Twilight had spent her childhood romping all over the castle, and she silently thanked the young filly who’d turned ‘bedtime’ into ‘sneak into the library to read by candlelight’. She darted from one hiding spot to another, tailing her brother without rousing a hair of suspicion. It was a short pursuit, ending as soon as she was confident of his destination. She knew the castle’s exact layout, she had visited him in his old office numerous times, and she was confident he was going there now.

She also knew a shortcut. She could teleport, yes, but she had no idea if his office was already occupied, and ending up in the midst of a dozen foes was hardly a pragmatic plan. She loved Celestia with all her heart, but the Princess had been arrogant. Just as with Chrysalis, she had underestimated her foe, and Twilight did not want to find herself sandwiched between two caribou, her mouth violated, her throat stuffed with turgid, throbbing, heated…

She shook her head. It was a foolish idea, a pitfall she would avoid. The long route wound its way around the throne room, but a quick trip up the nearest flight of stairs, past the servant’s bunks and then the Princess’s quarters would lead her there all the faster.

She encountered nopony on her way to the staircase, but halfway through her ascent, she stopped. There was something just at the edges of her hearing, and with every stair, the faint vibrations transformed. A squeak. A gasp. A squeal. Creaking hinges, heavy breathing, and as she crested the stairs, a door ahead was ajar. Twilight skipped over a loose stone that eight years ago had betrayed her, ending her quest to shave precious hours off her attempts to check a desired book out of the library. Technically, it was borrowing without asking, but she had intended to immediately return come the morning and check it out legitimately!

Celestia had tried to appear stern the next morning, but in the end her amusement at her student’s antics had won out.

Twilight carefully peered around the opened door, lured by the constantly creaking bedsprings. That same curiosity that drove her to so many late night study sessions spurred her forwards, and within…

“Oh, master, harder!” Twilight felt the blood drain from her face for the few seconds it took to tear her eyes away and stumble past the room. She pushed herself against a stone wall and took several deep breaths to calm herself. She knew some mares had given themselves over to the caribou rather than face the torture the resistant ponies were enduring, but the level of ecstasy upon that maid’s face left her bewildered.

And to so wantonly be engaging in THAT...stuff she had seen, how was she even fitting…? No. I need to stay focused. She took a deep breath, holding her arm to her chest, then extending it as she slowly exhaled. Cadance may have betrayed them, but her calming technique was still useful.

Twilight’s stride became more confident as the rest of the corridor was quiet. The next corridor had muffled cries coming through a closed door, but Twilight passed it by without even turning her head. She was approaching Celestia’s chambers when a sudden thought occurred. One sister had been captured, but with Luna, she might have a fighting chance.

It would add an extra minute, she would have to hurry, as Luna’s apartments had been hastily converted from some former guest quarters when she had returned, and though extensive renovations had been done in the years since, where Celestia’s chambers were akin to what one would expect of a Princess, Luna’s could in many ways be called a lair. Soundproofed, heavy curtains, the various amenities the nocturnal Princess preferred to support her odd comings and goings.

When she arrived, Luna’s doors were closed. Twilight took a moment to focus, reaching her magic out to test the wards and finding them undisturbed. Then she eased the door silently open and peered inside, about to call the Princess’s name when the word died on her lips.

Twilight, like Celestia, was keyed into Luna’s wards, one of the few ponies able to enter without Luna’s express consent.The largest group was that of Luna’s night guard. Their loyalty to their Princess had been unmatched, and so they were trusted because Luna knew they would only ever disturb her in the gravest of emergencies.

The Night Guard had proven themselves unworthy of that trust.

