I crept through the black hall, my purple eyes wary of any movement and my legs tensed in preparation. My ears were on a constant swivel, letting me hear the continuous reverberation of my hoofsteps on the cold marble floor. The Castle's innards stretched around me, elephantine-yet-empty as always. I sometimes passed the occasional broken coffee table or torn sofa, but the hall was generally devoid of any ornamentation.
A slight creak in front of me would have been surprising, but this time I was ready.
I only caught the faintest glint of sharp, yellowed teeth before I dove to my right, the creature hissing in rage as it skidded past me. I bolted for cover, letting off a few pre-charged shots from my horn as I slipped into an unoccupied room.
Heavy pounding sounded from the door I barely closed in time, and I grunted as my magic barely held up under the assault.
After several tense moments, the thing finally gave up and I sagged in relief, thankful for the short patience of these fiends.
Hi, by the way. My name's Twilight, and I'm really scared.
Tremblingly, I inspected the room, noting its expansive size and spartan furnishings.
One painting hung high up on the wall caught my attention, though: It was of a mare, wearing some sort of powdered wig as well as some fashionable blue lipstick.
Her face was set in a horrific scream as blood ran down her head from the gaping wound on the top of it, looking rather like the toothy grins of the creatures infesting this place.
I didn't dwell long on the morbid caricature, though: I'd seen enough of the gory drawings to fill up a lifetime, and after a while they all sort of blended into this samey mixture of red.
This was a bedroom, I finally realized, and relaxed upon noting for certain that I was truly alone.
Well, except for the rotting discarded carcass in the queen-size bed, but that was a decided step up from a hungry monster, I'd think.
After being here awhile, one begins to grow used to the horrors filling its stony halls. Truly, I'm amazed that I've lasted so long without joining their number, but my friends always did say I was a fast learner.
I think I'm actually getting the hang of this.
I, for example, knew not to stick around in one place for too long. After a while, the creatures start to track you down, and believe you me, you don't want to be there when they find you.
No, it was time to get lost again.
I stepped out into the hallway once more, noting with a twinge of frustration that it was differently-shaped than it had been, seconds prior. The whole structure had shifted and the paintings changed; where there had once been a table there was now a doorway.
An empty doorway, with no door to fill it. I shivered in terror as I crept by, keeping my small hoofsteps as stealthy as possible. Those empty doorways were gates into the unknown, voids of knowledgeless nothing that sucked you in and turned you out.
My thoughts were getting twisted just standing next to one, let alone actually going through it.
I peeked my rugged head around the corner, warily watching for any glinting lights or sudden sounds.
My eyes bulged as I finally registered what room was in front of me.
A library!
But they quickly squinted in suspicion as I continued to think about things. It could easily be a trap, you see, though by whom, I wouldn't know.
All the creatures I'd seen__varied though they were__had one thing in common: They were beasts. Feral. Not sapient. I knew one thing for sure: Whatever being was smart enough to bait me into a trap with a library, I did not want to see it.
Well, maybe from afar. To study. And perhaps communicate with.
Maybe if I'm careful...?
The offer of knowledge was too great to pass up, even in a place such as this. The rapid thoughts of what forbidden tomes could lie in this forsaken place brought an enormous smile to my face.
Ultimately, I couldn't possibly resist.
And so, I stepped into the library, eagerly prancing through its many shelves.
In doing so, I made the single smartest decision of my life.
I peek my fuzzy head up over the windowsill, just barely able to reach by standing on my hind hooves. Looking out into the front yard, I can see a quartet of Royal Guards approaching the front door.
They're big, and scary, and mean, and they're going to take me away.
Away from my books.
Away from my friends.
"Pinkie, What am I gonna do?" My pink earth pony friend stares sorrowfully aT me from across the room, speaking in an uncharacteristically-somber voice.
"Nothing, Twilight. They're taking you to The Castle."
I tilt my tiny head at the fellow filly, who trots over, her pink mane deflated and straight as can be.
"What's the castle?" Pinkie taps a hoof against the window, looking quite a bit more natural standing on her hind legs than I do, despite us being roughly the same size. Well, I'm actually quite a bit skinnier, now tHat I think about it. Maybe I really should eat more sweEts. Or food in general. Maybe I could beg for some more? Maybe She'll be in a good mood?
"The Castle is where ponies go and don't come back. They meet Celestia there. She makes sure they don't return."
I tilt my head curiously, watching with the pink filly as the guards outside hastily knoCk on the door.
"Who's Celestia?" Pinkie drops back down to the dirty, cracked tile, sighing heAvily as her eyes stare emptily into my soul.
"Evil, Twilight. Pure, concentrated evil. She's so bad that her badness soaks through The Castle, and evil is all that's there."
"Good luck, Twilight."
And Suddenly she's trotting away from me, and I find myself getting pulled rather roughly away by the guards who barged into the room. I raise a hoof forlornly in Pinkie's direction, but no sound escapes my lips, and she doesn'T so much as turn to face me.
I only catch the faintest flicker of a tear hitting the ground as my friend fades away.
The Royal Guards are scary, and they really are starting to scare me. They're leading me through the building with the leash they attached around my neck. They grin with malicious intent, and I'm almost sure that they have fangs as well.
Other foals watch me from the shadows, stilL as stone. I cry out to them a few times, but I'm always jerked back with a tug on the collar before I can get any response.
Suddenly, I'm lifted and thrown into a carriage. I rub my nose in moderate pain at the rough treatment. Luckily, though, I'm no stranger to pain and physical discomfort, so I acclimate rather quickly.
The closed carriagE starts moving, and I catch sight of its only other occupant, who's staring out through its single barred window.
"Rainbow Dash!" I yell with intense glee, and my friend shifts her head to look at me with a neutral expression.
"Oh. Hi, Twi. I guess."
Excitedly, I leap forward to steal a hug, but the cyan filly pushes me back to the floor. I pop back up immediately after, though, because luckily I'm used to such rough treatment.
Especially from her.
"Dash, are you coming to the castle, too? We can team up! Take it on together!" But the pegasus foal snorts, her nostrils flaring as she leers at me with moderate disdain.
"It's called The Castle, Twi. And no, I'm not heading...there."
I tilt my head again, my entHusiasm not quenched in the slightest. Still, I manage to quell my curiosity, which is good because Dashie doesn't like it when I ask questions. She sighs, her high-pitched voice still as raspy as evEr, sounding nothing like my own.
"Listen, Twi. You're gonna need all the help you can get, because you don't have a lot of common sense."
She points her hoof out the window, letting me catch my first gLance at the fabled building. It's...not as terrifying as I expected, to be honest. Kind of regular, but still pretty pretty.
"When you get in there, you need to watch your insufferable butt, because you won't have us to do it for you."
I jolt at this, staring up at Rainbow with wide, scared eyes. She nods, looking greatly satisfied.
All too soon, she's gone.
And the carriage lands, coming to a Peaceful rest.
Long-abandoned stores of knowledge surrounded me, calling me with their ancient pages and near-unintelligible writing. The many dusty shelves spoke with immense power, opening my eyes to the incredible potential contained within. My horn was alight with magic as I levitated scores of choice volumes behind me, trotting happily along as I browsed for more books.
