A Forgetful Nature
Four ponies of the Royal Guard marched Silent Shadow into the heart of Canterlot Castle. She thought it was all a touch excessive, as her hooves were already fettered and a wing bolt had been slapped around her barrel keeping her from flying. It all would have been very comical, if she had even the slightest idea of what was going to happen. Instead, she felt a slow fear bubbling up in her chest. The last two times she had been caught for thieving, she had been sent to one of Equestria’s premier rehabilitation clinics so she could “learn how to live in harmony.” It all would have been very nice and neat, if not for one simple fact the authorities couldn’t seem to grasp: Shadow liked thieving.
Not just that, it was her special talent. Watching her marks for days on end as she familiarized herself with their routine, performing a reconnaissance on the house to familiarize herself with just what could be taken, and finally waiting for the right moment to free the house and the ponies therein of an excess of wealth – all of that was represented by her cutie mark, a crescent moon with a cloud passing over it. Shadow enjoyed every part of planning a heist, but if she had to choose a favorite, it would be the watching and waiting. The stealing was fine and all, it was what paid her bills, but the weeks spent watching, waiting, really getting to know her marks, those were her favorite parts.
But then, she supposed as she walked deeper into Canterlot Castle, she had always been an outsider watching in. Other ponies, well... the adults growing up had been nice enough, she supposed, but the children always seemed to repeat that damnable saying, “dark coats, dark minds.” If she had a bit for every single time some pony had said that to her, she probably wouldn’t have had to start stealing to make ends meet. It wasn’t her fault her coat was charcoal black, or that her mane was an even darker shade of black, none of it was. Well, the stealing was probably her fault, but the circumstances leading up to it, those couldn’t be blamed on her.
For instance, why in Equestria had her mother named her Silent Shadow? She was practically asking for her daughter to become a thief. And then there was Shadow’s homelife, or lack thereof. Her mother would go out to the Cloudsdale clubs every night, and most times would end up bringing an unknown stallion or mare back home with her, forcing Shadow to listen to them do… things on the other side of her cloud wall. The rest of the time, her mother, Moonlight, was either sleeping, hung over, or both.
So what was Shadow supposed to do in that situation? She didn’t have anypony she could talk to, her instructors in flight camp didn’t particularly care, and she could see those words in the eyes of everypony she tried to talk with. Dark coats. Dark minds. The older ponies never said them out loud, but Shadow wasn’t an idiot; she could see the reluctance to believe her, the fear that she was lying to them. Whenever any pony did come to check on her and mother, Moonlight would act like the mother of the year, and when Shadow did finally convince a social worker to come by, Moonlight had locked her in her room for… well, Shadow didn’t know how long Moonlight had intended to keep her there, as Shadow flew out the window after a week and never looked back. Maybe Moonlight had tried to look for her, or maybe she had just shrugged her shoulders and thanked Celestia that she was finally free. Shadow didn’t really care at that point.
After that, she had been... well, she was free, but she didn’t have anywhere to go. If she went to Equestria’s government housing, she would probably be taken back to her mother, and that– As Shadow flew away from her mother’s house, she had promised that no force in Equestria would ever make her go back there.
As for the thieving, that came later, when a starving filly was desperately trying to find a way to make ends meet in the alleys of Canterlot. She had remembered there was this big house right next to the market where she usually begged for bits to buy food. She liked watching it. Liked watching the ponies going in and out, doing their daily business. Shadow imagined what their conversations might be like, what they talked about, she even gave them names and stories to go with their faces. Imagining what happened in that house as she begged for food was her only means of entertainment for most of her foalhood. Then one day, the stallion of the house failed to latch the door while leaving, and Shadow knew she had to at least take a peek inside, just as surely as she knew that nopony would be back home for another couple of hours.
The house was more spectacular than she had imagined. There were paintings and gold and jewels everywhere. If she was going through it now, she thought, chastising herself for her youthful naiveté, she would have had a field day – but instead she just stood there, looking at everything dumbly, fantasizing about how wonderful it must be to live there. That was why she had decided to take the vase: not out of any desire to profit, but because she wanted to keep a little piece of that house with her forever. Shadow knew it was stealing, and she knew stealing was illegal, but she couldn’t help thinking that the owners wouldn’t miss one little vase. (One little vase that turned out to be worth more than her old home, as she later learned when her curiosity finally got the better of her and she decided to see just how much the thing was worth.)
That night, as she was going to bed, she saw she had finally earned her cutie mark, and her excited squealing had almost led the guards right to her makeshift home in a back alley and her freshly-stolen vase. Tomorrow, she would have to find a new house to watch, and next time, she would take more than just a vase. As she fell asleep that night, she promised herself that one day she would have a house as nice as the one she had been in today.
