Shattered

by sunstar93

Chapter X

“Tell me, Sky Feather, have you had enough?” The Archmagister paced in front of the pastel-blue Unicorn lying shackled on the stone floor.

“Please, stop,” Sky Feather pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know what you want from me.”

“Loyalty. What I expect from you,” Archmagister Twilight spat. Her horn glowed purple as she used magic to lift Sky Feather off the floor and slam her backwards into the wall. A smear of blood was left behind as Sky Feather’s head cracked on the stone, and she fell to the floor again. The Archmagister repeated the process twice more before leaving her to sit on the floor, head bowed. Blood stained her mane, dripping down the sides of her face into a growing puddle on the ground.

“Just kill me,” Sky Feather choked out, curling into herself. “Prove that you have some kindness left inside of you and just kill me.”

“My sweet Sky Feather,” Archmagister Twilight taunted, “killing you would just prove that any pony who goes against my House gets the privilege of an easy death. And that is simply not how things are done around here. You understand, of course.”

“You’re a monster.”

“And you’re worthless,” Twilight trotted over to Sky Feather, stopping in front of her and, using her magic, lifted the batter Unicorn’s face so she could look her in the eyes. “I still haven’t decided on the right punishment yet.”

“These past weeks haven’t been punishment?” Sky Feather replied coldly. “Then what the hell have you been doing? Practicing?”

“Precisely.” Twilight cut off her magic and let Sky Feather's head fall to smash into the floor. “You’re finally beginning to learn. Now…a punishment that will befit a traitorous mare like you. Let’s see…” Twilight began pacing around the room, thinking aloud. “Let Spike play with you? No, the poor dear might kill you too easily, he wouldn’t understand… Perhaps bargain a trade with the Cult? I’m sure they could do something with you. But again, they would probably kill you. I want you to live…if only I could see a way to do that…” Twilight paused and spun around.

“Did you finally think of something, O Great One?” Sky Feather growled from her place on the floor.

“Yes. And, despite your insolence, I’m going to spoil the surprise. I simply can’t keep it to myself!” Twilight took a breath to calm herself from the excitement brewing inside of her. “One of the things I want most is the ability to see through the deception of other ponies, so I will know who is truly loyal. Only one pony has that gift: the Supreme Commander of House Earthborn. But I might be able to create a spell to recreate that gift for myself. Of course, practicing the spell on myself is much too risky.”

“Please, no.”

“I have the perfect test subject! Though I would prefer to not have to give up one of my eyes like she did. But, if it happens, then so be it!” Twilight clapped to herself happily and Sky Feather wanted to vomit, bile rising in her throat. “We start tomorrow at dawn!”

“It only took a few days of ‘experimenting’ for her to destroy my eyes,” Sky Feather finishes. She tosses her head to move her forelock out of her face and swishes her tail to shoo away a bothersome fly.

“How did you escape?” I ask. I am sweating profusely under my Juggernaut armor. I thought it would be a good idea to wear it when we began our journey two days ago, but now it was an annoyance. The plate metal is heavy and the chain mail is stifling in the heat. Even though we are shaded by the thick canopy of trees, it is the humidity that is making it unbearable.

“My mother. She bribed the guard who was supposed to be watching me. I don’t know how, but he got me to the outskirts of Canterlot. He said my mother would be waiting for me…but she never showed up. I think the Archmagister found out and…” Sky Feather takes a breath. “I hope she didn’t suffer. I hope she made it a quick death.”

A few moments of silence pass before she speaks again. “Well, this is such a lively topic of conversation. I’m so glad I’m the one getting the opportunity to depress us while we make the first leg of our trip.” She suddenly breaks into a gallop and rushes down the path. It takes me a moment before I can muster the strength to follow. I never realized before what a burden my armor is outside of combat, but then again, I’m also more focused on staying alive than anything else.

The plate armor makes a repetitive chink, chink, chink sound in rhythm with my galloping, and I easily make up the distance between us as I catch up to Sky Feather. She’s very adept at avoiding rocks and tree roots that would trip even a fully-sighted pony, myself included. I stumble a couple of times, but it doesn’t slow me down by much.

“Remind me against why you decided to wear that?” Sky Feather slows to a trot and then back down to a walk, slightly breathless.

“Because…it’ll…help…protect…me,” I gasp. Damn this humidity. Damn this armor. Damn this whole thing.

“In case of what? A timberwolf attack? Didn’t help you much last time,” she teases.

“Well last time I was also incapacitated by poison,” I reply curtly. “I need to rest, at least for a few minutes.”

“There’s a stream not too far ahead of us,” Sky Feather points out. I prick my ears and, sure enough, I can hear it. “You’re not very attentive, are you?”

“When did this whole thing become a criticism-fest?” I ask in irritation. I trot ahead to the stream and dip in my muzzle to drink. The water is cold and fresh. I remove my armor and lay on my side in the stream. It is narrow, and I struggle to roll over to coat my back and clean the sweat away. I think for a moment, selfishly, that I am glad Sky Feather can’t see how ridiculous I look. But I correct myself immediately; it’s not her fault. And I bet she has a beautiful laugh…

Comments

[Evowizard25]

A small chapter but a good one none the less. It's good to see more of Equestria Divided and this story continuing. Keep it up.