The Stone Chisel Way

by King Genesis

Zero (Part 1)

Author's Note:

Originally this chapter was meant to be only one, but I decided to divide it into two parts. It's long.

Arc IV - Chapter II - Zero (Part 1)

They finally caught him. After dealing with that stupid stallion for so long, they saw him messing around Ponyville looking for prey, but once the Royal Guards came to action he decided to run. Luckily, they could catch him on time inside the Everfree Forest, where the desperate robber, listening to the guards' cele[...] because the infamous amulet didn't work while trying to get the Royal Guards off him on the Everfree Forest. He dares to whisper one more time the spell he knows by memory... but nothing happens. What is happening? Why is this isn't working?[...] The Princesses still feel this is too much for an earth pony, but Stone Chisel has been mentioned (and cursed) by the town so many times they thought this was the way to end his evils, so both Celestia and Luna are now on their thrones, k[...]

"Um..."

The princess opens her eyes and a light blinds her. Where is she? She is not a filly anymore. She feels... normal again.

She looks to her right and her sister is next to her. She's there. There is also something being orchestrated at this right moment, due to all of the ponies standing and sitting in front of her. She is at the Castle, and it is not destroyed.

Everypony is in there. Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Starlight Glimmer. She counts all of them, one by one. Shining Armor is also there. Flash Sentry is standing, using his royal armor, while Luna's horn is glowing. The dark blue aura. She can't believe she actually missed observing it.

However, she still hasn't taken a look at the most important stallion in that place.

She moves her eyes. There he is. Right in the middle. That grey pony with a dark mane and the silver earring on his left ear. He is smiling... he looks like a completely different stallion.

Everything seems out of tune... but she knows the one who is out of context is her. Is this real? Does this feel real? She slowly moves her neck to look at her sister. The Princess of the Moon does the same, raising her eyebrows. "Mmh?" she only says, trying not to be heard.

She only smiles at her younger sister. "Nothing." Did the Flower make her go back in time? It changed destiny. Did it cut a part of it? Or is this replacing the destiny that has already happened? How does it work?

"I'm not a pony who likes hurrying up things but... would you already say I'll be in Tartarus forever and put me there directly, just to get out of this waste of time faster?"

She doesn't know how the flower works, but right now, she has other problems to solve. The crowd starts booing the burglar. He is still smiling and both Shining Armor and Flash Sentry get angry.

Celestia takes a look at those two weird, hooded figures on the castle. On the Trial.

Those may be Stone Chisel's parents.

She looks above her. Discord's on the roof, smiling in silence. Why is he there, in the first place? What is he thinking about? It may be the first time she's actually relieved of looking at him hanging out there. "We'd like to do that too, Mr. Chisel," says her sister.

She still doesn't understand what has just happened, but already knows she has to break it.

Start from zero. This can't happen again.

She needs to take charge.

Luna keeps speaking. "But we're afraid you need to learn and remember what you did against our beloved community for your benefit. In my opinion, we need to revi--"

"Wait."

Celestia spoke. She interrupted her sister Luna and raises a hoof of hers. This can't happen one more time. The clock is breaking apart... The soldiers, the crowd, the students, the elements... eventually everybody gets silent, surprised by the interruption. Even Stone Chisel, with a small smile, raising his eyebrows, waits for what she has to say. "I apologize for interrupting you, Luna, but I..." she's trying not to faint while coming up with the words she must say. "I've been thinking... and I have just made a decision."

Sister raises an eyebrow. "Which decision?"

The Princess of the Sun only looks at the burglar being judged, navigating through all of the eyes looking at her. "I'm afraid we'll have to suspend the trial."

What? Nobody understands why. Mouths get opened, Discord almost passes out in the ceiling, and Flash Sentry takes his helmet off due to his shock. Shining Armor gasps (her sister too)... even Stone Chisel breaks his own character after hearing that. He has now a shocking gesture, frowning. "Wait," he says, almost offended. "What?"

"I strongly apologize for my decision but I need you to hear me, stallions and ponies... let me explain. I've been thinking about this trial since it started... and I have concluded, by my own word, that it is better for the Kingdom to take charge of this... privately."

