The Solar Monarch felt… tense.
Only a few minutes remained until the Patriarch returned, and she was on edge. Thoughts swirled within her immortal mind, flitting into centre frame before sinking into the endless limits of her consciousness. She’d received word from Queen Umbra four days past that the Patriarch had succeeded in his mission, and while ordinarily she would be most pleased with the creation of a new alliance with Equestria’s northern sister, the message bore with it an ominous warning; the Patriarch had been most deeply torn by what he had been forced to do, and had abandoned his two week delegation the very day after he’d arrived, stating in no uncertain terms he intended to return to Canterlot and beg his wife to absolve him of his sins.
Umbra had done what she could to control the situation, communicating she’d had her personal witch brew a concoction that would ease the stress in the Patriarchs mind, and wipe clear the memories of the evening, but Celestia never felt comfortable with a situation unless she was in direct command, and would only know there was no risk of a serious resurgence in Shining Armours memories once she had personally been able to peer within the Patriarchs mind and hide such thoughts from his consciousness
“You know he’s probably going to be furious with you.” The lone guard by her side giggled, her eyes flashing briefly with an intense Emerald hue. “I mean, Faust Damn, Celestia, have you ever seen Queen Umbra with your own eyes? She’s gorgeous.” A fond expression drifted across the mare’s muzzle. “Oh my time in the north, how I miss it, I have such fond memories.” She licked her lips. “They train their stallions hard in the north…”
Celestia sighed, rolling her eyes. “Chrysalis, please.” She sighed; certain none would hear her low voice. “I have little time for these… jokes of yours, if I could describe such filth as mere jest.”
The disguised changeling grinned back. “Your highness, your most humble servant would never mock her Diarch
The pair were stood within the magnificent stain-glass cathedral of the Canterlot Rail Terminus, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of urban life. Celestia could feel the city alive beneath her; the deep bass groan of industry beneath the mountain, the vibrations of moving machinery through the marble floor, the hubbub of chatter as the ponies around her went about their business, their laughs cries and shouts carrying through the summer-perfumed air. She took a deep breath of it, letting the familiar scents of industry, commerce and life flow through her, wash over her. Calming. Soothing. For several brief moments she held the serenity in her soul before guard once again interrupted her thoughts.
“Sunbutt? Suuunbuuutt?” the Guard asked, reaching a hoof towards the royal flank. “Celestia, you there?”
“Yes, Chrysalis.” the Solar Monarch responded coolly, seizing the hoof in her magic and locking it in place. “Your most holy diarch is very much here in the present.”
Chrysalis’s expression of jest slipped quickly, replaced with a foolish scowl of anger. “You’re not my queen, Equine.” The changeling hissed back, tugging against the royal magic, the golden glow wrapped tight around the limb. “We’re allied and no more.”
“I’d weigh your next words most carefully, Chrysalis.” Celestia replied, returning her gaze even and level. “Your drones swarm beneath my city and feed upon my citizens, your commanders bed down with my aristocracy and you feast upon the unrequited love of my own Patriarch. And why?” Celestia leaned in towards the hive-queen who, in her reduced form, stepped away from the intimidating visage of the solar monarch “Because without them you will all die. Without them the last of the Ancient swarms shall starve and wither and perish. You survive because I allow, because I willingly let you into my home and treat you like my own foals.” The gap between them shortened until there was but inches between, Celestia holding the Hive-queens gaze with her own fearsome expression of raw power; her face a mask of power that had gazed upon creation for over ten thousand years. “You are helpless without me. You’re no hive-queen without me. Does that not make you mine?”
Chrysalis felt something within her soul wail in despair, even as her mind raged at the temerity of Celestia to attempt to impose control upon her swarm, hers. “I… I…” she managed, trying to formulate a reply. “You can’t jus-”
A sudden scream of high pressure steam silenced the hive-queen, both her and Celestia turning to watch as the blunt, iron black form of a steam-driven locomotive began to pull into the Terminus, coming to a gradual halt at the platform. There was the sharp hiss of steam as the brakes were released, porters and foremen moving across the platform towards the vehicle even as conductors aboard began to open the carriage doors and allowed the passengers to disembark. “It would seem my husband as returned.” Chrysalis murmured with a deep purr, her eyes glowing brightly.
