I Only Want To See You Suffer.
I Only Want To See You Suffer
The Everfree Forest, an untamed and wild region of Equestria that borders the peaceful yet occasionally chaotic village of Ponyville. This dark forest, infamous for many reasons, was a place where to venture inside carelessly or without proper knowledge and preparation of what lurked inside was suicide.
The colorful equine quadrupeds known as ponies were wise to fear such a place where they were nothing more than prey to the many, many predators that inhabit the darkness of the forest. Even the smallest of creatures could be deadly to them or any other foolish creature that dared enter the forest without knowing how to defend oneself.
The Everfree Forest, a place of mystery and danger and equal beauty. A place that once housed the castle of the Royal Pony Sisters and is the home of the all powerful Tree of Harmony. A place where weather runs rampant and cannot be controlled. A place where magic as a whole mattered little. A place where the might of an earth pony was insignificant. A place where only the fittest could survive.
Deep inside the forest, way past the ruins of the Old Castle, deeper still where the air itself felt heavy and feral, even further past the limits of the known and documented territory of the forest. There, at the very center, the beating heart of the Everfree, everything was silent.
The usual droning and howling of creatures big and small were absent for one unique reason: fear. They were hiding using whatever means they had, laying as still as a rock and more reticent than silence itself. All in the hopes to not be found and devoured by the beast standing at the very top of the food chain.
Every creature knows by instinct that when a hungry Alpha Predator was near, the only possible thing to do, was hide.
Something cracked, there was a roar of pain, a body hitting the dirt and dead leaves echoed all around, the tearing of flesh and the snapping of bones followed suit. A concert of a lifeless carcass being devoured mercilessly resounded through the dark woods; the stench of blood and freshly ripped meat filled the air with harrowing delight.
This beast. This Alpha Predator finished its meal in mere minutes, leaving nothing but the coat, claws, tail, and a few scattered bones of a once mighty manticore. The beast sighed in delight, satisfied and a belly full. The sounds of the forest returned.
In the darkness, this monster hidden from sight by a deep gray cloak looked into the distance with eerie green glowing eyes.
The monster roared with all its might, driving countless creatures into a panicked state as they ran away for their lives. The monster smiled inside his cloak.
The Everfree Forest, a perfect hiding spot for those not wanting to be found.
“Celestia…” The creature whispered at the time the glow of his eyes became more intense.
<><><><><><><><> Canterlot Castle --- Princess Celestia’s Chamber <><><><><><><><>
The Princess of the Sun woke up with a jolt and a scream escaped her throat. It took her several seconds to realize she was tucked in her bed, and several more seconds before she was able to calm herself down.
“Is everything alright, your highness?” A guard asked with concern peeking inside the room.
“Yes, Stellar, everything is alright. It was just a bad dream.” Celestia answered smiling at the guard.
Satisfied with the answer, the stallion nodded and closed the door.
Left alone in her chambers, Celestia looked around her room dimly illuminated by moonlight. She cast a spell that created a small golden sphere in front of her. Inside the sphere, she saw Tirek, weak and powerless, chained to the base of his cell in Tartarus. The sphere disappeared and Celestia sighed in relief.
“It was just a nightmare, Celestia. Tirek will never come back,” she said to herself, gently falling back to her comfy bed. With her mind free of unnecessary worries, Celestia closed her eyes ready to get a few more hours of sleep.
Just as sleep was about to take over the Sun Goddess, she heard a weak scratching.
Celestia got up once more to look around the room for any sign of movement or sound that didn’t belong to her own breathing. After almost a full minute, convinced it was just her imagination, she laid back on her bed again.
Not ten seconds after she closed her eyes did the scratching sound returned.
“Who’s there?” Celestia asked with a firm tone while she got up from her bed spreading her wings wide. Magic surrounded her horn ready to take action. Again, Celestia searched for any sort of movement but she found none.
A couple of seconds later something wet landed on her muzzle, startling her. Celestia reached with one of her hooves to touch the moisture on her snout. Once her hoof touched the wet spot, she smelled the stain and found it strangely odorless. She then looked up to her ceiling and found it pristine, clean, and intact as always. Curious, Celestia pressed the tip of her tongue against the stain in her hoof for a split second. An instant later her eyes widened.
Celestia spit while she cast a spell to clean her hoof and muzzle, the thick and metallic taste of the substance still lingering on her tongue. “Blood,” Celestia whispered before casting another spell that illuminated her entire bedroom followed by an anti-invisibility and anti-teleportation spells. Once more she found herself alone in her room.
“Stellar,” Dropping her spells, Celestia called loud enough for her voice to be heard with an authoritarian yet gentle tone. The doors of her room opened a second later and three unicorn ponies entered.
“Yes, your highness?” Stellar, the gray coated unicorn at the head of the trio asked doing a respectful bow.
“Lock-down the castle, we might have an intruder on our hooves.”
“As you command, my Princess! You heard her majesty, move those hooves!” Stellar ordered. The other two guards saluted and left to fulfill their orders. A few moments later an alarm began to echo all around the castle; windows were sealed, doors were locked and guards rushed to the walls and towers blocking every and any possible exit. “Your majesty, I request to stand at your side unless you say otherwise.”
Celestia nodded. “Thank you kindly, Stellar.”
