Crimson Sunset
By Nebula Star
Chapter 7: Resignation
***
Celestia felt dead on her hooves as she forced herself to trot as regally as she could into the Eastern Canterlot guard station. Not knowing what else she could do; she’d been up patrolling the city with a squad of her personal guard nearly half the night. Then when she’d finally retired to her chambers, she’d spent another hour trying a few more scrying spells she’d found in the library archives.
When she’d finally gotten to sleep it had only been a few scant hours before dawn. Unfortunately, centuries of conditioning had made it impossible for her to sleep past when it was time for dawn. It was then, as she staggered onto her balcony, that Luna had found her and, clearly hesitating, informed her that there had been another incident. Different than the rest, only one pony was involved and he hadn’t actually been injured.
“Your Majesty!” The ranking officer greeted, bowing as she entered.
“The stallion that was attacked, is he still here?” Celestia asked, trying not to sound as impatient as she actually felt. There were times she could hardly bear all the bowing as scraping, and right now she was just hoping she hadn’t missed her chance to question the stallion herself.
“Yes, though we were about to send him on his way.”
“I’d like to speak with him first.”
He nodded. “Of course, this way!”
He led her to a small office where a young stallion was waiting. His eyes widened as Celestia entered the room and almost fell over his own hooves getting up to bow.
“Be at ease, my little pony.” Celestia told him gently. “I only wish to ask you a few questions about what happened, if that’s alright?”
“Yes, of course, your highness!” He said quickly.
Celestia smiled and decided to get right to the point. “I was informed that you reported being attacked, but that you weren’t hurt, nor did you have anything of value that they could have taken. Can you tell me exactly what happened?”
He nodded. “Yes… uh… well, I was on my way to work. I work at a bakery, you see, so I have to start very early in the morning so that we can get the bread and pastries cooked fresh…
“I’m well aware of a baker’s schedule.” Celestia interrupted.
“Oh, right, uh…” He fidgeted, nervously.
Celestia suppressed a sigh and instead put on her best comforting smile. “It’s alright, just tell me about the attack.”
“Okay… uh, I was in an alley that I take every day to get to the bakery when I heard somepony land behind me. Though I don’t think it was a pegasus, the wing beat seemed far too heavy. I turned to look and the last thing I remember was bright green eyes and a red glow. I must have passed out then, because I woke up, laying in the alley several minutes later.”
“The red glow, do you think it was magic, perhaps from a pony’s horn?”
He frowned. “Maybe, it was above the eyes I saw. But they had wings… they… they couldn’t be an alicorn could they!?” he asked as if he feared even doing so was crossing a line.
Celestia frowned. “No, not an alicorn; not quite.” A red glow. By the sound of it, Sunset was in control, but in the past, her magic had always been emerald in color, similar to her eyes. No wonder her attempts at scrying her had failed; for a pony’s magic to change color signified a tremendous change indeed. But had the change been in her magic; or in Sunset herself?
“Your highness?”
Celestia looked down at the Stallion, realizing she’d just been thinking for some time. “Do you mind if I scan you for residual magic? I would like to check something.”
“Oh, uh… no, I don’t mind.”
“Thank you.” Celestia said and lit up her horn, casting the spell. As she’d suspected, there was still residual magic on him, since it had only been a few hours since the incident. The strongest was easily identifiable as an enervating spell. He hadn’t woken on his own then. Being the most recent spell cast on him it was by far the strongest, but there was one other spell there, almost hidden by the first as it was almost the polar opposite; a sleep spell.
Celestia felt a bit of hope join her worry for her student. It appeared Luna was right; whatever had happened to Sunset, she now had to consume pony blood, and if she didn’t, she’d eventually lose control. The amount of blood she’d taken in the first attack had lasted her three days before she’d lost control again. Sunset had realized this and decided to try and feed in a more controlled manner rather than risk doing another pony permanent harm if she lost control again. Clearly, she’d intended to feed from this stallion, but for some reason she hadn’t gone through with it and instead cast a spell to wake him before leaving.
‘Which means that she still hasn’t fed and will likely lose control again tomorrow night.’ Celestia thought with a wince. And thus far she’s been able to evade both Luna and the guard, even when in a feral state. Luna had said she’d even cast her teleportation spell while in that state. Celestia felt torn; that casting such complex spells had become so second nature to Sunset that she could still do so even in such a state was impressive to say the least. But at the same time, she almost wished her student weren’t so skilled. At least this seemed to confirm Luna’s theory…
She froze. It was more than just confirming the theory. The enervating spell Sunset had used would have woken the stallion almost immediately. She looked down at him.
