Chapters Twilight slowly cracked her eyes open, a bright, burning light flooding them in a wave of screaming pain. She recoiled, sinking down onto the soft platform she laid on. Her ears blared a high pitch wail, drowning out anything happening beyond them. Without sight and sound, she lay in her own uncertainty.
Her body ached; any movement she made sent waves of strain rippling up her spine. The slightest shift made her groan - at least, she assumed she was groaning - and but the smallest touch churned her belly. Doing her best to lay still she let the cushion beneath her cradle her limbs as she prayed that she was fine.
The fight between Nightmare Moon and her guard couldn’t have lasted long - only a few mere minutes. And even after it, the calm, strong voice of her brother had been there, promising that she would be fine. Yet it wasn’t the actual fight that made her mentally cringe - it was the afterthought. Her dry lips pursed as images of a crumbled Canterlot flashed through her mind.
Then, an image worse than it claimed its place. An image of Nightmare Moon, escaping Twilight’s guards due to poor management. Nightmare Moon was perched atop the regal tower, staring down as her corrupted militia cleaned up the mess she had made of the guards...
“Twilight...Twilight!” Shining Armor’s voice pierced the unicorn’s skull like wasps. Sooting, comforting wasps, who’s every sting conjured an invisible smile.
She stirred, a sneer slowly forming on her face. Her cracked lips split as they shifted, her burning eyes screaming. “I...” she said. Her words were stolen by a harsh hacking that riveted her lungs.
“You,” her brother’s voice said into the darkness, “get her some water. As for you, doc, care to take a look?”
“Indeed,” came a new, refined voice. This was the voice of a pony used to fine dining, ballroom dancing, and getting his hands dirty all at the same time. “Chancellor, can you hear me?”
Twilight begrudgingly nodded.
“Good. I’m going to hold a candle in front of your eyes. On the count of three, you’ll open them and stare at the wicker. Understand?”
Once again, she slowly nodded.
“Good,” the doctor said. A light now burned just outside Twilight’s sealed eyelids, warming the already burning orbs.
“One...Two...Three.”
She forced her eyelids ajar with all her might. The bright lights flooded them once again, setting them aflame like the long forgotten sun. Soft cries slipped her parched tongue as she forcibly stared into the tiny light.
Eventually, though, and thankfully enough, her eyes adjusted. As the blurs faded she let her muscles relax again. Her hastened breaths soon fell back to normal as well, and her heart resumed its steady thump.
Just above her, Shining Armor and a grey stallion with a white handlebar mustache were watching her. The sight of her brothers face brought a little smile to her lips. “Good yet again,” the doctor said. “Now let’s move onto your legs, shall we?”
“My legs?” she asked in a raspy voice. “Is there something wrong with them?” She looked down at herself. Everything seemed fine: her limbs were still attached, her tail and mane were still firmly planted on her body, and her cutie mark was still there. Only one or two bruises stood out from her lavender fur, but they were nothing serious at all.
“We’re about to find out, now aren’t we?” The grey stallion bent down and closely inspected Twilight, from head to tail. “Try moving your forelegs for me.”
The unicorn did so, slowly raising her two front hooves into the air. The strain was apparent on her face; the scowl and scrunching dominated her features. She held them there as long as she could, before finally giving up, and dropping them back down with a long breath out.
The doctor nodded and moved onto her hind legs, closely inspecting them as well. With a nod to Twilight, she took in a long breath, and prepared for the new strain at hoof. Slowly, she brought up her two hind hooves, stretching them higher and higher until they felt like they would rip.
“Twilight, he meant both of your hooves,” Shining said with an encouraging nuzzle.
She peeked one eye open, setting her gaze down to her haunches. To her horror, only her right leg had made it to the air. Her left was still hugged close to her body, limp and lifeless. She tried to force it up. Her face squeezed up, and her eyes latched shut. Heat swelled in her cheeks as the tension rose. But there was nothing. No movement. No feeling.
“I was afraid of that. Please, relax Ms. Sparkle,” the doctor said. She had no problems following that directive; her one good leg fell from the air, back to the stark white infirmary bed on which she lay. Things were silent now, with only the crackle of the few torches lining the room to provide ambience. The room seemed darker now; the wooden door, several hanging metal tables and even the cobblestone walls themselves seemed to be enshrouded in a sort of shadow. She began to wonder if she had gone mad, too - this was definitely not the blinding room she had awoken to.
Just then, the door swung open, revealing a white pony with a light pink mane. In her mouth was a small glass of sparkling water. The sight of it made Twilight’s throat ache. Without need for words, she brought the liquid up to the mare’s dry lips, tilting the glass up and letting Twilight chug it all down.
While she was finishing, the doctor closed the door and continued, “From what your brother tells me, you made a ‘cracking’ sound when you slammed into your desk. To be honest I’m surprised it’s not both of your hooves.”
Shining turned to him with a worried gaze. “Is it permanent?”
“Only time will tell,” he said with a shrug.
“The city,” Twilight said, coughing as the glass was lifted away. “How is the city?”
All eyes shifted to her. Her brother was the first to talk, still hovering directly above her. “There’s a pretty big hole in the southern wall, but we’ve got our best ponies on that. Looks like Nightmare Moon’s little army wasn’t as prepared as she thought. They fled right when we dragged her body out of the study.”
“And her. How is she? Where is she? Is she even still alive?”
“Well she’s alive, sure. She’s down in the dungeon infirmary, strapped to a table. She’s being hit with a good dose of magical sedatives, so no worries there. Got a good blow on her though. Me, I mean. Right to the lung-”
“I don’t need details,” Twilight said, barely waving her hoof. “What about Trixie? Did she have something to do with this?”
Shining shook his head. “No. We haven’t even found her yet.”
She grunted. “Keep looking. Oh, and new idea: when you find her, I want her lashed thirty times. Make sure it’s a good one - probably one of the ones from the inquisition storage rooms.”
“Are you sure? I mean, shouldn’t you at least talk to her first? That seems a bit unfair...I know you’re the chancellor, and I’m not judging...”
“No, no, perhaps you’re right,” the unicorn relented with a sigh. “Fifteen lashes. And I still want it to be an inquisition whip. When you’re done, send her back up to my room.” She then forced her hooves to grip the sides of her mattress, yanking her forward.
Everypony in the room immediately protested. The doctor actually tried pushing her back to the bed with a light nudge. “Ms. Sparkle, I’m afraid going anywhere right now is out of the question. You need bedrest, and that’s what you’ll get.”
“Ah, thank you Shining. Now if you’d be so kind as to take me up to my room. I think I agree with the doctor; I could use a nap.” She gave a long yawn and a nod of approval.
All the stallion did was sigh and levitate her to the door. The doctor tossed it open for them, a slight smile hidden behind a faint grimace. Just as Shining Armor was about to pass through the door, he leaned in a whispered, “I’m sorry about this. She’s just stressed.”
“Yes, well, just make sure she stays off her hooves for a while. And do try to keep her calm, won’t you?”
“Like I said, she’s just stressed,” he snapped back. But he eased up quickly, letting his tight figure slouch. “Thanks for the help.”
He grunted and gave a small nod before curtly slamming the door behind Shining. The unicorn in his pink grip was staring impatiently at him with a snarl and darted eyes.
“If you’re done having your heart to heart, can we please be going?”
Shining shut the large golden doors behind him, severing him from the royal chambers. A sigh of relief slipped his lips as he sat on the crimson carpets beneath him. Twilight was firmly tucked away beneath the silk sheets of the royal bed, and by now was probably fast asleep. He pressed his ear up to the door, listening for any movement or sounds. There were none. Yep, he thought with a grin, fast asleep.
Standing once more, he shook his blue mane back into place. He trotted left, down the hall, and then down a long flight of torch lit spiraling stairs. His pace was brisk, like a pony with somewhere important to be. Which actually isn’t far off, he noted. Down the stairs and out into another long hallway, then left into a sealed corridor, and he was nearing his destination already.
He shoved the creaky wooden door open, exposing one last long, spiraling staircase. The state of these stairs was no mirror to the last; they were dusty, with tattered carpets lining their cracking concrete. These had fallen to a state of disrepair, and it was even a miracle that the torches here stayed in their rusting iron holsters.
Down he went, his gaze always fixed at his forward. At the base of these stairs was a little iron portcullis that rusted worse than the torch holders. A grey guard standing stiff behind the gate eyed Shining carefully, before quickly saluting at the realization that this was his captain. Shining nodded to the stallion, who proceeded to unlock the gate with a little iron key that was shrouded in his hazel magic.
The gate swung inward, opening up a long cobblestone hallway. The place - lined with cobwebs and a tattered black carpet - was cold, eerie in a way. Shining made his way in, the gate slamming shut behind him and latching with a little click. He trotted down the dim hall, passing several intersections, each one with its own signature moan, groan, or cry.
He sighed, turning right at a T-junction in the halls. A guard stood beneath one of the few torches, nodding to him as he passed. A metal sign hung just above this new hall’s archway, reading Infirmary. Several locked wooden doors lined either side of this corridor, each one with its own guard standing silently outside. Shining observed the numbers on these doors. A silver one, then two, three, four and five...then six.
With a gulp he stopped at six, where not one, but four heavily armed ponies stood at either side. They carried sharpened swords on the belts of their thick black armor. On their shoulders were emblazoned orange suns, the seal of the Special Celestial Guardspony. An elite group, and rightfully so; there wasn't one pony - in the guard or otherwise - that would dare taunt them.
“How is she?” he asked the closest one to the door.
The white mare stepped up, stone-faced and glossy eyes. “Fine sir. Four unicorns have her sedated.”
“Locked?” He nodded to the door.
“Yes sir. I’ll get the key.” She whipped out an iron key ring from her armor belt. It held but one key, which she stuck in the tiny keyhole on the side. The lock rattled and clicked, before the door slowly slid open.
In the room was a but a lone table surrounded by two dying torches, upon which a large black alicorn was strapped down with iron bands. At each side was a cloaked unicorn, still and silent as statues, their faces darkened by the shadows. All four were beamed Nightmare Moon with a concentrated deep blue haze.
When Shining Armor was completely in the room, the door quietly shut behind him, the familiar sounds of a latch lock echoing through the room. He ignored it, slowly approaching the silent prisoner. Her astral mane flowed off the table as though there was a breeze rolling in the wind. Her chest slowly expanded and deflated, and her eyes were lightly shut. The stallion snarled at the sight; just the fact that she was alive lit a fire in his eyes.
Leaning close, he examined a pale line the ran down her chest. Right in the lung, he thought. A grin spanned his lips as he continuously traced the scar with his gaze. The cold, still air made him shiver, but his grin did not waver. He saw this scar with pride; it was the blow that brought her down, after all. And that it was only two days ago made it that much sweeter.
The door behind him curved open, the same black-armored mare poking her head in. With her strong, flat expression, she said, “Sir, I apologize for the interruption, but General Dawn requests your audience.”
The mare nodded forcibly as she eased the door shut. Shining Armor turned his attention to the four unicorn mares around him; they were unaffected by the recent noise, solemnly shooting their dull haze onto Nightmare Moon.
His eyes scanned the shadowy alicorn for answers, but found nothing.
It had been an hour or so. Shining Armor, now donned in his shimmering regalia, stood atop one of the many towers that stood high above the military district of the castle. Beneath him was the chaos that refused to die - blocks of marching guards, the constant screeching of steel on the grindstone, and cart after cart of supplies being wheeled in only made up part of the constant noise.
By his side was the general. She sported no gear now, letting her black coat and brilliant white mane blow east in the midnight breeze. Her short mane glowed in the moonlight, though her face, had it not been for the lonely candle perched between them on the balcony railing, would have been lost in the darkness, giving her an almost ghostly appearance.
“What did you tell her?” Dawn asked as she too stared beyond the guard swamped hole.
“I said that the city wasn’t too bad, and the castle was fine,” he replied. Squinting, he observed the city outside the wall. At least half of it was ashen, now a cinder grey under the pale moonlight. The stench of decay filled the air, even from afar, making him wrinkle his nose and shiver.
“She’s gonna blow a fuse,” the general casually said, looking over to the once-great meeting hall. The huge tower - which she had been in but a few days ago, arguing over Manehattan - was missing it’s upper half. It had collapsed, crushing a good chunk of the barracks behind it.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. She needs to lighten up. You know, before this whole chancellor ordeal, she was really quite nice-”
“Commander, I understand that you may have...feelings right now. But please note that we are not companions. We have important matters that need to be discussed.” The mare tossed him a look of dead seriousness.
He sighed, hung his head and said, “I know.”
“Good. Let’s get started then.”
“Alright. How many did we lose? I’ve been busy for the past few days just getting the guards back in order. I’ve had no way of getting any kind of information.”
The general looked down to the scrambling troops below as they plod through the mud. “A good bit. We’re still counting the dead and wounded now. One thing’s for sure though - the infirmaries are having a hell of a time.”
“I’d imagine,” he said. “Good thing they cowered and ran once we dragged her out, huh?”
“Hmph. It wouldn’t have made a difference,” Dawn said.
“Every life counts,” he said in a warning tone, tilting his head and darting his eyes.
“I know. All I’m saying is that either way, we would’ve been fine. That little coupe was nothing but a bunch of rag tag traitors who were poorly trained and thought cardboard counted as armor.” She sneered, locking her deep blue eyes with Shining’s.
“Right... where did they even come from? They seemed organized at least. That means there was some sort of planning involved in this. Even we couldn’t take a few mares and stallions off the street and form them up like that.”
“We aren’t sure. Our top scouts are already scanning key areas such as Ghastly Gorge and some major cities. We already have orders in place to execute all traitors on the spot-”
“No. Who gave you that order?” Shining asked. His tone was harsh, condemning, overwhelming.
“The Sparkle Mandate, sir.”
He thought for a second, before spitting out below. “Damn that document to Tartarus. Look, new orders. I want every traitor you find to be put into custody at the authority of the chancellor.”
“And where will we put them?”
“You let me deal with that.”
Dawn’s eyes narrowed. “What about Chancellor Sparkle? You’re outright denying the sole document she put in place herself, for situations such as this. I wasn’t always General Dawn, you know,” she said. “There used to be a General Strongmane. Used to be.”
“I’m her brother. I have no doubt in my mind that I can talk some sense into her. She’s keeping Nightmare Moon alive, after all. If that can work to our advantage, I don’t see why this can’t.”
“Nightmare Moon is the sole pony who knows where Celestia is. Once we’ve found the princess, we’re probably tossing her plot on a guillotine. Good riddance, too,” she scoffed.
“I’m not so sure.”
“Well it’s not our problem yet, is it? When it becomes our problem, we’ll deal with it. For now, this is our problem,” Dawn said, waving her hoof out to the smoldering city in their fore.
“Right...Actually, you are right. We’ve got half of a city and two thirds of a castle to deal with. How many ponies were killed in the town?” His eyes scanned the area. Nightmare Moon’s battalion had cut straight through the center of the city, leaving behind a barren, ash coated scar in their wake that ended abruptly at the shattered wall.
“Enough,” the mare scoffed. “But that’s not what I meant either. The town is the Chancellors problem. She and the royal coffers can deal with it. I was talking about what caused it all. Our problem, Shining, is Nightmare Moon’s clown raiders. They’re still out there, even if she isn’t.”
He thought for a second, looking up to the moon, then out beyond the castle walls. In the distance, the tiny town of Ponyville sat tucked between the rolling mountainside hills. It’s few lights made it a beacon in the ever expansive darkness - a beacon for his squinting, observant gaze. “How many able body troops do we have to spare?”
“What do you mean ‘to spare’?” Dawn gave him a wary look, tilting her head now.
“I just need a few - thirty or so. I want them relocated to Ponyville, fully armored.”
“Why? Ponyville’s a ragtag town of backwater-”
“Sir!” A voice shot out from behind them. It sounded tired and heavy, like that of a pony who just came back from a jog. Shining and Dawn both spun around with alert looks. “Sir, we found Trixie,” the guard panted.
“Where is she?” Shining asked, a relieved sigh flushing out of his lungs. The thought of another attack so soon wasn’t enticing.
“We took her to the infirmary. You better take a look.”
He then spun and galloped off to his duties. “Vigilant,” Shining grumbled. Turning back to the general he said, “I’m serious about Ponyville. That place doesn’t have enough guards anyways. I, uh, ought to go see what this is about.”
“Fine. I’m sure I’ll find somepony who isn’t dead or dying around here.”
“Not one?” Rarity asked. Her pale face was alight with but a mere candle that sat at the center of the table, one of the few that still sat scattered around the dusty room.
Pinkameana sighed, lowering her eyes and shaking her head. All around her the decadence of her plight was seeping through the air. With each creak of the rotting floor, with each cobweb that blew on by, and with each ghostly passerby in the dirt-fogged windows, her frown became more firm upon her face.
"Not since the Cakes moved out..." she said, her voice fading into the darkness.
"I'm sorry," Rarity said morosely. "Don't worry though, this place will be booming soon enough!"
"I hope...how do you think things went?"
“Oh don’t worry about it dear, we’ll hear back from her eventually. And when it’s all over, Sugarcube Corner will be the piece de resistance of Ponyville once more,” the unicorn said with a gentle smile.
The party pony turned around to see the empty sweets stand, its glass stained with grime and its counter old and dirty.
“I hope so.”
“I know so dear. She’s probably gotten the whole situation under control by now. We just need to give her some time, that’s all.” She leaned in and rested her hoof on her friend’s shoulder. But when there was still no sign of happiness in those bland, sunken in cyan eyes, she reclined back with a sigh. “Have you heard back from Applejack yet?”
“Not yet,” Pinkameana said. “What about Rainbow?”
“I heard from her the other day, actually,” Rarity said with a start. Her tone became that of her usual gossiping self, a smile and wide eyes to accompany it. “She tells me Fluttershy’s on board too. I have no idea how she talked some sense into that shy little mare, but I shan’t argue either way.”
“That’s good,” the pink, flat maned pony said with a forced smile.
“Oh indeed it is. And once we hear back from Empress Moon - that’s still an awful name, in my opinion - but anyways, when we hear back from her, things will finally be better, at least by a little bit.”
