Discord
From The Depths
Preread, Edited, and Reviewed By
Illustrious Q, Batty Gloom, El Oso, Alexstrazsa, JustAnotherTimeLord, Hidden Brony
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Chapter 8
Discord
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Twilight galloped down the hallway, the compounding echoes of her hooves making it sound as a stampede was raging through the castle. Every subtlety she had previously employed to navigate the halls without raising attention was left behind, her mind and body focused solely on reaching her destination as quickly as possible.
Twin Blades memories, at the end, streamed together, falling from one to another like a line of dominos. The memories of the library, of Luna’s reflection, and then finally the transformation. It had been so horrific. What Twin Blades felt and experienced had been burned into Twilight’s mind so deep, it was like she had endured the pain herself. But in enduring that pain, Twin Blades had passed on the message Twilight needed to see.
If her title as princess meant anything, she was going to ensure Twin Blades was properly rewarded and honored for her actions.
But that would have to wait. At the moment, only one thing mattered to Twilight. She had to see the painting in the library. The mirrors... they were the truth in a castle that was filled with lies. Princess Luna, or whoever the creature was she had first met in the castle, wanted her to smash any mirrors she found. The bathroom mirror, after she had defeated Cadance, warned her not to snuff the lights.
The mirrors in the lair of the Headless Horse reflected Princess Celestia as Nightmare Moon. That had to be the real Princess Luna, twisted by fear. Who else would be afraid of becoming Nightmare Moon? Who else, in a fear-driven transformation, would develop a jaw so perfect for gobbling up ponies whole?
Yet, there were inconsistencies. The headless horse, when viewed in a mirror, looked like a regular pony. Yet, when fake Princess Celestia was reflected, she looked as Nightmare Moon. If things were consistent, the fake Celestia should have been reflected as Princess Luna. But that wasn’t what happened. There was still something else going on, still questions left to be answered.
The game was not simple, and the longer she didn’t understand what was going on, the greater danger of making a fatal mistake.
Skidding around a corner, the doors of the library came into view. Twilight pushed herself into one final sprint, galloping into the library before slamming the doors shut behind her. Then, as she had done upon first entering the castle, she fortified. Suppressing and struggling against her usual level of respect for libraries, she grabbed books off the shelves and threw into a pile against the door. Spines got bent. Pages became folded and torn. It was a literary massacre, but Twilight didn’t have time to scold herself.
With the door secure she began running between the shelves. There was something there, a final tool left behind by Twin Blades. There was a chance it had faded away, disappearing like any other changes made to the castle when somepony wasn’t looking. Yet, for the second time in that one library, Twilight’s luck bore fruit. She saw a glint of metal, and with a triumphant smile she yanked the source from the bookshelves with her magic.
It was the broken sword from the Twin Blades’ wingblade, and the surface was just as reflective as it had been in its master’s memories.
With the blade held in her levitation spell, Twilight ran out from between the bookshelves and up to the library’s hearth, which still burnt with the fire she had set upon her first visit. The portrait of Princess Celestia was still there, hanging and looking as beautiful as it had been upon her first visit. The frame, however, seemed to have deteriorated more. A few pieces had fallen to the floor below, and the whole painting was now hanging lopsided.
It looked as if it could fall from the wall at any moment.
Twilight cast her magic out to try and straighten the picture. There was simply something unnaturally disturbing about the fact it wasn’t level. The picture of her mentor had been straight when she first came to the library, and it had been straight in Twin Blades memory. The fact that it was now crooked, that something in the castle had changed without her being there, was unsettling.
The portrait, however, would not budge. No matter which angle Twilight applied her magic, it was like the canvas and its supporting frame had been cemented to the wall. It only made Twilight’s concern about the state of the painting grow. It was another question, one more thing that didn’t make sense. Why was this painting different from the rest of the castle? Why could she affect everything else except this?
More questions. Even with the answers she found, Twilight felt the list of questions in her head was only growing longer. Still, she had a belief that some answer would soon come. Gripping the broken blade tighter in her magic, Twilight turned her back to the painting then held the reflective sword up to her eyes. She tilted and turned it for a few moments before finding the appropriate angle, viewing the portrait in the reflective surface.
The Princess Celestia in the portrait was already looking at her, eyes locked with Twilight’s through the reflection. Her gaze was a happy one at first, but changed quickly into one of concern and urgency. Not even giving Twilight a chance to speak, Celestia began to mouth words. Her lips slowly formed each syllable, constructing the words with as much emphasis as she could.
Twilight watched and read those lips, trying to mouth out the words for herself as Celestia’s spoke. “Ga... Go... T... To... Mm... Mi... Miz... Maze. Go to maze,” she said, to which the portrait of the princess gave an encouraging nod. Twilight returned the smile, continuing to speak aloud. “F... Fa... Fan... Fand? No, find! Find... B... Ba... Bat. L.. Li... Lit... Lite... Light... S... St... Stars.”
The portrait princess nodded her head, mouthing the syllables in smoother stream that Twilight echoed with her own voice. “Go to maze, find bat, and light stars. But what does the bat have to do with anything?”
