Princess Celestia was alone in the waiting room. Visiting hours had long passed, and everypony else had gone home, but still Celestia sat patiently. She had sent her guards away so as not to hear their breathing, however hard they tried to hide it, and listened to the distant creaks and hoofsteps of the hospital. Through the window opposite her, the moon shone down upon her. Her eyes followed it, but she did not truly see it.
A nurse entered, doing an admirable job of hiding her tiredness. "I'm sorry to have kept you, your Highness," she said with a bow. "We've done all we can."
Celestia stood unhurriedly, taking her eyes off the moon. Despite the image of her that most ponies held, she was more than accustomed to being made to wait. "How is she?" she asked, betraying no emotion.
"Mentally, she is sound," the nurse answered, wisely allaying Celestia's deepest fear first. "And physically, she is on the path to recovery. But she hasn't slept, and she is in a lot of pain. And," she added, "on a lot of drugs."
"Will I be able to speak with her?"
"Yes. But she has difficulty keeping track of time, and when she recovers, she may not remember your conversation. Even so, under the circumstances, we thought it would be best if you were allowed to see her."
"Thank you for that." Celestia stepped around the nurse and allowed her to lead on into the building's innards. The corridors became dim, creating the illusion of dusk even in this most sterile of places.
Although quiet hours were in full effect, the nurse still fidgeted as she walked by Celestia's side. "Princess, this disease," she started.
"I know."
"But this strain hasn't been seen in-"
"One thousand years. I know." They reached the room. "It means that change is coming. But do not fear. All will be well." With a fake, comforting smile, the Princess waved her off and entered Twilight's room.
The faithful student was laid back in her bed, her blankets pulled stiffly up to her chin. Thick bandages covered her eyes and her horn was sheathed in cotton. At a glance, she appeared to be asleep, but her ears pricked up as Celestia drew near. "Princess?" Twilight croaked.
"Twilight," Celestia answered, sitting down in a chair far too small for her. Although she did not want to hear the answer, she asked the question that was required of her. "How are you feeling?"
"It hurts." Twilight coughed and smiled. Like Celestia, she had become adept at faking her emotions. Unlike Celestia, she had not lived long enough to realize that that was what she was doing; there was a tremor on her lips, invisible even to herself. "And my head feels fuzzy," she added. "But I'm okay. The doctor says it'll just last a few more days."
"That is good to hear." It wasn't. "Have you had any sleep?"
"No." Another cough. "I've tried, but the light's too bright. The medicine isn't helping like it's supposed to."
Gingerly, careful not to disturb her student in the least, Celestia reached out and lifted the edge of the bandage over Twilight's eye. A piercing beam of amber light shot from beneath it, brightening the entire room. "This is not something that I have the power to cure," she said, smoothing the bandage back down. "If you were hoping that I could bring you darkness, I'm afraid that I cannot. Only time will help you now."
"I know," Twilight said. "The doctors said that too. I'm sorry to have taken you away from your duties for nothing. It's just..." She bit her lip. "My family's gone, and I can't sleep, and... I didn't want to be alone."
Good. Celestia did not say this aloud. "I understand," she said instead. "And you do not need to apologize. I will stay with you until you fall asleep, however long that takes."
"Thank you," Twilight whispered. Under better circumstances, she would have said much more. As it was, this was all that she could manage.
They waited a moment in silence. "Is there anything that I may do for you?" Celestia asked.
"Well..." Twilight finally shifted, tilting her head just a little closer. "Celestia... could you tell me a story?"
The princess stiffened. "Now?" she asked.
"Yeah." Twilight turned back. "An old story. Something that I've never heard before."
"...I don't know, Twilight. You may not like the old stories that I have to tell."
"Please?" The pleading in her tone was now intentional. "Just a simple one?"
Still, Celestia hesitated. "It may give you nightmares."
"Princess, please. I haven't been scared of nightmares since I was a filly."
"...Very well." Celestia stood up. "Here is a story."
