I don't know what it was about Sunday afternoons, but they seemed inevitably boring. Sure, there was the odd time where I was forced to work, or I was too hungover to even be bored, but not today. Today my office was a tiny room that served as the capital of Boring, Canada. God, even my best jokes were barely worthy of a chuckle.
I was, at this very moment, leaning back in my chair, staring at the ceiling. The screen before me displayed my steam page and a plethora of unplayed games, yet I had no desire to play any of them. I looked over to a shelf of books next to me, only to immediately frown at the sight I beheld. I had either read everything or simply didn't want to read the few books I hadn’t, most of which were well-intentioned gifts.
I groaned, stretching out my arms to the heavens.
I was so very, very bored and I had no excuse to feel that way.
The sun was shining, I had games to play, books to read and the internet at my fingertips, yet I was still bored to thankfully non-literal tears.
As I leaned back I glanced at the Celestia plush standing tall over my bookcase. I chuckled at the sight of her, the image bringing up memories of a rather chaotic night of two bars, a party and finally a five AM drunk eBay purchase.
It could have been much worse as far as drunk purchases go, the doll was tall, standing a few inches above the officially licenced plushies and sporting a much more intricate mane compared to most I had seen online. Despite the crazy one hundred and ninety dollar price tag, in the end I had decided to keep her even if refunding it was probably the better financial decision. Ultimately I had chosen to let her serve as a reminder of the show that had brought me so much joy all those years ago.
I sighed, continuing to stretch out as I looked at the Celestia plush, old memories bubbling to the surface of my mind. I remembered when I first started watching the show in an attempt to understand the memes surrounding it, then by the end of season one I had been hooked.
It may have been awhile since I stopped watching it, but whenever I looked at her, the memory of all those good times came flowing back and even now, I couldn't help but smile. My smile quickly slipped into a frown when I noticed the stitching around her neck had somehow come loose again. I don't know how or why this was even possible, as I’ve never moved it, but once every eight months the stitching around the neck always came loose and threatened to make her head fall off. I couldn't for the life of me understand as to why it was stitched in such a manner. but it was not like I knew anything about the subject.
I reached up from my chair, intent on grabbing the doll, but found that she was just barely out of even my impressive reach. Too lazy to stand I stretched out a little further and was almost able to grab her, my fingers brushing past her fake fur. I groaned and rolled my eyes, reaching out to her one last time, still too lazy to get out of my chair even though I was leaning pretty far at this point.
This time I leaned a little further back, not noticing as the wheels of my chair cracked due to the fact that I was simply too bent on grabbing the plushie just outside my reach. Sure enough, my fingers wrapped around her leg and pulled her closer, only for the wheels to finally give out and snap under my weight.
Suddenly I was in free fall, my chair having toppled completely backward and my mind hardly having time to catch up before the back of my head ricocheted off an end table and bounced off the ground with a wet and sickening crunch.
Elsewhere in the multiverse a changeling queen stood triumphant, gazing out over the terrified faces of the ponies in attendance. She stood tall on two hooved legs, her hands raised triumphantly, the wedding dress she wore having been stretched and torn when she had returned to her natural form.
“Soon my changeling army will break through your pitiful wards and the true conquest will begin. First we will take Canterlot, and then-” She leaped into the air, her buzzing wings catching her in mid-leap, allowing her to hover over the gathered ponies as she waved a dramatic hand out over the horizon. “All of Equestria!”
“No.” Celestia declared, eyes narrowing. “I won't let you.” The queen recoiled, landing once more. “You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self.” The alicorn surged forward, her tattered dress still stubbornly clinging to her long shapely legs. The pair met in the center of the room, both beings grappling one another, Celestia’s pristine white horn interlocking with the queen’s twisted, black one. “I can protect my subjects, from you!”
With a surge of earth pony magic the alicorn’s muscles bulged and she shoved the queen back before leaping into the air, her powerful wings carrying her above the queen. Chrysalis shook her head, readying a spell only to see Celestia was one step ahead of her. Thinking quickly, the changeling threw nearly all the love she had into her own spell and launched it just in time to impact Celestia’s own.
