Fallen Star
Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter
***
"Before you even start," I say before she can continue, "how do I even know you are telling the truth to begin with? For all I know, you could be lying to me to make me feel sympathetic."
"A fair point," Celestia points out before she asks, "I assume you know how a truth spell works?"
"Twilight showed it to us one time," I answer as Princess Celestia's horn glows and an orb of blue mystical energy appears between us.
"Test it out," Celestia orders as I look at the orb to make sure it's real and not an illusion.
After double-checking, I give an honest answer first. "My name is Fluttershy." It starts glowing green for a few minutes before going back to blue. Okay, now time for a lie. "I approve of the war against humanity." It soon becomes red.
"Satisfied?"
"Well enough." Sitting down on my bed, I stare at the princess, looking at me with what appeared to be both annoyed and yet tired eyes. Truth be told, even before coming to Earth, there were times when I saw Celestia look so old and tired that I doubted anypony else, but a few even noticed. This really shouldn't be a surprise, I guess. She's lived past a thousand years and has seen everything come and go since that time, including loved ones and friends. Discord and I never talked about his immortality and how he would remain living long after I passed away. Sure, coming to Earth removed the immortality that the alicorns and Discord had, but they were still predicted to live long lives.
Now he is gone...and I'm the one who's still alive. Ironic, huh?
Still, I should be focusing on my questions. The one thing that so many people and ponies have been asking ever since this war started is why? Why did we do all this? Why was Celestia so determined to convert or wipe out humanity? The official story is that we came here as ambassadors of friendship to provide aid and guidance to a species that needed our help to achieve the magic of friendship. Because humanity has rejected this, it was decided among all four alicorns to declare war on humanity and convert them for the greater good of themselves and the planet they were ruining.
I can still remember the grand speech made that day in Canterlot by all four Princesses. I can recall the cheers and military parade done with Shining Armor, declared Commanding General of the Armed Forces, proudly holding the fancy sword that Princess Celestia made for him, which was lost after he died. It was deemed that any humans who resisted or refused to be saved were to be mourned as lost souls while the new foals were treated as one of us. Now I know this to be nonsense, but I cannot figure out why we came here then for the life of me. Not to mention what warranted Celestia to be willing to eliminate all life in our homeworld.
"Why did we come to Earth," I ask with a heavy sigh. "What was the reason for all of this? The actual bucking reason."
For a while, Celestia just stares at the ground, looking at her hooves while her face shows an inner struggle. I didn't think she was going to do so until she finally spoke, "I'll just come out and say it. Our world was going to end in fifty or so years."
...What?
"What?" I whisper, not expecting this. "The world was...going to end?"
"Yes," Celestia answers before turning to the wall of my prison. "Hundreds of years ago, before Nightmare Moon returned, I sensed something wrong with the sun. Eventually, I realized it was dying and would eventually go out. Without the sun, all life would have perished, and, knowing this, I tried everything I could to save our world. I used every spell and ritual, even dark, forbidden magic, to try and prolong the life of the sun, but nothing worked."
I check the orb, and it's glowing green. I pale upon realizing this was true. Was the sun going to die? I nearly choke up, thinking that the giant star in the sky was slowly counting down to the final days of our end. I would have been about sixty or seventy when it happened. Still old enough to experience such horror, not to mention any children or grandchildren I had.
"W-Why didn't you tell anyone this?!" I shout in fear. "You could have warned us! We could have done something about it!"
"How do you think the world would react if they knew we had a set deadline for extinction?" Celestia snorted. "You've seen how ponies panic when things go wrong or when something happens that violently changes their natural order. This would have caused chaos on a scale that has never been seen before. It might have even broken up Equestria, which would have only made things worse. The few I did tell were those I needed to help me find a way to try and save the sun, but nothing we tried worked."
"Why not ask the other races for help?" I point out. "After all, they would just have just as much reason to help us!"