Of course, now she was being led to a door emblazoned with the personal seal of Princess Celestia as two of the guards pushed it open. She smiled at the pony in front of her and gestured to a nearby seat cushion. “Ah, Silent Shadow, is it? Please come in, make yourself comfortable.”
This was bad, Shadow thought. Princess Celestia was sitting right in front of her and was trying to make nice with her. As she wondered just what was happening, the guards unceremoniously shoved her in the room. The doors closed silently a second later.
“You know, I’ve been reading up on you the past few hours,” the immortal white alicorn said as she floated a teacup up to her lips. “Quite the impressive history; you’ve humiliated several nobles during your five-year career, and I have to admit, I even found myself buying into this image of the sophisticated burglar you cultivated. Leaving a single black feather behind after you rob Equestria’s richest ponies. You’ve become something of a folk sensation.”
Shadow smiled at that. She had heard some of the songs written about her (one of which believed she was a he in spite of the fact that the feathers she left behind clearly belonged to a female), and she was… well, she obviously couldn’t take credit for the crimes, but it was nice to know ponies admired her. Actually, that brought up a good question. “Why don’t they know about me? I’ve been arrested two times, the papers should know about me by now.”
Celestia nodded. “They should, but I chose to keep your identity secret until after you had been rehabilitated. I thought it would be easier for you.” The princess gestured towards the seat cushion next to her and smiled again. “Please, sit down, I’d like for us to have a talk.”
It was Shadow’s turn to nod as she shuffled towards the empty cushion, Something was wrong. She wasn’t sure what, but there was no chance Equestria’s ruler wished to simply have tea with its most famous thief. “I think you are a good pony, Shadow,” Celestia continued. “You’ve never harmed a pony, and you only steal from those who can afford some losses. That’s not to say I approve of your actions, but it’s why I hoped you might choose to rehabilitate out of your own free will, and why I even gave you two chances to do so.”
“You will excuse me for saying so, but it’s kind of hard to be rehabilitated when your special talent is stealing valuable things. What am I going to do? Ignore what my cutie mark is telling me?” Shadow gestured to the pot of tea and the empty cut sitting next to it. “Mind if I?”
“Not at all,” Celestia said, smiling serenely. “Just be sure to put it back. I’ve had that china set for over five centuries, and I would hate to lose it.” Celestia looked as Shadow held up her two shackled forelegs for the Princess’s inspection.
“Is there any chance you can undo my shackles, then? If you just want to chat, it will be more comfortable for me if I can move my legs.” As she spoke, she saw Celestia’s horn light up, and heard the familiar popping of locks.
“If it makes you more comfortable, I will be happy to oblige, though I think the wing bolt will stay on.” The princess gestured her head at the balcony where outside, the sun was just beginning its ascent. “Just to make sure you don’t try to fly away.”
Shadow found herself laughing, against her better judgment. Then again, she had a history of ignoring her better judgment. “Don’t really think I have a chance flying from you, unless the rumors about you being bigger, stronger, faster than everypony else, and able to drop the power of the sun on a pony that upsets you aren’t true.”
“They are,” Celestia said, taking a sip of her tea as her aurora mane acted as if it was blown by a non-existent breeze, “but I prefer not to have to resort to such things. I like to think that all my little ponies are basically good, but some of them make a few bad choices now and then, which I suppose brings us to you.”
“So, is this the part where you try to convince me to abandon my thieving ways and take up an honest trade?” Shadow asked, trying to figure out just what Celestia’s game was. If she was just going to try and talk her into not stealing anymore… well, it wasn’t the first time she had heard that pitch. Didn’t change the fact that the thing she was best at in the world was stealing.
Celestia’s smile evaporated. “I would have liked that, and if I believed there was any chance for you to reform voluntarily, I would be happy to assist in anyway possible – but tell me, is that even a slight possibility?”
Shadow was many things: she was a thief, a career criminal, a seductress when the need arose, and quite aloof. However, one thing she most certainly was not was a liar. Every time she had been caught, she had confessed to whatever she had been charged with and suffered her time at the rehabilitation centers, until she had the chance to slip away quietly in the night. She wasn’t about to break that habit now. “No, your highness, my cutie mark and skills make me an exceptional thief, and I quite enjoy the work.”
“That’s what I thought,” Celestia said. “It always saddens me to see ponies such as yourself. Ponies who’ve chosen to reject the path of harmony. I spent a thousand years trying to stamp out every last trace of disharmony in Equestria, but ponies continue to slip through the cracks. Fewer and fewer, to be sure, but enough to trouble me. Enough to force meetings like this one.”
The black pegasus swallowed nervously, her jade-green eyes darting to the open window, wondering if the several-story fall wouldn’t be preferable to whatever the Princess had planned. “And what is this meeting about? If you don’t plan on talking me into reforming, you must have some other agenda.”
