't mind and before we go...” Bek looked at the crystal clear water of the river before finishing “I'd like to take a swim...”.
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 7: At the Edge of the Flames.
Twilight was walking along with Starlight through the castle's corridors, the look of concern on both of their faces as they made their way to the recently refurbished castle's infirmary.
“How is she Starlight?” asked Twilight as she looked cautiously at her friend, as if ready to catch her in case she lost her balance.
“She's not well Twilight...” Started the unicorn “No matter what healing spell or medicine I use the wound doesn't get better, it may stop the bleeding but the wound doesn't heal, it doesn't close.”
Starlight's words made the alicorn shudder, she knew that Fluttershy had never been subjected to physical stress like that, yet she also knew that she was a young and healthy mare, she didn't understand how she couldn't be recovering, even with the medical treatment.
Finally they both arrived in the large room, there were multiple beds on both sides of the room separated by white curtains. Nursing ponies were coming and going tending to some students, who had scraped knees, headaches or some minor ailment.
Fluttershy was lying on the bed, her body, completely soaked in sweat, her fur, gray and dull, her wound, fresh and rubbery as the first day, Starlight was right, it looked as if it had just been bitten.
The pegasus was writhing slightly with her eyes closed, between asleep and awake her distress left everyone frozen.
“Fluttershy...”
The pegasus weakly opened her eyes.
“Twi...Twilight...” she began to say in a raspy voice ‘...Hu....It hurts...’ she uttered with her mouth dry and tears streaming down her face.
Twilight couldn't help but hug her friend, shedding tears of despair as well, in an instant Fluttershy went back to sleep and Twilight turned around cautiously.
“Didn't you give her anything for the pain?” she asked Starlight with an accusing tone.
“Yes I did, but just like with the medicine to treat her wound it doesn't seem to have any effect” replied the unicorn with airs of resignation.
Twilight looked at her friend tired and worried, lost in her thoughts trying to find a clear answer, in a moment Starlight's voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Twilight what if it's not the wound itself, but the thing that caused it...?” the unicorn began to speculate ”What if the thing that hurt her has some sort of poison or toxin that we can't treat?”
“It could even be a curse, if we're going to speculate...” interrupted Twilight thoughtfully.
“We need to find out what it is so we can cure it...” Starlight hesitated for a second, before speaking again “...Maybe...She, can enlighten us...”
The alicorn looked somewhat surprised at her student, making a suggestion that, in fact, wasn't so bad, if anyone could know what that creature did to Fluttershy, it was the pony who, apparently, had lived in a world full of such monsters.
“I'll go see her immediately...” answered Twilight.
The alicorn was now walking along the convoluted paths of the Everfree Forest, her head lost in a flood of thoughts, now she had to add Fluttershy's discomfort to the endless list of pending issues that had to be solved before she could even think about what to do. She had agreed with all her friends that, until they were sure of their next move, they would keep a low profile and pretend nothing happened, waiting for the princesses to take the next step.
After a while walking hurriedly, Twilight finally spotted Zecora's hut hidden among the trees, heading towards it with determination, she found that the zebra was in her garden doing a check up.
“Oh Twilight Sparkle I didn't know you were coming, I thought you told me that for a while you were going to pretend...”
Twilight didn't answer right away, searching with her gaze inside Zecora's house through her open door.
“Yes, I'm sorry Zecora that was the intention, but an emergency has arisen and I must speak with her as a precaution.”
The zebra immediately understood who she was referring to, letting out a sigh and exclaiming wryly.
“The mare you're looking for left home very early, something about training and foraging I remember her mentioning...”
Twilight was a bit taken aback by the comment.
“Wait, didn't you offer her your food?” the alicorn asked accusingly.
“Of course I offered it to her, but she said she didn't want to be rude and to leave it at that.”
“And do you know where she went?” asked Twilight with concern.
“A water source, that was her mission, so I kindly gave her the direction” Zecora pointed in a direction behind her hut.
Twilight started to walk but was stopped instantly.
“Twilight Sparkle...” exclaimed the zebra behind her back ”That pony you brought is full of anger and pain, care and caution with her I beg you please.”
The alicorn could only nod as she walked back into the trees.
The walk did not last long, the river from which Zecora took her water was not far away, almost immediately after her departure Twilight heard the running of the water in the distance, from then on following it was not difficult, coming face to face with the one she was looking for.
The unicorn stood beside the river, standing only on her two front legs while her hind legs stretched backwards, keeping her balance.
Twilight couldn't help but swallow saliva and blush slightly at the image, pausing for a moment to preserve the silence, but it was broken by the unicorn herself.
“I thought you said you'd keep a low profile...” Bek began to say as she opened her eyes and landed her four hooves on the ground again, Twilight shook her head as she noticed the mare looking at her as she began to gather her mane into a bun.
“Uh...oh..sorry yes, I know what I said but, I came because I need your help...” the alicorn began to say resuming her march towards her.
“Has your princess figured them out yet?” asked Bek coldly as he walked towards a small thicket by the river, Twilight was confused for a moment.
“Eh?...no, no no no no, it's about one of my friends Fluttershy...”
“I don't know who that is...” the unicorn brought her face close to the scrub and began to chew it noisily, tearing off large chunks and swallowing.
Again Twilight was confused at the mare's strange behavior, her current calmness was in stark contrast to the angry and out of control side the alicorn had seen , still she continued.
“No me, I know you don't know her but, she is very hurt and we wanted to know if you could help us...”
“I'm not a doctor” he said with his mouth full ”I told you, I'm a soldier...”
“That's not why, she...” It took Twilight a little effort to complete the sentence “Well she was attacked by the thing under the castle.”
At that moment the unicorn stopped chewing, turned to Twilight and gave her a serious look.
“How long ago did it happen?” asked Bek as she started walking towards Twilight.
The alicorn was impressed with Bek's sudden interest, which at the same time gave her a sense of panic, it couldn't be a good thing if the mare was interested.
“Her..it happened three days ago” Twilight replied.
“And she's not dead yet?” asked Bek intrigued.
The question chilled the unicorn's blood, it was asked so matter-of-factly and like a random surprise that it sent a shiver down the alicorn's spine.
“Uh...no, she's not dead yet...” she answered with a dry throat.
“That's not common...” the unicorn made a thoughtful face ‘Maybe the poison lost potency from disuse, maybe it wasn't such a serious wound...how deep is the wound?’ the mare suddenly asked making Twilight startle.
“Her...” Twilight swallowed saliva before continuing “She's missing half of her Left hind leg...”
The unicorn's expression went from intrigue to bewilderment.
“Is she an alicorn like you?”
“No, she's a pegasus...”
The unicorn had started pacing back and forth with her gaze lost on the ground.
“And you say she was attacked three days ago?”
“And you say she was attacked three days ago?”
“Yes. What is it? Why is it so important?
“Because a wound like that, caused by that thing, should have killed her in less than thirty-six minutes...”
Twilight went cold again at the resolution, she knew that thing was dangerous, but it hadn't dawned on her how much.
“You...You know what that was..?” she finally asked.
“Yes” she answered without thinking ”It's a chilopoda polysomorphic arachnopetrea...”
The answer left Twilight with her mouth hanging open.
“A...what?”
Bek noticing that the alicorn didn't understand what she was referring to decided to simplify it.
“It's a giant memory eating insect.”
Despite what she now said if it had been understandable Twilight was left with her surprised expression, at this the unicorn continued.
“It is a creature that inhabited the deepest caves and caverns, they made their nests polishing the rocky walls and then going out hunting, they used to catch at least two dozen ponies in a single night, once they caught them they took them to their nests and released them in the depths of their caves, The insect took advantage of this to induce paranoia and discomfort through the gases expelled from its body, causing confusion and delirium that made the ponies get lost trying to find a way out, weakening until they could no longer, at that moment they would finally pounce on them and begin to devour them piece by piece, the venom that coats its claws and fangs is able to reduce the metabolism to minimum levels, ensuring that its victim, despite the loss of blood, stays alive as long as possible, just at that moment, the creature will begin to feed on the memories of the pony, one by one starting with its happiest memories.... ”
The explanation had caused Twilight's paws to shake again, to the point where she must have sat down while Bek continued, still pacing back and forth.
“..And once the Pony can no longer remember even its own name and all of its limbs, eyes, tongue, tail, wings or horn, are torn off and consumed, or when the poison finishes killing the victim, the creature finally devours it completely by finally killing it and vomiting up its bones afterwards.”
Twilight could feel the nausea building up again but resisted, shaking her head and responding.
“So that's what happens to Fluttershy?”
“Yes, the poison invades her systems slowly killing her, but like I told you, without the creature keeping your friend awake with more pain and with the extraction of her memories, she should have died right out of the castle...” the unicorn finally stopped and looked at Twilight ”That's what I don't understand, if your friend doesn't have any magical powers of her own how come she's still alive?”
Twilight pondered for a second about what made Fluttershy so special, anything that made that pegasus more than everyone else, she finally figured it out.
“Maybe it's because Fluttershy is an element of harmony...” she said to herself.
“And what is that...?” asked Bek.
The alicorn was confused for a second at the nonsensical question only to later remember that the mare before her had missed the last three and a half thousand years of pony history.
“The elements of harmony are the most powerful magic known to Equestria, they are six aspects that make it up and vary depending on the time in which they arise, these are embodied by six ponies that represent the aspect and become the bridge between that magic and the world, united the different generations of elements have protected equestria for the last thousand years and, currently, me and my friends are those ponies...”
Bek tried to process the information as best she could, she had never heard anything like this, yes she had seen very powerful magic, but nothing like what the alicorn described.
“So these elements...endowed them with some special power?”
“Not exactly, it's more like, they are part of us and we are part of them, however that's the only reason I can think of...” Twilight pondered for a moment “In that case maybe we have nothing to worry about, Fluttershy's body will probably expel the poison on its own...” the alicorn started to say with an enthusiastic tone.
“I'm not sure...” began Bek making Twilight look at her ” She's been like this for three days and from what you tell me, she hasn't improved one bit, most likely her body is just delaying the poison...”
Twilight thought about debating the point to the unicorn, but, if there was one thing she had been able to prove in these last few days, it was that the most optimistic reasoning had no place, she quickly started to think of a way to solve it but was interrupted by Bek.
“The only thing that could help your friend is some very powerful healing spell, and as old as that thing, although, if I'm honest, even in my time that wasn't an option...” the unicorn couldn't help recalling some of her most terrifying memories bordering on chilopod injuries ”Another option would be to make an antidote with the creature's venom but, I don't have the knowledge to do it...”
Both mares looked at each other, Twilight with simmering concern and Bek with an expression that reflected pity for the alicorn, all possible options seemed to have been exhausted when a melodious voice called from the bushes.
“For that dilemma you need not fear, for it seems to me that I can solve it...” Zecora emerged from the branches, walking steadily towards the mares who looked at her with a look of consternation on their faces.
“Zecora!...” exclaimed Twilight with panic in her voice ‘Uh...this...me, I, I can explain...’ she tried to excuse herself.
“Oh come on Twilight I'm not brute, to reveal secrets to hide you don't have to be very cunning” Zecora approached, giving a serious look to Bek as she replied with an equal one ”This pony and the monster you just described, from a very old and bad time come I must say.”
The unicorn raised an eyebrow inspecting the zebra, which remained unmoved.
“Wow...” said Bek finally ”It seems that despite everything in this kingdom there are still competent people...”
“As a cunplido what you said I'll take it, however in you I still won't be able to trust.”
“Sounds fair...” replied the unicorn before Zecora resumed.
“As I was saying if an antidote you need I can help, however the monster's poison you are going to have to find.”
Twilight and Bek looked at each other, the alicorn's look reflected utter fear at the very thought of having to go near that place again, while Bek's look was simple and pure resignation at having to fight again.
“I can go” Bek said bluntly, Twilight and Zecora watched her in disbelief.
“By yourself? Back there?!"Twilight said almost as a shout.
“With my friend Twilight Sparkle I must reiterate, going back into the jaws of that beast I will not recommend it, dark and dangerous it certainly is to go back and that creature I barely got to see!”
Both seemed shocked at Bek's decision but the latter barely showed any emotion about returning.
“It's not the first time in my life that I've fought something like it”.
Twilight was about to say something but was interrupted by Bek.
“If you want me to save your friend you must let me come back.”
“But..but, what if...you die down there?” it was hard for Twilight to say the word ‘die’ it was as if it was something she should never say ”Everything we have planned to do would be lost, without you we have no way to prove the lie...”
“You needn't worry, that's why I'm not going to die...” said the unicorn without waiting ”If anything is to kill me I assure you it won't be a filthy dastardly monster.”
Twilight was about to protest further but Zecora's voice interrupted her.
“For her well being Twilight you need not fear, I will go along with her to ensure she returns safely.”
The alicorn looked at the zebra impressed, she hadn't expected her to be so bold.
“Are you...are you sure Zecora?” asked Twilight dumbfounded.
“A dastardly and horrible place no doubt is where we are going, but for good Fluttershy I would certainly go to the end” Zecora's face denoted determination, there was nothing more to say.
They agreed that Zecora would bring the antidote to her by nightfall, in case not Twilight was to assume that they had achieved nothing but perishing.
Zecora and Bek were making their way through the undergrowth, the unicorn was in front while the zebra was a few steps behind.
Zecora analyzed Bek very closely, each one of her scars, her posture and her gait, she could notice the slight limp that the mare had in her left hind leg and the apparent lack of mobility of her right foreleg, she could also notice how from time to time the unicorn seemed to let out little whimpers of pain in conjunction with how she seemed to have trouble distinguishing things in the distance.
“Forgive me for breaking our silence but I must ask how such an injured pony can even walk?” Zecora asked nonchalantly, the unicorn didn't seem to be one to refuse to answer intrusive questions let alone tasteless ones.
“I'm very tough,” Bek replied without turning to look at the zebra.
“That I can certainly see, but I'm a little worried that the toughness you boast about will start to fade...” the comment made Bek grit her teeth ”I must say I thought you seemed like an impressive pony before, but I'm starting to notice a lot of things like for example that prevailing limp”
The unicorn didn't respond.
“Many discomforts in you I can see, if it's pains you feel I'm sure I can make them go away.”
“No thank you” Bek replied in an irritated voice.
“I am serious, I am a healer, my potions and remedies are like none that ever existed before”
“I said no!” Bek's voice was beginning to rise in volume.
“I don't understand why your attitude is so shameless, you should be more grateful for the kindness extended...”
“And what the fuck does that mean!” the mare stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at the zebra who remained silent.
“Don't you think I'm being thankful enough!!! I'm about to go into a monster's nest filled with the corpses of my old companions to get the poison of a creature unspeakable to modern ponies! I'm going in there of my own free will to save one of the friends, who I don't even know, of the pony who saved me! I think that's thanks enough...” the mare turned around again and walked steadily forward.
Zecora stood still for a second, for a moment she thought about abandoning the pony to her fate, she was someone rude, impertinent and, apparently, very stubborn, she didn't even understand why Twilight had taken the trouble to rescue someone like that, but those thoughts dissipated when she remembered the look of the unicorn, yes it was full of anger and doubtful rancor, but the skilled zebra could also denote deep down, that this pony was full of pain and sadness, she decided not to judge first hand, she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, just as, long ago, the ponies of Ponyville did with her.
Approaching again, this time placing herself beside the mare, Zecora spoke again.
“My intention was not to judge your actions, I only want to know what drives you to fulfill such bargains.”
The unicorn kept quiet with an angry expression for a moment, then let out a deep sigh relaxing her face and responding.
“I...I'm sorry, I know it's not malicious intent, it's just...I'm in a lot of pain...”
The zebra listened quietly to what the unicorn had to say.
“I can feel it, my whole body trembles and shudders at the reminder of my old wounds, my bones are cracking again, my skin is tearing again, it's so agonizingly slow I almost wish it would happen all at once for it to end, there's nothing to reverse it and there's definitely nothing to slow it down, right now, I already have my days numbered...”
They both moved forward in silence for several minutes until Zecora spoke calmly again.
“I have always presumed to be able to put an end to any bitterness, but I would be lying to you if I told you that the evil you describe has a cure..”
The unicorn let out a sigh again as she thought about what to answer her, before she could even the zebra exclaimed triumphantly.
“But, as I told you, I may not be able to eliminate what ails you, but with all my skills I'm sure I'll find something that will at least stump you.”
The unicorn looked at the zebra with a look of doubt, meeting her with a full smile that reflected compassion and helpfulness.
Finally they both arrived at the castle grounds of the two sisters, they took a moment to admire the gloomy place, until Zecora asked about the plan.
“Tell me then what you need me to do, I can assure you that I will not leave you disappointed” the zebra said as they walked in the direction of the bridge going to the entrance.....
“The only thing I need you to do is to stay at the gate, to make sure you close it if the creature tries to get out.”
“What?!” exclaimed Zecora ” What do you mean, are you crazy? Or do you happen to have a rock for a brain?”
“You don't understand...” started to say the unicorn ”The power of my magic will only keep the door open for a while, once it runs out the door will close on its own, unless there is someone standing right on the threshold...”
Zecora paid attention, intrigued by where the conversation was going.
“I need you to stand right at the entrance so you don't get trapped and, in case the monster defeats me, you can close it immediately” the unicorn paused to look at Zecora ‘This is the most important thing, if this creature escapes it will unleash a wave of death and fear that will endanger everyone's lives Do you understand now why I'm asking you?’ the unicorn's gaze is determined.
It took Zecora a moment to consider her request, after all, she had promised to bring the pony back and without complication, but deep down she knew she was more aware of the danger the creature posed, so rather than argue he freed himself of all doubt.
“What you have asked of me I will fulfill bravely, protect the gate or block the exit.”
Bek gave Zecora a smile and then they both walked deeper into the castle.
Twilight had spent the whole day outside the castle, she simply felt too exhausted to be in those corridors, she had gone to tell all her friends about Fluttershy's situation and how Zecora and Bek had left to make the antidote, by the time she managed to spot the castle in the distance the sun was already on its descent towards the horizon, filling the sky with a bright orange tone that, Twilight felt, contrasted terribly with the situation between her hooves.
Her walk was slow and downcast, the violet alicorn felt very dejected, she was really grateful that Celestia had not yet told her anything about her coronation, she didn't know if she could keep calm in this situation.
When she reached the door Twilight gave a big sigh, a hot bath and a book was what she would have wanted most, unfortunately her relative calmness collapsed, when she opened the door she was greeted by Starlight and a white alicorn.
Princess Celestia gave her a big smile, while Starlight's face was caught between fear and laughter.
“Oh Twilight you've finally arrived!” exclaimed the lilac unicorn nervously ”You'll never guess who came to pay us a surprise visit...”
“Oh dear Twilight it's a pleasure to see you again” Celestia advanced to the violet alicorn and gave her a tight hug, one that Twilight for a moment felt was too tight ”I'm so sorry I couldn't come sooner, but I was too busy solving the little inconvenience of your coronation.”
Celestia continued to hug Twilight for a long moment until she finally managed to swallow her fear and reply, returning the hug.
“Pri...princess, wow this really is a surprise but...I thought you'd let me know when everything was settled so we could go back to Canterlot” Twilight let out a nervous giggle.
“Oh jojo, that's true, but, as I was telling Starlight, I felt it was too important news not to come and give it to you myself in person” Celestia finally let go of Twilight, standing up and backing away a couple of steps.
“But, imagine my surprise, when I arrive and the first thing I discover is that poor, tender Fluttershy suffered a terrible accident that left her bedridden and maimed...”
Twilight gave a look between confusion and fear to Starlight who could only respond by returning a look that said “I'm sorry”.
“Ahhh yes...” began Starlight ”I was just telling the princess how Fluttershy ended up alone in the forest late at night and how she was attacked by timber wolves...” Twilight understood what her friend was trying to do and quickly continued with the lie.
“Ehh..yeah, she, she was escorting some little animals but she lost track of time and well, she was unlucky...”
“But, I'm surprised...” started Celestia ”I thought the pegasus was an expert in dealing with wild animals, but well, I guess everyone's skills have a limit...” The comment was made in an odd tone of voice, causing an awkward silence that Celestia broke again.
“Oh but what are we doing here? Twilight I asked Starlight to make us some tea and cookies, there are some matters we need to discuss and I would like to do so in a more private place.”
It took Twilight a moment to react to her mentor's words.
“Oh..yes, yes of course princess, you tell me where you would like to...”
“How about...the library?”
“Sure!” exclaimed Twilight as she made her way.
The walk was silent, the princess didn't ask any other questions and neither Twilight nor Starlight attempted to start a conversation, they just walked down the halls until they reached what used to be Twilight's library, inside were still the empty shelves but now in the center, there was placed a small tea table with two chairs, on the table was a beautiful ornate teapot with two small cups and a plate full of chocolate chip cookies.
“Do you like it, I thought I'd bring you a gift for the shock you had to go through on your special day, I would have waited to give it to you when you finally moved out but I thought it might cheer you up a bit during this difficult time.”
“It's...very pretty princess” Twilight said forcing a smile.
“Oh! I knew you'd love it What are you waiting for? Let's go debut it” Celestia walked over to the table gracefully and sat down in one of the chairs, gesturing for Twilight to do the same.
“Alright I guess I...I'll leave you two alone...” began Starlight as she turned away ”Call me if you need me...”
“Thank you so much Starlight!” exclaimed Celestia with a big smile as the unicorn left the room and closed the door.
Twilight then walked silently across the room to finally sit in the other chair and look sideways at the princess, who kept her smile calm.
“So Two Sugar Twilight?”
The mare was slow to react.
“Uh...what?” she replied absently.
“For your tea Two sugar cubes?” the princess asked with a giggle as she lifted the teapot with her magic and began pouring the tea.
“Oh..oh yes, yes yes yes, two sugars please” she finally replied.
The princess calmly placed the sugar into the cups and stirred carefully, making a small clinking sound with the spoon, the sound made Twilight nervous who could already feel the sweat starting to build up on her forehead.
“So, tell me Twilight have you made any new friends lately?”
The question took Twilight by surprise who was about to lose her nerves, she looked at Celestia looking for something on her face but only met with the calm and comforting look she was already used to, the question was so natural that it only seemed like the beginning of a casual conversation, so Twilight calmed her nerves, swallowed her growing fear and answered in the calmest way she could.
“A new friend? no princess, I haven't made any new friends lately, with all this trying to conquer Equestria, the coronation and my growing duties as princess I haven't had time, and in fact, as wrong as it is for me to say it, I think I'm friends with everyone already” Twilight let out a giggle to which Celestia responded with an equal one, they both laughed meekly as the princess finished preparing the tea.
“Oh Twilight how funny, though it is true, after what you and your friends accomplished I don't think there is a creature, big or small, in Equestria that wouldn't consider themselves to some extent, your friend.”
Twilight relaxed, it seemed that the princess had no idea what had been going on, it seemed that it was indeed just a simple visit, she was about to sigh with relief but a change of tone in the princess' voice froze her.
“Still, one would think that, as princess of friendship, not a day would go by without you making a great new friend wouldn't you think so...?” the princess' tone was now cold and distant, almost as if she was talking to herself, still Twilight responded.
“That...sounds like a bit of an old fashioned standard don't you think so princess?”
“Yes maybe you're right, still, I'm very curious to know what ponies you've met lately...any interesting or particular ones you want to tell me about?”
The questions made Twilight as uncomfortable as they made her worried, now if her mind was going a mile a minute, trying to guess if this was another casual question or if this had indeed turned into an interrogation, before she could come to a conclusion and so as not to appear suspicious Twilight answered.
“No princess, not really, but I have been spending a lot of time with Zecora.”
“Zecora? Zecora...? hmmm...” the princess looked thoughtful for a moment ”Ahh Zecora! your forest zebra friend..” Celestia smiled again “And how is that old zebra eh? What has she been doing lately?”
“Well she's been helping us with remedies for Fluttershy, to ease her pains.”
“I see, you know, you should take me to visit her sometime, I've never seen her and it would be nice if you could introduce us, oh we could even go now...”
“NO!!!” Twilight shouted without thinking, the princess looked at her with a quizzical face.
“No?” Celestia's brow furrowed slightly.
“I mean, we can't visit her now, she just...left! Yes, she told me that she would leave for a couple of days in search of a remedy that maybe will help Fluttershy more, she's really worried about her...”
Celestia gave Twilight a serious look for a moment before smiling again.
“Oh well And who wouldn't be? She is one of the bearers of the elements of harmony after all, if something were to happen to her, it would be a tragedy for Equestria...” The princess took one of the cookies with her magic and ate it slowly making a crunching noise with her teeth that filled the room and strangely made Twilight more nervous.
“So...” said Celestia as she finished ‘No new friends, no preparations for your coronation what have you been up to lately Twilight?’ the princess's tone was stern again, only now with a hint of meanness.
Twilight took a breath and repeated to herself that she had to remain calm, whatever Celestia was accusing her of, she was sure she had no proof, with that in mind she stood her ground and continued.
“Well the truth princess, if I am honest, I have been very shocked by what happened at my coronation, the image of that emaciated pony attacking the guards and hurting them did not let me.... I never saw anything like that myself, I didn't believe that in Equestria there could be such...ruthless ponies” Although it was just a technique to divert attention, it wasn't entirely a lie, Twilight still didn't recover from the first impression that Bek made on her, making her still look at her with an air of fear.
Celestia seemed convinced by her performance, relaxing her stern expression and replacing it with one of understanding and pity for her grieving pupil.
“Oh my dearest Twilight, you don't know how sorry I am, of all the ponies I have known throughout my life, you are the one I would never have wished to have to witness something like that, what that pony made you see ugh I can't even begin to describe how infamous it was...” the princess looked away for a moment with apparent indignation ”Can you believe, she even dared to infiltrate the castle.”
“Really?” Twilight feigned surprise.
“Yes! And not only that, he dared to attack my dear sister the very night of your coronation, poor Luna, she was so frightened.”
“And Princess Luna is she alright?”
“Os yes Twilight she is fine, luckily I arrived just in time to succor her and we captured the pony...”
Twilight now decided to turn Celestia's questioning around, taking a risk to find out how far she was willing to take her lie.
“So did they capture her?”
“Of course they did, poor pony, so disturbed and disconnected from reality, it almost made me feel sorry for her as the guards took her away.”
“And where did they take her?” asked Twilight too hastily, causing Celestia to raise an eyebrow, quickly clearing her throat ”I mean where in Equestria can you take a pony like that?”
Celestia took a moment to answer.
“Well, in Canterlot we have some of the best mental health institutions in the entire kingdom, I'm sure she'll be able to get the help she needs and, who knows, maybe one day she can reintegrate into our society...”
Silence reigned again, Celestia took another cookie while Twilight remained thoughtful, she evaluated if it was safe to probe a little more considering the circumstances, seeing that the princess seemed to have let her guard down Twilight thought it was a good opportunity to put a little more pressure, in her mind she said to herself, that if she managed to get even a small confession, it would be enough to crumble the lie.
“So...where did they take her...?” asked Twilight out of nowhere surprising Celestia.
“Um...what?”
“Where exactly did they take her, what's the name of the mental institution she's in?”
The question seemed to throw Celestia off who opened her mouth slightly not knowing what to answer, taking too long to elaborate on what she would say.
“And you Why do you want to know that Twilight?” she finally said.
“Well because I'd like to talk to her” the answer was direct, concise, Twilight feeling emboldened at the princess' apparent bewilderment.
“Uh...ummm..really?” replied Celestia nervously clearing her throat ‘Why would you want to do that Twilight? She's a dangerous pony’.
“Well the truth is that if I was really intrigued by what I said, it didn't sound like the speech of a common madwoman, to a certain extent...it seemed to carry some sense.”
Celestia laughed, a shrill, deep laugh, so artificial it seemed timed, Twilight couldn't help but wince at it, she had never heard Celestia laugh like that.
“Oh Jojojojojojo Twilight, how funny, I didn't know you had such a dark sense of humor, talking like that about the ravings of a madwoman oh jojojojojojo...”
Twilight was not to be outdone and quickly reiterated.
“I'm serious Princess Celestia, I wish I could talk to you directly.”
Celestia's laughter died down slowly and even at a steady pace, Twilight couldn't help but think that seemed timed as well.
“Oh Really?...” said the princess taking another cookie ”And may I know the particular reason why you would want to engage in conversation with a pony who suffers from her faculties?”
“It's just...” Twilight started to say “..I really got to thinking, the things she said Why would she say something like that?”
“Because she's crazy Twilight isn't that reason enough for you?” said Celestia curtly.
“Forgive me princess but if there is one thing I have learned over the years and it has been proven to me time and time again, it is that very rarely, someone's reasons for acting can be justified by madness alone, there is always a reason behind it, a why and honestly, I would like to find out...” Twilight's tone radiated confidence, in her eyes she seemed to have control over the situation.
“Jmmm I see...” replied Celestia intrigued ”And could I know what kind of things you would ask her to find out that...truth?”
“For starters... “Twilight began to say ”I would ask her what drove her to commit that act of violence, I would ask her about her to find out her story, I would also ask her why she even thought of going that far just to get to you...” At that moment Twilight's voice cracked, the sweat broke out again, and though she couldn't be sure, she knew she had gone pale.
As she turned her gaze to face the princess again the expression on Twilight's face reflected the fear within her, the benevolent and kind face of the regent of Equestria had warped into a grimace of fullness, her gaze no longer held any hint of doubt and a smile of pure satisfaction shone on her face.
“Get to me...?” the princess let the question float away, making evident the big mistake Twilight had made ”Last time I checked, that pony had tried to attack all three of us Twilight What made you believe that she solely and exclusively, went for mir?”
“Well...I...it...no...I mean...I didn't...” Twilight didn't know what else to say, in a moment the game she thought she had mastered turned against her and now she was the one against the wall, and she had nothing to defend herself with.
“Did i...” Celestia continued “Did I do anything or did you see anything or did anyone say anything to you that might make you think I had anything to do with anything in that altercation?”
Twilight was mute, she was trying to articulate words but they wouldn't come out, suddenly she could feel the room become darker and gloomy she could have even sworn the air had become warmer, making it hard to breathe.
“Twilight? Are you okay?” asked Celestia, her tone remaining exactly the same, untainted by her student friend's apparent panic attack.
Twilight could feel her heart thudding, her ears ringing, the poor mare was about to go into a nervous breakdown when the sound of the door interrupted them.
“Twilight! Twilight! Are you all right?”
Just inside the library entrance, panting and with a tone that reflected shock stood Spike, the little dragon looked as if he had travelled a great distance in a short time, sweating profusely and leaning against the door.
Twilight on the other hand was dumbfounded, she was trying to recover from her shock to warn Spike somehow but the air around her seemed to press her down, forcing her to concentrate only on her breathing, at least until Celestia spoke.
“Oh Spike, you little dragon, it's been a while, come in come in.”
Spike cautiously looked around for some nod of approval from Twilight, but, before his eyes, the violet alicorn was lost in thought.
“What are you waiting for little buddy, there isn't a cup for you to drink tea but I'm sure Twilight wouldn't mind sharing these cookies” the princess let out a giggle, her tone too effusive and her smile too big.
Sensing something was wrong, Spike sought to subtly extricate himself.
“Oh I'd love to, really, but I don't think there aren't enough chairs and I wouldn't want to make any of you get up so...”
“Oh but you don't have to worry about that dear Spike, you can sit with me.”
The comment was too strange even for the situation, Spike looked quizzically at the princess and then back at Twilight who was still frozen in her seat. The little dragon looked at the regent once more and then looked at the small chair under her, looking for a way he could get out of there.
“Well I, I don't think it would work, that chair is too small, but it will still lo....”
“Oh but who said you sat in the chair” Celestial exclaimed again with glee.
“Emm, well then I don't understand how...”
“Hay don't be shy Spike, just come and sit on my lap” The princess gestured over her lap indicating the small space between her hind legs.
The dragon swallowed saliva and blushed slightly at the strange proposition, it was at that moment that he finally noticed it, for his dragon's calorific senses the gradual change in the temperature of the room did not go unnoticed, it was as if little by little this was wrapped in a warm fire, appropriate for the winter seasons no doubt, but at that moment it only made breathing there extremely difficult.
“What are you waiting for Spike? Have a seat” the princess's tone shifted to authoritative, almost as if she was giving an order.
The dragon was intimidated and without much thought, he walked into the room, closing the door behind him.
When he had finally arrived the dragon stood still for a moment thinking about how to climb up, he had almost worked out a way to keep as far away from Celestia as possible when she exclaimed.
“Oh come on, don't be shy come!” and in an instant, the princess lifted the little dragon with her magic and placed him between her hind legs, then held him firmly with her forelegs.
Spike felt instantly uncomfortable, the heat emanating from the princess was even more than his own, he could feel his sweat starting to build up, as he looked up he met Celestia's steady gaze which held her smile that, at this point, almost looked painted on.
“Come on Spike, eat a cookie” Celestia kept her gaze on the dragon who nodded slightly nervously and tried to move his arms to take them, quickly realizing that he couldn't move at all due to Celestia's pressure on his body.
“Oh no no no no no no, you don't need to take them, I can give them to you...” the princess moved one of the cookies closer to Spike's mouth ‘Say ah!’ the dragon obeyed, opening his mouth slowly and, the moment there was enough space, Celestia threw the cookie nonchalantly into the back of Spike's mouth, making the dragon almost choke, managing to stop the cookie with her tongue and starting to chew.
“That's right, what a good boy...” said the princess before looking up and back at Twilight who remained still.
“Twilight...” called Celestia softly.
The violet alicorn was barely breathing, her fur was completely drenched in sweat and a tear had welled up and was now trickling down the side of her right eye, hearing her teacher's voice only made her shiver even more, trembling uncontrollably.
“Twilight look at me..” the princess said again in her authoritative tone.
It took almost all of Twilight's willpower but she finally managed to break free from her paralysis, rolling her eyes to their limit to look directly into the face of the princess who, couldn't help but widen her smile.
“Twilight, you and I Are we friends right?” the question almost made her scream, Twilight fought her instinct to flee as the heat in the room seemed to rise and rise, in a moment and out of the corner of her eye, Twilight could notice how Celestia lifted one of her front hooves to start stroking Spike's head which was still eating cookies, Twilight lost control of her breathing again when the princess caught her attention again.
“Twilight Are we or aren't we?” her tone became a little more threatening.
Twilight had no choice but to respond.
“Y...yy....yes...” she finally said breathlessly.
“Perfect and so, among your friends, you would say I'm one of your best friends?” the tone in her voice was carefree but firm as she still absently stroked the dragon's head.
Twilight, again, had to muster all the strength she had to force herself to answer.
“Yes....si princess, we are the...best...friends...”
“Wonderful Twilight very good!” It was as if the princess was going back in time, to when she and Twilight had private lessons and she was questioning the little filly about what she had learned during that day of study.
“And so, if we're best friends, that means we should tell each other everything right?” Twilight didn't answer, she didn't like where this was going at all, it only took a second before Twilight heard a small gasp coming from her dragon brother.
It took her a moment to realize what had happened, but as she looked over to where her friend Twilight was standing she could see how one of Celestia's caresses had torn off a couple of him scales, causing a small trickle of blood to spurt from him head.
“S....Sp....Spike...” began Twilight before Celestia interrupted her.
“Twilight!” this time the princess' voice echoed throughout the room, startling Twilight and forcing her to turn around ”Please answer the question, if you and I are best friends shouldn't we tell each other everything?”
Twilight was slow to answer gathering her courage, but finally did.
“Yes...that's right princess...best friends tell each other everything...”
“Right” the princess replied dryly, at which point her caresses on Spike stopped, instead Celestia began to press firmly on the dragon's head, tightening the rest of her grip and trapping him even more.
Spike suddenly found himself unable to breathe properly, suddenly fresh air into his lungs was denied him and he could feel the force on his head and chest increasing by the second.
“Sit down!” the shout was firm, clean, in such an authoritative tone that it almost made Twilight fall backwards from how quickly she landed back on the chair, suddenly the heat in the room increased dramatically, steaming Twilight's sweat and taking what little air she still had left, soon the purple alicorn was suffocating as well.
“Twilight...” came again in a cheerful, melodious but clearly feigned voice.
Twilight did her best to look away from Spike and look back at Celestia, finding a face that seemed to glow, with deep orange eyes and a pupil dilated in a straight line like a feline's, the whites of her eyes had been replaced with a deep black and yet despite all this on her face there was still a smile that called for stillness.
“Easy, one last question and we're done here” she said in a not at all reassuring tone ‘Since you and I are best friends and best friends tell each other everything...’ the princess spoke ridiculously slow as she slowly increased the pressure on Spike's head ” If you or any of your friends had talked or met someone you shouldn't have, someone bad and who could be a threat to our people...You would tell me right?”
Twilight couldn't help but look at her little brother, who seemed to be slowly becoming lifeless, almost disappearing completely behind the white fur of the princess when Twilight barely managed to hear.
“Twi...Twilight...help...” the dragon was trying to cry but her tears were instantly evaporated due to the heat and in a moment she seemed to be about to faint.
“So Twilight, would you tell me?” the alicorn heard again, this time said in a tone that seemed to be on the verge of impatience.
Twilight knew what she wanted, knew that she wanted her to tell her, for a moment, Twilight considered it.
“Yes princess...” he said heavily ”If I told you....but right now, there is nothing to say...” Twilight looked straight into Celestia's eyes, eyes she no longer recognized, she looked deep and with an expression full of determination and bravery, without a hint of fear in the future.
Celestia scrutinized the face of her student, her most faithful and loyal subject and did not find a hint of doubt, maybe she had gone too far with her interrogation, maybe she had only tormented her student for nothing, but she knew she was hiding something, Fluttershy's wound proved it, she had seen many of that kind and she had not seen one in a long time, but that was only circumstantial, it did not guarantee anything, she had to meditate things, think about her next move, for now, everything here was over.
Suddenly the air in the room flowed again and the heat dissipated, Twilight took a big breath of air while Celestia let go of the dragon who fell to the floor exalted, panting and trembling with terror.
“Oh excellent Twilight I knew I could trust you” Celestia's face had returned to normal, no glow, no look and no terrifying eyes, she was the same princess as always, even Twilight herself doubted for a moment if what she had seen had been a hallucination.
Just before Celestia crossed the threshold she looked over her shoulder in Twilight's direction.
“By the way I'm taking your friend Fluttershy to Canterlot for proper treatment...”
The words made Twilight lose her breath again, opening her eyes wide and barely managing to respond.
“Wa...Wait princess! You can't take her away, she...she...”
“Oh you don't have to thank me, it's the least I can do, my guards have already taken her away, I assure you she'll feel better very soon.”
Twilight was speechless, she had been taken by surprise and was now at a disadvantage.
“Oh and Twilight, regarding your coronation, maybe you should stay a little longer in Ponyville, we may have to postpone...a little longer” and without further ado, she left.
It took Twilight a moment longer to come back to herself, hearing Spike's irregular gasps, she threw herself on the ground to hug him, checking him closely to make sure he didn't have any broken bones, the little dragon just lay there, sore and exhausted, breathing heavily, at the heartbreaking image Twilight couldn't help but start crying uncontrollably, hugging Spike tightly while repeating over and over again.
“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry....”.
Author's Note
Again an apology for Zecora's rhymes.
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 8: The Darkest Journeys.
“She was here...!” Bek shouted as she tried to get up from Zecora's bed, being immediately stopped by the zebra as it tried to cover a large wound on the unicorn's chest with a strange black liquid.
“I strongly recommend you stay still, unless of course hurting yourself further is your goal” Zecora let Zecora sternly.
“Yes, she came to the castle and started asking questions and even though they weren't that obvious, it was obvious she wanted to know about you...” the alicorn looked at the ground in embarrassment ”I'm sorry...it was my fault, I thought I could handle it”
“Don't apologize...” Twilight was surprised at the unicorn's calm response “It wasn't a matter of if she was going to find out or not, it was a matter of when...”
Twilight looked up to meet the sympathetic eyes of Bek who gave her a small smile.
“Although, all the effort to get the antidote now was in vain...” said the unicorn with airs of irony.
“I wouldn't state that with such certainty, otherwise I couldn't be treating you so gently” said Zecora as she finished applying the potion.
“So that's...?” asked Twilight with resignation.
“That's right Twilight Sparkle the devouring insect antidote, a more appropriate tentative name for this healer” Zecora walked over to her table where vials filled with the black liquid rested and what appeared to be a giant fingernail just as dark rested against the wood.
“Did that thing...?”
“It's not dead” Bek stepped forward ”You'd need a whole troop to take down one that big...”
Silence reigned in the room for a moment as Zecora applied salve and bandaged Bek's wound.
“So now...what do we do?” finally asked Twilight.
“We have to go” answered the unicorn immediately surprising Twilight.
“But...but, where? Why?”
“Because she already knows, it will only be a matter of time before she comes back and applies more persuasive methods to find me...”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, if you think what you've seen so far from her was horrible, wait until she actually starts threatening and demanding...” Bek paused “If you and your friends stay here she will use everything you love as an incentive to tell her the truth, this includes your loved ones, friends and any other being that brings you a modicum of happiness, I've seen her do it...in the end, her victims always begged and screamed for her to kill them.”
Twilight swallowed saliva and began to sweat, in other times she would have disavowed what the unicorn told her, claiming that what she said were falsehoods, but now and given the circumstances, she had nothing to say.
“And ....a where?” she said defeated.
“I don't know...” began to say Bek ” I don't know this kingdom, I don't know anything about it, but it has to be a safe place, far away as possible, away from her and her influence, a place so secluded that even she would have a hard time getting to and....of preference, with someone we can trust.”
Twilight was silent for a long moment, she knew this would be the point of no return, that once she made up her mind it would be the end of her life as she knew it and no matter how it went, she knew she would have to drag her friends with her.
“I think I know where that might be....”
The next day, at dusk, Twilight was in what was once her old room, filling her saddlebags with everything she might need for the trip, Applejack had offered to carry all the food so she was taking care of all the medical supplements.
“Twilight!” said Spike as he came crashing into the room, walking briskly towards her.
“Sorry Spike I told you already you can't....”
“Why not!” shouted the little dragon angrily, startling Twilight and making her turn around.
“Spike...” started to say Twilight but again she was interrupted.
“Is it because I'm small, do you think I can't fight, do you think I'm so weak I can't take it!” as she shouted tears began to fall down the dragon's cheeks.
Twilight at this couldn't help but hug him and start crying too, silencing her cries as Spike also put his arms around her.
“You know that's not the reason Spike...”
“I know...but...I don't want you to walk away from me like this..” the little dragon kept sobbing, losing himself in his words and hugging Twilight even tighter.
“I know Spike I know, but I have to...” Twilight thought about it “It's for everyone's sake.”
“Everyone's good or just hers?” asked Spike with an annoyed tone in his voice.
It took Twilight a moment to answer.
“She's important to all of us, she's the connection to everything we've missed, and besides...she's a pony in trouble, she needs our help, and you well know that, that if someone is in trouble, I should be there, that's my job, that's who I am...”
The hug lasted a long moment, when they finally separated they both looked at each other and smiled even with tears, finally Twilight reached over and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
“Take care of everyone here for me okay?” said Twilight wiping her tears.
“I promise...” replied Spike.
Once again they hugged and stayed like that, until Twilight looked over Spike's shoulder, finding Starlight waiting in the doorway, as Spike also noticed her presence they both separated and Spike left the room, still downcast but with determination in his eyes.
“Are you sure about this?”
“The truth...I don't know” Twilight replied honestly.
“Then why are you doing it?” Starlight stepped forward with a look of dismay, receiving no response from her friend the unicorn persisted.
“Do you understand that if you do this it will all end, no more masks, no more lies, no more...secrets...”
“I know...”
“And you'll risk all this for a crazy unicorn who comes from an extinct and forgotten age?”
“The world deserves to know Starlight...”
“Know what!?” exclaimed the mare ”That your kingdom was founded and thrived on a pile of corpses? That everything you thought you knew about your regents is false? That everything you've ever known and lived for is just one huge lie?!”
“Yes...” Twilight replied quietly Starlight calmed down as she noticed the look on her teacher and friend's face, so distressed and full of doubt.
“I believe that everyone deserves to know, and if to do that I have to go to the end of the world and through the darkness...I'm going to do it...” There was silence for a moment, Twilight was about to lower her head in defeat but then Starlight responded.
“In that case I will do everything I can to help you...” starlight's tears had begun to flow, both mares moved closer and gave each other a deep hug, one that soaked Twilight's shoulder with Starlight's tears.
Finally they both pulled apart and looked at each other smiling.
“Do you think you and Sunburst can handle the whole school while I'm gone?” asked Twilight in a more teasing tone to ease the tension, receiving a chuckle from Starlight in response.
“Oh please, when you return this school will be so prestigious that you will have no choice but to move up as the new headmistress.”
They both laughed for a moment, Twilight wished that instant would never end, but in the end it did, she finally gave Starlight one last hug as she magically put on an elegant dark purple cloak with silver accents and a hood.
“Well...” said the alicorn at the edge of the door ”I'm going now.”
“Yes...” replied Starlight who stood in the middle of the room ”Good luck...”
And without further ado Twilight walked away down the hallway.
Twilight walked through the streets of Ponyville with her head down, trying as hard as possible not to attract attention.
The alicorn headed for Sugar Cube Corner, as she had promised to pick Pinkie up before she left.
As she approached the colorful establishment she could notice how the pink pony hugged Mr. and Mrs. Cake tightly at the entrance, even Mrs. Cake's new husband was there, also the twins, they were all huddled in a big, tight hug, which didn't end until Twilight got close enough for Pinkie Pie to notice, breaking the grip and dedicating some last words of farewell to her family.
“You don't know how much I'm going to miss you guys...” it seemed Pinkie Pie struggled to hold back her tears.
“We know Pinkie Pie...” spoke Mrs. Cake, also with a broken voice.
“And you should also know, that no matter how long it takes you, the day you decide to come back we will give you the best welcome party ever” said Mr. Cake with tears in his eyes.
“And never forget Pinkie that here, you will always have a family” concluded Mrs. Cake already unable to hide her tears.
Pinkie Pie sobbed, approached the twins who reached out their arms to hug her one last time and she whispered to them.
“Don't forget to always smile” with that said she gave them both a kiss on the forehead and said goodbye, taking her saddlebags, which Twilight knew were full of candy and streamers.
They both slowly walked away from the bakery, Twilight could notice how little by little her friend's tears started to moisten her fluffy fur while Pinkie was doing her best not to explode.
After a moment Pinkie stopped crying and pulled away.
“Well...do you know if Bek likes cupcakes?” she asked spontaneously trying to regain some of her happy tone.
Twilight shook her wing a little which caused some moisture and snot to fall to the floor roughly.
“Well I...I haven't really asked her...”
“Ahhh...” Pinkie exclaimed “Do you know what that means!!!?”
“Ehhh...” Twilight didn't know what to answer.
“It means I'll have to give her a taste of all the flavors to find out her favorite!” Pinkie returned to her usual festive attitude, prancing forward as Twilight kept pace with her, headed for the meeting point.
“But Rarity...!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle irritated ”I don't want to stay with mom and dad, I want to go with you!”
Rarity was running around inside her boutique back and forth, she had had a whole day to prepare and still hadn't been able to choose what clothes she would take with her for her trip, she had struggled a lot to find someone to look after her boutique in Ponyville while sending letters to her other stores to inform that there would be no new designs for a while, Not to mention that she had had to deal with her parents explaining that she would no longer be able to take care of Sweetie Belle and that she would be away for a long time, all this together had made it impossible for her to find a wardrobe that looked spectacular enough but at the same time didn't attract attention and now, she had to deal with her younger sister's tantrum.
