“I never knew this was here,” said Levar with both curiosity and trepidation. The zebra stallion was in the lead as the small entourage began to descend the worn, carved steps of a cave not far from the northeast shore. Judging by the dampness and slickness of the rock the entrance most likely disappeared with the changing tides. “I always heard the fishing was good on this side of the island, but the rocks along the shore were slippery and dangerous.” As if to answer his own point, Levar mis-stepped and would have tumbled, possibly injuring himself, except that he was quickly surrounded by a red telekinetic aura that righted him back to his hooves. He smiled and nodded to Sunset Shimmer who returned the nod and winked.
The rest of the members of the party waited until Levar started again, slow and cautiously. All were eager to reach the bottom of the cave, which hopefully had better traction. All except for Captain Danger. He had to be prodded a few times by Celestia to keep moving forward. The glare of pain and anger he shot her would have possibly affected lesser beings. The Princess of the Sun's armor to such scorn was too thick as she simply gestured without a word.
“Easy on the shoulder, love. I’m not usually opposed to the rough stuff, but yer daughter leaves much to be desired.”
Celestia’s face did not hold a single trace of anger nor sympathy, just flat, stoic, and unfeeling eye blinks under her ethereal waving mane. She had mastered the expression centuries ago and could shroud her true feelings behind it without a moment of hesitation.
“If you actually knew my daughter, you would realize that she was quite gentle and showed much restraint with you. Otherwise, you would have been a charred corpse of scraps and bone on the beach for the birds to peck at… the number of pieces may have varied.”
Danger glanced back and forth between the two alicorns more than once. He was not sure if they were being serious or not and that bothered him more than the imagery of the threat.
Levar leaned in next to Sunset and she unintentionally smiled at the feeling of warm breath that tickled her ear. “Is, is she being serious?”
Sunset could only shrug as she continued to smile. “I am not well known for my self-control.” The smile quickly disappeared as her attention was once again squarely on the pirate between them. “So why exactly are we down here? If this is a trap to drown us when the tide comes in it won’t work. We can just teleport ourselves out to the sky.”
“Ye destroyed the amulet. Without it we all be trapped on this island now. So now we got to shut down the… source.”
Sunset narrowed her eyes, prepared to grill him for more details, but it was unnecessary. Celestia raised her hoof to cutoff her daughter’s next line of interrogation as well as to shove the pirate forward once more. That had to be near their destination.
“As I suspected.”
“Care to share with the class, Mom?”
Celestia grimaced and sighed. “No, not really. But I know you, my love. If I do not explain it will only drive you bananas.” Another pause, an internal debate that ended with a nod. “Long ago, before the first Hearth’s warming and the founding of unified Equestria, Star Swirl… in fact as I understand it, he did not even have his beard yet, was the Grand Enchanter to the royals of Unicornia. Luna and I… at that point were still fillies ourselves, living in Trot. We had not yet ascended. In addition to his duties to the king and queen, Star Swirl had a select few unicorns that he had as apprentices and students. You might say it was a proto form of the school I later founded. One particularly gifted student was a unicorn mare named Datura.
"She was incredibly intelligent, far beyond any of the other students and one could dare say was far more creative and far reaching that Star Swirl himself. Datura was curious about all aspects of magic and was willing to push the boundaries of what was morally acceptable if it meant she could achieve a goal or reach a conclusion. Even failure did not dimmish her drive because it was a useful learning experience.”
“Sounds like a pretty incredible mare. So, I’m expecting a twist to this.”
Celestia nodded. “Said twist, one could say, was Datura’s own soul. Nothing, and I mean nothing, and no creature were sacred to her. She had no moral limitations to her experimentations or imagination on what could be. She was ruthless, manipulative, and willing to go to any length to get what she wanted. She… was what I once feared you were on the path to becoming, I’m ashamed and reluctant to admit. The primary difference was while you lashed out with fiery verbal retort and self entitlement, like the child that you were, Datura would have just cackled, maybe flashed a flirty smile right before she cut out a seduced pony’s heart to use for a blood magic experiment. After all, this is the pony that created things such as the Memory Stone.”
“WHAT?!” Sunset blurted out, smacking Levar with her wings and shoving Danger to the side so she could look Celestia in the eye. “And I’m just NOW hearing about this?!”
“I did not connect the dots at the time when you and Twilight were researching the incident. I apologized for that. It was only after you and your friends had destroyed the stone had I taken the time to study the scroll Twilight discovered and understand who Clover was referring to. It never mentioned her by name. Truthfully, I should have known, but once the stone was destroyed and you were safe, I saw no reason the share the truth of its origin.”
