The day had begun like any other on the long journey to Gorgetown; Celestia raised the sun for her loving subjects before they continued on their trip. The Princess had retained her good stature throughout the entirety of the journey, and those she travelled with did so as well. Her guards remained solemn and quiet while the overseer of the settlement, an old earth pony friend of hers named Sir Walter Nieghly, had been doing everything in his power to find a faster way through the Everfree. Uprooted trees had been blocking their path through for some time now as though a powerful storm had passed through the forest recently; an unusual event even for this forest.
“Do forgive me, Dear Celestia” Walter began hesitantly, “I’d never imagine that I’d be keeping you from your castle so long. Why, it’s been more than a month. But even so I must say that I am astonished by your patience and sense of duty. Every morning you’ve been raising the sun even after your court offered their support in taking full responsibility...” Walter spoke with class both apologizing and praising the fair royalty. It had been silent for most of the day, and in his mind, a silent trek is a longer one.
“No, no. Tis nothing, Walter. We knew full well just where thou were taking us. We see no problem in the journey being long.” Celestia spoke with the regal tone that always accompanied her soothing voice. “And the raising of the sun hast been our duty since we were just a little filly. It wouldn’t be very right if we had let our role as princess interfere with such an important task. Tis the least we can do for our supportive subjects.” The young Alicorn’s voice carried with it a modest grace.
“My dear, Celestia, you really must stop talking in that dead old way. You and your sister really must break that habit; it makes you sound like my grandmother, and you two are far too young to be reminding me of her.” Walter chuckles as he nonchalantly pats his hoof against her wing. Celestia giggles a bit, but sees his point “We will try” is all she can say while he finds leeway to continue. “Speaking of your dear sister, how is the old girl? It feels as though it’s been ages since I last saw the two of you together.”
“How much further wouldst thou say our destination is? The way thou hast been describing thy town has left quite the impression.” Celestia smiles as she subtly changes the subject, wondering how much longer she has to wait. She obviously wants to keep the conversation going. She too knows it will help the time go by as they travel.
“Ah yes, Gorgetown. It’s everything I’ve told you and more, my dear. This will be the place for all of our kind to reside together as one!” Sparks of pride fill his eyes at the mere mention of his town’s name. His gait becomes straighter and the hint of happiness brings his deep gritty voice near giddiness. “You truly must see it for yourself, Princess! Our buildings are made from the highest quality lumber available, straight from Whitetail Wood! So they stand tall and sturdy as they gleam in the sunlight! We have everything for everypony! And you simply must see the river town we built on the clouds just off the edge of the gorge. I think you’ll find it to be more than worthy of your gaze. Yes, my town has diversity, my good lady, unlike that atrocious Manehatten I keep hearing of.”
Celestia can’t help but giggle at his change of character. The town lies near, and they will be upon it shortly; allowing him one more moment couldn’t hurt her. “My you get quite excited whenever we talk of your town, Walter. But if you don’t mind me asking, I’ve been curious as to why you chose this gorge as the location of your town. It’s very secluded and away from the eyes of the outside. It makes me worrisome; what if something were to happen here, Walter?”
“Nonsense, my girl; Gorgetown will be the place that brings us all together, and this gorge is the only place fit for it. It offers the land needed for earth ponies and unicorns, while also providing ample airspace for the Pegasi. Just set down the cloud foundation and the charmed wooden planks, and Voilà! You have the Floating-Land city of Gorgetown!” Walter is practically yelling as he finishes his description; His excitement is starting to get the best of him. He even hops in joy at the end of his speech. This was his dream after all, and he made it come true through his own hard work.
But one of Celestia’s many soft giggles brings him back down from his elation. With a quick look over he notices his own foolishness. “Hmph hmph” Walter cleared his throat and regained his composure, but he just couldn’t help but to keep the same cheeky grin on his face. “As... as for the safety of the settlement; don’t you worry about us! Gorgetown has the strongest of earth ponies, fastest of Pegasi, and most talented of unicorns.”
The group had exited the forest and was now entering the clearing before the town’s main street. They all converse amongst themselves before their eyes are caught. Everything becomes quiet as they step closer. All except for Sir Walter, whose eyes remained closed due to his boasting.
“They are all as sturdy as the settlement beneath their hooves,”
“Walter...,” Celestia’s voice feebly attempted to interrupt her friend’s words.
“I am positively certain that they can handle whatever this world has to throw at them. We are a town of fighters I must sa...”
“Walter!” The short, loud boom of her voice made his name seem almost like thunder.
The outburst meets Walter with his guard down, and the sound causes him to jump from shock. He stumbles to his back and begins to breath heavily; not from the shock, but from the sight! “D-dear Celestia!” Walter’s whimper takes the words out of everpony’s mouth, even the princess herself. The town, this future city, must have been such a wonderful place when it first came to be; now it’s the sight of something gruesome, grotesque, and sickening.
The storm had made its way here as well. Windows were broken, beams shattered, and even entire structures toppled. The colony is in ruins, a ghost of its former self. The blood, sweat, and tears that were put into this dream have all been washed away during the storm. And sadly, this isn’t the worst part.
