16 - Talks With The Dead
The Ancient Ruins
Excavations were still underway within the ancient ruins even twenty years after they began. When one tunnel was excavated another was uncovered, revealing all sorts of dark artefacts that were swiftly disposed of. Any artefacts deemed safe were sent for further study, and then to museums.
And despite the progress, they were no further along in discovering the secrets behind the old ruins, no closer to finding out who the necromancer that had built it was and why he or she had done so. The answers to their question however, were closer than they believed. Within the very area to this day still closed off by royal decree, reasons for which Princess Flurry Heart had refused to disclose, but was one she enforced heavily.
Despite the armed guards standing watch day and night outside the sealed off entranceway, Discord still had little trouble sneaking his way past the guards and even tripping them up as he went.
“Chumps,” he chuckled to himself.
Discord continued down the dilapidated hallway until he finally reached the familiar chamber with that equally familiar obelisk in the centre.
“Hello!” he called out. “Housekeeping is here!”
No answer came. Discord looked around for any sign of the shade, but found none.
“I have a vegetable dicer, newest model at a bargain price! All for you!”
Still no answer.
Discord huffed with a pout. “Alright, I’ll stop. Just show yourself already, this is getting boring!”
“Is it now?” the shade suddenly materialised next to him, making Discord jump out of his skin. Quite literally.
“Don’t do that!” the skeletal Discord protested, climbing back into his skin. “Look what you’ve gone and made me do. I didn’t believe it was possible, but death has only increased your mischievous streak.”
“I take points where I can get them,” the shade shrugged. “Call it payback for all those you once played on me.”
“Well… I suppose that is fair enough,” Discord rolled his eyes. “Though as you may have guessed this isn’t a social call. After all, I know how much you hate that thing,” he pointed at the obelisk.
“Indeed,” the shadow agreed. “If you didn’t pop in to say ‘hi’, then what do you require of me?”
“Nothing,” he told her. “In your state I doubt there is anything you can do. I just need to talk about a few things.”
“Oh?” she said questioningly. “What do you want to talk about, Discord?”
Discord hesitated for a moment, thinking about how to say what he wanted to say.
“I’m… worried.”
“Worried?”
“Unbelievable for such a carefree spirit such as myself, I know,” Discord stated. “But I am. Twilight is, simply put, losing it.”
“Ah,” the shade muttered.
Discord cringed. “You should see the way she looks at her subjects. It’s well hidden behind that accursed regal mask of hers, but I can see it in her eyes. She hates them, hates them a lot. Plus with what happened to that little-big brother of hers and love-butt going depressed emo… Things are falling apart quickly.”
Discord groaned. “And poor wittle Woona is too afraid to admit the obvious! It’s maddening I tell you! Maddening!”
The shade sighed. “I know.”
“Wait…” Discord glared at her. “You know?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t be watching? I still care you know,” the shade stated. “I was optimistic, but now history seems to be repeating itself. What once happened to Lulu, is now happening to Twilight.”
“If you knew, then what was the point of me coming down here?!” Discord fumed.
The shade didn’t seem to hear his ramblings. “Twilight’s pain is great, and right now only six things hold her sanity together. Her remaining pony friends, Spike and Luna. They are all that is keeping her from becoming a…”
The shade hesitated on the next word, the thought of what Twilight could become being incredibly painful for her.
“…a Nightmare.”
“For all the peace and harmony the alicorns preach, you do seem to have some serious dark sides,” Discord said with a raised eyebrow.
“Everypony has a dark side to them,” the shade pointed out. “For alicorns though, it is just far more dangerous.”
“Yes well, Spike will be around for a while, Luna is immortal,” Discord listed. “As for her friends…” Discord sounded pained as he spoke about them.
“Discord?” the shade sounded worried. “What’s wrong?”
“Fluttershy,” Discord said. “My first true friend. My best friend. Her time is short, just like the others. Don’t worry, I’m not going evil again or anything when she goes. I’m just not looking forwards to that day.”
“I’m sorry,” the shade said genuinely, placing a shadowy hoof on his shoulder.
Discord looked at the hoof. “You’re physical. When did that happen?”
“Practice, I may be even able to show my true form rather than mere shadows in a few years.”
Discord hummed. “Don’t tell anypony I said this, but it would be pleasing to see your face again, my old friend.”
“Friend? Now when did that happen?” the shade mirthfully asked.
“Oh don’t get all flustered,” Discord shrugged her hoof off.
“No really, do tell.”
“Well if you must know, I kind of miss you. There! I said it. Happy?” Discord crossed his arms and sat down like an annoyed child.
The shade only smiled, or at least what Discord assumed was a smile on the largely featureless face it had.
“Back on topic,” Discord started again. “What do we do? Twilight is in control of the sun, and unlike Nightmare Moon I highly doubt she would have any interest in ruling Equestria or anywhere else if she were to go off the deep end. Nightmare Moon was fuelled by jealously of her sister while Twilight is being fuelled by her hatred. It wouldn’t end well.”
