Night flying was dangerous; the darkness obstructed many things from a pegasus’ view that could be potentially fatal. Trees, storm clouds, and even raging wind currents were hard to detect by the faint light of the moon. And yet it was one of the best times to go flying; the world below slumbered on and slowed down, basking in the pale glow of the stars while a lone pony soared above it all. It could almost make a pony feel immortal, figuratively above all the petty squabbles and troubles of the ground dwellers. Let the earth ponies worry about whatever it was there was to worry about, but pegasi are free. Unfettered. Untamed.
The stallion glanced around to make sure no one was watching before he attempted a few more difficult tricks. Flying in armor was a feat in itself, but flying in tight loops and spirals while the coarse padding chafed at the base of your wings was maddening. He liked the way that the moonlight glinted off the polished silver of his breastplate, and his white coat seemed to gleam in the darkness. In that moment, life was good. Regardless of all the unrest and change that threatened to tear the land apart, life in that moment was the simple joy of flight.
He barely had time to register the shadow above him before the impact. Hooves clanged against the armor protecting his back, and his wings jerked inward to buffet the assailant; the pair began to plummet out of control towards the ground as the guard attempted to twist and face his attacker with the business ends of his hooves, but the other pony clung to his back and twisted with him. He felt his helmet wrenched from his head and watched it fly off. Teeth clamped around the soft skin of his neck and he bellowed in pain, trying once more to reach around and pry the pony off him.
The ground came nearer and nearer and the guard took pleasure in the thought that when they hit the ground his aggressor would take the brunt of the damage. As if reading his thoughts, the other pony suddenly disengaged and shot to the side like a rocket. The guard attempted to right himself, but only succeeded in getting himself right side up before hooves clanged on his armor again. This time the pony was pushing downwards, speeding them both towards the ground with immeasurable force. The guard began to scream as his wings proved useless against the thrust of the pony behind him.
The ground was not kind; it never had been a gracious host to proud pegasi who found their wings lacking. But at least the end had come swift.
Princess Celestia sat perched on her throne, a place she rarely left these days save for the occasional journey into the countryside to quell the pathetic attempts at revolution only the most backwater hamlets were entertaining. She gazed into the orb that she was levitating, an invisible monitoring device into the space where she kept her most precious of possessions. She couldn’t help but watch for hours at a time, and she felt the most bitter of rage for things that drug her away from it.
Like now. The head of her armies, a ruddy brownish red stallion with a short dark brown mane, strode into the throne room, bowing with due diligence, but still walking with that swaggering gait that piqued the princess.
“General Blitzkrieg, what is the meaning of this interruption?”
Blitzkrieg angled his head towards the ground, “Forgive me, my princess, but I bear news from the area of interest you assigned.”
Celestia set her orb down gently on a plush lavender pillow before standing and descending from her elevated plateau to position herself before the pegasus stallion, “Out with it. What news?”
He looked her right in the eyes, something she did not like, “Troops have been going missing over the past two weeks. At first we assumed they were deserters,” Blitzkrieg flicked his stub of a tail in anger, “But then we discovered the bodies.”
Celestia narrowed her eyes, “How many dead?”
“Four that have been found,” Blitzkrieg snorted, “But three more are still missing.”
Celestia began to pace, “Any sign of who has been making these attacks?”
The pegasus shook his head, “No, my lady. We’ve begun canvassing the area as well as interrogating the citizens, but nothing has turned up. We’ve even initiated a buddy system and yet stallions still go missing in the dead of the night.”
“This is unacceptable.”
The stallion lowered himself to his knees again, all too aware of the delicate position he found himself in as bearer of bad news, “What would you have us do, my princess?”
Celestia gazed up at the stained glass window in front of her at the six ponies attacking Discord with beams of colorful light. She felt a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth and she chuckled.
The room was dark; she hadn’t had much reason to light the lamps once the sun had dipped below the horizon and light abandoned everything to the pitch. Twilight Sparkle lay curled as tightly as she could on a pillow she had moved into the corner of the room; this was the room her mentor had drug her into, floating the unicorn along in the once comforting glow of her magic, and depositing her within with a cruel smile.