Whispers invade the castle. "Wait, no, princess," Twilight Sparkle raises one of his hooves. "We spent the whole morning planning this. We concluded that it had to be done in public!"

"I think the same," adds Stone Chisel. A different Stone Chisel. He's surprised. "I've been waiting for this trial for two hours and a half and I unconsciously concluded that it had to be done--!"

"Silence!" shouts Flash Sentry. "You're not allowed to speak right now."

He sighs. "Come on, Flash," he rolls his eyes. "Do we really have to start again? Besides, did you really take off your helmet after the princess' newsreel? Is there something more dramatic than---?"

"Do you ever listen?" shouts the royal guard, about to go down and approach him. "Or do you want me to---?"

"Flash!" shouts Celestia, calming the royal guard down. She sees on time that the two mysterious figures hiding under tunics slowly turn around, about to leave. They can't leave.... so she raises one of her hooves and gives an order. "Royal Guards! Escort those two hooded figures! Don't let them get out of the trial!"

The crowd turns to them and guards surround the hooded figures. One of them tries to run away but the doors of the castle get closed by magic on time. Stone Chisel looks at that and his fur gets spiky, do they have realized what he has been hiding? Why would they escort his parents, then? "Wait, wait!" he shouts, confused. "They have nothing to do with it!" He pauses for a second. "...Do they?" He mildly looks at the princesses.

The Royal Guards take the tunics off them, revealing their faces: Iron Pick and Poofy Lantern. The mother doesn't say anything, frozen due to her shock. The father, however, starts shaking uncontrollably while biting his lips. "No! I am innocent! This is not fair! My liberty is denied!" he shouts. "I am not guilty of my son's crimes! My son is the one being judged here, not me! I am innocent! I am--!"

"Shut up for a minute!" shouts the son to his father, then he turns his head to the princesses. "What's going on? Why are they getting escorted?"

Luna looks at her sister with visible confusion. "I'll explain everything to your parents and you... privately. Please, people of Ponyville and further. I apologize for my sudden decision. It's my fault and we'll take charge. Stone Chisel will be judged privately, by custody of his parents, the Royal Guards, and the Castle of Friendship."

"Will he be judged fairly?" shouts a wealthy stallion with a silver monocle. "He has to pay for what he did! He stole my golden monocle!"

Chisel laughs and the people start murmuring again. "So you are the idiot who bought gold... with gold?"

"Order, please!" shouts the Princess. Everybody shuts up, even Stone Chisel. "He will be fairly judged. We, all of us here have been waiting for this trial for a long time and we, the Kingdom, will take charge of this privately and in the correct way. I'll make an announcement later explaining the causes of my abrupt choice."

"What are you doing? What is going on?" whispers Luna to her sister. Stallions and mares begin to cross the entrance doors of the castle, wondering why the Princess did take such a weird decision. Wasn't this supposed to be a public trial because Stone Chisel was a burglar that stole things from the civilians? Why would she choose this way now? In the middle of the process?

Stone Chisel and his parents get escorted by guards. Twilight Sparkle and the Castle of Friendship surround them, confused, while the town is leaving. The seven manes (Starlight Glimmer included) look at the princess in silence, confused by her decisions. What did she think at that moment?

Shining Armor doesn't understand this. He looks at the princess of the Sun. "Shall I leave too, Princess Celestia?"

"No, Shining Armor." She shakes her head. "I may need your help."

"My help?" he raises an eyebrow. "You mean... keep an eye on the guilty stallion?"

She shakes her head. "Something else." The crystal emperor gets surprised. What does she mean?

"What do you mean by that?" asks Luna. "Do you feel alright, Tia?" The Royal Guards are now closing the doors of the castle after all of the civilians have left. "Could you tell me what is going on?"

"I do feel alright, sister. I just..." she bites her lips. "... I had an epiphany. I have so many things on my mind now and... I realized something."

