//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: Are You Ready? 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 10


Meeting the Princesses


The group walked through the halls, being lead by four pegasus guards donning golden armor and faces of unbreakable resolve. Two headed at the front while the other two covered the rear as they guided everyone to the throne room. Dr. Facilier was more than confident about meeting Celestia, and might have a good amount of luck talking to her on the same level. After all, he's a royal himself on his mother's side. 

When they reached the throne room, two figures could be seen at the end of the room, both tall and majestic. The one on the left was what caught the doctor's eye first, his jaw almost dropping at the sight of her. The figure was expected as a pony, but this one differed completely to all the ones he'd seen back at Ponyville. Her coat was white, like Rarity's, but she had more to show with her golden armor, shoes, gem-encrusted crown, and multicolored mane and tail flowing in a nonexistent breeze. What also got his attention was that she possessed both wings AND a horn, and they both were amazing for their sizes, wondering if she ever used her horn as a weapon in combat. Her cutie mark was a sun, to which it made him wonder if she were a god of sorts, but couldn't dwell on the matter as he noticed her magenta eyes were looking right at him, with a stoic expression on her face as he and the group drew closer. The one next to the ivory pony was smaller than her, and was almost the opposite of the left one in terms of color and background. Her coat was midnight blue, as was her starry mane and tail, which also flowed in the nonexistent breeze. She had black crown matching her armor, but wore ice blue shoes. She looked more serious and anticipating with her turquoise eyes, watching the group advance until they were only a few feet away from each other.

Everypony and Spike bowed two the two princesses in front of them, Dr. Facilier removing his hat as he bowed. The alabaster alicorn's expression changed to a warm smile "It is a pleasure to meet you again, my loyal subjects...And greetings to you, Dr. Facilier." She sounded like a mother happy to see her children after a small amount of absence. The nightshade alicorn, however, sounded way differently, rising up from her throne and speaking "WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT THOU COULD ARRIVE AT OUR CASTLE WHEN WE SUMMONED THEE!!" That sentence alone was enough to give Dr. Facilier a migraine as he gritted his teeth, and flashed a wide smile up to Luna, though winced at the tone of her powerful voice. The other princess waved a hoof, wanting her subjects to rise as she did from the throne, trotting over and looking down at Dr. Facilier "It is nice to see a new addition to Ponyville...Twilight mentioned you in her newest friendship letter." Friendship letter? Was he missing something? She placed a hoof on her chest "I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and controller of the sun." She stifled a chuckle as she waved a hoof to the nightshade alicorn "And the one who spoke at an amazing volume is my sister Luna, Princess of the night." He figured as much when he spotted her crescent moon cutie mark. She trotted up and held out a hoof, speaking in the same volume "CHARMED!" Celestia gave Luna a stern look "Luna, I told you ever since Nightmare Night that there was no need to use the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice." Luna shrunk back and donned an embarrassed smile as she spoke at a lower, more tolerable volume "Erm, our apologies. We can barely control ourselves, and we've only had one set of voice lessons from Fluttershy." What was with this pony and using the word 'We' in her sentences, the doctor thought. Was she referring to Celestia? No, she would never speak at that volume. Could she have a possible shadow as well? Dr. Facilier could only gently take Luna's hoof and bow again.

"It's nice to meet the Queen of night.
That voice o' yours has lots o' might."

Luna took her hoof back with a smile as Celestia turned to the rest of her subjects "We only summoned you all here so we could speak with Dr. Facilier alone..." This caused the group to look confused, as Celestia showed a reassured smile "The guards shall lead you out in the halls while we have our audience with this one. If you will please make your way out, we shall have a feast later on so you won't come here entirely for nothing." Twilight wished to speak, but Celestia placed a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.  Twilight wasn't one to argue with the princess, her ruler and mentor, and she signalled the group to follow her outside, the guards following suit. When the doors closed, it was only the two princesses and the Shadowcolt, and the deafening silence that followed after the group left. He thought that this was his chance to get his charm working and turned to grin at Celestia, who looked at him with the same stoic expression from when he first laid eyes on her. He hesitated a bit, wondering why she hasn't spoken first yet, but decided to seize the moment as he broke the silence.

"It's nice to see you, your majesty.
I'm one for proper formality."