Twilight’s eyes swept the room. Luna’s horn lay forgotten on the side of her pillow. The Princess herself was sandwiched between a pair of guards, one hissing as he thrust himself into her, the other silent while he held her mane in his hand, forcing her head to pump upon his stiff shaft. The Princess didn’t move, and it took Twilight moments to see why - an empty vial lay upon the carpet, and though her eyes couldn’t make it out in the dim light, she was confident it was a paralytic. Luna’s eyes were narrowed in rage, yet the Princess was impotent before her captors, powerless to resist as they violated her. Two more were busy plucking feather after feather from the Princess’s wings.

Twilight stood a few seconds more, then silently shut the door. Her eyes squeezed shut to fight the tears threatening to overtake her. Yet again, there was nothing she could do. She could stop the guards, but then what? Luna was not only powerless to help her, but dead weight. She would only slow Twilight down.

A sob tore out of Twilight’s throat as she fled the room, the newest Princess fighting the pit in her belly as she yet again abandoned another pony. Why? Why was this happening? How could anyone be so cruel?

The silence answered her, broken by the faint clattering of her hooves as she made her way to the guard captain’s office. The hallway was empty, and her horn glimmered as she held a stunning spell ready just in case the room was occupied. Her hand stalled before the door, yet she forced herself to turn the knob and dart inside, ready to surprise the occupants.

The room was empty. No ambush was awaiting her, and Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. She had a few precious seconds to prepare herself. The office itself was fairly sparse, a simple chair and desk and shelves that were relatively empty; the new captain of the guard hadn’t truly made it her own den, and given today’s circumstances, Twilight feared she never would.

It was also void of hiding places, so Twilight took the only that made sense, setting herself so the door would conceal her when it opened. Then, she waited.

A minute passed by, another, Twilight’s adrenaline-flooded body aware of every breath, every thump of her heart as she awaited her brother’s arrival. She didn’t know what exactly she was going to do when he arrived. She wanted answers, she knew that much, she wanted…

The door swung inward, and Twilight felt her body tense when her brother strode inside. Fists she did not recall making unclenched themselves, and she placed a hand on the door and pushed it shut. Her horn flashed as the walls began to glow from the silencing enchantment now upon the room. The sound of the door clicking shut caused her brother to turn, and he strode forward before she raised a hand to stop him.

“Hello, Shining,” she began. Now that the moment was upon her, she felt her nerves calm, her voice grow steady. “We have a lot to talk about. You are going to sit down. Now.”

Shining looked at her for some seconds, then had the audacity to grin at her as he sauntered behind the desk and plopped down in the Captain’s chair.

“Twiley. Lovely to see you. I was disappointed when you weren’t with your friends, but it makes sense now. You wanted to be collared by somepony close to you. I suppose I can’t blame you, though you made quite the -”

“SHUT UP!” she roared at him as her temper frayed. “How can you say something like that?! How could you do what you did?! Haven’t you seen what they’re doing to everypony?! What they’re doing to Luna?! What they did to my friends, to...to Princess…” She felt her throat tighten up, couldn’t bring herself to choke out the last name.

Her brother grinned as Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself. “So there was no trouble with Luna, then. Wonderful. She could have been quite a nuisance had she escaped. As for the rest of it, it’s for their own good. For your own good.”

Twilight held up a hand to stop him. She was shaking, forcing herself to control the anger boiling within her. “Here’s how this works. I ask the questions. You answer them. Taunt me and you won’t like what happens. We both know who is the stronger sibling, Shining. Do you understand?”

Shining returned her anger with a derisive smirk. “If that’s how you want to play it, though it’s only going to delay the inevitable, Twilight. You’ll be collared just like that incompetent whore Cel-”

It took a moment for Twilight to realize why he had stopped, and another moment to realize what she had done. The guard captain's desk had been shoved several feet forwards, pinning her brother between it and the wall. She released the telekinetic hold, and the desk fell back to the floor, while her brother slumped forwards and began to cough.

“That’s one hoof in mouth! Do you want to play for number two?” When Shining did not respond, Twilight nodded and continued coldly, “You’ve betrayed everything you vowed to protect, Shining Armor. I want to know : Why?”