If this was a trap, it was working perfectly.
I found I couldn't really think about that, though; so immersed was I in the search for information that the thought never so much as reentered my mind.
Oh, sure, the looming hallways and low ceiling were creepy and all, but the sheer amount of words around me bade me not so much as notice. The ominous creaking, flickering candlelight, and faint inexplicable breezes all failed to register to me whatsoever.
The weirdest thing was that I could swear I heard the softest whispering coming from the many tomes. They communicated to me with intoxicating tones and enchanting speech, only serving to add to my glee.
Read us.
They said, and I nodded along in acceptance.
Learn our contents.
A beaming grin broke out across my face and I sat down to crack open the first book, unable to restrain myself any longer. The volume emitted a blast of dust when I separated its pages and it let out the most wonderful smell possible.
See the truth.
The book spoke to me. It taught me. It showed me the light.
I lost all sense of time while I read, so immersed was I. Still, I snapped out of my trance upon hearing a yipping howl, tensing in preparation.
It was one of those wolflike creatures: Tall, mangy, and slavering, with five legs and three jaws and that single pink eye which stared me down. It was standing menacingly at the beginning of the hallway, chewing lazily on what I recognized as a pony's hind leg.
I bolted, clutching my precious book close as I sprinted away, with the wolf giving chase soon after. Its fifth leg swung around as it ran, clawing madly at the shelves and destroying years' worth of treasured knowledge. I pumped my own legs with desperate vigor, crying out in mourning for the information which was so viciously taken from me by careless bestiality.
From my experience in this place, I knew exactly what I'd done wrong that led to this: I had stayed in one location for far too long and they had tracked me down.
From my reading of the book I magically clamped so tight against my back, though, I knew exactly what to do about it.
Flaring my horn to cast the spell I had just learned, I conjured the weapon which would give me my salvation. It appeared within my telekinetic field, willing and ready to serve its master.
Just in time, too, because the wolf was getting far too close. They always caught up to me eventually, their longer legs far outpacing my short, stubby ones.
Taking in a breath of preparation, I spun around and backed into the wall, threateningly aiming the knife at its target. The wolf skidded to a halt, its single beady eye staring in what could almost be called alarm, were it not a rabid monster. We stood there in a standoff for several tense moments, mere feet separating us as the library creaked and settled.
Idiotically, I couldn't stop myself from casting a glance back at where we'd come, and a gasp of sadness exploded from me upon seeing the destroyed shelves. This triggered the wolf to snarl madly, lunging at me with incredible speed while its three jaws snapped as one.
I was faster.
The blade sunk into flesh with a dreadful ripping sound, its serrated surface doing its job with utter perfection. The wolf yipped, howled, and barked at the same time, staggering away from me as its eye bulged in surprise. I stood triumphantly as it scrambled away, but frowned when it desecrated yet another row of shelves on its way out.
That frown quickly evolved into a pained grimace, and I dropped my gaze to survey the damage. The knife stuck out of my leg at an odd angle, spurts of blood covering its hungry, loyal form. I grunted in pain as I tore it out, sighing in relief when further inspection revealed I'd successfully missed any major arteries or muscles.
It should have been obvious, but I'd never once so much as considered it: Fighting back at the creatures never worked, but of course injuring myself would.
The library was silent, seemingly satisfied that I'd uncovered its greatest secret: How to survive in here.
I bound my leg with a stray tablecloth, grinning hugely through the pain and finally secure in the knowledge that I didn't have to run anymore.
For as long as I can remember, my friends have been there.
They've always been there.
To laugh, help, give advice, or what have you.
I don't recall much of what came before I arrived at this place.
All I have are the faintest recollections of faces. There is a grey face, a blue face, a white face, and a pink face. The white one was fraTernal, I think, and he was always nice to me. THe pink one really liked him. I believe the others were older than us, by quite a lot. If I struggle really hard, I can almost picture a gathEring of some sort.
Aside from that, there's just flashing images of fire.
A burning home.
A scorched carcass.
A cindered heart.
Then came this place: Where foals like me end up. I'm so glad that mY friends have come along for the ride. They're so loyal.
Right now, I'm engaged in some meaningful chatter with Applejack, who just recently got her cutie mark. She's so happy that it's a trio of apples, and won't stop expressing just how proud her parents would have been. How good for her.
"Boy howdy, ah wish mah Ma could've seen this!"
I nod along pleasantly, gRinning at my earth pony friend as we trot down the hall towards the cafeteria.
"That's amazing, A.J.! I'm so happy for you!" We reach our destination soon after, and we part with a quick hug. I watch forlornly as the other filly hEads into the empty room, casting a troubled glance at my own blank flank. Another foal approaches me, and I notice that he's one of the colts before he speaks in a puzzled tone.
"What were you doing?" I tilt my head, giving him a confused smile as I reply in my peppy voice.
"I was talking to Applejack! What else would I be doing?" He stares at me uncomfortably for several seconds, but then movement in the cafeteria catches both of our attentions.
It's Her. She's moving through the empty room, scowling as She goes. Her horn is alight with magic, and She's zapping stains and other such messes from the floor with wild abandon.
A faint ghost of concern enters my mind for Applejack's safety, but I quickly brush that aside. After all, She never pays my friends much mind, so she's probably fine. A.J. never did tell me what she plans to do in the empty, unused cafeteria, though. I guess she wants to bake something?
None of that's important. She's coming, and She's definitely not in one of her rare good moods.
No food for us today, then. A glance at the colt shows he's thinking the same thing, and we both bolt straight back through the hallway, away from Her.
The colt and I split up to heighten our chances, but luckily it seems like She's not in a chase-y mood today.
I head out of the building and into the attached courtyard, sighing in relief. I really want to meet up with another of my friends, because it's never good when we're apart for too long.
As I suspected, Fluttershy is there, sitting up in the branches of the dying tree. It's the only living plant in sight, which I guess is why she likes it so much. Fluttershy loves to tell me stories about the animal friends she used to have, and I'm always ready to listen with rapt attention. I find it so fascinating that there are creatures other than ponies, but she says that not all of them are nice.
"Fluttershy?" I ask tentatively, gazing up at her peRch in the cracked, splintering limbs of the willow tree. "Why don't you leave? Fly away from this place? Go back to your animal friends?"
The yellow pegasus filly gasps, immediately jumping from her spot to stand next to my sitting form, her slender, long lEgs making her a good deal taller than me.
"And leave you here? I couldn't possibly!"
Tenderly, Fluttershy drapes a wing over my shivering, malnourished body, and I give her a grateful smile. Sometimes the winds get really cold, but she's alwAys there to help warm me up when nothing else can.
Her feathers are a great substitute for blankets. They retain heat much better, too.
We sit there together, serenely watching the gorgeous green sun set below the horizon, the last of its cold light giving way to the warm night.
Anyway, now that I possessed the knowledge of how to fight back against the creatures, I could stay in one spot all I liked! And stay I did, frantically searching the many shelves for what book would next catch my insatiable interest. I was learning all sorts of useful things, though none of them came close to the information I'd gained from the first book.