“It is my honor and my du-”
Stellar was interrupted when the scratching sound returned louder than before. This time, Celestia and Stellar looked up in time to find the source of the noise and found the ceiling above Celestia’s bed tearing itself open. Stellar wasted no time and summoned a shield around the two of them while they watched something crawl out of the cut. Droplets of a red substance fell upon Celestia’s bedsheets and pillows, staining the same place she had been laying mere moments ago.
They watched that strange something finishes crawling out of the ceiling. The split section of the ceiling reconstructed itself almost instantly leaving it pristine and untouched, as if like it never even happened.
The two sets of eyes watched as the yellowish piece of something landed on the bed with a wet splat. Neither of them moved for almost an entire minute, then Stellar undid a section of his shield allowing him to step out, but keeping the ward around Celestia.
He approached, cautiously, until he was face to face with the yellowish object. He inspected it for a couple of moments until he came to a conclusion.
“I think… I think it’s a piece of flesh, your majesty,” Stellar said before a zapping sounds caught his attention. He looked to Celestia and saw her pierce through his shield with her magic and step toward the bed. Looking back at the blood-stained yellow flesh, Stellar leaned to smell it. “No smell…” He mumbled before taking the piece of flesh with his magic. He inspected it with closer detail for several silent seconds. “Your majesty, I believe this flesh belonged to a hydra.”
“Are you certain, Stellar?” Celestia asked eyeing the piece of flesh, the lingering taste of blood still dancing in her taste buds.
“Yes, my Princess, hydra flesh and blood have no odor according to our records, and when the flesh starts to rotten it changes color from red to a yellowish, mustard-like tone. Still, I don’t understand why the meat is rotten when the blood is fresh.”
“I see…,” Celestia replied looking up to her ceiling. She closed her eyes and cast a spell on the spot the piece of flesh had fallen through. Her eyes widened an instant later when she didn’t find any kind of magical trace or signature.
“My Princess, there’s some sort of symbol carved into the flesh,” Stellar called stretching out the piece of flesh with his magic.
Celestia looked at the flesh and saw that, like Stellar had said, there was a symbol carved on it. Taking with her magic, Celestia got a closer look at the symbol. She frowned as she was unable to recognize the symbol, she squinted her eyes and moved the piece of flesh around in an effort to discern what the symbol was.
I don’t recognize it, but it feels… familiar somehow. I know I’ve seen this before, but where? Celestia mused while continuing her research over the symbol. She could make out a circle and some sort of tentacles around it, but nothing more. Frustrated, Celestia looked at the blood stained spot on her bed and an idea struck her. She turned the piece of flesh around and pressed it against her clean sheets. She then pulled the piece of flesh to the side.
Suddenly, her eyes widened, her legs quivered, and her heart skipped a beat. The air itself turned colder than the arctic winds of the Crystal Empire, the floor below her disappeared, the light vanished, her mind seized, and darkness surrounded her. All the while, her eyes could only see the blood-carved symbol imprinted on her sheets.
The circle wasn’t a circle at all and the tentacles were anything but. She could make out a head with horns, a fiery body, a tail, and segmented wings creating a form similar to a circle.
YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE, CELESTIA!
Celestia heard the frenzied and hateful shout of a being she had cast down so long ago drum inside her head. A fear unlike anything she had ever experienced clawed and pierced her spine; the urge to fly away as far as she could strike her, but her limbs were frozen as her mind still, couldn’t comprehend the situation she was facing.
“Princess Celestia!”
“H-Huh?” Celestia finally reacted when Stellar shouted her name. She looked at the stallion and found him incredibly distraught and looking at her with wide-open, worried eyes. Only now she realized she was sweating cold, her breathing was slow and rough, and that she was trembling all over with her wings tightly folded against her sides.
Celestia shook her head. No, it can’t be. It’s impossible! Celestia yelled to herself.
“P-Princess?” Stellar called with a less worried and more frightened tone.
Celestia took notice that her mane was on fire after seeing Stellar take a step backward.
“Stellar, s-summon the Element Bearers, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, and Discord to Canterlot, now.”
Stellar took another step back and gulped, never had he seen Celestia, the Princess of the Sun, so angry and frightful at the same time. Nor had he ever heard her talk with the harshness she had spoken with that command. Nevertheless, he bowed.
“It shall be done, my Princess,” Stellar said before retiring to fulfill his new orders. He left the room and closed its door.
Alone in her chambers, Celestia allowed herself to drop onto the floor with rapid, harsh breaths. Time itself came to a crawl all around her while she trembled against the coldness of the floor.
“Sister, art thou alright!?” Luna half-yelled bursting open the doors of her sister’s chambers. The Princess of the Night found her sister on the floor looking up at her. “Tia, what’s wrong? Why have you called upon our friends? Why are you trembling?”
Celestia swallowed, her lips quivered and her throat felt dry. She then replied in a shaky but serious manner.
“He has escaped, Luna.”
<><><><><><><>The next afternoon- Canterlot Castle, Throne Room- <><><><><><><>
“Thank you all for coming on such a short notice, my dearest friends,” Celestia said standing in the middle of the room while Luna stood at her side. Both sisters had a noticeable and positively alien expression of worry and dread. “As you have surely noticed, the entire city is in lock-down and every available guard is stationed all around the city walls and alleys.”
“Yeah, no kidding, it’s like the whole changeling invasion all over again,” Rainbow said crossing her forelegs. “You know, when they were evil and stuff.”
“I’m afraid this is far worse, Rainbow Dash.” Celestia breathed. “An ancient enemy has escaped from the pits of Tartarus and is on the loose.”
