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Celestia's Chambers
The royal and immortal princesses who rule Equestria and keep the sun and moon in their orbits are rewarded for their responsibilities with luxury and grandeur. The princesses have a kingdom of rooms each, filling one of the palace's highest towers. It's hard to tell where the rooms belonging to Celestia are divided from the rooms belonging to Luna. This must be Celestia's bedroom, because the domed ceiling has a blazing sun painted on a soft blue background. Other than that, there's a lot of white marble and sandstone, red velvet, bookshelves, plush couches, a bed that could hold both princesses or six normal ponies, gold leaf, statuary, and wealth everywhere you look. There's no privacy, except in the sense that two ponies are living in enough room for twenty. Doors stand open everywhere, even the ones leading out onto the balcony by the bed.
[ Obvious Exits: <Lu>na's Chambers, <B>ack to the Palace ]
[ Players: Clara, Apple_Bloom, Celestia ]
<OOC> Celestia says, "Oooo-o-O-o-O-oooo."
<OOC> You say, "O-OOoo-ooOoo-oOo!"
<OOC> You say, "HelLlo, SunN usUurRpeR."
<OOC> Celestia is hardly a usurper!
<OOC> Celestia is rightfully the Princess. She proves it with her birth certificate.
<OOC> You say, "YoU have stOoLLeN the gLoOry of the suUn frOm the GoD SiRrIuUS."
Apple_Bloom shouts "The Bloom Doll TP is about the begin." (Public-shout)
Sky_Blue shouts "LOCK YER FOALS IN THE CLOSET." (Public-shout)
It's just like any other night in Canterlot, truly, it is. Dull propositions by dull courtiers. Some amateurish nightly reports being presented by ponies scrambling to fill the void left by the record keeper's resignation. But it is nearing the time for Luna to begin the night court and relief Celesta for the night. There is a guard entering the throne room, some sort of care package tucked in his wing.
This is one of those times of year when the nights are allowed to be long. Winter tends that way, of course. And the wet auburn leaves outside speak definitively of autumn. But Nightmare Night is almost here, and as such, the season is honorarily winter. Luna thus strides silently into court somewhat earlier than usual, though probably not surprising Celestia in doing so after so many years. She pauses by the guard, noting his burden. "Is that for my sister?" she asks him. "I will deliver it, if so."
Celestia's attention turns from the host of courtiers to the guard entering the throne room. "Greetings, sir Guard. Pl- Oh, Luna!" The Princess's eyes turn towards her sister as she strides into the room. "You are earlier than usual. Speed through your breakfast today?"
The guard hrms gruffly. "It is addressed to "The Princesses from 'your greatest fan.'" The guard says roughly. He lifts up the package less than carefully. "With Nightmare Night coming up the guards figured it might be more for the Night Princess... but I can't say for certain. Feels light." He's not a magical unicorn, and opening others' mail is not his style.
"Hardly," says Luna, relieving the guard of the package and entering with long steps that seem ever so slightly uneven, like shadows on trees. "I rose early. At this time of year, dear sister, you should be napping often. Are you prepared to set the sun?" She levitates the package onto a credenza not far away.
That package isn't suspicious /at all/. No siree, not in the slightest. "Of course I am prepared to set the sun, my beloved sister." The Princess lifts herself up from the throne and makes her way down the stairs in front of it. She turns towards the credenza and gives Luna a curious glance. "Not going to open the package from your secret admirer, Luna?" she teases with a little grin.
The package actually does look quite innocent on inspection. Like maybe some foal may have asked a local guard to help her get it to the princesses because *all* guards know the princesses. The handwriting is an adorable scrawl. The wrapping paper is pink with moons and suns patterned all over it.
Luna thrusts a shoulder briefly toward the package. "It is addressed to us both. Has there been a change in the protocol for tribute, or is this package expected? I seem to recall that we have staff to sort through the various goods and trinkets our subjects choose to send us." She strolls closer, examining the suns and moons, and taking in the mouthwriting.