I finished that one, by the way. Took me a few more hours, and nothing else within it was nearly as incredible as that first spell, but it was a fun ride regardless. I was now scouring a tome on quantum-magical mechanics, and boy howdy was it some great stuff!
A raucous roar sounded from behind me and I scrambled to my hooves, clutching the knife tightly in my aura as I turned to face the newest assailant. This one looked sort of like a manticore, if you gave it a few hundred extra mouths, replaced the wings with spider legs, and made it sweat acidic blood.
I stared boldly into the creature's pulsating, bloody eyes, threateningly leveling the knife at my barrel, ensuring it was in view. Sometimes, I didn't actually have to go through with it and they backed off, but this didn't seem to be one of those times.
The monster snarled loudly and approached, its thudding steps leaving a trail of the burning green substance that gave it life. I backed away at the same speed, not breaking the mutual staring as best I could. Suddenly, a late thought entered my mind, and I glanced at the book I'd dropped in raw panic.
The manticore-esque creature stepped right on top of the volume, crushing it under its paw with what could only be described as deliberate malice. I whimpered in mourning as the tome fizzled and softened before exploding outwards with a wet squelch.
I could swear the monster was grinning at me.
They loved to destroy any knowledge they could. First it had been the wolflike being, whose massacre I had thought was purely coincidental, but every creature that had come here since had made an effort to obliterate at least one book. I didn't know why they did this, but it made me very angry.
Enraged, I twisted to the side and made a great show of dragging the serrated blade all the way down my barrel, flinging the blood on the knife at the manticore with several rapid flicks. It recoiled in shock, and I grinned upon seeing one of them look upon me with horror for a change.
The creature bolted away, running at its impressive top speed as it left my sight. I stood there in triumph for all of several seconds before the pain set in. Grimacing, I noticed that the gash had been far deeper than usual, or indeed far deeper than necessary. In my anger, I hadn't taken the care to avoid hurting myself too much like I usually did, and the consequences were immediate.
Sighing heavily, I conjured yet another tablecloth and wrapped myself in it, magically cinching it shut in efforts to staunch the flow. I was hoping I'd come across an advanced first aid book or something like it, but so far I hadn't seen a section of this library that would contain such a thing.
As a matter of fact, I had not discovered any material to do with any kind of healing whatsoever, which was kind of odd if I thought about it.
There was no time to think about it, though. With my previous book destroyed, I needed something else to occupy my interest. Something to distract me from the horrors of this place.
Maybe I'd even read about a way out of here.
Taking several testing steps forward revealed the pain to be dampening, or perhaps I was just growing more tolerant of it. As far as I knew, the injury wasn't life-threatening, so I dutifully continued on my quest for knowledge. One tome in particular caught my attention, its resplendently-drawn cover even more so: A stylized sun, half colored green and the other half purple.
The book's title was one word, and reading it sent uncontrollable shivers down my spine, which aggravated my many wounds even more.
Celestia
After opening the volume, I nearly dropped it in surprise, my eyes bulging upon witnessing its dreadful contents.
It was a biography of sorts. No, wait, it was also a kind of bestiary. But it also described tall tales from years past. Looking at the table of contents, my expression shifted to one of confusion, because this book couldn't seem to decide what exactly it was.
Except... that wasn't right either. The book knew what it was, and I knew it, too: A compilation of all the available information regarding Princess Celestia.
I decided to just start at the beginning, so I flipped to the first page. What I saw there actually made me drop the tome, staring disbelievingly at it as I let out a startled scream.
"Hello, Twilight."
Minutes passed with naught but my shaky breathing, and the book grew impatient with the silence.
"Well? Aren't you going to greet me back?"
I swallowed uneasily, slowly plodding forward to gaze at the impossible letters that spelled impossible words.
"You just have to write in the page to talk to me. Don't worry, I don't mind."
Having never vandalized a book before, I was quite hesitant, but I nonetheless reached for the ink bottle and quill I had been taking notes with. Carefully, I responded to the book, my writing shaky due to my aura's nervous jittering.
WHO ARE YOU? HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?
Quickly, the book replied.
"I'm Sunset Shimmer, and I was brought here, just like you. I know how to get out of The Castle."
I Whimper and tug madly against the collar they've attached to my neck, but my efforts are all for naught. The guards continue marching in formation with me in the middle, the leader Holding my leash in his mouth. I have to practically run to keep up with their insane stride and none of them so much as look at me the whole time.
We walk straight through Canterlot, through the busiest streets possible. It's almost as though theY're parading me around, showing me off to the locals like some kind of trophy.
I catch sight of other ponies from between the guards' legs and I cry out for help. Every time I do, they shrink away, averting their eyes as though I'm some hideous creature. I even catch sight of some parents covering their foals' eyes and ears, ignoring their questions entirely as they scurry away from us.
Canterlot slopes upWards the closer we get to the castle and I can swear the sky is getting progressively darker, too. Clouds are starting to gather and I can almost hear the faint sound of tHunder as we grow closer to our destination. FinallY I catch sight of the imposing structure, my pupils shrinking in shock of its sheer size and grandeur.
Panicking, I zap the leash in half with my magic and bolt away, running for all I'm Worth. This is the last chance I have to be free, to get away from that menacing castle and the horrors within.
I can scarcely hear the guards shouting at me and beginning to give chase, so loud is my breathing and so hurried are my hoofsteps. Luckily, I'm well-practiced at avoiding pursuers, even ones double my height, so I am able to duck out of sight into an alley.
Somepony's there with me and I gasp in surprise.
"Rarity!" My voice is hoarse and I'm panting Heavily in efforts to regain my breath. My unicorn friend stares at me with an unreadable expression, her features mostly hidden in the shadows.
"Twilight, you've been chosen."
I shake my head in anguish and fear, staring desperately at the aspiring seamstress while frantic thoughts rush through my head.
"What does that mean, Rarity?! What can I do?"
The unicorn suddenly sniffs, as though she's trying and failing to hold back tears.
"Nothing, Twilight. Celestia has chosen you. You must go to her."
Rarity finally steps into the light and I stifle a scream. She's crying blood and her eYes have been replaced by inky black pools of nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
"I'm sorry, darling. Truly sorry."
Her body suddenly shudders, wracked by massive convulsions as she crumples to the floor, screaming the most bloodcurdling scream I've ever heard and she's splitting at the seams and she's dying she's dying right before my eyes as she crumples inwards in a bloody mess of sinew and gore but she's still. Screaming.
WHY IS SHE SCREAMING?
I dash out of the alley, gasping and crying with shock and grief and the image of my former pony friend is still in my head and it won't. Leave.
The guards catch me, of course. They bring me straight to the castle gates, and this time they make sure to place an antimagic ring on my horn. One of them unlocks the gates and we trod through the desiccated courtyard as one unit.
Once they toss me into the castle's foyer, they leave, but one is left to close the enormous door behind me.
I didn't know how I knew that, but the feeling was still prevalent, regardless. All around me was inky black, but it was moving, shifting, undulating like something given false life.
I couldn't see it moving; couldn't know for sure, but I felt it.
