Celestia’s hooves fell heavy against the floor of the castle walls, matching the heavy beat of her heart.
She sighed, knowing what she was getting herself into. No, what she had already gotten herself into. The goddess knew exactly where her hooves were taking her, but she didn’t enjoy a moment of it.
As the high iron doors that signaled the hall’s end approached, she hesitated. The dread pounding against her cranium cried for avoiding the situation entirely and simply turning away. She spent a second considering it, but she knew that that wasn’t a real option in any sense. At best, it would make the whole ordeal worse. At worst, it would make the fall to rock bottom.
Reluctance hidden behind her mask of regality, she strode onward toward the iron gates before her. They were heavy when she pushed them, but not because of their weight.
The solar goddess knew the task ahead of her would be difficult, risky, and far from simple. She didn’t need to see for herself that they thought her wrong. But Celestia had to—needed to—convince them both. Even with her goal in mind, however, she felt none too reassured. For, on the other side of those doors, were Luna and Twilight.
The few she rightfully called family.
Then they were there, staring from their seats around the table as Celestia entered. The solar alicorn froze, her hoof still hanging in air as it waited for its next step. The chambers fell into a hushed quietness as two pairs of eyes met hers, apprehension shared all around. The silence reigned for a few more long seconds.
Finally, Celestia spoke. “Sister. Twilight.”
Luna glared. Twilight said nothing.
…Not even a hello.
“You’re sickening,” Luna spat, prompting Celestia to heave a sigh.
“I know you’re upset, Lulu—”
“Don’t call me that.”
“…I know you’re upset, but I’d prefer it if we didn’t resort to name calling and remained civil.”
“Civil?!” Luna out a hmph. “You’re one to speak.”
“At least I am trying to speak.”
“At least I am not a—”
“Please.” The two sisters glanced to Twilight, surprised at her calm yet stern voice. Returning to a neutral tone, Twilight continued. “Let’s just talk. I have a feeling that there’s a lot we each have to say. Alright? Both of you?”
“Fine,” Luna said as she pushed herself into her chair.
“Indeed,” Celestia agreed, but while feeling a bit disappointed in herself. To think that my former student must be the voice of reason between us.
As Celestia drew up a seat at the table opposite the other two, she couldn’t help but stare at Twilight, probing for any hint of how she felt behind that calm façade. She found none.
“So,” Luna said.
“So?”
“You’re the one that called this meeting. What do you want?”
She nodded. “I… I know you both have issue with what I’ve done.”
Luna raised an eyebrow.
“However,” she continued, “I would like both of you to know that… you’re both family to me. I couldn’t care more about either of you, and I hope that you’ll return the sentiment and allow me a chance.”
Silence.
Celestia swallowed. “That said, I’d like to say that I believe what I’ve done was not only necessary, but right.”
“Ah! How can you—”
“Luna, please,” Twilight said, “Give her a moment to speak.”
“No! I will not. Didn’t you just hear her? She robbed an innocent being of everything and now she has the audacity to believe she’s doing the right thing.”
“No, Luna. It’s not like that,” Celestia said, shaking her head.
“Oh, really? Then how would you so kindly put it?”
“It was completely consensual.”
For the second time, silence tailed behind her words.
“She… let you?” the moon goddess said, her voice quieted by surprise.
“That’s right. It happened after you left our dreamscape.”
“But…” She looked to Twilight. “What do you make of this?”
Twilight’s eyes snapped open, caught off guard in her thoughts. “Huh?”
“You know Ryan the best out all of us. What do you make of this? At least tell us your thoughts.”
The young princess nodded, but drifted away again as she went back into her thoughts. “I… I don’t know. Not yet.” Her eyes locked onto Celestia’s, unreadable as ever. “Could you tell us more of what happened?”
“Certainly. Is that alright Luna?”
“What? Sure. Go on.”
“Mmhm. After you left us, I made due on my promise of making things right. Of apologizing for my wrongdoings to her.” She sighed. “I saw and still do see that I treated her horribly, inexcusably cold, and insensitive. I tried my best to set things right with her, but she was… distant.”
Twilight cocked her head. “Distant.”
“Yes. She was gone in some sense. All the hope had been leeched out of her once and for all. She ceased caring at all.”
