Chapter 15.

Celestia walked back to her throne sat upon it then narrowed her eyes at her cloaked visitor Sitting on the floor in her throne room. Asking her visitor while she sat upon her throne.

“Is it true what I saw in my….vision? Did you really take the three?” Princess Celestia asked.

Princess Celestia's visitor did not reply to her question immediately. Instead the cloaked figure got up walked over to the same window that Celestia had looked out at and like Celestia had done before her visitor Princess Celestia's visitor did the same. The visitor looked out the window and saw the same blue grey snowcapped mountain that Princess Celestia had seen. Then the visitor turned around and walked back to the same spot that her visitor had been sitting in earlier and sat back down in front of her. Sitting back down the cloaked figure again looked around and said to Princess Celestia.

“I see you were wise to send your sister away from your throne room. Tell me have you told her yet what became of her…..friend?” The visitor said chuckling a little.

Princess Celestia again narrowed her eyes on her visitor saying to her visitor as sternly as she could muster.

“Do not change the subject with me! Did you or did you not take the three!? Yes or no!?” Princess Celestia asked her visitor in a deathly sort of voice.

Celestia’s visitor got up and walked around the throne room all while Celestia herself watched her visitor examine several tapestries that hung along the walls while remaining seated in her throne. Sighing deeply Celestia watched as her visitor again returned to the spot where her visitor had chosen to sit before and replied to her in a cooing soft tone of voice.

“You have such lovely tapestries hanging in this throne room.” The visitor replied to Princess Celestia.

Celestia getting annoyed that her visitor was not devaluing the information that she wanted to hear yelled out angrily at her visitor sitting in front of her.

“ANSWER ME! DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT TAKE THE THREE!” Celestia yelled out.

“Do not take that tone with the like of me Celestia lest you wish for me to leave.” Celestia’s visitor replied harshly to her.

“Please answer me did you take them? Are they in your throll now?” Celestia asked again as tears began to roll down her snow white cheeks.

Looking around again Princess Celestia’s visitor once again got up and walked around the throne room. Her visitor like before again looked at the tapestries before stopping in front of one that had Luna's cutie mark on it. Saying to Celestia as her visitor examined the tapestrie more closely.

“I remember when this was made. You had it made the day your sister got her cutie mark do you remember that day Celestia?” Celestia’s cloaked visitor said to her.

“Yes I remember, yet I do not see what that has to do with you being here today?” Princess Celestia replied to her cloaked visitor.

“It must feel nice to have a sister, doesn’t it, Princess? I mean, you have somepony that you can talk to you, or somepony that you… well, what does it really matter?” The visitors voice trailed off as Princess Celestia looked at her visitor.

Walking back to where her visitor had been sitting before again Celestia’s visitor sat down and again Celestia asked as she watched her visitor’s movements carefully. While she remained seated in her throne.

“Did you take the three? Are they really in your threshold?”

Princess Celestia watched as her visitor’s cloaked head moved from right to left then from left to right. Celestia cringed as she heard the sound of bones popping and cracking back into place. Her visitor still covered up by the cloak that her visitor wore so that Celestia couldn’t see her the face underneath the hood of the cloak. Flexed a bit as more popping was heard coming from her visitors back. Princess Celestia's visitor cooed as her visitor said to her while the sound of bones cracking and popping rippled throughout the otherwise empty throne room.

“Oh, that felt good. Yes that is the way I like it.” The visitor cooed out to Princess Celestia.  

Princess Celestia looked at her visitor as she descended her throne and walked back over to the window she had looked out of earlier then said as she looked out of the window.

“What is it that you want?” Princess Celestia asked her visitor in a deadpan tone of voice.  

Chuckling a bit Princess Celestia’s visitor said coldly to the princess as the princess turned around and walked back over to her throne and then sat back down. While her visitor remained seated on the floor in front of her.

“You know what I want Princess.” The visitor replied coldly to Celestia.

Princess Celestia lowered her head as tears fell freely now from her pink eyes saying to her visitor. While she sobbed lightly to herself as her visitor looked at her from underneath the hooded cloak that her visitor wore.

“You know I can’t do that.” Celestia said while crying.

Getting up off the floor Princess Celestia’s visitor walked up to the empty throne sitting next to her. Sat down then turned to her saying as her visitor rocked back and forth in the comfortable cushions of the empty throne.

“OOH, comfy. I really should get some of these back in my...er..world.” The visitors voice cooed as Princess Celestia let her tears fall.  

While crying Princess Celestia asked her visitor in a almost shaky voice while her visitor still rocked back and forth in the throne cooing like a newborn baby.