Sunset shook her head, letting her frustration ebb with a relenting sigh. Keeping secrets. Just like she always did. Some bad habits are not so easy to break. Sunset knew that well. However, it was long ago now and thankfully all the lost memories had been restored. Water under the bridge, some might say. “Mind domination magic, blood magic, what the hell else could she do?”
“Star Swirl, often too wrapped in his own musings and mutterings and then later having to try and take on two new alicorn students who would become destine to rule a fledging nation, failed to see how far his star pupil had fallen until it was far too late to save the many victims in her trail of bodies. Datura had become the most dangerous and quite possibly the most powerful sorceress the world had ever known. A great many of the most forbidden and dangerous dark magic spell, tomes, and artifacts ever made were crafted by her or one of her acolytes... the ones that had not become a blood sacrifice themselves. Datura… the Red Clover.”
The very name sent a chill down Sunset’s spine. Now THAT was a name she did know. Every would-be powerful unicorn who had walked the halls of CSGU had heard horror stories that may or may not have been exaggerated about the Red Clover. Sacrificial blood magic rituals, demon summoning, necromancy, some even went as far as to say she enjoyed eating parts of her victims. It was all fair game to her. If what Celestia was describing was true then apparently, she was also a skilled crafter of powerful and dangerous magical relics as well.
“So, you said you recognized the magic that was used to make the talisman. That thing was made by the Red Clover?” Sunset spun and pressed Captain Danger into the cave wall eliciting a painful hiss from the pegasus. “Where the hell did you find that thing?”
Danger gently tapped on Sunset’s hoof and she released him just as harshly. “More than a decade ago. Me crew and I raided an antiquities merchant who ran aground trying t' flee. He offered us his finest pieces and gave the location for a secret stash of items in exchange for his life. I was a wee bit more generous then so I agreed, even let him live. Found the medallion in a sealed chest along with translated instructions on how t' use it. Admittedly, was surprised it worked when we got here. Have to say though, if this Red Clover was as rotten and black hearted as you say, tis a shame I never got a chance to meet her. A lass after me own heart.”
Celestia scoffed. “After your heart indeed. Before she became a fugitive and went on the run, Datura tried to discover the secrets of alicorn ascension by abducting Luna and tying her to a table for dissection. We were fortunate to stop her in time. If you had the misfortune of meeting Datura, she would have ripped your heart from your chest while you were still alive to craft an artifact similar to the one you had in your possession, ground your bones into powder for potions, and sold anything that was left for coin because the thought would have amused her. Such horrific items require... replenishment. But YOU already knew that, don’t you captain?”
Sunset glanced between the two of them. Something was being said without being said and Sunset found it quite annoying being on the outside of said knowledge. “Uhhh…”
“The Memory Stone was likely one of her earlier, less costly creations. I say that knowing what came later.”
“Okay, I have to know. What happened to the Red Clover?”
Celestia paused, closed her eyes, then nodded more to herself. “I was not there, but from what I understand she disappeared through a portal with Clover the Clever on her hooves. Neither were ever seen again.”
Sunset blinked a few times. “Huh. So that’s what happened to him. Not exactly a glorious end to such a figure from history. But why would he do that?”
“Because we all go to great and sometimes terrible lengths for the ones we love.” Celestia pointed to the end of the cavern while Sunset stood slack jawed. After a moment she joined the others in front of what appeared to be a boulder partially blocking another section.
The floor of the cavern was wet and silty with narrow gaps between the rocks where the ocean water likely drained back out. Judging by the staining on the rocks high tide came up to Sunset's neckline. The rock before them was clearly placed intentionally as a block. It was impossible to imagine a simple pegasus was strong enough to move such a massive rock. However, with a little applied leverage, Sunset saw that the rock was in fact on a pivot plate and bolted to the rock below the silt and ceiling. It easily slid away with minimal effort.
Levar was about to step into the new room first when Celestia gently stopped him with a hoof. She then nudged Danger forward, forcefully. Reluctantly, the pirate complied because he truly had not choice otherwise. The first thing Sunset noticed was the change in temperature. The cave entrance had been slightly cooler, being out of the sun and accompanying sea spray, but the back section was cold enough that Sunset felt the chill and her breath, surprisingly, fogged. The second thing that caught her attention was the sound. It was rhythmic, steady, but strained, and sounded like a massive dragon with bronchitis.
