//------------------------------// // Equestria's Darkest Secret // Story: Friendship is Forever // by fabrosi //------------------------------// Chapter 20: Equestria's Darkest Secret Fluttershy tried to remember her dream as she walked downstairs. She was perplexed by the sight of a note left on the table—after all, she was certain she'd been the first to wake. Reading it with growing distress, she called out to Rainbow Dash, who was still snoring upstairs. She dashed back to their room and attempted to wake the sleeping pegasus, but of course she didn't want to startle her too much, so she whispered gently as she lightly tapped Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "Mmph," she grunted, and rolled over without waking up. "Please, Rainbow Dash, this is important," urged Fluttershy. "You have to wake up… please…" "Yeah," she mumbled in her sleep. "I should get paid for that." Fluttershy blinked with confusion. "Paid for what?" "For being awesome." Fluttershy sighed. "This is important! Twilight's gone, and"— Rainbow Dash bolted upright, eyes wide open. "She's gone? Gone where?" "Finally!" said Fluttershy, relieved. "She left a note. Come downstairs, and I'll show you." As they stepped out into the hallway, they ran into Applejack. "Whoa, Nelly! What's all the commotion about?" "Twilight ran away!" shouted the two pegasus ponies in unison. The noise woke up Rarity, and before long all five ponies were gathered around the table, reading the note Twilight had left them. It read: Everypony, though it pains me deeply to leave you all, I feel that the best thing I can do right now is to go back to Canterlot, where I hope to meet Princess Celestia. However, there is something I must confess about my intentions: I don't plan to remove the enchantments. One thing I've realized during the course of our adventure is that, for all of the covert atrocities that belie Equestria's peaceful appearance, most of our country really is a paradise. Once I convince the princess to leave Sustria alone, there will be no war; as long as the enchantments hold there will be no starvation, no disease, and no natural disasters; and as far as we know, pony-on-pony violence is almost nonexistent. Life may not be perfect in Equestria, but I can't imagine anyplace else in the world where it's better. All the ponies who live there will be best served if they continue to live the carefree, innocent lives that we once knew, and I'm going to see to it that they do. I want you to know that I still think of you all as my closest friends, and that I am deeply sorry to have to do this. Maybe someday, if we can come to an agreement on the issue of the enchantments, or if we can agree to disagree, I can convince Celestia to let you all back into Equestria. Until then, I'm afraid I can't make any promises. Your friend, -Twilight Sparkle Rainbow Dash thumped her hoof on the table, causing everypony to jump. "I was right! Twilight did betray us!" "I can't believe this," said Rarity, shaking her head. "How could she?" "I didn't think it was possible," said Applejack darkly, "but it does look an awful lot like she's chosen Celestia over us." "We should tell Princess Luna about this," stated Pinkie Pie, and so they all dashed off to look for her. Fortunately, they were able to find her without much trouble, helping erect a new house for migrant ponies. Once they had her attention, they showed her the note Twilight had left. "This is grave news indeed," she sighed, hanging her head low. "Without Twilight, there isn't anypony strong enough to defend us if Celestia returns." "It's all my fault," despaired Applejack. "I should've shown Twilight that picture sooner…" "If you're t blame, then so am I," added Rarity. "And me even more," said Pinkie, her ears drooping. "Twilight was talking to me about that stuff just last night." They all whipped their heads around to look at her, so she explained: "She said… she said she was upset because she found out the universe wouldn't last forever, like it would die out in a million billion years, or something. I told her she could talk to me or any of you about anything, but then she told me she had to work it out on her own… oh, I should have tried harder to cheer her up! I'm so sorry, everypony." There was no question her apology was sincere, as her hair had turned completely straight while she was speaking. "I feel responsible, as well," said Luna, "since I was the one who gave her that telescope… On top of that, I never finished telling you all the story of Equestria's past, which no doubt would have affected Twilight's decision tremendously." "Perhaps you could tell us now," offered Rarity. "It may shed some light on exactly what Twilight might be doing on in Canterlot right now." Luna took a deep breath. "Very well. As I explained before, my sister and I inherited Equestria at a terrible cost: the deaths of parents and our brother. Because we alicorns live such long lives, we mourn accordingly longer than lesser ponies, and decades passed before Celestia and I were