The Scourging

by Theblondeknight

Fury

Princess Celestia woke up sweating. Despite her heavy eyes, she rolled out of bed and moved towards the window, opening it to the early morning air. A few deep breaths later, she realized Luna was reaching out to her.

Odd.

Normally Luna would never have a problem entering her sister's mind. Was she in danger? Could things possibly get that bad!? Celestia felt Luna's mental reach, and clasped onto her thoughts, opening the link the Princess of the Night had desired.

'Tia!?'

'Luna! Are you okay? What's going on?'

'Those are questions I had for you. I know you were having nightmares tonight, I am so sorry...I, I can't seem to reach your mind. It was alarming enough when it was only you, but I've noticed that several ponies in the Crystal Empire have been out of my reach as well.'

'That is troubling,' Celestia thought, looking out at the still blackened and restless city beneath her, a slight epiphany coming to her mind in that instant, 'tell me something: before tonight, were you able to enter the dreams of changelings? The ones who had willingly come with Thorax to live in the Crystal Empire?'

'Not usually, not unless they wanted me there.That's not all that surprising though, given their nature and magical capabilities. Feeding on the emotions of others makes their brains more....complex, let's say.'

Celestia turned back towards the vanity opposite the bed, looking at her reflection and wiping away the rest of the sweat, and attending to her mane, which had become very rustled in this poor night's sleep. She responded to Luna with a good idea of the answer she'd get, 'And this hasn't happened before, has it? The inability to enter the minds of ponies?'

'Never. Even if they resisted me, I could force my way in if I wanted to...until tonight.'

Celestia sighed, combing right into a knot in her hair.

'You should get some rest, and know that I am okay.' Then her mind wandered across the hall, and she asked another question, one she did not have an idea about the answer to: 'Did you try and visit Twilight and her friends?'

'Of course. I'm sorry to say that there wasn't much there. Normally, when a pony is very ill or seriously injured, their minds tend to be just as active as when they are well, even more so for a pony who works with magic as much as Twilight. In this case, I...I really hate to say it sister, but Twilight is closer to dead than injured.'

Celestia closed her eyes and already felt her jaw quivering. She let the comb fall, forgotten. The voice in her head came back, louder than before, more validated than ever. She felt smaller, especially inside.

ALL. YOUR. FAULT.

'Tia? Tia, listen to me. It is absolutely not your fault.'

Celestia cleared the tears away from her eyes, 'Part of me knows that. The other part is going to wrestle with this for a long time, even if she does recover.'

'Twilight is among the strongest ponies we have ever known. If anypony can fight these odds, it is her. Fighting against the odds is often what she seems to do best.'

Both Princess smiled, thinking briefly of all who had fallen before Twilight and her friends, and the friendship that had thus far made them unbeatable. Celestia only wondered if friendship's magic was capable of stopping death.

'Thank you, Luna. I'm sorry I had to leave so unexpectedly. I'm going to remain and personally put things right here. Can you hold things together in Canterlot while I'm away?'

'Yes, have no fear, our city will be well looked after, day and night.'

'Thank you again. I love you.'

'And I you.'

With that, their link was broken of their own volition, and Celestia finished preparing herself for the day. After that, sunrise came to the Crystal Empire, followed by a quick breakfast. She wondered if it was time to try coffee again, though given that she hadn't liked it over the past 1,000 years, she doubted she would like it any better. As tired as she was, she was going to give it a shot anyways.

---

She did not, in fact, yet enjoy coffee, but finished the mug she'd been given with a grimace. At the very least it was working, and her tiredness was waning. The lounge where Twilight and the others were being kept was guarded by different guards today, and they made a point of casting the revealing spell before she got too close. The familiar warm sensation and white light flooded her, and she felt the tempting call of her bed sheets again, but it was over quickly.

She thanked the guards and entered the lounge. Shining Armor was asleep on the same sofa Flurry Heart's attendant sat the night before. His hoof was hanging over the side, in a poor effort to reach out to his sister. The bubble that encapsulated Twilight was becoming more transparent. Inside, the mummy was silent and still.

Celestia rubbed her head as she put the empty mug down, hearing faint voices. Was it Twilight, reaching out with some kind of message? A warning? A wish? Or was it all an over-active imagination?

At that moment, Twilight's hoof twitched, and her head jolted back a bit. It reminded Celestia of a puppy chasing down a critter in its sleep.

"Twilight...? Can you hear me?" She whispered.

The lavender Princess stirred a bit more, but her eyes remained closed, her breath a faint wheeze. If she was as cold as Celestia felt it was a miracle she hadn't frozen over. The bubble that caressed her grew brighter as Celestia watched it for a moment. She knew that meant that the magic keeping it in place was still burning strong, and it would probably be another twelve hours or so before it required more. What it could never tell her was when, or indeed if, Twilight would wake. Still, there was comfort in knowing that what could be done was being done. Celestia stayed a while longer, watching, waiting.