“I told you Sweetie Belle, you can't come with me, it's a very important and long trip for the elements of harmony...” Rarity was trying to excuse herself but Sweetie Belle interrupted her.
“It can't be that long if you're going to carry your best saddlebags, you would never let anything happen to them..”
“Listen honey, the reason I'm carrying my best saddlebags is because this trip is going to be so long and tedious that I at least want to take some glamour with me...”
“But if that's so why don't you tell me where you're going, you didn't even tell mom and dad why so much mystery?”
“Well that's because...”
“And why are you so nervous about a trip with your friends? No matter where they're going I see no reason for you to be like this.”
“Well I think that...”
“And you didn't even want to pack the nice peppercorn pie I made for you and only the crust was burnt...”
“Sweetie Belle! Keep quiet for a damn second!” Rarity exploded, immediately silencing Sweetie Belle who just stood still where she was, she had never seen her big sister so furious.
Rarity tried to go back to her activities but noticed how Sweetie Belle started to cry.
“Sweetie Belle I...” she started to say but didn't finish because Sweetie Belle immediately ran off in the direction of her room, crying and yelling at her sister.
“I hate you!”
Rarity tried to go after her but Swetie Belle slammed the door in her face and leaned against it, preventing the unicorn from opening it.
“Sweetie Belle...” began Rarity on the other side of the door ‘Listen I'm sorry I don't...I didn't mean to yell at you, it's just that so many bad things have happened lately that I don't...’ the unicorn felt a lump in her throat ‘I'm scared okey?’ Rarity could hear how her sister seemed to stop crying ”I'm scared, of everything that has been happening and everything that could come to pass, all the others seem so sure of this but I...I can't...”
Now it was Rarity who had started to shed tears.
“I have no idea what to do....o if I'm coming back, I don't know if this will be the last time I'll get to see your face I...I don't want my last memory of you to be that we fought...” The unicorn collapsed on the ground, crying profusely as she covered her head with her hooves, tousling her mane a bit.
She lay there for a moment until she heard the door open, raising her gaze to meet Sweetie Belle's drenched face, also covered in tears.
Rarity smiled and wiped Sweetie Belle's cheeks as best she could, smudging the a bit of makeup in the process.
“Look at you darling, you're a mess...” Rarity couldn't help but let out a giggle.
“Me? you should look in the mirror.”
They both laughed for a long moment while Rarity drew a mirror with her magic slyly to see her own face, which was completely misaligned, with makeup smudges under her eyes and her hair disheveled.
“You really don't know when you're coming back?” finally asked Sweetie Belle with her head down.
“No dear, I don't know...” Rarity replied heavily.
“Well, in that case...” Sweetie Belle stood up abruptly and ran inside her room, making a lot of noise as if she was looking for something among her clutter.
Rarity was puzzled for a moment until she saw her younger sister come out of the room with something wrapped behind her back.
“I umm... I started to make this for you when I knew you were leaving, I wanted you to take something with you that would remind you of how fabulous you are, just in case you forgot...” the little girl approached with her horn a badly wrapped package and offered it to Rarity who took it with her magic and hurried to unwrap it, being careful not to tear the paper and dirty the floor.
As she finished removing the wrapper Rarity was puzzled by what she saw, it looked like a pile of misfolded red fabric, it wasn't until she spread it out in its entirety that the unicorn could see what it was.
It was a traveling cloak, the beautiful red cloth had been hastily stitched over a golden sheath that adorned the inside of the cloak and hood giving it a strange and irregular shape, on the back of the cloak, where the wearer's flank should go, was embroidered a small golden insignia, Rarity recognized it instantly and couldn't help but cry again.
“It's a tribute to the first great garment you made me...” began Sweetie Belle ”I know it's not perfect but, I wanted you to have it, it's my way of saying that I love you very much sister and that no matter how far away you are, I will always continue to do so.”
Sweetie Belle also cried again as she noticed the tears on her sister's face, they both hugged again and stayed like that again for a long time until Sweetie Belle heard her sister whisper in her ear.
“It's perfect, the most beautiful article of clothing I've ever seen in my life...” the little filly couldn't help but laugh at that.
“You know that's not true” they both laughed again, enjoying their closeness until the clock in the master bedroom chimed, indicating it was time.
They both squeezed each other in their embrace one last time before they let go again and started walking towards the exit, as they went Rarity deftly levitated all her things, her saddlebag was filled with sewing and makeup items, she also packed extra blankets as well as brushes and her favorite sweater, She draped Sweetie Belle's cape over her shoulders, adjusting it and admiring herself in a mirror, it was a crude and simple job, but the measurements were just right and the unicorn was sure that, given enough time, she could turn it into the cape her little sister no doubt wanted it to be.
Finally standing before the exit door already open, with her sister at her side, Rarity turned to see her sister who was struggling to hold back her tears, standing firm to look brave.
“Sweetie Belle...” Rarity started to say with a lump in her throat “Please never forget...you are...you are the best thing that could have happened to me in my life and I'm...I'm proud to be your sister...” Rarity couldn't control herself, she cried as she looked into the eyes of her younger sister who was also shedding tears on the other side of the door.
Finally after a few more moments of crying Rarity wiped her face, turned and walked in the direction of the forest.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash had decided to say goodbye together, that was the reason to summon the Apple family as well as Scootaloo at the gates of the farm.
“Well...” finally said the farmer ‘I think it's time...I, I want to tell you that I will let you know as soon as I can where I am and if I'm okay, just, promise me that you will take care of the farm for me and...no....’ Applejack's voice cracked with every word, she tried to hide her tears under her hat but it was impossible, quickly the whole family rushed to her, squeezing her and comforting her in a shattering hug.
While this was going on Scootaloo approached Rainbow Dash who was distracted by the Apple scene.
“So, that's it?...” asked the little foal in anguish ‘You're just going to leave and give up everything? Your career? Your home? Your...family?’ the little girl was starting to cry but was trying her hardest to avoid it.
Rainbow Dash watched the little girl who was her number one fan crumble in front of her, she could feel something in her chest shrink, yet Rainbow stayed strong and replied in a confident voice.
“You don't have to worry about that little one, i left nothing behind, everyone knows that, despite the fact that I am the most amazing pegasus that has ever lived in Equestria, I am not the only one capable of doing my job, besides this trip is not final, you can be sure that I will be back.”
Scootaloo looked up hopefully.
“You're really...you're really coming back?”
“Of course! Did you really think that I, Rainbow Dash, the best pony this town ever saw won't return home? No little one!” Rainbow descended to the ground to give Scott a rough caress on the head, which ruffled the filly's hair ‘I guarantee you, one hundred percent, that I will return and dedicate a Rainplosion Sonica to my biggest fan, who I hope, won't be too sad about my departure’ Rainbow Dash winked at her.
Scootaloo at this smiled broadly, happy at the certainty with which his heroine spoke to him, if Rainbow Dash was so sure of something, then it must be true.
“Of course not!” exclaimed Scootaloo finally ”I promise I won't be sad, in fact I will be the happiest and most determined pony here, I will wait and wait until the day you come back and then you will see that your biggest fan is not a baby girl!”
Rainbow couldn't help but smile, hugging the little girl tightly and bumping hooves afterwards.
As this happened the Apple family broke away from the hug, minus Grandma Smith who was holding her granddaughter with her fragile hooves as she cried.
“Oh my child, how sorry I am, you're trying to leave and here I am crying like a leak on an autumn day...”
“Don't apologize grandma, you don't know how much I wish I could stay, if you've taught me anything throughout my whole life, it's that family stays together, no matter what, and I...I'm here breaking that sacred rule...” Applejack was feeling her words heavy again, about to cry again but interrupted by Grandma.
“Oh nonsense!” exclaimed Grandma rising up to look at Applejack ”Family always stays together, no matter the distance between them there is always a connection that is never broken, even in death all Apple will always be linked together, so don't cry about it because you can be sure, like the sun rises every day, that we will always be there when you need us, even if you can't see us!”
Grandma held Applejack's face as she smiled at her, the farm mare couldn't help but think that the situation was very similar to when grandma scolded her when she was little, this drew a wide and beaming smile on the pony's face which was returned in kind by the elderly mare, who finally pulled away.
Applejack then turned to her brother and his wife, Big Mac was struggling to hold himself together but his tears kept coming, while Sugarbelle hugged him from the side.
“Well...” began Applejack ”Now you're both in charge, I hope you...have a great harvest and that...when the family grows up, your foals can enjoy the sunshine among the trees.”
“Y...yi...ye...” tried to answer Big Mac but the lump in his throat wouldn't let him.
“You can trust us Applejack” Sugarbelle said giving the mare a smile.
Applejack then hugged them both tightly before pulling away and turning to look at Apple Bloom who wasn't even trying to disguise it, crying her eyes out and sobbing.
“When...“ she finally began to say ‘When mommy and daddy first put you in my hooves I...was afraid of hurting you, you were so small and fragile I thought if I held you too tight you would break, but daddy told me ’That little girl is stronger than you think” and looking at you now, I couldn't agree more...”
Applejack let out her tears as she bent down to look Apple Bloom in the face.
“Apple Bloom you are the bravest little filly I have ever met, and I am sure you will grow up to be an even braver and stronger Apple...” Applejack then took her hat with her hoof and placed it on Apple Bloom's head “Keep it for me until I come back” the farm girl gave her an approving smile and then hugged her.
The little filly couldn't believe her sister would let go of her hat like this, the thought that this was goodbye forever filled her thoughts causing her to cling to her sister tightly, so tightly that it seemed the little girl wouldn't let go, but she finally let go.
“Apple's united...” she began to say.
“Apple's forever,” her family concluded.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack grabbed their saddlebags walking away down the trail, before crossing the hill they both turned to see their loved ones who were waving goodbye effusively, they both returned the gesture by raising their hooves before turning around again.
“So how did the girl take it?” asked Applejack to the pegasus.
“She took it well, she's very rough...” replied Rainbow Dash.
“And how did you take it?” the earthling asked with a smile.
“I..ehh..well, you know, I'm even tougher than her” Rainbow Dash looked away but Applejack could see a tear trickle down the pegasus' face, moving closer to her to wrap her hoof around her and walking in silence.
The cowgirl and the pegasus were the last to arrive at the meeting point behind Fluttershy's hut in the direction of the forest, where Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Zecora and Bek were already waiting.
“Everything okay girls?” asked Twilight somewhat worried.
“Yes” was the only answer she got from the farm girl, the alicorn wanted to ask more but she didn't want to make her friends uncomfortable so she decided to focus on the mission.
“Well, we are all here, the route is already planned and revised and, according to the calculations, we will arrive in three months...”
“Three months?!” complained Rainbow ”That's too long..”
“That's how long the trip will take us without taking any busy trains or shortcuts,” replied Twilight.
“Are you sure there is no other way?” asked Applejack.
“Quite sure, according to Bek's directions, we should stay as far away from villages and other ponies as possible...”
“To ensure that no one knows where we're going...” Interrupted Bek stepping forward “It is vital for our survival, that your princess does not know where we are headed, at least, until we get there, once we are established we can plan the next step to expose her and defeat the...”
They all looked intrigued at Bek who seemed the most ready to embark on the journey, which made perfect sense as she was leaving nothing behind.
“And what about Fluttershy?” asked Rainbow worriedly.
“That's right...!” started Rarity ”Are we going to leave her here?”
Twilight and Bek looked at each other.
“Last we heard, her friend is in Canterlot castle...” began Bek heavily.
“We thought about planning a rescue mission to get her out of wherever Celestia put her, but if she's in the castle...” Twilight was silent.
“If she's in the castle we can't get her out,” Bek term abruptly.
“What do you mean?” returned Rainbow Dash now annoyed ”Are you saying we won't even try!”
“Rainbow is right...” continued Rarity ”We should at least try, after all we got you out...”
“This is different...” interrupted Bek ”During my rescue you had the element of surprise on your side, your princess didn't count on anyone knowing about my confinement let alone anyone being stupid enough to try to rescue me, now she knows and rest assured she will do everything she can to prevent another possible break in.”
They were all silent, Twilight would have preferred not to be so direct about the situation with her friends, but on the other hand she was glad that Bek would make the decision to be certain, so there would be no doubt left about her current situation.
“What about the poison?” asked Pinkie ‘They said she was very sick and needed the antidote as soon as possible That Fluttershy won't die if they don't administer it soon?’ pinkie's doubt was interrupted by Twilight.
“We think Celestia took Fluttershy as a backup token, so she'd have something to threaten us with if we got out of line...”
“What pens are you talking about?” asked Applejack in confusion.
“We mean your friend has become an unspoken hostage, a very valuable one...” Bek waited for them to understand what she meant but only received looks of doubt, after letting out an annoyed sigh she continued “It means it's not in your princess' best interest for her friend to die, despite the fact that she doesn't have what it takes to remove the poison I'm sure she'll find some way to treat her or at least keep her alive...”
“And just leave her there while the princess uses her as a meat shield and experiments on her?” asked Rarity indignantly.
“That's where Zecora comes in” replied Twilight giving way to the zebra.
“You are quite right Rarity it is normal for you to be distressed, but I can assure you that your friend will be saved” Zecora held up the vial filled with black liquid for all to see.
“This is the antidote...” Twilight started to say ”Zecora will travel to Canterlot to administer it to Fluttershy so that she recovers from the poison...”
“And is that potion safe?” asked Rainbow at the disturbing appearance of the antidote.
“This medicine certainly looks strange, but I can swear to you that it is not viciously made” said Zecora looking at the bottle ”There is no side effect or discomfort that this one leaves, unless the cured is special or wanders away.”
“So what does that mean?” asked Applejack.
“It means it will only affect creatures with tainted blood like the monster under the castle in a bad way” replied Twilight appeasing any doubts regarding the antidote.
“And how exactly will Zecora give the antidote to Fluttershy if they say no one can enter the castle without Celestia noticing?” asked Rarity curious.
Zecora, Twilight and Bek looked at each other with intrigue, taking a few seconds before the question was answered.
“That's the part we haven't figured out yet,” Twilight replied defeated.
“The path certainly seems circuitous, still I won't let that ruin your joy” Zecora stood firm before the mares ”If infiltrating the castle is necessary to save a friend, you can be sure I'll face it, whoever your enemy is.”
They were all surprised at the zebra's bravery, which seemed completely committed.
Zecora took her leave shortly after, leaving the girls alone and ready again.
They all checked their saddlebags one last time to make sure they didn't forget anything, Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie pulled out their cloaks putting them on and covering themselves appropriately; Rainbow's cloak was a beautiful bright blue, with gold and grey embroidery of lightning and clouds, Applejack's was a patched light brown, with an embroidered apple patch and Pinkie's was pastel pink and purple, with spots of candy, chocolates and frosting.
When they were all ready the first to set off were Applejack and Rainbow, who were moving diligently towards the depth of the forest, followed by Pinkie and Rarity who were chatting happily, trying to distract themselves, finally Twilight stood still, watching her friends slowly moving away, she wanted to move forward but felt her hooves like heavy stones anchoring her to the ground, caught in a tide of indecision she didn't notice how Bek approached behind her, talking to her and bringing her out of her trance.
“Are you afraid?” asked the unicorn calmly.
“Yes...” replied Twilight without looking at her.
Bek pondered for a moment what to say to her in order to comfort, finally finding the words and sharing them with understanding and consideration.
“A good friend once told me, that the darkest journeys start with the first step...and once you take it the next one gets easier.”
Bek began to walk following the mares leaving Twilight behind, the alicorn thought about the words and then thought about everything she was leaving behind, all her friends, everything she built and thought about the new world that awaited them if this journey went well, at that thought Twilight took a breath, closed her eyes and took a step forward.
Celestia was sitting on her throne in the middle of the night, looking straight ahead with her gaze lost and her hair waving in the air, the only thing that could be heard was the silence of the night and some noises of the guards making their rounds through the corridors, the princess of the sun began to close her eyes, relaxed by the soothing silence, she was about to close them completely when a sound made her wake up and took her sleep away instantly.
“You called for me?” said Discord with a serious expression.
“Oh Discord dear, how nice that you were able to make time to come see me, I hope your trip to the Delphian Mare gaming convention was exciting...”
“Get to the point Celestia” Discord's attitude was not at all like what everyone was used to, even his posture reflected a seriousness never seen before in the draconequus.
“Oh wow you're in a bad mood, I get it, well...” Celestia stood up from her throne and started walking towards Discord “You see Discord I don't know if you're aware of what's been going on in the kingdom these past few days...”
“Are you talking about the assassination attempt during Princess Twilight's coronation? I assure you I am more than aware...”
“Oh but if you knew that the attacking pony who made an attempt on my life and my sister's was none other than one of the star members of Luna's former legion?”
Discord's eyes widened in surprise.
“Luna's legion..you're talking about those brainwashed ponies you used to steal the territory you now claim as your own?”
“Exactly that very thing!” Celestia exclaimed with mock glee “And you see, it seems that old mare was a lot smarter than I expected and went and convinced none other than my best student of her crazy story...”
“Wow, who knew one of those ponies would be so smart” said Discord mockingly.
“Yes, it looks like she managed to convince her that what she was saying was real and now I have on me the risk of losing everything I've worked for.”
“And you want me to take over?”
“Oh no no no no no no dear, of course not, I wouldn't trust you even if you were the last living draconequus on this earth or the next, which, by the way, now that I remember, you are” Celestia returned the same mocking expression to Discord causing him to frown.
“So what do you want then?” he asked angrily.
“That's very simple, I want you to do nothing, nothing at all.”
Discord was taken aback at the request.
“That's all?”
“If that's all, with this whole thing hanging around and the possibility of my dearest pupil revealing herself against me I can't have the lord of chaos, who by the way, is a very good friend of hers, running around using his powerful magic to ruin my plans, it's just a risk I don't feel like taking at all.”
Discord couldn't help but smile at this.
“Oh well, this is interesting, after so many centuries of perpetual silence, the supreme alicorn comes to me to beg me not to have fun, I'm so sorry my dear, but how could I pass up such an opportunity, can you imagine the chaos a civil war would cause, uy just thinking about it gives me goosebumps!”
Suddenly the room was filled with Celestia's thunderous laughter, that mechanical and timed one.
“Oh I'm sorry dear it's just that it's so funny the conclusions you come to, you really think this is the desperate plea of an elderly queen who can't stand up to you in any way and is helpless before your great power am I wrong?”
Discord swallowed saliva before answering.
“Yes?” he replied doubtfully.
“Well let me tell you dear that you are wrong, I am not at all helpless, I have resumed the old habit of , having an az up my sleeve..” Celestia paused markedly.
“What...what do you mean?” asked Discord nervously.
“Oh well, I mean, knowing how sentimental and corny you are, I don't think you'd let anything bad happen to your dear friend Fluttershy.”
Suddenly the room filled with a roar like a thousand lightning bolts, discord increased considerably in size, his claws and horns grew to become like sharp swords and his fangs lengthened to spears, Celestia watched as the draconequus towered over her filling the room with shadows and growling violently.
“YOU FILTHY BITCH IF YOU DARE TOUCH A SINGLE HAIR ON HER I SWEAR I'LL ....!!!”
“Pepepe” interrupted Celestia raising her helmet ”Very careful what you are going to say, your pegasus friend's life now hangs in the balance.”
Discord stopped dead in his tracks, he didn't return to his original form but held still.
“Your dear friend, she went where she shouldn't have and was attacked by a memory-eating insect, I don't think I need to remind you that those fearsome creatures possess a very particular incurable poison that kills its victims very slowly and painfully...” Celestia gave a haughty look to Discord as he slowly returned to his original form “Right now your friend is past the time limit and the only thing keeping her alive is the power I keep constantly flowing to her, if I wanted to annihilate her I would only have to turn off my magic for a second and boom, she will vanish just like a dry leaf.”
Discord could only listen helplessly as he gritted his teeth, trying to devise a way to save Fluttershy.
“Surely you're thinking that you could find her in an instant, transport yourself to wherever she is and remove the poison before she dies but let me tell you that I have placed magic blockers in the room where I have her kept and I can also sense any fluctuation of chaos magic in a fairly wide range, if you even try anything, even the slightest thing, I will know instantly and she will die before you can do anything ¿Do you understand your situation now dear?”
Discord was sweating with fear, for the first time, throughout his entire immortal life, he was feeling something he thought he could never experience, the purest terror at the hands of the being he swore he would never obey again.
“Why?” he asked almost as a whisper.
“Did you seriously think I freed you from that statue because I wanted us to be friends? No dear, no, I freed you from that statue because I saw an opportunity to put you at the mercy of the most fearsome power in all the lands, a power so dark and sinister that it would make even the mightiest being bend Can you guess what it is?”
Discord looked at the ground defeated, helplessness covered every part of his being, he thought that these horrible techniques were a thing of the past, he remembered seeing many ponies perish in such ploys and remembered how he pitied those poor souls, wishing he never had to experience such pain.
“Love...”
“Right dear! Love, love causes any conviction or desire to be destroyed, it is the killer of ambitions, that is why one must be very careful about who one decides to give it to...” Celestia was silent for a moment reveling in Discord's suffering “Well, as I was saying, here's the deal, you go back to your dimension of pure chaos while I sort out all the problems here and when everything is back to how it's supposed to be I'll return you to your dear friend and you can go fuck, making her give birth to a bunch of nature's mistakes, I'm sure you'd like that” Celestia mocked, smiling broadly at the defeated draconequus who could only look up at the triumphant face of the princess, swallowing her pride and dedicating some last words of resignation and hatred.
“And I thought you had already left all this in the past...”
Celestia sighed, losing her smile for a second before exclaiming again with joy.
“Yes well dear, you know what they say, on notice there is no deception.”
Outside the room a mare listened, Luna stood silently by the door so she could hear Celestia and Discord's entire conversation.
View Online
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 9: Bloody Night at the Shrinking Palace.
The sun was rising brightly over the northern hills, the grass was swaying gently in the frosty breeze, and six mares were walking in a row on one of them.
Pinkie Pie pranced around Bek as she asked question after question.
“And how did you get this one?” She said pointing to the mare's burned left foreleg.
“I had to stick my hoof down a dragon's throat to slay it” he replied nonchalantly.
“Wooow! And these?” said the pink pony as she pointed to the bruised tail.
“A griffin grabbed me by the tail and dug her claws into me as she whipped me to the ground.”
“Oooooohhh What about this one?” Pinkie pointed to the large scar around Bek's neck.
“I...emmm, you know...if you don't stop asking questions this trip will be more tedious than it already is...” Bek replied uncomfortably at that last questioning.
“Yeah Pinkie, you shouldn't burden the girl so much...” started to say Rarity ‘But seriously now, did you really do all those things?’ asked the unicorn somewhat intrigued.
“You really think I did all this to myself?” replied Bek with a puzzled look.
“Do you really expect us to believe that you stuck your hoove down a dragon's throat and it wasn't instantly charred?” exclaimed Rainbow who was hovering nearby.
“I told you, I heal fast...” started to say the mare but at that instant she felt a twinge of pain in her left hind leg that made her stop abruptly.
“Are you all right?” asked Twilight attentively.
“Yes, yes yes yes...” replied Bek as he flashed his horn, pulling out of his saddlebag a bottle with a strange green liquid in it and drinking some, Bek seemed to hold the pain for a second until it was gone, letting out a sigh of relief and looking forward again.
“What's that you've got there?” asked Applejack pointing to the bottle.
“What? This? It's a medicine your friend Zecora prepared for me, it helps with the pain...”
They were all silent for a moment, they didn't think Bek's condition was serious enough to keep her constantly medicated, they all looked at each other worriedly before the gaunt unicorn cleared her throat.
“Ahemm...can we...go on?”
They all reacted at the same time.
“Oh yes yes, we must hurry, I want us to get to the border before it gets dark” said Twilight resuming the march being followed by her friends and Bek.
In the distance beyond the hills an icy range of mountains could be seen, rising beyond the horizon.
It was the first time Zecora took the train to Canterlot, it had taken her a long time to decide which method to use to get to the capital city, she thought about traveling on foot, but she knew it would take too long, she thought about traveling by balloon, but she had never been a fan of heights, finally she came to the conclusion that the most efficient route would be the easiest.
“We have arrived at our destination miss” the pony gave Zecora a somewhat flirtatious smile as he indicated that she should get off now.
“Oh uh yes..” said Zecora nervously ”Thank you very much kind young man, a little out of my trance and I couldn't help it if I...” Zecora stopped her rhyme halfway through, she knew better than to draw attention to herself, it was vital not to, so once again she was forced to speak like a normal pony “I say thank you very much, I'll be right down.”
The pony escorted Zecora towards the exit and she could almost swear the stallion was watching her ass. Once she was outside she was stunned by the vastness of the city she was in, she had never seen such tall buildings or so many ponies together, the hustle and bustle instantly saturated her and she had to take a moment before she could wander into the streets.
Zecora knew that a zebra in the middle of the city would be too conspicuous so, much to her regret, she had to take some measures to avoid being a walking black and white target.
It had taken her a couple of days of trial and error, but she had finally managed to create a potion that turned her coat, almost completely black, only leaving a few white spots here and there, she had also tied both her mane and tail in buns, thus eliminating the unique shape of her mane that gave her away as a zebra.
The pegasus was asleep in a hospital bed in a small isolated room, now she remained sedated most of the time since the pain had become unbearable and once a day, a nurse came to check her, give her medicine and clean her.
The nurse arrived at the door of Fluttershy's room carrying a tray with her medicines, entering quietly and closing the door carefully.
The pony began the already repetitive routine once again, she put on a mouth cover, washed her hooves with alcohol and put on latex gloves.
“Control yourself White Gauze, it's the element of kindness and you here thinking about dirty things, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
The mare stepped aside and prepared to change Fluttershy's serum, preparing the new needle, in a moment while she was still distracted she miscalculated and pierced the skin of her hoof with the needle, letting out a small choked scream and pulling away quickly.
“Aghh great, now I have to go back to the infirmary for a spare...” the mare looked at Fluttershy for a moment when she thought she saw movement in the corner of her eye, but no, the pegasus was still inert, after she took a moment to check the pony turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Fluttershy alone.
Fluttershy was in a dark dream, she could barely see beyond her own nose and felt pain, it was faint and dull but it was definitely there, the pegasus felt confused, scared, on the verge of tears but suddenly she felt something in her nose, a scent that made all her fears disappear.
Zecora had been wandering the streets of Canterlot all day, seeming distracted most of the time but was actually looking for the secret entrance to the catacombs that Twilight had pointed out to her.him. nothing subtle about asking her out or taking her to a hotel.
Finally, when the sun was already descending in the sky, Zecora found the place, in one of the old cemeteries on the outskirts of the city, it was an extremely neglected place, the vast majority of the tombstones were covered with roots and were barely maintained. in one piece.
The zebra could notice greater detail the closer she got; the figures carved into the stone seemed to represent pony warriors, four armored unicorns carved into each of the four pillars holding spears and seeming to show their respects, just before entering through the weathered grille Zecora took a look at the inscription on the stone.
“Here rests Sir Brander Thunder, valiant knight and protector of the crown, may your bones rest eternally and may your soul be received among the stars.”
The zebra couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
“What a lot of respect for a soldier, and just like everyone else he lies here abandoned.”
Zecora stepped into the crypt noticing that it was much larger than it appeared on the outside, a huge polished and stoic shrine and in the center of the room a single stone coffin.
The zebra then understood and hurried to remove the lid, she tried to do it carefully to make as little noise as possible, but inevitably the stone slab slid to the side and fell to the ground with a clattering noise.
She peeked into the coffin cautiously, noting very well what was inside, indeed on the floor of the chest there was an entrance, a somewhat narrow hole because the zebra considered that it would barely fit, but what was above the entrance was what would surprise her most.
Zecora felt a shiver remind her of the body, something in those remains didn't feel right, shaking her head and getting rid of the discomfort the zebra whispered a “I'm sorry” and started to slide down the passage under the tomb.
It took her a while to make her way through the narrow tunnel, struggling to get her hind legs through, she finally made it to a main chamber, emerging from the dirty and sore ground.
“Bigger this place is than I thought, I hope I could have memorized the route when I was reading it!”
Shaking off the dust and rising to her hooves, Zecora set off taking steps that echoed everywhere.
Luna was in her chambers watching the night, a few hours ago her older sister had retired to her room, but she knew she wasn't asleep, she could feel the dreams of all the ponies nearby and Celestia's didn't appear, she could only imagine what kind of things and machinations that unstable mare was up to inside her room.
The princess of the night couldn't help but let out a melancholy sigh, it had been less than a month and all this had gone bloody mad, she couldn't believe that something as insignificant as the return of a single pony, had set Equestria on a path leading to disaster and agony.
The alicorn looked up and gazed at the full moon, her star, the power she had so long ago bound herself to, unlike her sister who thrived in the light, she had learned to live in the shadows, but it had been a long time since she had fed from them, she had not realized how weak she had become until Bek cut her face with his sword and the wound took all night to heal, she had lost herself in the quiet and now her body was almost as fragile as a mortal's.
Luna then began to think of a strategy, to leave behind the evil that afflicts her, she could darken the moon if it was her wish, but that would certainly make Celestia think suspiciously, no, she had to find another way to regain strength, although this implies to dive back into her head, suddenly ancient whispers filled her mind, words of a lost and resilient entity.
“So here we are again? “The somber, opaque voice spoke directly to the alicorn.
“Yes” Luna replied in her thoughts.
“You finally realized that I was right.”
“That my sister is a madwoman doesn't give you validation.”
“So have you thought about whether you're going to do it yet?”
“Going back into the shadows with you won't change my mind.”
The voice let out a laugh and scoffed.
“That you're still just as foolish makes me furiously glad...” the voice paused before resuming ”Do you still remember what Bek didn't say before she left?”
Luna rummaged through her memories in search of what to say.
“One has to be strong, to deny what is in front of him.”
At that moment another sensation invaded Luna, pushing the voice away, for an instant she was startled by the forgotten feeling but quickly recovered, it only took her a moment to know what it was, one of the traps in the catacombs had been activated.
After Bek's escape, Celestia gave Luna a task, to protect the catacombs to avoid more trouble.
Quickly Luna disappeared, transporting herself to the room where the fluctuation felt, immediately the room lit up.
“Princess Luna is it really you, it's a relief I really thought I was going to perish.”
“Who are you?” replied Luna with a straight face.
“Oh I beg your pardon, we never got a chance to introduce ourselves...” Zecora paused and bowed slightly “Zecora the zebra humbly introduces herself, friend of Twilight Sparkle and her faithful confidant.”
“You don't look like a zebra” Luna said with confusion.
“An apology for that but I couldn't find a better option, a disguise I had to make myself if I want to complete my mission.”
“What mission is that if I may ask?”
“To cure and rescue Fluttershy without delay and without fear.”
Luna then understood, she stood thinking for a second before answering.
“How do you intend to accomplish those two things little faithful zebra?”
“An antidote I have with me that can cure the discomfort, as for getting her out of the castle maybe you with that could help me?”
Luna looked impressed at the cheeky zebra, almost demanding her help as if she were any pony out there, after a few seconds the alicorn reflected, this was the opportunity she was looking for, she certainly wasn't going to say no.
Both the zebra and the alicorn walked side by side, through the corridors of the catacombs with hardly any conversation.
“So you know what you have to do?” asked Luna to Zecora.
“Wait for her outside the castle without hesitation, so that you can save Fluttershy.”
“Exactly, I will administer the antidote and escort her out of the palace so you can take her with you so my sister is left without her singular token...” Luna paused going over the plan again and again “'Can you tell me again how this medicine works?” asked the aliconrnio as she held the vials with the black liquid with her magic.
“You must give it to drink three drops only, the rest you must apply to the wound for it to heal properly.”
“Understood, so you already have the path memorized?”
“For my guidance you need not worry princess, I will be there ready for the surprise escape.”
The two exchanged a look of approval and then parted ready to spring into action.
Luna walked through the corridors of the castle trying not to look suspicious, turning corners and dodging guards with great skill, until she reached the room where she knew the pegasus was.
Gripping the knob firmly the alicorn took a big breath of air, holding her breath for a moment and finally stepping inside.
The room was quiet and dimly lit by a lamp on the bedside table, Luna scanned the room with her eyes and was surprised to see that there was another pony besides Fluttershy.
“Oh princess, I'm sorry...” the mare said as she picks up the book ‘I was surprised, I wasn't expecting any visitors at this hour, usually everyone comes during the day, though I guess it makes sense for you to come now since you're the night princess and all...’ the nurse was very nervous and couldn't stop talking, screaming inside and blushing from embarrassment.
Noticing this Luna took the opportunity to hide the small vial behind one of her wings, clearing her throat and speaking in a solemn tone.
“You don't have to worry about that little pony, I just came to pay my respects to the element of kindness.”
“Oh yes, sure, go ahead go ahead, take all the time you need.”
Luna took a few steps forward placing herself right next to the bed, looking up seeing the nurse looking down at the floor blushing and not moving from her spot.
“I...” began Luna ”I would like a moment alone.”
“Oh...” exclaimed the mare in surprise ”I, I'm very sorry your highness but I'm afraid I can't do that, Princess Celestia ordered me to only leave the room when strictly necessary, to ensure Miss Fluttershy's well-being”
“Don't worry, I'll take care of it” Luna said impatiently.
“Ehh well,,,,I,,,,don't know, maybe I should ask Celestia first...”
Hearing that Luna put on a more serious and demanding tone of voice, looking straight at the pony.
“I am the princess of the night mare! Do you think my authority is beneath my sister's?”
White Gauze swallowed her saliva in fear, it seemed she had offended Princess Luna and was now very worried about what Luna might do to her, maybe she would get her fired What would happen then, if she was fired from the royal palace for insubordination she would never be able to get a job as a nurse again, it would be the end of her career and she would run out of money to pay for her little sister's college, the very thought made her almost start crying.
Seeing the growing fear in the pony Luna's eyes she thought perhaps she had gone a little overboard with her demand, speaking in a more comforting and calm voice the alicorn calmed the mare's fears.
“I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, it's just that, Fluttershy is one of my dearest friends, and this will probably be the last time I can talk to her, I would really like a moment, to say goodbye.”
The nurse then it dawned on her, all her suspicions about this care over the pegasus was just a last show of compassion before her departure, at this she couldn't help but feel stupid refusing to leave Princess Luna alone with her friend, all her fear turned to shame finally coming to a resolution.
“I...well I, I, I think I could leave the room for ten minutes...”
Luna faked a smile and calmly replied again.
“That would be more than enough and I would be most grateful.”
“Of course princess!” exclaimed the mare before hurrying to quickly leave the room, just as she was about to close the door behind her she took a moment to say.
“If you need anything call me.”
Luna then hurried to take out the bottle with the black liquid again, removing the cork to discover that it smelled of rotting roots and mold.
“Ugh gross, I really appreciate not having to drink this...” started to say luna as she carefully brought the bottle closer to Fluttershy's face, slightly opening her mouth with her other hoof ”Alright Fluttershy, here we go.”
Luna dropped three drops of the concoction into the pegasus' mouth, closing her mouth tightly and pulling away slightly.
Luna didn't know what to do, Zecora didn't warn her about this when she gave her directions, she quickly realized that she had forgotten to smear the potion on Fluttershy's leg wound, she quickly poured the rest of the contents of the vial over the wound, making sure it was covered in its entirety, a moment more of convulsions and Fluttershy suddenly seemed to calm down, her heartbeat returned to normal and her eyes closed again.
Luna could see how the open wound finally seemed to dry and heal as all the sweat on the pegasus' body disappeared, finally her breathing seemed to stop being torturous and the alicorn could see the color return to her fur.
Luna let out a sigh of relief, finally it seemed she had helped, she had done something right, now she just had to wait for Fluttershy to regain consciousness and she could get her out of there.
“Luna...?” she said almost as a whisper.
Luna in an almost imperceptible movement threw the empty bottle under the bed out of pure instinct before answering.
“Sister...” the alicorn struggled to remain calm, barely managing to materialize a nervous smile.
“What are you doing here?” celestia's tone went from concern to suspicion.
“Ehh I...I just, I came to check on her, that's all...” Luna tried to deflect the conversation as she looked away “And what are you doing here?”
“I came because I felt the pegasus' heart racing.”
“I didn't know you could do that..” Luna spoke feigning nonchalance
“The magical connection she establishes with her lets me know when her life is in danger...” began to explain Celestia before it dawned on her ”You saw it? What happened to it?”
Luna had already prepared her answer.
“The pain, I think the painkillers lost their effect, she must feel all the pain all at once before he passed out again.”
Celestia inspected her sister's face and then the entire room, she looked for signs of anything suspicious but nothing seemed out of place.
“Where is the nurse?” asked Celestia.
“I told her to leave me alone for a moment, I needed...a moment.”
“A moment ... Don't tell me you're worried about her?” said Celestia disdainfully.
“I can't believe you didn't...” said Luna quietly.
“What did you say?” asked Celestia sternly.
Luna felt strangely emboldened at the moment, feeling confident to question her sister's ideals.
“I can't believe you really don't feel anything about this...” she finally said standing up and facing Celestia ”I can't believe you don't feel anything about going against our friends!”
“Friends!!! You think that's what they are?” interrupted Celestia annoyed ‘Have you really gotten to the point where you believed our own lie? Do you really think friendship is something that matters?!’ the alicorn started to raise her voice but stopped short, taking a breath as she pressed her forehead with one of her hooves, calming herself before speaking again.
“Luna, come with me” she said calmly as she walked out the door, Luna hesitated for a second to follow but a serious look from her sister was enough incentive to follow her.
They both left the room closing the door and starting to walk down the corridors in silence, Luna gave Celestia a confused and annoyed look while she kept her eyes straight ahead and walked steadily.
“Look Luna, I know it's easy to get attached to these inferior creatures...” she began to say without looking at her ‘Believe me, I really do, but you must not lose sight of our ultimate goal, now that we are finally so close...’ they both turned a corner.
“Are you really still obsessed with it sister, don't you think it's been enough?”
“No” she replied without thinking ”It's our life's work, from the moment we were born we knew our species was destined for greatness...”
“Celestia...that was long ago, the reign of our people was in the past.”
“Lies! Our reign was taken away by forces incapable of accepting our supremacy, they believed that by destroying our entire legacy they would end us forever, but there remain you and I, the last descendants of the firmament, it is our sacred work to return our species to its once lost glory...”
“But at what cost?” asked Luna making Celestia finally look at her ”Think of all we destroyed, all we consumed, all the lives we sacrificed don't you think we took our ambition too far?”
“Of course we did!” exclaimed Celestia ”It was our right to do so, we are goddesses Luna, this world is ours to do as we please!”
“No, it's not true! This world existed long before our ancestors arrived and it will continue to exist long after we are gone, the world belongs to itself, no one has the right to decide about it and its creatures, not even the gods!”
“What happened to you Luna, where is that spark that made your shadows glow, where is my sister who had done everything to achieve our goal?”
“Oh I don't know...” answered Luna already annoyed ”Maybe she stayed on the fucking moon where she went crazy because of the loneliness and the fear of freezing to death in space!”
“Are you going to keep complaining about that? I told you, it was a necessary thing to do!”
“Necessary because?!”
“The ponies didn't trust us anymore, it would have been impossible to enact change if there wasn't a scapegoat, something or someone to take the blame for so many centuries of misery and war...” Celestia paused “Unfortunately I had to use you as that scapegoat, blame Nightmare Moon for everything that had happened and present myself as their savior, I know it sounds cruel but it worked, they trusted me again and with time I was able to put everything in its place, the only thing left was to wait for you to return so we could finally complete our plan.”
Luna kept quiet, she had heard that explanation before, but this time she felt different, this time she could see behind her sister's mask of falsehood, she was a hypocrite and a liar, she wasn't even sure if her affection towards her was genuine, she really didn't recognize her own sister.
Celestia approached her, placing a hoof on her face trying to comfort, dedicating a smile that was hard to tell if it was genuine or not.
“Luna, soon this will all be over, all this martyrdom, all this guilt, all this falsehood, when we are done and reign over all things again, we can finally stop pretending and go back to being, us.”
Luna felt disgusted, but she was already in the game, she had to play her chips smartly, swallowing the nausea she felt she answered Celestia.
“Yes sister, it's okay...”
At this Celestia couldn't help but smile and hug her little sister.
“I knew you would understand, you're the only one who understands, sun and moon...” Celestia started waiting for Luna to finish the sentence, which took no more than a few seconds.
“Together forever...”
Fluttershy was already conscious by the time Celestia and Luna left the room, the little pegasus was full of panic, she couldn't believe what she had heard, the princesses, the kindest and gentlest beings in Equestria, were a sham.
She was not sure, she had to get out of there, but she was badly wounded.
The strangeness soon turned into discomfort, a discomfort that got worse with every passing second, Fluttershy didn't believe it was possible to feel so dehydrated, it was as if her mouth was a desert and her tongue only sand.
Her breathing became heavy again and she felt about to lose consciousness when, a familiar smell came to her, it was exactly the same smell she had felt earlier that day, but much more intense, it was as pleasant as she remembered it and with every passing second she could feel it closer.
The nurse walked slowly down the hallway she had given the princess a couple more minutes than she had said just to be safe and now she was taking her time getting back to the room, she didn't want to arrive and find Princess Luna crying or something, the thought of that killed her with embarrassment.
“Prin...princess Luna...” she called timidly ”It's been ten minutes.”
She waited for an answer that didn't come, all she kept hearing was silence, nervous that she might have come at a bad time she quickly excused herself.
“Yes...if you need more time I can go, just tell me what and I'll leave you a little longer...”
No response.
The nurse hesitated for a moment about what to do Was it possible that the princess had already left? if so then she was talking to nothing, she felt foolish for a second at the thought and despite being almost certain, she still announced her arrival.
“Uh, excuse me princess, I'm coming in.”
She opened the door very slowly and noticed that there was only darkness, the lamp was no longer on the little table and the room was shrouded in gloom.
She turned to look at it, it looked like someone was sitting in the chair in the corner.
“Miss Fluttershy..?” the mare asked confused, she stretched her hoof to turn on the main light of the room but it didn't work, she pressed it a couple more times before turning her attention back to the lump that seemed not to have moved.
The nurse began to approach slowly trying to remain calm.
“Miss Fluttershy...are you feeling better now?” she took another step forward ‘Do you...do you want me to let the princesses know you woke up?’ she stretched her helmet ‘Are you...okay?’ she touched the lump.
A rumbling noise made her jump as the lump fell, revealing it to be the lamp, pillow and bed sheet, arranged in a mound.
White Gauze tried to move, but she couldn't, something rubbery and elongated wrapped around her body, pressing hard and trapping her hooves against her body, then she tried to scream, but the lack of air made it impossible, she tried to look around but all she could see was darkness, at least until a pair of intense pink eyes shone right in front of her, the faint glow illuminated enough so that the pony could see a familiar face right in front of her.
There it was, the face of the pegasus who, just a moment ago, had been bedridden and unable to move, her head-first gaze buried itself firmly in the eyes of the nurse who could not believe her eyes.
The pale yellow fur had been replaced by a duller gray, the ears had grown twice their size and the pupils had become pointed.
In a moment the pegasus approached the nurse's ear and in a sensual voice, which was nothing like Fluttershy's, whispered to her.
“I heard what you said this morning, you arouse dirty thoughts in me too” a long forked tongue came out of the pegasus' mouth and gave a long lick to the person's face and which was struggling to free itself.
Finally Fluttershy's face came back in front of the mare who was about to faint, for an instant the nurse lost herself in the beautiful eyes of the pegasus and the next moment, Fluttershy pounced on her, biting her neck.
The scream echoed throughout the castle, even the princesses who had moved a great distance away heard it, both could not remember the last time they heard such an agonizing scream, without thinking they both ran through the corridors in search of the cause.
They were both surprised when they turned a corner and found the hallway where Fluttershy's room was.
Guards had already arrived and were slowly approaching the open door.
“What's going on here!” exclaimed Celestia in shock and somewhat worried.
“We don't know princess...” began a guard ”We heard a scream and came to investigate.”
“Isn't this Miss Fluttershy's room?” asked one guard to another.
“Are you sure the scream came from here?” asked another:
Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, Luna's heart was jumping in her chest but she did her best not to show it, while Celestia was starting to wonder if Discord was stupid enough to try to come, but it was pointless, she hadn't felt anything.
Just as the first of the guards peeked inside the room a bestial growl was heard coming from the room, all the guards raised their spears, putting themselves on guard and approaching as a group.
As the guards were about to enter the darkened room a whirlwind shot out of the room, ramming into the guards and testing them.
Luna could see her sister take a step back as she said.
“What the fuck?” the sound of her voice made Fluttershy look in her direction and then Luna could see everything clearly.
The pegasus's face was deformed into a horrible grimace, her eyes glowed brightly in a reddish pink and her mouth was wide open noticing that in it were two huge fangs also stained red.
The exchange of glances only lasted a second and Luna thought that Fluttershy would jump at them, but instead of that she let out a high-pitched screech, opened two huge membranous bat wings and flew away breaking the window of the corridor, flying away at great speed.
Zecora was waiting at one of the back entrances to the castle, growing impatient with Princess Luna's apparent delay, she wondered if something had gone wrong or if the antidote had failed to cure Fluttershy, just as she was about to try again to enter the castle to check it out a loud screech followed by a rumble shook her to her bones.
The zebra looked up just in time to see a strange winged creature darting out from inside the castle and disappearing into the distance.
Zecora opened her mouth in surprise, it couldn't be possible, it was absurd but, she couldn't help but think that, at the moment she saw the creature come out, she could see a clear, incredibly long pink mane.
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The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 10: The World Without Harmony. Part 1.
The five elements of harmony and Bek were inside a small cave, all were around a campfire while outside there was a big snowstorm; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow and Pinkie were lying wrapped in big sleeping bags, the blue pegasus and the farmer were sharing a single sleeping bag, cuddling and sleeping peacefully, the unicorn dressmaker was asleep covered with five different types of blankets all with different types of sewing styles, she was smiling slightly with her eyes covered with an eye mask, the party pony was curled up in a ball on her sleeping bag, covering herself from the cold with her own tail and mane which seemed to have fluffed up even more than usual and the violet alicorn was wrapped in a simple single sleeping bag.
Twilight was trying to fall asleep, rolling over and over on her back, no matter how long she kept her eyes closed she just couldn't sleep.
Bek was wrapped in a single brown blanket, she was sitting with her back against the cave wall, her gaze was lost looking in the direction of the cave entrance, lost in the chaotic shapes of the falling snow.
“You should rest while you can...”
Twilight startled letting out a small cry, shaking her head and responding nervously.
“Ehh..that I,,, no, what?”
“We leave first thing tomorrow morning, it wouldn't be good if you fell down exhausted halfway through” Bek's voice was almost like a whisper, keeping his eyes on the storm outside.
Twilight didn't know what to answer, she thought about trying to go back to sleep but meeting the unicorn's melancholy gaze she decided to move closer and sit near her.
“What about you?” the alicorn asked cautiously.
Bek finally turned to see Twilight who was looking at her with a mixture of concern and doubt, thinking for a moment about what she should answer, the unicorn soon realized that trying to come up with some made up explanation was a pointless endeavor, letting out a big sigh and deciding to be honest with Twilight.