"There has to be an explanation for this." The Royal Guards come back along with the escorted Iron Pick and Poofy Lantern. The father only says that aloud. "I... I do not understand what's going on. I need an explanation for this drastic change. Why are we getting escorted? Why can't we leave?"

"Haven't you heard the Princess?" interrupts Poofy Lantern. "She wants us to be witnesses of..." She stops speaking. "... it."

Stone Chisel is not smiling right now. He slowly turns his head around and looks at his mother. "You can say my name."

The mom gasps. "Yes, but..."

"You know I'm doing the right thing, mother."

Celestia remembers he said something like that the previous time. That previous time. "You are still here to be part of the trial of your son. Firstly, may I know why you decided to turn around and leave?"

She is holding the strings now. Stone Chisel feels goosebumps and now tries to turn around, but a silent Flash Sentry doesn't allow him to do that. Both don't say anything. "You actually wanted to leave?"

Iron Pick tries to approach his son, frowning, but the Royal Guards don't let him move. "I... I couldn't stand this. Your mother didn't too. Being present at your trial is..."

"It's what you have to do," he speaks aloud. "For me! I know I'm the one being judged but... you know you can be here, at least, could you? You are indirectly giving me... some kind of support."

Iron Pick shakes his head. Poofy Lantern doesn't say anything. "Support? We couldn't..."

"You couldn't!" Stone Chisel turns his head to look at his father. "You couldn't stand it... I can't stand it too, you know? but guess what, I can't leave this place right now." He snorts. "You know what? I wouldn't have done the same if you were in my spot, but I changed my mind."

"Stone Chisel," says Twilight Sparkle, trying to calm him down. "It's enough."

Chisel's jaw trembles and looks at his mother. She doesn't look at him back. "This is..." he shakes his head. "What do you need to manage right now, princess? Why did you make this decision? Making this a private trial... I know I'm special for you, especially for him," he points at Flash Sentry with his head. "But even I got shocked by what you said... I never expected this from you."

"We also want to know why, Princess Celestia," adds Rainbow Dash, raising a hoof and spreading her wings.

Everyone looks at her now. How does she start? Her fur gets spiky. Goosebumps. She breathes twice before speaking. "To summarize my conclusion, I..." she blinks while looking at all of them, then she looks at her sister. If she tells the truth, they wouldn't believe her... or maybe they would actually but... she feels she is not prepared yet. "I felt we were doing something wrong with all of the civilians watching us. I have... some questions that are still confusing me."

Stone Chisel raises an eyebrow. "Which ones?"

"Let her talk," interrupts Flash Sentry, raising a hoof.

He rolls his eyes. "And what am I doing? I literally asked her the question."

"Please!" interrupts Shining Armor. Celestia shakes her head.

"There's something about you that I don't understand, Stone Chisel." She clenches her teeth. She wants to fix the world, as somepony else said before, on another timeline. "I'm talking about the mist." She always wondered about how that actually worked. "The mist you used during the Crystal Faire heist. Everypony, the Castle of Friendship members, and the Royal Guards determine that it was something that was clearly not the magic we, unicorns and alicorns, control."

"It is confirmed that the mist used at Crystal Faire was nothing else but chaos magic," Flash unfolds the scroll he was holding with his magic. "And... although we don't know if the Great Galloping Gala's heist, planned by the accused stallion along with his still wanted partner Stolen Bag, had this kind of magic performed, we are sure it may have been used. The same source. The same powers."

"So..." Iron Pick raises an eyebrow and everyone looks at him. "We are now re-reviewing what my son has done against the town?" He snorts. "The Crystal Faire, the Great Galloping Gala..." he slowly looks at his mare wife. "The most recent one, the Surigate."

The son fastly turns his head back to look at his father, like a bullet to the heart. The mother does the same, looking at him in shock. "What are you saying?"

"You are hearing me. I'm saying what is going on here," he shakes his head, closing his eyes. "Re-reviewing the situa---"

"The Princess is speaking," interrupts Twilight Sparkle. Her friends only observe the family in silence, frowning. "We were talking about the chaos magic that has been used." She looks at the princess.

