50. Moral Outrage
Awareness came slowly to Rarity. Almost painfully.
“She’s regaining consciousness.”
“Are you sure this is wise, Your Highness? Your sister told us having her awake would make the rejection happen faster.”
“Thank you for the concern, but I believe this is worth the risk.”
Rarity groggily tried to remember what had led her to this moment. She was shocked to discover that she could recall nothing. She went to bed and that was it. It wasn’t even the haze of dreams, just… click. Went to bed, closed her eyes, and woke up here.
That was not normal.
“Miss Belle? It’s me, Princess Celestia. Can you hear my voice?”
Rarity tried to respond, successfully managing to get her eyes to crack open. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get her mouth to cooperate. Wait… why couldn’t she move?
Had there been an accident? Was her memory affected?
“Blink once for yes, twice for no,” Celestia supplied helpfully.
Rarity opened her eyes a little more, and found she could now see a sea of blurred colors. She blinked once.
“Excellent. You are currently within Ponyville General after having been brought in suffering from what Luna calls Direct Memory Rejection. Your sister, by the way, is fine and is currently being taken care of by Applejack.” Rarity heard the Princess pause. “Do you recall how your friends have begun waking up Hero Souls?”
One blink. Yes, she remembered Applejack waking one up shortly before her last memory. How did this have to do with whatever had happened to her.
“You woke one up yourself a couple nights ago during a breakin within your home. You apparently awakened your Hero Soul while fighting off the intruder, but once you had the time to go over the details of who the Hero Soul was, you rejected the memories. Violently. Hence the name; Direct Memory Rejection.”
Rarity managed to frown. She rejected the memories? Could that be why she was in the hospital? Twilight had suffered pretty badly when she had rejected Clark Kent’s memories, and that was subconsciously. She had apparently full out denied them.
“You’ve been sedated and kept within a medically induced coma to slow the decay of your mind from such a thing. Today I convinced Luna to temporarily seal off the memory of your awakening so that I may discuss it with you.”
Rarity blinked her eyes a bit, managing to get them to focus more. “W...why…”
Celestia spoke up gently. “Why temporarily?” she asked. Rarity managed a small nod. “Because, for as much as you may deny them, the memories are now a part of you. If I were to erase them, your soul would eventually just regenerate them. This is nothing more than a temporary solution to enable somewhat safe communication.”
Rarity finally managed to get her legs to cooperate and slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position. She could see Celestia now, though she was still a very blurry white and rainbow-ish blob. “Why did I… Why did I reject them?”
Celestia didn’t immediately answer her question, but when she did, she did it slowly. “I am unsure. I can only speculate that something about the memories caused you to deny them. I was hoping to help you come to terms with whatever that may be today. Can you think of any reason why you would reject such a thing?”
Rarity frowned and tried to make herself comfortable in her new position. She grimaced. No matter how she adjusted, she could not get comfortable. After a minute she gave up and considered the question the Princess had asked her.
“Well… I can say honestly that I don’t fancy the idea of having the memories of someone else in my mind,” she started. “The very idea somewhat frightens me. Would they change me?” She shook her head slowly. “I will also be the first to admit that I hold myself to some somewhat strict standards. I could have taken exception to their personal hygiene, their career choice, or even to their gender. I really don’t know,” she said.
“Hmm,” Celestia seemed to consider that. “I suppose we should discuss that then. First, let us examine the idea of the memories themselves.” She placed a hoof on her chest. “While my sister is by far the expert of Hero Souls, I know enough to assure you of this; the memories are yours. They have been a part of you since you were born, just locked away for your safety until you were ready for them. There will, of course, be some confusion and discomfort with the memories fully integrating with you on a conscious level, my student can tell you that much from personal experience, but in the end they are still your memories.”
“So… accepting them won’t change me?” Rarity asked. “I mean, Twilight never appeared to change, apart from how she can casually violate the laws of physics without magic, but I still worry. Fluttershy was visibly changed by her awakening. She’s… braver, more courageous, and I’ve certainly heard some interesting bits of wisdom from her.”
Celestia nodded at that. “Very true, but I think that is a matter of self-acceptance, rather than a direct change by her awakened memories. Fluttershy was once a soldier in a war the likes Equestria has never seen. Such a conflict will change a pony, mark them. Fluttershy’s fear may in fact be partially because her subconscious remembered those horrifying memories. However, gaining access to the full memories, wisdom, and experience on a conscious level also gave her the tools she needed to more readily face that fear. Fluttershy was never changed, just given the means to be a better pony.”
Rarity considered that. It had never occurred to her that a Hero Soul’s memories could be accessed by the subconscious mind before their awakening. It would certainly explain some of the more interesting dreams and day-dreams she had as a child.
The fact that said dreams and day-dreams usually involved a lot of gold and jewels made her heart twang, though why she didn’t know.