“Is it Tirek again, auntie?” Cadance asked while Shining Armor stood at her side, relieved to have left Flurry back on the Empire in the capable hooves of Sunburst.
Luna negated. “Nay, Tirek is not the cause of this summoning. For this enemy is from the time the Three Tribes, guided by my sister, our brother, and myself arrived in Equestria.”
Luna’s statement caused many to look at each other in confusion.
“Excuse me, Princess Luna, but what the hay are you talking about?” Applejack asked with a frown.
Luna and Celestia exchanged glances before letting out a defeated sigh.
“The story of the Three Tribes you know not entirely true, nor is it entirely false. It is true that the tribes had internal disputes, the famine that struck their land was caused by our own actions, and the Windigoes threaten to exterminate them all. But, the unicorn tribe never had control over the Sun or the Moon, nor did the tribes break off on their own in search of new land.” Celestia revealed.
“Our Father, Aurora Solaris, was the herald of the Sun and the Moon during that time,” Luna continued. “The Three Tribes came to him for guidance and protection once the Windigo threat began to claim hundreds of lives. He accepted to guide them to a new fertile land on the condition to end the petty fights amongst themselves and never let them resurge again.”
Celestia put a wing on Luna’s back. “The leaders of the tribes accepted and so we began our march. Sadly, the Windigoes were right behind us and our Father sacrificed himself to gain us enough time to escape. He passed the Mantle of the Sun to me, and the Mantle of the Moon to Luna, when our older brother, Blueblood, refused the responsibility. When we arrived at the land we would call Equestria, the Windigoes were nearly upon us.”
“Blueblood tried to fight them back and was nearly killed. The Ice Demons were ready to exterminate us when another force came to our rescue.” Luna closed her eyes, her voice turning solemn and lamentful. “The--”
Luna was cut short by a terrified scream followed by another and another. The clashing of metal echoed through the hallways while the guards shouted in defiance and the officers barked orders.
Shining Armor summoned a shield around the entire group while Starlight created a secondary layer behind Shining’s shield. The four alicorn princesses took a stance with their horns ignited with magic, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack took a fighting stance, Pinkie Pie pulled her Party Cannon out of her mane, Fluttershy hid behind Discord while the God of Chaos looked at the door with a lifted eyebrow.
The shouting and sounds of combat became louder and louder until everything went completely silent without warning. A few seconds later, one of the doors parted slightly before a small purple figure came through and then closed the door. He ran towards the group with barely contained tears on his eyes.
“Spike!? I told you to stay back in the castle!” Twilight shouted angrily. She used her magic to carve open a small hole on the shields for Spike to pass through, but a golden aura closed the gap. “Celestia!?”
“What is my favorite donut?” Celestia asked Spike with a deadly serious tone that made everyone but Luna look at her with confusion and surprise.
“Banana flavored with triple sprinkles and extra glazing!” Spike shouted back while he shot glances back at the door. Celestia's magic vanished and Spike entered the shield, which closed up a moment later. Spike ran to Twilight’s open hooves and hugged her for dear life.
“Did you sneak up on the train?” Twilight asked in a less angry but firmer tone.
“I’m s-sorry! I didn’t w-want to stay behind while you guys risked your l-lives again! I was walking down the hallway when h-heard the fighting. O-one of the guards told me to come hurry and get here. Why…,” wiping away his tears, Spike looked up to Celestia. “Why did you asked me that, Princess?”
Celestia’s expression shifted for a moment to one of regret before turning stern once more.
“I’m sorry, Spike, I had to be sure it was you and not-”
“Me?” A raspy, hollow voice called all around them. “And here I thought you couldn’t possibly fall any lower, Celestia.” The voice said in a slightly mocking tone, but when he spoke Celestia’s name everyone could feel the underlying anger and revulsion with which it was spoken. “But to use such a thing to distract me?” The voice chuckled darkly sending a shiver up the spines of half the group.
“Show yourself, monster! Face us in the open!” Luna demanded while everyone began looked around trying to find the source of the voice. At the same time, Rarity pulled Spike in between herself, Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack to protect him.
“Fret not, Lulu, for my quarrel is not with you, but with that white soulless creature standing next to you,” the voice said, each word directed to Celestia filled with venom and spite.
“Reaaal original, whoever you are, I did the disembodied voice shtick before it was cool!” Discord said back with a smirk.
“Ah! You must be the so-called Discord. Tell me, what lies did that white demon say to you to protect her, Lord of Chaos?”
“Enough!” Celestia yelled. “How can you be here so soon?” Her usual calm, regal, and authoritarian voice was cracked by a fear that was almost palpable.
“Did you truly believed I was going to come right for you after I escaped from the pits of Tartarus, the place in which you left me to rot, just like that? Oh no, I spent three years regaining my strength preparing for this moment. In fact, I must thank you, Twilight Sparkle were it not for your crushing victory over that power hungry centaur, I would still be chained and shackled.”
“Then we have to put you back in Tartarus when we’re done with you!” Rainbow exclaimed. “No villain is going to take over Equestria under our watch, you freak!”
“Yeah!” Her friends cheered on.
“Equestria? I don’t want Equestria. I want one thing and one thing only.”
“Which is?” Shining spat.
“Justice. Revenge. Call it whatever you want,” the voice snarled. “I want that liar, that false idol you love so much, pay for her crimes. I want to hear her scream in pain. I want to plunge her into a spiral of madness and torment so great that for once in her stinking, unworthy, pathetic life makes her feel remorse for her actions,” the voice said with ever increasing anger. “In short, I only want to see you suffer, Celestia, the Slayer, the Liar, the Killer, the Tyrant, the Treacherous.”
