//------------------------------// // Truth // Story: The Truth of the Alicorn // by ThunderChaserCreate //------------------------------// I leapt back in surprise, dropping the decaying parchment. The pain of getting my neck broken had felt very real, and left me gasping for breath. After several frantic inhales, I quickly stacked the papers and stuffed them back in the box, shutting the lid tightly. A small tear slipped silently down my cheek. How could anypony live with such terror on their shoulders? I started wishing that I had never become a princess, wishing my wings had never come to be. One tear slowly became two, and soon I was choking and retching on tears that came all too fast. I clutched my stomach, wishing there was some way to purge the horrible images in my mind. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the Professor, the empty socket, the dead body of Celestia, that awful room! All the terrible things I wish I had never seen danced in my head, swirling and distorting in my mind. It wasn't long before a vicious headache started pounding between my temples, and a stumbled down the stairs to the throne room. "Celestia!" I called from down the hall, tears still grabbing at my throat and tearing much of the volume from my voice. The beautiful mare saw me and galloped to my side. She used her head to scoop me on to her back, and carried me into the grand room, whispering small comforts. Once inside, she closed the huge doors with her magic, then sat down, allowing me crawl slowly down from her back. "Sh, sh," Celestia consoled, "It's okay. I'll talk with you when you're ready," she stroked my head gently with her hoof, but I jumped up. "No! I want to talk about it now! How could you let me--" I tried to say, but just after I had wiped the tears from my eyes, a new flow began. My face, I saw in the reflection of the stained glass, was stained with dark streaks. My eyes were bloodshot, and still welling up. How could that tiny filly be so brave, and how could I be such a blubbering mess? "I'm sorry, Twilight. I'm sorry. But... it was your destiny to become a leader of Equestria!" Celestria tried to justify her actions, "I wanted you to fully accept that before I talked to you." "That's the thing, Princess," I began, smearing away the last of my tears with the back of a shaking hoof, "I had only just gotten used to the fact that I was a Princess, and I was ready to give in and say that I accepted it. But, now.." I sniffed again, waiting for the tears to start up once more, but it appeared that I could cry no longer, "I'm not sure I want to go on being a Princess. If that is what it means to be an Alicorn, than I want no part of it." "Twilight, I think you're being a bit hasty--" "No, I'm NOT being hasty!" I shouted, " This is wrong! It should have stopped years ago!" I sighed, "but... before I get too in depth, I actually had a few questions." Celestia blinked, looking a bit confused, probably at my quick change of heart. Believe me, I was ready to give her a piece of my mind, but I had some really important questions to ask her. "Go on," she prompted. I released a breath that I didn't know I'd been holding, "Um... well, first off, why didn't any of the ponies have their cutie marks?" "Nopony is really sure, but a I believe that she thought using ponies who didn't have it would be a sort of, oh, confirmation that they would want to join in. Not having cutie marks means more potential, and more potential means a better chance of her experiment actually succeeding, " Celestia explained. I nodded. This made some sort of twisted sense, but it sure didn't make things right. "Okay. Why did Boiling Blood experiment on her son?" Celstia thought about this for a moment. "Again, nopony is really sure. It probably had a scientific explanation, but as far as I know, it was just because he was there." I took a deep breath. "Last question-- how did you escape?" Celestia sighed deeply, sinking into her throne. She gingerly rubbed the golden ornaments on the arm, thinking about how to answer this question. "Celestia?" "Well, Twilight, the simple answer is she didn't." "What? Th-that doesn't make sense," my voice quivered. The Princess chuckled, her form flickering. "She was a sweet little filly, wasn't she?" "Princess, what's going on?" I asked, backing away slowly. "Oh, you little ponies. So naive, so gullible. If I had told you I was Empress of the universe, you'd all just smile and nod and agree, wouldn't you?" Celestia's tone grew harsher, and she spat the last two words violently at me. "W-what are you doing?!" I shrieked. "Something I should have done a long time ago!" She leapt down from her throne, flicking her tail and stalking toward me. Her form flickered again, and I caught a glimpse of a terrifying being. "C-celestia?" "NO!" she screamed, and I saw a mouth full of ugly, mis-aligned teeth. "There hasn't been a Celestia for two thousand years! It's ME!" her flickering form cut out entirely, and a grotesque beast was revealed. Tufts of scarlet hair stuck out of a mostly bald orange head. Half of her jaw was missing, showing off a set of green-ish teeth. Pale white wings were sloppily stitched to her back, and they flapped about uselessly by her sides. A dark brown horn was also present, letting out uncontrollable bursts of magic that sent dark green sparks flying in every direction. The worst part, though, was her flank, which plainly displayed a stolen cutie mark-- one of young Celestia. The pony cackled, using her disjointed magic to hurl me across the room. "Please! Stop!" I cried, trying to stand but only sending sharp bursts of pain through my leg. "No. I created the alicorn! ME! I should get to use it! Me, and nopony else!" she screamed, thundering toward me from across the throne room. Everything hit me at once. There had never been a Princess Celestia, just a fake biding her time. I was a monster. And I was going to die. ~~~~~ Blood sighed deeply, stepping away from the crumpled body and grinning. Twilight was the last one, which meant that Clelestia alone held the power in Equestria. "Full Moon!" she howled, summoning her loyal companion. All that came was the form of Princess Luna, whose once graceful steps were now awkward shuffles. Blood watched as the image flickered and died, and the husky stallion made his way towards Twilight. "Just put it with Cadance, will you?" she waved her hoof dismissively. Full Moon made a sound of disapproval. "Oh, for God's sake, it's not that far," she complained. "Just get it down there. Now!" Moon grunted, limping away with the lavender body slumped over his shoulder. Blood walked slowly to the window, resting her foreleg on the sill and gazing out at the horizon. Her pilfered horn lit, and the sun started its slow descent. A smile curled the alicorn's lips. This was her kingdom, now. "'And I looked down upon the sunken faces of the once powerful,'" she quoted, "'And on the dirty streets and broken souls. And I thought it good.'"