“Are you sure we should be with her? Don’t you feel at least a little guilty for turning our backs on Twilight?”
“I do, a bit,” Rarity admitted with a sigh. She turned to face the window, following the ponies as they carried on their nightly business. They were ghosts of their former selfs - each seemed to have lost that little spark that resided in them not so long ago. Now, it was a miracle to see a couple - lesbian, gay, or straight - sitting together. It was a miracle to even see a pony smile.
“Did you hear, though?” the fashionista continued, “Mayor Mare has been placed under arrest. It may be old news, but it still serves to prove my point well I think. Twilight has gone too far. And Nightmare Moon’s plans seem so much more...well, better for a lack of a better word. Things will be better, I promise.”
Author's Note
Chapter by: Lynked
Twilight examined the blankness before her. There was a coldness about the place that seemed to swirl indifferently to time or matter. She stood to her hooves, all four planted firmly on the black platform of nothing that she stood upon. Her mane blew with this soft, swirling air, lashing it’s tiny strands into her eyes. Not that it mattered, though; there was nothing to see but the darkness before her. And yet, it seemed that she could still see, as though her eyes registered the nothing as something.
She shook her head and snorted at the strange sensation. Everything about the place sent chills crawling up her spine.
“Hello?” she called out in a dry voice. “Is anypony out there? I, as your chancellor, command you to speak!”
“As if it would help,” a calm, sweet voice said, followed by a light sigh. A pair of sky blue orbs appeared directly above Twilight, staring down at her with a soul-piercing draconic gaze. “Your ignorance never fails to amuse me.”
“Ah. I’ve made sense of this pretty quick,” the unicorn grumbled, rolling her eyes.
“Good to hear,” the voice hissed. The words echoed around the void like a cavern.
“Shouldn’t you be in a cage?”
“Shouldn’t you be dead!” Nightmare Moon made a spitting sound, though her eyes remained the only thing visible about her.
Twilight forced a chuckle. “Dead? Nah, I’m fine. I don’t think the same can be said for you though.”
“Shut it you maggot!”
“I don’t have to! I’m the chancellor! I’m the head of Equestria! I’m the pony who holds your sorry flank in her hooves, so you might want to think twice before lashing out at me,” she sneered.
“Oh, I’m the chancellor!” the alicorn mocked. “I’m the head of Equestria! One day you won't even have a head, mark my words.”
“Are you proposing a race?” Twilight scoffed, turning her back to the eyes.
“Hear me chancellor Sparkle, at the end of this all I’ll have you hanging from a tower.”
“Of course you will - how else am I supposed to get your body down?” she snickered.
There was a silence now that brought a triumphant grin to the unicorn’s face.
But then Nightmare Moon regained her voice. “For one such as yourself, you talk as though you are somepony else. Tell me, what did my sister teach you exactly? Surely it wasn’t love and kindness.”
Twilight froze. “How did you find out about me and Celestia?” she asked, batting a wary eye.
“The same way I burnt you precious little town down. Do you really think ponies will stay loyal to a tyrant?”
“And you expected them to stay loyal to you?”
“I am no tyrant!” the Nightmare roared. “I came back for what I deserved! You...You are just terrible, did you know that?”
“If being terrible means holding a country together, without a Princess or former training, and while on the brink of war, THEN YES, I’M BUCKING TERRIBLE!” Twilight stomped her hoof down as she snarled at the glowing orbs.
“You weren’t fit to lead. I, on the other hoof, am.”
“Well it sure is too bad you’re stuck in my dungeons, isn’t it,” Twilight said. Her scowl stood strong as ever.
“The day I get out-”
“Will be the last day you live.” The mare sat with a thud, a snarky grin replacing her harsh scowl.
“We shall see.” The ghostly apparitions began to fade in the darkness.
“You and I are having a little chat when I get out of here,” Twilight said, just before they had sunken completely away.
As they faded completely, she muttered, “Bucking psychopath.”
Her eyes peaked open, allowing the dim candlelight to flood her vision. She shoved the sheets away as her blurry sight began to clear. The sheets beneath her were damp and rank; she had been sweating, and her fur was matted and oily. She snorted at the stench. Forcibly shoving herself up, she turned from the damp patch to her room.
The place was lit with but an insufficient candle, but she could still make out the new shape. Across from her, reclining on Trixie’s cot, a stallion had his eyes trained on her. He wore golden armor and had a deep blue mane, but that was all she could tell.
“Hey,” he said as he stood. “‘Bout time you woke up. I didn’t want to wake you - you needed the sleep.
“Shining? What’s this about?” she asked in a groggy voice.
He stepped into the light, defining his face in the pale orange glow. “A few things, actually. Pretty important too. But, um, first, how’d you sleep. It looked...harsh.”
“I had a nightmare,” Twilight scoffed. “Just tell me what you need, please. I need a bath, and I prefer to not soak up my sweat for longer than I have to.”
“Right, um, well first off, we found Trixie.”
Twilight squinted and scanned her room. “Well where is she?”
“That's the thing. She’s in the psychiatric ward right now...” He bit his lip and tossed his eyes right. “Our guards found her just outside the main entrance to the castle. They say she looked dead, with a...glossy stare, and she was drooling.”
“Then why in Equestria is she in the psych ward?” she asked with a scowl.
“She came to a few hours ago. I was about to send her off for lashing, but...she asked who I was. She asked where she was. Twi, she only know her name.”
With a confused look, the unicorn sighed and said, “I thought she had something to do with Nightmare Moon... I guess it was the other way around then.”
“Do you still want her punished?”
“No, no...I’ll go talk to her later. I do have a request though.”
Shining cocked his head left.
“When you leave, get somepony up here to help me around. I’ve got some places to be...”
“I’ll make sure to tell them. But I’m not finished yet,” he said. He slowly walked to her bedside, leaning on the plump mattress with a wary look. “I’m going to Ponyville for a while.”
“Ponyville?” Twilight’s eyes were alight now - a large contrast to her former scowl. “Why Ponyville?”
“I’m sending a flight of twenty five pegasi there - as well as the wing commander - and I figured I’d go with them.”
“But why? We need you here Shining. We need all the guards here,” she said harshly.
“Twi, think about it. We have so many guards in Manehattan, Trottingham, and Las Pegasus...Where else would be better to set up a rebellion than a little town like Ponyville? And besides, General Dawn has the castle covered. I trust her completely,” he said, puffing his chest out with a smug grin.
Twilight took in a deep breath and looked out her window. The moon, of course, was still high in the sky, beaming down its pale glow. “I’ll trust you now,” she said, turning back. “Shining, I don’t know what you’re really thinking, but I’m going to trust you. Please make something productive of this.”
She cast her eyes down. “I love you, but if this becomes a waste of funds, or if something goes wrong because of your decision to move some of our best troops to nowhere, there’s going to be an outrage, and I can’t hold a bias just because we’re related...”
“I know. But trust me, it’s a good move,” he said with a rather sly smile.
“What about Cadence? Is she coming soon?”
“Actually, she’s staying behind in Manehattan. She insists that they need some kind of royalty there, and after the last incident with Blueblood...”
“Fair enough,” Twilight said. “Go then. Oh, and when you get there, stop by my friend’s houses please.” A genuine smile appeared on her worn face. “And tell them I miss them.”
Shining nodded, returning the smile. He leaned in and wrapped his arms around the odorous unicorn, pulling her close. She returned the gesture with as much grace as she could muster.
But she pulled away and steeled her face once more. “Get going,” she said bluntly, “And don’t forget to send a pony up here.”
With a sigh, Shining trotted away from the regal towers. The bowels of Canterlot Castle weren’t as cold as the Dungeons; there was actually a warmth in the air. The place was thick and smelled of antique wood, despite it being regularly cleaned. The old walls had been refurbished, and now shiny new torch holders sat in use illuminating the various elaborate tapestries that celebrated the Bureaucratic Work Division with large golden letters.
Ponies in suites, ties, and dresses marched about the place with tight grasped, magic-grasped, and wing clasped stacks of paperwork. The multitude of doors on either side of the central golden carpet were swinging open at random, releasing ponies and sucking more in. These halls never slept, just as politics themselves.
Through the loud chatting and shifting of paper, Shining turned a corner and stepped through a large metal gate that spanned the height of the corridor, into a long, descending hallway that was significantly darker than the Division’s own. Guards lined this hall with their stone faces. The smell of wood was now replaced with a thick steam that smelled of coal.
Leaning on the support columns of the tunnel was a group of pegasi, all clad in golden armor. They were busy idly talking amongst themselves, oblivious to the world around them. One, however, was standing tall and alert.
Now, the group of pegasi were up and at attention with forced alert gazes.
“Oh give it a rest, I’m not in the mood,” he said with a sigh. He walked past their line and reclined on the column, rubbing his temples roughly.
“Is everything alright sir?” Spitfire asked as she joined him.
“When is anything alright?” he chuckled.
“Never I suppose. If it helps, my pegasus crew is ready and willing.”
Shining didn’t directly respond, only nodding his head and rubbing his eyes. After a bit of silence, a deep rumbling echoed out from the tunnel behind them.
“Train’s almost here sir. We ought to get ready. But if you don’t mind me asking,” she said as she stood, “Why are we using the direct line?”
Shining too stood and gave her a soft, yet stern stare. “The Sparkle Mandate went into effect two days ago. Didn’t you read it? It was sent to all the higher ranking ponies.”
“No sir, I didn’t receive a copy. In fact, all I know of the Mandate is that it exists.”
He sighed. “Of course. The Mandate shuts down all normal lines and forces this to be the only intercity travel in Equestria.”
“Equestria? Really?”
With a nod, he continued, “Fear of Nightmare Moon and her followers.”
“Well I guess it makes sense...” Spitfire took her place at the yellow line. The rest of the guards stood beside her, and soon enough, a dim light flickered from the darkness. The rumbling grew louder, and the platform began to shake.
“Why are we going to Ponyville anyways?” she asked over the loud grumbling of the train.
All Shining said was, “To have a look around.”
The train rolled in, it’s gears creaking under it’s massive weight. The dim lights whizzed past them in a maelstrom. Their manes whipped back and their eyes clenched tight as the large thing came to a screeching halt.
A huge car with multiple windows spanning it’s sides stopped in front of them. Two large doors flew ajar, exposing two bulky guard stallions. Light flooded the dim room with a vision of green carpets and walls, rows of beds and set tables that already held food.
Without further words, the pegasi marched aboard, followed by Spitfire and Shining, all of their mouths salivating at the promise of a meal. He nodded to the two guards, who then slammed the steel doors shut and latched them into place. The train jerked off from the station with a plume of smoke and fled into the vast, never ending darkness before it.
A tan mare gripped her foreleg around Twilight, helping her stumble down the castle halls. They made their way into the main foyer, hobbling down a set of stares and then to the left. A trail of dripping water followed them, Twilight still steaming from her bath. The little plops echoed behind her as she and the servant mare came upon a new hall, long and expansive with a red carpet lining its center.
“There,” she said, pointing to a door on the far end. “Take me there.”
“To the infirmary?”
“Yes you... yes. To the infirmary, please,” Twilight said, biting her tongue. Her face scrunched up, and she even had to turn away from the mare to prevent a lashing out. This was the mare who was helping her, after all.
“Of course,” she responded as she began guiding Twilight down the hall.
She threw the door open with her magic, exposing a bleach white hallway. It was a drastic shift from the castle itself, but the newest additions always seemed that way. The walls were dim, yet blinding; the torchlights were bright and dull at the same time. It wrecked havoc on her eyes, forcing her to stare only directly in front of her. The marble floors and walls didn’t help, either, doing their best to reflect the light.
In this hallway, stallions and mares alike flew about, rushing into one room and out of the next and filling the hall with a thick clopping. They all wore blue scrubs, some bloodied, others dirty, and a few with an unrecognizable yellow gunk on them. She and the mare made their way through this chaos, nodding to every doctor, nurse and guard Twilight could.
It was chaos. Medical stretchers lined the hall, some empty, some bloody, some with a pony it their clutches. IV stands stood unattended, and equipment lay sprawled out around the various tables.
“Stop, stop,” she told her helper. The mare did as she was told, coming to a jerking halt and gripping Twilight for the unicorn’s own stability. Twilight turned and pointed a hoof to one of the many rushing doctors, calling him over.
“Um, yes chancellor?” he said. His tone was antsy, and his eyes were jumping left and right.
“Why is this place so...packed. I was told that this was under control.”
“Right, well, um, the city hospital was in the line of destruction, so not only are we dealing with the guards, but also the ponies from the Canterlot. And we’re very busy, so-”
“I was told the city was fine too.” She sneered and gave a cold glance to the orange stallion.
He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, tossing his unkempt blonde mane aside. “Well, um, a-as far as I know, at least half of its gone. I-I can’t tell you for sure though. I’ve been in here for the past two days, no sleep, hardly any food-”
“I’m sure,” she growled. “Go then, I see you’re busy.”
The doctor nodded furiously and galloped off past her.
“Let’s go,” she said to her right. The tan mare gulped and began walking, guiding Twilight further into the panicking hallway.
“Chancellor?” she asked.
Twilight gave her an acknowledging glare.
“H-How long will you take?” Not to be rude, o-or anything! I-It’s j-just...my brother, he’s in the guard you see...”
They paused for a brief moment, before starting off again. Just before them was a four way intersection in the hall. It resembled a road more than anything, considering how bustling it was.
“Not long,” she sighed. “Right here, go left.”
Turning the corner, they found themselves under a hanging sign that pointed to the psyche ward. Without words they began down this new hallway. It smelled of mop fluid and bleach, and was slightly less active than the one before. Ponies here were slower, with more relaxed expressions, save the rare one who was rushing through to reach the emergency wing.
“Where to?” the servant asked.
“Deeper in,” was all Twilight said in response. And so deeper they went, into the long hallway. At the end there was a door surrounded by at least three inattentive guards, though she had to squint to tell. I’ll have to get somepony on this lighting.
When they had reached the door, it suddenly burst ajar, a suave tan colt striding out. He was dressed in a long white coat, his dark brown mane slick with gel. On his coat was a patch that read Dr. Whooves, PhD.
“Doctor,” Twilight announced as she approached. As she neared, the guard split and the colt stepped forward.
“Chancellor. I can only imagine you’re here for Trixie.”
“You. Are. A genius,” she said with a scowl. I cannot put up with Whooves now...So help me Celestia, wherever you are, I’ll kill this colt.
“I know, thank you very much. The smartest around, I dare say.”
“You best not say anything than what I need to hear,” the unicorn said. She pressed more of her weight on the poor little mare beside her, her tan face scrunching up in strain.
“There’s a lot of things you need to hear, chancellor. But if it’s Trixie you want, then fine,” he said with a smug grin. Twilight bit her lip. Dungeon? Guillotine? Gallows? Volcano? Yes, definitely volcano. “She’s fine,” he eventually said. The guards had a tenseness about them, their muscles obviously stiffened and their eyes alert, shifting from Twilight to the doctor. “A bit of amnesia, but nothing major. At least, that’s how it looks. There’s no real way to tell. If only we were all so lucky.”
“Yes, forgetting you would be a real treat, wouldn’t it?” the unicorn said, a grin of her own flashing across her lips.
“I wish - looking at my own face as though it were new every day would be delightful. And yet, to see you every day as though it were the first time...” He pretended to shudder.
“Don’t you have somewhere else to be, doctor?” she asked, tossing her head away.
“I do as a matter of fact!” he said with a large smile. Trotting past, and then away from Twilight and the guards, he added, “Away from you.”
“And good riddance,” she said, shaking her head and turning back around.
A guard stepped forward. “Ma’am, do you want us to...do something?”
“No, no. Here, take her,” she said, bumping the mare away. “She said her brother’s in the guard. I can only assume he’s in here. I want you - only you, not you two - to take her and find this colt.”
“Yes ma’am,” the guard said, standing next to the mare. The tan pony seemed dumbfounded for a moment, then smiled, about to say something when the guard cut her off. “C’mon, let’s go.” With that, they trotted away, Twilight watching, her face hard and emotionless.
This left Twilight to limp into the door. She looked to the guards with that flat, cold stare. “Stay here,” she said as she entered Trixie’s room, “and if our doctor comes back, toss him in a guard box and fire his plot to the dungeons, won’t you?
Or a volcano, if we have one available.”
She didn’t wait for a response; the door was engulfed in a orchid light, tugging it closed with a thud. Spinning around, she examined this new room. It was average - well lit, for sure. Four torches set the rather cozy place aglow, shimmering off of the few tables and equipment. The only place excluded from their shine, oddly enough, was the medical bed in the corner.
Sprawled in this bed, tucked under the white sheets, was a blue unicorn who’s slow breaths and shut eyes marked her deep sleep. An IV tube ran from the sac beside her, under the covers and into her arm. Twilight approached, examining the mare for any injuries. She seems fine...
She propped herself up to Trixie’s side, leaning in to hear her soft, deep breathing. It was even, smooth, and she showed no signs of distress. Amnesia? I wonder if...
Getting even closer, she examined the slumbering mare’s face. Nothing out of the ordinary; still sweet, calm, and pompous as ever. Closer and closer she got, until she was in the unicorn’s face. Now she could feel the warm breaths as they huffed forth, and could almost taste her fur.
It was quick, with neither passion nor fury. Their lips met, Twilight barely prodding her tongue into Trixie’s warm mouth. Her eyes lapsed shut, her muscles tensed; she needed this. She held for a second or two, then yanked back up, sucking in deeply. For such an unnerving time, that had actually been sweet on her mouth. She could feel a tiny wave of heat wash up her cheeks. A smile began to tug at the corner of her mouth, and her heart skipped a beat. Her hoof raised, her smile grew...
Wham!
She brought her hoof down hard upon the unicorn’s head, knocking her from her sleep with a jerk. Her face hardened once more as Trixie howled and pressed against her temples.
“W-What the hay? What was that for?”
“Oh shut it Trixie. Where were you?”
“Trix- what? Who are you? Trixie does not even know you! Where do you get off knocking her upside the head for nothing? She is in a hospital for Celestia’s sake!” the unicorn stammered.