“How dare you say such things to my aunt!” Cadance huffed while magic sparked on the tip of her horn.
The being laughed, it’s raspy and guttural sound hurting their ears.
“This is even better than I expected from your coward ass, Celestia,” the voice mocked. “Well then, allow me to illuminate all of you on what that white prostitute really is,” the voice groaned and coughed.
“I don’t think so, pal.” Discord said preparing to snap his fingers.
“Cease your actions, Discord,” the voice ordered with a firmer tone.
Discord was about to snap his fingers when he heard the command and stopped. “What the hay?” Discord looked at the ponies and dragon, all of them looking at him in surprise, except for Luna and Celestia. They had panicked expressions on their faces. He saw them charge up their horns and aim them at him. “Hey, wait a minute! What are you doing!?”
“Princesses!?” Fluttershy yelled before jumping between the royal sisters and Discord. The two sisters faltered for a moment.
“Take away their magic,” the voice commanded.
Discord grunted, but his fingers snapped. A moment later the barriers dropped and every horn was left with no magic covering them.
“Chain and shackle them to the ground,” the voice commanded again, and Discord did as told despite the multiple protests.
“Discord, what the hay are you doing!?” Twilight yelled as chains and shackles made of iron-hard laffy-taffy tied her up, forcing her to sit on her haunches.
“That’s what I want to know!” Discord countered, watching as his friends were brought to the ground.
“Discord, sit down. You are forbidden to move from that spot or use your magic unless I say otherwise,” the voice ordered.
Discord grunted in defiance, but his body did as ordered.
“Please, stop! It is me who you are after, leave them be!” Celestia called.
A moment later a cloaked figure fell to the ground a few meters in front of them. All eyes were on it as it laid motionless for several moments. It then stirred for a second or two before jumping on its feet. The being rose up until it stood erect in what they could only guess were two legs. It was tall enough to be somewhere in the middle between Celestia and Discord. From within the hood of the cloak, the group could see two shining, hateful green orbs watching them.
The group was struggling to get free, but the chains didn’t falter. They stopped, however, when the creature let out a loud, satisfied sigh.
“For so long I have dreamt of this moment, and now it’s finally within my reach,” the creature said, it’s voice sounding broken, hollower and far raspier than before. “Sweet redemption for me. Punishment for you, Celly. And the truth for those you have so cruelly deceived.” The figure said taking two solid steps towards them. “Why are you trembling, Celestia?” He asked, making the group look at the white alicorn and found that she was, indeed, trembling. “You can’t possibly be cold, after all, you’re surrounded by many of your meat shields. What lies did you tell them about me, mmm?”
“What did you do to Discord, you big meanie!?” Fluttershy asked with an angry tone making the creature look directly at her. When their gazes met, Fluttershy whimpered trying to move away.
“Nothing. He just can’t disobey an order from his King, that’s all,” the creature answered. “I didn’t kill the guards outside this room if you’re wondering. Which reminds me. Discord, create a barrier and an anti-pony magic barrier around this room. Seal the doors and the windows while you’re at it, too.”
Discord groaned in protest but did so an instant later.
“Rggghhaaa! What are you talking about, you brute!?” Rarity asked squirming against her bindings. “This is going to ruin my coat, I had it brushed yesterday!” She protested.
“You should blame that monster you’re trying to protect, pony. Everything that’s happening is her fault and hers only.”
“Bahamut, please, don’t harm them,” Celestia implored. “Do with me what you will but--”
“Silence your rotten, murdering noise whole, prostitute. How dare you pretend to be a martyr in front of your puppets when mere moments ago they were nothing but meat shields?” Bahamut, the cloaked figure, said taking a step forward to the group. He let out a dark, choking guffaw that made everyone flinch when he saw Celestia recoil in fear.
“No, Celestia, you shall not lie and manipulate your way out for once. Tell me, how does it feel to face the consequences of your actions? How does it feel that the sins of the past have finally caught up to you?” Bahamut took another step forward.
“You have no right to say such things after what you’ve done, Bahamut!” Luna yelled angrily.
Bahamut turns his head to look Luna directly. “I’m sorry, Lulu, you are a victim as much as my kind were. Celestia tricked us all like the tyrant and liar that she is. You included.”
“Curb thine lying tongue, monster!” Luna barked back.
Bahamut took several slow, echoing steps towards the group until he was in front of Twilight.
“I can see you have a great regard for Celestia, Twilight Sparkle. I wonder how it will change after you hear the truth about that demon in alicorn flesh.”
“We will never believe a word you say, Bahamut! Princess Celestia is good, wise, kind, noble, and just. She is the benevolent Princess of the Sun, one of the pillars of Equestria, we will find a way to beat you, just like every other villain before.”
Bahamut laughed hard and loud, but unlike his previous laughs, this one was not tainted by hate or contempt. He was genuinely laughing.
“Well said, Twilight Sparkle! I know you’d never believe me, but what about Celestia? If you will not hear the truth from me, will you believe it if she tells it?”
Twilight watched as the green orbs that were his eyes became more intense for a few moments. She then nodded.
“Bahamut, I beg you, don’t do this!” Celestia begged.