prepared to take charge of the scattered pony factions. Over many years, through our leadership and our magic, we built up a utopia." "It wasn't enough for Celestia, however—I could tell that she lamented every death she learned of: every murder, every terminal illness, every accident, every suicide. It disturbed her to no end that, in spite of our every effort, ponies everywhere were having their already-short lives snuffed out before their time. Even in this wonderful nation we had created through our strife, there were still inevitable pockets of misery and despair. I think, perhaps, that in every dying pony, she saw an image of herself. It was then that she had the idea of creating the magical enchantments…" … Luna walked around the circle of magical runes that Celestia had carved in the smooth stone floor. "It's pretty impressive," she observed. "You said it will protect the ponies from dragons?" "Not just dragons," said Celestia, leaning down to inspect for mistakes in a triangular rune. "It'll keep out hydras, cockatrices, manticores… any wild creature strong enough to overpower a pony, really. Of course, I guess something really massive could get through, but we should be able to handle exceptional cases like that…" "What's this part for?" She indicated a particularly complex cluster of runes. "To fend off illness. I've noticed a worrying number of diseases ponies have no non-magical cure for, but this should ensure that they won't get seriously sick in the first place." Luna smiled gently. "Looks like you've really got this whole death thing taken care of." "It's not just about protecting them from death. I'm going to affirm life. I'm going to make death into something small, obscure, weak, broken up into its individual components. They'll have no reason to be afraid." Luna watched Celestia in a new light as she made minor, painstaking adjustments to her work. "Don't take this too far, alright?" Celestia looked up. "Luna, lives are at stake. What could you possibly consider 'too far?'" Luna said nothing, so Celestia turned back to her work. "You know, with fewer natural predators, the animals they prey on will become severely overpopulated… maybe we should encourage ponies to handle their breeding." "You mean for all of them?" " "Rabbits, birds, squirrels… anything small and inoffensive that they'll enjoy caring for." "Isn't that a bit excessive?" "Well, we'll have to control their populations somehow, and it would be better than hunting them. Can you imagine teams of ponies chasing and killing rabbits, as if for sport? No, this way is better. Besides, it'll teach them that all life is precious. What's wrong with that?" In the light cast by their horns, Luna studied her sister's face very carefully, seeing for the first time behind those ageless eyes a hint of how old she'd truly grown, the depths of pain and sadness she'd known. "Nothing, I suppose." "For a time, these enchantments would protect every single pony in our domain from harm. We reached a point where nearly all deaths in Equestria came from old age, and so ponies everywhere had ample opportunity to make peace with their lives and their place in the world before they passed. It was around this time that Celestia had the idea of cutie marks… " Celestia let out a soft sigh as she passed by the room, so Luna stopped brushing her hair and turned around. "Something's wrong?" Celestia took a few steps back so she could see her sister. "The enchantments have been in place for a while now, but they haven't affected ponies in quite the way I thought they would." "And what way was that?" "I don't know… but so many of them are just idling aimlessly. They have enough food, good houses, and they're safer from harm than I think any creatures have ever been, but so many of them aren't enjoying life." "Well, that hardly seems like something you can make them do." Celestia waved dismissively. "I'm not trying to make them, I'm trying to help them by giving them what they need to be happy." "Isn't it unavoidable that some ponies will always be unhappy?" "Why should it be? We have all the magic we could ever need for any task, so why shouldn't we able to solve this problem?" Luna put a hoof on her sister's shoulder. "Not everypony is lucky enough to find purpose and meaning in their lives—that's just the way it is. You can't force them to, you can't trick them, and you can't just magic the problem away. Just let it go." Her words had the opposite effect she'd intended: Celestia's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across her face as an idea spread across her mind. "What would you say is our purpose, Luna?" she asked after a few seconds. "I don't know… ruling, I suppose." "No… that won't do. Think more specific, more concrete." "Well, we keep things running smoothly by helping with construction, and we help settle major disputes, and fight the occasional monster…" "Yes, yes, keep going." "…and you raise the sun every morning, and I raise the moon…" Celestia stomped her hoof in excitement, making Luna