--—Shards of Hatred ----
---- Chapter XIII: Imprisonment ----
“So, what you’re saying is that my sister picked up a piece of Sombra’s crystals after we destroyed him.” Shining Armor was sitting down at the base of the dais, looking up at the pony who sat upon it. Her wings drooped along with her neck and she hardly looked like she was an all-powerful princess in charge of an entire nation. Well, perhaps she did, considering that she only looked like that because of her position as a ruler.
“You did not destroy him, if what Rapid Boots told you is true, which I have every reason to hope it is not but have no reasons to doubt it being so.” Celestia looked up, her face serene but her eyes holding a weariness that Shining Armor would most likely never feel; it was the weariness brought on by millennia of being an apotheosized freak of nature. “You merely banished him into the air, from which he was able to reform with relative swiftness, but otherwise your statement is correct.”
“Banished, destroyed, whatever. The thing is, she got possessed from it and now she’s acting evil and k-kil-killing,” The stallion shuddered violently as the word passed his lips, one he would have never thought to associate with his own sister, “other ponies.”
“Yes, Shining Armor, she is. She very nearly ended my own life as well,” Celestia turned to look at the glass pedestal beside her thrown that contained a light-pink crystal, her own reflection staring back out of the glass surrounding the gem with an accusatory glare. “She would have taken it too, if my sister had not been there to save me.” Another heavy sigh passed through her, echoing slightly against the walls as she tore her gaze away from the reflection-Celestia and gave her attention back to the former Guard Captain. “I suppose I am partially to blame. I was the one who showed Twilight the magic of hatred at first.” At that, the stallion below stood at instant attention.
“Magic of hatred? That doesn’t sound like something I’ve ever heard of before.”
“Not many ponies have, Shining. Myself, Luna, King Sombra and now Twilight are the only ones who know of its existence.” Celestia bowed her head at the halfway-formed-in-his-head-retort that Shining Armor was planning to reply with. “What I mean is, we are the only ones who know what it looks like and how to emulate it.”
“Okay,” Shining paused for a moment, seeming halfway on the verge of asking how it is done, but after thinking better of it switched to a different tact, “so where is Twily? I wanna go try and talk to her. Maybe I can snap her out of it.” A golden aura of magic held him down as he attempted to stand. “What are you doing!?”
“Calm down, Shining Armo-“ Her order was cut short by the sound of the large double doors being slammed open followed by the sounds of five pairs of hooves galloping towards the end of the hall. Celestia lifted the golden shield, now finding herself staring down at six ponies instead of one. “What is it, my little ponies?” Though the words were welcoming, there was a coldness in her voice that wasn’t accidental.
The five ponies who had been standing in shock shook out of it as one, each of their faces making a different mix of fear and awe, a look that Princess Celestia had grown tired of long ago. One of the five, a mare with an orange coat and a blonde mane, stepped forward and bowed slightly before opening her mouth. “Well, Princess Celestia, Ah was— Well Ah suppose we were all wondering if you could take us to Twilight.”
She froze as the words left Applejack’s mouth, words mirrored in every single face that stared (and in one case glared) up at her from below. “I can’t let you see her.”
“Why the hay not?!” Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings as if she wanted to fly right up to the Princess of Equestria and give her a piece of her mind. “Princess.” The pegasus tacked the formality onto the end a tad too late, mostly due to the cold stare that the Princess directed at her.
“Because, Rainbow Dash, she is recovering from a… condition, and she cannot see anypony right now.”
“Well, um, maybe seeing us might… help her, maybe.” The ever-shy Fluttershy squeaked as Celestia directed her stare to her instead.
“Perhaps, but it is not a risk I am willing to take.” She winced at how everypony besides Shining Armor recoiled at the sound of her voice, hating that the mares she had seen as friends now held her over themselves as a ruler instead. However, she told herself that such obedience was necessary at times, especially ones like the present. Despite that, she still dropped the coldness from her voice as she opened her mouth again. “Do not fear, my little ponies, your friend Twilight is in good hooves.”
“And whose hooves are those, exactly?” Shining Armor refused to lower his eyes as Celestia allowed herself to grow cold in a futile attempt to calm the riled-up stallion. When she didn’t answer, took another step forward. “Who did you give my sister to, Celestia?” A round of gasps came from the other ponies in the room, ones that were thoroughly ignored by the ponies to whom they were directed.
“My sister’s hooves, Shining Armor.”
She opened her eyes to a sheet of darkness that covered the room. “Where am I?” The calm words echoed back to her as if they had been turned back by the black wall when they met it. She winced at the underlying feeling of fear that was hidden in the question, hating the fact that she, Twilight Sparkle, was worried by being in the darkness when her heart was already as black as anypony’s could ever be. Who brought me here? In a futile attempt to illuminate the room, Twilight pulsed a small amount of magic into her horn to produce a light spell. Despite her attempts to bring light to her situation, no familiar glow of purple came. Better yet, where is here?
“You are in our domain now, Twilight Sparkle.” The black wall before her twisted and shuddered before coalescing into a pony, complete with both a horn and wings. “We hope that you are comfortable, for you shall remain here until your… er, restoration is complete.” The voice stuttered for a moment as the pony speaking searched for the words she wanted to say, her mixture of old Equestrian and modern speech patterns unmistakable.
