//------------------------------// // Darkness and Remorse // Story: Hearth's Chilling Eve // by WritingPony //------------------------------// Diamond Tiara ran back to her house at, frankly, ludicrous speed given the hostile weather conditions unfolding in the early morning air. As she approached her home, she caught sight of something unusual atop the tree next to the house; it was a light, almost like a firefly in brightness. Stopping with a soft skid in the snow, she squinted at the rapidly-expanding luminance. It slowly grew in size, and before long had grown into a ball of flame, the snow on the tree rapidly melting against the temperature assault. Diamond Tiara was transfixed in awe and wonder, momentarily forgetting the burden she carried on her flank. The ball of flame tempered, and slowly lowered itself down to the ground in front of the filly. The flames were swiftly overcome by a chilling cold; the raging inferno had become a solid spherical ice crystal. A light began to take form inside, and became steadily brighter, until the light almost blinded the filly. Suddenly, the ice shattered, sending shards of frozen water flying in all directions. Stood before Diamond Tiara was a pony, perfectly illuminated by the shining light of a beautiful full moon that shimmered against her mane and flank. Diamond Tiara immediately recognised her; this was a pony who needed no introduction, her dark crown twinkling in the light as a stern gaze fixed itself solely on the pink pony in front of her. “Diamond Tiara. We have come for you.” The filly took a gulp, and nodded to the alicorn in front of her. It took the sum of her courage, but she willed herself to walk forward, “I… I am ready, Princess Luna.” The dark-furred princess levitated an amulet off of her neck, and with it still in the air, sparked the stone’s machinations with a bolt of arcane energy from her horn. The stone bathed the ponies in white strands of buzzing energy, like harmless lightning bolts. Diamond Tiara was unnerved, and the bite of the cold outside was beginning to encroach upon her flank, “Princess…. what’s happening? What is that thing?” “This is the Stone of Insight. It was created by a powerful unicorn of ages past, and it contains an ancient and powerful magic. The stone is currently unravelling the threads of fate, and is allowing me to see the future that will play out.” The foal was taken slightly aback by the majesty of such power. “Is…. is this why I’ve been forced to relive my past?” “Yes. You have seen your past, and you have seen the present. Now, it is time for you to see the future that has not yet come to pass. Steady yourself, my little pony.” The amulet glowed green with the hue of a magic most mysterious, and it enveloped both ponies like a warm bubblebath. Diamond Tiara instinctively rubbed her eyes with a hoof, and found herself having to double-check her location. Scanning the scene once more, she was forced to conclude that she was indeed outside Carousel Boutique. Princess Luna was next to her, the amulet now back around her neck, and gestured for her to step through the door. The exterior was decorated with the traditional Hearth’s Warming ornaments and wreaths, and the interior was no exception. Stepping into the workshop, she saw Rarity working alone. The calendar on the wall identified the date as tomorrow! Rarity was working frantically at her sewing station, and momentarily looked like she had lost something. A candle lit itself in her mind, “Sweetie Belle! Could you bring me some more blue ribbons?” Rarity bellowed, hoping to catch the attention of the filly in her care. A full minute passed, and Rarity repeated her request with an added insistence that she desperately needed those ribbons. Another minute passed, and a frustrated mare got off her stool, and made her way to the stairs. “That filly has been spending too much time with that boy, she’s probably paying too much attention to that Joy Colt, or whatever it is.” Rarity muttered to herself as she began the slow ascent up. Diamond Tiara felt a chill run down her spine. Could something be wrong? Is this what Princess Luna wants me to see? The filly pawed at the floor with a hoof, and looked nervously at the Princess, “Um, Princess... what’s going on?” The Princess of the Night outstretched a hoof in the direction of the stairs, “Go. Go now, and observe the consequences of when you fail to reign in your worst impulses.” The anxiety in Diamond Tiara’s mind had been pushed aside, and now squatting in its place was a feeling of dread. She slowly walked up the stairs, eventually catching sight of the marshmallow-coloured mare in front of a closed door, “Sweetie Belle! Open this door at once!” The words fell against the deaf ears of the elaborate wood, and Rarity was doing her best to remain calm, “Sweetie Belle, if you don’t open this door, I will force it open. I might not be the most powerful of unicorns, but I can still do some serious damage to this door!” After a minute had passed, the slightly-anxious mare had had enough, and retreated back a few paces from the door. Marking a hoof across the carpet in instinct, she made a run for the door, and flung her entire weight against the wooden construct. The door did its best to protest, but it was no match against the sudden force propelled against it. The hinges weakly protested, and the door came crashing down onto the floor. The room was pitch black, the