“I learned a long time ago to survive on just a couple of hours of sleep, you'd be surprised how many battles you can lose by wanting to sleep fully...” Bek looked away from the alicantine directing her gaze to the cave floor before continuing “Besides...I don't like my dreams, I prefer to sleep only as much as necessary so I don't spend too much time in there...”
Twilight was a bit surprised by the mare's answer, she didn't expect something so specific for a question she considered very trivial, at this show of vulnerability Twilight decided she wouldn't be indifferent and decided to infer a bit more.
“And why don't you like your dreams?” Twilight moved a little closer, standing right next to Bek which didn't take long to answer.
“They're almost never peaceful dreams...” Bek kept her gaze fixed to the ground between her hind legs.
“And would you like to...tell me a little bit about them?” Twilight immediately regretted what she said, she thought that was already being too nosy and that she will end up annoying Bek by being so undisguised.
The unicorn looked up in surprise and looked directly into Twilight's eyes.
“I didn't know we were already at that level of trust” Bek said still amused.
“No no no no, that's not what I meant, it's just that I..” replied Twilight nervously.
“Relax, you have nothing to apologize for...” Bek paused and her smile disappeared “It's just that I wouldn't want to have to tell you about my bad dreams.”
“And why don't you tell me one of the good ones?” asked Twilight intrigued.
Bek stood for a moment thinking about the alicorn's request, she rummaged deep in her memory in search of something peaceful enough to be considered a “Good dream” until it finally came to her.
“I'm not sure because the memories are still very hazy...” she began to say ”But I could have sworn that, during the time I was frozen, at some point I had a dream, or maybe it was a vision...”
Twilight listened intently, now with her curiosity even more noticeable on her face.
“I felt a huge heaviness and tiredness upon me, the only thing I could see was white, until in the distance I saw silhouettes slowly approaching me, I couldn't make them out until they almost passed by me, they were my battle companions, I recognized most of their faces, ponies I had seen die over the years, some too old, some too young, they were marching beside me in the direction of a place behind me and no matter how hard I tried, I could not turn around to see, their faces did not reflect any emotion and they did not look away from the front, as if something was calling them, I tried to shout at them, to talk to them, to say their names, but it was as if my voice did not reach them, not even I could hear it, and it just went on like that, they marched and marched without even noticing me, while I felt my hooves stuck to the ground and continued shouting in despair.... ” Bek paused and added “I think that's as close to a good dream as I've ever had.”
Twilight was dumbfounded, that sounded like a most horrible dream, she looked up only to see tears begin to form in Bek's eyes, tears that the mare quickly wiped away with one of her hooves.
“I'm so sorry.”
“Why, it's not your fault” Bek replied quizzically.
“It's just...” started Twilight ”It seems like your whole life has been hell, even your dreams aren't peaceful, all that pain, that's something no pony should ever experience.”
“Well...” said Bek looking up at the cave ceiling ”They were different times I guess, for me it was most common and for everyone else too, it was the only life we knew...”
“They deserve more” interrupts Twilight making Bek look at her again ”It's not fair that what their lives were remain in the shadows lost in time, they deserve to be remembered...!”
Bek couldn't help but smile heavily, letting out a big sigh again.
“Yes...I think you're right...”
“I promise you...” said Twilight again ”That I will do everything in my power to honor them as they deserve, everyone will know their story and everyone will know what they once were.”
Now it was Bek who was surprised, she did not expect the princess of friendship to commit to such a level with her little cause, the words that came out of her mouth sounded so sincere that the unicorn could not help but doubt for a second the veracity of them.
“If what you say is true, then I will follow you to the end or until I die...”
Those words shook Twilight, not so much because of the apparent final decision on Bek's part, but also because of the idea that during this journey they might die.
“Do you really think there is a risk of dying in doing this?” she asked with some fear.
“Of that I have no doubt” Bek answered directly ”In any other situation I would give you hope, some comfort that would assuage your fears, but you must understand that we are fighting goddesses, beings so ancient that they have seen the creation of the world as we know it, with them in the equation, dying is not a possibility, it is almost a certainty.”
Twilight fell silent, once again the complexity and grandeur of the situation hit her like a cart full of stones.
“Although, you're an alicorn too...” she started to finally say ”You're also a goddess, seems to me that gives us a hope.”
Twilight pondered for a second, she looked over her shoulder towards her wings, she couldn't help but think that, despite all the time she had been wearing them, she still hadn't quite gotten used to their presence, they still felt like a burden, something that shouldn't be there, something that went against her nature.
“But does it still count if I wasn't born as one?” asked Twilight curiously.
“What do you mean?” asked Bek quizzically.
“Yes What if I didn't get my power until much later in my life?”
Bek's face was now one of utter confusion, making Twilight feel worried.
“Aren't you...Celestia's daughter?”
The question made Twilight blush at the idea, it was absurd and she didn't know how Bek had come to that conclusion.
“Ehh..no..no..not me, I'm not her daughter, I'm her student...”
“So you were born as a normal pony!” Bek's voice reflected extreme concern, Twilight did her best to remain calm.
“Ehh yes, I was born as a unicorn...”
Bek stared blankly, her head spinning a thousand times, she pondered and remembered what Luna had told her when she confronted her in the throne room “That's not how it works anymore.”
“How exactly did you get your wings?” he asked earnestly.
Twilight tried to regain her composure trying not to imagine what Bek's concern might mean.
“I have...I managed to complete an old spell of Star Swirl the Bearded, saving my friends from an ailment related to their cutie marks, after that Celestia came to me and told me that I had demonstrated the necessary skills to acquire a higher power, and the next thing I knew I already had wings...”
Bek's eyes were wide open, she hadn't considered at all the possibility that Twilight Sparkle wasn't a real alicorn or at least, not a full one.
She quickly flashed his horn, pulling out the hilt of his sword, igniting it, in this case the magical blade materialized into a much smaller size than normal, making the sword into a small dagger.
“I need your hoof” Bek said firmly.
Twilight was taken aback, frightened for a moment due to a fleeting thought that Bek would attack her, but it didn't happen, she simply made the request and stared at him with her hoof extended towards her.
“What...what do you want it for?” asked Twilight in fright.
“Please...” began Bek ”This is very important, please trust me.”
It took a moment longer for the alicorn to comply with the mare's request, tentatively bringing her hoof closer until Bek took it firmly, making her startle.
“I'm going to give you a little cut okay...try not to move.”
Bek's words took Twilight by surprise, she barely noticed when the unicorn levitated her weapon and in less than a second she felt a twinge of pain that made her squirm a little.
The only thing Twilight could feel now was the sensation of warm liquid trickling down the side of her hoof.
Bek then dropped the hilt to the ground, his eyes fixed on the wound he had just inflicted on Twilight, he could see a small trickle of blood welling up and slowly trickling down the shiny purple fur, red blood.
“No, don't fuck with me...” said Bek breathlessly.
“Why, what does it mean?” asked Twilight more than confused.
It took a moment for bek to be able to recover, finally raising her face to look directly at Twilight, the alicorn could see how Bek's face reflected deep surprise followed by resignation and then acceptance, finally the unicorn said the only words Twilight hoped she wouldn't have to hear of all that could be.
“It means we have a problem.”
Celestia and Luna were standing in an autopsy room, both were staring in dismay at the center of the room where there was a cold metal table on which rested the mummified corpse of the nurse who took care of Fluttershy, her body was pale, beyond what should be possible, her skin was completely stuck to her bones, to the point that each one of them was visible and perfectly defined, her face was frozen in an expression of pure terror with her mouth wide open and her eyes sunken.
Both princesses were silent, they looked the body up and down, focusing more on the neck as it exhibited huge fang marks with a large chunk of flesh ripped off.
“How is it possible...?” asked Luna in shock.
“Perhaps an adverse reaction from my magic combined with the insect's venom” said Celestia without an ounce of feeling in her voice.
“Did you know that was a possibility?” asked Luna looking sternly at her sister.
“I thought maybe there might be some side effects from the connection but I never ever...”
“And how the fuck is it that you didn't take action on that!” asked Luna shouting in her older sister's face.
“And how the fuck was I supposed to know that the fucking pegasus blood was contaminated with vampire genes!”
Both sisters stood in silence, giving each other annoyed looks for a long moment until the sound of a heavy door behind them brought them out of their quarrel.
“Princesses...” said a pony dressed in a doctor's gown and cover-up ”Have you finished your assessment yet? We must transport the deceased to be identified by her relatives.”
“Oh yes!” exclaimed Celestia solemnly ”We have already finished please excuse the delay.”
“No problem princesses, it's good to see that you care about the lives of the ponies as much as we do” Said the doctor as he stepped aside leaving Celestia and Luna to leave the room quietly.
The princesses quietly exited the large palace infirmary, returning to the upper levels and walking through the corridors with no apparent fixed destination.
“What shall we do now?” asked Luna quietly, feigning a bit of concern for her sister but also with some real concern for Fluttershy's current state.
“Nothing, we won't do anything” replied Celestia coldly surprising Luna.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean we'll pretend this didn't happen, hardly anyone knows that Fluttershy turned into a monster and escaped, we have to make sure it stays that way.”
Luna looked at her sister's face in disbelief, discovering that she was keeping her expression steady and looking straight ahead as she walked.
“Are you serious?” asked Luna.
“What are you talking about?”
“Are you seriously telling me that you want to cover up a murder that happened in the royal castle of Canterlot like it was nothing?”
“Well then what the fuck am I supposed to do?” Celestia gritted her teeth trying not to raise her voice too much.
“I want you to realize something you've been denying ever since Bek escaped from your cell..” Luna paused to force her sister to turn her head to look at her “And that is that you have lost control of the situation.”
Celestia paused markedly before replying.
“Thats bullshit, I haven't lost...” she started to say but was interrupted by Luna.
“Of course you did!” she exclaimed recovering her annoyed tone ”First with Bek's escape, then your stupid idea of going to interrogate Twilight, now she and her other friends have gone to who knows where, surely for fear of retaliation and now Fluttershy the only chip you had in your favor turned into a fucking vampire and murdered someone from the medical staff...” Luna paused for Celestia to take it all in, she wanted this, she wanted her older sister to get desperate, to get nervous, she wanted to make her hesitate so that she would make her make a mistake and then take advantage.
Celestia remained pensive for a long moment, struggling to remain calm and convincing herself that she could still fix it, finally regaining her calm and stoic expression and answering Luna calmly.
“Nothing to worry about sister, Bek's escape in conjunction with my visit to Twilight and her subsequent disappearance only confirmed that indeed that bitch managed to convince my student and her friends...” Celestia paused trying to contain her anger “The bitch is very clever, she surely took them so I couldn't get the information out of them about where she was, all I have to do is track them down and capture them...”
“And may I know how exactly you plan to accomplish that?” asked Luna trying to dissuade Celestia ”Are you planning to send simple royal guards? I don't think you are so delusional sister, you know perfectly well that, if what you say is true and Bek is with them, it will be impossible for the guards to capture them and bring them here, our current soldiers are, compared to Bek, a damn joke.”
Celestia remained thoughtful again, trying to find a solution to the very certain dilemma that her younger sister had just posed, it was a reality what she was saying, in so many centuries of simplifying and appeasing the pony society she had never required a military force like the one she had before, now almost all her militia were part time ponies half trained in basic combat arts and strategy, only very few were dedicated full time to the defense of the kingdom and even those were extremely deficient for Celestia's ancient standards.
“I've got it!” she said triumphantly.as she started walking with a determined step.
“What, what thing?” asked Luna following her sister, somewhat worried about her newly renewed excitement.
“We just have to dispose of the skills of the best pony hunters to ever set foot on this planet.”
It took Luna a long moment to understand what Celestia was referring to but, when she finally got it she couldn't help but feel a slight dread deep inside herself.
“You're not serious...” said luna in shock.
“Of course I am When have I ever not been serious?” Celestia was walking hurriedly through the halls in the direction of her room while Luna was doing her best to keep up with her.
“That's crazy sister, of all the ideas you could have had, we were never supposed to talk about this again or even mention it...”
“Oh come on sis, when we promised we knew we would never deliver, besides what the hell do you think I collected them for if I didn't plan on ever using them?”
Luna was dumbfounded at Celestia's lack of prudence, it was something completely absurd, dangerous and unnecessarily drastic.
“For the love of our mother Celestia are you even listening to what you're saying? You don't even have a way to control them, you would unleash a wave of senseless death and slaughter...”
“Oh that's what you think sis...” interrupted Celestia ”I knew that was a big inconvenience so I set about the task of solving it while you were gone.”
“What the fuck are you talking about...?” asked Luna.
“Sure it wasn't an easy thing, it took me several tries and I lost several subjects during the research, but an old student of mine Sunset Shimmer, by the way a very ambitious pony who I think you would have liked, helped me to finally get the project completed and provided me with a safe and easy way to control, not only those things, but any creature in existence as well.”
Luna was speechless, she didn't like where this was going at all.
“But since there was no longer any reason to use them I simply shelved the project, until now...”
The two finally arrived at Celestia's room, the latter opened the doors with her magic, rushing inside followed by her little sister.
“Most of them stayed in my old lab, but I wanted to keep the original prototype, as a souvenir you know, obviously the final version is more elegant and proper but...” Celestia finally turned to Luna excitedly showing her a strange contraption.
This looked like a thick necklace of polished metal, it was opaque gray with a large red gem in the center, Luna could see how the inside of the necklace was filled with inscriptions and runes of different sizes and a couple of wires could be seen fused to the inside.
“What the fuck is that Celestia?” Luna spoke dumbfounded, she could already deduce what it was about but she didn't want to say it, she wanted to hear it from her sister's mouth.
“This my dear...” Celestia said triumphantly “It's the solution to all our problems.”
Starlight was in her office at the friendship school, her desk was littered with unfinished paperwork and Starlight herself looked like she hadn't slept in a long time, with pronounced dark circles under her eyes, unkempt mane and a few ink stains on her fur.
She was pacing back and forth with her gaze lost on the floor and mumbling unintelligible things, her disturbing spectacle was interrupted by the sound of her door opening.
“Starlight, sorry to bother you, I just wanted to ask about...” Sunburst entered the room and stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the state of his friend who stared at him with her eyes sunken and filled with anguish.
“Ehh Starlight...are you all right?”
“Of course I'm fine!” exclaimed the unicorn in an overly loud tone ”Why wouldn't I be?”
“Ehh well...” began Sunburst ”It's just that you look kind of...haggard...”
“Pfff haggard? Me? I don't know why you think that...” Starlight walked awkwardly to her desk, sitting down awkwardly in her chair and starting to shuffle through the paperwork, pretending to check it “See? I'm working diligently just like I promised Twilight I would to keep her school running.”
Sunburst approached and looked at the papers Starlight was holding.
“Working filling out papers that were due six weeks ago?” asked the unicorn raising an eyebrow.
Starlight looked at the date on the papers realizing that Sunburst was right, sighing defeated the unicorn lowered her head heavily.
“Ahg you're right, I'm sorry Sunburst, it's just...”
“Can't stop thinking about Twilight?” term the wizard.
“Yes..” replied Starlight ”No matter how much I try to hold on to the words she said and the promise she made, deep down I know things are not going to turn out well, it's a...feeling, in my bones that tells me something very bad is going to happen and Twilight is not ready to face it, not alone...”
“But she's not alone...” Sunburst started to say “ She's with her friends and that strange pony...” Sunburst thought for a second about how bad that last one sounded “Well that pony she seems to be very strong.”
“That's exactly what I'm worried about” Starlight replied intriguing Sunburst.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, despite everything we've already seen and all the evidence we've been presented with, I still can't believe what that pony said...” the unicorn was silent for a moment, feeling guilty about her own doubts ”I, I just can't, it's something...”
“Impossible...” concluded Sunburst, surprising Starlight to no end ”I know, I can't believe it either, it's just that you think about it and it sounds absolutely ridiculous, there's no way that story is real.”
“And yet there was a huge monster buried in the depths of the castle that tore Fluttershy's leg off, yet Celestia appeared out of nowhere, bullied Twilight, hurt Spike and took our friend to her castle without any explanation...”
Sunburst was quiet for a second, she looked at her friend, her face reflected uncertainty but also a deep determination.
“Yes, that's what doesn't fit...” the stallion finally said ”And then...what's left for us to do?”
“We must help her, Twilight, her friends, we must help them.”
“But how? We have nothing to help with, no proof beyond the word of that unicorn” Sunburst spoke with a tone of resignation in his voice, he didn't think there was anything to do.
“You're right we don't have any proof now, that's why we need to get more.”
“More proof, how exactly are we going to do that? If what that pony says is true, any minimally conclusive evidence was lost over three and a half thousand years ago...”
Exactly!” replied Starlight firmly ”There is no proof left at present but that doesn't mean we can't, get, more proof!”
Sunburts was beginning to understand where Starlight's proposal was going but the idea seemed crazy to him.
“What do you mean Starlight?”
“I mean maybe, we should take a trip.”
Starlight and Sunburst were in the throne room of the friendship castle, in the company of Spike, Trixie and Maud Pie, the two unicorns had finished explaining the whole plan to them and were now anxiously waiting for an answer, Spike was the first to speak.
“So...you want to go back in time to the date indicated by Bek to check if his story is true?”
“And...” began Starlight ”In the event that it is, bring enough evidence to convince the pony society of the truth.”
“Yes you know that sounds like total madness right?” asked Trixie very confused ”In fact the great and powerful Trixie doesn't even know who they are talking about Who is this Bek person and why did she give them a date to time travel?”
Starlight and Sunburst looked at each other.
“There's no time to catch them up...!” Sunburst began.
“He's right..” continued Starlight ”No matter why or how Twilight is in danger and she needs all the help she can get for what's coming.”
“You can count on me Starlight” replied Spike immediately.
“Thank you Spike...” began the unicorn ”But I can't let you come with us.”
“What, why not!” asked the dragon annoyed.
“You're too small, besides we don't know how the relationship with the dragons was back then, we might put you in danger.”
“But, I want to help!”
“And you will, I need you here to make sure we get back...”
Spike was taken aback at the strange request.
“What do you mean...haven't you time traveled before...aren't you supposed to come back whenever you want?”
“Not in this case Spike, that occasion I traveled only a few years into the past, this time we must travel centuries, the return spell must be cast from our present time.”
“But how am I supposed to do that? I'm not a unicorn nor do I have magic of any kind.”
“You don't need to cast the spell...” began Sunburst, flashing his horn he pulled a strange carved crystal from between his cloak ”Starlight and I imbued this crystal with the return spell, all you have to do is activate it when we tell you to.”
“And how do you know when to activate it?” said Spike as the unicorn handed him the crystal.
“When we are ready to return we will send a magical signal, at which point the crystal will flash and you will know what to return to us” Starlight said coming closer.
“All you need to do is place the crystal right in the center of the friendship map table and we will reappear immediately” Sunburst concluded.
“Do you understand how important a task we are asking of you Spike?” asked Starlight kneeling down to look at the dragon directly ”Without you we will be trapped in a hypothetical past so violent and dangerous that we may not possibly survive can I count on you to return us safely home?”
The dragon looked at the unicorn for a moment, his gaze full of seriousness and determination, he reflected for a moment on the last words Twilight had said to him before he left “Please take care of everyone for me” and so, there was no more doubt in him.
“You can count on me Starlight” he said standing firm and giving a salute.
“Excellent” said the unicorn as she stood up and turned to the other two ponies ”Well now all that's left is to ask you guys if you're willing to join us...”
Maud and Trixie exchanged glances.
“Well...” began Trixie ”Not that I'm not flattered by your particular interest in the great and powerful Trixie going with you on a most dangerous and treacherous journey but, it seems to me that this is not the kind of adventure Trixie is prepared for...”
“Trixie...” Starlight began “I know it's not what any of us are used to, but this is a mission of utmost importance and we need all the help we can get...”
“But why the great and powerful Trixie? Why not a more capable pony? I don't know, someone more qualified, someone who can fight...” Trixie paused and lowered her drooping head “Maybe someone more skilled in magic than the great and powerful Trixie?”
Starlight approached her friend, placing a hoove on her chin and lifting her up to look at her.
“Trixie, this thing we are going to do will possibly completely change the world we know forever, we are talking about a secret so big and horrible that it would make all the ponies in Equestria panic and everything go into chaos, that's why we must keep it in the utmost secrecy until we can prove it's true, that's why I can only trust you for this mission, because you are my best friends and I would trust you with my life.”
Trixie was dumbfounded, her friend was being more sincere than she had been since they had met, she saw reflected in her eyes the importance of this mission and saw how each of the words she said seemed to be spoken from the purest and absolute honesty.
“I will go.”
Everyone turned to look at the earth pony.
“Really?” asked Starlight in surprise.
“Yes, my sister came to me the night before she left, crying and mumbling, she told me all about it.”
“Really?” asked Starlight in surprise ”And why didn't you tell us?”
“I was too shocked” said Maud blinking slowly ”I thought it was something too crazy even for Pinkie Pie, but now that you confirm to me that what she said is true I have no choice but to agree to help.”
“But...if you know it could be true why do you want to come?” asked Starlight.
“Because you said Twilight is in danger, ergo, Pinkie Pie is in danger, if there is anything I can do to help her I will do it without hesitation.”
They all fell silent at the expressionless look on Maud's face which only slowly blinked again.
“Thank you Maud” Starlight finally said.
“In that case the great and powerful Trixie will also go...” spoke Trixie suddenly ”If it's that important to all of Equestria, then there's no need to hesitate, besides, Trixie has always wanted to time travel”
Starlight stepped back for a second and saw everyone in the room, all friends of hers who, despite the terrible threats they now faced, remained loyal to her.
“Alright, we're ready then.”
They all stood around the friendship map table as Spike watched from the side, they exchanged determined and concerned glances one last time before nodding and looking at Starlight who began to shine her horn.
“Alright, here we go” Starlight's magic began to spread in the direction of the mane six thrones, illuminating the cutie marks carved into them, the glow bounced towards the center of the table where it combined into a large swirl that slowly descended beginning to cover the ponies.
Just as the glitter was about to hit the ground Starlight heard a voice come from outside the swirl.
“Good luck!” shouted Spike as he hugged the piece of magic crystal tightly.
Starlight looked at the little dragon for a moment and gave him a smile.
“See you soon Spike!”
And in an instant there was a flash of light and the ponies disappeared leaving Spike alone in the room.
To be continued...
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The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 11: The World Without Harmony. Part 2.
For a moment, all Starlight could see was white, it felt different from the previous time she had traveled, that last time it felt like a small jump, like leaving the ground for an instant and then returning to the ground, but this time it felt like floating indefinitely.
She tried to look around for her companions but found nothing, at most she could make out blurry and distant silhouettes.
It was sudden, unexpected, Starlight almost lost her balance and it took her a second to realize that the blinding white had been replaced by a gray and brown landscape.
“Trixie are you okay?” asked Starlight approaching her friend and placing a hoof on her back, tapping her lightly to help her with her discomfort.
“Ughhh yes...” began Trixie between retches ‘The great and powerful Trixie is fine, it's just...Blaaaaggghhh!’ she let out a gust of vomit again.
“I'm sorry, I must warn you that the trip might turn out to be a bit unpleasant..” apologized Starlight.
“Ughh no worries...” said Trixie finally seeming to recover ”I guess, I must not have eaten that much at breakfast.”
The unicorn finally managed to get up with Starlight's help even with a bit of nausea, once resolved a new question mark arose from Sunburst.
“Ehhh Starlight? Where are we?”
Starlight finally took a moment to look around, all she could see was an arid dry land, the sky was an amalgam of gray clouds that didn't let you see the sky, a freezing breeze made dust clouds rise constantly and all that could be appreciated in the distance were nothing more than a couple of dead trees and a couple of rocks.
“I...I'm not sure...” began Starlight ”The spell doesn't transport us to another place just another time, so this must be Ponyville...”
“What thing!” asked Trixie in shock.
“Or at least it will be someday” corrected Starlight.
At that moment they all noticed Maud who was flat on her face against the ground, her face against the dirt.
“Ehh Maud are you feeling bad?” Starlight asked confused.
“I really doubt it” said the earth pony dryly.
“What are you talking about?”
“What you said, about Ponyville...” Maud stood up and raised her hoof in which she was holding a piece of dirt from the floor “See this?”
They all looked up in confusion.
“It's...dirt?” Sunburst asked uncomprehendingly.
“Dead earth...” replied Maud ”This is not the result of a simple drought or bad weather, this earth is scorched, rock hard, completely destroyed.”
“Aha and what is your point?” asked Starlight somewhat impatiently.
“Such a land will never be fertile or suitable for crops, no matter how much time passes...”
Everyone shook their heads with a new realization.
“If this is supposed to ever be Ponyville in the future, it's completely impossible for it to melt into a place like this” Maud concluded.
They all looked at each other worriedly not knowing what to say.
“Well, let's not think about that now....” finally said Starlight ”We're here for a reason and I doubt a handful of land is proof enough so now, let's get moving.”
“But where to?” asked Sunburst.
“Yes, everything looks exactly the same” continued Trixie.
Starlight looked around, circling over herself again and again looking for some indicator, some clue that would tell them where she could go, until finally she saw it.
“Look over there!” Starlight pointed and they all looked in the direction.
In the distance, behind a steep opaque hill, a column of smoke could be seen, perfectly distinguishable among the windblown earth.
“Smoke!” exclaimed Trixie.
“Probably from a cabin,” continued Sunburst.
“Coming out of a rock chimney” finished Maud.
They all made their way up the pillar feeling the ground under their hooves, this was so hard it was even painful to walk on it.
They all approached it going down the hill little by little, the more they did so the more they noticed the deplorable state the house was in, the wood of its walls and roof was rotten and full of holes. old cloth covered the roof in an attempt to cover what surely were leaks, the potato field was in a deplorable state, most of the plants were dead and the few that still remained gave extremely small potatoes.
“Starlight...” caught Trixie's eye ”Look...”
Starlight looked to where her friend pointed and was met with a curious sight.
The sight intrigued everyone a little, it was certainly a sight that contrasted greatly with the general gloomy panorama, even so they decided to approach with caution.
The little girl then spun around with a jump and stood looking at the four friends who stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the frightened expression on the little girl's face.
“Ehh hello!” exclaimed Starlight in a calm voice ”Little girl hey, don't be afraid...” At that moment the unicorn took a step forward which caused the little foal to let out a loud high pitched scream and start crying.
Starlight immediately wanted to apologize when suddenly the door to the cabin burst open and a large stallion jumped in front of the girl getting in Starlight's way.
“GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!!!” he shouted furiously.
Everyone immediately turned away in shock at the stallion's sudden aggression, the filly had run to hide behind one of her father's hind legs trembling with fear.
“You said you would come in a month for my payment!” the pony began to shout while adopting a defensive stance ”I still have a week left so scram!”
“I, I think you're confusing us...” began Starlight in the calmest voice she could muster ”We have no idea what you're talking about we're just passing through...”
“Yeah right!” interrupted the stallion ”Do you think I'm stupid and don't know how you guys are doing! I won't let you come to my own house to extort money from me!”
“Sir we assure you, we have no idea what you are talking about” said Sunburst also stepping forward.
“As I told you, we're just passing through” continued Starlight.
The stallion then took a close look at each of the ponies in front of his door and soon came to the conclusion that they were not at all the ponies he expected.
“If it's not those bastards what the fuck are they doing on my farm?” she asked bluntly without a glance.
For a second no one knew what to answer until Trixie raised her voice.
“Well kind sir this...the truth is we got lost, yes! We were traveling and lost our way, then we saw the smoke from your lovely cabin and thought well...”
“If you could give us some directions” Starlight concluded.
The stallion frowned slightly at the unicorn's dubious answer, thinking for a moment about how to continue.
“And where were you going?” he finally asked.
Again another long pause, this time interrupted by Starlight.
“We were looking for the army of princesses.”
“Princesses? You mean our queens?” asked the pony somewhat confused.
“Yes!” exclaimed Starlight quickly ‘The queens’ army we were after and we lost it...”
The pony kept his expression suspicious, he was now almost certain that these ponies were lying to him.
“Are you soldiers?” the stallion took a step back as he asked the question.
“No! We are not soldiers we are...” started to say Starlight not knowing what to answer.
“We are scribes” replied Sunburst causing everyone to look at him.
“And what's that?” asked the stallion more confused now than concerned.
“We are charged with recording the wanderings of the royal legions, so that there is a reliable representation for later reviews.”
Silence reigned for a moment, not even Starlight had expected such an elaborate answer.
“I...I really didn't understand anything you said:::” replied the stallion with a calmer tone of voice ”But you are right, they look too weak to be soldiers and too small...”
“Hey what do you mean!” asked Trixie offended ”The great and mighty Trixie is mightier than any earth pony...!”
“What my friend means...” interrupted Starlight letting out a nervous laugh ”Is that she is right, we are not fit to be soldiers, that's why we serve their majesties by fulfilling the tasks for which we are suitable.”
“If that is the case then on my farm you are welcome...” said the stallion ‘Any pony that serves with worthy devotion to our queens deserves my sympathy, but not my trust’ he said the last with a frown.
“So, will you help us?” asked Starlight forcing a smile.
“I'll do what I can, but don't expect much, I'm just a humble farmer...” At that moment a clap of thunder echoed across the sky and soon after a light rain began to fall.
Immediately both Starlight and the others noticed something very strange about the rain.
“What is this?” Starlight extended her hoof into the air letting a couple of drops fall on it, she immediately pulled her hoof away from the pain, it was something most strange, the rain was boiling.
Quickly the rain began to increase in intensity, soaking the ground and beginning to burn the plants in the orchard.
“Quickly!” shouted the stallion pointing to his hut ”Get inside for shelter!”
They all ran inside the house, the little filly had beaten them to it and was already in the safety of the cabin, but Starlight could tell the stallion wasn't following them, she turned quickly to see him desperately trying to cover his crops with huge cloths, suffering burns on his back from the rain that had now turned into a storm.
They both quickly returned to the safety of the cabin and the stallion closed the door behind him, letting himself fall to the wooden floor breathing heavily.
“Daddy!” the filly was heard to say as she ran to her father with a blanket dipped in a basin of water.
“Thank you sweetie” said the pony as he took the wet blanket and placed it on her back with one hoof and hugged his daughter with the other.
Starlight appreciated the touching scene before groaning in pain, looking over her shoulder she discovered that a good portion of her back had been stripped of fur due to the rain, leaving exposed red skin marks that burned.
The stallion noticing this gave the mare a concerned look and then turned to his daughter.
“Honey, can you get the unicorn another wet blanket?”
The little girl looked at her father, then turned her head to look at Starlight and then back at her father.
“Yes daddy!” immediately the little girl ran off with the basin of water on her back.
Starlight looked in surprise at the stallion who was still rubbing the blanket over her back trying to ease the pain.
“Thank you” the mare finally said.
“No, thank you” replied the stallion.
The girl returned shortly after with a new blanket which Starlight placed over her back, this caused her to let out a gasp at the renewed pain, one that she quickly stifled.
“Oh no no no no...” the stallion began to search with his gaze upward all over his ceiling in search of the source of the sound.
“It's the one in the kitchen daddy!” exclaimed the little filly.
The pony then ran to a small door at the back of the room followed by Starlight and the others.
The stallion quickly rummaged through the kitchen, picking up an old, worn out pan and placing it right under the leak, unable to avoid burning his hoove a little as he set it down.
“Ah, damn pegasus!” muttered the pony.
Starlight then raised her eyebrow in intrigue, she didn't understand the correlation between the hostile weather and the pegasus.
“What do you mean?” asked Starlight.
The pony looked at her with some confusion in his gaze before giving way to an expression of understanding.
“Oh right, you must come from the capital and must not be aware...” they all looked at each other confused before the stallion continued ”Ever since the pegasus rebelled against our queens rule they have done their best to ruin life for all of us who live in the kingdom and work the land, they use their control over the weather to send you horrible evils that only poison the soil and block the sunlight...”
The stallion made his way into the main room as he checked to make sure no other leaks were failing.
“Starlight What is it?” asked Sunburst approaching from behind.
“I think if we're in the right place...” replied the unicorn.
Sunburst looked at the altar and was equally surprised.
“Wow...just, wow” he said breathlessly.
“Do you like them?” heard the ponies behind him turning to look at the stallion ”I made them myself, I know they are not as majestic as the ones in the capital but, I think I managed to capture a bit of their magnificence don't you think?”
Starlight and Sunburst looked at each other for a second not knowing what to answer.
“Ehh yeah...sure...” replied Starlight finally.
“Oh I'm sorry...” began the pony ”I forgot for a I'm talking to unicorns, I hope you don't find my home too unpleasant.”
“No no no no...” began Starlight ”Not at all, it's a very...cozy home.”
The stallion let out a chuckle followed by a long sigh.
“Oh you don't have to be so considerate, I know it's a horrible place, but at least it protects us from the rain...”
There was an awkward silence that was even accentuated by a small cough coming from Trixie.
“Hey, you guys want some dinner?” the stallion suddenly asked ”I know I can't offer you the great food you're used to but, it's the least I can do for helping me save my crops..”
They all exchanged glances for a moment, searching Starlight's gaze for approval for this action.
“We would love to” the unicorn finally replied.
They were all standing by the table, Starlight Sunburst on the right side and Trixie and Maud on the left side, on one of the two chairs placed at the ends of the table was the little foal who was looking at the guests with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
“Wow, I've never seen fur as pretty as yours...” the little girl began to say.
“Oh really?” asked Starlight.
“Yes! How do they keep them so shiny?”
“Well emm...I think it's because we bathe so often” said the unicorn trying not to make her words sound offensive.
“Oh! I bathe too, once a month with my daddy, when we manage to gather enough water” the little girl smiled hugely showing her little yellow teeth.
Starlight now didn't know what to answer, she tried to seek help from one of her friends but they all averted their eyes in embarrassment, just when the silence was about to become uncomfortable the stallion entered the room carrying a small pot on his back.
“Honey, stop bothering our guests with your questions.”
The little girl lowered her head with some embarrassment as she apologized.
“I'm sorry daddy.”
“Please excuse my daughter, she tends to be a bit reckless” the pony said as he placed the pot on the table and began to pass out some plates ”Also excuse me I don't have enough chairs to offer you, if any of you would like you can sit in my chair”
“Oh no, no need to apologize or give us your one chair...” began Starlight.
“Oh you are very kind miss...oh dear!” exclaimed the stallion ‘I just realized I didn't even ask your names, please excuse my lack of manners’ the pony gave a small bow.
“Oh don't apologize please, it was a mistake because of the unusual situation...” began Starlight ”Let's correct that, my name is Starlight Glimmer, this stallion is Sunburst, that's Trixie and this is Maud.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you I'm Dry Tuber and my little girl is Celery Shoot...”
“You can call me Cely!” exclaimed the little one.
“It's a pleasure to meet you” said Starlight ”And thank you so much again for allowing us to be in your home.”
“As I said, any devotee of our queens deserves my sympathy” Dry Tuber began to serve the food on the plates, this was some sort of extremely thick and lumpy potato soup, so much so that it was even hard to make it fall off the ladle, the aroma was almost non-existent but when you got close enough you could denote a slight musty smell.
Everyone started eating with some hesitation, the taste wasn't much better but none of them wanted to be rude.
“Wow this is...great” said Starlight as she tried her best to swallow the thick batter.
“I'm glad you like it, though I reiterate my apologies for not being able to offer you anything better.”
“It has a nice texture” Maud said chewing slowly.
“I really am surprised, I've never known unicorns to allow their servants to sit at table with them.”
Everyone turned to look at the stallion with confused faces, the stallion noticing the eyes on him quickly apologized.
“Oh I'm sorry, it's just, it's good to know that there are still unicorns that respect earth ponies” Dry Tuber nervously turns to Maud to try and deflect the conversation ”And tell me what farm did they take you from?”
“Excuse me?” asked Maud.
“Yes, you know, what farm did your employers go to in order to get your services?”
They all fell silent at the question, they didn't know how to excuse themselves from something like that, the more the stallion asked, the gloomier the picture about this world seemed to them, however Maud's answer came quickly and accurately.
“I'm from a rock farm.”
“Oh wow, a miner, that's amazing, I guess they sought you out for your strength then..” the pony paused to eat a spoonful of soup, clearing his throat and coming back with another question ”And did your family agree to your departure or was it ahem...a settlement?”
“Uh excuse me...” interrupted Starlight ”What do you mean?”
“Oh well, you know, that her farm was liquidated by the crown and she was sold along with her family.”
Starlight swallowed saliva, she could feel her paling and her breathing slowly quicken, this was too much for her, but again Maud quickly replied.
“Nothing of the sort, my family was happy that I could serve the crown closely, they sent me off with jubilation and still to this day they wait for me.”
“Oh that's wonderful, I'm glad you're a free pony and that your employers are so kind and considerate.”
“Ahem yes...” said Sunburst clearing his throat ”Sorry to interrupt you but, we wanted to know if you could already help us with the directions we need.”
“Oh that's right, excuse me, I tend to be very talkative when I get into confidence, could you remind me what it was you needed?”
“We need directions to find the queens army” replied Sunburst.
“Oh well, the truth is that not much fresh news passes through here, the last time I heard about the imperial army I knew they were marching towards the northern lands to repel the dragon advance.”
“The northern lands?” asked Starlight finally.
“Yeah, I really don't understand how they could have strayed so far, they're going in the complete opposite direction.”
“Uh yeah well...I think maybe we got a little carried away with the shortcuts, it's just that we really came out way behind” Starlight said.
“I understand, well I'm glad I could help...”
Suddenly Trixie felt a tug on her hoove, turning she found the little filly looking straight at her.
“Ehh yes? What can the great and powerful Trixie do for you?”
The little girl shrank back a little embarrassed.
“Excuse me miss mighty...it's just that I, I had never in my life seen a unicorn and I wanted to ask you is it true that they can make lights and move things without touching them?”
Trixie looked in awe at the little girl who seemed completely fascinated, after a second pondering her question Trixie raised her voice triumphantly.
“But of course we do little one! All of us unicorns, including the great and powerful Trixie can do great magical feats!”
“Wow! Could you show me?!”
Trixie glanced at Starlight for a second, asking with her eyes if it was wise, upon receiving a formation from her friend Trixie resumed her showmanship voice.
“But of course you are little one! Marvel at the awesome power of the great and mighty Trixie!”
The unicorn flashed her horn, generating a very powerful pink light, for a moment the room was completely illuminated and the next instant a small transparent butterfly materialized in the air.
When the butterfly finally dissipated into thin air the little girl jumped abruptly onto the table, leaped in front of Trixie and exclaimed.
“You're the best magician in the world!”
“Celery Shoot!” said the stallion somewhat sternly ”What did I tell you about disturbing the guests?”
The filly looked crestfallen for a second and was about to leave the table when she was stopped by Trixie.
“Never, in all my life, has anyone ever said anything wonderful to me...” the mare put one of her hooves on the little girl's shoulder causing her to look up at her ‘I'm really glad you enjoyed the show’ Trixie smiled broadly at the little girl who smiled back before hopping down from the table.
All was silent again, Starlight and her friends were still trying to digest not only the thick mash they ate, but also all the information they had just received, it wasn't until the little filly's yawn was heard that Starlight managed to say.
“Well...it looks like the rain has stopped and your daughter seems a little tired, I think we'd better get going.”
They all turned away from the table and began walking quickly toward the cabin door.
“Oh but wouldn't they want to stay the night?”
They all turned with some concern.
“Oh uh, are you sure? We wouldn't want to take advantage of your hospitality..” started to say Starlight but was interrupted.
“Oh no please, I insist, besides, it's not safe to go out at night, there are too many bandits around these lands, very dangerous ponies that control all the farms in the region.”
They all looked at each other, Trixie leaned closer to Starlight to whisper to her.
“What do you think Starlight?”
“I don't know...” the unicorn began to say, the stallion seemed a little strange but he hadn't been hostile or suspicious, he seemed just nervous about trying to please them, Starlight looked behind the pony and met the foal's gaze, sleepy and pondered ”I think...I think we'll be fine..”
The stallion placed some blankets on the floor, giving them all room to lie down as he placed his daughter on the only bed and covered her nicely.
“Rest sweetie” the stallion gave her a kiss on her forehead as the little girl snuggled in and closed her eyes.
“Thanks again for the help” Starlight whispered as the rest of her friends prepared for sleep.
“Again, you don't have to apologize, in fact I should be thanking you, you made our night, my daughter and I, that's not a very common thing these days...”
Starlight then decided to inquire further, mostly out of sympathy for the pony, she felt he at least deserved some chatter, before falling asleep.
“Hey, if you don't mind me asking, that mare in the portrait is she your wife?”
The stallion looked up somewhat intrigued by the question, for a moment he thought about avoiding it but, these ponies for some reason made him feel more confident than he had ever been able to feel in his entire life, something about them was different, he didn't know what, but it was certainly a good thing.
“Ehhh yes, yes she was my wife...” the stallion cleared his throat lowering his voice so as not to wake his daughter ”She, she died a few years ago...”
Starlight immediately regretted asking, though in hindsight it was a no-brainer, she would have stopped asking but her curiosity and her desire to know kicked in, the same curiosity that had made her decide to go on that trip in the first place.
“And may I know how she died?” Starlight decided to be as polite as possible.
“She fell ill, shortly after giving birth to Cely...” the stallion looked at his already sleeping daughter and couldn't help but feel the pang of sadness before continuing ”The winter didn't help, it was harsh and there wasn't enough food, she just...didn't wake up one day.”
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't be sorry, it was the will of the queens, had she deserved it they would have saved her...”
“Do you really think so?” asked Starlight somewhat impulsively.
“What do you mean?” the stallion looked at her quizzically.
Starlight quickly corrected herself.
“I mean...because you think she wasn't worthy of being saved?”
“Well, we are earth ponies, our ancestors were the first to rebel against the divine reign centuries ago, that makes us the descendants of that sin, that's why we are the lowliest servants of the queens, by our blood and ancestry we deserve only land and servitude...”
“That's not true!” said Starlight a little louder than she intended.
“What are you talking about?”
“You can't judge all of you for something your ancestors of hundreds of generations ago did, it's absurd...”
“But, so the queens dictate...”
Starlight stopped dead in her tracks, she knew better than to antagonize this pony, she couldn't come in and simply question everything she believed in, she quickly changed her tone to something more solemn and controlled.
“You are absolutely right Dry, that is what queens dictate...but in my eyes and seeing what a great pony you are, I have no doubt that your wife would have been just as good and diligent, therefore, in my eyes, she deserved to be saved.”
The stallion relaxed his expression, not expecting such a sudden show of understanding, nor did he expect the unicorn's strange reaction to the crown's dictates, for a moment thinking that the mare was testing him in some way, though he could not say for sure, truly this unicorn was very strange, before his cascade of thoughts would continue, Starlight, foreseeing some trouble continued with another question.
“Do you miss her?”
The stallion was taken by surprise, it took him a moment to be able to answer.
“Well I...yes, every single day, sometimes, I even wish I had gone with her, but I have Cely and I promised to take care of her, it was the last thing I promised her, so I will do that and maybe, when I die, if the queens wills it, I will be able to see her again.”
“I'm sure you will,” said Starlight.
“You know, I can truly say, without fear of contradiction, that you are the kindest unicorn I have ever met in my entire life.”
“Well, I guess I'll take that as a compliment.”
They both fell silent, now the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the night wind outside.
“Well...” said the stallion ”I guess I'd better go to sleep, I have to start work early tomorrow.”
“Oh yes of course, me and my friends should leave first thing too.”
The sound of screaming was what woke Starlight up, these were fast and furious, it took her a moment to even understand what they were saying.
“Dry Tuber!!! come out you damned wretch we know you're in there!!!!”
By the time Starlight got up in alarm from the floor she saw that all her friends had also been awakened by the caterwaul of screams, she saw Dry Tuber approaching the door cautiously as her daughter stood back under the table.
“What's going on?” asked Starlight in a whisper.
The stallion turned to her.
“It's nothing, please stay inside while I sort it out.”
“But...” started to say Starlight but was interrupted.
“Please” the pony spoke with a serious expression on his face.
They all stood watching as the pony walked out the door and walked in front of the cabin.
They all cautiously approached the front window, trying to figure out what was really going on.
Dry Tuber walked carefully watching his back, a few meters away from his cabin there were three ponies; a mare and two stallions.
The mare was a unicorn, she had a dark red coat and black mane tied in a huge bun, she wore dirty black robes and was missing an eye, you could see the scarred socket with fur covering it, the two stallions were earth ponies, they had no garments, one was greyish blue and the other dull yellow, covered in small scars from top to bottom, both were standing on either side of the mare with serious looks on their faces.
Dry Tuber approached until he was only a few paces away, standing firm and looking defiant, at the sight of him the unicorn couldn't help but let out a scornful laugh and spit a gargle to the ground.
“Wow, until you finally decide to show your face...”
“The month isn't up yet” interrupted the stallion.
“What?” asked the mare feigning confusion.
“You said you'd come for your payment once the month was up, that's a week away.”
“Oh really? how clumsy, I could have sworn it was already the date” the mare made an exaggerated gesture with her hoof feigning embarrassment.
“Well a mistake anyone can make, but don't worry you can come back when...”
“Shut the fuck up!!!” the unicorn abruptly interrupted.
“I come to collect my payment when the fuck I feel like it and you pay me when you see me at the gate of your filthy farm.”
The stallion let out a weary sigh and tried to remain calm.
“Frozen Cereal...you know I don't have the money until the last day, until I finish selling my potatoes.”
“The thing my dear Dry Tuber is that I'm tired of you giving me crumbs every month, you are the farm that gives me the least monetary goods and that's not good for business.”
“Aren't you the lender of all the farms in the region?” asked Dry Tuber more tense ”It seems to me that all your economic stability doesn't depend only on my farm, besides, I seem to remember that your policy indicated that you should always be paid half and only half.”
“And I seem to recall that the last time I came here I told you that the policies were about to change, I decided to set a minimum quota and, believe me when I tell you honey, you don't meet it and truth be told I doubt you ever will.”
“And if you are already sure that I will never have enough to pay you then what are you doing here demanding money that I don't have?”
“Oh because just like all you filthy farmers I'm sure you have a lot more than money...” Frozen Cereal paused as she and her thugs began to move deeper into the farm grounds making Dry Tuber slowly back away “I'm sure you won't mind losing some of your tools or a few potatoes to pay me back for this month, you can even give me something of more value and I'll consider sparing you a couple of full months.”
“You know very well that I have absolutely nothing of value...”
“And what about your little girl...?” Frozen Cereal asked casually, as if it was nothing, leaving Dry Tuber frozen.
“What the fuck did you say!” said the stallion recovering quickly and sounding furious.
“Hey don't get upset calm down...” the two stallions had started to circle Dry Tuber slowly ”I'm just saying that if you'd leave her to me as collateral I could turn a blind eye for a while while while you get my money.”
“You've got to be fucking kidding me...” Dry Tuber kept backing away as the stallions got closer and closer and the unicorn stopped.
“You can refuse if you want, it's not obligatory, but I sincerely doubt that even giving me all your land you can pay for a single month and you know what happens to those who don't pay” at that moment the stallions came together taking firmer steps forward.
Dry Tuber was starting to sweat and breathing heavily, he knew he had been on the ropes this last while but he didn't think Frozen Cereal's retaliation would be so absurd.
“I can give you everything, anything I own, but please...don't hurt me or my daughter.”
