//------------------------------//
// Chapter 27- Forsaking Paradise 
// Story: Only the Broken, Only the Cursed (please read blog post) 
// by DougtheLoremaster 
//------------------------------//

“Mom did what?”
Trixie chuckled darkly at Twilight’s stunned reaction. As the black flame on the candle flickered gently within the darkened space, an image appeared before the two. It showed a fully enraged Daybreaker angrily glaring at Grogar, who looked quite stunned.
“I’ll never forget it, Twilight. I stood there and watched as your mother’s body ignited in flame and after making sure I was still being guarded, turned and thundered at the Creator of Chaos himself…”

***

 	“I’ve had enough! Knock it off!”
Celestia’s flame roared fiercely across her flesh, glowing far brighter than ever before. Startled by the sudden outburst, Grogar’s chaotic outburst stopped. 
“Do you have any idea how much that hurts?”
Celestia stood there, wings flared as her flames grew even more; almost uncontrollably. It almost seemed like she had lost control of herself as her flames started to darken from the power she had absorbed from Trixie. 
Swiftly, Clover took that moment to stand up, move over to the enraged Daybreaker, and lightly tap her on the back. Instantly, the flames vanished and as Celestia stood there blinking in surprise, Clover moved over to where Grogar stood and swiftly smacked her hoof upside the back of his head.
“You wrote that order. Now stop this nonsense.”
Her eyes flashed dangerously as she added.
“Now. Dear. You are hurting my Daughter. Keep it up and I will hurt you.”
Turning towards Celestia who was painfully helping Trixie to her hooves, causing her own flesh to start to wither on contact, Clover spoke gently.
“Where did he hurt you, dear?”
“He...didn’t.”
The words were spoken through gritted teeth, as the immense pain of helping Trixie to her hooves crawled through her hide, causing her to stagger. After a couple of breaths, however, she slowly stood up and raised her head, her injuries gone. She angrily glared at Grogar who seemed nonplussed.
“Then why did you say it hurt?”
Angrily she gestured at the Four Horsemares and screamed at him.
“You hurt them, you monster!”
Clover and Grogar shared confused glances as they observed the damage the four had taken. Cozy Glow was missing a wing, while Sunset had a large laceration on her side. Starlight sat there, one of her hooves missing and Trixie seemed to have had one of her eyes burst while the other was dripping a crimson stream down her muzzle. None of them seemed to react to the pain.
“Hm, looks like we’ll need to make another four, these models are broken, dear.”
Nodding at Grogar’s words, Clover’s horn began to glow brightly, surrounding the forms of the four causing them to rise. Celestia shouted in a panic.
“What are you doing? Just heal them!”
“They aren’t injured, Celestia. They are broken tools. They need to be replaced.”
Celestia stamped her hoof and flared her wings as her infernal flame re-ignited and she angrily roared.
“Stop this, Clover! Just heal them, how dare you just throw them away like trash! They aren’t tools, they are creatures like us!”
The four were set down as Clover’s horn ceased its glow. Clover shook her head as though in disbelief and smiled sweetly.
“Celestia, we can’t hurt them. They aren’t living creatures. There are no tears to be shed here, they have no souls, they have no desire but to destroy and cleanse. Now let me take care of this trash and we can discuss Grogar’s error in his order, alri-”
“No! Stop! They do too have souls! I watched that one-”
Pointing at Starlight, whose eyes turned to stare at her, Celestia proclaimed.
“Grow enraged over her favorite snack being ruined. And that one-”
This time, Cozy Glow turned her head as Celestia pointed at her.
“Became annoyed hearing I was potentially stronger. Don’t tell me they don’t have souls! They do have hopes and dreams!-”
She then pointed directly at Trixie whose eyes grew wide as she saw Celestia give a sad smile and her flames grew.
“She told me so. I would love it if mortals cleaned up their own messes. That’s what she said. “
All present watched as Celestia’s tears streamed down as she stared defiantly into Clover’s eyes.
“I won’t let you destroy them!”
Sighing in dismay at the standoffish mare before her, Clover’s horn glowed and Trixie rose into the air once more. However, a thin line crossed her flesh cracking wider and wider until Trixie, whose eyes were still moving, was split in half to reveal nothing. Celestia stared in surprise, there really wasn’t anything; no organs, no blood, no soul container, literally nothing.
Celestia couldn’t believe what she was seeing. No, she refused to believe it. She had sat there and talked to them, their wants, their dreams. They were alive. They had to be.
“As you can see-”
“I don’t care. I won’t let you destroy them.”
Celestia watched as Clover rose to her full height and towered over her.
“My darling daughter-in-law, am I to understand that you wish to stand against me, here and now, for these broken tools?”
 “I wish nothing of the sort, but I know what I saw, Clover... They’ve shed tears, I’ve felt their pain. They have every right to live as you or I. I won’t let you or any other take that from them. Every creature has the right to be who they are.”