“As for the gender difference…” Here Celestia coughed a bit awkwardly. “I’m afraid that is something most Hero Souls must deal with. As you know, the gender ratio of Equestria is somewhat skewed in favor of mares. Most other worlds, Luna and I have discovered, are either skewed the other way, or the ratio is more equal. Unfortunately that means most Hero Souls have to deal with memories from both sides of the fence. It has led to some… interesting… developments, but nothing planet shattering, I assure you.”
Rarity sat there and absorbed that slowly. She noticed that her head hurt, but pushed it aside for now. “What about career?” she asked after a moment. “I am very proud of my career and have some heavy ambitions for it. Will the memories change that?”
Celestia also considered that. “Well… bare in mind that a pony’s career tends to be tied to their Cutie-Marks, and your Cutie-Mark is an expression of both your soul and your passion. Combined with the fact that the memories will come from your soul, I really don’t see it adversely affecting your career, not unless you are doing work that you secretly despised.”
Rarity nodded after a moment, seeing the sense in that. Her Cutie-Mark was an expression of both her talent in finding gems, and of how she both viewed nobility and her aspirations towards the title. She supposed her career wasn’t necessarily tied to her Cutie-Mark, but it was itself an expression, and outlet, of her talent. Gems played a heavy part in her style of design, after all.
“Last question, then,” she said. “What about morals? I also hold myself to a strong moral code. I don’t want that to change.”
She noticed that Celestia frowned, appearing to think fairly hard about that. “I would have to converse with my sister regarding that, as morality is a fairly fluid concept to begin with, but I think one of my previous answers ties into this.” She pointed at Rarity. Or, rather, her chest. “The memories were always there, and were even subconsciously accessible. They’ve always influenced you, though granted in a minor way until now. Who you are today you owe, in part, to those memories.”
As Rarity digested that, Celestia shrugged. “Besides, morality is a choice. One that is sometimes difficult, yes, but a choice nonetheless. Even if your Hero Soul was one of someone you did not like, the memories and talents you inherited are yours, and they are therefore yours to do with as you wish. As I explained to my student once, these memories do not mean you must act on them the same way as your previous incarnation, merely that you have more readily accessible tools to follow your path.”
Rarity nodded, but frowned at the same time. It almost sounded as if… Oh. That’s right. She had already awakened her Hero Soul. Her memories of the event were just suppressed right now. That meant Celestia probably already knew not only who her Hero Soul was, but why she rejected it. “I see. The only thing about me that the memories change is what I can now readily remember. Er… will readily remember.”
Celestia sighed in relief, and that Rarity knew she had hit the nail on the head. “You know, don’t you?” she asked, getting Celestia’s attention. “You already know who my Hero Soul is, and why I rejected it.”
Celestia took a moment, but eventually nodded. “I know what your Hero Soul likely did for a living, but not who they were. If you wish, I will tell you my theory, but only removing the block on your memory will let you know for certain.”
Rarity considered that. Why would she reject a person based on their career choice? Well, she knew all too easily one career that she may have taken exception to. “I was a criminal, wasn’t I?”
Celestia frowned here. “That would depend on what you mean by criminal. Were you someone who loved chaos, destruction, and misery? No. There cannot be a Hero Soul who is evil. In fact a Hero Soul must bear a virtue and desire to save people. But I have seen criminals who do the things they do in the name of helping others and protecting people.” She paused. “I believe you were a thief. However, unlike a thief that stole to sate their greed, I believe you were a thief that stole to provide for others, or perhaps one that worked to gather evidence to put away worse criminals.”
“I see…” Rarity said, taking that in. Yes, she could certainly see why she may have rejected the memories. Even now she can feel a part of her urging her to forsake the memories and let oblivion take her, but the conversation with Celestia before this revelation gave her pause. ‘I wonder… could I use those skills in a way that doesn’t violate my morals?’
“Please lift the memory block, Princess,” she decided.
Celestia hesitated. “Are you sure? If I do this, it may kill you if you reject them again. And I don’t mean physically. The Hero Soul system is powerful. In its effort to give you the memories it may accidentally erase you and leave nothing but your previous incarnation if you fight it hard enough.”
Rarity nodded. “I cannot make a decision without seeing just what kind of person I was. I want to know… I need to know if I can justify such a thing to myself.”
Celestia still hesitated, but eventually stood and lit her horn. “Alright, but Rarity?”
“Yes Princess?”
“Your friends are waiting for you.”
Then she undid the block.
“It all began when I was just a kid, bouncing on my father’s knee. You see, I come from a long line of master thieves, who kept their secrets for sneaking and stealing in an ancient book. The Thievius Raccoonus.”
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Looks like Rarity will learn this 'never judge the book by its cover' lesson before Twilight in this timeline. But, again, understand slight damaged soul Pinkie might be even more chaotic.
Damn Rarity you stubborn mule! Cooper is somehow decent...
