Tribulation
--—Shards of Hatred ----
---- Chapter XIII: Tribulation ----
Spike opened his eyes for what seemed like the first time in ages, color flooding into his previously distorted vision as the remnants of the golden magic left his body. Above him was a sight that would have given most other ponies a heart attack, though it was one that he was quite used to beholding. “Wow thanks, Princess. I sure feel a lot better now!” After blinking away the rest of the sleepiness from his eyes, Spike leapt onto his feet and stretched gratefully, letting out a groan that sounded half like an Ursa Major’s growl.
Giving a weary smile and weak chuckle, Celestia wrapped the dragon in a hug with one of her pillow-soft wings. “Just don’t overdo the celebrations next time you save the world, okay Spike?” After releasing the green-and-purple creature whose face was now painted with a bashful smile, she stepped over to the window and stared at the tower that was just adjacent to the castle infirmary. I wonder how Twilight is doing with her… No, I shouldn’t worry, Luna is better suited for this task. I have complete confidence in both of them.
As if he had known what her thoughts were about, Spike asked the question that she had been dreading. “Hey, Princess, where’s Twilight?” The question was so innocent, given what had happened between the two the last time they had seen each other. Celestia gave herself an internal smile when his naïve question touched her ears, telling her that her attempts to clear the poor dragon’s memories from the terrible event had been successful. “I thought that she’d be here with me or something.”
Taking a deep breath and wiping the thoughts of what Luna was doing with Twilight from her mind, Celestia turned and gave Spike a full smile. “She’s studying with my sister, Luna. The latter had some rather important spells that she was testing and asked if Twilight could assist her.” The knife of guilt dug a little deeper at the dragon’s slightly disappointed frown, though the knife of agony would have gone further if she had told him the truth instead.
“How long do you think she’ll be up there?”
“Well Spike, this is a very important set of spells.” She walked over and hugged the dragon with her wing again, a gesture she was rather fond of as it was something her mother always did for her and Luna. “I expect that it will take a few days for them to be completely finished with their work. And if I know Twilight as well as you do, I’m sure that their task will be over even sooner than we expect.”
“Oh, okay.” There was an almost over-pronounced drop in the dragon’s face as the news hit him. “Well, I guess that’s okay then.” The pained air that hung around Spike gave Celestia a great joy, not that it was there but rather because she would be able to actually remedy this pain.
“I know that you are disappointed that Twilight is busy, Spike.” A golden glow enveloped the doorknob as she seized it with her magic. “But there are a group of other ponies who would like very much to see you.” Only a crack had appeared between the doorframe and its namesake before it was slammed against the wall with the force that only a certain pink party pony could possess.
“Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike!” Pinkie Pie galloped to him faster than what seemed possible, wrapping her hooves around him and squealing with joy as she hugged him. “Oh my gosh you won’t believe how long we’ve waited to come see you. First, there was this nurse right? Yeah, well she said that you were resting and we couldn’t see you but it’s the day so I was like ‘why can’t we see him? I’m pretty sure he’s awake’ and then the nurse said that Princess Celestia was here with you an—“
Applejack’s strong hooves deftly pulled Spike from the suffocating embrace. “All right now, Pinkie. Let the little guy breathe. Ah’m sure he’ll be more than happy to hear about what’s been goin’ on without suffocatin’ too.”
As the catching up went on, Celestia saw Spike glancing out of the window to the exact place that she had been looking earlier. “Let me have a moment with Spike before I leave, my little ponies.” Pulling the confused dragon away by the claw, she leaned down to kiss his forehead. “Don’t worry, Spike. I’m sure Twilight will be happy to see that you have made a full recovery. Now go, see your other friends.” She released his claw and nudged the dragon forward with a bit of magic before stepping away with a smile for the group hug that the ponies were now dragging him into again.
Before she closed the door, Celestia found herself seeking the window once again. Through it she could see the lunar tower, constructed of a black rock that only Luna could remember the name of, piercing the sky with its stark darkness. Right after she makes her own, that is.
