The Truth

by Blue Turtle

Subtle

The Truth: Chapter 2

If and when the truth shoves itself at you. Do not ignore it. It will smack you down and throw you around without hesitation. If you DARE to even THINK about ignoring it, The truth will tear you apart until you have no choice to face it. Always Always stare at the truth. Stare down into it until you have no choice and you have to dive in. Everything you've set up will crumble around you if you do not.

-King Nebulis

BurningNight set down the bill and walked away with Celestia and Luna.

"That was nice." Celestia said, Looking over to BurningNight

"Yes. Maybe we can come here again some time." BurningNight said as she smiled.

"That would be quite nice." Luna said, focusing on the ground. The dark clouds moved overhead and it began to sprinkle. Celestia and Luna looked up at the sky and smiled. BurningNight waved goodbye and ran down the street. Probably going home, BurningNight did say something about getting her mane done with her wife.

"She's a nice mare you know." Celestia said, smiling to Luna.

"She is. She's a great assistant too." Luna said back. The rain began to pour. Celestia splashed rain water at Luna and giggled, Luna splashed back. A confident smirk spread across her face. Celestia splashed again until eventually the two were having an all out war. After a while a group of fillies back from school came and joined in. They splashed and played for what fealt like a short period of time, but some of their parents came and told them it was time for diner.

"Oh dear. Sister we have to do back!" Luna said, pushing Celestia towards the castle.

'It was nice playing with all of you!" Celestia called over her shoulder. Celestia chuckled and sprinted towards the castle alongside Luna. They stopped outside the gate, only to dart behind a building.

1... 2... 3.. go!" Luna said, releasing her spell. In a bright flash of light she was back to her alicorn state. Celestia did the same and she was also back to normal. They waited for the right moment and walked into the crowd. Celestia long pink mane was covered in mud. Luna was no better however, she was also sopping wet and covered in mud. Celestia and Luna walked through the thinning crowd and eventually came back to the castle. Their advisors screamed at them for being childish.

"How dare you! You're the rulers of one of the most powerful countries of the world! You can't be running around in the mud!" WillowTail yelled at Celestia. She just took it in stride.

"I'm sorry. I won't do that again." Celestia said. Though it was hard to tell if she was completely serious or not.

"Luna what were you thinking!" NightHawk yelled at Luna. But the Luna just laughed at they walked farther down the hallway.

"BurningNight was right, You two are stuffy." Luna called over her shoulder. WillowTail and NightHawk's cheeks turned bright red. The princesses were gone, disappeared behind the door.

"I swear when BurningNight gets back...!" WillowTail said, His face burning bright red. He and NightHawk stormed off in an angry huff. The rain poured outside. The rain cooled the air, but also dampened it. Celestia poked her head from the door and giggled softly.

"Alright. I suppose we've had enough fun for today. Let's go clean up." Celestia said, shaking her head; Attempting to throw off her smile. Though it stuck on. Celestia and Luna walked down the hallway, then another that led out of the Throne room, Then another hallway. And finally another.

"This building is kind of confusing" Luna said, she face contorted with confused disgust. Celestia nodded and opened the door. A magic aurora turned the bathtub lever and it began to gush warm water. Celestia closed the door and stepped into the water, which was rising quickly. Luna closed off the valve as the water neared the edge of the tub. Luna stepped in and began to wash off. Celestia washed off the mud until eventually they were sitting in soapy water.

"Alright. That should be good." Celestia said, opening the drain. The water disappeared fast and the sister got out and dried off.

"Princess-" A guard said as he walked through the door. He blushed brightly and stepped out. Luna broke out laughing. Celestia smiled at her sister. Luna finished drying off. They returned to their normal look, No longer like they were so long ago. The princesses walked out, The guard who had walked in earlier was still blushing brightly. The guard next to im looked at him strangely.

"What are you blushing at?" The guard said in an annoyed tone.

"I walked in on them... while they were taking a bath." The other guard said, His face turned red.

"Oh... Well then this is awkward..." The guard said, putting on a straight face when Celestia shot a glance at him. Celestia walked away, back to the throne room. Though it took more hallway walking. A lot more hallway walking.

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Twilight lazily rolled out of bed again. It was a nice nap but she wished she had slept longer. Though she had a train to catch. Twilight slapped herself.

"SPIKE! You should have woken me up earlier! I have to catch the train to Canterlot!" Twilight said, She jumped off the up floor and landed, She cringed as the wound on her hoof "yelled at her" as Spike called it. Spike ran out from another room.

"Sorry Twilight. I fell asleep." Spike said, His face turned red. Twilight sighed and lifted over a travel bag. She packed all she needed; Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Mr. Smarty Pants, Brush, anything she needed really. She got her blanket and walked out the door. Spike followed her to the station.