Above the terrified populace two titans of immeasurable power dueled, their twin beams of magic connecting with the force of two two fully loaded speeding trains. The impact of which blew back the ponies standing too close, knocking them onto their backs and sending a gust of wind through the hall.
For several long seconds the audience dared not move, too terrified by the raw power on display to even so much as flinch. The full power of the sun’s avatar bore down against the pure, unfiltered love of one pony for another. The two beams of power surged to new life as the combatants realized they were at a stalemate, sending a renewed wave of power to impact in the center of the room, shattering the windows and deafening several members of the audience.
Chrysalis could feel the pure, unadulterated hate raining down upon her, the sheer volume of which was almost as oppressive as the heat that had begun to build around her horn. Banners on nearby walls came alight, flowers combusted and the long flowing carpet sperating the two sides of the wedding was rendered to little more than cinders. For the first time in a long while the changeling’s pride disappeared and she wondered if this was how she was going to die, crushed beneath the might of the sun.
She couldn't let it end like this, on the eve of her greatest triumph! She rallied her spirits and poured another fresh wave of power into her spell, fueling her magic with every last ounce of love Shining Armor had given her.
Seeing the queen renewing her spell work, Celestia did the same, drawing upon a seemingly endless well of power that resided deep within her. Their renewed spells slammed into each other once more, the green and gold beams sending another gust of wind through the hall. Chrysalis closed her eyes, fearing the end, only to be startled as the hate and confidence radiating off Celestia in oppressive waves suddenly disappeared and was replaced by… fear?
The queen cracked open an eye and looked up to see her own emerald magic pushing back against the power of the sun, the love of Shining Armor somehow enough to resist even the primordial power of Sol itself. The queen’s confidence soared and she threw herself forward, intent on pushing her advantage and forcing the alicorn to surrender.
Panic welled within Celestia’s breast and the alicorn desperately pushed everything she had into her spell, abandoning reason and merely channeling the raw fury of the sun directly through her horn. Though the green beam faltered for a moment it quickly surged forward, closing in on her horn and driving a wedge of fear into the ancient alicorn’s heart.
The wall of green power continued to push forward only to explode a few centimeters in front of the alicorn’s horn, the two waves of power having become too much for either party to handle. The magnitude of the explosion temporarily blinded all who dare look upon it and a gale force wind tore through the hall. Several ponies were lifted from the ground and tossed into fellow audience members as the rest of the undamaged wedding decorations were shredded and tossed around the room.
The changeling queen rubbed her eyes, trying to regain her vision, her confidence surging despite the fact that she couldn't even see. “Even your precious princess couldn't resist my… power?” The queen took a step back, gagging at the sight before her.
There on the ground lay the severed head of Princess Celestia, lying several feet away from the rest of her body, a pool of fresh red blood beginning to form around her stump neck. Half her face was burned away, her charred flesh pulled back to reveal the muscle and bone beneath. The alicorn’s face was contorted in pain and it seemed to be trying to speak, her mouth moving as her eyes fluttered this way and that in a mad panic.
The crowd gasped, the initial shock of the sudden death having rippled through them and been quickly replaced with rage.
Rarity fainted, as did several other members of the audience, too overcome with shock and terror to remain upright. In a distant tower an alicorn woke with a start, a terrible emptiness suddenly exploding within her heart and driving her from the strangely deep sleep she had been under.
The queen stumbled back, nearly tripping over her own hooves. “It was just a stun spell, I didn't mean to do that,” she muttered weakly, unable to tear her gaze from the severed head laying on the ground.
“Murderer!” somepony shouted.
Twilight hardly noticed the grief-stricken crowd or the backpedalling queen, her eyes glued on the head of her teacher lying mere feet away. Celestia’s mouth opened, trying to speak but without lungs or her vocal cords, she could do nothing, her solitary eye shot left and right, trying desperately to find out what happened only to find that she could not move. In the end the alicorn seemed to understand and her panicked, fearful expression fell away and was replaced by one of calm acceptance. She used the last energy she had to stare into her student’s fearful eyes and mouth the words she desperately wish she could speak.
I love you.