“I think I know what you mean,” Twilight said, her voice hushed my memories of Ryan alone and battered in a cell.
Celestia hesitated before continuing. “In any case, that was when we agreed on this. In fact, it was her who suggested it.”
“She suggested it,” Luna repeated.
“Indeed. I expect it came from the time she transformed into a pony.”
“No, no, no. That can’t be right. Just… ugh,” she said, pounding her hoof onto the tabletop.
“That’s what happened. She didn’t want to suffer any longer, so she asked for a way out.”
“Suffering because of what you put her through.”
She broke her gaze away. “Yes… But I’ve done everything I can to fix it. I can only hope it’s enough.”
Luna’s face shone with conflict before settling on one emotion—disbelief. She shot a quick look to glance to Twilight but only found the younger alicorn still in her own world of thoughts. “I may not have known Ryan,” she said, now facing her sister, “But from what I’ve heard of her, she would never give up like that. She put her loved ones before herself every time.”
“You think I’m lying?”
“Maybe. But I do think that there’s more to this than what you’ve said.”
“…I’m not sure what else to tell you. I speak the truth, honest.”
Luna held up her hoof. “Tell me, sister, do you think that Ryan really meant what she said?”
“Well, she did say she wanted to look me in the eye when she says how much she hates me.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying do you really think Ryan was sincere in her offer? Or was it just a last stab at you? You said it yourself; she was distant and uncaring. I doubt she meant any of it.”
I know what you’re saying… To be honest with herself, Celestia wasn’t surprised that her sister would think this. The sun goddess opened her mouth to respond, but froze as she saw the third member of the conversation. Twilight stared without a word, intent and ready to write every word onto her mental notepad.
“…I believe that Ryan’s broken state is actually what makes the offer so sincere. She wanted nothing more than a way out, and now I gave her one. Again, I’m sorry I pushed her that far in the first place, but now she’s happy again.”
Luna said nothing, content to let out a frustrated “hmph!”
“Way out…” Twilight muttered to no one in particular, causing both alicorns to turn toward her. Noticing their attention, she said, “Celestia, may I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
With a hint of a frown dancing on the corners of her lips, she said, “Did you ever offer to open the gate and send her home?”
Celestia didn’t answer right away, instead keeping a suddenly toneless expression on her face. “…Well, I technically didn’t—”
“Sister!” Luna hissed, only to be silenced once again by the younger alicorn.
“Please, let her talk one more time,” Twilight said to which Luna agreed but while still keeping her cold stare. “You were saying?”
The sun goddess nodded with only the smallest movement of her head. “No, I didn’t. However, please hear me out on this. I know I was wrong in my treatment of Ryan, but when she made that offer, I saw an opportunity.” She glanced away, eyes searching through her memories. “An opportunity to benefit both of us and Equestria as a whole. By turning Ryan into a pony, I not only could help her, but also—”
Luna cut her off with a snarl. “But also keep the gate closed.”
“Well, yes… But need I remind you of the dangers of opening it? Haven’t we discussed this enough?”
“Apparently not.”
Luna stomped up from her seat, glaring all the way toward her sister. “You keep saying how much you regret abusing Ryan, but you know what? You haven’t changed at all.”
“Luna!”
“No. You’re still the bigot you were. Even with Ryan broken and at your feet, you still put your own beliefs ahead of her wellbeing.”
“I helped her!”
“You killed her! We can’t rightfully call her Ryan anymore. You just can’t let go of the past, and now an innocent being has suffered for it. You’re sickening.” With a flick of her mane, Luna strode out the door, leaving behind her dumbstruck sister.
Celestia watched her leave for a moment and a few moments after before snapping herself into focus. She tried to take in a deep breath, but couldn’t stop the shudder that lined it. “Luna…”
“Celestia?” Twilight said, causing the princess to snap her attention back her way. “Did you really never consider opening the gate? Never once?”
She gulped. “I… You have to understand that this was what Ryan needed. I doubt letting her leave would’ve so easily healed her wounds.”
“The wounds you caused.”
“Please. Don’t be like that.”
Twilight sighed as she stood up from the table. “Celestia, I’ll be simple. I feel conflicted about everything I’ve heard. I want to believe you had the best intentions in mind, that you really learned your lesson…”
Celestia felt a cold shiver in her spine. “I-I did. I swear I know what I did was wrong.”
