Celestial Tortures Book II: Nightmares

by Rarity Belle

Chapter 3

The greatest of battles are decided at the moment before they actually begin

In the calm before the storm, the deciding moment is being made

The one who is smarter at the moment shall become victorious

Even if it means a retreat

As Celestia walked down the hallways of the castle with a slight grumble in her tone and steps was the offer that Luna purposed something that baffled her. It was something that was just so ridiculous that she couldn't even believe that her own flesh and blood had asked something the like from her.

The guards that the princess passed all greeted her respectfully, but she never returned it because the fact that she happened to be too much in thought of her own. Boatloads of them simply entered her mind but also left them. Her mouth opened and closed itself as if she was talking but not a single word was audible for any of the Celestial guards that were still upon the watch in the wing of the castle that was just for Celestia.

The princess entered a hallway that shone almost like the sun itself. Gold and all sorts of yellow were the most dominant coloring within it accompanied with a lovable white that decorated the walls. But the elder sister had no eye for it. Instead she simply passed through the hallway and undid herself slowly from her attire.

That was done with one thing in mind and that being that she could just drop herself down in the bed and get some of her much needed rest. Whether she liked it or not, the matter with her younger sister was wearing upon her mind, not to mention the whole fact that she also had to take care of her niece.

A deep sigh left the mighty alicorn of the sun. The door to her bedroom opened themselves up with the help of her magic and her glorious room was revealed. A room that would later be used to receive letters from many ponies, including future personal students that would stay on her side. But that was better to be left a worry for later. A lot later in fact.

The matters were constantly swirling through her head alone were something that could give any other pony a headache nearly on the spot. When she walked into her bedroom, the crown, crest piece and the hoof shoes were all levitated to their regular resting places. Yet while she set her attire aside turned the mane of the mare back to its natural pink coloring and became just what it always had been, hair.

Celestia allowed the doors to be closed behind her. She dropped her body right upon the blankets of her bed. A deep sigh left through her nose as her eyes stared at the window. A window that had a wonderful view over the remainders of the castle and not to forget the canyon with the near never ending plains.

“Luna, oh Luna, why would you come to me with such a proposal? Have you not learned anything from our visit to the Empire? Have you learned nothing from the words yelled..?” Celestia mumbled up to herself as she stared out into the darkness of the night. Almost like a black hole did the world appear outside of the window. Yet there were some spots that were clear to be seen thanks to the light of nothing else than the moon.

---

For the moon shone down upon the edge that separated the plains from the fearful woods of Everfree. For minutes had the alicorn of the sun continued to stare into the darkness of night. Her eyes had the endless gaze within them and in her mind she was looking for answers in whatever way towards her questions. She tried through looking, to see in the mind of her sister. To see just what strain of thought caused her to come up with the offer she had made. With kind of madness and delusions were driving the once so lively and carefree filly over the lands. She tried to wrap her head around all of it.

Yet the longer she stared into the void of black, the more questions arose within her then that were actually answered. With another deep sigh and small charge of her horn was the curtain dropped before the open window and extinguished the lights of the candles that lit her bedroom. She was exhausted from her thoughts and her muscles were sore. “A good night of rest, helps out a lot,” the princess spoke to herself before her room was completely indulged with nothing but just complete darkness.

Celestia curled up upon herself to form a ball of white and pink fur before her eyes would finally close themselves off from the world and let her travel through the realms of the dreams. But the dreams she would be getting that night were no dreams at all. They would have been memories she was forced to live once again. Memories that were not pleasant in the least bit of the word.

Memories of events that hadn't happened all too long ago and thus were not given a place in her mind. Leaving them perfectly open to just haunt through the mind of the mighty alicorn. An alicorn who at the moment was nothing more but a defenseless foal. A foal that would be suffering a nightmare to a degree it never had been through.

Countless times had Celestia proven herself together with her sister to be worthy of the crowns they carried. But far up in the north, the sisters and their niece had met their devilish equal. They met that in the form of a unicorn stallion who had managed to get the hold of power by knocking the third alicorn off of the throne and taking it for himself.

And from that moment on, all hell within the empire broke lose. For the stallion ruled with a black heart and iron hoof, literally. The princess turned and twisted a couple times before she spoke up one word within her sleep. And that word being the name of nopony else then, “Sombra...”

---

There they flew, soaring mighty through the skies and racing in between the clouds. A mare of white, a mare of blue and a mare of pink. The three immortal alicorns of Equestria were heading for the place that was simply known as: the Frozen North. A place where the wind was always chill, the temperature always freezing and snow was everywhere to be found. The fridge of the land, it was often called. But somewhere in that fridge laid a kingdom that was once holding nopony else then the princess of love upon the throne.