The package is suspiciously adorable, regardless. "I think that it would probably be better for us to open this one, dear sister," Celestia explains with a patient smile. "Go on. Nightmare Night is coming - it is most likely for you. Besides, I'm sure it's been some time since you last opened a gift. Besides my gift last Heart's Warming Even, of course."
Nightshade has arrived.
Big_Mac has arrived.
Solar_Eclipse has arrived.
Luna powers up a perfunctory cobalt blue shield almost without thinking about it, and snatches the wrapping off the present with her mind, all at once. The box is opened with an additional motion. "On the contrary. I received a tip from our milkmare last month, along with a mug reading '#1 Princess'. I believe she was unaccustomed to receiving my customary orders for Cookie Day." She peers at the contents of the box.
Well, there's nothing too bad in here, just a little doll. Well... except it looks like Apple Bloom, but... like a ragdoll. Tangled yarn mane and tail, worn yellow felt for the fur... no cutie mark. Little black buttons for eyes. It's *quite* innocent. Except... both princesses, upon seeing it, cannot help but feel a cold chill of extremely faint recognition in the doll, but not able to understand why. Some... twisted cold feeling may also be felt on the sight of it.
Falcone has arrived.
PUB >> Clara says, "WeE aRe NnoT AmMuSed by PonNy HiINdQuaArteR huUmoR."
PUB >> Doctor_Whooves kisses Clara.
PUB >> Clara blushes and makes the doctor an earl.
PUB >> Doctor_Whooves doesn't know who Clara is, but assumes she's a pretty mare.
PUB >> Bloom Doll projects, (Diamond Dog)
"...cannot wait any longer. We /must/ convene the Council to...oh?" Nightshade happens to stride right past Celestia's open doors and catches a glimpse of...something on the floor. "...We will continue this later," she tells somepony hidden from view, likely one of the castle servants. She stands at the threshold and simply observes closely for now, watching and calculating. Hmm.
PUB >> Clara is plAyYing the RoLe of the MoOoN-USuuRpeR toNighT, and wilLl not heSsitATe to abUuse her IlL-gaAined pooWeR.
PUB >> Paper Bag Wizard Sky Blue says, "... can we still get a kiss, Clara Moon-Usurper?
"
PUB >> Clara says, "ShE calLed mE a 'BurRoW dOg' in TarTAarRus."
PUB >> Clara gives Blue a nice sloppy slurp.
PUB >> Solar_Eclipse says, "But...you burrow...and you're doggish?"
PUB >> Clara says, "It iS the priIincCiple of The thIinG."
PUB >> Nerd Luna is not fond of the lesser races. They threaten her ponies far too often.
... Well, That's certainly something of a gift. ~something~. Celestia levitates the doll up into the air to stare at it, peer at it, gawk at it, and generally wonder why on earth someone even /made/ such a creepy doll, let alone sent it to their Princesses. "Well!" the Princess exclaims before hovering it before her sister. "Shall it reside in my chambers or yours?"
Luna recoils slightly at the sight, herself, while Celestia gawks. She clears her throat. "Indeed. And now, I think I remember =why= we have staff to screen our tribute. Is there a note?" She peers into the box. She catches sight of Nightshade and looks over with a hint of balefulness, something in her eye daring the unicorn to enter.
*click* goes the door to Celestia's chambers, popping open just briefly to allow a blue-armored unicorn guard to emerge with a long, low *yaaaaaaaawn* and a roll of his shoulders. Mmmf. Closing the door behind him, Scope starts to head off but stops upon noticing BOTH Sisters in the throne room.. huh. Brow lifting, the guard swiftly makes his way over to the throne with an eye on the doll caught in the golden glow of Celestia's magic. "Seems like I got off duty at the wrong time.."
Before the princesses can even fight over who will be stuck with the doll, thoughts just... are. In their heads. It's like a sickly... ancient Apple Bloom twisted by hatred and corruption... locked in ice. Frozen. Acid. Very hard to describe. But the voice is there in their minds as if they thought it themselves... but clearer. (I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND IT IRONIC, DON'T YOU? THEY WOULD CELEBRATE THE WORST MOMENTS OF YOUR LIFE...)
