Containment
— —Shards of Hatred — —
---- Chapter XVII: Containment ----
“Your Majesty, we have word from a messenger that the Crystal Empire—“
“I already know, Guardspony.” A few moments of silence passed before she spoke again, irritation getting the better of her. “Please, leave me.”
From the corner of her eye, she could see the Guard flinch backwards, look at her with wide eyes for a moment, and then take a deep breath before stepping forward again to speak. “But… your Majesty, are we not expected to aid our allies in a time of need?”
“What would you have me do, Guard?” She turned away from the darkening crystal that she kept by her throne and directed her intense stare to the pony that was daring to question her. “Send a legion of our own to the slaughter? Sombra took over the Crystal Empire by himself. Alone and unaided save for those he corrupted.” Celestia stood there, unwilling and unable to look away from the guard who was brave enough to face down a goddess. “Whatever force I send to the Crystal Empire would be hampered by both the frigid air as well as the corruption that Sombra would sew in the ranks. When they arrive at the Capitol they would be like a spring wind against the trunk of an ancient oak; nothing would happen to the oak tree, while the wind would simply be diverted and disappear.”
“Be as that may, your Highness, does the wind give up before it reaches the tree? We should be mounting a counter attack, with the Elements of Harmony on the tip of the spea—“
“That’s enough!” She slammed her hoof down on the smooth marble floor, wincing at the sound of cracking stone. After the few moments of ringing silence that followed, within which she reigned in her free-flowing emotions, she lifted her hoof and repaired the spider-webbing cracks that spread from the circular hole where her stomp had punched through. “You may leave, Guardspony.”
Her glare was enough to keep the stallion from arguing further, though by the flicker in his eyes Celestia could see that he wanted to continue. Despite this, he stiffly saluted and turned to walk out of the room. Convinced she was done with the matter, Celestia too began to walk away from where just a moment ago there had been a web of broken tiles. Of course, the sound of the door closing didn’t echo throughout the chamber. “I suppose you are waiting for me to acquiesce to your suggestion, Guardspony?” Nothing. No reply nor indication upon the guard’s face betrayed any conformation, but she knew it was there. Celestia couldn’t help but sigh before giving him a grudging smile, one that was quickly wiped away as she assumed her usual regal, ruler-of-the-realm manner. “Very well, inform the Captain Grey that there will be a meeting between us in the Guard’s Office in ten minutes. Tell him to not be late, and to bring some of the messengers with him. I suspect that there will be some messages to be sent to the rest of the guard after we speak.”
The guard’s face brightened slightly as he bowed, a ghost of a smile playing across his face as he gave the usual exiting phrase. “Yes, your majesty.”
A sigh made its way out of her throat despite her best attempts to keep it suppressed. It was nearly impossible to not be fatigued by the magnitude of the problems that had been piling up lately. In the old times, back when Luna and she had both been in command of the Elements of Harmony, this would have been easily solved by eliminating the source, like they had done ages ago against Sombra before. “But now it is Twilight Sparkle’s job to lead the Elements of Harmony against him, and she is helplessly ensnared by his will.” Celestia shuddered violently at the mere thought of being possessed by the cruel stallion who had enslaved an entire kingdom, twice.
“And just who put her in that danger, Celestia?” A different stallion’s voice, still laced with anger and borderline hatred, rang out across the room. Her glare of apprehension had little effect on the pony that was trotting into her throne room, who only chuckled darkly in response. “I’m sorry, Celestia, but I don’t get all scared at offending royalty anymore. I’m past the point of caring, to be honest.” His next words made her shift uncomfortably, guilt washing over her as they carried across the hall. “Especially those who send my little sister off to a battle that they don’t even know she can win, capture and imprison her, and then tell me nothing about what happened to her.”
“Shining—“ She stepped forward, trying to reach out to the stallion who quickly jerked away.
“Don’t give me that, ‘I had to send her because I can’t command the Elements of Harmony’ stuff. You know good and well that that is a lie.” His hoof smacked down on the ground as he threw a hoof out to point at the stained glass windows, more specifically the one that depicted Cadance and himself banishing the changeling queen, Chrysalis, with the magic of love. “Caddy had kept him away for almost a week with the magic of love, which then banished him later with the power of the Crystal Heart! We didn’t even need the Elements of Harmony to defeat him the first time!”
“Shining, I—“ She was losing control, her voice shaking as she was cut off again by the raging stallion.
“And don’t tell me that you couldn’t have done anything to help. When Chrysalis invaded she had said that Equestria possessed more love than she could have ever dreamed. Aren’t you the ruler? Don’t you embody the entire spirit of Equestria? Don’t you have that love inside of you?” His questions jabbed harder and harder against her heart, releasing a raging, torrential flood of guilt washing through her body. Perhaps she could have done something aside from sending Twilight Sparkle and her group of friends.
“Shining Armor, please—“
“And now he’s come back,” He was shouting at her now, forcing her to tremble slightly in fear and slightly with the guilt that was eating away at her serenity, “he’s possessed my sister and taken over the Chrystal Empire again, and you don’t tell me anything about what is going on, nor do you let me go back to save my wife!”
“Shining…” Her voice, while trying to sound calming, came out more like a squeak.
