A Silver Sky: Four Little Ponies

--Chapter 14: Faithful--

Princess Luna spoke to Twilight Sparkle.

She told her of Celestia.

She told her of the Circle, of the Gathering, and of Celestia’s millennium-spanning plan to preserve them.

She told Twilight that she had personally seen Rarity leading Sweetie Belle, Pipsqueak, Silver Spoon and Twist into the location of the most recent Gathering.

She told her that Twist had never come back out.

Twilight Sparkle did not say a word. She asked no questions, made no comments. She stood as still as stone.

Inside Twilight, something was dying.

When the Princess was finished, Twilight said nothing. She turned around and silently walked into her library.

Twilight walked into her study. There, adorning the walls, were countless trophies, plaques, and citations of academic achievement.

All of them bore Twilight’s name. And one other.

Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns Honor Roll

Celestia’s Special Citation for Magical Excellence

Princess Celestia of Equestria hereby honors Twilight Sparkle for her valor in defeating the tyrant Discord, on this twenty-fourth day of-

Twilight screamed.

A massive burst of magical energy exploded from her horn. The mementos along the wall shook, and were flung violently to the ground. Frames shattered, trophies and plaques were rended in half. Luna watched in horror as a lifetime of distinction was set to ruin in a single moment.

To an untrained observer, it would have almost looked accidental.

No sound could be heard in the library, other than Twilight breathing heavily. Luna approached her, taking care to step over the broken glass. Twilight just kept looking at the wall.

“Celestia’s faithful student,” Twilight said flatly. “Celestia’s chosen protege. Given a full scholarship to Celestia’s school…

“Celestia’s. That’s all I’ve ever been.”

Luna grasped mentally for something to say. She found nothing.

“Celestia lied to all of us,” Twilight said, as emotion slowly began to creep back into her voice. “She didn’t just let those horrible things happen to those foals, she helped them happen.”

Twilight looked back at Luna.

“And until today, all I ever wanted was to be just like her.”

“Oh, Twilight…” Luna said.

“My whole life,” Twilight said. “Reading and studying. Shunning friends, running myself ragged…all for a chance to get closer to all. All so I could be her ‘faithful student.’”

The words were venom in her mouth.

“All that time, all that work everything I did, everything I am…” Twilight said. “Who was it all for?”

“I cannot answer that,” Luna said. “But for what it is worth, I still believe in my sister.”

“So you think she’s right?”

“No,” Luna said. “I tried to believe she was for some time, but after seeing what was going on inside Pipsqueak’s mind, I knew I could deceive myself no longer. But just because my sister is wrong does not mean she is a bad pony. She thinks she is doing the right thing.”

“You said there might be a lot of other foals who have been victimized by this Circle, right? Scores of them.”

“More likely hundreds,” Luna said. She shuddered as she spoke.

“I’m going to find them,” Twilight said. “And when I do, I want Celestia to meet them. I want her to look into their eyes, speak to them about what they’ve endured. And then I’d like to hear her tell me that she did the right thing.”

Twilight walked out of her study, ignoring the mess on the floor. She resolutely trotted toward the staircase which led to her balcony.

“I need some air,” she said.

*******

Silver Spoon had lost track of how long she had been in the Gallery.

So far, she had been used by four stallions and three mares. She had been slapped, kicked and spit on, and left to lie on the ground like discarded trash each time.

Happy Tune had stayed by her side the entire time, helping her find the most sadistic patrons and then taking them on with her.

Now Silver looked up from the ground to see a rather imposing-looking stallion staring back at her.

“Oooh, I know this one. You should fuck him. He’s fuuuun,” Happy said, lying beside her.

Silver looked at the stallion, who returned a smug grin.

“What do you want, whore?”

Silver already felt filthy. But somehow it wasn’t enough.

“Mess me up,” she said.

In response to her request, the stallion, an older light brown unicorn, levitated Silver up off the ground by her mane. She screamed as her hair was suddenly forced to support the full weight of her body.

Silver found herself admiring his sadism.

Given his relatively advanced age, it didn’t surprise her that he had a mean streak to him. Many of Miss Rarity’s older associates had been this way: they had seen and done it all, and the only sexual adventure left to them was that of abject cruelty. They had taken full advantage of the fact that Rarity had explicitly permitted them to torture her broken toy.

“No permanent injuries. A crippled slave would hardly be of use to me,” Rarity would tell them. “Beyond that, feel free to make her suffer.”

The stallion let Silver dangle in the air for a moment while he made his way to a nearby bed and laid down on his back.

Then he levitated Silver over to him, and rubbed Silver’s hovering body against his member. Judging by its hardness, she surmised that her pain had him very excited indeed. The response was mutual.