Celestia’s glare hardened as Clover stared passively down into her eyes. After exchanging a glance with Grogar, she shook her head and sat down. Looking down for a moment, Clover raised her head and spoke softly, but with undertones of distress.
“Such resolute conviction. I can see it in your eyes, you have no misgivings of this action. You believe that even if you must be destroyed you’ll die defending this stance of yours. You’ve put me in such a difficult position, Celestia. On one hoof, your resolute faith fills me with pride. On the other hoof, it annoys me to no end that you would dare defy me after all I’ve given unto you.”
Clover looked over at Grogar and asked.
“What are your thoughts?” 
Grogar was staring at Celestia. He chuckled.
“She’s a stubborn one, like another mare I know.”
Seeing the smirk on his wife’s face, he continued.
“ Hmm...Clover, her magic is only brought to bear through reactions to others' pain, it is how I designed her. Perhaps by distancing ourselves from our creation’s lives, we’ve grown oblivious to their needs.”
Glancing at the Daybreaker before them, Grogar addressed her.
"We have no desire to fight you, besides, we all know just how quickly you would be ground to ash, Celestia. Still, it is hard to believe that we, the Creators of your world, could be so blind to such details of our own creations. And yet in your eyes, I can see it, the absolute faith that what you witnessed was true.”
Turning back to Clover, the Creator of Chaos quietly added.
“I’m intrigued, let’s hear her out.”
Looking quite annoyed at not being agreed with, and with a flash of lightning in her eyes, Clover glanced down at the floor of the void for a moment. Within her pupils burned the fires of Tartarus themself as she took a deep breath, pausing before glancing at Celestia. Her words were quiet, her tone placid, almost sorrowful.
“Let’s say if I were to agree to humor you, in this pursuit of yours. What exactly would you ask of me, Celestia?”
“That they each gain an im-mortal...soul...”
The voice of the Daybreaker, though loud and clear at first, faltered as it dawned on her what exactly Clover already realized. Clover’s gentle voice replied.
“And what exactly would you sacrifice to make such a request happen? You know that to ask a favor of us, we require something of equal value in order to materialize the desire. Your life? No, while precious it doesn’t come close to the value of four. Perhaps you wished to offer up your own immortality? I’m afraid it would barely cover one, let alone four. So tell me, Celestia, what could you offer?”
Celestia’s eyes hooded over. If she didn’t do something, Clover and Grogar would simply destroy and recreate the four mares. She had felt their pain. Yes, they had attacked her and her world. She didn’t care. She had felt the unbridled, soul-crushing weight they shouldered. She had felt their hearts, their souls. The distress, the pleading. They just wanted to live as she did.
Immortality, her life. Was that all she could give? Could she really do nothing to help them? No, there had to be a way. That’s when it came to her. Celestia raised her head, her eyes clear without doubt. If that’s what it takes, so be it.
“Eternity.”
“Come again?”
Smiling brokenly, Celestia proclaimed loudly.
“I offer my place in the Books of Life and Death. I  offer up not only my immortality but I ask that the Gates of Eternity be forever closed to me, as well.” 
Clover’s eyes expressed her horror as her horn lit up. Desperately, she screamed at Celestia.
“N-no! I won’t allow this. Celestia you can’t!”
“It’s too late, dear-”
Beside Clover, and equally shocked, stood Grogar. His eyes were downcast as the bells around his harness slowly lit up, one by one. His voice no longer abrasive, but one of absolute desolation. From his eyes trickled a stream of tears.
“Her choice has been made. There’s nothing that can be done now. Her prayer has been acknowledged. Her conviction...has been accepted.”
“No! No. No. No! Celestia!”
Again and again Clover called her name, but it was too late. The magical energies within the Creator of Harmony glowed brightly, while the Bells of Chaos around Grogar’s neck chimed loudly. In the distance of the realm, the sound of massive objects grating as they swung shut, could be heard. 
Tears flowed unabashedly down Clover’s face as she continued to call out to Celestia, but the Nightmare-born could no longer hear her. A small, sad smile appeared on Celestia’s face as Clover and Grogar faded from her vision. Turning away from the pair, she watched as the Four Horsemares stared up at her in admiration, shock. Trixie held out her hoof. As she placed her own within the clasp of Death, Celestia whispered softly in an almost inaudible voice.
“Did I finally do something right, Mom? I saved them. I...finally protected someone.”
Trixie grabbed Celestia in a hug as her brethren stood there, at a loss for words watching the two.
“Why do that for us?”
Celestia smirked as her eyes betrayed her utter despair at her action. 
“Every creature has a right to choose who they are, and what they can be. Now you can.”
“We won’t forget this, we are in your debt, Daybreaker.”
 The light in Celestia’s eyes was now gone, her destiny crushed to dust, and her soul deaf to the Creators. Celestia was now truly forsaken. And she did it for them. As Celestia was transported for the last time from the Realm Of The Creators, she laughed softly, devoid of any hope or joy; completely soulless.
“I know, Death. And one day, I’ll collect.”

