Chapter 16

                                    

                                          

"Hurt? What do you mean 'hurt'?" I said, panic lacing my tone.
"I think you know what I mean, and I hope you know that we never wanted it to come to this. Luna and I- we never wanted to do anything to you. It's just that we have to think of Equestria here and we can't let anything get in the way of that-"
"Princess, please think about this..." I scrabbled at the floor, backing up against the far wall. Celestia's horn ignited with magic and I was levitated into the air. She looked at me with regret in her eyes and as her magic made me feel faint, I looked into her eyes. 
"I thought- I thought you were a kind ruler..." 
I fell unconscious as I heard her let out a noise that could have either been a sob or a wince.

When I finally came to, I found myself chained against the wall of a different cell. A guard stood in the corner, looking slightly uncomfortable. As soon as he saw I was awake, he let out a sigh and left the cell, probably off to inform Celestia. 
I looked around and my eyes focused on a small table, littered with kitchen utensils... What was that for? Was I in some kind of storage cell?
I heard Celestia's voice, slightly muffled, behind the door to the dungeons. I heard something about evacuating the city and reinforcing the castle walls. What was going on?
Celestia entered the cell I was in and looked at me solemnly.
"I hope you know that I would never do this unless it was a catastrophic event that I needed to prevent."
"What do you mean? Why did you bring me here?" I started to struggle in the chains, something in my gut beginning to twist in worry. "What's going on?" I said, the fear in my voice evident.
"King Sombra knows that taking the crystal empire before coming to get you is in his best interests. I know that it is in Equestria's best interests to have him enter a trap unarmed and without a plan before he has a chance to fully regain his powers. And so-" She cut herself off. 
"And so?" I asked, apprehensively.
"If he feels the full effects of the bond, he won't be able to stop himself from retrieving you if he knows you're being seriously harmed."
"What are you saying?" I whispered, trailing off.
"I- I'm going to need to hurt you, Y/N, for the good of Equestria and everypony in it." She took a deep breath, this course of action obviously taking a toll on her. 
"You're not being serious, right? This is a joke... Right?" My voice was becoming more frantic by the second.
"I'm afraid not... The city has been evacuated, and every guard I could get my hooves on has been stationed at the castle entrance and the dungeon entrance. This is the end of the line."
"Princess Celestia please, think about what you're doing!" I cried, watching in utter terror as she levitated a kitchen knife over to my exposed chest. 
"This is for Equestria, this is for Equestria," Celestia whispered to herself, trying so hard to justify the actions she was about to undertake. 
The knife made contact with my chest, and a scream rattled from my throat, half of the guards stationed around the castle lowering their ears as they heard it.