“Listen up you filthy earth pony!!!!! You are in no position to bargain with me, you have two choices here, either you give me your daughter and I let you keep your filthy farm or I kill you, destroy your filthy farm and take your daughter anyway!”
“Why the fuck...!” started to ask Dry Tuber but was interrupted by a blow from one of the stallions sending them to the ground.
Dry Tuber coughed trying to recover feeling blood coming out of his nose, turning to look at his attackers he found Frozen Cereal's face only inches away from his face.
“Well first of all I apologize because that punch was unnecessary...” the unicorn began to say as she gave a stern look to the pony who had thrown the punch ‘And even more so because that was an easy question to answer, in fact I think even you with how dumb you are know the answer..’ the unicorn moved closer to Dry Tuber's face giving her a light touch with her hoof on the cheek that received the blow ”And you know how much I love how the little ones squeal.”
Dry Tuber lunged at Frozen Cereal with the intention of punching her but was immediately stopped by the two stallions who held him firmly.
“Wow!” exclaimed the unicorn as she backed away slightly ”Hey easy big guy, I swear you weren't my first choice, but the other farmers don't have pretty daughters to give me anymore!”
“IF YOU TOUCH A SINGLE HAIR ON HER...!!!” A loud punch to the stomach fell Dry Tuber's scream.
“What the fuck are you going to do, huh?!” another punch to the stallion's stomach ‘I'm going to tell you...’ another punch ”You're not going to do shit because this land belongs to me and that means everyone who lives on it does too, that's how the queens decree it right? and what kind of devotee would you be if they didn't respect their most sacred law?”
Dry Tuber kept coughing up blood as the two stallions continued to beat him.
“Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go in and get your daughter, don't worry, she's very pretty I assure you I'll keep her with me for a long time” the unicorn began to walk calmly towards the door of the cabin as Dry Tuber struggled to free himself from the stallions' grip, the mare climbed one by one of the steps with overwhelming slowness, finally reaching the door and knocking gently “Celery Shoot, little one, your daddy sent me to pick you up, he says you have to come with me to a nice place.”
Evidently there was no answer, still the unicorn knocked gently again.
“Hey little girl, I'll tell you a secret, if you don't open this door and come with me now I'm going to murder your daddy, I'm going to gut him like a fucking animal and leave him bleeding to death on the floor, then I'll break down this door and drag you away by the mane” the unicorn stuck to the door as she said it, trying to hear if the little girl was crying.
Finally she could hear footsteps approaching the door, the unicorn stood expectantly listening to what she thought was the little one slowly approaching, finally she heard her stop behind the door and could feel her grab the handle.
The mare was drooling with impatience when the gate finally opened and the next thing she knew she was thrown backwards by a powerful blow.
The blow that hit her straight in the face sent her flying several feet causing her to crash to the hard floor face first, the sound of the impact and the mare's scream caused the two stallions that were still beating Dry Tuber to stop and turn around alerted.
Frozen Cereal stood up dazed, feeling her nose broken and bleeding and spitting out a couple of teeth.
“But what the...crap?” turning in on herself the unicorn could see a gray earth pony standing in the doorway, her hoof raised which was stained with a bit of blood.
“I'd appreciate it if you'd leave” Maud said with a completely unmoving face.
The two stallions let go of Dry Tuber dropping him unconscious to the ground and rushed to help Frozen Cereal up, the latter quickly pushed her bullies away, getting up on her own.
“Well well, looks like old Dry Tuber hired some muscle” she finally said trying to regain her arrogant tone, the unicorn coughed up blood once more before continuing ”Listen, I don't know how much the pig paid you to do this stupid thing, but whatever I know it was, I can triple it...”
“Sorry, I guess you didn't hear me the first time...” said maud stepping forward which rumbled ”I'd appreciate it if you'd leave.”
Frozen Cereal frowned, her voice changing completely to a more somber tone.
“I don't know who you think you are talking to me like that...maybe you don't know who I am, but never mind, I'll give you one last chance, you get out and we'll leave it here...”
Maud just stared at the unicorn without moving a single step.
“Fine, have it your way” the unicorn made a noise with her hoof and the two stallions pounced on Maud.
Both tried to grab the mare but she deftly took a big turn dodging and knocking the stallions off, as one tried to turn to lunge again he was met by a kick that thundered the pony's jaw and sent him to the ground.
The mare tried to recover but a direct blow to her face sent her back to the ground, now it was Maud's nose that broke under the impact.
The pony let out a cry of pain and backed away allowing Maud to get up, but this did not last long as suddenly the earth pony felt her air being sucked out of her.
In the distance Frozen Cereal was shining her horn a bright yellow color, tightening the rope more and more and raising it to hang the earth pony.
“Damn bitch, if you're strong, what a waste of talent...”
Just as Maud was about to lose consciousness the rope snapped, and both stallions were flung away by a slingshot of magical power
“What the fuck...!” The unicorn couldn't finish as a similar impact threw her forward to the threshold of the hut.
Her nose scraped against the ground again, her bleeding was reborn, it was such a surprise that she couldn't avoid swallowing some dirt.
“What the fuck is going on!!!?”
Starlight flashed her horn and Frozen Cerela's head was whipped violently against the stone staircase of the hut, right in front of her.
Frozen Cereal didn't know why the unicorn in front of her had stopped hitting her against the ladder, but she could feel her forehead hot, she assumed it was due to the blows, her vision was blurred but she could make out a red stain on the grey stone, she assumed it was her own blood, it took her a moment to finally realize she was looking at her own shattered horn right in front of her.
The red unicorn let out a choked cry of panic at the sight of it she raised her hooves to search for her horn above her head but found only a splintered bone, she began to hyperventilate and sweat profusely, she had indeed lost her horn.
“Look at me...”
She heard the unicorn groggily hover above her head, she tried to do as the voice told her but her body didn't respond properly.
“Raise your damn head and look at me you .... .you deranged, sick monster!”
Frozen Cereal finally managed to look up to meet Starlight's troubled face with tears in her eyes.
The delirious unicorn couldn't help but find the mare's face in front of her amusing, it looked like an innocent face being corrupted for the first time, the kind of face she loved to see.
Starlight then it dawned on her that she was already unconscious and she dropped backwards with her eyes rolling and trembling, meanwhile Trixie and Sunburst came out of the cabin to the aid of Maud who was just coming to and Dry Tuber.
“Maud! Maud! Are you okay?!” asked Trixie as she helped the pony to her feet.
“I'm...Fine” said the pony with a hoarse voice still taking big breaths.
Sunburst approached the stallion on the ground who was squirming weakly trying to get up.
“Are you all right?” asked the unicorn as he checked the pony's condition.
“Yes...” he said weakly ”What...what happened..?”
“Well....” Sunburst began to say as the Dry Tuber stood up and looked at the view.
“What the hell?” he managed to say before his legs gave out from under him and Sunburst had to help him not to fall.
They both walked slowly to the entrance of the hut where Starlight was still standing and Frozen Cereal was lying in front of her.
“She's...?” began Dry.
“Unconscious” replied Starlight absently, she kept her gaze fixed on the newly dehorned unicorn.
Dry Tuber stood for a moment pondering what to do when a crunching sound was heard behind him.
Everyone turned to see the two stallions emerging from the brush, clearly badly injured but still standing, the one with the broken leg was staggering along trying to keep his balance while the other used one of his front hooves to hold his jaw.
Dry Tuber then pulled out of Sunburst's grip quickly, grabbing Frozen Cereal by the mane with his teeth and starting to drag her in the direction of the stallions, the stallions instantly stood still watching with some concern.
Dry Tuber struggled to stand despite the pain, giving the ponies in front of him a stern look, finally dropping the unicorn to her side and turning to the stallions.
“If you...show up here again...I'm going to kill each and every one of you...understood...?”
Both stallions just nodded effusively and got ready to grab Frozen Cereal from the ground but, in an instant Dry Tuber jumped with all his might and smashed the unicorn's head, scattering her brains on the dry ground, this made the stallions move away in fear and shock while Dry, still on the remains of the unicorn's face and stained with her blood, screamed.
“AND I WILL DO TO YOU EXACTLY WHAT I DID TO HER!!! NOW IF I'M FUCKING CLEAR TO YOU?!!!”
Now the studs nodded with terror evident on their faces and walked away as fast as their bruised bodies would allow.
Everyone's mouths dropped open except Starlight who was still staring blankly, suddenly it seemed that all of Dry Tuber's tenderness and gentleness had been extinguished and now they had another maniac in front of them.
Just as the stallions had completely lost themselves in the distance a cry brought everyone out of their state of shock.
“Daddy!!!”
Little Celery Shoot ran out of the cabin in the direction of her father, who, as he turned around, had the most heartbreaking expression of relief anyone present had ever seen, Dry Tuber couldn't help but start crying and smile at the sight of his daughter, dropping down to hug her tightly.
“It's all right honey, it's all right now...”
They both stood there, hugging and crying silently.
Sunburst regained some of her composure at the image, which made her gather enough strength to approach Starlight who was still looking at the shattered horn on the ladder.
“Starlight...” began Sunburst ”Are you all right?”
Her friend's words sounded distant to her, it was as if she was underwater as her ears were ringing, there was no word she had ever known that described what she was feeling at that moment, if not for the fact that her stomach was now empty she would have vomited again, she wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, but something deep in the back of her mind told her it would be in vain.
“No .... .I'm not well Sunburst” Starlight flashed her horn and with her magic raised Frozen Cereal's horn and held it in front of her ”But I think...this is a good start...”
The next day the four of them stood in front of Dry Tuber's cabin adjusting old traveling cloaks and receiving a bag full of potatoes.
“Are you sure you want to give us some of your harvest?” asked Starlight holding up the bag with her magic.
“It's the least I can do, for all you've done for us...” replied the stallion who was leaning on a makeshift crutch made from some of his tools while stroking the head of his foal ”Besides, I'm not worried about the crop, I'll talk to the rest of the farms, now that Frozen Cereal is gone I think we can stand up to their stallions, and we'll be fine.”
Starlight couldn't help but smile at this, walking up to Dry Tuber and giving him an unexpected hug that almost made the stallion fall over.
“Wow wow wow okay...” the pony said in surprise, as he returned the hug with a few light pats.
“Thank you...” whispered Starlight.
For what?” the pony let out a confused chuckle.
“For teaching me that there is still goodness in this world.”
“Uh... you're welcome?” replied Dry Tuber.
The hug finally ended and they all said their goodbyes, Trixie looked over her shoulder watching the foal say goodbye as they walked away, later speaking to Starlight.
“Do you think they will be okay?”
“I think so Trixie...” said Starlight ”It seems to me that we helped make their lives better.”
“I hope they have a long and good life” said Maud who had a black eye and her voice was still a little hoarse.
“I just hope Dry Tuber makes a full recovery...” spoke Sunburst ”His injuries are somewhat serious.”
“I'm sure he'll be fine, he's a strong pony, seems like they all are in this place...” said Starlight remaining thoughtful.
They all walked until they reached the place where they had arrived, Starlight and Sunburst then started drawing shapes in the dirt, making a circle and starting to write around it.
“Ehh remind me a little what are we going to do now?” asked Trixie confused.
“We are going to travel to the northern lands to find Celestia and Luna's army” replied Starlight as she continued to draw.
“It will be our last stop before we return to our time” continued Sunburst.
“And they think that's a good idea?” Trixie's voice reflected concern.
They all stepped into the circle and Starlight began to shine her horn, creating a magical bubble around her that gradually glowed brighter and brighter.
“I'm just saying that maybe we should find a better way to get that evidence... or at least a safer one!” exclaimed Trixie as the bubble began to buzz.
“Don't worry Trixie...” began Sunburst ”It'll be a quick thing, we'll be in and out, we won't even get very close.”
Trixie wanted to keep claiming but, if she was honest with herself, she couldn't think of a better way to end this trip conclusively.
One last flash of the bubble and suddenly the four ponies had disappeared, leaving behind the circle drawn on the ground and the sound of the dry wind around them.
To be continued...
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The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 12: The World Without Harmony. Part 3.
The spell echoed in everyone's ears, the magical torrent that shot them through space turned their stomachs but not as much as the time travel spell.
“Are you all right!” shouted Starlight trying to locate her companions, it didn't take her long although she had to squint because of the snow blowing in the wind.
Right beside her Sunburst grabbed her by the hoof and lead her across the clearing, Starlight could see how, pulling Sunburst was Trixie and pulling Trixie was Maud, all moving in a line towards one of the huge rocky walls that surrounded them.
“So where are we going now!” asked Trixie raising her voice above the wind.
“I don't know...!” began Starlight ”The spell only transported us to an approximate position of what we're looking for, we need to find something that will tell us where we can find the army!”
“But we're going to freeze if we don't find shelter!” Maud said barely raising her voice, even so, it was perfectly audible.
“But what is this, a storm!” asked Sunburst.
“I don't think so!” replied Starlight ”I think it's normal weather here!”
“Wait!” suddenly exclaimed Trixie ”Don't you hear that!”
They all fell silent and listened intently for any sound beyond the violent gale, but there didn't seem to be anything.
“I don't hear anything Trixie are you sure that...!” wanted to say Starlight before she was interrupted.
“Quiet Starlight listen!” shouted Trixie putting a hoof in the unicorn's mouth.
Starlight tried again to listen to what Trixie was saying, for a moment all she could hear was the same wind but for an instant she thought she detected something else.
“What the hell..?” she said to herself before a new sound rose up loud and clear.
A guttural roar echoed overhead causing the entire mountain to tremble, a second after the colossal growl ended a huge pillar of fire rose over the peaks on the other side of the clearing, this one was so large it split the clouds in the sky letting in sunlight for an instant before the heavy clouds covered it again.
They were all dumbfounded at the spectacle, unable to think of what kind of creature could be capable of such a feat.
“Looks to me like we found a landmark!” suddenly exclaimed Starlight and without waiting for her companions she went back into the snow.
They all followed her shortly after, but not before exchanging worried glances, struggling to stay together and resisting the strong wind to knock them down, Trixie then stepped forward a bit placing herself next to Starlight and shouting to get her attention.
“Starlight!”
“What's wrong Trixie!”
“Do you really think this is a good idea!”
“What are you talking about!!! It's our best shot at locating and...!”
“That's not what I mean...!” she interrupts ”All this looking for Celestia and Luna's army seems to me a very unwise option, we already have the horn of that crazy pony I think that's enough proof...!”
“Trixie that's not enough! We need more than the memories of a sick maniac to prove that this place existed, we need real hard proof of Celestia and Luna's passage over this world, some insignia or some weapon or at least seeing them directly, with that we can project our memories into the present and there will be no doubt!”
“But putting us in the middle of an armed conflict doesn't that seem a bit too risky?!”
“We're not going to put ourselves in the middle of a full scale war conflict Trixie, we'll only get close enough to take what we need, they won't even notice we were there!”
At that moment the group finally reached the top of the crag and immediately stopped dead in their tracks at the sight before their eyes.
Before them loomed the most horrible chaos any of them had ever witnessed, a huge battlefield, at the foot of the mountain, all that could be seen for miles was only gray rock and, in the distance, black peaks rising up to the clouds.
On the other side, right at the base of the mountain there was a gigantic amount of ponies gathered, both terrestrials and unicorns, the terrestrials wore worn leather armor, outnumbering the unicorns, armed with hammers and axes they stood firm on the front lines, On the other hand, the unicorns, located a little further back wore elegant armor, some white and some dark blue, they were armed with swords and spears just as beautiful, yet their numbers paled before the imposing wall of dragons that was getting closer.
Starlight looked with full attention as the army next to the mountain was completely still, it seemed not to react to what certainly seemed certain death, this allowed the mare to realize that, carved into the stone of the mountain, there was a huge tower that stood casting a large shadow on the battlefield, looking more closely could see a small camp raised just below that great tower, with huge tents and fires burning.
“I think that's our entrance...” started to say Starlight but at that instant a strange golden flash shot out from the top of the tower and in a second a powerful scream could be heard.
Suddenly the entire army of land ponies and unicorns charged to the front screaming with fury and charging towards their enemy, the four ponies were mesmerized, for some reason they could not look away, even though they knew what would happen and they knew perfectly well that they did not want to witness it.
Before even the army of ponies could get close enough the dragons began to shoot their fire, incinerating hundreds of soldiers instantly while the pegasus descended on them, impaling with their spears two or more ponies with each thrust, the first to fall were the earth ponies which could not do much before the superiority of the enemy, even so, with their hammers and axes gave powerful blows, which occasionally hit some unsuspecting pegasus which fell broken in half.
“I'm not going anywhere near that...”
Starlight heard behind her back, turning to meet Trixie's tear-streaked face.
“Trixie...” began Starlight.
“No Starlight no! This is crazy! Fucking crazy!!!” Trixie turned around and began to back away followed by Starlight as Maud and Sunburst continued to stare at the battle.
“Trixie wait!” as she approached her friend Starlight she could tell how Starlight kept muttering as she kept her eyes straight ahead and her tears were still welling up in her eyes.
“This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real...”
Starlight then with a leap stood firmly in front of Trixie.
“Trixie stop, where do you think you're going?”
“I'm leaving! I'm getting the hell out of here! Literally anywhere but here! It was one thing to be the homicidal maniac at the farm but this?! Don't you realize how impossible it is that this dead, blood-soaked place is the Equestria you and I know?!!!!” Trixie's voice broke as the tears continued to flow and the unicorn covered her head with one of her hooves.
“And yet, it is...” said Starlight causing Trixie to look up finding that Starlight had begun to cry as well.
“Starlight...”
“You think I don't know that? You think I don't know that this is all absolute madness? That even though we literally traveled back in time and saw firsthand the truth of our world I still can't believe my eyes? Well believe me I do! But we came here for evidence for a truth that we now know is real, so now more than ever we must finish the mission and I...I can't do it without you!”
Trixie stared at her for a long moment, it was impossible for Starlight to know what he was thinking, she saw the fear in her eyes and the doubt until finally she wiped her tears with her hoof and put on a brave expression.
“Then let's get this over with” Trixie forced a smile to try and regain Starlight's spirits something that seemed to work as she responded with the same.
“Starlight!”
They both turned to see Sunburst still at the top shouting at them.
“Come now!”
The mares ran back in the direction of their friends.
“What...what's wrong...?” began to ask Starlight as she arrived with Sunburst falling silent the instant she rested her eyes back on the battlefield.
Over the horizon, a colossal silhouette rose, as tall as a mountain, with every step she took the earth trembled, above both armies rose the figure of a bright green scaled dragon, with dark red spines coming out of its back and a pair of giant wings, it didn't take Starlight long to deduce that it was the one responsible for the pillar of fire they had seen earlier.
The surprise was even greater when, before the eyes of the four friends, and against any survival instinct or common sense, the army of earth ponies and unicorns continued their attack, running at the feet of the colossal beast, it only watched its enemies for a second and suddenly everything was filled with flames.
The column of fire swept away a third of the army in an instant, turning the ponies hit into ashes, which in turn caused both dragons and pegasus to celebrate triumphantly before continuing their advance.
Of the face of the colossal dragon only the bone of the skull remained, the skin and muscles that covered it just a second ago seemed to have been completely burned, something impossible to say because there is no being on earth that supports more fire and heat than the dragons, for a moment both armies were silent, while the gigantic body collapsed and crushed a few when it hit the ground.
Silence lingered for a moment longer before the army of land ponies and unicorns shouted with glee, while the dragons and pegasus froze, not knowing what to do, by the time the calcium army resumed its attack the flying enemies were already retreating towards the black mountains in the distance.
The shouts of celebration were not long in coming, these came, mostly from the ground ponies, the unicorns stood impassively under their armor as they slowly regrouped and began their trek back up the mountain.
“This is our chance...”
They all turned to look at Starlight who still kept her gaze fixed straight ahead.
“Chance for what?” asked Sunburst.
“Of infiltrating...” quickly Starlight uses her magic to hood Trixie, Sunbusrt and herself, hiding her horns ”We should infiltrate the camp and take what we can, then sneak out and get far enough away so we can send the message to Spike and return to the present.”
The three friends looked concerned at Starlight's crazy idea.
“Starlight...” began Sunburst ”Maybe we should reconsider.”
“What are you talking about Sunburst?” asked the unicorn confused.
Sunburst took a second to answer.
“Starlight...we have enough, with everyone's memories together, plus the ones from the crazy unicorn's horn, it's more than enough proof, we should go back now...”
“What!” she asked incredulously ”You can't be serious, now that we're so close!”
“Close to what Starlight? Look around you, this place is beyond dangerous, it's completely irresponsible to stay another minute, we should turn back now...”
Starlight watched as both Maud and Trixie stood next to Sunburst, Maud with her usual impassive expression and Trixie looking down at the ground in embarrassment.
“You too Maud?” asked Starlight.
“This was too much already, even for me” admitted the earth pony.
The unicorn felt completely betrayed, her friends, the people she had trusted to carry out this mission, were now turning their backs on her, gritting her teeth and furious Starlight answered them.
“Do what you want then!” the shout startled her friends ”If you want to quit now like cowards do it, but I'm not stopping now!”
Starlight turned and started down the mountain slope in the direction of the camp.
“You guys stay here, I'll go with her...”
“Are you crazy!” asked Trixie ”She's likely to get herself killed there!”
“That's why I can't let her go alone, if something goes wrong she'll need help..” Sunburst turned to look directly at Trixie “You guys go behind the ridge and find a safe place, if we're not back in an hour come back to the present.”
“But...but, how are we supposed to do that!” asked Trixie in panic.
“It's not a hard thing to do, just think of Twilight's castle while you use your magic, Spike should get the signal even if you're the one sending it, don't worry the crystal will do most of the work.”
“But what about you guys, if we leave how will you get home?”
Sunburst thought for a moment.
“We won't be able to...so just in case, don't cast the spell unless you're absolutely sure we're not coming back” And without further ado the stallion started down the slope behind Starlight.
Both unicorns walked cautiously through some burnt tree debris as they continued to descend, they advanced in silence accompanied only by the sound of the wind until Sunburst spoke softly.
“Starlight, do you understand how dangerous what you are doing is?”
“Yes” the unicorn replied dryly without turning to look at his friend.
“And do you know how likely it is that something will go terribly wrong?” continued Sunburst.
“Yes” again a dry reply.
“Then tell me, why do you do it?”
That question finally made Starlight stop dead in her tracks, still turning her back to the stallion who also stopped.
“Truth be told, I don't know Sunburst...” The unicorn looked over her shoulder into her friend's eyes “I don't know what it is or why I feel it but there is something inside me, a voice screaming at the top of my lungs that demands I do everything I can to know everything, no matter the cost, and I feel that, if I don't do what it says and satisfy my most morbid curiosity...I will go insane.”
Sunburst took a couple of steps to her friend and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
“Starlight, I've known you since we were kids, and I've seen each and every one of your sides, the good and the bad, so believe me when I tell you, this isn't you, whatever you're looking to find, it's not worth it, not if the price is your life...”
Starlight pondered for a moment, maybe Sunburst was right, maybe it wasn't worth it, maybe they should just leave and be done with it.
After crossing a couple more dead trees and rocks finally before them was the camp, the place was much larger than Starlight would have expected, more than a camp it was a fortress with gaps in the walls made of unfinished logs and many more tents than could be seen in the distance.
Without thinking Starlight hurried towards the camp, stepping into the tents.
“Starlight! What are you doing?” exclaimed Sunburst in a low voice coming after her.
The center of the camp was a mixture of supply store and forge, the huge braziers had anvils with hammers around them, there were huge crates of which, from some protruded what looked like weapons and others seemed to contain food, on the other hand on the ground were several fresh corpses, Starlight assumes they were the badly wounded from the battle who had barely made it to the camp before passing out.
Starlight didn't hesitate and, at a moment when no one was looking, she darted into the middle of the crowd with her hood up and her head down, Sunburst could only watch from afar as her friend was lost in the tide of ponies, not daring to approach and beginning to follow the crowd around the outside of the camp.
The unicorn began to observe her surroundings, the crowd kept their eyes forward and Starlight began to notice several things: the first thing she noticed was that the vast majority of earth ponies and unicorns present were stallions, with only a few mares standing out in the crowd, the second thing she noticed was that, of the few ponies whose exposed flank could be seen, all exhibited the same cutie mark, this weirded Starlight out for a moment before noticing that they were not cutie marks but rather iron marks, all with the same design of a moon and a sun inside a circle, the third thing she noticed was that, in all the earth ponies, the sun and the moon were the same size, but on the other hand the unicorns wearing white armor had the sun bigger than the moon and those in blue armor the moon bigger than the sun, the unicorn did not take long to deduce what this was due to.
Suddenly a thud was heard behind Starlight, she turned and found the lifeless body of an earth pony, which, it seemed, had just died while walking, the unicorn looked at it for a moment and realized how, no other pony seemed to have even noticed it, they kept walking forward circling the corpse or walking over it.
Starlight then saw an opportunity when she noticed the huge bloody axe hanging from the stallion's back, walking towards him to take it, it took her several attempts to lift it with her hooves as it was extremely heavy, finally placing it on her back, with the last pull the pony's corpse rolled over on its back revealing that it had a huge hole in its stomach, which continued to bleed and from which some entrails were leaking out.
Starlight resumed her march behind the crowd, staying almost at the back of the crowd when suddenly everyone stopped, it was almost as abrupt as it had started and the unicorn nearly collided with the pony in front of her, it was at that moment that a stallion's voice was heard echoing from the front of the crowd.
“Rejoice pigs, for your victory has been significant...!”
Starlight tried to peek over the crowd to find out who owned that voice, but the pinies in front of her were too tall completely blocking her view, all she could do was continue to listen to the speech.
“Your pathetic effort finally bore fruit for our great empire, our enemies have lost the last of their great leaders and are now nothing more than stray animals, our dominion over the northern lands is finally final...!”
At that instant the entire crowd suddenly dropped to their knees, finally allowing Starlight to see what lay ahead.
Standing on the stone pedestal was a unicorn stallion clad in dark blue armor, only this one, unlike the dirty and worn armor worn by the other soldiers, was perfectly pristine, even a long cape decorated the back of the armor, adorned with gold and purple accents.
“This victory has been so important that our queens have decided to honor us with their presence, to make an announcement of vital importance, kneel before our queens, your mistresses and show respect!”
At that moment Starlights felt a pressure in her chest, her whole body suddenly tensed and began to tremble for no apparent reason, she did not understand why the sudden discomfort until a shadow was projected over the large crowd, one that gradually descends on them, and then came something even stranger.
The stallion on the pedestal was now bowing, not as exaggeratedly as the rest of the crowd but it was certainly a bow, in front of him, just above the pedestal were flying two figures, figures that opened their huge wings and flapped them with a tranquility that seemed alien to the rest of the place, Both were wearing the most beautiful armor Starlight had ever seen, one, white as snow, with golden details and a huge spear on her back, the other, black armor like night, with hardly any ornaments and a spear on her back, both wore helmets that covered their faces but Starlight was not stupid, she knew perfectly well who they were.
Both alicorns descended on the pedestal and walked steadily to stand right in the center, once there they took a moment to appreciate what was in front of them, not the crowd at their feet, but the battlefield that stretched out behind them.
A burst of light filled the place when the mane made of pure fire of the queen of the sun was finally released from its metal prison, her orange eyes surrounded by black burned with an impossible determination that made Starlight tremble at the sight of them, the fur although still white gave off an intense orange glow and the unicorn could see how, in the huge smile on the face of the alicorn, large sharp fangs.
Celestia's approach made Starlight feel even warmer on her body, it was as if a huge bonfire was just a meter away from her, threatening to set her fur on fire, even so, she kept her gaze fixed on the majestic mare in front of her, it wasn't until a deep voice made its presence known, that Starlight could feel a shiver run through her from hooves to head.
The voice sounded very similar to the real Canterlot voice she had ever been able to hear, but this one gave off an authority and malice that Starlight never thought possible to capture in words alone.
“Attention my legions! Know that your queen is pleased with the magnificent result your puny lives have brought to the kingdom!”
The words were arrogant and spoken with a tone of superiority.
“After decades of conflict all our enemies have been banished to distant lands, from the griffins in the east, to the diamond dogs in the west, to the qiriness in the south and finally the dragons and pegasus traitors here in the north, you must know that you have all contributed to making our empire the prosperous and powerful place it is today...!”
At that moment his voice changed to a stern and annoyed tone.
“And even after so many years, your filthy lives are still required! Know that your service to the crown is far from over, just at this moment, the remnants of the enemies are plotting, scheming and planning a new strategy to attack us, enemies which you could not guarantee their complete and utter annihilation!” the queen stomped on the pedestal breaking it and turning the whole front part into dust, in turn raising the temperature.
“You are my sword and the hoof that wields it, for generations your lives have belonged to me and have been harnessed to your purpose to serve and obey, and yet you have not been unable to deliver total victory, even today I was compelled to intervene in the battle BECAUSE YOU BUNCH OF REPUGNANT WORMS WERE NOT ABLE TO DEFEAT THE LAST DRAGON KING, YOUR ONLY PURPOSE IN LIFE IS TO KILL AND YOU CANNOT EVEN FULFILL IT WHEN I ORDER YOU TO DO IT! !!”
All the ponies stood perfectly still as the queen continued to spout insults and obscenities while her mane of fire greciated non-stop, Starlight even saw how, the ponies that were closer began to suffer burns on their skin and the armors they wore began to glow red.
“Even so, I cannot deny how useful you have been to the empire, so I have decided to provide you with one last great task, one that, if you fulfill it properly, you may regain the trust I had placed upon you in the first place...!” the sun queen then turned to her sister beckoning her to come closer.
Nightmare Moon walked steadily to position herself at her sister's side and began to speak, her voice was even deeper but her words were not imbued with arrogance.
“As my sister has let you know, our enemies have fled to the far lands, hiding beyond the confines of our, now ,complete kingdom, to prevent them from managing to regroup and a possible future war all our legions will be sent to pursue the, only a very few of you remain in the empire to assist with the segregation of the rebellious peoples, once you are assured that each and every enemy of the crown has been eradicated you will be allowed to return to the kingdom and complete your lives of service to our command...!”
At that moment Daybreaker interrupted.
“The hatchery farms will still be in operation for a couple more generations, only this time each and every mare born will be immediately designated as breeding stock, to ensure prolific generations in soldiers and workers, once the two generation cycle is completed the hatchery mares will be discarded and no more royal legions will be born!”
Nightmare Moon spoke again.
“And when that happens, your debt to us will be paid!”
Starlight had let out some vomit at what she had heard, but for the first time in her mind there was no hint of doubt, she could finally feel the uncertainty and denial in her disappear, here she was, facing the violent incarnation of the sun and moon, those who, she knew well, in the future would be known as Celestia and Luna, the kindest and most benevolent ponies Equestria had ever known, now she knew the truth, what they really were, just tyrannical monsters.
“To accomplish that monumental task, outposts will be built on each of the frontiers, where legions will settle and be able to undertake campaigns to distant lands, and here, in this land will rise the first of them!”
“And to ensure the success and building of the settlement my sister and I have decided to award the command of this legion to General Sombra!”
Starlite was then able to recognize the stallion's face, and finally discover why he sounded so familiar, sure his mane was not cast in a black mood, his horn was not crooked and just like his eyes, he did not glow that deep red Starlight remembered, but it was certainly him.
“Attention everyone, I hope you know that you will get no mercy or consideration from me, this work will be done in the shortest possible time, crystals in the black mountains will be used as raw material for construction and there will be no rest until the project is completed, we will raise a fortress so magnificent and lasting that it will make our queens admire it even after millennia...”
Sombra's speech continued while Starlight thought about what her next step would be, she already had everything she needed, now she only had to go back to Sunburst and the others and they could return to the present.
Celestia had her eyes fixed on her, those eyes that looked like two black holes stared straight at her with a mixture of curiosity and doubt, the exchange lasted only an instant but Starlight could feel her heart was about to burst, then she heard it.
“You! Get up!”
Starlight felt compelled to obey, it wasn't a matter of whether she wanted to or not, her body simply took over, she slowly stood up as some urine still leaked between her hooves and the crowd began to turn in her direction, interrupting Shadow's speech.
“Uncover yourself!”
Starlight couldn't breathe, her vision was blurring rapidly but still she obeyed the order, her face was exposed and some surprised expressions could be heard from the ponies around her.
“May I know who you are?”
The question was asked as if they were two ponies crossing each other on the street but it brought tears to Starlight's eyes who, now, had her eyes glued to the ground while her legs were shaking uncontrollably, she didn't even have a second to compose herself when the queen's voice rang out again.
“Answer me!”
“I am Starlight Glimmer!” she shouted without thinking as she couldn't stop saliva from shooting out of her mouth with every breath, she had lost the ability to swallow.
“Starlight Glimmer...” said the queen thoughtfully ”Funny you have such a pretty name, my legionnaires don't have names, so I guess you're not one of them...”
Starlight felt like she would faint at any moment, it was as if death itself was whispering in her ear, as if toying with her.
“I'm going to ask you again and I really expect an honest answer from you, who the hell are you?”
Starlight tried to find an excuse, any crazy thing she could say to avoid revealing her motives but the pressure those words put on her seemed to eliminate her ability to lie, she tried to clench her teeth to keep the words from coming out, she did it with all the strength she had but it was useless, she took a breath to shout her reason for being there when there was a great roar.
Down the hill that Starlight had descended to reach the camp, suddenly an avalanche of huge boulders came crashing into the camp, destroying everything in its path and causing the large crowd to scatter in an attempt to avoid the rocks.
“Starlight!!!”
She heard suddenly, that familiar voice made her react, looking up and turning to find Sunburst at the edge of the camp beckoning her to run to him, Starlight finally moved but not before turning to see where the pedestal was.
Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon hadn't even moved Sombra had placed a shield around them preventing the rocks from even touching them, Sunburst still kept her gaze fixed on the unicorn, watching as she slowly moved away and fled through the dead trees.
After a moment of appreciating the panorama Daybreaker raised his voice while the stones were still falling on his army and exclaimed a single word.
“Get her!”
Sunburst and Starlight were running up the hill as fast as they could, dodging the rocks that kept falling one after another.
“Sunburst I'm sorry I should have listened to you I shouldn't have...!”
“This is no time for apologies Starlight, we must get to Maud and Trixie to get out of here!” the stallion replied seriously.
Just as they were halfway there they heard something behind them, Starlight looked over her shoulder and could see how a small contingent of earth ponies and unicorns were making their way through the trees and rocks, the unicorn saw how some of them were crushed by the avalanche and that even when they were on the ground with all their legs broken they continued to crawl in her direction.
“Sunburst!” shouted Starlight to her friend.
The stallion seeing them being chased flashed his horn, grabbing one of the falling rocks and changing its direction so that it would hit more ponies.
“Don't stop!”
They both continued to climb when suddenly a whistling sound crosses the air and a rain of spells and arrows began to fall on them, Starlight reacted in time creating a shield that blocked most of the attacks but she didn't notice when one of the arrows that made it through stuck in her flank, causing her horrible pain and making her lose her concentration, deactivating the shield.
“Starlight!” shouted Sunburst as he stood next to her and activated his own shield.
Starlight was writhing on the ground in pain, she could feel the tip of the arrow scrape against her hip bone and blood gushing out.
“No! no! don't pull it out! it hurts!”
“Starlight I have to pull it out, you can't run like that!”
Starlight analyzed the situation for a second, realizing there were almost no options, then said the first thing that came to her mind.
“Leave me here!”
“What?!”
“I'm not going to make it, take my horn and get out of here, go home and tell everyone the truth!”
Sunburst hesitated for a second, she didn't know what to do, she couldn't abandon her friend, but, wounded as she was they couldn't make it.
“You run, I'll stop them!!!”
Sunburst opened the shield and shining his horn with all his might stopped most of the arrows, turning them around and sending them towards his pursuers, then taking back control of some of the falling stones he changed their direction again ensuring they were impacting.
“But Sunburst...!” started to say Starlight but was interrupted, not by an angry shout or a plea, but by a calm smile on the face of her friend, who gave her some soft words.
“Easy, I'll catch up...”
Starlight hesitated, she didn't know if it was the right thing to do, she didn't know how to help, she felt powerless, but her friend's words made her focus, take a deep breath and, dedicating one more glance to Sunburst, Starlight replied.
“You better be...”
Thereupon she turned and ran as fast as the pain would allow.
Scrambling up the slope and barely managing to dodge the rocks Starlight managed to hear a voice only a few masters away from the top.
“I see her! Maud I see Starlight!”
The next thing the unicorn felt was a hoof clinging to hers and tugging at her, Trixie grabbed her between her hooves and dragged her the last few feet, Starlight could finally feel the snow beneath her.
“Starlight! Are you okay, where's Sunburst?!”
The blue unicorn began to overwhelm Starlight with questions while she on the other hand tried to get rid of the ringing pain in her ears.
He looked around and could see Maud on the edge of the slope giving powerful kicks to the mountain rock splitting and falling down the slope, she could hear in the distance the screams of her pursuers which were sounding closer and closer.
“Starlight where is Sunburst?” Trixie asked again to the unicorn who this time did seem to hear.
“He...he's coming after me...”
“She's right” said Maud interrupting ”I can see him coming.”
“Then we don't have time...” Starlight began “Trixie do it now, let Spike know so he can start preparing the spell...!”
“Me?!” asked Trixie in a panic.
“I can't, the pain won't let me do magic, just concentrate and think of home! Quickly or we'll all die!”
The fear in Starlight's voice made Trixie see the gravity of the situation, she quickly took a couple of steps away and concentrated her magic, thinking of Twilight's castle and Spike.
“See you soon Spike” Starlight said before disappearing with her friends in a magical torrent, the little dragon was left alone after the room fell silent.
Spike paused quizzically, for a moment he thought it had been his imagination but the crystal glowed a very soft shade of pink again, even the dragon could have sworn he heard something like Trixie's voice coming from the glow, it sounded distant and distorted but it was certainly there.
“Uh hello...?” he asked and in an instant the room echoed with Trixie's loud cry, which made Spike jump in shock.
“Spike!!!”
“Trixie? Is that you, what's wrong?”
“Spike give us back now!!! We're going to get killed if you don't give us back!!!”
At those words Spike panicked quickly ran towards the table stumbling a couple of times as Trixie's screams kept coming out of the glass.
“Hurry up Spike quick!!!”
The dragon leapt onto the table, rushed to the center and in one swift movement placed the crystal right in the center.
Around Trixie a tornado of green magic began to form covering her and creating a small area around her.
“You did it Trixie!” exclaimed Starlight struggling to get up ”Maud can you see Sunburst ?!”
“Yes, he's almost there.”
“Perfect, throw a couple more rocks and come towards Trixie, the return spell will activate in a minute!”
Maud did as ordered, threw a couple more kicks and then walked away in the direction of the unicorn and the magic tornado that was getting bigger and bigger.
“You can, you can, you can....” she repeated over and over as she struggled to stand.
Finally an orange hoof peeked over the edge and Sunburst climbed up a few feet away from them, Starlight couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
“Quick Sunburst!” shouted Starlight ”Only thirty seconds left!”
The stallion quickly recovered and ran towards where his friends were, now he only had a few steps left to enter the magical tornado, he exchanged a relieved smile with Trixie and suddenly, stopped dead in his tracks.
Everyone was speechless, everything seemed in slow motion for a second, not even Sunburst seemed to notice at first, only when he saw the expressions of horror on the faces of his friends he knew something was wrong, he tried to reach them but did not move from him place, he looked down and realized that under him a pool of blood began to form, he tried to say something but felt out of breath, he did not know what was happening, he could not see it but then came the pain.
Piercing through him from his back and out his side was a gigantic golden spear, this one too big even for an adult stallion, with a marble hilt and engraved detailing that was now slowly staining red, Starlight watched in absolute horror as her friend was impaled right where he was, with the tip of the spear embedded in the ground, she could see her friend's face slowly fading and his life slipping away by the second, she wanted to go help him, she wanted to run to him, but his hooves just wouldn't move.
Sunburst finally understood what was happening, he knew there was nothing more to do and he knew he didn't have much time left, with the little strength he had left she looked up, seeing the faces of his friends but especially Starlight, his first friend, the most intelligent mare he had ever known and also, the pony he had come to love more than any other, he saw her tears slowly invading her face, in her eyes he saw her hope and joy crumbling, he couldn't let it happen, at least he had to do something so that his death would not be in vain, shining his horn for the last time Sunburst created a small impact at the base of his horn creating a small crack, then another and another until finally, in a last flash of the unicorn's magic his horn shot out in the direction of the magical tornado, entering the range just as it disappeared in a flash and Starlight's face vanished into thin air, with this Sunburst let go his last breath and his body was left inert still standing by the spear.
There was a second explosion and suddenly the three mares appeared on the friendship map table, levitating for a second before falling to the floor with a crash.
Spike quickly got up and walked over to them.
“Girls?! Girls?! Are you all right?! What happened?! They were only gone for a minute!”
“It's better you don't know” Maud said still on the ground, the little dragon was surprised to notice how, from the earth pony's eyes, tears were flowing despite the fact that her face remained serene.
Spike froze, turning to look at Trixie who did not make the slightest attempt to get down from the throne where she had fallen, sobbing silently and covering her face with her hooves.
At that moment a piercing scream, startling everyone present, Trixie and Maud finally got up from where they were and searched with their eyes for the source of the scream.
Celestia and Luna walked through the tartarus side by side, both carrying their traveling saddlebags and descending further and further into the huge prison filled with dangerous creatures.
“Celestia, I really think you should reconsider this...” began Luna ”Whatever you're planning to release isn't worth the risk.”
“Oh relax sis, I already told you, we have a guarantee that he will do and kill only who we tell him to” replied Celestia as she hummed happily.
“Whatever you tell him better said...”
“Oh don't be like that Luna, it's not my fault you weren't around during the development of this technology, if you had been I assure you that you would have had your own.”
Luna swallowed her anger and words of complaint, she was not to be reckless, she simply let out a grunt and looked away.
Finally both sisters reached the deepest part of the prison, finally touching the cold ground at the bottom, still they kept walking in the direction of one of the farthest walls and once there Celestia shone her horn, causing a door of light to materialize opening a passage inside the mountain.
After going down even further for a long time they finally found themselves in front of a gigantic chamber, these were only visible thanks to the light coming from the sisters letting them see a huge amount of cages of all sizes and shapes, some as small as a baby dragon and others so big that they seemed to reach the ceiling of the huge room.
“Here it is!” she exclaimed gleefully, in front of her was a cage almost as tall as Celestia herself whose contents were kept hidden by the shadows.
“How on earth did you make them survive without food for so long?” asked Luna as she sharpened her hearing and was able to hear endless breaths and heartbeats.
“It's a simple hibernation spell sister, by reducing their metabolisms to a minimum I knew I could keep them alive indefinitely, besides, starving them a bit guaranteed they would be more willing to hunt when I needed them.”
Celestia then pulled a large cloth wrapped package from her saddlebag.
“Alright now, let's test this bad boy...”
She slowly pulled the cloth closer, tucking it between the bars and making it out of sight in the darkness, removing the cloth and beginning to manipulate the artifact.
“Just a little more and...” suddenly there was a shrill click and the sound of magic flowing ”Ready!”
In an instant whatever was inside the cage awoke and began to shriek and shake violently, rattling the cage but unable to destroy it.
Finally, after a couple more shakes and a last scream the thing calmed down, still breathing heavily but staying completely still, at that moment a small light could be seen inside the cage, a red flicker coming from a gem that seemed to float in the air.
“That's it, what a good boy” said Celestia proudly ”It works perfectly.”
“What the hell did you do to him?” asked Luna incredulously.
“I told you sister, the power to finally control all things...” replied Celestia without taking her eyes off the cage and gesturing Luna with her hoof to come closer.
Quickly Luna obeyed pulling from her saddlebag a pile of old cloth of a dark blue color with golden details, Bek's old clothes.
Celestia received her and with her magic brought her closer to the cage hearing a loud breathing sound, after a moment Celestia pushed the rags away again and spoke in a deep authoritative voice.
“Pay close attention, I want you to find her, kill her and any other being that gets in your way, and I want you to bring me Twilight and her four friends alive...!” Celestia paused before correcting herself “Well, at least live as far as possible, but don't kill Twilight, understood?”
The alicorn received as an answer a guttural roar and more violent shaking inside the cage.
The six mares were advancing inside a snowstorm, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie walked side by side holding their hooves while Bek walked in front of them leading.
“I know this is the seven hundredth time I've asked but! Are we getting there yet!” yelled Pinkie at the top of her lungs to get her voice over the wind.
“We must be close!” replied Twilight ”By my calculations we're almost there!”
“And how will we know when we've arrived...!” started to ask Bek when suddenly all the noise of the storm stopped.
Bek suddenly found herself completely startled at the sound of birds singing and the feeling of sunlight on her, even the cold seemed to have vanished all at once for the most part, the mare looked down and was even more surprised to see grass under her hooves, adorned with small flowers of different colors.
Bek couldn't help but let out a surprised sigh at the seemingly impossible sight before her, she really wasn't expecting it, she was so engrossed that she didn't notice when Twilight stood beside her in the company of the rest of her friends who couldn't help but smile in relief.
“We're here!”
Before them, in the distance a beautiful crystal palace could be seen, it shone with a beautiful blue glow that projected into the sky and covered everything around it.
Author's Note
We could mark this as the end of the first season.
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Starlight was in her room, wrapped in the sheets of her bed crying inconsolably in silence, between her hooves was still Sunburst's horn which she had not let go since she returned days ago.
Suddenly a flash of light from the open door illuminated the entire room, Spike stood in the doorway looking worriedly inside.
“Starlight can I come in?...” asked the dragon, but receiving no answer he opted to slowly make his way deeper into the room, dodging all the garbage and making his way to the bed by hopping up, once there Spike looked at the pile of sheets Starlight had wrapped herself in, he could hear her sobs low down.
Spike didn't know what to do, he couldn't even begin to imagine the pain his friend was feeling at the moment, but what he did know was that they had a mission, and he couldn't afford to abandon it.
“Starlight..” he called finally as he reached out to put a claw on the pile of sheets ”Listen I, I really can't say that I understand how you feel, because, well...what I mean is that I'm really sorry, we're all sorry, you don't know how sorry, and we want you to know that we'll be with you no matter what...”
Spike waited for some kind of reaction from Starlight but Starlight just remained silent forcing the little dragon to try again.
“Listen, I know you loved Sunburst very much, he was your best friend and I'm sure he would have wanted us to continue with the mission...”
“And what the fuck do you know about what he would have wanted?!” Starlight jumped off the bed suddenly, shooing the dragon who fell to the floor, hurting a little from the amount of stuff strewn about ‘Are you implying that he wanted to die?! How the fuck could you think something like that...!’ starlight's voice cracked and she sobbed again, covering her face with her hooves.
Spike took a moment to recover from the shock, getting up sore and correcting himself.
“Starlight you know that's not what I meant, it's obvious that Sunburst didn't want to die, what I mean is, he knew the risks and still agreed to go with you, he was brave and followed you on a dangerous mission because he believed in you and what we're doing...” Spike paused, he didn't want to make Starlight dizzy with cheap speeches, he knew there were no words that would ease her friend's pain, he had to get straight to the point “Starlight... I'll be honest, we need Sunburst's horn...”
Starlight raised the furious look that made him recoil in fear.