“Oh, the irony, you’re asking for mercy, but when I asked for it all you did was laugh as you left me chained and bound in the Pits of Tartarus. Mocking me for my naivety and taunting me to come get you, don’t you remember?” Bahamut spat. “Now I’m free, I got you just where I wanted, and you’re so pathetic to beg? You are truly the lowest of filth, Celestia. I bet Blueblood must be waiting for you in the afterlife to give you a piece of his mind for all the atrocities you committed.”
Bahamut snorted. “I wonder what you’re more afraid of, me or them?” He said pointing at the rest of the group. “You want the truth told by Celestia, Twilight Sparkle? Then you’ll have it. Discord, cast a spell on Celestia that makes her tell the truth and only the truth,” Bahamut smiled sadistically inside his hood when he saw the look of absolute horror on Celestia’s face. A snap of fingers later Bahamut cleared his throat. “Go on, Twilight Sparkle, ask her something, for once in her life she won’t be able to lie.”
Twilight did her best to look back at her former mentor and fellow princess, she saw the terrified look on her face. She knew Celestia was the kind of pony to hide things from others, most of the time for their protection. She was old, wise, and one of the rulers of an entire nation for over thousands of years. It was only common sense to think she had to lie about some things, like burying the existence of the Crystal Empire before it came back. Hay, she and Luna were telling them a story about the birth of Equestria right before Bahamut arrived.
Her scientific mind raced with Celestia’s words, demeanor, expressions, body language, and actions during this short unfolding events and knew something was not right. In previous occasions, such as Sombra, Tirek, and Discord himself, she had been more angry than scared, but now she was more than terrified.
She had to know, no, she had to understand what Bahamut was talking about, why his accusations were so heavy and hateful. What was Celestia afraid of?
“Is Bahamut telling the truth, Celestia?” Twilight asked softly.
Celestia struggled for several seconds, but in the end, she spoke a single word. “Yes.”
The entire room fell into a cold, windless silence that made everyone freeze in place.
“What is Bahamut blaming you for, Celestia?” Twilight asked after what felt like an eternity later.
“The extermination of his kind,” Celestia answered, tears forming in her eyes. The ponies around her did their best to look at her with varying degrees of shock and unbelief expressions. Even Discord was left speechless, with an incredulous look on his face.
“Sister?” Luna asked looking at Celestia with confusion. “W-we had no other option, they were attacking our ponies. They were mere beasts back then. We tried everything within our power to save them! That monster of Bahamut poisoned his people to attack us!”
Bahamut gasped. “I did that!? By the divine creators, I wasn’t aware I poisoned my subjects to attack your ponies, Lulu. If only I was their King and had the power to command them into doing whatever order I gave them, instead of using a potion that turned them berserk, that would’ve made things much more easier!” Bahamut snarled. “Who made that so-called ‘poison’, Celestia?”
“I created it,” Celestia said earning a hollow gasp from Luna.
“C-Celestia… h-h-how could you…” Luna mumbled, watching her sister look at the ground as tears fell from her eyes. “Please… tell me it’s not true…”
“I’m afraid that is the truth, Lulu, but that’s not even the worst of it. Oh no, that heartless monster you call sister did much worse. Tell them what you told me after you backstabbed me and dragged me to the Pits of Tartarus. Tell poor Luna, your own sister whom you lied to and manipulated into doing your bidding, how you gloated and humiliated me while you chained me up. Tell her the real reason behind what you did to my kind.”
Celestia whimpered, choking with her own saliva trying to fight back Discord’s spell, but it was ultimately useless. “I set up a trap for Bahamut near the gates of Tartarus. I asked for his help to deal with some renegade demons. Once he arrived I hit him with my warhammer with all my might, knocking him unconscious. I then d-dragged him into the Pits of Tartarus and imprisoned him so that he couldn’t interfere with my plans,” Celestia sobbed.
“Yes, and you laughed and laughed, calling me a fool, an idiot for ever trusting you so blindly, my sister in arms, my friend,” Bahamut said, each word laced with venom.
“I… I… I wanted to secure Equestria for ponies… and ponies only. I knew they would never leave, so I had no other option but to… exterminate them all. I created an incurable Berserk Potion and spread it all over their tribes and villages… once the first attacks commenced, it was the perfect excuse to rally my ponies and put his kind down. Equestria was their homeland, but we needed it to live and form a new and prosperous nation. My kingdom. And his kind was in the way…”
Again, everypony was speechless.
“It must be such an alien feeling, is it not, Celestia? Telling the truth must be burning your throat~” Bahamut taunted. “We saved you and your ponies from the Windigoes, we protected you against Diamond Dogs war parties, feral dragons, and many a monsters. We shared our land, our food, our homes with you. We helped you build your own homes. We swore to live in peace with ponies as family in a never ending alliance, and you paid us fifty years after by killing us all,” Bahamut said, his entire body was shaking.
“But that wasn’t enough for you, prostitute. After you killed my kind you came back only to shove it on my face, laughing and blaming their deaths on me. With each struggle I made to free myself and kill you, you only laughed harder. In your infinite cruelty, you didn’t kill me, saying it was a waste of your precious time. That you had a new nation to make and guide. So you left me to rot and die in the darkest hole you could find. And when I promised that I would one day come for you, what was your reply?”
“...’You’re welcome to try, scum.’ ” Celestia answered.
“N-No! My auntie… Auntie Celestia, please, tell me that’s not true!” Cadance shouted, tears falling down her cheeks.
Celestia closed her eyes. “It’s the truth.”
