//------------------------------//
// Trials 
// Story: The Continued Adventures of Tyro 
// by RainbowsAreMagic 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 7: Trials

Princess Luna walked up behind Rarity. "Hi Rarity!" 

Rarity jumped, startled both by the surprise of the speech and by the alicorn's presence at all. 

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," Luna said sheepishly. "I'm helping Tyro and Twilight test their new containment spell. If it can hold an alicorn, I doubt anything else will be breaking through it." She grinned, apparently unconcerned. "I'll also owe my sister eighty bits, but that's not really the point."

Opening the box with the Elements inside, Tyro pulled out his own. "Hey, did you polish this? Thanks, it looks great!" Rarity smiled as he put it on. "Okay, let's do it."

Rarity watched as Luna walked to a circle near the centerof the diagram. There was a flash of dark energy near her hooves, and Rarity could see her straining to lift them from the ground, to little effect. 

"Tyro, the rooting effect is definitely working," the alicorn called out.

"Perfect. Everything is working properly so far, then." 

Luna still looked unconcerned. "Hmm, basic dispel... nothing. What does it take to dispel this again?" When Twilight and Tyro exchanged grins, she no longer looked unconcerned. "Twilight? Twilight?!"

Tyro's horn glowed, building up a powerful charge, as he stepped into a circle drawn into the diagram. Luna looked worried. The red glow grew, as Tyro called forth even more magical energy. His horn now almost radiated red light as he lowered his head. Luna looked increasingly worried. 

"Twilight? I'm beginning to have second thoughts about this..." Twilight just grinned again, as Tyro released the energy from his horn into the pattern of the ritual. As the magic touched the lines inscribed on the ground, however, it turned black, flowing along its path. Within moments, the magic had spread through the entire pattern of the intricate spell. There was a pause, then a watery wall of translucent, dark energy rose around Luna, who was looking around, panicking as she tried to escape, wings flapping madly. The root spell held, however, and the walls of dark energy folded into a dome above her, quickly changing to a much more solid appearance. 

Tyro groaned, dropping to his knees before Twilight caught him, quickly touching her horn to his own. A purple glow appeared, first around Twilight's horn, the around Tyro's. Almost immediately, Tyro stood again, and the glow vanished. "Thanks, Twilight. I needed that."

"Okay, Luna," Twilight called out to the imprisoned princess. "Try to escape, any way you can."

Luna's eyes flashed. Her horn glowed, and the spell binding her to the ground broke with a loud snap. Tyro nodded, as though expecting this.

Spike walked up behind Rarity. "I'll put ten bits on the spell," he joked. Rarity looked down at the dragon, unable to resist. 

"Sure, Spike. You're on."

Luna leapt into the air, intending to fly over the spell, only to crash into the top of the dome. Irritated, she ran to the side, pawing at the wall with her front hooves, but to little effect.

Tyro chuckled. "She hasn't gotten desperate yet. Spike, would you let Princess Celestia know that we've, ah, caught her sister in a compromising situation?"

Spike quickly jotted down a note, sending it to the princess of the sun. Seeing Spike's green fire, Luna guessed exactly what happened, her attempts to escape redoubled. Turning, she bucked the wall with all of the power in her formidable hind legs, but still to no effect.

Moments later, there was a sudden pop as Celestia appeared. Everypony bowed quickly, then went back to watching Luna. "What exactly is this all about?" The princess did not look amused.

Twilight quickly explained. "Princess Luna offered to help us test the containment spell that Tyro and I made for Primus. We'll let her out eventually, of course, but I thought you might like to watch." She winked.

The princess looked thoughtful, then smiled. "Eighty bits on the spell!"

Luna went berserk, trying to fight throught the barrier. After a couple minutes, she returned to the center of the dome and stopped to catch her breath.

Twilight smiled. "Now's the interesting part. She's figured out she can't force her way through  from within the dome, only to reappear back in the center again. 

Luna called on her powerful alicorn magic, and the inside of the dome was bombarded by bolts of energy flying outward from her in all directions. When the pounding stopped, the shield had grown very dark indeed. Luna walked up to the edge, sitting down.

"Fine." The dark alicorn had finally given up. "I can't break through."

Immediately, Twilight stepped forward. Calling on only a touch of her magic, she touched her horn to a particular point on the diagram, releasing the energy into the spell. The glowing black lines on the ground were overlaid by violet ones. When the last of the black lines disappeared, the dome around Luna returned to its watery state, sliding back into the ground as quickly as it had risen. A few moments later, the violet of Twilight's magic faded, and the spell was gone.

Rarity frowned unhappily, then started counting out the bits she owed Spike. Luna looked daggers at everyone (except Rarity,  who had supported her). 