Celestia began to mouth new words, but then she stopped. She turned her head, about the only part of her drawn body she could move, and looked at the door. The portrait princess looked back, eyes wide in panic as she frantically mouthed a new word. Twilight stared, trying to read the haphazardly formed syllable on Celestia’s lips. A chill ran down her spine as her mind finally recognized what was being said.
“Run.”
“Twilight! Are you in there?” Princess Luna’s voice called from the far side of the barricade doors. “I have finally overcome Discord’s game. If you would believe, I am sleepwalking right now in a lucid dream. It is the kind of loophole even Discord would appreciate. Still, I need your help, Twilight. I know where the last light is. Please, open the door.”
“Run!” Celestia’s portrait mouthed once more with greater urgency.
“Twilight? I know you're in there. Please, let me in. We can finally be done with game. We just need to put out the last candle. It’s nearby, even. Just down the hall. Why don’t you come out?”
“RUN!”
“Twilight, let me in!” Something pounded against exterior of the door, each impact carrying with it additional weight. “Twilight, as a fellow princess I demand you let me in. This is no time for foals’ games. Twilight! Twilight Sparkle, let me in!”
A strong impact against the door caused it to bow in, the hinges starting to pull themselves from the wooden frame. Twilight frozen in place, looking between the door, Celestia’s portrait, and the rest of the library. Celestia kept mouthing to run, but run where? The library had no other doors. Twilight began to bounce anxiously on her hooves. Where should she go? How was she get away?
The doors were hit again, this time sounding as if a freight train had crashed into them from the far side. The hinges were on the verge of giving way while the wooden doors themselves were beginning to splinter. Twilight had a few more seconds, at best, before the fake Princess Luna got through.
She had to think of something!
~~~
“Prince Armor, we located Luna’s key.”
Shining Armor turned, stretching out his own magic as he accepted the key. Around the sealed entrance to the crystal caverns, he had assembled five squads of guards. Others were on their way to reinforce them, but in Shining’s mind, they had already wasted too much time. On the floor, one key already laid discarded. It was the key given to the castle guard, to be used only in emergency situations when they absolutely needed to get into the crystal caverns.
It was a key that hadn’t worked in the lock.
“What about Princess Celestia’s key?” Shining asked.
“We weren’t able to locate it, sir.”
“Well, we had better hope this one does the trick, then.” With that, Shining turned and slid the key into the lock. He then tried to turn it, but like the guards’ key before, it only turned an eighth of the way before coming to a stop. Shining furrowed his brow and tried to force the key to turn. The padlock and chains about the door began to glow in reaction, the magic they contained fighting back.
The key proved the first to fail, its metal growing red hot and melting out of the lock and into a pool on the ground. Shining Armor cursed and threw what little bit of the key his magic still held. He then looked back at the guards, glaring them down coldly. “Go back upstairs and get the breaching squad.”
“But, sir, that’s one of Princess Celestia’s spells,” Path Finder said. “Do you think they’ll even put a dent in it?”
“It’s a long shot, I know, but we have to keep trying,” he said, to which the other guards nodded. Those soldiers who had delivered Luna’s key turned and galloped back up stairs. The other squads resumed preparing themselves while Shining Armor walked over to where Twilight’s friends were sitting.
“What the hay, Shining. I thought that key was supposed to open the door.” Rainbow huffed, hovering anxiously.
“It was, but it’s like somepony changed the lock.” He glanced back at the door. “I’m not even sure Princess Celestia’s key would work, even if we did find it.”
“Aren’t there any other ways into those crystal caverns?” Applejack asked.
“If there were, they were sealed. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wanted to be sure that if the changelings or any creature tried to attack Canterlot again, they wouldn’t be able to use the caverns to their advantage. Some tunnels were closed with cave-ins. At others we used unicorn magic to cause the crystals to grow and seal the passages themselves. I even supervised some of the sealing teams as one of my last duties as Captain of the Guard.”
Shining Armor turned and pointed to the chained door. “This door protects the only passage into those tunnels that wasn’t more permanently sealed. Breaking down Princess Celestia’s barrier spell is a huge obstacle, but it’s still our fastest option. It would take weeks to dig out one of the other entrances.”
“Well, we can’t just sit here waiting until you can open a door.” Rainbow Dash landed with a stomp before pointing her hoof at door. “That glowy trail the Elements of Harmony left could disappear at any second, and who knows if we’d get the Elements to do it again. This may be our only chance of finding out where Twilight and the princesses were taken.”
“I know, Rainbow,” Shining Armor snapped. He then caught himself, reigning in his frustration. “I know, but unless one of you has a crazy idea how we can get past the door, then all we can do is wait.”
“A crazy idea, you say,” Rarity mused, a smile creeping onto her face. It was a familiar smile to her, one she often wore when she got a burst of inspiration for a new fashion line. “Well, Shining, not to put a friend on the spot, but I believe we have a mare amongst us who is the undefeated champion of crazy ideas.”
“Really, who’s that?” Pinkie Pie asked with a bounce. “She sounds like fun? Do I know her?”
“I think Rarity was talking about you,” Fluttershy pointed out.
Pinkie Pie blinked, but then smiled and bounded over to Rarity. She pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing the air from her lungs. “Oh, that’s so nice of you to say. I don’t think we can say I’m undefeated, since I’ve never been in a crazy idea competition, but that sure sounds like a fun idea!”