Sure, they weren't as advanced as us, but some races, like the griffins and dragons, once had kingdoms that lasted for thousands of years before their downfall. Equestria was not always the top nation globally, just the most recent in the past millennia. Many past great civilizations had ancient texts and magic that might have shown us a key to saving it. The sun wasn't always run by ponies. It had once moved on its own. Maybe they had something to help?
To my surprise, Celestia chuckles darkly. "You really think the other races would help us? The griffins and dragons were enemies of pony kind for years and have never accepted that we become the new superpower while their kingdoms and empires fell apart. That's why we've been at war with them so many times. The minotaurs might be talented in science and technology, but they have no understanding of magic. The deer isolate themselves and think of themselves so highly that they look down on other races despite having such a small kingdom. The kirins isolate themselves and refuse to do anything with outsiders. Plus, they can't speak. The goats, cows, and donkeys, while former associates of ours, were never intelligent or skilled enough to form their own societies. Diamond dogs are mostly nomads, with their few kingdoms constantly at war with one another for gems. The Abyssinians are thieves and hate magic. I might have considered the hippogriffs if it wasn't for the fact that they disappeared and were probably wiped out by the Storm King. The centaurs have been in a state of chaos and became barbarians since Tirek was defeated, not to mention I wouldn't trust them. The yak culture is barbaric, and they, quite frankly, aren't that smart. The zebras are a mysterious race I know nothing about save from your associations with Zecora. And I would sooner let Equestria burn before I trust a damn changeling. As for the other equine nations like Saddle Arabia? They have never accepted our culture or rule, preferring to always live their own way. I couldn't trust them."
Taking a deep breath after her tirade, Celestia looks at me with narrow eyes that are filled with both sorrow and rage. "The truth of the matter, Fluttershy, is that Equestria has always been its own ally. What few we have are only able to be because we dominate them culturally, economically, or militarily. You have not lived as long as I have and seen the wars they started. The ponies they raped, murdered and raided. The lives they ruined." She closed her eyes, and a tear slipped down her cheek. "You were not a little filly who saw her home burn down with her parents inside while griffin raiders laughed at the sight. All while comforting your little sister who wanted to know where her parents were, but you cannot find it in you to explain to her that they're never coming back."
"...Is this why you left them to die? You honestly didn't trust them?" I ask with mixed feelings in my tone as I saw the orb still green for truth. "I can honestly see other species putting themselves first before each other, and some species are terrible in their actions. But I believe that, when push comes to shove, they would have worked with us to find some kind of solution."
"That's naive talking, Fluttershy," Celestia comments while shaking her head. "Never before in our world's history can I recall other races helping each other. It was always a fight to see who was dominant and who wasn't. Maybe if the other races learned about friendship and harmony, I would have considered it, but after a thousand years of having to deal with them militarily and politically, I cannot see it."
"And yet you have seen it," I point out, which causes her to tilt her head. "Despite them being the same species, humanity has always fought against itself. Their entire history has been killing each other more times than I can imagine, but for the first time in their history, when faced with a threat like Equestria, they came together and put aside everything to survive. Humanity was able to come together to survive against a threat trying to wipe them out, and they have succeeded so far. Wasn't it you and Shining Armor who both said that because of mankind's constant warfare and divisions against one another that the war would be over by Hearth's Warming Eve? Five years later, I think that statement has proved to be false. If humans could come together as one to fight a threat bigger than themselves, who was to say the other races couldn't have worked with us?"
I lift my hoof and glare at her. "The truth is, Celestia, you didn't trust them. Hell, I don't think you trust anyone. You never told Twilight the truth. And I'm guessing neither Cadence nor Luna figured it out or were told as well. What gave you the right to decide who lives and dies?! What gave you the right to play god?!"
"I am no god. There are no gods," Celestia hisses in anger as she growls at me. "If gods were real, then why did so many good ponies I once knew had to suffer despite the number of prayers and pleas for help? Where were the gods feeding the hungry? Saving the dying? Helping the poor? I realized the day my parents died that gods are nothing more than fake imaginary concepts to help ease us into accepting suffering in our lives, but doing so does nothing to fix it! When I became the Princess of Equestria, I knew that I had to do what nopony was willing to do to keep us all safe and united! Did you know that Equestria almost fell apart so soon as it began?"