Ever emotionless, Twilight continued. “You may know what you did was wrong, but you just shifted from ‘for the good of Equestria’ to ‘for the good of Ryan.’ You’re still trying to justify yourself… When you could’ve just let her go home.”
Then her tone dropped. Twilight lowered her head, eyes blazing with a restrained anger. “Your sister’s right. You haven’t changed. Despite your apologies, you’re still the prejudice pony on the inside.”
Celestia gasped. “No! I’ve changed! Honest…”
Her former student only shook her head. “If that were true, you would’ve opened the gateway. No, all you’ve done is destroy someone. A person who, while rude at times, never deserved to be stripped of everything she had. But most of all she was and is my friend, but you took that away too.” She closed her eyes as her horn alit, casting a faint purple around the room. “Celestia, I’ve looked up to you all my life. As a filly, you were my idol with no equal. When you offered to let me be your pupil, I was beyond ecstatic. I couldn’t describe my excitement if I tried. Then as the years passed, I grew closer and closer to you. You were everything I had hoped and more; I daresay you were a second mother to me.”
The sun goddess said nothing, only staring with her wide eyes.
“Then I became a princess and alicorn. Few times have I been as nervous as then, but you were there encouraging me, and I decided to trust you. Celestia, you’ve meant the world to me all my life, the driving force that kept me dedicated to my studies. But most of all, you’ve been a member of my family.” Her eyes narrowed, flashing with betrayal. “And I’ve never been more disgusted to say that… I’m leaving. I need to fix what you’ve done, hoping it can be fixed. Goodbye, Princess.”
As she turned her head upward, no doubt picturing where her teleportation spell would take her, Celestia cried out. “N-no! No, no, no! Twilight, you’ve got to see that—”
“You said you would always be here for me. You were wrong.” Then she was gone in a flash of light.
The solar goddess went silent as she stared, unmoving, at the spot her former student had occupied moments ago. Then she sniffled.
“I…I… I did what was right, didn’t I? I-I fixed Ryan and kept my ponies s-safe.” She slammed her hoof onto the tabletop.
Hardly noticing the stream working its way down her cheeks, a hoarse cry erupted from the goddess’ throat. “No, no, no! Oh no… I-I lost both of them. My sister, my student. B-but she’s so much more than a student. And now I’ve lost them. What do I have now?”
Her eyes dared to glance around the castle chambers, but she looked away just as quick. “My throne? What good is that when I’m alone? I… I’ve lost them all…”
Celestia didn’t bother holding back her sobs as she collapsed against the table, head in her hooves. “I have nothing…
“Is… is this what I did to Ryan? Is that what she felt?” As no answer came, she could only weep.
The sun set two hours late that evening.
On the outskirts of Ponyville, a stallion hummed a gentle tune to himself as he pulled his cart along the road. Stopping to take a breather, he smiled at the sight of the welcome sign just up ahead. “Almost there…” he murmured.
The stallion took one last look at his cart and couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of it. He could remember just a week ago when he plastered those words, “Rocky Road Ice Cream,” onto the side of contraption. Speaking of which, he wasn’t even sure it could be called a cart anymore. More like a fridge on wheels, he joked.
Readying himself once again, the stallion named Rocky Road set off down the dirt trail, an extra spring in his step. He couldn’t wait for journey from the Crystal Empire to be completed.
Ah, it's Silverbolt's old friend! I wonder if she remembers enough or if the lie is complicated enough to include that encounter in her backstory...
I want to feel sorry for Celestia, but I can't.
Celestie just got rekt.
Tyrannosaurus Rekt.
rs1ci.memecdn.com/250/4609250.gif
Just... wow.
Damn! That was an epic update. Thanks for sharing!
6030466 thats the best part for me. just Like Twilight I want to believe Sun But changed, but We know full well she hasn't. You gata love these emotions the auther is makinf
Oh Celestia is sad. What can Twilight do?
i broke the hope out of her and kept her locked in a cell until she consented, but it's okay because i had consent!
oh Celestia...
For the good of Equestria! /)
Keep going! ;)
So... what kind of sentence would the ponyland legal system even give you for actual murder, anyway? Discord got a thousand years of solitary confinement for pranking and littering. I kinda have to wonder how you'd even scale up proportionally from that degree of cruel and unusual.
