Act III: Collision of Wills
Chapter 16: A Prisoner To Their Own Fear
------------------------------------------
Some time passed. The whole town, including me, kept searching for any signs of the missing foal. The guards got involved too, searching in places that others couldn’t, but no matter how hard or how far we searched, we couldn’t find a trace. Over time, I just got this sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen…
But…but not even in my wildest dreams, would I have expected what happened next.
------------------------------------------
As the early morning hours dragged on in Ponyville, Fluttershy walked through town with two of the guards, still searching just like many of the other search parties. Beside her was Spike; since the others had left for the Crystal Empire, he’d stuck by her side. It was refreshing to have the company, especially after what had happened. By that point, the search had covered various portions of the Everfree, and not a single cue was found.
“Just how did the foalnapper manage to get in and out of the home without so much as a sound…?” pondered one of the disguised guards.
The other stopped in his tracks, blocking the path. Unable to completely conceal his frustration, he scoffed, “This happened because we’re still hiding ourselves from the enemy… if they knew we were keeping watch, then maybe they’d be less brazen in their actions!”
“It’s not our call to make,” said the first guard.
“I know…” the guard that was blocking the path said, turning to the other one, “It’s just… we were sent here to protect everyone while this ‘game’ went on. And yet, we haven’t been able to do even that, much less fight back against the escaped prisoners.”
Fluttershy’s heart bled out for the guard. She knew that feeling all too well and still had it weighing her down. She was still plagued with a decision that could either help or hinder her in the future. Recently, though, she was starting to lean in one direction. As time passed, with no signs of the foal, a fear began to make itself known in Fluttershy’s subconscious. She was starting to feel this was just the beginning—that this foal would be just the first in a line of victims.
Fluttershy knew she couldn’t let that happen, regardless of what she had to do to stop it. Pausing in her walk, she looked down at her hand. Discord had told her the key would reveal itself when she needed it. Since then, however, she hadn’t tried to summon it. Now, she wondered what it would take to do so.
Maybe…it wouldn’t hurt to test it? she thought to herself. If anything else, she could show herself that she could get it at a moment’s notice. The guards and Spike stopped when they noticed she was standing still, looking back to her in concern.
“Fluttershy?” asked Spike.
“You three keep searching,” said Fluttershy, “There’s something I need to take care of.”
At that moment, she turned her back to them, intending to test the key in the safety of her home. But she didn’t get further than a single step. The instant her foot touched the ground, everything around her came crashing down with a horrible sound, loud enough to be heard all around Ponyville. It was a blood-curdling shriek; drowning in sorrows and repeating endlessly. Everypony within earshot froze, but as the screams continued they all began to run to the source.
Or at least, most of them ran. Fluttershy instead took to the sky, leaving behind the guards and Spike as she followed the despairing shrieks. She touched down soon after, just as several other ponies arrived on the scene. But, as her eyes locked on to the source of the screaming, Fluttershy, along with those arriving, immediately felt the pits of their stomachs dropping; their blood running cold as the sight overwhelmed them.
It was the mother from before, the one whose foal had gone missing. Kneeled down at the stoop of her door, she wailed in anguish. In her hands was a small rag, stained red and dripping. What utterly sealed the deal on this absolute horror…was the single arm dangling out, limp.
Any younger pony in the area was quickly moved away to spare them the nightmares. Many of the onlookers began to tear up from the sight. Others were moved to disgust, hands going to their mouths as their stomachs protested the situation. A brave few walked up to the mother, if nothing else to try and remove her from the bloodied cloth. It was in vain; she continued to cry and scream.
But what other response did she have? How else could any mother respond to the grim discovery that their only child, still very new to the world, was dead?
------------------------------------------
Minutes later, Spike had found himself back in Fluttershy’s cottage, pacing the floor outside of a locked door. From the other side, he could hear her heaving repeatedly. He didn’t know what it was she saw. By the time he’d reached the scene, there was too large a crowd for him to see past. All he could hear was the dismayed screams of a mare. He’d tried to see what it was that had the crowd equal parts saddened and sickened, but before he could, Fluttershy grabbed him, running just as fast as her legs would carry her.
When they’d arrived, the first thing she did was hastily write something down on a parchment and had him send it to Princess Celestia. He didn’t know what it said, but he sent it as asked. He still had questions. However, right afterwards, Fluttershy broke down completely and ran for the bathroom. Now, all he could do was wait for her to come out. He didn’t have to wait much longer.
Eventually, he heard the water running from the other side of the door. Soon after the water stopped, the door opened and Fluttershy walked out. Now that Spike could get a look at her, he understood that something horrible had happened. She was trembling, one hand on the frame of the door for support. She was staring far past Spike as well, into the infinite beyond behind him. Her appearance greatly worried Spike.