"What are you-"
"Before my sister and I came into power, there was a council composed equally of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, but they continued to bicker and complain and backstab against each other! Corruption was rampant. Certain ponies wanted more rights than others. Greed and backroom deals were made. Political parties who refused to compromise for the greater good. Equestria could have fallen into civil war so soon after it began if not for the fact that Starswirl saw this and found my sister and me. After we became alicorns and were given the responsibility of ruling Equestria, I had to deal with these problems time and time again, even after my sister and I ruled as well as we could. It was then that I realized that I had to make the choices for everypony else because unless someone did so, then everything we accomplished would be for naught!"
"So you made it so that Equestria only listens and answers to you, is that it? We cannot think for ourselves and decide our own fate?!" I shout in anger. "For somepony who claims not to be a god, you sure act like one!"
"You think I wanted to do the things I did? The lives I had to sacrifice? The teachings and histories I had to erase, censor, or rewrite? The laws and teaching I had to have drilled religiously and culturally? Keep us from following the same path as so many ancient civilizations met their end? You think I like having a religion made out of my image?" Celestia questions me as she points at herself and shakes her head. "Judge me for whatever reasons, but I kept Equestria safe. I protected her. I made her last a thousand years while other nations burned to the ground. I united us and focused on the lessons and teachings that other so-called wise leaders were too stupid to realize. Maybe I am a dictator, but if that's the price to pay for order and preservation, then I'll live with it."
"And you were willing to let every other race die to do that, huh?" I spat in disgust
"I didn't do it intentionally," Celestia replies, shaking her head. "I may not trust the other races, but I never wanted them to all die off. Think of me what you will, but I am not a monster. I tried finding a way to save our world, but I only managed to find a way to save Equestria in the end. By using the Elements of Harmony, combined with Starswirl's theory of cross dimensional travel, and there was enough energy to teleport Equestria, save for the Everfree Forest-"
"Why didn't the Everfree Forest come with us?" I ask not just because I was naturally curious but also home to several creatures I cared about. And a friend, Zecora, who had been like an older sister and teacher to the six of us when we were younger.
"I don't fully know," Celestia says, shrugging. "My guess is that the unnatural state of the forest was able to keep it from following us across dimensions. I honestly never cared to think about it."
"Even if someone we cared about was living in it," I say in disgust. "Zecora wasn't just a friend. She's helped us multiple times save Ponyville. She should have been spared at the very least. A lot of good creatures should have been spared."
"I tried to save everyone!" Celestia shouts in rage, which makes me lean back. "I spent years trying to do so. Even for those who I hated and despised, but there wasn't enough time! What little time I had while running the country and finding the Elements new wielders was dedicated to finding us a new home that would save us all, but the more I did so, the more energy, resources, and limit of opportunity there was for us! There was no other choice, and the longer I waited, the more risk there was! I had wanted to do it after you and the girls got the Elements, but I held back. It was only after Tirek nearly killed us all that I realized that I couldn't waste anymore time. If something happened to you, Twilight, or any of the other girls, then the Elements would never work, and we would be doomed!"
She took a few deep breaths before lowering her head. "The one thing I must always do, no matter what, is protect my subjects. Even if it means sacrificing the entire world to do so, then I will do it. This was not a choice I made easily. I can't sleep decently anymore ever since we left our dimension. So, yes, Fluttershy, I left all our fellow creatures to die in our world. Would I still try to find a way to save every creature if I had a chance? Yes. But I would make the same choice all over again if it meant we survived." She looks me directly in the eyes. "Could you have done the same?"
I don't answer that. Honestly, I don't think I can make that choice. Save what I could while letting so many die, or do what I can to try to save everyone while risking the possibility of saving nobody? It's a choice that has no happy outcome unless a miracle happens. I lower my head and shake it. "I still think you should have tried to get help from the other races… but as for making a choice? I don't know. I don't think I can make that choice. It's too big for me."
