Lines and Webs

by Airstream

Prologue

Twilight Sparkle lay beaten, kneeling on the cold marble of the throne room. Her gambits had failed, her allies had left her, and even Spike was currently imprisoned beneath the ancient citadel of Canterlot, in chains of lunar steel forged in solar fire. She had nowhere left to run, each and every one of her plans had been shut down, and she was finally out of options.

Where was she? Luna had promised, she had said that she would aid Twilight when the time came. She wasn't here now, and Twilight had been counting on her. Without Luna, it was just her and Spike against all of the forces brought to bear upon them. There was no way she could have won, not without help. And when she was needed most, Luna wasn't there.

So now she was forced to the ground, bound in adamantium chains, wearing the magical equivalent of handcuffs around her horn.The chains themselves sapped the strength of those they bound, causing more pain and weariness the more the prisoner struggled. She had fought against all comers wearing those chains, the force of her magecraft hurling guardsponies through the air, and even canceling several spells directed at her outright. The ponies holding her captive right now were the ones that she just couldn't bring herself to hurt anymore. And so, though she had tried to flee at last, Twilight Sparkle had knelt under the weight of that terrible iron. And with that, her journey was over.

Around Twilight were her friends, holding her bonds. Rarity herself had levitated the inhibitor ring around her horn, leaving her feeling muzzy and a bit nauseous. She stood in front of her now, trying to meet Twilight's purple eyes with her own sapphire gaze. Twilight instead chose to crane her neck away, staring at her old friends, silently accusing them all of their betrayal. Rainbow Dash, her loyal companion, stood with a double length of chain in each hoof, meeting her eyes without any emotion save a glimmer of sadness. Pinkie Pie, swollen with her child, gazed solemnly at Twilight, and gave her a reassuring nod. She was unable to smile or grin around the links in her teeth. Fluttershy refused to meet her stare, seemingly the only one uneasy about the circumstances. Then again, she was usually uneasy, even at the best of times. She too held a length of chain in her mouth, feet planted delicately on the floor. And Applejack, honest Applejack, stood behind her, a length of chain in each hoof, meeting her head on, daring her to move. Her eyes were the worst by far, full of hurt and sadness. Twilight snorted, full of equal parts rage, fear, and despair. Even now, she might have found a way to escape, if not for...

"My faithful student." Her, of course. Princess Celestia, Dea Solaris, undisputed ruler of Equestria, and until recently, Twilight Sparkle's trusted mentor and teacher. Twilight would have loved to refuse looking at her, so thoroughly disgusted was she, but she would not give her the satisfaction of bowing her head. So she looked up, into those orbs that so closely mirrored hers, and did her best to spit into them.

Celestia recoiled slightly at the not entirely unexpected attempt, and spoke once again, in a voice laden with power. "Twilight Sparkle, cease this foolishness, and let us help you!"

Twilight was having none of it. "No more games, Celestia. Either let me go, or 'cure' me, right here and now.” Her haunches tensed involuntarily, and Twilight's friends tightened their grips on the chains, almost in unison. Her voice dripped with barely contained fury, all of it directed at the alicorn who had been like a second mother, an excellent teacher, and a first friend to her. "I will not willingly take part in this plan of yours, Princess. I will do my best to resist you, body, mind, and soul. You've clearly gotten to my friends, and I hate you for that just as much as I hate you for what you have done to me." Her voice cracked, just a little. "Me, Princess. How could you do this to me? Had you asked, I might have accepted. But manipulating all of us, even the ones I thought you might have trusted... I cannot abide that."

The little unicorn looked at her friends, all of them staring at her in horror, even now, even after she had tried to explain that she was still here, still Twilight. She had an audience, may as well give one last lecture, to somepony who desperately needed it. "Yes, I hate you, Celestia. I hate you for all the pain and the sorrow you have caused me and for what you have done to the ones I love. I hate you for making me the happiest I have been in years, and for making that another falsity on your long, long list of lies. I see you clearly now, a deceiver and tyrant. I was a foal. I trusted you. And now I feel nothing but contempt for you." Finally, she looked back at her one-time ruler, and set her hooves under her, barely rising from kneeling to standing. She braced herself, and squared her shoulders. "Do it, Princess. The game is over. You've won. Claim your victory."

Celestia allowed herself a small smile, full of grace and understanding. Every inch the perfect monarch, slipping into her accustomed role. She spoke. "Twilight. My faithful student. Your crimes are forgiven, your mind reclaimed. You can be yourself again. Open yourself to Harmony, and you can have your life back. Be still, my little pony. It will be over soon." With that, her horn glowed.

A shimmering light filled the air, and Twilight was immediately aware of the presence of the Elements of Harmony. For the first time in nearly ten years, Twilight was able to watch in person as their magic took hold, the pendants settling themselves around her friends' necks. However, this time her tiara did not settle on her own head. No, she had renounced her Element when she had left Ponyville, fleeing into the night. It seemed so long ago to her... but no matter. Soon enough, her friends had set themselves, careful not to release the chains, as Twilight had hoped they would. And she looked for the last time into the face of her old teacher, and the Element resting upon her brow. She did not look like a Princess with that terrible Power placed upon her head. She looked every inch the Queen, now.

