The Elements of Chaos

by pixelbit5

Ch 9: Broken

Dim sparks rung out in the pitch black dungeon, firing over and over again. The sounds of weak magic firing echoed off the rocky stone walls, amplifying the sound tenfold. The noises drove Celestia on. They told her that she was doing something. With every single minuscule spark of her celestial magic, Celestia knew that she was getting gradually closer to finding her dear sister.

One thing that Twilight had overlooked when holding her here was her inhibitor. The inhibitor on her horn was built to detain unicorns, not alicorns such as herself. Twilight didn't seem to this into account. But how could she? A standard unicorn inhibitor had never been applied to an Alicorn in equine history. So with magic channaled through her horn, she could create a spark, however small, and make her way to breaking the chain connecting her collar to the wall.

She was exhausted from all of the magic it had taken for her to even pass the inhibitor, but she couldn't stop now. She wouldn't. Her sister needed her, and it was her duty as a princess and as a sister to help. If she couldn't do that, what kind of pony would she be? There were cities and towns pleading to the eternal summer sun for her to return, but at that one precise moment, only one pony mattered to her.

The sparks, already dim, began to fade, growing darker and darker with every burst. Celestia collapsed from magical exhaustion, her breathing heavy and laboured. The inhibitor on her horn, the collar on her neck and the brace on her wings constant reminders of her entrapment. She closed her eyes and focussed on her breathing, waiting until she had the smallest speck of strength to try again. It felt like she had been at this repetitive task for weeks, months, years, possibly longer. There was no way to know. Celestia yearned for her precious sun, her one eternal companion, the one thing that she could always count on. She lay her head on her hooves and begin to sob. She had hardly began to break her chain. How long then until she accomplished her goal and saved her sister from this psychopath?

She felt utterly defeated. Never before had she felt so hopeless, so utterly devastated that she'd consider giving up,forgoing hope completely and giving in to her fate, letting the days pass slowly, fading away as ponies forgot her name, eons passing, fading into one single hopeless void of emotion. Her life was almost over, her strength almost gone.

Her sobs echoed off of the damp dungeon walls, a constant reminder of her entrapment and betrayal by the one she once called family. This wasn't the grand and Royal Princess Celestia. No. Not anymore. This was a broken and hopeless mare, her last light extinguished and her heart broken more times than she dared to count.

She closed her eyes for what could have been the last time that day. She was tired, defeated and utterly broken. Her will no longer strong, her light no longer shining. As long as she had had Luna, there had always been hope. But now? No. There was no hope in this place. No sunlight shining through the cracks, no knowledge that they would get out alright, no reason to go on. Yet Celestia went on. If there was no hope in this abysmal place, then she would have to be the hope for all of them. She had to. She just had to. For her. For Lulu.

Celestia lifted her head, her muzzle stained with tears. She shakily got to her hooves and drew in all of the magic she could. She channeled it through her horn with all of the power she could, feeling the tingle of her magic once more. Pushing past the inhibitor, she produced another burst of dim yellow sparks, lighting up the cell once more,

filling it with the hope it desperately needed.

---

Pixel opened his eyes groggily, finding only darkness before him. He shifted, rolling over onto his side. He immediately regretted it. He was aching all over, and on top of that, a massive chunk of metal was bracing his wings to his sides. He groaned. Not good. The memories of the previous day snapped back to him all at once, sending shivers down his back. He could pass on re-living that experience, thank you.

"Sunlight?" he called out hoarsely, his mouth dry. "Pastel? Hello? Anypony there?" He sat quietly for a few seconds, waiting for a response. Any response.

His ears strained, twitching wildly, searching for a sound, a voice, just something that would reveal the presence of another pony.

"Pixel Bit?" He heard in the darkness. It was a small voice he didn't recognise. It was feminine for one, so that was something to go off. He didn't have time to wonder how this voice knew his name before his hopes spiked.

Pixel got to his hooves shakily, the new weight on his barrel making it hard to move. "Yeah, I'm here." he said to the dark. "Where are you? I can't see you." He stepped forward tentatively, careful not to hit anything.

"Wait one second, Mr. Pixel. Stay there." the darkness said quietly, stuttering his name a bit. Pixel obliged. The dungeon was silent for a moment. It wasn't long, but it was enough to make PB think that maybe his surprise companion had abandoned him. But out of the corner of his eye, Pixel could see a soft red glow. Turning, he froze. In the darkness, there were a pair of bright red, slitted eyes staring right at him.

He whimpered, cowering where he stood, frozen to the spot. As the eyes crept steadily closer, he was shocked to find himself unconsciously stepping backwards as well. He continued to step backwards away from those eyes until he felt himself suddenly strangled by a weight on his neck. He stepped forward and being able to breathe again, held a hoof up to his neck. A heavy metal collar shackled his neck to the wall a few feet away. He was stuck. Unable to escape. Doomed to meet the monster that belonged to those eyes.

As the monster crept closer and closer still, Pixel prepared to put up a fight. Sure his whole being ached like Tartarus, be if he was going down, he was going down swinging. He hadn't come this far just to give up now.

"Please don't be afraid…" the voice quivered. "I… I don’t…" Pixel heard a whimper. "I don't want you to be afraid… Of me…" The eyes blinked and turned away. "Why w-would you be any different." the voice said quietly. Pixel was silently freaking out, but right now, most of his fear had been washed away. He stepped forward, letting his chain hang loosely at the floor. He began to step forward, careful not to provoke this monster.

It started sniffling softly in the darkness. Pixel preceded forward again, laying one hoof in front of another in the dark. He stopped just short of the now sobbing creature and blindly placed a hoof on its withers. The creature gasped, and the eyes turned back to Pixel. Somehow, twitching and tearful, they didn't seem so threatening. "Hey, it's okay." he said softly, pulling the creature closer into a hug. It was warm. Obviously pony shaped. A little floofier than normal.

"I…" the pony stammered. "Aren't… Aren't you afraid?" she said, scooting closer and wiping their eyes.

Pixel smiled. "No. Not of you." The pony grabbed him and hugged him, nuzzling into his chest floof. "What's your name?" he asked quietly, stroking this random pony's mane.

Pixel felt the pony noticeably flinch. "My…" She cleared her throat. "My name's Whisper. And I…" She paused, gathering her courage. "And I'm a thestral." she squeaked out. "A bat pony." Pixel nodded. Guess that explained the glowing red eyes then. He wrapped himself around her protectively. She was the bat pony from the train. Now that they had spoken, he had seen her in a whole new light. Or, y'know. Dark.

"And you're the most amazing bat pony I've ever met." he said calmly. Whisper smiled. "Thank you." she said, her namesake showing. They snuggled closer together, sharing each other's warmth. It was cold, and Pixel wished he could wrap his wings around this little thing. Whisper had to be at least 2 or 3 hands shorter than him.

As Pixel held her, he felt her yawn softly, slowly drifting off to sleep. He held her tight, prepared to fight for her life. She had been so brave for him. She had went up against Twilight when all else had failed and their group was in shambles. Stroking her mane, he yawned as well, feeling the exhaustion of the previous day catch up with him once again. He leaned against the wall, their shackled collars not short enough to hold them apart.

Suddenly the dark and lonely dungeons didn't seem so lonely anymore.