"Is that the cause of such a sudden decision?" Rarity raises one of her eyebrows. "The mystery of this magic? Or the source?"

She slowly nods her head. "There is a hole that is still annoying me in this... holes troubling me. We wondered about it... but we never fully investigated the main source of this magic. We concluded, along with the Castle of Friendship, that it was... some kind of external source that had to be found and eradicated."

"It is probably external, princess," affirms Starlight Glimmer, almost whispering. "It's a complicated section of our investigation we need to deepen, but if there's something I, along with my friends, can confirm is that he is, logically, an earth stallion. He can't perform magic naturally. He needs something else, an external force, to do what he did."

Stone Chisel begins to feel uncomfortable and only thinks about what his father said... is he trying to set himself free from the problem? Along with his mother? Besides, is this why Celestia decided to judge him with no crowd? Because of the magic? "And that's what the theory we came up with." Celestia blinks. "I still agree on one thing. It has to be something else, another force that does not come from the stallion itself."

Both Stone Chisel and his parents and now in silence. The burglar is beginning to wonder what's really going on, asking himself if the princess already knows things he has been hiding from the Royal Guards.

"However, I had an epiphany that made me change my mind." She looks at him. "I asked myself... if Stone Chisel actually spat magic out of his mouth, creating a dark mist... what if this external force was actually internal? The mist is born inside his throat, comes out from his body... it's not a horn or a beam... it's..."

All of the witnesses of Celestia's words now look at Stone Chisel. They are beginning to understand what is Celestia talking about. The burglar's fur gets spiky and his pupils shrink but keeps standing, he wants to defend himself. Isn't he his own lawyer right now? He chuckles. "Excuse me, princess, but that does not make sense. I need an external force to perform---"

"Wait," interrupts Rainbow Dash, flapping her sane wings and looking at the princesses raising a hoof. "Wait a moment. Is it possible for this force to leave a part of its power on him? In him?"

Luna's sight gets lost for a second. The parents take a slow step behind their son. He looks at the pegasus. "The power left a part in me? What are you..." He blinks. "No, no, no! We are now on the verge of nonsense! I don't have any kind of parasi--!"

The Sun spits it anyways: "You have an amulet, isn't it?"

Absolute silence from everyone. Celestia doesn't want to repeat that again, in case something happens. Stone Chisel stops talking and looks straight at her. "What?"

"An amulet?" asks Twilight Sparkle.

"Stuck in him?" adds her brother Shining Armor. "In him?" pointing with a hoof to the burglar, the shocked stallion. His parents slowly get further, trying not to call the attention of the guards escorting them. "How could he have an amulet inside him?"

"That's impossible," adds Poofy Lantern, Stone Chisel's mother. "Why would he have a magical amulet charged with dark magic inside hi---"

Pinkie Pie surprisingly raises a hoof. "He may have swallowed the amulet!" she shouts. "You see... if you don't have your own will against you... you can swallow a small amulet without choking yourself!"

Stone Chisel's teeth begin to tremble while the heat gets worse. The truth is near. Rarity and Applejack shake their heads. "That's a wild idea, Pinkie," adds Applejack, "but's not possible."

"I know he is the type of stallion that can do it, or at least try it..." now it's Flash's turn, who leaves the scroll he was holding aside. "... but even I believe that's too much. I can't even imagine myself swallowing a magical amulet. Is that even possible?"

"I..."

"I!"

Both father and son talk at the same time. Iron Pick and Stone Chisel look at each other for a second until Princess Luna asks for an order. She is confused, but she is trying to understand: "I want Stone Chisel to talk first."

Iron Pick gasps. "Wait, I wanted to say that my son..."

"I will talk first." The son responds and the father frowns.

"I... I tried to defend you."

Stone Chisel ignores that. "I want to say that I disagree, princess," begins to say the burglar. The accused. He swallows saliva to keep speaking and takes a breath. "It's not possible to blow this dark mist with something inside me. I don't need parasites or magical amulets, as you say, to perform this."

"And how do you perform them?" asks Luna, frowning.

"I have a source."

