I don’t know who you are.
You probably will never know who I am, that’s how they work.
If you are reading this, then I have failed to check in with my contact at the designated time which means one of three things:
1) The enemy has discovered me and I have been forced into hiding
2) I have been captured by the enemy
3) I have been executed by the enemy
Even as you read this, special teams of unicorns are likely being dispatched across Equestria to wipe any knowledge of my existence from the records and memories of the ponies. But who I am is not important. The important thing now is that you are reading this. In your hooves lays the truth. We serve a false god.
Since we were yearlings, the details of our pantheon have been drilled into our heads, the older sister that raised the sun and the younger sister that controlled the moon. Everypony knows the tale of Nightmare Moon and her rebellion and imprisonment all those years ago, but through my studies I came to an inevitable conclusion. These stories are lies.
I worked as a scholar within the high court of Canterlot and it was there that I stumbled across a strange list of titles and copyright dates that I had never seen before. Indeed, according to the other records no such works existed. The curiosity of it astounded me and I began to dig deeper. Eventually, I brought the list to the head scholar who was able to identify it as a list of books that had been banned over the last millennia, although he too claimed to have no idea that such books existed. He advised me that it was probably best to pursue the matter no further.
The list had piqued my curiosity, however, and my peers always considered me stubborn in my research. The list was diverse, containing texts of science, magic, history, even a few biographies and works of poetry. Under the pretense of studying abroad, I left Canterlot determined to discover if any copies had escaped the censors.
This proved much harder than I expected. No matter where I searched, no other libraries had records of the books on the list. After finishing inquiring within the respectable Fillydelphia Academy, I began to suspect that records and possibly even memories were being tampered with (a suspicion latter confirmed within one of the texts on the list). It wasn’t until I came to the small town of Paddocksburgh that I discovered what I was after.
When I arrived, an expedition team was headed into the old fort that was built there back in the frontier days shortly after the “fall” of Nightmare Moon. I volunteered to join them in hopes of discovering some older texts and was overjoyed when I discovered two of the titles on my list within its library. The first text was a book detailing the celestial bodies and how they functioned, the other a book of magic detailing different spells concerning the ability to hide and restore knowledge.
The book on magic was interesting, but I didn’t understand why it would be on the list. Then I read the astronomy text. At first I regarded it as blasphemy. The world revolves around the sun? Preposterous! Weren’t we taught that Celestia is the one that causes the sun to rise and set? And yet here was this book, explaining in detail the movements of the stars and showing the math that backed it up. The facts were indisputable. Celestia lied to us.
In light of this, I looked at the book on magic in a new light. One of the basic principles of the book was that knowledge once known could never be truly lost, only hidden. As such you can not erase every record of an event or fact, only obscure it and hide it away. In accordance with this, the book contained four basic spells in two pairs. One pair was for the hiding and revealing of written works, the other pair for the repressing and unlocking of memories. I quickly rented a room at the inn and sequestered myself away, preparing to summon several of the lost texts. I will do my best to sum up what I have learned.
Celestia never controlled the sun, nopony ever has. She is not the older sister of Luna either, rather they are twins. According to pre-imprisonment texts I discovered with the Revealing spell, Luna was indeed set to govern the moon and serve as a guardian over the world at night. Celestia, rather than controlling the sun as we were lead to believe, was appointed to govern the Constellations, powerful creatures imprisoned in the night sky. The text was not clear on who appointed them, but it is clear that they were appointed by a higher power and it was the same higher power that imprisoned the Constellations.
A memoir penned by a general who served during the Imprisonment War revealed another shocking truth: Luna did not instigate the conflict. Current doctrine proclaims Luna grew jealous of her sister Celestia, but the texts I have discovered reveal that it was quite the opposite. Celestia had grown lonely and weary of guarding the stars and had asked Luna to trade positions with her. Luna refused the offer for reasons unknown and Celestia grew angry. According to the book, Celestia promised the Constellations freedom to roam the world if they assisted in overthrowing her sister. This appears to be the true origin of the war. Celestia’s goal was not to protect the world from a jealous sister, but to imprison the one meant to protect. The reversal of positions between the story we have been fed for the last thousand years and the truth is notable as it is pointed out in the aforementioned book of knowledge that the closer the fabricated memories line up with the factual memories the more effective and convincing the substitution is.
