Internal Darkness

by Silver Sorcerer

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all associated characters, settings and stories are the rightful subjects of Hasbro, the HUB, Studio B, and Lauren Faust.

Chapter 3

Celestia continued her narrative while the three watched the six alicorns sitting around a fire, all with faces of fear.

“The next day we waited and prepared ourselves for the fight. None of us slept that night as we wished by some miracle that this madman would stop and let us live. We were desperate and we prayed and prayed for some mercy. Luna and I thought we could use the Elements of Harmony since there were six of us, but found them to suddenly have disappeared. No help came and though the ponies of Equestria knew our situation there was nothing they could do and we didn’t want Red-Blood to turn on them.”

Celestia paused allowing Magicon to examine the six alicorns in great detail. Each was scared, he could tell through their darkened faces. But he saw something in their eyes, a small fire or spark. Was it hope or survival? He couldn’t tell, but whatever it was, it was keeping the six together to face Red-Blood and his supposed weapon.

Celestia broke from the group and went to the long window and with a heavy heart and sigh, raised the sun allowing the dawn to fill the room.

Even with the sun raised nopony moved from their small circle. They glanced at each other and they all closed their eyes and took deep breaths. The three modern ponies couldn’t help but feel great sorrow and sympathy for these alicorns and for Celestia and Luna. This wasn’t like anything they faced before, this was personal. They had seen their own kin ruthlessly and mercilessly murdered and saw the remaining flee from Equestria forever. Magicon almost didn’t want to know how this narrative would end, but took a deep breath and waited for Celestia and Luna to continue.

But the rapid pace of the scene changes had stopped; everything was now in real time. The sun was slowly rising and Celestia retuned back to the group with soft tears in her light magenta eyes.

She spoke softly and tenderly, “I…I want to thank the four of you,” gesturing to the alicorns, “for standing with me and Luna. If the worst should befall on us then let Equestria know we died for the peace and happiness of all ponies. And if we should meet our fate then let us take Red-Blood with us.”

Every alicorn nodded, all with tears in their eyes. But these weren’t tears of fear or sadness, but tears of hope and joy. These six alicorns had crossed a point few had crossed before. They were no longer afraid of death; no longer afraid of Red-Blood. They were going to look him in the eye and fight him until their last breaths.

As they all sat there in this state of hope, the doors of the royal palace flew open and a unicorn slowly walked in. He wore a black hood, a black and tattered vest, and a ripped cape that exposed his cutie mark: a black, encircled upside-down pentagram, against his blood-red coat. His tail was moderate in length, but gray all over and messy. His flank and hind legs were covered in scars and cuts, making Cadance wince. Though the hood hid his face, his bright yellow eyes could still be seen. They were merciless and unforgiving, staring so intently and directly at the alicorns that it made Magicon fearful of him. Magicon couldn’t tell his age but guessed he had to be past his best years.

The alicorns looked at their enemy with curiosity and suspicion and all rose into a fighting stance, horns glowing, ready to cast any spell to destroy him and protect themselves.

He didn’t speak, but reached into his vest pulled out a final envelope and threw it toward the alicorns. “Read it,” he demanded. His voice was raw and dirty, like the voice of a sour old pony.

Luna opened the letter, while the other five remained motionless still eyeing him. “To the remaining alicorns,” Luna read. “You surprise me by remaining here despite the great numbers that fled. Rest easy, I hath not harmed them, but thou shall not be so fortunate. Given the pathetic few that remain, I shall not utilize said great weapon that I penned in my previous letter. I shall make one final offer to thee, I shall allow thee to flee Equestria unharmed under the condition that one remains here with me. Should thou reject this offer, thou all shall perish. There shall be no negotiations with thee. Your Faithful Enemy, Red-Blood.”

Finishing the letter, Luna brought her gaze back to Red-Blood who remained motionless. She glanced at her sister who shook her head.

Celestia, attempting to hide her fear, came forward and sternly said, “I am through with thou’s sinister threats and deals, Red-Blood. We will not accept anymore from thou! And thou will die!”

Celestia charged at Red-Blood, fire and tears in her eyes, her horn glowing a brilliant gold. She cast her spell but Red-Blood dodged it, teleporting to the other side of the room forcing Celestia to suddenly stop to avoid crashing into the wall. She spread her wings and jumped into the air while Luna did the same and both began charging at Red-Blood, horns blazing who again teleported to another corner of the room. Celestia and Luna made quick u-turns and kept chasing and casting spells at Red-Blood who continued to evade their attacks.