“I want answers, Celestia, and I want—“
That was where she drew the line. Celestia could understand that he was distraught, she knew that he wanted nothing more to leave and throw himself at the king that had likely enslaved his wife as well. However, this had gone on long enough. “Silence!” Her hoof pushed into the stallion’s chest and sent him flying backward a few feet, where he then sprawled out on the floor. A twang of regret pulsed through her, but it was soon forgotten in the raging sea of anger that her guilt had become. As the stallion worked to stand, she trotted over with nothing but rage in her eyes as she unconsciously cast a spell to make herself larger than she actually was. “I will not tolerate being shouted down in my own castle, Shining Armor! You will get your answers in due time, until then you will follow me.”
She turned around without waiting for the stallion's reaction, instead choosing to trot briskly forward out of the grand hall where she had been accosted by not one but two guards today. When the sound of hooves did not pick up behind her, Celestia turned back to look at the stunned face of Shining Armor. "Come, Prince Armor, lest you find yourself without answers or aid." She then began trotting once more, her eyes set firmly upon the corridor before her as she led the stallion off to one of the side rooms that often times held ponies who sought her assistance as they awaited their turn to have an audience with her.
When they reached such a room, Celestia held it open for Shining Armor, tilting her head towards the open door to indicate that he should step inside. After the stallion had entered the room she had led him to, she turned away and allowed the door to close slightly. "I will return to speak with you once I have met with Captain Grey and discussed an urgent matter."
"When will that be, Celestia?"
It was then that she turned and smacked the stallion with a hoof, anger roaring up inside of her as she stared down at the defiant fires that burned in his eyes. "You will address me as 'Princess', Prince Armor. You are not so high in authority that you can waltz into my own castle and act as if you own it. You may be a prince, but you hold the power that comes with it only when you are in your own land. Here, you have no power to command me or anypony else."
For a moment neither of them said a word, until the fires in Shining Armor's eyes burned a little lower. "Very well, Princess. How long will it be until you grace me with your presence again?" The sarcasm stung, stabbing deep into her heart now that the anger had dissipated and left her feeling nothing but guilt at having given in to the anger that had been burning at her. Even so, she still had a mind to smack him again for the sarcastic way he said it.
But this time she resolved to let it slide given what the poor pony had been dealing with recently. "I will return whenever the meeting is finished, Prince Armor.” With that, she turned away and began to leave behind the guilt to assume the mask of serenity once more.
However, her will faced one more battle before it could be spared. Before the door closed all the way, Shining Armor stepped forward and pressed a hoof against it, looking at Celestia through the crack that was still there. His face held nothing but disgust as he glared at her through the sliver of space. “You just had to send your pony protégé, my sister into battle instead of going yourself, didn’t you, Princess?” The word burned in the air like another brand of guilt, reminding Celestia of the power she had; the responsibilities she bore.
The hoof that was holding it open now gone, the door closed with a soft click that seemed to echo in the silence that followed. "N-No, Shining Armor." The polished wood shimmered with the tears that were lodged in her eyes, her forehead lowered in shame as she tried to fight back the guilt that roared throughout her body. "I didn't, yet I did regardless. I had thought my student would have been safe.”
“But even we princesses can be wrong, at times.”
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2975171 And I LIKE IT!
I read this chapter then I look up at my tabs in the browser. First tab I see is "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!", that's kind of scary...
2975171 You gotta understand how he feels.
First off, his kingdom is being taken over, and his wife is with the worst being in existence without him.
Not to mention that he can't just go save her either, which is exactly what he THINKS he could do but everyone else knows he can't do that.
THEN he is faced with the knowledge that something horrible has happened to her sister and it has to do with Sombra.
All the while being kept in the dark and told to keep still like a good little colt.
He is a stallion for action, this goes against him greatly.
I'd be pissed, hateful and mean too.
2975249 Good point
So when do we get to see crazy Twilight again
Celestia is a hard character to write and so far it seems like you're falling into the same traps as every other writer. She's too emotional, and you're not thinking through her reasoning well enough.
Celestia didn't go by herself because she is the leader of an entire country, not a soldier. She can't abandon her ponies when she has not only a specialized force, the Elements of Harmony, but also an entire royal guard and most likely standing army. Shining Armor is acting ridiculous; He, as a soldier, should understand that risks are taken and that everypony involved in national defense takes risks to protect their country. I understand him being a little irrational and emotional, considering who it is, but to the point of bossing around and yelling at two possibly immortal Goddesses that he has served, sworn to protect with his life, looked up to since he was a child... He just doesn't seem like that much of a shitty-attitude kind of guy. And he's never displayed sarcasm before; Even when he was really angry at Twilight, he was really straight forward when he said "If I were you, I wouldn't show up at all." He didn't go out of his way to guilt-trip her or be snarky and shitty to her. So far in this story, their interaction has been the weakest point. They both seem out of character.
2975598 Youch
Well, I will certianly work on this! Thank you for pointing it out for me
Looks like Celestia is coming face to face with her flaws
Celestia's really starting to fall apart, isn't she? I mean, look at her!
2977052 Heh, yep.
Also, AS LONG AS I WANT YOU TO WAIT!
2975598 Hm, i wonder if he's playing up the "hated makes people into assholes" theme. Cuz that'd explain everything perfectly, especially if hatred literally held a magical power over people, which it seems to do in this universe.
Served with a side of hayfries