“Let me go, Luna.” Twilight’s voice was deadly soft as she tried again to unleash the magic that strained to leave her body to strike at the Princess of the Night. “I will make your death slow and agonizing, just like I was going to do to your pitiful sister.” Her attempts to attack the dark form in the shadows suddenly stopped as a red-hot pain stabbed into her side, producing a scream from her lips that would have curdled the blood of a manticore.
“We are sorry, Twilight Sparkle, but you will find that we are less forgiving than our sister.” A deep blue mane covered in dots of white, star-like flakes flowed in the sudden light that sparked from the tip of the princess’s horn. “It would be best not to anger us.”
“Anger you?” Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at that, the bubbles of hysterical hilarity started in her stomach and poured out through her mouth in waves of laughter stifled only by her need to breathe. “Can you even hear yourself? I don’t want to anger you, Luna.” The sharp, stabbing pain returned, this time on the other side of her body.
“You will address us by our proper title, servant of Sombra.” Luna’s eyes sparked with rage as she advanced on Twilight, bringing the first true thrill of fear to the mare’s mind. “You might not be in your right mind, but you will have manners.” The pain was lifted as the alicorn’s eyes returned to their usually intense glow.
Twilight hung there for a moment, her breathing ragged due to the fading remnants of agony that lingered near the magical wound. “Oh, I should have manners, should I?” She spat on the ground, gritting her teeth against the pain that was surely to come. “I’ll have you and the rest of Equestria bowing to me once Sombra claims your land. If anything, you should address me as your Queen.” She grinned at the Princess whose ears tilted back in anger.
“You should not have said that, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight couldn’t help but let out a laugh, one that soon turned into a scream.
Let the exorcism commence!
damn luna has a dark side!
GO luna SAVE twilight!
2568236 Well, I actually have a good bit more planned. I'd say the story is only half done.
2568243 Luna controls the moon, of course she has a dark side.
2568317 Well, I'd rather not spoil and/or disappointing you (Cuz if I said yes you'd be spoiled on the story and if I said no you'd be disappointed, so I remain silent on the matter)
Uh oh.
Well, good to see Luna hasn't lost touch with her more, um, disturbing side. My night princess is beginning to scare me.
Yes, she is in very good hooves.
so... they're going to torture the darkness out of her?
cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/31391661.jpg
2568605 Maybe.... Maybe not...
2568605
Warhammer logic
2568317
Or the possibility that Twilight may already be beyond saving at this point...
2569129 2568317 Hehehe, if you guys only knew what I have planned for this story
Hmm... How to get the darkness out of her... I KNOW! PLAY TERRIBLE MUSIC!
Uhm... maybe I went a little... too far...
2568252
Only half done? I was hoping you'd say a third... or a sixth.
My preference is for HUGE stories to devour in my free time.
Twi soesn't have anything on me.
So ya'll have read a library worth of books?
Point taken.
2569271 Well, huge story projects aren't my thing. I prefer the faster kind of pacing, if you couldn't tell from the chapters (and the fact that I have 40 fics and most of them are 1-shots)
Come for the twiabuse, stay for Luna beating her ass
Seriously, I like the looks of where you are going with this story. I always love a good story that takes the main character and has her mentally/emotionally/physically beaten down.
2571160 You sir, are an evil pony.... :sweetieunsure:
And you seem like my kind of guy!
(Also, you should totally go read some of my other works, I'm a writer of sad/dark stories with some comedy in-between)
well, that was a nice contrast
2571194 I try so hard not to be evil but I just can't fight it
2569209 The guy does have a talent. I can't say it is my kind of music, or a even a good song. but he does have talent.
And as an artist, I respect him. even If I don't like his music.
Don't hate on people just because some guy got jealous because his girlfriend loved JBs music, and that guy started an anti-bieber meme.
Btw, I feed on comment dislikes. I'm a Trollivorocon. FEED ME(kidding, kidding.)
Seriously though. that horse has been beaten dead. ....TWICE
2571194 your sweetieunsure is misspelled. it's supposed to be unsuresweetie
2568595
Princess, if 'good' is the description you give your lovingly... sadistic... sister, then I am scared what evil means
2574446 Yeah, I think he's pretty cool, too, just that this song is rather repetitive. I ean, it's the same word, OVER 50 TIMES!
2577050 I know. If he doesn't write his songs, he needs to fire the guy that does.
The guy honestly has a great voice talent. It's just wasted on bad songs.
This seems silly. Wouldn't Luna, of all ponies, understand that madness/possession can't be changed, altered or healed through physical pain, intimidation and obedience?
DOWN WITH THE PRINCESSES!!!!!!!!!
please let this have a happy ending
2577552 Give Trixie the Element of Magic, just because, then blast her.
Or release Discord. He'd warp her mind back right quick. He's a trickster, not a killer.
Who would've thought that Luna still had a bit of anger to scare even a corrupted Twilight?
More helplessness from Shining Armor and the remaining Mane Six...