“Please I beg you tell me are the three in your throll now? Did you take them?” Princess Celestia asked her visitor as more tears fell from her cheeks.  

Getting off the throne Celestia’s visitor walked back over to the same window Celestia had already looked out at earlier. Asking Princess Celestia as her Visitor peared out the stained glass window.

“Tell me Celestia, did you ever tell your sister what became of her….friend.” Celestia's visitor asked.  

“What do you mean?” Princess Celestia asked in reply as she raised her head while tears slid off her cheeks and hit the floor beneath her hooves.

“You know perfectly well what I mean Princess.” Celestia's visitor replied grimly to her.

“I….No I never told her.” Princess Celestia replied looking back down at the floor.

As the Princess stopped crying and slowly got off her throne Princess Celestia again asked her visitor as she walked up behind the cloaked figure in her throne room.

“Will you please just tell me if you took them or not?” Princess Celestia asked as she stared at the back of her visitor’s cloaked head.  

Princess Celestia while looking at her visitor moved from behind her visitor to her visitors right side then looked out the window again as she heard her visitor say to her.  

“Looks like it is going to be a lovely day you have done well for yourself Celestia.” Princess Celestia’s visitor said as they both stared out the window together.

As the princess closed her eyes and thought of the time Luna and her had received her sister’s friends gift during the one hundredth spring sun rise festival. Princess Celestia heard her visitor say to her.

“But, then again you have done well only because I granted you your gift.” Princess Celestia’s visitor said as Celestia opened her eyes and they both looked out the window together.

As they both stared out the stained glass window Princess sighed heavily to herself as she heard her visitor ask her.

“You remember don’t you Celestia?” Asked her visitor while they both stood staring out the window.

Turning back around as Princess Celestia headed towards the tapestries she said softly to her visitor as she walked over to them then looked at one in particular.

“Yes I do fully remember.”

Princess Celestia’s visitor followed her over to the tapestries and looked at the same one that Princess Celestia was looking at. It was a large soft blue tapestry that bore on the center of it a flower that instead of a peddled head it had on top of the stem a snowflake. Looking at that tapestry then at her visitor Princess Celestia turned around and headed back over to her throne again. Sat down and lowered her head once more as her visitor also returned to the spot where her visitor had sat earlier as her visitor asked the distraught princess in a slightly wicked tone of voice.  

“I wonder what your sister would do if and when she found out that it was you that imprisoned her friend?”  

Hearing this Celestia looked up then said in a very scared voice.

“You can’t tell her!”

“Why not?” Replied Princess Celestia’s visitor as her visitor sat upon the floor of her throne room.

“She doesn’t need to know!” Princess Celestia snapped back to her visitor.

“Luna doesn’t need to know? Or you simply don’t want her to know that it was you that imprisoned her friend. Which is it Celestia which do you choose?” Celestia’s visitor asked coldly to her as she looked at her visitor sitting on the throne room floor.    

“I don’t want her to know! You mustn’t tell her” Princess Celestia said as she started to cry again.

“You know as well I do that secrets such as this have a way of getting out.” Celestia’s visitor replied harshly to Princess Celestia.

Princess Celestia cried for what in her broken heart and mind seemed like an hour yet was only ten minutes before through her sobs she heard her visitor say to her.

“I granted you a gift after you came to me and begged me to grant it to you.” Princess Celestia's visitor said coldly to her.

“I know.” Princess Celestia replied as tears slid down her cheeks and off her chin.

“And what did you do with the gift that I granted you Celestia?” Asked Princess Celestia’s visitor as Princess Celestia slowly raised her head.

“I used the gift you gave to me to betray my sister’s friend” Princess Celestia said while looking at her visitor sitting on the floor in her throne room.

“And when did you do this? Before or after your sister became Nightmare moon?” Asked Princess Celestia’s visitor as she saw her visitor slowly begin to raise the hood on the cloak that her visitor wore.

“I did it after my sister became Nightmare Moon.” Princess Celestia said and more of her visitors cloaked hood slowly slid back to reveal a bony chin underneath.

“Why did you betray your sister’s friend?” Celestia's visitor asked as a little more of the hood slid back showing more of a bony face beneath the cloaked hood.

“She found out that I trapped my sister in the moon after she became Nightmare Moon.” Princess Celestia said as she watched her visitor slowly remove more of the hood covering her visitors head.

“Did you at all even once try to help your sisters friend understand why you did what you?” Celestia's visitor asked as more of the hood came down and piled onto her visitor’s shoulders.