flinch. "That's it! Here, turn around and let me see your flank." "Um…" "Just do it. I want to test my idea—it won't hurt, I promise." Luna acquiesced, and a few seconds later she noticed light shining from her flank. "Hold still," instructed Celestia as she tried to twist around to see what was happening, and a moment later the image of a crescent moon had appeared upon her flank. "I don't understand." "It's a mark that represents your purpose, what you're best at, what drives you. Think of it as a concrete symbol of meaning in your life." Luna twisted around for a few more seconds before simply walking over to her mirror to examine the mark. "It's lovely," she said honestly, "and I suppose it could be a nice reminder that I'm making a difference in ponies' lives." While she wasn't looking, Celestia pointed her horn at her own flank, producing a sun-shaped mark. "This is it," she announced with relish, "the last ingredient missing from the perfect society." … "As I mentioned before, she offered the marks as gifts to everypony, giving them a tangible sign that every one of their lives had meaning and worth in the hopes that they would use their time in this world to the fullest." "I have mentioned this part of the story before, but to my deepest regret, I left out something vital, which I will explain momentarily. Not long after we created cutie marks, Celestia's enchantments began to weaken. Equestria's cities were growing too large, and every expansion of our borders put more strain on the magic we used to keep everypony safe. On one terrible day, the enchantments broke, leading to widespread death and suffering. We tried to deal with the consequences in more direct ways—dispelling storms, healing individual ponies that were sick or injured, and so on—but still, many lives were lost. Celestia was devastated, and against my council, she restored all the enchantments, along with adding new ones to facilitate the creation of cutie marks." "I was afraid that the enchantments would break again, but to my surprise, they held. I asked Celestia how she was maintaining them, and she said simply that she had grown stronger. She didn't seem any stronger to me, so I began following her around, hoping to learn what secrets she might be keeping from me. What I discovered was worse than I could ever have imagined..." … Luna watched from the balcony as Celestia led the newest member of the royal court through the courtyard below, explaining what her duties would entail. It struck her as odd that she had invited this unicorn with no connection to nobility to join their ranks, so she began following them. This became difficult as they entered the castle, but Luna kept her distance and tread softly through the hallways. As they descended, the bright light shining through stained-glass windows turned to torchlight, which a few hundred yards further was replaced only by a gentle glow from Celestia's horn. "I should warn you," said Celestia, her voice echoing until it sounded right next to Luna, "though the pay of your position is quite good, the hours are also very long, and it will be necessary for you to remain in the castle almost at all times. Do you have family back home?" Luna was puzzled. If this pony wasn't from Canterlot, then where was she from? What interest did Celestia have in her? "Yes… I was hoping I'd be able to visit them from time to time." "It may be necessary for you to simply write to them instead. Does that sound acceptable?" "I… well…" "If necessary, I'm sure I can arrange the occasional visit, but you shouldn't plan on seeing them regularly." The unicorn swallowed. "Alright." Satisfied, Celestia picked up her pace somewhat, walking unusually quickly, as though she were thinking about galloping. Within a few minutes, they had descended a long stairway into a spacious, round room, with Luna creeping behind them and slipping into a blind spot next to the arched doorway. "What exactly are we here for?" asked the unicorn, her voice betraying her nervousness. "There's some important magic I need to perform. Please, if you will, stand over here." Luna noticed with alarm that Celestia had recently added several new runes near the center without her knowledge. Just as she was trying to discern their meaning, a sharp scream shot through the chamber, and she leapt out into the horn-light. The unicorn was pinned to the center of the circle, and before Luna could act, a brutal, concentrated blast of magic had shot from Celestia's horn, crushing her throat. There was no time to gape at the sight of the pitiful, broken creature that lay before her, for Celestia was glaring at her in a guilty, flustered rage. As trickles of magic flowed out of the unicorn's body and into the runes in the ground, Luna felt sick as she realized how Celestia had been fueling the enchantments. "Really, Celestia? This was your grand plan?" "Luna, I didn't expect you to understand. I"— "Well of course you didn't! How could anypony ever understand what you've just done?" For the first time, Luna saw the intense