Celestia closed her eyes, her horn glowing with an amber magic. “We are having this meeting today so you can be reharmonized.” Shadow panicked at that, not liking the sound of the word “reharmonized” and deciding that potentially falling to her death would be a better fate than staying here a second longer. She managed to take three steps towards the balcony before the glowing magic enveloped her, and pulled her into the darkness.
***
A cursory examination upon waking revealed that she was no longer in Celestia’s tea chamber. It was a dark room, the lone source of illumination a single unknown light, with Celestia standing directly under it, staring into a mirror, a myriad of images flickering across the surface. “Don’t worry, my little pony, the reharmonization process is nearing the end of its first phase. We still have a little time left until I must begin my work in earnest, and I just want you to know that what happened to you growing up, that is completely unacceptable, and had I known about your mother when you were a filly, your reharmonization would have been much less intrusive. Ensuring you were in a properly nurturing environment would have almost certainly sufficed.”
Shadow felt something twinge in her forehead as she recognized the scenes in the mirror. The… magic, or whatever it was, was pulling the memories out of her head and putting them on display. “Where are we?” Shadow asked, trying to make the pain in her head stop.
“A bridge between our minds, a little space where we can interact. It won’t be much longer until our time comes to an end and my work begins, so if you wish to ask anything, let me know.”
“What– What’s going to happen?” Shadow asked, feeling a vague nebulous dread she had never felt before in her life. Instincts she had honed over several years told her something terrible was about to happen and she had no idea how to stop it; so instead, she steeled herself, hoping to gather enough information about what the princess had planned to save herself.
“I’m going to help you, Shadow. Mend the scars left by your upbringing, and leave you a different, better pony.” Celestia smiled while continuing to stare at the mirror. The images in the mirror were growing closer to the present day. “Don’t worry, I will leave your better features behind, make them a base for a new you.”
“You make it sound like I’m going to die,” Shadow said, taking a step back and looking at the darkness behind her. Maybe she could run into it, hide from Celestia, the princess who controlled the sun. Or maybe she could suddenly ascend to alicornhood and fight the princess head on.
“Not at all, my little pony,” Celestia said as the last images on the screen disappeared. “I like to think that you’re going to be reborn. Free of all your past hardships. Try not to worry too much.” As the princess spoke, she slowly faded away until only a floating head was left. “Was there anything else you wished for? I’m afraid our time to truly talk is up.”
“Any chance you can let me go free?” the pegasus asked, slowly creeping deeper into the shadows.
“Of course,” Celestia said, as the last of her flickered out of existence. “When you wake up you will be free of all the things that made you reject harmony.” With that, there was silence, and Shadow found herself alone in the empty place, the mirror in front of her the only object she could focus on. It was a familiar mirror, she thought as she took a cautious step forwards. It was grimy and smeared and cracked, but she remembered it. It was the first mirror she had ever owned. Back when she was still homeless, she had spent much of her free time staring at it, imagining what it would be like to look wealthy. To be wealthy.
Now, she was staring into it again, but it wasn’t her who was staring back out. The mare looked like her, but there were two obvious differences any observer would immediately detect. While Shadow had a black mane, tightly cropped, her doppelganger had a long brown mane tied in a loose bun. She checked the roots to see if she (or this version of her, at least) had started dying her mane. They were a solid brown, which meant it had been a magical alteration, but as she studied her near-reflexion, a voice in the back of her mind whispered that she’d always had brown hair, and the longer she looked at herself, the harder it was to say that voice was wrong.
Another difference worth noting, in Shadow’s mind, was the eyes. Shadow had prided herself in her keen vision, you had to have good vision in her business, so seeing another version of her wearing a pair of black glasses confused her for an instance.
The biggest difference in the eyes, though, was the hardness. Shadow wasn’t quite sure how to put it, but she always thought her eyes had a sharpness to them. They weren’t cruel or mean, she’d seen a few of those in her business, but they were wary. They were eyes that held back, for fear of walking into a trap. Her doppelganger’s eyes lacked that. In fact, Shadow thought, they were soft eyes. Eyes that had never seen fear, never gone hungry, eyes that had lived a life of happiness and contentment. But they were still eyes that watched her. That looked at Shadow as if they were seeing something utterly alien for the first time.
The look on her doppelganger’s face wasn’t one of fear or confusion, just interest, and Shadow felt as if the other her was busy studying her. Funny, Shadow thought, she’s studying me and I’m sizing her up as a mark. It’s… She couldn’t find the word to finish the thought, but she knew it was an important word. It highlighted the differences and similarities between them, the same basic action performed in different ways. What was the word? Symbolic? Metaphorical? Unconsciously, Shadow took a step closer to the mirror as she thought...