“Indeed” Celestia agreed, her eyes scanning the packed crowd, eventually spying the signature dual-tone mane and white coated form of the Patriarch towards the rear of the locomotive. “He has come back to us.”
Though he’d been sent north in a private convoy of three carriages, the swift return of the Patriarch had prevented the readying of his state-provided transport, causing him to rely on the public services provided to reach home. Though this meant he’d left all but his own private affectations north in the Empire; traveling with little more than a saddlebag of personal possessions and the venerable weapon Starlight Wrath, as Celestia caught sight of the Patriarch, taking in each and every detail of his form; drinking in the symmetrical perfection of his muzzle and the soulful sparkle of his ultramarine eyes, she couldn’t help but feel heartache seize her soul, as had become customary whenever the Patriarch was insight.
Yet it was only when the stallion came to a halt before her, wearily raising an unarmored hoof in salute that Celestia realized just how exhausted Shining Armour had become. Black bags of exhaustion hung under his eyes, indicative of lost nights stirring in restless thought, while his coat seemed to have lost his lustrous shine, the stress of the week’s events spoiling the stallions well-groomed beauty. He seemed to jitter slightly, Celestia worrying if the wards and barriers she’d placed in his mind had induced some form of physical trauma; every few seconds or so Shining Armour would twitch, a faint spasm at the corner of his eye, or slight flicker of his ears hinting at troubling thoughts running deep beneath the surface. Yet even through his weariness, Shining Armour was a soldier through and through, his hoof held in salute even as it twitched and flickered ever so gently. “Your highness” he managed; his voice weak and raspy, as if he hasn’t slept in days.
For a few brief moments Celestia was stunned into silence. From the moment she’d met Shining Armour, as a new-born foal all those years ago, the stallion had always given an aura of authority and self-control, prized qualities in equestrian society. Not once had she known him to have a lock his mane out of place, or his armour missing, or his dual-tone mane to be so ragged and unkempt. Comparing the mental image in her mind to the stallion stood before her, Celestia felt something within her soul wail in misery as she saw just how exhausted Shining Armour was, just how close to the brink he’d been pushed in the name of service to his nation, service to his queen. She held his weary gaze, fearing that tears would begin to slip down her cheeks.
What had she done to him?
“At ease, Patriarch.” The reply came quietly, Celestia seemingly distant and removed.
The weak stallion managed a smile, though he looked as if he were about to break down into tears at any moment. “I am pleased to report that my mission was a success, Your Highness. I have successfully secured an alliance between our nation at the Crystal Empire of Queen Umbra in the far north.” A pleased look crossed his muzzle, and Celestia felt something in her heart fracture; even after all she’d done to his mind, he still served with unwavering loyalty. “If your highness is willing, I would like to request an authorized leave-of-absence for three days to regain my strength.”
Celestia nodded mutely. “You have served with the greatest dedication, Shining Armour.” She replied softly, her soul deadening like it was made of lead. “Return to your wife and rest, it is a fitting reward.
A dull smile lifted Shining Armours exhausted features. “Thank you, Dear Princess, thank-” A sudden gush of blood streamed from the Patriarchs nose, his pupils dilating as a wave of exhaustion washed over him, a surge of blackness blinding him as he staggered. Celestia felt an involuntary squeal loose from her throat as the stallion suddenly seemed to pass out, staring at her and the disguised changeling queen for several moments before simply collapsing to the ground, the stream of blood still leaking from his nostrils. Objects swum in the patriarchs blurred vision, distant voices screaming like the cries of drowning men. A white blur with golden eyes appeared above him, followed swiftly after by one with black fur and emerald green eyes, they were saying something, something about him, but he couldn’t quite make it out, couldn’t quite grasp their meaning. Something delicate cupped his cheek, a quite voice breaking through the pulsing roar of blood in his ears.
“Shh, it’s alright. Rest… my little patriarch.”
Lights flashed in the dark.