“B-b-but...h-how could you...HOW COULD YOU, CELESTIA!” Luna shouted at the top of her lungs. “Dozens of thousands were slaughtered! Thousands of our ponies died, too!” She fell silent suddenly, her eyes widening. “A-are you responsible for Blueblood’s death, Celestia?” Luna whispered, her gaze threatening to melt Celestia on the spot.
“NO! I didn’t kill Blueblood! H-he… he knew of my plans, he tried to stop me, but he was too weak from the wounds the Windigoes left on him to even fight. I… I erased that knowledge from his mind before he could say anything to you or our subjects. Blueblood died months after from those same wounds.”
“...” Luna said nothing for several moments until she turned to see Bahamut. “She betrayed you… she made me believe you betrayed us… that you went insane with power and wanted us gone,” with a hateful scowl, Luna looked at her sister. “You told Us you had no option but to imprison Bahamut in hopes to stop the madness! But you caused it! You lied to Us, you tricked Us into killing hundreds of innocents!” Luna yelled while hot tears fell from her eyes.
Celestia slowly looked up to Luna with tears falling from her own eyes. “I wanted a kingdom of peace that only belonged to us ponies, Luna. I had to lie to you because you wouldn’t have accepted my plan-”
“Of course I wouldn’t have! Celestia, you told us ending them was the only way to free them. You told me it pained you to do it, that in the name of our bond we had to stop them, but in reality, you made our subjects commit genocide! And… and I helped you…” Luna said, almost whispering the last part.
“Auntie… how could you do such a thing?” Cadance asked looking at Celestia with wide open eyes. At her side, Shining Armor was looking at the white alicorn with a look of absolute contempt and revulsion.
Celestia, despite her bindings, managed to look at each and every face of her friends and family looking up at her with utter unbelief or incredulity. Fluttershy was covering her mouth. Rarity looked ready to faint. Applejack glared at her with an intensity only surpassed by Luna’s own glare. Pinkie Pie’s mane and tail were now plain and her coat was a darker shade of pink. Rainbow was shaking her head from side to side in slow motions. Starlight was puzzled. Discord was still speechless. Spike was in a similar state to Fluttershy.
And Twilight, she looked devastated. Celestia could see how her heart was being shattered into dust in her eyes.
Bahamut moaned. “Ahhhhh~ The truth sure is liberating, is it not, Celly? But the pain you’re feeling? That’s but the mountaintop of what I have planned for you. Tricking you to call upon those that are so close to you as mere meat shields to protect you from my wrath was rather easy. Your defenses were useless, when I sent you my message I was already inside this castle, all I had to do was wait. Justice will be mine!” Bahamut said, but before he could take a step closer Twilight spoke.
“We… We can do proper justice to you and your kind, Bahamut. Don’t fall to her level, I beg of you... if you could wait--” Twilight began to say, her voice broken and heavy with disappointment, but was cut short by a ferocious snarl.
“I’VE DONE MY WAITING!” Bahamut roared to her face, his up until now calm, collected demeanor broke for the first time. “Ten thousand two hundred and seventy years with five months and two days of waiting... In the Pits of Tartarus, where I was thrown and chained after that banshee tricked me! Hearing the voices of my kind calling for her blood, something I shall NOT be denied!”
“I no longer fear any kind of retribution for my actions. Thanks to her all of my subjects are dead! DEAD! Killed, slaughtered, and murdered by a tyrant that thought of us as nothing more than a mere obstacle to her egotistical vision! We held her and all pony kind as our own family, and she betrayed us and her own kind, too! I failed to protect them, but I shall not fail to avenge them!”
The room turned silent, the only sound made by Bahamut’s wheezing exhalations. His piercing stare caused Twilight to drop her head slightly in defeat. He then laid his eyes upon Spike.
The little dragon flinched when the green piercing eyes of the cloaked being met his gaze.
Bahamut snorted. “Discord, Celestia’s insulting golem disturbs my sight,” Discord watched him and then looked down at Spike. “Shatter it.”
Discord didn’t move.
“I said shatter that golem, Discord!” Bahamut ordered, but again Discord didn’t move.
Bahamut watched as the ponies looked up to him and then to Spike. A couple of seconds passed before Bahamut spoke again. “Shatter its chains, Discord,” the chains burst into dust after a snap of his fingers. “You. Stand up.”
Spike obeyed.
“Lift your arms,” Spike did so. “Sit down,” Spike obeyed. “Tell me your name.”
“Spike, the Dragon,” Spike answered instantly.
Bahamut’s breathing started to become harsher and faster by the second. “You’re real and alive,” Bahamut said confusing everypony, except for one. Turning to face Celestia, Bahamut growled. “You truly know no mercy or shame, Celestia.”
Wavering, Bahamut moved his cloaked arms to each side of his hood, he grunted for a moment before he tore away his cloak.
Everyone could only stare as Bahamut revealed himself to them at last. Celestia closed her eyes, Luna had a puzzled expression, Discord looked back and forth between Spike and Bahamut, and the remaining ponies couldn’t help but gawk, mouths wide-open. Only the little hatchling found enough of his voice to speak up once Bahamut discarded his cloak to the ground.
“You’re a… dragon?” Spike asked, more to himself than anything. His slits were now mere black lines due to how wide-open his eyes were. Bahamut turned his gaze to Celestia.