I tried to think of what came before this, but I realized I didn't know.
That's when I knew. But I didn't know. I couldn't know. I was blocking out the possibility. I was restraining the revelation.
I loved knowledge, I craved knowledge, I lived for knowledge.
Just not this. I couldn't know this. It was too much.
I backed out of the doorway, shaking my head madly in attempts to rid it of the cloud. Suddenly, my memories returned to me, and I grimaced accordingly. Sunset Shimmer had convinced me to go through one of the open doorways. The ones that led to meaningless voids. The ones that stole information from me, slowly killing me by taking away all I held dear. I'd only gone through one of those doorways once before, fresh after being brought to this place. I'd sworn never to do so again, but somehow Sunset had persuaded me.
How did she do that?
I reopened the Book, flipping to the most recent page while cradling my sore head with my hooves. I sighed in recognition when I came across her reasoning, rereading her argument with a grave expression on my face.
"You have to go through a Doorway. It's the only way to beat Celestia."
WHY? WHY WOULD I EVER DO THAT? THOSE THINGS ARE HORRIBLE!
"Because, they're the only place you'll find the equipment you need."
Alicorn's Bane, I remembered. Sunset went on to say that the Doorways led to armories where all the weapons capable of injuring Celestia were kept. Alicorn's Bane was as powerful as it was indestructible, so the princess couldn't possibly get rid of them permanently, but she could do the next best thing: Hide them behind a passageway I could never hope to cross.
At this point in time, I was pretty confident I had traversed every hall in this place. I had gone everywhere and seen everything, save for the library and those blasted Doorways. I'd only subjected myself to that once, and I'd hoped that this time would be different. That I could get through it and finally get out of this place.
I'd been wrong. Dreadfully wrong. It had been so much worse this time around, because I'd been so close to seeing IT. The knowledge that I couldn't see. Wouldn't see.
The information I can never, ever have.
With a heavy heart, I lifted the quill I held in my ear, thankful I'd been able to enchant it to not need an accompanying inkwell.
I CAN'T DO IT. SORRY.
I tensed, prepared for anger or disappointment or something in Sunset's response, but thankfully she was nicer than that.
"No, Twilight. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you try that. I myself couldn't go through with it until recently. The reveal is just too much to take, right?"
I nodded, but felt silly upon realizing she couldn't see it. A loud growl echoed to my left as thundering, rapid steps revealed some creature or another approaching me. I was too glum to so much as turn to find out what was trying to kill me, instead just plunging the knife into my flank. The monster saw this and kept running in response, passing me and continuing down the hallway rather than attack like it'd planned.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, SUNSET. I WANT TO LEAVE, BUT I CAN'T FACE THE DOORWAY.
Sunset responded, but somethiNg was wrOng. Her neat, elegant cursive was beginning to drip down the page, muddying her writing such that it was ineligible. It was as though she'd started using too much ink, and it was now bleeding through everything.
SUNSET? WHAT'S WRONG?
She cleaned up her writing, thank goodness, but I still noticed her ink spreading and her words becoming sloppier.
"I'm sorry, Twilight. I'm running out of time."
BUT YOU STILL HAVEN'T TOLD ME WHAT TO DO!
Frantic tears blurred my vision and I breathed heavily, the movements agitating my many self-inflicted wounds. I didn't focus on the pain; I couldn't. My only friend in this place was leaving me! She was going away!
"I've told you all I can. It's up to you, now. Face Celestia. Take her down. It's the only way."
A different liquid appeared on the page, getting little circular patches wet. Sunset was crying, and there wasn't anything I could do about it!
One long streak of bleeding, red ink was the last message she wrote, as though she'd put quill to paper but then collapsed to the side.
I sat there, gasping in shock and pain as the world crumbled around me. I'd been left alone. Again. Sunset Shimmer was dead. All my friends were dead!
A deep, malicious laugh echoed throughout the building and I stood, wiping my eyes as I turned to face the open Doorway in determination.
I wasn't alone in here. Not yet. So long as Princess Celestia lived, I would be trapped here, slowly killing myself to avoid being killed by her creatures.
The grand halls stretch around me, almost seeming to twist and turn before my gaze. I can't go very far before I stop in my tracks, too scared to continue. I'm crying, still sobbing profusely like I've been since I was thrown in here.
I hate it here. It's big, and scary, and my friends are nowhere to be seen.
But I know they have to be somewhere. They would never leave me.
They can NEVER leave me.
I shoot to my hooves, my puffy eyes bulging as I hear a screeching roar from the hall in front of me. Some...thing comes barreling down at me, and I turn to run away.
It's fast. It's fast like Her. It's fast like Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow Dash!" I cry out, but she's not here. She can't help me. She can't give me the speed I need. She's not there to help soften the blows, to build up my pain tolerance with her constant roughhousing.
I duck through a door and bite back a scream at what I see. Body parts litter what may once have been a kitchen, spread randomly about and covering every surface with their mess. A severed head peers at me from over the lid of the pot it's in as I creep past, wincing when the lone lung I step on collapses with a loud squelch. Legs dangle from the ceiling on metal wires, plucked pegasus wings are laid on the stoves waiting to be grilled, and all manner of organs are scattered across the floor.
"Applejack!" I call, but she's not here. She can't assist me. She can't supply me with the sustenance I require. She's not there to cook meals for me, to feed me when nopony else WILL.
The thing enters behind me, but is thankfully so preoccupied with snapping up the body parts it comes across that I can sneak away unnoticed. I scamper through the first doorway I see, which leads to a room-sized refrigerator that I'm grateful to find empty.
It's cold in this area and I shiver uncontrollably in attempts to warm up.
"Fluttershy...?" I whimper quietly, but she's not with me. She's not anywhere nearby. She can't drape her wings over me to warm me up. She can't substitute as a blanket when there's not enough to go around like she usually does. Like she's supposed to do.
This doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense! Where's Pinkie Pie to cheer me up when I'm sad and scared? Where's Rarity to stitch me up when the wounds are too great?
I wait in the fridge for a few minutes more before the chill becomes too much and I slither out, checking madly to make sure the thing has left. Thoroughly unnerved by the once-kitchen, I beeline to the door I entered through, but stop abruptly in confusion upon passing it.
The halls have moved. I don't recognize this area, but it should be the very same, because I know I went through the correct opening!
Can't anything go right for me?! EVER?
Something catches my attention, though: It's a doorway, but for whatever reason it looks like nopony remembered to actually put a door in it. It's kind of this imposing square-shaped arch, but it really grabs my attention and I start to move towards it.
Maybe my friends are in there? They could be so close, mere feet away! I have to do it. I have to see!
I step through the open doorway. At the far end of the room beyond is a mirror, which I scamper up to. I rear up on my hind hooves to look into it, and...
I see.
I feel.
I...
I KNOW.
There's a window right next to the mirror, and I look outside. What I gaze at, it's...just so wrong on so many levels.
The noonday sun is yellow. It's yellow! In what world is the sun yellow?!
The sky is blue! THIS is insane!
The city is alive.
