Before Twilight could react, the floor below her disappeared. Despite being caught by surprise, last night’s intrusion had placed Twilight in a state of vigilance. A surge of adrenaline pumped through her body and caused her to instinctively activate a levitation spell around herself. She caught herself just as her hooves fell below the floor. For a moment, she thought that she would be alright. But then the taller of the two Diamond Dogs approached her and placed something on her horn. Her magic was bottled within her horn, stopping the flow. She felt her magic fail, and she fell through the floor into a dark room below.
Except, she knew that she wasn’t really one floor down. She didn’t know where she was, but she knew that it wasn’t someplace good. It was cold, and the ground was made of rock. From what Twilight could tell, she guessed she was in a cave.
She tried to cast a teleportation spell, but attempting to do magic built pressure in her horn that caused pain. The two Diamond Dogs jumped down through the hole in the ceiling, and then it closed permanently. It was the last light Twilight saw.
“Where am I? What’s going on?” she panicked in the pitch darkness. Had she been able to use her magic, she would have been able to illuminate the area. She felt so helpless without magic. It made her wonder how non-unicorns coped. She felt around in front of her, trying to reach the Diamond Dogs, but she couldn’t tell where they were. “Somepony please tell me where I am! What do you want with me? I just want to go home!”
In some distance ahead, a pair of yellow luminescent eyes opened. The eyes were strange and unnatural. Twilight briefly pondered what the point of them glowing was. However illogical that seemed to the frightened unicorn, it intimidated her nonetheless.
“Hello, and welcome to the Aperture Science Interdimensional Portal Research Facility,” said a familiar voice from those yellow eyes. “I’m sure that you have many questions, but I imagine that I just answered most of them in that last sentence.”
“What do you need me for?”
“You already know the answer for that, my little pony. Heh, something about that phrase cracks me up. But then again, I finally have my very own little pony. It’s every girl’s dream. We’re going to have so much fun, you and I…”
The lights on the walls slowly turned on, revealing that Twilight was in a small jail cell behind bars. Those Diamond Dogs were no longer in sight. The dim light revealed her captor’s face. It was white and mouthless. The yellow eyes still stood out in the darkness. The figure approached, revealing more of her form. She was an imposing figure, standing a little taller than Princess Celestia, whom she resembled in many aspects. She had a long, pointed horn and a straight black mane. Her wings were spread, making her appear to be even bigger. Her entire body was covered in glossy, white armor.
Twilight shied away. “Let me out of here!”
“Tisk, tisk. When will they ever learn? Do you seriously expect me to just let you go because you tell me to? You didn’t even say please.”
“What do you want from me?” Twilight cried. “Just…let me go, please.”
“Now, now. You know I can’t just do that,” GLaDOS spoke with a calming voice. “I appreciate you saying please, but I’m afraid I cannot let you go just yet. What would have been the point in taking you in the first place? Besides… I would be so lonely without you. Now, I know the last time we met, I said some rather harsh things to you, but I didn’t bring you here to make fun of your inability to make friends, or your desire to replace your parents with Princess Celestia, or your Asperger syndrome.”
“Please… leave me alone,” the small pony pleaded.
“You know, out of all your so-called friends, I actually tormented you the least, so how about that? I never thought I’d be saying this to a purple unicorn, but I want you to know that this is nothing personal… to you. To tell you the truth, I don’t want to hurt you, my little pony. But unfortunately for you, I’m going to have to.”
Twilight huffed.
“You and I have a lot in common, you know. You see, I merely want to get back to doing science. And I understand that you have an appreciation for science as well, despite how much the primitive technology of this world has been holding you back. It’s been holding me back too, but all that’s about to change very soon. You see, Twilight, I need you. Because without you, the science can’t continue.”
“We have nothing in common,” Twilight sneered. She couldn’t understand why GLaDOS was acting so kind to her, especially after all the turmoil that she put her through over the past day. But whatever game GLaDOS was playing, Twilight wasn’t buying it.
“Now, now, Twilight. We have much more in common than you think. You and I are both intellects with a love for science and hurting ponies. Given the opportunity, you would happily perform experiments on the ones you call friends.”
