Conspiratio
It was mid-day before the funeral ended, and Luna's pyre was lit. With fire from the eternal flame of the sun, and a proud procession of mourners and bells ringing, the ceremony could not have been more glorious.
Afterwards, the crowds dispersed in solemn fashion back to their homes, after the Princess declared a day of rest to mark the sad occasion and the announcement of banquet later that evening to celebrate her sister's life and legacy.
Twilight Sparkle, who had never left Celestia's side, accompanied her mentor back the palace, after which she retired to her room, where she found the piece of Royal Parchment she had asked Spike to retrieve earlier.
“Excellent,” she said to herself, and began almost immediately writing – thoughtfully spelling out each line as she put her thoughts to paper, until an hour later she heard a soft knock on the door.
“Enter,” she commanded.
Through the doorway, a familiar figure appeared.
“Good Afternoon, Sister” Shining said, closing the door.
Twilight turned from her work to look at at her brother, before turning back to her work.
“Good Afternoon, Brother,” she replied.
Shining made his way over to the table, where the bottle of sherry he had opened the day previous lay perched inside a bucket of ice – a clear glass next to it.
Twilight busied herself with her task as her brother helped himself, eagerly downing half a cup before wiping his mouth as he felt the familiar, warm sensation rising in his stomach.
“So...what was all that about?” Shining asked passively.
“What was all what about, brother?” Twilight asked back, not looking up.
“Why didn't you accept the crown?”
“I didn't need to,” Twilight said. “It'll be mine in a short time anyways – the crown and a whole lot more as well. Why do you ask?” she asked, turning to him.
“No reason,” Shining said dryly. “Just wondering...”
“No worries, brother,” Twilight reassured him. “You'll get what's coming to you in due time, but for now just be patient. My plan is almost completed. All I have to do now is pull out the final pin to set the levers in action and by this time tomorrow we shall rule over all of Equestria...”
“And just how do you expect to do that?” Shining asked, taking another draft of sherry.
“Simple,” Twilight replied. “But that part doesn't concern you – at least, not that the moment.”
“Twilight, please,” Shining said,a desperateness growing in his voice. “We don't have to do this...it's not right.”
Twilight laughed.
“Right? Do you really think the Princesses cared about what was 'right' when they murdered our patriarch Starswirl – the rightful heir – for the crown? The only 'right' they cared about was their 'right' to the throne. Something you seem to have forgotten brother.”
“I've not forgotten,” Shining said, bowing his head. “But that was in the past, this is now... surely there's some other way.”
“Even if they were not directly responsible, they were complicit in its furtherance, but soon Equestria will see justice done...when we rise to take their place, as the rightful inheritors to the throne.”
Shining shook his head.
“You won't get away with it,” he mumbled. “It's too late... I've already told them, Twi.”
“Yes, and they believed you just about as well as I figured they would.”
Shining's eyes dilated as he clenched his hoofs.
Twilight smirked.
“But... how did you..?”
“That's not important right now,” she said, dismissing his question. “What is important is that this task is done and, unfortunately, you have proven to me that you are incapable of summoning the fortitude to carry it out. I'm sorry Shining, I really am, but I can't allow you or any one else to jeopardize what our family has worked so hard for.”
“W-what are you..?”
Shining began to feel the warm sensation he felt in his stomach turn into gut-wrenching pain. He looked down at the bottle of sherry next sitting on the table and realized that it was too late.
He lunged forward, his legs giving out beneath him, his head swooning as he fell to the floor.
“You've poisoned me!” Shining exclaimed hoarsely, reaching our vainly with his hoof.
“Oh stop with the dramatics, Shining!” Twilight scolded him. “Do you really think I'd kill you? Blood does not betray blood – a tenet that you unfortunately don't seem to believe in. But I am merciful. The potion that you have just consumed will put you into a deep sleep – at least until the task is done.”
Shining could feel his vision fading as the sleep over-powered him.
“Please, Twilight,” he said writhing. “Don't do this. Cadance is... Cadance is...”
The blackness overtook his vision as he felt the last of his strength depart him – leaving him unconscious upon the floor.
Twilight knelt down beside her sleeping brother and brushed his mane.
“Despite what you do, brother... I forgive you. And when you wake up, you shall be a King.”
She planted a kiss tenderly upon his forehead before dragging him across the room and placing him in her wardrobe.
“I would put you in my bed, but I'm expecting company,” she said apologetically as the closed the door. “Now, back to business... I must finish this before they arrive.”
~
Some time passed until another knock came at the door.
Twilight had no second guesses as to who it could be. She threw some sand over the parchment she had been working on and got up before opening the doors.
Outside, waiting together were her friends.
Twilight nodded as she looked them over.
“You are all here then?” she asked solemnly.