"We'll make things right," She promised.

The doors behind her opened, and in came Cadence, nodding to the elder Princess. Mentally, they counted down from three, and at the same time gave the password that assured the other their ranks were secure. Wordless thereafter, Cadence plopped down beside her aunt, and waited.

"I hope nothing else has gone wrong," Celestia greeted, rising slightly.

"No, for now things are stable. Normal guard patrols have returned, clean up has begun, everypony that can be is back to work."

"Good. I've been running things over in my head, I have a few ideas, but I think we should wait for your husband before we start."

"Agreed. Bless his heart, he stayed up all night for his sister. His dedication was what really caught my eye, you know? Way back when we first met. He was nervous as could be, but took his job as serious as his life. It was very endearing; still is."

"His handsome features and sensible wit were only bonuses, right?" Celestia smirked.

Cadence smile, "Right."

They giggled like school fillies, temporarily forgetting the state of the room they inhabited. But all too soon the chiming and beeping of medical equipment ruptured their fantasy.

"It occurred to me that you didn't have time to bring anything with you - naturally the castle servants are more than eager to help, but I can look into arranging a private train -- Rainbow Dash!?"

From the floor the multi-colored mare, wings in casts and bandaged like a finger that went over a cheese grater, stirred her eyes open, and the Princess bent lower.

"Oh...." She moaned, "my head..."

Though the syringe hooked into her foreleg was still pumping medication, Cadence decided a bit more magical aide couldn't hurt, and applied a spell of relief. Rainbow's eyes fluttered open and with caution, she slowly stretched out on the mattress, cringing as she did so.

"How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened?" Celestia asked in a whisper.

"I....." She closed her eyes again, and Celestia was tempted to rest a gentle hoof on her, but Rainbow's eyes shot back open and she began to rise. Celestia kept her down with that gentle hoof, and Cadence reassured her.

"Easy. You're okay now."

"I remember....we were...attacked. I had my back to Twilight - Twilight!"

Rainbow finally looked to her surroundings, her lips quivering. She closed her eyes again before the tears could come and shook her head, "She was," a sigh and a wipe over her eyes, "she was talking with a changeling and then...boom. Is she okay?"

The Princesses looked at each other, then Celestia answered, "It's too soon to be sure. Thus far she seems to be recovering well."

She hoped that was what the slight movements meant, that the dormant, puppy-ish energy was a sign of a strong recovery underway. Her hope was enough to sate Rainbow this time.

"What about the others?"

"You've been the first to wake up, but none of the rest of you were hurt as badly as Twilight," Cadence said.

"What happened to him?"

"Who? The changeling?" Celestia guessed.

"Yeah. He told us he was studying friendship and its relation to some egghead science project of his. The last thing I saw him do was take out a little glass case with a glowing green gem in it, and then I heard and felt us blow up, and then I woke up."

"This is news to us. We'll look into it," Cadence promised.

"As for the culprit," Celestia added, "He's dead. The guards couldn't find even a trace of his remains, and eyewitnesses claimed he died at the scene."

"...Good."

Celestia imagined the next part - and she knew it - but she swore that behind Rainbow's eyes were the vile, snake-slit pupils that Sombra bore. Was this actually his doing? Could he have possibly returned? It was understandable Rainbow felt this way, and maybe, Celestia realized, she was holding her to too high a standard, but her reply came as a shock all the same.

"We're working to resolve this hatred," Celestia found herself saying, "for now please recover and take the time to heal yourself. I can't ask you to forgive the changelings, but try and remember that one of them does not speak for them all. I won't stop until changelings and ponies can live together in harmony."

Celestia saw the look in Rainbow's eyes, and this one had nothing to do with Sombra.

And how many ponies have to die before that happens?

Celestia often thought of the bloody corpses beneath the perfect world history claimed she created. There were more than the history books reported, and every one of them came back to haunt her from time to time, sometimes in large numbers, sometimes in rapid succession. She would give anything to keep Twilight and her friends - anypony, truly - from going under a peaceful world as sacrifices.

If only they weren't sometimes necessary...

"Yeah, well, I'm still kinda tired, and my head feels like I went a week straight in Las Pegasus. I'm gonna try and get some sleep."

"Rest well and let us know if you need anything," Cadence said.

---

The Frozen Falls were the edge of the world - as far as Equestria was concerned. One hundred and fifty yards wide, countless measures long, they stood an eternal monument of winter. Once or twice a caravan of brave fools and senseless followers went down the solid waterfalls, hiking down the largest crevice in the known world, into the deep dark that never known light. Naturally, they were never seen again.