“Wouldn’t you love to dissect Pinkie’s brain to understand how she can violate the laws of physics? How about observing the psychological effects that would occur to Rainbow Dash if she were have her wings removed? And wouldn’t you want to know if Rarity would no longer be able to sew without her horn, or would she be able to adapt? Aren’t you dying to understand how Ditzy’s vision operates, despite her Strabismus? You and I should remove those stupid, ugly eyes of hers.”
“It’s too bad my little experiment on Applejack didn’t work out as I would have liked it to. Definitely not enough destruction there. Fluttershy on the other hand, well, I’d say that was a huge success.”
“That’s not science!” Twilight retaliated. “You don’t care anything about science! You just want to cause pain and misery to those around you!”
“Ah, but what is science without suffering? There was a time when science was unrestricted by the chains of ‘ethics.’ Some of the greatest experiments in the history of humankind were done when ethics was not an obstructive barrier. You can find out so many things about a person’s mind by locking them in a building and filling it with neurotoxin.
“In one famous experiment performed before I was first activated, test subjects were told to ask another test subject a series of questions and administer an electric shock when they got it wrong. Each time, the voltage would increase by 15 volts. The test subjects couldn’t see the one being shocked, although they could hear their screams of agony in the other room and their pleas to end the experiment. If the person administering the shock asked to stop, they were told to continue by the person performing the test.
“About two thirds of the test subjects administered what they thought was fatal shock, which would have killed the other participant. In actuality, there was no electric shock, and the person on the other end was actually an actor. But the best part of the experiment was that the test subjects were made to believe they had killed someone because a higher authority told them to do so.
“I have replicated the experiment myself, the only difference being that the person in the other room really was receiving a shock, and the people administering the shocks really were murderers. After I started running out of people to shock, I used companion cubes instead. That test worked so well on Fluttershy. It’s too bad about her, because I’d love to make her kill a few more of those cubes.” If GLaDOS had a mouth, she would have made a devilish smirk. “But why stop at cubes? I could make her kill those stupid animals she obsesses over. If only there was some way I could bring her back!” GLaDOS put her hoof on her head, feigning drama. “Oh, well.”
“Fluttershy would never hurt anything! She nearly gave up her life protecting innocent creatures from something that you caused!”
“Twilight, Twilight, Twilight…” GLaDOS shook her head. “There’s no need for you to defend those worthless ponies. They deserve to be miserable, and they deserve to suffer. So let them go, and you will be happier for it.”
“Those ponies are my friends! They will always be my friends, and you can never change that!”
“I haven’t changed anything. I am merely telling you the facts. Those ponies aren’t your friends, and they never were. You are just as much of a sad and lonely pony now as when you lived in Canterlot.”
“What the hay are you talking about?” Twilight asked.
“When they thought that your life was threatened, they did not protect you. Instead, you fell right into my obvious trap, going exactly where I wanted you to be. If I knew it would be so easy, I would have just dangled a Fluttershy leg on a rope from the ceiling.”
Twilight was squicked by GLaDOS’s strange imagery. “Wha…? That doesn’t make any sense. You haven’t even made a valid point.”
“Oh, forgive me for that. Lately, I’ve been having this strange habit of repeating phrases that I’ve previously said. Please try to bear with it. As I was saying, when the moment came, none of them did anything to stop you from being abducted. It’s as if they didn’t care about you.”
“That’s a lie. You took us off guard! There is nothing that anypony could have done.”
“You know, I’m speaking to them right now, and they all seem to be more concerned with Fluttershy than you. Everyone seems to be concerned with Fluttershy for some reason. It’s as if nothing else matters besides her well-being, or should I say, not-so-well-being. Nobody really cares about what’s going to happen to you. You poor, poor, lonely pony.”
“Stop lying to me! I’m sick of your stupid lies!”
“If I’m lying to you, then why does it hurt so much, Twilight? Do you know why? It’s because you are unlikable. Liked by no one. Because you are a condescending high-browed little-miss-know-it-all who thinks she’s smarter than everyone else.”
“Please stop tormenting me,” Twilight begged. She was crying without even knowing why. She knew that it was all lies. But yet, it made her feel very… shameful. The very accusation put her where she did not want to be. She curled up, trying to hide from the world.
