A Monster's Mentor
With another meal finished and another voice added to the chorus, I trotted the rest of the way into the cavern and towards the entrance to Tartarus.
Without preamble or hesitation I pushed the massive ornate door open and stepped through and into Equestria. Beyond the door was another cavern that led out of Mount Infernus.
The new voices hit me with an almost physical force.
So loud was the cacophony that I staggered backwards, screaming in agony under the assault of so many voices. I don't know how long I stood there, paralyzed by the pain that seemed to emanate from somewhere within.
At some point I had fallen to the ground, clenching my eyes shut and gritting my teeth as I tried to ride out the agony. It felt like an eternity, but eventually my body seemed to grow accustomed to the drastic increase in sound and I shakily rose to my hooves.
My ears twitched involuntarily a few times and I rapidly shook my head, trying to clear out the residual pain and disorientation. Once my head had cleared completely and the voices had settled back down, I looked around me.
Apparently in my agonized state, my new form had lashed out, leaving deep, still dimly glowing furrows in the ground and walls of the cave. I blinked once and turned to the mouth of the cave a few yards away.
I tilted my head and listened, picking out the almost endless new voices in my head. The majority of them I didn't recognize, but there were many that I did remember.
Among them were eight very familiar voices in particular.
Satisfied that everything was as it should be, I continued making my way out of the cave. Once I was outside, my alicorn form melted away without warning and my bright silhouette blazed like a beacon in the endless darkness.
The hunger—while controllable—was a constant presence, and the darkness surrounding me felt... distant. It was almost as if my very existence was pushing it away.
This had only confirmed my suspicions about the unnatural nature of this endless 'night'. In this form, I only ever had a 'mouth' when I was feeding, and as such, I frowned inwardly.
This would make it difficult to find my last target... unless...
I focused on the presence of the many voices within and around me, silently asking them for their assistance in locating the last obstacle in the way of my confrontation with the Tantabus.
I had no idea if it would work or not, but it seemed I had no need to find out. Returning my attention to the world outside, my burning red eyes fell upon the last mare standing in my way.
And indeed it was a mare.
Celestia sat several yards away, her once whitened, blinded eyes pitch black. A viscous black fluid fell from those eyes in a constant stream, pooling on the ground below.
Aside from that, she looked no different than she usually did. Despite her... condition, she smiled her warm, yet sad smile as she looked at me.
"So the Tantabus didn't even bother with you," I commented, taking a step forward, "is that it? Or has it become so weak that it can't affect you the way it did before?"
"A little of both, really," Celestia replied calmly, taking a step back, to match step forward, "I take it you've already spoken with my sister?"
"We've spoken," I replied, taking another step forward, "she told me several things, none of which matter in the end, at least, not anymore—though she did tell me you'd be able to explain more about what I am."
"Ah, so she's... gone then," Celestia surmised, taking another step back and hanging her head, "well... I suppose it's for the best. As for what you are—"
"Why are you edging away from me, Celestia?" I asked in slight confusion, "The others were fairly quick to meet their end, but not you?"
"Believe me, Twilight," Celestia said with a sad, slow shake of her head, "I'd love nothing more than to meet my end at your hooves, but the Tantabus... it's not quite so eager."
I stopped moving forward.
"It hasn't fully let you go," I guessed, "just like the others, you may have regained your sanity, but you're still under its influence."
"I'm afraid so," Celestia confirmed with a nod, "the Tantabus is deathly afraid of what you've become, Twilight," she paused and gave me another sad smile, "or perhaps you no longer identify as Twilight Sparkle?"
"I..."
I hadn't really considered it.
Did I still identify as Twilight Sparkle? I was no longer the pony I used to be—far from it. I no longer had anything that made me Twilight Sparkle save for my alicorn guise.
I didn't even have my cutie mark anymore. With such drastic changes, could I still call myself Twilight Sparkle? Without taking my eyes off of Celestia, I listened—focusing most of my attention inward.
The voices spoke to me.
I listened to those voices—both the ones I recognized and the ones I didn't—and they told me of who, or rather what I truly was.
No longer was I Twilight Sparkle, the alicorn Princess of Friendship. What use was there for such a Princess in a world bereft of all life? No... the Magic of Friendship was gone, and in its place I had become something else altogether.
I had become justice personified.
I had become the very embodiment of vengeance and retaliation.
I had made a pact with the one Spirit Equus had no need for—the one Aspect that had been hidden away in Tartarus, trapped by some unknown force in that cave... until I came along.
In agreeing to this pact, I had become Twilight Sparkle, the Avatar of Retribution.
"You may have lost your equinity, the same as myself, my sister, and my niece," Celestia said, bringing me back to reality. She gave me a sad, understanding smile, "...but to me, you'll always be my Most Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle."
I stared at the mare standing before me.
That title held a meaning to the both of us that couldn't be properly defined in mere words. It was indicative of a bond that went beyond a teacher and her student or even a mother and her daughter—at least I had always felt that way.
Now?
Now it meant nothing.
Gone were the days I could call Celestia my mentor, my mother figure, or even a close friend. Despite regaining her mental faculties, she was just another obstacle to me now—something to be removed if I was going to fulfill the task she herself had given me.
Still, the sentiment was appreciated, if entirely meaningless.
"...Do you have any last words, Celestia?" I asked, taking yet another step forward, "The others all had something to say, and I believe it's only fair I give you the same opportunity."
This time Celestia didn't move, though I could see the visible effort it took not to flinch away. She hummed in thought for a moment before speaking again.
"I suppose I could tell you a bit more about your new nature," she suggested, giving me a hopeful smile, "surely you've at least held on to your thirst for knowledge even now?"