“Does it hurt?” he whispered as he teased Silver. He yanked on her hair emphasis.

“Yes…” she said.

“You want me to make it stop?” he whispered. “You want the pain to go away?”

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” Silver answered, without giving her response a moment’s thought. “Hurt me if you want. Or don’t. Just use me. I’m your whore.”

She hadn’t spoken like that to an adult in months. It was exhilarating.

Why do I feel so liberated right now? Silver thought to herself. Why does asking someone to take all my choices away make me feel free?

Silver half-expected the voice to respond, but it remained silent.

“Oh, so you’re one of those, huh?” the stallion said. “You just gonna go limp and let me have my way?”

The stallion sat partway up so he could look Silver in the eye.Then he hit her hard across the face.

“Fucking boring. It’s no fun when foals don’t struggle.”

“No wait!” Silver said, surprised at her own desperation. “I can struggle for you if you want. I’ll fight back with all my strength…”

She wasn’t used to resisting, even in play. The words came out sounding hollow.

“I don’t want a pretend slapfight, bitch,” the stallion said, with a twinge of anger in his voice. “And I sure as hell don’t want a willing foal. I want something to break.”

While Silver was still dangling by her hair, the stallion reached for his cock and began rubbing his precum all over the shaft.
Silver felt her tail being lifted out of the way, as she was positioned so her ass was directly above the stallion’s member.

“But here’s an idea,” he said, looking Silver in the eyes. “Let’s test your resolve.”

He let go of Silver’s hair while simultaneously pushing her down onto his cock.

She let out a cry as the stallion’s member stretched her rectum. Silver’s ass had been used countless times before, but rarely had one of her partners been so forceful. The stallion hadn’t eased himself in, and the lubrication he had given himself was woefully inadequate. He had attempted to shove as much of himself into her as he possibly could in a single thrust. He grunted as he tried to force Silver further down. His cock was not unusually large, but the merciless way in which he was fucking her caused Silver more pain than she had anticipated.

“How’s that?” the stallion said. “You still want this? Still want me to ‘mess you up?’”

“Yes, hurt me,” Silver muttered without thinking. She quickly realized it was the wrong answer.

“Goddamn slut!” the stallion cried, spitting on Silver. “Alright, let’s take things a bit further.”

As he buried his cock in Silver’s rectum, the stallion sat up fully, and grabbed the back of Silver’s neck with his left forehoof. At the same moment, his horn flashed, and two tiny slivers of magical energy appeared over Silver’s nostrils, sealing them shut. Then he took his right forehoof, and pushed it hard against Silver’s mouth.

It took a moment for Silver to realize what he was doing. When she did, she tried to scream.

She couldn’t breathe.

“Not so willing now, are you, you stupid little cunt?” the stallion said, as he continued thrusting.

A horrible image flashed through Silver’s mind.

Sweetie Belle.

The voice spoke the name in Silver’s stead.

Fancy would have killed her, if you hadn’t been there. If you hadn’t tried to be better. See what happens when you stray from the path? See what happens when you don’t listen to me?

There was an odd familiarity in hearing that voice berate her for not following instructions. The voice was becoming more like Diamond Tiara every day.

Silver’s muffled screams were ignored by the other Gallery denizens. A foal crying out for help was an almost constant occurrence there. Most ponies just tuned it out.

Silver managed to turn her head enough to get a sideways glimpse at Happy Tune. The filly was letting out animalistic moans as two mares fucked her with strapons. If she could see what was happening to Silver, she clearly did not care.

Of course she doesn’t care. She doesn’t care about anything. Look how empty her eyes are. Listen to the the way her voice quakes. There's nothing there. Whoever she was, that pony died in here a long time ago. All that’s left now is a mindless, self-destructive little husk.

No wonder you like her. She’s everything Rarity wanted you to be.

Silver shook her head. She wasn’t sure if the gesture was directed at the stallion or the voice. She was having trouble thinking straight. She began to thrash desperately. Her vision was getting blurry…

“That’s right, fight me. Not for play, for real. Fight for your life, cunt,” the stallion said. “Damn, your asshole is loose for a foal, but who cares? It’s going to feel great in a moment when you start spasming.”

Silver began kicking wildly, screaming at the top of her lungs in total desperation. The room was going dark…

“Yes, this is the best part,” the stallion whispered as his pace increased. “You can’t even think anymore, can you? Can’t even feel anything. Except fear. You like that, slut? Do you still want it now? DO YOU?”

The stallion cried out in orgasm just as Silver’s world went completely black.