"Which source?" asks now Celestia. "You don't have too many answers, Stone Chisel."

"That's not true, princess." He shakes his head. "I can have many answers right now, and I have lots of things to say."

"Then say them." Celestia now sounds threatening. "This is the right, precise moment for you to say all of those things you have."

They wait for Stone Chisel to say something, but he remains silent for those seconds. Suddenly, somebody starts chuckling behind him. The burglar, not even saying anything, turns his head back. His father is laughing at him. "What the hell is going on?" he whispers.

He shakes his head with an almost dead smile. "You have the same charm. I know that voice."

"The hell is wrong with you?" now adds his wife, Poofy Lantern. "The charm? The voice? He's defending himself."

"I agree with Mother... I believed you were clever at one time," adds his son.

"Silence," says Luna. "We are still waiting for the things you have to say."

Stone Chisel turns his head around to look at the princesses and then at Twilight Sparkle. He feels confident and strong enough to defend himself but doesn't know where to start right now. One of his hooves starts trembling while thinking. Which lie can he make to get his rump out of there? And most importantly, did this happen to be just pure bad luck... or Princess Celestia actually knows something? How did she figure out the amulet's existence? That amulet?

A strange, cold feeling now invades the burglar's stomach. "Stone Chisel?" asks Princess Celestia. The mares and the guards look at each other, confused.

"I..." Shall he recite the spell? Disappear and turn himself into a shadow? The feeling in his stomach gets colder, much colder, and worse. "I don't know where I can start."

"You don't have anything to say, isn't it?" says Flash Sentry with a cruel sight. "You're just wasting our time. Where is this external force?"

The burglar bites his lips, but his father shakes his head: "You think I am stupid, son? You really think I'm anything but clever?"

"Oh come on..." he rolls his eyes. "Did I hurt your ego, crybaby?" the son turns around. "I'm sorry!"

"I know you're lying," he whispers to his son. "That charm, I know it. Why are you doing it? I have the same tone and the same manners when I lie... I bet that stupid partner of yours Stolen Bag wishes he had that talent."

The son's eyes almost go bloodshot after hearing that. "You didn't say that," adds the mother. Everybody hears her. The guards escorting them get prepared for something. Flash Sentry's horn starts glowing.

"You son of a bitch..." the cold feeling he had in his stomach is replaced by a blazing flame over his whole body. "You think I am copying you? Imitating you? Guess what," he suddenly starts shaking one of his hooves while the guards and Flash Sentry approach them. "You are not the core of the universe, asshole. I'm not lying."

"Order!" shouts Flash Sentry while the guards escorting the parents try to get them both far from their own son. "What were you whispering?"

"He's lying!" shouts his own father while being held by the guards. Stone Chisel feels like he has been stabbed in the back. "Tell the truth!"

"You're fucking crazy!" Stone Chisel now turns his whole body, presence, around, looking at his father. "Are you trying to destroy me? Tag me as something I am not?!"

"I'm trying to put your head in the right direction for once!" he shouts.

"Order!" shouts someone.

"Would you two shut up?" shouts the mother.

"Which direction is fucking right for you...?" he shouts while getting escorted by a horde of guards. He doesn't want to finish his sentence right now. "BITCH!"

"ORDER!" shouts Twilight Sparkle, threatening to use her magic while flapping her wings. The fires slowly get colder and the princesses get their control back. Flash Sentry approaches the silent burglar who can't stop looking at his parents. "You..." says the alicorn princess. "How do you know he is lying?"

"He always lies," adds Flash, passing by the burglar. "I'm afraid I have to agree with the father this time."

Stone Chisel still has something. "Flash, I'm afraid I'll have to say you're an asshole this time." The guard fastly turns around while his magical horn starts glowing.

"Not in front of the princesses, you b-."

"Flash," Celestia speaks again. "Please."