desperation in her sister's eyes, the mortal weakness. "You don't realize how great the power of sacrifice is—in taking this one life, I've gained enough energy to save so many more." "Why not just save lives directly?" asked Luna. "Why not help ponies help themselves?" Her eyes kept wandering to the body on the ground, the coat matted with blood and the eyes frozen in a terrified, pleading, questioning expression. "We tried that. When I said cutie marks were the last thing missing from a utopia, I was wrong. This is what was missing." "And what kind of utopia involves regular sacrifice? You can't expect me to stand for this." Celestia took a step towards her, but she stood her ground. "Oh? And just what are you going to do?" "I'm going to tell them what I saw." Luna tried to teleport away, but Celestia was too fast for her, and soon the two sisters had appeared hundreds of feet above Canterlot, fighting fiercely. Luna knew she couldn't win against Celestia, but she had no choice other than to try. As she swerved through the air, struggling to get her bearings, something intensely hot and bright grazed her wings, which she was soon flapping frantically as she tipped sickeningly forward and the ground rushed up to meet her. Then, in a flash, that ground was gone, and she found herself standing somewhere strange and new, staring out across a barren, white, alien landscape against a horizon of blackest night. "Do you know where we are, Luna? It's a place you should know quite well, though you've never been." There was some sort of protective sphere around them, and Luna realized it was filled with air. "Please"—she turned to face her sister—"I'm sorry I reacted the way I did, you were right, I shouldn't have challenged you…" "Don't lie to me, Luna," she spat coldly. "If I bring you back, you'll seize the first opportunity to destroy everything I've worked so hard to create. You have all the magic you'll need to survive up here, but I'm afraid you can't come home for a very long time." "But I'm your sister…" Celestia turned away. "This is the price of a perfect world, sister. Goodbye." … "As the years went by, I realized just how serious she had been about keeping me here forever. With nothing else to do, I dwelled on bitter thoughts of what I knew she must be doing down on Earth, the horrors she was inflicting on her subjects, which were just as rightly mine. Dark feeling of vengeance gradually overwhelmed my heart, and after a thousand years I'd focused my magic enough to"— "I think we know this part," interrupted Rainbow Dash. "Well… yes, I suppose you do." "Wait," said Pinkie Pie. "You turned into Nightmare Moon and tried to cover the land in eternal night… what does that have to do with Celestia's secrets?" Luna sighed. "I was blinded by my thirst for vengeance. After a thousand years of brooding, I felt as though I was the one and only rightful ruler of Equestria, so with a surprise attack, I sent Celestia to the moon and used some of my magic to temporarily prevent her from returning. Though it was completely unjustified, I then turned my anger towards the ponies of Equestria, for enjoying their carefree lives in a utopia supported by magic that others had suffered and died to provide. I was actually quite relieved when you all restored me to my senses and my sister returned." "It was strange, though—while she was desperate to keep me from revealing her secret, I think she may have genuinely missed me while I was gone—and I think, perhaps, I missed her, too. Nevertheless, I was determined to put a stop to what she was doing, and so I set up this town of Maneheart in the hopes that I might someday find a way to set Equestria free… and now, my subjects and friends, I have no more secrets left." As the gravity of her story sank in, they all realized just how dire the situation was. "Well, we can't let Twilight stay in Canterlot—not with Celestia killing ponies!" said Pinkie Pie. "I was thinking the same thing," said Luna. "There may yet be hope if we can sneak into the castle and find a way to change Twilight's mind. I must warn you, though, it will be extremely dangerous…" "Danger, nothin'!" shouted Applejack. "We'll do anythin' to save Twilight, won't we?" The rest of them nodded fervently, and Rarity added: "Don't worry about convincing Twilight—we have something that I'm sure she'll be swayed by." "I hope you're right," sighed Luna. "We should all prepare to leave as soon as possible." With that, the five ponies galloped off, back towards the lodge, where Pinkie Pie grabbed the photograph. The fillies were still asleep, and it pained Applejack and Rarity to think of leaving them when there was a significant risk that they would never come back—but they trusted the ponies of Maneheart to take good care of them, and the task that lay before them was something far greater than themselves. Finally, they returned to Luna. "We're ready," said Rainbow Dash. The rest nodded. With that, Luna's horn began to glow, and all of them teleported away, towards Canterlot and their destiny.