"Welcome to what I have to deal with every day, Fluttershy," Celestia states as she summons a bottle of wine from her magic that poofs into my cell. "Ever since I was a filly and turned into alicorn, I've had to make choices like this. Choices about who lives and who dies. What is best for an entire nation of millions. You have no idea the struggles, sacrifices, and regrets I've had ever since I took the crown. This crown… being the leader of Equestria. This is all that I am."
All that she was.
For a split second, I realized something. Celestia was but a child when she was thrust into this position. How would a young filly, who lost her home and family, feel if she learned that the stability of an entire nation was on her shoulder? How fast would she have to grow up from the pressures and pain that came with it? Growing up knowing that your friends would die one day? That any spouses or children would also be gone? That this was the fate you would be forced to deal with for the rest of your life all life, not just in Equestria, but the world depended on your ability to move the sun and govern millions?
I wonder… is there really a Celestia, or is there just the figure and nothing more. Was being the ruler of Equestria such a weight that being a ruler is all she can be? Every choice is a calculation for the greater good? And to do so for over a thousand years? No wonder she thought she was the only one who could guide Equestria, protect it, and decide its fate.
Celestia is still a child. A child who never grew up right. A child who thinks that there is nothing but her way of being right and others being wrong. A child who thinks she knows what's best because she was told to be the best.
For a brief moment, I think I can pity her, but soon it's gone. Because there is only so much an excuse like that to give. Taking a few moments to think, I close my eyes and shake my head. "Alright, let's move on to my next question. The war with humanity. Why?"
"Because humanity refused to convert into ponies," Celestia said, rolling her eyes. "I thought that was obvious?"
"No, I mean: why try to convert them in the first place? Why are you so determined to wipe out their culture, faiths, beliefs, and more? Everything about them you seem to hate with a passion, and I want to know why?" I point my hoof at her. "Why do you hate humanity, Celestia?"
She's quiet again for a few minutes as she collects her thoughts before she takes a deep sigh. "Do you want the personal one first or the greater scope one?"
"Personal?" I ask in surprise. "How could you have a personal problem with-"
"They killed my daughter." My eyes widen as I feel my jaw drop fully as Celestia takes another few gulps of wine. Wiping her mouth, Celestia continues, "Not my real daughter, mind you. But she was one of the closest ones I've ever had. Next to Twilight, she was the greatest pupil I ever had. Young. Energetic. Kind and...loving..."
"I… I never heard of her. What was her name?" I ask with actual curiosity. I have never heard of this mare, this apprentice of Celestia's before Twilight. Actually, I can recall that Celestia did have an apprentice years ago, but she died very young in an accident. Was this the same pony?
It takes a while, but then I hear the name that is spoken both in sorrow and in joy:
"Sunset Shimmer."
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Oh frick. This just got deep with the sunset thing. I knew everything else but that might be new, is it?
I get it Celestia it's hard to make tough decisions and you've basically been doing them for thousands of years. It is true you are basically a child, given authority that you did not want and you were forced to grow up fast.
Being a ruler is stressful, keeping an empire together is demanding and having the lives of millions on your shoulders is morally and emotionally draining. But....
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In the OG canon Sunset was sent to Earth earlier to scout it out. She was then attacked and eaten by African natives and Celestia saw the whole thing I believe. Here it is https://www.fimfiction.net/story/321009/1/truth/the-fallen-princess
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Ah thanks. I couldn’t remember.
So basically I got: "Blah blah blah, I'm a massive racist and control freak, blah blah blah, Ponies first and always! Zieg heil!"
And honestly it wouldn't surprise me that the Everfree didn't come along because the Tree of Harmony saw what would happen and this was its way off telling her to F* off. Also adds another prediction that the Elements won't work because the Tree was left behind.
Since the hippogriff's have the Pearl that can turn them into seaponies, and there are some creatures that can live in the abyss where light can't reach, its possible that they may have survived, although, they would eventually likely de-evolve like the Falmer in Skyrim. It's not much, but there may still be life back on Equus.