In the end even the power of an alicorn could not resist the touch of death and with one last twitch, her disembodied head became still and the sudden heat that had filled the room vanished in an instant.
Behind them, barely noticed by the gathered mob of angry ponies, the shield fell, unleashing a swarm of changelings that descended upon the defenceless city. Rather than spreading out and following their invasion plan, the entire bulk of the changeling force made a beeline straight for the wedding hall, intent on protecting their queen from whatever had made her feel a sudden surge of terror.
“Please, you have to believe me! I just wanted your love!” the queen yelled, her foot slipping at the edge of the window. “I just wanted to give my changeling’s a home in equestria, I never meant to truly hurt anyone especially not like this. You have to believe me!”
In a matter of seconds the mass of angry ponies had begun to bear down on her, pushing her to the edge of the tower and near one of the shattered windows. The changeling queen sensed no fear, no hesitation, and no pity, these ponies had witnessed the death of the most beloved individual in millennia and they were out for blood. Even after seeing their princess decapitated by the triumphant changeling queen, there wasn't a pony still standing that feared sharing such a fate.
A quick check of her love reserves told Chrysalis that she couldn't overpower so many, her fight with the princess of the sun had been short, but it had robbed her of nearly every ounce of energy she had left. Meanwhile the slowly advancing mob of ponies suddenly broke into a run the instant somepony yelled, “KILL HER!” at the top of their lungs.
The yell was met by a wordless cry of rage, everypony not wounded by the blowback of the magical duel or out cold from shock sprinting towards the changeling queen with hate in their eyes.
The queen leaped back, her finely tuned muscles carrying her several metres out of the tower and into the air before her wings caught her. She wanted to yell something defiant, something that would strike fear into the hearts of her enemies, but she couldn't even bring herself to do that and she reluctantly turned, beating a hasty retreat towards her awaiting swarm.
The changeling leading the swarm stopped as their leader approached, one hand pressed against her black plate mail over where her heart would be. “My queen, the swarm is ready to… Where are you going?”
“Home, you idiots! The princess is dead and Luna is coming. Turn around now! I do not want the general of my army to end up as a green stain on the pavement.” The queen turned, uncaring if her children followed, Chrysalis’ wings carrying her directly towards their home in the Badlands.
The rest of the swarm reluctantly followed, confused as to why a veritable buffet of love was being left behind, but unwilling to voice dissent against their queen. The general that had questioned the queen following after a moment of hesitation, the female glancing back at the row of angry ponies glaring up at them through shattered windows. As the details of the duel dissented through the swarm, the assembled changelings flew faster, fear of retaliation and the potential implications of the death of the sun mover aiding their flight.
Back in the hall, Twilight held the severed head of her teacher tight against her chest, not noticing the blood beginning to soak into her shredded and dirty dress and pooling around her hooves. Her friends stood awkwardly nearby, with Rarity being the first to take a step forward intent on trying to console the unicorn but ultimately backing down, and thinking better of it.
What words could she possibly say to heal the hurt in her friend’s heart? What could she possibly do to ease the pain of someone grieving the death of a mother? In Rarity’s cowardice she fell back in line with the rest of Twilight’s friends, head held low in defeat. The rest of the crowd gathered round their fallen princess, confusion, anger and grief rolling through them like a wave, nopony sure of what to do or what to say.
The crowd’s confusion was interrupted by a blur of midnight blue that flew through the nearby window and reformed next to the decapitated alicorn’s body. Luna’s wide, fearful eyes quickly fell on the body of her fallen sister that laid, twisted and broken on the formerly pristine marble floor. “Oh sister…” the alicorn muttered, tears falling from her cheeks.
An unspoken command seemed to slip through the crowd and they silently made their way to the nearest exit. The death of an alicorn had spoken to them, driving them into a rage that knew no bounds, but without a source for that anger it flickered and died quickly. Leaving only the unpleasant realization that they were treading upon a scene that was intensely personal to both Twilight and Luna. The alicorn’s sadness had spread through the ponies like a plague and all knew well just how unwanted they were in that moment.