“Do you recall seeing or hearing anything when you woke? Anything at all?”
He frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t think so… I thought maybe there was a flash of light, but I’m not sure.”
If Sunset had run or flown, he almost definitely would have heard her, which meant she most likely had teleported. She was always teleporting away. She’d become reliant on the spell. They may not be able to trace the spell, but teleportation spells always took a lot of power; more than most unicorns could even manage. In addition, every teleportation spell created a surge of power both at where it was cast and at its destination.
She’d already experienced what the spell felt like at its casting location. True she’d been distracted at the time, and there’d been a lot of magic in the air, but she was sure she could recognize it if she felt it again. So, if she were to set up a ward over the city to detect powerful spell casting, she’d just have to wait until she felt Sunset cast the spell again. When she did, any other spikes of magic at the same time would likely be the destination.
But setting up such a ward would not be easy; though she was sure she could recognize it, she wasn’t familiar enough with Sunset’s spell to create a more passive ward with it as the trigger. This would have to be an active ward, requiring constant upkeep, and over the entire city. She doubted she could keep it going for much more than an hour, two at most. It would also need to be subtle, all but undetectable so Sunset wouldn’t notice. She’d need Luna’s help for this, but she was sure they could do it. She gave a firm nod, satisfied that she had a course of action at last.
“Thank you, that’s all I needed.” Celestia told the stallion with a gentle smile. “Rest assured, everything that can be done about this incident is being done.”
He nodded nervously then bowed as Celestia turned to leave. She had preparations to make.
~~~
The cave was silent save for Sunset’s soft breaths. She wasn’t working. She couldn’t concentrate enough to do anything of use. Instead, she laid across the floor, all of her focus going toward maintaining control; trying to resist the thirst. She knew it was a battle she couldn’t win; knew it was only a matter of time; but still she fought. She had to fight, because if she lost control… when she lost control… somepony might die. That was something she couldn’t bear. Not when it wasn’t her choice.
It would happen. She knew it would. It was only a matter of time. That is, if it hadn’t happened already. She didn’t know if all her previous victims had survived. They’d all been alive when she’d last seen or heard; but if any had died later on…
A soft whimper escaped her and for a moment she nearly lost control; nearly lost to the thirst. It was only a matter of time; but she would fight it for as long as she possibly could. She had to.
It wouldn’t be much longer.
~~~
“Are you ready, Luna?” Celestia asked as she entered the workroom where Luna waited. She’d just seen to the setting of the sun and it was time to put her plans into motion.
“I’ve prepared everything you asked, sister; but are you certain that you are up to this? You have hardly slept these past few days.” Luna said, concern clear in her voice.
“I will be fine.” Celestia told her dismissively.
“Cellie, immortal we may be, but we are not without limits. You need more than a single hour of rest.” Luna insisted.
She shook her head. “I can’t afford more, Luna. If we don’t find her tonight… if she were to cause anypony permanent harm… I can’t let that happen. She’d blame herself; I can’t let her have that on her conscience.”
Luna sighed. She knew it would be no use trying to push the issue. Turning toward the center of the workroom, Luna moved to the center of circular design painted on the floor. “I have prepared the array needed for the ward. Together we should be able to keep it going for four hours, perhaps five, but no longer.”
Celestia frowned, thinking. “The first attack was before midnight.”
“And the second was only a little after. But I fear it will still be a matter of luck whether she shows herself while we are casting the ward or not.” Luna told her.
“Then let us hope luck is with us.”
Luna watched her a moment more, then nodded. “Harmony willing, this will end tonight.” She said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “I will do the casting.”
“Luna, I’m not so exhausted that I can’t cast the ward. I know what Sunset’s spell feels like. I should…”
“That is not what I meant, sister. I too know what your student’s spell feels like, I have felt it cast once more than you have. What is more, if I’m the one casting, then if we do detect her and you go to find her; I will be able to keep the ward going for a time in case she tries to escape you. And tell you where she goes via mind link.”
“Oh, right. That makes sense.” Celestia admitted with a slight wince. Perhaps she was more exhausted than she thought. Regardless, this couldn’t wait. She had to find Sunset before any more ponies were hurt… before Sunset suffered any more guilt added to her conscience. “Let’s end this.”
