Shackles
To Trixie’s credit, she didn’t fall or grovel, though her hooves quivered on the hardwood floor.
“It has come to my attention you know of what happened to my student, is this true?”
“Y-yes,” stuttered Trixie.
Amethyst eyes studied her. “You can relax, my little pony. Do not fear punishment, that would not serve to bring Twilight Sparkle back. I merely seek what information you can give us.”
Eyes shining with relief, Trixie rose on still-quivering legs. “Trixie has done naught wrong and Trixie knows it. Trixie merely feared how these ruffians could have soiled her standing with your grace.”
My, Celestia couldn't help but think to herself, this one has spunk. With cool eyes, she sighed. “Let me introduce these ponies to you, since you do not seem knowledgeable of them.”
She gestured with her wing to each pony she mentioned. “This Rarity Belle, bearer of the element of Generosity; Rainbow Dash, the bearer of Loyalty; Pinkamena Diane Pie, bearer of Laughter; Fluttershy, bearer of Kindness; and Applejack, bearer of Honesty. As close friends of Twilight Sparkle, my personal protégé, they are, by extension, all my personal students and hold my complete trust.”
Were it not for the flesh and bone holding it in place, Trixie’s jaw would have hit the floor.
“Now, please, what has happened to my student?” Only Celestia could make everypony present quiver in their metaphorical horseshoes with such a decidedly placid tone.
"Er, Trixie had heard of a shawpony who lived in the Everfree Forest...” Trixie started in a quivering voice.
~...~
The unknown voice hadn't left for hours, but when it did, Twilight had finally fallen asleep. A memory filtered into her mind and overtook the blackness. It was the first night she had slept at the palace and she was afraid. She had come to have her first lesson ever with the princess. It had gone well, but now she was alone in the guest room. Her Mom wasn’t there, her Dad wasn’t there, and Shiny wasn’t there either.
Rain struck the window and thunder pounded outside. Little Twilight lay curled under the thick covers, trying to hide away from the stormy world outside while she cried into her velvety pillow. She was so sure there was nopony there to comfort her. Little hooves clutched a ragged doll Shining had given her, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted her brother or her Mom.
She never thought anyone would hear the muffled sobs, but still someone came. She heard her door inch open and a white head poked in. Twilight tried to rub the tears away before poking her head out of the covers, presenting an attempt at a fake smile.
Celestia wasn’t fooled. It took one look at dampened cheeks and wide terrified eyes before her kind face softened in understanding. “My little pony, are you afraid of the thunder?”
Twilight turned her head away and looked at Miss Smartypants tucked against her chest in shame. She didn’t want the princess to know. Silly fears of her new mentor sending her away were chasing each other around her young mind.
She didn’t expect the gentle hoof that rested on her shoulder. “Hush, little one, there isn’t any shame in that. Not ever.”
Wide amethyst eyes looked up to her hopefully. “Really?”
It wasn’t long before Celestia's ivory head dipped down next to the filly’s ear. Like a whisper in the pounding thunder, she began to sing.
“Little pony, be not afraid,
though the rain pounds harsh against the glass
like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger
I am here tonight.”
Celestia rubbed Twilight's shoulder gently.
“Little pony, be not afraid.
Though thunder explodes and lightning flash
illuminates your tear-stained face,
I am here tonight.
And someday you'll know, when clouds are so,
the same rain that draws you near me
falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand
makes the beautiful world that you'll see
in the morning.
Little pony, be not afraid.
Though storm clouds mask our beloved moon,
and its candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams,
I’ll be here tonight.”
The song was like a gentle wind and Twilight liked the wind. It wasn’t her mother’s voice; it wasn’t Shining’s. But still, maybe the princess wasn’t just some big wise pony who looked after everypony...
“Little pony, be not afraid,
Though wind makes creatures of our trees,
and their branches to hands, they're not real, understand.
I am here tonight.”
She was growing tired; if the princess looked after everypony, she could look after her too, right? Maybe it was okay to sleep...
“For you know, once even I was young,
little filly, and I was afraid,
but then a gentle someone always came
to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears,
and to give a kiss goodnight.”
But princesses don’t get scared... She wanted to ask about it, about who could have looked after a princess, but she was just too tired.
“Well, now I am grown,
and these years have shown
that rain's a part of how life goes.
But it's dark and it's late,
so I'll hold you and I’ll wait
Until your frightened eyes do close.”
Twilight's blinked once, and then again. Her dainty little muzzle stretched into a huge yawn, exposing little white teeth.
“And I hope that you'll know...
Everything's fine in the morning.
The rain'll be gone in the morning.
But I'll still be here in the morning.”
The guards would wonder where Celestia was that night, and it would cause a hassle later. Some ponies would always jump to the most ridiculous conclusions, even when they seemed to trust her completely. But she didn’t care. Right now, the sleeping filly curled up next to her needed her the most. She turned her head to the window, where moonshine was just starting to peek through the clouds as the pegasi on night shift pushed them away.
