Celestia sat in her chains, tears and filth running down her face from the trauma of earlier in the day. She was back in her sitting position her arms high above her head. Celestia sobbed softly, completely helpless. The Princess of the Sun had just been defiled by two stallions, and it hurt her deeply. Deeper than Twilight's stab, deeper than her hate. This hurt Celestia's soul.
The door creaked open. This time, Celestia didn't look on in hope. Instead, she shrunk down in hiding as Twilight entered the room. Twilight's horn was surrounded by purple glow, and a burlap sack fell into her right hand.
"That's it? No threats?" asked Twilight, moving Celestia's chains to the center of the wall with her magic. "No orders to release you?"
Celestia remained silent, begging her horn to do something. She let herself be chained again, on her knees and with her hands bound to the floor. Twilight pointed one finger at Celestia's face, and a stream of water burst onto Celestia, washing away the tears and filth.
"I never really thought we'd be able to break you." said Twilight. "That little incident really hit you hard, then? Of course it would. A pony like you? The once-respected, once-honorable, the once-great Princess Celestia. Now nopony has any respect for you. You have no honor. As for greatness? Pah. Don't make me laugh."
"If you are going to kill me, hurry and get it done." whispered Celestia. "If I had to be betrayed by anypony, at least it was someone worthy of the throne."
"You have some nerve, accusing me of treachery. It is you who betrayed me and Luna." said Twilight.
"Could you at least tell me what happened? I'd rather die with some answers."
"You've really forgotten, then?" asked Twilight. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"The celebration. There was a feast in Canterlot." recalled Celestia. "You'd just beaten Tirek. I held a feast in the castle. I remember… cider. You'd had too much, and were in no fit state to return to Ponyville. You and your friends stayed in Canterlot for the night. I closed my eyes last night and awoke in this dungeon."
"I truly envy you, Celestia. You have the luxury of forgetting the last thousand years. This terrible millenium has disappeared from your memory. My scars, however, are fresh."
"You still haven't explained." said Celestia. "What happened?"
"You tell me. You're the one who murdered half of Equestria." said Twilight bitterly. Celestia froze at the impossibility. She couldn't remember the last time she killed anypony, let alone half of her own kingdom. Before she could ask any more questions, Twilight covered Celestia's head with the sack. Tiny beams of light broke the darkness surrounding Celestia as her eyes shot back and forth. She was familiar with bags such as those; they were usually used during executions, however rare they might be. Celestia felt her head be forced back, and looked to the sky as she braced for her death. Twilight had other plans.
Ice cold water fell onto Celestia, water colder than the frozen north of Equestria. The Sun Princess coughed and sputtered as water consumed her being; there was no air, only more water that filled her lungs. Her blood froze to shards of ice, and her skin was live with goosebumps. Twilight halted the water and removed the sack, letting Celestia breath for just a second before resuming the waterboarding session.
Celestia was drowning. That was the only explanation. So much cold water, she couldn't breath. She had to be drowning.
My next breath shall be my last, Celestia said to herself. I will die here, to my own student.
Twilight removed the sack again, letting Celestia spit water out of her lungs and replace it with gulps of air. The air slit her chest, but she thought it better than ice doing the same. Celestia was so busy choking down breaths that she didn't notice a pony step into the room.
He was a guard, as evidenced by his golden armor. This guard was very different from Celestia's rapists; He had a horn and wings, and was missing his left eye. In it's place, over a patch of skin as orange as his fur, was the image of a blue shield, with a single, yellow lightning bolt running down it. He bowed before Princess Twilight and brought attention to himself with a light cough.
"What is it, darling?" asked Twilight. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Apologies, Mother. I've been sent by Queen Luna." said the guard. "She requests another pint of blood."
"Tell Luna that she cannot spare another pint. Any more blood loss may lead to serious repercussions."
"Queen Luna wanted me to tell you that she is close to a breakthrough on the cure." explained the guard. "She insists on more blood, before she loses her findings."
"Not today. Tell her to come back in a week." said Twilight adamantly.
"Queen Luna was afraid you'd say that, so she gave me a code. Override Code: Star, Diamond, Apple, Butterfly, Balloon, Lightning."
"Confirmation code?" asked Twilight.
"M, G, H, K, L, L." said the guard, slightly frightened. Twilight let out a sigh, and reached into her cloak. She withdrew a tube, pouch and needle, like the one Luna used before. Twilight levitated the needle into Celestia's and waited for the pouch to fill.
"You may go, my dear. I'll bring it to Luna." said Twilight. The guard nodded and disappeared through the door as fast as he came.
"That code." croaked Celestia. "It is a tribute to the girls, yes?"