“Uh, no, listen to me, he's the only one besides you who was close enough, he's the proof we need to send with Twilight-”
“That's what you want, a fucking horn with the right memories?!” interrupted Starlight sharply, standing up quickly and frantically starting to bang her head sharply against the wall of her room, right against her horn which let out a small crack.
Seeing this Spike unhesitatingly lunged at the mare, having to put all his weight into knocking her down.
“Starlight what are you doing!!!”
“Get off me Spike, this is what I deserve!!!”
“But why, why are you doing this!!!”
“Because it's my fault Spike, Sunburst died because of me!”
Starlight's struggles ceased as she slowly fell back into unrestrained crying, Spike was finally able to loosen his grip leaving them both lying on the ground.
“Starlight...”
“He...he told me to stop, that enough was enough, if I'd listened to him he...he'd still be here, but I didn't and now...I'll never see him again...”
Spike decided to let her vent, keeping his claws around her neck, now as a reassuring hug while Starlight cried and cried, when it finally seemed that her crying had calmed significantly the dragon decided to speak again.
“Starlight, I understand, you feel guilty and you think it should have been you, but, and of that I am sure, it is not what Sunburst would have wanted.”
At those words Starlight looked confused, pausing her sobs a bit to ask why that strange choice of words.
“What do you...what do you mean?”
“I mean Sunburst risked his life to save you, he gave everything to make sure you got back here safely, if you had died instead of him don't you think he would have felt the same or worse than you?”
Starlight thought for a moment, what Spike was saying made sense, but still the thought gnawed at her.
“But...if that were the case, he'd at least be here.”
“And do you really think he could handle all this?”
Starlight didn't understand what the dragon was getting at, it's not like she was an expert either but she was sure that wasn't the right way to cheer up someone in mourning.
“What I mean, is that you started all this, you are the leader and Sunburst knew that without you, this whole mission would go nowhere, he wasn't just saving you, he saved this whole operation, he gave you the opportunity to be here and not let his sacrifice have been in vain.”
The unicorn didn't remember Spike being so level headed, she thought back to the first time she had seen the little dragon, how she thought he was just a naive child, and also thought about how much time had really passed since then, he may have looked pretty much the same as he did back then but he had definitely changed a lot.
Starlight finally managed to recover, they both sat on the bed again, side by side facing the wall.
“Sunburst..he was never very adventurous, you know, not even when we were little...” Starlight still held Sumburst's horn in her hoof, holding it against her chest “Even when I goaded him to get out of the house once in a while he never agreed, he always wanted to stay home reading...”
Spike could see a nostalgic smile creep across Starlight's face.
“I can't believe that, the one adventure I managed to convince him to join me on was his last...” tears again appeared on her face as the dragon quickly hugged her from the side.
“At least...” began Spike ” I think it was the greatest adventure Equestria had ever seen...”
“Yes...I think you're right...” replied Starlight thoughtfully ”But Equestria must see it, of that there is no doubt.”
Spike smiled at Starlight's change in attitude, she still looked sad, but now more focused.
“Yes you're absolutely right!” exclaimed Spike ”And as a first step, we must send the evidence they got to Twilight so she can use it..”
“But how are we going to do that?” asked Starlight suddenly ”It just dawned on me that we don't even know where she is, she told me she lets me know when she gets to a safe place but she hasn't sent us anything How are we supposed to deliver it to her?”
At this Spike couldn't help but let out a mocking chuckle, one that missed Starlight the most.
“And what are you laughing at?” she asked somewhat annoyed.
“I'm laughing because you are forgetting the most obvious solution..”
Spikke was silent waiting for Starlight to understand what he was referring to, it took a moment for the unicorn to catch on but when she did she couldn't help a smile of reassurance as she now gently held her best friend's horn.
Twilight, her friends and Bek walked through the streets of the crystal empire, as they passed many of the inhabitants were staring at them, not only because they were five of the elements of harmony but also because they looked very different from what the crystal ponies were used to, the mares were dirty and disheveled, you could even perceive a slight unpleasant scent coming from them.
“Ehhh Twilight...” she began to say approaching the unicorn ”Remind me why we can't sneak into the castle at night.”
Twilight turned slightly noticing the discomfort of the mare who was trying to cover herself as much as possible with her hat and cloak.
“You have nothing to worry about Bek, I know you don't like the idea of being seen but as I told you this is a safe place...”
“Yes honey...” began Rarity ”You don't have to worry about the ponies around here, they may be a bit reserved and a bit eccentric but I can guarantee you their manners are impeccable”
“Rarity is right, of all the times we've been here no one has ever treated us badly...” began Applejack.
“Except the first time we came, everyone was gray and very grumpy” said Rainbow Dash causing the farm girl to give her an annoyed look.
“Well...!” interrupted Twilight ”That was because they were still under King Sombra´s spell.”
“Yes! Now everyone is happy, smiling a lot and having lots of parties!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
Bek was reminded of some old experiences by the name Sombra, for a second she thought about asking more about it but quickly dismissed the idea, after all the stallion she had known must have died a long time ago.
Finally before them stood the palace, towering like an imposing tower whose brilliance seemed to shine like a second sun.
“Bek? Is something wrong?” asked Twilight worriedly.
“No, it's nothing it's just....I don't really like the idea of sneaking into a castle uninvited, that never usually ends well.”
“Oh you have nothing to worry about...” started Twilight ”Cadance is one of my oldest friends and Shining Armor is my brother, I assure you they would never do anything to hurt you...”
Twilight couldn't finish the sentence as in an instant several dozen Empire guards came out of the doors, quickly surrounding Bek and pulling Twilight and her friends away from her, before any could protest a large figure in purple armor jumped out in front of them.
“Easy Twilight! You're safe now!” Shining Armor stands in a defensive stance while the guards surrounding Bek pointed their spears firmly at her.
“And this is exactly what I meant...” said the unicorn letting out an annoyed sigh.
“No! Shining Armor wait...!!!” started to say Twilight but was quickly interrupted.
“You don't have to explain anything Twilight, we're already aware of the situation..” he said seriously before turning to his guards ”Capture her! But be very careful, she's a very skilled fighter!”
The guards began to approach still holding their weapons aloft as Bek began to get upset, tensing his body and preparing to draw his sword.
“Shining Armor!!!” Twilight shouted finally getting the attention of her brother who turned around in confusion “Please listen to me! She's not evil!”
“No, she's just crazy!” replied the stallion but Twilight lashed out.
“That's not true, she needs help!”
The guards were getting closer and closer to Bek who had already started to flash his horn.
“Please, brother, just let me explain...” Twilight said with a pleading tone.
Shining Armor now hesitated, looking directly into his younger sister's eyes and finding no fear now put him in a dilemma, that runaway unicorn had shown terrifying sword skill, not to mention her attempt to hurt her sister during her coronation, but Twilight was begging him not to hurt her.
“You don't have to fear Twilight anymore, stop lying for this scum!”
Cadance flew majestically over the crowd, her beautiful wings outstretched and her crown perfectly visible, the moment she saw her Bek jumped all his alarms, pulling out the hilt of his sword and igniting the magical blade, all the guards instantly tensed up and prepared to lunge.
Seeing this Twilight quickly flashed her horn, teleporting right next to Bek and putting herself between her and Cadance.
“Everyone please stop!” shouted the purple alicorn ”Cadance please listen to me...!”
“Cadance?!” asked Bek in surprise, ”She's Cadance?!”
Twilight turned to see Bek who looked extremely upset.
“Yes, that's her why, what's the problem?”
“You didn't tell me she was a fucking alicorn too! How many of you exist now!”
Everyone present was startled by the curse, even Cadance looked indignant at the words.
“Twilight, get away from that pony, we know what she did to them, you don't have to defend her!” claimed the princess of love holding her breath.
“What are you talking about? She hasn't done anything to us...!”
“Enough..!” interrupts Cadance ”Stand back and let the guards capture her!”
“NO!!!” shouted Twilight, so loud it echoed beyond the castle grounds ”I won't do anything you say until you listen to what I have to tell you!”
At that moment Applejack and Rainbow Dash burst through the wall of guards, followed by Rarity and Pinkie Pie, they all moved in and surrounded Bek, getting in the way of the guards' spears.
“No matter what you think you know Cadance...!” began Twilight ”None of that matters now, just trust me when I tell you that you must listen to me.... and her.”
Cadance didn't know what to do, she didn't understand why Twilight and her friends would put themselves in danger to defend that unicorn who had caused so much havoc, the one who had threatened her own life, but just like Shining Armor, she met a look full of determination in her sister-in-law's eyes, one that seemed to have overcome any fear or doubt.
Finally Cadance gestured with his hoof and all the guards relaxed their stance, though still keeping their spears pointed.
“Well Twilight...” began Cadance as she descended and stood on the ground ‘I will listen to what you have to say, but she must surrender her weapon’ she said pointing to Bek who was still levitating his sword near her.
Twilight then exchanged glances with Cadance for a second, realizing she was completely serious, then turning to Bek she motioned for her to hand over her sword the unicorn quickly shook her head clearly still upset making Twilight insist.
“Please...”
“No” she replied firmly ”It's mine and I won't let them take it...”
“I'll take care of her for you...” interrupted Twilight making Bek look surprised ”Please, just so they'll listen to us.”
Bek hesitated a long moment, she really didn't trust this, recently discovered, new alicorn, or any of her glass armored guards, but Twilight's face didn't lie, it was obvious that the only inconvenient for this meeting to take place peacefully was her and her weapon, without any other choice Bek turned off the blade of her heavy and allowed Twilight to take it with her magic, keeping it in her saddlebag.
“There, that's it...” said Twilight looking back at Cadence who had a serious look on her face.
The princess of love walked through the corridors of her castle in the company of her husband, just behind her were Twilight and her friends surrounded by guards, and a little further back was Bek, separated from the rest and with even more guards around her checking her every move, the unicorn was beginning to feel trapped and she didn't like that at all.
Finally they all arrived at the throne room, the moment they entered almost all the guards dispersed, placing themselves at the sides of the room, except Bek's guards who stayed uncomfortably close to the mare and still holding their spears tightly.
“Alright Twilight, before you say anything let me read you something Princess Celestia sent me shortly after you disappeared...”
Twilight then felt panic slowly take hold of her, she knew it was likely Celestia would report her disappearance, but considering the welcome they had she was worried what kind of information she might have shared with Cadance, she even wondered if perhaps her friend was aware of what she was about to tell her, before Twilight could finish elaborating on those thoughts Cadance cleared her throat, appearing a scroll in front of her and beginning to read.
“Dear Princess Miamore Cadenza, I write to you now with a great concern in my being, as you may well know in recent days both myself and my sister Luna and your sister-in-law Twilight were victims of an attempt on our lives, something never seen before in Equestria, unfortunately I must inform you that I was not able to catch in time the perpetrator pony who unfortunately has undertaken another dirty trick, one that goes beyond anything I could have imagined.
Twilight and Bek both turned pale at this, if this was true it was likely that they were now in horrible danger, as Twilight did her best to quickly gather her thoughts Cadance spoke again.
“Despite the fact that yes, it seems that most of what this letter predicts is true, they don't seem to be under a spell to me, so do you want to explain this madness to me Twilight?”
Instead of answering the question posed to her Twilight responded with a completely different question.
“Did you even tell her yet?” her voice was breathless, fear at the thought that Celestia had already found out chilled her blood.
“What are you talking about?” asked Cadance.
“To Celestia, please tell me you haven't told her...”
“No, not yet..” replied Cadance finally understanding ”But don't get confused, if you can't give me a good explanation of what's going on here I won't hesitate to call her...”
Twilight let out a sigh of relief, there was still a chance, she just had to explain herself, but, before she could start she realized something.
“I can't do that if your guards are here....”
“What?” asked Cadance incredulously.
“What I have to say you must hear first, before you decide if it's wise to let more ponies know.”
Cadance for a second thought Twilight was joking, but her look didn't lie.
“Twilight If you know that goes against any common sense that seeks to preserve my safety? You can't be serious.”
“I'm very sorry Cadence, but it's necessary.”
Cadance thought seriously about it, no matter where she looked it seemed like a cheap technique to get her to let her guard down, definitely now she was even more suspicious about what the letter said, she shuffled the idea that Twilight was being controlled, turning her attention to Bek who kept her gaze to the ground, she couldn't appreciate her face covered by the hat but she couldn't feel magic coming from her either, just in that moment Shining Armor whispered to her.
“I think we should do what she says...”
Cadance looked at him in confusion.
“Listen, I've never seen her like this before, this seems serious indeed.”
“But what about the unicorn?” Cadance asked worried.
“If she tries anything, I'll take care of it” Shining put a hoof on Cadance's, holding her tightly and comforting her with a smile.
After a moment Cadance finally let out a sigh, she turned to her guards and motioned for them to leave the throne room, they hesitated for a moment before finally turning and slowly exiting until only Twilight, her friends, Bek, Cadance and Shining Armor were left in the room.
“All right Twilight, I'm listening.”
“Twilight...” she finally said ‘I have taken care of you since you were a baby, I am one of the few ponies that you can say that know you as well as you know yourself, that's why I want to believe that you know that I know how smart you are...’ the princess of love paused, thinking well what she would say ”And I assume that for that same reason you are also aware that what you are saying is completely crazy...”
Twilight was beginning to tire of that phrase, although she understood why, since recently, it had become so common to hear it, she couldn't expect any pony she said it to to understand it immediately, so she had already prepared herself with arguments to debate heatedly with Cadance if Cadance looked reluctant to accept it, however before she could begin her meticulously planned speech Cadance herself said something that neither Twilight nor anyone else present had expected.
“If you really expect me to believe this you are telling me I expect you to at least bring with you some proof.”
It came as a major surprise to realize that Cadance was willing to listen and not simply disavow what was being presented to her, a surprise that Twilight quickly shook off, reacting quickly to present what she had.
“That's right Cadance, I wouldn't have come here to tell you all this without proof, I'm not that naive, I know how everything I just told you sounds, trust me...” Twilight then turned to Bek, indicating her to come closer.
Bek hesitated for a moment but she knew that they were right now on the edge so he didn't want to complicate things any further, she slowly advanced until he stood right in front of the throne, still with her head down and without saying anything.
“She...she is my proof Cadance, she comes from that dark time, she is the reason I know all this now, she...she was a victim of Celestia and Luna in the past.”
Bek felt like an animal on display, it was a feeling she hated, she could feel the gaze of everyone in the room on her, still she stood her ground, turning slightly so that Cadance could see directly into her burnt ark at her side with the representation of what were clearly Celestia and Luna's cutie marks.
“Twilight...” began Cadance ”I'm sorry but, this is not enough...”
“What!” exclaimed Twilight.
“Do you really want me to be convinced just because you bring me a poor deranged and...maimed mare?”
“I have a name” interrupted Bek suddenly drawing everyone's attention.
“Excuse me...:?” asked Cadance.
“I'm not a poor mare I'm Bek and I'd appreciate it if you'd stop acting like I'm not here...”
Cadance finally got a clear view of the unicorn's face as well as her bright green eyes that remained fixed on her, without any hint of fear or respect for her, as Cadance looked into them she realized something he had deduced the first time she had seen the mare, something about her was not normal, certainly something about her was different than anything she had ever seen, at this she turned to Twilight and continued.
“Twilight, there's something wrong with this mare...”
“Of course there's something wrong with her, I told you she came from a different time than us...”
“And you really believed that? Please Twilight, you're not that innocent.”
“You don't know what I've seen since I met her, I'm completely convinced of her story and I'm willing to help her...”
“Help her in what?” exclaimed Cadance getting more and more upset.
“To unmask Celestia...”
“I can't believe it Twilight...” Cadance tapped her temple with her hoof in frustration “How can you believe what she says? You don't even know who she is or what the hell she is...”
“I'm a soldier!” firmly said Bek interrupting again, this time with an annoyed tone in his voice ”I'm a soldier and I fought for the damn lands you're standing on now, I fought on this place when it was just scorched and barren land to turn into your stupid empire!”
“How dare you!” exclaimed Cadence indignantly and finally turning to Bek.
“How dare I, I dare because Twilight assured me that you were someone worthy of her trust but in the end you turned out to be just as arrogant and stupid as your so acclaimed princesses, not to mention I'm still alive so from that I can deduce two things, first, you have no idea what we're talking about and second and more importantly, you're not a real alicorn either!”
Cadance didn't know what he meant by “Real Alicorn” however it was obvious that the unicorn had no intention of having a civil conversation.
“You dragged my friends for three damn months through no man's land, you come and stand at the entrance of my palace asking for my help and now you insult me?”
“I didn't know it was still a crime to ask respect from an alicorn.”
Bek faced Cadance, planting herself firmly without breaking eye contact while the alicorn didn't know how to react to this but could feel the anger building up.
“Please, let's all calm down...” Twilight then looked directly at Cadence “She, is a pony in trouble Cadence, and she needs our help..”
Cadance put her pride aside for a moment, there was no malice whatsoever in Twilight's words, she seemed like the same old Twilight, as contradictory as that thought was.
“Even if I didn't tell Celestia Twilight...” began Cadance ”I'm still not convinced by your story...”
“Then look at her memories...” suddenly exclaimed Twilight surprising Cadance ”Use a spell to read her mind so you'll know it's not a lie!”
Cadance looked again at Bek who still kept her gaze fixed on her, she again lost herself in the deep gleam of her eyes and considered it, Twilight was right, it was the ultimate test, to clear herself of all doubt, but, although she was almost certain that the story she was told could not be real, a hint of fear crept into her thoughts.
“I won't...”
“What!” asked Twilight incredulously.
“I'm sorry but, I don't trust the veracity of her memories, you know perfectly well that the mind connection spell is a double edged sword, if the mind of any of the participants is damaged in any way it's very possible that that imbalance will be transferred to the other pony, I won't risk damaging my mind by the altered memories of a crazy pony...”
“She's not crazy Cadance! yes maybe she's a little deranged, but she's not crazy...”
“Still she has a point...” interrupted Bek suddenly ”It's one thing to relate it and quite another to see it directly, I'm worried your friend might not be able to handle the shock.”
Twilight looked at Bek and analyzed what she had told her, she hadn't considered it but it was true, mind reading spells were a very complex and delicate thing, she didn't know what kind of repercussions there could be if Cadance got too deep into Bek's memories, another option was for Bek to project her own memories through her horn but this was even more complicated and she was sure the mare had no idea how to do that.
“Then let her see my memories!” exclaimed Twilight finally making everyone look at her strangely ”No, seriously think about it, I don't have many related memories but the little I have are blunt, that might clear the doubts...”
“Actually that's not a bad idea...” began Bek ‘Unless your friend is a purist and they aren't enough for her’ Bek gave Cadance an annoyed look which she decided to ignore for the sake of Twilight's good idea.
“Very well, that I can do” Cadence finally said.
Twilight and Cadance stepped slightly away from the others, facing each other and flashing their horns.
“Cadance...” began Twilight making Cadance look at her ”Just...no matter what you see or how horrible it is, believe me when I tell you it's all true...”
Cadance did not answer and simply nodded slightly, a light thread of magic came out of her horn, approaching little by little to Twilight's horn until touching it, connecting and in an instant, she felt that everything around her turned off.
Everything lasted only a second, a torrent of information that filled her in an instant, she could see the conversation Bek had had with Twilight, the sadness reflected in the unicorn's eyes, she saw the secret door in the castle of the two sisters, she saw the abominable creature on the roof of the cavern and the mountains of bones, then she felt the panic, the paralyzing fear and madness threatening to take over Twilight's mind, culminating in the memory of the tea with Celestia and her blood chilling monstrous expression, those orange eyes were fused in Cadance's own memory, even through the memory she could feel a primal fear within her, that couldn't be Celestia, it couldn't.
In less than a second Cadance came to, finding herself back in the throne room, the flood of memories stunned her to such a degree that she staggered backwards, seeing his wife almost falling to the ground Shining Armor quickly jumped up to hold her.
“Cadence! What happened, are you okay?” the stallion asked worriedly.
“Yes, I'm ...fine Shining” Cadance replied exhausted as she looked up to see Twilight who had also fallen and her friends were standing around her making sure she was okay ”That's...”
“Impossible...” interrupted Twilight ”I know that, and yet you just saw it...”
“But why, because Celestia would do all this...?”
“Because she can do it...” interrupted Bek approaching from the side and standing in the middle of both alicorns ”She doesn't have to have any reason to do what she does, make no mistake she has her reasons, although unfortunately the aforementioned are a mystery even to me, but that's just an addition, she thinks she has the right to rule over all things, that implies deciding over life and death...” Bek paused, she hadn't really thought much about her personal speech, she finally let out a sigh as she flashed her horn and covered her body again with her cloak “Listen Princess Cadance, you don't have to try to understand why your princesses do or don't do things, just trust us when we tell you that, whatever they are doing now, it's not a good thing at all.”
“And how are you so sure?” Cadance asked exalted.
“Because while I was locked in her dungeon the solar bitch kept repeating that my presence threatened everything she had been building up to this day,and I honestly don't think she meant her beloved kingdom Equestria...”
“Bek is right...” began Twilight ”Celestia is hiding something, we don't know what it is yet but it's something she's been working on for a long time, we must put it, whatever it is, to stop, and if possible and ultimately..." Twilight swallowed hard, she couldn't believe what she was about to say “Remove Celestia and Luna from their royal duties and put them on trial for their crimes against the ancient pony world.”
“Twilight...” said Cadance as she finally managed to stand up ”You're talking about overthrowing the princesses Do you understand how serious it is that you would even suggest it?”
“I'm very sorry Cadance but I see no more solution to our problem, an injustice has been done, one that both princesses hid in the past, one that could be the greatest barbarism ever seen by this world. Are we really going to stand by and do nothing even knowing that they have been getting away with it for so long?”
Twilight's question echoed in Cadance's mind, her friend was absolutely right, if it was all true it was something that couldn't be ignored. What kind of princess would she be if she let something like that go through, though the idea of overthrowing her lies still didn't quite convince her, maybe there was a more diplomatic way to resolve this.
“So what do you need from me?” finally asked Cadance.
Twilight couldn't help but smile with relief.
“For starters asylum, we need a safe place to start mapping out a plan of action.”
“You can stay in the castle no problem, I'll have rooms prepared for all of you...”
“I don't need a room...” interrupted Bek abruptly eliciting a confused look from Cadence "I ...prefer the outdoors, if you don't mind" she finished by relaxing the tone of her voice and bowing slightly.
“Oh...no problem, as long as you don't inconvenience my citizens everything will be fine” Cadance replied trying to be polite.
“Well...” resumed Twilight ” Next we need to figure out a way to convince as many ponies as possible of Bek's story.”
“Not an easy step at all...” suddenly interrupted Applejack.
“Yeah, if we, who saw it firsthand had a hard time taking it in ¿how are we going to convince all of Equestria that the princesses are evil?” asked Rainbow exaggerating her tone.
“I have to agree with this...” began Rarity ”I sincerely doubt that our memories of the cavern and Bek's emm..torturous dodgy memory will be enough to convince anyone, after all she's just a pony.”
“If only there was a super convenient way to get more direct memories of that era lost in time” exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
At that moment a strange sound filled the room, it sounded like a gas coming out under pressure, a sound that quite disturbed the atmosphere and made everyone look up, finding a small purple cloud that seemed to build up more and more, everyone looked confused for a moment before suddenly the cloud of smoke turned into a small package wrapped roughly in paper and it fell to the floor with a thud.
Everyone looked quizzical for a second before Twilight and her friends shouted in unison.
“Spike!”
It was indeed one of the little dragon's breath shipments, the smoke and slight burning scent was unmistakable, quickly everyone approached the package, Twilight flashed her horn and untied the small cord holding the package, she had no idea what it could be but if Spike sent something to Twilight directly it had to be important, quickly the wrapping was opened and, the moment the contents were exposed to everyone, the faces of almost everyone present twisted into expressions of panic and disgust.
“For the help you surely need.”
S-
It was midnight on the outskirts of Canterlot, all the ponies were sleeping peacefully in what was an extremely quiet night.
For a moment nothing could be seen but the darkness of the entrance but little by little and from the bottom a flash of golden light and a blue one began to be seen, finally Celestia came out of the cavern, stopping for a minute to appreciate the sunlight reflected on the moon which was shining fully in the sky.
“Sister, not to rush you but this is very heavy...!”
Luna's voice was heard speaking from further back in the cavern.
“Oh! sorry sis” said Celestia turning away from the entrance.
Soon after a huge iron cage was pushed out of the cavern and right behind it came out Princess Luna who was sweating profusely and collapsed as soon as she stepped outside.
When Luna finally managed to gather the strength to get up, she approached her sister cautiously.
“Celestia...” she called softly.
“Yes! what is it Luna?” the voice of Celestia was calm and cheerful, on her face was a smile full of peace and calm, as if the two of them were just sharing a tender moment.
Luna hesitated at this, she really had been having a hard time reading her sister's feelings lately, she couldn't even guarantee anymore if that little casual gesture was sincere or not, finally she managed to get the hindrances out of her head and spoke even with a low voice.
“You know, we can still fix this, we just have to come up with a proper excuse and ...I'll take care of Bek, I can promise you that she won't interfere with our plans again...” the soft speech was interrupted by an equally soft chuckle.
“Oh little sister, I know you miss having fun with your little pet, but you must understand that she is no longer simply a piece of meat for your amusement, in this beautiful world we built, she has become a danger, a threat too great to pass up If you understand?”
Luna didn't want to try her luck, she had decided to be cautious , she had to move forward little by little.
“Yes, I understand sister, but even so, this still seems...excessive” Luna looked at the cage and felt a chill, not because she knew what was inside, but rather because of the perpetual silence the thing kept, that was unnatural and disturbed her deeply by this fact.
“It may be a drastic thing Luna but we must make sure that her death is effective and that, in the end, not the slightest trace of her is left in this world...”
“And what about Twilight and her friends?” asked Luna bluntly.
“Well...” Celestia thought about her answer “It's possible that, as things stand, we may have to dispose of some of the elements of harmony, but, lucky for us, all the threats of Equestria were finally eradicated, so it seems to me that we'll be fine until the next reincarnations show up, as long as she brings Twilight in one piece we'll be just fine.”
Luna didn't know what else to say anymore, she couldn't disavow her sister's plan without getting into conflict and that, wasn't an option, at least for now.
“Well what are you waiting for?” said Celestia suddenly.
Receiving a confused look from Luna Celestia let out a sigh.
“To open the cage dear, after all I opened the cavern..” Saying this Celestia flashed her horn and the large entrance to the cave slowly closed behind them.
Luna walked with resignation towards the opposite side of the cage, shining her horn, this glow started to cover the bars of the cage one by one until it was completely covered, Luna started to open the internal mechanisms of the cage little by little, just at the moment she felt the last lock she stopped and looked at her sister and tried to reason with her one last time.
“Sister how do we know it won't get out of control?”
“I told you Luna, it's likely that, because of hunger, it will devour a couple of innocent ponies on its way to Bek, but it won't go on a slaughter unless they get in its way...” the tone of Celestia suddenly became sterner, in a light and almost imperceptible tone, but without a doubt, demanding ”Now, please, open the cage.”
Luna felt a shiver, resisted the urge to start shaking uncontrollably and simply unlocked the last latch without thinking.
In that instant the entire cage disintegrated in a flash of blue, disappearing completely and, in less than a second, whatever was inside shot off into the trees in the distance, so fast that all that could be seen was a flash of black.
“And that's it!” exclaimed Celestia happily ‘Now we'll just wait for him to come back and everything will finally be solved’ the alicorn let out a sigh of relief and immediately flew calmly in the direction of the castle.
Luna could only stand there looking in the direction the thing went, listening to the high-pitched screech getting farther and farther away in the darkness of the night.
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 15: Everything Tastes Different.
Author's Note
I know it is implicit in the classifications of history, but it seems appropriate to warn.
This chapter takes a step up a notch when it comes to issues of violence and abuse, if you are not comfortable with these issues please refrain from reading.
Discussions with the reader are encouraged.
Chapter 15: Everything Tastes Different.
In the great dining room of the castle of the crystal empire, the friends were sitting at the table enjoying a very prominent breakfast, Cadance and Shining Armor, sitting at the far end of the table, were struggling to feed Flurry Heart, who did nothing but laugh and throw food everywhere, Pinkie was the closest to this little show, catching with her tongue the pieces of hotcake and scrambled eggs that the baby catapulted with her magic, on the other hand Rarity was the one who had decided to sit the farthest away from what, as she predicted, would be a very cute but dirty battle between parents and daughter, finally Rainbow and Applejack were halfway between both extremes, sitting side by side while holding each other's hooves, Twilight and Bek were nowhere to be seen.
“I see Flurry Heart has already become more skilled with the use of her magic...” began Rarity as she dodged a piece of dough that flew to her side of the table.
“Yes, she's getting sharper every day, but that's a good sign, according to what Sunburst had told us that means, when she grows up she won't have trouble learning elaborate spells” replied Cadance as she levitated a napkin to wipe off the food that was staining her face.
“Yep, she's our talented little wizard...” exclaimed Shining as she took the baby in her arms and sat her on her lap ”Though honestly, as smart as she is you'd think she'd notice how much we struggled during breakfast.”
They all laughed in unison, after everything that had happened so far, it was great to share a quiet moment, but that didn't last long, once the laughter had died down, everyone fell back on the heavy resolution that, Sunburst, would never be there to advise Flurry when she grew up, he would no longer be able to fulfill her job as a crystallizer, to break the silence Applejack decided to clarify the doubt that had been gnawing at her since the beginning of the breakfast.
“And...Twilight won't be joining us?”
Everyone shared nervous glances before Cadence cleared her throat to answer.
“Well ahem...I invited her but she said she had to keep analyzing the memories of the...well of the horns...”
“She's been locked up for days with those horns hasn't she?” asked Rainbow with a concerned tone.
“Indeed, she hasn't left the castle library, not even to use the powder room” continued Rarity.
“She hasn't let us in either, she insists she won't show us anything until she's sure what's inside...” Shining finished crestfallen.
Suddenly the atmosphere became somber, even little Flurry stopped laughing as she noticed how sad her parents seemed to be, this time it was Pinkie who broke the silence.
“What about Bek? Did someone invite her to breakfast?” she exclaimed with a mouth full of food.
The question surprised everyone, Pinkie innocently looked at everyone's faces denoting embarrassment on their faces, deducing what was most obvious.
“Wait...no one did?!”
“I..I figured one of you would warn him..” admitted Applejack.
“Oh I would have done it no doubt dear but...well..” Rarity started but didn't know how to excuse herself.
“Well, the thing is, none of us know where she is...” finished Rainbow curtly.
At that moment Shining Armor cleared her throat and spoke.
“Ahem well, that's not entirely true, the guards informed me that he took up residence in the gardens of the royal quarters, he's been there since he arrived...”
They all shared nervous glances again with the exception of Pinkie.
“Well then, why don't we invite her?” asked the pink pony again.
Everyone went quiet again, at least until Cadance spoke up.
“Well Pinkie Pie, not that I mind her presence or anything, but she seems to be determined not to enter the castle unless absolutely necessary.”
“And, if we're really going to be honest here sugar cube...” began Applejack ”I don't think inviting her would have been a good idea.”
“But why not? She doesn't seem like the kind of pony that has bad table manners” Pinkie asked now very confused.
“Well dear, I don't think that's the problem, it's just that, well she's something....” said Rarity.
“That pony is super weird” exclaimed Rainbow.
“But what's wrong with that? I'm weird...”
“She's not weird like you Pinkie Pie, your weirdness is fun, hers is kind of...depressing” said Rarity heavily.
Pinkie didn't understand, she thought Bek and her best friends were already best friends, after all they had gone through three months of trekking to get to the empire safe and sound, but she found herself surprised to learn that her presence seemed to be off-putting to everyone present.
“But, she doesn't do it on purpose...” began Pinkie ”We all know perfectly well that it's not her fault she's like that...”
“Pinkie is right...” began Cadance ”I understand that her presence may be somewhat uncomfortable for us but that is no reason to exclude her, after all she comes from a much less kind time than ours, it seems to me the least we can do is to show her how much the world has changed for the better in her absence.”
“You may be right...” replied Applejack ” I'm sure the least she'd want to do is inconvenience us.”
“Not to mention, without her we would be completely helpless in the face of our current situation” continued Rarity.
“Great!” exclaimed Candance ”Why don't you guys go and offer her something to eat...I'll go check on Twilight...she might be hungry too.”
“I...I'll go talk to the guards...” began Shining ”Some of them are extremely nervous and have been keeping an eye on Bek the whole time...”
Breakfast continued with some haste, the conversation became more relaxed and in the end everyone went their separate ways.
The four mares were walking around the outskirts of the castle, surrounding it in the direction of the barracks where the empire's royal guard rested and trained every day, as they advanced between the large elongated buildings they could see guards marching in formation wearing their elegant armor made of shining crystal, they all noticed that, strangely, there were some pegasus and unicorns standing out among the large amount of earth ponies.
“How strange...” said Rainbow ”I thought all the crystal ponies were earth ponies...”
“Well my dear...” replied Rarity ”Being part of the royal guard of the crystal empire is a most glamorous honor, since the empire became so prosperous many ponies from Equestria move north in search of better opportunities, a good portion of them enlist in the imperial army as it is an accessible position and guarantees a good livelihood.”
“You'd think that being such a small kingdom it wouldn't have such a large royal guard...” said Applejack somewhat thoughtfully.
“Well, their job goes beyond just being soldiers my dear, they are public servants as well, they help the citizens with any problem they might come across from a fire to a kitten stuck in a tree...”
“But there are no trees or kittens here!” exclaimed Pinkie as she pranced around.
“That's just a saying Pinkie.”
Finally the mares reached the courtyards behind the buildings, surprised to find a considerable crowd of guards crowded at one end of the field.
“I've never seen such perfect swordplay” spoke one stallion with his mouth open.
“And you saw those wounds...I'm sure she's put those skills to use” said another pony beside him as he gave him a little shove on the shoulder.
“Now I understand the sergeant when she makes us train late without our armor on, she's so sexy!” exclaimed a pegasus with her wings outstretched.
Applejack then noticed Bek's face, she looked extremely uncomfortable, trying her best to ignore the, not at all disguised, stares on her, at one point during a wide sweep with the sword Bek seemed to experience a twinge of pain that made her lose her balance and collapse to the ground, the blade of her sword immediately went out and the hilt fell to the ground with a thud.
At that moment Applejack's patience ran out, standing firmly in front of the guards and exclaiming.
“All right that's enough, show's over!”
At the mare's annoyed look all the guards looked to the ground in embarrassment and slowly retreated.
Applejack walked until she was right in front of Bek and held out her hoof to help her up, the unicorn hesitated for a second before finally deciding to reciprocate the gesture, grabbing the farm girl's firm hoof and surprising herself a little when she felt the strength of her grip.
“Emmm Bek....” Applejack finally began ”We hope we're not disturbing you in your activities tomorrow but... well...”
“We wanted to know if you wanted breakfast, technically it would be lunch by now but since you weren't there for you it would still be breakfast because it would be your first meal of the day...” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly.
Bek was somewhat taken aback at the proposal, she paused for a second trying to deduce if it was some kind of joke or something but the mares faces denoted nothing of the sort, she quickly shook her head and began to put on her cloak, covering her body as she nervously responded.
“Oh...uh, well...I...I appreciate it but I, in fact, already ate something...”
“Oh, really?” asked Rarity quizzically ”Well that's...wonderful! It's good to see you have good eating habits. What did you eat?”
Bek then pointed to the freshly mowed grass of the training field as she put on his hat, covering his face, they all shared quizzical looks.
“You umm...ate grass?”
“Yes, fresh grass is the best thing to recover energy quickly and stop feeling hungry for the rest of the day, although this one is kind of short and has a strange taste, honestly I would prefer the one that grows in that forest next to your little town...”
They were all silent not knowing what to say and Bek began to feel uncomfortable, she knew that her way of doing things bothered most of the ponies of this new time, that was the reason why she had decided not to stay in the castle, well because of that and also because no way she would stay in a huge closed place of which she didn't know the possible exits, she had thought about going further away from the castle to find a place that would give her more privacy for her daily routine but she came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be a good idea if at some point they require her help, the unicorn finally cleared her throat and spoke nervously.
“Well yes...as I said I appreciate you wanting to share your food with me but, truth be told, it doesn't sound appetizing to me...”
“Wait...really?!” asked Pinkie in surprise ”How can you not find a freshly baked apple pie, or a tray of chocolate chip cookies, or a fluffy, crunchy muffin appetizing?”
“The truth is, I tried trying new food during my trip back to Equestria and the truth is...I found them extremely unpalatable, I don't know why, but those new flavors just don't appeal to me.”
“Is that why you didn't accept any of my cupcakes during the trip on the way here?”
“Yes, especially that colorful food, I find it unappetizing...”
Pinkie let out a gasp, deeply dismayed by Bek's opinion towards the sweets, causing Bek to shrug her shoulder in embarrassment, believing she had offended the pink pony.
“I...I'm sorry, it's just...it's all too different, and I'm not sure I could ever get used to how you guys do things, at least not in the near future...”
“Is that why you didn't want to stay at the castle?” asked Applejack.
“One of the reasons...” the unicorn answered half-heartedly.
“Well, we don't have to go there if you don't want to, however, as far as food goes, I'm sure we can find something that will be to your liking, not everything in this time is all sugar, as Pinkie Pie may have you believe” said the farm girl.
“Hey! Sweet is the best food of all!”
“Maybe for you dear, but it seems to me that our companion here prefers the more...sober flavors” Rarity spoke while the unpleasant thought of eating grass still crossed her mind.
“So what do you say, you want us to help you find something to eat?” Applejack gave Bek a gentle smile.
The unicorn wasn't sure, she didn't quite understand why all of a sudden these ponies seemed to hang out with her, there was no reason, no logical or necessary reason for that.
“Emm I...” she paused as she looked down ”I don't know, I wouldn't want to interrupt your daily activities...”
“Oh, we don't have anything to do...” interrupted Applejack ”As long as Twilight finishes analyzing the evidence Starlight sent her, we'll have a couple of quiet days...” Applejack wasn't sure about that last part, the way things were going, she doubted that “Quiet” would even come close to what would surely end up being days full of angst, still she kept her smile and friendly tone “And we'll be glad to show you some of the good things this new world has to offer right girls?”
They all nodded in unison, some more animated than others, Bek could notice how both the blue pegasus and the white unicorn seemed to be nodding more out of obligation than out of a genuine feeling of solidarity, still she decided to stop making excuses, after all she had nothing else to do either.
“That's fine, though I doubt we'll find something I like...”
Cadance was walking in the direction of the castle library at a slow pace, she was carrying a tray with some cucumber sandwiches on it, she was trying to delay her arrival as long as possible, she didn't want to have to deal with obsessive Twilight right now, it had been bad enough dealing with her own royal guard, they all doubted the veracity of Twilight's story, even when Cadance herself had confirmed it to them they remained skeptical, she hoped that soon Twilight would finish examining the memories of the horns so that she could show them to the populace and there would no longer be room for doubt.
Finally before her was the large door to the library, no noise could be heard coming from inside so Cadance assumed Twilight would be asleep or something, she decided to enter quietly, so as not to wake her in case she was right.
Twilight's horn glowed with a purple hue had, a thread of magic came out of this glow and connected directly with the plucked horn in front of her, Cadance was cautious realizing that her friend had her eyes closed and didn't seem to notice her presence, she could see her dirty fur and unkempt mane, obvious result of having been locked up and sleeping badly for days, the alicorn was even more surprised when she got close enough to notice, Cadance was surprised because, considering the amount of tears, Twilight in theory should have been sobbing uncontrollably, but no, her face remained peaceful and completely concentrated, not even her breathing seemed agitated, she wondered what kind of things she was experiencing.
She was really curious about it, after so many days when Twilight had refused to share the contents of the horns, this was her chance to finally know, but did she really want to know? she already knew that the orange horn was Sunburst's, who, according to what Twilight had told them, had tragically died to ensure that these tests and her friends managed to escape their time travel, that meant that the other horn must be from a pony from the past, from the time that Bek was supposed to have come from, she didn't know what kind of things would have been stored in the memories of whoever the original owner was but, if she was really honest with herself, she couldn't deny that she was really dying to see.
It was, more than simple curiosity, a morbid desire to see first hand the horrible and impossible things that Bek and Twilight claimed were true, finally and against all hints of common sense, Cadance carefully placed the tray of food on the floor, walked to stand in front of Twilight on the other side of the horn, and began to concentrate on connecting to the mind-reading spell.
It didn't take her long, though it wasn't a spell she would normally use, it wasn't a very complicated one, in fact it was one of the first taught in higher magical education, listed as a historical spell, used by the unicorns of old to establish honest bonds between merchants and marriages, it guaranteed complete sincerity and transparency since, unless the receiving unicorn was dead, the spell would not work without the explicit permission of both parties.
She took a deep breath, feeling the thread of magical energy coming from her own horn and being inevitably drawn to the spell in process, closed her eyes and let herself be carried away by the flood of memories.
At first it was like when she did it with Twilight, an endless stream of blurry images moving at high speed as if it were a tunnel, little by little Cadance felt dragged by the magical trail that Twilight was leaving in her path, stopping in the same memories in which Twilight had been.
“Hello...” spoke the mare faintly ‘Hello little one, it's your mommy, don't cry anymore...’ the vision darkened again as the mare pulled her baby close to her chest, hugging her even tighter as she cried with joy ”My Sweet Cherry, my beautiful treasure...”
Cadence site the tug again, pulled into another memory that contrasted greatly with the first one she had seen, she heard again the high pitched cry from before but now it was accompanied by many more cries, all was dark for a moment until, before her, a village covered in flames was revealed, ponies ran from one side to the other in panic while huge shadows flew over the pitch black sky, suddenly it seemed to move forward at great speed, the view turned and she could see the face of the same mare as before, which had a face full of ashes, with tears in her eyes and making her way through the fire.
“Don't worry little one...” the mare spoke in a panic, ”We'll just find a place to hide and everything will be.... “Just at that moment something seemed to tear the mare from the ground, releasing the baby who fell abruptly to the ground, screaming and crying from the pain and fear, the only thing that could be seen was how a huge scaly tail rose at great speed and was lost in the distance while the screams of agony of the mare disappeared little by little, accompanied by a bestial roar.
A new pull and a new memory was projected before Cadance, it was the same image of the previous memory, only this time it was daytime and you could see the remains of the houses made ashes, the baby was still crying weakly, apparently she was under some debris, suddenly you could hear footsteps approaching little by little, until out of nowhere something removed the debris over the baby, something grabbed her and lifted her up abruptly, when she turned he saw the face of a stallion, he had a huge scar from the base of his chin to the top of his head, his face was deformed in a sinister grimace, the stallion looked at the baby for a long moment, thoughtful until a voice behind him interrupted him.
“Hey, did you find something!?”
Behind the stallion's face was a mare with a shorn mane, dressed in very dirty black and brown robes, she stopped as she noticed what the pony was holding.
“No shit! a baby...what a lucky little one, who knew she would be the only survivor of something like this...too bad we have her going to starve to death.”
“I think I want to keep her...” said the stallion without turning to look at his companion.
“Really?! Come on don't fuck Rotten Trunk what the fuck are you going to do with a baby?”
The stallion didn't answer, he just smiled hugely without taking his eyes off the little girl he was holding, at that moment the mare behind him grimaced unpleasantly and exclaimed.
“Seriously Rotten Trunk, sometimes you seriously disgust me...”
Another tug and Cadance was now in front of what appeared to be a huge tree, small red hooves held a huge axe intended to hit the trunk as best she could, failing miserably, suddenly a loud scream made the filly jump.
“What the fuck are you doing Frozen Cereal, I told you to chop down that tree!!!”
The little girl turned around to see the huge scar pony coming quickly towards her.
“I'm...I'm sorry daddy it's just that I...I can't carry the axe...”
“Then what the fuck good are you to me!” the stallion threw a powerful blow that sent the filly to the ground, whipping her head around ”This is how you thank me for rescuing you, feeding you and raising you!”
The little girl cried still on the floor, holding her sore cheek from the blow.
“I'm...I'm...I'm...I'm so sorry daddy...” she said between sobs fighting for her voice not to break.
“Oh you're going to be sorry, you're really going to be sorry you useless little girl, I think I'm going to have to punish you today too...”
“No! No please daddy don't...!”
The filly's pleas fell on deaf ears, the stallion grabbed her by the mane forcefully, dragging her along the ground as the little girl screamed and struggled, the little girl was thrown inside what appeared to be a small tent, falling face first against the ground and turning quickly to see the stallion who held a whip in his mouth.
“NO!!! DADDY NO!!! I WILL BE GOOD I PROMISE!!!” the filly screamed in desperation but to no avail.
The stallion hit hard one woe again the little one who let out screams that seemed to tear her little throat, Cadance could see how the foal's body was filled with deep bleeding wounds that were deeply marked on her skin, finally the blows stopped and the little one stopped screaming, shaking uncontrollably on the ground as tears still welled up in her eyes, a noise was heard behind her and the next thing to be seen was the stallion hugging the little girl from behind, stroking her head gently and giving her a small kiss.
“Shhh shhh shhh that's it little one that's it, remember I'm doing this because I love you...” just as the filly was about to lose consciousness from the pain the stallion whispered something else ”Besides, don't forget, daddy likes how little girls squeal...”
Another tug and now in front of Cadence was a small mirror, reflected in it was the face of an adolescent mare, her black mane was in complete disarray and her red coat stained, showed huge black circles under her yellow eyes and she was lying in what appeared to be the same tent.
The next memory came immediately after, the mare was thrown violently against the tent floor, coughing violently and struggling to get up.
“AHHHHHH!!! you bitch, you fucking bitch!!!” the stallion staggered back and forth while covering his face with his hooves, despite this a huge amount of blood was perfectly visible, screaming profusely and staining his coat.
The stallion pulled the knife out of his eye, looking furiously at the mare and pouncing on her, she struggled with all her might but the stallion subdued her by putting all his weight on her and looking her in the face.
“You're a fucking cunt!!!! after all I did for you!!! THIS IS HOW YOU PAY YOUR FATHER?!!!!”
“You are not my father!!!” the mare screamed at the top of her lungs as she spat in the stallion's face ”You are my fucking nightmare and I will never be your plaything ever again!!!”
The stallion couldn't help but let out a laugh at this, despite his, now empty socket, bleeding uncontrollably, as he grinned hugely at having the mare under him, in a moment the stallion looked at the knife lying on the ground and his grin grew even bigger.
“Well, I respect your slutty attitude, I must admit it even warms me up a bit...” the stallion took the knife and held it in front of the mare's face ”But, unfortunately, you stabbed my fucking eye and you know what queens say...”
The stallion stabbed the right eye of the mare who screamed horribly and jerked violently, the memory then seemed to be cut in half as the eye was completely shattered by the knife.
“An offense must be repaid in kind!”
The stallion laughed loudly while the mare felt like she was going to faint, in the midst of her desperation she finally came up with an idea, she shook her head in a sudden movement throwing the stallion off balance and, in less than a second, the mare used her own horn to stab the stallion's other eye, stabbing him so deep that even an unpleasant hollow sound was heard.
“Never again...”
The next memory was no better, in front of the mare were three new corpses, two stallions and a mare that, Cadance recognized, was that she had talked to the stallion when they found the baby, they all had their eyes gouged out and ropes around their necks broken, then the mare looked up to see a rather large group of ponies of all kinds, all dressed in black and brown clothes and with guns on their backs, suddenly the mare exclaimed, they all seemed to be in the middle of a large camp in the middle of the forest.