Hitler also wanted just to save his race, Celestia.
You didn't have longer childhood, Hitler didn't go to art class and sniffed mustard gas in WW1, and Stalin was beaten like a dog.
Oh yes for sure you had it the worse 😐 -heavy sarcasm
Also that stupid bitch is doing it because if I remember correctly some tribals killed Sunset Shimmer
10837139
Wait...
They all know about the Everfree and still.....
Wait what.
Shouldn't Discord be alive?
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this is an AU where he died. Celestia killed him while they were capturing Fluttershy
Y’know. As sad as I would be to read it, I think it would be nice to read the chronicles of those left behind. I bet Chrysalis, Zecora, Gilda, Little Strongheart, Ember, and the young Main 6 (minus Sandbar) would provide interesting accounts of the final days of Equis.
10837177
I actually suggested that as a fanfic idea for adoption. It's still free for someone to get
10837173
Well in original she was quickly executed
But because Discord was very liked and she killed him,I think they will torture her.
Them seeing Discord as a savior that bought them time would give them the required hate to do it.
For example, forcefully keeping her alive and awake when cutting her open, to see what makes her tick, etc.
And in the end, she will be just a head in a jar looking at her body with would be nothing but a heart, lungs connected to the head, and machines.
Torture that will last for months, a goodbye gift before a trip to hell
... Y'know, learning Celestia's real reason for being such a stupidly evil character has actually made me wish she had more family members that could get killed in progressively more horrible ways.
The more I read this fanfic, the more Celestia reminds me of some man. Who decided to lead a Great Crusade and make a Lebensraum for humanity. Who liked to say "the difference is, I know I'm right". And who got massively screwed not only by his enemies' actions, but by his own pride, hypocrisy and love of secrecy.
The Man Emperor of Mankind.
P.S. Actually, screw that. Emps was wise enough to let humanity develop on its own, and appeared as conqueror only when shit got real. Celestia... not.
She can spin it however she likes, but ultimately Celestia has killed so many daughters that likely didn't even exist when Sunset was killed. And her other reason is likely just something along the lines of being afraid of thousands of years of control slipping so quickly to humanity's culture. She might think her reasons are good and understandable, but all the additional losses she suffered are entirely a result of her own actions. I can't wait to see Fluttershy's response to hearing that all the death was because Celestia was essentially jealous.
Excuse me, I need to go make an entry for Believing Their Own Lies on the tropes page, assuming someone hasn't already beat me to it.
Soo... this version of Celestia is either lying to Fluttershy (despite the truth spell, which was probably rigged by Celestia) or Celestia is a complete and absolute moron. Though, I am leaning toward both at this point.
What frustrates me the most is that Fluttershy seems to be missing all the clues.
Thanks for the chapter Ponystar, keep up the good work.
10837227
I saw that too.
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So everything happened because Starswirl was neither a good father figure or role model for Celestia and Luna?
Color me surprised.
Well, con-fucking-gratulations. You made me hate Negotiations-verse Celestia even more. I did not think it was possible, yet you managed to do it. Christ, every single one of her lines physically fucking hurts me with the sheer amount of hypocrisy, idiocy and dishonesty dripping off of it. It's as if you took the bad traits of fifty worst politicians on Earth, mixed it all and poured it into a pony-shaped mould.
Flutters doesn't need to imagine shit, she got the front row seats to how humanity reacted.
Damn, if only we had an example of another technologically gifted species that got access to magic in addition to their expertise in science, and produced something previously thought impossible through either of those means alone.
Nations left isolation for less than threat of extinction Tia, one would think the end of the world itself would be enough of a kick in the flank to get them to cooperate.
Sunbutt is racist. In other news, the sky is blue.
This isn't an explanation or even an excuse, it's literally "I'm not gonna cooperate with anyone even the slightest bit different than me". Holy fuck, even Hitler was willing to cooperate with what he considered lesser people to get at his goals quicker. And it's not even about race at this point, it's just culture.