“No! I instead of helping my sister's friend out like I should have done I did something foolish.”Celestia said as she lowered her head again

“Really? And prey tell what was that?” Replied Celestia's visitor as the last bit of the hood fell back to reveal the face beneath the black cloth.

“I gave my sister’s friend the alicorn crown!” Celestia spat back at her visitor.

“And what lie did you tell your sisters friend to get her to wear such a powerful and dangerous artifact?”

“I didn’t lie to my sisters friend I just didn’t know how dangerous that crown really was. Nor did I know what it would do to my sisters friend. I told my sisters friend that there was no other way to set my sister free from the grasp of Nightmare Moon. At least at the time I didn’t see any other way to free her. I was desperate to save my fallen sister. ” Princess Celestia said while her body shook from the cold wind blowing through out the throne room.

“Really and what pray tell would you have called it then?” Asked Princess Celestia visitor as the cloak around her visitors body slowly fluttered about as sickly deathly cold wind began to blow in the throne room.

“I don’t know!” Celestia snapped at her visitor as she shivered in the cold wind that blew in her throne room.

“Didn’t know or you really didn’t want to know what that crown would do to your sisters friend?” Celestia's visitor said as Princess Celestia shivered in the cold wind that was blowing heavily in her throne room.

“I didn’t know! I am being honest about this! I really had no idea what would happen when my sister’s friend put on the crown.” Princess Celestia said as she fell to the ground off her throne and buried her face into her hooves.

“Tell me what happened when your sisters friend put that crown on?” Princess Celestia’s visitor asked as more cold icy wind blew through the throne room.

“She ceased in being who she was and became who she is now.” Princess Celestia said

What happened after she put the crown on? ” Asked Princess Celestia’s visitor as a large staff appeared next to her visitors right side.

“My sister’s friend was driven mad from the power within that crown. I didn’t know that he would return once the crown was freely given to one such as my sisters friend.” Celestia said as she watched a large metal blade form out of thin air and attached itself to the top of her visitors staff.

“After you begged me to grant you my gift to you what happened then?” Celestia's visitor said as the blade on top the staff that stood next to Princess Celestia’s visitor began to curve up wards.

“I used it like I said to betray my sisters friend. We fought for what had to be days even weeks. Each time she attacked me I was able to heal and heal quickly yet I didn’t know that the crown would grant her the same power.” Princess Celestia said to her visitor as she continued to bury her face into her hooves and shook even more from the cold wind blowing in her throne room.

“I see did you even stop to consider what would happen if you used that power who your sisters friend would transform into?” Princess Celestia’s visitor said as the metal blade curved upward forming a perfect scythe.

Princess Celestia looked up from her hooves into the deaths face and saw her smile as her eyes glowed bright red and her cloak flew rapidly in the high wind blowing in the throne room. Death looked at the fallen princess and stood up grinning wickedly as she heard Celestia say to her.

“I didn’t want to know that my sisters friend would become the lady Galanthus or that he would return once she became that monster.” Princess Celestia said as she stared into death's bony face.

Looking at Princess Celestia and how broken she seemed when she recalled her past mistakes Death began to unfurl her wings and slammed the butt end of her scythe into the ground. The noise of which echoed so loudly that it was as if a thunder clap was heard within the throne room. Princess Celestia looked into Death's bony face and again demanded to know the answer to her question.

“Tell me death tell me did you take the three? Did you take them? Yes or no?” Princess Celestia said as she began to rise up off the floor of her throne room.

“Yes I took them. Yes they are….MINE!” Death said with a hideous grin as her eyes glowed crimson red.

“RELEASE THEM!” Princess Celestia demanded.

“Why should I even want to consider doing that Celestia?” Death said as she started to circle Princess Celestia.

A loud banging could be heard coming from the throne room door as Twilight slammed her body again and again into the door trying desperately to open it. The door held fast and no matter how many times Twilight slammed herself into it the door wouldn’t move. She could be heard yelling through the door to her mentor.

“Celestia please open this door!” Twilight screamed out as she slammed her body into the throne room door.  

Death simply laughed as she heard Twilight screaming out for Celestia to open the door as Celestia said to Death.

“In exchange for setting the three free of your thrall I will give you the Alicorn Amulet.” Princess Celestia said as Twilight continued to bang on the throne room door.

Death put a bony finger to her chin then said as she tapped her chin a few times.

“MMMM, tempting Celestia but, no they will remain mine now and forever.” Death said as she tapped her chin and smiled at Celestia.

