//------------------------------//
// The Interlude 
// Story: Fall of Equestria: FoE Falls 
// by Sealcake 
//------------------------------//

"Now then—" Dainn was cut off as a loud, ringing laugh, followed by failed attempts to contain it, interrupted his speech. He looked over his shoulder, and was actually surprised to see the humiliated and degradated Celestia being the one laughing.

The Princess was on her back, her wings splayed to her sides. Her shoulders shook as she clacked madly, tears pricking her eyes as her maniacal laughter kept filling the sudden silence that had fallen on the stadium.
King Dainn watched stunned, eyebrows raised in a part-denial, part-shocked expression. He was not the only one, as his surprise was mirrored in one way or another across all the ponies and caribou present.
Even Cadence, who had been wantonly moaning at a short distance, stood—still proudly displaying her red wing-sheaths and nakedness—mouth slightly open and half-lidden eyes, watching her aunt laugh her ass off.

Shining Armor, who had been closer to the King, had a sudden need to defend his newfound masculity. "What's so funny, cunt?!" His words, however, didn't have the expected reaction on the Princess, who let out a guffaw in response. As it would later be written, Shining Armor had spoken those words with the same high-pitched tone and obvious embarrasment a colt entering puberty would do when discovered doing dirty things.

Thankfully for Twilight, the Princess' sudden outburst of laughter hadn't shaken her enough to blow her cover. Twilight, who had been one of the closest ponies to Celestia, had never in her life heard the Princess laugh as she was doing right now. A mischievous smile, or a smug smirk after a prank, maybe even a soft, motherly giggle, but never this.
What was going on?

As if her thought had commanded the universe to answer to it, Celestia decided to stop laughing. Using her arms—King Dainn's pupils shrank for a moment—Celestia went back to her kneeling position.
She kept letting out small chuckles, and by her puffed out cheeks, it was obvious that she was barely containing it. The Princess looked over to the caribou, then to Shining and Cadence, then to the rest of the ponies.

"Sorry, sorry. Do continue," she said, one hand near her mouth as if she were a diva holding a fan. "Oh, and bind my wrists again. Apparently, I broke my bounds," she added almost as an afterthought, examining her fingernails before wiggling her fingers in front of her face.

One caribou, who had been shuffling awkwardly on his spot, decided to do as she said and went near her, ready to bind her again. He was all too eager to end the thick silence, but was stopped by a motion made by his King.

"You will not obey the words of a cunt," he declared, trying hard to keep a straight face at the situation. However, he mentally gave himself a smack after finishing the sentence; here she was, Princess Celestia, requesting to be bound, and he had declined.

"Am I to have my arms free, then?" the Princess asked, rubbing her wrists. Her question carried a subtle tone of mockery, that of a parent when applying reverse psychology on their toddler.
As a result, a few coughs sounded on the audience—because they were spectators now. Whatever was happening atop that damned platform had gone from a hopeless and defiling fight to a ridiculous, metaphorical act where the only one aware of her role was the Princess.
And the Princess, probably bored, had decided to take a new angle on her role, astounding the entire public, which had yet to unfroze.

"You b—argh!" Dainn shouted, his fists clenching in exasperation. Had the King possesed long hair, he would have probably ripped it off.
For now, he was content with making annoying sounds with his clenched teeth.

After a short moment that he used to calm himself down, he locked gazes with the Princess, his face cold like always. What he saw made his little mortal heart froze in terror; while Celestia's face remained as calm as ever—with the exception being the corners of her lips slightly turned upwards—her eyes told stories far beyond his comprehension.
Stories of wars so horrible and bloody, of betrayal, of torture, of... Dainn's throat tightened as he realized how much had the Princess really seen. How much the Princess knew.

"You have a soul, then," she stated, and Dainn couldn't help but gulp when he processed what she meant; she had analyzed him, too. And probably had seen him take a step back in unspoken terror. "So did the griffon who shoved lava down my throat."
Celestia let out a sigh, then stood up. Nobody, pony or caribou, made an attempt to stop her. "It didn't save him, though." She extended her arms behind her back, stretching the muscles.
"And it will not save you," she added, an unusual sharpness in her voice.

Twilight whimpered on her spot. What had gotten into her mentor? Was this even real anymore?

"Oh, and Twilight." Twilight let out a gasp. "Do you know what an horn is made of?" Twilight bit her lower lip before blurting out an answer. She knew it was ridiculous, as there was nobody to hear her, but her nervousness at keeping herself securely hidden hadn't faded. 
Still, her mind came out with a simple answer; keratin and other components, the first surprisingly present in... "Exactly," Celestia said finally, her small smile blossoming into an ear-to-ear grin.

Her simple statement seemed to echo in the stadium, and Twilight felt in her guts the sudden change on fate.

Using her hands, the Princess grabbed her ethereal hair. One of her hands was surrounded by an almost vibrating red aura of magic, and she used it to cut off a considerable part of her hair.
Grabbing said part in her hands, she looked at Dainn again, completely ignoring Shining and Cadence—she would later acknowledge that she had forgotten about them, after all, who cared about two ponies completely powerless to stop her?—"I am old, Dainn. Really, really old. I know of things, things straight out from nightmares, that would make your entire culture tremble in terror, I know of people who make armies run away like rats at the mere mention of their names, I know of tricks that would surprise even the best skilled magicians, and I know—Oh, do I know—how powerful words can be," as she said this, her hands stopped giving shape to the part of hair she had cut.

Twilight's muscles tensed. She could feel beneath her skin the aching pain of excitement trying to get out, and she was barely able to muffle her shout when she saw that the hair was shaped like an horn.

Celestia smiled at the expression on the King's face. Putting the horn-shaped piece of hair on the small nub where her former horn had been, she spoke up again, "Simple, everyday words. They can make a friend, they can create a whole story. 
"But there is always a downside, isn't it? Words can destroy kingdoms, words can make enemies, words can seal your fate. But alas." The hair, even cut, had still conserved, in a minor scale, its ethereal property. However, at Celestia's words, the hair shimmered for a second and, when the brigh light subsided, there it was; not a nub representing every mare's definite loss, but a new, multi-colored slender horn that shone with the light of hope and the raw power of the Sun. "I have always been an optimistic."

There was a flash of light around her naked form, and when it faded away, a dark red, sleeveless dress covered her. 

Twilight's eyes went round as plates, mouth open in awe. She didn't dare to breathe, as she feared that if she did, the illusion would chatter and she would wake up.

"Four words, that is all it takes, Dainn. Four." Celestia extended her enormous wings, and her flaming sword reappeared in her right hand. "Ready for round two?"