Yet to her lovable reign came an end when a stallion did a coup to the power. The two of them fought with their respectable elements and gave everything they got. Cadence tried to cure the heart of the monstrous stallion, where he tried to corrupt hers. A true battle of titans erupted in between the two. A battle that would eventually cost her the kingdom.

It would be Cadence who lost the battle the moment she knew his heart couldn't be cured. The kingdom was lost and transformed into an empire where only this wicket stallion would rule over. Whether it was liked or not. Of course there was resistance within the empire itself. But every kind of opposition was utterly destroyed by the stallion’s black heart. Even the whole kingdom changed from bright and differently colored to a black one. The crystals all turned into different shades of black and became more pointier. Much like the thorns that laid around the heart of the stallion that called himself Sombra.

Or so was the story as it was told by Cadence herself before she had to make a run for it. A run that admitted her defeat in the first round but opened the possibilities for a second one. A thing which the newly found king of the empire knew all too well. He looked her right in the eyes as the saddened princess turned herself around for the last time to say her prayers in silence.

From the lovable look that she always carried was nothing over except a burning passion for his defeat and the well being of her subjects, the crystal ponies themselves. And he returned the look with one filled with hatred for her. A hatred that she had never seen in the eyes of anypony else. A hatred that was growing secretly also within one of them. Even better said, in one of her aunts.

While the three of them flew through the air, they came closer and closer towards the crystal castle and both Celestia and Luna were struck with the horror that was to be seen in their eyes. “Impossible,” the princess of the sun spoke up in a soft tone.

Even from the distance it could be seen and felt. The unhappy lives of the ponies, the tremendous amounts of work that they had to move for this wicked king. Countless ponies that were hauling carts with even more gems as black as the night. “This... This is what has become from my kingdom aunts. I, failed the both of you,” Cadence softly spoke as she wanted to separate herself from the group already.

“You didn't fail yet, my niece,” said Luna to her, “the simple fact is that he can be defeated. And then the throne shall be for you again. Go, go to the heart and give it everything you have. Reclaim that what is rightfully yours.”

Cadence nodded to the words and then she rocketed off into the skies. The alicorn of love headed straight for the highest tower were the mythical crystal heart was stored. Hidden away in a prison of dark and enchanted gems, all too keep it away from nosy ponies much like the princess.

Celestia looked how her niece went further up into the skies whereas the two of them descended to land upon the balcony of the castle and finally face the merciless king. The grayish magenta eye of her looked upon her younger sister before she spoke her words of worry. “Luna, do you really think that a head on attack is going to be the best? Perhaps we can talk it out, give him a piece of land to rule over.” If there was one thing that Celestia hated the most, it was using violence to defeat her enemies. The alicorn of the sun rather spoke it out with all the beings she encountered then giving them a smack in the face.

It were exactly those words did the thing that Luna feared the most to come. Where Celestia was talk, Luna was action. But being the elder sister came with a perk, she was always right. Luna knew that her sister would continue to ask the question up to the point in which she finally would agree upon her. So there was little choice for the alicorn of the night to begin with. She could only pray he didn't want to talk to them.

“Glad you understand,” replied Celestia after Luna let out a small groan of utter discomfort. A groan which the elder sister was used too if the younger one was to agree with something against her will. Celestia knew every little tick and quirk that Luna had when it came to body language.

“And now get your filthy flanks out of my throne room!” a voice among the darkness spoke up. A deep, echoing, howling and mostly unpleasant tone was given to somepony before the sad clattering of the hooves could be heard. And then it were the royals who made their touchdown upon the balcony, having heard all of the words.

Luna smirked like the little devil she could be. Even before her sister could interfere, she walked towards the darkness of the throne. “You know, that is not a manner to talk to your beautiful subjects, king.” she spoke up in a taunting tone. If Celestia wanted to talk to this menace, Luna would give the words in her own manner.

“Ahh,” the voice spoke up from the dark, “the infamous alicorn of the night. What brings a mare of your caliber to my, humble domain?” The more Luna walked inward, the more there was revealed of this tyrannical king. His smoking eyes of green and red, the black waving mane and above all, the red glowing horn of power. A horn that had curled itself up ever so gently, a signal that he was unable to keep all of the power within it.

“I don’t know, your castle, land and throne perhaps?” Luna replied with a small grin upon her face. It was also unexplainable for her but she was almost being attracted by the darkness that soared through the stallion. She silently fell in love, with him. For her it was love on first sight, even though half of the face and body were shrouded within the darkness.

The stallion erupted out in a deep snicker at the spoken words and had to wipe away a tear from his eyes. “You truly are one for the jokes. Perhaps I can find usage of you as a court jester. Since the last one had an, unfortunate, fall of the balcony.”