Almost immediately Celestia turns to her guards. “Check for survivors! Go into every building, home, and store and find what you can.” Her Pegasus guards take off without hesitation or question. Then, as they are nearly out of sight, she adds “Report on any missing or broken property!” Her usual peaceful tone is now replaced with the sternness of a leader. Her guards gone, she is now alone with the slowly breaking Walter. They both stand in silence, the soft sound of a morning breeze breaking tension every now and then, in the middle of Mane Street. The sights are hard to bear, even for the goddess.
Not too far from where they stand lies the body of young mare, her snow-white coat stained with blood. Her chest has been torn asunder, and her ribs broken entirely out from her body; they now hang above her head off of an awning, having been crafted into a crude wind chime. The two know that the experience must have been agonizing, but the mare died smiling as though in a peaceful sleep. She appeared to have experienced no pain at all. Celestia can’t help but to wonder why this is so. The poor girl doesn’t look like she’s been moved since she died. Why does she look like this? How could no one have seen as she was so gruesomely eviscerated, in such an open area?
She looks away to see that not too far from the mare, the body of a colt is nailed to the side of a building. His tan coat matches the shade of the wooden wall and both are nearly entirely painted with crimson. There is a large nail through each of his hooves, leaving his body spread-eagle against the wood, and as Celestia’s eyes roam over his body, she notices a large hook still lodged in the fresh wound of his belly; a fishing hook based on Walter’s tales. From the wound spills what appears to be a large portion of his intestines, with several other organs lying in a pile on the ground. The colt had been gutted like the creature the hook was designed for. Her eyes wander up to his face to see the very same smile and the same look of peace that she had seen on the mare.
Walter gags loudly before vomiting. He turns away from his princess and tries to make it go by as quickly as possible, not wanting her to see him in such a state. To honor him, and leave him with some dignity, she looks away—truthfully she had forgotten he was even there—and continues to wander her eyes around the main street of Gorgetown. Behind them shadows start to roll up as the clouds from last night’s storm return. The unpredictable weather of the Everfree has gotten the better of them in this situation. Luckily, this time it’s just a shower, and nothing more. Almost anything could add to the burden at this point, yet it feels welcomed, as if needed, by the both of them. At the beginning the drops were slow and heavy, but now they’re so light and rapid that neither could feel them. It feels just like crying, as if the forest itself is sharing the pains of those gone.
Several minutes pass and it becomes clear to Celestia that her guards aren’t returning. So she presses on through the desolate shell of the town, trying to leave Walter with –what might be- much need time alone, but instead he slowly trails after her in fear of just that. The town seems to open up with each step, as though it wants her to see each individual death from the slaughter portrayed in front of them. Each new sight continues to strike at her being. She never knew any of these ponies; any names or traits of personality are absent. She can only see them now as subjects she has failed to protect, and that thought deeply saddens her. It’s been a while since the burden of leadership was this heavy on her, but even so she’ll still bear it without falter.
Sadly the same cannot be said of Walter, for each step further is another step towards madness. Unlike the princess, he knows these ponies; they were his friends, some even his family. Actually, they were all like family to him. Everyone shared the journey he took, the work he made, and even the dream that he himself created. The moments he had shared with them are flooding his thoughts as he walks. Each flowing pulse slams against his mountainous mind and slowly erodes it down to the size of a pebble. These ponies are all gone now, and he’ll never hear their voices ever again. This realization hurts so much that he starts to cry like he did when he was a child.
The breakdown leaves Walter in a bit of a daze, so it doesn’t take long for him to fall flat on his face. Well as flat as you could get with the face of a pony… anyway, instead of picking himself back up, he just lies there looking as pathetic as he feels. Looking forward again- past the many tears- he sees the princess stopping to look back at him. She doesn’t say anything; she just waits for him to stand up again like he always would when he falls. Walter just looks back at her in silence until his eyes meets hers. At that point he just looks away out of discomfort, and starts looking at the body of a young colt that’s been bent, twisted, and mangled into a bloody mess of bones, organs, and flesh. His blood is caking around him as it oozes from the open gashes all over him. The sight is again sickening, but unbelievably more bearable than facing Celestia like the way he is now.
Pity, for a stallion like him, is the last thing he wants at this moment, but Celestia cannot refuse someone something they need. She turns back for him and gives him her wing, hanging it over him to block both the sight and the rain. “Get up, Walter. Remember who you are… you’re the stallion who’d face any unknown danger for the sake of a dream. Please, don’t let this burden add your dreams to its list of victims; if it’s too much to handle then let me carry it. I already have so many, so one more will do no harm to me. We carry the world, my sister and I, and this includes the troubles of our people. So, please…stand.” She knows these words aren’t much, but they are all she can offer him.
“I’m sorry princess,” is his first response as he takes her offering. “.., but it’s hard to remember who I am when I’ve lost all that I was…” The stallion steps out from under her wing and takes the front before she could offer anymore. She gives him his distance again, and like last time he seems to be getting further away with every step. She can see the distance this time and her mind exaggerates it. The several feet turn into miles, and she feels she’s being left behind; left behind in the ruins of another’s dream. Maybe remembering isn’t the best thing for him at the moment, but it’s all she can do to keep her memories of Walter alive. She doesn’t want that to die along Walter’s old self.