With a fluff of her wings and a steadying exhale, Sunset Shimmer followed the other two inside. Levar was so close to her rump that had the situation been less terrifying she would have playfully smacked him with her tail and maybe added a little sashay to her step. As it were, Sunset only looked back to meet his eyes so that he knew she was feeling as anxious as he was and that their shivers had only part to do with the cold air.
“What the hell am I hearing?” Sunset dared to ask.
Celestia continued to press their prisoner forward, her eyes never leaving the red glow at the end of the narrow corridor. “The source of power, I assume.”
“Aye.”
The hollow hummed with power. Sunset Shimmer could feel a hint of it before, but now at the source she was absolutely certain it was the same life force she had felt briefly when holding the medallion. And it felt… WRONG.
The walls of the inner cavern were a black volcanic stone with a few other softer minerals mixed into the sediment layers. However, as they moved in beyond the barrier red glowing crystals became more prominent, lining the walls erratically like angry blood vessels. The crystals became larger and more concentrated near the back culminating into a cancerous mass. In the center, barely visible amongst the pulsing minerals was a pony mare… Or rather, what was left of her.
From what Sunset could see, the mare had been chained to the wall cruciform style and been victim to a dark magic ritual that had actually bonded her to the island itself. From then, they had become symbiotic. The magic drawing from her life force and from the island to power the shield and defenses. Because of the obvious power ratio difference of a body compared to even a small island, she was being consumed by the land to keep it alive. How… how many have died slowly in this cave over the years?!
Sunset felt her whole body shake with indignation. Her wings flapped at her sides as she fought to keep them from igniting, her hooves cracking crystal and stone under her hooves, and hot steam snorted from her nostrils like a dragon. When she turned her eyes to Danger the pegasus yelped at the sight of the black sclera behind glowing teal irises.
“How many?”
“Sunset,” Celestia said with a waver in her voice.
Sunset Shimmer lifted the pirate with one hoof, pressing him painfully into the wall to where his hind legs dangled above the wet stone. If he had crystals stabbing him in the back then that was just too damn bad. She summoned her blade and leveled it at Captain Danger's face, repeating her question. “HOW MANY FUCKING LIVES HAVE YOU TAKEN OVER THE YEARS IN THIS VERY CAVE YOU STEAMING PIECE OF YAK SHIT!”
Danger was paralyzed and the acrid smell of urine tickled Sunset’s nose through her snarl, revealing several of her teeth that had elongated to more fang-like. Though it should have been impossible, Captain Danger’s eyes grew even wider and he screamed two octaves higher when his eyes fell upon Celestia. His reaction piqued Sunset’s curiosity, but it was the calling her name by a familiar voice, yet with darker, unheard of undertones that finally made Sunset turn.
“Sunset,” Celestia repeated, heat leaving her lips like a blast furnace, “let him go.”
Sunset Shimmer blinked her wide, demonic eyes. Standing behind her, next to the victim in the wall was Celestia, but at the same time, not. Her coat was still just as pure and immaculately white as before, but her mane and tail had become a steady wave of burning orange and yellow flame. When she turned to meet Sunset’s eyes gone were the soothing magenta irises of cool galactic nebula, but instead were golden, vertical slit pupils and pits of hellfire surround by black blood sclera straight from the deepest pits of lower Tartarus. Celestia had become a twisted nightmare, but yet, still remained in control even if only just barely. Tears dripped from her dark eyes, flashing to steam not long after staining her fur.
“Mom…”
Celestia's smile was predatory, revealing her own fangs. “Long have I fought to conceal this form from you, from all. I am no longer the immaculate princess of the sun having to bury her rage and sorrow for the sake of little ponies and sniveling, weak willed nobles who are unworthy of the ground I tread upon. Daybreaker is the name of my burning heart and I will not be-"
"MOM!"
Celestia blinked several times as tears continued to flash steam from her face. She glanced down at herself and remembered where she was. Control returning to those terrifying yellow orbs. "Focus. We must focus our anger, temper it as a smith tempers hot steel. The flame is not the master, we are the master of our soul. We will not allow it to control us. We, we have one final task we must see to.”
Sunset dropped the pirate and came to stand next to her transformed mother, the two angry alicorns examined one another as if seeing each other for the first time. Celestia gestured for Sunset to follow along as they both engaged in a familiar meditative breathing exercise. Slowly, the room temperature began to normalize, wild, burning manes settled, and as their eyes opened to meet again each could see that the other’s were back to normal. Despite the magical atrocity that was next to them Sunset nodded and smiled through the few tears that fell.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad it’s not just me.”