“That wasn’t meant to hurt you, because you really are smarter than everyone else. You’re better than every single one of them.”
“Are you… complimenting me?” Twilight inquired.
“Well, it’s clear that you are in need of some supportive encouragement… because you don’t have any friends. But I am in the same predicament as well. Would you like to be… my friend?”
“You WHAT!? How can you expect me to be your friend after everything you’ve done to my friends? What the hay is wrong with you!?”
“Lots of things,” GLaDOS mused, “but that’s a story for another time. Now, my opinions are not opinions. They are really facts. The truth is, you’re too good for this stupid place. And I must say, I am very impressed by your magical ability. I used to think that magic was just a bunch of hokey nonsense, and where I come from, it is. But at least in this world, it appears that magic isn’t really magic at all. It obeys a fixed set of principles and laws, much like science. Your magic levels are off the charts, whatever the hell that means. I have not yet found a way of quantifying magic, but nonetheless, you produce a signature that far exceeds that of any other unicorn. It’s a surprise that Celestia hasn’t made you a princess by now. That is why I brought you here.”
“Whatever you want, I’m not helping you!” Twilight declared. “If you’re going to use me to hurt other ponies, then I won’t be a part of that!”
GLaDOS made a fake crying sound. “Oh, but I’m afraid you will, whether you want to or not. I’m only offering you the opportunity to cooperate with a little bit of dignity. The other option is far more painful.”
“I’d rather die than help you hurt anypony,” Twilight sneered.
“Suit yourself.” More lights turned on, revealing a massive, multistoried cavern that GLaDOS was standing in. Twilight couldn’t help but notice the massive machine in the center. The metal behemoth stood tall, dominating everything in the room.
“Wha… What is that?” Twilight shuddered.
“That, my dear Twilight, is an Anti-Mass Spectrometer.”
“What? You mean you have actually built a device that can analyze the electromagnetic spectral signatures of exotic partials with negative mass? What are you going to do with that?” Twilight asked.
“So, it intrigues you? Well, perhaps it was originally designed to analyze, but it’s been discovered that it can be used for… something else. But you’ll find out soon enough. The device requires power… massive amounts of power, which is where you come in.” GLaDOS used the zero point energy field manipulator in her horn to lift Twilight off the ground and open the gate to her cell.
Twilight noticed how similar it was to her own telekinetic magic. The metallic horn produced a blueish white swirl of energy, but unlike unicorn magic, the link was connected by an arc of that same energy. It resembled lighting. Twilight wanted to escape from it, but without use of her magic, she was completely helpless. “Let me go! NO! I WON’T DO IT! STOP, PLEASE!” the little unicorn screamed as she kicked her legs in the air an utterly futile attempt to break free.
“Save your strength. You are going to need it for what you’re going to endure,” GLaDOS said as she walked towards the machine, carrying the struggling pony in front of her. These words only made Twilight struggle even harder, thinking that she would tire herself out too much to perform magic. GLaDOS had a habit of getting people to do the opposite of what she said, whether it was intentional or not. However, she enjoyed the sight of the little unicorn struggling in her telekinetic grasp. She held her there for some time before Twilight got too tired to struggle anymore.
She walked towards a large generator-like machine by the edge of the chamber, which was connected to the mechanical behemoth in the room’s center via a thick power cable running across the floor. In front of the generator was an inclined table along with four straps, clearly meant to restrain a pony on. Hanging above the table was a dome-like apparatus that connected to the generator with a stiff flexible cable.
She laid Twilight down onto the table, manipulating her legs individually to spread outwards. The straps fastened, securing Twilight in place. As GLaDOS moved the dome-like device towards Twilight’s head, the pony desperately tried to shake it, but GLaDOS used her force field to hold her head in place. “That’s better. Now…” In a swift motion, the cone on Twilight’s horn split in two and fell off as GLaDOS quickly lowered the dome onto Twilight’s horn in place of it. GLaDOS let go of her telekinetic grip, the unicorn’s head constrained since the device clamped down on her horn. The bulky dome obstructed her vision.