He turns back and doesn't say anything else while swallowing his response. A minute passes until things actually begin to calm down, and the burglar is now feeling dizzy while getting surrounded by much more guards. His father doesn't say anything else while getting carried to someplace far away from his son. The mother, on the other side, doesn't need the help of others to move away from there. She only follows the path of the guards while closing her eyes and turning her head to look at his son. "This has clearly shown me..." the princess blinks and looks at Twilight Sparkle and her friends. "Shown us that no matter what you say now, not everybody will believe you... and that also counts my sister and me. We gave you a chance and you wasted it."

"I'm not lying this time." His voice feels hurt. Painful.

"I don't believe you."

"Neither we do," adds Rainbow Dash, looking at him.

"Even your father does not," now affirms Flash Sentry. "What are you hiding?"

"Wait a second..." Celestia takes a look at the roof, squinting her eyes and shaking her head. "I can still see you," she shouts. "Get down here, please."

Suddenly a light beam appears on the castle's roof and Discord's singular shape is revealed. His face shows disappointment. "I just wanted to be the silent spectator of this whole... what can I say about this?" He gets off the ceiling and flies to the princesses, only to stay right above Stone Chisel. "I'm quite surprised because of your call, Princess Celestia."

She closes her eyes trying to think about what she has to say. "Discord? What are you planning to do?" asks Luna.

"I don't want to do this but... right now there is only one way to find out the truth." She looks at the now master of chaos, draconequus. "Discord... would you tell me if Stone Chisel has chaos magic inside him?"

The witnesses raise an eyebrow at that question. That sounded confusing, even for Discord and the princess itself. Poofy Lantern's jaw starts trembling. "What... what do you mean by that?" asks Spike, who has been silent all this time. "You are not trying to..."

"You will cut him in half?" says Starlight Glimmer and surprises everybody around. Stone Chisel doesn't want to hear that again and he feels how his mouth starts shaking. The cold feeling he had in his stomach comes back and something begins to fill his lungs. He slowly opens his mouth, as he is about to vomit. He won't pass through that. Oh no.

Her mother shouts something he can't even hear. He moves his neck several times, looking firstly at Shining Armor and then at Flash Sentry. Teeth grinding, he won't let himself be touched by the representation of havoc... "FUCK!" he shouts before something comes out of his mouth. The darkest smoke everyone has ever seen comes out of his throat like a cannonball and goes right at Discord's face. It's like a tornado... However, the draconequus already knows what to do.

The guards begin to attack Stone Chisel while the members of the Castle of Friendship get nearer the princesses to protect them. Half of the guards who were keeping an eye on the parents leave Iron Pick and Poofy Lantern to attack the burglar. Iron Pick only closes his eyes while Poofy Lantern doesn't even blink while looking at the scenario.

Discord, on the other side, has everything under control. He touches with no effort, no pain, the black smoke that was about to surround him, and manages to control it. It's chaos magic, after all... suddenly, the general dyscontrol stops when the burglar, now attacker, stops breathing and starts choking. The Princesses, who didn't even move because of how fast everything had happened, now look at Discord controlling a black rope that goes right inside Stone Chisel's throat. He changed the power... is Discord choking him? Did he turn the smoke into an object? "Discord!" Celestia shouts, Luna gets desperate. "You don't have to choke him!"

"NO!" shouts Poofy Lantern in a desperate way, trying to set herself free from the magic shield both she and her husband are stuck in. Iron Pick doesn't do anything to stop it. The Guards are trying their best to keep her there. "NO! WAIT!"

"I'm not trying to, miss!" he shouts with a hidden smile. "... but there's something right at the bottom! The rope has a small object attached to it!"

The sisters look at each other after hearing that. The friends and the guards feel like they are running away in their minds. Stone Chisel can barely speak while feeling something going up through his esophagus. Is it? Is it the thing he... was hiding from them? His key to freedom?

Shouts from everybody are heard when the rope gets released from Stone Chisel and starts shaking uncontrollably while a mysterious small black stone is attached to its end. Everybody goes silent and whispers are born while observing it. Stone Chisel falls to the floor while a strange black liquid comes out from his mouth. He's almost unconscious, so Flash Sentry approaches the scene to check him out. "He's not dead," he says at the right moment he sees him blinking. He starts breathing heavily. "What's that?"