“I asked where you were, Trixie! Don’t give me...wait...” Twilight squinted. She scrunched her face to Trixie’s. Their eyes locked, Trixie’s wide with discomfort and Twilight’s thin with angst. “What happened to your eyes?”
“Trixie’s eyes? What of them?” The mare sneered, turning away.
She thought for a moment. Turning back to Twilight, she said, “Trixie knows nothing of the sort. If you are insisting that she has committed a crime-”
“No. Just...stop,” the lavender mare said, pressing a hoof to her face. She dragged it down, her eyes falling once more to the set in front of her. These new eyes glimmered in the light like a rare metal, with a deepness in them, one that almost radiated secrets and lies. An uncomfortable feeling washed over her. She shook her head, trying to shake it out.
Then, a wave of agony rippled through her mind. Gasping, she stumbled left, slamming on the tile wall. “I-I...I feel sick...”
Trixie, with a dumbfound look and uneasy gaze, extended her hoof. Twilight anxiously grabbed it, yanking herself back up to her three good hooves. A bang from behind her ripped through the room just as she was stable, sending her down to her right. She slammed on the floor, a cry of pain escaping her lips.
The two guards rushed in, pushing her back to her hooves. One at each side, they compressed her into forced stability, sending deathly glares to the bed-ridden mare. Trixie sunk into her bed, biting her lip.
“She’s fine,” Twilight coughed. “I’m not, though. Take me to my room,” she said to the guard at her right. “And you - you go find General Dawn. I want her there now.”
The stallion to her left nodded, spun, and galloped off with haste. The guard at her side helped her turn to the door, and together they began hobbling off. Yet, just as she was about to exit the room, she turned back around one last time.
They were gold.
Author's Note
Chapter by: Lynked
**Chapters from here on out will be completed by General Daekfang
Shining stepped out onto the platform first, breathing in deeply the crisp night air. It was so much purer here, he quietly reflected, away from the crowded halls and rooms of the palace. As he did the rest of the squadron orderly filed out of the car, forming into a straight line along the length of the transit car. Then their Wing Commander Spitfire, former Captain of the Wonderbolts herself, came to a stop beside him.
“What are your orders, sir?” She asked him. Unlike the rest of her ponies she stood at ease, knowing full well that they did not need to be so formal with one another.
“We're going to leave four of the ponies behind to guard the car. Then have five of your best scouts go on ahead of us to the town, but tell them to be subtle. There is no need in making our presence known before we arrive.” He replied.
Without hesitation she turned to her men and relayed the orders. The five scouts took to the air as Shining, Spitfire, and the other 16 troops slowly made their way toward the town. As they walked Spitfire spoke up, her voice concerned.
“Sir, pardon me for asking but, what exactly are we doing all the way out here? It's not exactly as if the town needs assistance with anything.”
Without stopping he replied, his voice calm. “Don't apologize Spit, it's only natural to be curious. We are here because... well because of a 'gut feeling'.” He paused for a moment in speaking, his voice suddenly troubled. “And even though it has never let me down before... I am hoping it's wrong this time.”
Spitfire nodded and continued on, not needing any other answer. A soldier's life hung on so called 'gut feelings'. If something didn't feel right, then it probably wasn't, and not trusting that feeling could get you killed. As they continued on toward the town it started to rain, and Spitfire began to have such a feeling herself. Something was wrong. Where was everypony else? Why were there no lights in any of the windows? And why the buck hadn't the scouts reported in...
“Sir..?” She started to ask, but was cut off by a nod from Shining.
“I know. Get ready.” Was all he said. Then, as if on cue to his words, it all went to Hell.
With a cry black armored ponies came rushing out from behind buildings, their swords raised high in attack. They all wore the regalia of Nightmare's troops, their polished black helms hiding their identities. Not that it really mattered anyway.
Shining barked out an order and eight ponies swung around to face the attackers on the right, while the other eight faced the ones on the left. Even though they were outnumbered they had the advantage of months of training.
The first few of the black clad troops foolishly rushed the line of armored Pegasi on the right, only to be swiftly cut down as they came within striking range. Shining allowed himself to flash a grim smile under his golden helm. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as it looked, after all if things went the same from here on the battle would be over very quickly. He was about to order Spitfire's troops to advance when two ponies stepped out from what looked to be a building made entirely out of candy. What in the name of Tartarus..?
One pony was clad in a dark robe, with a dark violet mane billowing out from beneath their helm. The robe, as well as the small horn protruding from a slit in their dark helm with white coat, signified them as a spell caster.
The second pony, whose mane seemed to be a light pink, stood next to her in the usual black armor. However, unlike the rest of Nightmare's troops, this one carried two knives in either pink hoof.
Upon seeing the two ponies the attacking forces became more organized, beginning to surround the double line of troops in a circle of black. Shining knew if they let that happen it would be over. They could not defend against a simultaneous attack on all sides for long.
Butting Spitfire with his head he pointed to the spell caster, who was now on their hind legs with their hooves in the air. Without a word Spitfire nodded, acknowledging the silent command. With a leap she took to the air, speeding toward the unicorn in a golden flame-like blur. However the armored pony next to her intervened. They... They jumped half way across the clearing towards Spitfire? How the buck was that even possible?! There was a terrible crash as the two ponies collided, and the two fell hard onto a dark blue tiled roof. There was no time for thought. Shining broke from the rest of the troops and charged the spell caster, his strong legs carrying him across the distance swiftly.
The spell caster saw this, and quickly pointed a hoof in Shining's direction. With a yell a dark blue bolt of lightning shot out from their hoof and arched towards the charging Shining. Quicker than should have been possible, Shining erected a magical shield around himself to ward off magical attack. He was however unprepared for the force behind the strike, which shattered his shield if it were made of glass, forcefully knocking the golden helmet from his head. But he did not once stop his charge.
Not giving the unicorn time to react he reached the stairs, and used them to swing his hind legs around. In one swift motion he bucked the spell caster with his hind legs, putting all his strength behind the strike. The sheer force of the strike sent the unicorn flying through the air, only to crash against the wall with a large bang. Growling as the pain from hitting armor, even the simple chain mail beneath the dark robe, with his bare hooves lanced through his hindquarters, he went up to the now unconscious unicorn, drawing a gold dagger from his belt. It was time to put an end to this. Raising the deadly blade into the air he prepared to bring it down though the unicorn's heart... only to stop at the sound of a terrified shriek.
“Stop it Shining! Don't kill her!” Cried a voice from behind him. He knew that voice.
It couldn't be...
Dumbfounded he turned around to see who had spoken, only to realize the voice had originated from one of the black armored ponies. All of the enemy had stopped their assault, laying their weapons down in surrender. The pony who had cried out was now slowly approaching shining, her empty hooves raised up in surrender. As she drew nearer Shining could hear sobs coming from the mare, and he thought he saw...
Oh no! Oh no no no! This wasn't happening.
The pony slowly drew off her helmet, revealing a long flowing pink mane with a yellow tear-stained muzzle.
It was Fluttershy.
“Please don't kill my friend...” She cried, rushing over to the fallen spell caster.
Shining watched in horror as Fluttershy removed the spell caster's helm, knowing all too well what he would find. There at his hooves, unconscious and bloody but still very much alive, lay Rarity. Looking back to the other troops he saw them removing their helmets as well, revealing them to be the other townspeople. Applejack was among them, as was Pinkie Pie whose battered body was being dragged along by a not so better looking Spitfire. In the distance he could just barely make out the five missing scouts leading a group of black armored Pegasi toward them. At their head was a badly injured Rainbow Dash.
With eyes filled with fear, and a voice full of dread Shining spoke in barely a whisper.
“Celestia help us.”
Author's Note
Ahh Ladies and Gentle Colts,
The first story in the series written by yours truly~
Notes:
*Comments are very appreciated, and I will reply to as many as possible
** If anyone would like to apply to be a potential editor for the upcoming chapters I would appreciate it, as my grammar is... inadequate. To say the least.G33kySt3v3 for editing this chapter. They will be editing chapters from now on for me, and I am super grateful for their help ^^
Twilight sat upright on top of the bed in her old teacher's chambers. It was once a room filled with such joy and happy memories, but now it was anything but. In the absence of the Sun Goddess the room seemed... empty. It was as though the light had faded with her very being, and now there was only a ghost of what the room used to be. Twilight had chosen to stay in this room seeking the comfort from all those years. Sadly it never wound up providing it.
Across from her stood General Dawn, who was looking out at the night through the large twin glass doors that opened to the small stone balcony beyond. The silvery light from the moon softly illuminated her white mane, making it seem to almost faintly glow with its own light. However, in stark contrast to this, her dark onyx coat blended in so well with the shadows that Twilight would have had trouble seeing her face if she were to look. But Twilight wasn't looking at the general at that moment, instead she stared at no point in particular with a look that was a mixture of aggravation and exhaustion.
“How many were injured in the last attack?” Twilight asked, slightly perturbed that this question was not already answered honestly by her brother Shining.
“Overall chancellor there were seventy injured and ten casualties reported from the attack. Of the seventy injured, only twenty still remain in recovery. The rest have been sent back on duty.” Dawn replied, her voice soft but respectful.
“And of the enemy?” Twilight asked.
“Reports claim the force was at most a hundred and fifty ponies, the majority of which were Pegasi. They were better armored than we expected them to be, but they lacked in any real combat training. If I had to hazard guess, I would say Nightmare was recruiting from the rioting groups in various cities, hoping to gain a large enough force to try and overwhelm us. How they ever made it all the way here without detection is beyond me...” Dawn sighed, moving to sit in a nearby plush red arm chair before continuing. “Most of them were taken out in the initial attack, but we managed to capture about thirty five of them, and the majority were promptly executed as per your orders chancellor. The rest are locked up in the dungeons by lesser ranking ponies who weren't aware. Do you wish for them to be publicly executed?” Dawn asked, without a trace of empathy in her voice.
Twilight sighed, rubbing her hoof along her temples. The Sparkle Mandate, a document that she herself had drafted, stated quite clearly that any of Nightmare's troops found in wartime were to be executed immediately. While the order itself was a bit barbaric, it was necessary. Twilight needed to set an example to the populace that such acts of treason would not be tolerated in any way. And yet... it still made her sick to think about. There was a time when such an order was never necessary, but that was before all this. Times change.
“Well we shoul-” Twilight's response was cut off by a loud knocking coming from the twin golden doors that served as the entrance and exit to the chambers. Narrowing her eyes at the interruption Twilight motioned for Dawn to get the door, not really being able to do so herself in her current condition.
The doors swung open inwards to admit a panting yellow Pegasus, whose coat was matted with sweat. Upon seeing the chancellor he sighed in relief, pausing a few feet away from the bed to breath heavily. Any other time Twilight would have been annoyed at the pause, but the current condition he was in and the red sash tied around his foreleg signaled him as a messenger for the army and told her to wait. This was probably important. Once his breathing was back under control he spoke, snapping himself to attention before her.
“I apologize for the interruption supreme chancellor, but I have urgent news from the detachment Commander Shining took to Ponyville”. At this point he paused, his eyes and face taking on a strange emotion that Twilight could have sworn was fear. When after a minute he still did not reply, seemingly unable to find the right words, Twilight lost her patience. She shot the messenger a look that would have felled lesser ponies, causing the Pegasus to pale visibly. Quickly he spoke, the words spilling out of him like a confession.
“It... it’s the others ma'am. Yo-your friends. The Commander is bringing them back here.” The Pegasus stammered, but there sounded like something he was not saying. Twilight's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Why is Shining bringing them back here?” She asked, the tone in her voice layered with a promise of malice if he did not answer quickly enough.
The messenger flinched, but said it anyway. “Because ma'am... He's bringing them back here under arrest for treason. Th- they joined Nightmare.” He stammered out.
For a long time there was no change within the room. Dawn stared wide eyed in disbelief, while Twilight's expression was as blank as a snow covered mountainside. Slowly something happened. Although Twilight's facial expression did not change, something in her eyes did. A primal rage started to brew behind them that caused the messenger to unceremoniously turn hoof and run out of the chambers with such speed that it would have stunned even Rainbow Dash.
___________________________________________________________________________________
(A few hours later...)
Twilight sat upright upon her old mentor's throne. The harsh unforgiving alabaster stone beneath her flanks seared her with a deep cold that only a stone could ever truly know, but she did not even register the pain. For once in her entire life her brain was focused solely upon one thing, and one thing only. The uprisings, the starving ponies, Nightmare, none of that mattered anymore. The only thing that mattered were the five battered ponies in chains before her. All of whom wore Nightmare Moon's army regalia.
How... how could this be? How could her friends, her only friends in all of Equis, betray her? She didn't want to believe it, but the scene before her very eyes forced her analytical mind to see the truth for what it was. Her friends had turned against her, and in so doing turned against everything she had been fighting to protect.
Fluttershy refused to look at anything in the room, choosing instead to hide behind her filthy pink mane as tremors of fear wracked her small frame. Rarity looked up at Twilight with a mixture of sadness and... acceptance. Pinkie Pie, or Pinkamena as she had taken to calling herself these days, looked at her blankly, her straight pink hair hanging limply around her. It was as if someone had found a way to deflate all the happiness from within the pony, killing the party within her. Applejack, the strong farmer, had broken down long before Twilight had even entered the room. She sat there crying as Rainbow held her. But even for the cyan Pegasus, there was something in her beautiful rose tinted eyes... a deep unfathomable sadness that threatened to swallow Twilight whole if she gazed into its depths for too long.
Slowly Twilight stood, her legs shaking beneath her as pain lanced through her entire body. However she did not call for one of the guards, who stood stone faced along the walls of the throne room, to help her. Instead she moved towards her... friends, one agonizing hoofstep at a time. At last she reached Rarity at one end, pausing to look into the mare's eyes. Pausing to let her anger, and her pain, seep into the mare. Then she moved down the line, doing the same to each pony without saying a single word. When she reached the end, coming to Rainbow Dash, Twilight stopped. The cyan mare lifted her tear stained muzzle to look up at Twilight, only to flinch when she saw the anger laden within her friend's lavender eyes. Before Rainbow could even speak Twilight viciously brought her hoof across the mare's face, causing blood to spatter the immaculate marble floor as her lip split open. Leaning her head down Twilight spoke in a mournful venomous whisper only three words to her friend, but she might as well have shouted them at her.
“Et vous, fidélité...?”
And with that Twilight left, limping her way out of the throne room. As she did the guards moved to take the prisoners to the dungeons, unknowingly blocking the mares from seeing the tears that began to fall from a pair or retreating lavender eyes.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Later on that night)
Twilight was in the middle of a barren plane, standing on dried out brown grass. The winds from the mountains to the north brought to her an all too sickening stench she recognized as burning flesh. Although she had only smelled such a thing once before in her entire life during a lab accident that had gone wrong, it was a smell that one did not forget. However she did not need her memory to tell her what the scent was, for her eyes were already doing that all too well.
All around her were corpses. Fallen members of the Lunar army lay scattered about the level plane, their once glorious armor now tarnished with splattering of scarlet as though some mad painter had managed to have their way with them. Some were missing limbs and appendages, a wing lay here, a head over there. And then... and then there were those who were burnt. Charred corpses dotted the plain with a sickly black smear. Most couldn't be seen offhoof, but you could see the black outline of their corpses. What scared her more than anything was that she knew some of these corpses. As she walked through the fields of the dead she began to recognize faces: Mr. Cake from the bakery... Aloe from the spa... Thunder Hooves from the weather team... Even the old librarian she knew when she was just a filly. However the sight that caused her to fall to her knees and retch, was the one that awaited her at the very end of the never ending sea of bodies.
There before the lavender mare stood five oak crucifixes. They were tools from ages past, when war was much more prevalent in Equestria, used mainly by the Solar Empire to demoralize the enemy. Nailed to each cross was a pony, and every one of them she knew too well. As she wept in agony a dark form approached her from behind, a sinister fanged smile adorning the muzzle of it's owner.
“Why do you weep chancellor? I had thought they betrayed you.” Nightmare Moon asked, her voice mocking and as piercing as the winter wind.
Upon hearing the voice Twilight spun around, quicker than thought, screaming in fury with her horn ablaze with its tell tale raspberry glow. With a deafening crack Nightmare was thrown back fifty feet, hitting the ground with such force that it knocked the wind out of her.
“You! You bitch! WHAT THE BUCK DID YOU DO TO MY FRIENDS?!” The enraged Unicorn screamed with a voice that caused Equis itself to tremble upon hearing. In the blink of an eye Twilight teleported on top of the much larger Alicorn, bringing her dangerously sparking horn to Nightmare's onyx neck. The sparks bounced off the onyx pelt, singing her immaculate coat where they fell.
For the first time in many centuries the Alicorn began to feel fear, but she did her best not show it. Her face still grinned impassively at the enraged lavender Unicorn above her. With a merciless chuckle she spoke, her voice a mixture of amusement and pity.
“Me? Oh no, no my dearest Chancellor it was not me that did all this...” She vaguely gestured to the corpses of the army and those of Twilight's friends, “.... no, it was you!”
Disbelief clouded Twilight's eyes as she glared at the Alicorn beneath her, hatred seething out of her very being. With a growl of fury she pressed her horn deeper into her opponent's neck, drawing blood and eliciting a cry of pain from Nightmare.
“Do not lie to me you MONSTER! Tell me. What. Did. You. Do!?” ” She shouted, her voice like a bolt of lighting in a hurricane.”
For the briefest of moments Nightmare's resolve faltered. Perhaps... perhaps she had gone too far with this. Things were quickly getting out of hoof, and this was still a place where she could be harmed. But... that would mean that the unicorn before her was more powerful than she was, and that was ridiculous. She was a GOD, the Princess of the Night, nopony was greater than she. With a sneer of contempt she pressed on, determined to break the pony before her at all costs.
“If you don't believe me then go look for yourself...” Nightmare stated flatly, pointing her hoof to a sign that Twilight just now noticed by the crucifixes.