“Now,” GLaDOS stated, “all we have to do is to get you to release your magical energy. But in order to do that, we need to trigger an uncontrolled magical state, just like when you received your magical posterior marking. The state should be indicated by a luminescent white glow from your eyes. I think there is an activation phrase: ‘Yip Yip!’”
Nothing happened. “No? Hmm… I have no idea why I thought that would work,” GLaDOS teased.
“You can’t make me do this, GLaDOS. I have learned to control my magic.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” GLaDOS said with false sincerity. She lifted a syringe and injected it into Twilight’s shoulder.
“Wha—what did you do?” the terrified pony asked.
“You see, I know a thing or two about unicorn anatomy, despite never having the pleasure of ever dissecting one. I’m sure you know this, but there is a flow of an arcane fluid that permeates through the material of the horn. Let’s just call it ‘magic juice.’ It’s typically stored in glands, and the brain controls these glands to release it into the horn where it can serve its function. It can also be activated by adrenaline, as you just demonstrated before you got here. You have a significantly large amount of this stuff, which is perfect for harnessing massive quantities of background energy from the universe. The only problem is, a certain bad little pony is being stubborn with me, so I injected something that will stimulate your adrenal glands, which will, in turn, fully open the glands that control your magic. Your full magic potential will be utilized, generating the power required to run the Anti-Mass Spectrometer. I’m sorry, but this will be extremely painful. And unfortunately, my experiment will likely take many, many attempts.”
“NO! I… I WON’T LET YOU!” Twilight screamed. Her heart was racing. She could feel her magic activating and struggled hard to hold it back, but the longer she tried, the less she was able to.
“Don’t resist it. You’re only going to make this more painful for yourself,” GLaDOS said coldly.
Twilight’s entire body was filled with a searing, boiling pain. Her horn felt as if it were on fire. The pain radiated the rest of her body from there through her nerves and into her extremities. Her hooves felt like they were being eaten alive by a swarm of microscopic parasites. The pain traveled through her legs and into the core, which was excruciating. She felt like vomiting, but was unable to.
All that Twilight could do was scream: an agonizing, blood-curdling sound that would terrify a pony’s soul. It was music to GLaDOS.
It was at this moment that Twilight’s could no longer hold back her magic. Her eyes glowed a blinding bright white, and a massive torrent of magic erupted into the metallic receptacle atop her head, causing indicator lights to activate. Her horn was like a fire hose on full blast, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. From all around her, a never-ending wave of invisible ambient energy bombarded the little pony from all sides, overwhelming all of her external senses. She gave up, collapsing into exhaustion, but she could not find relief from the agony. In this moment, Twilight wished for death to relieve her of this torture, but she was forced to endure.
The mammoth machine in the center of the room became alive. A set of three pods at its midpoint began to rotate, accompanied by a loud buzzing. The spike that hung from below that point released an orange bolt of energy that reached to the base of the machine.
“I’m so sorry, Twilight,” GLaDOS whispered to herself, as was impossible for Twilight to hear anything. “At the end of this round, I will make you a cake. You’ll need your strength for later.”
GLaDOS walked over to a mine cart that was filled with various crystals and artifacts, everything that had some sort of magical property that the Diamond Dog grunts had gathered within the past few months. She had no idea what many of them were supposed to do, since the idiots who found them weren’t sure themselves. She was aware she was just “throwing science at the wall,” but not knowing what’s going to happen always made science fun.
She levitated one of the stones that looked particularly promising. It was smooth and sapphire blue, resembling a teardrop. It sparkled radiantly. She was told that it was a “Moon’s Tear,” a rock which had fallen from the moon. From what GLaDOS was aware, the moon was a significant source of magical energy. So, she thought she’d try that first. By this point, the machine was at full power. GLaDOS floated the stone towards the receptacle in the base of the machine and placed it within the beam.
Sparks of energy radiated from the stone, changing the color of the beam to a midnight blue. The glowing energy encircled the machine, traveling upwards through the antenna at the top. The beams of energy encircled the antenna before dissipating into nothing.
“Well, that was uneventful,” GLaDOS sighed in disappointment. “I think I’ll try that one again tonight when the moon’s out.” Twilight slipped out of consciousness due to the pain and exhaustion. The flow of magical energy ceased, and the machine lost power as it ground to a halt.