Even the five heroes, Cadence and even Shining Armor ultimately left, unsure of what to do but knowing instinctively that their remaining princess required space. They wanted to say something, to stay with their friend in their time of need but Luna’s presence demanded their absence and they could do naught but obey.
With regret heavy in their heart, they filed out of the hall and shut the door firmly behind them.
Luna leaned down and gently pulled Twilight’s forelegs open, retrieving her sister’s head from the distraught unicorn. Twilight didn't seem to notice Luna’s presence and simply curled up into a tight ball, slowly rocking back and forth as tears streamed down her face.
Luna wanted nothing more than to console her sister’s student, but she knew what must be done, a memory came unbidden to her mind and suddenly remembered a line from one of her sister’s lessons from when they were young. “An alicorn must stand tall, always, we must not falter, and above all we must give faith to our little ponies.” Whispered Luna.
Luna reverently floated Celestia’s head over to her body, smiling softly as she recalled the words her sister had repeated so often. “A princess must be commanding, strong, a seemingly indestructible bulwark against the horrors that assault our little ponies.”
The lunar princess used her magic to stitch her sister’s head back onto her body, knowing full well that it would accomplish little at this point. Luna knew in her heart that her sister would not want to be seen like that, even in death the alicorn knew Celestia would want to appear proud, and able to inspire her little ponies even while in the next world.
With her job done Luna pressed her lips against the fallen alicorn’s head and whispered a goodbye no one but her would ever hear.
Emotions held back by shock and grief surged within her and she swept over to the lavender mare, scooping up the smaller pony and clutching her tightly against her chest. Luna knew pain, suffering and grief, to her they were old friends that she was visiting once again. To Twilight however, they were new, fresh and the young mare knew not how to deal with the crushing despair that followed in their wake. All the little pony could do was wrap her arms around the more steadfast mare and cling to the alicorn like a distraught foal who had just experienced their first true sense of loss.
Time soon lost all meaning to the two mares and it was only after the city was declared secure by a nervous guard did Luna finally stand. With powerful arms the alicorn held Twilight close to her chest, allowing the unicorn to stay near her as she commanded the guard. As Luna took stock of the situation and quelled any panic, Twilight continued to cling tight to the alicorn’s chest until long after she had run out of tears.
Only when the alicorn had laid her down did Twilight finally seem to realize the world around her existed.
The first thing Twilight noticed that it was darker then she had last noticed and the setting sun was lingering at the horizon for far longer than what seemed normal. Twilight blinked, looking around and quickly finding Luna standing at the balcony, her horn alight with power as her hands gripped the railing tightly. Her jaw was clenched tightly, her muscles coiled and for a moment her magic flared dangerously before the sun finally set, making way for the moon.
With a sigh the alicorn tried to turn, only for her hooves to immediatly falter and threaten to send the alicorn to the floor in a heap. Luna reacted quickly though, and grabbed onto the balcony’s railing, which she was forced to cling to for support.
“L-luna?” the unicorn whispered.
The alicorn waved away the other mare’s concern, slowly walking over to the bed and falling heavily on the side. “Sol is more temperamental than I remembered and she is not taking the news very well.”
Normally Twilight would be intrigued by the name, and curious about the fact that the sun had been referred to as a living being but right now, all those questions seemed so utterly frivolous in the face of what had just happened. Twilight slipped out from under the sheets, a little surprised to find that she was wearing only her undergarments, which were surprisingly clean.
“My apologies Twilight Sparkle. You were unresponsive and I did my best to preserve your dignity.” Explained Luna.
The unicorn merely nodded before slipping her arms around the alicorn. For a long moment they sat there, staring off towards the horizon where the sun had been only moments ago.
“What do we do, Luna?” Twilight whispered.
The alicorn’s angry expression quickly fled in the face of despair and even Luna’s starry hair fell still. “I don't know,” she whispered.
There was only darkness.
No void, no emptiness, but rather a clinging absence of light that filled everything. My hearing seemed to function and yet there was no sound, I could feel my arms and legs move but they could not touch. My voice was gone, my cries of panic ringing only through my own head as I screamed into the darkness.
Time had no meaning here, with nothing to track the passage of it I could not be sure if it had been minutes, hours or years before something finally changed.