...and her doppelganger suddenly reached through it, wrapping her forelegs around Shadow’s and pulling her back through the mirror with her.
Shadow fell hard on the marble floor, her doppelganger apparently having vanished into thin air. She slowly got back up on her hooves, shaking off the aches and pains that came with her fall, and froze as she recognized her surroundings. It was the mansion, the first mansion she’d ever broken into, and the vase she had stolen was sitting right in the middle of the dining table.
She looked around, taking a step towards the vase, and realized that it both was and wasn’t the house. She recognized every object in the house; a few of them items she had stolen, but most of them items of other personal significance. Shadow trotted towards a familiar cloud blanket and memories flooded through her, the nights she completely cocooned herself in it to try to drown out the sounds coming from her mother’s room – Her mother and father tucking her into bed after telling her bedtime stories – She shook her head, trying to dispel the memory.
Where did that come from? Shadow thought as she took a step back from the cloud blanket. She turned back to look at the rest of the house and felt like she was about to be sick. Something had changed in the house. She didn’t know what it was, but it was all off. A telescope looked out at the night sky and Shadow took a cautious step towards it. It wasn’t supposed to be here. Shadow reached out to touch it and–
“Happy Birthday, dear,” Shadow’s mother – Moonbeam – said. She was a white pegasus with blonde mane, and she was currently passing Moon Gazer – Silent Shadow, not Moon Gazer – a box wrapped with paper covered in cute pictures of stars and moons. “I know it’s a bit early, but we thought since you’d just gotten your cutie mark, it wouldn’t hurt if we got you your gift early.” Moon Gazer – Shadow – looked back at the mark on her flank, a crescent moon partly obscured by a passing cloud.
Shadow – No, that was wrong, she was Moon Gazer. Right? Yes. Of course she was. Why did she think she was Shadow? – Moon Gazer quickly unwrapped the paper to find the X-200 Junior Telescope underneath it. “Thanks Mom! Thanks Dad!” she said, wrapping her forelegs around her mother’s neck before running over to her father to give him the same hug.
“We’re glad you like it,” her father – Stardancer – said, patting his daughter on the head while she flapped her wings excitedly, causing his front legs to lift off the ground. “Just don’t stay up all night looking at the night sky, no matter how pretty it is.”
The memory dissolved around Shadow Moon Gazer? and she found herself back in the mansion. She panted in terror, looking around the dining hall. Everything felt wrong; it was growing smaller, several objects from earlier, objects that she knew were important to her, were gone, and she couldn’t remember what they were. Shadow, definitely Shadow, pushed her forehooves against her head, trying to dispel her growing fear. “I’m Silent Shadow, I’m 20 years old, I’m the best thief in Equestria,” she repeated to herself as she walked through the house. In a closet, she saw the school bag she had worn to her first day of school, and she felt herself getting sucked into the memory.
Shadow, good, she was still Shadow, tried to hide under her wings at the schoolhouse. Her mother hadn’t bothered to walk her to her first day of school, why would she? She’d stayed up until 5:00 in the morning drinking, she wouldn’t get up at 7:00 to see her only daughter off to her first day of school. The other children flew around her like vultures, taunting her, the words “dark coats, dark minds” ringing in her ears. All she wanted to do was go to school. Shadow suddenly felt like she was being pulled through a rabbit hole lined with spikes as the world shifted around her.
Moonbeam’s forelegs wrapped around her daughter while Moon Gazer – Shadow – sobbed. “Hush, baby, it’s okay, just tell me what happened. Nopony here will hurt you, I promise.”
“They…” she sniffled. “They said I was evil. That only bad ponies had dark coats. That I was working with Nightmare Moon, and the only reason they said it was because I have a dark coat. It’s not fair! Why couldn’t I’ve been born with a purple or green coat?”
Her mother patted her on the back. “It’s alright, Moonie, you’re perfect the way you are. You aren’t secretly evil, are you?” Moon Gazer shook her head. “Then what do you have to worry about? Be better than them and prove them wrong.” Moonbeam kissed her daughter’s cheek. “And remember that we will love you no matter what.” Moon Gazer nodded before shoving her face deeper into her mother’s mane and coat.
Moon Gazer found herself standing in an observatory, looking at a night sky filled with constellations significant to her. She pushed a strand of brown mane behind her ears, her hoof brushing against the plastic of her glasses. Above her was her mother’s vase, while her cutie mark floated next to that. She smiled, recalling how she earned her cutie mark. The night she spent sitting on her cloud balcony staring up at the night sky, looking through her book on planets and stars and identifying as many as she could. When her parents found her sleeping the next morning, they told her she had earned her cutie mark. She’d been in love with the night sky ever since.