Luna sighed, but nodded. “Yes, let us end this.” She centered herself in the array and gestured to a circle in front of her. “Take your place, and we will begin.”
Celestia did as she was told. Once she was in place, Luna’s horn lit up and she began casting the spell. Celestia’s horn lit up a moment later. She could feel the spell Luna was casting, feel the shape of the magic. Focusing she began to overlay her magic on top of Luna’s weaves letting Luna’s magic guide it. Immediately she felt the resistance of forcing their magic to work together, but with only two of them it was negligible and soon the ward took form.
It was like opening another eye, one that wasn’t confined to their physical bodies. All of Canterlot was within its view. It wasn’t physical light they were seeing, but magic. To this new vision ponies appeared as masses of light, varying in brightness according to their internal magic. But they were hardly all there was to see. Magic was everywhere. Flickers could be seen all over as ponies used their magic for everyday things, but those were hardly noticeable behind the ambient magic of Equestria. Flows like great rivers of light passed through the entire city and then far beyond. As they flowed, smaller branches split off again and again, spreading magic throughout the land.
Settling into the casting, Celestia could feel Luna had been right. They wouldn’t be able to keep it going more than four or five hours at most, not without draining themselves to the point that they wouldn’t be able to perform their duties come morning. Hopefully it would be enough. Opening her focus to all of Canterlot she made herself as comfortable as she could as they watched, waiting for Sunset’s spell.
Where are you Sunset…
Hours passed, midnight came and went, still they kept the ward going. Celestia was beginning to fear they’d begun to soon; or even worse, too late.
“There!” Luna nearly shouted, startling her even as she saw a bright flash within the ward.
Celestia focused on the flash that had just appeared in her extra sense it didn’t feel like what she’d sensed before, but by the location, she guessed it was Sunset’s destination. “I didn’t sense the origin, you sure it’s her!?” Even as she said it, she was preparing to end her connection to the ward and teleport herself.
“Yes, the origin was underground, but it was definitely her spell!”
Celestia nodded, satisfied that she had her destination and cut off her magic. “I’m going!”
“Good luck, sister!” Luna called after her and Celestia disappeared in a golden flash.
When she reappeared, it was in the air above one of the lower sections of Canterlot. Opening her wings, she caught herself before she dropped very far. Immediately she spun in the air, scanning her surroundings. Nothing.
No! That couldn’t be right! This was the only other location they’d sensed when Sunset cast her spell. This had to have been her destination and it was high enough in the air that there was no way she could have gotten out of sight before Celestia had arrived.
Before she could check again, she felt the touch of a magic she knew well. Relaxing her mind, she let Luna make the mental link.
‘She teleported again even as you did!’ Luna’s voice came through the link followed by the impression of a location. Celestia didn’t hesitate, teleporting again, though doing so broke the link.
This time she found herself in an alley, still well above the ground but below the rooftops. Again, she looked in both directions, this time she spotted her quarry in the form of a shadow swooping down toward the end of the alley and the connecting road. A road where a lone pony was just trotting past.
Celestia’s eyes widened and she gave chase. The young mare hadn’t noticed them and had no idea she was in danger. “SUNSET!”
Sunset’s wings snapped wide and she spun in the air, even as the mare behind her jumped at the sudden echoing shout. There was no recognition in Sunset’s eyes. As Luna had described, the look she gave Celestia was a feral beast responding to a loud noise rather than a pony responding to her name. She gave a hiss and her horn lit up.
She was going to teleport again. Celestia knew it even before the spell began taking shape. Pumping her wings, Celestia drove herself forward with a burst of speed. Crimson flame began to swirl up around Sunset, but she didn’t slow. Her hooves touched the flames and she felt an instant of pain as they scorched away her coat. She didn’t stop, she slammed into Sunset wrapping her hooves around her. As she did the swirling flames expanded to surround them both.
An instant later the flames dissipated and they were in darkness, tumbling across a stone floor. They finally came to a stop amidst what sounded like fluttering leaves of some kind. Sunset thrashed in Celestia’s hooves trying to break free. Celestia was on her back, holding Sunset against her barrel as she struggled. One of Sunset’s wings was wrapped around her and currently pinned under them while the other swung around trying to get purchase. She could hear it beating against the ground. The rest of Sunset’s limbs were swinging wildly, trying to break Celestia’s grip. Then the thumb claw of Sunset’s pinned wing dug into her shoulder. Celestia grit her teeth but ignored the pain as she managed to catch one of Sunset’s forehooves with her own, pinning it. One of her own wings was pinned with Sunset’s wrapped around her but with the other she managed to catch her remaining forehoof.