“You know, everypony’s afraid sometimes,
I still remember all the tears I cried inside.
But somepony told me a long time ago
that rain can be how life goes,
and that sometimes we’re all wrong.
when it feels the pain's never really gone.
And maybe I cannot always lend a hand,
but if it’s one night or one thousand,
know I’ll be here come the morning.
I’ll always be here come the morning.”
She turned to look at the gold-framed doorway like there was somepony there. Like she knew there would be somepony there. But she just shook her head before resting it on the bed.
Luna shivered before she walked into the room. Around her, the dream seemed to flicker and fade. Dark sapphire cheeks were damp, but she willed it away from her spiritual form. This would need some thought—but later. She was here for a reason. Sweet as this dream was, it didn’t help a bit.
Sighing, Luna reached out with her magic before lifting the filly in a gentle telekinetic grip. Depositing her on the end of the bed where there wasn’t a chance of disturbing the dream-Celestia, she lifted a hoof to nudge the filly’s shoulder. She could have just made the copy of her sister vanish like she had Scootaloo’s headless horse, but she hadn’t the heart.
“Twilight, you have to wake up.”
“It’s not time for school, Mommy,” Twilight murmured, turning away in her sleep.
Luna shook her head before shaking her again. “We are sorry, Twilight Sparkle, but this is urgent. You must awaken.”
Her eyes finally blinked open tiredly. “Princess L-Luna? Where are we? How did you grow so much?”
“This is your dream, Twilight. You vanished from Ponyville and nopony knows where you have gone. I preside over dreams and have been looking for yours since you I discovered you were missing. It’s been half a week and this is the first dream you’ve had since we were made aware of your absence. You’ve barely slept and your consciousness is weak and exhausted, which is likely why even when you’re aware of the dream, you remain so small.”
“Something’s wrong with my mind?” Her voice was high and she looked at Luna with a child’s fear.
“No, but something’s affecting your body enough that it has thrown your mind into turmoil.” She studied the filly carefully before she sighed. “Twilight, you have to remain calm, but it appears that something is having a negative effect on your magic. You have enough power that any problem can send both your body and mind into panic, especially since magic is so important to you.”
Twilight was shaking. “But what could possibly do that? A unicorn’s magic is as much a part of them as their blood or bones! We need it.”
Luna rested a hoof on her quivering shoulder. “We are aware, Twilight.”
“What’ll happen to me without it?”
Luna sighed. “We wish we had your answers. For now, you must tell us where you are and what has transpired.”
Twilight shivered. “It’s all fuzzy, but I remember that Chrysalis impersonated Celestia and used another pony as living bait! You have to make sure she’s alright, please. Her name’s Trixie, and she was in Ponyville last I knew, unless it was a changeling—but I doubt that.”
Luna nodded. “We are afraid that the fact this dream arose from a memory may have made it harder for you to reach the memories you need. What else do you remember? Unfortunately, I cannot locate you by a dream alone.”
Twilight shivered again and drew tighter into herself. “I woke up in this awful cell and there was a barrier that electrocuted me whenever I touched it. I tried to teleport out as well, but that didn't do any good . One of my attempts at kicking the barrier all but knocked me out. Later, she came in. We yelled at each other for a few minutes.”
“I don’t think she plans to impersonate me. She has something else planned, to reach the same goal of getting power from somepony’s love. I don’t know who or how.”
“She did something to me with her magic.” Twilight trembled harder, shaking her head slowly. “I really can’t describe it, but it was terrible. It was like I could feel her messing with my magic, like she was tearing it apart.” She was shaking now. “After that, nothing made any sense....”
Frowning, Luna draped one wing over Twilight sympathetically. It almost covered the little filly; she was so small compared to the lunar princess. She’d always had a soft spot for foals, even more so than her sister. “I will inform my sister and your friends immediately. I know sister at least is knowledgeable of changeling magic. If we cannot come for you immediately, I will remain in contact when you sleep. If you can, make sure that happens more often. It is our only way to reach you and I can easily tell you are not getting enough.”
“You’re leaving?” Twilight’s eyes were full of a foal’s uncertainty. Her body wasn't the only thing affected by the memory, and nothing Luna could do would help her resist those wide pleading eyes.
“I can stay until sister gets back to the palace with your friends,” she decided. “However, I must depart as soon as she has returned. You may have awoken before then, as well...”
Luna blinked when Twilight’s shaking increased, causing her wing to shiver along with her. “What is wrong?”
“I-I remember. It hurts when I’m awake.” She closed her eyes and leaned against Luna, forgetting royalty, remembering her parents, remembering Shining Armor. “I don’t want to go back....”
A little voice began to cry. The dream was having an increasing effect on Twilight’s mind, though the effect would be gone as soon as she awoke.
“Hush, hush.” All of her ancient laws forgotten, Luna pulled her into a gentle hug. “We’ll find a way to fix this, but you must give us the chance. Sister cares for you like a daughter, as do I. You know there is no stopping your friends. Captain Shining and Cadence will help too. Chrysalis does not stand a chance, not against us. You have seen all our power. You have goddesses on your side. Whatever magic she has, Chrysalis does not have that. Or the elements, for that matter.”