Shining leaned on the desk while he caught his breath, and even when he spoke, his words had a hint of strain to them. “Because I betrayed nothing! Celestia was incompetent! Look at what she had done! She gambled with the fate of Equestria again and again! Nightmare Moon! Discord! The Changelings! Sombra! How often did she send you out to clean up her messes?! How often did everything nearly end for her arrogance?! I was blind! Blinded by her false radiance, blinded until Cadance showed me the truth of it all! She opened my eyes, made me see how much better everything could be! How Equestria could be safe, secure, prosperous, if only those most fit to rule DID rule!”

Twilight felt bile rise in her throat. Her brother spoke with the madness of the true believer, and she could not understand how he of all ponies could buy so wholeheartedly into something like this.

“You swore to protect her, Shining! You...you swore an oath to Celestia, to Equestria, and don’t give me a pile of, of bucking horseapples about how the Princess nearly threw it all away! What would you have done in her place?! Only the Elements could stop Nightmare Moon or Discord! Nopony saw the Changelings coming! Sombra cursed the Crystal Empire the last time Celestia faced him! How could you have done any better?!” Twilight nearly screamed the last at him, and only stopped herself when she realized she might alert unwanted attention. She stepped back, away from the desk she’d been leaning on, and took a deep breath, hand to her chest and then away from her body as she exhaled.

When she looked at him again, her eyes were moist. “What happened to you, Shining…?” Her throat ached, and she fought the need to cry, to purge herself of all the pain she was forcing herself to hold in. Then she walked past him, to the window, stared out across Canterlot, down the streets until her eyes came to rest upon the stadium in the distance, where...where Celestia had fallen. Where Cadance had come out and in her last act as a Princess had…

Twilight wheeled and faced her brother. She knew what she was looking for now as she closed her eyes and reached out with a different sight, felt the magic coursing through his body. She almost missed it, but there, deep down…

“Oh, Shining Armor, I am so, so sorry.” Now she understood. Her brother was a victim in his own way, fallen under the sway of the same corruption that had overtaken the males of Canterlot. With enough time, Twilight was sure she could find some way to undo that taint, but there was no time. Her earlier outburst may well have attracted attention, and even if it had not, somepony was sure to come knocking eventually. Or, worse, one of the caribou.

“Then you’ve come to your senses…?” Shining Armor asked her. “Will you cease this pointless fighting and submit, Twiley? You don’t have to suffer like Celestia. If you follow Cadance’s example, you will be pampered. You will feel pleasure beyond any you have before.”

“No, Shining,” Twilight said. “I will not. But I do need one last thing from you. The shield must come down, now.”

Their eyes met, and neither sibling spoke. The implanted conviction in Shining’s gaze was all she needed to see.

“Very well. I will remember you as you were, BBBFF. And I promise, I will find a way to free you from your nightmare.” Twilight bowed her head down in silent mourning, and Shining started to rise.

A concussive blast of magic smashed him into the wall. He slumped downwards, groaning in pain as Twilight approached him. She reached her hand outwards, placed it upon his forehead, and let the power flow forth. Her brother fell limply to the floor, and outside, the shield surrounding Canterlot began to crumble into nothingness.

Twilight stood at the window and watched for a minute, and a small hopeful smile came across her face when small distant shapes began to rise into the air, pegasi making a break for freedom. A few fell, but others did not. She had given what free ponies were left the chance to flee, and she hoped as many as possible took advantage of it.

A moment later, and Twilight had vanished from the room. Ponyville beckoned.

Author's Notes:

And, after a long, long wait, Chapter Five is complete! I do apologize for the delay. Life sometimes has other plans for us, and if all is well I should be more on the wagon, so to speak, once more.

Some answers this chapter, more questions. Thanks to Twipet & the others who have given me feedback or editing aid!

The world here is a twisted one, a dark fantasy, and such actions belong strictly within the realm of fantasy.