But when it did, it was hard to not to see it coming.
A great explosion of light shot forth from the endless darkness, wiping away the limitless void and replacing it with a burning crescendo of fire and fury.
My very being was wiped away in an instant, the pure white light searing me from existence. Though I had feared the complete annihilation of my being, the light instead seemed to shift me somewhere else, somewhere… warm, rather than truly annihilate me like I had first assumed it was doing.
Sensation suddenly flowed through me and with a startled yelp I opened my eyes, my body jerking into wakefulness all at once.
“Calm yourself, my friend,” a soothing, motherly voice whispered.
I turned my head towards the source, instantly noticing a strange floating woman that had a long ivory horn growing on her forehead and a massive pair of wings tucked neatly against her back. As I continued to stare I noticed that she wasn't all there, pieces of herself were missing, holes clearly evident in her form and showing up sporadically across her body in various sizes.
“Well, you certainly aren't what I expected an angel to look like,” I remarked.
The woman blinked, temporarily taken aback, only to burst into a fit of laughter. “I am no angel and this is no afterlife, though my knowledge of human culture is over a thousand years out of date so maybe there are humans who believe heaven looks like the inside of a star.”
“Human culture… what are you then, and more importantly, where are we?” I inquired nervously, casting a curious glance to our new surroundings.
All around us was a great swirling mass of flames that seemed to spring into existence a few metres away and then spread on into infinity. Despite the presence of such intense and all consuming fire it was remarkably pleasant and I feared no imminent fiery death, though I couldn't tell you why.
“I am afraid we are contained within Sol, my sun. Sun with a u, that is,” remarked the strange creature with a giggle.
I cocked my head at the use of the word Sol, only now realizing the implications of such a word in this context. My eyes flew open and I stared at the woman with newfound fascination.
We stood clothless in the light, and after a moment of panic I noticed that certain features were missing, making us little more than sexless dolls of some kind. Her proportions were generous, bringing to mind the image of an ancient fertility goddess, but right then I didn't care about such a thing as my eyes were drawn up to her eyes and more importantly, her hair.
I realized right then and there that her eyes had that odd violet, pinkish tinge that my doll back home had, eyes which suited her flowing, aetherial hair perfectly. I gasped, recoiling from the sudden realization as it settled in fully.
“Celestia?” I whispered.
The being flinched, and looked at me in a mixture of confusion, and fear. “How did you know my name? I have not been to the human realm in many centuries.”
“You were a character in a show I watched,” I muttered.
Rather than be startled by the news that she was a fictional character, the alicorn merely nodded sagely. “Then you are not one of the humans I knew, and it is likely that Starswirl was correct.” She shook her head suddenly. “That does not matter anymore, I can feel Sol stirring and I fear we will have to cut this conversation short for now.”
As if on cue, a presence suddenly emerged from the wall of flames, taking on a shape similar to Celestia’s, if the alicorn was entirely made of fire, that is. Sol floated towards us, gaining definition as it approached until it became nearly a perfect copy of the woman beside me, only more primal in a way that I couldn't quite place. The closest approximation I could possibly make was a person wearing a green morphsuit who then had the surface of the sun digitally transposed where its skin should be, even then with such an… inelegant description obviously did not do the creature any justice whatsoever.
Before I could further analyze the bizarre creature, it opened its mouth and roared at Celestia. Or at least, I think it was a roar. It was like opening a door into a raging house fire, a thousand flames all voicing their angry dissent at once.
The alicorn winced, pulling back from the raging creature. “I know, dear Sol, I know. I did not plan on leaving you, this is as much a surprise to you as it is to me.”
That seemed to quiet the flaming alicorn somewhat and it shook its head, its voice becoming less a raging inferno and more like the sound of a dozen gentle campfires flickering in the wind.
Celestia cocked her head at the creature’s remark, while I chose to remain wisely silent. “I don't understand. You cannot force me back into the realm of the living, my soul is damaged and I am destined for the eternal plains of great Elysium,” Celestia whispered softly and sadly, as if she were speaking down to an angry, petulant child and doing her best to calm it.