That left only her hind hooves kicking uselessly off to the side. Her strength surprised Celestia, but she managed to hold on as Sunset continued to struggle.
“SUNSET, STOP! Pease just stop!” Celestia cried, and finally lit up her horn with a soft golden glow, suppressing her magic in case she tried to teleport again.
She continued to thrash, trying in vain to break free.
“Sunset, please… I’m sorry…” Celestia whimpered. “I’m sorry. Please… come back to me.”
…
…
“Princess?”
“SUNSET!” Celestia cried as Sunset finally stopped struggling. Rolling onto her side, still holding Sunset, she managed to use her free wing to push herself up to a sitting position, cradling Sunset like a foal. There she looked down at Sunset and found her green eyes gazing back up at her. There was fear there, guilt and regret, some pain, but also relief. Tears filled her eyes and she reached up, clinging to Celestia and burying her face against her neck as she began to cry.
Celestia held her in her hooves, wrapping her free wing around her comfortingly as all the emotions of the past few days finally came out, and her own eyes began to sting with tears as well.
“Princess, I’m so sorry. I… I’m sorry.”
“Shh. I know. I’m sorry too,” she said gently, but she couldn’t help smiling as she did. She knew she had Sunset back.
“Please… just kill me.”
Her eyes went wide and she looked down at Sunset in shock. “What!?”
Sunset looked back up at her, her eyes full of pain and fear. “Just kill me… before I kill somepony else.”
“Oh, no no no! Sunset, nopony has died!” Celestia assured her.
“It’s only a matter of time.” She said softly. Her fear of that inevitability was clear. “I tried to find a way… to fix it. But I can’t. And I can’t control it… the thirst. It will take me again, I can’t hold it back for long! Please, just kill me before I hurt somepony else!”
“Sunset, no! I am not losing you! We’ll find a way to fix this!”
“We can’t… not soon enough! The thirst… I can’t control it!”
“I am not going to kill you!”
“You have to!” Sunset cried. “I’ll lose control again! The thirst will take over! Please, I don’t want to be a monster…”
“Sunset you’re not a monster! You’re strong! You can get through this! You can control it; I know you can!”
“I TRIED!” Sunset screamed, then with a whimper buried her face against Celestia’s shoulder again. “I tried to fix it… I tried to control it… the thirst…”
“For blood?” Celestia asked and Sunset tensed.
“I can’t stop it. The thirst gets worse every day until…”
“You need blood, to satisfy it?” She asked. It was as they suspected but she still wanted confirmation.
Reluctantly Sunset nodded.
In some ways, she wished they hadn’t been right. That her student now had to feed on other ponies… Dark magic could be viciously cruel. No matter, they could find a way to deal with this in the long term later. For now, she knew what she had to do. “Then take mine.”
Sunset looked up at her, eyes wide. “Princess no! I… I can’t!”
“Yes you can.” Celestia said softly.
“No! I…”
“Sunset look at me!” Celestia said in a commanding tone that caused Sunset to obey out of reflex. She smiled reassuringly. “Sunset, I’m an alicorn. I’m far larger and have far more blood to spare than any other pony. And I have enhanced healing besides. The amount of blood you took from those other ponies, I could give every day and be no worse for wear. If a little blood is what it costs to not lose you; then it is a price I’ll gladly pay.”
“But… I tried to… I couldn’t.”
“You tried to feed on your own terms, I know.” Celestia said gently. “But you couldn’t go through with it; not when the victim was unwilling. But that’s not the case here. I am freely offering you my blood, Sunset.” She lifted her head a bit, exposing her neck completely to Sunset. “Go ahead.”
For a moment Sunset didn’t move, then Celestia felt her shifting in her hold. She felt Sunset put one hoof around her neck and pulled herself closer. Then she felt Sunset’s hot breath on her neck, but she hesitated.
“Princess, I…”
“Sunset, It’s alright.”
“But…”
“It’s alright.” Celestia assured her once more. Still Sunset hesitated, but finally Celestia felt her shifting and a moment later she felt the sharp pinching sensation of Sunset’s fangs piercing her skin as she closed her mouth around Celestia’s throat. She winced slightly at the pain, but managed to keep herself from flinching or vocalizing her discomfort, wanting to make this as easy for Sunset as she could.