"That looks like an amulet..." is the first thing Luna says after the show. Twilight and Starlight look at each other. "So..." she looks at her sister. "You... you were right?"

She blinks, he actually did it. She was lucky this time... is this the first thing she had to do to save everybody? "I... I wasn't so sure about it..." She doesn't even believe it. "Turns out I had a point."

She remembers what Stone Chisel told her. He said he robbed it, that it belonged to someone named Shadow Star... and it had something inside... the soul of a night ram.

Her fur gets spiky while remembering her... Rushkwa was her name, wasn't it? She has the amulet on her hands... a loose end to tie, something to instantly get rid of... it's the first cross. "I'll pretend I didn't see this," adds Flash Sentry while chuckling in his inside. He looks at some of his partners. "Go, take care of the parents. I have to... think."

Everybody looks at the black stone now touching the castle's floor. Nobody says anything, and Stone Chisel only observes it while slowly getting up and breathing again. There is a small pond of saliva and a strange black liquid next to his head. "Wait... a moment. T-that..." he manages to say. He wants to justify himself. "That is..."

"I know what that is," suddenly says Discord before grabbing it with two of his fingers. The black rope turns into dust and Discord absorbs it. More power... "I often forget that I was observing that circus of shouts and flesh from my favorite mirror. Everything led to this tiny stupid stone."

"Shadow Star?" Celestia does it again. She stole Discord's words, something that shocks the creature. Nobody understands it, except for Stone Chisel, who quickly stands up due to his surprise. How does she know that? Does she know more things than he could have ever thought?

The burglar tries to wake himself up mentally. "How do you...?"

However, Discord chuckles, stopping him from asking his question. "Oh, how surprising! I would have never expected Princess Celestia to know the story of Shadow Star, the wicked unicorn of the wastelands."

Twilight Sparkle, the expert, gets confused and shakes her head. "I have no idea what are you talking about... I may have heard the name but... I never read anything about him."

"I don't know the story," she corrects herself. "I just know the name."

"I don't know about this" Luna appears. "You never told me about that, sister..."

Her sister shakes her head. "You weren't here at that time."

Everybody understood that reference. "Oh."

"Princess Luna doesn't know the story of Shadow Star? Um... it's not something so interesting to hear about... unless you want like bloodshed and sects and all that kind of..."

"I robbed that amulet from somepony else." Stone Chisel interrupts the conversation. He shakes his head while trying not to turn around and look at his parents. "Yes, I swallowed it, I didn't want to but... I've heard from the pony who had it..." he takes a breath. "... that anybody who... did that... could have some secondary effects and from what I know, every one of you knows what those effects are."

Spike the Dragon sighs. "So... you swallowed a magical amulet that you stole... which is also related to some wicked unicorn that we don't have any idea about but Discord does. That's... too much to process."

Chisel bites his lips. "I vomited three times while doing--"

"I don't want to know that part of the story." He is still holding the amulet. The black stone, now that he is observing it, has also a barely visible light blue dot in its center. "Oh, I thought it was just black... it's not so dark after all. It has a light blue dot."

"Give it to me, Discord." Celestia's order felt cold. The witnesses look at her again. Discord raises one of his eyebrows.

"Why?" he asks, visibly surprised. "It's like sticks and stones for you, Princess. Why would you have it for?"

She has to fix the world. She has to tie loose ends.

Celestia bites her lips and looks at it. "There's something we need to do with that." She has to say something else to be coherent, at least. "I have to make a change," she changes her pose while slowly flapping her wings. Nobody understands why. "We can use that to do something else... immediately." Spike raises his shoulders, confused. "I understand if some of you internally say that I'm right now a loose cannon but trust me... I have things to clarify and I will explain. I will pause the trial."

"What?" a loud shout is heard from far away. Iron Pick's mouth is opened in pure disbelief. The magic that was shielding them both broke apart, surprisingly, but neither of the parents make a move.

"For what?" asks Poofy Lantern. "What else?"

"For how long?" asks Twilight Sparkle. "What... what is going on? I, I'm afraid I am not following you, princess..."