light from the candle in the hallway barely penetrating the darkness. Rarity fumbled with the lamp in the room, and as soon as she turned it on, Diamond Tiara wished that she hadn’t. The room was deathly silent, and it wasn’t until now that her ears picked up a small creaking sound, not unlike a heavy object tugging against wood. Her eyes immediately latched onto the ceiling; a length of rope was attached to a wooden beam, and her eyes followed the rope down. Her brain, one step behind, knew what was coming next, but was hoping against hope, that for once in her life, she was mistaken. Her eyes saw the unmistakable markings of a pony she knew, followed by the sound of hysterical shrieking from another. In a combined fit of rage and panic, Rarity blasted a bolt of energy from her horn at the wooden beam, sending the limp pony crashing down onto the floor as debris from the crumbling ceiling fell around them. It was Sweetie Belle. Her body was lifeless, and repeated attempts by Rarity to resuscitate her were not working. Diamond Tiara looked on, frozen by a mixture of guilt and a morbid fascination at seeing someone grieve for a loved one. She thought back to the diary entry, and it clicked into place that Sweetie Belle had taken Diamond Tiara’s words to heart, and decided that the world really would be better off without her. The white unicorn was alternating between uncontrollable sobbing and cursing the name of every pony she knew; ponies that, in her eyes, could and should have done more to prevent this… travesty. Diamond Tiara was startled by Princess Luna appearing behind her, her stone gaze and steely resolve adding fuel to the guilt that threatened to burn within the foal. “Looks like you got your wish after all.” The filly was taken by surprise at the candidness of the Moon Princess. “Wha… what is that supposed to mean?” she angrily countered. The alicorn let a wry smile crack across her muzzle, “That’s funny. I could have sworn I heard you the other day remark to Silver Spoon about how you were tired of ponies not listening to you. It seems that you got your wish after all.” She was right. For all Diamond Tiara’s tendencies to romanticize and embellish the past in conversation, the truth struck home. Diamond Tiara was staring at the cold, lifeless body in front of her, and felt something that she had never felt before. Remorse. She had caused this. Sweetie Belle may have been the one that tied the knot, but Diamond Tiara may as well have been the one that handed her the rope. She thought back to the day they met, how Sweetie Belle had caught her ear by humming a particular tune, one she hummed even years later... and it suddenly occurred to her that she might never hear Sweetie Belle hum that melody again. Princess Luna placed a hoof on Diamond Tiara’s flank, “While this is indeed a tragedy, it is not the only thing I have to show you. Prepare yourself.” The princess smacked a hoof on the ground with solid precision; the two ponies were now outside Carousel Boutique again, but in broad daylight this time. Rarity was fumbling with the lock on the front door, a mixture of exhaustion and unquenchable sadness proving less than effective at securing her shop. Diamond Tiara heard footsteps in the distance, and spotted the familiar face of Princess Twilight running at full speed toward Rarity. The purple alicorn came to an abrupt stop in front of the unicorn, but Rarity just raised a hoof in front of her, “Twilight, my dear, I know why you’ve come, but my mind is made up… and I think you can understand why.” “Yeah, I know, and I respect those reasons, after… what happened in there. Is there no way I can convince you to stay in Ponyville at least? I ca-” “Twilight, I know what you’re going to say,” interrupted Rarity “but believe me, my mind is already made up. This town… reminds me of what I no longer have. Every time I walk past her door, every time I walk past the schoolhouse…. Celestia, every time I see Apple Bloom or Scootaloo I’m reminded of my sister. I… I can’t live like this. I need to get away from Ponyville… ” Twilight approached the unicorn, and gave a hug that Rarity only weakly returned. “If you ever need my help, you know where to find me.” Rarity nodded curtly, and walked off to the train station, dragging along only a single item of luggage. Diamond Tiara could see, plain as day, that Rarity at least partially blamed Princess Twilight for what happened. Princess Luna turned her attention to Diamond Tiara, “One life ended, another destroyed, and several friendships severed; your father should admire such efficiency.” The foal gritted her teeth, and met the Princess’ gaze with a steeled and resolute rebuttal, “I am nothing like my father.” “Then perhaps it is time that you stepped out of your father’s shadow. I have one final thing to show you.” The amulet around Princess Luna’s neck glowed brighter than it ever had before, and Diamond Tiara found herself grabbing onto one of Luna’s legs to hold on to. As the room stabilised, Diamond Tiara got up and took a look at her new surroundings. It was a hospital room. The filly moved to the side of the hospital bed, and caught a glimpse of the occupant. The purple markings were unmistakable; Princess Twilight occupied the bed, a pained expression on her muzzle. The foal didn’t understand what was happening, and wondered if Twilight was okay. “Princess… what happened to her?” The alicorn’s expression was now markedly different; Diamond Tiara made a guess that Luna was very angry about something, and wondered if this scene was triggering that, “This…. this is your fault. Your callous and vicious nature has ultimately led to this! You will pay, Diamond Tiara!”