"Alright. FlutterShy will take care of you while I'm gone." Twilight said, The crowd was quite large for how late it was in the afternoon. Twilight raised up her umbrella as it began to rain. Spike stood close to her, snuggling up to her leg. The line to the ticket booth was pretty long.

"Miss.. can I please budge in front of you. I need to get on the next train..." An older looking stallion said. Twilight thought about it for a moment and stepped aside, letting the old stallion in front of her. She stepped behind him.

"Thank you miss. The kindness is appreciated." The stallion smiled and looked forward again. The person upfront gave the pony his ticket and he left. This caused a whole chain to step forward in the rain. This happened several times before Twilight finally got to the front of the line. The pony looked at her ID and gave her a ticket. Spike walked to the side of the train. Twilight gave him the umbrella and walked into the train.

"FlutterShy should be here any minute." Twilight said, looking around. A yellow pegasus wearing a bright yellow rain coat ran forward.

"There you two are!" FlutterShy said, a bit louder than usual. The rain made it hard to hear her though. Twilight nodded, The steam whistle blared, meaning they'd be leaving soon.

"I'll see you guys soon." Twilight said, closing the window of her seat. Spike and FlutterShy stepped away from the rail, behind the white line. A crowd waved off friends and family. FlutterShy smiled and walked off. The baby dragon walked behind her. Twilight watched them walk away before the train started to move. It started off slowly, but eventually got faster and faster until the bright lights of the train station disappeared. Twilight wrapped herself in a blanket, falling asleep again.

This section of the train isn't very full... Twilight thought as her mind drifted off to sleep. Only an hour later Twilight woke up to the sound of a cart being pushed forwards. The train was slightly more full. The attendant stopped by.

"Is there anything you'd like miss?" The pegasus asked politely. Twilight nodded and pushed off her blanket. Twilight took the hot cocoa and thanked the stallion as he left. Twilight sipped it and looked around. It was still raining outside. Twilight sighed and took out the book. She began to read more stories, Until finally reading one of a demon. The picture was of a pony like creature, Yet it was pitch black with red eyes. Underneath it were ponies, all crying. Behind it was a blood red sun. Twilight's eyes focused on the creature. Underneath it were four ponies; A kirin and three alicorns. One held onto a smaller blue one, while the tallest one cried. The kirin was angry. She flipped the page to find the kirin and tallest alicorn fighting the creature. Th kirin however was now brown, and it's eyes red in anger. The tall alicorn glowed bright as the sun, if not even brighter. The shadowy creature looked distressed. By the end of the story the they were gone. Pictured as the glowing one throwing the creature into Tartarus, then venturing in itself. The two young alicorns looked towards the portal from the hill, while the kirin stood by them. It was now green again. Twilight knew without a single doubt that the two young alicorns were Celestia and Luna, And that the pitch black figure along with the glowing alicorn were the original rulers of Equestria. Twilight felt a sudden wave of guilt. Celestia and Luna sat by for what was probably over 1,000 years without their own parents. Twilight could not imagine the heart breaking feeling to know that you're parents were suddenly just not there. The worst part was that no pony remembered them either. Most ponies thought that since Celestia knew her sister was merely just gone she kept her title princess. Twilight held her head, rubbing her temples. To think Celestia and Luna could even bear to except that the ponies who took are of them were gone made Twilight's hooves tremble. She knew that she would probably give up if her parents were just... gone. Yet Celestia and Luna were able to survive all on their own for over 1,000 years. Twilight shook her head.

Never mind... I shouldn't bring it up when I'm with them and Cadence. That's all. Twilight thought with a sigh. The time slipped away from her as she read more stories. By the time she got half way through the large book The train stopped at Canterlot Station. Twilight grabbed her things and stepped out of the train, It was raining there too.

"It's raining everywhere I go." Twilight said, half joking. The attendant chuckled and took Twilight's ticket after scanning her ID. Twilight was passed through the gates and let into Canterlot. Twilight lifted her umbrella and walked towards the castle. It was odd not having Spike around her. Her bag was pulled behind her, The purple aura surrounding it protected it from the rain. Twilight walked among the evening crowd, She felt herself disappear into the number of ponies present. They flowed like a river. Though the river branched off several times and sometimes certain parts of the river were obstructed. Twilight shook her head and walked on. Eventually, after what seemed like hours of walking (Despite the fact Twilight knew her way around Canterlot, It was still a large city) She arrived at Canterlot castle. She was welcomed in by the guards and let into the throne room after more walking. Twilight bowed respectively to Celestia and Luna (Even though there was no need for it really.) Twilight ran up and hugged Celestia.

"It's nice to see you Twilight." Celestia said, a genuine smile pulled at her face.

"Hello Twilight, How did the train ride treat you?" Luna said, rising up from her throne. She smiled lightly at Twilight.