“And direct involvement might only makes things worse,” the shade noted.
“As much as I hate to say it, yes. I don’t think Twilight would appreciate me popping up and saying ‘You’re crazy! Go make smoochie faces with Luna already!’ or something along those lines.”
“Then we wait.”
Discord looked at the shade as if it had grown a second misty head. “Wait? You’re joking, right?”
“It’s all we can do,” the shade said. “I trust Luna and Twilight. They will support each other, and make things right in the end.”
“This is quite the gamble,” Discord said. “But then again, you always were one to take risks, weren’t you?”
The shade just stood silently for a few moment, keeping to its own thoughts.
“Well, if that is everything I will take my leave. Places to go and chaos to spread, you know how it is.”
Discord turned to leave, moving towards the exit.
“Discord,” the shade called out.
Discord stopped in his tracks, turning around to face the shade behind him.
“Yes?”
“Things always get darker before the dawn.”
Discord's eyes narrowed. “Or in the Princess of the Sun’s case, it’s the dawn we should be afraid of,” Discord said rather darkly. “See you around.”
“Be safe,” the shade asked of him as he exited the room. “My friend.”
Canterlot Castle
Twilight sat in her chamber within the castle. She was sat on her balcony, holding a picture in her magical lavender aura.
It was the day after Applejack's death. The funeral was a ways off yet, though they were planning on holding it at Sweet Apple Acres. Nothing too fancy or extravagant, just as Applejack would have wanted.
The media had gone crazy over the death of an element bearer. Articles going over her life were everywhere.
‘The way they talk about her, it’s like she was just a thing. An object,’ Twilight thought bitterly, looking down on a tear stained photograph of herself and her friends.
Rage began to build within Twilight, along with something darker. Darker, and far more terrifying.
‘Am I just a thing to them?’
The picture frame began to crack as her levitation spell began to crush down upon it.
‘Do they know I’m a pony as well, or care?’
The glass of the frame reached its breaking point, her magic turning a sickly bubbling black.
‘If they don’t care… WHY SHOULD I?!’
A loud smashing sound brought Twilight out of her innermost thoughts. Looking down, she was horrified to see the battered remains of the photograph.
“No, no!” Twilight shouted as she tried to place to pieces back together, tears falling anew.
She couldn’t repair them with her magic however, the dark magic surrounding the shards preventing her.
Her dark magic.
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OH SNAP.
It’s Celestia, isn’t it?
7436252
Couldn't have said that better
i think it is the luna's mother
7436266 Definitely. And if its not then I will eat a hat
I was listening to the song 115 while reading this for some reason (Guess it only came on my playlist) But the song set the mood perfectly for this chapter especially at the ending sequence when Twilight's dark magic got out. I got a few chills over this chapter and it seems Fluttershy is the next to go by the looks of it. What describes Twi perfectly at the moment is "i have no mouth and i must scream". She can't display her emotions cause she has to uphold the image of the perfect princess and she is much alike Celestia in that she is by nature very prone to sacrifice for the greater good, and disregarding her own desires over duty but contrary to Tia, this instead just makes Twi's hatred grow. Equestria is creating a monster, Something that is gonna dwarf all the other horrors and "evils" that has tried to go against harmony. Twilight is getting prone to violent outbursts and her mind is rapidly falling apart and unraveling, if it gets this bad by just Applejack dying..i wonder how she will act at the end when she had to endure 5 more events like these. Excited for the next chapter, wonder if anyone will notice her dark magic and comment about it, it will surely send Luna some alarm bells if she finds out or finds the shards infected by it, it must be a oh so familliar feeling to her. I wonder if anything will happen to spike that will set her off even more, we shall see! Also i believe the shade Discord is speaking to, is infact Celestia.
7437095 Yeah, that song fits this story well.
It is so sad on what is happening to Twilight. But you know what they say. You don't appreciate something until it's gone.
The shade is Celestia
And so the reign of Midn9ght Sparkle begins
"Lulu" gives it away.
7439143 You'd be surprised how many people miss details like that.
7439263
I'd be suprised if they did.
I guessed it from the moment it first appeared and knew for sure when it said this
The Shade is Princess Celestia it became really obvious after that scene about Sunset and a few other points.
Artifacts
8505949
I'm British.
Thank frick I'm not the only one.
This better be Celestia because if she doesn't return anytime soon then Luna is gonna buck everything up by hiding the obvious.
I disagree, tbh I believe if Discord set up a meeting with Twilight instead of appearing out of nowhere, it would make things easier, plus I'm pretty sure if he said "hey if you don't love Luna your gonna turn evil and kill everypony" then Twilight would most likely listen.
Ah, now I get it, "eternal twilight" instead of "eternal daylight".