The images came in a stuttering flow of disjointed blurs; each indecipherably vague, yet frightening in their intensity. He was young, summer was in the air, he could taste it on his tongue, feel it tickle his muzzle. light was pouring through the open window of his bedroom, falling across the dark-tinted oak of his desk, illuminating the maps and diagrams of the latest tome he'd been able to purchase with his limited pocket money. He should have been reading, studying, but a noise from the garden, the giggles of his sister Twilight, were too loud to ignore, piercing even the deep concentration of Shining Armour. He stood and moved to call for silence, but when he looked down into the garden he saw Twilight wasn't alone, there was another filly with her; taller, slimmer, her coat a vibrant pink. Shining felt the words seize in his throat, he was mute. Twilight waved to her brother, and the pink filly looked up to where she gestured. For the briefest instant Shining Armour gazed into the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen, then his cheeks caught fire and he found himself back-peddling, suddenly, horribly self-aware. Somewhere at the back of his mind the faint whisper of memory recalled a text detailing the royal-line of Equestria, his minds eye following the twisting vines as the descended through history until only a single branch remained atop the construct, labelled with a single name; that of the mare who would, in time, ascend into the lofty heights of Equestrian royalty.
Mi Amore Candenza.
The scene shifted. Time came roaring past him, its crushing bulk washing over him like silk, the weight settling on his shoulders. Cadence was opposite him, dressed in gold and white, and he knew as he lived and breathed he was attending his own wedding. The memories felt like another time, another life. Cadence smiled, and in that single instance he felt complete, felt the invisible gaze of destiny as Faust guided his path. Pride burned in his barrel, today he'd distinguished himself from the colt he'd been, today he'd taken on a mantle of responsibility who's weight he would bear with all his heart. He smiled, and Cadence smiled back.
except it wasn't Cadence.
Fire was consuming her, green like poison. Horror filled him, rushing forward to comfort the mare he loved, but what stood a before him a bare moment later wasn't his wife, wasn't a pony of Equestria at all. A beast... a... a Daemon of chitin and blood roared in savage victory as the air about them filled with screams and cries of terror. Shining Armour was certain he'd been married in a temple, but the world around him had fallen to darkness, the creature fixing him with its emerald gaze. She was magnificent, power flowing from her very being, an aura of pervasive magic hanging over her, and as she approached Shining Armour could hear the rising chitter of hundreds of insectile voices, rising louder and louder into a shrieking crescendo. He wanted to block the noise out, stop the screaming, but as Chrysalis met his gaze he felt something wail in his soul.
"Hello, my love."
Shining tried to cry out, but by then he'd already fallen into darkness, the shadows swallowing his form whole. for a brief eternity he fell through empty void before the darkness was studded with stars, glinting like diamonds. The floor beneath his back was ice cold, smooth as flagstone. Someone was stood over him, little more than a blurred outline that seemed practically indistinct from the surrounding darkness. a bone-deep chill had sunk into his bones, his heart beating frantically against his chest. The shadows above him began to resolve itself, features becoming distinct; a sharp aquiline muzzle, cold, dispassionate eyes that gleamed like ice, a triple-helix spiralling up the length of her horn.
Shining screamed.
One moment he’d been fine, the next…
Celestia felt her expression grow grim, perfect features hardening to a mask of stone as the Patriarch shrieked and screamed in his slumber. One moment he’d been slumbering so peacefully, the slightest hit of relief on his muzzle as he slept, the next he’d grimaced and convulsed, before crying out. Medical staff rushed around him, the nurses and doctors speeding to and fro as they rushed to return the patient to a stable condition. The stallion spoke no words, merely roaring in primal fear and he struggled in vain, but to Celestia it was like the final battle of a drowning soul, his cries the shrieks of the damned,
And she had damned many.
Beside her, still cloaked in the form of a member of the Celestial Guard, Chrysalis watched on mutely, her damnable tongue finally silenced for once as she watched the medical staff begin to restrain Shining Armour to the bed for his own safety, leather bindings promptly wrapped around his limbs and in turn secured to the beds guide-rails, the effort stilling the colt ever so slightly. Celestia regarded the changeling queen beside her with a detached expression, noting with only the faintest degree of surprise that Chrysalis seemed quite terrified for Shining Armours life. How odd, in her millennia of existence Celestia had known but a bare hoofful of Changelings to ever express true emotion; as a Hive-Queen Chyrsalis possessed a formidable degree of autonomy, nearly that of a full individual, yet Celestia felt surprise none the less.
