Location: Everfree Imperial Garrison
Local date: 12/21/3
Galactic Standard Date: 28:4:5
Local time: 00:34
Coruscant Standard Time: 12:33
Malen watched Twilight grimace and gasp as she fought an internal battle for her own spirit – one she was doomed to lose. Once someone was touched by the Dark Side, there was nothing they could do to stop it from twisting their heart. Revan, Malak, Tyranus, Vader. Some of the most powerful Sith in history had turned to the Dark Side with the best of intentions. And over time, they had forgotten those intentions. Once noble defenders of the galaxy, they came to be regarded by most beings as monsters. Only Revan had been “redeemed,” and that was just because the Jedi Council of the time had been remarkably hypocritical, apparently seeing no moral problems with brainwashing so long as it was done “for the greater good.” At least the Sith held no such pretensions. To them, an act was justified simply by someone wanting and being able to do it.
She looked up at him, hatred in her eyes. It was quite amusing. She thought she was defying him, but in truth, her fury was just allowing the Dark Side greater control. It thrived off of base emotions and thoughts of violence, turning many of its practitioners into shrieking murderers. Those Sith who succeeded in their goals were the ones who were able to keep their emotions in check and break the Dark Side’s will, making it serve them instead of the other way around. It was a lesson Malen had taken to heart, and one he had absolutely no intention of teaching to his new apprentice. She had a strong will already, and she wouldn’t be driven into gibbering insanity for many years. In the meantime, it would be wise to do everything possible to prevent her from becoming a quiet schemer. He needed a weapon, something he could control and unleash against the ponies at the time of his choosing, not a true apprentice who would be constantly planning his downfall.
“You don’t know… the power of… the Magic… of Friendship.” She rasped out, taking him by surprise. She was putting up a stronger resistance than he expected. Many Jedi, when exposed to a Sith holocron, would fall immediately. After an hour or two of searching the secrets of the Dark Side, even most Masters would give in. She had only barely breached the surface, of course, but her resiliency was nonetheless remarkable.
“Ah, yes, your ‘Elements of Harmony,’” he drawled, as nonchalantly as he could. “Six artifacts of the Light Side, capable of banishing any darkness. Except, if our informant’s account of Discord’s return is correct, for darkness in the hearts of their users. They require their bearers to be of the proper alignment. And you aren’t that alignment anymore. The Dark Side is part of you now, no matter how much you try to resist it.”
“Maybe not… the Elements… but… Cadance…”
“The Crystal Heart only protects the Crystal Empire. And it requires the inhabitants of the city to be filled with positive emotions. How many of those will there be, do you think, if I kill your dear brother and sister-in-law and hang their heads from the castle’s spire?” He got precisely the reaction he wanted.
“No! I’ll kill you first!” Twilight lunged for him, bloody murder written on her face. A wave of his hand sent her smashing into the wall. With a few small gestures, he threw her around the room like a ragdoll until he heard something crack. He heard a muffled shriek emerge from her mouth as she fell to the ground and hugged her left foreleg to her chest. Her horn started glowing, no doubt preparing a Force blast, but he was already sending lightning towards her. This time, she screamed openly, writhing in agony. He doubted the muscular contractions were doing any good for her broken leg, either. When she started to smoke, he cut off the barrage. It wouldn’t suit his purposes to kill her, not yet.
Kneeling down in front of her, he lifted her chin to look into her eyes. In them, he saw pain, hatred, and a trace of fear. Perfect.
“What are you waiting for?” she hissed. “Just trying to prolong my suffering? Get it over with already, you sick bucker.”
These ponies used some truly bizarre euphemisms. “I know you don’t actually want that. Equestria needs you right now. If I kill you, our two nations will plunge into war. And you’ve already seen how far we’re willing to go in the pursuit of victory. If we think we’re going to lose, we’d rather reduce your world to a molten wasteland than give up and leave you alone. Without the Elements of Harmony, I highly doubt you could stop us. But you’re perfectly placed to stop that. You can push your fellow Princesses into allowing us greater freedom, convince your subjects that accepting our rule is in their best interests. I’m going to have our medics fix you right up, and when we let you go, you’re going to help us.
“Now, you’re probably thinking, ‘Alright, I’ll agree to his demands, and when he lets me go, I’ll tell my friends all about this.’ Remember that I was able to watch your activities without your notice before, and I will continue to do so. Tell anyone about this, or defy any of my commands, and I’ll make sure that those you care about suffer before they die. Do I make myself clear?”