The four other alicorns also began casting their spells at Red-Blood, who was quickly proving himself to be quite nimble and aerodynamic despite his age. Finally one of the alicorns managed to hit Red-Blood with a stunning spell and he suddenly fell to the ground. His horn glowed though and the spell broke before any alicorns could close in on him. The chase resumed as he teleported while the six continued their attack against him.

Suddenly a rope appeared around Luna’s neck and she was dragged down to the floor, crashing into the stone with a loud thud as she struggled to get the rope off her. Casting her eye on the thrower, Celestia saw that Red-Blood was not alone in his quest. A gray earth pony was tightly clutching and pulling the rope around Luna’s neck. She screamed as she desperately gasped for air. Celestia shot a spell that broke the rope, freeing Luna who went after the earth pony. But Luna’s rescue had exposed Celestia who found herself tackled to the ground by a brown Pegasus. She quickly shot throwing the Pegasus off her and suddenly found herself not only battling numerous pegasi but at least two dozen other ponies.

‘Where did she get this many supporters?’ Celestia thought as she suddenly reversed roles and began taking defensive stances deflecting spells and charges from ponies. It was now an all-out brawl with the six alicorns battling against Red-Blood and his small army. She knew she was outnumbered, but numbers didn’t win a battle. She and the other five could do this. Loosing all self-restraint, Celestia tapped into her deepest and most powerful magical energies and attacked anything in sight sending unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies flying.

The other alicorns followed her lead and let loose with everything they had. The ponies of the small army were being hit hard with spells of all kinds and some weren’t getting back up. The alicorns were winning; then came a piercing scream and a sharp pain as Celestia fell to the ground. Behind her stood Red-Blood telekinetically holding a blood-soaked dagger, his hood had fallen exposing his bruised and scarred face carrying a malicious smile.

Luna rushed to the aid to her sister who was now lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

“TIA!” she screamed. “NO TIA! Stay with me! We’ll get you out of here!”

Luna was desperate and the four other alicorns surrounded them putting their backs to the two princesses in a circle and casted a protective shield allowing them a moments rest to help Celestia.

She was still breathing and her eyes frantically searched around, but the pain was too great. She was losing too much blood. Luna attempted to heal the wound with magic, but this was no ordinary wound. It was a magic one that refused to close or even respond to Luna’s magic. Luna’s eyes couldn’t resist the tears and became a waterfall. She felt helpless; her sister was dying before her eyes and yet she couldn’t do anything about it.

“T…Tia. I…just…want to let thou…know….that…I…love thee.”

Celestia managed a weak smile and put a hoof to her sisters face, and despite the pain, she managed to whisper, “I…love…you too…Luna…and I…love…you four.” making a feeble gesture to the remaining alicorns.

They all responded, “We love you too Princess.”

One of the male alicorns spoke, “We’re not leaving thou like this Celestia. We shall save thee.”
Using the remaining magic he had, he began generating a huge spell that the other four alicorns quickly joined in. “Luna,” the alicorn managed to say, “Prepare to teleport thyself and thy sister out of here.”

She understood what they were doing, but she didn’t want it to come to this.

“I don’t wish to leave thee.”

“We have no choice unless you want to save thy sister. Charge your magic and prepare to flee. Do it for your sister and for Equestria!”

Reluctantly Luna began charging her magic and prepared for the worst. She never took her eyes off her sister and prayed for her to live.

The alicorns magic grew and the barrier around them was failing without the magic. Shouting at Luna, the male alicorn said, “NOW LUNA! GO!”

Grabbing Celestia and using her last magical resources, Luna teleported away managing to hear a yell from the alicorns as they cast their spell.

Then it was suddenly quiet and peaceful. They were in a small field near a small village. Wasting no time, Luna carried Celestia into the village where ponies rushed to help the dying princess. Celestia had lost consciousness but was still breathing. She was no longer losing blood; Luna noticed and breathed a great sigh of relief. She followed the ponies into a house and sat beside Luna as ponies tended to Celestia.

Celestia’s modern voice broke through the air, causing the three to jump. They had become so absorbed in the memory, that they forgot it was just a memory.