"Not bad. I fell asleep for most of the way here. Though I read a bit too." Twilight said looking at her suitcase.

"That's wonderful. WillowTail here will show you to your room." Celestia said, gesturing for WillowTail to come over. WillowTail was mostly brown and green was a clock as his cutie mark. He wasn't very tall, maybe a bit on the short side. Twilight waved hello but the cranky old stallion just gave her an unamused look.

"Follow me Princess Twilight." WillowTail said in the flattest tone possible. The word Princess seemed to fall out of his mouth. He made it sound like a bad thing. He walked forward and out of the room, Twilight following behind. The doors closed behind Twilight as they walked onto a bridge. It was still raining however. Twilight gave him the umbrella while making a spell above her. Hopefully he wouldn't be so mad at her if she was nice to him? They got over the bridge and reached her room. It was a pretty nice room; Not too big yet enough room to be comfortable. Twilght set down her stuff.

"Thank you WillowTail." Twilight said to the old stallion. He gave her a pained look and shook his head.

"There's no need to thank me. Sorry I'm not in the best mood today. The rain makes my joints ache." WillowTail said looking outside. It was an absolute down pour.

"Why not ask the day off? Celestia probably has more assistants than just you." Twilight said, looking over at him. He took a moment to think and nodded.

"I think I just might. Thank you Twilight." He said as he walked out. He ran as fast as he could over the bridge and waved goodbye. Twilight smiled and unpacked her things. The damp air was heavy yet it felt nice. Twilight examined her room; Alabaster walls and a purple carpeted floor. The room was quite pretty. Twilight looked outside, The rain didn't seem to stop. It just continued to pour ad pour. Never ending. The pegasi were really doing it now. Ponyville never got this much rain it seemed. Twilight shook her head and crept into bed. She was quite tired for how little she did that day.

____________________________________________________________________________

"Celestia. You know... sometimes... I worry. One day I know.. the dam of lies we've made will break. The truth is going to pour out one day whether we like it or not." Luna said to her sister. Celestia looked over. Her pink mane hung loosely.

"I suppose we might as well prepare for that day sister. There is not much we can do. Though I wish we did not have to lie there is nothing we can do." Celestia said glancing to the army below.

"On that day... promise me this; We'll stay together ok?" Celestia said thoughtfully. The army below bowed respectfully as they walked through.

"The second Griffon War? I suppose that is to be expected. They've resented us since their very founding." Luna said, looking up to the darkening sky.

"I'm sorry Luna. I wish we never had to experience this again." Celestia said, letting one tear dripped down before finally descending into the ground. The dark sky thundered and the soldiers walked forward. It was a different feeling. Celestia and Luna had felt it before; The uneasy quiet. It was a terrible thing. Everypony was gathering their thoughts.

____________________________________________________________________________

Celestia's head shot up and she rubbed her temples. Bad memories came up everytime she snoozed. Everypony could tell too. There was just that look in her eye. She always shook her head words as well.

"Snoozing again?" Luna said to her sister with a pained look.

"Yes..." Celestia said looking down. For all the time in the world and all the good she'd seen, The bad seemed to force itself into her face "REMEMBER ME" Luna had experienced it but the memories didn't throw themselves at her. Celestia stared at the ground as the room turned quiet. Most of the council members had learned to shut up when that happened. Celestia shook her head again.

"Sorry. I'm fine." Celestia said with a half baked smile. The ponies continued with their work as per usual. No pony knew. Except Celestia and Luna. They knew all too well. Celestia stood and stepped off the throne.

"Come now Luna. We have to meet up with Cadence and Twilight." Celestia said slowly. She seemed tired for once. It barely ever showed.

:Miss you still have paperwork to do." One of the more annoying members of the council said. Celestia turned her head and sighed.

"I'll do that later. I want to sit with my pupil and my niece for once." Celestia said calmly. The member snickered.

"You always say that. You don't get much done do you?" The member said with another snicker.

"My sister has done mo-" Luna said before having Celestia puther hoof in front of her sister.

"No. She's right. I'll do it now. You go meet up with them Luna, i'll finish my work as soon as I can." Celestia said before walking back to her seat. The member smirked.

"Lazy Princesses don't' get to have fun, Do they Tia"

"No. They don't." Celestia said before sitting down and beginning to work. Celestia sat quietly as Luna gritted her teeth and walked away.

"Sunny Shadow don't you think that was a bit much? She hasn't seen Twilight in such a long time..." WillowTail said, looking over to Sunny Shadow.

"If she's just gonna sit around and do nothing she doesn't get to see Twilight!" Sunny Shadow snapped.

"She's been working harder than all of us! And for most of her life too! Can't we just give her this one time?" Blazing Torch said slowly.

"My plot she has! She and Luna were messing around in the mud today with some fillies for pony's sakes!" Sunny Shadow grumbled.