In fact, due to the harsh climate of the area, and the eerie presence of that wilderness it was largely avoided, even before the reign of King Sombra. That made it the perfect place for dissension to ferment. So it was that two changelings found themselves at the edge of the world, their black forms almost hidden in the wavy sheen of snow falling around them.

The female spoke first, "The Princess of the Sun has come North. Our plans are now...murkier than before."

The male agreed, nodding slowly, peering over his shoulder, "Yes, I suggest we send word to Chrysalis. It may be time to pull back."

"Now? After all this work?"

"What choice do we have? Yes, our attack has killed the bearers of the Elements, but now an even greater threat has come."

"She was not too much of a threat for the Queen the last time they met."

"You were not there. I was. Our Queen was empowered by the seducing of the guard captain. His love stored up for weeks gave her the edge, but now she is hungry, like the rest of us. We cannot win a fight blow for blow."

As if sensing their conversation, a booming voice echoed from the darkness.

"You seek power? I can give you power. Come and find me."

"Who is that?" The female asked.

The changelings crept closer to the falls, the long frozen water buried under heavy snow, the long descent an endless black void. They looked at each other, as if to ask whether they had truly heard this voice, but it spoke in prediction of their doubts.

"Down here. It is not as far as it looks. I will give you the means to conquer, to destroy your enemies. I will give you the ability to serve your Queen, and earn her favor."

"Who are you?" The female repeated.

"Why should we trust you?" The male asked.

For a moment, silence was their only reply, and they began to feel foolish. A howl behind them caused them both to look away, toward the white forest that bordered the Frozen Falls. They moved away from the edge, gladly so, and went poking around the timber line, their immediate conversation forgotten.

Something beside them rustled the brush. The female hissed and pounced, tearing apart the bushes. A rabbit hopped away with alarming cries. At the same time, the afternoon sun fell behind a patch of storm clouds, and the sky went from a gray expanse into a black veil, and the woods seemed to grow bigger.

"We're wasting our time," The male said, "Let's leave. I'll reach out to the Queen the next chance I get. We'll wait for her before making our next move."

"Very well," The female replied.

They walked back the way the way they had come, through a small clearing in the woods, following their old tracks, halfway filled back up by the snowfall. They had gone only a minute before they stopped. In the darkness up ahead, and to the right, two blue eyes watched them. An icy gaze, burning a cold chill into the night. Unflinching, unblinking, unmoving, staring, waiting, stalking.

The female took a step towards the eyes, but her counterpart grabbed her front leg, shaking his head. He gestured them to move in the opposite direction. No telling what sort of beasts might be out here now. Best to leave it alone. They made more progress, but as they reached the top of a small hill they found the same blue eyes, hidden in shadow, watching them again.

"What's going on..." The male whispered, as much to himself as the female.

They moved away again, hoping a short detour would steer them clear of whatever was so intently inspecting them, but once again hardly made it farther than before when another pair of blue eyes appeared in the dark. And then, to their horror, a second. And a third, and a fourth. So...it was a pack of monsters in the dark?

"Let's go!" He yelled, charging back towards the falls, hoping to take another quick turn somewhere and lose their pursuers. What kind of hunter was after them, though? He had been living here for a decent time without hearing about anything like this. Regardless, now was the time for action. His companion was close behind, and they ran back towards the Frozen Falls, both turning their heads every few seconds, watching the eyes give chase.

At random, when he had a good feeling about it, the male went right, a hard right turn into a rising slope. He jumped to tear a low hanging tree branch out of their path as he led the escape, flinging it back towards the chasers, hoping it was worth the effort. At the top the slope was a trench which neither of the changelings saw coming. They fill in, plummeting underneath the cushions of snow that had been falling all afternoon. Expecting the creatures to catch them if they ran now, he grabbed onto his partner and motioned for her to play dead.

And perhaps luck was favoring them, for minutes passed and nothing happened. They waited longer, at least ten minutes, ten tough minutes of stress and anticipation of the worst - but nothing happened. Finally, when he thought he would rather meet his end than continue living with this suspense, the male rose from the snow, his body colder than ever, though he hardly realized it. He helped pick her up and they climbed out of the trench. Nothing, no blue eyes, no ravenous pursuers, no danger at all. Just the cold winds of an eerie evening at the Frozen Falls.

"Come on, I need to sit down for a minute," The female said, leading them under a leafless tree, whose branches cascaded into the night sky like cracks in reality.

"What in the name of Chrysalis were those things?" The male asked.

"I have no idea," His partner said.

The male turned and made the unsettling discovery that they were practically at the timber line again. At least the creepy booming voice was gone. A short silence was followed by another question, this one from the female.

"Who do you suppose...dug that trench? And why?"

The male thought about it for a moment, and realized there was no comfort to be found in any answer, "I don't know. Nevermind that, let's get going again. The sooner we're back in the Crystal Empire the better."