“Pushed?” Luna asked just before she rose one of her eyebrows up in a gentle motion.

“Most likely,” Sombra returned to her with a smirk.

It was truly unexplainable for either of them at that point in time. But they had to focus upon the fact that they were sworn enemies of one another. Luna came there to destroy him, not to ask him for a marriage or to be his marefriend.

And then finally Celestia walked into the room with a stern look in her visible eye. She had enough of the two of them talking and wanted to go down right to business. “Excuse me for just dropping in like this, but you sire, you claimed this throne from the princess of love without being chosen to do so. You are a criminal and thus you shall be handled like that.”

With the speaking of those words, both Luna and Sombra knew the fun was over and the war had to be waged between the two. The darkness that raced through their hearts, made it unable for them to stay together.

“Then so be it, princess of the sun!” Sombra yelled before he charged up his horn with the black and green aura. Luna and Celestia had no idea just what they could possibly expect from the magic he called upon, but they knew it was bad.

But during his charge, the stallion suddenly glanced up to the ceiling of the room and growled darkly. Ever so slowly did his head fall back down and a smirk stood upon his face. “You thought to be smart, didn't you? Sending the previous ruler of this land to get the heart, you really think I am that stupid!?” Then he released all of the magic that was stored within his horn.

One massive beam of black, green and violet raced through the throne room. Everything it touched created columns of dark crystal before it shot up into the air. Luna and Celestia were genuinely surprised by the amount of power that the stallion could produce and knew they had to seek it up higher, if they wanted to escape being crystallized for eternity. And they literally had to look up higher.

The two of them made a run towards the doorway of the balcony. But within their eyes they caught the crystals that kept growing and growing to block their paths. “Now!” Celestia shouted all of the sudden. In response they left the king baffled and they both took a leap into the air. The princesses could only pray upon the facts as they were and hoped that the crystal wasn't thick enough to block their passage.

Much to their own surprise and that of the king made the two alicorns their way through the crystal curtain without much trouble. The two of them flew back up in the air and were followed up by the king of the empire hot in their trails. He rushed through the curtain as well and charged his horn up for a new spell to be fired. “Neither of you two shall escape me!” he snarled to the airborne alicorns. His eyes stood smoked even more. He would have shot them straight out of the skies.

“That, is where you are wrong. For your acts against the Equestrian crown, there is only one thing we can sentence you to,” said Celestia to him. Her horn coated itself within the golden aura. Luna followed the example as she knew that spell she needed to use and allowed her horn to sink itself within the cobalt blue light.

“The death sentence? Go ahead, end my life!” he shouted over to them as he paced up and down over on the balcony floor. But the king himself wasn't stupid, he knew he wouldn't die there. And as long as he kept his own charge with him, that would stay that way. Instead he changed his plans of attack and moved over to a defense maneuver. A maneuver that was cruel and cold. A maneuver that happened to be one neither of the alicorns could ever see from him.

Luna’s eyes moved themselves over to the clouded top of the tower and she could see that Cadence was making her return from it. She didn't seem to be all too happy or normal for that manner. Something over on the tower had happened to her that made her pay a price much higher than she originally had wanted.

“No.” Celestia’s voice boomed through the air as both the sun and the moon gently made their appearance on the skies. The rumble that was created by the two heavenly objects were fuel for the royal their horns and it created a crack in the day, for one half was light and the other was dark. Together they released a charge more powerful than anything else in the land. A charge that was so powerful, that it would banish the king into the icy pits of the landscape. "You shall have to cool down with that inflated mind of yours! For the coming millennium you shall be trapped within the icy caverns for the North!"

The only problem happened to be that it was a slow beam. A beam that gave the stallion more than enough time to cast his own spell over his empire. In silence and from behind the charge could the two royals witness how all of the energy of Sombra moved itself from him. It started to stream down his body from every possible side and eventually would just drip down the sides of the balcony. He appeared to have been gone, banished to the depths of Tartarus for all Luna knew.

And then the charge made its massive impact. The unicorn king named Sombra was sentenced for his betrayal into the thick eyes of the Frozen North where he would suffer a thousand years to come. But as he left, so did the empire. The whole empire went just up in a black smoke, following its ruler into the icy and stone cold depths of darkness. Leaving the two alicorn royals both baffled and shocked.

---

And that shame shock caused Celestia to open her eyes again in the middle of the night. Wide awake she was and unable to continue her much needed rest. She let out a groan of annoyance and turned herself around in her bed and tried to sleep once again.

Author's Note:

Fun fact: This was supposed to be chapter 2,5 but got too big to be called that.