“One thing at a time, dear.” Rarity struggled in Pinkie Pie’s hug, gasping for a few breaths of air. “But, before that, you wouldn’t happen to have any thoughts on how we can get through that door, would you?”
Letting go of Rarity, Pinkie Pie turned and bounded to the door. She stopped directly in front of it, tilting her head to one side as her bright, attentive eyes swept up, down, left, right, and every direction in between. She raised a hoof to grab the chains as well as to knock on the door. She even rested her head against door, as if it was whispering some dark secret to her.
“You got anything, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked, she and the others standing back to ensure Pinkie Pie had all the space she needed.
Pinkie Pie looked back at her friends and smiled. “I may just have a little something.” She then zipped away and galloped back up the stairs. Everypony around the door listened as the sound of her hoofsteps faded on the staircase, eventually growing silent. The silence persisted for several long seconds, causing Shining Armor and the others to glance at one another. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak, breaking the silence left by Pinkie’s departure.
“Is she coming back?”
“Oh, I’m sure she is,” Fluttershy said. “Why wouldn’t she?”
Rarity took a single step toward the staircase before glancing at Shining Armor. “Do you think she’s getting something?”
“Maybe, though I don’t know what it would be,” Applejack said as she scratched her head. She then perked her ears as the sound of hoofsteps once more starting to emanate from the staircase. “But it sounds like she’s already on her way back.”
“Not just on my way, silly, I am back!” Pinkie Pie emerged from the staircase, pushing along a familiar sight. It was her little blue party canon. The decorative piece of party artillery looked out of place admist the guards who were sharpening weapons and securing armor. Still, Pinkie Pie took no notice of their confused stares as she wheeled her party cannon up to the door.
Rarity stepped up beside her, wearing the forced smile of somepony not wanting to hurt a friends feelings. “Pinkie, not to rain on your parade, but I don’t think your party cannon is designed to break through a door that was sealed by Princess Celestia.”
“Yeah, all it does is shoot streamers and confetti,” Rainbow Dash said.
“And balloons. Don’t forget about the balloons!” Pinkie Pie corrected as she popped open the back of the cannon. Party decorations spilled out from the cannon’s interior, a few pre-inflated balloons even floating to the ceiling of the small space. But Pinkie Pie’s focus wasn’t on her decorations. She instead stuck her hoof up inside the cannon, and pulled out a set of small, colorful paper cylinders. “But you're right. Those won’t get through the door. But these might.”
“And what are those?” Applejack asked as Pinkie Pie carried the small cylinders to the door. She began licking each one and sticking them to the door’s frame, as if they were covered in envelope glue.
“Well, the confetti, streamers, and balloons don’t come out of my party cannon all by themselves. No, something has to push them out with a fun, explosive pop. Otherwise my party cannon would be more like a party bucket. Or maybe a party vase. It could really go either way.”
“That really didn’t answer my question.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure this will.” Pinkie Pie backed up from the door, having placed all paper tubes. She then went back to her party cannon, removing from it a spool of string. “Rarity, you mind lending a hoof. We need to tie a piece of string to every one of those party poppers.”
“Of course, I’d be happy to help,” Rarity said, her lips fluttering between a concerned frown and forced smile. Still, with the aid of unicorn magic, soon each party popper was tied to a piece of string. The strings themselves led back to Pinkie’s party cannon, where she was tying them to some mechanism inside the cannon.
“There we go. Now there’s only one more thing we need to do,” Pinkie Pie said as she wrapped her hoof around the trigger string of her cannon.
“And what is that?” Rainbow asked.
“Hit the deck!”
Pinkie Pie’s surprisingly serious shout made everypony in the room do just that. Every head went down, and Pinkie Pie’s smile grew wide as she tugged on the string of her cannon. In an instant a spark of magic was released by the cannon and was sent shooting up the strings. The dozen or so sparks hit the party poppers all at the same time and caused a single castle-shaking explosion. Plooms of colorful smoke, confetti, and a few streamers went everywhere. Everypony coughed through the choking shroud while Pinkie Pie cheered loudly from a victorious pose atop her party cannon.
“Ta-Dah!”
“What?” Path Finder shouted, his ears ringing from his proximity to the explosion.
When the smoke cleared, everypony was able to see the fruit of Pinkie Pie’s efforts. The door, frame and all, was laying on the floor, leaving the crystal tunnel beyond accessible to all.
“But how did—?” Shining Armor began to ask, only to be cut off by Pinkie Pie.
“Oh, silly, the enchantment was only on the chains! You see, that door there looks really, really old. A lot older than any enchantment the princess might have put on it. But the chains were really new. So I thought that maybe the princess enchanted the chains and just used them to seal the door. If that was true, then the door and wall wouldn’t enchanted, and what we really want to do is get on the other side of the wall, not just open the door. So—”
“So you had the weird idea of just blowing the door out of the wall,” Applejack said, chuckling under her breath.
“Yep. It’s just a good thing I have an emergency party cannon stashed in every major party location we’ve been to. I don’t know where we would have gotten my special, custom ordered party poppers otherwise.”
