“To take a life, you must know that creature inside and out. You must listen to the rhythm of their heart, the pulsing flow of their veins. You must see every detail of their body, the scent of their essence, and the taste of their very lifeforce. My sister will not afford you such luxuries so, since the same liquid of life flows throughout both of us-”
Celestia drew a thin bead across her own frontal thigh with a sharpened blade.
“You will have to settle for mine. Always remember Twilight, though we are not of their kind, the living must be respected and that is why we give them a merciful and quick death. My sister is no exception, my daughter. Now, learn that taste, and remember it well.”
***
The taste in her mouth caused the old memory to surface. There was no mistaking that bittersweetness; there was no doubt in Twilight’s mind: On her hoof, was her mother’s crimson lifeforce. Don’t resurrect the dead; the living have no place in our world. A cardinal rule of magic, hammered into her flank in the early days at the academy, so blatantly disregarded by her mother. But why? What could the tyrant be thinking?
***
Undispitudely hated and adored by all, the current Tyrant of Equus, had always been an enigma to her adopted daughter. Brutal and unfeeling when they first met, a change seemed to have come over her after the Night of Fire. The Ponyville Massacre had seen Celestia change from a brutal and murderous mother, whom Twilight adored being tortured by, to a slightly more compassionate and loving soul; an unwelcome state of being within the Realm of the Dead.
Her mother seemed intent on researching the world of the living; taboo knowledge. The more she learned, however, the more her mother changed. She seemed to have tapped into some new form of magic, and was insistent her daughter do the same:
“It’s called Friendship, though I’m not quite sure how to use it; perhaps it needs a special catalyst. Perhaps the key lies within the living. All I know is its power is limitless. For now back to training, try to kill me. A proper Tyrant must give her all to oppress her followers. The creatures of our world only tolerate the worst of the worst. Hold nothing back.”
***
Suddenly lost in her thoughts, Twilight found herself thinking about that particular question. What was her mother thinking? She had questioned her mother’s mindset just once before, the only time she ever disobeyed her, and now she found herself thinking about that very moment in time.
As Applejack stood over her, and Rainbow Dash turned to yell at Trixie and Starlight for talking out of turn, Twilight found the room dissolving before her eyes as her mind replayed the aftermath of that haunting night in the Crystal Empire.
***
“My, my, what a mess. Tell me, my daughter, why have you disobeyed my commands and ventured out here?”
“Why didn’t you tell me that they were dead? Why did you try to hide it?”
Celestia quietly stared down at the enraged Unicorn. Twilight’s scream of accusation continued echoing across the massive scorched and desolate crater where the two stood; the location of the once-proud Crystal Empire. Shaking her head in disgust, the tyrant gave her reply.
“Because as can clearly be seen from your reaction, Twilight, you weren’t ready to carry that burden. What you’ve done was highly reckless and immature. Quite disappointing for the next ruler of this world, don’t you agree? No, I can see from the glare in your eyes, you don’t. It’s quite apparent how clouded your eyes are by your emotions.”
The words sounded almost melancholy as Twilight heard them. Sitting down on the scorched earth, Celestia used her wings to pull Twilight towards her. Wiping the tears from Twilight’s eyes, using her wingtips, Celestia gave her a gentle hug; however, the Ruler of Equus wasn’t done with her lecture.
“Such an easy thing for every creature, to let anger and sadness cloud judgment. That is fine for other Creatures, my daughter. For those of our Bloodline, however, losing ourselves to our emotions can be horrendously disastrous-”
Celestia punctuated the remark by lifting her right-wing and emitting a soft growl; Twilight’s eyes went wide with awe as the entire crater came alive with a raging firestorm. As the tyrant lowered her wing, the flames died down, and she spoke calmly once more.
“We were not cast of the same mold of those we rule, but were forged by the very one who carved this underworld in time immemorial. Our magic is immeasurable and we are unstoppable when enraged or engulfed in emotion.”
Celestia gave a soft chuckle.
“I was taught that, growing up. And much like you-”
Celestia gently nuzzled her before whispering.
“My twisted, little firestarter, I decided I too, knew everything about my mother’s actions. Surely, she was simply an evil creature putting me through Tartarus, but no. No, that wasn’t the case. I wouldn’t understand what it was she really wanted until my coronation. On that night she perished, and my emotional rampage began. Because I had not gotten all the details, I was not prepared for what happened and I went on a rampage; much as you have Twilight.”
The Tyrant’s horn glowed a light golden and a little ways from the two a house appeared amidst the desolation. Inside a window, Twilight could see a young stallion feeding a foal in a high chair. Twilight’s eyes went wide as a blast of flames engulfed the house, the stallion quickly trying to shield the foal, and all were reduced to nothing amidst the intense heat. The house vanished as Celestia’s horn glow faded. She spoke calmly and quietly as she explained.
“Two souls, doing the best they could even amidst the fall of this kingdom, lost forever. Neither of this world, brought here by a horrible fate within the other, somehow finding solace; though now, neither will find their place here.”