“I survived and healed thanks to the ponies and to Luna who saved my life that day.” Celestia sounded tired and weary. “We went back to the palace soon after to find the city flattened and the palace in ruins.”

The palace emerged into view, but the three were looking down upon it from a bird’s eye perspective. Numerous ponies were scattered about the throne room and surrounding grounds. Burned pieces of grass and blackened walls showed signs of the battle and the destructiveness of the alicorns spell. Where the alicorns once stood, a deep hole now existed and where Red-Blood had stood, only his cape and hood remained.

“We never knew whether Red-Blood was killed by the sacrifice of those four alicorns but we were confident that we would never see him again. In the years that followed, Luna and I did everything we could to erase all the traces of Red-Blood’s existence; rewriting history and inventing our own. We erased all traces of alicorns ever being in Equestria except for myself, and Luna. We burned any sources that mentioned any other alicorns and we destroyed any things that were even remotely related to them or Red-Blood. To this day, nopony but us knew of his existence and the true history of Equestria during this dark time and now you three know it.”

The memory broke and the three fell backwards landing softly on the modern library floor. The sun was lower in the sky, bathing the room in a late afternoon light. Celestia and Luna looked exhausted and emotionless. Cadance looked disturbed and in a state of disbelief, covering her face with her hooves. Shining Armor looked at Magicon with an expression of worry and sorrow, which Magicon quickly returned.

Luna heavily sighed, “Well; now you know the truth about me and Celestia, the alicorn species, and Red-Blood.”

Everypony was silent for a while, thinking about what they had just witnessed and, in Celestia’s and Luna’s cases, relived.

“So…wrong…so…disturbing,” Shining Armor shook his head.

“It is indeed,” Luna responded. “I’m very sorry that you had to go through that, but there was no other way in which you would have completely understood the threat that we are now facing.”

Cadance quietly spoke, “Aunt Celestia, Aunt Luna…I don’t understand. If you two were the only ones left, how do I even exist in the first place?”

“Well Cadance,” Celestia responded, “it turns out that not every alicorn made it out of Equestria. There was one filly that fled with the others but couldn’t make it. Her parents left her with a nice unicorn family in Phillydelphia who hid her and raised her as their own daughter. Since she aged slowly she transferred from family to family after so many years until she was old enough to be on your own and live in Canterlot and become a foal-sitter.”

As Celestia told the narration, Cadance’s eyes widened and she collapsed to the floor sobbing.

“I…had…no idea,” she managed weakly to say.

“It’s not your fault Cadance,” responded Luna patting Cadance’s head. “We erased that part of your memory so you wouldn’t suffer and have a childhood haunted by disturbing memories. We are very sorry for that.”

Luna laid down next to Cadance and began snuggling with her trying to comfort her.

Looking at Celestia, Magicon managed to form his words, “So this is what we’re up against? A small, but still powerful pony army at the hands of a madman?”

“No, no. Red-Blood would not be so foolish and raise a second army. Public opinion would be very much against him since everypony adores Luna and me. He wouldn’t be able to if he tried.”

“And what of Red-Blood?” Shining Armor joined in on the conversation, though his voice still showed some anxiety in it. “You don’t know if he survived or not, and what if this letter isn’t his?”

“What if it is though?” Magicon responded. “The question of Red-Blood being alive or not isn’t important.”

“Of course it’s important! If he’s alive, that means he can be found and captured before he hurts Princess Celestia or Luna.”

“No, it’s not important because if he isn’t alive, then that means that something of him survived; something that would not only show the philosophy and madness of Red-Blood but also convince that pony to finish what Red-Blood started!”

“Calm down both of you,” Celestia jutted in. “Arguing will solve nothing and you’re both right in different aspects. It’s true that we don’t know if he survived or not and that may very well decide on what action we should take. But it’s also true that, in the event that’s he not alive, somepony has fallen to his dark and disturbing ways and is now out to destroy me and Luna.”

“And what about me?” Cadence managed to speak through her tears. “What if Red-Blood knows I’m alive?”

“The letter was only addressed to me and Luna,” Celestia said. “And you had a Royal Wedding two years ago that everypony heard about. Red-Blood is no fool and knows you’re alive, Cadance. Based on the letter, I have good reason to suspect that he either wants you alive or knows you have no memory of his past actions thus allowing him to kill you when you least expect it. Given his violent nature and hatred to our species, I’m leaning towards the latter.”