“I am... just going to ignore the fact that your party poppers are military grade explosives for now. Still, good work, Pinkie Pie.” Shining Armor looked to the squads, his brow furrowing as he began to bark orders. “Squads, I want you down that tunnel now. Do initial recon and secure a perimeter if necessary. If there’s anything dangerous or suspicious, retreat back here immediately. I’ll be joining you once our reinforcements arrive.”
The soldiers nodded, quickly forming up and galloping down the now exposed crystalline tunnel. Shining Armor began to prepare himself as well for the unknown dangers. He cast a levitation spell on his helmet and was about to put it on when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Don’t you mean ‘we’ll’ be joining you once the reinforcements arrive.”
Shining Armor looked at Rainbow Dash and shook his head. “No. You five have done what I hoped you would. You’ve given us a trail, but now we’re rushing headlong into who knows what. I’d rather not risk your safety.” Shining Armor let his eyes wander to the crystalline cavern. “The last time I sent soldiers into a place like this, beneath a castle, a lot of them didn’t come back.”
“We appreciate the concern, Shining, but we are going with you,” Rarity said.
Applejack nodded. “She’s right, we’ve come too far just to stand on the sidelines now. Besides, you need all the bodies you can get right now.”
“Yeah, the more of us there are, the faster we’ll find Twilight and the princesses. And the sooner all that happens, the sooner I can throw a party celebrating the fact we found them,” Pinkie Pie said with a optimistic bounce.
“Fluttershy?” Shining Armor asked, looking around for the quiet member of the group.
Fluttershy poked her head out from the staircase that lead to the rest of the castle, still shaking a little from Pinkie’s explosions. “I... I know it’s going to be scary but... but the girls are right. None of us can abandon Twilight.”
Shining Armor sighed, a frown on his lips as he put his helmet on. “Okay, but remember this place is like a maze. Cadance wandered for days trying to find a way out and ended up walking in a lot of circles. You stay with me at all times, and you do what I say when I say it. Do we understand one another?”
The mares nodded.
“Then let’s move out.”
~~~
With an explosive blast, the doors of the library were blown off their hinges. The barricade of books that had held them shut were tossed like shrapnel, some bursting into shreds of paper and binding while others crash through windows and against walls. In the center of all the destruction, Princess Luna stood with a firm frown on her face. She stepped into the library, eyes slowly scanning the interior.
“Twilight, end this game this instant. We have no time for such foolishness,” Princess Luna shouted. She glanced first to the reading area. She then walked the edge of the library’s shelves, looking down each row as she passed. “Twilight Sparkle, my patience is running thin. I know you are in here.”
She passed the last row of shelves and began to follow the curved wall back into the cozy reading area. The fire in the hearth still crackled and popped, its warm light stretching across the room. “This fire did not start itself, Twilight, nor did the door barricade itself. I also sensed no teleportation magic. I know you are still here. Why hide from me at all? If it is because you fear me, then you must realize Discord’s game is taking hold. You must resist it, at least until I can cast the spell on you that I placed on myself.”
Luna paused at the odd sensation of something under hoof. She looked down and raised a foreleg, revealing the broken wingblade she had just stepped on. She lifted it in her magic, eyes hardening as she looked into the reflective surface. “I see. It would seem Princess Celestia’s regard for your sleuthing is not without merit. Though, I can’t help but feel you got some help.” Her eyes wandered to the portrait, glaring it down. “Even with your dwindling influence, Celestia, you still managed to resist. I would even find such persistence admirable if there had been any hope to begin with.
“But, I do suppose this revelation has its advantages. I can end this farce, for one, and begin to be more direct. Twilight Sparkle, I am going to kill you.”
~~~
Twilight tightened her muscles, trying to shrink her body more as she hung from the rafters of the library. With Luna pounding on the door, hiding had been the only thought to cross her mind. She had tried to scramble beneath one of the library’s reading couches, but the space was too small. And after her experience with the Headless Horse being able to zone in on her teleportation magic, she didn’t dare try to blink someplace else. With options dwindling, Twilight had taken hold of the simplest hope of hiding.
Levitating herself up with as little magic as possible and clinging to the support beams of the high ceiling and praying Princess Luna didn’t look up.
Princess Luna was still just below her, moving casually as if she was preparing for a leisurely day. With a few flicks of her horn, she was moving furniture back from the reading area, creating an open space in front of the hearth. She let one of the endtables remain, on which she set down the broken wingblade. Princess Luna then began to call on her magic again, conjuring and drawing in books and shredded pages.
In but a few moments, she had assembled a paper statue of Princess Celestia. It was amazingly lifelike. The mane and tail even began to move and flow, as the princess's did. The legs began to fidget, and the chest began to swell and retract with rhythmic pattern of breathing. It was like the statue was alive.
That was when Princess Luna stabbed it.
Using the broken wingblade as her tool, Luna pierced the pages of the statue. And the statue screamed, voicing its pain in Princess Celestia’s own voice. It curdled Twilight’s blood, nearly making her lose her grip on the ceiling beam. There was no blood, no ink. Nothing but the cut in the paper, but the pain in the statue’s scream... It was like Luna had driven the broken sword straight into Twilight’s own chest.
“You hear that, Twilight? Do you hear how she screams?” Princess Luna asked, plunging the blade in again and eliciting another wail from the statue. “Even in pain, her voice still manages a musical quality. Could you imagine such a symphony of sounds? I can. In fact, I once had a piano that worked just like that. I’d press the keys, and the ponies within would get stabbed, making each scream in his or her own unique key.”