Naive story.
I am not sure who is broken more at this point in the story.
this story is really turning a different corner and going down a dark road I like it.
Harts Fire
6031629
No offence, but what Discord did even on screen was not 'pranking and littering.'
Even in 'only' the initial two-parter he:
* Made an old mare with bad hips dance, causing who knows how much damage to her body.
* Massive damage to both property and infrastructure. (The floating houses, the soap roads.)
* Interfered with the day-night cycle.
* Making it rain chocolate milk. (Try putting a fish into that or use it to water a plant, and see how well it works. Or better, don't.)
And that's just what I remember after not having seen the episodes for over a year!
That all that was fixed by the Elements at the the end doesn't actually change that Discord's 'pranking and littering' was basically one giant calamity that would have unmade Equstrian society as 'we' know it if left unchecked.
I don't remember the name, sadly, but the only crime we humans have that comes even close would be 'storm calling.' When somebody uses dark magic to... well, call a storm, with all that implies in damage and even potential death. (Again, don't remember the name, but Germany had it as a capitol offence all the way to the thirties-forties, something, if I remember correctly.)
And all for the 'lols.'
Was it a cruel and unusual punishment? Yes, but the only real alternative for stopping somebody like Discord would have been lethal force.
6031901
Fine, multiple counts of aggravated pranking and littering, then. Kidding aside, though, given the tone of the show and considering that they let him right back out without being terribly worried about him going on a rampage and causing any massive blood baths, I think I can reasonably assume that no actual harm (except for injured pride) was done to anyone. Jerk yes, murderer no.
6031845 Elaborate.
6031950
Fair enough.
I personally do not like Discord, but I will give the mismatched devil his dues:
For all his powers and what a overgrown brat he is, we've never seen Discord outright harm anybody. Not as much as somebody falling and cracking their head on one of those soap-roads.
Given how... well, chaotic the rest of his magic is that's some serious fine control and restraint, and his biggest redeeming feature in my eyes.
It's just such a shame the rest of that list is so pathetically short, but I degrees.
6032024
I think you're kinda giving his characterization too little credit there, because I'd say there's a good reason he's the only villain who got to stick around without getting a complimentary laser-guided brainscrubbing first, but that's getting a bit off-topic.
Am I the only one here who agrees 100% with Celestia? Sure, the way she handled it earlier on may be wrong, but really, think about this;
-> opening the gate exposes millions of ponies to possible enslavement or death.
-> only one human is caught in Equestria
-> said human is starting over again, rid of her trauma's.
Sure, it's not the best solution for Ryan but it is a lot better than most.
As harsh as it may seem, Luna and Twilight are the unreasonably emotional idiots here, who are just letting a powerful foe in due to their pathetic feelings.
The only thing I would've done differently is let her start over completely and let her be adopted as a foal by a foalless couple so the "memory problem" is not an issue and she has the ability to properly integrate in Equestria.
6032151
As far as we know, every part of her that made her actually Ryan as a distinct individual with feelings, relationships and opinions is gone, though. In every meaningful sense, Celestia might as well have cut her throat instead. A blank slate in a recycled body that might actually be any other random person with amnesia, for all that you could factually tell the difference, doesn't strike me as all that great of a deal.
6032151
It's like no one else can think like a millennia long successful ruler and are freaking a out when she plans long term.
Celestia did nothing wrong.
6032151
She has the best interest in heart, but this may as well be considered rape and stating she allowed it to happen when she was too drunk to give a clearly stated rejection.
If they would have talked about it or been given more time to allow Ryan a comfortable place to relax and try to come to a better understanding, then this wouldn't be such a problem.
For all we know, princess celestia could've opened the gate and tried to understand the humans and what they really are like, coming to her own conclusions on what's best instead of allowing the past to interfere with her making good choices.
6031238 a true american celestia is. Or at least an american politician.
Man this was a satisfying chapter
6032223 there is also something called the soul.
6041239
I'm afraid I don't see those mentioned in the story anywhere, so I'm gonna have to call headcanon.
6041252
If you believe in that, you're still in the wrong. Please see this comment:
6042657
6044475
You know what, you clearly the kind of person who wouldn't really care about it no matter what I say to them, so I'm not really going to bother.