Terror struck Cadance’s face and she resumed sobbing into Luna’s mane.

“And of what was the story behind Elements of Harmony?” Magicon asked.

“I honestly have no idea,” Celetisa responded. “It’s possible that Red-Blood knew of their existence and stole them, but they were protected by powerful enchantments that Luna and I cast which remained sealed until they disappeared. It’s my belief that they disappeared on their own because they were not meant to be used on regular ponies and they were preventing themselves from that fate. In any case, they did return some years later and were still loyal to me and Luna and you know what happened from there,” gesturing towards Luna who hung her head low.

“So…now what? What do we do?” Cadence desperately asked.

“Well, it’s obvious. The princesses must be protected at all costs.” Shining Armor said with growing confidence and determination. “We don’t have much time to prepare, given the princesses desire to keep this information hidden, but I will use every resource at my disposal to protect them. I shall go prepare my magical shield.”

“No Shining Armor,” Celestia firmly stated. “I thank you for your dedication but more guards and a magical force-field won’t stop Red-Blood. He got past both during his reign of terror and managed to kill a great number of alicorns as you saw.”

“Then what are we to do, your majesty?” Magicon eagerly asked. “Winter Wrap-Up is less than two days away and you and Luna both have to help in the festivities.”

“Are you insane Magicon?” Shining Armor harshly asked. “They can’t leave the Royal Palace! If they’re outside, the chances of them getting killed are that much greater.”

“If they stay inside, like they previously did Red-Blood will descend upon them.” Magicon responded. “No matter how many guards you put up, he’ll sneak by them. For all we know, he could’ve disguised himself as a royal guard and is waiting to strike. Magic and technology have evolved since his time so who knows what magic he has perfected?”

“Gentlecolts please,” Luna interjected. “Your continued arguing is only further scaring Cadance.”

Magicon and Shining Armor looked over and saw Cadence trembling, huddling next to Luna. She had stopped crying but her eyes showed pure terror.

“I’m sorry, honey,” Shining Armor lamented as he approached her and began stroking her mane. “It’s just my duty to protect the princesses. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

Thanks to the gentle stroking of her husband, calmed Cadance down, but she still felt scared not only for her life but for Celestia’s, Luna’s, and possible her husband’s.

Celestia sighed, “It’s obvious that we’ll need a unified strategy if Luna and I are going to remain safe. Sheltering us behind stone won’t do that, nor will pretending like this doesn’t exist will either. We need to work together to stop Red-Blood before he attacks.”

“We need to make him think that he is going to be able to destroy us.” Luna stated. “We need to deceive him. Make it look like nothing’s wrong on the front, but have every measure in place to stop him when he does strike.”

“Shining Armor,” Celestia turned to him, “You will keep the guard level the same, but have back- up guards prepared on the day of Winter-Wrap. You may also use plain-clothed guards to keep an eye on us and Red-Blood. He may indeed be in a disguise, but when unicorns disguise themselves, they often have to remain a unicorn or risk having a very phony disguise. Keep them focused on unicorns. I know that is going to be tough considering that Canterlot is full of unicorns, but they will all be busy with Winter Wrap-Up. Red-Blood won’t be which should be a major help.”

Shining Armor nodded. “As you wish your majesty, but I am still erecting a magical barrier in both of your chambers so Red-Blood can’t hurt you in your sleep.”

Celestia glanced at her sister who shrugged. Celestia made the decision herself by nodding her head.

“What shall I do, princess?” Magicon humbly asked.

“Continue with your normal duties governing Equestria while Luna and I assist in Winter Wrap-Up. We need you to run the Kingdom in case the worst should happen.” Celestia stated.

“So, I’m the Plan B?” Magicon grumbled.

“In essence, yes. I’m sorry Magicon, but if the worst should happen to Luna and I, I need you ready to take the wheel, so to speak, and continue running Equestria and continue preserving the peace.”

Magicon sighed, he wanted to protect the princesses; help Shining Armor but he knew his place. He wasn’t their guardian or protector; he was merely their advisor and counselor.

“I wish I could do more for you, Princesses.”