***

The dancing flame of the black candle went out as Death finished her recollection, and the images faded, revealing the interior of the house once more. Twilight sat there, in silent mortification, staring down at her hooves. Her face was blank, expressionless. She was unsure what to feel, what to think about what she had seen. She couldn’t begin to process such a cost or why one would willingly give up their afterlife; their destiny.
“The lamb for the slaughter, that’s all she was, she used to tell us.”
Twilight blinked as she raised her head to see who had spoken. The voice wasn’t Trixie’s, and the words were spoken with a serene softness. She noticed Trixie had turned her head towards the doorway. Twilight followed her gaze and was startled to see a familiar face standing just beside the couch, inches from her.
“Hello, Twilight.”
Trixie shook her head, an amused smile gracing her muzzle.
“You should not have come back here. She hasn’t forgiven you, you know.”
Before any creature could respond, a voice of pure hatred screeched out.
“You!”
An instant later, a massive double-edged battle-ax came crashing down towards the intruder’s skull.

***

That Autumn night was a warm one in Equestria, but within Canterlot Castle a chilling wind swept throughout the throne room. The forms of the Nightwatch were encased in blocks of ice; ice that would never melt, their features twisted. Their faces eternally displayed the agony and pain of their last moments. Their corpses lay, gutted, disfigured, and shattered about the throne room. 
Amidst the carnage, a lone creature stood. A mare with the body of an alicorn, only slightly shorter, she folded her wings of blackish-blue feathers. Her fur was a mashup of rich ebony, Navy blue, and a sickly, venomous green. Her flesh was pitted, twisted, and partially malformed. 
“Sister, I have come to claim what is mine.”
Upon her face, mismatched eyes surveyed the scene. One with a sclera of deep seafoam-green and boasting the pupil of a venomous serpent. The other a soft midnight blue iris interspersed with the same sickly green as her hide. Her expression constantly flickered between a cold grin and a sad smile as she observed what she had come for. 
Before her, sat the object of her obsession for the past thousand years; the cursed throne of the Nightmares, and on it sat the still form of her sister. Celestia sat, skewered by the blades of a dozen or so sharp blades, her eyes were closed, her expression blank, while her wings lay splayed out, draped over the edges of the scorched throne.
The Alicorn’s eyes twitched at the sight of the deceased Tyrant. Her grin faded and she shook her head as her eyes softened. A scream of distress tore itself from the depths of what soul she had left.
“No! Tia. This cannot be. Sister!”
Glancing down at the desecrated corpse of the slain Tyrant, Princess Luna noticed the parchment clenched in her lifeless hooves. Quickly, she used her Lunar Magic, and levitated the parchment before her as she read out loud:

	“You’re too late, Lulu.


	It’s theirs now.”

Her eyes flashed and her head twitched as seemed to be struggling with something unseen. Her eyes narrowed in a cold, calculating glare, her mouth twisted in a fanged grimace. Her words were emotionless, yet with them, an unnaturally cold gale swept across the whole of Canterlot. Using her magic as her eyes twitched in madness, the corrupted Princess flung the corpse of Celestia to the ground and attempted to sit upon the throne.
The cursed artifact immediately rejected her efforts. The ancient blood infused within the twisted object was enchanted to allow only the heir to sit upon it, and only the heir to command its horrible power. Angrily, the Lunar Princess stamped her hooves in anger. 
“I will not stand for this. You will not take this from me, Tia!”
Turning around, and flying off in a huff, Luna failed to notice that as she did so, the expressionless face of the deceased ruler had twisted up in one final, triumphant smile.