//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: The Truths We Deny // by volrathxp //------------------------------// The Truths We Deny Chapter 8         Twilight's gaze hardened at the alicorn on the throne.  She spent several minutes analyzing the mare and her presence here.  There had to be something she was missing.         “Well?  What happened after that?” she asked.         Serenity flared her wings.  “The journal.  All of what happened next is contained within the journal.”         “I read the journal,” Twilight said.  “The journal says that Tirek attacked you and caused your disappearance, and that Prince Scorpan stopped him.”         Tirek snorted loudly.  “My brother and I were part of no such thing.  It was only after I'd stolen much of Equestria's magic that my brother betrayed me.  The journal is a lie.”         Twilight's eyes narrowed as she scrutinized the centaur.  Tirek had every bit of motivation to lie, to save his own skin.  And yet, Twilight believed him.  Certainly, Tirek held no remorse for his actions, but when it came to his brother it seemed that his words betrayed his feelings.  The truth was, Tirek still held some amount of love for his brother.  Twilight could feel it in his words.         “Alright then.  If the journal is a lie, what really happened then?”         Serenity grinned widely.  “I thought you'd never ask.  I've been waiting a long time for this.”  Her horn glowed softly, bathing the room in a white light again.  The memory spell took place as the assembled set foot on hard rock.  A flowing stream drifted into nowhere in the middle of the rock.         Twilight glanced upwards to see Serenity as she had been described in the journal.  It was a far cry from the dark alicorn she had just met.  This Serenity was regal, elegant, and beautiful.  Her mane flowed in an endless wind.  Her eyes glowed with certainty.  This was the Princess of the Final Rest, and she had been doing this job for eternity.         A tiny boat appeared on the horizon, drifting slowly down the waters.  It stopped short of the alicorn, bobbing slightly in the waters.         “Halt!  Ferry, usher out the next one.  Who seeks to be judged?” she bellowed.         “Mistress,” the ferry pony said.  “Just one this time.  A unicorn by the name of Generous Soul.”         The unicorn named Generous Soul stepped forward onto the bow of the boat.  Celestia's eyes widened as her memories started flooding back.  She remembered this pony, and not just from her encounter earlier in the Summer Lands.  This pony was special to her.  She had... done things to him.  An experiment?  She couldn't remember exactly.         “Generous Soul, stand still.  Let us see where you stand,” Serenity said.  Her horn began to glow as she bathed the unicorn in her magic.  Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the unicorn's lifespan for anything that suggested that the pony should be sent to Tartarus.  “Your life has been fraught with much strife, but through it all you seemed to have persevered.  Your honor is commended, pony.”         The pony merely nodded in reply.         “I hereby decree that your soul shall be placed in the Summer Lands, forever more,” Serenity said.  “Your friends and family are waiting for you there.”         The ferry pony nodded.  “Excellent, my Princess.  I shall make haste to the Summer Lands immediately.”         “Away with you.  I wish to be in peace,” Serenity said.  Her horn glowed softly and she disappeared from the scene, reappearing in what could only be her palace of rest.  The alicorn dropped down and sighed loudly.  A picture of a pony rested in her hooves.         “Why?” she said to herself.  “Why did you have to go and do what you did, Discordant?  Why couldn't you move on?”  A tear dropped from her face.  “I... I loved you, but it was never meant for us to be.”         The door opened quickly.  Serenity looked up immediately, noticing one of her skeletal guards.         “My Princess.  There is a problem with the ferry boat to the Summer Lands.  You must go there immediately,” it said.         “What is wrong?” Serenity asked.         “The ferry boat has veered off course and crashed onto the side of the river,” the guard replied.  “I do not know what has happened to cause this.”         Serenity grimaced, but nodded.  Her horn glowed again and within an instant she was outside, floating over the river that led to the Summer Lands.  As the guard had said, the ferry boat was laying on its side, broken in two pieces.  The ferry pony lay a short feet away, gasping for breath.         “What has happened here?” Serenity said as she touched down next to him.         “The... the unicorn... attacked... he ran off... towards the portal...” the ferry pony managed to choke out before he slipped into unconsciousness.         Serenity grimaced, scanning the bleak horizon of her realm for the lost pony named Generous Soul.  She spotted the unicorn walking towards the end of the river where the portals to the Summer Lands and Tartarus were.  Serenity's horn flared and she cast another teleportation spell, bringing her face to face with him.  The alicorn's eyes widened as she noted that changes in the pony's appearance.         His eyes were gaunt and bloodshot, a madness lying just underneath them.  His horn was cracked and the grin on his face was absolutely chilling.  This wasn't the same pony she had judged for entry to the Summer Lands.  What had happened in the few seconds that she had left the ferry?         “Generous Soul.  Explain yourself,” Serenity said.  “Why did you attack the ferry pony?  What is wrong with you?”         “What is wrong indeed?  I do not know,” the pony before her uttered.  “Perhaps I am merely seeing myself in a brand new light, or perhaps you are not as good at your job as you thought you were.”         “What do you mean?” Serenity said.  Her magic quickly reached out and scanned the pony again.  Everything still looked the same, except there was a distortion in the pony's memories.  Something had changed them, stitched them together.         “I mean, here you are scanning me again and you are only just realizing the mistake you have made,” the pony said.  “There is a measure of hilarity in the lie you have perpetrated.”         “No...” Serenity said.  “Somepony has done something to you to cause this.  Who was it?  Was it Discord?  Did he do this to you and send you to me as a cruel joke?”         “Oh no.  Discord has been trapped in stone for years now, or didn't you know that?” the pony said.  His eyes shimmered with madness as realization dawned on him.  “I see.  You do not know at all.  