The cold air flowing from the mountain washed over Celestia as she hesitated in front of a huge boulder. Finally she sighed and rolled the stone away with her magic, revealing a totally dark cave that smelled of age and something…Wrong. Celestia controlled a shudder that threatened to travel down her spine and walked into the cave, using her horn to just barely illuminate the path in front of her. She had forgotten how cold it was in the cave, and how far it really was to the center of the mountain. Celestia walked for what seemed like days through winding corridors and small caverns when finally the cave opened up to a massive cavity in the heart of the mountain. Celestia brightened the glow from her horn slightly and took a few cautious steps forward.
“Hello, Your Highness.” Celestia almost jumped when the darkness was pierced by those two pink irises the world had feared so long ago. The voice hadn’t changed, it was still the slightly out of tune musical voice of a mare, and Celestia saw the glint of sharp teeth under the eyes as the creature grinned. “What’s the matter? You’re not still afraid of little old me, are you?”
“I never feared you.” Celestia kept her voice even and slowly lit more of the cave. She raised an eyebrow when she heard the chains clink and grind against each other as cold, maniacal laughter pierced the air and sent a chill through Celestia’s heart.
“The Princess is a Liar! The Princess is a Liar!” She spoke to a tune with a sing-song voice. The strange creature laughed again “You were more scared of me than anypony!”
“Whether or not I was afraid doesn’t matter anymore.” Celestia lit the last bit of the cave and her eyes grew wide in shock when she saw the bone-white mare chained flat against the cave wall. The long braids of her azure mane and tail coiled around her hind hooves exactly as they did over eight hundred years ago, the only sign of age in the whole cavern was the caked rust on the enchanted chains binding her limbs.
She looked down and smirked “Look at me! A thousand years with no shower and I still look good!”
“You shouldn't. You…You should be dead.”
The mare’s laughter grew louder and more maniacal “You should know better by now, Celestia. I mean, how many times did you try to kill me?
“More than I care to remember. And it was eight hundred and fifty years ago, not a thousand.” Celestia’s voice was pained as she recalled the unfortunate events of those two years.
She shrugged, causing the chains holding her forelegs grind unpleasantly “I rounded up. Besides, I’ve been so bored, it felt like a thousand years. And I mean bored with a capital B-O-R-E-D. Not even a single foal to kill in centuries.” Her grin widened, showing off her fangs, and a dark glint grew in her eyes. “You shouldn't have put that rock in front of the door, who knows how many lost little ponies might have wandered in for me.”
Celestia's face hardened as she glared at the mare “Killing is not something to be enjoyed.”
The mare stuck her tongue out to blow a raspberry at the princess “To you maybe. I love it! There’s nothing quite as exciting as watching blood slowly ooze out of a pony’s mouth as they gasp and struggle for air…” She laughed again at the horror in Celestia’s eyes “You should try it sometime, Cici, it really loosens you up!”
Celestia could barely contain her revulsion “I will never kill for pleasure. You are an abomination.”
The mare pouted sarcastically “Aww, that’s not what you thought when you first met me.”
“I didn’t know what horrific things you were capable of. If I had, I never would have let him complete the spell.”
“Oh come on, you’re exaggerating, I never did anything horrific. If anything, I was helping you.” She grinned evilly.
Celestia’s voice grew louder “You murdered half of Canterlot!”
“Now that is complete bogus, I didn’t kill half of Canterlot. You stopped me when I was exactly three kills away from half, and believe me, that’s been bugging me for years.” She giggled “And would you really have stopped him? It was so impressive; everypony was talking about it for months.”
“If I had known what you would do, I would have stopped the spell myself.” Celestia’s voice was harsh and resolute.
“But then you wouldn’t have discovered the greatest mage in Equestria.” She was taunting the princess, and they both knew it as she continued. “Unless somepony else broke Starry’s record, which must be difficult considering me.”
“He is still recognized as one of the greatest unicorn mages who ever lived. Many of his spells are still used today.”
The mare’s face lit up “Oh, goodie! There must be hundreds of little mes running around!”
“Not that spell. That was destroyed.” Celestia took a step forward and the mare’s face fell.
“Aw you’re such a spoilsport!” She got a devious glint in her eye “Then again, that makes me unique. I remember when I first woke up, Swirly was so proud of himself! And then he introduced me to all of his friends and professors and even you as ‘his best accident’. Then after I committed a couple harmless murders he just called me an accident.”
“I don’t know why I have to keep saying this, but murder is not harmless. Death in any form is painful due to its very nature.”
The chains clinked as the mare tried to raise her hoof enthusiastically “Oh! Oh! I know! I know why you have to keep saying it!” Celestia raised her eyebrow “Because I’m insane!” The laughter that echoed through the mountain filled Celestia with horror and fear at the sheer madness of the pony in front of her.
“That is an understatement.”
“But it’s also why you can’t kill me! I’m not a spell anymore, so Star couldn’t just ‘uncast’ me, but I’m not a pony, so I can’t die! You were after me for so long, and I kept coming back! Hanging, beheading, magical sword to the chest, even starvation at the bottom of a mountain isn’t enough to get rid of me!” She smirked and glared “So why don’t you cut me down and let me kill you, I’m getting bored again.”
“No. The only way to keep Equestria safe is to leave you down here until you finally die, or until time ends, whichever comes last.” Celestia turned to leave and lowered the brightness of her horn. She had gotten a few steps forward when the mare laughed again and shouted after her.
“That’s the thing about a Jinx, Your Royal Fatness: They never go away!” And as Celestia quickly walked out of the cave and rolled the boulder back in place, the evil laughter of pure madness echoed behind her.