Celestia's stoic expression turned into a serious expression, almost resembling Zecora's glare, but instead of spite, it was omnipotence "I know who you are, Shadowman..." Dr. Facilier could only jump upon hearing his old nickname, looking up at the princess with widened eyes at this. Celestia continued with her hardened gaze upon the doctor's shock and confusion "I'm aware of all that you've done in the past, and frankly, I am very disappointed with you...To be here in this world, you should count yourself lucky." He looked at her, then turned to Luna, thinking she would add something to it, but she, too, stared at him with a hardened gaze, but kept silent as Celestia spoke in a softer tone "Though I must say, I am impressed with your endeavors thus far in Equestria...especially bringing back your old friend next to you..." The shadow, knowing it was compromised, jumped up and let out a silent scream as it swooped behind Dr. Facilier with its forelegs on his shoulders, shivering and cowering at the sight of the princess. The doctor, upon seeing this, began to glare at the princess as he decided to give her a piece of his mind.

"So what's your reason for bringing me here?
You tryin' to hurt me, or fill me with fear?"

Celestia's expression softened even more as she closed her eyes and began to smile "Oh, I would never dream of harming my subjects, let alone scaring them..." She opened her eyes a little as she looked at him with a grin on her face "Instead, I shall do something else..." Dr. Facilier could wonder what she had in mind, but then she began to speak in a mockign tone "To think that the great Shadowman could fall to a simple frog...It's about as disappointing as your crimes..." The doctor flinched upon hearing this, and his unwanted nostalgia hit him like a ton of bricks as he began gritting his teeth at his defeat. Celestia only smiled, knowing her little plan was working "And if that wasn't enough, you went through all that trouble for what you've acquired to have it all go up in smoke thanks to your dedicated servant..." He began to growl as his eye twitched, not wanting to be mocked by his follies back when he was human. The more angry he got, the more he forgot to realize the slowly growing beat in his mind. When his anger was at a good level, the familiar music in his ears was as loud as his welcome party the other night, and noticed it as he yelled and got in a defensive stance, turnign his head frantically and darting his widened eyes as the haunting melody began to fade. Celestia could only chuckle as she got her point across "You see, Dr. Facilier, you should thank me...you are only halfway out of the mess you made with those mischievous devils." She placed a hoof on her chestplate "I've talked with your...'friends'...hearing about your little debt problem, and I've decided it was best to see if I should try my hoof into giving you a second chance in your life to see if you could change your ways." The doctor turned to Celestia, not believing what he had heard.

"How'd you know about my friends!?
Are you sayin' I gotta make amends?"

Celestia closed her eyes as she responded with a solemn tone "I'm afraid I cannot answer your first question, Doctor. However, as for your next question, yes..." She looked at him with a serious expression "You can be free from your debt with your 'friends'..." The Shadowcolt perked up at the thought of this, only to sink down upon hearing the terms of compliance "IF you change your ways completely, learning the Magic of Friendship in the process..." There she goes again with the term Frienship. His shadow was the only true friend he ever needed, turning to it with a smile as it gave a crooked smile back. Celestia looked a little angry "I'm serious, Dr. Facilier...you cannot rely on your shadow and dark magic alone if you wish to make a new life here...You already have the trust of the Elements of Harmony, and I would be most grateful if you would at least learn from them or treat them with respect..." She then smiled "I even know about how Fluttershy feels about you...You should count yourself lucky you have already made some friends upon arriving here in Equestria..." Dr. Facilier raised an eyebrow at her, deciding to poke at another issue.

"I jus' wanna ask, and don't take long...
Why's it that I hear that infernal song?"

Celestia nodded, enlightening the Shadowcolt's problem "Your friends know your weakness, and felt overjoyed to know it was breaking your mind with a song that YOU have made once you've witnessed the horrible taste of defeat as a human, and decided to use it as a mental sidearm to cripple your chances..." She closed her eyes, setting her head down as she continued "They made it to where if you were to portray your negative feelings at a powerful magnitude, that it would trigger that same song to ensnare your mind and regain control. If you wish to not want that song reaching your ears, you shall act different to what you have before in your previous life." Dr. Facilier's jaw dropped at the thought. 'She means to tell me that those guys could pull me back into that hell if I get out o' line!?' The fact that that same song he heard an incredible amount of times would be the gateway back to his torture could only make his heart sink. "Yes, this is a lot for you to take in...But know that you have friends who believe in you..." the doctor looked up at Celestia, who smiled at him, but then had a serious look in her eyes "I cannot be held responsible if you decide to act against the new-found will I've bestowed upon you...I expect you to change, Dr. Facilier, for the better of yourself and your new life...And with Fluttershy at your side, you're sure to do well for yourself. Can you do your best for the sake of Equestria?" The Shadowcolt looked up at Celestia with a serious look of his own. After a minute of silence, he could only bow, taking off his hat and revealing his whacky mane.

"I'll do what I can, you have my word...
But I have to say, this plan's absurd..."