“F-Fluttershy… what happened?” At the sound of his voice, Fluttershy blinked once, seeming to come back into reality. It wasn’t long before she was kneeling down and pulling him in close for a hug.
“Something bad, Spike… something really bad,” Fluttershy finally said, grateful she’d spared him from seeing it firsthand. But by this point, Spike wasn’t sure he wanted to know anymore. Especially if it had Fluttershy in this kind of state.
“Y-you were right, Spike,” Fluttershy said, “It is them.”
Any doubt she’d had up until that point was gone without a trace. She knew now they were in Ponyville, and were far more ruthless than before. And, they’d already claimed their first victim.
“What happens now…?” asked Spike.
“I don’t know, Spike,” her hold on him tightened, “I really don’t know.”
------------------------------------------
Celestia sat in her throne room alone. Strict instructions were passed along: no one was to enter until otherwise noted. She didn’t want anyone to see her right now, not in the state she was in. At this moment, the Princess of the Sun was giving off an aura that no one had seen for eons. Not long ago, she’d received a letter via her connection to Spike. And what she had read caused a flame to spark deep within her. Even now, the letter lay in front of her, every word read several times over to make sure there was no mistake.
There was no denying it. A life had been snuffed out, that of an innocent soul who had yet to live her life. Deep down, she’d thought something like this might happen, but she never could have anticipated the impact it would cause. Now, she was dealing with a load of pent-up aggression towards someone she could not touch, at least for now.
“That’s a good look in your eyes,” the voice was not surprising to hear. The prisoners’ leader always seemed to talk to her within minutes of bad news coming her way. Another creature showed itself to Celestia, making its way to the bottom step of her throne. Her gaze towards the creature alone threatened to burn the creature to ashes, yet none came as Celestia waited. Soon, the projection showed itself again. And once again, the one responsible for all of this remained cloaked, their voice still disguised by a filter.
“Seems Equestria’s perfect princess is finally showing her darker side,” said the figure, “Seems to be going around a lot lately.” A mocking chuckle escaped the figure’s mouth. Celestia didn’t bother responding, simply staring daggers at the figure as it continued to speak.
“By now I’m sure you’ve learned of what happened. Such a tragedy, is it not?” the figure’s voice made a poor attempt at empathy. This only served to anger Celestia further, yet still she remained silent, “Pity though…this could have been prevented… were it not for such a selfish act by one of your pawns.”
At this moment, the sun flared.
“Enough!” Celestia said, her hair lighting up in flames, returning to her Royal Canterlot Voice which echoed throughout the castle, “I have endured your mockery, your scorn and your twisted ideals of a challenge. But I won’t stand to hear you blame anyone under my sun over anything you have caused.”
With every statement, she went down the steps from her throne until she was directly in front of the figure, able to see the malevolent smile on the hologram’s face.
“You can say whatever you wish, but it doesn’t change a thing. This game is played until one side loses, Princess. No one is allowed to leave until it is done. And yet, one of your pawns thoughts that she could. Because of that, she must now suffer the consequences…something you would know as a ‘Penalty Round’.
“And this is just the beginning. If she refuses to fight, the bodies will continue to stack. With her allies currently preoccupied, she has no other allies outside of your pathetic excuses for Royal Guards,” Again, the figure let out a chuckle, “I wonder, will she continue to cower as more blood falls onto her hands, or will she make a stand…only to fall in battle…”
No sooner than the hologram faded away did it get turned into ashes in an instant. Several parts of the throne room were scorched as well, but the state of the room didn’t matter to Celestia. That could be fixed. The loss of a life, couldn’t. Past her breaking point, Celestia made her way to the entrance and opened the doors. Several guards were gathered outside, having heard her shouting earlier. None of them got a chance to speak, not that they could, seeing their leader in the state she was in.
“Gather as many guards as we can spare,” she said, “I will give further instructions when they are together. But for now, until an unknown future point in time, Ponyville is on lockdown.”
------------------------------------------
Word of what happened spread fast. With it, the whole town grew afraid. The one who did it was still out there, and they knew what they were capable of. It was around that time that I got a response from Princess Celestia. It was a request…
------------------------------------------
Fluttershy found herself in front of Mayor Mare’s office. Slowly, she reached out to knock, only to stop a few inches short. Instead, she pushed the door open. Inside, she could see the mayor sitting at her desk with a stack of papers on it. Her appearance was slightly disheveled, not unexpected from someone who runs a town, but Fluttershy knew that wasn’t the cause. At least, not this time.
“Mayor?” At the sound of Fluttershy’s voice, Mayor Mare looked up from her paperwork to look to Fluttershy.
