//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Ire // Story: Proxy // by Thithle Candytufth //------------------------------// “What is troubling you, Shining Armor?” Luna asked. She stood towering over the hunched stallion. Shining Armor remained frozen. Luna’s gaze instantly darted to the throne room door, then back to the distressed unicorn. “Do not tell me that it was—” He nodded slowly. Luna’s eyes seethed with fury. She threw her chest forward, tossing her hair behind her as she strutted up the stairs. With a powerful kick, the double-doors parted. Celestia had begun to make her way to the back of the throne room. Upon the percussive blast of Luna’s hoof, she spun around to face her. “Him too, sister?!” Luna bellowed, sauntering forth until she was inches away from Celestia, “when will you cease with all of this destructiveness?!” “Destructiveness? I uprooted a weed that could have spread throughout all of Equestria,” Celestia said, raising her hoof between them, looking at her hooficure smugly. “I thank you for the vague analogy,” Luna said, pushing Celestia’s hoof out of her face, “but I am speaking about Shining Armor. What did you do to him?” “It was merely a discussion about the current state of his sister.” “A discussion? No creature leaves a discussion looking as if he had been broken entirely.” “It is not my fault that he possesses a weak mental constitution,” Celestia said, turning from her sister and beginning to walk towards her throne again, “he should have expected the consequences once he developed the impudence to speak to me as he did.” “I apologize if he scratched your fragile ego, Celestia,” Luna said, “but answer me. What did you do to him?” “I gave him options,” Celestia stated curtly, looking back to her sister as she walked. Luna pressed her hoof against her face. “What kind of options, sister?” “He could either betray Equestria and face his rightful punishment for doing so, or return to his ordinary life with his loving bride.” “Forgive me, sister,” Luna said, her voice deadpan, “but I have a sneaking suspicion that you are manipulating the truth.” “He would gladly ruin all of the order I have established for the sake of his foolish whims, sister. I did what I had to.” “And these ‘foolish whims’? What do they constitute?” “He wished to abandon his post and seek out my old apprentice.” “And you robbed him of that opportunity?!” “I did no such thing. Just a little… coercion.” “Coercion and threatening are two very different things.” “Regardless of whatever methods I have used to keep him behaved, he approached me entirely on his own free will, acted in rebellion, and has the opportunity to face no consequence for his actions. Coercion indeed.” “I believe I can assume what your debauched mind spawned for such a method of coercion.” Luna rolled her eyes. “You don’t think I would kill him, do you?” Celestia chuckled. “I am astonished that you claim you would not.” “Those one thousand years did no good for your intellect,” Celestia ran a hoof through her mane. “I know that, upon the threat of death, Shining Armor would attempt to find his sister regardless.” Luna held silent. Celestia began pacing around her as she spoke. “No, it is not his life he values. I know that all he cares about is protecting his two loves: his bride, and his sister.” “You sick creature. You forced him to choose?” “To be fair, I did make one far more appealing than the other.” “Why are you even doing this? What could he possibly do that warrants this treatment? There is no harm in allowing him to seek out his sister and give her the comfort no other pony could possibly offer.” “You are far too simple to understand. If he were to learn of the happenings, I am certain logic would leave him entirely. He is not the type to keep this information to himself. Unrest would wash over Equestria.” “You would kill him then?” “I have done enough damage control as it is.” “You are that confident in your ‘coercion’?” “I most certainly am.” “And confident in your management of any other ‘loose ends’?” “I assume you speak of that green-and-purple little hellspawn.” “The courageous savior of a horribly tortured innocent? That is the one of which I speak.” “I have no worries concerning the actions of Shining Armor or Twilight’s little companion.” “I most certainly do. Just as I am concerned for the other lives you have ruined. Twilight Sparkle is admirable in her attempts to reconstruct her life, while you wallow in your festering self-pity that rots the mind of everypony it touches.” “Give me reason to care about that Twilight Sparkle, beyond that she carries a truth none will believe.” “I think you are jealous of her.” “What?!” “You wish you could muster the immense amount of courage it takes to step outside of your door in a world you are wholly unfamiliar with and accept the affection of those whom you have never met.” “I do not wish to be that frail and weak thing. I am the—” “Restating your position will do nothing to convince me, let alone yourself.” “She is useless. She is absolutely dead to me. There is no reason for me to covet her petty little life.” “With that petty little life she has made far more of an effort to improve.” Celestia scoffed, flipping her mane at Luna’s face. She began unhurriedly walking away. “Nothing of worth to say, sister?” Luna said as Celestia headed to the back of the throne room. “You call her ‘useless’, but you and I both know that you see so much of yourself in her. But her behavior lately seems to be out of the character you have given her to play. And that terrifies you.” Celestia sat on the step before her throne. She waved her tail impatiently. “You thought you had control over her. You thought everything you two would ever say or do would match up in perfect little scripts, so you can look them over to your heart’s content. You wanted to reread the same words, regardless of whether or not your world is collapsing around you and every single being who would try to show you affection is pushed away and left to eternal torment.” Celestia’s mane covered her eyes. Luna heard muffled sobbing and saw a few glittering tears speckle the red carpet. Luna stepped forth and pushed Celestia’s hair aside, and looked deeply into her fogged eyes. “Please, sister,” Luna said softly, “I implore you. Lift the weighty dilemma you have imposed on Shining Armor. Allow him to meet with his sister. Make him swear to silence after that, I do not care. I know you are afraid of your subjects hearing of your actions, and I do not intend on making that my goal. Not that you do not deserve it, but because I feel it would not solve anything.” Celestia said nothing. Luna took a few steps forward and stood by Celestia’s side. Luna nestled up against her sister. Celestia jerked and twitched, but remained sitting, facing forward. Luna could feel Celestia’s heart pulsing rapidly and irregularly. Her entire body was quivering, and her feathery wings shuttered, shaking loose a few feathers. Her breaths were short and far-between. Luna took a meditative breath. “Be strong, and look upon Twilight Sparkle. All I ask is that you look. If you still feel that you must recreate your world after seeing her actions, then I will do nothing to stop you.”