"At least she and Luna try to talk to their own ponies! And why can't they have a little fun? Luna was gone for a 1,000 years!" Heart Whisper shouted.

"It's her own darn fault Luna was banished!" Sunny Shadow yelled. Celestia's head shot up. Her face was calm one moment, only for the next for it to contort into rage. She walked over to Sunny Shadow. Only to punch her in the face. The mare went flying.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING! SHUT YOUR TRAP YOU ARROGANT FOOL!" Celestia basically shouted. The royal Canterlot voice was pretty loud to say the least. Sunny Shadow gulped.

"DO NOT EVEN THINK FOR ONE SECOND JUST BECAUSE OF YOUR TITLE AND JUST BECAUSE YOUR A DESCENDANT OF WIND SONG I WILL LET YOU SPEAK OF ME OR MY SISTER THAT WAY FOR JUST ONE MOMENT, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" Celestia shouted again, standing over Sunny Shadow. The cowering mare nodded as Celestia helped her up.

"Sorry for shouting." Celestia cleared her throat. She walked back, wiped off her tears and sat down. She finished her work quickly. Twilight, Luna, and Cadence all stood at the hallway and blinked.

"Somepony just have made her really mad. I don't think i've ever seen her lose her cool like that." Cadence said in disbelief. Twilight nodded.

"Sister we can go now." Luna said after motioning the alicorn over. Celestia stood up and walked with the over three.

"Two demons hide amongst the angels.

Fallen from the rest.

Waiting for the Day they can be free.

Though their time is lost.

And their hearts shattered.

They still smile.

Even for the monstrous things they've done.

They hide themselves."

Luna's head snapped up. Seven ponies stood above them. The cloaks they wore bore the emblem of the moon over the Sun. Celestia looked up wide eyed.

"What?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"Oh? So they still lie!" One pony said.

"Still lie? What do you mean!" Cadence growled.

"The two next to you." The pony said pointing at Celestia and Luna.

"What? Stop lying! Celestia and Luna would never lie!' Twilight said angrily.

"Oh? Just look at their guilty faces!" The pony laughed, pointing to them. He was right. The sisters did look guilty.

"So what? A part of being friends means not having to know every single thing about each other!" Twilight yelled as the rain ran down her face.

"Celestia and Luna are like the parents I've always wanted! You have no right to talk about them that way!" Cadence angrily shouted again.

"If you knew the truth here Princess you wouldn't be so close to them." Another pony in the group yelled down. Celestia's knees shook. She shivered violently. Luna was twitching constantly, shivering as well. It was like they were cold, except not. The rain poured down on the sisters. Twilight looked up to them.

"What's wrong? You don't want them to know?" The pony snickered.

"You know nothing about them! Shut your trap! You've got no right to talk to them this way! How dare you be so unkind to them! After all they've gone through!" Twilight screamed. Celestia glanced over at Twilight. She shook her head. Celestia chuckled, then broke out laughing. Her eyes... she looked as if she'd killed someone.

"I knew it! This is the day you were talking about Luna! The day the truth tore everything down!" Celestia laughed insanely. Twilight looked at the mare in confused horror. Then she was quiet. Celestia frowned.

"We should have prepared ourselves. I did... but after all the friendships I've made.. and all the lovely sunny days I've had with my friends.. I don't think I could have even if I tried..." Celestia said softly. Celestia lowered her head.

"Do your worst." Luna said looking up to the seven. She gritted her teeth and waited. One horn lit, then another then another until the group glowed. Twilight pulled Cadence back, before she tried to grab Luna and Celestia. But she was too late. The area turned bright, As the ponies glowed even brighter. A spell shot towards Luna, Only to be stopped. Celestia stood, firmly. Her horn was holding back the spell, but only just. But an old wound was what faltered her. Celestia felt the pain dart around her shoulder. Her collarbone felt every ounce of the magic force. It stung, It burned, It down right left her in agony. Celestia felt the magic start to push her back. iT was like the Canterlot wedding all over again.

No! I won't be defeated again! Celestia thought angrily. She ignored it best she could. She threw off the spell with ease after her second wind. But something was wrong. So very wrong. She felt her extremities numbing. Her mane turned back to pink. Celestia's eyes darted around, trying to find something to fall onto. Twilight screamed as Celestia hit the ground with a thump. She ran over and held her mentor's head up. Luna fell to her knees, repeating something over again.

"No.. They.. They... No! Celestia can't be dead! I won't let her!" Cadence screamed at the sky. But the rain just continued to pour. Cadence felt a flood of emotions hit her all at once; Celestia had saved her from her grief after her parents died. It was a rainy day just like that day. And now Celestia was dead. Cadence threw a bolt of angry magic at the seven. Within a flash of light they were all dead. They twitched a bit only to stop.