//------------------------------// // Protege Twilight Sparkle (Ending 1) // Story: Conflicts Between Dusk and Twilight // by Sparrow9642 //------------------------------// “I-I don’t know who you even are anymore!” Sunset exclaimed. “How could you be so heartless and disgraceful to the very subjects that you are supposed to protect and guide?!” Celestia followed with a chuckle, her demeanor no longer the usual motherly and kind princess she usually held. All that stood before Sunset’s gaze now was a sinister and psychopathic alicorn, eyeing her with a look of malevolence and pure evil. “Dear Sunset, have you not learned anything?” Celestia questioned with indignance. “If you wish to rule, you must destroy any who stand in your way, and eliminate any who threaten to ruin all that you had worked so hard to gain!” Sunset wanted to vomit. She had no idea what to do and scavenged her thoughts for any spells that may free her from this inescapable proposition that she knew had nothing but a grim ending for her. She dug into the deepest resources of her mind for anything. ANYTHING that could aid her in this situation. “I will not ask again, Sunset,” Celestia spoke with demented sterness. “Are you going to aid me in destroying Twilight or will I have to do it myself?!” Sunset knew that exclamation was no bluff. Celestia was dead serious, and it was now or never. She had to decide between killing her friend or joining the other proteges in death. “I-I… Sunset trailed off, bracing herself for the worse.  “Yes?” Celestia questioned, knowing she had Sunset pinned in a position where she couldn’t escape. Sunset looked up to Celestia with fiery eyes of rage and dignity. “I hope Twilight destroys you! I would never kill a friend over power or rule! You can take your proposition and shove it! You are not the mentor I thought you were! You’re just a power-hungry murderer who I hope burns in Tartarus for all that you’ve done!” Celestia only frowned, eyeing her once-student and protege with eyes of demented hurt.  “Such a shame,” Celestia said calmly. “I really thought you were the one, Sunset. The one that would listen to reason, see my ways and reasoning for performing such actions, but I see now that you are merely nothing more than a delinquent, just like the others. Such a fool, willing to give their own freedom to save another pony’s skin. A clear threat to Equestria for that matter.” Sunset only continued to glare at the demented mare before her, speaking her final words before what she knew was a lost cause, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight. “No, you’re the threat, you crazed maniac! Besides, no matter what I would’ve chosen, you would’ve eventually ended up killing me, because in truth, you fear me just as much as Twilight!” “Me, fear you?” Celestia said with a sarcastic tone. “Please, Sunset. I taught you everything you know, therefore, I know every spell you could possibly use against me.” “Are you so sure about that?” Sunset replied with confidence. “You see, I didn’t tell you EVERYTHING that was discussed between Twilight and I. She taught me a thing or two about magic as well. Things that not even the almighty Princess of Equestria would know.” Celestia didn’t express any sense of fear or intimidation, assuming that Sunset was just bluffing her. “Oh Sunset, you never were the best liar,” Celestia mocked. “You know very well that you cannot do anything in this position. I can block anything you could possibly attempt to cast, and I know every little spell that you could use. Now, let’s not delay this any further.” Celestia approached closer as Sunset prepared one last ditch effort to potentially save her friend from assured death. “Here goes nothing,” Sunset thought, as she cast the one trick she had learned from Twilight. A massive gust of force shot out from Sunset’s body, firing straight out to Celestia, and in complete shock and unable to block the wall of invisible force, Celestia flew back from Sunset. Having not perfected the routine, Sunset was left temporarily dazed, but worked quickly to recuperate and attempt a teleportation spell to get as far from the crazed alicorn as possible. Celestia struggled to get back up, looking back at the unicorn, her horn flickering with light-blue magical light. Gritting her teeth in anger, she attempted to focus on blocking Sunset’s magic, but struggled on focusing accurately. It was clear that Sunset had put almost all of her strength into the unexpected defensive spell if it had shaken up Celestia this much. Sunset had a window of opportunity, but it was slim. “Come on magic!” she exclaimed. “Don’t fail me now!” The magical light flickered as Sunset continued to put all of her remaining strength into the spell, feeling her energy start to weaken fast. Like a dying lightbulb, the aura continued to flicker, and Celestia had begun to gain back her focus on Sunset efficiently and prepared a spell of her own. The window to get out was growing more slim for Sunset, her teleportation spell not gaining any sort of progress. “Come on! Come on!” Sunset pleaded. She pushed and pushed harder into the spell, but the light just flickered, and in a sudden moment, the aura diminished to nothing. The spell had failed. “NO!” Sunset yelled, her body completely drained of all of its physical strength. She tried to run but only found herself unable to, and upon one glance back at Celestia, now back on her hooves and horn ablaze with golden magical light, she collapsed onto the ground. I’m sorry, Twilight. I tried… Sunset awoke with a gasp, her vision blurry and head pounding. She rubbed her head with a hoof, but upon movement and a single touch to her skull, she noticed two things that made her heart skip a beat; her hooves were in shackles, and her horn was gone. That’s when she remembered what happened before she fainted.  