The Castle

by Discombobulated Soul

Free At Last!

Light.

Grotesque, ghastly, green light.

I want to throw up. I want to scream, flail, rage. I want to enact violence upon everypony who's ever wronged me. I want to tear apart those who stood in my way.

I want to cry. I want to curl up and weep for the life I lost. The life that was taken from me by this heartless zombie of a princess.

I...

I just need to leave. To escape. To get the heck out of here.

The light flickers wildly and I jolt upright with a gasp. Celestia is just sitting there in front of me, grinning her devious grin as I collect myself.

We're not in the throne room anymore. She must have moved me elsewhere after knocking me unconscious. I wince in pain as a pounding headache settles in, but there's no time to dwell on that.

A grand-yet-dilapidated bed stands behind the princess and I notice a dresser on the adjacent wall. Several paintings of the green sun are hung on just about every surface, and the whole room stinks of mold and severe age.

This is her bedroom. It has to be.

"Oh, good. You're awake! I was getting worried for a second."

NO

I cringe expectantly, but am relieved to find her volume significantly less intense. I squint about the room, trying desperately to identify more objects, but the light from her blazing mane is simply not enough.

"Why must you keep it so dark? Or do the lights in here just not work?" I don't know what exactly it is that makes me speak so causally, but somehow I lack the energy to do much else. It's probably her doing. I wouldn't be surprised.

"Dark? Whatever do you mean? It's plainly as bright as day!"

I

Did Celestia have to refute everything I said with such blatantness? Did she really think I'd believe her obvious lies, when I could plainly see for myself just how black the room was? Did she honestly believe she could make me stop trusting in my senses themselves?

Because she was right.

I couldn't be sure of anything, anymore. After having gone through that Doorway, even reality itself was in question. I was ready and willing, at this point, to doubt even the fact that I existed. That anything in my life mattered. That anything was real.

Heck, maybe the sun was actually yellow! Did I really know better? What evidence, truly, did I have to the contrary? It didn't matter that I'd spent my whole life looking up and seeing a cold green light.

"Never mind any of that, we have business to see to. I want to help you, Twilight. If you'll let me."

MUST

I sigh explosively and attempt to get up, only for my legs to buckle. It seems I'm too weak to even carry my own weight, so I am entirely at her mercy.

Then again, when haven't I been at somepony's mercy?

Suddenly, I realize that my armor is still covering my body. Apparently, Celestia had not even bothered to remove my gear in the first place, aside from the helmet. Even my sword is kept nicely in its sheath, but my faithful knife is nowhere to be found.

I can use this to my advantage! All I need to do is keep her occupied for long enough...

"Help me? Please, I know what you're really planning to do."

"Oh? And what's that?"

GET

I chuckled mirthlessly, coughing as my bone-dry throat protested such an action. The princess must have thought me quite stupid to not see through her charade, because even the way she held herself betrayed her true nature:

Tall, imposing, regal.

Worst of all was that she hadn't even bothered to wash her coat, so I got a close-up view of the bloody splotches staining her fur. I thought there was even still a strip of pony hide caught in her teeth, swinging around with every motion her head made. I couldn't be sure, though, as the light from her mane wasn't good enough.

"You're gonna turn me into one of your minions. The creatures that roam the halls. What other use could you have for me?"

My logic was sound. What else could I have been brought here for? I must have been chosen for my particular magical skill.

I'd noticed it, of course: The way the monsters moved in a distinctly equine way, even the more alien ones. They were clearly, indisputably ponies, once, now mangled and twisted beyond repair, with a healthy dose of hunger for flesh.

Celestia must have chosen people often enough, but set them in here with the best of her specimens. Only the greatest from among those she chose would survive, which was a number that I myself was a part of.

"What?! I assure you, Twilight, that there are many other uses for someone as talented as yourself!"

OUT!

Now's my chance! She's distressed and distracted!

I quickly light my horn in a lavender blaze of fury, unsheathing the broadsword before sending it straight into the alicorn's flesh with a wet squelch. The princess gasps, her mouth flopping aimlessly as she emptily glances down at her barrel, which has a hilt sticking straight out the front.

Sickly green blood sprays from the wound and she spasms madly, but I launch myself forward with a final burst of adrenaline.

Letting out a scream of rage, I fire off a shot of magic straight into the princess' skull. She wails and stumbles away, coughing up yet more blood as I dash to the side.

That oughta finish her off! I think, jubilantly.

Now I just have to get out of here.

The exit materializes before me, as grand and beautiful as it is punctual. Just as Sunset promised, it's right there, summoned by the death of the one who'd sealed it away.

I'm free! I'm out!

I did it!

I fall.

I smile.

I...

I win.

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

Well she's stabbed something, now all that's left is flight.