Nightshade doesn't feel any compunction in dawing closer to investigate. The Throne Room, after all, was open too /all/ members of the Council. "Your Majesties," she greets them. "What is ha-" She stops in her tracks about halfway to the centre as, suddenly, a sudden, heavy coldness surrounds her, closing in like a vice. "I...that's..." she utters, slowing but surely beginning to realize just what that Thing in the box might be.
"I don't believe so," Celestia muses, certainly finding no note or letter of recommendation. "Hello, Scope" the Princess greets her guard with a little smile before returning her attention to the dolls. It is... strange. She can't pull her eyes away, even as she senses its icy, sickly hold grasp her psyche. The Princess begins to say something before finding no words to say.
Solar_Eclipse has disconnected.
Even before the silent voice speaks, Luna is getting apprehensive about the doll. "Does this ragdoll not resemble Apple Bloom? She who won our trust and in whom we placed responsibility for one of Equestria's great industries?" She glances at Scope, and her mind briefly turns over possible plans for using him to help deal with Nightshade...but then the enchantment strikes. Instantly, the curtains are drawn and the shield is buttressed. The dark princess stands at stark attention, her subjects ignored. She attempts to engage in psychic conversation with the doll. "WHO ARE 'THEY', AND WHO ART THOU? ANSWER SWIFTLY OR RECEIVE LITTLE MERCY.' She attempts to include Celestia in her statement, but a glance at her sister should indicate her mood.
Scope has disconnected.
Time_Turner knocks on the door. "Excuse me? Refreshments." says the voice of the pony-of-all-trades. He always seems to be where the action is... Just watching, or being terrified with everypony else. He's the local clock-worker, though at the moment, he's getting some extra work as a butler.
(THEY! HOW QUICKLY YOU FORGET YOUR OWN SUBJECTS! NIGHTMARE NIGHT, IS IT NOT CALLED? THEY CELEBRATE THEIR FEAR OF... YOU.) The Bloom Doll doesn't sound intimidated... but then... can anypony really tell *how* she is feeling through her... whatever one may call her talking. Projections? (PERHAPS THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN YOU FIRST? NO MATTER. A PRINCESS IN WANT OF RECOGNITION AND LOVE. SHE HAD ONE. I CAN FEEL IT IN HER.) Why is this... thing, speaking so? As if it is thinking to itself as much as talking to the royalty? (I WAS YOUR SUBJECT. PERHAPS IN ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER WORLD. NEITHER OF YOU REMEMBER. AHHHH, THERE IS THE FEAR. UNKNOWN. UNIVERSAL. EVERYPONY FEARS THAT UNKNOWN. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?) Taunting? (ENOUGH, I SAY! YOU HAVE SEALED ME AWAY WITHOUT MY MASTER. TO ADD FURTHER INSULT YOU HAVE NO MEMORY OF DOING SO.) Every time she speaks as if she knows the princess it almost feels like there's something... opening them and reading them. Cold as ice, like the feeling from the doll. (I AM THE ELEMENT OF FEAR.)
Nightshade pulls herself together and draws even closer, until she can see the consternation of the faces of the Princesses, down to the last agonized fold of frowning skin. She cannot hear the words of the dread doll, but she can deduce from Luna's words and the chill - the deathly, squeezing chill - that suddenly fills the air. And there is the shadow, the purest darkness that sprouts from the doll, like a fanatical fungus, parasitically devouring, digesting. It is no shadow that one can 'see' through lack of light. No. It's as if darkness itself was accustomed to masquerade as a thought, a nightmare lurking in a child's fragile mind. "...Who are you?" she demands, staring at the Doll.
Celestia, for her part, reacts rather differently to the change in demeanor of the doll and her sister. "Anything you do will likely be useless, my beloved sister," Celestia warns, letting a whisper of a sigh float from her lips. "This is a fragment of Discord's power. A powerful one. It is as though I encountered it in... in another world." The Princess stares at the doll before setting it on the ground and taking a step back from it.
PUB >> Nerd Luna says, "Have we slain anypony yet?"
PUB >> Big_Mac says, "only with your princessly jokes, Princess Luna."