Getting up Twilight slowly made her way to the sign staked in the unforgiving dirt. She knew what it was. The sign served as an account of what happened, and a warning... to everypony not to follow in the condemned hoofsteps. After what seemed like years she came to the sign, and through her tear stained eyes she read:
Here stands the traitorous bearers of the Elements of Harmony.
For their treason against the Solar Empire,
and for their aiding of the enemy they were put to death.
So says the decree of The Sparkle Mandate, drafted by her
Supreme Chancellor Twilight Sparkle.
So her will says, so it shall be done.
May Celestia take pity on their sinful souls.
The words struck Twilight as though a mountain had been dropped upon her. She... She had killed her friends. Her only friends in all of Equis, the only ones to ever show her love, and she had killed them. Sentenced them to burn in Tartarus for all of eternity, for what? A stupid mistake? A misguided decision? With a cry of anguish she fell to the ground before her friends, weeping in such agony that no physical wound could ever compare.
Behind her Nightmare chuckled darkly, relishing in the mare's pain. She was so close now... so close. With slow determined steps she made her way over to Twilight, preparing the speech that would tear her mind asunder. But she never made it anywhere near her. Without any warning the ground beneath Nightmare's hooves punched her in the gut, sending her soaring into the air. She tried to spread her voluminous wings to right herself, but a bolt of lightning soared out of the cloudless sky and struck her down to the ground. Gasping in pain she tried to move, but found she could not. She could only turn her snake-like pupils towards the advancing lavender mare with a look of unmasked terror. Twilight had realized the truth.
“You should not have done that Nightmare.” Twilight spoke, her voice cold and devoid of any emotion. Nightmare recognized that voice, and realized with sudden terror that she had indeed gone too far. It was a voice that held no empathy, only hate.
And with that Twilight turned her back to Nightmare, a door forming out of nothing before her. Slowly it opened to reveal a sleeping Twilight in her bed chambers, tossing and turning fitfully. Before she stepped through the doorway she turned to look back, a smile that promised death on her lips.
“It's about high time I ended you. Once, and for all.”
Author's Note
Et tu, Fidelitas...? Translates from Larin to: "And you, Loyalty...?" A little gift for all you fellow Shakespeare fans out there.
Also, on another note, I am still looking for an editor. If anyone happens to be interested please send me a PM and I will get back to you as soon as I can, thank you all so much =]
(Don't forget to rate. Comments, as always, are always appreciated.)
Canterlot Dungeons
Click... click... click...
The sound of hoofsteps echoed off the cold stone floor of the dungeon's corridors, much like the ticking of a clock. A clock that was counting down Each hoofstep marking the nearing of the end. General Dawn walked next to a badly limping Twilight, torn between what to do. On one hoof it was her duty to assist the chancellor, and even advise against her moving at all in her current condition. However, on the other hoof, the rage that seemed to wrap itself around the chancellor, like a heave cloak, made her reluctant to do so. It was as if the chancellor's anger was being contained in very thin glass right now, and one wrong move would shatter whatever willpower was keeping it in. Dawn was a fairly rational pony, and she had no desire to be within a hundred miles of the chancellor when she snapped. For if, or more likely when, she did... there would be blood. Dawn doubted if it would matter whose.
Around Twilight's neck hung five necklaces, each one containing a precious stone in the shape of five different cutie marks. Each one representing one of the six elements of harmony: Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter... Loyalty. The last sat atop her head in the form of a regal tiara: The element of Magic . Although it looked rather gaudy on the mare, no one could dispute the power that resonated from the magical artifacts. The very air around Twilight seemed to hum with power, ancient power. Originally the elements had been used by princess Celestia against Discord and in the Chaos wars, and then once more against Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago. However after this they had become more of icons than anything else. Twilight carried them now, for the princess had entrusted them to her years ago, in the event that any evil were to besiege Equestria. It would be better for all if the elements were housed closest to their bearers, to be used as quickly as possible. Now they were being called upon once more. To finish off an enemy that has plagued Equestria for far too long...
As they walked Twilight took in all the differences in this accursed place. At one time it had been empty, quiet, almost peaceful. That is if one could call a dungeon peaceful, no matter if it was being used or not. Now it had so drastically changed. Screams of intense agony would regularly pierce the eery silence of the dark halls, chilling the very bone of all those who heard it. Every now and then there would be an uncleaned bloodstain upon the stone floor, some old and some more recent. There had been a time, long long ago, when she was just a faithful student. A time when she would have retched at such a sight, would have been appalled. And yet now... now she didn't even give such atrocities a second glance. It seemed that time had changed her just as much as it had this place. For better or for worse.
Turning another dimly lit corner Twilight suddenly stopped, the golden chains of the necklaces clinking together at the abrupt halt. Dawn, being right behind the chancellor, nearly rammed into her before stoping as well. Directly ahead, at the very end of the hallway, stood a large reinforced iron door with many runes inscribed upon it. It was there that Twilight would end this. Turning to look at the general Twilight spoke:
"You are to stay here. No one is to come in after me. I do not care what you, or anyone else, hears. NO ONE is to come anywhere near that door after I enter. Are we clear?" She asked, her voice as cold and unforgiving as a blizzard.
"But chancellor I can not allow..." Dawn started to protest passionately, but was abruptly cut off as Twilights horn blazed a brilliant purple in an unspoken threat.
"ALLOW?! You will do as I COMMAND! ARE WE CLRAR?!" She shouted, causing Dawn to flinch away from her sparking horn. She had no choice. There was only one answer she could give if she intended to live to see her retirement. Or the next five minutes for that matter...
"Yes Chancellor." Dawn replied, her voice small and weak. However it seemed to satisfy Twilight, and her horn ceased to glow menacingly.
And with that Twilight turned, traversing the rest of the hall alone. Dawn watched her all the way until she disappeared behind the massive doors, and then turned to take up her post.
Old Canterlot
"Urgh..." Twilight groaned, suddenly finding herself sprawled out on a cold marble floor with a splitting headache. The last thing she remembered was entering Nightmare's cell, fully intent on killing her with the power locked away within the elements. However something went wrong. When she had called forth their power it seemed... reluctant. No, it was more than that. It was as if the elements were struggling to resist her command to vanquish the monster that lay before her. Then, just as she was about to dominate their power, something happened. However the more she tried to remember what exactly happened, the more the headache racked her mind with searing pain. Cursing she forced her mind to go blank, sighing in relief as she slowly felt the pain begin to recede. After a few moments she dared to open her violet eyes to take in her surroundings... and gaped at what she saw.
She lay in the center of a eerily familiar throne room, the full silvery half moon shining through the windows to softly illuminate the alabaster and onyx thrones on the raised dais behind her. The last time she seen this place there was far more destruction, with half the walls with holes or completely gone. What caused her jaw to drop in utter shock was what lined the edges of the room. Just visible in the dark shadows of the room, placed at equal intervals, were Nightmare's troops. Each wore black armor similar to that of the royal guard, but with a much more sinister look to them. Taking a defensive stance she attempted to grab the nearest guard in her magic, only to fail. It was as if they were formless, and her magic could not touch them. Growling in frustration she attempted to do the same to the other guards, only to have similar results. She was about to attempt a more dangerous spell when one of the guards walked right through Twilight, towards the dual thrones. Looking behind her Twilight saw something that froze her entire form in terror. There sitting upon the onyx throne, wearing princess Luna's royal crown instead of her usual cobalt battle helmet, was Nightmare Moon herself.
Despite sitting in the very place she had fought for all this time, Nightmare did not look happy or even triumphant. Instead her jade eyes seemed to be filled with a sense of sadness, and she sat slouched as though in defeat. She did not even look up as the Lunar guard approached her. The only sign that she was even aware of his presence was the flick of her black ears as he began to speak.
"Princess Luna... it is coming time for you end night court and join princess Celestia in the changing of the celestial bodies" He said, his voice soft and polite. Twilight could only stare on in shock, not understanding why he was calling Nightmare 'Luna'. Did he not see who it was before him?
"Why... Why Nightshade?" Nightmare asked softly, still staring off into space.
For a moment Nightshade was silent before replying, a look of concern and confusion on his face. "I'm sorry princess, but I do not understand..."
At this Nightmare looked up at him, pain laden deep within her eyes. "Why do I even hold night court anymore? Nopony comes. Nopony ever comes. Do you know why?" She asked rhetorically, not pausing to let him answer. "Because, every night they lock themselves away. Because every night they shun my moon, and wait for sisters' sunny day." She says with an air of bitterness.
With that she stood and made her way out of the throne room, the bones in her body cracking in protest as she moved for the first time in what must have been hours. Nightshade silently followed behind, his ears flat against his skull as he thought on his mistresses' words.
Twilight was about to take a step forward to follow after them, but let out a scream instead when she fell through the floor into blackness. As she fell she shut her eyes tightly waiting for the inevitable end, the terrible crash of her body on the ground, to come...
It never came.
For what seemed like forever she held her eyes tightly shut, waiting. Still nothing. Even the gut wrenching feeling of falling in her stomach had ceased. Tentatively she slowly opened her eyes to find herself right back where she had begun: The throne room. However there were two major changes. The first change was that she was utterly alone. The light from the full moon outside softly illuminated the chamber revealed no guards, Lunar or Solar, whatsoever. The second change, and perhaps the most disturbing, was that there now was only one throne in the room. Nightmare's throne. As she registered this the massive twin doors at the far end of the room swung inward to admit the two princesses.
Nightmare entered the room first, her green snakelike eyes set in angry determination. She walked right past Twilight without a second glance and sat on the onyx throne, only then turning her cold gaze to Celestia who had followed behind her. Celestia was clad in her usual golden shoes and necklace, which had an addition of six other jewels to it. As she looked closer at the jewels Twilight realized they were the elements of harmony, though they were not in the shape of her friends cutie marks. Nightmare was clad in her cobalt shoes and helm, her crown from earlier gone. Then in a firm voice she spoke, her voice resonating throughout the room with unquestionable regal authority.
"You tire me with your persistent begging sister ..." She spat the word as though it was poison in her mouth "... I will not yield the night to you". The words echoed throughout the room with a ring of finality to them.
"You can not do this!" Celestia shouted, her voice awash with pain and confusion. "It has been over a month now! Ponies are terrified and rioting in the streets. Please Lulu, surely you can see that you must stop this madness!" Celestia pleaded, coming to a stop in front of Nightmare.
"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!" Nightmare shouted at her angrily. "I am not a foal anymore." She spat at her.
"Oh really?!" Celestia demanded indignantly, her own anger rising. "I'm sorry for not seeing the difference, for you're acting like one. How can you be so selfish? Do you not see how you are hurting them?
Shaking her head Nightmare let out a mirthless dark laugh, the sound echoing off the walls of the chember. "Hurting them? Like they have hurt me all these years? Neigh sister that is where you are wrong. I am not hurting them, I am opening their eyes! I am forcing them to look upon the very thing they shun, whether they like it or not. They will see. They will all see..." Nightmare said, her voice a mixture of anger and deep sadness. But as soon as it was there, it was gone again. With indignant snort Nightmare spoke, narrowing her eyes at Celestia. "And selfish? You are one to talk."
"Selfish?! How have I been selfish?!" Celestia demanded, fury in her words. "I have spent the last few centuries fighting Discord and every other monster that would threaten the harmony of this land! And now YOU... YOU are threatening to destroy everything I have spent so long building! YOU are becoming like the very monsters I have worked so hard to be rid of!" Celestia shouted, fury blinding her mind to the words that left her muzzle without filter.
For a while Nightmare was stunned silent, her jade eyes glowing darkly with fury. Her sister's words ran through her mind over and over, causing the fury in her to grow exponentially until it was something far more dangerous. Hatred. Without warning Nightmare's horn blazed midnight blue, and a dark bolt of lightning shot out at Celestia. The sun princess could only yell in surprise as the dark energy slammed into her chest, throwing her half way across the room. With a primal growl Nightmare descended the dais, advancing on Celestia with her eyes ablaze in anger. When she spoke her voice was a deadly mixture of malice and fury.
"Monster?... MONSTER? YOU WOULD DARE CALL ME A MONSTER YOU TYRANT ?!" She shouted, her Royal Canterlot voice shaking the very foundations of the room with its power.
Celestia gasped in pain as she tried to rise, but was slammed back into the ground as another dark bolt of energy struck her knocking the wind out of her. Fighting for air Celestia spoke, her words wracked by pained coughs. "Why...? Why are you doing this Luna?"
"Why?! Because I am tired of being hurt. Of being humiliated, and shunned. Because you are just as blind as they are! But I will make you see. I will make you all see!" Nightmare screamed in fury, her eyes ablaze with green fire.
Rising to her hooves Celestia lifter her head, tears streaming down her beautiful white muzzle as the air around her began to hum with power. Through her tears she spoke, her voice begging.
"Sister... please. I can not allow you to harm my ponies..."
Nightmare's eyes narrowed to vicious slits as she charged her horn, the air around her crackling with dark energy. "YOUR ponies? They are not just YOUR ponies sister. I love them just as much as you. Not everything is about you. Now stand down!" She shouted, her words clearly an order that brokered no argument.
Celestia only spoke two barely audible words as the tears flowed down her muzzle: "I cannot..."
And then there was only a blinding flash as the world turned white.
Author's Note
A small nod to ponyphonic at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ponyphonic/videos
Anyways apologies for the delay once more. Feel free to leave comments and critiques.
-Much love,
The white light remained for what seemed like an eternity, thought it might have been only a few seconds. The sheer oppressive power behind the light made it difficult to breathe, let alone tell exactly how much time had passed. Seconds? Hours? Years? In all honesty she didn't care. She just wanted it to end. Almost as soon as the thought flitted through her head, it did just that.
Gone was the merciless white light, replaced by the dungeon chamber's dull and impassive red stone floor. Though the magical oppression in the air still weighed down upon her, making her feel as though she was going to retch because of it. Looking up from the floor towards the magic's source she was met with a sight that would forever haunt her darkest of nightmares. She saw herself.
The Twilight before her hovered about two feet off of the ground, eyes ablaze with barely constrained raw magic. Her mane and necklaces flipped wildly about by an unfelt wind, and her horn blazed with a dark raspberry glow of a charged spell. However this spell was far greater in power than any she had cast in her entire life. The energy from merely charging it sent currents of raw magical power darting through the air in random bursts, cracking the very stone it touched. However the most terrifying part of her appearance was her eyes.
Gone was the mare she had once known, replaced by something whose face was contorted in unbridled fury... and showed no mercy. No empathy. Only fury. The thing before her was a monster. With barely a thought she brought her dark ebony wing to cover her face in a feeble attempt to survive the imminent coup de grâce, and to avoid having to look at the horrible thing looming over her.
Wait.... wings?
Blinking in confusion she found her vision changed once more. Now she looked down upon the battered form of Nightmare Moon, cowering pitifully in a corner of the room with a wing raised over her face. The goddess' whole form shook with tremors from fear, pain, or a mixture of the two. For a long time Twilight stared in horror at the scene before her. The rage and immense magical power that ran wildly through her very veins confirmed her fear: She was the monster she had seen only moments before. Even now part of her brain screamed at her to kill the pitiful, helpless, creature before her and be rid of it forever. But... she coultn't.
All at once everything ceased, and she fell to the ground with an audible thump. Gone was the oppressive magical pressure. Gone was the hatred, and malice that filled every fiber of her being. Gone was the monster that had been about to kill somepony without a second thought, and relish in it. All that remained was a broken pony, whose mane and coat was in disarray. Silent tears flowed freely from her tightly shut eyes, leaving wet trails down her muzzle in their wake.
Nightmare Moon, for her part, could only look on with a mixture of fear, bewilderment, and something else. On one hoof she knew that she should be dead right now. The spell that had been about to be used against her was much more powerful that anything a normal unicorn should have been able to cast, let alone know. It was an ancient alicorn spell, that was used in the time before time to kill others of her kind. Back in the days where her race fought with amongst themselves for power and dominance.
\ Nightmare had seen the currents of power being drawn from Twilight and the elements to charge the spell, and was both terrified and in awe. This lone unicorn was bending the elements power to her will, a feat that not even she or Celestia could achieve. But now as looked at the mare across from her, her own body still shaking and demanding her to flee to safety, she saw something. She saw something that reminded her of an innocent foal princess who spent nights locked away in her room crying herself to sleep. She saw the same anger, and fury, that had once reigned in her mind so many moons ago.
Despite her minds insistent protests she reached out a trembling wing slowly, in an effort to... well she didn't know what exactly. However, before her outstretched obsidian primaries closed even half the distance between them there was a great flash of light, and Twilight was gone. The only thing of her remaining was the small wet droplets upon the stone floor where she once was.
Princess of the sun's private chambers, several hours later
"Twilight... what's wrong? I can not help you if you don't tell me what happened..." Said Shining Armor in a soft, but pleading, voice. He had been asking this very question for what seemed like the past hour now to no avail. Twilight sat across from him in a red velvet chair behind her ornate oak desk, staring out the window at the pale moon. She had not moved once since Shining began trying to figure out what had taken place in the Nightmare's cell. All he knew was that the magical suppressing unicorn mages had been ordered, by Twilight herself, to stand down. Nightmare was still very much alive, and somehow had not yet broken out of her cell to kill every last one of them. With a resigned sigh he put his head in his hooves upon the desk, for the first time admitting defeat. He wasn't even sure if she heard his questions at all.
"Am I a bad pony..... Am I a monster?" Came the all to soft reply, filled with such pain. Shining's ear twitched at the sound, not sure if he had heard correctly. However, as he picked up his head to look at his sister he realized he had heard correctly. She was now looking directly at him, her lavender muzzle matted with dried tears. The realization of which left him with his mouth hanging open utterly baffled, unable to answer for a few moments.
"What...? What are you talking about?" He asked, concern clearly in his tone. He had never heard Twilight talk like this before.
"I asked you if you thought I was a monster. The mandate, the executions, this war.... Do you think I have become the very darkness that we have fought to prevent from taking hold of Equestria? Please... be honest." She replied, her head falling to look at her hooves as she waited for his answer.
