The Greatest Lie In Equestrian History

by Deep

Long Live The Queen

The sunset was so similar, and yet nothing like it once was.

Twilight blinked her eyes to make sure the view around her was real. Each blink only helped to solidify it. Broken roads, decaying huts made of stick and straw and a sky grayer than fresh ash engulfed her field of view. No matter where she turned, a chipped away home lay or the blackening dirt that surrounded it. The young princess's heart pounded, but not from the atmosphere.

Below Twilight's hooves was a dot on the ground. It wasn't painted, but looked and felt like a part of the earth itself. It spread out in three directions, all equiangular, and shot into the town towards the ponies that inhabited it.

The faces of the ponies were grayer than the sky. None stepped over the line and in fact all kept as far as they could from it. Mothers kept their hooves over their young, lest they stray too close.

All the ponies stayed in their respective areas, caged by the forces that separated them. Nopony from one area gave so much as a smile to a pony in another; they didn't even look at each other.

Twilight felt her body ripping into three as she took a step.

Each area only had one type of pony, one race. One area of for unicorns, one for pegasi, and one for earth ponies. Each type kept to themselves in their own section; the only looks that met between the three were ones of menace and distrust. Twilight had never seen separation with her own eyes; she felt like she belonged nowhere, not even in the unicorn section. The dot was where she kept her hooves.

Even amongst the same race the ponies passed each other by like the other didn't exist. No smiles, no hello, not even a nod of existence; everypony was in their own world, alone, lost in the rush of their own lives.

A million ponies surrounded each of them, and yet still they were alone.

This place isn't real. This place isn't real... Princess Celestia's...

The sunset was familiar; she had seen it before. The way the sun sunk into the mountains, the way the approaching shadows blanketed the forests.

She had seen it just last night.

Twilight looked up and saw Canterlot on the mountain it always was, and herself staring up at it like she always did.

Her home had left her.

Twilight's heartbeat pounded through her bones, but just as her chest couldn't take anymore, a smile shot up on her face. I get it now... This is just a vision of what Ponyville and Equestria would be like if Princess Celestia never unleashed the windigos...

And with that in mind, she let out a sigh, finally able to understand.

I get it, Princess... you had no choice... I might not agree, but I understand.

Two seconds. That was all the time Twilight could keep up her smile.

As she gazed at the nightmare around her, the sight of a statue caught her attention in the unicorn section. The statue had wings though, as well as the neck harness of an earth pony. In fact, it was a spitting image of Princess Celestia, at least from where Twilight was standing.

Twilight flew to it, though she never made it more than halfway. She fell onto the ground, unable to move.

The statue was of an alicorn, but its cutie mark was not a sun. A star encrusted the alicorn's flank, surrounded by five smaller stars. On the bottom of the statue was, "Queen Twilight Sparkle."

The future queen collapsed to the ground in tears. No... I would never... I can't ever...

As Twilight stayed on the gray dirt, next to image of what she would allow, the world around her began spinning. One second she would see the future of her creation, and the next an image of the three tribes of the past arguing as the snow and ice surrounded them. One second her kingdom dying around her, the next the yells and curses of the three races towards each other. It all mixed together until her head, wings and body began pulling themselves apart from each other.

She let out a shriek of horror, but it was of no use. Her wings left her, as then did her body and hooves. An instant later her horn uprooted itself from her until she was nothing more than a lone head caught within the tornado.

The next thing Twilight knew she was once again in the throne room of the royal palace, back below her mentor and leader.

Twilight immediately dropped to the ground, "I understand," she said, shaking, "I understand..."

Celestia nodded, "I'm so sorry you had to see it for yourself... but sometimes," her serious face broke down and she faced down, frowning, "The only sane decision is the one least sane..."

"Just tell me one thing, please..." Twilight said, "Why?" Celestia raised her head. "Why will friendship die? Why did it before?"

Celestia sighed, "I... do not know." Twilight's eyes cracked. "It is as with all things... everything has a beginning, and an end... Just as we must all go one day so much friendship... however... while we cannot be brought back, friendship can be made eternal..."

Celestia took a step towards her daughter, "All it takes is one pony, willing to risk it all." She extended her hoof towards the pony on the ground, "Twilight, will you make friendship eternal?"

Twilight grabbed Celestia's hoof and stood up, now able to look her mentor in the eye, "Of course."

She may as well have been staring into her reflection.

Author's Note:

Hope you all liked the story

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Comments

[Borderline Valley]

This chapter was... interesting.

It didn't really tell us anything we didn't already know from the previous chapters. It also left the exact nature of the spell Celestia used as an open question (was that an illusion to get the point across or some kind of clairvoyant alternate future spell?).

It did illustrate precisely what was at stake in Celestia's decisions, however, and being exposed to such a thing so viscerally goes a long way in convincing Twilight that Celestia has the right of it, which makes sense.

All in all though, I liked this short-story. Nice work.

[Wroth]

The problem is that it's only what Celestia seems to have imagined the future to be.

Could friendship have blossomed over time rather then with force as it was? Did all those need to die to force things as it were? Did the Alicorns need to involve themselves at all?

Twilight is thinking too emotionally, rather then thinking for herself she lets Celestia do her thinking for her, swaying her views yet again.

[Raichu]

Whoa. That ending. It makes me grin. Great story, great job. This story is a very interesting one and it makes you think. I love stories that do that as long as they don't make you think too much. But still, great job with the story!

[Mantech1]

Without the Windigo's Equestria would've come about for different reasons, granted it might not have the same name but the basic idea members of all three tribes living together in peace may remain the same.

Imagine the nation coming about because of ponies from each tribe getting sick of the constant bickering and fighting and decide to try and leave that all behind, these refugees find one another and noting how the others look bone weary themselves opt to talk instead of fighting or fleeing.

This wouldn't instantly result in sunshine and rainbows for all because all three groups of refugees would have to work for that peace though as the years go in it would become easier for them to get along especially if their foals become freinds. Over the course of time a steady stream or refugees might join them once they hear of this land free of war until the current tribal leaders back in the ancestral lands hear about this and finally decide to put a stop to it (either because their populations are shrinking alarmingly or because each covets the land for their own reasons).

Although a different thought just occured to me. What if this Celectia had fought Discord quite some time before her and Luna petrified him without knowing it? What if he did manage to corrupt her with that spellbook? What if she's still corrupted to some extent?

[Cromegas_Flare]

I want to read this one, I really want to read this one.

You know, I'm going to read this one.

[klystron2010]

Well, damn. This was pretty cool.

[Dapper Guy]

Having read this, I'm not sure exactly what to feel. This all seemed like high risk, high reward kind of situation. Without the Windigos, no unified Equestria. However, if everything had failed, there would've only been complete genocide. It all came down to three ponies putting their differences aside for this to work. Why would she go through all of this?
With time, maybe the sparks of friendship could've been reignited. This just all seem to drastic. Conjuring up creatures that feed off hatred to save others? I feel like Celestia is mad beyond reasoning to do this. Is it even true friendship if it's all a lie, forced coercion for everypony to get along if they're to be punished by freezing to death? It just seems wrong.

[Deep]

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the way I think of it, Celestia's purpose in life is to spread friendship. Raising the sun is just a superficial purpose. Simply put, she couldn't take living in a world where friendship wasn't supreme. It ate away at her until she was driven mad and forced to do this.

[Witchrblizzad]

UM... Ima just gonna go to the humane world now... BYE!

[Alex Warlorn]

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Pony POV Series.

[Hey its that Pony]

Just found this story. Considering how G5 has opened up with it's premise, this story almost seems prophetic.