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Why did you do it? e̘͕̞͍̪ḿ̘͚͈̣ ̣͙̝͍̣̞̝t҉͇̜̬̳̰̮̠fe͖̫̲̝̯̭̮l͕̘̯͡ ̜͓̻̟̟̕u͞ͅo̲Y̡͉̯̭͎͖ -
"What was that?" Twilight thought, practically something felt rather than heard. Was someone talking? No. Nothing. Only the terrible presence of the disturbing alicorn puppet ahead. Upon its head a crown, slightly tilted to one side. Were it not for the ethereal strings hovering above it to simply disappear into what served as the roof of the cavern there would be nothing particularly special about it besides the excellent work apparent in its features. The emotions somehow given presence surrounding it spoke only to sadness and pain. The puppet sat there motionless upon the central dais as though in contemplation of those captive beside it. This superb work almost begged for appreciation were it not steeped in death.
The shape of a heart painted where a real one would reside in a living creature nearly suggested love and light, not this terrible darkness surrounding. Something about that struck a chord as she prepared to try and destroy it. A truly terrible shame that such a finely crafted thing need be ruined. Until now the only two such things she and Dash encountered were clearly wooden clones of their real life counterparts which somehow projected themselves as legitimate to almost all others. This one was either nobody she ever heard about existing, or was a complete lie. The aspect of it carried an air of authority, admiration and quiet respect. Certainly nothing that would normally inspire fear and dread.
It's head was tilted to the right and down slightly. As she took in this sight from afar something else was noticed. A golden chain hung from it's right forehoof as if it were a prisoner itself. What was all this? It did not hold any apparent logic. A puppet can no more be a prisoner than a sack of laundry. This quandary bugged her heavily as she approached from an angle out of sight. Of course this assumption was based on it needing to be looking in her direction to notice. This might not be the case. Attempting to sneak up on this cold thing devoid of life and spirit could almost be construed as nonsensical. Closing in on it this way she felt the oddest crossing of near embarrassment and fear mixed together.
Twilight, a princess, was about to pounce on..a puppet. In any other circumstance this would be beyond absurd to her and anyone else. Albeit this puppet could likely quite easily be the cause of her demise. The pervasive feeling of sad emptiness was most troublesome. She nearly felt herself to be on the edge of tears. What sense did that make? This entire enormous chamber was an oddity in itself. The very walls and ground assumed some feeling like former grandeur had slipped from them. What kind of thoughts were these to be having now? The downward pressure was unending, somewhat akin to having somepony hanging off all four legs and refusing to let go while also being shoved down from above.
By no means weak, this was a serious strain. The intensity worsened the nearer she came to that puzzling thing sitting there on it's throne. The absurdity of this moment was almost beyond comprehension. A pretend alicorn, nothing she'd ever considered before. Never having seen anything like it either left the question arise, was there some significance to the fact it was one? The puzzling nature of it all would normally have piqued her interest, but her dear friends were in serious danger. In the now, the only real option was to act. Not one to normally spring directly into action without thinking, Twilight hurriedly tried to think of what to do. Should she simply go all out and attempt to destroy it so that they might be freed?
Apprehension steadily rising as she neared was making it tremendously difficult to continue towards the center. The sheer wrong of the feelings here were as alien a thing she could imagine. In fact, she had never imagined anything even remotely like this. Cold. A veritable wall of ice may as well be present near this ghastly haunt. Imagining and playing at spooky things on nightmare night was a playful deal, quite another to be facing what for all intents and purposes might actually be a ghost was quite another. This thing was a phantom, a wraith. That shivery feeling down the spine only grew worse. What was about to happen? No reaction to her presence so far. From her twisting cage Celestia could only look on, helpless.
It would appear neither she nor Luna could even so much as speak in their present condition, consumed as they were with the business of not only being crushed by the environ, but the instruments of their jailor as well. Close inspection from behind revealed something which only added to these confused feelings of tumult and woe. The puppet wore a cape bearing the colors of the old equestrian guard. At times over the course of a thousand years prior, Equestria did need a small standing army. These were their colors. What could this mean? Was it in any way useful information? It might be nothing more than misdirection. If misdirection even mattered was something else entirely. For now, she crept closer, near to shaking.
Not in fear, almost in anger. An emotion which she understood, but was rarely ever close to. It was almost an unnatural intrusion on her psyche in itself to feel that way, but in this case it was justified. Wasn't it? These surroundings only served to dull the mind and dampen the spirit. Desperate to free her fellow princesses the decision was made, blast it to pieces from behind. Right as she went to cast this devastating spell the most disconcerting thing she'd ever been witness to occurred. The puppets head lurched around directly towards her, accompanied by a rapid ratcheting sound which served to make it appear like it had broken its own neck to do so.
"Thou scapegrace."
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