//------------------------------// // An Addictive Goal // Story: Tales of First Contact: Tragedy // by Banjo64 //------------------------------// The stallion worked. He mixed his chemicals, cooked his crystals, and slowly turned his beautiful masterpiece into its final form. He didn’t stop when he heard a small commotion outside. He didn’t stop when he heard the door open. He didn’t even stop when he heard her voice. Her lovely, perfect voice. “Put that down,” ordered Princess Celestia. He didn’t. He was tempted, certainly, but his devotion trumped his awe at her presence. “I was wondering when you’d find me, but I must admit I’m honored you decided to show up and thank me face to face,” he said. If he had turned around, he would have see an expression of unfathomable rage. “Thank you? Thank you?! After everything you’ve done?! Have you completely lost your mind?!” cried Celestia. He sighed. It was clear that her hooves were still tied. Oh well, it couldn’t be helped. At least he had ensured that she would soon be freed of such bonds. “Not in the least. I’m simply the only pony still sane. Aside from you, of course. But I understand why you needed to play along. Now that it’s over, everything will go back to the way it should be,” he said. “Over? This is far from over. Despite your best efforts, not every human has fallen to your poison,” said Celestia. “I know. Just give me another hour, and I’ll be ready to fix that with this one last dose,” he said. His entire lab was bathed in a golden light, as with a flare from her horn, Celestia reduced everything in the building except the two of them to ash. “You are delusional. I have not come to applaud you. I have come to stop you,” said Celestia. The stallion sighed. Oh, how he hated politics, forcing the princess to act against her perfect will. “Oh well. I understand how your hooves have been tied. But don’t worry, your highness. It’ll almost be impossible for them to survive now. There are simply too few of them left,” he said. “Unless we finished that counter-measure,” said Celestia. The stallion chuckled. He knew she had to say as much, but was actively sabotaging that potential problem from within. Why else would she be pushing it’s development so directly? Her perfect will would not be stopped by such a petty effort. “Perhaps, but I remain confident it will not work. The humans will most certainly die out,” he said with a smile. Celestia looked at him with an expression of utter horror. “You… you monster! You knew this was going to happen! This was your plan from the very start!” she cried. “Of course I did. And now everything’s coming together perfectly for everypony,” he said. Celestia was silent for a moment. “Why… why would you do this? Why would you ever consider something like this?” she asked. “Because it needed to be done. I had discovered an opportunity with my formula, and I simply acted on it like any decent pony would,” he said. Celestia shook her head in disbelief. “You truly believe that you have acted justly. Can you not see that no villain in all of Equestria’s history has been responsible for the amount of death and suffering you've inflicted?” she asked. The stallion laughed. “Oh, please. That’s only true if you include non-pony lives. Those apes hardly count. Nopony objects to the slaughter of insects, and this was simply pest control,” he replied. Celestia’s anger boiled over. She slammed a hoof to the ground, cracking the stone floor. “Pests?! You dare call such a people that?! They have never pretended to be perfect, but neither are we! You speak as if we are superior to them! We stood to gain so much from each other! How could you possibly consider their destruction to be a good thing?!” demand Celestia. The stallion shook his head. “Ever since that portal opened, I’ve seen it. You hated dealing with them. Whenever you appeared, you were tired and stressed. Your perfect body and mind were ruined by them with every meeting. You never dared to say it out loud, as those filthy politicians would surely threaten us if you did, but you most certainly wanted them gone,” said the stallion. Celestia looked at the stallion in horror. “I couldn't stand to see you in such a state, so I resolved to do something to help you while your hooves were tied. And then I discovered my formula. Easy to convert to a gas form, highly addictive to humans, and best of all, it only takes a small sample to render them sterile. A few well place balloons, and the apes were doomed,” said the stallion with a reminiscent smile. “You… you committed this heinous crime just because I chose not to hide behind my glamor? Because I wanted to show both worlds that I was only a mortal pony?” asked Celestia. The stallion shook his head. This was where he drew the line. He