*******

Twilight Sparkle stood on the balcony of her library, taking in the sights of a sunny Autumn day. Ponies strolled happily through the streets of Ponyville, adorned with scarves and hats to help guard against the autumn winds. Twilight recognized more than one of the scarves as Rarity’s work. There was something about the design, some common flourish in the stitching, which made them unmistakable. The ponies had probably bought those scarves from Rarity years ago, long before the truth had been revealed about her. Perhaps they had forgotten who the scarves had come from.

“Her presence is always going to linger here, isn’t it?” Twilight said. She turned her head away from the town, looking west toward Whitetail Woods.

The sky was free of clouds, and the trees had long since been divested of their leaves. They stoically awaited the coming of winter, their empty branches jutting in random directions, like cracks in a glass facade.

Was it a beautiful day? Twilight couldn’t tell anymore.

“It all looks so fake,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Princess Luna said, standing just inside the library, by the balcony door.

"I was raised to believe that Princess Celestia loved each and every pony in Equestria," Twilight said. "And that love was the foundation of the friendship which unites all of us.”

“She does love all of you,” Luna said. “No one knows that better than I.”

Twilight turned toward the Princess. “How can you say that?” she said. “Do you honestly think she loves those foals? After standing by and letting them suffer?”

“I do,” Luna said. “You must understand, my sister and I see this land very differently than you do. Where you see a town, we see a point on a map. Where you see a close friend, we see one pony among millions. It is not that we do not love them, or care about them as individuals, but…”

Luna shook her head. “I am not sure I can describe it…the sheer scale of how we see the world…imagine, Twilight Sparkle, that I am a giant, standing upon the land. Every step I take could destroy a forest, or create a beautiful valley which ponies could call home. A single beat of my wing could provide a cool refreshing breeze, or create a hurricane. My tears could become rain to nourish crops, or a flood that drowns entire cities.” Luna said. “This is the terrifying scale at which my sister and I live. I feel as if every single thing I do, no matter how small, affects the lives of thousands.”

“And at that scale, destroying the lives of a few foals doesn’t seem like too big a deal, I guess,” Twilight said.

“You misunderstand,” Luna said. “This scale is not empowering. It is terrifying. Because my sister and I truly do love each and every pony. But we cannot afford to think of them on the level that others do. Not when our choices affect so many. Sometimes we must sacrifice a few to save countless others. And it breaks our hearts, Twilight Sparkle. Each and every time.”

“Princess,” Twilight said. “You’re right. I can’t see Equestria on the same scale you do. And I don’t want to. Not if it means turning my back on the suffering of children.”

The Princess smiled. “I wish I could see things as you do,” she said. “But at this point, such things are beyond me. I have tried to understand the perspective of the common pony, but I find it is nearly impossible for me. Especially since Celestia told me of the balance…”

“I don’t believe the balance exists,” Twilight said. “The Princess found it in a book of philosophy. There’s no science behind this, no documented magical force.”

“Then how do you explain events like the sudden rise of Discord?” Luna said. “Or my own…mistakes?”

“I DON’T KNOW, ALRIGHT?” Twilight shouted. “You’re thousands of years old! I’m just a mortal unicorn! How hopeless have things gotten if you’re asking me for advice?!?”

Luna looked surprised.

"I'm sorry, your highness," Twilight said. "It's just hard for me to keep my composure right now. Nothing seems real anymore..."

“I understand how you feel, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna said. “When my sister first told me the truth, I found myself feeling similarly disconnected.”

Luna walked out the door and joined Twilight on the balcony.

“It is quite odd,” the Princess continued. “After she told me of the Circle, of the balance, of all she had done, I found myself staring up at the painted sky in the Sanctum my sister and I share. It is enchanted so that it moves and changes, like a real sky, but is always shown at dusk. But it is, of course, just a painting. It is not even realistic. The clouds drift through the sky on their own, with no Pegasi to move them. A curious thing.”

Twilight kept looking into the distance. But Luna could tell she was listening.

“I had spent so much time under that painted sky since my return, that I had grown more accustomed to it than the real thing,” Luna said. “On the night of the Gathering, after I spoke to my sister, I looked up at that sky once more. It was bright gold, and unspeakably beautiful. Yet all I could feel was emptiness when I looked at it. I thought to myself, ‘this is only a painting. Only a sad imitation.’ I had known this all along, of course. But that was the first time I had felt it.”

The Princess placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

“But this sky is real, Twilight Sparkle. Even if you can no longer believe in my sister, she did not make the sky alone. Did not the Pegasi move the clouds to help her sun shine through? Did not the Earth Ponies plant trees and crops, to give her sun the opportunity to feed life?”

Twilight slowly nodded.

“Earlier, you asked me who you have worked so hard for, if not my sister. Look out over the balcony once more.”

Twilight looked down at the passerby below. Dinky Hooves was trotting happily alongside her mother. A gust of wind blew in their direction, and Derpy instinctively shielded her daughter with her wing. There was no chance that such a small gust could harm her daughter, and a Pegasus pony would know this instinctively. Yet this did not matter to Derpy.