Luna looked very unhappy. Pinkie Pie walked up to her, concerned. "Luna, what's wrong? You did great! Just because you couldn't break the spell doesn't mean..." At Luna's harsh look, Pinkie Pie trailed off midsentence.

"I remember a thousand years, Pinkie Pie, of a spell not unlike that one. A thousand years of solitude, spent on the moon. That's what's wrong." Luna stalked away, leaving Pinkie Pie, stunned, behind her. 

Celestia looked at the collected ponies. from within the dome, only to reappear back in the center again. 

Luna called on her powerful alicorn magic, and the inside of the dome was bombarded by bolts of energy flying outward from her in all directions. When the pounding stopped, the shield had grown very dark indeed. Luna walked up to the edge, sitting down.

"Fine." The dark alicorn had finally given up. "I can't break through."

Immediately, Twilight stepped forward. Calling on only a touch of her magic, she touched her horn to a particular point on the diagram, releasing the energy into the spell. The glowing black lines on the ground were overlaid by violet ones. When the last of the black lines disappeared, the dome around Luna returned to its watery state, sliding back into the ground as quickly as it had risen. A few moments later, the violet of Twilight's magic faded, and the spell was gone.

Rarity frowned unhappily, then started counting out the bits she owed Spike. Luna looked daggers at everyone (except Rarity,  who had supported her). 

Luna looked very unhappy. Pinkie Pie walked up to her, concerned. "Luna, what's wrong? You did great! Just because you couldn't break the spell doesn't mean..." At Luna's harsh look, Pinkie Pie trailed off midsentence.

"I remember a thousand years, Pinkie Pie, of a spell not unlike that one. A thousand years of solitude, spent on the moon. That's what's wrong." Luna stalked away, leaving Pinkie Pie, stunned, behind her. 

A storm was forming overhead when Twilight returned to the library, slamming the door closed behind her. Tyro gulped as he saw the deadbolt drop into place and heard shutters slam shut over closed windows. Something told him he should run, but he had nowhere to go.

Twilight faced him, with fire in her eyes. Tyro had never before seen her so angry. Her voice was like ice when she spoke to him. "How dare you do that to Princess Luna? If we didn't need your precious magic to get rid of Primus, I would throw you out the door right now."

Tyro, shaking, protested quietly, "but she said she'd be willing to help..."

Twilight's voice rose. "And you, you used that kindness against her! You humiliated her in front of her only friends. Laughing. You invited her sister to come watch your fun."

Tyro found himself backed up against a wall. He tried to say something, anything in his defense, but Twilight kept going. "You stripped away her power, trapping her in your spell just as Celestia once did with the Elements of Harmony. And you did it with all her friends there to see her helplessness. And you laughed."

Tyro was truly afraid. He cowered against the wall, eyes darting around him. Seeing an unstable stack of books, he nudged it so it fell, than fled in Twilight's momentary distraction. He made it most of the way up the stairs before she caught him in the grip of her magic. His struggle to get free got him nowhere. what he had said before was true: Twilight's magic was stronger than his own. His Balance magic was powerful, but only occasionally usable. Thus, he was now entirely at her mercy, and she knew it.

"How does it feel, Tyro, to be the bug under the glass? Perhaps you would like a taste of what you did to your princess for yourself?" Violet magic solidified into a steel cage around him. Moments later, a metal collar appeared, snapping around his throat.

Managing to look at Twilight, Tyro was horrified. Her body was overlaid by a faint, flickering image. A dark purple unicorn with a sharpened horn was wearing stylized battle armor. Twilight's own Nightmare form, threatening to emerge from her anger at him. "You're afraid, aren't you? Do you feel helpless yet? Trapped? Do you feel... betrayed?" Her laugh chilled him to his bones. There was a touch of madness in it. A touch of a Nightmare. "I wonder, should I hang this cage outside, for everyone to see? After what you did to Luna, you deserve the same."

Tyro tried to teleport away, to do anything, but his magic wouldn't come. "Oh, and by the way, Tyro. Your magic won't work again, until I decide to take that collar off."

Still laughing madly, Twilight approached the cage. Her horn glowed, and a chain formed, linking his collar to the cage itself. It glowed again, and a door appeared on the side of the cage, swinging open at her touch.

If Tyro had been afraid before, now he was terrified. Now not even the bars of the cage kept her away, now. All he could see was the Nightmare that was Twilight, coming closer, a step at a time. With every step, Tyro cowered in a corner of his cage. The Nightmare stopped before him, reached down, and licked his face. Any other time, he would have been delighted, but now, it felt lewd and terrible.

"We're going to have a lot of fun with you tonight," the Nightmare crooned. "A lot of fun."

Across Ponyville, ponies shivered in their beds as an unearthly scream cut through the storm, abruptly silenced a moment later.