“I trust you, all of you. Can you tell them that for me?” Twilight's voice was tired as she slumped against Luna’s side.
“Of course.”
~...~
Chrysalis sensed it the moment she returned from checking the swarm soldier barracks, if they could be called that. It was little more than a large wall—like at the back center of her throne room—pentagonal holes forming little cubbies where the drones could rest. She had designed it like a bee’s hive, knowing the little creatures had the best design for space management. Layer upon layer of the honeycomb existed, here and in the desolate mountain under her. A drone lived in each, serving as protection for the sentient parts of the swarm. She had been inspecting how many had returned safely to the underground barracks, and was pleased to see that all but forty or so were back. Drones were a pain to replace.
Foreign yet slightly familiar magic hung around the pest’s room, and she could feel it.
Luna.
Muttering a curse under her breath, Chrysalis took off through the window. Launching up, she shoved through the window to the wretch's holding chamber, glass be damned.
Her son stared at her, his horn aglow in order to turn the chrysalis in front of him transparent. Why had she taught him that spell again? He wouldn't have known a thing about the pain otherwise, and would never have started hovering over all the conversion pods like a mother goose.
“Syril, out. I will inform you when you may return.”
The prince looked at her in confusion, but dipped his head and left, though not before she noticed the sizable stack of books carefully balanced on his back.
He doesn't plan to read all of those to her, does he? It wouldn't surprize her. Her son needed to grow a backbone. Maybe I should give him more lessons, keep him busier. That might keep him away from negative influences...
Chrysalis stored the idea in the back of her mind to ponder later before approaching the pod and repeating her son’s spell, causing the gossamer cocoon to all but vanish. She couldn't see it, but she could sense it plain as day. Serene magic coated the pony within like mud.
She couldn't do a thing about it, either. She didn't have power over dreams, and she certainly couldn't go head to head with the lunar princess, even from such a great distance.
Hopefully Twilight wasn't aware of what she had done to her, but it was time to make sure she didn't squeal to either the moon princess, or worse, her beloved son.
“Tisina. Come.”
Eyes flickered open in the shadows nearby, though all that could be seen of them were twin blue slits in a sea of black. A sickly pale form stretched like a cat before prowling forward. The creature looked dull and dead. Ribs protruded from a thin body and green veins showed far too much on the underside of large wings. It might have looked like an adolescent dragon who’d chosen to walk on all fours, were it not for the scorpion's tail or the long tendrils protruding from its head that ended in similarly curved spikes.
“I need you to cast a charm again, old friend. In the form of a pendent, please. You may use a strand of my hair to anchor it to me.”
The insectine dragoness nodded with cold eyes. Arching her head to her chest, she ripped out a single white scale, ignoring the splatter of green blood that came from where it had been. She pierced it with a claw, creating a circular hole in the top. Her tail arched above her shoulder and a single drop of sickly green liquid crept from it. It fell on the white scale and crawled over the dull surface until a sheen of stomach-turning green ice encased it.
Chrysalis nodded her approval as she jerked a long hair from her mane without a wince. Stringing it through the hole, she used her magic to thicken it. Then, dipping her head, she put the tip of her horn against the necklace. A spark of magic made it glow like green fire, but it vanished just as quickly.
“This will do nicely, thank you.” She dipped her head to her oldest living friend.
The white creature turned her head bitterly towards the window, studying the midnight sky. Ignoring Tisina, Chrysalis sparked her magic again. The necklace vanished and she turned to see it appear around her prisoner’s neck. Twilight writhed even in her sleep, and the look of horror that flashed across her face only served to amuse the changeling queen.
Smiling, she turned to Tisina. “You will remain here and fetch me as soon as she is ready to be released. It seems I have rules to set in regards to her interactions with my son. Understood?”
She got no response, but this was not unusual. Chrysalis just shook her head. “Good. Goodnight, Tisina.”
Luna had been the only one to hear Twilight’s terrified cry.
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1915151
It's only going to get more confusing when we dig into how little Prince Syril came to be, who his family is, and why we have changelings in the first place.
Oh, and Derpy isn't even in here yet....
HOLY **** THIS UPDATED.
Anyways, aside from that, do you think you'll be updating this a little more often, or are we waiting half a year again? I practically forgot this story existed.
1916229 Hopefully more often.
D: this is 7-8 weeks old I'm already addicted. Are you ever going to update this?
2232457 It's been giving me trouble, and I'm focused on my Harry Potter, Teen Titans, Spyro, Kingdom Hearts fics and A rewrite XD And I need a large chunk of time passing and no idea how to fill it....
2239662 Your a busy busy guy, my sympathies for you.
thanks for taking a break to reply to my post ^-^ it gets all so much better when the author of a story replys to a post regarding a Q/A
Good luck on all your stories..
Showpony?
Enjoying this so far, but thought I'd point that out.
5532010
Shaman pony. The w is prob an accident or something.