“So whores!!! IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO CHALLENGE ME!!!”
There was no response, everyone present exchanged glances and whispered amongst themselves for a moment, finally a mare without one of her front legs came up and stood in front of everyone.
“We don't give a shit who our leader is, as long as he shows us strength and guarantees us wealth and fun, if you can give us that...then we will follow you!”
Then everyone present shouted with jubilation, celebrating and laughing at their new leader.
What followed was a series of memories that passed in quick succession, she saw the mare ordering her people to plunder villages and farms, she saw how they murdered most stallions and stole the foals and mares, she saw obscene celebrations filled with alcohol, violence and abuse, she saw how the mare whipped with the same whip that the stallion used on her little foals that only cried and screamed in agony, and finally she saw how, finally, the mare began to extort farmers to pay her with crops or money so that she could give herself and her groups an ever more and more luxurious life.
Finally before her she saw the reflection of an adult mare, dressed in nothing more than a simple black turtleneck sweater, she watched as the mare removed it with her magic and all the scars marked on her body were visible, including the huge scar that the iron necklace had left on her neck, She looked thoughtful and melancholic for a moment, in her eyes was reflected a deep sadness and loneliness, but suddenly she shook her head, seeming to push those thoughts out of her mind, a huge smile was drawn on her face and from her mouth only two words came out.
“Never again...”
In that instant Cadance felt another tug, but this time she felt it pull her back, much stronger than anything she had felt so far and, in less than a second, she was back in the castle library.
“Cadance, what the hell were you thinking!”
Cadance didn't answer, she couldn't, she could feel the lump in her throat and the tears falling uncontrollably down her eyes, in fact, she wasn't even sure she was breathing, she could barely feel her breath coming in and out, seeing this Twilight relaxed her expression and approached her friend, speaking this time in a low, calm tone.
“Cadance?...” she paused before asking if she was okay, at this point it was a stupid question ”Look, I know you're not okay...this was the reason I didn't want to say anything...I...I was hoping everything would be less bad than it seemed but...no, it's hell...”
Cadance could see Twilight lower her head in grief, her haggard face reflecting the suffering of having spent sleepless nights engrossed in those horrible memories.
“I thought I had overcome my denial in the face of this matter...” continued Twilight ”I thought nothing would make me want to wake up from this non-existent nightmare anymore, but, now, all I want is for all this to be a lie...”
“Twilight...” Cadance tried to say, but was interrupted.
“Because, if that poor mare, being a random pony, insignificant to the empire created by Celestia and Luna, had such a horrible and violent life...what kind of life will Bek have had?”
Twilight looked straight into Cadance's eyes, trying to find some kind of comfort, but there was nothing, she only had to look for a second to know, there was nothing either of them could say, they simply both remained silent, sitting on the cold floor while the red horn was still levitating in the center of the room, still glowing slightly from the magic used just a short while ago.
Bek walked in the company of the four mares, the streets of the empire were full because of the busy midday life in the empire, some ponies that saw them passing by, recognized some of the mane six and approached to say hello and chat a little.
“And here it is!” exclaimed Rarity excitedly ”The most famous restaurant in the crystal empire, with the best service and the finest dishes!”
Bek took a closer look at the place, it looked extremely clean, cleaner than any palace she had ever seen in her time, the ponies inside were dressed strangely and the food served to them was small, adorned with a lot of little shiny things that Bek couldn't identify, but they certainly looked very strange.
“Well what are you waiting for? Let's go in!”
“Rarity...” began Applejack ”I honestly don't think this is a good place for Bek to eat something decent...”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean this place looks too fancy, and the food seems to be too extravagant, I would think Bek would much more appreciate something with less presentation and more taste.”
Rarity was offended for a second, responding with some annoyance in her voice.
“Well, I'm sure Bek wants to try each and every option we have to offer her, who knows maybe this, being the fancy stuff, will give her palate an amazing experience Won't it Bek?”
Rarity turned to look at the unicorn and was surprised to notice that she was hyperventilating, her body twitching in little spasms and sweat was beginning to cover what little of her face her hat let on.
“Hey dear...are you all right?”
Bek turned quickly to Rarity coming out of her trance and answered her absentmindedly.
“Uh..what...ah yes yes I'm fine, it's just...”
“Just what dear? Tell us, if there's something bothering you you can tell us.”
“It's just that, well...there are a lot of ponies in there...”
At that moment Rarity understood what she was referring to and felt embarrassed for not considering the aversion Bek seemed to have to crowds.
“Oh how I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable...” Rarity paused thinking of some solution “We can, if you like, sit at one of the tables outside.”
Bek seemed to calm down at the idea, regaining control of her breathing and feeling less pressured.
“Yes I...I think that would be fine...”
They all chose a table which was the furthest away from the main entrance of the restaurant and sat down one by one, once all four friends were seated it was Bek's turn who in trying to sit down was prevented by the voluptuous layer of straw she was wearing.
“Err, dear, I think it would be better if you took off your cloak...” Rarity regretted it when she saw the look Bek gave her, it wasn't hostile or aggressive, but it clearly said no to that suggestion “Oh...you can leave it on, never mind, although, I think if you need to take your hat off to eat...”
Bek finally managed to find a comfortable position in the chair and, reluctantly, ended up removing her hat, though she tried to keep her head down the huge scar on her face inevitably attracted a few stares, some from passersby and some from ponies seated at other outside tables.
“And...Bek, as I understand it you were some sort of soldier...” began Rarity somewhat nervously.
“Yes” she replied dryly.
“Emmm and well, I guess you served with a lot of other ponies like yourself...”
“Yeah.”
Rarity gulped.
“Errr, what I really wanted to know is...emm...when you weren't fighting what did you guys do to pass the time?”
The question caught Bek off guard, it really was a curious questioning that distracted her from how uncomfortable she felt, pondering deeply, searching through her memories.
“Well...” she finally started to say ”Most of the time we just talked to each other, telling stories about battles and things we saw on our travels...”
They all paid attention, suddenly curiosity had invaded them and they listened expectantly about the times of old.
“Other times we get to drink, we usually did it after a big victory and when there were no higher ups around...”
“Uuuh a drinking party, the best parties if one is of the right age!” exclaimed Pinkie.
“Oh and we used to fuck a lot too...” said the mare nonchalantly making the others freeze.
She had said it so matter-of-factly that it was impossible that it was with bad intentions, still they all blushed and exchanged looks of disbelief, even some of the ponies sitting closest spat out their drinks as they eavesdropped on the conversation.
“Oh hehehe wow, and emm...you...you guys...ahem..really?”
“Yes, it was always the best way to release stress, plus it helped us to have a stronger bond during battle..”
“And why is that?” asked Rainbow Dash still blushing.
“You always fight better when you fight side by side with ponies you've shared a bed with..” Bek seemed to grow nostalgic as she said this, delving deeper and deeper into her memories as a slight smile appeared on her face.
Applejack cleared her throat as the waiter returned with five plates of salad.
“Well, it sounds like you and your former comrades were very...close.”
“Yes, we were brothers and sisters, bound together by blood and duty, with an oath to move forward together no matter the harshness of battle or the bravery of our enemy...”
The smile on Bek's face faded, suddenly the mood she had begun to show fell apart, the waiter looked quizzically at the situation, setting the plates down as Applejack handed him a couple of coins and he walked away.
“I know it may not be the most humble presentation...” said Rarity noticing the mare's displeasure ”But I assure you it's made with the best ingredients in all of Equestria.”
Bek hesitated, it didn't convince her at all, but on the other hoove, the mares had been extremely kind, even if their kindness came from guilt, she thought it would be rude to refuse when they had tried so hard to make her feel comfortable.
They all stood in expectant silence, watching the mare chew still with her eyes closed, for a moment it looked like Bek relaxed her jaw and began to open her eyes but this was interrupted, Bek spat the bite onto the rest of the salad, coughing in disgust and trying to avoid vomiting.
Applejack positioned herself on Bek's back tapping her lightly to help her breathe while Rarity magicked a glass of water closer, handing it to her as the mare quickly drank it down.
“I...cough cough...sorry...cough cough...I just...cough cough...”
“Please don't apologize dear” Rarity exclaimed in shock ”It's my fault, I should have asked you for something simpler.”
“No no no...” said Bek finally controlling her cough and finishing drinking the glass of water ”I'm sorry, it's just...I can feel the lettuce and cheese and that weird sweet stuff...the combination sticks in my mouth...it doesn't feel good....”
They all fell silent, they didn't know how to react to this, they realized that after the little incident everyone inside and outside the restaurant was staring at them, the ponies exchanged worried glances and some were muttering to each other with unpleasant expressions, finally and after a moment Applejack finally spoke quietly.
“I think we should go...”
The five mares walked through the streets again, this time with their spirits less prominent, Bek walked to the back of the group with her head down, the embarrassment she felt now was due to the bad time she gave the others.
“I...I'm really sorry...” she started to say ”I didn't mean to cause trouble...”
Applejack turned around quickly.
“You don't have to apologize sugar cube, that food was too elaborate, it's normal that you found it unpleasant...”
“Rude...” whispered Rarity before turning to Bek ”But...Applejack is right, if anyone needs to apologize it's me...”
“Yes I...I think I've had enough for today, maybe I should go back to the castle...” replied Bek dejectedly.
“But, we still haven't found a flavor you like!” said Pinkie in exasperation.
“Yeah, don't be discouraged yet!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash in an invigorating mood ”I'm sure we'll find something that does taste good to you...!”
“Uh I...I don't know...” Bek wasn't feeling well, too much attention on her had exhausted her and she could already feel her eyelids heavy.
At that moment Applejack approached her placing a hoof on her shoulder.
“Listen, I understand if you've had enough, but I'm sure, if you give us a chance, we can find something you like, because if I'm honest, you really need something better to eat than just grass..”
Bek looked at the farmer's face, the smile on her face patria to be genuine and with no hint of ulterior motives, even after the embarrassment she had put them through at the restaurant, these mares seemed genuinely interested in something as banal as their food, she couldn't help but feel a strange warm feeling in her stomach and a somewhat enthusiastic mood, finally and after much thought she answered her.
“Well...I think, I can try, at least a couple more times...”
The next stop was a small bean burger stand, Rainbow Dash insisted that, if anything could really please everyone, it was the burgers, however Bek ended up spitting out the bite again, saying that the wet feeling of the beans, with the combination with the dry bread and the coldness of the vegetables bothered her, the next stop was an ice cream shop where Pinkie pie gave her a simple chocolate ice cream which Bek rejected after the first lick, she really didn't like sugar, finally, by dusk, Applejack managed to spot a small establishment almost on the outskirts of town, adorned with varnished wood and a sign that read “Food and open bar until midnight”.
“How about this place?” she gestured effusively with her hoof, at this point all her other friends were slumped over, staring blankly at the floor and Bek looked even more uncomfortable than before, now with a prominent stomach ache.
“That place?” asked Rarity in surprise ”But that place looks so dirty dear, it looks like a sleazy bar...”
“Well, it's the only place that doesn't seem to be crowded or closed at this hour What do you say Bek?”
Bek looked at the facade of the place, it wasn't flashy at all, but it did contrast a bit with the rest of the beautifully polished and ornate buildings around, she was about to say no but, at that moment, a light, musky scent filled her nose, and for the first time, since she woke up in that fira cavern, she could smell something familiar.
“I think...I think it's okay...”
They all entered the establishment which was almost empty, just a couple of ponies sitting at lonely tables, clearly very drunk, and a couple of musicians playing a quiet tune on a small stage, Bek walked across the room following the smell, they all looked at her quizzically walking away until she came to some huge barrels hanging from the ceiling on chains behind a very long bar, these had a tap attached to their bottom lids dripping a coppery clear liquid, the unicorn bent down to take a closer sniff of the liquid, mesmerized until a stallion dressed as a bartender approached her.
“Uh excuse me miss...can I help you?”
“Yes!” exclaimed Bek suddenly, standing up and looking at the pony ”Please tell me, what do you have in these barrels?”
Bek's sudden excitement caught the attention of not only the stallion but also Applejack and the others, who looked intrigued at the curious scene.
“It's....licor grain miss, the best, grown here in the north.”
“Do you think you could...” began to say Bek starting to feel her mouth water ”Drink a jar?”
“Uh...yeah sure, just, pick a table and in a moment he'll take it away...”
It didn't take Bek a second to sit down on the other side of the bar making a bit of noise due to the clothes she was bringing.
“Uh another thing...” began the stallion ”We have a strict dress code here, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to remove that cape and hat otherwise I won't be able to serve you.”
Bek thought about protesting, but the smell kept invading her senses, she didn't want to miss the opportunity, with some shyness she started by taking off her hat, the bartender was a little shocked to see the mare's scarred face but it doesn't compare at all to the surprise he felt when he saw the body completely full of wounds, the pony stood with his mouth open for a second, his gaze lost in the bruised, though beefy, body of the unicorn.
“Ahem...” Bek cleared her throat profusely, disenchanting the stallion who looked at her in embarrassment “I'd like a jug...please...”
Looking at the annoyance in the mare's eyes the stallion hurried to serve her whispering a very terse “I'm sorry.”
Applejack and the others approached, also sitting at the bar on Bek's sides.
“Wow what a surprise!” Applejack exclaimed “I think that's the first time I've seen you this excited all day...”
Bek blushed slightly before replying.
“Oh yeah...sorry, it's just, the smell, it's very similar to what we had back in my day...”
“Wow really?” the cowgirl asked in surprise ”There was grain liquor over three and a half thousand years ago?”
“Grain crops thrived in the difficult terrain, it was the only thing we had to eat on long journeys, my ancestors learned to make everything from grain and shared them with future generations...”
“When you say your ancestors you mean...?” started to ask Rainbow Dash.
“The soldiers who served before I was born.”
The stallion returned with a large wooden jug filled with the contents of the barrels and as he handed it to Bek he noticed the other mares present.
“Hey, can I get you ladies anything?”
“Yes!” Applejack exclaimed “Can we have the same as her please?”
The stallion looked at the colorful little group before replying.
“Sure...”
They all began to drink enthusiastically, both Applejack and Rainbow were impressed by the speed with which Bek was finishing pitcher after pitcher while Pinkie Pie was already prancing and dancing on stage with the musicians and Rarity was barely finishing her first pitcher.
“Wow agh...” said Rariity feeling the liquor burning her throat ”I didn't expect this drink to be so...potent...”
“Yeah!” replied Bek with slightly red cheeks ”I'm surprised, it tastes almost the same as it did back in my day, just a little more...sweet...”
“Well with what happened today I must say, I now realize that everything in Equestria has gotten sweeter since you left...” said Rainbow Dash letting out a small hiccup and finishing her fourth pitcher.
“I don't dislike it at all...” said Bek taking another sip ”It reminds me of the nights we spent away from the battlefront, those days seemed endless and we kept to the letter of our convention...”
“What convention are you talking about?” asked Applejack curious and finishing her fifth pitcher.
“Well...we weren't naive, we knew our lives aspired to be very short, I mean, you guys can't imagine it but back then I'm sure, no matter where you were, you were always within a mile of something that could kill you, whether it was a monster, a plant, the weather...” Bek paused “Sorry, I digress, our oath was, that whenever we had a moment to enjoy either our company or the more instinctive pleasures like eating or sex, we were to enjoy them to the fullest, as there was no guarantee that, the next day, you could enjoy them again...” Bek put on a wistful look again before taking another sip from her mug.
“I...I'm so sorry...” said Applejack suddenly in a tone that sounded sad.
“You don't have to apologize, I already told you, none of you are to blame...”
“No but, I mean, you lived in a cruel world full of death and we lived all our lives in ignorance without even knowing those things happened, it must be hard to see so many ponies living as...happy...”
“I'm a little offended that you think we weren't happy, yes it may have been a violent and very short life but for us it was everything, we really believed that we were guaranteeing the future of the empire, that our sacrifice as...animals for war, will guarantee the peace of the real ponies of tomorrow...” Bek paused, it felt strange to talk about it as if it had happened only a short time ago “So, don't apologize, I don't resent any of you or anything, I take comfort in the thought that, at least to some extent, your world is a result of the sacrifice of my companions...”
At that moment Bek tried to settle into the chair but groaned as she felt a twinge of pain coming from her hip, something that made her jump slightly.
“Are you all right dear?” asked Rarity concerned though disoriented from drinking.
“Yes yes, it's nothing...” Bek held her left flank tightly trying to ease the pain.
"Are you sure?” asked Rainbow ”It doesn't seem to be anything..”
Once the pain calmed down enough Bek let out a sigh, resigned she thought it wasn't worth hiding it, after all and at this point what did it matter.
“Well remember the medicine I told you about that your friend Zecora prepared for me?”
Rainbow and Applejack nodded while Rarity was already starting to fall asleep on the bar.
“Well it's a treatment designed to ease the pain of my wounds...”
“But, those wounds are from a long time ago aren't they? Why would they hurt now?”
“Didn't you see them...no normal pony would survive a single one of them much less live long enough for it to heal properly...” Bek let out another sigh as he took another sip from his mug “But, you're not entirely wrong...before these things didn't hurt...”
“And what changed now?” asked Rainbow.
“Well, in order to exercise our work properly, once we finished our arduous training to be accepted into the legions, the queens would come in people to each farm to perform a very'powerful ritual, in which they would use their incredible power to create a magical connection with our bodies, giving us part of their power and granting us abilities that matched us with the most skilled unicorn and the strongest earth pony, also in that ritual was carried out the selection to know to which legion you belonged, if to the solar or the lunar and, once you were selected you were given a mark that would bind you forever to your queen.... ”
Applejack then looked down and found the mark burned into the unicorn's skin, the figure of the moon depicted suddenly felt more prominent.
“The mark was the queens' safeguard, if a soldier refused to obey their direct orders the queens could use this mark to cause a horrible death to whoever the traitor was, who would die from the unimaginable pain caused by the mark...”
Rainbow Dash gulped.
“There were never many traitors since the first legions, the bigger they got the less the queens could be present everywhere, usually if a comrade refused to obey the generals or battalion high command executed him quickly, I think it was a more merciful fate than dying by the mark...”
“I understand...” began Applejack ”But what does that have to do with the pain of your old wounds?”
“Well, it would seem that, after so long, the connection I shared with Queen Nightmare Moon was weakening, now the power of her passing through me is minimal and therefore, the repercussions on my body that weren't a problem then are doing so now, if the connection continues to weaken, there is no guarantee that my body will withstand the recoil from hundreds of lethal wounds...”
There was silence, it was an ominous revelation and Bek had said it like it was anything, like someone losing their pair of wool socks, noticing this Bek let out a chuckle before taking another sip from her mug and exclaiming.
“Wow, we came here to drink and I'm just depressing you girls, I think I'll go out and stretch my legs for a second Hey handsome!” she said referring to the bartender ‘Put a couple more in my place, I'm going to come back really thirsty’ and without further ado, she jumped off the stool and walked staggering out of the establishment.
Rainbow and Applejack didn't say anything for several minutes, both of them had their gazes lost and fixed on their drinks, finally Rainbow Dash spoke up.
“She's...definitely someone very interesting...”
“Yep...” replied Applejack.
“Do you think it's true...what she said about her body...”
“I don't know Rainbow, it all sounds too strange and I barely understand the things she says...” Applejack took a big sip of her drink “But, if anything has been proven since this all started, it's that she knows more than any of us, it would be absurd to question what she's telling us now...”
“So, she's going to...”
Applejack let out a sigh.
“I don't know, I really hope not, Cadance was right, she's not a bad pony, she's just confused and very hurt...”
They stood in silence for another minute before the doors creaked open and Bek stepped back inside.
“Really this city is much more welcoming at night, and all the torches on the street glow so pretty...” Bek stopped at the sight of the two drooping mares “Oh what's the matter with you, don't tell me you were talking about me...”
“No, it's not that!“ exclaimed Pinkie from the stage, she was sitting on the lap of one of the musicians who was blushing and had tousled hair and a silly grin on his face "They're just having their classic ’Moment of Reflection” happens to them a lot when they drink, although it usually happens to them after a bit of kissing”
Pinkie then turned to the young stallion who was still holding his guitar in one of his hooves.
“And speaking of kissing cutie, how about you and I don't give a few?”
“No Pinkie!” Applejack suddenly exclaimed jumping out of her chair “Get down from there!”
“Awwww! What? But we're partying....!”
“No we're not, we just drank a little, it's late and we have to get back to the castle.”
“Awww but this one is really cute...”
“I said get off, now!”
Pinkie pouted and finally jumped off the stallion and off the stage, stumbling down being stopped by Applejack from falling.
“Rainbow help Rarity, we're leaving.”
The pegasus let out an annoyed sigh, walking over to the sleeping unicorn and placing her on her back as Applejack pulled out a small bag of coins and placed it on the bar.
“Here you go, and a little extra for your trouble...”
The bartender took the bag and smiled at the cowgirl calmly.
“Don't worry miss, it's good you came here today, not many ponies like grain liquor, come back anytime.”
They all left and made their way back to the center of town, Applejack walked smoothly beside Rainbow who could hear Rarity's unintelligible whispers half asleep on her back, meanwhile Bek walked quietly, now without her cape and hat, carrying them on her back, and Pinkie pranced erratically around her as she laughed and burped.
“Pinkie, be quiet, you're going to wake the neighbors...” Applejack claimed to a Pinkie who seemed to ignore her warning and just kept jumping around.
“She's...kind of energetic...” Bek began to say as she laughed a little as she watched the little spectacle.
“Ahhh you have no idea...” Sighed Applejack.
“And that she's quiet now, you should see her when she really gets into party mode” Rainbow said in a joking tone.
“Really?” asked the unicorn in surprise.
“I'll just tell you that it's not for nothing that she has to have medical checkups to rule out any possible crap...”
“Rainbow!” scolded the farmer ”Don't be indiscreet!”
“I, I don't know what you mean by that but I guess I'll take your word for it...”
Pinkie stepped forward, losing herself in the distance, so silence fell again, a quiet, warm silence that Applejack finally broke with a question that gnawed at her mind.
“So...Zecora's medicine isn't helping you anymore?”
“Eh? No, quite the opposite in fact, it's done an excellent job of relieving the pain but, well, I recently ran out of it...”
“What?!” asked Applejack worriedly ”You're out of it?!”
“I tried rationing it as much as possible but the more I reduced the dosage the faster the pain returned and the faster the pain returned the more I had to increase the dosage and...well, you see the dilemma...” Bek gave a smile as he scratched the back of his neck.
“And Zecora didn't give you anything for when you ran out?”
“She gave me the recipe to make more medicine, but I looked and didn't find any of the plants she mentions growing around here naturally, I guess they sell them in one of the stores around here but...well, I don't have any money...”
“Why didn't you tell us before?” asked Applejack with concern ”We could have helped you.”
“Well, I didn't want to inconvenience you, I figured I'd just get used to the constant pain...”
“Nonsense! We'll go get all the ingredients tomorrow itself, we won't let you go around in pain!”
Bek tried to reproach, but by this point she had already accepted that these mares only wanted to offer her sincere help, if she still lived in her time she would have immediately become suspicious, thinking horrible things about the ulterior motives behind this thoughtful help, but the more time passed the more she came to the idea that he lived in a very different place than the one she had left behind, a place where everything, even the ponies, tasted a little sweeter, finally he didn't want to make herself beg anymore and simply answered.
“Okay, thank you very much...”
The five finally arrived at the castle, walking in silence and circling around to meet the main entrance.
“Today was a nice day...” said Bek walking alongside Applejack and Rainbow.
“Well I hope you're ready because, from now on, every day for the rest of your life will be like this” replied the farm girl smiling at her.
Bek isn't sure about that, but she didn't want to break the illusion.
“Sure...” she paused before stopping abruptly ”Well, I'd better get back to the barracks yard...”
“Oh, are you sure you don't want to sleep in the castle...Princess Cadance prepared a room for you near one of the exits...” said Applejack, pausing to look at the unicorn.
“Uh I...I don't think I'm ready for that yet...”
“Well, don't worry, anyway anything you need, let us know, we'll help you no matter what it is.”
“Thanks...”
Just before Bek turned around to walk away Rainbow Dash spoke in a worried tone, catching the attention of both mares.
“Applejack...”
Turning around they were surprised to see, not only Twilight, but Cadance as well, standing on the steps to the entrance, serious looks on their faces.
“Hi! How are you girls? umm...is something wrong?”
“I'm being...” began Twilight ”We didn't want to interrupt you on your walk, but we had to inform you about our decision as soon as possible...”
“What decision?” asked Bek now worried.
Both princesses exchanged glances seriously, as if debating whether to go ahead or not, the silence went on for a long minute, finally both alicorns nodded and looked forward again, Cadance was the one who spoke.
“Well, Twilight and I, we have decided that the time has come...”
They all looked at each other confused, after a moment,again Applejack asked.
“The time for what?”
The suspense was making everyone nervous, they didn't understand what they were referring to and some were already starting to think the worst, but luckily all their fear was partially reduced when Twilight finished the sentence.
“Time to tell everyone...”
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 16: The Beating of All Hearts.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 17: Terror in the Crystal Empire.
The night was advancing quietly in the northern capital, the vast majority of ponies were already in their homes sleeping, the few businesses that were open late were already closing or attending to their last customers, in the end, the only ones who were walking the streets were the few royal guards assigned to the night watch, a few pairs of ponies were making their rounds between street and street.
“Seriously Silver Bucket, I swear the general hates me...” said one of the stallions, with yellow fur and light purple mane.
“She doesn't hate you Quiet Trench, she just wants to make sure you meet the standards of the empire guard...” the second stallion replied, bright gray coat and black mane.
“Really...and what standards are those...because as far as I know, I meet all the requirements perfectly!” he exclaimed somewhat elated.
“Well you must admit that sometimes you're a bit impulsive, and your reactions tend to be a bit over the top when the situation doesn't warrant it.”
“What?! That's not true...!”
“Will you shut up! I'm trying to sleep!” The conversation was interrupted by the voice of an elderly mare screaming from one of the houses, irritated and clearly aroused by the stallion's shrill scream.
They were both silent for a moment, walking to the end of the street and rounding the corner, at which point Quiet Trench spoke again.
“Okey...I see what you mean,” said the pony dejectedly.
Silver Bucket then patted his friend on the shoulder, giving a smile.
“Hey don't be like that, you just need to focus that energy better, I'm sure you'll make a great guard one of these days.”
“Thanks Silver Bucket, I hope you're right...”
At that moment something in front of them caught their attention, right in the middle of the street, partially hidden by the shadowy spaces between streetlight and streetlight, was what appeared to be a small foal, walking slowly and with its nose flush to the ground.
Finally and after exchanging worried glances both stallions decided to approach the little one, at a cautious pace, with the intention of, if the little one was lost, not to frighten him, the moment they both considered to be close enough, Silver Bucket cleared his throat slightly and spoke in a soft tone of voice.
“Ahem...hello, little one, are you lost?”
There was no response, the colt didn't even turn to look at them, he just kept walking, slowly and arduously forward.
“Hey kid...!” exclaimed Quiet Trench in a somewhat loud tone of voice ”Where are your parents?”
The boy didn't even seem to hear them, he didn't even seem to notice that both ponies were even there, both guards began to notice the foal's strange appearance, it seemed that his body was completely bald, there seemed to be not a single hair on his body, no mane, no tail, the foal's skin seemed to have a sickly pale green tone, even in the dim light of the street lamps, the skin seemed to reflect the light, shining as if the foal was bathed in oil, at last he could see how, strangely, the foal seemed to wear a kind of very ostentatious golden necklace.
At that moment Silver Bucket reached out his hoof and placed it on the foal's shoulder, noting that it was icy to the touch.
“Hey stop! Are you all right? Are you sick?”
The foal just kept moving forward, breaking free of the guard's grip, at which point Quiet Trench lost his patience, not only because of how strange the situation was getting, but because of the fact that, to his mind, the foal was deliberately ignoring them, as some sort of twisted joke.
“All right that's enough...” the stallion strode forward with a firm stride.
“Quiet Trench wait...!”
The yellow colored stallion leapt in front of the foal, blocking his path, at this the foal finally stopped, standing completely still all at once, as if he had frozen where he was.
“Hey kid, I don't know what weird game you're playing, but you shouldn't be wandering around so late at night, so you better tell us where you live so we can take you and talk to your parents.”
There was no response once again, the foal's head was still completely fixed to the ground, still as a statue.
“Boy enough with the jokes, we are royal guards, you must talk to us...!”
“Quiet Trench wait!” exclaimed the other guard still standing behind the colt, finally getting the yellow stallion's attention ”Something's not right...”
“What do you mean?” asked Quiet Trench in confusion.
Silver Bucket took a couple of steps, starting to circle the colt.
“I mean he looks sick, just look at him, he has no fur...”
“Maybe it's just one of those strange fads of the young...”
At that moment finally a third voice came through, the foal spoke in a distorted, guttural voice, startling the stallions, ending their discussion.
“Where...?”
A single word that elicited a shared shudder from both guards, instead of sounding like a foal, the voice, seemed to be that of an adult, smoking mare with lungs wracked with smoke.
“What...what did you say boy?” asked Silver Bucket trying not to stutter and feeling the sweat pouring from his coat.
For his part Quiet Trench stood completely still, still recovering, he didn't ask to believe what he had heard, nor what he was feeling at that moment, for a moment he thought that this was just a dream, that somehow he was just drunk and asleep in his room, but that thought was not feasible, after all he remembered perfectly the events that had transpired during that morning and afternoon.
At first it looked like the foal was taking a big breath, but quickly, the swelling in his chest expanded beyond what the tiny lungs of such a small foal could have inflated, then beyond what the lungs of an adult stallion could have inflated, and then beyond what the lungs of a dragon could have inflated.
Silence reigned again for a moment before the voice coming from the foal resounded again.
“There...is...”
The foal again remained still like stone, but, little by little, he seemed to begin to tremble, a noise resembling someone shivering was present and, in less than a minute, the foal was convulsing still standing, with his hooves as if they were attached to the ground.
Again he looked like a statue, solid marble placed in the middle of the street, Quiet Trench in the face of this sinister calm could only say.
“What the fuck...”
And at that moment the foal, for the first time, seemed to hear them, violently raising his head and finally looking at them.
Bek was asleep inside a small tent set up in the middle of the training grounds of the castle barracks, she was warm and comfortable, very grateful that Applejack and the others had helped her build and fix up the little place.
Suddenly Bek felt a chill, for an instant she attributed it to the icy wind that crept into her tent from time to time, but, little by little, that chill rose from the tip of her tail to the top of her head, and then she felt it, a pang of a familiar but unpleasant feeling, something that, from long ago, she thought he would never feel again, but she had felt it, when he stepped into the colossal cavern beneath the two sisters' castle, a sinister reminder that, however good this world looked, there were still things lurking in the darkness, and then her eyes snapped open.
“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
The scream echoed in the silence of the night, so loud and so horrible that even Princess Cadance herself, asleep in the highest room of the palace in the company of her husband and daughter, heard it, jolting awake and making Flurry Heart cry.
Quiet Trench was flat on his back against the ground, in a fetal position as he cried and screamed over and over again, in front of him was the body of Silver Bucket, decapitated and spilling a huge pool of blood.
Unfortunately Quiet Trench had seen it all, he looked up and saw what had become of the foal's deformed face, it had lasted less than a second, but if he had to describe it he would say that the little body was deformed as if it was made of clay, as if some giant invisible pony had taken it and squeezed it with all its strength, the face, the neck and part of the chest had opened in half, revealing a void of pure darkness inside the foal's body and, the next second, Silver Bucket no longer had a head.
A sound similar to the cracking of branches came from the highest part of the silhouette, it was rhythmic and constant, it was not until whatever it was seemed to drop something from the heights, that the guards realized that it was the head of Silver Bucket torn off and half chewed.
“Where....?” was heard, now the voice was not even something capable of coming from any pony, or any other living creature, poor Quiet Trench could only close his eyes and cover his ears with his hooves, in an attempt to silence that horrible voice.
The thing swelled again, sucking in all the air around it, releasing it with power a moment later then turned in the direction of the other guards.
“Im.....coming...”
And then the dam broke.
“GHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
The shriek that the creature let out was so powerful, that the guards' ears began to bleed, the windows of nearby houses burst and each and every street lamp on the street exploded, letting darkness take over the place.
At that moment the mare leading the group came to, still enveloped in terror and confusion she managed to pull herself together and shout an order.
“A...ATTACK!!!”
Twilight and her friends ran out the front door of the castle, the first scream woke them up the shriek that followed sent them into a panic and now they were trying to figure out what was going on.
“By a thousand Equestria what the hell was that?” Applejack asked in exasperation.
“I don't know...I don't know...” Twilight ran to the front of the group, her head a mess trying to make sense of the situation.
“You know, it does sound familiar...” began Pinkie Pie, which caused everyone to stop abruptly to look at the pink pony, it took Pinkie a moment to realize ”Oh emm, well, it sounded just like the giant thing inside the cavern under the castle...”
Twilight turned pale, it was true, the next moment a new noise was present, a cacophony of screams of horror echoed one after another, the five mares resumed the mark on their way to face whatever was causing this.
“Die damned!!!”
The fine, polished, sharp glass-tipped spear of shattered instantly from the force of the impact, without even piercing the creature's skin, it only made a sweeping motion with one of its massive hooves and that impacted the mare from the side, slamming her against the wall with such force that her spine was instantly shattered, dying as she choked on her own blood.
“Aaahhh!” cried Rarity as she witnessed the carnage, immediately beginning to cry.
Rainbow Dash on the other hand vomited full on against the ground uncontrollably while Pinkie Pie was losing the color of her fur and Applejack was trying not to shake, Twilight couldn't breathe, it was as if the gory stories Bek had told her were being projected right in front of her.
At one point the creature stopped its gait dead in its tracks, the few remaining guards took the opportunity to back away and flee the scene, the figure once again stood perfectly still, as if it had frozen in place, now all that could be heard was the sound of blood dripping from the walls and the bits of pony falling off the thing's legs.
An entire street separated them, approximately fifty meters, Twilight could feel the blood in her body cool as if suddenly the raging northern storm had seemed in her chest, her eyes fixed on the thing, she could almost feel it returning her gaze, the instant of tension was broken when the thing spoke again.
“There....you are....”
And then the thing's legs twisted, violently until, what was supposed to be the rest of its body, whipped against the ground, now its legs bent as if it were a bulbous, misshapen spider.
The five friends knew what would happen next, but something in the back of their minds was screaming at them over and over again that this was just a bad dream, that, at any moment, they would wake up and this would just be a nightmare they would forget by breakfast, late they realized that the thing was pouncing on her, Its huge legs propelled it forward like a black lightning bolt, just as the thing crossed the threshold into the light of the street where they were standing, ready to be slaughtered, Bek appeared at the creature's side, slamming her body into its torso and managing to deflect it just enough to send it crashing into the rock, only a few meters away from the mare.
Now under the light and at ground level the shape of the thing was perfectly discernible, most of its body was pure black, so thin that it seemed to be made of tree branches, branching from some parts there was a kind of bright green membrane, this seemed to be placed randomly along its entire body, its torso was bulging, as if it was made of hundreds and hundreds of irregular bubbles of different sizes that moved and held from one side to the other, and on top of that stood a head, elongated and stretched out, completely covered by the green membrane, and on the top of that head was frozen the deformed expression of something that undoubtedly tried to look like a pony, total emphasis on “tried” since the face looked like the poorly made drawing of a foal that was just beginning to draw, as if the skin of a pony's face was stretched over a dead trunk.
Twilight's ears were ringing, but she could see out of the corner of her eye as Bek was beckoning and shouting in their direction, the alicorn tried to pay attention to what it was saying, but the mare's voice sounded distant, it wasn't until she noticed how the thing was quickly rising that Bek's voice finally made its way deep inside her.
“RUN, NOW!!!”
And so they did, they didn't even hesitate, simply their hooves moved on their own, speeding away from the thing, for a moment there was nothing else on either's mind, it wasn't until Twilight noticed Bek's absence that she was devoted skidding overhead, only to turn and see how the unicorn had stayed behind facing the thing.
Bek maintained a firm stance as the creature watched her, the thing tilted its head slightly before swelling the bubbles in its body again, filling them with air and expelling through the cavities in its face, and again it stood still again, and once more its body changed, its body contorted stretching once more, this time its limbs shrinking completely, sticking to his body and becoming so small that they could have been of a newborn foal, and the next instant one of the bubbles burst, and then another, and another, from each of the bubbles began to emerge hundreds of new limbs of all shapes and sizes, arms, with claws or razors, legs as wide as those of an adult dragon or as thin as those of a giraffe, and in a second, the creature charged at Bek with a bestial scream.
The unicorn then began to dodge the attacks of the creature, which charged and screeched with fury, its calculated movement of before had been replaced by an uncontrolled frenzy, with its eyes fixed on the mare, with the sole intention of pursuing her.
“We have to do something!” Applejack exclaimed.
“But what can we do!” replied Rarity hysterically.
“We have to get help!!!” Pinkie Pie shouted.
The discussion became heated, the friends' panic didn't let them think clearly and they just shouted at each other, suddenly and without warning Twilight turned around and started running back towards the main street.
“Twilight!” shouted Applejack making Twilight turn around ”By a thousand Equestrias what do you think you're doing!”
“We can't leave her! She needs us...!”
“You're out of your mind!” exclaimed Rainbow ”Didn't you see that thing! It's going to tear us apart like rag dolls!”
“We should help her...!” before another of her friends could claim or continue to debate continuously, ”That's what friends do...”
They all looked at each other, no one could say anything against that.
In a moment the thing threw a blow with its whole body, right there Bek saw the opportunity to counterattack, she quickly drew her sword, igniting it with her magic and, with a quick movement, the blade cut one of the limbs of the thing, the arm fell to the ground with a thud and the creature shrieked in pain, at that moment the unicorn noticed that, between all the limbs of the thing and on its green membrane just below its face, there was a thick golden necklace with a bright red gem.
“Wow...” said Bek quietly as she landed on the ground, away from the thing ‘I'm really out of practice...’ the unicorn gave a glance at the thing that was still shrieking from the loss of its limb, shaking itself off and turning back towards her ‘But it looks like you too big guy...’ she said before steadying herself again and charging back up.
The unicorn tried to slash at the thing again, this time aiming for its body, but, surprisingly, her magical blade was stopped dead in its tracks, hanging onto the creature's greenish armor.
“No...” Bek started to say but quickly had to step aside to dodge the powerful blow from one of the larger paws.
At that moment a rumbling sound was heard from across the street, Bek turned enough to see a huge number of guards, accompanied by Twilight, Shining Armor and her friends.
“Don't worry Bek, we'll help you!” exclaimed Twilight.
“Now all together! Attack!” shouted Shining Armor.
“No!!! wait!” shouted Bek but it was too late.
Quickly the guards surrounded the creature with great synchronicity, throwing their spears at the thing and attempting to cut off its limbs, however all the weapons broke at the first blow and no matter how hard they tried, none of the beast's parts gave way, and in less than a second, it was all horror again, the limbs were thrown rapidly, trapping many of the guards and immediately retracting, the guards were trapped against the bubbles on the creature's torso and in less than a second the screams began.
Shining Armor watched in horror as his troops were decimated while the beast feasted, at this the unicorn frowned and charged a powerful magical bolt of lightning into its horn.
“NO!!! Magic no!” again, it was too late.
The powerful magical shot hit the thing full on, throwing it through the air far away and to the other end of the main street, for a second the thing stood still, almost as if it was dead, the guards seeing this let out sighs of relief and began to head towards the thing in an attempt to save their comrades.
“No no no no no no!!! stop...!” shouted Bek again but her warnings fell on deaf ears ”heed me!”
Twilight and the others approached towards Bek quickly.
“Bek what is it, what's wrong?” asked Twilight.
“Listen to me, you have to go, it's a hound, it's hunting me, go and keep the others safe...!”
At that moment the thing shook violently, spinning around and tearing through a couple more guards as it got up, Shining Armor then exclaimed in disbelief.
“But how, I shot my most powerful lightning at it!”
“Pure magic has no effect!” shouted Bek at him from a distance ”His armor absorbs it and becomes more resistant!”
“Then how the hell do we kill it!” replied the stallion in despair.
“Fire!!!” shouted the mare loudly ”We need fire!”
Shining Armor saw the creature advancing smoothly between his guards, assessed the situation and came to the conclusion that yes, in the end, it was the best option.
“Listen to me!” exclaimed the captain of the guard ”Do as the unicorn says, get fire!”
“You guys roll him and keep a safe distance...!” said Bek approaching Shining Armor ”I'll keep him away from the buildings!”
“Bek you can't fight that thing by yourself, you're hurt!” Twilight exclaimed pointing to Bek's bleeding wounds that stained the ground everywhere she passed.
“I'm the only one who knows how to deal with it, I can't let you risk...”
“No!!! You'll get yourself killed!” retorted the alicorn.
“That doesn't matter, I must keep them safe!”
“NO!!!” shouted Twilight again.
At that moment the thing turned and set its sights on Twilight, as it looked directly at her its body swelled again, and as the air was released its four pony legs stretched out again, lifting the creature over the guards, it advanced with speed and, in one swift movement, violently grabbed Twilight with one pair of its huge hands and lifted her up, the mare tried to shake herself in terror thinking the same fate awaited her as the guards, but to her surprise the creature held her against its chest, away from the bubbles, quickly running away from the crowd, towards the outskirts of the city.
“Twilight no!!!” shouted Shining in terror ready to run after her, but was stopped by Bek ”What the hell are you doing!!! he's got my sister!!!”
“Get something to set that thing on fire!” said Bek seriously.
“But I have to save her!”
“I'll go get her you figure it out!!!” Bek's shout was so loud that Shining was speechless, at this the unicorn let out a sigh and gave Shining a determined look “She'll be fine, now run...”
Shining thought about it for a second but in the end he obeyed, leading his guards to leave along with him.
Without wasting any time Bek ran after the thing, quickly noticing Twilight's four friends running alongside her.
“Hey, what are you guys doing, you need to get to safety!”
“No way!” shouted Rainbow who was flying at high speed.
“We'll help you save Twilight!” Said Applejack.
“Are you crazy!!! That's going to gut all of you!”
“No time to hesitate dear, our friend is in danger!” Said Rarity who seemed to be the most scared.
“And no matter what monster out of nightmares has her, we're her friends and we'll save her!” shouted Pinkie.
Bek wasn't going to stop to argue, he had a job to do, and a monster to kill.
Twilight struggled with all her might against the thing's grip, she tried to teleport but the magic coming out of her horn was immediately absorbed by the green membrane, she screamed and cried in panic but all that didn't seem to matter to the thing which just kept running, now heading out of the city and towards the borders of the empire.
Bek and the others had caught up to the thing, still it was moving away faster than they could run.
“We must stop it!” shouted Bek ”At this rate it's going to get away!”
“I got this!” shouted Rainbow Dash, swallowing her fear and accelerating incredibly fast, as she flew in the direction of one of the thing's legs she closed her eyes and repeated to herself over and over ‘Be brave, be brave, be brave, be brave ¡Be brave!’ and with a mighty thud, one of the creature's hind legs broke, Rainbow Dash shot off to the side and crashed to the ground as the thing shrieked in pain and fell abruptly.
Just before it hit the ground the creature swelled back up, zalating and letting the rest of its limbs out, stopping its fall and moving forward again, but slower now.
“You know what they call people who leave the party before it's over...?” pinkie pulled out her party cannon and pointed it at the thing's eyes ”Water party!”
The shot rang out and the confetti blinded the thing, it began to cough and shake violently, which gave Bek a chance to get to where Twilight was and cut off the arms that were holding it.
“All of you behind me!” shouted Bek as he pointed his sword at the thing.
To their surprise, the thing inflated again, but this time as it exhaled it shrunk, compressing its entire body in an impossible way until the folds of the membrane closed completely giving the thing's body a shape very similar to that of an adult stallion, even its face had changed, resembling Silver Bucket's but not quite resembling it, now the golden collar was perfectly visible to all of them.
“Now what the hell does he do...?” asked Applejack disgusted.
“It adapts to the situation..” replied Bek, and at that moment, the creature lunged at them again.
This time the attack was more precise, the thing opened its front hooves to let out two huge blades which it used to try to stab Bek, the mare deftly dodged and cut the blades, trying to lunge at the thing's head but now the membrane covered its entire body, making it impossible for her sword to pierce it.
The thing changed its target quickly, pulling out from the back of its back two huge clawed arms with which it tried to attack Applejack, the pony farmer reacted turning just in time but surprisingly a third claw shot out in the direction of her face, luckily at that very moment Rainbow Dash appeared from the distance, pushing Applejack at the right moment so that the claw only tore her nose a little.
The thing then inflated again and this time its lower body became a sort of giant snake tail, made of its fused limbs, and without further ado it lunged forward.
“What now?” asked Applejack.
“I don't know! What do we do Bek!” Twilight turned just in time to see Bek collapse to the ground, running over to her just in time to catch her ”Bek! Are you ok?!”
“Yeah...yeah I...I just need a moment...” her voice was weak and slurred, the hilt of her sword fell to the ground deactivated.
“She's losing a lot of blood!” Twilight exclaimed examining the unicorn's wounds noticing how they were not closing.
At that moment the thing buried its huge tail in the ground, while its upper half embraced the shield, from one moment to another black blades began to sprout from the ground one by one, trying to impale the mares, they were desperately trying to escape but they were starting to run out of space where to go, at that moment Twilight noticed how, near her no blades were sprouting.
“All of you come to me quickly!”
Her friends obeyed, getting as close together as possible and to their surprise a perfect circle of blades formed around them.
“What's happening now!” asked Applejack.
“I'm not sure, but this thing doesn't seem to want to hurt me...”
“Excellent!” exclaimed Rainbow with a nervous tone ”So what do we do now?!”
“We can stay here until Shining arrives just have to make sure it doesn't...” suddenly Twilight stopped dead in her tracks, something was wrong, she looked up to see the creature's hideous face right above the shield over their heads and to everyone's horror, the shield slowly seemed to fade away, curving and letting the thing get closer and closer.
“Now what the hell is going on!” Rarity asked in desperation.
Twilight just had to ponder for a second.
“The membrane!”
“What!” they all asked.
“The creature's outer membrane absorbs magic, it sticks to the bubble to absorb the magic from my shield!”
They all looked up in horror to see the magic shield slowly tearing away until it finally burst, and now there was nothing between them and the horrible thing that let out a new nightmarish shriek, just at that instant, when it seemed there was nothing left to do a great voice was projected.
“HEY, BEAST!!!”
The thing turned and saw right behind it a huge troop of guards carrying huge barrels, the thing didn't understand what was going on but as it rested its gaze on Shining Armor something made it shriek, before it could even move Shining exclaimed.
“Get the fuck out of my kingdom!” and with her magic a huge barrel was hurled at the thing, exploding and filling it with liquid ”Now Twilight!!!”
Twilight understood, flashing her horn, all it took was a spark and the thing burst into flames.
Quickly all its blades recoiled, which the mares took advantage of to flee, all while the thing writhed and shrieked in agony, in a moment the thing began to run in the direction of the snow outside the empire but Shining armor and its guards quickly shut it down, throwing more barrels and setting fire to the grass to block its way, the thing increasingly desperately tried to go around or jump over the wall of fire epros its limbs began to scorch and turn to ashes at an enormous speed, in the end only its torso was left writhing and flailing until at last it stopped moving.