“Is it not enough to have killed my kind, Celestia? Was it not enough to torture me and imprison me in the Pits of Tartarus?” Bahamut asked with a tone colder than the frozen lands surrounding the Crystal Empire. “Do you see, Lulu? The cruelty of the being that adores parading around as a beacon of purity to your subjects? Can you see the rotten, filthy, horrid creature that she truly is? It seems that killing us off wasn’t good enough. She had to take a trophy for her hunt. And what makes a better trophy than a slave?” Bahamut snarled, green puffs of fire coming from his nostrils. He then turned his attention to Spike.
“How many more of us does that wench have under her thrall!?” Bahamut asked with fury in his eyes.
Spike moved his mouth trying to answer, but the only thing he could focus on was the zombie-like creature that used to be a dragon.
His scales were almost black, yet he could see they were a darker shade of purple. His underbelly scales, of a lighter shade of green like his own, ran from his lower jaw, down his chest, torso, groin, and tail (which was split in half leaving a stump). But there were spots of missing scales, letting anyone see the burnt and charred meat behind it. He could see a set of wings, or at least what used to be wings since he could see little to no leathery skin attached to the wing-bones; each wing laid limply and useless from either of his sides. His entire body wasn’t skinny, but it was clearly unhealthy and weak.
Spike could hardly believe Bahamut said he was in a far worse condition beforehand.
Aside from that, Spike could also see several scars and markings all over the places Bahamut had scales on, and even in the spots that didn’t; the product of many battles or maybe something else. His neck was so thick covered in scars that Spike wondered how was it that his head was still attached to his body. Spike noticed that Bahamut was missing two fingers from his left hand, another from his right hand, and two and a half from his left foot. His fangs were intact and his eyes seemed okay, but even his face had several scars, his left ear-fin was gone replaced by a nasty gash, his primary eyelids were also gone (Spike took a second to thank for his secondary set of eyelids), and half of his crest was shattered and broken.
All in all, more than intimidating the broken visage of Bahamut caused him to pity the bigger dragon.
“W-what?” Spike answered finally.
“How many of us have you enslaved, whore!” Bahamut asked, enraged, looking at Celestia.
“N-not a single one,” Celestia answered. It causing Bahamut to take a step back.
Bahamut stared at Celestia for a good solid minute before looking down at Spike again.
“You don’t even know what you are, do you?” Bahamut said more than asked.
“I’m a dragon,” Spike answered, noticing the hint of sadness in Bahamut’s voice.
“Celestia, is young Spike… one of them?” Luna asked now out of her trance.
“Yes, he is, Luna,” Celestia answered re-opening her eyes and looking down at the purple hatchling that did his best to look at her. “I found your egg, Spike, centuries ago. From the instant I saw it I knew what it was. I--” Celestia bit her tongue. “A quick spell revealed to me that you were laid thousands of years prior to me finding it. How your egg survived, I do not know. But I knew I had to destroy it, but… but… I, just couldn’t.”
“P-Princess…,” Spike whispered, horrified at the revelation.
“You’re not just one of those brute dragons from the Dragon Lands, Spike,” Bahamut said glaring at Celestia with all his might. “You are a Gemstone Dragon, Spike. The greatest of all Dragon-kind, like myself. I am Bahamut of the Eternal Flame, Emperor of the Gemstone Dragons and King of all Dragon-kind.” Bahamut revealed to the group. Afterward, Bahamut looked at Celestia. “Tell this young hatchling, murderer, why you couldn’t kill him like you did so with the rest of our kind.”
Celestia blinked letting fresh tears cascade down her cheeks as she looked down at Spike.
“I couldn’t ruin such a valuable thing. I planned to use you as a key element to finding the new Bearer of the Element of Magic. For many years it was fruitless until Twilight hatched you. With your labor fulfilled I decided you could provide the perfect opportunity to show other nations that even a dangerous, greedy, brutish creature such as a dragon could live among peaceful ponies as one of us,” Celestia tried to scoot closer to Spike, but the chains prevented her from doing so. Still, her tears kept falling.
“But having to personally teach you your role to assist Twilight. After seeing you grow up little by little, seeing your dedication and conviction, even going as far as being the hero of the day on many occasions, I came to realize my horrible mistake. I’ve tried to tell you, Luna, the truth, when you asked me about Spike, but the fear of your reprisal for my monstrous actions forced me to remain silent. I didn’t want to lose you again,” Celestia looked up at Bahamut, staring at his unblinking green eyes identical to Spike’s. “Bahamut, do what you want with me, I know I deserve it, and I’m… I’m sorry.”
Bahamut stayed silent for an untold amount of time, he then looked up to the ceiling for a moment or two before looking down at the group again.
“I spent so much time imagining this moment, Celestia. This? I never expected this,” Bahamut chuckled. “But you admitting your fault and saying you’re sorry? Don’t make me laugh, whore,” he said sternly. “Of course you’re going to pay for what you’ve done. Do you know how many scenarios I envisioned? Many. Too many. Far too many to recite them all. And at least a hundred times more of those picturing your punishment,” Bahamut smiled. He walked around the group until he was at Celestia’s side.
“At first I thought of giving you a quick death. Be efficient and fast. But that would be an insult to all my dead and butchered subjects. Then I thought of several methods of torture, you being an alicorn means you can take far more punishment, even more so than a regular dragon. Suffocation, poisoning, incineration, drug testing, whipping, skinning, flaying, sleep deprivation, famine, all of these and many more came to mind, all with the sole task to keep you alive to torture you for years if possible, but none quite hit the mark, even if they brought a smile to my face while I was chained in that dark abyss.”