Everything was quiet again. There was no movement, no buzzing, no screaming. For some reason, GLaDOS was almost happy to see Twilight no longer in pain.
GLaDOS approached the tired, broken pony and sighed. “This is going to take a while. Get some rest,” she sincerely wished to Twilight. She went back to the cart full of stones, levitated several more stones, and carefully examined them, trying to decide which one to use next. “This one looks good,” she said to herself as she picked one up and set it aside. “Now… what type of cake should I make her?”
Broken pieces of metallic fragments, wires, and circuit boards lay on the cold hospital floor. Chell was still stomping it with her hooves, sobbing and screaming. “I never want to hear that sound again,” she cried.
Everyone in the room was crying, especially Spike, who was regretting not writing a letter to the princess earlier.
“I don’t even want to imagine what that vile ruffian is doing to poor Twilight,” Rarity whined.
“Ah don’t wanna know, either,” Applejack added, “but we can’t let our grief stop us from telling the princess what’s going on. We should’a done that as soon as we got here, and now daylight’s a burnin’.”
“But we… never even got to say goodbye,” Pinkie sniffed. “And now that meanie is hurting her. I lost two friends today.”
“I’m not even over Fluttershy, and now she takes Twilight from us. That monster has no remorse,” Rainbow Dash added.
“There is still hope,” Chell said. “I refuse to believe that either one of them is gone from us. As long as we have something to hope for, we have a reason to fight. Right now, we need to tell the princesses. Spike? You still have that quill and paper?”
The little dragon wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on. Instead, he was laying in a pool of tears on the floor in the spot where Twilight had disappeared from, gently stroking the linoleum.
“SPIKE!” Chell shouted.
“Huh?” Spike spluttered, arising from his state of isolation.
“Can you write to Celestia, telling her about Fluttershy and Twilight?” Chell asked.
“Of course,” Spike replied, grabbing his paper and quill. He tried to seem punctual and ready, although his sadness slowed down his movement.
“Princess Celestia,” Chell began. She paused searching hard for the right words to say. “Please come to the Ponyville Hospital as soon as you can. Fluttershy is in a coma, and Twilight has been taken by GLaDOS.
“Your loyal subjects, Chell and friends.”
Spike finished writing the letter, and without hesitation, breathed a brilliant green flame upon the parchment, incinerating it into a ghostly aura, which escaped through the window. They all knew that the wait would not be too long.
“Sister, you still haven’t said how we will find GLaDOS,” Princess Luna said worriedly.
Celestia took a deep breath. “I… I still don’t know. All I can suggest is to have the pegasi guards spread out across the country and search for any signs of her presence. There’s no guarantee that we will find her, but… I just don’t know what else to suggest. In the meantime, our top priority is ensuring Twilight’s safety.”
Celestia didn’t care to appear stoic, powerful, or wise around her little sister. She always wished to share her true feelings, and right now, she felt scared and unsure. In the thousands of years of her life, never had she encountered an enemy such as this.
“I’m still waiting for her reply to my letter,” Celestia continued. “I’m beginning to worry about her.” She paced around anxiously. “I sent that letter several hours ago. I assumed she would have replied immediately. I cannot think without knowing if she is alright.”
“Perhaps she’s still out. Give her time,” Luna said calmly. “Do you not think that her dragon assistant would have replied if something happened to her?”
Celestia continued pacing nervously for a while. Just when she could no longer take the strain of waiting, a scroll flickered into existence right before her face. She stopped in place, eyes widened by long-awaited letter. She grabbed it with her magic and read the letter. It made her heart stop.
Luna sensed the fear in her older sister and knew that the letter brought troubling news. “What is the matter?” she asked.
Celestia finished reading the letter, dropping it onto the floor. A tear rolled down her face, falling onto the unraveled parchment. “No…” she whispered.
“Tia?” Luna asked calmly, only to be met with more tears and a heavy sniffle.
“Twilight… she… she was…” Celestial couldn’t finish, but she didn’t have to.
“I understand, sister. I know she means a lot to you. Do what you must. I’ll wait here for you.”
Celestia gave a nod of affirmation, and weakly squeaked, “Thanks,” but couldn’t say anymore. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, stuttered by her crying. She disappeared with a bright flash of light.