Shining Armour screamed.
She felt her soul wail in horror as an expression of absolute agony crossed his muzzle, cold-sweat breaking out across his coat as he twisted and writhed in the nurses grip. The mares swarmed like studious little bees, every facet of their attention fixed upon the stallion lying before them. The medical profession was well respected within the Equestrian nation; as Celestia had explained to Chrysalis when she had returned Shining Armour from the depths of her hive beneath Canterlot, the Equestrian ponies honoured that which upheld life, all too aware of the fragile nature of something so rare and precious. Each member of the Palace medical team were experts in their fields, armed with years of first-hoof experience in their professions; from combat-medics to mid-wives, yet still the Solar Princess felt herself seize with each twitch of the Patriarchs frame, horrified at what she'd done.
They were professionals, but Celestia knew the damage they sought to heal was far beyond their capacity.
When she had first offered him to Nightmare Moon nearly two years ago, Celestia had known even then that the patriarch would not willingly give up his form, and allow the Nightmare to ravage his flesh to her black hearts desire. Betrothed to her adopted niece, Shining Armour had long professed his love for the sweet mare, and even today the ‘Ballad Of The Two Lovers’ - written in classical style - about the famed pair, was sung far and wide from the Southern Deserts to the Crystal Empire extolling the perfect unity of their love. Shining Armour had committed himself to Cadence in heart, mind, and soul, and for that reason Celestia had woven a subtle web of arcane magic within the patriarchs mind, gently teasing and tending to the memories inside, modifying his recollection until the event were all but a dream in his mind.
The spell was complex, not something that even a pony as powerful as her dear student Twilight Sparkle could hope to cast. Though arcane magic was a powerful, Eldritch force, the mind of a living being possessed equal depth and complexity: it was not a plaything to be expended at whim. Though she possessed knowledge of the universe unknowable to all but the divine being of Faust herself, Celestia knew there was no way to fully comprehend exactly how deeply Shining Armour had bee affected. Perhaps if his encounter with Nightmare Moon had been the only time Celestia would require his… intimate talents, the alterations would have sunken into his unconsciousness and ultimately been rendered harmless.
Alas that was not the case.
The spell worked by obfuscating the natural sense of linear time the affect individual experienced, simply bypassing the memories by substituting them with naturally generated explanations for the missing time; falling asleep; the unimportance of the events that were trying to be remembered; and other such excuses. A single use was unlikely to cause any major damage or changes within the affected individuals psyche: living beings accumulated and discarded memories at too exhaustive a rate to retain track of every instance in their lives, but the damage came from the cumulative affect of too much missing time. A living soul could only withstand so much external tampering before they began to succumb to anxiety and paranoia, the inability to recall their own existence disconcerting leading to deep-seated insecurities within the aforementioned individual. Even without any knowledge of what he'd done, Celestia was very aware that Shining Armour knew that something was deeply wrong within his own soul, the memories she'd hidden from his sight teasing at the edges of his conciousness, threatening to spill lose and reveal the acts he'd performed.
She shivered.
There were risks to what she'd done, she knew that. She knew it millennia she'd drawn together this little scheme around the patriarch; he wasn't the first mortal she'd bent to her will, subtly directed and influenced. Were her subjects ever to know the numbers she'd manipulated over the years they'd be disgusted, Celestia was certainly disgusted with herself.
"Do something..." a voice by her side whispered, quiet and fearful. Celestia turned to see the disguised Hive-Queen staring at her, tears threatening to break loose. "You cast the spell, you did this to him. Do something, please!"
"I cannot." The words felt heavy on her tongue, weighted with consequence. "The spell cannot be further altered, only repealed. Were I to remove the wards within his mind each memory hidden would come rushing back. Shining Armour would become aware of his actions and I cannot... we cannot... allow that to happen."
A manic expression seized the hive-queens equine muzzle, her composure slipping ever so slightly to reveal the emerald poison in her eyes. She trembled slightly, seizing Celestia's fore-leg. 'She's genuinely panicking' Celestia realised as Chrysalis's tightened her grip like a vice.
"Please Celestia, help him!"
