Empire of Mercy
Copyright© 2025 by Daelyx Len Auphydas
Chapter 14: Aftermath
By the time the Princess comes to see Twilight, her parents have departed, leaving the filly to her own devices. She is not quite ready to be discharged yet; apparently the medical techs are waiting for scans to come back to make sure it’s safe. Twilight suspects there is more to it than that, but that’s all she is told, at least.
So it is that when Celestia appears through the doorway, Twilight is an anxious mess pacing around the room. Immediately upon seeing the princess, Twilight perks up and charges over to her, bowing her head deeply. “P-princess!” As the filly looks back up, Celestia can’t help but notice the purple unicorn cringing backwards in remembered fear. For just a moment, Twilight does not see the benevolent, kind princess she knew above her; she sees the terrifying force of infernal strength, blazing like the surface of the sun, as living bodies were reduced to ash.
And then she blinks, and the visage is broken. In its place ... Is a pony. A pony who doesn’t look like she remembers Celestia ever looking before. The wave of her mane is subdued, dark circles underneath her eyes. The princess smiles softly at Twilight as she looks to them, but the look in her eyes is haunting, and Twilight can’t help but shiver under the gaze. “How are you feeling, my young pupil?” Celestia asks, laying down on her haunches to bring herself to eye level with the filly.
“I-I’m okay. Rainbow Dash protected me.” Twiliight starts, before looking back up at Celestia with some alarm. “Wh-where is she? Is she okay? The doctors didn’t seem to know.”
Celestia nods. “She’ll be alright. I was just with her, but she isn’t ready for visitors just yet. She had broken some ribs and a wing, and needed surgery. I lent my magic to her to help her recover, but even so she needs rest. Right now, she is asleep; the enchantment I cast upon her should last at least until tomorrow morning. Perhaps then you could see her, if you so wish.”
Twilight breathes out a sigh of relief. A broken wing is a big deal of course, and surgery is too, but it sounds like Celestia has done everything necessary to make sure she’d have a full recovery. That would explain where Celestia had been this entire time, too. “Do ... Do you know why they...” Twilight starts, before her voice breaks, thinking back to the traumatic events of earlier that day. Somepony had tried to kill them. She still can’t seem to wrap her head around that concept.
“Not yet, no. I was on my way to the outskirts when I noticed a discrepancy in the schedule of the guard. As soon as I discovered it, I doubled back as quickly as I could fly. I’m afraid that’s all we know yet.”
Twilight nods slowly. She remembers quite well the events after that. The way the light radiated out of Celestia, the strength of her presence bleeding into the air, flaring like a star. How can that be the same flesh and blood now pony before her? Try as she might, she cannot perceive any hint of that divine light from Celestia’s frame, although the Alicorn before her still radiates a quiet regality.
Celestia’s knowing gaze seems to follow Twilights thoughts. “The light you saw was me. When I saw those fiends attacking my students, I’m afraid I lost control. I let the mask slip. What you saw was ... My true nature, underneath this skin and bone.”
“Does that mean ... Is that body just a puppet?” Twilight asks, cautiously. That seems like the logical conclusion to draw, yet, to even ask it was terrifying. Not only because she is questioning the Princess of the Sun, but because of the implication; is the being before her even a pony at all?
But to Twilight’s immense relief, Celestia shakes her head. “No, it is every bit as much a part of me as my magic or my mind. It simply is not the whole of me. The body of an Alicorn is akin to a manifestation of our will and magic. Upon ascension, a ponys’ original body is reduced to ashes, and only those who can create a new form through will alone will survive the transformation.” Celestia stretches her wings out, looking at them as though they are novel to her, despite having received them over a millennia ago. “But deep within this body is the core of my being. Closer to a star than equine-kind. That is what you saw, unleashed.”
Celestia gives Twilight a remorseful look, frowning. “ ... But rest assured, I am still a pony at heart. And by that token I should apologize. I never should have let this happen. I should have seen the error sooner, I should have been there, I...” Celestia’s breath catches in their throat, and she takes a deep breathe, rehearsing herself before finishing. “ ... I’m sorry you ever had to see me like that.”
Then ... That horrible burning smell, those living bodies reduced to ashes ... That had all been the princess. Somehow, Twilight hadn’t been able to truly believe that until just now. Just how many ponies has she killed, over the years? Twilight can’t help but wonder, staring into the ageless face of the alicorn before her. The princess has, after all, presided over many wars in the last millenia. Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? All burnt to cinders or torn to shreds by the very same tender-hearted alicorn across from her. Twilight can’t help but shiver at the thought.
Celestia nods, seeing the unicorns discomfort, making no attempt to dissuade her. “If you would prefer to talk to somepony else, I would understand.” Celestia states delicately. “And I know this must be difficult for you. But I am afraid I am going to need to ask you to try and remember everything you can about the attack. We still haven’t identified the conspirators behind it, and can use any advantage we can get.”
Twilight bites her lip, uncomfortably, but nods. “No, it’s alright. I’ll do whatever I can to help.” She affirms, trying to process her confused memories and taking a deep breathe. Logically. She has to view the events logically. “I ... It all happened so fast. We noticed that the palace was strangely empty while we were leaving ... I guess maybe that’s what had Rainbow Dash on guard. I didn’t get a good look at any of the attackers, they were all wearing cloaks and using knives.” Twilight shuts her eyes tightly, wanting to block out the memories but knowing she needs to keep going. “They went straight for Rainbow Dash. I don’t think any of them even noticed me until I threw a brick at one of their heads.” Twilight opens her eyes again, looking over at Celestia with a haunted stare. “Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to notice that though. Instead of flying off as soon as she could, she grabbed Spike and I before trying to make a getaway. Then ... You know the rest.”