Those words were like poison being poured into Twilight’s mind. She could see the grotesque contraption. She could hear the ponies within howling in pain as the keys were pressed. She shut her eyes and pressed her ears against her head, trying to drown it all out. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about it, no matter how she tried. She pictured friends and family being bound inside the piano. She heard them scream as their keys were pressed, unable to stop or ease their pain.
“But she’s not the only one with us tonight that has such a pretty voice,” Princess Luna said, the paper statue changing. It shrank in size, transforming from Princess Celestia into Cadance. And, once more, Luna stabbed the statue with the broken blade. Twilight began to tremble, her breathing becoming unsteady. She wanted to block it out, but she couldn’t. It was a flood in her mind, washing away all other thoughts.
“You... you have pretty voice too, don’t you, Twilight Sparkle?” Princess Luna twirled the blade in her magic as the paper statute changed again, taking on Twilight’s appearance. “Why don’t you let me hear it?”
Unlike before, Luna did not plunge the blade straight into the statue. Instead she rested the tip of it gingerly on the statue’s cheek and then dragged it in a short line. It left a shallow cut on the paper statue, but unlike those before the doppelganger did not scream.
But unlike those before, Twilight felt the pain. She felt the sharp edge across her cheek, though it left no wound on her body. It was like a voodoo doll, and the shivering in Twilight’s body grew in parallel to her panic. It was like watching herself be tortured.
“Oh, come now. Don’t you want to sing? I’m sure you have a lovely voice.” Luna placed the blade against the statue’s flank, beginning to slowly turn it. It began to bore into the paper like a drill, and on the ceiling above Twilight had to place a hoof over her mouth to silence herself. Tears welled in her eyes, and it became a struggle breath. She wanted to scream. She wanted to shout so much. It seemed like the only way to release the pain building up inside her.
But to do so would mean letting Luna know where she was, and Twilight feared that more and more with each passing moment. She was beginning to imagine herself in the statue’s place, not just feeling the pain but receiving the wounds as well. This thing, whatever it was, that masqueraded as Luna... She could not let herself fall into its clutches.
“My my, you really are a shy one. Even after all this you don’t want to sing for me? Well, don’t worry. I know just how to cure stage fright.” Luna moved to the front of the statue, position the tip of the blade just above the fake, paper eye. She touched the tip to the surface, and Twilight could feel the pressure on her eye. She moved the hoof on her mouth to that eye, as if covering it might stop what she was about to feel. But the subtle sensation of pressure remained, warning of the pain that was to come.
“One... two...” Luna counted out from below. She was using her magic to hold the blade in place, but her hoof was resting against the base. She glanced around, lingering on the last count before the smile on her face grew a little bigger. “Three.”
The pain hit Twilight like a lightning bolt, and she screamed. She lost her grip on the ceiling beams, and fell to the floor as she writhed. She held both hooves to her eye, rolling on the floor and wailing. The pain was all that was in her mind. There were no other thoughts. Everything was consumed by the pain.
~~~
The scream hit everypony like a bolt from a crossbow. There was no questioning of what they heard. They all know Twilight’s voice, even when it was twisted into a blood-curdling scream. In an instant they all broke into a gallop. With Shining Armor leading the charge, there was no more waiting for the reinforcements to arrive. The five mares and stallion stampeded down the crystalline tunnel, catching up to the five preceding squads of guards. They had heard the scream as well and were racing towards its source as quickly as their hooves could carry.
“I think I see something!” Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing ahead. She took to her wings as the crystalline tunnel grew larger, letting her race ahead of the others. The sound of Twilight’s continued screams grew louder, and there was no doubt where they were coming from. It looked to be a mirror grown directly from the crystal. Its bordering frame was well defined, as if shaped from magic, and the surface contained was perfectly flat.
“It’s coming from here!” Rainbow shouted back to her friends as she put her hooves on the mirror.
“But how?” Fluttershy asked.
“Look at it! It must be a mirror like the one in the Crystal Empire,” Rainbow Dash said, still trying to push her way through the reflective surface. “Whatever took Twilight and everypony else must have come through during the party.”
“But it would have taken an army to kidnap that many ponies,” Rarity pointed out. “And wouldn’t we have seen signs of a struggle up stairs?”
“How it happened doesn’t matter,” Applejack said. She went up beside Rainbow Dash before turning around and starting to buck at the mirror. “What matters is Twilight’s in a heap of trouble, and we need to help her. Now come on, we have to get this thing to open.”
~~~
“Ah, there you are.” Luna said, as if she hadn’t heard the screaming for the past several seconds. She took the blade from the statue and started to walk towards Twilight. “I’ll admit, I wouldn’t have thought to look for you up there. You’ve been taking pointers from a particular bat, haven’t you?
The pain was beginning to fade, the strange magic of the statute leaving. She began to regain control of herself, lowering her hooves from her eye. She was still trembling, but she began to struggle against the unrelenting quaver in her muscles. Reaching out a hoof, Twilight tried to pull herself away. She tried to crawl, if only to delay her capture.