Once more they found their tracks, these ones much fresher, and walked back with them. The only sound to be heard for miles was the wind. In the silence, the male found himself hoping that whatever trick that voice was from earlier, it would just stay away from them. As far as possible, forever, and good riddance.

What a mess. Now they needed to find a new spot to plan out their actions in the north. They couldn't possibly risk coming back to the Frozen Falls, for the voice or the monsters who stalked the area.

"Why'd you stop?" The male asked, turning as he realized the female was no longer keeping pace.

She looked at him strangely, several paces away, unmoving.

"What?" He repeated, then let out his breath like a knife had cut open a balloon.

Six sets of blue eyes opened behind his partner, and her form fell to the ground with an unnerving stiffness. He spun around into three sets of blue eyes right beside him, and his screams were instantly choked away into nothingness.

When the sun came up the next morning, the only evidence of a conspiracy in the Crystal Empire were two patches of snow stained red.

---

Princess Celestia heard the whispers as she laid down, and despite the scanning spells she cast on the room and on herself, everything seemed fine. Probably just more fallout from Sombra's reign. Still, they seemed only to grow louder as they stirred in her chambers, flowing in and out of each other, mingling still more poison. She cast a deafening silence in her own eardrums, and that did the trick. She could easily undo it upon waking, and though there was some discomfort in hearing nothing but white noise, she would gladly bear that than the mysterious whispers.

"Tomorrow I'll ask Cadence about it..." She yawned, realizing of course as she spoke to herself that not even she could hear it.

Her mind thought of Luna, of what might happen tonight if her sister was still unable to make contact and enter her dreams. Eyes closing, Celestia reach out, faintly, throwing a mental stone out in the plane of sleep and dreams. Her sister was there almost in an instant.

'Tia? What's happening?'

'Nothing. Well, nothing yet. I just wanted to wish you goodnight, Luna. Thank you again, for everything...'

'Good night, sister. Sleep well. I shall watch over you.'

Despite her promises, Luna found a few moments later that she was hardly able to do that. As Celestia fell into dreams, they quickly turned into nightmares, and even as it was happening, Luna was unable to prevent them. A shadow formed around the Solar Princess, and wrapped her in its hauntings.

As for Luna, she hit a wall. Unbreakable, unmoving, unlimited in size and scope. All her experience, all her tricks proved futile against this shadow. Despite her mental screaming, Celestia's soul had grown deaf. And much like the previous night, Luna found her sister was not the only one suffering from these nightmares. And despite her research and efforts to combat this force, Luna was no closer to saving them than the night before.

---

Celestia awoke on a great spire, frigid air bustling around her, stormy skies gathering overhead. In all directions below lay a white expanse, and it stretched on and on for eons. The darkness was broken only by a spectacle of lights, blue and white and gray and green, shimmering and shifting between the citadel and the void, refracting from the crystal architecture; she was not alone. To her left, Twilight Sparkle, still injured and bandaged, clinging to life by the barest of threads. To her right, behind a frozen wall the shadows swirled into a tall, dark figure with eyes a magical frozen blue. It spoke with many voices congealed into one.

"Welcome."

"Where am I, and who are you?" Celestia asked, but the figure ignored her.

She waited, eyes scanning the silhouette behind the frosted wall at a frantic pace, but she stopped and turned when she heard hoofsteps on the ice behind her. Twilight was coming toward them. Her eyes had gone dull, like she was sleep walking, though they were fully open. Her gait was slow, uneven, and she stumbled along like something hollow.

"Twilight, let me help you," Celestia took a step towards the Princess of Friendship, but found she was rooted in place thereafter. Twilight went on, as though she never heard or saw her mentor.

Instead, the figure behind the ice spoke again, "She belongs to me. Now, and forever."

Celestia turned as Twilight passed her by, walking through the ice as though little more than a ghost. She quickly became like the dark figure, concealed from light. Celestia was free then, and ran to the wall, but met a painful, blistering cold when she drew near, so much so that she could not even stand to touch the ice. As the frozen fractals blew into her mane and fur, stinging her eyes, melting bitterly in her mouth, the figure once more addressed her.

"You want her back?" It paused only to laugh, a deep chuckle, a laugh of anger and disgust, one that daunted Celestia, and froze her to her core, "If you desire her to return to your side, you know what to do. Break down the wall. Claim her back from the dead. I will let you have her."

She had only the courage to look down, and ask in a small voice, "Where is this wall?"

The figure laughed again, and Celestia fell to her knees, "You know where. Bring her corpse. Destroy the wall and bridge the gap. You shall have her back if you do this for me."

The dark figure put its arm around Twilight and together they were swallowed in a ring of frost, and disappeared, leaving Celestia alone in a cold and empty world.

Comments

[cosmic flash]

This has a lot of potential keep it coming.

[Dark Feather]

Princess!! Where is your maners. Your suposse to bow to the King.

[Wowdeshal]

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