“Then if you will not take the Alicorn Amulet I will also give you the dragon's heart.” Celestia said to Death.

Death looked around as her gaze fell from the tapestries in the throne room back to Princess Celestia as Death said to her.

“Goodbye Celestia it was nice talking to you.”

Celestia looked down then quickly back up as death was starting to disappear from sight. Celestia screamed out in the royal canterlot voice as both heard Twilight still pounding away on the throne room door.

“WAIT!!”

Death stopped from leaving the throne room for a second as she looked at Princess Celestia curious as to what the princess would think was so important to use the royal canterlot voice on her for. With her curiosity peaked Death floated down to Celestia and said to her with a wicked grin on her face.

“Yes?”

“If you will not take the items that I have thus offered you. Would you be willing to trade something far more precious than those magical relics?” Celestia said as she swallowed hard.

“What do you have that I would want to trade in so far you have offered me the Alicorn Amulet. Which I must say would be put to some rather….shall we say interesting useage. You have also offered me the dragon's heart which alone could help me control him. Yet I need not actually worry about controlling him when I offer him my deal. So I ask you again what do you have that I would want to trade in?” Death asked as she looked at Princess Celestia.

“I will give you….myself and I will do this freely” Princess Celestia said as she looked at Death trying to figure out if she would take the deal or not.

“You would actually give back your immortality and surrender yourself to my thrall?” Death scoffed in shock at this notation.

“Only if you agree to set the three free and restore them to health!” Celestia said as she stared death coldly in the face.

“HMMMM a thousand year old soul for the lives of three thirteen year old souls. I don’t know.” Death said as she stood there pondering Celestia's request.

“I will make sure you have you both the Alicorn Amulet and the Dragon's heart as well as myself if you but, only set the three free from your thrall.” Celestia said as she looked at Death with eyes filled with sadness as to what this deal would cost her.

Death reached into her cloak then pulled out a medium sized piece of brown old parchment rolled into a scroll. The parchment had Celestia's cutie mark on it as Death held this up she asked Celestia as she turned the parchment so that Celestia's cutie mark was facing the princess.

“Do you recognize this?” Death asked Celestia she looked at the parchment held in Death's hand.

“Yes that is the contract of Immortality that I signed with you one thousand years ago. But I thought that was lost to sands of time.” Celestia said with a confused look on her face.  

“No Celestia it was not lost at all. In fact it is and has been in my possession all this time. Now before I agree to anything with you tell me how times have you denied me my meals now?”  

“I don’t know what you mean?” Celestia asked with a sheepish grin on her face.

“Then you very obviously don’t want me to restore the ones that I took now do you?” Death said in a chilly tone.

“Very well I have done it at least three times that I am aware of.” Princess Celestia said as she cocked her head to one side with a quirked eyebrow as she grinned slightly

“Try five times Celestia”

“Really that many huh? I thought it would have been less than that, maybe a little more.” Celestia said with a slight parted smile etching onto her face.

“The first was when you gave her the same gift that I gave you Immortality. The second is when you offered that sister of yours the same thing before you sent her to the moon for a thousand years. The third is when you had Rose Cherry save Sunset Shimmer from dieing on the streets of Canterlot city. The fourth is when you again helped her to live by giving that fool of a student of yours the time scroll and sending her fool of friend Applejack back through time. Thus you have altared when I was supposed to take them. And the fifth the fifth time is when you bound the crystal empire to her. So tell me Celestia why should I take your soul if I have the three that I need.”

“Because without me you will never find her prison.”  Princess Celestia said as she stared at Death coldly.

Again the banging could be heard from Twilight slamming into the door and again Death just laughed. As Twilight again and again slammed herself into the throne room door. Luna appeared behind her from a open window that was near by. Watching Twilight rush the door again and again as he sisters faithful student tried desperately to break the door down. Luna used her magic to pick Twilight up just as she was about to slam her velvet colored body into the door again. Twilight screamed out in shock as she didn’t know who it was that was picking her up.

“HEY! PUT ME DOWN THIS VERY INSTANT!!!” Twilight screamed out in anger and shock at being so abruptly picked up.  

Celestia could be heard saying through the closed throne door.

“Do we have a deal or not?”

“Twilight I have another way for you to get into the throne room so calm down and follow me” Luna said as she heard Celestia's visitor say to her sister through the throne room door.

“Yes we have a deal I will restore the three to the mirror world and take you as my slave and thus I will use your knowledge to find her prison.”

“You do know that she will go to the crystal empire before she helps you out with anything don’t you?” Celestia could be heard saying to death as Twilight was being set down by Luna’s magic.