Her vision grew clear, and her body immediately fell to a panic. She wasn’t in any sort of room she was familiar with, only what seemed like a cell. The chains rattled as she attempted to lunge toward the door, the cell as dark as night. Upon the chains seizing her body, she saw that the only light source that lit her cell was torches outside the door to her prison.  She didn’t even question where she was, because she had no idea, and only proceeded to yell out pleas for help. “HELP! PLEASE!”  Silence only followed her pleas, but she continued to yell, her demeanor depleting to hopelessness and emotions beginning to show. “PLEASE! ANYPONY! HELP ME!” Tears escaped her eyes as her pleas fell to nothing but a shallow whisper. “Please! Anypony!” She eventually gave up, and receded to the back wall where she only fell to tears, knowing she was defeated. Time passed, seeming like forever to Sunset, when a sound caused the now-hornless pony to stir; hooves walking toward her cell. She rushed forward, the chains once again seizing her movement, and she shouted, her throat dry as sand, but she didn’t care. “Help me! Please!” She pleaded in what sounded like a choked croak.  The hooves grew closer along with what seemed like the glow of a lantern or torch. Sunset grew relieved, up until she noticed the golden aura holding the lantern. Her assumptions became all the more true upon the face of Princess Celestia appearing outside the barred cell door window, a sinister smile on her face. “You’re awake,” Celestia cooed. “Good.” Sunset lunged forward with pure anger, her body immediately being pulled down by the force of the seizing of the chains. Sunset regained her footing, continuing to lunge and scream in anger at alabaster alicorn outside her cell. All attempts failed, and eventually, Sunset gave up, continuing to eye the matriarch with hatred. “I have to admit, you did surprise me with that spell,” Celestia said. “Tell me, where did you learn such a spell?” Sunset didn’t respond and only spat outward at the cell door. “Buck you!” Celestia chuckled. “No matter, I’ll find out one way or the other.” “Where am I!?” Sunset demanded. “What did you do to me?!” “So demanding,” Celestia mocked. “I suppose there’s no harm in telling you, seeing there’s nothing you can do to stop me. You are in a place where nopony will ever find you, and only I know of, so save your breath on yelling for help, because it’s futile. To answer your second question, I simply took away your only defense and hope of escaping. Even if you ever did, I doubt you could ever find your way out of these tunnels. These are what are known as the Canterlot Catacombs. An ancient dungeon where ponies were imprisoned in the first days of Equestria. Nopony has ever escaped and never will. As I stated, only I know the way in and out of these tunnels, so don’t even try to break free if you know what’s good for you. In fact, it’s best you get accustomed to your new home, because you’re going to be down here for a LONG time, and by that, I mean the rest of your life.  If only you would’ve listened, Sunset. You could’ve had a place by my side on the throne, but you chose to betray me, so now you will live your life in shackles with no hope of ever escaping or saving your precious little friend.” “You would’ve just killed me like the rest!” Sunset accused. “You feared me just as much as Twilight, and trust me when I say that Twilight will destroy you! Your days are numbered, and I hope you die the worst possible way in Equestrian history!” Celestia chuckled once again, and Sunset felt a chill go down her spine at it, feeling something off about it. Her thoughts were confirmed almost immediately. “Foolish little Sunset. You don’t get it do you?” Sunset’s blood immediately froze like ice. “You see, with you now out of the picture, I am in need of a new protege, and I’ve had my eye on a particular little lavender filly for some time, and with her old teacher now having abandoned her, she will need a new guide in her magical knowledge. Now, I wonder who that might be?” The mocking had caused Sunset’s heart to drop. Celestia had played her cards perfectly, and the hurt only continued to grow more and more with Celestia’s next words. “You were merely a pawn in my game, Sunset, just as Twilight will be, along with any other protege that I gain in my time as the ruler of Equestria. This is how I’ve managed my rule for so long, and it will continue to remain that way. Friendship is what allows me to coax my proteges into these dungeons, only for me to repeat the cycle for eternity. I’ll assign Twilight with a fellow friend just as did you, and the same story will play over and over.” Sunset couldn’t do anything except stand, baffled and defeated by a true monster. The one thing that binded Equestria together was the cause of her eternal rule, and it only was going to continue for centuries and centuries beyond. “Now, I must be going,” Celestia finalized. “I have a pony to enlist as my new and improved protege. Rest easy, Sunset, and do enjoy your stay in the darkness for the rest of your life.” Celestia laughed maniacally as she turned from the cell door and walked back in the direction she had come from. Sunset only continued to try and break free of her shackles violently, but it was worthless. There was no hope for Equestria, and it would forever be ruled by a sadistic murderer. All Sunset could do was shout and plead, hoping that her friend could hear her calls to not listen to Celestia, but there was no hope. Celestia had won once again. “NO! TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT!!!”