Luna is equally chilly in body, demeanor, and voice. She flings open her wings, but hesitates before using them. Nightshade, perspicacious though she is, wins only a moment's flick of the eyes for her question. ("YOU ARE NOT CONSISTENT IN WHAT YOU CLAIM TO BE,") she thinks. ("BUT YOU ARE THE CRAFT OF VILLAINRY, AS SURELY AS YOUR PACKAGING IS THE PRODUCT OF SOME TENDER SOUL.") She seizes the doll with her magic, holding it near a window that flies open. As if the room needed to be colder. ("AND SURELY, NIGHTMARE NIGHT IS NOT ABOUT NIGHTMARE MOON ALONE.") Luna can be seen quaking. ("SURELY IT PAYS HOMAGE TO THE NIGHTMARES THAT LIVE IN ALL OF US WHENEVER OUR HEADS ARE TURNED AND OUR HEARTS SENSE THE PRESENCE OF THE--") Celestia's warning hits her, and she lowers her stance, dropping the doll. "Yes, Discord. The master. That feels true. But does that not mean we must fight it all the more?"
PUB >> Cluna says, "We HaVe oOnly jUSt StARteD to ArrRGuUe with the THinnG of EeVilL."
Time_Turner nudges open the door, resplendent in his tuxedo... He wheels in a cart and shakes his head. "That's quite the story." he says quietly. "Does it have any power but that of fear?"
A screeching howl of a laugh echoes through the minds of those the Bloom Doll as it... curved and lands smack dab on the middle of the throne. (YOU EXPECT A THING. CONSISTENCY. FROM AN ELEMENT OF DISCORD. PERHAPS I SHOULD EXPLAIN THE ONE THING EVERYPONY SHARES. FEAR.) The icy feeling seems to grip Celestia more dramatically. Almost as if she is entering into the very soul of the princess. (YOU CANNOT FIGHT WHAT YOU HAVE WITHIN. MY MASTER NEVER UNDERSTOOD THE TRUE NATURE OF ANYONE. ONE DOES NOT LEARN WHO THEY ARE, OR WHO THE OTHER IS, UNTIL THEY EXPERIENCE THEIR GREATEST FEARS. FEEL IT GRIP YOU NOW... SUN PRINCESS.) Even COLDER on Celestia... her world seems to... get larger. And... where is her horn... and are those wisps of brown fur? (WHAT IS A PONY DEFINED BY HER EVERYTHING?)
Nightshade cannot hear the dark doll's words of mockery, but she knows a danger to the Realm when she sees one. The shadows do not frighten her as much as they should; she knows the shadows, for a part of her dwells in them always. She walks towards the doll, letting herself sink into darkness, until her form is only the blinking, fleeting memory of a dream, a shade. She tries to use the shadows to her advantage and seize the doll and throw it out the window, or, perhaps, even destroy it. But will it work?
Time_Turner has disconnected.
Celestia stumbles backwards a pace. "It means... It means... we must..." the Princess begins to explain before, suddenly, it feels like her words slip away from her tongue - lost forever. "I... no, I knew!" The Princess suddenly begins to shrunk, looking around frantically as the world around her grows. Her eyes close and tears from at their corners as she stumbles to the ground, such a short distance away from her sister.
Luna is patiently waiting for an explanation from the sister she trusts. Well, maybe not so patiently. Things are urgent, after all. She is no longer gripping the doll, so Nightshade's attempt may well succeed--the window is still open. Luna's struggle is largely internal--Time Turner goes almost unnoticed. Then, in an arc like that of a paintbrush stroking midnight blue paint over an unsuspecting canvas, Luna leaps forward toward Celestia, attempting to hold her in shape and contain the magic bewitching her. She speaks no word in this effort, but her expenditure of magic is in vain. She cannot forestall the transformation. "FIGHT IT!" she shouts to her sister.