All activity came to a halt, even as Shining Armour continued to struggle upon his bed, all eyes on the guard by the princesses side. A thousand years ago such an outburst against the holy daughter of Faust herself would have been punishable with a most painful execution, five-hundred at it would have been beheading. Though she had never cared for such etiquette and treatment, Celestia was painfully aware of what she represented to her populace; a direct manifestation between the physical and divine, a living bridge between the living and creation itself.
To her own people her very body was inviolate.
For several Moments longer no one moved, no one spoke; no one dared to believe that one of Celestia's own guards could break such a sacred statute of law. Then Shining Armour screamed, Celestia allowed the faintest hint of a frown that had doomed empires and killed kings to pass ever so briefly over her muzzle, and the staff returned to work, Chrysalis's outburst briefly forgotten. Sparing the mare a foul look, Celestia moved to step outside, the hive-queen in tow. As the heavy oaken door shut behind them, finally blocking out Shining Armours screams, Celestia felt some of the tension leave her soul, her body relaxing ever so slightly as she took deep breaths.
“Chrysalis, you will show control when in my presence or I shall not allow you to remain by my side any longer, is that understood?”
The Hive-Queen shot back an expression of pure poison, baring fangs too sharp and unnatural to belong to a pony of her realm. “Damn you, Celestia, not all of us are ice-hearted monsters!”
“Be silent, wretch. I’ve had enough of your whining for today.” A scream made its way past the door, muffled, but still raw to her eyes. Celestia winced.
“For Faust’s sake, Celestia, can’t you hear him? He’s in agony, please, do something!”
Celestia gritted her teeth, prepared herself for what had to be told. “Shining Armour is my subject, my servant. As his ruler it is my right to employ his talents in whatever way I see fit, whether he consents or not. I have done what I can to prevent any distress, I can do no more.”
Chrysalis simply stared dumb-founded at the mare. “What?”
“I am a princess, Chrysalis, a daughter of Faust. I do what I must because it is my responsibility. Shining Armour has played his part, and though he suffers for it, the nation shall benefit from his labours, upon his efforts will I extended the power of my realm. In the fullness of time, when all is laid bare to him, he will carry these scars with pride.
A piteous wail sounded off weakly.
“You monster…” Chrysalis hissed. “Can’t you hear what you’ve done to him? Can’t you hear him scream, Celestia? I know what it’s like to bear scars that were forced upon you; there is no pride to be had. For Faust’s sake, Celestia, You’ve shattered his mind, the emotions I feel in his soul; the disgust, loathing, hatred, upon himself no less. He’s not in pain, Celestia; you’ve tortured him until he can barely feel at all.” Chrysalis shook her head in anger. “So this is the great mercy of the daughters of Faust, to torture and torment those closest, those who serve with blind devotion. I have been cruel; Celestia, but I have only ever done what circumstance has forced upon me. You…” The changeling fixed Celestia with a dagger-like frown. “You are cruel for no reason then your own entertainment; already your nation is the most secure upon this earth, but even then you can’t cease your petty games of power?”
“Says the changeling who lead her swarm in invasion of my lands?” Celestia replied “says the beast that led her swarm to prey upon my ponies, to feast upon their love and life, and you accuse me of being callous in my desire to keep my realm safe?”
“My people were starving. Where else could we go when you hunted us so furisouly? Ten swarms Faust let loose from her garden, ten Queens to whom she gifted the love and emotion of the realm!” Chrysalis hissed, her form twitching and flickering as she threatened to loose control over her form, pockets of green fire slowly working across her disguised white coat. “Once we roamed free upon the whole earth, now what remains of us thanks to you and your nation? Naught but embers, dark against the light of what was!”
Celestia suddenly felt a hot fire rise in her, the unfamiliar emotion like burning oil in her gut, ugly and fierce. She rounded on the Hive-Queen, feeling the power within her soul flush as the anger within summoned her more… aggressive abilities to the fore. “Do not lecture me on such matters, you changeling Harlot! How dare you presume to lecture me on the purpose of your disgusting wastes of life! You and I both know the swarms over stepped their bounds, grew fat and bloated on what you can no longer even feel!”