Then there was her mother’s vase, given to her as an heirloom after her parents’ passing a few years– Shadow screamed and was pulled back into the mansion. The ceiling was gone now, and she could see the stars above her, as the vase she had stolen sat alone on the table. The vase her mother had given her. It was so hard to remember the truth, as her mind flipped between worlds. One second. she was staring at the night sky, and the next, she was starving on the streets of Canterlot. One second, she was raised by two loving parents, and then she’d have a mother who would prefer it if she didn’t exist.
Shadow flew over the vase to protect it, to stop anything from changing her memory of it. It was hers. She had stolen it. Her mother had given it to her. She had to remember the truth. “I’m Silent Shadow. I’m Silent Shadow. I’m Silent Shadow. I’m Moon Gazer. I’m Silent Shadow.” Silent Shadow closed her eyes…
… And Moon Gazer opened them. She was sitting in Celestia’s tea room, and moved a forehoof to rub her forehead. Why did she have such a bad headache – and more importantly, why had she fallen asleep in the company of the princess? “You’ll pardon me, your highness, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She yawned. “For some reason, I have a terrible headache.” Moon Gazer glanced at the mirror. Her mane didn’t look too disheveled in its loose bun, and her glasses hadn’t fallen off while she was sleeping.
“It’s quite alright, my little pony,” Celestia smiled at her. “You only drifted off for a few seconds, and I couldn’t bring myself to wake you, knowing how late you have to stay up. Are you ready for your first night of work tonight?”
Moon Gazer nodded. “Of course, and I just wanted to say how happy I am to be interning at the Royal Observatory. I promise, I won’t disappoint you.”
“I’m sure you won’t, Moon Gazer, but it’s almost sundown. It wouldn’t do if you were late for your first day of work.”
Moon Gazer gave a gasp before running towards the balcony and flying off towards the observatory high in the clouds above Canterlot. As she flew away from the castle, a part of her wondered why Celestia had taken the time to congratulate an intern on her new appointment, before deciding it was just further proof of how kind and magnanimous her princess was.
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Damn. This story is so soul crushingly good.
Ah Celestia. So morally questionable.
4722103 It was all for the greater good!
This really shows a dark explanation for why Equestria is so crime free. Excellent work.
Like and Fave.
4722111 I could make a Tau reference here, but I'm a better person than that.
I like it! Finally, a story about hypnosis NOT filled with clop! Apparently hard for people to do.
4722380 Thanks! If you're curious, this story arose when my sister and I were watching Keep Calm and Flutter On. We got to talking about how messed up it was that reform spells are apparently a commonish thing in Equestria and that somehow led to this story.
4722317 First of all, I'm not sure what Tau is so I probably wouldn't get the reference anyways. Second of all, in my head, this story takes place in the main universe of the show, and I wanted to keep Celestia as in character as possible while still being a creepy tyrant lady. Hope I succeeded.
4722455 Essentially the Tau are a conglomeration of alien races originating from Warhammer 40,000 that live and work in a caste system that have names according to forces of nature. For example, there is a "Water Caste" made up of merchants, diplomats, and administrators.
The Tau are often seen as "Space Communists" and follow a philosophy called "The Greater Good".
4722479 Got it now! Thanks for the information. Space Communists sound fun.
4722499 They are, their main tactic is to sit off in the distance and pew-pew at their foes, which makes them a troll team.
4722521 I don't know, that seems a good strategy. I mean, when you have spaceships, being on the same planet as your enemy seems like a bad idea. Just throw rocks at them until you win.
4722529 It is, I never said it was bad. When you're facing guys in power armor three times your size, you don't want to fight CQB.
Forgot to mention, they also have the equivalent of jackals from Halo.
We should probably move this discussion elsewhere, though.
That would be horrible for anypony that decided to be evil. I mean, you don't just break them, you completely rewrite their past present and future.
I have so many mixed feelings about this story, on one hand I'm happy she doesn't have to be a criminal anymore, and that she now has a happy life. But on the other hand, what Celly did what very morally questionnable, she essentially removed who Moon Gazer used to be to make her fit into her society. Buuuut on yet another hand, she was a criminal, so it only makes sense that she gets punished, and this is by far the lightest and best punishment there is...
Anyway, love your story and your style, keep up the great work!
o.o
As a pirate, this story makes me afraid.
Very afraid.
We need a fear emote.
I hate Celestias guts. No one should push their morality down other ponies throats
Forcing anybody to be someone else than who they want to be is just wrong. Great story though.
4723824 Thanks, I was actually kind of hoping this story would make people think a little bit about what the right course of action was, glad I kind of succeeded.
So... therapy without consent. Well, it's not all that bad I mean, she was a criminal and she wasn't that changed... um...
No, still creepy as hell.
Tips: If you start a criminal career in Equestria, don´t forget keeping a hidden cyanide pill with you all the time.