But she felt a hoof on her back, pushing her against the ground. She managed to turn her head enough to see Princess Luna pinning her down. The fire from the hearth cast dark shadows on her face, revealing a twisted smile. She held the broken blade, its tip pointed directly at Twilight’s exposed back.
“Now my conquest will be complete.”
Twilight shut her eyes, not wanting to see it coming. This was it. It was over. She’d never see her friends or family again. She’d never read another book, or have another hayberger. All the little and big things in life that made it all worth living, it was all being taken away in a single stroke of a broken sword. She could feel Luna’s weight shifting, the pressure on her back getting lighter. Princess Luna was rearing back, preparing herself.
The blade would come at any moment. Where would it hit? How long would it take? How painful would it be? Twilight didn’t know, and as tears streamed down her eyes, she drew in a breath. A last act of resistance. A last act of her struggle to cling to life and all that it entailed. She filled her lungs with every ounce of air they could fit, and then she screamed.
“I don’t want to die! Please! Somepony! Help! I don’t want to die!”
~~~
“Twilight! We’re coming!” Shining Armor shouted while unleashing a blast from his horn. They were barraging the mirror with everything they could think of. Every unicorn was blasting it with magic. All the earth ponies had joined Applejack in trying to buck their way through. The crystalline mirror, however, was proving resilient. The pegasi were making flying passes, trying to use their momentum to buck their way through from the air.
“This isn’t working!” Rarity shouted.
“Well, what else are we supposed to do?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Fluttershy flew down beside Rarity, hovering in the air she touched her necklace. “Maybe the Elements can get through?” She used her free hoof to point to the ground, showing that the rainbow trail they had originally been following lead right up to the edge of the mirror.
“It’s worth a shot,” Applejack said, finishing one final buck at the mirror before galloping forward. The five friends formed a circle, remembering the lesson they had learned in the castle above. They couldn’t tell the Elements what to do. They had to trust the mysterious, magical artifacts would do what was necessary based on what they desired. And what they desired, above all else, was to help Twilight. And the Elements were glowing, the five jewels shining brilliantly like stars. Yet, they were not activating. There were no trails of rainbows or surge of magic.
“They’re not doing anything!” Rainbow shouted, starting to hit hers with her hoof. “Come on, you stupid things. Work!”
The lights began to flicker before Applejack grabbed Rainbow’s hoof. “We can’t make them do it. Just keep your mind on what’s important: saving Twilight. Now come, y’all, focus!”
The others nodded, bowing their heads and closing their eyes as the light from their Elements of Harmony continued to glow with greater and greater brilliance.
~~~
“Oh, my little pony, who exactly is going to hear you scre—”
A piercing roar cut the air. It was followed soon after by the smack of two bodies crashing into one another. Twilight felt the weight of Luna’s hoof disappear from her back, and without hesitating a moment, she scrambled forward. Crawling on her belly, she reached the door before daring to look back. That’s when she saw it: the twisted, snake-mouthed Princess Celestia was attacking the fake Luna. Its fangs were sunk into Luna’s foreleg, but she acted as if it didn’t hurt at all as she swung the broken sword around in her magic.
It was a moment of disbelief as Twilight recalled Twin Blades’ memories. Two beasts had guarded the one candle that had been in the library. She, as the snake beast, had defended the candle itself. If that was true, then was this version of Princess Celestia supposed to be her guardian?
Had she spent the whole night running away from a creature whose true intention had only been to protect her?
The crash of the two fighting ponies into a shelf drew Twilight back to reality. Despite the ferocity of the snake-mouthed Celestia, she looked to be losing the fight against the fake Luna. Once the fight was over, if Luna still stood, Twilight knew she would be the focus of the mare’s attention once more. This was her only chance to get away, but to where? That Luna would be able to chase her anywhere.
“Squeek.”
Twilight spun her head around, looking to the corridor outside the library. There, hanging from a loose brick in the ceiling, was the bat. The bat from the cage outside the castle, who played a much larger role than Twilight could have ever surmised. The portrait Celestia had told her to find the bat, and now it was just hanging there, looking at her.
“Please, help me,” she said, and to her surprise the bat seemed to reply. It took to its wings started to fly down the corridor. Twilight had to jump to her hooves and gallop to keep up, but she did. She raced after the bat, leaving the fighting in the library behind as she was led to who knew where.
~~~
It wasn’t long before Twilight felt the cool air of the night on her face. The bat had led her outside, the pair passing the statue where she had found it caged. It flew from roost to roost, stopping to hang upside down periodically as it waited for Twilight to catch up. Still, soon Twilight recognized the path she was being led down. The acrid smell of ash began to reach her nose, and her hooves began to blacken from the soot on the ground.
They were approaching the burnt remains of the castle’s maze, which had been all but leveled by the explosive force of Philomena’s demise. Twilight, when she had looked at the aftermath from one of the castle windows, had been sure nothing had survived the blast. But now, as she was lead back, she began to notice small mounds sticking out of the otherwise flat blanket of ash.
From a few of those mounds some pale bits of stone stuck out, and the more of them she saw, the more Twilight recognized what they were. They were the bits of the statues that had dotted the maze. She saw the half shattered face of the dragon and one of the wide-spread wings of the griffin. To say the statues survived the explosion wasn’t accurate, but they had fared better than all of the flammable foliage that had once comprised the maze.