Sighing, the Tyrant rose to her hooves and gestured at the destruction around her with a sweep of her wings.
“While I am pleased with how you’ve managed to unlock your internal fury, you still have a long way to go, until you are ready to ground any creature beneath your hooves. A Tyrant must be ruthless, harsh, and oppressive. However, knowing when to unleash your rage and when to hold back are also requirements. You cannot control the world if there is nothing to control. I should know-”
Pausing to chuckle, Celestia continued.
“After all, I vaporized half of Equus in my own rage-induced explosion. That’s why they call me ‘the Demon of Tartarus’ after all. It sounds amazing, doesn’t it? A single blast of magic from within and I destroyed half the planet. You already know about that tale, though. You and every unicorn learned of it in Magical History. Though what happened after my rage ended, isn’t known by anypony. I spent the past 900 years, rebuilding that half of the world.”
Twilight was dumbfounded.
“Wait, what?”
Celestia grinned, her smile surprisingly light-hearted.
“Yes, every grain of dirt, every stone; the rivers and the forests. I’ve rebuilt it all, though I expended extraneous amounts of magic to do so. A small sacrifice on my part, however, there is one thing I couldn’t recreate-”
Celestia’s eyes hooded over as an unsettling heaviness filled the air.
“The souls of the dead, lost to my outburst.”
Looking down at Twilight she murmured.
“Perhaps if I had a stronger magic…”
Brightening, Celestia just laughed seeing the glare in her daughter’s eyes.
“I can see from your defiant gaze, you aren’t even listening to me, or perhaps you are, but you don’t understand my words. You just want to know why I hid it from you, right? Why I never told you of your brother’s demise? I suppose perhaps it is time you knew the entire story.”
The horn on Celestia’s head glowed a bright golden, as flaring her wings, a screen appeared before Twilight’s eyes. Celestia’s voice was uncharacteristically soft-spoken.
“My words will never reach you in that state. Therefore, to teach you this lesson, just this once, I will allow you to see into my memories directly.”
***
Twilight was so lost within her memories, she failed to notice Rainbow Dash leading her squad off down the nearby stairwell, or Applejack falling against the wall; her pain finally getting to her. Or the soft, hoofsteps approaching her and Applejack; who lay on her side, unconscious.
The white unicorn stood over them, flicking her purple mane with a toss of her head; her face displaying a disdainful expression as she spoke to the unconscious Applejack.
“Again, Dah-ling? You are far too soft on my niece, well don’t worry, your sister will help fix up your wounds yet again, and as for you-”
The unicorn glanced over at Twilight, who was completely unresponsive. Upon seeing this, however, her frown vanished and her voice took on a caring tone.
“I...Suppose Aunt Rarity can spare some cookies for such an impressionable young one. Upsy-daisy.”
Rarity’s horn glowed with a soothing light blue causing both Applejack and Twilight to rise, as well as one other.
“Who is Aunt Rarity?”
Pausing to look at the tiny dragon that poked its head out of the pack on Twilight’s back, Rarity beamed at it.
“Oh, hello there, finally awake, are you? You took quite a bit of thread to sew up earlier. So then-”
Placing a hoof under the dragon’s chin, Rarity spoke sweetly.
“Tell me, little one, what is your name?”
The little dragon seemed cheerful as it spoke to her.
“Spike. My name’s Spike.”
The mare smiled and spoke encouragingly to him in response.
“Oh, I see. So you’re the one Fluttershy mentioned. Hmm, you should probably ride on my back while I carry these two. My name is Rarity, by the way. We can talk on the way to the medical bay.”
Without awaiting a response, Rarity used her magic to lift Spike onto her back, while keeping the other two suspended in the air. Turning, she began to walk down the stone hallway once more.
“So Spike, how did you and Twilight find yourself in this hallway with my sister?”
As the two chatted about this and that, Twilight remained lost within her memories, watching the screen conjured by her Tyrannical mother, years ago.
***
“Why have you come before me again, child?”
Twilight Velvet stared at Celestia, who sat motionless upon her throne, glaring down at the nervous mare.
“Mom, I-”
“No.”
Velvet found herself interrupted by the harsh tone of Celestia. Staring wordlessly at the Tyrant, Velvet found herself being lectured by the harsh tone of a jaded mare.
“You do not get to call me that. You, who turned your back on your heritage and refused to accept the throne, do not get to call me 'mother'. I may have created your soul, but you spat upon everything I taught you and all that I gave you as you were growing up. Now answer my question, Velvet. Why have you come back here?”
“Your...Majesty. Today’s display by my daughter before you; where she birthed the dragon-”
“Yes? I did find that quite extraordinary. What about it?”
“Er- Well her father and I received an invitation to the Crystal Empire. Her brother created his first soul with an Alicorn by the name of Mi Amore Cadenza and we, uh…”
“I see. Are you asking that I allow my niece to travel to the Crystal Empire with you, to observe the Crystalling of this child?”
