Chapter 4: A Way to the Truth
“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.” ― Mark Twain
Canterlot Dungeon...
When Twilight and her party carried their lanterns into the dimly lit dungeon, they found the Changeling Queen waiting for them. She was drawn up in an all-too-familiar pose, more used to sitting on a comfortable throne than on a dungeon floor.
Now that Twilight had a good look at the Changeling, she found herself noticing some uncomfortable similarities to Celestia. The fur was gone, replaced by shell, and her mane, once a beautiful tri-color of green blue and pink, was replaced by sickly-turquoise-green. The eyes, though changed from magenta to green, had the same look: regal, yet warm.
“Hello, my little ponies,” said the Queen courteously, even smiling a bit. The ponies gulped. They had only come down to check if the Changeling had woken up, not really expecting to find her awake. They had many questions, some trivial and some gravely important, but nopony was sure which one should be asked first.
“Where is Princess Celestia?” enquired Twilight, breaking the silence. The Changeling Queen paused in thought, her smile not even twitching before she answered.
“The Celestia you know is standing in front of you,” said the Changeling, causing the purple unicorn to moan in frustration. Why did this Changeling keep calling herself Celestia? It was preposterous. Rarity, seeing Twilight’s frustration, decided to try a different line of questioning.
“Alright, let us say that you are Princess Celestia. Then how do you raise the sun?” queried Rarity. The Queen regarded Rarity for a moment and took a short breath to explain.
“The love and admiration of Equestria’s ponies are more than enough for me to move the sun and the moon,” explained the Queen.
“Then Princess, why were you defeated by Chrysalis?” inquired Rarity.
The Changeling let out a small sigh. “I underestimated Chrysalis. The love Shining Armour has for Cadance is consummate love, which is intimate, passionate and devoted. While I do have a vast reservoir of praise and admiration collected over the years, it does not have the intense power of consummate love and is not easy to bring out.” The Changeling Queen’s gaze switched back to Shining Armour and Cadance. “It is the same love between Shining Armour and my niece that allowed them to cast the shield spell to repel the Changelings.” The interrogators, despite their apprehension, found themselves believing in the Queen’s explanation.
“Okay, that sounds all reasonable, but there is no way you can be Princess Celestia. She is an alicorn! You are a Changeling!” protested Twilight.
“I may be a Changeling, but I am Princess Celestia,” replied the Queen calmly.
“Prove it,” ordered Twilight confidently. The Changeling paused, closed her eyes and sighed. She then turned to Applejack, who flinched slightly under the Queen’s gaze.
“Applejack, there is a real reason why I gave your family the land that is now Ponyville. Your great grandparents helped me to cure a malignant magical tree blight that was affecting all of the apple trees in Equestria. I am quite sure Granny Smith told you this story told you this story when you became old enough,” said the Changeling.
“What? No way, that’s not even in the history books.” Twilight turned to Applejack and then froze. Applejack’s mouth hung open, her eyes wide in shock.
“It’s true. We Apple family didn’t want any fancy schmancy reward or any credit fer helpin’ the Princess and only asked her for some land to settle,” explained Applejack. The Changeling then turned to Shining Armour, who glared at her.
“Shining Armour, you never told your parents or Twilight, but you failed the officer academy’s entrance exam spectacularly. Why were you one of the few ponies who got into the academy that year?” asked the Queen. Shining Armour’s jaw dropped open and his eyes expanded.
“Because it wasn’t a test designed for the cadets to succeed, it was a test to see whether they would cheat,” said the Changeling and Shining Armour at the same time. Twilight gawked as her brother confirmed the Changeling’s statement. Now the Changeling turned to Cadance.
“Cadance, your parents were the last descendants of the Crystal Empire’s Royal Family. I told you this when I gave you the tiara you now wear,” continued the Changeling. The pink pegasus-unicorn’s eyes narrowed.
“How do you know that?” demanded Cadance.
“Because I am Celestia, Cadance,” said the Changeling gently. Twilight shook her head in denial, eyes shut. The question of what was The Crystal Empire nagged her, but she had bigger revelation to handle.
Nononononono! There is no way this Changeling could be Princess Celestia. But then... why does she know so much about my friends and family? There has to be a trick. thought the unicorn.
“Stop stalling, Changeling! You were just a better spy than Chrysalis!” accused Rainbow Dash.
The Queen smiled for a moment and Twilight blinked at the mischievous twinkle in those green eyes. “I probably am a better spy than Chrysalis, but consider this my little ponies. If Celestia had been replaced by Chrysalis’s Changelings, what need would there be for a Changeling invasion?”
Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped open, silenced by infallible logic. Twilight had recovered though and now met the Changeling Queen’s gaze, lavender eyes staring into green orbs.
“Why did you hold back against us?” demanded Twilight.
The Queen blinked, but maintained her gaze with Twilight. Her eyes betrayed nothing as she spoke.
“Because I did not want to hurt you.”
“But why would you not want to hurt us?”
“Because I am Princess Celestia.”
Twilight almost burst into flames right then and there.
This is impossible! Why does she act like she is telling the truth, when it is obvious that she’s lying. Celestia could not be a Changeling. This Queen must have used some sort of memory spell! Except... I’ve never heard of such a powerful spell. pondered the unicorn.
“What’s your real name?” asked Pinkie Pie innocently. Everybody turned to the pink pony, wondering why she asked that question.
“Celestia,” replied the Changeling. Twilight’s ear shot up into the air, that response seemed a little too quick.