She glared at him, her hatred made clear in every centimeter of her expression. Nonetheless, she nodded. She really didn’t have any choice.
“I want to hear you say it.”
“I… understand.”
“I am your Master now, and when we are alone together, you shall address me as such.”
“Yes… Master.”
She despised him like nothing else in the galaxy, and that was good. Every moment of her life from now on would be filled with a desire to see him dead, keeping her in the Dark Side forever.
One threat neutralized. Two to go. But first…
“Once the medics have fixed you up, there should still be a few hours before you have to get back to Ponyville. That should give us more than sufficient time for your first lesson. A lesson in domination and submission.”
The Castle of Friendship
7:58 A.M.
Twilight blinked back tears of hatred and pain. The humans’ medicine was truly remarkable, and the bacta injections had caused the agony in her leg to subside to stiffness and a dull ache. After three hours, they had let her walk out of the medical bay under her own power, simply warning her not to put it under any strain beyond walking for a few days. No, the pain wasn’t physical, but emotional and spiritual. What Malen had subjected her to was… demeaning, to say the least. That he had looked totally at ease right after was even worse. She had been tempted to kill him right then and there, but she doubted that he was foolish enough to actually let his guard down so soon after she attacked him the first time. She would have to wait for him to believe her totally under his control before she struck. In the meantime, she would comply with his demands to the smallest extent possible, while dropping as many hints as she could to her friends that she wasn’t acting under her own free will.
A knock came at her door, and she scowled. She had no idea why. Her friends had been coming over at eight every morning since they had visited the Imperial base together, hoping to distract her from everything she had witnessed there. She had appreciated their efforts, however futile they may have proven to be, and their companionship always helped brighten her day. Now, though, her immediate reaction was annoyance that they were interrupting her planning. She forced the emotion down and opened the door, putting on as cheery a face as she could. “Hi, girls!”
They responded in their separate ways. “Howdy, Twi.” “Hi, hi, hi!” “Hey, Twilight!” “Hi.” “Good morning, darling.” Entering last, Rarity stopped to examine Twilight more closely. “Oh, Twilight, you look even more tired than usual! Is the voice getting worse?”
“It was… pretty bad for a while. But I think it’s gone now.” At least she could give them part of the truth. Until she could figure out how Malen was watching her, she’d have to be careful with what she said.
Her friends heaved a collective sigh of relief. “So how’d you do it?” Rainbow wanted to know. “Did you find some ancient, forgotten spell, or duke it out with a horrifying monster in an epic battle of the wills while you slept?”
She had no idea how close she was to the truth with her second guess. “I… can’t really say.” Not exactly a lie. “It stopped about midnight. That’s all I can tell you.” It hurt taking advantage of her friends’ trust in her like that, but Twilight couldn’t risk Malen finding out if she told them.
As she expected, they took her reticence to mean that she actually didn’t know, not that she was hiding anything. Applejack tapped a hoof to her chin. “Hmm… It’s the winter solstice, so Princess Luna’s at her strongest today. Maybe she managed to do something?”
“Maybe.” Or maybe not.
“Ooh! Ooh! Maybe it’s an early Hearth’s Warming present!”
“Umm… sure, Pinkie.”
“I’m insulted! You’re talking about evil voices in somepony’s head, and you never asked my opinion?” With a flash of light, Discord appeared, wearing a lab coat and stethoscope. “Sorry I haven’t been around for a few days. I was having some truly fascinating philosophical debates with an old friend of mine. Now, let’s have a look at you!” Contorting his body, he looked into her mouth, into her eyes, and underneath her. Modulating his voice into a low, refined tone, he let out an “Ohhhh myyyy.” He returned to his “normal” proportions and sighed. “You know, not a long time ago, I would’ve found this the absolute pinnacle of hilarity.” He sighed again. “Well, I’m confident you’ll be able to get through this yourselves. Magic of Friendship, and all that. Don’t worry, I’ll step in if I think you really need my help. For now, though…” A tub of popcorn appeared in his claws. “I’ll enjoy watching from the sidelines. I’m rooting for you, Twilight. Don’t let me down!” With that, he disappeared again.
“Thanks a lot, Discord,” Twilight muttered.
“Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy had a very confused look on her face, as did the other Element-Bearers. “What was that all about?”
Twilight shook her head. “Nothing you girls have to worry about right now. Come on, let’s talk about something happy. We haven’t done much of that since the humans showed up.”