In the Shadow of the Sun - 2

>"Wake up!"

>A kick to your head forces you from your peaceful slumber.

>As the haze of concisions fades, you notice a white stallion outfitted in gold armor standing to your side.

>"Get up, and don't try anything."

>You slowly lift yourself from the makeshift bed of straw and step onto the cold stone floor.

>A second, black stallion unhooks your restraints from the floor and secures them to the first stallion's armor.

>After checking to make sure the chains are secure, the stallions begin to walk, forcing you to follow.

"Where exactly are we going?"

>…

>They're not very talkative.

>You eventually arrive at a heavy metal door.

>Blood accents the rusted sides, making it look like the entrance to a dungeon, or something of similar nature.

>The black stallion opens the door and the white one escorts you in.

>You weren't wrong about the dungeon idea.

>If the blood on the door was just an accent, here it was the entire base color.

>Almost every stone looks like blood had dried on it before it was haphazardly rinsed off with water without soap.

>The chamber feels almost other worldly.

>Your chains are pulled abruptly, forcing you to continue moving.

>The stallions stop in front of a giant ring and begin to attach your manacles to the device.

>It's almost laughable how small the device is.

>Sure your limbs are held at an odd angle, but you are far from being stretched or anything.

>To be fair, you are very large compared to what the architect had in mind.

>Once your chains are fastened, the black stallion retires from the room, leaving the white stallion guarding you.

>After what seems like ages (all attempts at sparking conversation with your jailer proved fruitless) the metal door creaks open again.

>You turn your head and see a white unicorn…

>No, pegasus…

>Your mouth falls open as you recognize the form of Celestia descending the stairs.

>Something was off about her though.

>Like Luna before, she seemed smaller, and her mane was no longer a rainbow tinted, intangible object.

>Her mane was now a solid shade of pink, and was barely long enough to reach pass her face.

>As for her size… she was still larger than the stallions who had brought you here, but no where near what her size was before.

>The sun princess takes her position in front of you.

>In a booming voice, she begins her interrogation.

>"WHO ARE YOU?"

>You wince as her voice collides with you.

>This again?

"Princess, you know who I am. I'm the only human in all of Equestria."

>Celestia regards your answer before continuing with her questions.

>"A HUMAN? WE HAVE NOT HEARD OF THEM BEFORE. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELVES."

>Is this some kind of sick joke?

>You stare at Celestia as you reply.

"Princess, I have already discussed these matters with you."

>She looks confused.

>"LIES. WE HAVE NEVER HEARD SUCH STORIES."

>This is beginning to annoy you.

"Yes, you have. I explained myself to you when I first came to Equestria."

>"IMPOSSIBLE, WE WOULD RECALL HAVING CONVERSED WITH SUCH A CREATURE AS YOURSELF."

"Maybe if your precious student was here, you'd recognize me."

>Celestia's eyes grow wide.

>"STUDENT?! CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THIS?"

"CAN… YOU STOP… YELLING?"

>Your insolence earns you a hoof in your gut.

>Oh hello Silver Spoonies, when did you show up?

>You manage to keep your breakfast down as you look back towards the princess.

>She motions for the guards to leave.

>As you hear the door screech shut, Celestia turns to you.

>Her smile is terror itself.

>She approaches you and speaks in a normal voice.

>"I enjoy prisoners like you."

>She places her head next to yours and whispers into your hear.

>"I can be a rough as I want with you and nobody cares."

>Rough?

>Your internal questions are answered by Celestia biting your neck.

>At first, it's almost pleasurable, but soon you feel her clamp down on your throat.

>Your esophagus strains to pull air through as Celestia's teeth dig deeper into your skin.

>You feel a trickle of blood slide down your neck.

>Celestia pulls away and licks her lips.

>Her horn glows a soft yellow as she levitates a heated fire iron.

>The flaring tip is reflected in her eyes, giving them a demonic glow.

>She's trying to intimidate you.

>Celestia's good, she's had one thousand years to perfect her "Crazy Sadist" role.

>Biting is one thing, but she would never actually use something like *that*.

>Having grown bored with the heated prod, Celestia approaches you again.

>"Now, one more time. What did you mean by 'Student', hmm?"

"I'm not playing your-"

*Ssssssssssssss*

>Your mind realizes what the sound is before your nerves bombard it with pain.

>You let out a bloodcurdling scream as Celestia slowly drives the poker into your stomach, twisting it slightly as it moves deeper.

>About a half-inch in, she stops and unhurriedly removes the prod, placing it back in the fire.

>Steam rises from the cauterized wound.

>The sadistic sovereign steps forward for a third time.

>"How about now? Will you play with me?"

>She licks your neck as you try to retain control of your thoughts.

>You look down at the fresh injury on your stomach.

>The skin hadn't been penetrated, but it was severely burned.

>"Of course, I could read your mind to get the information I want… But that's no fun."

>Celestia places her hoof on the burn and twists.