Without hesitation Shining gently reached out his hoof and placed his hoof over her own reassuringly, and spoke in a soft but confident tone. "You are not evil Twily... You know that. If ever there was a time where I had thought otherwise, if I ever doubted your heart, I would have told you. Consequences be damned, I would have told you. You are my sister Twilight, and quite honestly the only thing that has kept Canterlot and all of Equestria collapsing into utter chaos in Celestia's absence. You've done everything you possibly could have to ensure everypony's safety."
"But I haven't.... I've killed them as well. How many has it been? Tens? Hundreds? More? How many ponies have had to die because of me Shining? How many have I killed?" She asked
"You have not killed anyone!" Shining said, his voice rising. "They brought their fates upon themselves by the choices they chose to make. You are not responsible for that!"
"But I am... Celestia entrusted me with protecting everypony. I may have not done the deed by my own hoof, but it was I who signed that mandate. I was the one who signed off on the executions, and the re-instatement of the castle dungeons. Their blood is on my hoofs just the same, and for what? The moon is still out there. The night is still reigning, and the crops can not grow without a sun. You know as well as I that the magical substitution for food will not work forever." She said, once more turning her gaze to the ever-present moon.
"But we have Nightmare. Can't you force her to release her hold on the night?" He asked, confused.
"Nightmare is not behind this. She never was." Twilight replied after a pause, in a soft and defeated voice. "We were foalish to presume that she ever wanted an everlasting night in the first place."
"What do you mean? Ever lasting night has always been one of Nightmare's ultimate goals, everypony knows that. That is what caused the civil war over a thousand years ago." Shining replied, confused once more. This was a basic fact that foals were taught in pre-school and even in bedtime stories.
However Twilight only shook her head, sighing. "No, it is much more complicated than that. Nightmare loves her ponies just as much as her sister. Perhaps more so. She only wished for them to recognize her and her work, not ignore them. She never intended for the night to last indefinitely."
"Wait... 'her ponies'? That thing in the dungeon is not a princess Twily. What are you saying?" He asked, hardly believing that she was talking so highly about the very being he was certain she was about to destroy only hours prior.
"That thing is just as much of a princess as Luna is." She said in reply, her words more harsh than she had intended. Clenching her eyes tightly she inhaled deeply, taking her time as she let the air out to calm herself before replying. "What I mean to say is that, like it or not, Nightmare is Luna essentially. She deserves just as much respect as Luna or Celestia."
For a long time Shining only sat there, his mouth open to say something without words actually coming out. Twilight said nothing further, waiting for him to regain his senses. Which eventually he did.
"What do you mean, the same? Twilight... That isn't possible." He said incredulously, sounding more as though he was trying to convince himself rather than her. "Luna would never have done those things in the past.She wouldn't have done what she has now."
Twilight only shook her head She knew just how insane it sounded. But Shining hadn't been there. He had not seen Nightmare's memories, nor had he felt her pain, her sorrow, and her anger. "Nightmare and Luna were the same being at one time, but now I am not so sure. I have a theory, after what happened in the dungeons, but I need to talk to her. I want you to ask her to please come speak with me. If she agrees then you are to escort her alone, and if not then leave it at that. There have been enough hostilities between us all."
Shining stared at his sister, for the first time wondering if she had truly gone insane. But if there was one thing Shining was in this world it was a soldier, and soldiers did not question their superiors. He loved Twilight as much as any brother ever could, and would follow her above to the very gates Tarterus and back. Even if it meant his death. Standing up he gave her a stiff bow of acceptance, before turning to complete his assigned task without further comment.
Twilight watched him go, not missing the stiffness with which he departed. She knew he loved her to a fault, and that was what made it impossible for her to take his earlier assessment to heart. Perhaps she was corrupted. By power, by anger, or by just not being qualified to lead. The more she looked at herself the more she began to realize how far from Celestia she truly was. As a solitary tear slid down her violet cheek, she picked up a quill and a scroll in her telekenitic grasp and began to write...
"Dear Princess Celestia..."
Author's Note
Thank you all who have stuck with this story after such a long time for an update, and for your patience. It means the world to me, and I do apologize for the wait. The story itself is indeed not dead, and will be releasing chapters much more frequently (promise).
Also, I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!
Old enemies, New friends.
Old enemies, New friends.
A deep sigh escaped Twilight's mouth as she placed the quill gently down next to the letter she had just finished. For a few painful moments she stared at the simple piece of tear-stained parchment before her as it summoned memories from what seemed like a lifetime ago. Back when she would write the princess regularly of her newest discovery in the magic of friendship, and of all the adventures she and her friends shared in discovering it. However, this was not a letter on lessons learned or adventures had. It was far different from any letter she had previously written to Celestia, and perhaps it was the last one she would ever write. Whether Celestia would ever get the chance read it was, for now, unseen.
Just as she finished sealing the letter there was a firm knock at the golden twin doors to the chambers. Without waiting for a response the doors opened inward, and in walked Shining Armor followed closely by Nightmare Moon. As the doors closed behind them Shining motioned for Nightmare to take a seat, never taking his eyes off of her as she moved. Despite the fact that Nightmare still had the magic inhibitor ring over her horn he was still suspicious, which Twilight couldn't blame him for. She suspected Nightmare could remove the inhibitor if she really wished. Once Nightmare was seated he followed suit, and Twilight spoke in a clear but weary voice.
"Thank you for coming Nightmare Moon... If it is all right with you I would like to ask you a couple of questions to clear up some things." she said, noting Shining's brow furrow at how polite she was being, but she ignored it. Nightmare, for her part, blinked a few times in either surprise or shock before simply nodding.
"First and foremost: What do you know about this?" Twilight continued, indicating the night outside the glass windows with a wave of her hoof.
"I am not the one behind this, if that is what you are asking" Nightmare stated. "All that I know is when the sun disappeared from the sky the same time Luna fell into a deep slumber. That was when... well when I woke up." she said.
"Do you and Luna still share the same body then? If so, how?" Twilight asked.
Nightmare paused for a moment, her eyes briefly showing traces of anger and pain, as she thought. "Before our banishment to the moon, Luna and I were one in the same. We were a single, whole, pony. The elements that imprisoned us there also did something far worse..." Pausing, she looked out the window to the ever present moon. "Do you know how many living things are on the moon?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before continuing. "None. Not a single one. For a thousand years we wasted away alone, in both body and mind."
"I know not when we went insane. A hundred years? Two? It matters little now. All I know is that one day there were two of us where there used to be only one. We kept each other company all through those dark years, just as much as we kept each other from delving any further into our madness. Luna was able to let go of her anger over what had happened, but I was not... despite her urgings. That is why I reacted the way I did upon my return."
"You said earlier that on the moon you and Luna were able to talk to one another, but now you aren't? Is it because she is now asleep like you were? If so, why can't she wake up?" Twilight replied, curious.
"Yes, she slumbers the same as I did, though I know not why. I can feel her presence in my mind, but it does not respond to me. This happened to me when you and the other element bearers used the elements against me upon my return. Back then I slept because of how weak they had made me. I suspect that is the reason why Luna is unable to wake up now. However... I do not see how that is possible if the elements were not used on us again." Nightmare replied, tentatively meeting Twilight's gaze for the first time.
Twilight inwardly winced at the fear she still saw there, and was about to continue when Shining spoke up.
"Do you have any information as to where Celestia might be?" He asked, barely able to hide the hope behind his words.
Nightmare blinked a few times, a look close to shock coming across her features. "You mean she is not here, in the castle still?"
Twilight and Shining both looked at each other in confusion before turning their attention back to Nightmare, the same thought upon their lips. "She has been gone for months. Why would she still be here?"
"I... I felt her magic near here. Only briefly, but it was here. That is why I attacked so hastily, with such a small force. I believed she was asleep like Luna, and feared if I waited she would awake."
"Why did you attack in the first place? What did you hope to accomplish?" Shining asked.
"I attacked..." She trailed off, pausing for a moment. "I can say I attacked because I wanted my ponies to have a better life than the one you were offering. I can say I saw their suffering under your rule, and it caused my anger. But... I would be lying. That is merely the reason I used to pacify my mind that what I was doing was just. The real reason I attacked was because I let my anger from everything that has happened these past two centuries, and desire for power, take control of me."
"In essence I am nothing more than the embodiment of Luna's anger, greed, and hatred. That was what I was born as, and perhaps that is all I will ever be in the end. I suspect the only reason I am able to talk to you now in a civil manner without ripping your throats out is because of the elements. When Twilight used them they calmed me, and allowed me to feel more than what I could before."
"Twilight... May I make a request of you?" Nightmare asked, hesitantly.
"Yes, what is it Nightmare?" She replied
"Lock me up in the dungeons forever or do whatever it is you wish to me, but please... let your friends go. I used their sufferings to turn them against you, they would have never done so on their own. They are not villains who deserve the same fate as one such as I, they are your friends. Perhaps it is just the elements that cause me to ask this, but I know nither Luna nor my sister would ever want this for them."
Twilight sighed at Nightmare's words, her ears flattening against her skull. "I have done a lot of things that nither Luna nor Celestia would ever have wanted for their ponies since I became Chencellor. Things that will haunt me for the rest of my life. There will always be blood on my hooves that I will never be able to wash off. But you are right Nightmare, they don't deserve such a dark fate as the one now before them. The very fate I created by signing my name onto a document and making it law."
"However... you do not deserve it either." Twilight stated, receiving a shocked glance from Nightmare. Before she could interrupt her Twilight continued. "Enough ponies have died Nightmare. You may have done some terrible things in the past, but it is who you are now that matters. You are not as inherently evil as some histories, and you yourself, might believe. What we need to do now is put aside our past and hatreds, and focus on trying to find Princess Celestia. For Equestria, and all of her ponies."
Turning her attention to Shining she spoke. "Shining I want you to-" However, she was cut off by the twin golden doors to the chambers suddenly bursting open. In ran Trixie, followed closely by the two royal guards who were stationed outside in the hall. She had only made it half way across the room to the trio before the guards jumped on her, pinning her to the ground beneath their combined weight.
"We're sorry for the interruption Chancellor, she just ran right by us without warning" The one on the right quickly said, as they hauled the unicorn mare to her feet. 'We will make sure she does not disturb you again." With that they prepared to return once more to the hall, but Twilight stopped them.
"Wait. Trixie, what is the meaning of this? What is so important that you have to run through the doors like a madmare?" She asked
Trixie panted, taking a moment to catch her breath. Then she locked eyes with Twilight, her eyes still that strange deep shade of gold that held a vastness to them that was incomprehensible. She spoke only six words. Six words which no one in the room was expecting, but had always hoped they would one day hear.
"Trixie knows where the Princess is."
For a time no one said anything. Everyone's mouths hung agape in shock as they stared at her, not daring to believe their ears. The Princess was found? After all this time? So many questions ran through the minds of the six ponies in that room, but none dared to break the silence that had fallen on the room. No one except Twilight.
"Guards leave us and close the doors behind you." They duo dumbly nodded, and proceeded to do as ordered. Once they were gone Twilight continued.
"Trixie... What do you mean you know where the princess is?" She asked
At this Trixie's excited face turned to one of confusement. "Trixie is unsure how she knows. She just knows. It's like there is a very strong feeling deep inside her that tells her she knows." The blue mare replied, for the first time looking unsure of herself. "You believe Trixie, yes...?" She asked no one in particular. Although it was a question it sounded more like a plea.
Nightmare, who had been staring intently at the Unicorn ever since she had first entered, now rose to her hooves. A grin slowly forming on her face as she walked toward the mare. Seeing her approach, Trixie took a few steps back in fear, perhaps just now noticing her.
"Ahh... My my sister, you have learned a few new Tricks since last I saw you." Nightmare mused, closing the distance between them with a quick flap of her onyx wings. Upon reaching the frightened mare she paused, as if remembering where she was. Looking back at Twilight she spoke. "May I?" she asked, the real question obvious. Twilight just stared at her, her eyes narrowing in warning. After a few moments she nodded, turning to Shining.
"Captain you are to stand down unless I say otherwise. She has my permission."
"What are you tal-" Shining replied, but was cut off as a wave of icy magic nearly knocked him out of his chair and stole his breath.
Nightmare now stood over Trixie, her magical inhibitor in pieces at her hooves. Her horn glowed with a subtle black aura, as she gazed into Trixie's eyes intently. Trixie seemed transfixed with her gaze, staring back without blinking. All the fear from before was gone from her features, and only a blank stare remained. Shining was about to jump up from his seat, his horn beginning to glow, when Twilight pushed him rather forcefully back down with her telekenitic grasp.
"I gave you an order captain ." She stated in a voice of steel, reminding him who was the superior here. "Do not make me give it twice." The last bit that came out she wasn't expecting, and it sounded almost full of malice. Shining stared at her with wide eyes, and averted his gaze to hide the fear that had barley crept into them. However, she saw it. She saw it, and her heart broke just a little more because of it.
After a long time of uncomfortable silence Nightmare ended the spell, a small laugh escaping her lips. Upon breaking the spell Trixie blinked a few times in confusion, not sure what had just happened. Coming back to the table she once more took a seat.
"The unicorn speaks the truth, she knows where Celestia is. My sister somehow managed to gather enough energy to cast a spell while asleep that allowed her to imprint images and emotions into the mare's head. I walked through her mind and found those that were not her own, much like dream walking, and there was but one. A single image with a deep emotional imprint attached to it." Nightmare stated.
Twilight let out a breath she did not know she had been holding. Sitting up straighter she looked at Nightmare with a determined stare. "Where is she?"
"Where it all began..." Nightmare replied. "The castle in the Everfree Forrest."
"Captain Armor, gather General Dawn, yourself, Nightmare,Trixie, and the element bearers and assemble in the throne room. We have a Princess to save."
Author's Note
And thus the journey begins...
___________________________________
As always, please feel free to leave comments, critiques, and anything your hearts desire.
That night, beneath the soft and silvery glow of the moon, eight ponies departed unnoticed from Canterlot Castle. At the head of the procession were the element bearers who had previously been imprisoned in the castle dungeons. They grimly walked with their heads held low, barely speaking to one another. In the middle was Nightmare Moon. She walked with her head held high, her poise every bit that of a princess or queen. If Twilight has been able to see the regal alicorn she might have been reminded of how Princess Celestia had carried herself. However, she was not able to see Nightmare or the element bearers. She and General Dawn brought up the rear of the column, with Twilight riding in a plain red wagon with a single door. Twilight could not make the journey on hoof due to her recent injury with Nightmare, and Dawn had all but threatened her with treason if she was not allowed to pull the chancellor while she rested. Despite this, each jolt in the road sent bolts of pain lancing through Twilight's legs as though a knife were being constantly twisted in them. For hours in silence she cursed the dark alicorn through gritted teeth.
After many hours of travel the ponies had finally made it down the mountain and into the Everfree Forrest. Once they had found a sufficient place to camp the procession stopped, and everyone began setting up camp for the night. Everyone except for Twilight. The unicorn hissed in pain as she lowered herself over the edge of the wagon, the pain flaring up with a vengeance as her hoof touched the cold earth. At one point General Dawn had tried to help her down but the glare that Twilight shot her forced her to stop in her tracks and watch helplessly. Once Twilight was fully on the ground she used her magic to levitate a dark gray traveling cloak, from within the wagon, around her shoulders and limped her way to the far edge of the camp. Away from everyone else.
About another hour had passed before Twilight heard the soft crunch of hooves on dried earth approaching from behind her. This was the second time she had heard this, but the one from before stopped and turned around before getting this close. Sighing she spoke without turning around:
“Leave me alone.” She said, her voice curt. She didn't feel like talking to any of them. Not after everything that had taken place these past few nights.
“You can't seriously expect to get rid of me that easily.” Came the unfazed response from behind.
Amethyst eyes narrowing in irritation Twilight turned her cloaked head to see who would so blatantly ignore her, only to see Nightmare Moon smiling cockily back at her. She should have known. With a growl she turned back to gaze at the wild trees once more.
“Leave me alone.” She said again, the irritation in her voice clear. “I do not like having to repeat myself.”
“Yes, well neither do I.” Nightmare said dryly. Sitting down next to her she continued, levitating a wooden bowl of steaming soup in front of the unicorn. “The pink haired pegasus wanted to give this to you, but she couldn't work up the nerve.”
“Her name is Fluttershy.” Twilight said, still not looking at her. She made no move to touch her food either.
“Ah, so you remember the names of your friends, but you can not sit and have food with them?” The alicorn asked, her head cocked as she looked down at her.
“I am not their friend... not anymore.” Twilight said, her voice lower than it had been before. “I am nothing more than a monster to them now.”
Nightmare paused, taken aback for a moment by her response. Monster? That couldn't be how she saw herself... but then it hit her: The Sparkle Mandate. She must blame herself for every pony she sentenced to death with that single piece of parchment. The alicorn stared at her for a few long moments, truly seeing her for the first time. She was different than when she had faced her in the castle upon the alicorns first return. Back then she was full of righteousness and determination. She was so sure of herself, a mere child standing up to the might of an alicorn as though it were nothing. Nightmare remembered thinking Celestia must have been proud. But now... Now the unicorn before her was older. Her shoulders slumped with the weight of the things she had done. Her voice that was once so full of determination was now full of sadness. This was her pressure point. If Nightmare pushed her failure now then her resolve would crumble to nothing.
The malicious idea flashed across Nightmares mind and made her jade eyes widen in surprise. Was this who she really was? The desire to crush the unicorn while she was weak was tempting, but there was something else. She thought harder, searching out the other feeling until she finally understood. It was empathy. Luna had spent centuries on the moon racked with guilt over the ponies she had killed, and over the ones who had died fighting for her. Nightmare had done her best to console her when she could, but the pain was deep. Nightshade... The memory of the bloodied guard Captain laying lifeless in her hooves as she cried over him made her wince in pain. Pushing it aside she focused on the unicorn and spoke again.
“Why did you sign that document in the first place? Did you think it would lead to the death of so many?”
“Of course not!” Twilight snapped, her voice pained. “I just... I wanted the rebellions to stop. Ponies were scared and fighting all over Equestria. The nation would not have survived if I had continued to do nothing.” For a time the unicorn paused, her head hanging as she thought. “But... that does not excuse me for what I did. I signed my name knowing what might happen, and now their blood is on my hooves. I am a monster.”