“Oh, Fluttershy,” she forced a smile, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. Can I help you?” The whole time she talked, she was trying to fix herself up. That, however, was a lost cause. Fluttershy looked down for a moment before closing the door behind her.
“Mayor, something terrible has happened,” she began. The mayor let out a small sigh.
“I…I heard,” She ran her hands through her mane, “I just got the autopsy reports on the foal and…” A look of pure discomfort spread across her face, “just who could do something like this, Fluttershy? Where could someone like this possibly have come from??”
Fluttershy rubbed her arm as she looked away. She wasn’t sure if this was going to be easier to harder now.
“I couldn’t tell you who…” Fluttershy said, “But…I can tell you where.”
------------------------------------------
Just like the Princess asked me to, I told Mayor Mare everything. After what happened, she felt that keeping it a secret wasn’t going to help anyone anymore. She didn’t say a word at first. I just kept talking, trying not to leave out any details.
But I was so ashamed to tell her that I had stepped down…I just couldn’t do it…
And by the time I was done, I could see it in her face. Mayor Mare was terrified.
------------------------------------------
With the truth finally revealed to the mayor, it was time for the next part. When the next train arrived in Ponyville, the visitors who walked out shocked everyone at the station. Royal Guards, possibly hundreds in total, marched out of each car, each of them suited in their traditional white-and-gold armor.
No one knew what they were here for. This was far too many to be for a simple visit from Princess Celestia. Some thought it was in response to what happened to the mother’s foal, but this seemed like an extreme response, even for that. Any attempt to talk to the guards fell on deaf ears. All were marching towards a single location.
Town Hall.
As they continued to march, other townsponies began to follow out of curiosity. By the time they’d realized where they were going, they noticed that Mayor Mare was standing outside her office. There was a ghastly look on her face. When the guards finally stopped, the mayor made her way towards the microphone. She paused for a moment, seemingly staring at every single pony in sight. Finally, she cleared her throat and leaned in to speak.
“My fellow ponies,” she began, her voice low and uneasy, “I know we have endured a harsh few days; something we would want nothing more than to forget. But I am afraid that is not our choice… not anymore. Not long ago, I was delivered a message from Princess Celestia herself, something that very well may shake you all.”
Mayor Mare removed her glasses with one trembling hand and cleaned them off, “Several weeks ago… the gates of Tartarus were forced open.”
The responses were immediate; a massive flux of fear and panic spread among the civilians. The mayor simply raised her hands and waited for them to settle.
“Fortunately, the gates were closed thanks to the guards on site that night and Princess Luna. But several of the prisoners still managed to escape. And now, those prisoners have joined forces against us. As of now, we are a part of their game, and they see us as nothing more than pieces on a board.”
“But the princesses w-will stop them, right? They have to!” a spectator called out.
“Unfortunately, they can’t,” the mayor said, “They have been handicapped in this game, not allowed to help directly. If they try to, then the escaped prisoners have threatened to reopen the gates for good… which brings me to the guards who stand before you today.”
She briefly made a motion to the group of guards.
“Until this is over, they will remain in Ponyville to protect us. Unfortunately, many things will change now. From this moment, a strict curfew will be set. Nopony will be allowed out after dark. Furthermore, a guard will be stationed around every home and business; some will also serve as escorts to anypony who needs to venture outside the borders of Ponyville.” Mayor Mare paused, letting out a small sigh.
“We are faced with an enemy that we have never faced before. Now, more than ever, we must stick together. Because only together will we be able to overcome this,” Only then did Mayor Mare step down from the microphone. One of the guards took her place, beginning to get into the details of what would happen now. Leaving him to his business, Mayor Mare walked back to where Fluttershy was standing, listening in.
“You didn’t tell them about us…” she said, “About the others…about me, how we’re the ones they’re after. Why?”
Only after the doors were closed did Mayor Mare turn to Fluttershy.
“Because then they’d question you all at every point in time. The guards aren’t just here to protect us; they’re meant to be someone who they can look to for protection. If they find out that you and the other Elements of Harmony are who’s really fighting for us, then everyone will turn to you. And right now, I think you have enough to shoulder as it is.”
Mayor Mare put a hand to Fluttershy’s shoulder, “So please, let us shoulder this burden. Celestia knows you have much more to shoulder than we do.”
Fluttershy didn’t respond, left in total silence as Mayor Mare walked back to her office.
But what could she say? What could she tell the mayor now after what was just said?
------------------------------------------
I can still remember the look on her face. She was scared, that much I was sure of. But there was something else in her eyes: hope. And it was all pointed at me. She really believed in me when I hardly believed in myself…