Soon, Celestia is nothing but an ordinary brown earth pony. Blank flank. Insult to injury, in a wave, nopony present can even remember this poor blank flanked mare ever having been the princess... except herself. To all other ponies, there is a memory of a Celestia, but she vanished. Perhaps this earth mare had something to do with her disappearance! To her and her alone... the doll projects, (YOU HAVE NOT YET SEEN YOUR GREATEST FEAR. BEHOLD YOUR SISTER. BEHOLD *HER* GREATEST FEAR AND YOUR UTTER INABILITY TO STOP IT! OR SAVE HER!) As Nightshade grabs the doll and moves toward the window, a wave of images soon flood her mind. Ponies. Places. Sounds. A spoken word. And then. (IT IS NOT YOUR TIME!) Luna, meanwhile, may begin to feel the same icy grip as her sister. And her world getting smaller. (AND YOU... YOUR LUST FOR POWER IS YOUR GREATEST FEAR. ETERNAL NIGHT. RECOGNITION. THE ENVY OF YOUR SISTER! HATE UPON HATE! YOU KNOW WHO YOU REALLY ARE AND CANNOT DENY YOUR TRUE NATURE! WHO WAS LUNA BUT A WEAK SOUL TOLD WHO SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE. BE THE REAL YOU, NIGHTMARE MOON, AND BRING ME ETERNAL NIGHT!)
Nightshade stopped, the world lurching to a halt around her, as if time itself collapsed beneath her feet. She has heard it. She has heard it...and she /fears/. She tenses up, the doll's words affecting her self-control as she stumbles back, breathing heavily as the shadow chokes and burns and aches, eating her from the inside. Her mouth gapes open as the feeling departs, as the doll moves on to torment Luna. The world is a mindless blur of chaos and nightmares. Nightshade cries out incoherently as feeling suddenly returns to her chest, the throbbing pain of cold pressing painfully against her ribcage. Wearily she gets to her feet, shaking and shivering, but her face is a mask of fury. She rushes for it again, letting the cold, the shadow, thrust her forward.
Big_Mac has arrived.
Celestia remains crumpled on the throne room's cold marble floor. "I... I can't..." the former Princess says, hooves clutching to her forehead to feel where her horn once was. "There... there is nothing I can do. There is nothing we can do," Celestia cries, her hooves having fallen from her forehead to her eyes, the fur of her arms quickly soaking wet with tears.
Luna clings to her sister, flooding her with love and preservation magic. The cold seems to reverse itself somewhat in this position, near the great fire that is Celestia's soul. But it persists...and suddenly, as though a great screen door had blown wide and all the fears in the world crept inside, the heat is gone, replaced by its opposite. "Wh..." Luna lifts her head and stares at the creature before her. Her head darts back and forth, trying to make sense of things. "Who art THOU?? What hast thou done with CELESTIA!!?" She lets go of the pitiful brown mare, then closes in tighter, not wanting to let the potential culprit flee. The whining and tears do little to assuage her. "CELESTIA!! WHERE ARE YOU?!?" This is shouted to the curved ceiling, and is followed by her gaze falling upon the struggle currently taking place between the Palace Overseer and the dread artifact. Her coat grows black and her mane begins to flow limitlessly, as though somepony has forgotten to shut off the tap.
Now it is the Overseer's turn. (IT IS NOT I THAT YOU MUST FACE. THEY HAVE FOUND YOU. AFTER MANY YEARS! NOW *THEY* ARE COMING FOR YOU! THEY HAVE *FOOOOUND* YOU. YOU MUST FLEE AND TRUST NOPONY LEST THEY TELL THOSE WHO SEEK YOU WHERE YOU ARE! FLEE! GO!) As she projects this to Nightshade, those same faces appear once more. Some trusted, some not. But all... angry, afraid, betrayed? (FLEE BEFORE THEY BRING YOU TO THEIR JUSTICE AND ALL IS FORGOTTEN!)
Nightshade stares as the colour vanishes from her eyes. She is cold, but much worse: she /remembers/. A swirl of colour and sound, sickeningly loud, embraces her and snuffs out her power, her strength, her spirit. She remembers, just like yesterday. It was... <<It was Noon, and the clouds grew thick in the horizon. The king's courtiers had run off, like cowards, but his truest, noblest vassals remained. 'Gearshaft...Darkstar...my most trusted friends,' said the Lightning Lord, his once brilliant cobalt blue fur and shimmering mane faded by disease. 'Now we can...look to the future'. -- 'There is no future for you' said Darkstar, and the blades came, and the blood - the blood!! - and the stars cried in agony, and the sky whipped itself into madness as an alicorn bled, as an alicorn /died/>> "No...." croaked Nightshade, her breath being sucked from her body. "No...."