Honestly, though? If you think that some bare leftover scraps of a personal quirk that someone could maybe feel reminded of a certain person by - if they already know who that person used to be - is remotely equal to losing the memories of your entire life, your childhood, your friends, your dreams, your fears, your family, your goals, your likes, your dislikes, your home, your world and absolutely everything you've ever cared about? You must have switched the entries for "soul" and "cardboard cutout" around in your dictionary at some point, when it comes to what being human actually means.
6032223
Fortunately, or unfortunately, she is not a blank slate, and every part that made her a distinct individual has not been overwritten. This was already established earlier, when Silverbolt experienced confusion at half remembered pasts. Completely murdering Ryan would have left Silver with no confusion whatsoever, but what happened instead is a much messier situation. Whether Ryan can be fully recovered or not, it is factually inaccurate, and very emotionally exaggerated, to say that she has been murdered. It's true if you end up with a pony who acts like Silver and thinks like Silver and doesn't have the faintest reaction or idea what a human or a Ryan is then yes, that's personality death. But whether that is morally repugnant or not, in this story it's simply not the case.
3.bp.blogspot.com/-KJSm8BQ0TPo/UpYWUntDUVI/AAAAAAAAAUY/un_FZmOXI3c/s1600/miracle+max.jpg
6032151
I'd have turned her into a pony, left her memories intact, turned her loose on the streets of Manehatten, and just sat back and watched the show.
"You have to believe me! Celestia is an evil tyrant who transformed me--I used to be human! We have to-- stop, come back! No don't just throw coins in my hat! I AM NOT CRA"
6045350
Honestly, I think this is a lot like saying that a book hasn't actually been burned because there are some readable scraps of paper left, but I suppose at that point it's a matter of interpretation.
6045395
The oldest copy of the bible only has like one half of a sentence left, and that doesn't seem to stop people from swearing by it!
6045540
Come on, that's just intentionally playing dumb, now. Nobody would say that scrap is a complete book, because a copy of a book existing is not the same as the original book still existing. The analogy wasn't that tortured.
6045240
It's really the question of; what is a soul?
Is a soul a form of consciousness residing within the brain/body? Or is it the way all memories are formed together that makes the soul? That really makes the difference whether the person has been ''murdered'' or not.
For example; Remember the Optimalverse? People would go into the machine and all their memories would be copied into the machine. The ''soul'' would be the exact same because the memories are the same. However, if the first assumption about the soul is true, then the soul has been ''copied'' and the original soul destroyed, therefore a different person is within Equestria together with CelestAI.
In this case, however, it appears Ryan is still Ryan. Her memories are still there, only surpressed as is shown by the narrative. In both possibilities, Ryan is still Ryan. And really, think about the options there are in the story. This is grey-area morality. Whatever option you choose, something bad needs to happen:
A) Ryan is send back to Earth, endangering millions of ponies to their doom and the future of Equestria.
B) Ryan remains in Equestria and has to cope with her gigantic issues
C) Ryan becomes a pony as shown in this story, loses her identity but will have an easy life.
Sure, no outcome is best, but I think Ryan is not worth millions of ponies.
Some people don't even believe in souls at all, you know.
6048756
Celestia's own statement is that they are gone permanently and can't be recovered. Since neither her sister nor Twilight disagree with her on that, I assume she's telling the truth about it, Silver's behaviour nonwithstanding. There might be a completely unrelated reason for that, after all.
I don't really know how that's at all related to what her life is "worth," though.
6051170
I was talking about the person, the consciousness. You know what I mean.
heh
**** you Celestia. Go rot in Tartarus for a few centuries. Will this story have a happy ending, or is some tragedy going to strike where Ryan has no choice but to remain a pony?
So Hypocritical Bitchlestia returns. I wondered how consentual the transformation was, and it looks like instead of what happened in the original story after Ryan suggested, IN A FIT OF DESPAIR INDUCED ANGER, ponifying her, Celestia went 'Ooh, I like that better than the moral option!' and poofed her into a pony.
So yeah, Celestia interpreted a dig at her as consent to magically kill someone...and she wonders why everyone who knows hates her now...
Story has been canceled. And it was picking up a good pace too...