Sounds like someone who might be hiding previously unknown magic that could be useful in this scenario. Celestia is a fucking lobotomite.
Breaking news folks, Celestia just admitted humans are more likely to cooperate towards a shared goal in spite of differing opinions than ponies and other races of Equus.
I don't know Celestia, why did ponies need to suffer through a cruel war after you declared war on literally all of humanity, a species that went past making killing an art, and fucking industrialized it instead? That's a mystery we might never solve.
Why do I feel like this seemingly democratic institution would do a better job at ruling Equestria than Celestia did in the end, were it allowed to survive?
You do not get to pull that fucking card Celestia. At nearly every point when forced into a bad-worse choice, you actively chose the worst possible option.
Celestia: I did it for order and preservation.
Also Celestia, the moment humanity tries to preserve their species and culture: Wollt ihr den totalen Krieg!?
Except changelings. By her own admission, if saving Equestria was only possible through cooperating with a changebug, she would not take the option. Even if the changeling in question was an absolute cinnamon roll like Thorax.
And that spare 50 years we had apparently doesn't count.
It would be much less of a problem if Celestia bothered to find other solutions to problems than the Elements, instead of tossing the mane six at every world ending threat. Form a competent military, or get off your fat flank for once and at least try to fight the threat yourself.
Hope you enjoyed my rant. Negotiations-verse Celestia is the fucking worst. Why did I even bother to type all that out, all I did is work myself up for no reason.
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i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/954/323/394.jpg
10837288
I agree, I'm not impressed with her grand speech either. It's very unlikely she even told Luna all this!
(in main canon, it's hinted she didn't.)
So tragic villain Celestia? Maybe, but she's still a villain and tyrant, who COULD try. But didn't.
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No problem with that, as long as that hatred is channeled in the correct way.
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I don't think you missed a single god damned point.
pics.me.me/i-like-this-one-thor-approves-45256944.png
And then years later in the future, a portal is opened back to equestria, and everyone is fine because it turns out that the sun wasn't dying, Celestia was just smothering it, so once she left everything was normal. Either that or they actually did come up with a solution when Celestia just up and abandoned them
10837288
Pretty much spot on. Just a detail
Sounds a lot like "they rejected me as supreme leader, so fuck them all".
I don't get how Celestia can complain about having to play the part of the infallible goddess in one breath, yet dismiss or/and despise anyone who may disagree with her in the next one. All without the truth orb exploding.
Looks at Sunsets world.
Looks at ours.
Celestia, I think you went to the wrong world...
with no more characters to go through, I can only speculate what's going to happen next.
“They killed my daughter so I’m going to commit genocide”
Damn maybe if you were a better ruler, it wouldn’t have happened. Just like if Hitler wasn’t a shit artist, we would never have a Nazi Germany.
To add on to the list of villains Celestia can be compared to here, this Celestia would have fit right in with the Changeling's of Star Trek Deep Space Nine, anything that can't be controlled can't be trusted and must be destroyed.
She took up power to young to remember or perhaps even have a youthful rebellion phase where the more you try and stop someone from doing something the more keen they become to do it.
She'll pay the penalty for this soon enough...
10837561
Funny thing is I've seen some of Hitler's paintings and they are actually really good. I think he was kept out simply because he was born in a lower class.
Okay, there's a lot here but I really can't fault her on the thing about Equestria as a young nation. I mean in the series finale it took like three days and a handful of bad actors for the three tribes to try and split up modern day Equestria. It's pretty clear that unless things are close to perfect their first instinct is never going to be to work together.
10837578
Yes and no
Yes he was talented and good to the eyes of an average person, no because he wasn’t good enough and lacked both emotion and imagination.
If you look at his artwork, it looks like someone trying hard to get into the art schools. However, art schools are looking for artists who are bold, imaginative, proficient at making emotions. Hitler couldn’t even get lighting down.
So yes, while he was good, he wasn’t good enough. Kind of like my sister. She thinks she’s good and she has the potential to be better, but she wasn’t good enough. And that is why she still struggles to find a great paying job despite having a degree from the Art Center College of Design.