Luna lets herself part from the little, ultimately insignificant dun peasant before her. This one was no doubt swapped in for Celestia--a jester's trade, a joke. Innocent, most likely, but deserving of darkness just the same. She turns to the Overseer, her shoes and tiara now lilac, her mane dark and glittering. "NIGHTSHADE. YOU HAVE ALWAYS TEEMED WITH GUILT. NOW IT HAS TAKEN YOU, BUT THIS NEED NOT BE THY END. WILL THEE SERVE ME IN MY PURPOSE? I HAVE LOST MY SISTER, AND MY ANGER IS BOUNDLESS." Her tail sweeps over the floor, extending far, as if to confirm her assertion. "WILL YOU SERVE ME IN MY REVENGE?" She kneels by the stricken mare and extends her seething magic through her... making blood irrelevant and guilt a weapon.
Where did the Bloom Doll go? Right back on the throne. Nopony saw her move. She was just, there. She laughs quietly to herself. (EVERYPONY FEARS. EVERYPONY. ONE CERTAINLY DOES FIND THIS THRONE COMFORTABLE, EVEN A PLAYTHING SUCH AS I!)
Nightshade cringes as the memory warps, as she sees, not the lost, lamented Lightning Lord of her parents' childhood but...Celestia, drowning in a pool of her own blood. And over the alicorn, brooding with his bloody blade, was not her traitorous uncle but... "Solar..." she gasps, looking at the face of her brother with utter defeat. "Why?" -- "Equestria is dead," said the dark Solar, looking at his sister grimly. "And so is /she/!" Nightshade screams in wild agony. She falls forward, planting her head on the ground and covering it with her front hooves. No! No no no no no no. She can barely hear Luna and her exhortations to rage. Rage was a subjective construct that existed outside her raw experience of total failure.
Marble_Memory shouts "Ponies MAY or MAY NOT notice this ICly, but the sky went from just after dusk to the darkest of night in minutes. And it doesn't appear to be changing after that." (Public-shout)
Celestia looks up to see her sister transform... and that only draws further tears from the insignificant little brown foal. She turns and flees from the throne room, headed straight for Ponyville.
Luna lies by Nightshade, trying to comfort her even as her coat turns pitch black, and the night does likewise. She knows that a terrible tale is unwinding in the custodian's head, but knows not its nature. "DO THEE HEAR ME NOT?" she asks, her Canterlot voice oddly gentle. "THEN REST, NIGHTSHADE. THOU SHALT BE WELL TENDED IN MY ABSENCE. I MUST GO AND RESEARCH." She rings a bell and flings open the door behind which she believes Scope, or another guard, to lurk. "WE WILL DO THINGS RIGHT THIS TIME. ONLY CERTAIN PLANTS WILL SURVIVE ETERNAL NIGHT, AND THEY MUST BE ENOUGH TO SUSTAIN ALL EQUESTRIA. THE CAVE OF NIGHT WILL BE AS SOUND A START AS ANY. CARE FOR NIGHTSHADE IN HER SORROW, AND SEEK OUT MY SISTER!" she orders the guards, no doubt quaking by now. "I GO TO THE CAVE OF NIGHT!" With that, Luna gathers her wings and leaps through the cold window, trailing stars. Through it all, the Apple Bloom doll is ignored and forgotten.
The Bloom Doll just sits, unmoving as ever, on the throne. Her thoughts turn to Equestria. Even their upcoming celebration. Nightmares you can run from. Your own worst fears are another matter. Finally, she repeats her earlier thought as other plans form within the cloth being: (EVERYPONY FEARS.)
PUB >> Bloom Doll says, "Thank you everypony who was in the opening Bloom Doll scene! THE BLOOM DOLL TP IS NOW OFFICIALLY STARTED! So get askin' fer cursin'!"
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