Celestia steps back, contemplating with a subtle frown. “I see. Thank you, Twilight. I will do my best to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.” The princess nods in acknowledgement.
Twilight nervously swallows before asking the next question. “Did ... Anypony else get hurt?”
Celestia views the filly with a sympathetic gaze. As much as she might want to, she would not lie to shelter the filly; her student deserves to know the truth. “A guardspony was slain, as were all but one of the attackers. A passing tourist was also critically injured in the scuffle, though last I heard they were still alive and receiving the necessary medical attention. Only time will tell if he will pull through, or not.”
Twilight stares downwards, looking sickened, and Celestia lays what she hopes is a comforting hoof upon Twilight’s shoulder. “Let us be thankful that you are alright, at the least. Things could have been much worse.” Celestia states, softly, rising from their repose. “I should expect you need some time to recover before we discuss these events in more detail. Until then, all that matters is that you are safe and comfortable. You should be able to leave the hospital now, your brother will escort you home.”
Just as the princess is leaving, Twilight calls out, “Wait!” The alicorn turns back, giving an expectant look towards Twilight. “I just...” Twilight bunches up the sheets under her hooves. “Thankyou. For everything.”
Celestia watches Twilight for a long moment, before finally turning back towards the door. “You have nothing to thank me for. After all, I am the only reason you were in danger to begin with.” Without any further ado, the princess steps out into the hall, and Twilight is left alone with her thoughts.
Mooncrescent bobbles back and forth as he jauntily trots down the familiar palace halls alongside his brother. “Isn’t this exciting!? Celestia gave us a secret mission! Us! Oh, father’s gonna eat his words ... Though, I guess it’s a secret mission, so we can’t tell him...” Mooncrescent scrunches up his face at that, disappointed as he outwits himself.
“You should take this more seriously.” Starblaze responds bluntly, fixating his gaze upon the approaching, dark threshold of the palace dungeons. “Do you not understand how important this is? We’ve somehow been placed in the center of the greatest breach of Equestrian security in the last century. And it’s up to us to solve it. The eyes of history are on us.”
Mooncrescent rolls his eyes. “Oh, whatever! Hopefully that means there’ll be fighting. Though I guess Celly would be upset if we jumped to that too quickly...” He scrunches up his muzzle again. “Oh well, it’ll still be fun!”
Starblaze groans and hangs his head, as he begins trotting down the stairs into the dungeons. Getting through to Mooncrescent the gravity of the situation is just impossible.
It had been a while since he’d last been down here; The chamber is dark, rocky, a tad moist. Privately, Starblaze wonders if the latter is intentional, to really sell the feeling of ‘you are in a dungeon now.’
“Hmph. You two must be cadets Starblaze and Mooncrescent.” An earth pony guard, perhaps in her late thirties or early fourties, appraises the two brothers with a subtle but very real disdain behind her professional expression. “I still cannot fathom what I need you two for, but I suppose we will be working together. I am Serjeant Heartwhisper, resident jailor, and interrogator. I suppose I am technically also the resident executioner, not that I’ve ever needed to perform that particular service.” The pony in question nods to the two colts. “The prisoner is right this way. I will tolerate your presence as ordered, but please do not interfere with my methods, interrogation is a delicate science.”
“You don’t need to worry. We are here to observe, no more.” Starblaze asserts; it is true, at least, as long as everything went according to plan. I suppose that it can’t be helped that she doesn’t like us, I certainly wouldn’t like it either if some fresh recruit was suddenly placed in charge of me for no apparent reason. Starblaze ponders sympathetically. Still, he has to remain aware; the possibility that this pony is part of the conspiracy is all too real, and he is here to ensure the interrogation is performing its true purpose.
With that in mind, he stays on guard as he follows the mare to a sealed cell with four guards, two on the inside and two on the outside. The prisoner inside is heavily restrained, both rear and forelegs cuffed to the floor and a table respectively, a steel mask sealing his muzzle. As the door clicks shut behind her, Heartwhisper nods and motions to the pony in question. “Unmuzzle him.”
On cue, the guardsponies on either side seize the prisoner, slam him down against the table with wholly unnecessary heavy-hoofedness, before inserting a key into either side of the masks mechanism which removes the jawpiece from the top half, allowing it to be removed. Though the guardsponies are mostly stoic in operation, the sheer severity of their demeanor radiates an aura of hostility, and Starblaze rather gets the impression that they wish they could simply snap the prisoner’s neck and dump him in a shallow grave.
The prisoner makes no sound, although he cannot help but work his sore jaw from side to side, as Serjeant Heartwhisper sits before him, every bit as silent as her prey. The pegasid’s jaw had been set in place by a brace, but it’s still readily apparent that it is in very poor shape and behind his lifeless expression Mooncrescent can make out a whisper of pain struggling to get out.
Seconds pass by in agonizing silence. Eventually, unable to take it anymore, Mooncrescent leans over to Starblaze, hissing out “Why isn’t anypony saying anything?” between his teeth.
Starblaze shoots a look Mooncrescent’s way before pulling him to the side. “Keep it down, it’s a standard interrogation tactic. Most ponies can only take the tension for so long before snapping. Just watch for now, alright?”
Mooncrescent scrunches up his muzzle, but nods. So far, this is less fun than hoped, but it is still just starting.
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