would not let the facade force her to speak so things. “Please, your highness, don’t waste your breath on such hollow blasphemy in my home. I have remained forever loyal to your divine will. You don’t have to pretend to be less than what you are: a perfect goddess,” said the stallion. Celestia didn’t answer right away. She turned away and looked at the ash covered walls. “For as long as I’ve worn this crown, I have tried to remind my ponies that I am hardly flawless. I have made mistakes. Some had very far reaching consequences. I have never declared myself to be anything else than a pony with great power and a long life. And yet, time after time, ponies like you appear. You destroy yourselves and others simply because you are convinced that I am simply hiding my true nature,” she said. The stallion bowed. “And that is why your most loyal of servants shall always bow to your will. You are as humble as you are…” he said. “SHUT UP!” cried Celestia in the Royal Canterlot Voice, her mane and body flaring up with the sun’s fury. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?! YOU HAVE COME A HAIR’S BREADTH AWAY FROM COMMITTING XENOCIDE! YOU HAVE REDUCED AN GREAT AND POWERFUL PEOPLE TO A SMALL HOOFFULL OF SURVIVORS! AND ALL IN MY NAME?! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO DISGUSTED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!” she roared. Even in her anger, she was beautiful. “So you must say, to retain your image. I understand, of course. You must publicly punish me to appease the remaining apes. I will gladly take whatever you prepare, for I know that once they are gone, you will put my name among those who gave their lives for your greater glory,” said the stallion. Celestia’s fire burned out. She looked at the bowing pony in disgust and sighed. “You are delusional. Completely and utterly delusional. The only favor you have granted me is proving once and for all that I cannot permit such blind devotion to remain in any form. I have never approved of it, but now it is clear that I must take measures to stomp this madness out entirely. It is quite fortunate that I was able to befriend so many human leaders before this happened, or your foolish stunt would have killed us all,” said Celestia. The stallion looked up in confusion, but did not object. He knew this was just an act. “Do you know just how powerful they are? Of course not. If you did you never would have considered destroying them. It is indeed stressful to deal with them, but that is because they are too strong to bow to me. It has been so long since I dealt with such beings, and I enjoyed every moment of it. And with their technology and philosophy, I saw them helping us reach a new golden age of growth and learning,” said Celestia. Celestia turned away. “But that will no longer be possible, thanks to you. This new age will always be smeared by this terrible horror. Even if we manage to save humanity, and they can find it in their hearts to forgive us, this scar will never fully heal. And even if I had secretly desired such a thing, there will most certainly be those who will blame me for this, and I will face even greater hardships as a result. You have done nothing for me, you fool,” said Celestia. The stallion didn’t respond. He had to admit, even when spouting lies, she was perfect in every way. “As for your punishment, I have never been more sorely tempted to issue a death penalty as I have with you. To be quite frank, I might have given in if I hadn’t decided that it wouldn’t be my life to take. I also realized that such a fate would be far, far more merciful than you’d deserve. Instead, I have decided to inflict a punishment even greater than death,” declared Celestia. “I have ordered all proof of your existence removed. Birth records, scientific research, and everything you own has had your name removed from it. I even plan to ensure that when the history books are written about this disaster, you name is forgotten and lost forever. You will only be remembered as ‘the stallion who nearly slaughtered humanity.’ And that’s not all,” “I have also revoked your Equestrian citizenship. The part about this you should be most concerned about is that you no longer have any legal rights. If you are killed, it will not be persecuted as a murder. Which bring me to the final part of your punishment. When I discovered where you were hiding, I made certain to let a friend of mine know as well,” said Celestia. The door opened, and a human with a gun stepped inside. The stallion’s last thoughts weren't of regret or shame, only delight that the ape born all the signs of addiction to his drug. Truly, his work was beautiful, and while the goddess’s hooves were tied in this world, she would surely reward him in the next life. BANG!