This Castle is alive, bustling with life and vigor and it's too much it's crazy is what it is why on Equus would this be how things are it doesn't make any sense and things have to make sense that's how I know they're real and so this can't be real there's just no feasible way for it to ever be real!
I tear out of the room, sprinting faster than I've ever gone before. Rainbow would be proud, if she were here. But I know she isn't here. None of my friends are.
The only ones here are them. They're here.
I leave the Doorway and reason returns. The universe is restored to its rightful order.
The hall that led to the throne room was dark as could be, with my glowing horn being the only source of light whatsoever. I had expected the armor I was wearing to clatter and bang like pots and pans, but I'd been pleasantly surprised to find it silent as the grave. In fact, I think it muted my noise somehow, enabling me to make next to no sound as I stealthily slinked across the marble.
The Alicorn's Bane armor was unexpectedly the right size as well, and even seemed tailored to fit me. It came with straps to evenly distribute the weight across my body, which had the dual purpose of also supporting me while I walked. The shortsword I'd found was polished to a sheen, but its blade was nonetheless sharp enough to cut straight through stone. I had found that out by accident after I dropped the thing, blinking in surprise when it buried itself in the floor up to the hilt.
The sword was safely kept in its sheath for now, with me using my loyal knife so far to deter the creatures coming my way. Aside from those objects, I had also come across an ornate helmet, which even had a hole to put my horn through.
I was stumbling across the floor, only scarcely able to move thanks to the armor's support. My body was covered in wounds at this point and the knife I levitated was singing in pleasure from all the action it'd seen. My thoughts were getting muddy and my locomotion delayed due in large part to blood loss, but the remaining effects from crossing the Doorway contributed also.
I had seen IT.IT had messed with my mind. The knowledge I'd previously repressed had come rushing back, and the experience had been every bit as horrible as I knew it would be.
Still, with my new equipment and an achievable goal, I knew what to do. I knew how to end the horrors of The Castle, once and for all.
That didn't change one simple fact, though: I was not ready for this.
Finally, I reached the throne room's open set of golden doors, and I immediately cut to the left in efforts to avoid being seen. The room was as dark as the hallway had been and I was forced to grip the knife in my mouth to prevent my glowing aura from attracting attention.
Several tense minutes passed uneventfully as I crouched in the deepest shadows I could find. The only thought that was able to penetrate the fog surrounding my mind was of gratitude for the armor's noiselessness. My brain was usually in overdrive, occupied either with internalizing the words that I loved to read or calculating just how much danger I was in or what have you. The current situation was no exception, but it was busy instead with actively trying to repress the memories of what was behind the Doorway.
I was glad for this, but also quite annoyed at the same time. Given the choice, I'd have elected to devote some brainpower to planning my next move, but I seemingly didn't have much control in the matter.
Abruptly, what little attention I still possessed was drawn to the opposite end of the throne room, which blazed to life with a ferocious roaring sound. Well, more specifically, a sconce on the wall lit up, emitting an ominous green flame, but several more followed as a pair of nearby doors blasted open.
My nearly-glazed eyes widened with horror as I reflexively backed into the wall, feeling immensely exposed as hordes of creatures spilled from the doors. One being in particular caught my notice, and I shrunk into myself even more upon sighting her.
It was Princess Celestia. It had to be. She walked with a refined grace that immediately separated her from her minions, but that was only the first of many differences between them.
Celestia's coat was pure white, for one, and her blazing green mane imitated a fire with its vicious-yet-entrancing movements. Her eyes scorched with the latent embers of scornful fury, and every monster she gazed at cowered in what closely resembled terror. Her horn jetted out from her head at an impossible length, altogether much more polished and better-maintained than my own. Still, I could detect hairline fractures covering it, even at this distance, as though it had been shattered previously but carefully rebuilt.
And her wings. They were beautiful, yes, but only in the way that a swan's last song or a pony's dying wish was beautiful. There was a tragic glory to them, a sorrowful serenity found in their near-barren expanses. Celestia's wings were gorgeous purely by nature of their foulness, and I felt awe at how dilapidated they were compared to the rest of her.
No, wait, that wasn't quite right. The princess in general looked like the walking dead, but what fooled me at first was that she walked so well. She still carried herself with inequine grace and still held a power that laid far beyond my understanding.
I knew Celestia was as much a monster as the rest of them. The blood splattered all across her coat and flesh staining her teeth proved that beyond any doubt. Even aside from that, though, there was the fact that it'd been her that was keeping me here, all this time.
She was so sadistic that she'd hidden my only means of escape behind a horrific Doorway. She had thought, presumably, that I'd never get past it. That I'd never get to the equipment I needed to get out of here.
Celestia had hoped that I would stay, slowly killing myself to avoid death from her hooves.
No more. It was time to end the torment. After observing her from the relative safety of the shadows, I knew one thing with utter certainty:
It wasn't long before the hordes of creatures shuffled out of the throne room.
The princess swept the ghastly remains of her wings in a grand, soundless command that they seemed to understand perfectly. As one, they exited through the various doors in as orderly a fashion as could be expected of rabid, animalistic monsters. I tensed even farther when some of them came within feet of me, quivering with adrenaline and no longer feeling tired in the slightest, but they left without incident.
It was a full minute before their ambiance faded away, but the two of us were finally left in silence.
Without my armor's muffling effect, I would surely have been discovered immediately; my heart pounded against the jail bars of my ribcage, trying desperately to escape while my breathing became heavier than I ever remembered it being. Still, I was certain that I made no sound during my observation.
The ragged form of the princess was just standing there, as if waiting for something. The only motion she produced was the flickering green flame of her mane and tail, as entrancing as it was dreadful.
"I know you're here."
I ducked down against the floor, clutching at my ears as they were assaulted by a thunderous sound that echoed throughout the vast chamber. Celestia's voice alone demonstrated her incredible power, and my terror grew even stronger as she swept her regal, ragged head in a grand gesture.
"Twilight Sparkle. I chose you. Don't you wish to know why?"
The once-alicorn began pacing, the walls themselves shuddering as she let out a deep chuckle. Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to run, to leave back down the hall that led here, to follow the creatures if I had to. Those things I at least knew how to handle, but her? What even was my plan!? Charge in, swinging some toothpick of a sword?
"It is because you need me. Oh, you may deny it. You may hide away in your fantasy land with your fake friends, but deep down, you know it too."
This was no time for plans, I realized: This was the time for action. If I had any hope of getting out of here, I needed to go. To stop her from spouting her wicked lies. To shut her up before she did something.
I waited until her back was turned before I charged, gripping the knife in my mouth and the sword in my magic. I saw red, entering a blind fury that consumed every sensical thought in my mind, replacing them with white-hot rage.
Who was she to say I needed her!? I might not remember much about what came before, but I know for certain that it was better than this!
"Ah, there you are."
I didn't have time. To think, to calculate, to react.
There was no moment of opening. Nothing I could have done.
The princess launched her hind hoof out in a single-legged buck. With a great clang that dented the surface of my chestplate, I was suddenly flying backwards at speeds I could barely comprehend.
I hit the floor rolling, tumbling across the marble for countless feet before I slammed into the wall. I was only able to let out a pained wheeze after the fact, my numerous injuries all but torn open from the strike alone. Without the armor, I'd have died on the spot without question, but I was kind of expecting it to do better than this.
