“If you beg for mercy, and let go of your stubbornness” The stallion said, voice dripping disdain “I might be able to make it quick. No? Your pride will only cause you more pain.” His voice turned sing-song without losing a single ounce of disgust.
Lightning wracked Nights-shade’s body again. Screaming, Nights-shade heard screaming. It was odd, it seemed to be coming from him, but he didn’t remember making that decision, but it was him. The pain consumed almost all of his mind, but in a very small corner, yet untouched by the massive Unicorn Stallions ministrations Nights-shade knew he needed to do something, lash out, stop the damage that was no doubt being done to not only his body, but his mind.
Slowly the pain began to encroach on his one safe haven, overwhelming his defenses one by one. Panic started to rise in his chest, fear that he would lose, that he would die here without accomplishing anything. It was his greatest fear. Ever sense he was little, he always wanted to be some pony. He never told any pony because it was selfish, but he always wanted to be famous, to have everyone in every kingdom across the world know his name for some great deed.
“Ah, here it is. We come to it at last, the one place left in your mind we must yet scrub of impurity. The indoctrination is nearly complete.” Came the stallion’s voice, breaking through the static and agony that filled his mind. “Ambition young stallion is good, that is not your sin. Your sin young Stallion… is fear.” Nights-shade’s eyes burst open, black spots covering his vision he could barely make out the unicorn who stood above him, protected from Nights-shade’s wrath, snapping teeth and straining muscles, by the four leg restraints that held him to the table.
“Yes, that’s right Nights-shade.” The Unicorns eyes shot open, and green magic leaked from them. “Fear… Fear as primal and as old as time, and brought about by shame, the shame of poverty, the shame of powerlessness, even as your family starves. And shame… oh yes great shame, at what your mother had to do to feed you and your sister…” The Unicorns voice was filled with pity and disgust. “Not to mention the years of hard work, and for what? For a two room whole in the ground living off of ration cards?” The Unicorn shook his head. “And to top it all off, to rub salt in the wound, she now has cancer… Pathetic existence really. No wonder you are ashamed.”
Nights-shade gritted his teeth and growled “I…Will… KILL…YOU!”
“I have no doubt you would my brave stallion…” the Unicorn continued unfazed by the threats as lightning and energy crackled forth from his horn in a steady stream, wracking Nights-shade’s body with wave after wave of pain. Meanwhile the Unicorn assaulted his mental defenses, slowly, methodically overwhelming them one by one.
“Impressive on many levels young Stallion. There was far less to scrub from your psycki then others, as you are naturally protective and noble in spirit.” The green Unicorn, golden mane standing on end due to the static energy in the room, moved to Nights-shade’s other side. “But I have had to spend much more time with you then the others. Your defenses are strong, and your pride even stronger. This can be a benefit when you encounter the enemy, but it can also be a weakness if born from falsehoods, insecurity’s and fears. Such pride can get you and the pony’s you might one day lead into battle to their deaths my young Stallion.”
The unicorn moved toward his head, putting both hooves on the operation table, he brought his eyes to meet Nights-shade’s. “That is, unless you’re pathetically weak and shameful upbringing and blood doesn’t hold you back. If it doesn’t make you weak…”
“I…AM…NOT…WEAK!” Nights-shade growled through gritted teeth.
“LIER!” the gigantic green Unicorn screamed both in his mind, and so Nights-shade’s ears could hear. “If your family is pathetic, if they are shameful and weak for living as they do, for doing what they did to survive, are you not weak as well? After all… you come from their blood…” The words were screamed in Nights-shades mind even as they were whispered in his ear; wielded as a battering ram against his last remaining defenses.
“NO!” Nights-shade screamed again, pushing back the Unicorn’s pshycic attack through sheer force of will.
The Unicorn sighed. “Very impressive…” he said disgust clear in his voice. “This will take a while yet.” Jumping down from the table, the Unicorn released the spell, pulling Nights-shades body back from the brink of cardiac arrest.
“Let’s start from the beginning shall we?” The Unicorn asked, moving back his original position.
---
“Is he in pain?” Daisy asked Hope, Holly nuzzling between her mother’s front legs for comfort. They could both feel that something was wrong, that Nights-shade was in danger. It was an odd ability that Earth pony family’s seemed to have some times. Hope had observed it only a handful of times, so she knew it was a relatively rare ability. The other nurses and doctors who she had described it to had laughed at her, but here was another, clear cut example of just how powerful that bond could be.
“Um…” Hope said, as she sat in front of the two in the small waiting room in the Hives main hospital, the only place that housed the right equipment to conduct the mental conditioning necessary to insure that Nights-shade would be immune to control or corruption by evil magic’s. “…Yes… he is.” Hope said, wincing, hoping that the truth would be better than a lie.