“Behave.” Was all she had said before closing the door. The bolt had slid shut with a click, but Twilight couldn’t help but give the door a tug the moment her strength returned. Nothing.
She had made a few basic attempts at using her magic, but the sudden, devastating headaches discouraged her from trying any longer. On basic inspection the room wasn’t a terrible place to find herself; there were bookshelves lining the walls, cozy couches and pillows, and even a private area for her facilities. There was a large window that overlooked a garden two stories below, but it was also locked tight. She suspected that unless her mentor was intending to starve her, food would come from the single door.
She had begun her imprisonment with as much bravado as she could muster. After all, this was probably some kind of joke. Or a test. Twilight couldn’t fathom what else her incarceration could possibly be for; she had done nothing wrong, and the princess was a fair and wise ruler. She had taken one or two books from the shelves to peruse, but quickly lost interest as her thoughts continued to plague her.
After the first night her hypothesis was proved sound as breakfast appeared by the door at the break of dawn. It wasn’t much, just a corner of bread and a dollop of jam, but Twilight ate it gratefully.
It wasn’t until the fourth day that she had the sense to start keeping track of the time; she tallied the rise and fall of the sun on a scrap of parchment that had been stuck between the pages of a book on earth pony history. After the dawn of the sixth day, when she still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of another pony she began to wonder if she hadn’t done something wrong. Maybe she had offended the princess in some manner, or touched upon some kind of study that was forbidden. She wracked her brain to try to think of some offense she had committed, but she continued to draw nothing but blanks.
Over the course of a week she went over every detail of her life in Ponyville that she could remember in an attempt to find something to apologize for. But there was nothing.
Maybe I’m so depraved I can’t even understand what I’ve done wrong, she considered. She could feel herself slowly going mad as the torrent of thoughts slowly began to eat away at her common sense. She stopped eating around the end of the third week, and she could feel herself becoming frail. But she couldn’t bring herself to care. She exiled herself to the corner as far from the door as possible, on a single pillow, where she sat curled and still for days.
Soon she was consumed with a single thought, looping endlessly through her consciousness: I’m a bad pony. I’m a bad pony. I’m a bad pony…
She had stopped keeping track of the days.
But the door opened.
The door opened and she saw the first living thing she’d seen in what seemed like an eternity walk through and look at her.
“My faithful student.”
Twilight flinched at the sound. The memory of pain connected with the term seemed fresh.
The princess walked slowly over to the unicorn who slouched and squirmed in an attempt to become smaller, to shrink away from the imposing form of the princess.
Twilight babbled, voice raw from lack of use, “Princess. I’m sorry. So sorry, Princess. Sorry.”
The princess looked down into large, amethyst eyes, wide and glistening with unshed tears; they reminded her of years long past, and the purple pony before her looked very much like the little filly apologizing for some magical misstep at her school for gifted unicorns all those years ago.
She smiled, “What are you sorry for, young one?”
Twilight’s eyes darted around the princess’ face, “I’m a bad pony.”
The princess shook her head, “No. You’re a good pony, my dear Twilight. A very good pony.”
Twilight’s ears perked up, “I-I am?”
She nodded, “Yes. And I’d like to take you back to Ponyville to see your friends.”
Twilight stood up, abruptly, “Really?” She fell forward when her shaky legs refused to support her.
The princess smiled again, helping Twilight to her feet, “Of course. But first we need to get you something to eat. You’ll need your strength for the trip.”
Twilight, aided by the princess’ gentle hoof, tottered out into the castle proper. Relief poured over her as the familiar walls of the castle passed and her beloved mentor whispered soft reassurances. She must have passed the test. Now she could see her friends again! She leaned into the stable form of her teacher, grateful for the aid. How comforting to know that it was all over; whatever had prompted her imprisonment was all over, and everything was going to be alright.
--Author's Note--
So sorry for the long wait, guys, but school has been kicking me in the teeth. I don't anticipate many more short chapters like this one, especially ones made up of a few short passages. It's my least favorite way to write, but I hope you'll bear with me. As always, thanks for reading.