“Alright Luna but, we need to hurry something is very wrong.” Twilight said as she was set back down near an open window. While she heard Celestia's visitor say through the closed door of the throne room.  

“Then that is where you and I shall go once you are my slave that is.” Death said as she took out from under her cloak a blank scroll then looked at Celestia who floated a quill over to her.

As death took the scroll and she said to Princess Celestia who sat on her throne smiling.

“You do know that once you sign the new contract your Immorality will be gone as such the prison that you created for Lady Galanthus will return. So tell me why should I actually go through with this again?”

“Because without me even though she may be freed from her prison I had the wits to cast a spell that protects her from the likes of you. She will be invisible to you until I am dead and standing with at your side in battle.” Celestia said with a awful grin on her face.

“Sign the damn contract so that I might lay waste to this land Celestia and fully quench my thirst for souls.” Death said as she grit her teeth together.

Celestia looked over the contract and then said to death as she floated the quill back over to her.

“Before I sign this you should know there is one that will stop your plans. One that will stand up to her and set things right. One that will not be afraid of him nor will this one back down from him either. One that will find a way to free me even if it takes this one just as long as I have lived. One that will ascend.” Celestia said as she signed the contract effectively giving up her immortality.

Death laughed wickedly as she raised her scythe above her head just as Twilight and luna smashed through a stained glass window. Slamming it down into the ground Death said as Celestia climbed back onto her throne and smiled lightly.  

“YOU. ARE. MINE.” Death said as her scythe slammed back into the floor of the throne room.

A crimson colored shock wave was produced from Death's scythe hitting the floor of the throne room sending both Luna and Twilight back into a far wall. They both hit with such force that both of them were effectively knocked out. Princess Celestia smiled as she felt her body growing older by the second. She descended her thrown for the last time walked over to the window she had peered out so many times when Death was talking with her and looked out to the setting sun. Then turned and walked over to the unconscious Twilight and placed her horn to Twilight’s saying as her body began to wither away and turn to dust.

“You shall ascend my faithful student and become more than what you are right now. Alicorn Princess though you may be and powerful though you are. I grant you my power and my magic. May you use them with care and rule the day along side my sister Luna who will need you now more than ever.”

Princess Celestia's horn glowed a bright white in color as her magic was poured into to Twilight and Celestia fell to the ground next to her faithful student. Her body rotted away and as she said her last words to her student Death floated over to her.

“Goodbye my faithful…..” Celestia died before she could finish her sentence as her body rotted away leaving only her skull and crown behind.

Twilight woke up just as death picked up Celestia’s skull. As Celestia's crown fell off her skull and hit the floor landing next to Twilight. Death held Celestia's skull up to her lips then kissed it and as Death looked at Twilight and Twilight looked at death she dropped Celestia's skull. Letting Celestia's skull fall towards the floor as death laughed while she disappeared saying as her voice echoed in the throne room.

“It is done the three are restored and Celestia is mine.”

Twilight scrambled to her hooves to try to catch her mentor’s skull but was unable to do so. Watching as Celestia's skull shattered when it hit the floor and the last remnants of the once beautiful Princess floated away on the wind. Twilight screamed out just as Luna came too and climbed to her hooves slowly shaking away her own pain from being knocked into the wall with Twilight.

“CELESTIA!” Twilight screamed as Luna lowered her head as she began to sob.

Raising a hoof to her lips Luna whispered to herself as Twilight began to cry.

"No not my sister please no."

Luna seeing Twilight crying unfurled her wings and took the sobbing velvet colored Alicorn into her wings and hooves and gently held her as she and Twilight both cried together. Princess Celestia ruler of the day. Raiser and bringer of the sun's warmth was gone. Twilight cried into Luna’s shoulders as she held her up in her powerful hooves and wings. Luna in turn cried into Twilight's shoulders her sister the one she had counted on since she was changed back into her good self from when she was Nightmare Moon was now gone. As Twilight cried she now knew she was not only going to have to get Rose Cherry for Sunset. But, she would also have to find somepony, Anypony that could take up her mentors mantel. Little did Twilight know that Celestia had meant that mantel to go to Twilight. Now was the time to set things right and now was the time for Twilight to ascend. The return of one that could stand up to both Death and Lady Galanthus was nigh. With the sun setting the board was set. The pieces were all in place Princess Celestia had dealt her hand well before her death. She had both Lady Galanthus and Death right where she had wanted them. Now all that was need was for him to wake up and free Galanthus from her icy mountain prison.   Next Chapter: Chapter 16 Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 36 Minutes