“Um… Why are you smiling?” Hope asked.
Daisy chuckled, and Holly giggled lightly to herself. “You see darling.” Daisy said “Not knowing what is happening to him, while we feel something is wrong… well… it’s worse than not knowing for sure. Does that make sense?”
That explained why Daisy looked relived, feeling that her son was going through hell, and not knowing for sure must have been torture all on its own. But then… why was Holly giggling?
“Oh… right. Holly was telling me that this whole time, and I said if she said it again I would ground her.” Daisy said, giving Holly a sidelong glare.
Holly only grinned and said “He is tough, if any pony can get through it he can.” Before skipping off into the corner to play with some of the toys that she was beginning to outgrow, but in the absence of anything else to entertain her, would have to suffice.
“What exactly is he going through Hope?” Daisy asked, Hope couldn’t detect any hint of emotion in the mare’s expression.
“Um…” Hope said putting a hoof to her chin trying to find the words to describe it. “They call it indoctrination, but that’s not really how it works. It’s more like…extremely intense, magically enhanced therapy…” She was going to add a bit more description, talk about how it was to grant him immunity to evil magic that might hijack his will and why it was so necessary. But before she could Holly let out a squeal of delight as she pulled out two zebra dolls from a drawr in the play area.
“That little filly is going to be the death of me.” Daisy said looking longingly after her daughter as she played. Daisy’s gaze snapped back to Hopes a second later before she said, all relief gone from her expression replaced with what Hope could only interpret as barely concealed fear “Will you take her?”
“Excuse me?” Hope asked confused at the mares meaning.
“You got me into the hospital for full time treatment, and I thank you for that… But the doctor said that it’s a fifty-fifty chance I’ll live… If I don’t…” Daisy’s expression grew hard, as her eyes still shouted fear “Will you take Holly?” Floored, Hope took a step back. The implications of the request was almost too much to think about. “Surely there is somepony who you could give her to that you have known longer than a month…”
Daisy shook her head “everyone else I know who I would trust is either dead, or in no position to feed another hungry belly… Please Hope? I know you and Nights-shade are friends and all, and I’ve seen how you and Holly get along. You put up with her… excentricness…” Daisy winced, referring to Holly’s morbid fascination with things dark. Others tended to find it off putting, but Hope saw through it, saw the little filly who was just trying to cope with so much evil in her world. “… When most other good ponies wouldn’t understand.”
Daisy looked back to her little filly, who had taken the head off of a small zebra doll and was rooting around in what would be the creature’s brain cavity for only Luna knew what. “It’s not a done deal anyhow, it’s just… just in case ya know? I’m just makin plans in case I… well in case I don’t make it.” Daisy shook her head again laughing slightly at the awkward situation. “Back before he was accepted into this… this… Knight training or whatever ya call it, I always thought that if worse came to worse Nights-shade would simply take care of her… But now that he… well. Now that he is unavailable, I need some pony else.”
“I … I see.” Hope said looking down thinking about what her friend had said. “In that case…” she looked up and right into Daisy’s fearful, and hopeful eyes before saying “Of course. I would be happy to take in the little scoundrel!” They both laughed, a great weight lifted off of both of their shoulders, tension shattered. It felt good, laughing was such a rare thing these days. Some pony’s that passed them in the waiting area smiled, the mirth contagious, while the hospital staff scowled at them for making too much noise.
The two mares continued to laugh, even after they had both long forgotten what they were laughing about. They laughed desperately, it was all they could do not to cry.
After a while, and more than one scolding by the staff, they finally sighed in relief. Ribs aching, lungs burning and throats parched, the two stood, hugged and said good bye. Daisy and Holly went back to their room, while Hope made her excuses and left them, making her way to the observation room.
---
The scene was extremely difficult to watch, but Hope made herself. She forced her eyes open, and her ears forward in order to catch every word and every possible meaning. Through the one way glass, she could see the Knight’s Chief Librarian and Mage-Interrogator standing at the starting position, ready to begin the process over again.
Inside the small observation room there was another Unicorn, this one was average size and Hope knew her. Her name was Gavel, and she used to be a judge in Manehattan before the Betrayal. Her namesake displayed proudly as her cutie-mark. Her and Hope had been friends for a long time, and they had actually made plans to go out on the town later that night… if the procedure was done of course.
A total of three medical staff, a full-fledged doctor Hope had only met in passing, and Nurse Joy who was also one of Hopes good friends, stood in the small room observing the procedure. The doctor scribbled notes on his pad of paper, a weak purple aura around all of their heads spoke to the reason why Gavel was there. Her job in this procedure was to send the Mage-Interrogator, Swamp-gator was his name, information telepathically from the three observers.
