//------------------------------// // Traitor Princess // Story: Lone Princess // by InkRose //------------------------------// It was so hot... So very hot... The princess let out a steaming breath, her bloodshot eyes glancing down at the scalding chains burning her white coat. The smell of burning fur and flesh was overwhelming. She sat on a golden throne, a grand piece of work with many jewels set into it. As beautiful as it was though, the hot chains wrapped around it and the princess were slowly melting it. The princess tried to move, shuffling her wings against the back of the throne. The chains only dug deeper. Everything in the huge throne room seemed to be drooping. The gilded frames and decor upon the walls were dripping molten lumps of gold onto the floor. The princess took in breath after breath, her lungs filling with burning air. She gritted her teeth and let out a moan. Pain was all she felt. In her heart, she knew it was because of her own choices. The gleaming white unicorn horn of the princess was lit up in a glorious way. However, it was not her own doing. She did not know what the magic seeping from the horn was doing, nor could she stop it. All at once, the great walls in front of and flanking the princess crumbled, revealing the horrible truth laying outside. The magenta eyes of the princess widened as she took in the picture. The Sun, in its burning glory, took up almost all of the sky. The land was in flames. The princess cried out as she watched her precious kingdom burn. Her dried throat made it almost impossible to speak. “No... please...” She said in a hushed tone, her scratchy voice barely loud enough to hear. The tears she shed evaporated upon contact with the scorching air. She flicked her ears as she heard a cacophony of noises. The screams of millions of different ponies were deafening. Their torturous cries hammered into the princess’s ears with an evil vigor. The princess watched in agony from her high place as a town miles below turned to ash, whipping winds sweeping it in hundreds of directions. The citizens of the town ran to and fro, their panic setting in like a wildfire. They were helpless to stop the raging fire of the sun, which came closer and closer every passing second. The princess looked up at her horn, screaming at it in the vain hope of making it stop. She cursed herself, a wave of anger rolling into her soul. She was a traitor to all of her loyal ponies. She had been their leader in prosperous times, and now she was destroying them all. The princess strained against her chains. She needed to stop this. The chains seemed to grow heavier, their burn growing ever stronger. She could not do anything. She was helpless to stop herself from destroying all she loved. Breaking down in tears and despair, the princess wept. The lack of tears due to the steaming air only made her cry with more vigor. For once she wanted to feel real tears flow down her cheeks. To feel the coolness of water amid the blistering heat. A gust of strong wind lifted up the ashes of the towns and cities surrounding the princess, blasting it straight at her. The princess was wracked with spasms of dry coughing as the ashes whipped around her, seeping into every breath she took. She closed her eyes tightly, twisting her neck so as to press her mouth and nose against her chest. The wind suddenly subsided. The ashes fell to the ground. Cautiously opening an eye, the princess gazed in surprise at a figure who had appeared before her. Standing not far from the princess stood a second princess. She sported a dark blue coat and a brilliant mane filled with stars. Her most striking feature was her face, which was twisted into a look of hatred. “Sister, you are alive! P-please... help me!” said the chained princess, her jaw shaking. “I cannot stop... I-I cannot stop!” The starry-maned mare seemed to ignore what her sister said. “Why have you done this?!” she screamed. “STOP, my sister! For the sake of everyone you love!” The chains around the princess had seemed to become hotter than the sun, melting into liquid on the white alicorn they had ensnared. She was free. But the princess soon realized that she no longer had control over herself. She moved without her consent, standing proudly and with strength while she felt like collapsing. Without warning, she unwillingly stepped forward and used her glowing horn to spear her sister through the chest. Screaming in anguish, the princess watched as her sister crumpled. The sister’s blood was turning to ashes as she lay motionless on the marble floor, her wide eyes staring into the princess’s soul. The princess stood as still as a statue as she watched her beloved sister perish, her inner turmoil reaching an unbearable peak. Pain was what she felt as the her own Sun’s heat seared her flesh. But that was not as great as the torture within her soul. The heart of the traitor princess shattered into uncountable pieces, scattering across the floor and mixing with the ashes. It was so hot... So very hot... *** “Tia? Sister, where are you?” Princess Celestia blinked, her magenta eyes filled to the brim with tears. She took a shaking breath. The blank space of wall behind a strange door was holding her gaze. She tore her eyes away from it. “Sister? Please come, Cadance is beginning the luncheon!” Princess Luna called, her hoofsteps echoing in the room above Celestia. A muffled gasp followed by the sound of wingbeats echoed around the cavern Celestia was in. “Celestia! Get away from that door!” Luna screeched as she located her sister. She hurriedly closed the door Celestia had been near. Celestia whipped her head around to look at Luna, her eyes wide. “Y-you’re alright!” Celestia burst in incomprehensible joy, flinging herself at her sister and hugging her tightly. She wept into Luna’s dark coat. Luna began to weep as well. “Oh Celestia.... oh Tia why did you open that door... why...?” Luna asked, burying her face into Celestia’s mane. “I-I can’t bear to think of what you saw...” “This is the door that caused you to weep all those years ago when we were trapped in here, isn’t it?” Celestia said, her breath shaking. Luna was silent for a moment. “Yes... but I never wanted you to know what had happened. That door shows you your worst nightmare... and what I saw changed me. I let it get to me... I-I let it define who I was,” Luna said, “Oh, Tia, I was so afraid it would come true...” Celestia hugged her sister close. They sat quietly for a moment, the only sound being their hushed crying. “Sister...” Celestia said once she had wiped her tears away. “I think it is for the best that we no longer hide things like this from eachother... we need to tell each other what we saw. It will help us to not only understand one another and fears we may share, but it will help us to cope with what has been seen.” “I agree... I am sorry to have kept this from you for so long...” Luna mumbled, lowering her head. “It is my fault this has happened.” Celestia used her hoof to raise Luna’s chin. “I do not blame you. I shouldn’t have been wandering this castle alone. I am sorry to have left you.” Luna smiled. “Thank you...” she said. The sisters proceeded to tell each other their painful accounts of the visions they had seen, frequently breaking down into tears. But unlike in their nightmares, they were not alone in their fears. Together they shared their sorrowful burdens. Together they repaired their shattered hearts. *** Do not cry, Do not fret, Though darkness may call, Do not forget. I am here, I will stay, Though trials may come, I’ll keep evil at bay.