Silence then finally reigned, the only thing that could be heard now was the ringing of the fire, everyone approached to see what was left of the thing, finding only a pile of bones of different sizes piled senselessly, accompanied by a huge skull that none of those present could identify.
They could only appreciate it for a moment before the red gem in the center finally stopped glowing and the next instant, the necklace vanished into thin air, disappearing completely before everyone's eyes with a golden flash.
“What the heck was that?” asked Shining.
“I have no idea who it was, but I think I know who it belongs to...” replied Bek as he dropped face first to the ground, clutching his side tightly, feeling the blood still gushing out.
“What the fuck is this!” Cadance asked hysterically, they were in the throne room she, Shining, Twilight, her friends and Bek, in the center of the room lay, on an old blanket, the bones of the thing, if anyone saw them they would think that none of them belonged to the same creature.
“You, mare!” exclaimed Cadance addressing Bek, who remained sitting on the floor and her side covered with bandages ”I hope you have a damned explanation!”
“It's a Sniffer...” replied Bek with a lot of calm in his voice, as if he thought that explanation was enough.
“...What?” asked Cadance with a twitching eye.
“Yes I, I think we need to give each other more context Bek, we have no idea what a...Sniffer is...” spoke Twilight with the intention of not letting a fight break out.
Bek then let out a long weary sigh, struggling to his feet and walking over to the pile of bones.
“These things, we called them Sniffers, one of the most efficient pony predators that ever existed, they acquired a partial camouflage that allowed them to lurk and get close enough to their prey to be able to consume them, they also became extremely resistant to magic, as it was the most efficient way to defeat them before...”
“Before what?” asked Applejack.
“I don't know, that's what I was told when I learned how to kill them...I had no idea there were any specimens left alive.”
“What do you mean?” asked Shining.
“It was my understanding that they were among the first monster races to be efficiently extinguished during the great expansion of the empire...”
“Well, it looks like that wasn't the case...” Cadance said in exasperation.
“No, no there's something else...” Twilight began “Never in all of Equestria's recent history was there any record of any creature that even resembled this, there's no way it's some kind of missing link...”
“I agree...” continued Bek ”This one was very large, which meant it had lived for a very long time, but it also looked malnourished, weak, a Sniffer can't go long without feeding, they are fast metabolizing scavengers.”
“Then where the fuck did it come from!” asked Cadance increasingly frustrated.
“Well...” began Bek ”I have a theory...”
Everyone turned to look at Bek.
“Shortly before I was sent on my last failed mission, the queens had changed their policy with their treatment of monsters, by that point there were very few left roaming the world and the new orders were, capture instead of hunt, everyone assumed the queens wanted to research the latest specimens to use their findings to help the kingdom, I see the use they were put to was more....banal...”
“You're saying...” Twilight began “That Celestia and Luna have a gallery of thousand year old beasts and that they sent one of them to hunt us...?”
“Basically...”
“No!!!” interrupted Cadance ”That's not possible what they say, Celestia and Luna would never interact with something so monstrous!”
“Wow and I thought we were already making progress..” Bek exclaimed sarcastically.
“Cadance, please...” began Shining ”You have to admit that it's at least suspicious...”
“Just because she says so!” Cadance vociferated without any qualms “No!!! No Shining Armor!!!! This is too sick, even Discord couldn't do something like this There are thirty-seven dead guards for Celestia's sake! They're still wiping their visor off the benches...” Cadance paused feeling herself hyperventilating “Celestia wouldn't...order something like this...”
“Can we please stop calling her that, let's call her because she's a fucking Solar Bitch...” said Bek with a tone of annoyance.
“Take it back right now you disrespectful wretch!” Cadance shouted advancing towards Bek with the intention of hitting her.
“Why don't you come over here and force me princess of sex, or was it of love? I really don't remember anymore...”
Shining stepped in between the two, stopping his wife's advance and exclaiming.
“Stop both of you!”
“No! That bitch doesn't even have proof that what she's saying is true...!”
At that moment there was silence, Cadance looked around and was met with looks of dismay from everyone in the room, finally turning back to her husband who was giving her the same look.
“Well Cadance, that's not quite true...”
“What do you mean Shining?”
“He means shut your mouth and listen...” said Bek dismissively.
Cadance was about to respond when Twilight interjected.
“The creature was carrying some sort of magical amulet, I could feel very powerful energy emanating from it...”
“And where is this magical amulet you speak of?”
“Well I....emmm....”
“It vanished into thin air when the Sniffer died...” interrupted Bek.
“So you have no proof of that you tell me, and even if you did how do we know that amulet somehow connects this thing to Celestia or Luna?”
“Because the engravings that were on the necklace were very similar to the ornaments occupied by the princesses...” Twilight replied hastily.
“Are you serious, that's your only proof?”
“You don't understand Cadance, I saw it too, no doubt it was something very similar...”
“You too Shining? Don't tell me you're getting carried away with this absurd assumption...”
“Cadance please, you have to react, this puts us in worse danger than we thought, Celestia could have a whole army of these things ready to attack us...”
“No! No Twilight, it's too much, I understand that maybe Equestria was a horrible place in the past, but it's not that place anymore, now this is a kingdom of peace and harmony And definitely Celestia and Luna are not sadistic maniacal tyrants, unleashing monsters to murder ponies!!!”
Everyone was silent, they didn't know what else to say to make Cadance come to her senses, at that moment a very loud cry echoed throughout the castle, the cry was instantly identified by Cadance who, rising from her throne proclaimed.
“I'll go check on Flurry, we'll continue this later...” and without further ado she left the throne room.
Once the door closed behind them Twilight turned to Shining.
“Brother, we have to do something, we can't wait for Cadance to get over her period of denial, we have to prepare now while we still can...”
“I agree Twilight, we can't let them catch us off guard again, but how exactly will we defend against this?”
“You could start by training your soldiers better...” said Bek distractedly, causing both Shining and Twilight to look at her, noticing this the unicorn cleared her throat and continued ”Well, not to offend, but from what I could see the militia of this kingdom is ... deficient to say the least, and I don't mean to sound pessimistic or anything but, the Sniffer was among the most common and weakest creatures when I was in my better days, if we are to assume that the Solar Bitch has a complete collection of past horrors we can all be left for dead if she decides to send something more dangerous, so I suggest you teach your soldiers to fight, incapacitate and ultimately assassinate these monsters...”
“And how the hell do you expect us to teach that to them?” Shining asked somewhat exasperated.
“I can teach them...”
Everyone was silent at the thought.
“Are you serious?” asked Rainbow.
“Well, I was never the best teacher but I'm sure I can share the basics and everything I know about it on how to kill these things, it won't be much of an improvement, but at least the soldiers will no longer run around like headless chickens when a creature of the night attacks them...”
Twilight and Shining considered the idea for a good while, while Bek and the others waited in silence, finally Shining raised her voice.
“Well, that's fine with me, but you'll only be able to work with the direct castle guard...”
“That's another thing...” interrupted Bek ”We're going to need a lot more soldiers...”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that if this empire really is going to become the epicenter of a series of sieges, the few guards I saw training at the bars won't be enough...”
“But, there's no one left who wants to enlist, and after last night, I highly doubt that even those who are already enlisted will want to wear the armor again..”
“Well, you're kind of like the prince of the empire aren't you?”
“Ehhh...yes, yes I am...”
“Well, I want to believe that you have enough authority over your populace to impose your will on certain important matters, so I would guess that if, you wanted to, you could make your subjects fight if you ordered them to...”
“Are you suggesting that we force the ponies of the empire to fight under compulsion against a horde of monsters?” asked Applejack in surprise.
“If either of you have a better idea, believe me I'm willing to listen to it...” replied Bek somewhat dejectedly, she really wasn't pleased with where things were headed.
Shining Armor then stood thoughtfully for a long while, as the others debated and discussed the possibilities, the stallion's gaze remained fixed on the skull of the thing they had just killed and he remembered the fear and helplessness he felt at not being able to do anything to stop the massacre of his people, the ponies who were counting on him, finally the stallion responded.
“No, we won't force anyone to fight...” his answer surprised everyone ”Still, that doesn't mean we won't tell them how important this fight is, I will talk to the people, I will ask for their help, maybe if we tell them the whole truth they will understand why we need them to defend us...”
There was silence for a moment, until Applejack spoke.
“Well.... I'm not sure if something like this will convince many, but at the very least, I'll fight without a doubt.”
“Me too!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed “I won't stand on crossed hooves if there's danger around the corner!”
“I...I'm not sure, this I think is beyond what we girls can handle...” said Rarity doubtfully.
Pinkie Pie didn't say anything, she just stood with her gaze to the ground, contemplating the remains of her party cannon.
“That was a very noble gesture I admit, but still we have the problem of not having well trained ponies anytime soon Do you guys really don't know anyone, any pony who possesses a minimum of war knowledge, strategic knowledge or at the very least who is a good fighter?” Bek asked taking out his pain medicine and taking a long sip.
Twilight then pondered for a moment, Bek was right, if they were really going to stand firm against Celestia they should make allies and fast, there was no guarantee that they would have enough time for a long preparation if Celestia desidiated to attack again, at that moment Twilight finally came up with.
“I think I know someone, but it might take me some time to contact her...”
“Well, I guess worse is nothing...” began Bek as he flashed his horn ‘Which leaves us with the last of the big problems we have to solve...’ before them all fell the shattered pieces of one of the spears the guards used to attack the creature ”We need better weapons.”
“Weapons?” asked Shining.
“And armor, unless you want your soldiers to fight with the equivalent of a wet piece of paper against the Solar Bitch beasts...”
“Well..the Crystal Empire is an isolated kingdom, we don't have access to much raw material here in the frozen north, everything we need we get from trade with Equestria..” Shining began.
“What is the most abundant raw material in the Crystal Empire...?” started to ask Bek but noticing the looks of disbelief from the others he quickly corrected himself ”Oh, right, stupid question, crystals...would there be any way to work with that and make them stronger?”
“I...I don't know, blacksmithing isn't exactly my forte...” began Shining Armor but at that moment Twilight raised her voice.
“I'm sure I can find some spell that will strengthen the material during the forging process.”
“Excellent!...but, that leaves us with a new problem...” said Shining while scratching the back of his neck.
“What problem?”
“There are only two blacksmiths in the entire imperial city, and they're the only ones with functional forges, if we're supposed to forge new weapons and armor for a much larger army, we won't be able to meet that demand...”
“Why not build a bigger forge?” asked Bek.
“Even if we could, the terrain in the confines of the city is too unstable for the construction of very large structures, so it would have to be built in the outdoors, not to mention that, if we want the forge to meet the requirements, it must be of enormous size, which means it will have to be able to generate an even greater amount of heat, and if I have learned one thing since I arrived here, it is that the frozen north is not very kind to the heat...”
“So we should build a forge on the outskirts of the city and find a way to keep it from freezing instantly from the snow and ice storm? How exactly are we going to accomplish something like that?” asked Applejack.
“Maybe with magic...?” asked Rainbow.
“I don't think so, it's already been proven a million times that these storm clouds are like the one in Everfree Forest, uncontrollable” replied Twilight.
“Maybe I have a solution for that too...” they all turned to look at Bek again ”Although of course, maybe everyone will now have to say goodbye to their days off...”
Celestia and Luna were sitting in the throne room, listening intently and with the seven pillars in front of them.
“We followed the creature east for days after that, but finally lost track of it...” finished Starswirl.
Luna could tell how Celestia gritted her teeth for a second before replying in a serene tone.
“So...you have no idea where he might have gone?”
“No princesses, we're sorry...”
“Well...” said Celestia after a long pause ”Thank you all for your service, you may now retire...”
All the pillars bowed before turning around and starting to leave, at one point Stygar stopped dead in his tracks, drawing the attention of the other pillars, clearing his throat and turning around to speak.
“Uh, excuse me Princess, there's something else I'd like to ask you...”
Celestia gave the little pony a serious look before nodding.
“Sure Stygar, tell me what you need...”
“Well, as you know Rock Hoof had a close encounter with the creature in which several guards were...well, killed...”
“Yes, I know Stygar, I paid attention to everything they told me.”
“Well, Rock Hoof said he didn't want to worry you with this detail but, he assured us that the creature shared certain physical traits with the element of kindness Fluttershy...”
“I, ehh I told them that I wasn't sure about what I had seen, it might have looked a little bit similar, and also the zebra that was with her called her that, but she was behaving completely different, that wasn't the Fluttershy I know...” interrupts Rock Hoof suddenly.
Celestia then kept silent for a long while while the pilates and Luna remained expectant, finally the sun monarch let out a sigh and spoke again.
“I had told you not to trust anything you see or hear when it comes to this creature, we don't know what kind of dark powers it may have, perhaps the kind of power that distorts the perception of the ponies who see it...”
“But...” Interrupted Stygar “That doesn't explain the zebra, nor why it called the thing Fluttershy, nor why right after that it let Rock Hoof live when it already had it cornered...”
“Do you trust me Stygar?” asked the princess calmly.
The little pony didn't know what to answer to this sudden question, it seemed that Celestia was doing her best not to go into details about the possible nature of the creature, even so, he tried to keep his composure, he didn't want to start a heated debate far from it, swallowing saliva lightly and taking a deep breath he answered.
“Yes princess, if I trust...”
“Then you will trust me to believe me when I tell you that there are things in the darkness capable of getting deep inside the mind, and wreaking terrible havoc beyond your imagination, that is why we must trust me and trust me to keep you safe from those horrible things, trust me to protect you, I am the light of Equestria and by my side, darkness will never come...”
Stygar said nothing more, he simply bowed again and withdrew with the rest of the pillars, Luna for her part could see Celestia's eye twitch slightly and how she seemed to grit her teeth harder.
Both princesses were walking down a lonely corridor of the castle, Celestia was taking heavy, firm steps forward while Luna followed behind her, listening as her older sister muttered things between her teeth.
“You ungrateful bastards, you dare to question me!”
At that moment Luna saw another opportunity to attack Celestia's ego.
“They only question you because you give them the confidence to do so, too bad the figure you decided to mold to rule them is so...benevolent...”
“I'm not in the mood for this right now Luna...”
“Oh I'm sorry, but it's just that since I saw you had everything under control I didn't think you'd be upset because a single pony asked a single question...”
“Shut the fuck up!” shouted Celestia stopping and facing Luna ”All this happening now is your fault...!”
“My fault?!” said Luna feigning indignation ”Now what are you talking about?!”
At that moment Celestia flashed her horn and a small empty bottle appeared before Luna, the same bottle that contained the potion Luna had administered Fluttershy, at that moment she was speechless and open-mouthed, she could have sworn she had thrown the container away.
“What the fuck were you thinking!”
Luna felt fear, she thought her facade was over, but seeing Celestia's relatively calm reaction she assumed that she was only aware of the potion, she knew nothing about Zecora, nor the help she provided for Bek's escape, at this Luna did her best to put a heavy expression on her face and answer with feigned embarrassment.
“She...she was suffering...”
“And your best idea was to give her a potion that would turn her into a fucking vampire?!”
“I didn't know the potion would do that to her!”
“And where the fuck did you get it?!”
“I...I made it...”
“Really? You?”
“Yeah, me. Is there a fucking problem with that?”
Luna gave her a serious look, keeping her eyes locked on Celestia's, she knew she had to stand her ground, after a long moment of staring at each other Celestia let out a snort of annoyance and turned around again to continue moving forward.
“Well whatever, you caused it, you fix it..”
“What do you mean?” This question caused Celestia to give her a stern look over her shoulder, one that sent a shiver down her spine.
“I mean I don't give a shit how you do it, you must capture Fluttershy and bring her here!”
“But why the hell is it so important?” Luna asked, even knowing the answer.
“Because...?!” Celestia looked like she was about to let out a scream but restrained herself and just kept walking “Because, if Discord finds out I don't have her in my possession anymore he'll come and make my vagina sprout teeth as revenge, that damn shoddy chaos lord is the only thing that could end all this with a simple snap, I can't let that happen...”
Luna could have refused, but this was her chance to form alliances outside the castle, if she managed to find Fluttershy and reasoned with her, she could get an advantage over Celestia, at that idea Luna merely forced a smile and nodded.
“Yeah sure sis, don't worry I'll fix it.”
“Good, now I'll go to my room don't interrupt me if it's not something good...” said Celestia curtly before walking away quickly and getting out of sight around a corner.
Celestia abruptly entered her room, slamming the door behind her and throwing her crown against her bed, on which also rested a large golden necklace with ash marks on it.
Taking a big breath and closing her eyes Celestia finally managed to control herself, there was no problem, she just had to go ahead and adapt to the situation, her mind quickly began to evaluate her new options, realizing that, at least for the moment, she was at a dead end, she thought about sending another monster but that wouldn't be wise she didn't want to risk causing more collateral damage by sending something bigger, neither could she openly declare Twilight and her friends as traitors, the population was still trying to digest the previous revelations, she had to wait until they were ready, at that moment an idea crossed her mind, she slapped her face as she realized how stupid she was for not checking before, before doing anything, she had to know where Twilight and Bek were.
She shone her horn and, in a second, a huge map of Equestria was projected in the middle of the room, then Celestia brought the golden necklace closer and removed the red gem in the center, concentrating her magic and, out of nowhere, a red line was projected on the map.
“Wow well what a pleasant surprise...” she began to say seeing how the line ended right at the Crystal Empire ”There Twilight you seriously couldn't think of a better place...well, looks like I'll have to clear my schedule and plan...a visit.”
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 18: Temperance and Balance.
On the outskirts of the crystal empire, the freezing storm lashed against the gigantic glacier that stretched as far as the eye could see, the permafrost that had been there for hundreds and hundreds of years, remained pristine, solid and unfathomable, at least until a thunderous sound was present, a blow, and then another blow, and another blow, and another blow.
In a somewhat sunken part of the glacier there was a huge group of ponies, they were almost the entire royal guard, dressed in huge garments to protect themselves from the cold, they poked the ice with huge metal rods, again and again they hit the ice fractured and creating holes that gradually became deeper, Finally, and after hours of hard work one of the ponies turned away from the crowd, walking towards two hooded figures lying on one side of the work area, with huge carts on their backs full of tools of all kinds.
The pony removed his own hood revealing it to be Bek, shouting over the wind so the figures could hear his voice.
“Alright, that's deep enough, are you sure this is going to work!”
Twilight and Shining Armor removed their own hoods, flashing their horns in unison to lift from the carts a myriad of small crystals that glowed in shades of pink and purple, these crystals levitated until they were over the dug holes and without further ado, the magic went out and they all fell, sinking into the ice.
“Don't worry...!” shouted Shining as he ordered his guards to back off ”Twilight did the calculations, they should have enough power!
“Which is why I recommend we retreat even further!” exclaimed Twilight.
Everyone moved away from the area of holes, pushing the large wagons away and even Shining Armor raised a shield around the entire group.
“Alright Twilight, anytime!” the captain of the guard winked as Twilight closed her eyes to concentrate.
She lit her horn, focused on the crystals and, just before giving the order, exclaimed.
“You'd better cover your ears!” and then came the blast.
Although the ice cushioned most of it, the roar was so intense that it overpowered the deafening sound of the storm, making it seem as if the storm had stopped.
Everyone looked amazed at such an incredible feat, admiring it for a moment before Shining raised his voice again.
“Alright, it's done, time to get to work, quick before the cold puts the pieces back together!”
Then they all start working, the few pegasus in conjunction with the unicorns fly over and use their magic to keep the ice blocks apart as much as possible, among them is Rainbow Dash, who struggles to keep her balance due to the wind, but still taking one rod after another and starting to drive them into the ice with firm and precise blows, Twilight herself and ShIning also help, using their powerful magic to hold the larger blocks as best they can, taking large and long ropes from the carts to start tying them to the rods.
Bek peats hard, feeling the pressure of the bridle on her chest, thankful for the horrible cold that prevented her body from sweating properly when a tap on her side made her turn her head, next to her was Applejack, equally pulling on the thick ropes, despite the effort the farm girl gave a smile to the unicorn.
“Hey, I bet you I can get my block out long before you can!”
As Applejack noticed the look of confusion on Bek's face she realized she needed to explain herself further.
“Oh you know, a race!”
“A, race?!” the unicorn asked even more confused as she planted her hooves firmly as she felt the ice block slip backwards.
“You know, like a competition...!”
“A competition...!?” said Bek finally understanding ”And why would we do something like that right now?”
“Because it's fun! It takes a little fun on a gray day like this!”
“I...I don't get it...!”
“You don't have to understand, just make sure you get your block out before I do or it'll be your turn to take the wagon back!” and with that said, Applejack pulled harder on the rope, taking a couple of steps away from Bek.
The unicorn didn't understand, they were in the middle of something important Why did she look so relaxed and so...cheerful, at that moment Bek felt a current of pain running through her whole body, so intense that it almost made her trip and drop the block of ice she was holding.
“Bek!” shouted Shining Armor as he noticed this ”If you need help I can send you a couple of ponies...!”
“No!” shouted the mare in response ”No, no, no, no,no, I'm..I'm fine, I just tripped, I can do it...!” Bek took out the bottle with the medicine in it and took an even bigger gulp, relieving herself and walking steadily again.
That could have ended badly, the effect of the medicine was becoming less and less lasting, the unicorn reflected on it, she thought she would have more time but her deterioration seemed to have accelerated thanks to her recent injuries, she didn't want to think about how much time she actually had left, so instead, she decided that if she would play along with Applejack, pulling hard and reaching in no time, and so she continued for the rest of the day, removing the ice blocks, then piercing the layer below, popping it and removing the ice again.
By the time dusk began to turn the light gray of the clouds to dark gray everyone stowed the tools in the carts and began the arduous trek back to town, making their way across the difficult terrain of the glacier.
“At this rate the forge should be finished in a couple of weeks, although we could speed it up if we could get more volunteers...” Twilight began.
“That could be a tricky thing to accomplish...” replied Shining Armor ”With the monster attack and this massive mobilization of the empire's forces, many ponies are now really freaking out, locking themselves in their homes and some are already planning to leave the empire...and I don't really blame them.”
“But the new batch of recruits and volunteers train with Bek tomorrow don't they? Those aren't enough?”
“I'm afraid not, I already did the calculations, we don't possess a military force capable of protecting the entire empire and the training was overnight for us, we need more help...What happened to the reinforcements you contacted?”
“They already responded, but they will take time to arrive, they are coming from far away...”
“How long?”
“A couple of days at least...”
“Well...let's hope we don't need them before then...”
Further back in the crowd were Applejack, Bek and Rainbow, in the end, Applejack's competition ended in a draw, still the farmer offered to pull the wagon on the way back,noting the difficulty Bek was having walking, now both were walking side by side again while Rainbow curled up and napped in the back of the wagon.
“She's...low energy isn't she?” asked Bek referring to the pegasus.
“Well, she's not used to such a demanding workday..” replied Applejack with a chuckle.
“From what I see you are.”
“Well, I'm a farm pony, I've always worked the land, since I was a little girl, so a little extra work doesn't bother me.”
“Wow, a farmer, well I guess I should have figured that out the first time I saw you with your hat...” they both let out a laugh before falling silent again, after a moment, Bek spoke again ”You know...I was always curious what the farmer's life was like...”
“Really?” asked Applejack in surprise ”There were farms in your day?”
“But of course, they were the livelihood of the entire empire, and there were all kinds, crops for food, rocks for structures, iron and coal for weapons and armor, and...well, also for labor...” Bek pushed that last idea out of his mind and continued “If a farm was successful that meant that the family in charge, no matter if they were unicorns or earth ponies, would have a secure future, just a quiet, peaceful life in the countryside...I don't know, I guess I, who lived my day to day life running from place to place, was curious what a quiet, stable life would be like, without fear of hunger or cold...”
Applejack didn't know what to say, she felt it wouldn't be appropriate to interrupt Bek's vulnerable moment, so she decided to just stay quiet and listen.
“And...well, when I finally got that kind of life, I never thought it would become my worst nightmare...”
“What do you mean sugar cube?” asked Applejack genuinely curious.
“Let's just say, in the end, it's better not to wish for anything if the one who's going to hear your wish is a demon and not an angel...” she was saying this while lightly stroking her neck scar, Bek then realized how sinister the conversation was getting, she definitely wasn't ready to dig that up yet, so she quickly cleared her throat and changed the subject ”Hey...what's with you and the little pegasus back there?”
The sudden question made the farm girl blush slightly, she didn't want to give a direct answer, but she didn't want to be rude either, so she quickly answered the only thing she could think of.
“Ehhh...well, she and I, we're just friends..”
“Good friends?” asked Bek as she arched an eyebrow and couldn't help but smile slightly.
“Uh, yeah, we've known each other for...quite a few years now...”
“And do you and her spend a lot of time together?”
A slight piquant tone came through in the unicorn's voice, which caused Applejack to blush even more, she tried, out of habit, to cover her face with her hat, but, not having it she only found herself pulling her mane absentmindedly, at this Bek let out a shrill laugh, silencing it quickly so as not to wake Rainbow and apologizing.
“Sorry, sorry, it's just, I'm surprised that romance nowadays had become so modest.... Maybe it sounds a bit bad but in my day if you felt something for someone and that pony reciprocated, there wasn't even room for words, everything just became an avalanche of unbridled feelings and emotions, released in a wild carnal frenzy, a union of passion that pushed the lovers' bodies to the limit, it was that kind of love that you took full advantage of because you didn't know when it might end, I guess you guys don't have that problem, it makes sense that you take it so easy..... but listen to the advice of an expert, it's not worth waiting so long, if it only keeps you apart. ..”
Applejack listened intrigued, for just a soldier, Bek handled the word equal or even better than Twilight, listening to her was like reading a poem, a passionate and full of feeling one, perhaps feelings that, in the middle of battle, have no place, at this the farmer took courage and decided to inquire even more.
“Hey where did you learn to talk like that?”
“Uh? What do you mean?”
“Well, from what you've told us and what Twilight has shown us, your world didn't seem to be the kind that prioritizes things like education or even basic understanding of non-essential things, yet you speak like an educated pony with impeccable lexicon Why?”
Bek pondered for a moment, she remembered how, when she was with her companions, conversations didn't go beyond the simplest sentences and grunts, their place as animals bred for war were reflected in their behavior, she wondered what her former friends would think of her, if they heard her talk like that.
“Well...” she finally said ”Remember the life of peace and quiet I wanted?”
“Yep...”
“I think from that life it's one of the few things that stayed with me...”
“And what other things stayed?”
Bek paused before answering.
“Just scars and bad memories...”
The group finally reached the city, advancing at a slow pace through the streets, the ponies roasting watched them with faces of concern and anguish, some even left what they were doing to return to the safety of their homes, noticing this, Shining Armor could only lower his head in disappointment, at this Twilight quickly put her helmet over her shoulder and spoke to him.
“You need to talk to Cadance, only she can alleviate the anguish felt by her people...”
“I already tried...” the stallion replied quietly ”But no matter how I approach it she refuses to talk about it, to her it's like it's not even happening...”
“But you can't let it go on like this, this is a real thing and the danger is real, you know her better than anyone else, even more than me, you must make her react and start acting like the regent she is, otherwise we will be unprotected, not only physically anymore, but in spirit...”
Shining was silent for a long while, looking ahead he thought about it, Twilight was right at least in something, he, as the prince of the empire, did not have half of the influence and the gift of the word that his wife had, he was only a glorified guard, in charge of the security of his people and the proper care of the empire's resources, but he was not respected beyond those labors, as far as the thinking of the people and the handling of politics was concerned, he was just the pretty face standing behind the princess of love, if Cadance was willing to lend her assistance, he was sure that more than half the kingdom would offer to fight Celestia, and it would certainly help the strength of the hearts of the empire to be renewed, quelling fear and doubt, finally Shining came to a resolution, turning to look at Twilight and saying.
“It's okay Twilight, I'll convince her...”
Finally arriving at the castle the group dispersed, the guards headed to the barracks to clean up and finish their day while Twilight and the others walked to the castle entrance where Rarity and Pinkie Pie were waiting for them.
“Welcome everyone!” exclaimed the unicorn ”How was your first day?”
“I think well, we got a good pace and enough tools How did you guys do with your jobs?” asked Twilight as she took off her cold weather attire.
“Well, I tried to get Cadance out of her room with a breakfast party in bed, but she wouldn't even open the door for me...” said Pinkie somewhat dejectedly, sitting with her hooves on her chin on the stairs.
“And me, well, I've never had to design armor before, at least not a functional one for a fight, but I think I'll be able to find a superb balance between design, functionality and style...” Rarity exclaimed before pausing and flashing her horn, she held up a small package “Although, I did have time to finish something I've been thinking about since we got here, a little gift for Bek...”
“Me?!” the unicorn asked incredulously.
“Of course dear, I couldn't help but notice that you have a certain umm well...aversion to ponies looking at you with nothing on, I also noticed your marked limp, so I thought I'd help you out a bit...”
Rarity handed the package to Bek, who quickly opened it with her magic, finding a strange dark brown garment.
All the others also looked at Rarity quizzically, to which she simply cleared her throat and replied.
“Ahem, well, I know it's not my most glamorous job, but as they said I should focus more on functionality for the moment, it's a supportive garment dear, very snug and firm, it will help relieve some of the pain in your muscles and joints, it will also help with your silhouette, leveling the thickness of your fur so that your scars don't give it a, well.... ungraceful, it will cover you up and allow you to move around without inconvenience, not to mention that you will no longer suffer when it comes to sitting in a chair...”
“Rarity, that's very thoughtful!” exclaimed Twilight.
“Well I wasn't going to let a poor mare walk around wearing uncomfortable, hideous clothes and feeling self-conscious...”
“Thank you...” Bek was heard to say, everyone turned to watch as she folded the garment and placed it on her back ”Really...” Bek gave Rarity a smile which she responded by looking away and coughing.
“Yeah, yeah, you don't think much of it, just let me know if you feel any discomfort, I didn't get a chance to get your measurements right.”
After that they all retreated back inside the castle while Bek returned to her little tent, exhausted and with a lot to think about, they all prepared for the next day, trying to push away the bad thoughts.
The next day, early in the morning, Bek was in the training field of the royal barracks in the company of Shining Armor, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, in front of them was a colorful group of ponies of all kinds, some were royal guards, others were assorted palace staff and a few were ordinary citizens of the empire, all were standing silently waiting to be given instructions.
Bek for her part is nervous, not only because of her new outfit which made her feel strange, but because she wasn't sure how to approach this, her clothing was a one piece garment, which covered almost her entire body, it is as Rarity said, it was quite tight and firm, keeping an even pressure all along Bek's body, she could feel how the back seemed to exert a greater pressure, holding her hips and reducing the pain caused by her left paw limp, also her shape was accentuated, leaving aside the unpleasant appearance that most of her scars cause, in fact the only parts of her body that the garment doesn't cover, besides her head and part of her neck, was the lower half of her front hooves and just the tip of her hind hooves, as much as she didn't want to admit it, having it on helped her feel less uncomfortable in front of everyone's watchful eyes.
“First of all I want to thank each and every one of you for coming, it means a lot to me and the entire Crystal Empire that you are here, ready to face an enemy never before seen in this land, an enemy that has proven to be cunning as well as brutal and now threatens the safety of everything we care about...”
Bek scanned the crowd, she saw several familiar faces and a few new ones, but no matter which direction she looked, she found one constant, each and every pony in front of her, had fear carved in their eyes.
“That is why we must learn to defend ourselves...” continued Shining Armor ”And that is why today we have brought a pony, who knows this enemy very well, who has fought it, studied it and understood it, and now, she will share that knowledge with all of us, so that we can be prepared, when they attack...”
“And are we sure they will attack again?”
A voice interrupted Shining's speech, he couldn't even begin to look for the one who asked the question when yet another one pierced the air.
“How do we know it wasn't a one-time thing?”
That question was followed by another.
“How do we even know that the enemy they're telling us about is even real?”
And then another.
“And what about Princess Cadance? Shouldn't she have told us something by now?”
And another.
“Does this have to do with the plot they announced by Princess Celestia and Luna?”
And suddenly an avalanche of questions came upon Shining, who couldn't keep up with the torrent of questioning, barely being able to half-answer a couple of questions, the crowd slowly began to get out of control, approaching menacingly as the stallion could only back away.
At one point Shining was about to stumble when a mighty roar shook everyone.
“Everyone shut your mouths!!!”
Everyone turned in surprise, including Shining himself, only to find Bek standing firmly in front of the crowd with a determined look on her face, before anyone could say anything else, the mare once again bellowed in a firm and serious voice.
“I can't believe my eyes, wannabe soldiers doubting the orders of your commanding officer, what a fucking shame” Bek walked to stand in the middle of Shining and the crowd, causing the latter to back up a couple of steps ”I can guarantee you that your captain, has not withheld any information from you, everything he knows, you know, that you don't want to believe it is not your fucking fault...” Now it was Bek who was walking towards the crowd at a slow pace as the crowd slowly backed away “Before we begin you should be clear on two things, two things I hope you will accept and believe with all your being from now on, the first, the monarchs of Equestria are lying, sadistic whores, who will do anything in their power to prevent their thrones from being dethroned and their influence over this land dissipated, and second and more importantly, when I say they will do anything, I mean anything, unleash monsters, torture and slaughter innocents, go against any law of nature if it guarantees them to keep even a shred of the power they wield over everything.... ! ”
The entire crowd now had fearful looks on their faces, clearly intimidated by the presence imposed by the mare in front of them, no one was left wanting to question what they heard, they just stood there, noticing this Bek changed his tone of voice to a more solemn and understanding one before continuing.
“Once you accept that, then you will be willing to give your lives to fight, not only for what you believe is right, but also to defend all the things you love and once cared about, that is the reason you are here, to learn how to fight.”
There was silence for a long moment, it seemed that Bek's speech had been enough to silence the doubts of the aspirants, but at that moment a voice became present, the same one that asked the first question.
“And who the fuck are you?”
This time the crowd opened up to reveal the troublemaker, there he was, a stallion with dull yellow fur, a dark purple mane and a gan bandage covering his right foreleg, it was Quiet Trench, who looked with contempt and distrust at Bek who responded with a similar gesture before answering.
“I am a soldier, who comes from a different world than the one you know, a world full of fear and hunger, a world that now, threatens to devour yours, and if you want to prevent that from happening, then you better listen to everything I have to teach you, otherwise..there is no guarantee that there is going to be a tomorrow...”
The stallion lowered his head still with an annoyed expression, but said nothing more, that said they all lined up again, sitting down on the grass, ready to start their first lesson.
Applejack and Rainbow then brought a bunch of sticks of different sizes, some with rocks tied to their ends and others with improvised grips, they left them on the ground and stood in line with the rest of the volunteers, while Shining Armor stood in front next to Bek, finally and when everyone was silent, the unicorn began.
“Alright, today I will teach you the basics, what kind of threat you will face, basic combat strategies and we will finish with a real practical training; The first point to cover is the nature of the enemy, the truth is quite a broad topic but I will try to summarize it as best I can, these creatures, monsters of the night, living nightmares, no matter what you call them, besieged the land before any of your pony ancestors were even born, no one knows for sure where they came from or what brought them to these lands in the first place, what we do know is that, once the pony race settled in what they now call Equestria these creatures found a new kind of pleasure in hunting, torturing and consuming equines, for them, it was almost a drug, addicted to pain and misery, which is why, each and every one of them, evolved over the centuries to fulfill one purpose and one purpose only, to kill as many ponies in the most satisfying way possible.... ”
You could feel the tension in the group rising, some felt a sudden headache, others felt nauseous and a few others kept shaking slightly.
“By the time the ones you call Celestia and Luna arrived to proclaim themselves the rulers of everything their eyes saw, these beasts had already been slaughtering ponies for hundreds of years, they created the first imperial legions, whose sole purpose throughout their service, was to fight and learn how to kill those things, that knowledge was passed down from generation to generation, updated every time a new type of monster appeared and now, I will share that knowledge with you, I will teach you how to hunt, capture and destroy those things, even so, do not have many illusions believing that it will be something easy once you have mastered it, never forget that you will be fighting against the natural predator best adapted to end your lives, neither be confused believing that they are just dumb animals that only attack by instinct, they are intelligent, malicious and sadistic creatures, and believe me when I tell you, they will do everything in their power, to make your death as horrible and agonizing as possible.... ”
A couple of ponies in the crowd released their stomachs just at that instant, staining the grass and causing some to turn away in disgust, even Shining Armor himself felt a twinge in his stomach, remembering the beast from the other day, at this Bek simply spoke again.
“Okay, now that you understand what you're up against, let's start the real lesson...”
Bek instructed everyone to stand up and approach where the sticks were on the ground, once there everyone stood in a large circle while Bek stood in the center.
“Right, now, every beast is different, even two specimens of the same species have determining differences between them, so you must assume that the possibilities when facing one of them are endless, you could try to attack head on a climber that spits acid, or try to attack from afar a digger that can launch magic missiles, even so there are vital biological rules that if or if they share the vast majority of monsters, here is a list that should be the first thing you memorize today, with the idea that it will help you to evaluate almost any situation, and a well evaluated situation almost always guarantees your survival and those of your companions .... ”
Some of those present took out small notebooks and began to jot down notes while others just kept staring.
“Number one, the ones that look like insects do not have good peripheral vision, Number two, the ones that look like reptiles you cannot climb nor are they very fast, Number three, the small ones always hunt in packs, Number four, invertebrates are always, I repeat, always, poisonous to the touch, Number five, aquatic ones are out of the question, stay away from water, Number six, the flying ones are very fragile, but very fast, and Number seven, and most important of all, if you come across one that looks like a pony, and I don't mean a cheap costume that is noticeable when you just get a little closer, if it talks, acts and looks almost identical to a regular pony, I want you to, no matter what happens or whatever you hear or see, run, run and hide wherever you can, other than that there is nothing else to do, facing him is suicide, trying to run away is suicide, once your luck is cast with one of those, I hope you have a god to pray to..... ”
Applejack swallowed saliva, she had no idea that there were so many variables concerning those creatures, she also didn't think she could feel more fear from it than she experienced with the spider monster or the horrible thing under the castle in the forest, now she knew that there were things that could be much worse.
“Okay, now, combat strategies; Once you have identified the type of creature and have taken the necessary measures you must initiate the counterattack, so each of you must choose which role of it you want to specialize in...”
Everyone then exchanged confused glances, at which point Bek drew the hilt of his sword, drawing everyone's attention and continuing.
“In the near future there will be a great variety but whether or not you will have to choose which type of weapon you will learn to master, for general parameters there are two types of weapons, closed and blunt...”
At that moment the magical blade of Bek's sword flared up, startling most of them to subsequently leave them in awe.
“The closed ones are light and fast weapons, specifically designed to cut, lacerate and maim, the job of soldiers carrying closed weapons is to identify the enemy's weak points and exploit them, they are in charge of delivering the killing blow and ensuring it is effective, already when it comes to solo combat they do better with small targets, this type of weapon makes it easier to keep up with particularly agile enemies, so the wielder must be able to match that speed...”
The options hadn't even been presented but Rainbow Dash was already sure of what she was going to choose.
“Blunt ones are quite the opposite, they are heavy and crude, made to fracture, knock down and pulverize, they are the first line of defense, their job, to unbalance the beasts so that those with blunt weapons can attack, break their bodies and cause as much impact damage as possible, obviously they do better with targets of great size and strength, their armors, by the same token, are more resistant, this added to the physical resistance their bearers must aspire to allows them to stand their ground against the fiercest of enemies...”
Applejack was really considering this, she wasn't sure why, enlisting for this made, her promise to return home in one piece, was at risk, still, she couldn't stay with her hooves crossed.
“I want to make it clear that this I will say is not an imposition of any kind, I am only sharing the most common choices around the biological capabilities of all pony species.... “ Bek began to say, again catching the attention of those present “By simple anatomy and facility, there are specific jobs that both earth ponies, unicorns and pegasus can perform to maximize combat strategy, I think you can get a proper idea of what type, so I recommend you consider all of this when choosing your fighting style, now, please choose...”
Bek stepped back revealing the sticks at his feet, this earned another wave of confused looks.
“I know this isn't optimal, but we won't have real weapons to work with for a while, we adapted these woods to meet the minimum characteristics of all weapon types, they'll do for practice in the meantime, now who here has minimal combat training?”
Obviously the guards, along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash raised their hooves, and to Bek's surprise some of the volunteers did too.
“Alright, in that case, grab a stick and show me what you can do...”
The crowd came forward and began taking the sticks, most took at random without much idea of how this resembled real weapons, only a few like Applejack and Rainbow gave it the slightest bit of thought, the pegasus took one of the longer sticks while the farmer took one of the ones with a large stone tied to the end, once everyone had taken one Bek came back in front of everyone.
“Alright, we will start with the basics, I must assess everyone's skill, so we will do a test fight with each of you...” that made everything suddenly tense up ”Don't worry more than a fight will be you attacking me, I will not return the blows, now, this is important, this will determine what kind of training you will be given, and we are in a bit of a hurry, if any of you are able to connect a single blow to my body, you will be promoted to brigade captain...”
They all looked at each other in disbelief, muttering to each other until Shining Armor interrupts.
“That's right, due to the fact that we need soldiers ready in as much time as possible, anyone who proves to be skilled enough will be promoted to the highest position and help train the others..”
“That being said who wants to go first?” asked Bek as from the ground he picked up one of the sticks that was about the size of his sword.
Everyone was silent, looking from side to side and looking down in embarrassment, not even Applejack and Rainbow wanted to step forward, not because they thought Bek would hurt them, they just didn't like the idea of being the first to bite the dust.
“I'll do it!” an excited voice was suddenly heard.
Once again everyone stepped back to reveal a pegasus, Applejack recognized her as one of the ones watching Bek train, her fur was a fiusha color, her black mane was shaved on the sides and painted red at the tips, her wings also had the outer feathers painted red and her Cutie Mark was an orange tornado.
“Well, you go ahead...”
“Bold Breeze!” suddenly exclaimed the pegasus, standing hurriedly in front of Bek, she held two small wooden sticks between her wings, extending the quickly and spinning them with great skill.
“Sure..very well, I want you to understand that we are training you to fight as a unit, it's not about...”
But there was no time to finish the sentence, the pegasus lunged at Bek, trying to hit her with the small wooden sticks as if she wanted to stab her, her attacks were fast, but Bek was only backing away calmly, staying out of the wood's reach.
“As I was saying...” he continued while blocking one of the pegasus' blows ”It's not about standing out above the others, of course if you possess exceptional skills you should use them to contribute as much as possible, but that doesn't mean you leave your companions behind...”
The pegasus rose into the air, taking one of the sticks in her mouth and attempted to lunge at Bek, the unicorn in response turned and buried her own stick in the ground, blocking the path of the lunge and causing the pegasus to have to swerve sharply, crashing to the ground and fouling herself with dirt.
“And while I greatly appreciate your enthusiasm pegasus, I think you're missing the point of the training...”
The pegasus stood up heavily, coughing lightly and wiping her face.
“Ugh, I thought the point of all this was to beat her to rank up...” she said as she turned away back to the crowd.
“It's about knowing if you have what it takes to fight, you for example, made a mistake ranging from your choice of weapons, you are a pegasus, fast but not very strong, risking attacking at close range compromises not only the integrity of your body and wings, if not it can also mean a broken defense against a siege, if you are pegasus don't forget, you must use weapons of, minimum, medium range, to ensure optimal use of your speed and flying ability... very well who's next?”
At that moment Applejack stepped forward and planted herself in front of Bek, they both looked at each other for a moment before the farm girl delivered a powerful blow with her stick, one that Bek blocked with her own, though this time the impact was so powerful that it caused both sticks to girdle Bek's body and push her slightly, Applejack stepped back thinking that perhaps she had overdone it with her strength, and despite the fact that yes, Bek looked sore from her shoulder, she rose again and continued speaking.
“Now, if you possess a particular ability that is unique, my job is to make those the best they can be, things like strength and stamina are good to have as a base, but if you don't know how to use them it's almost as bad as not having anything remarkable...” Bek motioned for the farm girl to continue and Applejack was quick to charge forward again.
This time Applejack's sweep was dodged as Bek leapt over the pole landing gracefully on the ground as the farmer once again made a huge sweep.
“It's not the same to kick and punch than to handle a colossal solid metal weapon, as crude as it may seem to use this kind of weapons the truth is that they require a minimum of control to be used, otherwise you'll just be a blind chicken with a sixty kilos paperweight, with an open defense and with too high risks of hitting one of your own companions...”
Applejack threw a few more punches, this time from the top down but no matter how much force she put in Bek would only move out of the way at the right moment, a couple of times she even hit the back of the farmer's neck gently with her own stick, in the end the pony decided to leave her for the sake of peace, moving away from the center of the circle sweating and panting.
“Nor is it about attacking without stopping, you must wait for your enemy to attack first, fighting is not a simple exchange of blows, it is a dance full of balance that allows you to connect with your opponent in a unique way, that it is a violent act or that it can even become life or death does not take away the importance of understanding that...”
Bek shifted her stance a bit and as she received Rainbow's next blow the pegasus' pole broke from the speed making her lose her balance and slamming on the brakes, more and more, the rest of the crowd stood with their mouths open, fascinated with the spectacle.
“Make no mistake, you must assume that your enemies will use any kind of trap or ruse to defeat you, they will fight without honor, without rules, but that is, where your discipline and your control comes in, your cunning and your ability to think fast, and more importantly, your ability to synchronize and affinity with your teammates...”
“That's pure garbage!” was heard again.
Quiet Trench emerged from the crowd with a furious look on his face, holding a stick about the same size as Bek's, the unicorn turned to face him, looking as closely as she could, she paid more attention to the wound on his foreleg, noticing that his cutie mark was all about a clump of barbed wire.
“You...you're one of the ones who survived the attack aren't you? Do you have a problem with my philosophy and teaching..?”
“Your corny crap isn't guaranteed to save any of our lives!” Abruptly interrupted the stallion, Bek didn't lose his cool and gave him a pitying look before replying.
“I didn't say my advice would save you from dying, I said it would prepare you for battle, in battle there is never a guarantee of anything...”
“Then what the fuck are we here for then?! If you can't even guarantee that we'll be victorious what's the point!” As angry as he sounded, it was obvious to everyone that the stallion was trying to fight back choked sobs and tears trying to well up in his eyes.
“Look kid...” said Bek letting out a sigh ”I won't be the one to tell you lies, the enemies we are going to fight are far more powerful than us, we are talking about two goddesses that have lived centuries and centuries, with a power so immeasurable that it made the very darkness itself retreat, against that...I can't even guarantee that there will be anything left of the world you know...”
Quiet Trench looked down devastated, there was no hope, this was complete madness and they would all end up dead, a thought that seemed to be shared by all present, but before the stallion could drown further in his despair, Bek continued.
“But, my companions and I were also capable of impossible feats, together we moved mountains and faced oceans, we fought hoof to hoof against horrors beyond comprehension and emerged victorious, we turned the tide of battle when all seemed lost and, although many brothers and sisters perished, we never surrendered...” At that moment Bek raised her voice to address everyone “So, this day I do not ask you to give me your loyalty or your blind obedience, today I only ask you to have courage, to be brave and stand together in the dark times ahead, so that even if we all die in battle, that courage will inspire someone else, someone who will undoubtedly rise up in the future to honor our sacrifice...!”
The unicorn walked in the direction of the stallion, stopping right in front of him, Quiet Trench looked up and saw the mare's stricken face before she spoke again.