Yeah, Celestia went too far in this. I'm one for thinking that just removing Shadow's apparent kleptomania would have been enough, not a total mind wipe.
See kids, this is what will happen if you use too much brain bleach at one time. You'll have visions of Celestia breaking through your window a forcefully rewriting your everything, in actuality, your brain will be slowly disintegrated as the bleach overwrites all your memories with kitten memes and pony hugs.
I like the concept and the execution, I always thought there had to be something wrong with Princess "loves absolutely everypony unconditionally" Celestia and now we know what it is. Be good or you will be made to be good, enjoying your free will, citizens?
4724468 Disharmony will not be tolerated.
4724374 Ah, but the stealing is the core of her being. It seems you can't change a cutie mark (shut up Twilight), but you can alter its context into something completely different.
Though I wonder if an accidental bit of thievery wouldn't pull poor Moon Gazer back into old habits.
Speaking of nothing I mentioned before:
Pronoun alert, unless Celestia also has the power of Rule 63.
Speaking of things actually on topic:
Obselescence has a great piece in a similar vein that you might enjoy, if you're into Mind Rape Tyrant Celestia.
4722111 As Lelouch (Code geass) once said,
Celestia basically murdered Shadow and replaced her with a twisted version of her.
I don't give me this "greater good" crap it's just an excuse.
4724635 I'm not saying she was in the right, I think her actions were morally reprehensible, but in Celestia's head, every terrible action has been justified as being for "the greater good."
There are so many story ideas that could come from this.
Celestia basically direct injects conformity into Shadow. Such a concept is horrifying in and of itself, but to think that it is being used to create a society that is not dissimilar to George Orwell's "1984" is quite thought-provoking. The destruction of an entire identity is what makes Celestia's actions not only unacceptable, but evil. The worst part is that by believing that Shadow's identity needed to be changed indicates to us readers that she believes Shadow's very existence was a mistake. No one is a mistake. To erase her is to say that there was nothing worth saving and no goodness in her at all. The Celestia in this story would possibly contend that there was goodness in Shadow, but her actions say otherwise.
4724883 If you want to write some of them, let me know, I'd be happy to read them.
As a Brony, I think this is a very odd take on Celestia and how she keeps peace.
As my normal sociopathic, bat-shit crazy self, I rather like this idea of reharmonization.
Bravo good sir! You have managed to amuse me for the duration of this story!
Dunno why but I couldn't help but think of Hitler when Celestia was doing hes whole thing.
4724655 I can see what you mean by that, I mean if you look at Equestria in the show, it's a utopia that hasn't seen war in over a 1000 years.
I can see were Celestia is coming from, but I simply can't agree with her actions.
And as the great Soild Snake once said,
A person's (or pony's in this cases) memories make he/she who he/she is and if you take those away that person/pony doesn't exist anymore you basically have killed/murdered him/her.
Basically what I getting at is I can see the logic behind Celestia's actions. The results speak for themselves. I simply don't agree with it.
4725327 True, but I always like villains who have more justification to their actions than "to take over the world." Tia is a villain, but in her head she is doing the right thing.
4724635 My thoughts exactly, Celly essentially killed her, and don't tell me she didn't deserve punishment, because she sure as hell did.
Besides, like I said in my other comment, Silent Shadow wouldn't have been happy in her life, even wiht how much she pretended stealing and watching other made her. She just had too many hurtful memories, and no way of sharing them with anybody.
She also did it for the greater good, just like Lelouch (and by the way I love you for referencing that). Celestia has to remove the bad individuals from Equestria in order to let the other ponies live in peace, and Lelouch essentially did the same; he sacrificed a lot of people (including himself) in order to achieve world peace for his sister and everyone else (though that was a mere side-effect to him).
And if you ask me, Celestia knows what she's doing isn't right, and that's killing her inside, but she's also aware it has to be done for her subjects.
4725546 Yes I do agree on that one. It is so refreshing to see villains with more complex and relatable motives then just the cliché "take over the world" motive.
It makes the villains much more 3 dimensional and in turn much more interesting. I would like to see how Celestia came to the conclusion that would call for such drastic actions. I mean that would be an interesting little story. Did Celestia just come up with it on a whim (which I highly doubt) or did some traumatic event happen in her life that caused her perception of reality to change.
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Exactly right, at least in this story, she just sees it as another unpleasant thing that comes with ruling. This is a mare who was willing to banish the pony she loved most in the world for a thousand years for the greater good. There is no line she won't cross to keep her ponies safe and happy, and if that means removing the bad parts of a pony's personality to "help" her, she will do it. She will hate herself for it, and there was actually a scene originally planned that showed Celestia's guilt, but I didn't like pulling the thoughts away from Shadow so I axed it.
