Chapter 25: As Above, So Below

Princess Celestia stands stock-still and rigid, doing her best to suppress the nagging twitch of her right eyelid as she stares into the mirror of her chambers. She had gotten immense use out of the artifact in the centuries since she had constructed it, but she sometimes has to question if it was wise to construct it in such a form; while waiting for the link to be established, it leaves the princess to do nothing but stare intently into her own reflection. A reflection which has certainly seen better days, judging from those cavernous dark circles underneath her eyes, and the dull, desaturated pink tone of her mane barely flowing at all. Even the ancient scars covering the inner side of her forelimbs are stinging, faint red lines just barely visible to attentive eyes; it’s been years since she’d last seen them.

Such thoughts and memories are, thankfully, interrupted when the surface of the mirror ripples and Celestia’ reflection blurs into the face of Silent Serpent. “Your Majesty.” The subtlest nod of the chiropteran’s head. Without even waiting for Celestia to acknowledge him, the chiropteran launches into his report; something the solar princess rather appreciates. “House Ivy has been dismantled, the late Chancellors daughters are all in custody along with a number of mercenaries and household troops. With the help of a local filly, we uncovered irrefutable proof of a large-scale foal smuggling operation in the Everfree forest, which was seemingly being funded by House Ivy’s treasury. However, there was a problem during interrogations; the chancellor was found dead shortly after being captured, along with multiple of his lieutenants. I have my suspicions as to who is responsible, I observed multiple soldiers hesitating during the battle and one in particular gave away our position early. Efforts to ascertain where the captives were being sent are still underway.”

Celestia pauses while she parses that flood of information. ‘A local filly’ ... Could it be...? But given the chancellor’s untimely death, it’s still risky to bring up the pony in question. Even if Silent Serpent can be trusted, which is still not absolutely certain, there is a possibility that another pony might be listening in; it’s difficult to tell, over the connection. “Very well. I wish I could say I was surprised, but that fits neatly into what we know of the present circumstance. Keep a contingent occupying the manor there, but I want you to meet up with Mooncrescent and Starblaze to fill the two of them in on recent events. You remember where they are?” Silent Serpent nods succinctly and wordlessly. Good. Then we understand eachother. This constant lack of ponies Celestia can trust is truly starting to wear thin.

“Of course your majesty. I will send one of my most trusted guards to Canterlot with a more detailed report as soon as interrogations are complete, and then head there straightaway.” Silent Serpent responds, even as a loud hoofknock sounds on the door to Celestia’s chambers.

“Very well. It would appear I am needed elsewhere, and you have your orders.” After all, the guards wouldn’t have let a pony up here unless it was truly important. “You’ve done good work, captain, but it’s not over yet.”

Celestia turns away before the mirror even has a chance to sever the connection, and irately opens the door to her chambers to reveal the grim face of Cadance on the other side. “There’s been another attack. The guard’s handled it, but there’s something you need to see for yourself.” Despite her professional demeanor, there is a noticeable undertone of dread in Cadance’s voice.

Celestia grimaces in return; as much as she might have wished she could have been surprised, at this point the news is practically routine. “Very well. Lead the way.”

The general expressions of fear and the way that ponies hastily scurry out of the way as Celestia and Cadance make their way down through central Canterlot has grown to be decidedly too familiar to the solar princess. But even with current events being as they are, the sight that awaits Celestia when they arrive at the outskirts of Canterlot is still disquieting.

“They teleported in without any warning, just started running rampant right away. The guards thought it was just another monster attack at first, until it started talking. Nothing that made any sense of course, just inane gibberish.” Cadance’s voice is soft, restrained, as she stands tensely to the side, allowing Celestia to step up and take in the scene.

There, pierced by numerous arrows and covered in such a number of slashing and stabbing wounds as to render its original form almost imperceivable beneath the coating of dried blood, is something rather like a pony, at least in broad strokes. Four wings, no two matching in either size nor color, sprout from its body, three on one side with one on the other. One of its legs has degenerated into a mass of stringy flesh somewhere between a tentacle and tumor, and it appears both emaciated and overgrown in different ways, its ribcage far too large for the amount of flesh on it’s bones. Six eyes are arranged haphazardly and asymmetrically around its face, with a spare nostril intersecting one, a teratomic mass interspersed with half-formed bits of other organs. And on its forehead, an uncannily pristine spiraling white horn juts from the irregular and matted mass of hair which was probably meant to be its mane.