“I...I am not a heroine, I am not an honorable warrior, I am not even a pony like you, I am only...an animal, who exceeded her termination date, I cannot promise you a victory, I can only prepare you with all I know and hope it will be enough against the unknown, I am very sorry I can only offer you that...”
Quiet Trench exchanged glances with Bek for a moment, Shining Armor watched dumbfounded, he didn't expect that, putting Bek in front, he would come clean like that, the whole crowd seemed moved, even Applejack and Rainbow were taken aback by the display of words.
“In that case, you will have from me what you need ma´am...”
Bek saw the determination in the stallion's eyes, turning to see it now reflected in the eyes of most, there was still doubt and fear, but they seemed to have been diluted after her speech, she finally returned her gaze to the pony in front of her and let out a heavy chuckle and sighed.
“Don't call me ma´am kid, I'm not that old...”
After that the day went on as normal, the training continued and despite the fact that none of the people present managed to connect a single hit on Bek, the mood seemed renewed and it was more than clear that the small group would meet again the next day.
“Bek, I thought you said you weren't good at teaching?”
“Yeah! That was twenty percent cooler!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash enthusiastically.
“I...I don't know what you girls are talking about...” began Bek as she laid on her back a large amount of sticks now subjects ”I just told you the truth, I didn't embellish anything and I was frank, any one of you could have done it.”
“Are you kidding me?!” asked the pegasus ”That was amazing what you did!”
“Rainbow's right, you inspired those ponies, better than any of us could have done it”
“Well, I just remembered the speeches that used to inspire me before a battle, the ones that filled my soul with hope and my body with strength...if any of the legion elders had been here, I assure you I had gotten the whole empire up in arms...”
The three mares stored the training material in the barracks, the dim light of dusk adorned the entire empire, a prelude to the darkness of the night, once calm, now striking fear in the hearts of the citizens, fearing that some other monstrosity would slip into the shadows and snatch another life.
“Well...I think it's time for me to start my night watch, I must make sure the guards have contingency measures ready in case of attack...”
“Oh uh...yeah, sure...we'll go back to the castle and...” Applejack stopped in mid-sentence, she admired Bek for a moment, she could notice how she lifted her left hind hoof slightly, avoiding supporting her weight and noticed her uneven breathing, she thought for a second before coming to a resolution “Hey, why don't you let us come with you?”
“Really?” said Bek after a brief pause.
“Yeah! It would be nice to start practicing to get your amazing ability to sleep only two hours a day, not to mention you could give us more lessons on fighting...”
“Uh, I don't know, I wouldn't want to compromise what could be one of your last peaceful nights...”
“You don't have to worry about that!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash ”I'm an expert at naps, if I end up too tired, I'm sure I'll be able to pull myself together during the day..”
“And also...” continued Applejack ”I think you could use the company...”
Bek thought about it, it wasn't a bad idea, after all, that pair of mares had already become her battle companions, the more she got to know them the better her performance in battle would be, besides, Applejack wasn't wrong, she would really enjoy their company a lot.
Shining Armor finally reached his room, to his surprise, the door was open, something he was grateful for as he was starting to get tired of sleeping in one of the guest rooms, besides, he missed his wife and daughter very much.
Shining bent down gently and placed a tender kiss on his baby's forehead, feeling the softness of her fur and her warmth, at that moment a very low whisper was heard behind him.
“Don't go waking her up...”
The stallion turned to find Cadance, sitting on his large bed, partially wrapped by the blankets, her face reflected exhaustion, with pronounced dark circles under her eyes and an unpleasant grimace, the two exchanged glances for a long moment, before Shining took a couple of steps forward, sitting on the edge of the bed and letting out a sigh.
“How are you...?”
“How do you think I am?”
“Yeah hehe...what a stupid question...”
There was a long pause.
“I don't agree with what you're doing to our kingdom...” said Cadance.
“And why not?”
“You're filling everyone with fear and doubt, I can feel the crystal heart weakening with each passing day...”
“And what was I supposed to do?” interrupted Shining ”You didn't do anything to help us...”
“And what were you supposed to expect me to do?”
“Talk to them, calm their fear, give them hope...”
“There is no hope Shining Haven't you been paying attention? We're all lost...”
Shining then fell silent, he realized that Cadance had already passed the denial phase and was now going through a surrender phase.
“You don't know that...”
“Oh please, don't be condescending, you know perfectly well it's the safest thing to do.”
“Maybe, but that doesn't mean we're giving up, we have to fight...”
“Fight what?” there was a faint tone of desperation in the mare's voice.
“Uh I...” Shining couldn't answer.
“See, even you haven't fully accepted it...”
“Well, even though you're still processing it doesn't mean you're not in the process of accepting it, I'm trying to hold my ground while I finish understanding it...”
“What is there to understand? It's about dethroning Celestia and Luna, the mare who raised me and her sister...” Cadance began to cry silently.
Shining was quiet for a moment, hesitating if he should reach out to comfort his wife.
“I...I just...I can't believe it, even when I've seen it with my own eyes I can't believe it...” Cadance covered her face with her hooves as her tousled mane fell forward.
“Me neither...” said Shining finally, making Cadance look at him ”She was my sister's mentor, practically her second mother, she guided her to become the great pony she is now, damn if it wasn't for her you and I wouldn't have even met...and yet, she threatened Twilight and Spike to death, locked Bek in a dungeon, kidnapped Fluttershy and...there are mountains of corpses buried under her old castle...”
“And then there are the memories of Sunburst and that deranged mare...” began Cadance ”Those damned memories...of a world that shouldn't exist, an impossible world, capable of boundless cruelty and evil...”
“It's hard to stay hoof-crossed with evidence like that...”
They both looked directly into each other's eyes, losing themselves in their gazes and, from one moment to the next, the two melted in a very tight embrace, giving each other a deep kiss while they both cried and let themselves fall on the bed, this lasted several minutes, they just stayed in silence, hugged between the sheets, Cadance with her head against Shining's chest while he clung to her, finally, and once they managed to find the perfect position, the princess of love whispered again.
“I don't know how to fix this Shining, I just don't know what to do...”
“I don't know either, I don't think there's anything in particular we can do...”
“But, we are the guardians of the north, our job is to keep our subjects safe and at peace, starting a war goes against everything we swore to when we took the throne...”
“I know... I never in all my life believed that I would have to initiate a war against my own species, I always believed that, whatever the threat, even if it was horrible, at least I would have the certainty that it would come from outside, from unknown and malevolent lands, not from the very home where I was born and raised.... but, if we don't do this, if we refuse to act, it is likely that this ancestral evil that has accompanied us since always will only continue to grow and but even, it may even drop its facade of kindness and harmony, showing its true nature and causing suffering and pain...”
“But what if that evil no longer exists? What if they really did change and this is all just a big misunderstanding?”
“There's no way to know, even so do you really want to take the risk? Even though everything could be at stake?”
Cadance didn't answer.
“Look I love you, you and Flurry more than anything, I wouldn't forgive myself if because of my lack of actions something bad happened to them, I must take whatever precautions are necessary if it means being able to keep them safe and also being able to keep our people safe...”
Silence again, a long one, for a moment Shining thought his wife had finally fallen asleep, but was startled slightly when Cadance spoke again.
“Then I guess, as a princess of love, my duty is to defend all that I love...”
Shining couldn't help but smile, bending down to kiss her beloved on the forehead, which elicited a quiet sigh from the alicorn.
“I think I'll have to make a few apologies before anything else...” spoke Cadance again.
“Yes, I'm sure certain ponies appreciate it...” Shining let out a chuckle before settling back on the bed, hugging his wife wider and covering himself with the sheets.
Both ponies kissed and cuddled at length, until they finally fell asleep, resting peacefully as the lights in the room continued to spin and little Flurry Heart settled into her crib.
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 19: Grudge Manifesto.
Starlight was sitting in her old student counseling office, due to the faint rain outside the room was bathed in a gray light, staring at her desk, which was full of half drafted documents, the mare was lost in her thoughts, going over the steps to follow over and over again, while with her magic she absentmindedly levitated a pen soaked in ink.
Suddenly a memory burst in, projecting itself in her mind vividly and intensely, to her mind came the image of Sunburst's face in her last moments, he bright blue eyes losing their luster little by little as the colossal spear pierced her body.
“Starlight....Can I come in?”
“Trixie? Yeah, yeah sure, go ahead...”
The blue unicorn entered cautiously, closing the door behind her and walking quietly until she sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk.
“What do you need Trixie?” she said as she quickly arranged the papers on her desk.
“Well...” began Trixie, hesitating for a moment ”The students are a bit restless...many still don't understand why they have to go home and, well...most assume it's because something bad happened to Twilight and the others...”
“Well, they're not entirely wrong...” Starlight realized how insensitive she sounded, looking up and noticing Trixie's confused look “Sorry Trixie...I'm just still digesting this....”
“Don't worry Starlight, you're not the only one....” Trixie replied, quickly recovering and giving her friend a small smile, but her smile quickly disappeared, putting on a serious expression, clearing her throat before continuing “Starlight ahem...you know the great and powerful Trixie would never question your amazing management and strategy skills, but I would be lying to you if I told you I didn't share some of the students concern, you Are you really sure you want to do this?”
Starlight found herself somewhat surprised at her friend's newfound doubts, still she didn't judge her, Trixie had proven to be reluctant for what she respected to do anything about her current situation, opting for a passive and low key attitude, perhaps thinking that they had already done their part, unfortunately for her, in Starlight's eyes, this was just beginning.
“Trixie, I understand you have concerns, but you can't expect me to stand on my hooves, even more so if the evil we saw in that horrible past is still going on today...”
“But why don't we let Twilight and her friends take over? They have more experience than we do at this saving the world thing...” Trixie said, in a fleeting moment of courage to confront Starlight.
“That's just the problem Trixie, this isn't like the previous times at all” Starlight replied curtly, refocusing on the documents in front of her.
“Yeah but...wouldn't that be a bigger reason to keep us out of it? I mean, if it really is that bad, the best thing would be...”
“The best thing would be what!” Starlight exclaimed tapping the desk loudly with her hoof.
Trixie was startled at the sudden outburst, Starlight's patience had reached its limit and her look went from calm to anger in a second.
“Would it be best to just stand still like imbeciles!!! Pretend absolutely nothing has happened!!! Sure, let's do that, let's live happily and quietly until the bitch who controls the sun decides we have become a threat to her millennial empire!!!!! Please Trixie even you are not that naive!” Starlight began to gasp catching her breath, realizing her unnecessary waste of blind rage, she was about to apologize when she was interrupted by Trixie, who, to her surprise, spoke calmly and solemnly.
“Starlight, I know you are saddened by Sunburst's death, we all are, and I understand that you feel you must do something about it, I know you, you are like that...you don't like to feel powerless...but to start a cold war with the regents of Equestria, who for all we know now may be the greatest and most powerful beings to ever walk this earth, and on top of that without consulting Princess Twilight...sounds very reckless...”
“Trixie...” replied Starlight after a moment ”I know you think that because of my mourning I am in no condition, but I can assure you that I have never in my life been so sure of anything, nor more prepared, you need not worry, Twilight will be informed in due time, but for now, we must remain with our heads down, quietly preparing ourselves...”
“Yes but...Starlight, preparing for what...?” Trixie didn't hide her concern, nor did she hide her discontent, but she couldn't argue against Starlight's spite, she knew there was nothing in this world that could do it anyway.
Starlight simply lowered her gaze and didn't respond.
“..So, due to the recent disappearance of friendship princess Twilight Sparkle, along with that of the other elements of harmony, I have decided to temporarily close the friendship school...!”
Starlight was saying in a firm voice to the students gathered in the main hallway, the unicorn was standing on a small dais while using a spell to make her voice perfectly audible throughout the large room, while Trixie and Maud were standing on either side of her and Spike a little further back, all the students shared looks of confusion as they muttered.
“But counselor Starlight...” said one of the closest students ”How long will the school be closed?”
“Unfortunately Princesses Luna and ....Celestia...” began Starlight feeling a lump in her throat at having to utter those names ”They have given us no information about the possible whereabouts of Twilight or her friends, nor have they been very forthcoming about whether their disappearance is related to the coronation ceremony bombing, so I am very sorry but until we receive proper answers and assurance about anything, the school will remain closed indefinitely, I recommend that you pack up and prepare to go home, that's all...”
The students watched Starlight descend from the small dais before disappearing with her magic in an instant, walking away down the hallway accompanied by Trixie, Maud and Spike, still muttering but beginning to retreat to their rooms, all except for a peculiar group of six, all of whom were not entirely happy with the unicorn's speech.
“Counselor Starlight wait!” shouted Silverstream as she stepped forward and landed in front blocking the way ”You can't close the school!”
Starlight was a bit surprised when the hippogriff landed in front of her, taking her a moment to respond.
“Silverstream I'm sorry but it's not safe for the school to stay open..”
“But why not?” asked another voice ‘Yona understand that school sad because we lost teachers, but that no reason not to continue learning friendship...’ the young yak was followed by the rest of young six who joined the barrier Silverstream created.
“Silverstream is right!” exclaimed Galus ”You can't close the school, we have already had classes when the teachers and the principal are not present, there is no reason not to do it this time no? Besides, some of us really aren't too keen on going home...”
“I'm sorry guys seriously but there is no discussion in this matter...” started Starlight calmly but was interrupted with more questioning.
“Did something bad happen to the headmistress and the teachers?” asked Smolder without much decorum ” Is that the reason?!”
“O holy hive...” said Ocelus upset.
“If that is the reason you have to tell us what counselor, if there is a problem we can help solve it” said Sandbar also concerned.
At this Starlight didn't know what to answer for a moment, stuttering a bit at the boys seemingly incredible powers of deduction.
“Starlight said we haven't received any information and therefore that is so...” said Maud, to everyone's surprise ”Starlight is as worried as you are, she is doing her best to keep calm and make the hard decisions, I suggest you trust her and stop asking questions...”
As always the mare's tone was forceful as the young men slowed their assault, but on their faces the uncertainty was obvious.
“Could you at least please tell us if everything will be all right?” Sandbar asked hesitantly.
“Everything will be fine...” said Starlight finally, forcing a smile and a calm expression ”I promise you it will be...”
There were no further explanations, Starlight and company resumed their mark, leaving aside the boys who could only watch as they walked away.
“Alright, I guess I'll have to be the one to say that this is by far the strangest thing that has ever happened in this place...” said Smolder as they all walked in the direction of their dorms.
“Yona will agree, this not being like other times, Starlight counselor decision seem much more...”
“Permanent...?” Said Silverstream “Yes...I can't remember a single day when I've seen her talk like today, not even on her bad days...”
“Everything has been very strange since what happened at Princess Twilight's coronation, ever since that...crazy unicorn attacked everyone...” said Galus with a serious countenance.
“Maybe Princess Twilight and the teachers are hiding since they haven't caught that pony yet, maybe she threatened them all and is looking for them to do horrible things to them...” Ocelus let out a squeal of fear as he cowered.
“Wow wow, calm down...” began Snadbar ”There's no need to get carried away with the worst possible situation, hey I know this is out of any regulations we're used to but, well, you heard the counselor, everything will be fine...”
Everyone stared at the pony with disbelieving and somewhat mocking looks, until Smolder exclaimed.
“Oh please, even you don't believe what you just said!”
At this, Sandbar frowned, blushing slightly before resuming his speech.
“Well yeah, I might not be entirely sure, more so when it was said in such an unreliable tone but, think about it for a second, if Princess Twilight and the elements of harmony were in real danger don't you think Princesses Celestia and Luna had already reported about it? I mean, they are the greatest heroines in all of Equestria, if something happened to her it couldn't just go unnoticed...right?” It seemed as if the young colt was trying to convince himself with every word, even so, he did his best to transmit security to his friends who only continued to look at him, only now with expressions of uncertainty and concern before the new idea that had just been proposed to them.
After making sure every last student left the premises, Starlight ended up exhausted, even with the help of her friends it took a ridiculous amount of time to get the job done, not to mention all the apology letters to parents and guardians.
The mare wandered back and forth, alone with her thoughts as a huge feeling of guilt and sadness filled her and made her shudder, remembering Sunburst, if only she hadn't been so arrogant, if only she had been more prepared.
Suddenly she felt a hoof on her shoulder which made her startle, turning quickly only to find a completely unfamiliar pony standing in front of her, at least in appearance.
“Oh, I'm so sorry Starlight, I didn't mean to startle you...” said a familiar voice, the stallion in front of the mare was tall, lean, lime green coat and a bright vermillion mane, his cutie mark was a honeycomb of bees.
“No worries...thanks for coming so quickly...” said Starlight recovering from the scare.
“No problem but, well not to be rude but in your letter you mentioned absolutely nothing about him because you needed to see me so urgently...I also found it strange that you asked me to come without anyone knowing what exactly is going on?”
Starlight then changed to a serious countenance, looking over her shoulder at the bright moon in the sky before turning again.
“Follow me...”
They both walked down the halls in silence until they reached Starlight's office, upon arrival the mare closed the curtains and lit a single candle to illuminate the room, sitting down in one of the armchairs in the room and indicating to the stallion to sit in the other, once they were both in place the stallion finally let out all of his concerns.
“Starlight is everything all right? I'm starting to get worried...”
“Well, answering that question may be a little more complicated than you think..” said Starlight letting out a sigh ”I mean right now everything is technically fine, but it's possible that in a very short time everything will go to hell...”
“Starlight, please speak up...”
“Yeah, sorry, it's just, I've been trying to rehearse a way to make this conversation as concise and clear as possible but...well, I still can't come up with something convincing enough...”
“Maybe I can help you, let's just start with the basics...” began the pony noticing the nervousness in the mare's words ”Tell me why did you need to see me?”
“I need your help...” she answered quickly.
“Okay, help with what?”
Starlight fell silent, the pony sensing the tension slowly rising let out an uncomfortable chuckle eh nintendo relaxed with an eloquent comment.
“Well that's a record, with you there is usually silence until question number five...”
“I'm sorry...” Starlight began “It's just...it's all kind of...complicated...”
“Well, we're friends, I promise I'll do my best to understand, whatever it is...”
Starlight let out a sigh, taking a deep breath before closing her eyes and gathering her courage to begin.
“I need...you to lend me your services, yours and your people's...”
The pony definitely expected anything but that.
“Okay...wow, well, that's certainly an unusual request, one that you'll well understand I'll need you to clarify further...most of all the 'services' part...what exactly do you mean?”
Once again the mare did not respond, but this time the pony cleared his throat by way of encouragement, as he was now more intrigued and concerned.
“Well...I, I mean...it's just...” Starlight let out another sigh “I need them to spy on the princesses...”
“What?” the stallion asked almost, almost believing he had misheard.
“What you heard...” Starlight lowered her head, not having the courage to look her guest in the eye.
“I hope you don't think I'm going to settle for just that or do you...?”
“I told you, it's complicated...”
“Well I hope you make it less complicated because right now I don't like the way you're putting it to me at all” the stallion frowned.
“It's just that you don't understand, it's necessary, for everyone's sake...”
The stallion arched an eyebrow and gave her a look that bordered on distrust.
“Starlight...”
“I know....listen to me, I know it will sound crazy to you, but Equestria and all the other kingdoms of this world, are in danger beyond anything ever seen, and the ones responsible for that latent danger are Celestia and Luna, or at least Celestia...”
“And this is when you say something to keep me from leaving...”
“I don't have to tell you anything, I can show you” Starlight rudely interrupted.
The stallion looked even more confused at the mare who began to light her horn, holding a faint glow, and in an instant Starlight's memories were projected in front of her, it wasn't a very long journey as the unicorn knew exactly what memories to show, still, for the pony it felt like a slow motion ride, the brutality of the images in front of him sent a shiver down his spine, as did the voice from beyond the grave of the fire maned alicorn, more so when Sunburst's agony in her last moments was projected he could feel his very resilient insides churn and turn inside him.
By the time Starlight's magic faded and the projection disappeared leaving a halo of blue-green dust, the stallion was glued to his seat, pressing his hooves firmly against the plush couch, his expression a mixture of disgust and the look of disbelief Starlight had grown accustomed to by now.
“Starlight...what is this?”
“I told you, it's what we're up against now, there's no more, they know we know and we're all in danger...”
“And you want me and my people....”
“Be our eyes and ears inside Canterlot castle, we need a head start on them, we need to start preparing for what's coming...”
“Starlight...” at that moment the stallion glowed, a flash of blue covered his entire body and suddenly a more imposing figure took his place, tall and with huge horns, large fully purple eyes rested on the mare and a pitiful sigh came before he continued ”If all this is true, do you have ide of what thing you are asking me to do?”
Starlight didn't understand the question, but before she could reply Thorax continued.
“You are asking me to put my subjects in mortal danger and not only that, but you want us to resume the practices that earned us the hatred of the ponies of old, the deceit, the lying, the manipulation...”
“But, it's for a good cause, it's for the welfare of all...”
“To me it seems like a way to shake the hornet's nest, and in my experience I can tell you that that is never good, if what you want is to prepare yourself I can provide help in any other way, maybe with groceries or a shelter in case...”
“NO!” the mare suddenly exclaimed suddenly over jumping the changeling ”That's not good enough, I need them there, I need to know everything she knows, I need to know so I can be prepared...!”
Thorax could see tears begin to stream down the unicorn's face, as well as a deep resentment in her gaze, deciding to try a more personal approach.
“Starlight...we are friends, and I to you I owe a lot, if it wasn't for you neither I nor my people would be what we are now, you showed us that there was another path away from violence and anger, so, I can't help but notice that there is something behind this facade of a defender of what is right, rather, I can feel it, I taste the rancor emanating from your essence....” Thorax paused, tasting the bitter emotion in his mouth, it was like chewing on brimstone, an experience sadly familiar to him “I know I would do anything for you, damned if I ever don't hold out my hoof to those who need it, but my hive is the most important thing, the survival of my people, if I am going to put them at risk I need to know the reason, the real reason...”
“I...I already told you, I want to be prepared...”
“Ready for what Starlight?”
The mare ducked her head and assessed herself, she pondered whether it was wise to share her thoughts with in changeling, those thoughts that had kept her awake for nights on end and tormented her, finally, she decided not to stop, to be honest.
“Since Sunburst's death it's as if a ball has been forming inside me, it clings to my insides and takes over my thoughts, I thought I knew the feeling, but now, not even all the stars in the sky, even if they were multiplied a million times and that million were added by the total amount of space in the universe, surpass the pure hatred I feel for Celestia.... I could see it perfectly, the golden spear that pierced my friend's chest, as tall as an apple tree, and adorned with the figure of the sun...” Starlight could see how Thorax sat beside her and comforted her with an embrace as she vented “There is no forgiveness for this, not in my heart and yet...I fight with all my might against that feeling, I believed that, if I gave in, if I accepted it, I would be no better than them, consumed by violence and the whims of their emotions.... for a moment I came to think that visiting that forgotten and rotten time had changed me, but no, that's me, spiteful and vengeful...I want revenge, I want to see her fall and writhe in the remains of her perfect lie and then I.... ”
At the pause Thorax dared to speak.
“But I thought you said you wanted to do it for the good of all Equestria...”
“That's not quite true...yes it may be that your defeat will benefit everyone but, that doesn't matter to me, I just...” Starlight gritted her teeth.
“It's okay, you can tell me.... I promise I won't judge you.”
“I...I want to be watching, when the weight of her shit makes her kneel and beg, and when everyone has finally had enough of hearing her screams, going home, I want to walk up to her stepping in her fucking blood, sit next to her and then, and only then...pour my disgust and hatred on her, bit by bit, like burning acid, until, finally....she dies, I want her dead...” Starlight felt a huge weight released from within her, at last she had admitted it.
Thorax was left speechless by the insidious revelation, still, he didn't react, he held back, he had made a promise to his hurt friend.
“Well, I'm not going to say I'm not surprised coming from you Starlight, but I think...if anyone can understand, it's me...”
Starlight turned quizzically, finally looking at her friend.
“I mean, my people harvested love from ponies and I know the vast majority of ponies know that but...only we know what that actually entailed..... taking someone's love by force is not just about sentiment, it is a feeding process and like any predator that consumes its prey it involves harm to the prey, in this case it is harm that goes beyond the physical, cutting out the souls and hearts of our prey, consuming part by part until there was nothing left...I know what it is like to cause pain and agony...”
“But it's different, yours did it to survive, love was their livelihood, this I feel is a mere sick whim...born of my selfishness, something I promised myself I would never allow again...I don't want to fail Twilight, she taught me to forgive and forget, but I...”
“Starlight...” Thorax thought for a second, he considered his options, trying to assimilate the scale of what he now had between his hooves, he couldn't just back out, but he wasn't sure if he would put the lives of his changelings at stake “I...I will help you.... the best I can, but I think, before you make any drastic decisions, you should reconsider why you want to do this, because, doing it from pure hatred, will not lead to anything good.”
“Thank you Thorax...” said Starlight finally.
The two stood in silent embrace for a long moment, until they finally separated, Thorax walked to the office window, followed closely by Starlight who used her magic to open the curtains and subsequently the window itself.
“Me, I'll go back to the hive, tell them about this and look for volunteers...”
“Be very careful, we don't know what will happen if they find out what we are planning...”
“Don't worry, if there's one thing we're good at it's keeping secrets” At that moment Thorax turned into a pegasus with brown fur and yellow mane, landing on the window and preparing to take flight ‘See you Starlight’ he said dedicating a smile before leaving.
The unicorn could only watch him walk away, getting lost in the distance, inevitably refocusing her sight on the moon, before closing the window she muttered something between her teeth.
“You better be on our side Luna....”
The Monument to All Your Sins.
Chapter 20: Fractured Moon.
Zecora and Fluttershy had taken refuge on a mountain to the north, far enough away from Canterlot to not have to worry about guard raids, the zebra's potion proved to be extremely effective, almost completely controlling the pegasus' newfound instincts and bloodlust.
They had been discussing all day about what their next step would be, shuffling through all the options at their disposal, they thought about returning to Ponyville as it seemed to be the most sensible option at first, but soon fell into the realization that that would be the first place Celestia would send guards to investigate, then they thought about following Twilight and the others' trail to the Crystal Empire, but the journey was long and they weren't sure of the range of Celestia's patrols and even now the ingredients for Fluttershy's potion were in short supply, if they really wanted to do that they must resupply, be that as it may the thing was they had reached a dead end, too tired to come up with an elaborate plan, so in the end they decided that they would wait on the mountain for a few days, long enough for the relentless search to calm down enough.
It was evening, the dinner of the day had been potato soup which was kindly obtained by Fluttershy when flying to a nearby farm, both remembered to serve a good amount of position in the bowl that corresponded to the pegasus, not wanting to take risks, soon sleep began to invade the body of Zecora which could not help but let out a huge yawn, stretching and feeling her eyelids heavy.
“Well, even if you don't I'll have to say it, this day was more exhausting than any I would have dared to live through...” said the zebra rubbing her eyes.
“Well no one will blame you...” started Fluttershy who was using one of the claws of her new wings to throw a new piece of wood into the fire of her campfire ”Your body is recovering from the fact that you spent days without sleeping or eating properly, not to mention the constant blood loss you've been having, I can see how your body still doesn't recover it completely...”
Zecora felt a shiver at the comment, strangely specific and with a sinister touch to her, during the time they had spent together the zebra began to notice the patterns that made up Fluttershy's new personality, as much as she wanted to hide it, it was obvious that she had changed enormously, her postures were more imposing, her comments more shrewd and her initiative much more daring, not to mention the fact that from time to time Zecora caught her staring at her from a corner or coming closer than usual to play with her mane or sniff her deeply, she could deduce the reason for this strange behavior and the apparent growing fixation the pegasus seemed to have on her, after all it was her own blood the main ingredient of the potion that, though diluted, if or if it had to awaken something inside Fluttershy, for the same reason Zecora now carried with her at all times the small knife she used to collect her plants, maybe it wouldn't do her much good if Fluttershy really tried something, but it made her feel at least a little bit safer.
Finally and after another long yawn Zecora settled down by the fire, preparing to sleep, feeling the sweet song of sleep tempting her to fall into her lethargy, but this partial calm and relaxation was interrupted when she noticed out of the corner of her eye how Fluttershy got up, the zebra turned at high speed holding the knife hidden in her side, but the sudden panic was relieved when she noticed how the pegasus walked calmly away from her in the direction of the entrance of the cave they were taking shelter in.
“Fluttershy...” Zecora called out in an extremely low voice, knowing that she would still be heard.
Fluttershy flapped her big ears and turned around, looking at the zebra over her shoulder, her pink eyes glowing like two headlights reflecting the stupor of the campfire's glow answering in a voice that exuded serenity.
“Yes Zecora..?”
“Sorry if this seems inopportune, but are you planning to leave our safe haven?” she asked bluntly, so far Fluttershy had only left the cave when it was strictly necessary and when the sun was still shining on the distant horizon, I had never seen her with a desire to go out at night.
“I...” began the pegasus ducking her head almost embarrassedly ”I think I'd like to go out for a walk...”
“I hope you won't be offended when I say this, but that sounds more like a sinister euphemism” Zecora gave her a serious look, scrutinizing her friend, trying to find anything that would tell her she should be worried, but finding nothing.
“Don't worry...” replied Fluttershy ”It's just that I'd like to...fly...”
“Can you promise me...” said the zebra finally ”With your heart in your hoof that you won't cause any hardship?”
“It's just some fresh air Zecora, besides I'm carrying your medicine...” Fluttershy gave him a faint smile.
Zecora hesitated a moment longer but exhaustion caused her to yawn again, one that threatened to bring her down completely, she took this as a good sign as the usual instinct that made her uncomfortable around the pegasus subsided greatly, finally nodding to Fluttershy who continued on her way out of the cave while the zebra curled up by the fire, letting herself drift off to sleep.
Fluttershy stood on the edge of the mountain ledge where a huge forest stretched at the foot of it, the pegasus had her gaze lost in the horizon, in the distant starry sky where the moon shone bright and ominous, Zecora's medicine was undoubtedly incredibly efficient quieting the tingling in the back of her mind, allowing her to feel serene for the first time since she transformed.
But at that moment a memory probed Fluttershy's mind, leaks and like a flash, the terrified face of the castle nurse, her features distorted as Fluttershy wrapped in a frenzy ripped the life out of her little by little.
She could not help shedding tears, covering her face with her hooves as she let herself fall to the cold rocky ground, she did not want this, this horrible feeling, sobbing silently for a long moment, she felt dirty, disgusted with herself, but above all, she felt terrified, since her crying was not provoked by the agony of knowing that she was the author of deaths full of agony and suffering, no, she did not suffer for that, she cried for the fact of not being able to feel anything for those lost lives, the ecstasy of blood completely overshadowed the possible repentance and that in turn made her feel ironically sorry, she hated herself for that and yet she could not stop reminiscing, longing to feel it again.For a single instant the thought of not stopping the fall was present before the pegasus spread its huge wings which stopped the fall in its tracks, a gentle sweep of the powerful limbs was enough to lift Fluttershy all the way back to the top of the mountain and beyond, through the clouds until before her there was nothing but the starry sky.
But Fluttershy didn't stop there, feeling a surge of adrenaline going through her body she flapped her wings again and shot forward with such a speed that the pegasus was sure Rainbow Dash would die of envy if she saw her, It didn't take her more than a couple of minutes to fly out of the limits of the immense forest towards the meadows, crossing the darkness like a yellowish blur, in spite of her speed and the great height, a perfectly clear vision unfolded before her eyes, what little she couldn't see she could smell and what little she couldn't smell she could hear. For her it was as if she could see for the first time, as if all her life she had worn a veil over her eyes from which she had finally freed herself, she wondered if this was how it felt to be an animal, maybe this was how all the creatures she cared for felt, she was not sure, but for the first time that did not matter to her, for the first time her mind was free of any worries, she had been reborn as a new her, a new her that was free. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Zecora was quickly carried away by sleep, sinking almost immediately in a tangle of thoughts that gradually calmed down to make room for a familiar scenario, the zebra was in the home of her childhood, more specifically in the kitchen where her mother had taught her to prepare her first potions, her mother was one of the best healers that her people had ever seen and instilled in her from a very young age the work of always helping and healing those who needed it. Zecora felt happy since being in that place brought back memories and long forgotten longings, she walked slowly along the room, feeling the warm wood under her hooves while a few rays of sunlight filtered through the thatched roof, she walked until she came across her mother's old work table full of herbs and various ingredients, as well as papers full of notes and scribbles.
She couldn't help but smile, it was just as she remembered it, approaching to leaf through the papers, recognizing her mother's handwriting, her mother...where was her mother? she never left her workshop during the day, she was very dedicated to her work, not to mention that usually there were always many zebras looking for her remedies every day, strangely Zecora began to walk around the house, it was not a very big place so there were not many places where her mother could be, but she was not, neither in her living room nor in the room they used to share, an uncomfortable feeling was present, realizing that not even the bustle of the streets she remembered was present, finally opting to go outside in search of someone. Everything was in its place, the homes of her neighbors, the barren plain, the prominent sun that burned made her sweat as soon as she stepped outside, everything was just as she remembered it, except for the lack of inhabitants, suddenly all that familiarity and feeling of nostalgia disappeared completely and a growing discomfort settled in the back of her mind.
“Hello?” she exclaimed in a daze feeling his distant voice, there was no reply, slowly the warmth around her dissipated and an unusual cold sent shivers down her spine, the sun seemed to disappear completely from the sky and soon the first snowflake fell, then another and another until Zecora found herself in the middle of a prominent blizzard, a blizzard that wiped out the facade of tranquility completely, suddenly the small huts around her became a pile of frozen rubble.
The zebra was frightened. What had happened to her home, to her family and friends? Where had the sun gone? She felt a tear fall down her cheek which froze before touching the ground, her body felt rigid while a cold like no other seemed to take her life little by little, just when she felt the loss of her consciousness, when the cold seemed to turn her blood into ice suddenly everything stopped, absolutely everything, both the cold, as the collapsed village, as the place itself, everything disappeared to give way to a bright blue void that seemed infinite before her eyes, Zecora felt floating and her body was suddenly stunned by an indescribable peace, a peace that was interrupted when before her materialized the very princess of the night.
“Hello Zecora...” her voice was cautious, bathed in distrust not so much of the zebra but of her own words.
It took Zecora a moment to understand, she had heard the stories, of how the princess of the night was able to enter the dreams of the ponies, intrude into their innermost being, she found it distasteful, for her people dreams and the subconscious were a sacred space, which only belonged to oneself, for it to be desecrated by outside entities was considered a bad omen, still she tried to keep her beliefs and superstitions away, she kept her mind clear to be able to address whatever this was.
“Princess what an intrusion, to worm your way into my mind uninvited....”
“I'm sorry...” replied Luna slowly ”But unfortunately I'm here for an urgent reason.”
“What reason could you possibly have for probing my subconscious...if as I see it we are past imminent danger.”
Luna paused, Zecora could notice something strange about the alicorn, she seemed nervous, strangely excited, a strange facet for someone like her, so much so that the zebra couldn't help but feel disturbed by the possible connotations of that attitude.
“Listen...” the alicorn began again ”I'm here to update you, whatever you believe about being safe I assure you it's only a half-truth...my sister is still looking for her...”
“Forgive me if I'm being sarcastic with what I'm about to say, but I hadn't noticed the patrols of soldiers who won't stop chasing us...” Zecora was puzzled, and a bit annoyed due to the fact that Princess Luna up to that point seemed to have left them to their own devices.
“Please could you...!....stop talking for a second, I'm trying to protect them, for nothing in the world can they let themselves be seen or go near any pony...”
“Well for that I don't think you should worry or tremble, since we've been abusing it non-stop...”
“No! You're not understanding me, I know you plan to search for Twilight and the others, but you must desist, stay on this mountain and not come out...”
Zecora didn't understand, she was now more and more suspicious of the princess's real intentions, something Luna must certainly have noticed as she quickly continued.
“Do you know the reason why my sister took Fluttershy in the first place?”
Zecora rummaged through her memory, in fact, she hadn't thought about it, it was obvious that Princess Celestia had no intention of curing the pegasus' discomfort but keeping her alive, her lack of response was an invitation for Luna to continue.
“The pegasus has a tactical value that for my sister is of vital importance, beyond its value as an element of harmony, Fluttershy is the token she needs to keep at bay a power that even she can't control...”
At that moment the idea clicked in the zebra's mind.
“The draconequus...”
“Yes, Discord holds Fluttershy in high regard, holding her hostage was my sister's way of making sure to keep him away from this mess...”
“But then...” started Zecora ”That means Discord is the best token to win, because you would want to avoid him?”
“Make no mistake, Discord does not have the power to defeat my sister, but his power can put a period to this conflict, escalate to a point where my sister stops caring about appearances or collateral damage and then this entire kingdom will be reduced to ashes...”
Zecora understood instantly, the magnitude that this implied, to her mind came the dream she had had only moments ago and she imagined that this could only be the beginning if Celestia's unchecked anger was unleashed against Equestria.
“Discord still believes that Fluttershy is still in her castle, it must stay that way no matter what, if any pony, it's especially her friends, find out that she is free and the news spreads he will come and turn the chessboard into a pizza and then my sister will char that pizza Do you understand now what I am telling you?”
“Yes....” replied Zecora.
“Well, you must do everything you can to make sure that Fluttershy stays here, that she doesn't try to go back to anyone and at the same time you must prevent her new bloodlust from getting the best of her, the future of everything and everyone depends on that...”
“But princess in all honesty how exactly do you expect that I can ever control her? I've done everything in my power and I've barely been able to calm her down what if she gets out of control, couldn't you help me?”
“I am going to take it upon myself to ensure that my sister does not escalate her efforts to find you, but unfortunately I cannot provide more direct help, I'm sorry, but I trust you both will manage to do so...” At that moment the illusion around her seemed to fade, Zecora felt the floating sensation disappear as she watched the princess turn away.
“Wait!” cried Zecora ”You can't leave us like this, you must help us You can't expect us to just stay isolated on this abandoned peak for who knows how long!”
“I'm sorry, I promise I wish I could do more but... I can't...” and with that the dream faded. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Luna let her magic dissipate as the glow of her horn disappeared, she stood on her balcony as she was bathed in moonlight, struggling to still her mind she was silent for a long while until light knocks on her bedroom door caused her horn to glow once more, with a simple nod of her head the huge ornate door opened and footsteps were heard cautiously stepping inside.
“I'm glad you're someone punctual...” said Luna without turning around, behind her back little Stygian kept his head down in a perpetual bow.
“I want to thank you for agreeing to speak with me Princess Luna...” the pony's voice reflected a nervousness that he clearly failed to conceal while trying to keep it extremely low key, he was so tense that he inevitably gave a start when the door to the room creaked as it slowly closed.
“You mustn't be afraid...” said Luna as she turned to finally face him ‘This is a safe place, please share your doubts with me...’ it didn't take the alicorn long to comfort the pony with a reassuring tone of voice.
Stygian took a moment to collect his thoughts, taking a deep breath and pausing to steady himself before speaking.
“Princess, I have concerns regarding the current situation in the kingdom, related to the events of the last few days I...well, we are all distressed regarding Princess Celestia's decisions for crisis management, with everything from the disappearance of Princess Twilight and the elements of harmony to the hunt for the...well, the monster, I, I, I feel there is something amiss, something is not right but I fear I am wrong...”
Luna listened intently, thinking, considering, she had been thinking about the pillars as potential allies but she was aware that most were too straight to even consider bringing up the idea to them and yet there it was, none other than the first of all, suddenly the idea of acquiring allies within the castle was once again an option, but she had to be cautious, not expose herself and especially not expose Celestia's trash, at least not yet.
“What doesn't add up Stygian?” she asked feigning intrigue.
“I...I don't know, I haven't been able to decipher it but something about her sister's behavior makes me feel...fear, and not just any fear, it's a fear I've felt before...” the pony felt a shiver as he remembered the last time he felt like this, when he was wrapped in bitterness and sadness, when the shadows surrounded him and comforted him with desires too ephemeral and too strong.
Oddly enough at that moment Luna also felt a shiver as the annoying voice in the back of her mind let out a chuckle.
“My my, the world is full of coincidence don't you think?” the voice sneered but Luna ignored it as best she could keeping her eyes straight ahead and paying attention to the pony.
“I, I fear that this foreboding is the omen of something bad, something that threatens Equestria... I have spoken to the other pillars, they too doubt but decide to turn all that on faith towards you, so I need to know...if their trust is accurate...” at that moment the pony looked up, finally looking Luna in the eyes in search of some sign, but the alicorn's stoic expression made it impossible for him to discern anything ”Please tell me princess can we trust you?”
Luna shuffled the options projecting this new information in the huge scheme she now had in her head Stygian was not exactly the strongest warrior but he was very smart and if he was telling the truth it could mean the support of all the pillars, that even though they would not serve as direct combatants their cooperation could help to put more hooves against her sister, finally, and after remaining silent for a long moment Luna spoke.
“Stygian I thank you very much...”
Why?” the pony asked in confusion.
“I thought I was the only one who had noticed my sister's strange behavior I'm glad to know it wasn't just my imagination...”
“What do you mean princess?” Stygian's voice sounded genuinely surprised, shocked that his wild theory seemed to have merit.
“You're right, my sister is not the same, something seems to have changed her and she's becoming more...radical, though I'm not sure why....”
“You don't think...it has anything to do with that mare that tried to attack her...”
“As I said, I'm not sure, but the truth is that my sister may be making the wrong decisions to solve this, I don't know if on her own or...under someone else's control, but you're right to be suspicious...”
“But then what do we do, this is very serious, if the sun princess herself is under outside influences how do we guarantee the safety of the kingdom?” the voice of Stygian changed to one of concern now with the realization that he was right to be suspicious his mind was filled with worries and fears.
“For the moment nothing....” began Luna noticing how the pony became even more nervous ‘You must use your head Stygian, if our suspicions are founded then we are in a most delicate situation, we cannot act impulsively Do you understand?’ the alicorn's gaze reflected seriousness, one that the pony had never seen before.
“Yes princess...I understand...” he finally answered after a moment.
“Also this must remain between you and me, you cannot share this, not even with the other pillars, not at least until we can make it one hundred percent sure, you must keep me aware of everything you see any suspicious things, as well as the situation of the other pillars, we must stay alert and prepared for anything...” she looked at the pony's face she felt doubt, she knew she was putting him in unimaginable danger and most likely not only him Was it really worth it? He didn't know, Stygian could quickly become a security breach, he could jeopardize his plan and even turn her in, it was a risk he wasn't sure was worth taking.
“We could get rid of him...” Luna heard the voice in her head “You've told him too much already, if you let him go now without concreting it he'll give us away...” “We're not going to kill him” Luna replied curtly to herself.
“Of course not, we're not savages, besides, if he can be useful to us, just not in the boring way you think...”
“Shut your mouth...” Luna didn't want to hear it even though she already knew what he meant.
“The little one was submerged in the shadows for a long time, although he has healed the scars are still there, he could still receive them back willingly, a strong host able to tolerate our power and wield it under our orders, it seems to me that he is quite a valuable piece, a new puppet...”
Luna quieted that voice quickly, focusing back on the pony, almost impulsively blurted out the question she had been considering.
“Can I trust you Stygian, can I trust you to support me in solving this?”
Stygian did not expect such a direct exclamation, it took him a moment to consider his own intentions, again he tried to read the alicorn's expression, which on this occasion reflected a genuine concern, one that the pony interpreted as genuine and concerning the Celestia affair, he felt relieved believing that he could have someone he could trust, someone who would support him and stand by him if everything went wrong.
“Sure you can princess” he finally said feeling good enough to give a faint smile. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Stygian left the room soon after, leaving Luna in solitude again, not a minute passed before the voice returned now with an irritated air.
“This whole diplomat thing is starting to bore me quite a bit...”
“Will you shut up...” said Luna gritting her teeth, her voice reflecting the same irritated tone.
“I'm just saying that you're letting the best opportunities slip away, and your facade of kindness and patience is leaving us unprotected...”
“It's not a facade...”
“Yeah right, we both know you were never good at lying, not even to yourself, you're better than this Don't you even remember how Celestia took over this place anymore, with pure teeth, to think you'll be able to take her place away with words of encouragement and useless allies is too much even for you...”
“I don't want to take away her place, I just want her to leave this place alone, to leave everyone alone...” Luna felt a nasty headache and her patience hanging by a thread, pacing back and forth in the room as they tried to keep their voices low.
“Pfff everyone...sorry but no honey, we both know you only care about a single pony in this tide of lost flesh and souls the rest, it's just collateral damage...” Luna stopped dead in her tracks, breathing heavily and remaining unresponsive for a long moment “If I'm being honest...” the voice continued “I don't think she shares the sentiment.”
“Did you see the way she looks at me?” said the alicorn finally ”She really hates me...”
“Yeah...and behaving like a coward is never going to get that to change!” exclaimed the voice, hitting the exact right spot and finally causing Luna to explode se.
“Shut the fuck up!”
“Or what, you'll make me the law of ice? ouch how scary, wait let me fake terror from my eternal prison...ahhhhhhhhh!” sneered the voice.
“Shut up! shut up! shut up!!!” Luna dropped to the floor as she covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly.
“You know what we should do? We should go see that bitch and make her scream in pain and then remind her who she belongs to...” the whispers of the voice penetrated deep inside Luna making her heart pound as tears began to fall down her cheeks ”Don't tell me you don't miss it...that feeling, admit it, you're as tired of this charade as Celestia, why don't you let your hair down a little? I know, I miss you...” the voice suddenly seemed to become soft and gentle.
“I want you to leave...” said Luna between sobs squeezing her head tightly ”Leave me alone please...”
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!” She laughed uproariously “Let me get out, please what thing do you think you'll accomplish without me? look at me and look at your size, you insect...”
“Piss off!” shouted Luna rising from the ground, shouting into the air ”I don't need you, go back to your filthy pit and rot in the dark!”
“How dare you insolent spoiled brat!!! I'm not a fucking pet that you can just toss aside whenever the fuck you feel like it!!! I'm your wretched bitch!!!”
“No you're not! I'm not going to be like you...I'm not going back to being you, you can't make me, you're just...a bad dream clinging on, believing you have some control over me, but it's not true, I'll do whatever the fuck I damn well please and knock my fucking sister off her throne and when I do...you and me, we'll stay away from these people forever...”
The voice seemed to fall silent and for the first time her tone reflected such deep malice and contempt that Luna felt a lump in her throat.
“You know what, do what you want You want to be the heroine? go ahead You want to pretend you're better than her? go ahead, but sooner or later the truth will have to come out and when that happens, everyone will hate you just like they hated her, no matter what good you've done, they'll leave you alone just like before and demand your head, then and only then, when you're rotting and bleeding all alone in the dark, you are going to beg me to come back, and I will come back, of that have no doubt just for the pleasure of watching you let yourself go and turn this filthy place into a frozen wasteland devoid of all light, until then, try not to get yourself killed, I'll see you later Nightmare dear.... ”
And with that the voice disappeared, this time for real as Luna could no longer feel it in the back of her mind, it was gone, back from where it had come from, Luna could finally breathe easy feeling extremely exhausted, she rubbed her sore eyes feeling the cold sweat on her forehead only to drop onto her large bed shortly after, she no longer wanted to think about anything even though there was so much to think about, she felt trapped in so many senses, at least she could be sure that night at least she got rid of one of them.