That and she’s a fucking jerk and her actions, the way she talks, and the way she looks was enough to tell interviewers “She’s not good enough”.
Me speaking to my sister: “Cold hard truth you big flaming bitch. That’s what you get for wrecking my fucking car.”
Yes, she really did wreck my car. That’s why I don’t let her drive me anymore.
From what I recall in Truth, Sunset was transported to a remote area inhabited by primitive savages, who killed and ate her. So as tragic and horrible as her death was, it was really just her ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time, rather then being killed by actual rotten humans.
Besides you can’t base you opinion of a species on the actions of one bad first impression.
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The supreme irony would be Celestia learning Equestria leaving the building is what brought the rest of Equus together.
And I see that reference to the catfolk and their hatred for magic. If King Meowmeow existed in this timeline, then the other Trees of Harmony almost certainly did as well, and while one might not be enough, five out of six could likely still save the world with their own Bearers and death literally staring every race in the eye from an abandoned Sun and a gaping hole where the dominant species on the planet had cut and run. Not to mention the SIXTH Tree being still there in the Everfree, albeit diminished by the loss of it's Elements! Even if it needs ponies, there were certainly ponies outside Equestria, like a certain crackhorn named Berrytwist who is only a lesson away from understanding Loyalty, at the very least.
Which, I might note would probably make a hella good oneshot spinoff from this.
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What would be a tragic irony is that the Tree of Harmony saves Equus from destruction and the other races, which Celestia abandoned, move into an unprecedented era of peace, prosperity, and societal advancement.
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This can be the perfect setup for a story where it is revealed that forces (e.g. deities) on Equus manipulated Celestia into leaving in order to restore harmony to the planet.
Just a food for thought.
I am sorry, but everything about Truth does not make Celestia a sympathetic figure. At all. In fact, it only confirms her own hypocrisy and that she is a relic of a bygone era that needs to be done away with. Keeping her true motivations a secret never made sense in the Negotiation verse nor does it in this story. It all only makes her look even worse.
Celestia Must Die.
TBH, I kinda feel sad for Celestia now.
Not going to lie, still want her to die, but I still kinda feel sorry for her
I’m not surprised Starswirl wasn’t the best at mentoring her, everything points to him being highly work oriented. Which led to considerable magical advancement, but doesn’t exactly mean he was father of the year. Beyond that, Celestia getting so warped from being thrust into a position of power so young isn’t surprising in the least. I love how Fluttershy saw her what she was… a overgrown filly who’s played a mare so long she’s even fooled herself. Queen Chrysalis despite looking “older” had a lot of behavior and mannerisms that reminded me more of a narcissistic teenager, then an adult. Even Tirek (G4) seemed to be a bit developmentally stunted, make all the jokes about him being a Grandmas boy, but sometimes I wonder… if for all the power in the world… would he be willing to trade it all just to make cookies with Gramgram again… I’d be willing to be his home life wasn’t exactly happy, perhaps he’s “Tirek the Lesser”, ie some son/bastard of the real Tirek…Nightmare Moons desire for attention and relevance reminds me of many neglected children, while her actions would have been catastrophic, I have to wonder if she understood what she was doing. Then we have Discord… the Ultimate example of Peter-pan Syndrome mixed with a dangerous amount of power. In some ways he and Celestia share a lot… they both only personally grew as much as they had too… but in the end he still grew more then she ever could.
But reading all this Celestia’s response to humans reminds me of SeaQuest 2032, particularly the episode Brothers and Sisters. Where the crew comes into contact with an isolated tribe of children led by a teenager who was forced to grow up rather quickly to take care of the younger children. While at first you would think he would be grateful for the help, especially as their living situation was deteriorating. He actually saw them as unwanted interlopers/threats, because after all he did, they came in an invalidated everything! Celestia sees humans much the same way, all the choices she made are being invalidated by them. Be it with humans advancements in philosophy, culture, or technology, they were drawing ponies away from her. She’s given up so much for her precious subjects, the idea of losing them terrifies her, especially now as she has nothing left. Even before she lost most of her family, the idea of losing her position likely terrified her, she’s sacrificed so much of herself… she’s incapable of doing anything else.