A very important lesson is going to be learned here by Rarity. I do think the Souls that Fluttershy and Twilight have could provide much insight.
Hiatus? Why?
9719108
I don't actually work on this often enough to justify any other status. At least this way I head off most of the people who comment with nothing but questions about when the next chapter will come out.
9719220
Ah. Okay, then.
Short chapter is short but still nice
Seems like Celestia missed a rather obvious and major point to make: whoever and whatever else Sly Cooper may have been, he was also a person who became a Hero Soul. That by itself is proof that he was extraordinary in some extremely positive way, and a strong reason to expect that inspecting his memories will find a "hidden diamond".
9721042
Well, yeah, that was kinda what Celestia was trying subtly point out to Rarity. She was trying to make Rarity come to that conclusion herself, rather than beat her over the head with it and possibly make her reject the memories out of spite.
There's also the fact that while Celestia is knowledgeable about Hero Souls, and has in fact dealt with them in the past, Luna is the expert on them for the simple fact that her position as an Avatar of Death grants her an insight into souls that Celestia will never have. Celestia's knowledge of Hero Souls is limited by this, and she believes that the system can be compromised, whereas Luna's knowledge is far more developed, and she knows full well that to be a Hero Soul requires the embodiment of some kind of virtue and an instinct towards saving people.
9721193
Yes, bluntly telling Rarity that he must somehow be some paradoxical paragon of virtue might go over poorly. However, trying to imagine myself in Rarity's place, Celestia's arguments feel like they'd come across as mostly wishful thinking, which would not be very persuasive.
Guiding her to reach the conclusion herself is a good approach, but I think the point that there is a reason to have this hope would really need to be stated clearly and explicitly somewhere in the conversation. Celestia's comments about her past experience with thieves helps, but it's too vague, minimal, and general, and - most importantly - goes directly against the entire conviction that Rarity is holding to. Rarity believes that all thieves are bad. Celestia is effectively saying that she's outright wrong, that thieves in general are not that bad. The only thing that makes that argument not falling dead on arrival even remotely plausible is that it's coming from Princess Celestia.
A good persuasive argument needs to not contradict Rarity's beliefs, and instead enlist another of her own beliefs to counter the first one. Start at the positive and useful belief, build it up a bit, get her actively endorsing it in the conversation, and then lead into how it's in opposition to the negative and problematic belief. Once there, don't try to insist that either belief must be the right one, but just suggest that there's reason for doubt, and that seeing the specifics of the memories should resolve the conflict. Bringing up the heartbreak her death would cause is kind of similar, but that's more of a motivation than a belief. Arguing based on that is still asking Rarity to give up a strongly held belief in order to achieve a goal.
I'd have Celestia hold off on revealing that Sly's a thief, because going from that to talking about other Hero Souls would make it instantly obvious what she's trying to do, risking an immediate rejection on principle from Rarity. Have her start talking about Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack, asking for Rarity's thoughts on their Hero Soul identities, prompting Rarity about the idea of their heroism if she doesn't bring it up herself. Then have her ask Rarity to keep all of that in mind, and then explain about the thief thing. After the moment of outrage passes, I see two major ways this could go:
I'd go with the second one to give Rarity a more active role in the scene.
9721193
Honestly I'm excited to see where this goes. I loved playing the cooper games (expect certain parts of sly 2 that can burn in hell for their tidius crimes.) Hope you can update again sometime soon.
8345898
I just realized there was a part of your comment I missed in my reply.
In regards to Celestia's willingness to kill Twilight... The Element of Magic is a conceptualized artifact, meaning it is the physical embodiment of a concept, Friendship/Magic in this instance. If the Element of Magic were to abandon Twilight, it would only be because Twilight committed an act so thoroughly against the ideals of Friendship that it could only be called evil. And if Twilight had gone evil, Celestia, as the one who trained her in most everything she knows, would feel it was her responsibility to stop Twilight.
Sorry for not clarifying that earlier.
It's kinda sorta back!
Bring us the Flutter Cap!
Well it is back and I think I would call what Celestia did here slightly manipulative. She wants Rarity for completely altruistic reasons but she needed to manipulate Rarity into coming to an agreement on her own terms. Hopefully with the block undone Rarity can learn from this and move on with her life.
9954124
Celestia has to be manipulative. Ignoring her kind heart, her generous rule, and even her desire to see her ponies happy, Celestia is the ruler of largely pacifistic nation. She must do everything in her power to ensure the survival and development of Twilight and her friends, or lose Equestria's greatest, and perhaps only, defense against evil. She will have to make hard choices regarding this in the future of this series.
Besides, it's not as if she just ordered Rarity to "Get over yourself." She helped Rarity work through what she knew would be the biggest issue she would have, as well as some of the other minor issues.
This new version has some mature conversation and insight. Though it did feel a bit off from the stubborness Rarity showed in the previous chapter. (maybe because I already read the old version)