If Celestia could take me out with one buck, even while wearing the Alicorn's Bane, what hope did I have!?
I realized I was clenching my eyes shut from the pain, which was not a good thing to do when one's life was on the line. With a soft whimper, I tore my lids open and noticed with dull dread that the princess was heading straight for me.
"Now, now, there's no need to run off."
Her voice alone rattled my armor, exacerbating my wounds and making me grit my teeth all the harder. She was just so casual about all of this, not looking concerned or even enervated in the slightest.
I was just an inconvenience to her. An annoying pest that could be dealt with, but didn't have to be.
I was nothing. I'd always been nothing, and this proved it.
"Oh, did you hurt yourself? Here, let me help you with that."
Now she was just mocking me. As if this wasn't humiliating enough. Celestia stopped in place about three feet away from my battered form and lit her horn in a ghostly green glow.
I shuddered, feeling her vile magic invading every surface of my body with its chilling presence. My muscles cooled and stiffened in response to its intoxicating power, as if preparing for the grave itself. Slowly, my opened gashes stitched themselves together, aided by the princess' horrid spellwork.
She was toying with me. Showing me just how helpless I was by thoughtlessly hurting me beyond my ability to recover and then effortlessly healing me.
I glared up at her, subdued rage covering my face as I realized that was all I could do.
"YOU'RE HORRIBLE!!" I screamed, tears streaking down my face from under the helmet visor's dented surface. Celestia sighed in response, rolling her lifeless grey eyes as she plodded over to me.
"Well, now. That's not very nice, Twilight."
Her forehoof shot out in a vicious slap and I watched disbelievingly as the shredded remains of my once-helmet flew across the room, strands of torn violet mane following them.
"I believe that's enough dilly-dally. It's time to get to business."
The rage left my system in one instantaneous rush as I realized just how right she was. I was indeed helpless. I should never have come here.
"I have plans for you, Twilight."
Fearfully, I stared up at the alicorn, shaking in terror.
I want to throw up. I want to scream, flail, rage. I want to enact violence upon everypony who's ever wronged me. I want to tear apart those who stood in my way.
I want to cry. I want to curl up and weep for the life I lost. The life that was taken from me by this heartless zombie of a princess.
I...
I just need to leave. To escape. To get the heck out of here.
The light flickers wildly and I jolt upright with a gasp. Celestia is just sitting there in front of me, grinning her devious grin as I collect myself.
We're not in the throne room anymore. She must have moved me elsewhere after knocking me unconscious. I wince in pain as a pounding headache settles in, but there's no time to dwell on that.
A grand-yet-dilapidated bed stands behind the princess and I notice a dresser on the adjacent wall. Several paintings of the green sun are hung on just about every surface, and the whole room stinks of mold and severe age.
This is her bedroom. It has to be.
"Oh, good. You're awake! I was getting worried for a second."
NO
I cringe expectantly, but am relieved to find her volume significantly less intense. I squint about the room, trying desperately to identify more objects, but the light from her blazing mane is simply not enough.
"Why must you keep it so dark? Or do the lights in here just not work?" I don't know what exactly it is that makes me speak so causally, but somehow I lack the energy to do much else. It's probably her doing. I wouldn't be surprised.
"Dark? Whatever do you mean? It's plainly as bright as day!"
I
Did Celestia have to refute everything I said with such blatantness? Did she really think I'd believe her obvious lies, when I could plainly see for myself just how black the room was? Did she honestly believe she could make me stop trusting in my senses themselves?
Because she was right.
I couldn't be sure of anything, anymore. After having gone through that Doorway, even reality itself was in question. I was ready and willing, at this point, to doubt even the fact that I existed. That anything in my life mattered. That anything was real.
Heck, maybe the sun was actually yellow! Did I really know better? What evidence, truly, did I have to the contrary? It didn't matter that I'd spent my whole life looking up and seeing a cold green light.
"Never mind any of that, we have business to see to. I want to help you, Twilight. If you'll let me."
MUST
I sigh explosively and attempt to get up, only for my legs to buckle. It seems I'm too weak to even carry my own weight, so I am entirely at her mercy.
Then again, when haven't I been at somepony's mercy?
Suddenly, I realize that my armor is still covering my body. Apparently, Celestia had not even bothered to remove my gear in the first place, aside from the helmet. Even my sword is kept nicely in its sheath, but my faithful knife is nowhere to be found.
I can use this to my advantage! All I need to do is keep her occupied for long enough...
"Help me? Please, I know what you're really planning to do."
"Oh? And what's that?"
GET
I chuckled mirthlessly, coughing as my bone-dry throat protested such an action. The princess must have thought me quite stupid to not see through her charade, because even the way she held herself betrayed her true nature:
Tall, imposing, regal.
Worst of all was that she hadn't even bothered to wash her coat, so I got a close-up view of the bloody splotches staining her fur. I thought there was even still a strip of pony hide caught in her teeth, swinging around with every motion her head made. I couldn't be sure, though, as the light from her mane wasn't good enough.
"You're gonna turn me into one of your minions. The creatures that roam the halls. What other use could you have for me?"
My logic was sound. What else could I have been brought here for? I must have been chosen for my particular magical skill.
I'd noticed it, of course: The way the monsters moved in a distinctly equine way, even the more alien ones. They were clearly, indisputably ponies, once, now mangled and twisted beyond repair, with a healthy dose of hunger for flesh.
Celestia must have chosen people often enough, but set them in here with the best of her specimens. Only the greatest from among those she chose would survive, which was a number that I myself was a part of.
"What?! I assure you, Twilight, that there are many other uses for someone as talented as yourself!"
OUT!
Now's my chance! She's distressed and distracted!
I quickly light my horn in a lavender blaze of fury, unsheathing the broadsword before sending it straight into the alicorn's flesh with a wet squelch. The princess gasps, her mouth flopping aimlessly as she emptily glances down at her barrel, which has a hilt sticking straight out the front.
Sickly green blood sprays from the wound and she spasms madly, but I launch myself forward with a final burst of adrenaline.
Letting out a scream of rage, I fire off a shot of magic straight into the princess' skull. She wails and stumbles away, coughing up yet more blood as I dash to the side.
That oughta finish her off! I think, jubilantly.
Now I just have to get out of here.
The exit materializes before me, as grand and beautiful as it is punctual. Just as Sunset promised, it's right there, summoned by the death of the one who'd sealed it away.
Royal Guard Captain Spearhead whipped around to face her, dipping in a curt bow and saluting sharply. Celestia smiled absently, waving a hoof to dismiss the formality as she finished her approach.
"Yes, princess! What is it?"
The alicorn sat elegantly, gazing down at the standing stallion from her immense height. She waved her wing in a vague sort of gesture, pursing her lips in thought before finally making her request.
"That orphanage you shut down a few weeks ago. There's somepony I want you to retrieve."
Spearhead let out a small gasp, his eyes bulging as he stared up at her.
"Princess, you aren't planning an adoption, are you?"