Once upon a time, in a place not so very far away from here, a spirit named Disaster roamed the world. He was a great and terrible being, immortal and nearly all-powerful, and he rent the landscape and shaped it to his will. He created and he destroyed, fulfilling his every desire and inspiring awe in all who beheld him. But despite all of his power, the great spirit was not happy; and despite all of his wisdom, he did not understand why.
Seeking answers, Disaster sought out a tribe of ponies and demanded that they worship him as a god, hoping that the love of lesser beings would fill the hole in his heart. He basked in their praise, and for a time, he was content. But for such beings, what mortals can provide will never be enough. It was not long before he began to ask more of his subjects, demanding sacrifices of grain and gold to prove their devotion to him. Then, when this did not sate his hunger, he ordered that his followers make sacrifices of flesh. Animals of all kinds were slaughtered at his altar and his ponies debased themselves in front of him, giving all they had to prove that they were devoted to him and nothing else. But as the sacrifices grew higher and higher, Disaster began to feel the hole in his heart grow once again. And once again, despite an ageless intellect that could outsmart even the wisest of ponies, he did not understand what he was missing.
In desperation, Disaster demanded that more ponies be brought to him, such that eventually all of Equestria might worship him. His once peaceful tribe became fierce and warlike. Ponies were enslaved and forcefully converted into followers. Any who would not join them was sacrificed like an animal, burned alive in one of Disaster's fiery altars. Villages and towns were raided and burned in the name of Disaster, who watched on with an insatiable hunger. Temples were built to honour him, filled with songs and praises, and their adoration filled him. But as fast as their love grew, it was not enough to fill the hole in his heart, and his happiness ebbed away faster than their sacrifices could fill it. More flesh was burned, and more grain and gold until his people were starving and had nothing left to give, and still he screamed for proof of their love. Finally, one day, he gathered all of his followers together and killed every single one of them, and he bathed in their blood and slept a while in contentment, intoxicated by the slaughter. But the next day he awoke, and he was once again all alone. And so, humbled and discontented, Disaster walked the earth a while.
One day, while walking through the woods, Disaster chanced upon a beautiful and foolish young mare named Marigold. Marigold was alone, and crying, for she had discovered that she was barren, and could not bear foals. And hearing her lamentations, Disaster hatched a plan. When her cries were at their peak, he came to her in the form of a beautiful stallion and promised that he would grant her children if she would flee her home with him and become his wife. Marigold accepted without a thought, and followed Disaster as he led her though the woods and deep into the wilderness.
The pair traveled for some time until they were beyond the great moors separating Marigold from her family, and it was there that Disaster finally revealed to her his true form. At the sight of him, Marigold cried out and tried to flee, but he held her down and raped her for three days and three nights. Once this was done, the great spirit began to construct a home for them to live in. He brought Marigold gifts of food and water and planted a garden for her to tend, and he filled their house with art and light and all the beautiful and wonderful things that he had discovered in his travels. And at first Marigold hated him and destroyed all that he had brought her, but as months passed and she discovered that she was with child, she forgave all that he had done and promised that she would love and serve him for all time.
Time went by, and Marigold gave birth to a son, whom Disaster named Dread. He was a strong colt with his father's face and his mother's eyes, and at his birth Disaster burned onto his flank a cutie mark of his own design, so that his destiny would always be to serve him. And as the colt grew he inherited his father's strength, and his father's cunning, and his father's will to dominate and to control. When he came of age Disaster sent him out into the nearby towns to do business, where he soon gained renown as a leader and a negotiator. Under his guidance, the simple home that Disaster had built grew into a vast estate, where ponies of all kinds lived and worked and were made prosperous. But despite all that he had been given, Dread never loved his father, and cursed him for dooming him to servitude; but he was also much afraid of the spirit, and did not dare openly defy him.
A year after Dread was born, Marigold gave birth a second time, this time to a daughter. Disaster named her Dismay, and at her birth he branded her in the same way that he had her brother. Dismay had her mother's face and her father's eyes, and her beauty was so great that ponies would give away their fortunes just to gaze upon her. And as she grew she inherited her father's wisdom, and her father's patience, and her father's desire for something more than what mortal ponies could give. And although her father loved her dearly, and would often walk with her and bring her every gift that her pony heart could want, she, like her brother, could not return his love for the curse of obedience he had placed upon her.