"What would be the use?" I asked, frowning inwardly, "If I needed that information I would only have to—"
I paused as a few familiar voices spoke out amongst the chorus. I listened to their pleas and with an inward sigh, I relented.
"...Alright, Celestia," I conceded, "go on then... tell me of my true nature."
"Thank you, Twilight," Celestia replied with a grateful smile, "I know you haven't been my student in quite some time, but consider this my last lesson as your mentor."
She shuffled her wings and sat down, making herself comfortable before speaking again.
"As you've most likely already figured out, you are now the new host for the Avatar of Retribution—an old, old Spirit that's been hidden away in Tartarus since long before even I was born.
"The only reason I know of it was due to an encounter I had with an unfathomably old demon in my youth. I had been... hunting it for some time for reasons I've long since forgotten.
"Eventually I cornered it and we fought. I won the battle, but before I could finish it off, it offered me knowledge of the Spirit in exchange for its life. I agreed and banished it back to Tartarus instead, but not before hearing what it had to say.
"The demon told me that the Spirit would only accept a host that had been stripped of everything by another—and even then only if it found the host's loss significant enough to warrant its power."
Celestia scoffed and shook her head.
"It considers its own wretched power a gift, but to me, it's nothing more than a curse," she continued with a grimace, "in return for its power, it takes away the last thing one has left... their very identity.
"It takes that last shred of what makes you you, and replaces it with the Will of the Slighted," she tilted her head and gave me a level stare, "would I be correct in assuming you've been hearing many voices all at once?"
After a moment, I gave a slow nod of confirmation.
"Give me all of you, and I shall give you all of me," I reiterated, "that's what the Spirit told me before it gave me this form... it said we had formed a contract."
"In a sense, you have," Celestia replied, with a knowing nod, "as the Avatar of Retribution, you can take on any form necessary to deal with the target of your judgment, but in return for this power, you forfeit what's left of you and are compelled to listen to and carry out the Will of the Slighted."
"So... I'm a slave to this Will, then?" I surmised, "while I do feel a need to listen to their words, I have not actually been forced to obey them."
"That's because you aren't a slave to the voices—at least, not completely," Celestia corrected, "as long as you continue to carry out their Will to some extent, you will maintain your power.
"It would be more accurate to call you a sapient 'tool', rather than a slave. A living weapon to be used against ones enemies. If you choose to ignore all the voices, or find yourself in a position where you cannot act for an indefinite amount of time..."
"Then the Spirit will have no more use for me," I finished, "and what happens to me then?"
"I cannot say, Twilight," Celestia said with a single slow shake of her head, "the demon refused to speak of the fate of the host that failed in its duties."
I remained silent at that.
This had been a lot of information to take in, but take it in I did. Apparently I could change the form I had now, but I had no idea how to go about that. I could only assume the Spirit had chosen this form for me in order to deal with the Tantabus.
There was still much to learn it seemed.
"Is there anything else I should know?" I asked after a minute, "or are you ready?"
"That is all I know," Celestia replied, closing her pitch black eyes, "you'll have to figure out the rest on your own. The voices may help you, but they won't tell you everything."
"I'll take that into consideration," I replied, wrapping a light born tentacle around the white alicorn. I could feel her struggling to remain passive as I lifted her in the air and brought her closer, "If you don't have anything else to say..."
"I... have nothing... save this, Twilight Sparkle," Celestia grunted through clenched teeth. She forced one last, strained smile, "I've... said it already... but, I'll say it one last time... never forget that I love you, that Luna and Cadence love you... that your friends and family love you..."
The black ooze that poured from Celestia's eyes gave way to actual tears—her eyes brightening to the milky white they had been before as the Tantabus tried to reclaim its power before it was too late.
It was far too late.
We all love you... My Faithful Student.
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And when there is nothing left? What can you do, but dig your own grave.
And there goes Celestia.
this story is amazing
Hell, that's incredibly depressing
This story needs more love, I really enjoy it so far.
I... is it wrong of me to be fairly apathetic towards this story? Not like, "I couldn't care less' apathetic, more like 'please define emotion?' apathetic.
I know that I was enjoying this, and I got hit in the feels when Twilight made the deal with Retribution, but it kinda feels like my feels are... spent, ya know? maybe I've been reading too much feels-inducing fluff.
9097160
No, it's not wrong. Honestly, I think you're identifying with Twilight more than anything. She feels nothing now except for the desire to do what needs to be done.
With how bleak the story's been up to this point, there's bound to be some emotional fatigue sooner or later. You've just hit that threshold.
Don't worry though, there's only two chapters left, and I'm releasing them both tomorrow. Hopefully the ending will rekindle some of that emotion.
9097208
We'll see, I suppose. But, seeing as Murphy is a sick, twisted bastard, I really wouldn't get my hopes up.
Always...until the very end of time...
.
You know, despite the fact that this is supposed to be a grimdark story, I've found these moments of Twilight talking with Cadence, Luna, and Celestia to be oddly... heartwarming. Even if Twilight no longer feels emotions, they are all making amends, in a way, and that's strangely comforting.
holy fuck...
I find it very odd for her to come to this conclusion when there’s really no justice in what she’s doing. The other princesses all fell to despair and were assisted in having an unwilling corruption (save for Tia) but Twilight certainly feels distinctly evil in more than a few of her deeds now.
9452780
Older comment, but...
The idea is that she's giving voice to the voiceless - the one that is truly guilty of anything would be Luna. She's the Will of the Slighted. Which means she metes out justice for those that feel they have been wronged. Is it right or correct? *Shrug.* But keep in mind that the voices want justice in return for what the Tantabus did to them - and then they learned who was behind it and wanted justice against that.
I am justice incarnate...
Are you now? Well then, Twilight does not deserve to die, so it would make sense for her to be given a last chance at life, and at fixing everything...