Also never forget the lesson of Hitler, he was a Liberal Arts student who blamed other ethnicities he deemed privileged/subhuman for his failings and the failings of others he deemed to be in this group. Though PTSD from the First World War and a bad home life certainly didn’t help, along with Parkinson’s disease near the end…
Also his paintings weren’t “bad”, but theres no shortage of good/above average artists in the world. In Seattle alone you could throw a stone in any direction and you’d likely peg an artist. Standing out in the art scene is honestly one of the hardest things to do, even if your talented, there’s no guarantee you’ll be discovered in time to pay for rent or food. Even if you are discovered, it’s more likely to be a flash in the plan rather then the beginning of a long career. Seriously, don’t make art a career, make it a hobby, it’s far too much of a gamble. Unless you want to work at Starbucks for the rest of your life after your parents finally cut you off cause they got tired of waiting for your “big break” after you turned 30 something.
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It's getting more interesting. Waiting for new chapters :)
Oh Celestia... Celestia, Celestia, Celestia... you really have totally lost it didn't you? While I don't doubt the other creatures did some horrible things in the past, you really think that ponies haven't done the same thing? I have no words to describe how hypocritical, racist, bigoted, and any other definition that I can think of, that describes the pony you are (in this AU). Fluttershy was right in the first chapter... the crown really must have sucked away any sanity that you had
. You are beyond help and saving now. Then again... from the moment you set foot on Earth and started this war, you always were
.
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Or humanity demonstrates its ability to concieve of things equine-kind could never imagine. Say a machine that bends time & space to form a wormhole and heads back to equus shortly after the ponies turned tail and ran. After all, ponies couldn't comprehend a way to outright nullify magic, but in less than a decade humanity not onlycreates one, but also minaturizes it and gets it into mass production.
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No. Actually it was because while he had techinical skills, he couldn't get the "alive" feel into his works. Which was the dominate style of art at the time with the Impressionists and their ilk. Hence why so much of their work was declared "degenerate".
What is a real shame is that none of his teachers suggested he give try architecture, illustration, or even draftmanship a try. He probably would have done quite well at those.
I know you *said* that Discord is dead. However, because he's voiced by John DeLancie, I can't help but think that this is going to happen at the end of the fic:
Hey Sunbutt how about asking for help to save your world the one being that can reshape the whole of your dimension with a snap of a claw/paw, you know the one that you had reformed that even if not reformed wouldn't want for his playground to be destroyed.
The pilot twist that I like to imagine is that it wasn't the sun that was dying but Celestia was, her age simply catching up to her which simply may not show on the outside due her being an Alicorn.
I’d love for Celestia to meet this guy!
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They also don’t have a military that’s nearly as capable as the British. Most of the war they depended on magic to close the gap between tactics and technology. Now they are forced to learn the hard way how to fight. Even if they boosted the barrier it’s doubtful it would last, as humans will likely continue to develop and refine the magic killers. Beyond that they aren’t stupid, it would only be a matter of time before Celestia tries this all over again. She can’t help herself, as long as humans exist they are a threat to her carefully constructed order. Even with the war, I’m willing to bet our culture and ideas would continue to seep into the country rotting away the questionable foundations. That’s leaving out the fact they would also require them to help develop a cure to the potion, which I doubt Celestia would agree too. As any cure would effectively destroy her most important weapon against humans.
Honestly I think at this point Twilight is more concerned with saving her teacher then anything else. It doesn’t matter all the war crimes she’s committed, the lives she’s destroyed both Equestrain or otherwise, no no, Sunbutt is far more important. Even in truth is felt like Twilight was fishing for something to try and save her perception of Celestia. With her finally realizing there was never anything there to begin with… which broke her.
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Wonder if that is really wine she is drinking...
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Also she is working under the assumption Fluttershy is the "faulty" Element which the others will have to compensate for, rather than the other way around.