From the doctor she sent medical information, informing the interrogator when he was pushing too hard, or when he could increase the physical strain on the subject’s body. From Joy and Hope, Gavel sent perspective from outside observers to help him understand all of the possible meanings and interpretations of the subject’s actions, feelings, and words.
She had asked to be exempt from this part of the process, but Marigold, the head nurse of the program, had denied her request. “If you two are so close then you are exactly the pony we need!” Hope remembered the words her boss had said. She was right of course, the more you were familiar with the pony in question the easier it was to understand where they were coming from.
That didn’t make it any less painful for her though. Nights-shade and her had been on several dates sense the first, walking outside in the sun, or down to the forges to meet all of his friends. His friends had all been ecstatic for him when they found out about the Knight program. Dawn-strider had even said he might get tested, though he hated needles. Hope didn’t have much faith that he would be able to complete the first examination, but then again… you could never really know.
Hope braced herself as she watched lightning arch from the giant Unicorns horn striking Nights-shade and causing his body to go into mild convulsions. The pain she saw Nights-shade endure felt like it bleed through to her. She endured it, small tears welling up in her eyes as she gritted her teeth.
---
“They are weak! That means you are weak!” Swamp-gator screamed psychically at the black Stallion, battering, scraping, and chipping away at his one last defense, his Pride. “You can’t defend them, you can’t even defend yourself! Look at you! You are as pathetic as they are!”
Out loud the Interrogator said, looking straight into the black Stallions eyes, front hooves on the table for the eighth time “Again, I must say, very impressive. I don’t think any pony has withstood this long once I have gotten this deep into their psykie. This one weakness speaks to your core doesn’t it? You and your family have endured a lot… No … I can’t tell you, you must figure it out yourself.” Shaking himself the interrogator sent sweat flying off his coat in all directions.
“Look at what your family has endured! Look at what they have done!” he screamed through the psychic connection while speaking plainly and calmly the same words out loud. “The Pain, the Humiliation, the Poverty and death!” he said giving these words the same treatment through the connection, while speaking calmly out loud. “Look at them!” he screeched as he pulled up every painful memory he could find that was connected to Nights-shade’s family, forcing the purple-black coated stallion to relive them over and over. “Are these the actions of a weak family?! Are they?!”
Swamp-gator felt something snap through the connection. Something monumental, with the feeling of the weight of an entire mountain shifting, and he broke the connection before he was overwhelmed. Nights-shade’s eyes went wide, and then shut as he was swiftly consumed by sleep.
Panting, Swamp-gator trudged over to the only door which some kind pony opened for him, and then shut behind him as he left, leaving Nights-shade’s sub-conscious mind to sort through what he had learned, in his dreams.
The second the door closed and locked with a loud CLACK, as the dead bolt fell in place he collapsed to the floor. He waived off the concerned expressions that came from the Doctor and two nurses. “It’s nothing, I will survive. That… that stallion…” he said as he shook his head trying to clear it “is perhaps the most concrete thinker I have ever met.” Swamp-gator put his head down, and joined the Stallion in the exam room beyond, in swift sleep.
Hope looked at the clock that hung over the entrance to the exam room. It had taken another four hours for Nights-shade to understand what the lesson was they were trying to teach him. To understand that his family, that his loved ones were strong because of their actions and the horrors they had endured. Because they had done what they had too to survive, and made the best out of terrible situation after terrible situation, not weak because of it.
“Well...” said Joy laughing slightly before she continued “I think dancing is out right girls?” she asked looking toward Gavel and Hope, who both smiled back and nodded.
“I think bed is best.” Hope said, and they all nodded. “Who wants to take first watch?” she asked, but no pony raised their hoofs. “Oh fine… I will.” She huffed and motioned to the five waiting cotts that had been brought in by members of the nights guard. “To bed with you.” She ordered the other three, who trudged over and collapsed on the temporary sleeping arrangements. Joy began to snore almost immediately. Well… I know who will be taking second watch… she thought, not wanting to compete for sleep with such a loud racket.
She gently nudged Swamp-gator to wake up. After a few seconds, and one particularly hefty kick to the ribs, she was successful and helped the giant Unicorn to the largest of the cotts, specially made to fit his heavily augmented frame. Once under the blankets he closed his eyes and was immediately dreaming.
Hope turned, and started her watch. She took vital sign information and recorded it in the log in the observation room. She notified Luna via an official letter that the procedure had met with success, though to what extent or outcome was unknown. Luna would then be watchful for any unnatural or dangerous nightmares that might target Nights-shade while he was in such an extremely vulnerable and suggestible state.
Once the work was done, she sat and watched him. Wondering what was going through his mind now that the connection they had shared through Swamp-gator was gone. She imagined him dreaming happy dreams, about family, friends… and about her.