What was she supposed to find here? She had already done two of the three things the portrait Celestia had been able to tell her. She had found the bat and gone to the maze. But how was she supposed to relight the stars. The candles were gone. They disappeared when all the rooms went back to normal. This felt like it was important. These were the three instructions the portrait Celestia had managed to give her before they were interrupted. This was maybe her one chance to stop all this, to really stop it.
But she didn’t know what to do!
Another squeak from the bat drew Twilight out of her panic. She turned, looking to see the bat had landed on the ground. It was sitting on top of a bit of statue, one amongst a half dozen or so others. These pieces were different. They weren’t covered in soot, and from the lines in the ash surrounding them, the pieces had been dragged closer together. Twilight trotted closer, looking over each piece.
The biggest piece, the one that hadn’t been moved like the others, was the body of the eastern dragon. She then saw some limbs from the other statues. The chimera’s paw, the hippogryphs claw and hind hoof. There was a horn from the chimera’s goat head, and one of the antlers from the dragon statue as well. The hippogryphs other wing was laying amongst the pieces. It was all just random bits and parts, and yet... they were familiar bits and parts.
The realization hit Twilight, a familiar spark in her eyes. She began to levitate the pieces, taking each one and starting to assemble it into a familiar shape. Her confidence was growing as she found the pieces beginning to fit together. Even though they were from different statues originally, it was like they had been made to go together. It was a creature she knew. It was a creature her friends knew. One they had to deal with yet called friend.
It was Discord.
Was this what Princess Celestia wanted her to find? It had to be. He could help her put everything right. She just had to get him back together. The bat had even taken its place, resting on the statue’s back with one of its wings extended. It was all fitting together. The claw, the paw, the snake tail. Even the goat head, though she had to replace one of its eyes with the eye from the hippogryph.
“The desperate flailings of the doomed are so amusing.”
Twilight froze, holding Discord’s singular fang in her magic. It was the last piece. She made a moments panicked decision and jammed it up into place. The statue was complete, but... nothing happened. It didn’t start to move or change into Discord’s real body. It was just a statue. Even the bat, from earlier, had become part of the stone.
A meaty thud made Twilight turn around. The beaten form of the serpent-mouthed Celestia had been tossed at her hooves, broken, bloody, and on the brink of death. Further away, standing triumphant with no scar or wound of her own to speak of, was the fake Luna. She was still holding the broken blade, which now dripped with blood.
“I’m afraid you lost this game a long time ago, Twilight Sparkle,” the fake Luna said, beginning to walk towards Twilight very slowly. Each step she took forward made Twilight inch backward, until her flank was pressed against the statue of Discord. There was so much room to run. She could dart left or right, but all of it felt hopeless. Luna’s eyes were locked on her, carrying a murderous intent that should never exist in a pony’s gaze.
“You lost before you even began playing. You lost the moment she wielded my power.” Luna’s body began to contort, growing in size with each step. At the same time her features began to fade, becoming nothing more than a shadow. The blade, which had been previously held by magic, was now grasped in a grisly hand. “You lost the moment her sister opened that book.”
The figure came to a stop, towering over Twilight like a mountain. Twilight looked into the darkness of the silhouette, her mind flood with poisonous thoughts. Hopelessness and fear began to consume her, leaving her a shivering mess at the figure’s hooves. “Just as you could not turn his stone to flesh, you cannot stop what I am.”
Twilight froze, her eyes drifting away from the figure. She looked up through the bangs of her hair, seeing Discord’s statue standing behind her. She also saw the glint of her crown, which she had held onto through the entire ordeal. There was... there was a chance. If the statue really was Discord, she could turn his stone to flesh. She had the tool to do it resting right on her head. But... her friends were nowhere nearby. Her Element of Magic was almost powerless without the others. Just as friendship was meaningless without the ponies you called friends.
Looking back to the figure, Twilight saw it raising the broken blade above its head. There was no other hope. If she teleported away, the creature would chase, and she couldn't fight it head on. Discord was her only hope. So... she had to try. Even as she watched the figure’s arm tense. Even as the blade began to plunge towards her with murderous intent, she had to try.
She called out to the Element of Magic, making the one request that, at the moment, stood out as the strongest thing in her mind. The one light that, like the candles she had snuffed, seemed to glow brightly against the coming darkness of death. One thought that Twilight clung too as her last saving grace.
“I want to see my friends again. All my friends, even Discord!”
The blade’s tip was but inches away when Twilight felt the crown upon her brow grow warm.
=====================================================================
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even the deepest darkness cannot hold back the light.
OOOOOOOOH PLOT TWISTS
I like it
Missed a word.
This would make a totally awesome horror video game.
4537085 And not even the brightest light can exist without casting shadows...
Then the world exploded.
The end
Hmmm, interesting. I hadn't thought of Discord being broken into the statue pieces. That's actually quite brilliant. I'm quite curious who Snakelestia will turn out to be, since the presence of Nightmare Moon is strange.
Oh, and it just occurred to me what must be done.
Snake? Snake! SNAAAAAAAAAKE!
LOVE IT can't wait to read more
So. Fucking. Intense. x_X
Oh....that's nasty...