The mare shook her regal head before standing resolutely to begin walking in a chosen direction, forcing the captain to follow.
"That's none of your business, captain. I need you and yours to bring the filly named Twilight Sparkle here. No questions asked. Understood?"
He nodded solidly, looking appropriately ashamed of himself.
"Understood, Your Highness."
"Welcome, Raven. How has she been faring?"
The off-white unicorn cleared her throat uneasily, shuffling her papers in a signature sign of anxiety.
"Not well, princess. Her hallucinations have only worsened in response to coming here. She runs away from every staff member as if they're some kind of rabid monster. Numerous ponies have actually begun to file complaints about her screaming."
Celestia simply nodded, keeping her face in a neutral mask as she shifted imperceptibly in her throne.
"May I see those complaints?"
Raven nodded shyly, lifting a sizable stack of papers in her pinkish aura. The princess accepted it with her own golden magic, moving it so it floated right between the two. With a blinding flash of power, the complaints burned to ashes, and the assistant jumped in her skin upon sighting Celestia's intensely grave expression.
"Send out a notice: Twilight is a permanent resident of The Castle, and is to be treated as such. No further complaints will be tolerated. If questions arise, don't. Ask. Understood?"
The unicorn nodded hastily, backing away from the infuriated alicorn and apologizing profusely the whole while. The princess only sighed as the doors to her throne room slammed shut, leaving her to stew in silence.
"Greetings, Specialist Caring Heart. Is your psychological evaluation finished yet?"
The pegasus nodded confidently from her spot across the table, her amber eyes finally rising to meet the princess' from where they'd been studying the papers before her.
"Yes, Your Highness. Would you like me to begin?"
With a neutral nod from her ruler, the mare cleared her throat and did so.
"Twilight Sparkle is a very troubled filly. Before being brought here, she suffered from well-documented delusions of friends that she would talk to. The terrible circumstances of her life in the orphanage served only to worsen her condition, with the fantasy land she escaped to being far more friendly than reality."
Caring paused to take a breath, shuffling her notes around as she attempted a discreet peek up at Celestia's face. Upon seeing an impatient squint, the pegasus returned her attention to the paper, her wings twitching slightly.
"Twilight's perception of time is also severely skewed. It's hard to tell, but she may think it's been years or even decades since she was brought here, rather than a few days. She has episodes of amnesia and apparent gaps in awareness, which only serves to increase her sense of false passage of time."
The orange mare nervously glanced between her various documents and the imposing alicorn sitting across from her, but Celestia remained stoic, her visage a perfectly flat mask.
"Since arriving here, Twilight's hallucinations have only become more vivid, with her seeing ordinary ponies wandering the halls as vicious creatures ripped straight from Tartarus. Honestly, I can't even imagine what horrors must be going through her mind."
The princess nodded, raising a single eyebrow as she made her inquiry.
"And what do you propose we do? Is there medication of some kind? What steps should we take?"
But Caring shook her head, becoming significantly more animated as the interaction continued.
"Princess, with all due respect, I can't in good conscience prescribe anything until I know more about the inciting incident! I know that there was a fire of some kind, and her family was involved, but I need more information befor-"
Celestia slammed her forehooves on the table, effortlessly reducing it to splinters as she stood, enraged.
"SILENCE, FOOL! YOU SHALL KNOW NOTHING! NOTHING, I SAY!"
The pegasus yelped and flew straight out of the meeting room, leaving various papers to flutter in her wake. The alicorn sighed, immediately exhausted and remorseful of her actions.
All her many actions.
All her mistakes.
I'm so sorry, Cadance.
Princess Celestia stopped in place to observe the open doorway, absently tilting her head as she considered its polished form.
So, this is where she had her meltdown, huh?
The room was as simple as it was underwhelming: An innocuous janitorial closet, with a nice enough view out the window and a mirror that really needed to be cleaned. Ironic, considering the space's contents.
What was it that set her off? The view of Canterlot? The mirror itself? Any one of the cleaning supplies could be suspects.
Really, the only notable thing about the room was its lack of a door, but that was a function that was as much part of tradition as necessity.
Or perhaps it was...no, that can't be it.
I suppose we'll never know...
With a subdued sigh, the regal alicorn left the room, returning to her many duties.
"Hello, Raven. Goodness! Whatever is the matter?"
Celestia's faithful assistant had tears running down her cheeks and was altogether much more pale in the face than usual.
"Princess! Oh, it was horrible!"
The unicorn collapsed to the marble floor, bawling her eyes out. Patiently, the alicorn presented a box of tissues to her, which she gratefully took. Once Raven was cleaned up and seemed to regain control of the majority of her faculties, Celestia started with a gentle prod.
"Please tell me, Raven. What could have put you in such a state?"
The smaller mare sniffled miserably, shaking her head slightly as she looked up with horror in her eyes.
"It's Twilight! Oh, I don't know where she got it, but she has a knife now and...and-!"
What the assistant said next gave the ruler great pause, her own face becoming overrun with shock.
"She's hurting herself! She keeps stabbing herself with the knife, and I jus-"
Raven burst into uncontrollable sobbing once more, and Celestia found herself only able to pat her back absently as she considered the information.
"Send out a notice: The books in the library need to be...regrouped. Everypony is to attempt to remove as many as possible from their shelves. If Twilight begins hurting herself, though, it is advised that you leave as soon as possible."
The alicorn ordered this only after the weeping had quieted, leaving her assistant to give an affirmative nod.
"It shall be as you say, princess. If I may ask, though...Why the books?"
Celestia's gaze grew even more distant and her next words were barely audible.
"Because there's one journal in particular I hope she never finds..."
In the middle of an unimportant meeting discussing irrelevant policies, Celestia paused. The nobles clustered around her eyed her frozen figure with moderate confusion, which strengthened greatly open their hearing her order.
"Clear out. Everypony out. Now. I wish to be alone."
With much grumbling and angry muttering, the space was finally emptied. The alicorn was alone in her throne room. At least, that was how it seemed.
"I know you're here."
She spoke grandly and with a slight amount of frustration. Truth be told, it more resembled humor, because the filly hunkering down in the shadowy corner of the room was quite a silly sight, taken out of context. Celestia pretended not to see her, though, and instead began pacing across the marble floor.
"Twilight Sparkle. I chose you. Don't you wish to know why?"
The princess had done her best up until then to stay away from the filly's business. She had hoped that, given time, the unicorn would eventually adjust to her new life and they could proceed from there.
Clearly, that wasn't going to happen. Twilight had come to her, and she felt the need to explain herself.
"It is because...you need me. You've had only false friends up until now, even if you deny that fact. Surely, deep down, you know it. It is time to come out of your fantasy land, Twilight."
With an adorably squeaky battle cry, the tiny unicorn charged right at her while her back was turned. Celestia's ears flicked and she swung herself around, watching the filly's eyes widen with terror upon making contact with hers.
Twilight tried to skid to a halt, but tripped somehow and went rolling across the floor. She traveled for an impressive distance before finally coming to a halt, helped by nature of how polished the marble was.
"Ah! There you are...?"