“And who did that to us, Celestia? Who forced us to twist and corrupt our own forms to survive, who forced to us… butcher our forms just to see tomorrow?” casting aside all pretence, Chrysalis shed her equine form, slipping back into her elegant, yet surreal changeling form. Celestia felt the customary disgust rise in her soul at the sight of the Hive-Queens gleaming chitin, her gleaming fangs and predatory eyes, every fiber of her being rejecting the perverse abomination before her. “That’s right, Celestia, look upon your work and despair.” There was something behind Chrysalis’s eyes, a hybrid fusion of her anxiety for Shining Armour and her anger towards the arrogant princess before her. “Look at what you’ve made of me, look at what you’ve done to me and my kind. We were beautiful once, we were whole once, until you took that from us, until you perverted us for your own ends.”
“you preyed upon my people, you monster, you turned them against me, led them in uprising against me!”
“We took in only those you rejected, only those you didn’t deem perfect enough, didn’t deem obedient enough. Faust promised them to me, Celestia, at the birth of the world she promised those wayward souls to the swarms for all time.”
“You betrayed that promise, Hive-Queen.”
“And who made such a declaration, Celestia? Faust? Deimos? Eros?” The changelings eyes narrowed into an expression of pure hatred “No. There was no divine proclamation, no ordinance against me and my kind. Only one being proclaimed the blasphemy of the changeling swarms, Celestia, and that was you.” Chyrsalis thrust forward an accusatory hoof, Celestia actually taking an involuntary step backward from the fierce gleam in the changelings eyes “You put your authority above that of the divine, Celestia. You took the fate of creation into your own hoof, as you have done again and again without care for your blatant hypocrisy. How many of your own laws have you broken, Celestia, how many heinous acts have you performed in the name of your own honour and glory.”
A sudden, piercing shriek split the air, the screams of Shining Armour rising to a furious crescendo of agony. Chrysalis’s anger only intensified. “How many more have to suffer for you to retain your bloody throne?”
Celestia felt herself grow numb. She opened her mouth to respond, to denounce the changelings lies, but she found her tongue wouldn’t move, she couldn’t force the words from her mouth. For several moments Chrysalis simply gazed upon her with unrivaled hatred, before the sound of approaching hoof steps from behind the door caught her ear. With well rehearsed practice Chrysalis slipped into another form, throwing off her natural flesh to remain hidden. Yet as the emerald fire swept across her body, it wasn’t the snow-white coat of the guard Ember that she slipped into, but the delicate, petite form of Mi Amore Cadenza, golden tiara resting ever so delicately on her multichromatic mane.
A bare instance later and the door opened, a small, mousey mare in a plain white uniform emerging from within. It took Celestia a moment to realize that the screaming had abated, beyond the doorway silence reigned, like that of a dead crypt. “M-My lady,” the mare addressed Cadence. “Y-your husband is awake within… he’s… he’s asking for you, my lady.” Cadence looked to Celestia, who in turn looked to the mare with a severe expression in place.
“How is he?”
The mare fidgeted uncomfortably, glancing down to her hooves. “We’re… we’re not sure, your highness. Doctor Firelight attempted to cast a placatance spell in order to calm his soul but he’s…” the mare turned pale. “I believe you should see for yourself, princess.”
He looked... peaceful.
As the two mares approached the bedside the doctors and nurses all around bowed their heads in solemn respect, quietly taking their leave and filing out past the two princesses. Some were snow-pale, others seemed distant, Doctor Sanguine, one of the heads of the palaces medical wing, motioned for his Diarch to stand aside a moment, leaning in to speak with a near conspiratorial whisper.
"My lady, I... I do not know what to say" Sanguine's gentle scarlet coat paled slightly, the doctor looking over to his patient with an expression of fear and pity. "The patriarch is suffering in a manner I have never encounter before. So far as we can tell the patriarch bears no physical wounds nor any other sign of bodily trauma; No blood loss, no inflammation, no poisoning or invasive foreign bodies. We've examined Shining Armour in every way and we can't find the source of his malady. I don't know what else to do, princess, I-"
Celestia raised a single hoof, silencing Sanguine with a single movement. "At ease, Doctor Sanguine, though you may not have discovered the source of his woes, I have the highest confidence in your abilities. I do not doubt you will return the patriarch to the image of health in no time at all. Now." Celestia glanced over to the patriarchs resting form "How is my little patriarch?"