“What is it that you hope to accomplish here, Sombra?” Cadence looked over the balcony, watching with saddened eyes as the ponies below all shuffled about with shackles about their forehooves; shackles just like the ones she wore, though theirs were much smaller and didn’t include a matching pair for their wings. Despite her own predicament, she yearned to help her people, to lift this curse of darkness from them. Of course, even a spell to bring a little bit of light inside the perpetual night that Sombra had created would be impossible due to the magic inhibitor crystals that were stuck through her horn.
“Didn’t you ask me that last time you were in my throne room?” The unicorn king idly rolled a darkened hunk of crystal around on the floor, smiling widely whenever a particularly loud click caused Cadence to cringe. She hated to hear the sound of her dead soldier friend’s head clinking on the ground, something he knew and enjoyed to do regardless of her wishes.
“Yes, I did.” His smile grew even wider at how she spoke through gritted teeth. It was only a matter of time until he finally broke her, and was truly in control of his empire. Until her light of hope was extinguished, the ponies she used to rule over would look to that light as if it were a beacon. “But you only answered with some nonsense about how hatred was obviously the next kind of power to take over not just the Crystal Empire, but all of Equestria.” She couldn’t help but snort in derision at that last statement, even though she knew what was to come next.
Even though she knew what was happening, it didn’t make the hoof slamming into her face hit any softer. If anything, it seemed as if instead of a hoof in was a chunk of crystal that was taken from the walls. Sombra stood over her, his eyes glowing in that evil purple-green light that always hung about the whites whenever he was angry. Now, however, they were large streaks of color that flung about like a wildfire. “Oh, but it is going to be the power that rules, my dear Cadence.” Even though his anger was plainly visible, Sombra’s voice was icily cold. “It’s in the natural order, after all. Anger is the predominant emotion in any species.”
“Only if you encourage it.” She spat the words at him, drawing only another cold smile that sent shudders down her spine as its owner’s teeth glistened in the half-light of his magic. “Ponies like you are the reas—“
“Are the reason for what, Cadence? For sadness? Anger? It doesn’t take a ruler like me to create such things.” He lifted up the head that he had been playing with, flashing a fanged grimace before throwing it over the edge of the balcony. Cadence let out a desperate shout and leapt forward as the crystallized remains tumbled down to the street below, only to be grabbed with Sombra’s oily-feeling levitation spell. “Now, now, let’s hear the most satisfying part.” The former princess’s whimpers weren’t enough to block out the sound of shattering that pierced the air.
Sombra released his hold on the princess only to have her hooves diving for his face, which he then easily avoided by channeling a small bit of magic into the crystals affixed to her horn. He couldn’t help but laugh at her futile attempt to attack him, his cruel sounds of amusement echoing back even louder than their source. “Oh come now, little pony. Surely you know that’s not going to be enough to stop me. I thought you had learned your lesson last time.” He reached down and grabbed the still-twitching face and looked down into the pitiful eyes, trying to see what still gave her hope. Of course, his searches proved futile. “Well, no matter. Another few hours staring into my bedroom mirror should fix that.”
Cadence’s scream of both fear and desperation was swiftly cut off as Sombra teleported with her to where his special mirror waited for them. It would show her another world, a world in which hatred was woven into every fiber.
A perfect world. An absolutely perfect world.
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The mirror?
IT WAS THE MIRROR THAT CAUSED TWILIGHT TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS!
About time, brother... I expect a slight- correction- very violent reaction from Twilight in the next chapter...
2752366 Nnnnnnnnnnnnope. It was the magical crystal that she stole away from the Chrystal Empire.
I think the old cover art was better, but this is definitely going to my read laters
Very good chapter, and it appears that Sombra had been reading from the 'Rulebook for Villains'...
C&C:
And I if I know Twilight as well as you do...
> Remove the extra ‘I’.
I cant favourite yet because im scared that I wont like how this ends, but as soon as I see an awesome ending, ill be hitting favourite so hard my PC will break.
2752809
If only Spike could know the truth... But at least we hear Celestia say it from a certain point of view.
Pinkie, calm down! You're crazy!
Evil triumphs!