"Hng-"

>You try to suppress a scream.

>The princess leans to your ear again.

>"I'll break you eventually, you know."

>She tongues your ear as she continues to prod your wound.

"You- hng- You'll kill me be- hng- fore you- hng- break me."

>"Really~?"

>Celestia looses a spell on you.

>As the yellow aura washes over you, it congeals and flows into your burn.

>Pain floods your abdomen as your incinerated flesh rejuvenates, leaving no indication that you had ever been harmed.

*Gasp* *Gasp*

>You manage to stay conscious, but it was an ordeal.

>Your head hangs limply to the side, giving you a partial view of Celestia.

>She is now standing near the fire pit, stoking the flames with the same fire iron she had used on you.

>No time is wasted this session.

>There was no cooling period as she stared into the soft radiance of the stoker.

>It simply moved from the inferno to you.

*Ssssssssssssss*

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

>Your skin gives way under the pressure and heat, letting the prod slide a full three inches into your gut.

>It feels like you are being cooked from the inside.

>The sharp twisting motion being made burns your insides as blood turns to steam.

>This was not a fight you could win.

*Ssssssssssssss*

"Ahhhhh- All right!"

>Celestia stops twisting and begins to slowly extract the prod.

"I'll… talk."

>"Not so unbreakable now, are we?"

>No, you could have lasted longer. But for what reason? There was nothing to be gained by being roasted alive.

>You can't let her have a total victory, though.

"But not… to you."

>Celestia raises an eyebrow.

>"Then whom do you have in mind?"

"Luna. I'll talk to Luna, and only her."

>Celestia grins and places the fire iron back in the pit.

>"Very well. But I do so hate rushing these things… I'll just have a little more fun before I run off to fetch my little sister."

>Another healing spell revitalizes your body and fills you with agony.

>The white alicorn levitates a knife and holds it over the flames.

>You can see the blade begin to glow with heat as Celestia turns it, ensuring a superheated instrument.

>As she pulls it from the blaze, it glows white.

>Then she is upon you.

 

>You are Luna, young mistress of the moon.

>You lay on your bed, recovering from the wounds you had obtained when attempting to read that creature's mind.

>A peculiar ring was brought to you when the creature was examined.

>It had some kind of enchantment on it that blocked mind-altering spells of any kind.

>Difficult magic for any to perform.

>But what had disturbed you about the ring was the magic signature it bore.

>It was-

>Your thoughts are interrupted by a knocking at your chamber doors.

"Enter."

>A white unicorn walks in, bearing some kind of mechanical cutie mark.

>He bows to you as he introduces himself.

>"Greetings your majesty, I am Theos, one of Canterlot's head librarians."

>He raises his head and smiles at you.

>"Please, call me Theo, the 's' makes it sound odd to me."

"Tell us, Librarian Theos, for what purpose do you disturb our rest?"

>The unicorn purses his lips when he hears his full name spoken, but he responds promptly.

>"Your sister, Princess Celestia, has sent for you…"

>You can hear him mutter under his breath.

>"Though why she sent me is a mystery…"

"And where did our dear sister wish for us to meet?"

>Theos looks away.

>"The… interrogation room, milady."

>That room… You hated it there.

>It always smelled of blood and fear.

"Very well. We shall journey to the dungeon immediately."

>Theos bows and exits.

>In short order you leave to visit the torture chamb- interrogation room…

 

>You are Anon, and you are in pain.

>Celestia has left you dangling from the rack, no doubt she did not wish for Luna to see her torturing you.

>As she ascended the stairs to leave, you could see fluids dripping from behind her tail and trailing on the ground.

>That monster had been getting off abusing you.

>You look down at your perfectly normal torso.

>How many times had she almost killed you?

>Knives, prods, brands, she had used anything that she could stick in a fire on you.

>Though the wounds were gone, your mind still remembered the feeling of flesh being cut and singed simultaneously.

>The metal door opened, filling the chamber with light for a brief moment before falling back into darkness.

>You raise your head to see Luna descending into the room.

>She stops when she sees you.

>"Our sister informs us that we are to interrogate you."

>You manage a grin.

"No- no need. I just wanted to talk to someone who wasn't trying to turn me into a shish kebab."

>Luna appears confused.

>"Shish… Ka-- bob?"

>She wouldn't know what those are, would she?

"Nevermind. Luna, I have a question I would like to ask."

>The princess regains her stoic look.

>"Very well, ask it."

"Who is Celestia's current student?"

>Confusion crosses the princess visage.

>"Student? Our sister has no pupil under her tutelage."

>Odd.

"One more, if I may. Who is the current bearer of the Element of Magic?"

>Luna eyes you cautiously as she speaks.

>"You know of the Elements?"

>You nod.

>"…"

>"It is our sister, Celestia."

>No student.

>Smaller statures.

>Celestia possessing the Element of Magic.

>This is the past.

>You must have been dropped here by the idiotic Elements of Harmony.