When Dismay came of age, Disaster had her married to a wealthy businesspony from a far-off city, and demanded of her that she bear him foals so that his lineage might continue. But Dismay did not obey him, for although she feared the spirit's wrath, she refused to give him another child to take under his control. When Disaster learned of this he became enraged and tortured her, but still Dismay did not submit and would not lie with her husband. Night after night she withstood the pain and did not sleep, until the spirit, in a fury, reached inside her head and plucked out her eyes. Her husband, though he did not love her, could not bear to see her suffer and tried to save her, but Dread, who was with him, held him back.
The following night, Dread chanced upon Dismay and her husband plotting to leave Disaster's estate and begin a new life elsewhere. Her brother tried to convince her not to flee, but her resolve was absolute. Knowing that they were doomed, but not wishing for his sister to come to harm, Dread gave them a cart and his two fastest cart-pullers, as well as the name of an inkeeper he knew of who might conceal them, in the hopes that their punishment might at least be delayed. And so the pair left in the dead of night, plotting never to return.
When Disaster learned that Dismay had fled and of what his son had done, he became furious and tortured Dread, demanding to know where they had gone. But Dread was resolute, and told his father nothing. Disaster's rage was boundless, and he brought Dread to the peak of agony, and then to the brink of death, but still Dread remained silent and did not tell him where Dismay had gone. Fearing for her son's life, Marigold rushed to protect him, but Disaster slew her without a second thought. But even then, Dread said nothing and would not tell him where Dismay had gone. Pretending to give up, Disaster left his son and allowed him to fall asleep, and when he did he stole into his dreams and learned the name of the inkeeper to whom he had sent his sister. And on learning this, Disaster fled the house and took the form of a mighty beast, screaming down the road with his heart full of pain and vengeance. When Dread awoke, he realized what his father had done and sent a messenger to warn Dismay of his coming, but when the messenger came upon Disaster on the road he turned around and fled.
When Disaster arrived at the town to which Dismay and her husband had fled, he sought out the inkeeper who had sheltered them, only to learn that Dismay had already gone; she and her husband had stayed but one night and then left, heading out to parts unknown. For days Disaster scoured the city until he met a filly who had seen the pair set out for a far-off city to the south, and he became a beast again and took to the road once more.
This went on for many years as the spirit pursued his daughter. Wherever Disaster went, Dismay had already left, and wherever Dismay went, Disaster followed. But no chase can last forever, and one day Disaster learned that Dismay had settled for good in a small farming village on Equestria's coast. And so Disaster descended upon the town with a roar that split the heavens, and all his fury fell upon that house that she had built. He stormed into his daughter's home and slew her husband with one swipe of his claw, then reared up in front of Dismay, who was sitting as though waiting for him. He picked her up and hurled her against the wall, pressing his claws into her throat. "YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD ESCAPE ME?" he roared. "YOU WERE BORN TO SERVE ME! IT IS YOUR DESTINY! YOU BELONG TO ME!"
But Dismay simply smiled, and Disaster saw that her body had become old and frail. "I didn't have to outrun you forever," she answered him. "Just long enough." Then she leaned into his claws and whispered her last words into his face. "You will never find my daughter." And with that, she died.
And at this, Disaster was struck with horror, for he finally understood. For somewhere along her journey Dismay had given birth, and his granddaughter was now living somewhere in Equestria, unmarked and free to choose her own destiny. Disaster howled and screamed, and he tore his daughter and her home apart, but she was dead and could not tell him where her daughter was. And so he became a beast again and fled out onto the road, determined to never stop searching until his granddaughter had been found.
And the spirit of Disaster is still out there, searching for his descendants. Some of them he finds, for they are gifted with remnants of his great power, and he hunts and brands them and torments them for all their days. But because of the bravery of one mare who understood that she had the power to make a choice, many more live free, and unfettered, and in peace.