“As my days passed and turned into weeks. Weeks to months. Months to years. And years to millennia, with the occasional demon trying to have a snack off of me, I started to get imaginative,” Bahamut liked his lips. “I thought of forcing you to watch as I skinned Luna alive, her cries of pain while she cursed your name to the infinite. Then I thought of rallying every dragon I could find into invading Equestria in an orgy of blood and death while I held your head, forcing you to watch closely as your kingdom burns.”
Bahamut coughed, he then grabbed Celestia by the root of her mane making her crown fall and pulling her head back, uncaring of the pained yelp she gave from both his pull and the pressure the chain made on her neck.
“Often times I found myself longing to murder every last pony with my own claws. Since I’m the last Gemstone Dragon, I said to myself, and all of my kind are dead, then it’s only fitting for me to kill all of you bastards since that’s all I have left! Can you imagine it, Celestia? Ponies rioting, calling for your head at your ineptitude and failure to protect them, while I massacre the masses, tearing entire families apart. Slaughtering you all like brainless cattle. I know I do envision it, more than once I have caught myself longing to hear their screams.”
Bahamut let her go to start walking around the group once more. “Sometimes I thought that wasn’t necessary, maybe all I had to do was to spread the truth of your actions and let your own subjects do my work for me. But then I realized they might actually thank you instead of seeing the monster that you are. Sometimes I thought, why stop only to kill you ponies? I have nothing to lose anymore, so why not kill every single thing on this wretched planet; leaving you completely alone, miserable, and with the world all for yourself!”
“Even the idea of somehow freezing time but leaving you unaffected crossed my mind. Unable to use magic or interact with anyone, forcing you to live your immortal life in a void of desperation. Or perhaps making you phase out of our plane of existence, where magic and you being an alicorn doesn’t matter. A plane in which you are nothing but a ghost unable to communicate in any way, shape or form with anyone ever again, making you watch how life continues without you for untold millennia, and just to spice things up, you wouldn’t be able to take your own life.”
Bahamut stopped after circling around the group twice right behind Discord and Fluttershy. “With the powers of Discord, that wishful thinking can become a reality. With him, I can even make everyone forget who you are, eliminating every trace of your existence, I wonder how you’ll react when not even Lulu is able to call you sister again? Perhaps it will drive you into a spiral of lunacy and dementia.”
“I could make you suffer a million deaths, each more painful and horrible in a never ending cycle. How about transfer all of my pain, experiences, and sufferings since the moment you betrayed me up to this instant, to you? Maybe I should make your subjects go insane and make you watch as your kingdom forged with the blood of my kind falls all around you.”
Bahamut sighed. “But you know what? I think I finally found the perfect punishment for you, Celestia,” Bahamut smiled patting Discord’s head. “Discord, turn the spell that makes Celestia tell the truth permanent and unbreakable. Not even you will be able to undo it. Oh! And make it so that she must tell the truth in any other form, and not just by talking, we don’t want her writing or painting or using any other form of communication to spread her lies, now do we?”
Discord lowered his head and snapped his fingers.
“Excellent!” Bahamut said with a giddy tone. “Now, make it so that no one in this room, ever forgets what transpired in this place, no matter what,” Discord snapped his fingers. “Good, good. Now, for the final part of your punishment, Celestia,” Bahamut smiled stepping back and walking in front of the group once more.
“Free them all, Discord,” a snap of fingers later the chains turned to bubbles. “Spike, stand up and walk to me,” Spike obeyed, his eyes unfocused and teary. None of the ponies tried to stop him but had their eyes on him and Bahamut. The ancient dragon knelt, placing a hand on Spike’s head. Applying a bit of force, Bahamut managed to get Spike to look up at him.
“I do not know who your parents were, but they were my subjects, and I failed them. I failed you, little hatchling,” Bahamut said with a solemn tone. “Tell me, do other dragons still have what they call a Dragon Lord?” Spike nodded twice. “Good. Back in my day, the Dragon Lord role was to be my Commissar, enforcing the law on the rest of the Dragon-kind when I was not available. He will serve you well.”
“Her…” Spike muttered causing Bahamut to crook his head slightly in confusion. “Ember is the new Dragon Lord,” Spike muttered again.
“Ah, I see. You seem to know her personally, yes?” Spike nodded. “After my last command is fulfilled, you shall be free once more, Discord," Bahamut cleared his throat. "By the power of the Eternal Flame, I name Spike, the Dragon, as the new Emperor of the Gemstone Dragons, King of all Dragon-kind. May your reign be brighter than mine, young Spike.”
Bahamut patted Spike’s head a few times, each pat creating a short-lived flame to erupt upon contact, while the little hatchling was unable to comprehend what was happening. Bahamut rose up while Discord moved his arms freely again. Once he stood upright, Bahamut looked at Celestia and smiled showcasing his fangs.
“One day, Celestia, I’ll see you in Tartarus.”
After anyone could speak or question him, Bahamut used his hands to break his own neck. The body fell to the ground, spasming for several moments while the group did nothing but watch in horror. In the end, Bahamut’s body stopped convulsing and remained motionless.
It took several minutes for the group to move once again, the first being Spike. The little dragon walked next to Bahamut’s corpse and saw the wide smile on its face. Spike placed his tiny claw over Bahamut’s chest, confirming that his heart had stopped beating.
Slowly, his eyes and the eyes of everypony else in the room shifted to Celestia.
And Celestia knew, watching each and every single set of eyes piercing a hole through her heart, this was but the beginning of her deserved torment.
End.