Chapter Five: The Forgotten Pony
Princess Celestia descended the long and narrow staircase hidden behind the large, detailed portrait of her mother. Step after step, she ran the situation through her head over and over. Creatures from another dimension had invaded Equestria, but for what reason? They had kidnapped and beaten ponies, but why? They had planted seeds of young trees and bushes, but why? Their presence confused her; their possible intentions even more. Celestia pushed away her dark thoughts of what she’d do if she managed to get a hold of one of those creatures as she reached a wooden door with a barred window. “Wake up.” She growled. A dark and raspy cough sounded from beyond the door. “What do you want, ‘your highness’?” the voice asked mockingly. “You have been imprisoned for eons. You can be imprisoned for many more. Only two ponies know of your existence; and only one is allowed down here. I suggest you cut the rudeness and listen to what I have to say.” The princess snapped. The voice laughed darkly in amusement at the princess’s torment. “There are creatures from the Earth realm that have been kidnapping and beating ponies-” “What do I care? You and I both know I’d rather enjoy seeing all of Equestria burned to the ground, and every pony turned to nothing more than dust.” The voice interrupted. “Silence you ignorant mongrel! If these creatures take over, you’ll die with every other pony!” the princess shouted, her voice echoing up the stairs. The voice laughed softly and continued. “Then what would you have me do, Princess? Burn their mongrel hides? Or perhaps you’d like me to hang pieces of them all around Equestria? And even better yet…” the voice drifted off, as the creature it belonged to suddenly pressed its face against the bars. “Eat them all alive, and send their bloody corpses raining down on the world from whence they came?”. Celestia reeled back in surprise at the creature’s face. She had been told of the pony locked deep within the Canterlot dungeon since she was a little girl; as it would be her duty to keep it locked their until it was time to pass the responsibility onto her little sister. But the horrid stories about the evil deeds it had committed did not prepare her for the creatures face. The pony’s color was a horrid mesh of purple and black, with cuts all over it seeping out red blood. Its teeth were still sharp after eons of imprisonment; tufts of mane still stuck between its teeth from the first few unfortunate ponies to encounter this monster. Its eyes were bloodshot, black ooze forming like tears from under them. Its horn was broken long ago to prevent the use of magic to escape. “What, princess, afraid to see an old family friend? Pardon me for my poor hygiene, but I rather like it if I do say so myself.” The pony snickered. Celestia ignored her disgust and continued on. “We are at the end of our rope. No more ponies are going to be harmed today, and you’re going to make that happen.” She stated loudly. “And why should I help you?! Your family locked me in this god forsaken hole eons ago! Alone, furious, and with nothing to do! I’ve sat here, pondering my existence, and your own, while every other pony sings and laughs in the real world. Leave me to my misery; or I’ll cause it for you!” the pony screamed. Celestia’s eyes started to water as she looked into the pony’s dark cage. “When I was a little filly, and the sun was going down…I always feared that creatures with hearts as dark as yours would sneak into my room at night and terrorize me. I told my mother about these fears and she told me a story. Your story. Do you remember it, after all this time? I wish I could’ve been there for when you were so sad and lonely. I wish I could’ve stopped you from doing those horrible things to him.” Celestia said, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I wish I could’ve been there to show you true friendship…” she whispered. “DON’T YOU DARE MENTION HIM EVER AGAIN! HE’S DEAD AND GONE AND HE NEVER LOVED ME LIKE I LOVED HIM! LET ME OUT OF THIS CAGE SO I CAN RID YOU OF THOSE CREATURES SO YOU’LL LEAVE ME THE TARDIS ALONE!” the pony boomed, taking Celestia completely by surprise. The pony turned and started to buck at the door, but to no avail as the door was sealed by powerful magic. After a while of slamming her hooves against the door, she collapsed at the foot of it and lay there weeping as Celestia stood by. And then the unimaginable happened.
Celestia unlocked the magical door and stepped inside. The stench of more than one thousand years was overwhelming, but Celestia stomached it and lay herself next to the seemingly fragile pony. “No pony knows of your existence. You can start again, Darkorus…You can have a new life filled with happiness, love, and friendship. I can remove the eternal life spell and set you free from this prison. You can live the life you’ve always wanted.” Celestia whispered, fighting back tears. Darkorus didn’t fight her tears. “All I ever wanted is for him to have loved me…” she said softly, pressing herself close to Celestia like a child to its mother. “I know…But we cannot change the past; only fight for a better future. But there will be no future if you do not fight.” Celestia explained. “And what would you have me do…?” Darkorus asked as she stared at the pool of tears below her.