Celestia smiled briefly as well, touching her daughter's face with a gentle hoof. “It was never just you.”
Sunset took a deep breath and focused on the task at hoof. “So, how do we get her out of there.”
Celestia grimaced then hesitantly extended her hoof to her victim’s muzzle. The mare, Sunset could no longer tell if her coat had always been red or if the encroaching crystal veins had changed her, regardless, her eyes flew open upon sensing Celestia’s near touch. Or what remained of her eyes, the irises and pupils were now black garnet and tears of blood dripped when she began to frantically look about. Worst of all however, was the scream. The mare’s scream was worse than a hundred Adagios screaming in unison. Sunset thought she was about to pass out, but soon found the sound dampened by Celestia’s quick reaction to throw up an acoustic barrier.
Sunset once again snorted steam from her nostrils while she glared at Danger, who was still partly catatonic and sitting in a puddle of… The goldenrod alicorn recentered herself and double downed on her focus. They could deal with him after they helped this poor soul.
“How the hell is she still alive?!”
“The ritual spell intentionally kills slowly, nibbling at her life. Oh, my poor little pony.” Celestia had to recenter herself as well with more meditation. “Though her body yet lives I fear what was once a pony is now gone. I am afraid that saving her is impossible.”
“But?!”
“We will not let her suffer, but we can only offer her release.”
No elaboration was necessary.
Levar, who had retreated when both alicorns struggled with their power and emotions, returned to stand next to Sunset Shimmer. “I have never seen such dark cruelty in all my life and I have been a victim of a slaver’s whip these last few years. I… I think I remember her. She came her with a husband much like you did, believing the island was still open for tourist business. Her name was… something meadow. I apologize, I do not remember more other than that her husband has already passed on.”
Sunset looked down at her hooves, seeing hands in her mind's eye. “If I still had my geode I could skim her mind, or at least what's left of it. I… I feel like we should say something.”
Celestia nodded. “Ready your sword, little sun. I will say a few words and pray for her soul. It is the least I can do.”
“W, wait. You want me to…”
“The crystals may react adversely to a magical blast strong enough to kill. Your sword, as far as I have seen, can cut through just about anything. The fastest and most merciful way to end this is a strike through the chest. I can hear her heart still beating. See how the crystals pulse with her ever pumping suffering.” Sunset fidgeted a bit and Celestia placed a hoof under her daughter’s chin to lift her eyes. “If it is too much simply level the blade, hold your concentration, and I will do the rest.”
Sunset shook her head and steeled herself and shaking limbs. She flashed one more sympathetic glance at the victim who had thankfully stopped screaming, but was still whimpering and panting with her jaw hanging open, blood continuing to leak from her destroyed eyes. On second thought, it's probably good that I don't have my geode. The pain she is feeling…
“No, it’s okay. I can do this. I am your sword and… it’s not really killing her... it’s setting her free.”
“Yes.”
Sunset took a deep breath… then another… and finally summoned her flaming sword once more. “Definitely going to be seeing Aunt Luna later tonight because I am SO going to have nightmares about all of this.”
Celestia simply nodded in agreement.
The two alicorns took up positions, Sunset straight ahead, with her blade floating level and ready to thrust forward, and Celestia just to the right, as close as she dared stand to the poor mare. The white alicorn brought her foreleg hooves together, closed her eyes and bowed her head.
“Young pony, child of my land and of my heart, whom I have failed so completely. I wish to commence your soul a safe journey to the shores of Elysium where you will find your beloved husband, and all others you care for waiting for you. May you never know pain and suffering again. May you spend your days together in love and your nights together in bliss. From this earth and sky we are all born, to the earth and sky we all return. You are now home.”
“Nenda kwa amani,” said Levar, bowing his head and gesturing briefly with his hooves.
With nothing else to add Sunset took one last deep breath then placed both hooves on the sword handle and drove it forward quickly and precisely. The mare tensed for a moment, made a spitting, gurgle sound, and finally slumped forward. The light in the red crystals pulsed rapidly one last time then all died at once. Sunset withdrew her blade and released it back to hidden space.
Before anyone could inquire about what to do with the body, what little pony remained turned to ash and was quickly absorbed by the island. The remaining ill tasting magic in the air popped like a bubble and only the smell of the sea and a bit of dank cave growth remained.
Celestia gathered up the pirate captain in her magic and started for the entrance. “Come, let’s go home.”