I'm.... not sure how to feel about this... Horrified, for one, but I mean...... she is reformed, and happier...............................................
4726185 Then I did my job.
The only thing going through my mind the whole time was this:
media.tumblr.com/886e0086486c818f76db328e0f980b65/tumblr_inline_n8oae6p4ut1r2wxpz.gif
4725822 So for theft she deserves the death penalty?
WHAT!
I don't think so. I'm not saying that she didn't deserve punishment but not like that. No one deserves that kind of cruelty especially someone/somepony whose only crime is something as petty as theft.
I can see were you can get the Lelouch/Celestia comparison. Both are people who have done some morally questionable things to achieve what they thought was a greater good, however their is a difference. Lelouch never forced the world to a peaceful resolution. Those people did it themselves through their hatred of him.
You can't force peace and if you do it is not true peace. It's just a false peace built around lies.
Either I'm reading this wrong, or her father wasn't present.
I think the latter.
~Dash The Stampede
4726660 You are reading it absolutely right.
4726554
Your idealistic bullcrap is showing. "False peace" blah blah blah - peace is peace; FALSE peace would be if the peace was a cover-up for sinister corruption going on behind the scenes, plots to seize greater power and reduce the quality of life for the people. You make it sound like Celestia's doing something horrible. So, what would you have her do? Lock the criminals away in prison for a few years? Forever? That's a far worse sentence. Don't tell me it isn't, because if you're going to say that you really have no idea what you're talking about. It doesn't fix anything, nothing is solved by doing that. They have a correctional facility apparently. You get some chances to fix yourself and the help to do it.
That's more than you'll ever get in MANY places in our human world. Some of the greatest civilizations in history would lop off limbs for stealing so much as a BREAD CRUST and we are descended from them - yet you criticize Celestia? Civilizations where stealing would make the thief a slave to whoever he stole from. Free to be sexually abused and killed or living out a broken life until he died. It was normal. It was good. No one thought twice about it. Do a bad thing, bad things happen to you. Other places you just get killed. This is pretty darn merciful in comparison.
What Celestia has done, is reformatted one of her troublesome subjects. If I were some form of pathological dangerous element, stealing or scamming or scheming or plotting or murdering, and I had to choose between imprisonment, death, and... this. I'd take this. The first one is slow, it wears away at you... you can't even tell time anymore, just the schedule and when the sun's up or down. That 'fixes' you by grinding away what you used to be with soul-shattering and mind-numbing isolation and incarceration. There's a special kind of insanity for the people who can adapt to that situation - they have to close off their worldview, focus solely on the new miniature society within their place of imprisonment until it becomes effectively what the world used to be for them. Those in for the long haul who couldn't do that have been known to spontaneously die as it just got to be too much for them. The fear of wasting away in chains is what keeps most people from breaking the law in the first place, even on a subconscious level - it is that terrifying a prospect. It is NOT mercy. Just like there are those who die for being unable to adapt to life inside of this prison-society, there are those who just shut down and die once they get out, too - but people like you never care about that. If you're going to defend the sensibilities of how a prisoner who deserves their punishment is handled, don't just fucking pick and choose which kind you like best and forget the after-effects.
Death is fast. It'd probably also hurt, and fuck hurting. 'Nuff said. Still, a valid #2 on the final punishment scale.
But what amounts to basically a second chance? Getting rid of what all the problems in your head were? Sure, those problems were part of the old you. But the old you was BROKEN if you've been doing things so badly that you deserved this sort of punishment. I've seen this sort of concept before, and it always brings in people who scream moral outrage. "Omg she killed da person in da head and made da new person! Abloobloo." Put them in a pit for ten years? A hundred? The only reason that seems acceptable to such hypocrites is because of 'Out of sight, out of mind'. As long as you don't have to think about what they're going through, it doesn't offend your baby-soft sensitive ideals. But this way, her people can go on being safe from those who willingly cause them harm. And the ones causing the harm are returned to society as what amounts to potentially helpful new members of it. There's no point in defending someone who goes around boosting cars or breaking and entering or raping or murdering or what have you. If the punishment for their equivalent crimes is a mindwipe and reprogramming - then it is not only a mercy, it is actually IMPROVES society for everyone in it, and the person who was willingly destroying peace for no good reason is now a benefit to themselves and those around them.
Arguments that amount to "It's wrong because I don't like it!" Or "It's wrong because it's wrong!" don't hold water and are a travesty and insult to those of us who are mindful of actually imbalanced issues affecting society both at large and those who are on the wrong side of the law - the latter typically only those who don't deserve to be on the wrong side of the law, where the law itself is in the wrong. It's beyond aggravating to hear someone complain about Celestia reprogramming someone. Because let's face it. If you've fucked up enough that you consider a corrections facility to be a vacation before getting back to it, you deserve it - which is what Shadow did, and exactly what Shadow got. What they deserved. And now we got lovely, pleasant Moon Gazer out of the deal. I mean, unless you want to KEEP Shadow.