Nightmare sighed, looking up at the night sky and her moon. It had once been her prison, but she could never bring herself to despise it. Its pale white surface softly illuminated the green leaves of the trees and bushes, making them seem to almost look like part of a painting when they were still. She could never hate something that could make the world seem so beautiful.
“Twilight... you are neither evil nor a monster.” Twilight looked at Nightmare, her mouth opening to protest but the alicorn cut her off. “You know why I rebelled against Tia all those years ago? It was because nopony would appreciate this...” Her onyx hoof gestured to the starless heavens and moon. “... but they worshiped my sisters day. They danced and played in her sun, and slept through my moon. For centuries I spent every day putting all of my soul into making the night sky more beautiful for them, so I could show them the majesty of the night. For centuries they ignored the stars, and me. They feared the dark because they didn't understand it. They feared me, their own princess, because they didn't understand me.”
“And so, one night I made a decision. In desperation I tried to force them to see what they had refused to for so long, proclaiming that the night would last forever. It was a lie. I knew very well that if I did not eventually yield to the sun then ponies would die from the cold and starvation. I never wanted that, but I could not say otherwise. If I had then they would have just stayed in their homes in fear until I was forced to return control to Tia.” Nightmare paused, her head hanging in shame as she continued. “They rioted. They feared my night so much that they attacked my guards in an attempt to get back at me for what they perceived as my madness. My own guard captain died while being ambushed by a group of ponies in the streets of Centerlot one night. If... If I had not tried to make them see the night, if I had simply just left things as they were, then none of that would have happened. No one would have died because of my foolish desire to be loved like my sister.”
Twilight stared at the dark alicorn in stunned silence, unsure what to say. She had never heard Nightmare speak like this before. She had never even heard Luna speak of the things Nightmare was now talking with her about. Again she was seeing a side of Nightmare that was making her realize she was more than just the wicked alicorn that stories made her out to be. There were two sides to every story, and it ashamed the unicorn that she had never considered to stop and think about Nightmare's side before.
“Listen Twilight Sparkle.” Nightmare continued, her voice more firm. “Take it from a pony who has done monstrous things in the pursuit of what she thought was right. If you did not intend for evil to happen as a result of your actions when you made them then you are not a bad person. You are not a monster. You are just another pony who makes mistakes. What truly matters is our intentions and our willingness to do the right thing when we see that we are in the wrong. All you can do is try and be a better pony than you were yesterday.” Nightmare stood and turned to leave, but Twilight could have sworn she saw a tear glisten in the moonlight sliding down her cheek. Before she could say anything Nightmare was gone.
~Later that evening~
Nightmare walked quietly through the dark camp in contemplative silence. The rest of the ponies had gone to sleep not too long ago. The element bearers huddled around the dying embers of the campfire, their flanks pressed against one another for comfort while a large blanket covered them all. General Dawn sat with her head slumped in deep sleep next to the wagon, having passed out not long after arriving at the campsite. The poor unicorn must have been exhausted after pulling the wagon for so long because her food was not even half gone. Walking to the other side of the wagon she spotted Twilight's cloaked figure once more, sitting facing the trees just as she had left her. Curious the alicorn made her way across the distance between them, half expecting to be told to leave once more. However, when no such order came she quietly stepped beside the unicorn and peered under her hood. She was asleep.
Nightmare smiled, looking down at the now empty soup bowl at the mare's hooves. So, her plan had worked after all. Earlier that evening the alicorn had mixed a few herbs into the soup pot when no one was looking to help everyone sleep. She was especially pleased that it had worked on Twilight for the unicorn would have likely been up all night with her thoughts and guilt had she not. Nightmare turned to leave when she heard a pained mummer escape the unicorn's lips. Looking back at Twilight she saw her body twitch and jerk every so often as though she was having a nightmare.
A soft azure glow illuminated the alicorn's horn as she gently pressed it to the tip of the unicorn's own. Within moments Twilight stopped twitching and her face became more relaxed. Then Nightmare used her magic to levitate Twilight into a more comfortable laying position beside her. She wasn't afraid of waking her for she would be asleep for many hours due to the herbs she had slipped into the soup. Laying her head on the cold earth she closed her eyes and extended her onyx wing over the smaller unicorn, sheltering her from the wind.
Author's Note
So, not quite dead after all my little ponies. Again I apologize for the delay here. Life is a pain sometimes.
More Chapters to come. A sincere thank you for all of you who have stuck around to see if this thing will end despite the horrible writing behind it X3
Much love you all,
Nightmare stirred from the depths of sleep, slowly becoming aware of a sweet scent that tickled her nostrils. It reminded her of a mixture of berries and nuts, but it was slightly different as well. Smiling, she opened her eyes to find the source of the pleasant smell, and was briefly confused when her vision was filled with purple fur. After a few long moments her brain finally registered she was looking at Twilight. More specifically, she was looking at a very small section of Twilight's neck with her nose just touching it. Thankfully the unicorn was still asleep and hadn't noticed the alicorn curled up next to her with a protective wing laying across her back like a makeshift blanket. Nightmare slowly stood, so as not to disturb her, and turned to make her way back to the camp. Standing not ten feet behind her was General Dawn.
The unicorn General stared at Nightmare with a look that was a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. Nightmare stared blankly back at her, momentairly at a loss for words. She should be asleep like the others, but she had only eaten half of her bowl of food the night prior. Nightmare groaned inwardly, putting on a neutral face to convince her she didn't care that she was just caught doing something that she herself was unsure why she did.
“What do you think you're doing?” Dawn asked, stepping in front of the alicorn as she tried to continue toward the camp.
“I think I am going back to camp to help with packing things. Do you have a problem with that, General?” Nightmare asked, dodging the real question.
“No, I have a problem with the fact that I can not wake any of the others up for more than a few seconds at a time. They act as if they have not slept in weeks. I have a problem with the fact that you drugged us. At first I had thought that you were going to try and kill us all in our sleep, which you could have easily done. But no, instead I wake up, very much still alive, to find you cuddled up next to the Chancellor like some schoolfilly after prom. Again, what are you trying to do?” She asked, making it clear she wasn't about to be ignored.
Nightmare sighed, meeting the General's harsh gaze. “I am not trying to do anything other than help everyone find my sister and stop this madness. As you said yourself you are all very much alive and well so I clearly do not mean any harm. As for that...” She said, glancing back at the sleeping Twilight. “... I was simply shielding her from the elements. Nothing more.” Nightmare growled the last bit in irritation, pushing past the General and continuing to the camp.
Dawn watched the alicorn silently for a while, the cogs in her mind slowly turning. Nightmare was still an unknown variable to her, and the scene that she just witnessed confused her even further. Less than a month ago they were at each other's throats, and neither one would have hesitated to kill the other. What in the name of Tartarus happened when Twilight went into that cell? The whole damn world didn't make sense anymore she thought, moving to help Nightmare pack things into the wagon. Next thing you know there will be talking animals or some other such nonsense.
An hour later the rest of the ponies had woken up and they were once more on the move. However, the mood was significantly different from the other night. The element bearers were chatting with one another as they walked, and Applejack even laughed at a joke that Rainbow had made. Nightmare was pleased with how much difference a good nights rest seemed to do them, but she could not seem to be as at ease as the rest of them. She was troubled with what had happened earlier, and still couldn't figure out why she had gotten that close to Twilight in her sleep. It wasn't like she had feelings for the unicorn or anything, that was ridiculous. She was over a thousand years old. Twilight was a newborn foal compared to her. And yet... she saw herself in the unicorn. She saw the anger and confusion that had dominated the majority of her emotions for as long as she could remember. She saw Luna's guilt, and perhaps even her own, weighing down her heart. And she saw the loneliness that she tried so hard to hide from everyone else. Perhaps that was why she cared enough to put her wing over her like she did. Surely Celestia had done the same to comfort her student in the past? That's all that it was, a simple caring gesture and nothing more. Nothing more she repeated to herself, relaxing a little as her mind wander to other things.
Twilight still sat in the wagon, wincing at each bump in road like the day before. However, her mind was focused on the curious object that she held in front of her in her magic's grasp. It was a dark onyx feather. A feather that she had found lodged in her mane a few moments ago. It didn't take her long for her to suspect how it had gotten there in the first place, but it did raise a few questions. Before she could even begin to try and figure out the answers the wagon stopped, snapping her mind back to the present. After another few moments of stillness she climbed out of the wagon, making her way to General Dawn.
“Why have we st...” She trailed off, her mouth hanging open as she stared in stunned silence at the scene before her. There at the head of the procession stood the old castle, its ruined walls now pristine. The once shattered wood doors to the main hallway were now restored to their former glory and open. A red velvet carpet lead from the entry way to deeper within the castle, softly illuminated by torches on the walls. Twilight blinked, looking from the doors back to the treeline. The journey alone should have taken another day, but it seemed they were here.
“It seems we are expected...” Nightmare spoke, a similar dumbfounded expression on her face as she gazed upon a castle she thought she would only see in her memories and dreams. Reaching out she touched one of the stone walls with her hoof, thinkink it might have been some kind of illusion. It was real.
Twilight stood up straight, her eyes locking on the path before her with determination. It was time to end this nightmare. Whoever was causing all this chaos was in there, and they had the princess. Expected or not she was going to make them pay for all the pain they caused. “General, on me.” Twilight said as Dawn came up beside her. Both unicorns lit up their horns to better illuminate the pathway before them, taking the lead. Nightmare and the others followed behind them.
The carpeted path led through the main entryway and up the flight of stairs in the middle of the room. Despite her injury Twilight limped her way up them without complaint, her determination pushing her through the pain it caused her. At the top was a door that lead to the throne room. With each step Twilight muttered curses under her breath. Lighting up her horn she blasted the doors open with a thunderous bang.
Making their way into the throne room they saw a sickening sight. There upon the dias, where the thrones of Luna and Celestia should be, lay a battered Celestia. Her face was heavily bruised, and her body had long cuts that were stained with dried blood. For a moment Twilight's heart stopped, thinking she might be dead. She broke away from the rest of the group, half running half limping to her beloved mentor. She had only gotten half way across the room before a gut renching laugh assaulted her ears.
“Oh my, what have we here? Little ponies running to the rescue of their princess?” A deep and grating voice asked. Slowly a form began to appear sitting on top of Celestia's broken body. A dragons tail, a horses leg... the invisibility spell slowly peeled back to reveal the sickening mismatched body of Discord. He grinned down at the group, standing to his full height before them.
“I'm afraid that if you were hoping for a more heart felt reunion with the princess then you are going to be disappointed You see, she can't really take visitors right now. “He said, turning and viciously kicking the battered alicorn in the ribs causing an audible crack to be heard throughout the chamber.
“You bastard!” Twilight yelled, shooting a blinding lance of purple energy at Discord's head. With a sigh he lazily put his hand up, stopping the bolt in mid air before him. “Really Twilight, this is how you say hello to someone?” He asked. However, while he was talking the others were all ready on the move. Rainbow and Fluttershy had flew to either side to try and tackle him. Pinkie Pie was somehow dropping from above him with a knife aimed at his skull. General Dawn and Rarity were at Twilight's sides, preparing spells of their own to hurl at him.
Discord sighed, his eye twitching in irritation. “ENOUGH!” He roared, shattering the stain glass windows in the room. Bringing his clawed hand down in a fist some unseen force slammed Pinkie Pie, Raibow, and Fluttershy to the ground before him. With a simple wave at the unicorns the horns of Twilight, Rarity, and General Dawn vanished from their heads as if they were never there in the first place. With a sneer the draquis hurled the bolt of energy back at Twilight. With no horn she was utterly defenseless against the attack. Knowing that Dawn would try and save her Twilight shoved her and Rarity out of the way, accepting her fate. She deserved this, she thought as the bolt screeched through the air towards her. She wasn't going to let somepony try and shield her now.
Before the bolt could hit her a glittering wall of azure energy sprung up before her. The lance hit the wall with a bang pushing it back several feet. The wall dissipated and Nightmare stood before Twilight, facing Discord. However this didn't seem to upset him in the slightest. If anything he seemed curious.
“Well hello Luna! Hmm, this is a surprise...” He said whimsically, stroking his beard in thought. “You see, I kinda cast this spell that took a very long time to make. A lot of effort and planning was put into it actually. Not like you would care or anything. It should have put you and your dear sister here to sleep for a very long time. Celestia is obviously out, but you are obviously not. So tell me my dear...” His eyes narrowed and his voice hardened. “... Why. Are. You. Awake?”
“I am not Luna you retched fiend. My name is Nightmare, and you are going to pay for what you did here!” Nightmare yelled, the shadows in the chamber seeming to be drawn to her horn. With a cry of fury she released a bolt of black lightening, striking Discord in the chest and sending him flying backwards into the wall behind him.
The blast sent up a cloud of dust blocking Nightmare's view, but she did not relax. From within the dust came more terrible laughing, making everyone wince at hearing it. The sound was like someone running their claws through the top of your brain. Slowly Discord emerged from the rubble, his chest scarred and burnt from the lightning blast.
“My, my, my, what strong lightning you have there Nightmare. It almost tore a hole right through my chest!” He exclaimed happily, slapping his talon over the burn as if it didn't hurt him in the slightest. “Well... almost anyway.” He said with a malicious grin. Slowly he began to move towards the group.
“Stay away form them you monster, I wont let you hurt them.” Nightmare stated, grabbing the three closest to him in her magic and yanking them back behind Twilight.
“I know I am, but what are you?” He mocked, sticking his tongue out at her as he advanced. Cocking his head he thought for a moment. “Or was it the other way around...? No matter, sticks and stones will break your bones, but names will break your mind. Oh! Speaking of sticks and minds!” He said excitedly, disappearing. He reappeared in the air behind Nightmare. Before Twilight could even call out to warn Nightmare he viciously brought down a gnarled staff that appeared in his hands on the back of her head. With a thud Nightmare hit the ground unconscious, blood trickling down her head and onto the stone floor. Laughing even louder he turned to the other ponies behind him.
Twilight struggled to stand, trying to put herself between him and her friends. Discord brought his hand down in the air before him, his magic slamming them all down to the ground once more. It held them there as if they each had a boulder on their backs, making them gasp for air.
“Now now my little ponies, I said enough, didn't I? I mean I'm pretty sure I did. Perhaps I didn't. Either way!” With a wave of his talon they all fell unconscious. All except for Twilight. With a flick of his claw he drew Twilight up into the air so she was eye level at his full height.
“What... Do you... Want?” Twilight choked out, still gasping for air. Despite no longer being pushed into the ground she could still feel a weight pressing heavily against her chest.
“Me?” Discord asked innocently, looking around him as if to make sure he was the one she was speaking to. “Well I am so glad you asked! I want to have some fun. You see, you're weak. Much weaker than I am, so a battle of magic wouldn't be any fun at all. Battles of wits are boring, and you really wouldn't like me when I'm bored. Trust me.” He said with a smirk, pressing his face against hers while looking into her lavender eyes. His breath smelled of rotten cheese making Twilight want to recoil, but she could not. “No, instead I want to make a bet. I am a betting man after all, and leaving things to chance is so fun, don't you think?” He said excitedly.
Twilight tried to respond, but couldn't. Discord continued anyway. “Ah too excited to even speak, I knew you would love it! So, here's the deal. I'm going to throw you into your little friends minds. Minds are such lovely things, so complex and riddled with fears and desires. What you need to do to win is to help free them from their minds, as I have trapped them inside. I am not going to tell you how, or rather I can't because not even I know how. That's the beauty of it!” He laughed heartily, wiping a tear from his eye. “If you can free them, then I promise to let you and your friends go. On top of that I will restore the natural balance of things. Sun in the heavens, stars in the night, all the lovely things. I will even turn back into that boring statue for a while to take a nap so you don't have to worry about me. I will sleep for your life time, your child's life time, and your children's grandchildren life times. Call it a vacation. If you fail, I get to continue my little game with Equestria and see how things pan out. It has been soo amusing so far.” He said, licking his lips with a forked tongue. “So, what do you say, Chancellor? Are you up to saving the world? Blink once for yes, twice for death. Oh, did I mention I would kill you if you refuse? Like I said, I hate being bored.”
There wasn't much of a choice. Twilight blinked once and stared at him, accepting his challenge.
“Wonderful! Then let the game BEGIN!” He boomed, laughing and throwing her high into the air. As she fell down to the stone floor she felt her body getting lighter, and her eyes heavier. Instead of feeling the pain of her body hitting the stones she felt as if she was slipping into a dark liquid abyss, sinking deeper and deeper into it's depths.
Author's Note
A little rushed, I know, but I wanted to get to some juicy parts.
Also, 100 points to Griffindor for anyone who can tell me who I imagine Discord sounds like. Here's a hint: He's mad.
As always likes, comments, and watches are much appreciated.
With love,
Forgiveness
Twilight woke slowly, groaning as she lifted herself to stand upright. Her body felt like it had either been trampled by a herd of angry bison, or she had the worst hangover of her life. Looking around, she found herself in a small circular room that was illuminated by a soft light, the source of which she could not identify. The room was empty save for her and the six doors that lined the wall. Each door had a gothic arch and brass handle, the only difference between them being the symbol on each handle. A balloon, a lightning bolt, a butterfly, an apple, a diamond, and one with two crescent moons that faced away from one another.
“Well, at least this part isn't difficult to figure out...” She mused aloud.
Frowning she looked carefully at each door, and then once more to be sure. There was one missing: Dawn's. That was... concerning, to say the least. However, she had no idea how Discord's game worked, and hoped that it was just part of it.
Moving towards the door directly in front of her she was about to reach out her magic to open it when she paused. The symbol on it was a lightning bolt, Rainbow's door. She winced inwardly as she thought of their last encounter, how she had been so enraged at her betrayal that she struck one of her dearest friends. Where had this all gone wrong? Looking at herself Twilight wasn't sure of the mare she had become. She wasn't sure of a lot of things these days, but she was sure of her resolve to save her friends and her princess. Even if it was the last thing she did.
Reaching out with her magic she opened the door and stepped through...