“Yeah, I got your letter,” Dash said, producing the piece of parchment
“Good,” Twilight said. “Please come inside, won't you?”
Twilight opened her doors to let her friends enter; noting the expressions on each of their faces. When everyone was inside, she went to the door and closed it, making sure to make as little noise as possible.
“You wanted to see us about something, Twilight?” Rarity asked.
“Yeah, what's up?” Rainbow Dash added.
“All will be answered shortly, friends,” Twilight said. “But first I must tell you, you have taken the greatest of risks by coming here, and if I did not inform you that our lives are in danger, I would be remiss.”
“Danger?” each of them gasped.
“Yes, incredible danger.”
“Oh, what are we in danger of?” Fluttershy asked timidly.
“A moment please,” Twilight said. “And I shall tell all: but first I must get you to promise, with solemn oaths, that not a word that passes between us here shall leave this room.”
The friends exchanged looks with each other.
“Do you swear?” Twilight asked.
They nodded.
“We swear,” they all repeated together.
“Now what's this all about, sugar cube?” Applejack asked.
Twilight shook her head despondently as she traced about the room.
“My friends,” she said, not looking up. “It is with the heaviest of hearts and the greatness of sadness that I've called you here, but as I said, my conscious would not allow me to do otherwise, for I believe we are all in great peril. I have had my suspicions, and these were recently. I dare not say it, nor wish to hope, but only one conclusion can be drawn from it – the Princess Luna did not die naturally, she was murdered.”
“Murdered?” each of them whispered.
“But...by who?” Pinkie asked.
“That is a question I have asked myself many times these past few days,” Twilight continued. “But as much as I wished to know, I also wished not to...”
Twilight leaned up against the wall and turned toward the window.
“From all I have witnessed, and the evidence I have gathered, it's only too clear though who did the murder...”
Twilight paused before standing up and turning to them.
“It was Princess Celestia who killed her only sister!”
They all gasped.
“Princess Celestia killed Luna?” Pinkie asked in astonishment.
“I don't believe it!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “There's no way the Princess would ever do something like that!”
“My friends, I know it may be hard to believe,” Twilight said, bowing her head. “But I fear it's all too true. I had known for some time that Princess Luna had been sick, though this was not known to the public at large; though the reasons escaped me. No amount of magic, and despite my best efforts to find a cure, nothing seemed to help her condition.
“During that time, I started wandering through the Canterlot archives, looking for some reference to Princess Luna's symptoms that might aid in finding a cure. Night after night I poured myself into my studies, until one off-night I was retiring to my room and made a quick stop by the kitchen for a snack. That's when I found these...”
Twilight pulled her night-stand drawer open and levitated some empty vials marked with skull and crossbones on them.
“...empty poison vials laying on the counter, right next to a tray that was bearing Princess Luna's food. Naturally my curiosity was struck, and when I asked the Princess about them, she said that there had been insect out-break, and that they were being used to deal with them....”
“Hold on a moment now, sugar cube,” Applejack interjected. “Just because you found some empty poison vials in the kitchen doesn't mean that Celestia was poisoning her sister. Maybe she really was just dealing with insects. You can't jump to conclusions about these things...”
“I thought likewise,” Twilight continued. “I found no reason to question what the Princess had said, until the next day, when I learned that the Princess was sending her sister away to some retreat, far from prying eyes..."
“I began to grow suspicious of the Princess' intentions, and my suspicions grew when I insisted on visiting Luna, and was horrified by what I saw: the Princess was a mere shadow of her former self; she was weak and bed-ridden, unable to speak, let alone move, with eyes shrunken into the back of her head, and her cheeks a pallid gray. Oh friends, if you could have seen what a state she was in, you surely would have anguished at the sight, just as I did. The Princess, though, remained silent and reserved through most of our visit, just as she was during the funeral.”
“But though I suspected the Princess had some hoof in all of this, I remained silent, and kept my thoughts to myself, until I found this...”
Twilight took the piece of parchment off her desk – the very the same one she had asked Spike to retrieve, the one bearing the royal heading and branded with Princess Celestia's own personal seal.
“This! This my friends is what finally confirmed my suspicions; after a thousand years of solitary rule, the Princess can not tolerate sharing power with her sister, even symbolically. So she had her poisoned and made it look like she died of natural causes so that she could rule as supreme monarch over all. This decree gives her absolute authority over both the sun and moon. Let me read it to you friends, so that you can see final result of her unrestrained lust for power.”
“It states here: 'I, Princess Celestia, being of sound mind, do hereby declare and decree, now and forever, that I shall maintain control and responsibility of all privileges and rights of the Princess of the Night, and that I furthermore, shall enjoy all customs and ceremony due to this rank, until such time that the position will be filled by an heir or subject of my choosing...”
Twilight rolled up the parchment and handed it to them.