>What had happened to them though? They too had been caught in that Kubrick Sphere, as you so affectionately call it.

>Given the universe's apparent hatred of you, however, you doubt that it was that easy to escape Fluttershy.

>One more test, to be sure.

"Princess, does 'Nightmare Moon' mean anything to you?"

>Luna stares at you blankly.

"I'll take that as a no. Thank you princess, a lot of my questions have been answered from this conversation."

>"Hold, creature of the lake. We-"

"Anon."

>"Wh- what?"

>Luna deflates a little at your interruption.

"My name is Anonymous, Anon for short."

>The sapphire princess studies you momentarily before resuming her question.

>"Very well, Anonymous. We would like to know how you obtained this."

>She levitates a silver ring to you.

>The mind-rape repelling band!

"Where I come from, there was a particularly troublesome mare who quested for my…"

>You look away.

"Seed. In my desperation, I managed to procure a ring that would prevent my mind from being altered."

>"Thou liest."

"What?"

>Luna walks over to you and holds the ring up again.

>"This magic is ours, only we have this signature."

>Really? Luna enchanted that ring?

>This isn't good.

>How could you possibly explain that you were from the future?

>Luna eases off when she sees you sweat.

>Apparently, she's not as confrontational as her sister.

>"Eh hem, we would also like to revisit our discussion earlier."

>You look at Luna as you angle your head in puzzlement.

>"What did you hear us say?"

>She looks nervously at you, like have read her diary and are about to tell the whole world its contents.

*Sigh* "I am aware of your plight with Celestia, princess."

>Luna attempts to deny her earlier statements.

>"W- we do not-"

"It's not fair, being outshone by the sun."

>You stare directly at her.

>Not to intimidate her, but to show that you understand.

>You know the feeling of being in someone's shadow.

>Luna lowers her head, preventing you from seeing her eyes.

>"She's just so perfect. Everyp0ny lo~ves the princess of the sun."

>You see a drop of water fall to the floor.

>"None are ever awake to see my beautiful night."

>You try to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but the bindings stop you from even moving.

"The greatest achievements are the ones that go unnoticed."

>Luna looks up at you, trying her best to hold back tears.

>"What?"

"We stand in the shadows so that others may stand in the light. Our accomplishments go unrecognized, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless."

>Luna stares at you, transfixed on your words.

"There are none who can imagine the world without your night, that is why they do not even dwell on such matters."

>A small smile has appeared on the princess's face.

>"So they love me without even realizing it?"

>You smile warmly at her.

"Yes."

>She sniffles and begins to cry.

>"I- I AM loved…"

>The moon princess takes a moment to compose herself before leaving.

>"Anonymous, We cannot release you without first discussing the matter with our sister. However, we will visit you during your imprisonment to help pass the time."

>Not what you were hoping for, but it will have to do for now.

>As she leaves, Luna gives you one last gentle smile before exiting the chamber.

 

>You hang in the dark for what seems like an eternity before light filters into the room from above again.

>Celestia canters down the stairs.

>She looks furious.

>"I don't know what you told my sister, but it seems I will no longer be able to keep you as my plaything after today."

>Her horn shines as she approaches you.

>"But that still leaves us all of tonight for me to have some fun…"

>She scoops up whole shelves of metal objects and dumps them into the fire pit.

"A sun goddess with a fetish for fire… Heh, should have known…"

>Celestia smiles as she positions her face in front of yours.

>Her magic forces your mouth open as she nears.

>She stops short of kissing you and you can see a small chunk of super heated metal about the size of two bits float from the fire.

>"Now, now my pet. There's no need to be so..."

>She places the heated lump of metal on her tongue.

>"Tungue an' 'heek."

>With that, she forces her tongue into your mouth.

>The metal burns your tongue as Celestia forces herself onto you.

>She pushes it to the back of your throat and keeps her mouth to yours, preventing you from spitting it out or screaming.

>As your tongue spasms in a futile effort to escape the heat, Celestia's tongue forces it into submission.

>She wanted you to feel the full effects of her wrath.

>After a few moments, she removes the metal from your mouth.

>It is a dim shade of dark red at this point.

>She casts another healing spell on you.

>"So, my pet. Any more insults?"

>You remain quiet and stare into the ground.

>"Silence is Golden, as they say."

>She wraps her lips around the metal and sucks it clean.

>It was solid gold.

>This is going right in my… 'Private' collection.

>She levitates it behind her back, so you can no longer see it.

>But you know what she's doing.

>A soft *squelch* confirms your beliefs.

>Celestia's eyes roll to the back of her head momentarily as her fluids splatter onto the floor.

>With her tongue lolling from her mouth, Celestia speaks.

>"Oh yes~"

>This is disgusting.

>The sun princess snaps back to reality and trots over to you.

>"All of tonight~"

>You ready yourself as she levitates several heated devices.

>Your screams are heard echoing though the torture chamber for the rest of the night.