She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light, noticing that she was once more in the throne room of Canterlot. She was walking down the dark blue carpet that she had become so familiar with, and what struck her as odd was how real it felt beneath her hooves. On either side of the carpet stood masses of ponies, all watching her silently as she made her way to the golden throne. Once she stood beside it her brother, Shining Armor, seemed to materialize out of nowhere.
“Chencellor...”, he said with a deep bow, “...they are ready to bring the prisoner in on your command”.
Twilight only nodded, unsure what else to say. She briefly wondered if Rainbow was the prisoner he was speaking of, but she got her answer as the two large golden doors to the throne room opened.
There was the sound of heavy iron chains rustling as three ponies slowly walked down the carpet to her. In front were two royal guard ponies, each carrying a iron chain in one hoof. The ends of these chains were attached to a collar around Rainbow's neck, who trailed behind them. She moved with a limp, the chains on her legs and wings rattling with each step she took. Her face and body were covered in dark bruises and cuts that were in different stages of healing. It was as if she had been beaten multiple times over the course of multiple weeks.
Twilight's eyes widened in horror at the sight, and was about to rush over to her when Shining spoke loudly, drawing her attention away from her injured friend.
“Rainbow Dash, for the act of joining one Nightmare Moon and her rebellion against Equestrian Empire you are hereby found guilty of sedition, treason, and conspiracy to commit regicide. The penalty for which is public execution by order of the Sparkle Mandate. Your body will be publicly displayed with other traitors to serve as warning against anyone else following in your footsteps. Have you any last words before your sentence is carried out?” He asked, his face passive. He spoke as though he was commenting on the weather, and not sentencing someone to death.
Twilight's gaze snapped back to Rainbow, noticing that the two guards now held large spears above her head, waiting for the command. As for Rainbow she merely lifter her head to look at Twilight with her one eye that wasn't swollen shut from a bruise. She was crying, resigned to her fate. The fate of a traitor.
Rage welled up inside of Twilight, rage the likes of which could burn anything that stood in its path. A second after Rainbow had looked at her with those eyes the two spears the guards were carrying were thrown against the ceiling where they shattered into tiny splinters. Twilight's horn blazed as stepped down the dias towards the guards, her gaze making them back up a couple steps.
“What. In the name of Celestia. Do you think you are doing?” She asked, lifting the guards up and tossing them over her head next to her brother. She was careful not to use too much force to hurt them, but just enough to make it clear she wasn't pleased. Not even a little.
“Twilight stop!” said a cracked voice. She had expected it to come from her brother or one of the guards, but instead she found it came from the Rainbow.
“You have to let them do this Twi, it's the only way I can make up for everything I've done. I'm guilty of everything said, and I knew the law. I was a fool, but I knew the punishment. Please Twi, I know I deserve what comes next. It's ok.” Rianbow said through her tears.
Twilight's mouth hung open in complete shock. Was this how she really felt about everything? Her gut clenched as tears began to form in her eyes. Tearing her gaze off her friend she looked back at her brother.
“I pardon her! I pardon everyone who has broken that stupid law. She doesn't need to die for this...”
I can't let you do that Chancellor. The Mandate is clear on the punishment for traitors to the crown.” Shining responded, his face still devoid of any emotion. “She has to die. Step aside.”
“To Tartarus with the Mandate! I am the Chancellor and I demand she be set free now!” Twilight screamed, putting herself between her brother and Rainbow.
“Guards, proceed with the execution!” Shining shouted, his horn flaring with brilliant light.
Twilight only had a fraction of a second to raise a shield around Rainbow and herself before a pink bolt of magical energy struck it's surface. Her brother had attacked her. More and more guards came rushing into the throne room, some attacking her sheild with magic while others used swords and spears. Twilight shouted in frustration, pacing back and forth as she kept the shield up. What were they going to do now? They were surrounded, and things were only getting worse.
“Why... why are you doing this Twi? Why after everything I've done, especially to you?” Rainbow asked in confusion.
Twilight stopped her pacing, looking down at her friend as her eyes began to water. For a moment she was silent thinking of what to say. Nightmare's words came to mind from the other night.
“Why did you and the girls join Nightmare, Dash? Was it to cause mayhem, and fight me out of hate? Did you want to kill ponies? Or did you just want a better life for everyone?” She asked, sitting in front of her.
“You have to believe me Twilight, I never betrayed you out of hate. I just... I wanted to stop ponies from suffering. We were all desperate, and Nightmare seemed like the only one who was trying to actively help. You… you were right here in the castle, but you seemed so far away. None of us could reach you.” Rainbow replied, noticing Twilight wince as if in pain. “Twi... are you ok?”
“I... I was never as good as my brother at shields.” She grunted through gritted teeth. Sure, Twilight could deflect as strong of an attack as her brother could, but she did not nearly have his stamina for maintaining one for a long period of time. As it was, her shield had been growing smaller and smaller as the guards outside continued their assault. “But never mind that. I believe you, Dash. I know you were only trying to protect those you love, just as you always have. I'm sorry... for not being there for you and the girls when you needed me the most. I got so caught up in trying to hold a crumbling country together I didn’t see what I was doing to everyone around me. I'm sorry, for everything...” She said, tears flowing down her cheeks as she hugged the pegasus.
“It's ok Twi... I forgive you. Besides, if anyone should be apologizing it should be me. I never considered how alone you were in that castle with no one to lean on. None of us did. We were all too focused on our own problems. I'm sorry I wasn't there for too.” Rainbow said, hugging Twilight back.
Twilight cried into her shoulder as she struggled to keep the shield up, which was just barley around them. She knew they didn't have much time before it collapsed under the strain entirely. And then... Well, she was sure that Discord had made things real enough that if they died here then they would die in the real world as well. It figured... why would she be able to save her friends now if she wasn't able to all this time? At least she wasn't going to let her die alone.
“I forgive you too Dash... At least I can be here for you now.” Twilight whispered, her head feeling light as her magic finally gave out. Closing her eyes, she waited for what came next.
The sound of clapping could be heard echoing throughout the throne room, instead of the sting of a blade cutting into her flesh that Twilight expected. Looking around she saw that all the other ponies had disappeared, save for herself. Even Rainbow was gone. At the other end of the room Discord sat on the throne with his legs swung over the arm rest.
“Well done, my little pony. You've stormed the castle and got the girl. But don't let it go to your head, there's more to come. You didn't even slay the dragon... Oh well, no matter.” Discord said, his face grinning horribly at her.
“What the buck was that?! Why did everything feel so real, were you trying to kill us?” Twilight snapped at him, not in the mood for his nonsense.
“Kill you? Who, me? Why I would never... Well I would, but that's beside the point now isn't it? I'm not trying to kill you per-say, but your friends might. Their minds that is. You see... I did say you would die if you failed.” He stated matter of factly, nodding his head. “Yes, and you dying could happen any number of ways in their dreams. So don't do that. Or do, either way it's still amusing to me. Have fun dearie!” He with a laugh and a snap of his fingers everything was gone. Once more she was back in the circular room.
Out loud Twilight cursed herself for not asking about Dawns door. That slippery abomination had gotten away before she could even remember. Shaking her head, she proceeded to the next door. The one with balloons on the handle.
The aching of Twilight's limbs was unbearable. She wanted relief, oh how she wanted it badly. But there would be none for her. The tall, ornate chair upon which she slumped had but one cushion on the seat, a thin crimson velvet thing that couldn't comfort her stinging plot any more then the marble floors. Her head was free to list whichever way her weight took it, swaying left and right, and sometimes even landing on one of the golden armrests and their thin, stone-like cushions.
Past the pattering of heavy nighttime rain on the multi-hued windows, and through the flickering torches that kept the elongated room alight with a soft orange glow, Twilight was in noticeable disarray. Her mane was frazzled, ruined. Her eyes were sunken, darkened. Her coat was matted and oily, reeking of two days filth. Exhaustion was slamming at her like a thousand stones. Soon, she could hardly keep her mouth closed, little strands of saliva glimmering as the slipped down her chin. The sound of dual waterfalls on either side of her was lulling her away with their gentle roar.
Suddenly a knocking reverberated the archaic room. It had come from the opposite side of where Twilight sat, behind two large golden doors. The unicorn shot up, her eyes wide as ever. Wiping the spit from her chin, she searched around frantically, until she finally found her objective.
A guard, white coat adorned with dull gold armor sat beside one of the many marble pillars that ran on either side of the room. "You," she said to him, "Go get the door."
He snapped aware, nodding to Twilight and then trotting off to the doors. He took hold of the large bronze hoop with his mouth and tugged it inward, opening the throne room for a shaded figure. Twilight knew who this was; no one got in to see her without an appointment. As the guard scattered back to his post, the figure stepped into the waving lights, setting her orange coat aglow. Her mane, blonde and well tied, followed swiftly behind her as she trod down the scarlet central carpet. Atop her head was that signature brown Stetson hat that never fell from her head.
Twilight watched her approach with light eyes; she'd been looking forward to this all day. "Applejack!" she said with a genuine smile, "It's so good to see you! How have things on the farm been?"
"Well, eh, not so good, ya see. But shoot, it's good to see you too Twi," the mare said as she approached. Not once did she attempt eye contact with Twilight. In fact, she seemed to be avoiding the unicorn altogether, her head turned away with her hat tipped down. She stopped in front of the throne to bow politely, before falling to her haunches.
"Why not? Is something wrong?"
"Oh, yeah, um, ya see, that new magic growth stuff of yers just...well it's doin' the job and all..." Applejack kicked the thin carpet beneath her, bowing her head. Her tone was hushed and thick with nervousness.
"If it's doing the job, then what's the problem?" Twilight asked. "I'm really busy, and should've been asleep a long time ago. I waited four hours for you Applejack, this better be good." Her voice held a warning ring. Her eyes squinted and the tiniest glint of a snarl flashed on her lips. Applejack, please watch what you say. I don't want this meeting to go sour...
"Uh, w-well, ya see it's making things wrong. Like, they ain't growin' normal. All my apples taste terrible! Ponies don't like it, so it's really runnin' the business down, and-"
"Is this your complaint? Is this seriously your complaint? I have much more important things to worry about than your stupid apples! Do you know how full my plate is? Of course you don't - you have no idea!" Twilight spat into the fountains, her face flush with anger. Making sure to maintain her darted glare and harsh hoof movements, she continued by saying, "I had our top unicorns work on that stuff, and that's what they came up with. You should be happy they even came up with anything at all! It's not easy, when you've dealt with a full year of night! And you know what, you ungrateful farmer? It's not getting any better!"
Applejack was taken aback. "U-Ungrateful? Twi, what happened to ya? C'mon sugarcube, we used to be friends. What happened? You were nice..."
"Oh, I don't know Applejack, I suppose I'm just bipolar. What do you think happened? Look out this window behind me." Twilight jerked around in her chair to face the large, arching stained glass windows that depicted the great Princess Celestia as she raised the sun across a vast expanse of green hills and mountains. It should've been glowing. Shiny. Exuberant. "Do you see how dark it is out there?"
"Twi, I know-"
"And do you see how the moon's still up there? How it's still visible through the clouds?" Twilight resettled in her seat, her tense gaze softened to a somber frown. Her eyes had gone back to their sunken state, and her body slumped like her smarty pants doll. Harsh...All right, Twilight, calm down. You're tired, is all. "It's midnight, but my advisors tell me it's noon. So I hope you can understand that I have bigger things to worry about than the taste of your food."
Just then, the metal doors swung open, and a tan stallion, bearing a mustache, a tuxedo, and a large silver platter on his back entered the room. The plate was covered with a shiny metal dome that gleamed in the torches, boasting of its ornate, inlaid inscriptions. Two guards - clad in the same attire as the one that was now slumped on the pillar - followed curtly behind. The stallion brought the platter forward, up the few stairs to the throne, and placed it at Twilight's hooves. After lifting the dome and setting it aside, he bowed, turned, and swiftly exited the room.
Once he and the two guards had shut the large doors behind them, Twilight glanced down at the tray. On it was a steaming faux omelet, garnished with spices and seasonings. Beside it was a crisp piece of buttered toast, and beside that was a class of crisp apple juice. She had requested the meal brought here, instead of the dining hall, because she just didn't have the energy for the walk. Oh dear.
"Twi, how is that fair? There are ponies down there starving, and yer eatin' like royalty! I'm gonna be starving soon, and Applebloom, and Granny Smith and even Big Mac. We ain't gonna hold out long without the farm." Across Applejacks strong face were streaks of torn worry, tears beginning to well in the corners of her eyes.
"As far as anypony's concerned, I am royalty! I could have you executed for this! I could execute you all for anything, that's how 'royal' I am!" Twilight used her magic to raise the toast, crunching into it with purposeful brutality. But, seeing the cringe, the fear in her friend's eyes, she lowered the bread down, sighing and letting her head drop. "Applejack, look. I'll try, alright? I'll try to make it better, but I can't promise anything. We have bigger problems, you know. If your farm fails, go to Rainbow Dash or Pinkie, or even Fluttershy. They'll help you, I'm sure."
"No, they won't. Ever since ya left, Pinkie's been switchin' moods faster than I can buck apples. R-D's just mad at'cha, and she ain't hardly coming down from Cloudsdale anymore. Twi, I understand yer busy, but please...this is serious."
"I...I'll deal with it Applejack. Now go. I'll need some time." She waved her hooves in a shooing motion, turning down to her meal and ripping into the toast yet again.
Applejack gave a curt bow, saying, almost forcibly, "Thank you, chancellor."
"You should," the blue unicorn grumbled as she slowly massaged Twilight's damp back. She pressed hard, cracking the knots and sores that were splotched up and down the mare's back. On her neck was a black leather leash, it's tether in Twilight's mouth.
"Shut up and massage. The guards can take care of it," she said letting loose a long sigh. She nuzzled her face deep into the silver pillows that the bed held, their feathery fluff an ample source of relaxation. Her mane was still a bit wet from her luscious bath, tiny water droplets trickling down her sides. A tiny smile graced her lips.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie finds this humiliating."
"Yeah, yeah Trixie, keep grumbling. You're not getting out of that collar." ...unless you're fine watching your head roll around Ponyville...
"Trixie does not care about that. She finds it humiliating that you won't even stand up for yourself," she said. Pressing hard between her owner's shoulders, cracks echoed around the room, followed by a deep moan of relief from Twilight.
"I can stand up for myself. These riots are just petty, though. Like I said, the guards have control of the situation."
"And what of Nightmare Moon? What will you do when she returns, hmm?" Trixie shook her head and sneered, careful to not let Twilight see.
"Trixie, the guards have been training for a year now. She's not gonna do a thing. And as long as we can keep the crops growing, we'll be fine." She turned back to give her 'pet' a harsh gaze, before gripping the largest pillow and holding it close to her cheeks.
"So you say, but Trixie does not think so."
"Well Trixie isn't here to think, is she?" Twilight snapped.
There was silence for a moment, Trixie's tongue ever so close to spewing her hate. But a quick glance down to her flank silenced her. Her cutie mark was sliced up, lines and lines missing due to pale reminders of countless lashings. "I'm sorry...my lady..."
"Of course you are. All of Equestria is," Twilight began. Trixie rolled her eyes, slumping her shoulders. She knew where this was going. "So sorry that their Princess is gone. So sorry that I'm not as good as she was. So sorry the taxes are higher, so sorry the crops are tasteless. I'm working my flank off - hay, I've gone days without sleep - and you know what, all ponies ever do is complain! I have control of this! And you know what else? Maybe, just maybe, if I got a bit more appreciation, I'd be willing to help more! But no, it's always 'I want this', or 'Go fix that'. I'm only one pony Trixie!"
"Trixie understands, of course," she said with a sigh, continuing her circular hoof movements.
There was a thick silence after that. Neither said a word, barely even letting their breaths become audible.
"Trixie, I'd like to get some sleep, alright?" Twilight eventually said.
"Yes, Trixie could use some too she supposes." The unicorn propped herself off of Twilight's back, rolling away and dropping to the floor. Her leash followed lifelessly behind her as she made her way to the opposite corner of the room, where a small cot of spare sheets and a lone pillow was laid out for her. She dropped on it, not bothering to ease herself down. Exhaustion was deep in her sunken eyes as well; Twilight had kept Trixie up with her, and by now, both were tired, snappy, and distant.
Twilight lifted Trixie's leash with her magic, snapping it into a metal clasp on the wall by her cot, fixing it into place with a tiny clink. Then, she killed the few candles that lit the room, and rested herself back on the bed, sinking into its plump body as the darkness unfolded.
As soon as her burning eyelids shut, she was out like a light.
It worked! She could taste joy of success! Nightmare moon had not only been defeated by the Elements of Harmony, she was gone altogether! No trace of her, no sign anywhere. She was gone completely!
Twilight turned around to face her friends. Their faces held such jubilance in those five smiles that she almost cried. All the fear was gone now, giving way to an air of love and harmony at last. But as they began commenting each other's jewelry, and Rarity's newfound tail, Twilight noticed something that churned her gut.
The moon was still high in the night sky, and not even a hint of golden day was touching the sky. Outside the many shattered, crumbling windows of the decaying fortress, not even a speck of sunlight tipped over the horizon.
But then, in a brilliantly blinding flash of black, the evil alicorn hovered above them again. Her face bore a hideous smile, displaying her two devilish fangs in a manner more than disturbing. A deep light was awash on her horn, and one by one, the elemental necklaces were ripped from their owners. First Pinkie, then Fluttershy, and so on. It seemed painful - they snapped away with loud pops that were not metallic - they were organic. These were sickening, gut twisting cracks that reverberated throughout the room.
Soon the element of magic was torn asunder, lashing from Twilight's brow and shooting into the air. All six pieces of harmony spun around Nightmare Moon as she let out a hearty laugh. The twirled around in a mocking dance, all in the grasp of her blackish magic.
"Hello Chancellor," the alicorn spoke with a grin.
This wasn't right. This couldn't have been right. She wasn't chancellor at the time. Logic said this wasn't right. But for some reason the dream played like a film, as though it had happened, was happening.
"W-What?"