"Neither I do, sister..."

"Trust me," she begs for comprehension and uses her magic to hold the magical amulet. "I will pause the trial for... minutes. Just minutes of your time. Nothing else. I promise you... I need to solve a problem that I left aside a long time ago, and I need this. You are following me?"

Everyone shakes their heads. Stone Chisel doesn't say anything. He doesn't understand anything. "Not really," adds Flash Sentry. "We are not following you at all."

"This amulet is what I need to stop another menace we have to get rid of." She says nothing else and looks at Discord. "I need you to take me and my sister to Tartarus, Discord... I'll explain all of you on the way."

Everyone observing the princess takes a step behind. Twilight, surprisingly, flaps her wings, and Starlight prepares herself to attack, just in case. "Is this really you, princess?" asks Twilight. "I, I think nobody of us understands what you're referring to... which problem are you talking about?"

The Princess begins to worry about what she is saying when she finds out that Twilight's horn is actually glowing. She now thinks she is taking too much time for this. Shall she tell the truth for once? Or keep calm to not alter the flow, if she can call it like that? What would happen if she actually says the truth? She will have to eventually confess... but she doesn't want this to turn into a much more complicated, misunderstood, situation. The tension is high.

She closes her eyes. "I clearly know nobody is following me because only I know what is the problem we have to solve right now." She looks at her sister. "I'll explain what's going on..." she sighs while remembering everything that had happened. "Something couldn't stop tormenting me the previous night of the trial. I heard voices, shouts, and threats in my sleep. I felt there was something breaking apart in the deepest corner of Tartarus." She looks at how they are trying to comprehend her. Their sights are lost, but they are still trying to understand what she wants to say. "I... tried to ignore it at first, keep it as a private problem for me and my sister to not alert anyone else... I didn't want to bring this up during the trial, but the less I thought about it, the worse the feeling would actually get. It's like..." she tries to find a proper description. "... a cold feeling that reminds me of someone my sister and I confronted a long time ago. I can't let that feeling pass anymore... if the voices I heard are telling the truth... we need to stop them."

Nopony says anything to her. Luna looks at Discord and then at her sister. "Why didn't you tell me this, sister?" she is almost offended by this. "You said it was a private problem for me and you, but you never said anything to me..."

"I spent a lot of time thinking about it and I focused on myself..." she shakes her head, trying to imagine the face of the enemy. "I made that mistake... and I promise I'll explain it to you.

Fluttershy says her first sentence after shaking her head: "We could have changed the trial's date if..."

"No," she interrupts. "The trial had to be done today... we, Equestria, have been waiting for this for how long?"

"We could have avoided your sudden decision of making this private during the process," adds Starlight Glimmer. "Maybe we should have discussed..."

"Not now," the princess responds. "It's my fault. I tried to ignore it at first but the feeling during the trial only got worse and worse."

"And why would you need this?" still asks Discord while holding the small amulet. "From what I know, well... I've been trapped into stone for, you know how long but... how many prisoners in Tartarus can depend... or need this? And for what?"

"There's one we both know."

The draconequus' face changes drastically in slow motion. He thought he didn't know anybody but there's actually something... someone right at the bottom. Do both of them know him? Both Celestia and him? Is she talking about that mysterious beast who has been resting in the darkness for centuries? "If you refer to the animal I'm thinking about... Do you know that this is his main food, right? Why would you bring him back?"

"I recognized some of the voices that tried to attack me last night." She remembers what she has done to his fellows, to his community... despite hating him, she still feels guilty after all these years, for all of those banished little creatures that were against the ram. "Those were the souls of a community that tried to attack us. I'm afraid they are trying to come back, they want to set him free. As I said, Discord... I want to solve a problem that I... me and my sister, left aside."

"Who are we talking about right now?" asks Shining Armor, worried about this. "Voices? An ancient menace?"

Sights of everybody begin to cross between each other.

Are they in danger... again?

Comments

[pikashowdownload]

Great Story brother, i read a similar kind of story in Pikashow but this one is surely better.