So, damn awesome :D I love it :)
If you were looking for nailbiting suspense and true written horror, well . . . this is it.
4537321 there used to be an actual instrument like that, only they used pigs
squeal piggy squeal
Mm. So close to the answers to the questions. So very close, so curious indeed.
Yikes! Amazing friggin' chapter, but it pains me to see it end there. Please, give us more!
4537321
4537380
I got the idea from an excellent YouTube animation.
4537462 good god, that was awsome
So hooked! I need to see how it ends!
And if the real Celestia is the exquisite portrait, is her fear everyone thinking she's perfect?
Amen.
Oooo, the broken sword as Twilight's portable mirror. Excellent.
Oh my god, Pinkie and military grade explosives.
Woah. I wonder who "Luna" could possibly be. Tirek's influence on Celestia manifested into its own form within the game, perhaps?
A mirror? Both good and bad if Shining and the girls can pass through. Good for Twilight's current need for reinforcements, bad for the likelihood of said reinforcements being trapped in the game too.
Truth is a lie, lies are the truth.
Yup, it's Tirek.
One way or another, the game will be far different now.
4537274 I find that hard to believe due to our previous discussion.
4537230 Yes it can. A Shadow is the result of Light being blocked, Not an Inherent part of Light itself. It's perfectly possible to eliminate all shadows within a given area. Having an Incredibly bright Light, having a bunch of them placed strategically, just making sure the room is empty. All viable methods
4538475 I will now call you Mr. Literalpants. Cause you are just taking this far to literally.
More more more!
4538583 thus making it far to enjoyable to watch
4538475
But then what else exists? Only light? That is as bad, if not worse than complete darkness. As long as creatures exist, Light and Dark, Bright and Shadow, will exist. One is not inherently bad, nor is one good, they simply are.
4540505 I guess that's true. The concept of light and the lack thereof will continue to exist just as long as there are things with working eyes. Though I will contest your claim that the existence of light is tied to the existence of living things. Photons would continue to be a thing even if they weren't actively being observed, you know?
I got a fear boner when Luna was talking about twilights voodoo statue.
I wish i was more eloquent right now. Then i could actually say a compliment instead of sitting here speechless like an idiot.
Oh shit this is crazy! But I wonder, what can Discord do against Tirek? Now that I think of it, Tirek didn't fight Celestia head on, he weakened her first. Hmmm... so it seems like Tirek is using the crystals as conduits to trap them in that castle. I just thought you could make a slender-style game about this fic... or not, maybe that's too much. And I'm rambling. Stop.
Thanks and grats!
4537462
It IS an excelent animation... Beautifully made, if I dare say so. I'm gonna check out their channel.
4542871 I'm like that a lot.
Been taking notes from the Season 4 finale I see :P
4540518
Quantum physicists might disagree.
On topic: You know, most cliffhangers in horror stories aren't quite so hopeful. I'm glad for it. And I can honestly say I wasn't expecting the Celestia-monster to be actively protecting Twilight — though really, the evidence for that is anecdotal at best. I wouldn't want to test it by waltzing up to the Celestia-monster without any other threats around, lol.
Cliffhanger. This story is riveting. I need more.
Welp, I am confused as a motherf#%ker right about now. The bad case of cliffhanger-itis is not helping matters.
Damn. This entire story…just…DAMN. Let's have the mane cast give their commentary:
Rarity: Um…Pinkie…I…um…
Rainbow Dash: Don't ask, Rarity. Just- don't.
Pinkie Pie:
Rainbow Dash: Portrait Celestia says run, you better f*cking run, Twilight!
Twilight: Why did I have to be a snake, of all the horrible things in this world? Why WHY!?
Twin Blades: I dunno. Plot convenience, I guess.
Celestia: Damnit, Luna! What did I tell you about stuffing ponies in your piano? Am I gonna have to hide the knives again?
Luna: But Sister, I'm practicing voodoo!
Celestia: I don't wanna hear it, Luna. You're paying for the damage to the piano, paying for the funerals of these ponies, and writing apology letters to their families.
Luna: But-
Celestia: Do it now, young lady!
Luna: …Fine…
wait whaaat
real Luna (Serpentestia) kinda led Twilight into the clutches of Tirek (fake Luna) [speaking about the time when Twilight first encounters Serpentestia]
that's messed up like DANG i mean obviously Luna wasn't planning on that to happen and didn't mean it but uh
4574233
This is getting serious! For Real!
As a creature with wings I find it hard to believe Luna would forget to look up... but was her first time as Nightmare Moon long enough to build an organ like that? Not her style anyway. The demons in her may be speaking and only Arabus could fly and he didn't see much for altitude and thus the 3D thinking of a true flier.
This suspense is real.
So, you have an antagonist who:
1. has creative magic and large magical prowess.
2. Is Ridiculously strong.
3. has large amounts of pain tolerance.
4. is VERY sadistic and filled with blood lust.
Yeah, when you have an antagonist that you cannot fight head on and enjoys watching you die, the fear factor does increase a bit.
4705965 well she's been reduced to a mindless beast, I don't think she knew better.
6320579
This is only 3 years late but that wasn't Luna hunting twilight.
Or the demons she summoned. It was tirek. Who as a centaur with no wings did not have the sense to look to the skies