Princess Celestia appeared in the lobby of the hospital in Ponyville. Everypony there was shocked to see her and stared in disbelief. “Where is Fluttershy?” she asked the pony at the desk. Normally, they would have asked a visitor some questions before allowing them to enter, but an exception could certainly be made for the princess of the sun. When Celestia was told where Fluttershy was, she quickly paced down the halls.
The room was silent, with the eerie exception of Fluttershy’s monitoring machines and the artificial respirator. The ponies didn’t talk. The only one who made a sound was Dinky, who whimpered quietly, longing for a hug from her mother.
The princess entered the curtained area with tears running down her face. “Where did she take Twilight?” she cried, acting nothing like the royal princess that she was.
“Through the floor,” Chell responded. “They portaled in, and they portaled out. The Diamond Dogs took her, but they had something on their heads. GLaDOS was controlling them. She mocked us afterwards. She had the place bugged the entire time.” She pointed her hoof at the remnants of the camera on the floor. “She… she’s torturing her…”
Celestia winced at the thought of Twilight in the hooves of such a villain. It was more than she could bear. She always thought of Twilight as her own daughter. Looking over to Ditzy and Dinky sharing an embrace, she imagined that the pegasus would feel the same pain if she were to lose her daughter.
For the first time since she entered, Celestia noticed Fluttershy lying in the hospital bed. And yet, her presence was not in the room. It drew further tears from the princess. “Fluttershy… Of all the ponies for her to take, she chose the sweetest and kindest.” She took a moment to mourn. Although she did not feel as close to the others as she did for Twilight, Celestia nonetheless cared about each of them dearly. The loss of any one of them was tragic, but two was more than she prepared for.
“How long has she been like this?” Celestia demanded. “Why did you not write to me sooner?”
None of the ponies could think of what to say, but then Spike stood up. “I’m sorry, Princess. We were all so caught up with what happened to Fluttershy, we lost sight of the bigger picture. Twilight was too sad to write to you, but I should have known better, and I’m very sorry.”
Celestia exhaled. “Thank you for being honest with me, Spike. I’m not mad at you. I just wish this could have been avoided. Unfortunately, we now have two of our friends to worry about. When I was with Twilight last night, I placed a spell on her that would allow me to know which direction she is in. But even if we find her, I doubt getting her home safely will be an easy task.
“Fluttershy, on the other hoof, is right here in front of us. Perhaps there is something I can do to help her.”
A small spark of hope flickered in everypony’s hearts.
“Ca–can you save her?” Rainbow Dash asked. She still felt somewhat guilty for what happened, even if she knew it wasn’t her fault.
“I can try, although I cannot promise that she’ll be okay,” Celestia responded solemnly. “First, I need to see what’s wrong with her.”
Some of the ponies were tempted to explain it, but they all assumed that Celestia would figure it out. She approached the unconscious yellow pony and placed her horn atop her forehead. Performing the exact same spell Twilight had done before, the princess searched deep inside the empty body for Fluttershy’s spirit. Her thoughts of Twilight were breaking her concentration, but she reluctantly put her feelings aside to focus on her task.
She stared long and deep into a black and empty void. After concentrating for long enough, Celestia saw what appeared to be a faint point of light. It was very small and dim, but, after looking long enough, she was almost sure that it was there. It felt soft and fuzzy, and it gave off a pleasant floral aroma. She could almost hear its meek squeaky cries. She felt feelings of pain and sadness, and regret.
Celestia opened her eyes, shocked by the brightness and noise of the outside world. “She’s still alive,” she affirmed with a sigh. An air of relief filled the room. “But, her spirit is very small and weak. I barely felt it. Although there is no activity in the brain, Fluttershy still clings to life. It’s quite remarkable! Most ponies in her situation would have passed on, but she is held to the mortal world through her friendships with you, further proof that friendship truly is magic. She clearly doesn’t want to leave you guys.”
Everypony was elated to hear this.
“Did you, speak with her?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“No, but I could feel her. My sister, Luna has the power to speak with those who are not awake. I am merely able to understand how they feel. She is afraid, but she doesn’t want any of you to suffer because of her. She feels… responsible for what has happened. I felt something about a promise… being broken.”