From then on the two accounts begin lining up. Celestia was victorious and imprisoned her sister within the moon. It is probably safe to assume that the Constellations were loosed upon the world and that they or their decedents still inhabit it (most notably, the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor).
The most troubling things about these revelations are the implications. Considering the fact that the book detailing the magic of concealing knowledge and memories was upon the list of banned books alongside the other volumes detailing the truth of these events, this may be beyond a simple cover up.
At this point I am merely speculating, but isn’t it possible that if this magic was used to cover up the true events of the Imprisonment War, then the same magic could have been applied to cover up other things? What happened to the Everfree tribes of ponies during the expansion of equestrian? Why is it that the weather operates autonomously outside our borders or rather why must we alter the weather ourselves? How is it that in the last thousand years, if Celestia is truly without the power she claims, we have suffered no war, famine or natural disaster?
I have included with this letter detailed instructions regarding the spell to unlock repressed memories and knowledge as well as the list of banned texts. Use them if you wish. At the time of this writing, I seek to gain audience with Luna to ask her of these events. It may be that she herself has been affected by the spell, in which case I will do my best to restore her memories. It is very likely the Princess is being watched and I may not return.
In any event, the fact that you are reading this means I have been found out. You are one of fifty to receive this letter, seek out the others. Knowledge once known cannot be erased. If you are reading this, you know the truth. If you are reading this, you are the resistance.
Good luck and godspeed.
They came for her in the night and, for a while, Bright Eyes had wondered if she had done the right thing. Now she was sure of it, and there was nothing they could do to convince her otherwise. It was kind of funny, in a way. After all her adventures traveling with the Doctor, after all the times they had saved the day and all the life threatening moments they had been through… this is where it ends; in a damp, forgotten dungeon somewhere in Canterlot.
She didn’t know the unicorn that had come to her so many weeks ago, but what he had revealed to her was irrefutable. The world she had been raised to believe in was a carefully fabricated lie, a conspiracy designed to empower a dictator under the cover of utopia.
On the day that the mysterious unicorn failed to contact her, she committed herself to the truth. Following his instructions, she delivered the fifty letters to the list of ponies he had told her to memorize. The grey pegasus had known it was only a matter of time before they found her, but her part had already been done. The letter was right, ideas and knowledge never die.
Bright Eyes had lost track of the days she had spent in her cell, but the night she was taken was still fresh in her mind. It was just after sunset when the guards burst into her home. Her pet snake that she sometimes took out on mail runs had leapt to defend her, but was quickly crushed under a sturdy hoof. She didn’t resist. The guards were much larger than she and she knew fighting back would only mean more pain. They bound and blindfolded her, taking her to this miserable pit. Bright Eyes was only able to get a vague location from her attuned sense of direction, speed and travel time she had obtained over her career as a mail pony. That was when the interrogations began.
It started with simple questions, like who she was and where she grew up. After that they got rough. Even now, lying in the cold, dark cell, her body still ached everywhere from the kicks and the bashings. Bright Eyes smiled at the memory, not because she relished the pain but because of the determination she had found. After all, she was no stranger to being beaten. Her father, the pony responsible for her wall-eyed gaze, had taught her how to endure. Day after day, beating after beating she laughed at her captors. They did nothing to her that hadn’t already been done before.
She used to keep track of the time by the beatings, which came in roughly twelve hour intervals. Some days they would just kick her. Other days had them bringing out the whip, or the rod. On very special occasions they would attach strange wires to her that caused her entire body to go stiff with a jolt. However it was all pain, and pain she could deal with. But lately they had stopped the beatings. The mail pony had been laying in the dark for what seemed like an eternity this time. Stop thinking about that, she told herself. They’re just trying to psyche you out. She didn’t dare admit to herself that it was working.
With a rusty creak, the far door swung open and blinding light rushed into the cell. Blinking, Bright Eyes stared into the light and readied herself for the inevitable beatings to come. However, when her eyes adjusted it was not the guards that stood in the doorway but Celestia herself.
“So you’re the pegasus I’ve been hearing so much about,” Celestia mused softly. “I must say I’m not impressed. Just what exactly did that unicorn see in you?”
Bright Eyes sat up and glared defiantly at the monarch. She wasn’t about to back down now.
