A cockroach scuttled across the floor, pausing in front of Celestia's hooves. The former princess stood absolutely still and allowed the roach to scurry up her leg. Slowly, Celestia placed the back of her hand against her thigh. The roach inched forward before rushing onto Celestia's opened palm.
"Got you!" said Celestia, closing her fist. The roach threw itself against it's new cage, trying desperately to free itself.
"You and I are not so different." said Celestia. "Both of us have fallen from the top of our respective kingdoms. We both are captured." She opened her palm slightly. "And we shall both be free soon."
The door creaked open slowly. Celestia looked up slightly, closing her fist on the roach. Twilight stepped into the room with several sets of chain bindings in her hands. She reached into her lavender cloak and withdrew a small, dented key.
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle." said Celestia. "What brings you here?"
"Shut up. I have to move you to the infirmary." said Twilight. Celestia pinched one of the roach's legs with two fingers.
"When will you be letting me go?" asked Celestia.
"When pigs fly out of a frozen hell with ice cream cones and land on the moon." said Twilight. Celestia twisted the roach's leg and pulled it off, laughing slightly.
"Will there be strawberry?" she asked mockingly. "It was always my favorite."
"I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, Celestia, but it's not going to happen." said Twilight.
"What am I trying to accomplish? I'm trying to intimidate and frighten you." said Celestia. "Is it working?"
"No."
"Yes it is. Don't you know this by now, Twilight Sparkle? I know you inside and out. Every fidget, every flinch, every nervous gasp, every stutter." said Celestia. She pulled off another roach leg. "If you breathe an extra breath, I notice it. Once you understand how something works, you can begin to manipulate it."
"You can't manipulate me." said Twilight.
"The universe does not revolve around you." muttered Celestia. Twilight half-heartedly kicked Celestia in the side, not doing much more than nudging her.
"What was that?" asked Twilight.
"You shouldn't assume that I was talking about you." said Celestia, a little louder. "I have been manipulating you from the get-go, but not much recently."
"Then who do you think you've been manipulating?"
"You used to be so sharp, dear. What happened? It's not exactly brain surgery to decipher my codes." sighed Celestia. "Yesterday, or whenever that was, when you got your hands on my books. What did Luna say she was coming to visit me for? For blood?"
Twilight kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to hear what Celestia had to say, but she was curious of what her prisoner was implying. Despite her better judgement, she stood in the room, waiting for Celestia continue.
"Well? Are you going to ask to see my needle wound?" asked Celestia. "I'll save you time and tell you that there are none."
"Then why did she come?" asked Twilight.
"Why did she come, indeed. Maybe it was to catch up on old times. That's what ended up happening, so I'm sure that was it." said Celestia. "But that raises the question: Why would she lie to you? Did she have another reason to visit me?"
Twilight dropped down in front of Celestia. She reached forward and began to unchain Celestia's arms. As soon as her arms were free, the prisoner grabbed Twilight's hair and brought Twilight's ear to her lips.
"Or maybe she's plotting how best to eliminate her competition?" whispered Celestia. Twilight jerked away, then freed Celestia's legs.
"Are you… Luna has betrayed me?" asked Twilight. Celestia shrugged her shoulders.
"It would seem so." Twilight dropped the chains to the ground, her fist balled up in rage. Her mane became more aura-like, and her eyes shone like headlights.
"She betrayed me! For the likes of you! Why does this happen to me?!" shouted Twilight. She reached into her cloak and yanked out a knife, which she used to slash at Celestia haphazardly.
"You don't want to do that, my dear." said Celestia, avoiding Twilight's attacks. "If I were to die, mayhaps a new strain of Eclipse will outbreak. You don't want to risk your children, do you?"
"You dare threaten my children?! I will die a thousand deaths before I let you harm any of them!" shouted Twilight hysterically. Celestia grabbed Twilight's wrist firmly, keeping the knife pointed to the ground.
"Unless you want your precious bundles of joy to join you in those thousand deaths, I suggest you lower your blade, and quiet down." whispered Celestia. She could feel the roach bounce around in her other hand, and it took all of her will to refrain from crushing it.
"I thought you changed!" said Twilight through gritted teeth. "I thought that you were sorry. I asked Luna to consider freeing you, you manipulative, tyrannical piece of shit!"
"Such foul language is unbecoming of a Princess." said Celestia. "Here's what is going to happen, Twilight Sparkle. You will not attack Luna. You will not confront her. You will not even let her know that you are aware of our little coup d'etat. The moment you break any of these rules, Eclipse will be released among your children. You will go to Luna tomorrow and tell her that you want to discuss releasing me."