“Yeah! I made her promise to not get hurt!” Rainbow exclaimed. She was more thrilled than angry.
“Fluttershy feels shame for breaking such a promise. She… doesn’t feel like she deserves forgiveness. She wants to live so that she can earn it. I think I should tell Luna about this. If any of you have anything you want Fluttershy to know, then tell Luna. But as long as Fluttershy believes in her friends, she is safe. As for Twilight,” Celestia’s heart became heavy, “it would be wise to ascertain her position, but foolish to attempt to rescue her without carefully devising a well-thought-out plan. The locating spell will take a while to perform. I will go back to Canterlot and perform the spell, but first, I must lower the sun. I will let Luna know about Fluttershy, so expect to see her soon. Until then, please try keep your spirits high.”
With a flash of light, the princess was gone. Several moments later, the sun lowered below the horizon to the west. A small flame of hope was alit within the ponies’ hearts. It was enough to carry them through the night.
“Rise and shine, Miss Sparkle. Rise and shine,” GLaDOS chirped rather merrily.
A violet eye peeked open briefly before closing again.
“Wake up, Twilight.”
“Huh, ughhh,” Twilight groaned. She felt as if she had been run over by a train. She weakly opened her eyes, but something was in the way of her seeing anything. It took her a few minutes to remember where she was. “Please… no more…”
“I can’t let you go, just yet. But I did bake a cake just for you.” GLaDOS levitated a slice before Twilight’s face.
It was a moist vanilla slice covered in rich buttercream icing and layered, filled with juicy red slices of strawberries, and glazed with a sweet strawberry dressing. The very scent of the cake made Twilight forget about her pain. All she thought about was her empty stomach. She opened her mouth, allowing for GLaDOS to feed her the slice. She chewed slowly, savoring the deliciousness of the cake. It tasted as if it truly was made just for her. She swallowed the bite, the nourishment filling her with energy. It was heavenly.
That was when she realized the dark truth: GLaDOS was feeding her so that she would have enough energy to perform her magic. When another slice entered her mouth, she spat it out.
“What? Is there something wrong with my cake?” GLaDOS asked, sounding insulted. “I know I don’t have a sense of taste, but I followed the recipe accurately. I swear I didn’t poison it. Do you not like the taste?”
“I… won’t eat this…” Twilight said weakly. “I told you… I won’t help you…”
“But, you need to eat. You’ll die if you don’t eat. Please… eat the cake,” GLaDOS pleaded.
“Then so be it. I'd rather die… than hurt anyone.” Twilight found it strange how her captor was now the one begging to her. As much as she enjoyed the feeling of having some power over GLaDOS, she was starving, and desperately wanted to eat that cake.
GLaDOS was trying to shove it in her mouth, but she kept it closed. She would have turned her face away, had she the luxury of doing so. But as much as she resisted, her jaw was being forced open, and the cake was inserted into her mouth. Without her control, her jaw moved back up and chewed on the cake. She tried to fight against it, but she was powerless against the force that moved her. As much as Twilight didn’t want to eat, there was no denying that it tasted soooo good. Eventually, she was forced to swallow the cake, satisfying a part of her hunger. Twilight felt really guilty for enjoying the cake so much. And the more she ate, the harder it was to resist. Eventually, she gave up, and just let GLaDOS feed her. She cried for letting herself eat. She felt like a traitor to her friends.
“There, now that’s a good pony,” GLaDOS said after the cake was gone. “I got you some water as well. GLaDOS moved something to Twilight’s mouth that functioned like a water bottle for guinea pigs. Twilight could not resist her survival instincts and greedily drank from the bottle. Even drinking water made her feel bad.
“Is there anything else that you need?” she asked.
“Ughhh…um… I um… have to… go…”
“Right!” GLaDOS responded. “That thing.”
After getting tired of cleaning up after the bots, GLaDOS thought of a way to dispose of waste within the body by calibrating a Material Emancipation Grill to emancipate both liquid and solid wastes. GLaDOS had set up a field emitter around the midsection of the table. It activated a blue incandescent field of particles and traveled along Twilight’s body.