Dinky no doubt knew it, too. Yet she smiled happily under her mother’s wing, shielded from the cold.

“I…” Twilight said. “I understand…”

She walked back toward the Princess.

“It was never really for her, was it? It was for them. All of them. And I won’t let them down,” Twilight said, with a new resolve in her voice.

“I am glad to hear it,” Luna said. “Now, while I still have time, I must ask you: do you recall what I told you about Twenty?”

“Don’t worry,” Twilight said. “If I meet him, then when the time is right, I’ll give him your message. But I still don’t know why you can’t just tell him yourself. Aren’t you coming to Canterlot with me?”

Luna shook her head. “I doubt I have much time left here, Twilight Sparkle. My sister is no doubt on her way to Ponyville to imprison me.”

“What?” Twilight said. “Why?”

“Because I asked her to,” Luna said. “When she first told me of the balance, I was not sure I could keep her secret, even though countless lives depended on my silence. I did not trust myself, so I asked her to cast Binding Oath upon me. And to lock me in the Sanctum if I broke it.”

“Binding Oath?” Twilight said. “But that means-“

“Yes. From the moment I began to speak to you, she knew I had broken my word. She is the only pony powerful enough to cast spells which I cannot undo. She will see me as a danger to Equestria. And perhaps she is right. But ever since I saw how Pipsqueak was suffering, I knew that I could stay silent no longer."

“There’s got to be something we can do! You can hide from her, right? Fight her?”

“I could never hide from Celestia, nor could she from I. The two of us are linked eternally. And yes, I could fight her. But that would be ill-advised. Tell me, are you familiar with the area known as Ghastly Gorge?”

Twilight nodded.

“It was a beautiful prairie once,” Luna said. “A thousand years ago, Celestia and I battled there, without holding back. We were in that area for ten minutes. That was all it took to create that massive fissure in the Earth.

“Imagine if we fought here in Ponyville. How would this beautiful town look when we were done?”

“But you can’t just-“

“It is done, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said. “She is here.”

Twilight looked up.

There was a shadow on the sun.

“PRINCESS!,” Twilight shouted at the sky while shielding her eyes. “Come down here! I need to talk to you!”

The shadow did not move.

Princess Luna spread her wings.

“Remember, Twilight Sparkle. You have a choice to make. I know you do not believe in the balance, but think of what is at stake if you are wrong. You may be sacrificing millions of lives to save a few hundred. Yet you see Equestria on a scale that I cannot. It is only right that the choice should lie with you.”

“But if you believe in the balance, then why did you tell me all this?” Twilight said.

"Because the possibility exists that my sister and I are wrong, and destroying the Circle will not doom Equestria. And if we are right, then perhaps that is just," Luna said. “Perhaps a land which would allow such evil does not deserve to exist.”

Luna began to fly toward the sun.

“Good luck, Twilight Sparkle!” she shouted as she ascended. “I know you’ll make the right choice!”

Luna made contact with the shadow on the sun. A moment later, she had vanished. But the shadow remained.

It was then that Twilight heard a voice. Though it sounded as though it was booming through the heavens, somehow Twilight knew that only she could hear it.

“WHEN THE MOMENT COMES, MY FAITHFUL STUDENT, I HOPE YOU'LL SEE REASON,” the voice said. “OUT OF RESPECT FOR YOU, I WILL NOT STAND IN YOUR WAY UNLESS I HAVE TO. GO, AND BRING THE TWO FOALS YOU SEEK BACK HOME.”

Twilight wanted to shout back. She wanted to tell the Princess to never call her “faithful student” again. But she found that she was paralyzed. She was not sure if it was Celestia’s magic, or simple fear.

“PLEASE, TWILIGHT: DON'T MAKE ME STOP YOU.”

There was a sadness in Celestia’s voice.

An instant later, Twilight could move again. The shadow on the sun was gone.

She looked down at the town below. No one was looking at the sky. What had just transpired had been meant for Twilight alone to see.

Her eyes swept across the town once more. In the town square, there was a statue of Princess Celestia.

“Should I tell them?” she wondered aloud. “They have a right to know the truth…”

She heard a train whistle in the distance.

“Later,” she said.

She walked back into her library and retrieved her saddlebag, checking to make sure Sweetie Belle’s note was still inside. There was no reason to believe it might be gone, but she wanted to be sure.

“Twist…Silver Spoon…Sweetie...” she whispered. “Hold on. I’m on my way.”

She levitated the saddlebag into place on her back.

“I’m going to end this.”

[NEXT: Civil war/Sweetie Belle’s new siblings/A revelation in the Gallery]