The creature reared back and roared with an intensity that would have no doubt hurt my ears, if I was a being of flesh and blood that is. Celestia herself seemed similarly overcome by the inferno, clamping her hands over her ears as she wilted under the creature’s expression of boundless anger.
Finally when the rage petered out, the creature raised its hands, creating a fiery outline that I recognized as belonging to Celestia. I watched as the creature seemed to pour part of itself into this strange shell, until Celestia herself seemed to realize what was happening. “No! Sol you can't do that! Souls don't work that way!” The alicorn reached down, only to have her hand batted away by an angry Sol.
The alicorn grabbed Sol’s arm, trying to rip the creature’s arm away from the glowing shell. “You can't do that! He is innocent in all this!”
I gulped, silently moving a step back from whatever it was that was happening. “Should I be worried?” I asked hesitantly.
Celestia wrapped her arms around the creature’s waist and heaved to no affect. “Sol is trying to use your soul to fill in the damaged holes left in mine! If you don't wish to have your soul obliterated, I suggest you help!”
I sprinted over to the creature and tried to grip one of its arms but they were like corded steel and the frantic tugging of my own pitiful limbs did little to dissuade the creature who completely ignored me. The alicorn and I shifted slightly, both gripping the creature’s right arm and pulling with all our combined might. “Come on, you flaming jackass! I have a right to existence to ya know!” I yelled.
With a slight heave it shrugged us off and continued its work, its hands becoming brighter by the second, until I could see parts of my feet growing wispy and floating towards the shell. Celestia gasped at the sight and covered her mouth. “Oh no,” she muttered.
I turned to her, terror in my eyes. “What do I do? What do I do?” I asked frantically.
“I don't know! This is unlike anything I’ve ever seen!” Celestia yelled back, before trying to light her horn only to receive not even a single spark for her effort. “I don't have a focus, I can't use my magic!”
I grabbed her shoulders and shook. “Think! I don't want to die, not again!”
The panic I had seen coursing through the mare’s features seemed to falter and she looked me in the eye with a strangely defeated, yet proud expression. “I am not sure if this will work, but stand back.”
I released her shoulders and took a step back as instructed, trying not to think about the fact that everything up until our waists were now gone, everything below that having been sucked into the shell. Celestia’s hands began to glow, gaining the attention of Sol who roared at us once more, this time instead of rage it sounded strangely… desperate?
I felt hope surge within me and I looked over to Celestia whose eyes were closed, her face tight in an expression of complete concentration. “What are you doing? I thought you said you couldn't use your magic?” I wasn't sure how, but some deep part of me seemed to know that she was indeed using some manner of magic.
“I can't use mine, so I’m using hers,” Celestia muttered, a look of pain suddenly flashing through her features.
Instantly I was at her side, my hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright? Is there anything I can do to help?”
Celestia shook her head sadly. “I am trying to ensure we will both remain after this is done but I fear I may get left behind.”
Knowledge that had up until this point been a faint trickle at the back of my mind seemed to surge and instantly I knew exactly what she was trying to do, though I knew not how I came into this knowledge. “No, you can't. I’m not worth it Celestia!”
I reached out to grab her wrists, only to find my hands were gone, having disintegrated up to my elbows.
The alicorn smiled faintly, in a manner not unlike the smile of a proud mother. “Don't worry, my friend. I will not leave you entirely.”
Sol raged, her flaming cries making more and more sense by the second. They were sad, mournful and increasingly desperate, a small almost childish voice barely audible through the raging inferno. “Don't leave me! Celestia, you promised! You swore you’d never leave me alone again!” it cried, over and over, begging Celestia to stop even while it continued to work faster and faster, trying to outrun the alicorn’s attempts.
I spared one last glance down at my almost non-existent form, watching as my upper body distigrated completely. “Celestia, you can't do this. You mean so much to so many of them. I am nobody!” I pleaded.
The alicorn shook her head. “I will not stand idly by while an innocent suffers because of me.”
“I’m no one important, you lead a country and give hope to thousands.” I shouted. “You’ll die, Celestia! Permanently!”