She needn’t have worried. The moment Sunset tasted Celestia’s blood, her grip tightened and she pushed forward into the princess’ neck, causing the puncture wounds to open up behind her fangs and let the blood flow.
Celestia held still and let Sunset take what she needed. It was a decidedly odd sensation, having Sunset latched onto her neck, but not really painful. Really the worst part was when her fangs first pierced her skin. After that it was just a little odd, knowing that Sunset was drinking her blood. But as odd as it was, sitting there, in the small pool of light cast by her horn, holding Sunset in her hooves; she couldn’t help feeling just a little like a mother feeding her foal.
With no way to track the time, Celestia wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. It was long enough that she began to worry she had overestimated her vitality as she began to feel light-headed. If she were to lose consciousness, she knew Sunset would never forgive herself. But eventually Sunset’s grip loosened, and Celestia felt her jaws release their hold on her neck with a slight twinge as her fangs came free. For a moment her blood continued to flow, but with a touch of magic she stopped the bleeding and her alicorn enhanced healing began to close the wounds.
Looking down, Celestia gave her a reassuring smile. “Was that all you needed?” She asked gently.
Reluctantly, Sunset nodded, her eyes flicking to the blood staining Celestia’s coat with no small amount of shame.
“Don’t worry about that, it will heal.” She told her.
“I’m sorry.” Sunset said softly.
“I’m sorry, too.” Celestia told her and pulled her into a tighter embrace. “We’ll figure this out. Together, we’ll figure this out.”
Celestia continued to hold Sunset as all the stress pain and lack of sleep from the past week finally caught up with her and she slowly closed her eyes, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
~~~
Luna couldn’t wait any longer. Celestia had teleported the second time without even responding and then she’d sensed another of Sunset’s teleports. Luna had tried contacting Celestia again, but found her sister must have accompanied Sunset on that final teleport and wasn’t where she’d expected. By the time she had located Celestia at the location Sunset had teleported them to, she was already casting a magic suppression spell that blocked her from making the connection.
She had to find out what was going on. That last teleportation spell she’d sensed through the ward had taken them to what she guessed was the old caves under Canterlot. Caves she knew had been closed off since before she’d been banished. Even then, the known entrances had been closed except for the main one in the castle grounds. Now even the main entrance was all but hidden under the castle barracks. How Sunset knew about them she could only guess. It wasn’t that they were secret, just that they were, for the most part, forgotten.
But the first of Sunset’s teleports had originated from there, and for the last, it had been the destination. If she had to guess, Luna would be fairly confident to say that it was where Sunset had holed up, which would explain in part, how she managed to evade the guard for so long. They hadn’t thought to search the caves. Of course, with how extensive the cave system was beneath Canterlot, even if they had, it likely would have been a futile effort. The caves never had been fully mapped or explored.
Luna had the location from the ward, though, a location she focused on as she cast her own teleport spell. An instant later she found herself in a shadowy chamber. Celestia was there, the glow from her horn the only source of light. In her hooves she held the still form of her student. Even in the dim light Luna noticed the scorch marks on her forelegs and the blood staining her neck.
“Sister.” Luna said concerned as she approached. “You are wounded.”
“Sunset needed blood.” Celestia told her softly in explanation.
Luna understood. She looked down at the strange alicorn noticing her peaceful expression as she slept. “You shouldn’t have risked yourself, sister.” She said though she wasn’t really upset.
“I had more than enough blood to spare… but she will need more in a day or two.”
“Indeed, arrangements will have to be made,” she agreed with a rueful smile. “We probably should have thought of such before.”
Celestia didn’t respond, and was instead content to simply hold her student close as she slept. Luna stepped closer and put a wing across her sister’s back. “We should get her back to the castle for now. And it would be for the best if you took care of your wounds before somepony sees you. We would not want ponies to worry after all.”
Reluctantly she nodded. “Yes, we wouldn’t want anypony to worry.” Even so, she didn’t move right away; wanting just a moment more, sitting there, cradling Sunset like a foal. She knew she’d been practically a mother to her; and yet, how long had it been since she’d held Sunset in such a manner? Years, certainly; at least since she’d grown old enough to be embarrassed of such things. Six, seven years? How quickly the time flew by. But just because she could be embarrassed by it, didn’t mean she didn’t need it sometimes. In how many other ways had she neglected her student?
“I’m, so sorry, Sunset.”