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// Intermission 1: Luna and Malice 
// Story: Selena and the Scar 
// by Mike728 
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*SEPTEMBER 1ST: CANTERLOT CASTLE DUNGEONS – 1 DAY PRIOR*
 
At Canterlot Castle, Princess Luna was walking down the spiral concrete stairs with the only sources of light being the dimly lit candles on the walls that led to the castle dungeons. The Night Princess wasn’t alone for she had two Royal Guards with her, both of whom were unicorn stallions with gray fur. A few minutes prior to this, she was asked by her sister, Celestia, to go down into the dungeons and check on Malice.

Now, Princess Luna held an immense dislike to this for every time she went down to check on him, Malice would speak to her and say things that would make Luna feel sick to her stomach, things that she didn’t want to think about. She had no idea that this was going to be much different than the others…

It had been five years since Malice was caught and sentenced to the castle dungeons by Celestia herself for the crimes he had committed. It only made things worse when he showed no signs of remorse or even guilt for what he had done. Instead, Malice looked Celestia dead in the eyes like a deranged psycho and said these very words with a tone full of resentment and venom:

“When I get out, I’ll kill you and every single pathetic pony in this kingdom that you ever cared for!!”

After those very words left his mouth, he lunged at Celestia with complete lack of sanity but was immediately tackled by 5 Royal Guards and was dragged out of the Throne Room and taken to the dungeons. Malice’s threatening words continue to echo in Celestia’s mind, haunting her to this very day five years later.

Luna reached the bottom of the stairs, opened the large wooden door, and entered the castle dungeons, which were also dimly lit by the candles. She strode down the hallway, passing by empty cells until she reached the very end and stopped. Luna slowly turned her head to the right and saw Malice sitting there in the center of the cell, completely still like a lifeless statue.

Malice Lamar was a unicorn stallion with a short and spiky red mane and was missing his tail, had white fur and had the rarest eye color, red. He had an anti–magic brace around his neck, which bore as a sign of his imprisonment, but it didn’t matter to the unicorn stallion in the slightest.

Malice didn’t have to turn his head to know who was standing outside his cell. It was like second nature for him.

“Hello… Luna,” he said in a low tone, but it was audible enough for the Princess to hear. “Coming down to check on me as usual, huh? It flatters me really, even after what happened five years ago. Did you come down here by your own free will or did your sister ask you to do so?”

“A question like that is none of your business, Malice,” Luna said harshly, a somewhat angry expression plastered on her face.

Malice turned his head to look at Luna and the Night Princess instantly took notice of a blank expression plastered on his face. It didn’t take long for a wicked smile to form on his face.

“An answer like that tells me that your sister asked you to come down here,” Malice said wickedly before he let out a wicked and insane laugh. The laugh itself was capable of affecting the likes of the Royal Guards, who are usually stoic and unaffected by anything.

Luna, on the other hoof, did her best to not show her discomfort, which she knew would give Malice satisfaction knowing that he even disturbed the Princess of the Night.

Malice stood up and began walking around his cell slowly while still looking at Luna with an insane expression.

“I’m not surprised by that, considering how Celestia has been taking every bit of precaution to make sure that I don’t escape,” Malice said, that wicked smile still plastered on his face. “Very paranoid if you ask me.”

That statement alone had struck a nerve for the Night Princess. In all the years Luna knew her sister, Celestia was never one to become paranoid about anything at all, always able to stay calm no matter what. However, what happened with Malice when he threatened to kill those that Celestia ever loved and cared for after his trial has plagued the Sun Princess to this very day. Over the years, Luna had witnessed the horrendous nightmares that had plagued her sister and some of them were even enough to send chills down the Night Princess’ spine.

An angry glare formed on Luna’s face, her teeth bared aggressively as a low and threatening growl escaped her throat.

“You are a danger to all of Equestria, Malice,” Luna growled through grit teeth. “My sister taking every bit of precaution is her method of making sure you don’t escape and to keep our subjects safe.”

Malice stopped in the dead center of his cell while keeping eye contact with the Night Princess. The smile on his face grew so wide that both ends reached his ears. Luna absolutely despised it when Malice gave her that smile. It was like the smile itself was mocking her in a way, like it enjoyed toying with her.

“Sounds very paranoid, if you ask me,” Malice said. “But enough talk about your pathetic sister; let’s talk about that little foal that you and your sister delivered at the doorstep of the Golden Oaks Library.”

This instantly caught Luna’s attention. Her eyes widen a bit and she felt her heart skip a beat as the feeling of dread began forming in the pit of her stomach. Not even once at all during the duration of Malice’s trial did any of the Royal Sisters mention about what happened to the foal so to hear him mention that bothered Luna a lot.

“H-how did you-” was all Luna was able to say before Malice cut her off.

“How do I know that the foal’s name is Selena?” Malice began to ask with sadistic glee. “How do I know that Selena ran away from home when she was only 3 years old? And how do I know that tomorrow is Selena’s first day of school?”

Malice walked over to the bars of his cell, all the while taking in the pleasure of the Night Princess’ horror-stricken face. The expression on Luna’s face fueled his sadistic mood. Once he reached the bars of his cell, Malice arched his neck forward, his nose poking out from the gaps in-between the bars.

“Would you believe in a lucky guess?” he asked with sadistic pleasure, the wicked smile still plastered on his face.

Luna felt like she was going to throw up her breakfast. She wanted to say something back to the stallion, but she wasn’t able to. She was so overcome with horror that it made the ability to talk impossible. She had a feeling on how Malice knew this, but she couldn’t be too sure about it.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Luna had finally found her voice and her glare returned slightly.

“What does this have to do with Selena?” she asked with a slight tremor in her voice.

“Well let me ask you this, what do you think happens when the death-inducement spell backfires or fails?” Malice asked the Night Princess. “If by some dumb chance that you don’t know; something that belongs to me is buried deep in that little scar of hers. Once I escape from this cell, I will take back what is mine and then, I will kill her.”

Something clicked in Luna’s brain when Malice said this. She felt an ice, cold feeling form in the pit of her stomach as it confirmed what she was suspecting a short while ago. At that moment, Luna decided that she had enough of this psycho, and that it was now officially time for her to take her leave.

“I’ve had enough of this,” Luna said. “We are taking our leave and know this Malice; you will never escape and as long me and my sister are around, you will never get your filthy hooves on Selena.”

Luna turned away from the cell, away from Malice, and then began to walk away with the 2 guards following after her. Unfortunately, Malice would end up getting the last word from all of this.

“I wouldn’t count on it, Luna for I will escape, and once I retrieve what is mine, she will die by MY VERY HOOVES!!”

Those were the last words Luna heard him say before she exited the dungeons and slamming the dungeon’s door harshly, leaving the crazed stallion alone in the dark dungeons. Malice returned to the center of his cell and sat down, resuming to sit still as a lifeless statute once again.

“I will escape from this cell… Very, VERY soon.”