"You already have helped me and Luna numerous times running the Kingdom in our absence. I have total confidence that in you. And should a crisis arise, we’ll be just outside in Canterlot so you can always easily summon us.”

“Are you sure this will be enough, princesses?” Shining Armor asked.

Celestia pondered the question for a moment, while Luna spoke. “It’s difficult to say if one is every completely prepared for anything in life, but we’ll take as many precautions as we can.”

A light bulb went off in Celestia’s head, “Oh I completely forgot. There is one other thing that we can guard ourselves against: poisoning.”

“Sister, you really think Red-Blood would poison us? He’s not the type of pony known for subtlety.”

“On the contrary sister. Though Red-Blood craved attention for his crimes, he did so not with huge attacks or grandiose plans. He quietly kidnapped, tortured, and killed his victims then left the remains behind for all to see. He announced himself only through letters and his gruesome actions. And because of this, I believe that he would resort to poisoning us, though I think it would be a last resort. He has vengeance against us, Luna, and wants us to suffer greatly.”

Luna puzzled her sister’s words before responding, “I’m not sure if killing alicorns and disposing them in view of the public is considered subtle. Don’t forget why he left the bodies out for everypony to see. He wanted to instill fear in the alicorns and force them to submit to his commands and most of them did so perfectly.”

“Both of you are missing the point,” Cadance, who had stopped sobbing, confidently exclaimed. “It doesn’t matter whether or not Red-Blood was subtle in his actions. That depends on one’s perspective and that varies from pony to pony. There’s no point in arguing about that. The fact of the matter is would Red-Blood resort to poison to achieve his goals?”

Everypony fell silent; mainly because of Cadance’s sudden burst of confidence. The library was quiet for a few minutes as everypony either thought of what had been said or dwelled on the history of the princesses and Red-Blood.

Finally Shining Armor spoke, “I think that it’s best that we take no risks in protecting the princesses. We must assume the worst and take every precaution to protect them, but we must do it in a way that it doesn’t hamper their ability to rule Equestria. Winter Wrap-Up is less than two days away and we’ll need every second to prepare not only for the festivities and clean-up effort but also to ensure the safety of Princess Celestia and Luna.”

Magicon nodded, “I agree, Shining Armor. I will follow my duties as necessary, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything suspicious as I’m sure you all will as well.”

Celestia softly smiled, “Very well, I think we have a cohesive strategy. Remember, we can always modify it and work around it if the need arises. Strategies set in stone always crumble and ones too loose blow away. I think we have a strong stone that can still be modified and recast as need be. Thank you everypony.”

“I also want to thank you all for bearing with us in our dark history. I know it wasn’t easy for you to see, but imagine how hard it was for me and Celestia to experience that with every single sense and emotion.” Luna added in.

“Also, thank you for offering your ideas and dedication to our lives. You are the loyalist of ponies to help me and Luna when our lives are in such danger.”

“And remember, not a word of the specific details of the plan or what you saw from our memories to anypony. If you wish to speak to each other or me or Celestia about the plan or have a question about it, do so privately.”

“May the sun, moon, and earth protect us,” Cadance finished.

Celestia and Luna smiled slightly and dismissed everypony from the library while they remained behind until the doors were closed and locked.

Luna let out a long sigh, “I don’t like this Tia. I don’t like this at all.”

“Neither do I Luna, but we can’t handle this alone. We need those three and we can’t use the Elements of Harmony.”

“You never even asked them to help you. Do you not trust them?”

“Of course I trust them, but you saw what happened more than a millennia ago.”

“Yes I know sister. But still, one can hope.”

“I do not rely on hope anymore Luna, and neither should you. Hope is only for desperate times. We are not desperate. We are just nervous and very worried. I have total confidence in Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Magicon to do their duties and protect us.”

“I…feel so weak and…helpless Tia.”

“You’re anything but weak and helpless sister. If you were weak and helpless, we wouldn’t have been able to defeat Discord or fight me as Nightmare Moon. This is just a difficult time for us. Everypony has difficult times, but they always pull through and we are no exception. We will pull through as long as we stick together.”

Feeling a slight twinge of happiness, Princess Luna walked up to her sister and hugged her, who returned the favor.

“I love you Tia.”

“I love you too Luna.”

Comments

[Kazigami]

god damn is it possible for this story to get any better great job

[Tesla Moon]

Daw!