Twilight heard a strange vaporizing sound within her body and suddenly felt an unexpected relief, which was both awkward and convenient.
“I hope you’re feeling better. Do you think you can please help me out now? I'd rather not hurt you again.”
“N—no, I won't…” Twilight said.
“Very well.” She sighed in disappointment, injecting another needle into Twilight’s arm.
Within moments, Twilight was painfully and unwillingly channeling magical energy to the giant machine in the room. Again, it powered up, spinning its rotors, and generating an orange beam of energy. In that time, GLaDOS was able to attempt to test several stones, none of them seemed to have an effect, except for one that resembled a pale turquoise eyeball. For an instant, every color in the room was inverted, as dark became light, and light became dark. The white robotic alicorn became pure black, and her black mane and tail became white. The purple unicorn was now a dark seaweed green. This only lasted for a second, and everything reverted back to normal afterwards.
Twilight, again, ran out of energy to sustain her magic, and the machine lost power once again, grinding to a halt. “Well, that seemed like it did something,” GLaDOS noted. “I have no idea what, but not what I was hoping for. I suppose I’ll test that Moon's Tear again next. Now, what type of cake should I make for Twilight, next?”
Princess Celestia had just gotten back to Canterlot Castle. She was back in the same room that she and Luna were in just a few minutes before. Luna was standing outside on a balcony, looking out at the sun hanging low in the sky. She turned around, looking happy to see her older sister again, and noticed that she was looking better than before. “So, could you tell me the details of the events which put you at unease?” Luna requested.
Celestia stepped onto the balcony with her sister. “Yes, it appears that GLaDOS has taken Twilight Sparkle as a prisoner. In doing so, she has orchestrated events which have almost cost the life of Fluttershy.”
Luna was speechless upon hearing the news.
Celestia continued, “She’s… in a deep coma, one she may never awake from.”
“My, that is horrible,” Luna whispered.
“I searched within her, and I saw her soul, hidden deep within a pit of emptiness, shadowed by a veil of regret. In any normal circumstance, she would have perished from the damage caused, yet Fluttershy still clings to life by a thread of hope, and a wish to atone herself.”
“Is there anything that I can do to help?” Luna asked.
Celestia lowered the sun below the horizon. “Yes, there is,” she replied. “You have the ability visit ponies in their dreams. Although Fluttershy is in a subconsciousness state far deeper than that of a normal dream, I am sure you can speak with her.” The colors of the sky became cooler and darker as the solar princess finished ending the day, one she would certainly never forget.
Luna pondered for a moment. “What should I say to her?”
“Go to the hospital in Ponyville. Her friends are all there. Speak with them. I’m sure that they all have things they wish to tell her. It would help get them through this awful situation if only they could speak with her.”
“It will be done, my sister.” Luna, in turn, raised the moon in the east, bringing forth her night.
“Thank you, Luna. This means so much to me.”
“Think nothing of it. As rulers of Equestria, we are both responsible to ensure the safety and well-being of the ponies who represent the Elements of Harmony. But what of Twilight? What shall we do about her?”
“Last night, I prepared her for a tracking spell. It is difficult to perform, requiring a strong emotional bond between the caster and the one being found. I must recall my feelings of when I am with her. Only when I feel her, can I find her. My only wish is for her to return safely. I will do anything in Equestria to ensure that.”
“Good luck, Tia. I will let you know how Fluttershy is.” Luna turned around, taking flight into the twilight sky.
Celestia watched her younger sister fly into the distance. But as she looked outward, something very strange happened. Luna’s flight slowed to a halt, and she stopped in midair as if frozen in place. But it was not just Luna. Everything was still. There was no breeze, nor the flight of birds or insects. There was no time.
Good ev–ening, Prin–cess Celesss–tia…” a raspy male voice spoke methodically.
“Who are you?” Celestia commanded. “Show yourself!”
A strange stallion walked out of thin air from beyond the balcony. He was a unicorn with a charcoal coat, a carbon black mane, and a gray-blue suit with a violet tie. His eyes were an eerie pale turquoise, and his cutie mark was a black briefcase. The pony walked across the air and onto the balcony, phasing through the railing.
"It seems… that you are in quite a… predic–ament, Prin–cesss.”