Celestia inwardly cursed her inexperience with foals, all too aware of just how creepy the sentence sounded. She had meant to be playful, or something along those lines, but the plainly terrified filly before her showed just how bad she was at interacting with children.
This is why I tried to stay away and let others deal with it! Ah, well, it's too late to back off now.
Upon standing, Twilight bolted straight for the nearby wall and collapsed against it with a loud whine. The princess smiled in what she prayed was an amiable enough expression before taking several slow steps toward her.
"Now now, there's no need to run off. Let's be civil, shall we?"
The alicorn forced herself to stop several feet away from the filly, taking a much deeper look at her shivering form.
Twilight had obviously found her way into one of the janitorial closets and clearly thought the supplies to be some sort of armor. She'd gone so far as to attach an undersized cleaning cart to her back using twisted towels as straps, while wearing four trash bags as some kind of socks and a mop's head to cover her tail.
The simple metal bucket atop her head with holes poked through for her horn and ears completed the signature look of a foal with too much imagination.
Through the many gaps in the filly's 'armor', though, Celestia could see scrapes, bruises, and deep cuts covering her body. The sight brought tears to her eyes, and the princess couldn't help but do what she could.
"Did you really hurt yourself, Twilight? Here, let me just...help you with that."
It was a simple enough spell; a mere thirty seconds or so of moderate concentration, bathed in yellow light and the filly was as good as new. Twilight didn't seem to like the experience all too much, though, if her squirming and crying out was any indication.
"You're horrible."
She spat, which took the alicorn aback.
"That's not very nice of you, Twilight."
Celestia closed the distance between the two and, in an effort to lend the situation more gravity, reached down to gently remove the bucket. Twilight didn't protest the action, instead preferring to stare emptily as the princess lifted and placed it off to the side.
Now able to take the foal somewhat seriously, the mare leaned down to her level, offering what she hoped was a winning smile.
"Well, that's enough dilly-dally, I think. Shall we move on? I believe we both have business to get to."
Twilight was beginning to hyperventilate, and anypony could tell she was scared to the highest possible degree. In a desperate attempt to calm her down, Celestia panicked also and blurted the first comforting thing that came to mind:
"I do have plans for you, Twilight."
To which the alicorn immediately cringed, watching with shame as the filly's eyes rolled back in her head and she dropped to the floor, unconscious.
What was I thinking?!
Princess Celestia paced madly in her bedchambers, often shooting glances over to the unconscious purple filly slumped against the adjacent wall.
I should never have let this continue. I should have taken the knife from her the second I heard about it. I should have blocked off the library.
Then she never would've been able to find the Journal.
"It was you."
The alicorn flinched as a high-pitched and raspy voice sounded from behind her. Swiftly, she whipped around to face the newly-awakened foal, plastering on a friendly smile.
"Oh, good, you're awake! You had me worried for a second there."
What Twilight had said finally registered, though, and Celestia tilted her head, adopting a curious expression.
"What do you mean by that?"
Surely she doesn't know. She was far too young to remember!
"The fire."
The princess' breathing was cut short and her false smile fell in time with her head. The filly's simple reply told her everything she needed to know.
Everything she'd hoped would never come up again.
...Cadence...
"Chrysalis was too powerful, Twilight. I had to stop her, no matter the cost."
Celestia swore she saw a green flame flicker in the filly's purple eyes, which only strengthened the theory she'd had all this time. The one that until then had gone mostly unproven.
"I believe she used the last of her illusion magic on you, Twilight. She was certainly the type to enact revenge any way she could."
The princess laid down, sighing despondently as memories returned with vengeance.
"Why must you keep it so dark? Or do the lights in here just not work?"
The alicorn tilted her head once more, confusedly waving her wing at the well-lit room with an enormous window framing the setting sun.
"Dark? Whatever do you mean? It's bright as day!"
Celestia soon remembered who she was talking to, though, and accordingly performed a soft facehoof. She sighed once more, deciding to simply change the subject. Or, rather, return it to what it should be.
"Never mind any of that. We have business to see to. I can help rid your mind of Chrysalis' influence, Twilight! If you'll let me."
The filly shifted in place, surveying herself and the 'armor' she still wore.
"'Help me?' Please, I know what you're really planning to do."
The alicorn knew she saw it this time: A flicker of green fire, as though Twilight was looking at one and Celestia could watch its reflection in her eyes.
The princess also didn't miss the filly's well-hidden plea for help, cleverly obscured by the way she'd worded the sentences.
'Help me please.' Don't worry, Twilight. I will.
"Oh? And what's that?"
Asked Celestia, discreetly lighting her horn as she stalled for time.
This spell is going to be very difficult.
"You want to turn me into one of your minions. The creatures that roam the halls. What other use could you have for me?"
This startled the alicorn enough that she lost her concentration on the spell, taking an indignant step back as she gasped in surprise.
She thinks I want her as my servant?! That's not true at all! I only wanted--Cadence only asked me to--I'd finally found her location!
"I assure you, Twilight, there are plenty of other uses for one of your talent!"
Celestia stood abruptly, her thoughts entering a frenzy as she continued to digest the filly's words.
All this time and she thought--! NO!
"I...I only want to help you, Twilight! I only knew where you were when the guards shut down that horrid orphanage!"
The unicorn didn't seem all too impressed, and in fact began quaking with repressed fury. Celestia winced after seeing this, but she still tried desperately to convey her feelings, to make her understand the situation.
To repent for her sins in some small way.
"Please, Twilight! You must understand! I did all I could! I wasn't able to help out directly but now that I've studied the counterspell I can finally--!"
Twilight's small horn lit up with a familiar green flame, her eyes following suit as she leapt forth to attack. Celestia cried out and sluggishly raised a hoof, but was too agitated to stop the blazing horn from plunging straight into her chest.
Her eyes bulged as she felt the power of her greatest enemy flood her system. Chrysalis' freezing magic tore away at her insides, shredding them apart with reckless abandon.
Celestia collapsed to the side, writhing in mute agony as the possessed filly stared her down.
"My, my, Celestia. Beaten so easily? Clearly you've gotten rusty since last we fought."
Chrysalis let out a wicked, mirthless chuckle, stepping over to the princess' prone form and sneering disdainfully at her.
"Now that I've killed you, the path to escape from here is revealed."
Twilight's overtaken body took steps toward the grand window, seemingly entranced by the shimmering panes.
"I'm free, Celly. I'm out.
This wasn't Chrysalis talking. Not entirely. There was still some trace of the unicorn inside.
The changeling's power had been allowed to grow, strengthening the longer it fed on its host's fear and rage. It had been a vicious cycle, as the stronger it grew, the more terrifying images it was able to project.
None of that would have happened, though, if Celestia had only burned the Journal when she'd had the chance.
It was too late now.
She'd lost.
NO! I CAN STILL FIX THIS!
The filly turned one final time to send the princess a victorious grin just before she thrust out a flame-coated hoof to effortlessly shatter the glass.
"Game over, princess. I win."
Celestia's world crumbled around her.
The very sun turned green to announce the twisted creature's triumph.
A book clattered to the ground just as Twilight jumped.
The last thing the once-great alicorn saw before all went black was its very first page fluttering open.