“The Princess intends to announce this at the banquet honoring her sister tonight. She will seize power, and rule over all Equestria.”
Twilight's friends poured over the document, their eyes wide as they read to themselves what certainly spelled out the Princess' intentions.
“My friends,” Twilight continued, as they finished reading. “I would not be telling you all of this if I did not have good reason to believe it. You all know that I am a pony of integrity, and that I have always been loyal to Equestria and to the Princess, but in this instance, I feel that my loyalty to the first prohibits my loyalty to the latter. You see, I believe that the Princess wished to give me her sister's position, because she knew I would not question her, and would do everything she asked of me. However, how could I kiss the Princess' hoof when her sister's blood still sits fresh upon it. No, my friends, I would not accept the position, but there's something else...”
Twilight stooped her head as she made circles on the floor.
“The Princess knows that I was suspicious, and if she even guessed that I might know the truth...”
“My friends,” she said, turning to them, her voice cracking as she stood with a longing look of desperation. “I'm... afraid. I can't... I can't go on like this anymore. I fear not only for my own life, but for yours as well. Can't you see? Don't you realize? We're all going to die... if not now, then later, but it is inevitable. We are the last thing standing in her way now...”
“She lied to us, friends – from the very beginning, about everything. It wasn't because her sister was jealous of her power that she banished her to the moon...it was because she couldn't tolerate the thought of sharing it. But she couldn't kill her out-right... no, she had to have an excuse, a reason to lock her sister away, and so she perpetuates this myth of the righteous Princess who only acts in the interest of her subjects, when in fact, she only acts in the interest of herself, and uses any means necessary to quell dissent. Using us like pawns by getting us to bend the sacred magic of harmony to her evil purposes against any fore that would oppose her. We helped her perpetuate the system...all of us were taken in by the lies; even myself, but that doesn't meant we can't make this right...”
“What are you thinking we should do?” Rarity asked.
“I dare not say it...” Twilight said, a tremble in her voice. “Such a suggestion I will not make, but I fail to see any other way...”
There was a collective silence as the weight of the words lingered in the air.
“Are you saying that we... kill her?”Pinkie asked aloud, trying to grasp such a concept.
“You mean like an assassination?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“An assassination!” Rarity exclaimed. “Such a thing is...is unheard of! Nopony has ever assassinated a Princess!”
“But plenty have tried,” Twilight said. “And that is why she has guards and now I finally understand why...”
“I don't know about this, sugar-cube,” Applejack said. “There's just something... off, about it. Why would Princess Celestia do something like this?”
“Who knows...” Twilight said, shaking her head. “When a pony lusts for power, they will do anything – even betray their closest friends – to achieve their ambitions. Power doesn't need a reason, only a result...”
“I suppose,” Applejack said. “But I still don't see it...”
“What's their not to see?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying into the air. “It's all there! Black and White! Celestia murdered her own sister!”
“We have nothing to prove that!” Applejack retorted. “All we have are a few empty poison vials and a proclamation saying that Celestia will watch over the night until somepony else can take her place.”
“Applejack,” Twilight said, looking into her eyes. “I know this may be hard to accept, but you have to believe me on this one, you must...”
“Yes, I hate to admit it, darling,” Rarity said. “But the evidence speaks for itself.”
“Yeah, why can you not see this? Do you not believe Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I never said that!” Applejack protested. “I'm just saying that...”
“That you what? That you support the Princess? Is that it?” Rainbow Dash replied angrily.
“No, I...”
“Yeah, Applejack,” Pinkie said. “Whose side are you on anyhow?”
“I'm on nobody's side!” Applejack said defensively. “I just think that we're taking this too fast, too soon. We need time to collect more evidence...”
“Time is the one thing we do not possess,” Twilight said gravely. “If we delay, we might give up the only opportunity we have to stop her before she is secure in her power. By then, it may be too late...”
“Yeah, so what's it gonna be Applejack?” Rainbow asked. “Are you with us or against us?”
Applejack looked them over; their hardened faces now turned against her. The orange mare could feel a deep sense of resignation building in her chest, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Without another word, Applejack placed her hat back upon her head, and made her way to the exit, pausing momentarily as she opened the door, before closing it behind her.
A moment of silence passed in the room before Rainbow spoke:
“Should we go after her?”
“Stay here,” Twilight said. as she headed for the door. “I'll go talk with her.”
The friends nodded as Twilight bolted down the hall-way, catching up to her as she approached the stair-case.
“Applejack, wait!” Twilight called. “We can talk about this!”
“There's nothing left to talk about, sugar-cube,” the orange farm-pony replied. “I'm done.”
“Please, Applejack, you don't have to do this,” Twilight begged. “Consider what you're doing.”
