Sunset fidgeted a bit as she stood next to a transformed Celestia. She glanced over and was still amazed by the power of the princess’ illusion and its ability to make her look like a white earth pony with only pink in her mane. This wasn’t the first time they had done this though, and she rubbed the stone underhoof for a moment in anticipation. “So, any hints as to what the new one is about?”
Celestia smirked. “I’ll only say that you shouldn’t be getting too excited. Apparently, this one ends in a less then climactic finale, but she had written herself into a corner and had to finish it.”
Sunset nudged Celestia’s side. “Come on Celestia, don’t tease me!”
She sighed for a moment. “Aliens.”
Sunset blinked for a few moments before opening her mouth, closing it, and then simply shaking her head. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Twilight piped up between them, even though she was supposed to stay quiet and read the Daring Do collection she had been given. “At least it’s more original then any of this plagiarized crud I’ve read.”
Every eye was on the two mares now, one who stared into space in pure shock, the other knowing quite well to act like she hadn’t heard anything. Sunset’s shock soon turned to rage. She had spent most of the morning talking up the Daring Do series and how they beat any of the filly’s tales that Twilight had been reading as of late. To hear this wondrous book series be called out like this made her wish she could blast the wraith. “What are you talking about?”
Twilight rolled her eyes, not that Sunset could see her while she was intangible. “I’m talking about how she has obviously decided to rip off Indiana Pones! Except, unlike a true ripoff artist, she has decided to make them bad by making them kid friendly.”
Sunset lowered her voice to almost a whisper, hoping not to come off as crazy to the ponies around them who were also waiting for the new Daring Do book that was at the signing. “Kid friendly? How about everyponies’ souls being sucked out of them, or the pony who was turned to stone after such dutiful service, or even the slow suffocation in the Temple of Doom?”
Twilight opened her mouth, but then stopped. “What Temple of Doom?”
Sunset smirked. “It’s quite infamous actually. The leader of a cult of ponies can take his hoof to a stallion’s chest and slowly suffocate them, where he either dismisses the breathe, killing them, or keeps it to control them.”
Twilight’s form shook before she screamed, “That isn’t right!” She shot off as a small missile, her form a swirling mass of black magic and cold. She stopped in front of the signing table, the area around A.K. Yearling freezing. She sucked in a breath of air and recalled her last lesson from Cthulu as she prepared to project to the whole block that the bookstore was on.
“You are a phony, a liar, and a cheat! You claim to write your books as your own, but you do so falsely! Indiana Pones knew what he was writing, and for you to decide to make his books any less gritty or real is an insult to all ponanity! What do you have to say for yourself, scum?”
The yellow pony shook a few times before rolling her eyes back and collapsing. Guards that were in the bookstore and from the street soon had their magic trained on Twilight, but she shook off the blasts like nothing. She could feel Sunset’s grasp on her, and looking back she frowned. Twilight glanced back at A.K. Yearling and sighed. She hadn’t even meant to cause her to faint, no matter how enraging her crimes were. Soon, the patrons of the bookstore could breath easy as the darkness dissipated.
======+++++======
“Thank you.”
Celestia smiled slightly and raised an eyebrow. “I did nothing but observe today Ms. Do, so there is no reason to thank me.”
The yellow pegasus stepped out from the shadows, scowling. “I highly doubt that princess. A wraith that old and strong could only have been driven off by someone of your power.”
Celestia bit into her cheek and pulled a book from beneath her bed, slowly flipping through its pages. “It was her own choice. She reacted in anger, but her core is good. That is why you are still alive.” She heard wingbeats behind her and scowled. “And no, I’m not under her influence.”
“I’m sorry, but I find myself somewhat skeptical. It knew about Indiana Pones, making it be at least five hundred years old, because that is when his books went out of print and my family took over his family’s job of taking care of the problems his books presented. A wraith that old just might–“
“Be powerful enough to take me out? Yes, you’re possibly correct. That wraith though, can’t, and probably never will.” She lifted the book she had grabbed up and floated the dusty tome to Daring. “Your proof is in there, for more then time is needed for a wraith to reach its full potential.”
Daring hesitated for a moment, but then glanced down at the faded script. Celeste sipped her tea before finally turning to the other mare. “Please, read it aloud. I want to know where you are, and make sure you don’t miss anything. This is too important.”
She bit into her cheek and nodded as she began. “I have finally done it. I have made a wraith I can research. Or at least, I thought I did. This one is perfect in theory. Of a good, kind, innocent heart, so she is unlikely to hurt others. She is even more powerful than even I, or my mother, making her an apt candidate to have made sure the soul had enough magic to sustain itself. She even has an intense interest that cannot drive her mad, as she only finds joy in it, and needs no more then to simply be doing it.”
“So then, why am I so hesitant? Why do I hate what I have done? I only do this to make headway in figuring out one of the biggest threats to Equestria, but anytime I think of taking samples or doing research, I just end up hating myself and what I have done.”
“I do know of course. Binding one’s own filly to the earth, making it so that she will never know the peace of death; it is something only a maniac would do. And yet, here I write, watching as my daughter celebrates her eighteenth birthday with a shroud on, excited to know that she’ll never have to stop reading.”
Daring’s voice started to waver at this point. “I only hope she stays happy, and I will continue to bring her books to make sure of this. I know I am a horrible pony, and hopefully, one day, my spell will break and she will be free to seek her own peace. Until then, my dear sweet Twilight, I am sorry.”
Celestia stepped over to beside her loyal subject and friend. “Are you okay?”
Daring bit into her lip, forcing tears away from her eyes. “You know that this means that if she ever decided to turn against you, she couldn’t be exorcised or anything like that, right? Only outright destruction can remove her.”
Celestia took in a deep breath and was silent for a long moment. “I know, but I want to give her the chance. She is a good mare, and fills my chest with warmth that I have so rarely known before.”
A small nod came from Daring. “Yeah, yeah, I guess that is a good enough reason to at least give her a chance.”
The two silently sat in the throne room for a while longer before Daring started to leave, having much to think about. Celestia piped up and asked, “So, aliens. Really?”
Daring scowled. “I’m so sorry. The ruins had nothing in them and deadlines were crushing me.”
Celestia giggled slightly. “Have a nice night Daring, and the best of luck with your next book.” She watched for another moment as the pegasus darted away and looked back to the early newspaper print in front of her. News about the incident was front and center, and it worried her. Forced her to consider a possibility she hated.
She sighed one more time, folding the tabloid and rubbing her eye. She was tired, and had a big announcement that she was going to hate making coming up. At least it’ll be quieter now.