"Why Chancellor, I'm simply saying hello," Nightmare Moon said - hissed, in fact, with an awful laugh rang as a chorus of bittersweet chimes. "I know, it's a bit early for introductions. But if we're to be meeting soon anyways, I suppose I should say hello. Is that so bad?"
"What are you talking about? Return the Elements!" Twilight demanded, stomping her hoof down. Looking to her friends for support, she found them to be lying limp on the ground.
"You ponies are more difficult in your dreams than in your waking hours," the hovering mare spoke.
"Any other day, and your idiotic questions would set me off. Just a warning," Nightmare Moon said with a wink, her grin still etched onto her face.
"What do you want?"
"Me? Once again, your questions, they...annoy me. I'll tell you this, 'chancellor', enjoy the days you have left."
"My days? You...you don't control my life!" she spat. Snarling up at the alicorn, she continued, "I have control of my life! I have control of Equestria! We'll see what happens when you try and take it."
"Oh, dear Chancellor Twilight, so high and mighty. We shall see just who is in control of your life soon enough."
At that, a hazy, diluted black beam shot forth from the tip of the black alicorn's horn, shooting down and zapping Twilight with a large gash down her cheek. The unicorn shrieked as an invisible fire crept up her legs, mane, and tail. Tears welled in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks; the pain was unbearable.
"Your days are numbered Twilight Sparkle, this you shall not forget."
The pain materialized, morphing into a sort of fluid darkness that overtook her legs. It burned as it attached, sinking deep into her skin. It ran up her legs, ending at the beginning of her shoulders in a sort of tattered array that mocked sliced tapestry. All the while, Twilight screamed. She cried, shrieked, wailed, all in the awful agony of corruption.
Her legs betrayed her as she collapsed to the ground. The corruption had stopped now, having sunken in and turned most of her forelegs and all of her hind legs a thick black, the only kind of darkness one could see when glancing into space on a clear night. Her cutie mark was barely unscathed, the darkness blotched around it as it faded off.
All she could do was laugh.
"Chancellor!" A voice, rough and gruff, drew her from the darkness of sleep. Her eyes shot open, letting the harsh light of a close candle invade them. She snarled and recoiled, burying her head in the mountain of satin pillows she had amassed during the night.
"Chancellor, are you alright? Where is Trixie?" That got her attention. She shot up, tossing the pillows in any direction. A dark grey pony bearing white armor gave her was giving her a concerned look though deep blue eyes. The unicorn's groggy eyes slowly shifted right, landing upon the bare and empty mass of bedding. Her eyes snapped wide, a scowl burning on her lips.
"You tell me! I left her right there." Twilight pointed at the empty cot, where the leash, still clasped to the wall, hung onto an empty collar. That wasn't the only thing to grasp her attention, though. A searing pain lashed through her jaw, riveting her mind. She groaned and clasped her cheek. There was a line, swollen and red, with small warm droplets trickling down.
"Where were the guards?" she snapped, lowering her hooves from her injury.
"We, uh-"
"What is wrong with you ponies? Go! Find Trixie! When you have her, bring her here. And bring me Captain Armor, now!"
"But chancellor, it's late, and-"
"I'll drop your plot in Tartarus if you don't get going," Twilight said with a sneer. She made a movement, drawing her hoof across her neck in a slicing motion. The guard gulped, spinning on his hooves and darting out the door.
Twilight sighed, her face relaxing. Across the room, she rested her gaze on the empty mass of bundled sheets. The black leather collar was still empty, no matter how many curses her mind could create. Yet it was strange; the vanity next to her tiny cot still held her few belongings. The unicorn remembered very clearly how they were all she had left after the ursa incident that left half of Ponyville in ruins. She had to order a detachment of pegasus guards to go and put the thing down. And they'd almost killed her too, violent nuts.
So why would Trixie leave them?
"I'll just have to ask," she muttered, kicking the rest of her sheets away. The gash on her face retaliated in the small gust of wind, a burning sensation sinking into her. She grimaced and grunted, but did no more. There was no more she could do.
So, she stood from the bed, turning away and heading for the door. There would be no more sleep for her. None at all.
In Celestia's office was where she found herself now. Hungry with no appetite, and tired with no will to sleep, she simply skimmed through the next document from the stacks upon stacks of complaints and queries. Things were getting ugly as of late; on the huge marble desk, lit by one measly candle, a huge stack of organized folders sat, waiting for her to read them. And this was after the bureaucratic work division was set up. These were apparently the most important, sent up from the division itself, which managed to lodge itself in the castle bowels.
The current folder in front of Twilight read in block print Grand Galloping Gala. Before opening it, she let slip a long sigh, her eyes and mind drooping alike. Instead of beginning, she took a moment to observe her dark surroundings. To either side were two massive bookshelves that ate the entirety of the walls. Most were thick and contained tax reports or referencing codes. It would be a lie to say she didn't use these often.
Behind her was a large circular window that fed out to the vast hills beneath Canterlot. They were dark, drenched with the pegasus's storm. The clouds had grow so thick as to block out the pale moonlight, creating a barren, black wasteland, despite the distant lights of Ponyville. The sights of the forlorn lamps and distant houses made her sick. Sick with grief, anger, sadness, loss, and possibly most of all, happiness.
Turning back around on her - formerly Celestia's - large scarlet cushion, she faced the folder head on. How was the Gala even close to important right now? The ponies down at the bureaucratic division needed to prioritize, and soon. Even still, she flicked open the front page with her blackened hoof, the reminder of her nightmare churning her gut.
"Sister," a voice called for her. The once closed oaken door was thrust open, and a tall white stallion with a flowing blue mane barged in. Twilight gripped her chest, gasping for air as her face turned a deep red.
"You...You should knock," she said as she sucked in deeply.
"My apologies. But I was told that you were injured, and-"
"I'm fine Shining." Twilight kicked the pillow with her hind hoof, a soft thud as the result. She pushed away the pointless folder, heaving it off the desk and into a pile of scattered papers, reports, and other complaints that had met the same fate.
"Then what did you need? Cadence is on her way, and there's a lot to be done before the wedding," he said, taking a seat before the desk. He bore no armor now - an unusual look for the captain of her guard.
"Trixie's gone missing. I want you to have some of your guards find her, and drag her back into my room. That's the first thing. The second, is, um, this." She tapped her cheek with a hoof.
"What happened?" the stallion asked, up on his hooves immediately. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was snarled.
"Were you attacked? Did she finally rear her ugly head? My ponies stand ready!"
"Oh would you calm down," Twilight sighed. "The answer to your question is a yes and no. I was asleep, and had that dream again."
"The one with the elements?"
"Yeah," she said, pulling a new folder from the stack with her magic. "And of course, she was there. But this time, she spoke. She said my days were numbered. Then...this."
"I'd say it was simply a dream..."
"Then how would you explain this?"
"I'm...I'm not sure. Does it hurt?" Shining inspected his sister closely.
"No, not really," she sighed, "At least, not anymore."
There was a pause.
"So she's got a plan on your life, huh? Well she can think again. No one lays a single hoof on my sister," Shining said, once again puffing his chest out and standing tall.
"I've got to hoof it to you, you're loyal. Now...go. Please. Set the guards up in any way you want, and find Trixie. But for now, go. I've got things to do."
Shining Armor dropped his heroic stance, nodding to his sister and walking off with a sigh. "Do you need anything else?" he asked as he stepped through the doorway.
Twilight shook her head, not looking up from the new folder once to say a thing. The guard sighed, continuing his exit and closing the door behind him with a blue aura.
With him gone, the unicorn opened this new folder. Its front label read Ponyville Riot. This was actually something important. A wave of guilty relief washed over her; finally, she could actually do something instead of just saying no. Her eyes traced the first lines of the paper, and a sudden disappointment washed over her face. This was no riot. This was suspicion, mere paranoia. Somepony had an idea stuck in his head that Ponyville was going to riot, and decided to send it on up. Grumbling, she kicked the folder away, snatching the next one and cracking it open.
Right before the thin flap of parchment hit the desk, Twilight's eyes wandered, leading them to a little unsealed scroll that sat at the corner. It was old - a year old, actually - though it was just as important as ever. She squinted to see the thing better in the layered darkness. It was worn, beaten and dusty. A popped wax seal remained on its front, bearing the seal of the sun goddess herself.
Twilight enveloped it in her lavender aura and levitated it close to her face. She cracked it open with a crinkling sound, exposing the blotched ink font. It resembled chicken-scratch, though perhaps a bit more sloppy. Definitely something a Princess would not write, unless she had been in a hurry.
It read:
In the event of my permanent absence, I, Princess Celestia, hereby appoint my most trusted and faithful student Twilight Sparkle to the position of High Chancellor.
Her signature was scrawled at the bottom, completely unreadable and unrecognizable. Even still, this document was unfortunately legitimized, and now, as Twilight Sparkle sat alone in the cold office, she had become one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria.
And the worst part of it was: Celestia had seen it coming.
He strode out the hall, through a series of vaulted archways, down a set of spiral tower stairs, and out into another hall that was diagonal to the first. This hall was different, though, for at its end was a rectangular cast iron door with a large bronze plate on its center, reading Guard Grounds. At the door he stopped, waited, listened. The soft sound of raindrops slamming against the courtyard muck seeped through the few cracks Shining threw it aside with his magic, stepping into out from the hall, and shutting it again.
His hooves sloshed in the mud as he made his way through the soaked yards. Platoons upon platoons of guards maneuvered left and right throughout the mud, sergeants at their fore snapping orders left and right. Shining Armor swerved around them, nodding to the armored stallions. They nodded back, continuing on their marches. Drills like this were increasingly common as of late.
Galloping now, he ran through the rain to a large, onyx spire that sat in the middle of the grounds. Huge golden columns spanned it's sides, a huge iron door severing a particularly large pair. Shining tossed this door aside, revealing a dry, open room with a lone oak table at its center and four dim torches on the black walls.
Around the table sat four loosely constructed chairs with no padding whatsoever. Only two were occupied, one with a large black mare who donned a golden cap, and another by a white stallion adorned in the standard golden regimen. They were bickering, slinging their cases at each other over an unfurled map of Equestria.
The white guard stallion flung his arms about, shouting, "More! I don't care what you think! We need more troops in Manehattan!"
"We can't send more troops, how many times do I have to cram that into your thick skull? Commander, Canterlot is more important that Manehattan, and you know that," the mare said, snarling and shaking her head.
"Take some from Trottingham! It's not like that happy little backwash town needs them!"
"Yes," the mare said, slamming her hoof down and squinting, "Things are fine in Trottingham. And, while I'm not so sure about you, I'd like them to stay that way. Manehattan had one little revolt. It was a group of five ponies - let me repeat that, five ponies."
Now the guard slammed his own hoof down. "The latest revolt was, yes. But this has been the sixth one in two weeks! Let me repeat, general! Two. Weeks!"
"Ladies," Shining said, smirking and winking to the stallion. The guard's cheeks puffed and his face scrunched.
"Hello, sir," he said, slowly dragging his hoof off the map. The general beside him only nodded, a hint of a smile on her lips.
"Anything new?" Shining asked, taking a seat of his own across from them both.
"Nothing yet-"
"There's been problems in Manehattan," the stallion said, glaring at the general.
"So I hear," Shining said with a sigh. "But for now, as the general said, Canterlot is more important. In fact, we've got a problem on our hooves."
The general snapped up, shooting her blue eyes to Shining Armor. "What problem? Everything's fine on our end sir. There's no sign of Nightmare Moon anywhere, and the troops stand ready."
"Nothing like that. Trixie's gone missing again," he said. "No big worries, but we do need to find her. You know how Twi gets."
The general and the guard both let out long sighs, relaxing from their tight postures. "I can send a search team for her. She couldn't have gotten far," the mare said.
"Do that. You." Shining shot his hoof at the guard. "How are the supply lines running into Manehattan?"
"Stable, sir," he said.
Shining nodded, drawing in a deep breath. "And the situation?"
"Small riots. We could use some reinforcements, but I suppose it's under control for now..."
"Good. Keep it that way. General, have you seen any sort of activity beyond the walls? It's been a solid year now...I'd be lying to say I wasn't worried."
"Nothing sir. Patrols are saying the only thing moving out there are bunnies and stuff of the sort. But...well, sir, patrols are almost always drunk," she said. Her head slipped down with a sigh.
"Well, as long as there's no sign of her, we'll be fine. Get some ponies on the Trixie problem. I ought to be going."
"What private? Were you...drinking?" He growled, rubbing his temples with his hooves.
"No, er, yeah, uh...whatever, look, we saw something!" she said. Leaning on the wall, she hiccupped like a filly. On her face, though, was a look of dead seriousness.
All three of the ponies stood from their chairs, glaring at her. Shining Armor stepped forward with darted eyes. "What did you see? Are you sure it wasn't the alcohol?"
"Uh, pretty sure," she said with a vigorous nod. "Besides, I wouldn't come huntin' you down while I was drunk if I didn't have to."
"What did you see?" he repeated, stomping his hoof down on the concrete floor.
"Enough! General, I want all guards on full alert. Send at least thirty up to the chancellor's chambers, and I mean now. Private, get your drunk flank outta here." The private nodded and scampered out into the storm.
Twilight flipped the flimsy, ghost white page. Still in her office, she was slumped down in the cushion, scanning the block font in front of her with a faint smile. Across the top of the large paper were the words The Good Times, commissioned by Chancellor Sparkle. Six months, she remembered. That was how long this thing had been in circulation.
On the next page was a title of Orphanage finally built, houses 50 homeless fillies. The unicorn bit her lip as her smile spread ever farther. Beneath this one, lit by the faint candle beside her, was a picture of a large brick structure. All of its little inhabitants were standing in front of its lofted doorway with tiny little smiles. A few even had tears in their eyes.
After a few minutes of lonely taps of the rain on the glass behind her, a sudden boom bellowed throughout the office as its doors were flung ajar. Her head snapped up with eyes as huge as saucers. In front of her was a tall, slender figure with a light blue mane that seemed almost astral in nature. This figure had two bulging wings on either side and a long horn atop her head. She donned cyan armor that covered her dark black body in sections. Upon her chest piece was the most noticeable thing - a small crescent moon that glowed vibrantly, even in the dim light.
"Finally ran out of patience, huh?" Twilight asked, tossing her newspaper aside. She scowled at the figure, standing from her cushion and propping herself up on the desk. Now she was even with the alicorn, her eyes locked with the azure draconic jewels across from her. "Coming alone. Not very smart."
"Alone?" Nightmare Moon's sweet voice asked mockingly. "Please, by all means underestimate me. Have a look behind you."
Twilight carefully turned her head. She quickly turned around, glancing out of her window. For a second, she had begun to turn back around. But she froze, a statue of ice as the air lost all heat.
Out of her window, beyond the New Canterlot Wall, a huge wave of dark, shifting ponies marched onwards. They moved so fluidly, so effortlessly, like sand on a windy day. The worst of it all, though; they were armored with silver helms and body pieces, and had long silver swords. They surged upon the city walls, coming on strong and hard. She could see her own guards shooting about the castle grounds and walls as a sort of organized hysteria broke loose.
"I come prepared," Nightmare said with a wry chuckle.
"You're no match for the guards," Twilight cursed. "They'll crush that little crew of yours easily."
"And what if I say I know that? What if all I need to do is knock out the top?"
The sound of shifting hooves and clanking armor became faintly audible in the halls. "I come prepared too, you know," the unicorn said, giving her own grin in return. And the victor is...
"Don't fool yourself, you insolent foal. How could I come here and not expect you to be prepared?" Nightmare Moon spat to the corner of the room, hissing at Twilight.
"A trick up your sleeve?" Twilight jibed, the sounds drawing closer. If she could only keep the mare occupied for a bit longer...
"I don't need tricks to wipe out worms like yourself," she said smugly.
"Halt!" a familiar voice rang through the halls. A sudden swarm of armor clad guards surrounded Nightmare Moon, all with shimmering blades firmly in the grasps of their jaws.
Twilight observed as the alicorn turned from her. Her black horn was beginning to glow with a deep blue light, and Twilight could feel the intensity of the magic in the air. "Now or never..."
She heaved herself up onto the marble desk, shooting papers each and every way. Faltering only slightly and doing her best to hold back an aching drawling groan, she leapt forward, charging in at the nightmare. Her own horn began to glow a vibrant pink, a bright light beaconing its tip.
Just as she made contact, the spell fired, engulfing the room in a bright light.
It happened faster than she could have imagined it. She found herself slammed against her desk, a horrible cracking echoing out from her back as she fell to the floor. Her vision faded out as her muscles went numb, letting noises become her guide to the outside world. There was the shrill scream of Nightmare Moon, followed by a hiss and curse of the same voice. Then came the harsh clashing of armor. More screams - deep and gruff, obviously that of a stallion - came. She could feel warmth splatter against her face, making her gut churn and her body tense.
There was more clashing. Loud thuds came from everywhere and nowhere; these could only come from something large, dropping abruptly. Something like an armor-clad stallion.
From outside, cannon shots, barking orders, and the clash of metal overtook the natural sounds of the storm. A splitting sound bellowed out, followed by the mad ravings of multiple ponies. The sound was terrible, as though something large had caved into itself. She prayed to Celestia - wherever she may be - that it wasn't the wall.
Back on the inside, though, a loud thud - probably the loudest of all - sent a shockwave through the floorboards. Now, the sound of metal clashing and screams of dying stallions ceased, abrupt but certainly welcome. They were replaced by long moans, nasty gargles, and soft cries.
She did her best to open her eyes. And for a moment, it seemed that she would. But alas, they did not budge a bit.
"She's still alive," a new voice said. Another pound came, sounding like something had been kicked.
"Let's hope she is. Take her to the medical room, tie her down and but a blade to her horn," her brother's voice commanded. "If she get's antsy, well, you know what to do." There was a sudden jolt of hooves, followed by the sound of something heavy being dragged along the floor.
A sudden hoof grazed her side. She felt it, but was unable to respond, no matter how hard she strained her muscles. He seemed to understand though. Grazing his hoof up and down her side, he whispered, "You'll be all right Twi. Just hang on. You'll be all right."
Author's Note
Chapter by: Lynked