Velvet began to struggle with her words as she blurted out.
“It’s just that it’s been years since the two were able to see each other and even longer since we got together as a family and with how well she did-”
A unquieting silence fell within the throne room, lasting for a full minute, as Velvet found herself unable to speak; possibly a result of the immense pressure of being in Celestia’s presence. Finally, after a few moments of consideration, Celestia spoke once more.
“I think that can be arranged. After all, she surpassed my expectations and is more than deserving of such a reward. I shall make contact with the train and secure you a private car.-”
At these words a smile appeared on Velvet’s face before it vanished upon Celestia’s next words.
“However, if you ever dare approach me in this manner again, without permission Velvet...You’ll never see daylight again. Am I understood, daughter?”
The screen vanished and Twilight blinked in disbelief.
“You mean it was planned for me to go?”
Celestia sighed and nodded.
“Originally, yes. It was. However, while setting preparations, I had a premonition of the Crystal Empire falling to ruin, and so the plans changed.”
The screen reappeared and once more Velvet stood before Celestia and beside the mare, was a rather uncomfortable-looking Nightlight. They were no longer in the throne room but apparently the Sparkle’s living room.
“...I just said it Velvet, you and your family are forbidden from going to the Crystalling!”
Distraught, the creator of Twilight cried out in protest.
“But why? You didn’t say why!”
Completely emotionless, the Tyrant stared coldly at her estranged daughter.
“I don’t need to. I have issued a command and you will obey it. Am I clear?”
Velvet began to yell at Celestia who didn’t bat an eye at the harsh words.
“That isn’t fair mom! You can’t do that! You demonic scum I hope you rot in Tartarus! I am going to see my son!”
Celestia calmly stood up before flaring her wings, a sign for silence, and it had an immediate effect; Velvet quickly covered her muzzle and Nightlight began to tremble. The voice of the Tyrant was no longer cold, it seemed to convey concern.
“If you go, you will perish. I will not repeat myself, daughter of mine. You and your family may not attend the Crystalling.”
As Velvet hung her head in accepted defeat, the screen vanished once more; leaving Twilight to stare at Celestia.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell her? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Shaking her head, Celestia answered her.
“Because your birthmare and my...lovely...daughter, much like you; was extremely hard-headed and stubborn. Unlike you, however, she never had to struggle. Never once did she fall below the head of her class. Every exam, every assignment she had perfect marks, and so she felt she had nothing to learn from mommy dearest. If I had explained it to her, her ego wouldn’t have let her give up and so I threatened her instead; the only tried and true method to dissuade her from disobedience.”
Pausing, the Daybreaker seemed to consider her next words, before continuing.
“In your case, however, Twilight; you lack an ego entirely. You hold so little value for your own abilities that you outright beg for punishment for every minute mistake you make. And worse still, you blame yourself for absolutely everything that goes wrong. Had I told you of your brother’s demise, you would have firstly, begged to be punished, and secondly, blamed yourself for somehow causing it. You simply did not and admittedly still do not, possess the maturity to handle such horrific information. I did not wish to traumatize you.”
Rustling her wings, as though uncomfortable with some decision she had just made, Celestia’s horn glowed a bright golden once more.
“I normally do not wish to deliver such discipline unto you. If it weren’t for your incessant insistence on such measures, I would not indulge your self-hating tendencies. I did not enjoy it as I grew up, and frankly, I felt and still feel you deserve more than that. Be that as it may-”
Celestia’s wings flared wide, ablaze with fire as tears formed within her eyes.
“I cannot, and will not let such reckless use of magic go unpunished. Because of your rashness, two souls; two valuable followers that could have made a difference, have been silenced permanently. As a future tyrant, you cannot be so reckless with your destruction. Your age may be that of an adolescent mare, but you display the maturity of a filly. Therefore, until your maturity rises to your actual age, and you grow up; your body will not grow with age, but shall instead match your maturity. Those who talk to you will see you only for the age of your maturity and you will only be treated as such.”
The spell, now having been cast, Celestia folded her wings once more and sighed.
“Even now, I can see in your defiant eyes, you don’t comprehend my lesson. At least not right now, one day, however, you’ll remember this moment Twilight and when that happens you’ll gain insight into what this world really requires from you and you will finally stop hating yourself.”
***
Twilight blinked at the brightness of the room she was in. She suddenly found herself staring at the back of a white Unicorn, who was hunched over a gurney; the magic of its horn a familiar light blue. Next to the mare was a familiar medical bag. Rarity? Wait, where’s Spike?
Before Twilight could open her mouth to address her, and without so much as looking up; Rarity spoke to her.
“Oh, you’re awake, how wonderful. You can relax your heart rate, your adorable little dragon is currently asleep on my lap. Though, thanks to my talks with him, I daresay you have a tale to tell, don’t you? I happen to have some questions for you, while I repair Applejack’s damaged nervous system if you don’t mind Sweetie.”