As one, the circle of ponies around Twilight rose into the air, Elements glowing brighter and brighter still. Only Celestia stood upon her feet, hair whipping to one side instead of billowing, her wings unfurled to catch a magical wind. The light spread like smoke, spiraling inward and closer. The fuzziness in Twilight's head grew, and her body tingled and flushed with heat. Twilight Sparkle's greatest mentor and worst enemy knelt, horn spitting with power and mere inches away from her own. Before she could make contact, Twilight spoke, her voice small and afraid. "Princess... will this hurt? Before or after?"

A smile once again spread across Celestia's face. "No, Twilight. It feels wonderful, trust me. And afterwards, you shall know peace."

Twilight sniffed, one tear rolling from her face to splash against the floor. "Do it. Just do it." Celestia bent down, her horn gently touching Twilight's forehead. Twilight cried out in ecstasy, transfixed by the power of Harmony. And she knew no more.

Comments

[Bloodyfeather23]

Rather interesting, I'd like to see where this is going...

[Sage Darktalon]

JFKSAF;LKJDSAFDHGJDA;LKGJF;J

Lurve ya

[themanesix]

What in Equestria is going on here......EXPLAIN AUTHOR EXPLAIN

[Circuit Link]

Cool

[Stiggerzz]

already lovin' it...AND I'VE ONLY READ THE PROLOUGUE!!!!!!

what mad god from the skies above created thee author? you have hooked me with a prolouge....A PROLOUGUE!!!!!!!!!

[fedback]

i can not express my love/ hate for you miste autor, for one you create a wonderfull history with over 200k words and two......i almost finished the second part and just now realised there was a first one TT.....marathon reading here we go

[Morrin]

Wait wait wait...this is the prologue?? I think the Docter can say it better the I.
[youtube=http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=TozoL_P0804&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DTozoL_P0804]
WHAAAAT??!!??

[katarjin]

EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN! THE WRITER WILL EXPLAIN! /Dalek off.. dude man dude hooked already and its only chapter one

[Pony of Passchendaele]

2290205 HARGLE FLARGLE NARGLE GARGLE!
I too like this story. And am a strange tentacle monster inside of a rolling garbage can.

[Lunar Paragon]

wow
i don't know what to say
just wow
with a prologue like this this story must be read
and i found this one on accident

[pwny]

Read twi's dialogue with extremely manly deep voice.

XD the rebel fighter role does not suit her.

[Azure Sandora]

What the...

Onward to the next chapter.

[Leonzilla]

cronkitehhh.personal.asu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/obama-not-bad.jpeg

[Beware The Carpenter]

Reading this cause I read the preview to it and the sequel and I thought it sounded similar to a story I'm on the verge of writing; so far mine is quite different but I'll keep you posted.

[V-Pony]

Oh snap!

[Atom Cracker]

encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTQnFUGbExyK3JR0WDpqMLtLxdvg6U53JP8dhzsNWBvyuvrowMS

[MoonLit_Assassin]

just very very intrigued by the prologue here, we'll see where this goes

[MustacheMerlin]

Warning, possible spoilers if my inference skills are up to snuff.

So, what I can infer with this chapter is that Celestia has created Equestria as a utopia, where everypony is happy, but it comes at a price. In doing so Celestia took away their freedom, pulling all the strings and leaving the ponies with only the illusion of choice. Twilight somehow found out, and tried to stop her with Luna's help, but Luna never showed up and Twilight couldn't do it. Celestia is now using the Elements to make her forget it all, and the rest of the story is about how she rediscovers what's going on, or at least thats act one. Okay, I'm gonna go read it now and see how close I got to the truth, I don't expect much though because I made a lot of guesses here off not a lot of information. (If thats not what this is about then I have a story to go write!)

[Swan Song]

S'alright. 10/10 -IGN

[Widow Peak]

...damn. What a start! :D

[EverfreeSparkle]

I will never understand why some authors make a prologue that is closer to an epilogue. If you know the destination, then the journey won't be as exciting.

[jwizard]

5799131

Not in this case. We don't know what drove anypony to this point, so all we have is clues to go on.

[Zenith25]

[Lexiebommel10]

im scared

[drc123456]

Man I love these stories im back for my 5th read through the way they flow how you hashed everything out its so perfect with the first two stories

[Zenith Sparkle]

I get a nostalgic feeling when I read through from the beginning, even though it wasn't that long ago that I started. Love this so much.

[Von Voctavia]

I have trouble engaging with a story where the entire story is a flashback. That's like watching the last 10 minutes of a DVD before watching the rest of the movie. Also, epilogues don't go at the start.

BUT!

I will continue reading.

[Mop_Hop]

4 years latter and this opening still gives me chills

[Teraunce]

10578792
Agreed. What an opener.

[Enderstorm]

Okay, just so we're clear, this is the end of the story mislabelled as the prologue.

[PonyList]

11296010
Just because it’s near the end chronologically doesn’t mean it’s an epilogue. In this particular kind of framing gives just enough information to hook the reader but not enough to satisfy them. This chapter does pretty well in that regard

[Enderstorm]

11481494
I guess. I also think Von Voctavia summed up my own thoughts pretty well:

I have trouble engaging with a story where the entire story is a flashback. That's like watching the last 10 minutes of a DVD before watching the rest of the movie. Also, epilogues don't go at the start.