"Shut up, Celestia." growled Twilight.
"Where are they? Do you have them locked up as well?"
"Hold your tongue, prisoner." suggested Twilight, although rather forcefully.
"Are they okay? Have you killed them?" asked Celestia stubbornly. Twilight snapped. Her fist met the side of Celestia's head with passion, knocking the prisoner to the ground. Twilight planted her hoof into Celestia's side again and again, each blow followed by a groan of pain.
"You will remember!" shouted Twilight, eyes glowing faintly white. "You shall not forget what you did to them!"
"I have, my dear." grunted Celestia. "You shall have to remind me." Twilight stopped Celestia talking with a well-placed hoof to the throat.
"You're not so broken, then." said Twilight, reigning in her violent energy. Her eyes dimmed and returned to normal. "You're trying to anger me. To get information? I'd be some interrogator if I allowed you to discover information from me."
"Yet you let slip that I am being interrogated." coughed Celestia. "Which means I know something that you do not, and it is something you need dearly."
Twilight smiled slightly. It wasn't gleeful, nor was it nervous like her smiles a thousand years ago. It was a grim, slightly spiteful smile, a smile of determination and purpose. She liked Celestia's teasing; it meant she was back, that her fire had returned. Which meant Twilight had to extinguish it.
"Sharp as ever." said Twilight, grabbing the now-filled bag of blood. "I knew you weren't down just yet." She took a step to exit the room.
"Wait!" called Celestia. "Whose spell is this? The magical suppression spell?"
"Who said it was a spell?" asked Twilight with an evil smile.
"Then why is it that I cannot use my magic?" said Celestia in terror.
"The only one hundred percent foolproof method of magical suppression." said Twilight, smiling even wider. "Lobotomy."
Celestia gasped in terror, trying to pull her hands from the ground. She struggled and strained, forcing herself to cast a spell, any spell at all. Twilight laughed at the former princess' futile attempts.
"You… You've removed my horn." said Celestia, tears welling in her eyes. "I-I… I'm a pegasus."
"For now. There may come a time when I need to remove those wings of yours." said Twilight.
"Talking of wings, I hope you intend on explaining. The guard who asked you for my blood. He was… your son?"
"Every Equestrian that is living is related to me in some manner."
"I ask for answers, yet all you give me is more questions to ask." sighed Celestia.
"It's strange to be on the other side, isn't it? You used to make a habit of that; Give me a task, and let me figure it out on my own." said Twilight. "I'll let you ask your questions as you rot."
Twilight left Celestia in the dungeon, sopping wet and freezing cold. Celestia curled up as best as she could, recoiling from the icy water that still clung to her skin. Her body was becoming numb to the point of soreness, the only parts of her that she could feel being the parts Twilight had attacked. More than the numbness of her body was the detachment from her horn.
What was Celestia without a horn? She was nothing without her magic; Not very strong, not particularly quick. Celestia never even knew how to fly properly. Why fly when you can teleport to your destination instantly? Celestia wished she would've taken the time to learn. Then, she wished that it mattered.
I'll never leave this dungeon, thought Celestia. I'll never get the chance to fly. This place is all that I am now. My prison, my bedroom, my catacomb.
A wave of exhaustion flew over Celestia. Her body seemed to fall limp, every last bit of her waning energy vanishing on the spot. It was a long day for Celestia, a lot of shock in a short period. Her eyes slowly fluttered closed, despite her best efforts to the contrary. She needed sleep, and she knew it. Yet Celestia forced her eyes to stay opened.
If I close my eyes, they shall never open again, thought Celestia. Sleep is death. Vigilance is life. Stay vigilant. Do not close your eyes.
Celestia was battling nature, a battle she could never hope to win. Her eyelids failed, fluttering closed. Mother Nature stood triumphant, and Celestia fell into the cold embrace of what she thought was surely death.
A hard kick to the stomach yanked Celestia from her slumber. She groaned as she pulled her face from the cold, unforgiving concrete floor. Queen Luna and Princess Twilight stood before Celestia, the queen with a set of shackles and a collar in her hands and the princess with a large, steel bat in hers.
"Rise and shine, prisoner." said Twilight, strolling around Celestia's back.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" asked Celestia scathingly. Twilight swung the bat into the back of Celestia's head, knocking her dizzy. The room swam before Celestia's eyes.
"You are not to directly speak to the queen without permission." said Twilight. "I would recommend keeping your mouth shut."
"We are transferring you to the West Tower." said Queen Luna. Her horn began to glow blue, and the collar floated over to Celestia. The leather wrapped tightly around the Sun Princess' neck, choking her slightly.