“Nonononono, you know that’s not your real name,” said Pinkie Pie seriously.
The Changeling frowned, “My name is Celestia.”
Pinkie Pie shook her head, her brow slightly furrowed, “No, it isn’t.”
“How do you know?” asked the Queen, raising an eyebrow and grinning mischievously. Pinkie Pie was undaunted and giggled.
“You stop a teensy, teensy weensy, ever so slightly bit before you say ‘Celestia’. That and the way you say your own name sounds way too booooring. I mean isn’t everypony supposed to be enthusiastic about their own name?” asked Pinkie Pie, smiling back. To everypony and dragon’s surprise, the Queen blinked and flinched at the question as if she had been burned.
“What is a real name, Pinkie?” asked the Changeling softly. The pink pony took a moment to reflect upon the question.
“Usually, its name your parents gave to you. Then again, my real name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, but I always introduce myself as Pinkie Pie, so I guess you can decide your real name. But I don’t think two ponies can share the same name. Although, I don’t think anypony could stop you if you shared a name with somepony–”
“Alternia.” Pinkie Pie and the rest of the interrogators stared at the Changeling Queen. Her armored head had lowered from its regal pose and her eyes had closed.
“I think that would be my real name.”
“Then you aren’t Celestia?” said Twilight, rubbing her head.
“I am Celestia!” snapped Alternia, her teeth gritted, fangs flashing.
“You can’t have two names! Which one are you?” demanded Twilight, pressing on. The Queen got up and turned to the back of her cell, blinking furiously. For a moment, everybody thought they saw the Queen’s eyes glint with tears. That thought was confirmed, when the Changeling lifted her leg to brush her eyes. This ever so slight gesture cemented itself into the interrogators’ minds.
“I’m not sure my faithful student,” replied the Changeling. The dejected tone in the Queen’s voice opened a pit of dread in Twilight’s heart. But before she could act on that fear, she was interrupted.
"Niece, where have you been? We have been occupied with trying to defend Canterlot from a horde of changelings. Care to explain–” Luna stopped and stared at the Changeling Queen behind bars.
From Alternia’s Perspective...
I quickly wiped my remaining tears away and twisted around. Hoping that voice did not belong to the alicorn I dreaded seeing the most.
It did.
Horseapples.
That was the first thought in my head when I saw Luna step into the dungeon. Can this get any worse? I failed to make my niece’s wedding perfect, I let down Equestria, my identity gets stripped away in front of the ponies I loved the most, my own student is interrogating me because she had seen me for the monster I was and now Luna was going to find out my secret. Can this day get any worse?
“We forgot Princess Luna,” gasped Spike, before Twilight could stifle his comment.
Oh Spike...
“Twilight Sparkle, explain why this creature is in Canterlot!” commanded Luna. My faithful student would not disobey a direct order from Luna and began to explain what she knew. I stayed silent throughout the exchange, for I could say nothing. In any case, what could I do, but hold my head high and wait for the inevitable?
Luna seemed angry for a moment during Twilight’s explanation, though she seemed to become more expressionless as the unicorn went on. When my student finished, everybody stepped back from Luna. Just in time.
“Heinous creature! You will tell us where our sister is right now! Do this and we may show you some mercy!” roared Luna. The Royal Canterlot voice reverberated through the dungeon, cracking the stone walls and rattling the magic-reinforced bars. My ears were screaming in pain, but I did not cover them. I could not appear weak, not now.
“No. I will not,” I replied. My refusal was not taken well and turquoise eyes flashed menacingly. I probably appeared undaunted, only my tail swished nervously left and right. Inside, I was deathly frightened. I do not think I have been more afraid in my whole life.
“Why not? Dost thou not fear us?" bellowed Luna. I did fear her, but I dreaded more of what would happen if the truth was known.
“I fear you, but I cannot tell you,” I answered.
Tendrils of night-blue magic wrapped around the steel bars, snapping them into pieces. Their spells of warding and reinforcement, flashed briefly and then faded. As Luna advanced, I scurried backward, but found myself wrapped up by her starry magic.
“If you will not tell us, we will pry the truth from you!” bellowed Luna, her horn shimmering brightly. I shut my eyes and braced myself for the onslaught of pain. I was terrified that I would give in, but I resolved myself not to. This was my punishment, for breaking my promise, for failing my ponies.
“Stop!”
I opened my eyes to see Fluttershy and Twilight, stepping between me and Luna. They were shaking in fear, but did not budge.
“Princess, you can’t do this. Equestria outlawed torture a millennium ago!” spoke up Twilight.
“Please Princess, I know you want to find your sister, but we can’t do this,” whispered Fluttershy. The others nodded. I was tempted to breathe a sigh of relief, but I didn’t want to push the little reprieve I had been given.
“Huh? We know that very well, and we were not going to resort to that base form of questioning,” said Luna.
I blinked. She wasn’t going to torture me? Then what was she going to do? I watched Luna apprehensively. The Princess seemed to be examining Twilight, but why?
“Twilight Sparkle, we believe you deserve to know the truth as much as we do. Will you aid us? We assure you it will not hurt the Changeling.”
“But how will you find Princess Celestia?” asked my student, echoing my own thought. Luna turned back towards me and her horn glowed. I suddenly felt a sense of drowsiness invade my head. It numbed my senses and caused my eyelids to close. As darkness set on and my hearing began to fade, I heard something that made my conscious mind wish Luna had tortured me instead.
“We will look through her memories.”