. Princess Luna unleashed a massive wave of arcane energy from her horn, and the filly was flung against a filing cabinet. The impact didn’t hurt much, but the foal was now terrified, having never seen a princess angry, much less angry at her. The alicorn moved slowly toward the distressed pony, a look of fear now very much obvious. “A disease took hold amongst the ponies of Equestria. My sister and I remembered a similar incident that happened shortly after the defeat of Discord. It’s a magical illness, borne of corrupted and mutated chaos. In the same way we defeated Discord with the Elements of Harmony, so did we cleanse the land of his foul taint. That taint will resurface, and left unchecked, it has the power to devastate our kingdom.” “So… so just use… the elements again...”, protested Diamond Tiara, now very much aware that Princess Luna was beginning to encroach on her personal space. “The elements were sealed inside the Tree of Harmony, and their power is now invested in Twilight and her friends. However, to use that power, all of them must be assembled. You saw to it that that was no longer possible.” Diamond Tiara thought back to Rarity leaving Ponyville, “Couldn’t… they have sent for Rarity?” “No. Overcome with grief and shame at the loss of her sister, she too took her own life. The circle had been broken. Twilight volunteered to be infected in the hope she could create a cure by studying it up close, but without the power of all of her friends beside her, this was beyond her abilities.” It was all beginning to click into place for Diamond Tiara. She’d pushed Sweetie Belle beyond her breaking point, and this in turn led to Rarity being pushed beyond hers. As Diamond Tiara’s mind grappled with the reality of her situation, Princess Luna was at the mercy of the amulet. While a rational mind would have ended the vision there and then, Luna’s feelings of vengeance and anger were coming to the surface, the amulet illuminating Luna’s entire body in an eerie green glow. Luna’s face was now of a pony who had come face-to-face with the one who had taken away something precious from her, and her left hoof was now beginning to slowly deprive Diamond Tiara of life, who was in no position to offer resistance. Both of them were caught off-guard by a bright flash of light at the back of the room, and the Princess of the Night turned to investigate the unexpected occurrence. A swirling dark vortex spawned, and almost immediately, two ponies jumped through it into the room. Diamond Tiara, still very weak from the assault earlier, was still conscious enough to be in awe; both Princesses Celestia and Cadence stood with the full regal splendor expected of them, and were quite visibly concerned with what they saw. “I thought I would find you here.” remarked Princess Celestia “I know your ethereal hiding places too well, my dear sister… did I not warn you of the power of the stone? The stone’s magic was not meant for us to wield! Continue down this path, and I will have no choice but to put a stop to this.” “Spare me your empty words, sister. You would have us stand by while this… despicable little creature walks free? You disappoint us!” “Princess Luna!” Cadence interrupted, “These are not the actions of a noble and respected Princess! You are being manipulated by that amulet!” Princess Luna momentarily struggled to maintain her gaze; whatever force the amulet was exerting, it was certainly enough to overcome a Luna with devastating effect. Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence shared a single nod, and mentally prepared themselves for Plan B. The two alicorns joined their magic, and aimed the resulting beam squarely at the rogue princess, who had erected a magical protective shield. Princess Luna, mentally fatigued from use of the amulet, was no match for the combined might of two alicorns, and her shield crumbled relatively quickly. The beam, now free of obstructions, went straight for the Stone of Insight. The two princesses wrenched the amulet away from Princess Luna, and it fell to the floor with an unceremonious thud. The Princess of the Night felt a surge of magical energy leave her body; unable to sustain consciousness after such a shock to her system, she collapsed to the floor in silent defeat. Princess Cadence and Princess Celestia assaulted the amulet with their combined royal energies, and the magical artifact absorbed the arcane onslaught with impressive resistance, until it could hold no more. In the arcane equivalent of a supernova, the green gem exploded with violent and beautiful force. The illusion shaped by Princess Luna, devoid of the magical energies sustaining it, began to fall apart. The floor soon disintegrated, and all four ponies were now falling through a dark, endless void, the plunge to oblivion punctuated by screams of panic and disorientation. Diamond Tiara wished for it to be over. She had had enough, and wanted to be back in her bed, with a warm fire raging in the fireplace. Her thoughts returned to Sweetie Belle, knowing that the image of seeing her hanging limp and lifeless would haunt her for the rest of her days. She never wanted to see that image again.