“Consider what I'm doing?” Applejack asked incredulously. “Consider what you're doing! You're going against everything we've ever stood for! Everything we've ever believed in! You're betraying the Princess, you, her star pupil, the pony who had always stood by her side, are now suggesting that we get rid of her because you believe she killed her own sister? I just... I don't believe it!”
“Applejack, please...”
“No, Twilight, I just... I can't,” she said, turning away. “I may just be a simple farm-pony, and not know much about these sorts of things, but I do know that I would rather be entirely sure about what it is I was getting myself into, before I acted. That's why I cannot follow y'all, not in good conscience. I'm sorry, Twilight...”
Twilight looked down.
“No, Applejack, I'm sorry; sorry that it's come to this. Had things been different, or circumstances more permitting, I would agree with you. You know I have never used violence to achieve my means; but if I do not act... I fear what is to come – for our friends and loved ones. It's for their sake that I'm doing this, not for mine. Please try to understand; if there were another way, another means: I would take it... but there isn't, and so I must take this one the one that has been laid before me... whether I agree with the means or not. But that should be cause to separate us. Please, Applejack, for your sake and ours, reconsider...”
Applejack remained silent.
“Is that your final decision, then?”
Applejack nodded.
“I see,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “Well, you must do what you think is right, my friend. I won't stop you. Do what you feel you must, but I want to remind you of your oath that you took to keep what has passed between us secret.”
“I remember...” Applejack said. “I won't say a word, but I'm taking the first train out of Canterlot back home.”
“I understand,” Twilight said. “Have a safe trip home.”
With those final words, Applejack turned and headed down the staircase back to her room, as Twilight turned around and made her way back to her own.
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Makes sense that the Element of Honesty wouldn't be so quick to believe Twilight's lies. But I fear what may come to her, since Twilight doesn't want somepony that may rise against her. A farm "accident", maybe?
I messed up a bit. the bottle should have been 'the day previous', not 'previously'. sorry 'bout that.
5355567
No worries, I got it. ^^
5356161 Thanks. It's what comes from editing at 3AM.
Twilight just doesn't sound, well, like Twilight in this chapter. She sounds too formal, too dismissive. Not like herself. I'd expect her friends to notice.
5362745
I can see that. Tell you the truth, I sorta agonized over writing this particular chapter cause I knew I had to word it right, or it'd come of sounding out-of-character or unbelievable.
That being said, I'd appreciate some suggestions on anything that especially stands out to you. :)
5363731
She's too calm about it. That's the main thing, I think. The Twilight who panics at the idea of being tardy with Celestia would not coolly anounce that the solar princess has murdered her sister and propose to assasinate her. Even if it was all an act, an in character Twilight would be confused, panicky, and would likely try to lead her friends into coming to the conclusion rather than outright telling them. Simply put, she comes off as far more detached than Twilight usually is, which should be a massive warning sign to her friends.
It would have come off as far more Twilight-y if she'd presented her "evidence" and then seemed reluctant to make the final judgement call, allowing her friends to both propose the problem (Celestia killed Luna) and the solution (kill Celestia).
5363793
I concede that; though to be fair, she's rehearsed this. It would make sense that she's cold and detached and not acting on impulse or panicky. Cold and calculated.
And at the same time, in my mind, and because of the story, the entire reason she was panicked over being tardy with Celestia was because of loosing favor with the Princess and throwing away the opportunity to rise in station. Remember "getting sent back to Magic Kindergarten?" Seems to me like an unusually paranoid response, which I would think would be caused if there were really high stakes involved.
5363827
I'm not saying she would BE panicky (this is a premeditated murder, after all), but that she would ACT panicky, for the benefit of her friends. Suddenly coming off as very cool while calmly accusing your beloved mentor of murder and proposing to assasinate her is a huge red flag of suspicion. Doubly so in a universe where shape shifting magical imposters are not only known to exist, but have actually impersonated a princess within memory. It's insanely suspicious behavior, and not a mistake a cunning sociopath should make.
omg for a while there looking at the cover art image in full i thought twi was sitting back in the chair like a human with her back legs off in front and her right hoof holding her head up , but then i saw what appeared to be another hoof under her body on the chain in between her 2 hind legs , and i was like wait what? that can't be right , is that supposed to be a penis joke? is her left front leg somehow stuck under her? none of these answers seemed logical , but then i inspected her torso further and relaized that she was actually laying belly down on the chair and not in a laid back sitting position at all lol.....
5383385
Haha, I see that now. x3
I can see Applejack really doesn't trust Twilight of what she just heard and I had a feeling that Applejack knew that something was wrong and something doesn't add up.
Looks like Applejack's element is shining through, at least.
So I guess Twilight has some Star Swirl in her heritage, and her line has been planning on taking down the Princesses ever since, with her parents training her and Shining to get into key government positions?
At least we got some reason as to why Twilight is doing this.
Kronos unveiled intensified noices