Poor little Serenity, kept in the dark about everything.”         “Who are you?” Serenity said angrily, her magic reaching out and tearing away the stitched together memories, to reveal the truth behind the truth.         This pony was not a saint.  He was a monster, a murderer, a criminal.  He had killed innocents, his name taken from the generous gift of death that he bestowed upon others.  Something had tried to hide the truth from her.  Something had changed this pony to try and what?  Get her to make a mistake?  It didn't make sense.  It smelled deeply of Discord's betrayal, but the pony claimed that Discord was gone.         “I repeat again, who are you?” Serenity said, her voice quivering.  “Who sent you here?”         “I am no one,” the pony replied.  “I have killed.  I have loved.  Who am I?  I am no one and everyone.  I am your failure.  The truth behind the shadow of lies.  I am her instrument, to show you the error of your ways.”         “Her instrument?” Serenity said, cocking her head in confusion.  The mare tried to rack her brain for who the crazed pony could be referring to.  Her mind unfortunately kept coming back to one frightening conclusion.  The magic surrounding the pony was familiar to her in many ways, because it had been a magic she had known for ages.         “Yes,” a new voice said from behind her.  “I am afraid that you are correct, dearest Sister.”         Serenity spun about, her eyes widening as she took in the other alicorn's presence.   Princess Celestia stood tall, her eyes cold and hard.         “Sister?  What are you doing here?  What is the meaning of this?” Serenity said.         “Doing what should have been done too long ago,” Celestia said.  Her magic reached out and grabbed Generous Soul, encasing him in a golden shield to keep him in place.  “You have grown lax in your duties, Sister.  This pony, you were going to allow him access to the Summer Lands.”         “He has been tampered with,” Serenity said.  “I will not permit him to go now that I know the truth of the matter.”         “The truth?  And what is the truth?” Celestia said, her gaze narrowing.         “You did something to this poor pony,” Serenity said angrily.  “You turned him into some kind of monster.”         Celestia's eyes widened for a brief moment before settling on the ground below.  Her lips curled into a smile.  “You wound me, Sister.  You really believe that I would do such a thing?”         “He reeks of your magic,” Serenity said.  “I must ask you, why would you do this?  Why would you subject this pony to dark magic?”         “I must protest.  I am afraid I do not know what you are talking about,” Celestia said.  “As it stands, you were going to allow this pony to spread his disease into the Summer Lands.  Your judgment was faulty.”         “I was tricked,” Serenity growled.  “You think that you wish to depose me of my position because of your trickery?  Let us call Luna and see what she thinks of this!”         “Luna can't come,” Celestia said simply.  “You have been away for too long, Sister.  You have become disconnected from the world of ponies.  Luna is gone.”         “Gone?” Serenity said, cocking her head in confusion.  “What have you done to her?”         “What I had to,” Celestia said.  “She sought to turn the Moon against us.  She turned a temper tantrum into a grab for power, all because she believed that ponies did not appreciate her night sky.  I was forced to use the Elements of Harmony to banish her.”         “What?  You... you banished her?” Serenity said, her eyes wide.  She couldn't believe what she was hearing.         The memory faded away into nothingness as the Court reappeared.  Twilight grimaced as she turned to where Celestia stood.         “So you see,” Tirek said from his position next to Serenity.  “I could not have been the one to have attacked Serenity.  When I attacked Equestria the first time, both Luna and Celestia were ruling side-by-side.  Luna wasn't banished until after I was sent to Tartarus.”         “Why did the memory stop?  There's more to this story,” Twilight said.         “No...” Celestia muttered.  She was staring at her hooves.  The memories were rushing back, things were beginning to make sense.  She lifted her head.  “No, please.  Don't show it.  I'm so sorry, Serenity.  Please don't.”         “I'm afraid that I have no recourse,” Serenity said.  “Twilight Sparkle is correct.  There is more to this memory that remains to be seen.”  Her horn glowed brightly, returning the memory back to the place where it had left off.         “Yes.  I'm sorry I didn't come tell you, Serenity, but I have been rather busy dealing with Equestria,” Celestia said, frowning.  “Things have been chaotic, to say the very least.”         Serenity glared at her.  “And now you're going to banish me too.  Just so you can have it all to yourself.”         “I'm going to do no such thing,” Celestia replied.  “Quite frankly, I'm shocked that you would say such a thing.  I did what I had to with Luna.  She was unable to be reasoned with.  You are an intelligent enough mare to know that Luna could be especially hard-headed.”         “Luna was younger than both of us, this is true,” Serenity said.  “But she was far more mature than you are.  I cannot believe this.  If Mother were here...”         “Mother's not here!” Celestia barked.  “She left!  She left this world to us to care for, and that is what I intend to do!  Your failure to perform your royal duties has made you weak.  I fear what other darkness has already entered the Summer Lands under your stewardship.”         “My failure?  I have not failed in my duties.  By my decree, this pony shall forever burn in the fires of Tartarus for his crimes,” Serenity proclaimed.  “The situation has been  remedied.  If you had nothing else to discuss, you can leave now.  Leave, and never come back to my realm again.”         “Oh, I'm afraid it's not quite that simple,” Celestia replied.  “You see... I never said anything about allowing you to continue to rule.  This lapse in judgment has only proved one thing to me, that you are incapable.”  Her horn began to glow.         “So that's it, then?  You are going to use the Elements to banish me?” Serenity said.  “Tell me.  Did it hurt that Discord loved me and not you?  Isn't that what this is really about?”         Celestia glowered.  “Do not bring him into this.”         “Oh, but we must.  We must air all our dirty laundry, Sister.  If I'm to spend an eternity locked up inside some celestial body, I'd prefer to know the truth.”         “You want the truth?  The truth is...” Celestia said, pausing for a moment.  Her eyes narrowed at the other alicorn.  “The truth is I hate you.”