"Hold her for a second." said Twilight. She used her own magic to unlock Celestia's bindings, and pinned her face to the floor. "Move and you will find that more parts of you will go the way of your horn."
Twilight spread Celestia's right arm to the side, and stepped on her already sore, red wrist. Luna used her magic to hold Celestia's arm there, so Twilight could remove her hoof. The princess took her bat and swung it with all her might onto Celestia's arm. The Sun Princess cried out in pain as Twilight shattered her arm again and again. Twilight broke Celestia's arm in six places before she moved on to the wing.
With help from Luna, Twilight pulled Celestia to her right side, her right wing flat on the ground and her left flailing pitifully. The left wing smacked lightly against Twilight's face. The princess grabbed Celestia's wing and twisted slowly. Celestia's already-grimacing face screwed up in agony, a scream escaping her. More and more, Twilight twisted Celestia's wing, laughing at her agony.
SNAP!
With on last jerk, the wing snapped. Celestia grit her teeth in pain, refusing to allow Twilight anymore satisfaction. It seemed Twilight was happy, because she let Luna chain their prisoner for transport. A steel shackle belted around Celestia's broken and bruised wrist, chaining to her good hand. The collar around her neck tightened and hardened into steel as black as her chains. Another, similar set of chains tied Celestia's hooves together. A final chain fell into Twilight's hand, which she attached to Celestia's neck. She yanked forward, pulling the prisoner and tightening the bonds even more.
"It is time for us to depart." said Luna.
"Yes. To the surface." said Twilight. She yanked on Celestia's chain, urging her to follow. They left the dungeon in a single file, Twilight in the lead, a mangled Celestia behind her, and Queen Luna in the rear. Celestia darted her eyes around, trying to gather as much information as possible.
They were moving through a tunnel of grey stone, not unlike Celestia's cell. There were a myriad of doors and corridors to each side of them, but the trio advanced forward in a straight line. Twilight led the line along, not being particularly gentle to her prisoner. Soon enough, they reached a slab of stone on the roof that was slightly darker than the rest of the ceiling. Twilight placed her hand against Celestia's mouth. A thin plane of purple light bent around Celestia's face. It shimmered for just a second before melting into the air.
"Do you need me, Luna?" asked Twilight.
"I can manage." said Luna. She placed her hand against her own mouth, a similar energy surrounding her face. Twilight nodded and pressed her palm against the roof. A light vibration shook through the walls, and the slab began to glow purple. It melted into a ladder, which hit the ground with a soft thud. Twilight flew slowly up the newly formed shaft in the roof. Celestia had to move quickly to avoid getting strangled. She pulled herself up to the surface, and nearly fainted at her surroundings.
Canterlot was in ruins. The castle towers a bit away were crumbling, save for the West Tower. There was scarcely a single building that was not burned, collapsed or otherwise destroyed. That wasn't the most terrifying thing to Celestia. No, the most frightening thing Celestia found about her shattered capital was the corpses.
Bodies of all races, Earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn, littered the streets. The number was unfathomable, the innumerable casualties of some great tragedy. Their eyes were waxy and yellow, with a strange grey pus oozing from them. The bodies were in great piles, some in haphazardly crafted pits that acted as mass graves. The corpses were in varying states of decomposition; some were nearly clean picked skeletons, while others were practically completely preserved.
"What caused this?" asked Celestia.
"One." said Twilight.
"One what?"
"Two."
"Why are you counting?" asked Celestia frustratedly.
"Five." said Twilight.
"She is counting the hours she will be torturing you when we arrive." said the queen. "It'd be smart to shut up."
Celestia kept her silence as Twilight and Luna escorted her the rest of the way to the West Tower. They travelled down a passageway very similar to how they left. When the trapdoor was sealed, Twilight snapped her fingers. The wall of light surrounding Celestia's face returned, then shattered into purple shards of arcane energy.
"There is a disease." said Celestia. "Which is why you gave me the mask."
"Correct." said Twilight. "Seven."
Celestia kept her mouth shut from then on. Twilight smiled slightly, proud of her ability to intimidate Princess Celestia herself. Twilight found a door she liked and shoved Celestia through it. This cell was tiny in comparison to the other, about the size of a bathroom. Twilight shackled Celestia's arms, legs, and neck to the wall. Luna gave Twilight a nod of approval before leaving the new cell. Twilight's horn began to glow, and a wickedly sharp, sinisterly serrated knife fell into her hand.
"You have twelve hours of torture to endure." said Twilight. "That is enough to devote an hour to each of my friends, plus one to make this personal."
"Twelve?!" asked Celestia in terror. "You said seven!" The knife kissed Celestia's breast, loosening a tiny spittle of blood.
"And now I say twelve. We have no time to waste, do we?"