Celestia looked insulted almost, but was happy to know that the doctor was willing to try and change for the better "Thank you, Dr. Facilier...You could learn a lot from your stay here, but remember..." She had a hardened gaze as the doctor looked up at her "While you're under the care of Fluttershy, remember that, no matter the distance between us, I'll know if you'll ever decide to cause major trouble for me and my subjects..." The doctor looked back, almost feeling challenged, but could not find a response as they locked eyes. Celestia then waved her hoof "You are dismissed, we'll be having a feast soon, and I know you'll want to try some quality food here..." Dr. Facilier continued looking, but his mind changed to the thought of the feast. Hopefully they would have some quality wine for him to drink, perhaps some prized chardonnay or merlot. He began trotting out of the throne room, but stopped when he heard Celestia once more "Oh, and Doctor?" He looked back at Celestia, who had a mocking expression in her eyes, showing a cute grin "That is a nice suit Rarity made for you...I hope you treat it as well as your friends." The doctor gave off a wry grin and a short, halfhearted chuckle as he turned and made his way out, groaning that he was under a greater authority than his friends, and had to try and not act like he normally would around ponies. He looked down, and chuckled as the door shut behind him 'She DID say try...she DIDN'T say I was forced to change...'. The two princesses went back and sat on their respective thrones, Celestia giving a crestfallen sigh. Luna turned to Celestia, looking concern "Sister...Do you think it was the right idea to convince the Shadow spirits to relieve themselves of one of their servants? This could prove to be as chaotic as Discord himself..." Celestia turned to Luna and smiled "It's worth a try to make a former villain change his ways...After all, we can only wait to see if he will actually stick to his deal. If things do not work in out favor, at least we know how to react towards a grave situation..." Luna stared, then nodded in approval to her older sister's statement "Very well, sister...I trust you." Celestia was happy to know that Luna kept calm about their little secret "I'm glad to hear it...Now let us prepare for the feast. We don't want to keep our guests waiting."

In the halls, Twilight was talking to Spike, lecturing him on why he shouldn't let jealousy get in the way of new friends. Spike could only cross his arms "Twilight, you seen how he acted around Rarity! I can't have that zebra stand in the way of my happiness!" Twilight kept a stern look at her assistant and younger brother "I'm aware of that, Spike! Dr. Facilier just has a tendency to flirt with other mares for fun is all, and you're acting foolish to hate him. Besides, I see him more with Fluttershy, when you look at the two..." Spike sighed "I guess you're right...But do you honestly think he's the right stallion for Fluttershy? I mean, he's kinda...creepy..." Twilight scorned her assistant "Now, Spike. I know that the doctor can be a little...strange...he even reminds me of that other Doctor we have in Ponyville, only more sociable and knowledgeable, but that doesn't give you the right to just judge him out of turn by his appearance!" Spike held out his claws in a halting motion "Alright, alright, I get it. I already know you learned that the hard way..." He looked to the doors to the throne room "He's really taking a long time in there...Wonder what they're talking about?" The other mares were just as curious, about to break out into a debatable set of topics, until the doors opened to reveal a calm-looking Dr. Facilier, trotting up to his friends, who began bombarding him with questions.

"Dr. Facilier, what did Celestia talk to you about?"

"Did she talk about your mane? Or why your teeth are gapped? Not that it's a proble-"

"Did she want ya to read her future?"

"W-Was she angry with you?? I hope not..."

"Did she compare you to Twilight? Hehehe..."

"Did she like the suit!?"

So many questions, and he didn't want to answer any of them but one:

"Yeah, she liked the suit alright.
That princess o' yours seems really bright."

Pinkie giggled "Well, of course she's bright, silly! Just look at her mane! Also, she controls the sun, so when you look at her, the bright has been doubled!" Dr. Facilier craned his neck back at Pinkie, taking some steps back from her as he turned to the rest of the group.

"While my little chat was fun, at least.
Should we move on over to the feast?"

Twilight perked up at the thought "Oh yeah, that's right! She promised us a feast! But isn't one of the guards supposed to-" Somepony cleared her throat, and one of the guards stood, thinking he had been ignored for the longest time. Twilight chuckled in embarrassment, then turned to her group of friends "C'mon, everypony. I hope you all have a large appetite!" Everyone followed the guard stationed to guide them to the dining room, but Dr. Facilier trailed far behind, grimacing at the new situation he was met with as his shadow shared his despair on the wall, making one of its hands turn into a noose and acted like it hung itself. The Shadowcolt sighed at the gesture 'I really am gettin' leashed by a buncha talkin' ponies, huh?' He heard Fluttershy trot over to his side, wanting to walk with him and keep him company. The doctor looked at her as she smiled at him, and slowly returned the smile as he trotted alongside the timid mare. 'Well...it's better than what I dealt with before, huh?'


End of Chapter 10