So, hypothetically. Let's say you're a pony and a criminal has gone up for reformation. You petition and scream and shout. Are you going to keep defending them when, for instance, the caveat to not mind-wiping this disruptive/destructive/dangerous criminal is that have to live in your neighborhood now? You and your family right next door to someone who can't stop doing the terrible things they've done? Who enjoys doing it? Maybe you'll wake up to see them standing over your bed, walking off with your jewelery. Maybe you'll find them trying to smother your loved ones with a pillow, or wearing your dog for a hat. Will you continue to defend them then? If, at any time, you doubt you could say they deserve to be treated better for their crime when the victim is YOU, then you are a hypocrite and need to retract your incessant complaints.
In the end. The greater good is what a kind-hearted and generous ruler has to sacrifice for. Be it some troublesome citizens who are bad news for the people around them - or even their own sense of ethics and innocence. There's no way Celestia can be at peace with what she has to do, or the things she's had to do in the past. She's taking away the burden on society by placing it squarely on her shoulders. Guilt after guilt on the back of an immortal who will always carry the pain with her. What she does makes her lands safe for children to grow and play and live in. It allows her people the freedom of self and expression they need to grow and thrive. Freedom from the fear that the person next to them might be stealing their livelihood or waiting to put a dagger through their neck. Peace. There's a few sayings, "Freedom isn't free." and the like. The meaning of that is that SOMEONE has to get their hands bloody in the hopes that tomorrow you'll be able to wake up and drink your coffee and go about your day. Someone, somewhere, is doing things that breaks their heart and praying to anyone who'll listen that you'll have a good life because of it. And not only do you not know, if you did you'd probably tell this person they were a monster. Which is effectively what you've done. You've implied that the former Element of Kindness, Celestia, is a monster.
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Hey Aurora and Zero, I'm glad my little story was able to broker a discussion about the rights of the individual versus the rights and needs of society, and I'm more than happy to have a debate about that in comments, but I'd like to remind both of you to be respectful of the other's opinion and refrain from name calling.
I'm all for discussion, but I also think mutual respect is important especially when we're discussing an issue with no easy answer. Just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood writer.
4727142
Odd. I don't think I called him anything bad. I don't really remember what I type up or what goes into it, and I don't feel like re-reading it at the moment. Oh well, if I did, apologies. Completely stream-of-consciousness in everything I do, so feeling strongly about something does tend to get a few people called bitches or whatnot now and again.
Not quite intended. ... Just, sort of there. If that happened, I'm honestly not sure at this point. Apologies to anyone offended if I did indeed actually insult someone.
4727216
I think I found this passage... let's call it unnecessarily combative, and more importantly, I saw the possibility of things getting worse if I didn't intercede and remind people to love and tolerate and such. I want people to feel free to comment on my stories. Anyways... my thoughts on the issue are that both sides are in the right considering the values at the center of their debate.
Zero values the sanctity of the individual, and so Celestia's actions that obliterate the individual's integrity would be reprehensible considering that value. In my understanding, you take a larger view of the situation and see Celestia's action as the lesser of myriad evils (As you pointed out, there are centers that focus on reforming ponies). In comparison to death or imprisonment, Celestia's action does the least amount of harm.
At least, that's how I see it, I should probably get back to writing stories and not giving my little commentary on what different people value and how it effects their interpretation of my story.
4727142 I am not really insulted. His comment was a little jarring but other then that it really didn't affect me. I do see a point to a lot of his statements. A lot of others I don't and will probably never agree on. But hay everyone has their own opinions on matters. There are as truths as there people, and I would have it no other way.
4727439
Congratulations. You are not an idiot. You are one of the rare few people who get to pass in my book.
4727439 Sorry, I guess I saw a risk of things going really south and wanted to put a quick reminder in there to be respectful and stuff before the debate continued. Apologies if I came across as a wet blanket.
4727488
A total wet blanket! For shame, Distaff. Though, your apprehension was likely well-founded. I will not hesitate to counter-attack people when they do catch an attitude with me, and things get pretty nasty from there out. Unless they're boring and have nothing interesting to argue about. Then I ignore them.
All the same, Zero, while I completely disagree with much of what he's said regarding views on the self and society, is not one of said such idiots. I may not agree with his ideals, but I can respect someone who sees something for what it is and responds in a well-mannered form of understanding and cooperation.
4727510 Welp, now that that's sorted, back to working on my chapter a day challenge. I think I saw someone trying to have fun in the comments to RPO so now I guess I have to wet blanket them as well.
That's messed up