“I see.” Celestia laughed. “That glare would be much more effective if you used both your eyes. Regardless, you have some knowledge that I am interested in. If you provide the list of ponies that you sent the letters to for me then we can both forget any of this ever happened, you more literally than me. Your wounds will be healed and you can resume your life like nothing had ever happened. Continue to refuse however and there will be… consequences.”
Bright Eyes scoffed. “You have no power over me.”
“Oh really?”
A bright light flashed from Celestia’s horn and Bright Eyes gasped as a sharp pain cut across her shoulders. Two grey and bloodied wings flopped lifelessly to the ground. Bright Eyes stared at them in shock. She was dimly aware of a wet sensation trickling down her shoulders.
“Flight, magic and strength are the gifts I bring to the ponies of Equestria.” Celestia smirked. “To deny me is to deny these gifts.”
Bright Eyes fought through the pain, looking at the suddenly cruel dictator before her through tear filled eyes. “I will not submit to you.” Oh goddess it hurts.
Celestia sighed. “Very well. I have tried to be civil with you; many would even call me generous. Unfortunately, the fact that you have been somewhat less then cooperative has forced my hand.” Her horn began to glow. “If you will not give me the information then I will simply have to take it.”
Bright Eyes fell to the ground; eyes rolling into her head as she felt magic fingers pry open her mind. It was if a flood gate had been opened, memories and events pouring into her head and overloading her senses. Her family, her first encounter with the Doctor in her garden before Winter Wrap Up, the day she took her pet snake Trousers in, it all came rushing back. Memories she cherished. Memories she wished had stayed forgotten. The body of the grey pegasus spasmed on the ground, blood starting to drip slowly from her nose. Bit by bit, the flow of memories was trimmed down. Each decisive cut sent a spike of pain through Bright Eyes’ head as Celestia continued to excise the unwanted memories and push them to the side. The mail pony let out a whimper as the memories of the strange unicorn were singled out and…
Celestia grunted, stumbling back a bit. “That cheeky son of a gelding, he knew this would happen.”
The grey pegasus lay gasping on the ground, mind still recovering from the stress it had endured. Her eyes still rolled in terror and her body still gave the occasional shudder as though trying to shake itself free of the suffering it had endured. As the bits and pieces of her mind fell back into place, Bright Eyes slowly realized something was missing. Try as she might, she could not figure out what had been forgotten. She wanted to hide. Blood flicked from the clean cut stubs as she tried to curl up inside wings that were no longer there.
Celestia was muttering curses to herself. “He must have known we’d try and extract the information from you. Some kind of counter spell… something we’ve never seen before. It’s a pity that the unicorn chose to work against us in the end; his talents really were quite remarkable.” She regarded the gasping pony with a glare. “It would seem you no longer have the information we seek. Your friend had at least that much foresight, however I have never been known as one to waste valuable resources. I think we need to make an example out of you for the sake of your companions.”
Bright eyes peered at the monarch with her broken eyes. “You would make me a martyr?”
“I would make you a warning,” Celestia whispered.
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FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Record of Relocation
Subject: Bright Eyes
Former Location: Ponyville
Relocated To: Fillydelphia Mental Hospital
Overseer: Sturdy Step
Summary: Subject Bright Eyes underwent memory realignment procedures to conceal the heretical thoughts and memories she exhibited. Following the procedure, the subject was subjected to a mental scrambling, rendering her speech indecipherable and her remaining memories confused. Following protocol, the subject was admitted to the secure wing of the Fillydelphia Mental Hospital under the pseudonym Bubbly Shines with instructions to observe her closely for memory resurgance. The attending physicians were informed that the severed wings were the result of a self inflicted injury and placed on high alert for further self-destructive activities. Should any sign of memory resurgence present itself, the subject’s incoherent dialogue should provide us with enough time to perform additional realignment as necessary. A follow-up report will be filed in six months to determine the success of the relocation. According to official records, Bright “Derpy Hooves” Eyes died following a tragic flying accident.
Other Notes: A special order was given during the memory realignment and mental scrambling to leave the memory of the sensation of flight completely intact, presumably as a reminder of what the subject had lost as punishment. During a scan of the subjects memories prior to realignment, certain events concerning a mysterious entity known as “Doctor” were presented. An extended investigation of this matter is now under way.
Signed:
Relocation Overseer
Sturdy Step