"Why not today?" asked Twilight. "Aren't you in a rush to get out?"
"I've waited for a thousand years. I can wait one more day." said Celestia. "If you seem too hasty, Luna will be suspicious. I am not really supposed to be telling you any of this. If you make Luna suspicious, she will release Eclipse. So, you will wait until tomorrow. You will sit her down and you will discuss releasing me. Luna will refuse at first, which is why you must convince her. It is very important that you stay in character the entire time. The moment she thinks something is amiss, she will release Eclipse. I do not want Eclipse to be released."
"So, I have to somehow convince her to let you go? Without sounding as if we're working together?" asked Twilight. Celestia nodded, then wrenched the knife from Twilight's hand.
"As insurance." said Celestia. She buried the knife in her own midsection, just below her lungs. A soft groan of pain escaped her. "There. Leave me be and discuss it with Luna. This wound is far deeper than it appears. I will be dead by tomorrow at around this time with a wound like this. It is about six in the evening, yes?"
"Yes." said Twilight, her voice shaky. "T-ten minutes past six."
"You have until then to convince Luna. Until we meet again, Twilight Sparkle." said Celestia. She sat down against the wall and chained herself back, hiding the knife behind her back. Twilight stumbled to the door, fumbling at the knob. Finally, she pulled it open and slipped out into the corridor. A devilish grin broke out on Celestia's face as she felt the roach scuttle in her hand some more.
"I will be free by this time tomorrow." said Celestia to the roach. "My first order of business is to get my horn replaced. And then, I will eradicate all of your kind. I always hated insects such as you." Celestia pushed her palm against the floor, pressing the roach against the cold concrete. "You will be the first of many, you disgusting creature." She wiped the crushed organs of the cockroach onto the wall and pushed her back against the wall.
Luna watched Twilight leave Celestia's cell. The princess looked over shoulder nervously before carefully making down the hall away from Queen Luna. Luna gripped the hem of her gown and strode to the door, hesitating at the knob. Her sweaty hands slipped against the doorknob. She took a second to steel her nerves, taking in a deep breath. Her clammy hands moved of their own accord, twisting the knob and pushing open the door slowly.
"Hello, sister." said Celestia. "Have you given any more thought to my offer?"
"You mean your ultimatum?" asked Luna.
"A rose by any other name has just as many thorns." chuckled Celestia. "You'll be pricked all the same, regardless of what you want to call it."
"No matter what happens, you will kill me. My choice is either to die to Twilight or to die to you." said Luna. "What am I expected to do?"
"You're expected to make a choice before I bleed out." said Celestia. Blood lightly gushed from her gut. "If I do not get any medical attention by this time tomorrow, I will die. So, here's what you are going to do. When Twilight approaches you tomorrow to discuss releasing me, you will resist. She will try to convince you, and you must give in only when you think she has reached the end of her rope. She will be desperate, but you mustn't give in too quickly."
"Why not? Are you not in a hurry to escape?" asked Luna. Celestia shook her head.
"I'm not supposed to be saying any of this to you. If I am not released in time, or if I die from some other means, Eclipse will be released among the entire population of your kingdom. Furthermore, we shall leave evidence that implies it was you who released it, destroying your image." said Celestia. "Twilight wanted to kill you outright, but I convinced her to give you a chance. But, the moment she discovers of my interference, you will be killed."
"It's not enough for you to simply win, is it?" asked Luna angrily. "You just have to lord it over me, don't you?"
"I do not know what you mean." said Celestia, smirking smugly.
"You're doing it right now! We always knew, everyone always knew that you were better than me! It was no secret that you were smarter, stronger, prettier, nicer, more perfect in every way! Even our own parents prefered you over me!" shouted Luna. "You were never content with just that. Even when you had everything, you just had to rub it in! You had to-"
"Tip the king." said Celestia. Luna grabbed Celestia by the neck tightly.
"Again! You won't even give me the satisfaction of finishing my own tirade!" spat Luna. "You always have to prove that you're better!"
"You think I am flaunting my superiority because I am trying to save my sister?" asked Celestia. She gripped her hidden knife tightly.
"Why do you even care, Celestia? Just a few days ago, you were threatening to kill me. Now you want to protect me? From what? The big bad boogeyman?" asked Luna. Celestia smiled, and kissed her sister on the cheek.
"Good night, sister." said Celestia, closing her eyes. "See you in the morning. I take it you remember my directions?"
Luna kicked Celestia in the side with all her might. When Celestia didn't react, Luna grumbled and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Celestia never heard it; She was already asleep.