The alicorn shook her head, her hair slowly disintegrating into nothingness. “There's a chance I will remain but if I don't make it back to Equestria, then I beg of you. Take care of them, my friend. Take care of my little ponies and give them faith that everything will work out in the end.”
I tried to scream, to tell the alicorn that it was not worth the price, but I found my lips unresponsive and most of my face gone, save for my eyes and ears. With little else to do I was forced to watch as the last bits of Celestia disintegrated, vanishing into the now distinctive shell. As the last traces of the alicorn vanished, Sol screamed in rage and sadness but otherwise seemed unable to stop her spell.
“You promised!” she cried, tears of liquid fire rolling down her cheeks. “Celestia you promised me!”
I could do nothing as my essence was finally consumed, with the last image being of a weeping sister, flaming tears rolling down her flickering features.
Luna clenched and unclenched her fists, trying every trick in the book to ensure she didn't allow herself to reach out and strangle the terrified guard before her. The royal guard had dropped his spear and had backed away nervously, making himself smaller and shrinking away from the enraged alicorn. “What exactly do you mean by ‘they took parts of her’?” she whispered through gritted teeth.
The guard’s shaking intensified, his ceremonial armor rattling. “T-t-they just snuck right in and sliced off pieces of the princess, then vanished!”
Luna’s eyes darkened, her hair becoming a deeper color of black than the guard pony had thought possible. “Find Guard Captain Gleaming and bring her to me.” The alicorn’s eyes narrowed at the quivering pony. “NOW!”
The guard shot up, his legs carrying him to the door as quickly as they possibly could.
With the guard gone, Luna sighed, running a hand through her hair and trying to ignore the fact that their much vaunted royal guard had failed to protect even a corpse. The alicorn looked down and groaned, pinching her brow with two fingers. “Of course he would forget his spear.”
Choosing to ignore that last tidbit of information, Luna walked over to the glass separating her from the room where her sister’s body was being held. What lay beyond was a small stone room that had only a single small light source, which was in the form of a crystal embedded in the roof. There was no decoration along the walls, nothing to help a thief figure out that this dangerous materials room was any different than the rest that filled this wing of the castle.
The alicorn shook her head, noticing right away that all of the dummy crates they had lined the room with had been ignored, save for a single wooden crate that now rested in the center of the room, its top pried open and resting next to it. Reluctantly the alicorn turned the door handle and slipped into the room, committed to going about the grim task of identifying which parts of her sister had been stolen.
Luna wanted to be angry, to feel the pleasant touch of rage that would wash away her sorrow, yet the feeling refused to come. With great reluctance the alicorn peered over the side of the crate, forcing herself to look upon the visage of her deceased sibling.
“Oh Tia, what have they done to you?” she muttered.
Within the box lay Celestia’s body, the pristine and relaxed pose she had been set in having been ruined by the defilers who had hacked off her left hand. Worse still, the sole remaining eye that had not been burnt away had been plucked from her skull and Luna was only faintly aware of the fact that there were other pieces missing as well but that fact was washed away as her anger finally seemed to react to her call.
“HOW DARE THEY!” Luna Boomed, her voice rattling the very stone walls around her.
Just as her anger threatened to overcome her completely, it suddenly fizzled out, making the alicorn collapse to her knees, her cheek resting against the corpse’s side as tears flowed in twin rivers of agony. “How could they?” Luna whispered.
“I finally get you back, after all this time and that harlot takes you from me.” Luna slammed a fist against the wooden box, destroying a chunk of the iron reinforced box. “It's not fair!”
The alicorn collapsed and wept openly, gripping her sister’s one remaining hand in both of her own, ignoring the disturbing, and unpleasant sensation of her sibling’s dead flesh. For longer than she cared to admit Luna lay there, crying out her anger and sadness into the empty silence of the warehouse.
Until something changed, and she felt the hand held in her own twitch suddenly. With a gasp the alicorn jumped up, gripping the hand tightly. “Celestia? Oh please tell me this has all been a nightmare, or a very, very elaborate excuse to take a vacation.”
The hand twitched, then the body followed suit, Celestia’s empty eyes suddenly filling with two flickering blue flames that occupied the formerly empty holes.
“Hello?” I asked.