Sanguine nodded, seemingly a little more self-confident after his diarchs remark. "The spell of placation seems to have had a positive effect, my lady. Although we have yet to ascertain the physical, or perhaps mental, source of the trauma, current tests indicate the spell has stabilised his condition... somewhat, at least. So far as we can tell he's no longer in any pain but..." the doctor paused, licking his lips nervously, "The spell has had... unforeseen side effects, the placation spell seems to have... regressed the Patriarchs mind."
Celestia gave the stallion a confused frown. "Regressed his mind?"
"I... I cannot describe it, princess. It'd be best if you see him yourself, his condition is like nothing I have even seen before."
Nodding, Celestia bid Sanguine his leave before stepping closer to join Cadence by the bedside, the mare stood in utter silence as she gazed down at her beloved. Shining Armour lay back in silence, eyes open and fixed glassily upon the ceiling, his chest rising and falling in shallow, gentle breaths. standing across the bed from Cadence, Celestia met the Hive-queens gaze head on, nodding gently before stepping forwards.
Shining Armour looked to her, and she felt her heart sink.
When he'd been young, when she'd first met Shining Armour, Celestia had been captivated by the young colts eyes; gifted like his father with brilliant blue pupils, indicative of not only noble breeding but an an enlightened destiny. Upon that first meeting, those eyes had been bright, filled with curiosity and awe at the majesty of the being before them, and now... now they were empty and cold.
"Shiny?" Cadence asked, laying a hoof on the edge of the bed, the stallion turning to stare blankly at her. When their eyes met, the mare smiled, raising her hoof to cup the stallions cheek. "It's okay, sweetie, I'm here." The disguised Hive-queen grinned gently, but the patriarch continued to simply stare at her, eyes vacant and expression bland. There was no emotion, no recognition; Cadence's expression slipped slightly. "Shiny, Sweetheart. Are you all-right?"
"Cadence." the stallion muttered, his brow furrowing ever so slightly as he spoke. For a brief moment Chrysalis perked, a sparkle glimmering in her eyes as she nodded in confirmation.
"That's right, my love. I'm here." she reassured, gently rubbing the stallions cheek. The stallion turned his head to Celestia, the mare steeling herself against the blank gaze of her patriarch. She'd seen things like this before, instances where mental magic's lead to the destruction of the mind and the loss of memory and higher functions. Millennia past, in the final years of the Nightmare Heresy, when she'd lead a final, desperate assault on the Royal Palace at the heart of the Everfree, she'd lead a squadron of veterans into the very heart of the fortress to face the Nightmare herself. It had been a bloody conflict; of the fifty warriors she'd lead into the throne room only three had wearily trudged back out, their minds broken and their spirits shattered by what had transpired within the bloodied hall. They'd bordered insanity, all of them, weeping and screaming for comrades that had been ripped apart before their very eyes. Truthfully she'd considered giving them the ultimate mercy, but after the bloodshed of the day she'd been unable to lift her blade against those who had fought so loyal. So it was that she'd had their minds wiped, their concious understanding of the world shrunk until they couldn't comprehend any more than a new-born foal. It had been a horrific thing to do, to watch the light of intelligence slowly drain from them, their expressions growing blank until they simply stared aimlessly into the middle-distance, wandering in small, repeating loops.
She hadn't the strength to look them in the eye when they were finally led away. History had never known their sacrifice.
Shining Armours brow furrowed slightly, his blank gaze seeming to briefly consolidate into awareness before slipping away once more, opening his mouth the stallion struggled to for the words he spoke. "Princess..." he looked her up and down, a brief glimpse into his thoughts revealing an indistinct haze, a silhouette without substance. Fear seized the solar monarch for the briefest moment before she once again reasserted herself, refused to be controlled by the emotions welling within her. Shining Armour met her eyes. "Nightmare?"
Silence. Celestia looked to Chrysalis, who stared back in mute horror.
"No... No... not the Nightmare..."
Chrysalis gently took Shining Armours hoof in her own, the stallions attention snapping back to her in an instant, the move seemingly impossible in his current lethargy.
"Wife." he stated objectively, his expression lightening in apparent delight. "Cadence. Wife. Special."
